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Archive for the ‘Hanabie’ Category

Jinjer (Starland Ballrom, Sayreville, NJ, September 20, 2024)

Posted in Hanabie, JInjer, Sayreville, NJ, Starland Ballroom, Ukraine on September 22, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: September 20, 2024] Jinjer

I’ve seen Jinjer twice.  Last time, after the show I wrote:

Now that I’ve seen “Pisces,” I don’t think I need to see Jinjer again.  In fact, I’m probably not going to go to too many more metal shows.  I think I’ve seen everyone I wanted to.

Pisces was the song that introduced me to them and Tatiana Shmailyuk’s incredible voice.  She can sing beautiful soaring melodies and then on a dime turn into a scary growling monster.  It’s fascinating on record but it is mind blowing to see live.

So I wasn’t really sure I wanted to see them again, but I was inspired by the opening band Hanabie to go see them again.  And I’m so glad I did. This was the closest I’d been to them and it was great being that close to Eugene Abdukhanov on bass. The previous tow times, I was on guitarist Roman Ibramkhalilov’s side but I’d really admired the bass work on these songs.  So it was very cool to see just how complicated his bass rhythms were.

Ibramkhalilov has a great sound–shifting from quiet picking to heavy chords, but it was a little lost on my side of the stage (I noticed it more on some of the recordings I took).  Drummer Vladislav Ulasevich also adds wonderful fills and stops and starts to add drama to the songs.  He was even louder than the last time I think–I needed to put the earplugs in deeper toward the end. (more…)

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Hanabie [花冷え。] (Starland Ballrom, Sayreville, NJ, September 20, 2024) [JINJER]

Posted in 花冷え。, Hanabie, Japanese Music, JInjer, Sayreville, NJ, Starland Ballroom, Ukraine on September 21, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: September 20, 2024] Hanabie

I have seen Jinjer twice.  I didn’t really think about this tour until I checked out the opening acts.  I hadn’t heard of Hanabie, but when I looked them up I was blown away and was really excited to see them live,

I actually assumed that they would go on first since they are so much newer of a band than Born of Osiris.  But I was delighted to find out that BOO was on first so we could relax and enjoy the fun.

Hanabie [花冷え。] is a Japanese band known for combining loud and heavy music with contrasting Harajuku aesthetics in a style self-described as “Harajuku-core.”  They have been around since 2015 (when they started as a Maximum The Hormone cover band).  They have clean vocals and unclean vocals and the most fascinating thing is that singer Yukina does both!  She sings in an incredibly high almost cartoonish voice and then shifts to a growl that would impress anyone.

Guitarist Matsuri also sings– and has a lovely voice.  She often sings super catchy chorus and bridge parts while Yukina adds to them.  Bassist Hettsu also sings and has a lovely clean vocal style.  The three of them together are a dynamic force.

Drummer Chika is the only new member (they’ve had several drummers over the years).  I couldn’t see her at all because she was positioned on the far side of the stage/  Which was quite a bummer.

But Yukina, Matsuri and Hettsu were certainly enjoyable enough to watch.  They ran back and forth between stations, completely engaging with the crowd.  The few times that Yukina came over by us, you could see her making faces at people in the crowd.

Their set was so much fun–full of energy and excitement.  I particularly liked that they had so many high sounds–in a genre that is usually devoted to low frequencies.  Between the high vocals and some of the electronics it really made for a dynamic show.  I’m not sure how they all are (mid 20s, I guess?) but they had so much energy, bouncing and jumping around the stage.

And their fashion sense was pretty great too.

They were a great opening act and I would absolutely see them again–I hope as a headliner.

2024
Metamorphose! §
Ware Amatou ⊗
Reiwa Matching-sedai ⊗
O•TA•KU Lovely Densetsu §
NEET GAME ♥
Kotoshi koso Gal~Shoka ver.~ ♥
GIRL’S TALK §
Tales of Villain ♥
TOUSOU ♥
Osaki ni Shitsurei Shimasu ♥

§ single (2024)
♥ Reborn Superstar (2023)
⊗ Girl’s Reform Manifest (2021)

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Born of Osiris (Starland Ballrom, Sayreville, NJ, September 20, 2024) [JINJER]

Posted in Born of Osiris, Hanabie, Japanese Music, JInjer, Sayreville, NJ, Starland Ballroom, Ukraine on September 20, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: September 20, 2024] Born of Osiris

I’ve seen Jinjer twice and I didn’t really think I needed to see them again.  But they announced this show at Starland Ballroom and I was intrigued by one of the openers, Hanabie.  I hadn’t heard of Born of Osiris.

Turns out Born of Osiris is a metalcore band that’s been around for over fifteen years.  Interestingly, the band’s first two records were more or less created and played by the band’s mastermind and drummer, Cameron Losch.

Their set was very loud–so loud that it was hard to distinguish anything.  I wasn’t really all that interested in anything they played.   There were a few moments that included some electronics but mostly it was just bludgeoning and intense metal.

I found it kind of dull, actually.  It amused me that the singer kept trying to get people really psyched–I’m assuming that they have played headlining shows in the last fifteen years.  But every time they pointed the floodlights to the crowd, it kept showing an empty floor.  Part of the problem for them was that the website said they were going on at 7:30, but they went on at 7:10 and Starland is notoriously bad about slow entry.

There were some people who enjoyed it, but compared to the dynamic nature of the next two bands, they seemed really rather plodding.

This was the setlist from a show a few days later.  I assume it was the same.

 

2024
Open Arms to Damnation §
Bow Down §
Elevate ¥
Empires Erased §
Abstract Art §
Angel or Alien ♥
A Mind Short Circuiting ¥
In Desolation ¥
Machine ⊗

¥ single (2024)
♥ Angel or Alien (2021)
⊗ Tomorrow We Die Alive (2013)
§ The New Reign EP (2007)

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