Silent Siren, a very popular Japanese girl-band, is coming to San Francisco on their first world tour. They will hold concerts in two cities in the U.S., LA and SF. Do not miss their live performance!

Silent Siren S WORLD TOUR 2016 in U.S.A.
San Francisco Sunday, Oct. 2nd 
Venue : Slim’s 
333 11th Street, San Francisco, CA 94103
DOORS : 5:30PM SHOW : 6:30PM

Here's a couple of goods that will be on sale at the event. Check them out:

Tickets are still available for San Francisco through Eventbrite. They range in price from $30 for general admission and $90 for VIP. Perks for VIP include: Handshakes, Goodies, and a Photo!

We'll be back after the excitement is over for full coverage of the events! Have fun and hope to see you there!

Ticket Info : https://Silentsirensf2016.eventbrite.com
Tour Info : http://www.ss-world-tour.com/
Silent Siren Official Site : http://silent-siren.com/
facebook : https://www.facebook.com/SilentSiren.official
Twitter : https://twitter.com/staffsaisai

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{gallery}Silent Siren{/gallery}

The band consists of Suu (Sumire Yoshida on vocals and guitar), Hinanchu (Hinako Umemura on drums), Ainyan (Aina Yamauchi on bass), and Yukarun (Yukako Kurosaka on keyboard and synth). Silent Siren is one of the fastest bands to reach the lofty stage of the Nippon Budokan at just over two years after signing with their current label, Dreamusic. Silent Siren has toured across Japan as well as Taiwan and Hong Kong; making their way toward becoming international sensations.

The concert was held at Slim’s, a smaller but popular downtown venue. Upon arriving, I noticed two lines with one of them being led by a pink-clad squad. These are Silent Siren's more dedicated US fans. They had already seen them the day before in Los Angeles and had traveled north for the San Francisco show. These diehard fans had all purchased VIP tickets and arrived hours before, so they could get as close as possible once the doors opened.

Every attendee was given an LED wristband that was synced to the show and changed colors throughout the night. This was most impressive when viewed from afar, so you could see just how many lights there were. As the show went on, a sea of lights undulated back and forth, and you could tell the crowd had a lot of fun.

The band started off with the songs "milk boy" and "Hachigatsu no Yoru" from their newest album, "S", released in March this year. This was followed up by some of their older songs like "BANG!BANG!BANG!", "Besan", and "Joshikou Sensou”.

About halfway through the set, the band paused and held a Q&A, so US fans could learn more about them. Fans who were lucky enough to have their questions chosen also received an exclusive photo taken with the band on the spot! The girls expressed a desire to visit the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland as one of the places they wanted to eventually visit in the United States.

One attendee couldn't resist asking whether they liked San Francisco or Los Angeles more. Suu pondered the question before mentioning, "They asked us the same thing in LA. There's a rivalry between the two right?" She continued by saying, "Everyone who comes to a Silent Siren live are friends; you are all part of the SaiSai family." This garnered the cheers and applause of the crowd.

The last question was about their favorite artists. One big influence for Silent Siren is the Bay Area band Green Day, and this segued perfectly to their next song - a cover of Green Day's "Minority."

One of Silent Siren's most known songs is probably "Secret Base", a cover of the hit song by the all-female band ZONE from 2001, and was made popular again from from the live action adaptation of the anime series "Anohana" (Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae o Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai). They followed this with the songs "Stella" and "C.A.F.E.". A few songs later, Yukarun jumped from her keyboards to a turntable and started up the fittingly titled "DanceMusiQ". The girls traded rock for a more electronic sound and threw on some lighted party glasses while encouraging the crowd to groove along with them. They played one more song, "Guruguru Wonderland", before exiting the stage momentarily for a quick costume change. They returned to the stage in their tour t-shirts which marked the beginning of the encore. They finished the night off with the trio of songs "Shindobaddo" (a new song), "What Show is it?" and "Cherry Bomb". The girls did a quick demonstration on how to do the two-handed "cherry bomb" pose and had the crowd joining in on the fun as they sang.

