THE ORAL CIGARETTES: "We want to show the scenery of this live house in both halls and arenas" The official report from their performance in Niihama, Ehime has arrived!

“Wandering Tour 2024 Chugoku-Shikoku Edition” was held at nine live houses in the Chugoku and Shikoku regions from May as the third leg of the “Wandering Tour” that had been held in Hokkaido, Okinawa and Kyushu. The final performance of this tour, which was a joint band format with Murasaki Kon in the first five performances and Ame no Parade in the last four performances, was held at JEANDORE in Niihama, Ehime on June 15th.

Ame no Parade started the live with the jazzy “Yellow Gold” with its stateless chorus and seductive trumpet. In the second song “paradigm”, Fukunaga Kohei’s (vo) beautiful falsetto voice flows softly over the strong beat of Osawa Miho (dr). Yamazaki Kosuke (g&syn)’s (guitar&syn) keyboard sounds echoed in “Praying Hands”, a warm gospel song, “Hywl” captivated with a dope minimal sound with fewer notes, and “Melt” swayed with a dark Afrobeat. The audience was drawn in by the diverse soundscape and passionate, dynamic groove full of humanity. Fukunaga’s soulful singing voice was wonderful in the sad love song “complicated”, and there was a sense of euphoria as he was completely enveloped in the song.

“In a live show with a band, we stimulate each other and absorb each other’s good points, but we have also been very influenced by Oral. Today is the final show, so can we make it the best night ever?” Fukunaga said, and then they moved on to “Summer Time Magic”. With the floor singing along, they played refreshing pop songs at a snappy tempo, and the last song they played was the post-dubstep “Morning”. The elegant phrases of Yamazaki’s piano and the cool sounds of Osawa’s glockenspiel spread throughout the venue, and Fukunaga’s clear voice blended comfortably into the venue as the show ended.

The lights went out after 7pm, and the band members appeared with a sound effect. The show started with Oral’s customary four-beat rhythm and then “Shala la”. During the song, Yamanaka encouraged the audience by saying, “I want Niihama to sing this song”, and the chorus of “Shalala, shalala, shalala, la la la” rang out along with the upbeat, swinging sound. The fast-paced guitar rock number “AEUI” also had the entire venue singing along to the melodic melody of Suzuki Shigenobu (g)’s elegant guitar. During “Kizukeyo Baby”, the audience shook their hands from side to side to the tight disco beat and pop melody played by Akira Akira (b/cho) and Nakanishi Masaya (dr), creating a strong sense of unity.

They then played “ENEMY feat. Kamui,” a mixture number with sharp lyrics and a refreshing beat, and “BUG,” a cyberpunk song full of kitschy charm. In particular, the excitement of the floor rose in an instant as people danced wildly to the chorus melody of “BUG.” “For everyone who came today and everyone who has come to the “Wandering Tour” so far, let me finally sing a song of love here,” began “LOVE,” with the audience and members sharing the lyrics “I can’t laugh alone,” and the second half of the show began with “YELLOW,” with its beautiful melody colored by the chorus and its grand, dramatic development.

Yamanaka, who had said “It’s the best!” many times between songs that day, sang “I swear Niihama well done” during “Kyouran Hey Kids!!” and cheers of joy rang out from the floor. “It’s so great! I want to show the view of this live house in a hall or arena, and eventually I want to bring my friends and do it at the dome. In October, we will also hold “PARASITE DEJAVU 2024” in Osaka. Come and witness the legendary two days! “The biggest chorus of the day reverberated throughout the venue during “5150”, which began with this talk. Then they moved on to the rock ballad “Holy Night”. The main part ended with a careful singing as if speaking to each and every audience member. During the encore, all the members talked about Niihama in the MC, and then Yamanaka said, “I think this was a tour where we met a lot of good people. Thank you very much!”, and the audience applauded and cheered. Finally, they sang “MACHINEGUN” with great force, and the approximately 1 hour and 30 minute live ended.

The heat in the venue was really strong that day, and everyone was sweating and laughing while diving and singing along. It was a hot night that made me realize that the “culture of the live house scene” that was almost lost due to the COVID-19 pandemic has been revived. By the way, I spoke with the manager of JEANDORE before Oral’s live performance, and he said, “We have a special attachment to Oral because we have the highest attendance record,” and there were photos of the members on display and a welcoming atmosphere all around the live house. I’m sure this kind of loving exchange took place in various places during the wandering tour. This tour has so far visited Hokkaido, Okinawa, Kyushu, and Chugoku and Shikoku, and the Tokai edition has been decided for November. During the MC of the main part, Yamanaka said with a mischievous expression, “Everyone, you’re probably thinking that we’re going to do 47 shows in all 47 prefectures, right? But we’ve done 6 shows in Hokkaido alone!” I’m sure that the Tokai edition will also show us drama that can only be born in that place, and performances filled with love and passion.

Photo by SHOTARO, Interview and Text by Yuka Maeda

“WANDER ABOUT Wandering TOUR 2024 Chugoku-Shikoku Edition”

June 15, 2024 Niihama JEANDORE

Rainy Parade

01. Yellow Gold

02. paradigm

03. Tokyo

04. Praying Hands

05. Hwyl

06. Melt

07. Complicated

08. Summer Time Magic