REPORT ｜ I Don’t Like Mondays. “FOCUS” ASIA TOUR FINAL

The four-piece rock band I Don’t Like Mondays., which celebrated their 10th anniversary since their major debut in September, will hold the final performance of their nationwide tour “FOCUS” ASIA TOUR on December 1st (Sunday) at Zepp in Odaiba, Tokyo. It was held at DiverCity. This tour will feature the 7-song EP “FOCUS” released in October, and will include 10 performances in 8 cities. As they prepare for their Asia tour, which begins with the Taipei performance on December 28th (Saturday), they put on an intense performance that literally focused on “what they want to do right now.”

At the scheduled time, the electricity goes out. The floor overlooking the second-floor seats was filled with a packed audience, and the light from their smartphones shone like a carpet of light. On this day’s performance, an announcement was made in advance that “photography was allowed” from the opening to the first song, so many people were waiting with their cameras facing the stage, hoping to get their hands on IDORA’s “brave figure.” .

While ambient techno music was playing, CHOJI (Gt.), KENJI (Bas.), and leader SHUKI (Dr.) appeared to loud cheers. YU (Vo.) appeared late, and with her long hair tied back, she looked like Miachael Jackson of yesteryear. The day’s live started with “Someday”, the opening song of the EP “FOCUS”. Over a straight syncopated 8-beat, CHOJI plays fantastic arpeggios that are reminiscent of The Cure, The Smiths, and Cocteau Twins. Then, when YU’s sweet high-tone voice overlapped with that, the venue instantly turned into “Idora World”.

“Final Tokyo! Are you ready!?” YU called out loudly, and spontaneous hand claps echoed from the audience. The powerful backbeat of “Shadow” shakes your body, and YU’s penetrating falsetto shakes the folds of your heart. As I was entranced by the contrast between the sophisticated band ensemble and the nostalgic yet melancholy melody line, YU immediately performed “Lonely Dancers” under red lighting with a crystal-clear and hard falsetto. It resonated.

“This year marks our 10th anniversary since our major debut! We packed everything we have into the EP ‘FOCUS’ released in this memorable year. Will you accept it?” YU called out, and loud cheers erupted from all over the floor. Go up.

In “TONIGHT,” YU’s vocal style, which incorporates even breaths into the melody line, is reminiscent of Michael Jackson, as she parades from one end of the stage to the other, singing as if speaking to each and every member of the audience. Each time, cries of joy erupt from all over the floor. In the chorus that refrains from the title, YU shouts, “Speak out!”, and Zepp DiverCity is enveloped in a sense of unity as the voices of the people sing along as a signal.

As soon as the intro started playing, a huge cheer erupted for the opening song “Umbrella” from their fifth album “RUNWAY” released last year. The fast-paced rhythm of this song performed by KENJI and SHUKI stirs up a sense of elation in the listener. Then, the middle tune, its name is “Sunset Girl”, played under orange lighting that resembles the setting sun, sings, “I want to hold the smell of summer with you forever,” and expresses the regret of the passing summer. It was sung with a lot of emotion.

He continued with “Summer Ghost,” a summer song, and while hand claps echoed along with the powerful kick, “Beautiful Chaos” skillfully used his powerful natural voice and penetrating falsetto to create a vivid contrast in the song. I showed it.

The acoustic set begins with “Flower in the rain,” a magnificent and fantastical arrangement that makes you feel like you’ve just watched a movie. They performed the authentic soul tune “LOVE YOURSELF” from their 1st album “TOKYO” released in 2015, and “Mmm…” from their album “RUNWAY”, further highlighting the beauty of IDORA’s melodies. .

The band formed again, and after playing “New York, New York,” which has a light band sound and sensual lyrics, the floor was filled with excitement when Hiromitsu Kitayama, formerly of Kis-My-Ft2, was invited as a special guest. It turns into a I never thought that this lineup, including him, would do a “self-cover” of “Just Like That,” which I provided to Kitayama. Under the spinning mirror ball, Kitayama’s sweet singing voice mixed with YU’s husky and sensual voice, and at times they talked to each other, creating an intimate duo that seemed to be having a conversation.

Before you know it, the live show is in its last spurt. On “Freaky boy,” YU plays a funky falsetto reminiscent of Prince or Curtis Mayfield, and CHOJI puts his guitar behind his neck and performs a tricky solo like Jimi Hendrix, which once again elicits loud cheers from the audience. From there, KENJI’s bass solo followed by SHUKI’s drum solo, and then YU exclaimed, “We’re still going. Can’t you come with us, Tokyo?” and proceeded to “WOLF VIBES.” Everyone in the room let out a chorus that sounded like a wolf’s howl, and the venue was once again enveloped in a sense of unity.

“Next, we will deliver the song that led us to a special world,” YU said, adding that it would be no exaggeration to say that “PAINT” is IDORA’s breakthrough work, which was used as the theme song for the anime “One Piece.” ” singalong. The main song ends with “Change,” whose lyrics sing powerfully, “We could change the world to make a better place,” which touches our hearts precisely because we live in the extremely chaotic “now.” For the encore, they played “MR.CLEVER” and “LEMONADE”.

“Today, U-NEXT is also being streamed, so I thought I’d try to be cool, but it all got heated up because of all of you. Thank you so much!” YU greeted with a sense of humor. Then, the venue was filled with warm cheers and applause.

“I didn’t know what to do, but I chose the path of music, and I was able to connect with everyone like this.It makes me realize how amazing it is.Because if I hadn’t done music, I would have met so many people like this.” “We’ve never met like this before, right?” YU asks for approval, and the audience responds with applause.