This show was a lot of fun. Even on Slim's tiny stage, Suu and Ainyan were able to bounce back and forth; helping spur the crowd on with their energy. Fans were jumping, waving their hands, and getting into the music. Normally, my tastes are more along the lines of various metal from the relatively lightness of power metal to the speedy thrashfests of melodic death metal. In terms of Japanese music, I prefer bands like Dir en Grey, Exist Trace, and Versailles. Silent Siren's brand of pop-rock is way outside of both of those wheelhouses, but I think I can make a place for them in my rotation. The night clocked in at about two hours, but time flew by quickly watching them.

Silent Siren played a total of 18 songs with much of the set consisting of their newest album "S". The breakdown is as follows:

Setlist:

milk boy S
Hachigatsu no Yoru S
BANG!BANG!BANG! サイレントサイレン
Besan 31 Wonderland
女子校戦争 サイレントサイレン
Love install S
Minority (Green Day) cover
爽快ロック サイレントサイレン
Hapimari (Happy marriage) S
Secret Base (anohana) S
恋い雪 サイレントサイレン
stella☆ Start→
C.A.F.E. S
DanceMusiQ サイレントサイレン
Guruguru wonderland 31 Wonderland

Encore:
Shindobaddo new
What Show is it? BANG!BANG!BANG!
Cherry Bomb S

Album breakdown:
Start→: 1
31 Wonderland: 2
サイレントサイレン (Silent Siren): 5
S: 7
BANG!BANG!BANG!: 1
Cover: 1
New: 1

{gallery}Silent Siren SF{/gallery}

"Starry Wish" Music Video 
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CD jacket

"Vivid Strike!" CM featuring the ED song

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Inori Minase Official Facebook：https://www.facebook.com/InoriMinase 
Source: King Records 

The San Francisco show will be at The Warfield theater on Market Street on January 22 (Sunday).  The band has announced that they will be accompanied by CRUISR, OUR LAST NIGHT, and ACCEPTANCE as support bands. CRUISR will handle New York, Toronto, and Chicago with OUR LAST NIGHT covering California shows and ACCEPTANCE the Seattle show.  The band will then move onward to a huge Japan tour that goes all the way to May.  

ONE OK ROCK has had an ever-evolving sound in the dozen years they have been around and "Ambitions" follows this line.  It's both familiar yet different from their previous efforts and shows a band that does not rest on their laurels and continues to gain traction around the world.  The four-man unit led by Takahiro "Taka" Moriuchi has quickly found themself a place in America thanks to their albums "Zankyo Reference" and "Jinsei×Boku=" and work with franchises including Black Rock Shooter and Rurouni Kenshin.  "Ambitions" will be officially released on January 13 by Fueled by Ramen, a sublabel of the Warner Music Group. There are both Japanese and English language versions.  This marks the second album released as part of the Warner Music Group (the other being 2015's "35xxxv").

Full list of dates as follows:

1/15 New York, NY - Terminal 5
1/17 Toronto, ON (CA) - Revel
1/18 Chicago, IL - Vic Theater
1/21 Los Angeles, CA - The Palladium
1/22 San Francisco, CA - The Warfield
1/24 Seattle, WA - Showbox SoDo

Puffy AmiYumi are one of the most famous music icons in Japan, where they are a household name synonymous with all things pop and fun. Featuring dual vocalists Ami and Yumi, the group has reached enormous success with their pop/rock songs, but are also loved for their effortlessly cool and nonchalant fashion styles. Debuted in 1996, the duo are still in high demand after 20 colorful years, glittered with dozens of commercial endorsements, sold-out tours, and a total of 20 million CDs sold to date.

Tickets are now on sale with a limited number of VIP tickets which includes:

• Early entrance into the venue
• VIP laminate
• Meet & Greet with photo op.

Here's a list of concert dates:

DATE: April 4(Tues) OPEN 7pm / START 8pm
VENUE: The Belasco Theatre (Los Angeles)
Purchase tickets from: Ticketmaster

DATE: April 6(Thurs) OPEN 7pm / START 8pm
VENUE: The Regency Ballroom (San Francisco)
Purchase tickets from: AXS

DATE: April 9(Sun) OPEN 7pm / START 8pm
VENUE: Trees (Dallas)
Tickets from: Ticketfly

Anime Boston - Boston
DATE: Fri March 31- April 2
Guest Info

Official: http://puffyamiyumi.com
FB: https://www.facebook.com/PuffyAmiYumi/
VEVO: http://www.vevo.com/artist/puffy

ALI PROJECT have captivated broad fan base with the innovative melody arrangement, poetic lyrics, dark rock style music, and of course... their sensual gothic look. They’ve combined glamorous ballad, pop, Japanese rock and contemporary art in their music. On March 29, they released their 25th anniversary single “HimikoGaiden” and held an audience. During the audience, they announced the release of their brand new best album in the upcoming June and their tour dates in 2017. Year 2017 will be an active year for ALI PROJECT, both in and outside of Japan!

