HANABIE. just concluded their United States and Canadian headlining tour with special guests Left To Suffer and Outline In Color. The new sensational hybrid girl-band shares roots in metal, hardcore, and Japanese idol culture, and has been making waves in the metal scene. We were excited to see them hop back in town since their performance at the Aftershock Festival last year and hear the new music they had to offer!
Sacramento represented their support at Ace of Spades on Friday with a packed venue. As the final night of the tour, there was a lot of shared emotions with the crowd and the bands that played. Not many phones were out, which is a fairly rare sight these days. But, granted, the energy was not only tangible throughout the evening with the slick of the walls but the crowd surfing and moshing that persisted until night’s end.
“Best show of tour, I’ve seen you motherf***ers around I’ve been in these parts before. This place has been a place of peace for me for so long it’s so cool to be playing here. Sac-town represent!”
~ Left To Suffer
HANABIE. introduced themselves on the stage one by one as the introductory music played, and were met with a deafening roar from the audience.
For those who haven’t heard of HANABIE. before reading this, you will soon; but we also will note that the things that stand out the most with this band from the rest are the twin vocals of Yukina with her heavy screams contrast seamlessly with Matsuri’s clean and powerful ones. The guitar, also played by Matsuri, harmonize effortlessly with the vocals. The drums, played by Chica, hit hard, heavy. And the bass, played by Hettsu, create a unique variety of texture and rhythm to their overall sound.
Together, the band creates a post-genre sound that is unlike any music you’ve heard. Their lyrics combine elements of their self proclaimed “harajuku-core” look to offer an iconic sound and dimension to their neo Japanese world.
They played fan favorites “O･TA･KUラブリー伝説 ,” “GIRL’S TALK,” and took a moment to pause for fanfare after tossing Japanese candy into the crowd before playing “We love sweets.” They continuously leaned in to interact with the crowd, and Yukina disappeared from the stage frequently throughout their set only to be found high fiving as many people as she could.
“So sad, it’s the last night of the tour,” she said. “We love Sacramento, we love the U.S and Canada. It’s been so much fun.”
Stay tuned for more updates on HANABIE. and we look forward to sharing with you soon!
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