“People who normally live in different places come together like this, and a great energy is generated that makes them think, “Maybe I’ll try harder tomorrow.” In this way, our music can make even a little bit of a difference in everyone’s lives. If that happens, that would be really amazing. That’s why we want to keep going for the next 10 or 20 years. Will you come with us?” he asked, amidst loud cheers, “WE ARE YOUNG.” They ended the day’s live performance by playing .

Stylish sound influenced by Western music and honest lyrics that express personal feelings. These elements are exquisitely mixed, and a soundscape that only IDRA can create is developed throughout the album. In the 10 years since their major debut, they have continued to explore what they want to deliver, and have used the big opportunity of singing the theme song for “ONE PIECE” to expand into the world. For them, the EP “FOCUS” and this tour have given them hope. This can be said to be one of the answers arrived at through this process.

At the end, the set list will be determined by fan club members’ votes.The “3rd SELECTION TOUR” will be held with the largest number of performances ever, and the band event “JOINT GIG” will be held with Omoinotake as a guest, and will be held for the first time in five major cities. Zepp TOUR (tentative) also announced.

We can’t take our eyes off them as they continue to gain momentum even after their 10th anniversary.

[Event information]

“I Don’t Like Mondays. “2025 Zepp TOUR” (tentative)”

Date and time: Sunday, October 5, 2025 OPEN 17:00 / START 18:00
Venue: Hokkaido/Sapporo Zepp Sapporo
Price: ¥7,800 (separate 1D fee)
Question:mount alive 050-3504-8700 (Weekdays 11:00-18:00)

Date and time: Saturday, October 11, 2025 OPEN 17:00 / START 18:00
Venue: Osaka Zepp Osaka Bayside
Price: ¥7,800 (separate 1D fee)
Question:Kyodo Information 0570-200-888 (Mon-Sat 11:00-18:00)

Date and time: October 13, 2025 (Monday/holiday) OPEN 17:00 / START 18:00
Venue: Fukuoka Zepp Fukuoka
Price: ¥7,800 (separate 1D fee)
Question:Kyodo West Japan 0570-09-2424

Date and time: Saturday, October 18, 2025 OPEN 17:00 / START 18:00
Venue: Aichi/Nagoya Zepp Nagoya
Price: ¥7,800 (separate 1D fee)
Question:sunday folk promotion 052-320-9100 (12:00-18:00)

Date and time: Sunday, October 26, 2025 OPEN 17:00 / START 18:00
Venue: Tokyo Zepp DiverCity
Price: ¥7,800 (separate 1D fee)
Question:HOT STUFF PROMOTION 050-5211-6077 (Weekdays 12:00-18:00)

*Fees apply for elementary school students and above. Preschool children are not allowed to enter.
*All seats are non-reserved for the Tokyo performance, and all seats are reserved for other performances. Please note that you cannot choose between 1F standing and 2F reserved seats.

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“I Don’t Like Mondays. “3rd SELECTION TOUR””

Date and time: Sunday, January 26, 2025 OPEN 17:30 / START 18:00
Venue: Aichi/Nagoya Bottom Line
Price: ADV. ¥7,200 (1D fee not included)
Question:sunday folk promotion 052-320-9100 (12:00-18:00)

Date and time: Saturday, February 1, 2025 OPEN 17:30 / START 18:00
Venue: Okayama YEBISU YA PRO
Price: ADV. ¥7,200 (1D fee not included)
Question:Candy promotion Okayama 086-221-8151 (Weekdays 11:00-18:000

Date and time: Sunday, February 2, 2025 OPEN 17:15 / START 18:00
Venue: Osaka/Umeda CLUB QUATTRO
Price: ADV. ¥7,200 (1D fee not included)
Question:Kyodo Information 0570-200-888 (Mon-Sat 11:00-18:00)

Date and time: Saturday, February 8, 2025 OPEN 17:30 / START 18:00
Venue: Hokkaido/Sapporo SPiCE
Price: ADV. ¥7,200 (1D fee not included)
Question:mount alive 050-3504-8700 (Weekdays 11:00-18:00)

Date and time: Sunday, February 9, 2025 OPEN 17:30 / START 18:00
Venue: Hokkaido/Asahikawa CASINO DRIVE
Price: ADV. ¥7,200 (1D fee not included)
Question:mount alive 050-3504-8700 (Weekdays 11:00-18:00)

Date and time: Saturday, February 15, 2025 OPEN 17:30 / START 18:00
Venue: Kumamoto B.9 V2
Price: ADV. ¥7,200 (1D fee not included)
Question:Kyodo West Japan 0570-09-2424

Date and time: Sunday, February 16, 2025 OPEN 17:30 / START 18:00
Venue: Fukuoka BEAT STATION
Price: ADV. ¥7,200 (1D fee not included)
Question:Kyodo West Japan 0570-09-2424

*All standing
*Fees apply for elementary school students and above. Preschool children are not allowed to enter.

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“I Don’t Like Mondays. “JOINT GIG 2025””
Date and time: Sunday, March 2, 2025 OPEN 17:00 / START 18:00
Venue: Tokyo, Ebisu LIQUIDROOM
Price: ADV. ¥7,200 (1D fee not included)
Cast:
I Don’t Like Mondays.
Omoinotake

Question:HOT STUFF PROMOTION 050-5211-6077 (Weekdays 12:00-18:00)

*Standing
*Fees apply for elementary school students and above. Preschool children are not allowed to enter.
*Maximum of 2 tickets per application per person.

■I Don’t Like Mondays. Official site