ALI PROJECT 25th Anniversary Best Album

• Release date: June 21, 2017

ALI PROJECT TOUR 2017

• Sun, June 25 – Maihama Amphitheater, Chiba
• Thu, July 13 – Club Diamond Hall, Nagoya
• Fri, July 14 – Nanba Hatch, Osaka

The latest release from ALI PROJECT – “HimikoGaiden”

Blu-disc edition

 DVD edition

CD INDEX:
01 HimikoGaiden
02 HimikoGaiden (off vocal)

Available on iTunes US

Watch a short Music clip below:

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The North American west coast kicks things off with a total of six shows before Asia on Tour heads east cutting across the lower states like Texas and Georgia before heading north to New York and eventually terminating in Toronto. The three bands will then head to Europe and play in the UK, Germany, and France, among others. Tonight's show is the third show of the tour and the second stop in America.

KIHA AND THE FACES

Leading things off was South Korea's Kiha and the Faces. Frontman Chang Kiha serves as the namesake of this indie band. They don't fly around the stage like many rock bands I've seen but that's part of their charm; their quirky stage presence alongside the folk rock they produce is what makes Kiha and The Faces Kiha and The Faces. I can't speak a lick of Korean, but you get the feeling that the band is about fun and watching their music videos helps confirm that idea. The crowd was receptive to the total package and a lot of people in the audience seemed to know them already. That's one of the best parts about tours in the US: bands in their home countries might be hard to see (or hard to get near) but here you can have a much more intimate show and be closer than you'd think.

The most animated member of the group is Kiha himself and he led the crowd in singing parts of the song "The Smell's Gone." Another one people could sing along to was a cover of Talking Heads' "Once in a Lifetime." Their songs are full of funk and bass and make for a good way to kick off the night and ease into things. The songs are catchy and fun and even for someone who can't understand them I couldn't help but tap my toes and bob my head to the rhythm.

SLOT MACHINE

I'll admit I did not know of Thai band Slot Machine until looking up this concert. Their Wikipedia article reads like advertising copy (and chances are it is) but I'll be damned if they don't live up to it. The band has been around in some shape or form ever since the turn of the millennium and released their first English album "Spin the World" late last year. It's sung in all English and much of the set list tonight would be representative of it with a few Thai songs were thrown in for good measure.

I wasn't entirely sure what to expect when they came on stage but as I saw them walk in wearing suits I was sure it was going to be good. Vocalist Karinyawat Durongjirakan (aka Foet) with his slicked back hair and sunglasses immediately commanded the stage with scepter in hand. He would get into the music too with tambourine as well as joining drummer Settharat Pancgchunan (Auto) for a bit later in the set. Bassist Atirath Pintong (Gak) had to take off his leather jacket after a few songs since things were getting heated and showed off his guns. Guitarist Janevit Chanpanyawong (Vit) prowled the right side of the stage and held it down. Formally the band is a four-man unit but tonight they had two additional session musicians in the form of a DJ and an additional guitarist nestled in the back of the stage.

The band opened up with "MRT" and continued on with a lot of songs from "Spin the World." "And We Go," "Sky Burning Stars," "I Know, I Know," "Spin the World," and a few in Thai. I could have swore I heard "Give It All to You" but maybe that was just during the interval between Kiha and The Faces and Slot Machine. The band ended with an onstage photo of them and the crowd all with the pyramidesque thumb-and-forefingers-touching in the air.

I think this band could go far with some playtime in America. Foet said that it was hard writing in English but you can't at all. They sound just as good as any of the bands played on American radio right now. I can easily see (or hear) them being in the mix.

MIYAVI

As the third act began guitarist extraordinaire Miyavi walked out of the blue-tinged fog. He should be no stranger to American fans and in fact this marks his 15th anniversary in the scene. He's a showman who has played in the band Due le Quartz and has bumped shoulders (and shared the stage) with the likes of X Japan's Yoshiki and Sugizo and Malice Mizer's Gackt in the supergroup SKIN.

