Concert Report: SCANDAL in Los Angeles 5/22/15

On May 22-23, the Japanese girl band SCANDAL returned to California for shows at the House of Blues in West Hollywood and in Anaheim. They had previously held a concert back in July of 2011 at a anime convention in the Anaheim Convention Center and local fans have been waiting for another chance to see them. I was lucky enough to attend that show as well and it was a fantastic experience. The girls also made a US concert stop in Chicago the previous weekend.

Fans lined up hours in advance to get themselves prime spots for the show. Once we were inside, the building energy and anticipation of fans was discernibly palpable from the chants, shouts, and conversations going on. The decor of the venue was bright, colorful, fittingly energetic for the show that was about to take place. With the ritual of breaking the glowsticks, the packed crowd’s excitement was reaching a crescendo’s peak, thankfully the girls of SCANDAL didn’t make them wait too long.

They opened with love in action from their most recent album HELLO WORLD. A great high energy choice to start the show off with and to get the crowd going. The song starts with RINA’s powerful drums, TOMOMI’s high and cute voice with the opening lines and followed by HARUNA’s clear strong voice to create a musical mixture that really works. love in action was followed by Satisfaction a coupling track from the 2011 single “Haruka”, an upbeat poppy song that’s personally one of my favs. A bit of trivia, Satisfaction was used as a Windows 8 commercial song in Japan.

SCANDAL was formed in 2006 and it’s been a pleasure for many long-time fans to see the girls really grow and develop as artists and band-musicians. Years of consistent hard work and practice have paid off and it really shows when you compare their earlier performances to their current ones. The musicianship, confidence, and stage presence have developed to a level that most would have never expected when watching them as they first started out. This is easily agreed upon by veteran fans and those that take the time to dive into earlier performances. Thankfully although their latest album HELLO WORLD was a central focus of the show they treated fans with several other tracks from their discography including those that would be considered classics or iconic of the group’s history and image.

The 3rd song of the night was one of these iconic tracks, their major debut single DOLL. As expected the fans reacted with voluminous cheers and clapping. When this song was released SCANDAL was still performing in schoolgirl uniforms while they were still trying to find or develop an image for themselves. With the schoolgirl image behind them, the ladies are now distinctively different from the rest of the female Japanese music scene that so often gets caught up on the schoolgirl phase . The flashing lighting of the venue coupled with the mass twirling of towels by the fans provided a scene that demonstrated the fans reception to and the status of this particular song.

Following DOLL was Shunkan Sentimental, the song was used as an ending theme for the anime FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST. So this song serves as a gateway to SCANDAL for many fans. Next up was Scandal Baby from their first album, another one of those fan favorites considered iconic and mainstay of their sound. From the wonderful opening guitar rift to the melody and chorus that convey so much emotion and energy, a song that completely grips you from start to end.

It was clear that the girls have been working on their English for the various MC segments and messages. I’m happy they took the effort to interact with and thank the fans. The middle segment of the concert had the member’s individual songs, Hon wo Yomu, Kan Biiru, and Oyasumi from the HELLO WORLD album. It turned out to be a great segment that allowed solo focus on the girls and added variety with the change of pace and style of music. Especially standout was Rina’s performance of Oyasumi, it’s not everyday you have the drummer doing a solo and playing the guitar.

They continued their set-list with several more songs from their recent album and finished with Image. But of course as with any other Japanese concert, the end isn’t really the end, but the time to begin encore chants. When the girls came back out, the fans sang Happy Birthday for Mami who had just turned 25 the day before. They finished off the night with Awanai tsumori no, genki dene and EVERYBODY SAY YEAH!, what a way to end the night! Thank you for the wonderful show, can’t wait for the next time SCANDAL is in town.