Flying in mid air: Motoko Kida and Hiromi Hirohiro of tricot doing what they do best. |
So I never imagined meeting people with the same appreciation for music from the land of the rising sun as I did; let alone get to catch a Japanese band we all love in a show here and even have a Street Team – going all out (tarp, shirts, poster, gifts-the works) just to profess their love for a band, which is why Jepp and Martin founded the tricot Manila Street Team.
Full of energy: Nakajima Ikyuu and Hiromi Sagane of tricot during their What’s Ochansensu-su? tricot Asia Tour 2014 in Manila in front of a crowd of eager fans. |
tricot Manila Street Team first in line before the doors opened. The line went all the way up to the back. |
tricot Manila Street Team Members in their T-R-I-C-O-T uniform and bad ass tarp |
As if that was not enough, there was even a fan art of the band from Pejie and members of the Street Team signed their names and wrote messages of love and support for the band.
From Ikyuu’s Instagram account – the Street Team attendance sheet! |
After the doors were finally opened and we seated ourselves right in front of the stage – ready to catch some tricot action!
The show opened with Terno Recording’s very own Pulso.
Bluer than blue – the amazing trio that is Pulso |
Getting down with Up Dharma Down |
After standing for hours (in line and watching through the set of Pulso and Up Dharma Down standing) and of course all the excitement of the show – people were already experiencing pains and aches even before tricot started but when they got up on stage, even just to set up their instruments all of those pains and aches went out of the window as fans shouted the names of the band members and even professions and confessions of love and admiration such as: Aishteru and Daisuki which was respectfully returned with Salamat Po much to the laughter of the crowd.
I haven’t rocked out in a gig like that in a long time and if you guys have been following us you’d know that Paul and I are frequent music scene goers. I could even see Paul head banging and fist pumping in between taking photos and it takes a lot to have him going crazy like that, he has very high standards when it comes to music so to have him raving about a band really says a lot.
Their recorded songs is impressive as it is but watching it live is a whole different experience, every strum of a guitar or the way Komaki hits the drums it’s just so full of passion and intensity. There are so many crazy drum rolls, technical guitar playing and lead guitarist Komaki plays on the guitar like the fiddler on the roof, and we were right in front of her as she was going all out crazy and intense playing.
From fierce fortes to sudden pianissimos their songs are just a crazy roller coaster ride you never want to end.
Vocalist Ikyuu’s singing delivery styles range from emotional voice breaks which impressively still stay in tune to whispering, talking and even rapping.
Before their set, the girls got their vocal chops ready by making sure that they sing in tune which add another element to their songs and performance.
Drummer Komaki Kazutaka and Lead Guitarist Motoko Kida going all out. |
It was touching to see the effort that the band put in to interact with the crowd, coming prepared with Tagalog words written on a piece of paper. Despite the language barrier every one in the room was connected and that is the magic of music.
Ikyuu even shared her new favorite Filipino food – Halo Halo which even resulted to an impromptu Halo Halo song. 😉
Another thing that I love about the guys from tricot is that they don’t do what they do because they look good or they want to look good. Their choice of clothing would give any stylist a nightmare, from loose black shirts and baggy shorts to bedroom slippers and pajamas. Vocalist Ikyuu even gets up on stage with barefeet just taped up with I’m guessing tape of bandage.
They don’t even try to look good when performing they just sing their hearts out no matter what or how they look and us fans just find that very endearing and just makes us love them even more ^_^
Bad ass bassist Hiromi is a small framed girl but when she moves around the stage she’s like a firecracker even getting up on the mic to shout to the crowd.
Want to know what the buzz with tricot is all about? Check out this awesome video of their song POOL which was shot by our fellow Indie Media Videographer Ksael ^_^
Aside from Manila being the last stop of their What’s Ochansesu-su? Asian tour this was also a bitter sweet show for the fans since drummer Komaki had recently announced that he would be leaving the band due to creative differences. Fans pleaded with Komaki to stay and even asked for a drum solo to which the talented drummer obliged and here’s a video to that amazing drum solo along with some cute crazy dancing from the girls, a very embarrassed Hiromi and some of the hilarious exchange the band had with the crowd.
As if the amazing and unforgettable performance was not enough the night or rather early morning continued its legendary course when the band did a little autograph signing session for fans.
Merchandise like CDs, shirts, pins and stickers were available and fans eagerly brought items and had them signed. A fan even brought his snare drum – to have it signed! I picked up an album for only P500.00 and that’s cheap if you would compare it to the Japanese price. If I had more money I would have bought more stuff. T___T
Crowd turn out during the tricot show – we were up in front of the stage. Credits to the owner. |