Miyavi's animated style of guitar playing makes for an entertaining one-man whirlwind as he spins and dances across the stage while doing his trademark finger-slapping. Tonight he would be accompanied by a DJ and a drummer but make no mistake: Miyavi is the main attraction. He wore a long dark overcoat that showed just his arms and feet for the extended version of opening song "Raise Me Up." As he transitioned to "Ain't No Sunshine" he stripped off the overcoat, bared his tattooed arms, and the show went from there.

He managed to pack a whopping 17 songs into the just over one hour of playtime on stage. More than a few songs from his newest album "Fire Bird" were featured on the setlist but snuck on some special ones like "Youth of a Nation" that he played at SXSW. Even though he might not have a full band behind him he makes it work. He dips into a modern sound incorporating electronic/breakbeat and even a bit of dubstep. It's a far cry from the visual kei of Due le Quartz where even back then he dominated with his skills. Miyavi has evolved and much like the phoenix has been reborn.

For his 15th anniversary he had a message for the crowd: "Thanks for believing in me, and helping me believe in myself." More than a couple of times had the legendary guitarist bantering back and forth with the crowd and replying with "I fucking love you too."

He closed the night off with his rendition of "Mission Impossible" and one more song titled "What's My Name?" More of a gesture than anything since everyone knows it by now. As the show ended he waded into the crowd to greet fans and gave away the setlist to one lucky girl.
[[Photos go here]]

I've been telling my friends that this is a concert worth seeing. One had intended to just show up for Miyavi but I urged him to come early and see all three bands. I'm going to stick to that judgment: if you're in this concert's path, come on by. Tickets are a steal and you get way more than the monetary cost might suggest. Three world class acts on one bill.

The Asia on Tour concert series continues on to San Diego on Tuesday. A full list of American dates are as follows:

4/1 Vancouver, BC (CAN) - Venue
4/4 Seattle, WA - The Neptune Theater
4/6 San Francisco, CA - The Fillmore
4/7 Anaheim, CA - The Parish at House of Blues Anaheim
4/9 Los Angeles, CA - The Belasco Theater
4/11 San Diego, CA - House of Blues San Diego
4/14 Dallas, TX - The Cambridge Room at House of Blues Dallas
4/15 Houston, TX - The Bronze Peacock at House of Blues Houston
4/18 Atlanta, GA - Variety Playhouse
4/21 Philadelphia, PA - The Foundry - Philadelphia
4/22 Boston, MA - Brighton Music Hall
4/23 New York, NY - Irving Plaza
4/25 Chicago, IL - House of Blues Chicago
4/26 Toronto, ON (CAN) - The Phoenix Concert Theatre

For more information and tickets visit: http://www.livenation.com/artists/167727/live-nation-presents-asia-on-tour-feat-miyavi

Sound absurd enough? Well, it would be, if it wasn't Love Live.

Love Live, if you have been living under a rock, is a hyper-popular mixed-media franchise with a group of nine singing girls at its core. This particular viewing is of the second generation of girls called "Aquors." I've been following the franchise for almost two years now and saw some of the members of Aquors at Anime Expo last year which you can read about here. The full title of the live concert is "Aquors First LoveLive! ~Step! ZERO to ONE!~."

These girls are the manifestations (or more accurately their real-life counterparts) of the anime characters they portray and are the targets of adulation and adoration of hundreds of thousands if not millions. There's a game, there's anime, manga, lots of goods to buy, and of course, concerts. At the beginning of the first generation they took place in small venues but now instantly sell out stadiums. The 17,000 person capacity Yokohama Arena would be the location of Aquors' first big show.

While many locations in Asia were lucky enough to have live simultaneous broadcasts America was deemed to be too far in both distance and time zone to do the same. A one-week delay was the best option available and that's what led me to the Lark Theater is Larkspur, just north of San Francisco. I'm glad that this theater was selected as a screening location because the next closest was six hours away in Los Angeles. A special giveaway postcard was included for every concertgoer. It depicts all nine girls with a simulated autograph from each in metallic gold ink.

The broadcasts were of day one of the two-day concert series from Japan. The reason this is of note is because of an incident where Rikako Aida (the voice of Riko Sakurauchi) flubbed her piano playing during the song "Omoi yo Hitotsu ni Nare." The crowd here acknowledged this with chants of "Rikako! It's okay! It's day one!" As each girl was introduced the crowd in the theater broke into applause and cheers. Each girl has her own theme color and fans who were able to do so switched between them rapidly.

If you've never been to an idol concert there's a lot of crowd participation. The first thing you'll notice is the prevalence of light. At a normal concert in America the most illumination from the audience might be lighters in the air. In Asia, and carried over to America, are an abundance of glowsticks and multicolor pen lights. Songs have specific vocal calls by the audience and there are special motions with which to wave your lights in the air. The crowd becomes an ocean of undulating light and it's a lot of fun to get into it alongside so many others.

The concert would be split up into three sections: full group, sub-unit songs, and full group again. Aquors is split up into three subgroups called AZALEA, CYaRon, and Guilty Kiss. Each subunit sang their two specific songs and showed off their costumes. Being that Aquors is fairly new the setlist contained practically all of their current songs in one long block. My three favorite songs were sandwiched right next to each other: Guilty Kiss' "Strawberry Trapper" and "Guilty Night, Guilty Kiss" and the Aquors song "Mijuku Dreamer." I consider "Mijuku Dreamer" to be one of Aquors' best. It's a song about pushing forward, growing, and facing things together. It's very representative of the trials and tribulations both the anime girls and real-life counterparts face.

While I've seen previous Love Live concerts before this is the first time I've ever seen it in its entirety and in its correct order. The animated portions were fun to see even if I couldn't understand them all fluently. On videos they are usually separated out from the main bulk of the concert but during an actual live they help conceal costume changes and allow for breaks which for a physically exhausting multi-hour show are essential.

I had a great time and hope that someday I'll be able to see them perform live.

Set list as follows:

Aozora Jumping Heart
Koi ni Naritai AQUARIUM
Aqours☆HEROES
Kimeta yo Hand in Hand
Daisuki dattara Daijoubu!
Yume de Yozora o Terashitai
Genki Zenkai DAY! DAY! DAY! (CYaRon)
Yozora wa Nandemo Shitteru no? (CYaRon)
Torikoriko PLEASE!! (AZALEA)
Tokimeki Bunruigaku (AZALEA)
Strawberry Trapper (Guilty Kiss)
Guilty Night, Guilty Kiss! (Guilty Kiss)
Mijuku DREAMER
Omoi yo Hitotsu ni Nare
Todokanai Hoshi da to Shitemo
MIRAI TICKET
Kimi no Kokoro wa Kagayaiteru kai?

ENCORE:

Pops heart de Odorun da mon!
Yume Kataru yori Yume Utaou
Step! ZERO to ONE

Get the information below.

Tour Info

NAGOYA

Dates

August 5th (Sat) OPEN 5:00PM / START 6:00PM
August 6th (Sun) OPEN 3:00PM / START 4:00PM

Location Nippongaishi Hall

KOBE

Dates

August 19th (Sat) OPEN 5:00PM / START 6:00PM
August 20th (Sun) OPEN 3:00PM / START 4:00PM

Location World Memorial Hall

SAITAMA

Dates

September 29th (Fri) OPEN 4:00PM / START 6:00PM
September 30th (Sat) OPEN 3:00PM / START 5:00PM

Location MetLife Dome (before Seibu Prince Dome)

Official Goods

{gallery}Love Live{/gallery}

AQOURS AND THE IDOLM@STER CINDERELLA GIRLS JOIN ANISONG WORLD MATSURI AT ANIME EXPO 2017!

{youtube}1XAIRLi3eHw{/youtube}

ABOUT AQOURS

Aqours (pronounced “aqua”) is the school idol group formed in Uchiura, Shizuoka, for the multimedia project “Love Live! Sunshine!!”. The project started in April 2015 and spread across various media including CDs, live events, magazines, and mobile apps. The first single “Kimi no Kokoro wa Kagayaiteru kai?” was released in October 2015. The TV anime aired in summer 2016, and they had their first live shows at Yokohama Arena on February 25 and 26, 2017, which attracted 12,000 fans each day. Their future project “Aqours Next Step! Project” includes a second anime season, tour, and CD releases.

[Special Note] Aquors will perform at Anisong World Matsuri at Anime Expo 2017 with all 9 members of the team!

Anisong World Matsuri “Japan Kawaii Live” at Anime Expo 2017 Tickets and Info.

Official Website

iTunes US

The band probably does not need any introduction if you've ever watched Naruto; they provided one of the earliest OP songs as well as one of the movie's themes. If you haven't watched Naruto you've probably seen or heard them in one of their eight albums. Their most recent was 2015's "Wonder Future" so they're due for another coming up.

It's hard to believe we're finally going to see them stateside but I suppose it was inevitable. They did spend a couple of weeks in New York back in 2010 but nothing came from it concert-wise.

One thing I'm worried about is the choice of venue; the Teragram Ballroom has a max capacity of 600 people. For their first show ever in the country during an anime convention that gathered 100,000 people last year and in Los Angeles to begin with this seems a little insufficient.

Tickets go on sale Tuesday 5/23 at 10AM PST.

http://www.teragramballroom.com/event/1491373-asian-kung-fu-generation-los-angeles

EDIT 6/6: Tickets are up and they are plentiful! All sections of the venue are open for tickets so it looks like the 2300 max capacity will come into play. Get them while they're hot!

EDIT 5/30: A second show has just been officially announced! It will be at the even closer venue The Novo which you might remember from last year's FLOW and OLDCODEX concerts among other things from previous AX events. The Novo's max capacity is almost four times that of the Teragram at 2300 bodies so getting one of these tickets should be much easier. They should have announced for Tickets go on sale on Tuesday 6/6 at 10am PST.

http://www.thenovodtla.com/events/detail/337332

EDIT 5/23: As expected, tickets went fast. The bulk were reserved in the first minute and a few leaked back out as people's carts expired.

"Starry Wish" Music Video 
{youtube}pmkYEpXbfUA{/youtube}

CD jacket

"Vivid Strike!" CM featuring the ED song

{youtube}URswtdiAQAg{/youtube}

Inori Minase Official Facebook：https://www.facebook.com/InoriMinase 
Source: King Records 

The San Francisco show will be at The Warfield theater on Market Street on January 22 (Sunday).  The band has announced that they will be accompanied by CRUISR, OUR LAST NIGHT, and ACCEPTANCE as support bands. CRUISR will handle New York, Toronto, and Chicago with OUR LAST NIGHT covering California shows and ACCEPTANCE the Seattle show.  The band will then move onward to a huge Japan tour that goes all the way to May.  

ONE OK ROCK has had an ever-evolving sound in the dozen years they have been around and "Ambitions" follows this line.  It's both familiar yet different from their previous efforts and shows a band that does not rest on their laurels and continues to gain traction around the world.  The four-man unit led by Takahiro "Taka" Moriuchi has quickly found themself a place in America thanks to their albums "Zankyo Reference" and "Jinsei×Boku=" and work with franchises including Black Rock Shooter and Rurouni Kenshin.  "Ambitions" will be officially released on January 13 by Fueled by Ramen, a sublabel of the Warner Music Group. There are both Japanese and English language versions.  This marks the second album released as part of the Warner Music Group (the other being 2015's "35xxxv").

Full list of dates as follows:

1/15 New York, NY - Terminal 5
1/17 Toronto, ON (CA) - Revel
1/18 Chicago, IL - Vic Theater
1/21 Los Angeles, CA - The Palladium
1/22 San Francisco, CA - The Warfield
1/24 Seattle, WA - Showbox SoDo

Puffy AmiYumi are one of the most famous music icons in Japan, where they are a household name synonymous with all things pop and fun. Featuring dual vocalists Ami and Yumi, the group has reached enormous success with their pop/rock songs, but are also loved for their effortlessly cool and nonchalant fashion styles. Debuted in 1996, the duo are still in high demand after 20 colorful years, glittered with dozens of commercial endorsements, sold-out tours, and a total of 20 million CDs sold to date.

Tickets are now on sale with a limited number of VIP tickets which includes:

• Early entrance into the venue
• VIP laminate
• Meet & Greet with photo op.

Here's a list of concert dates:

DATE: April 4(Tues) OPEN 7pm / START 8pm
VENUE: The Belasco Theatre (Los Angeles)
Purchase tickets from: Ticketmaster

DATE: April 6(Thurs) OPEN 7pm / START 8pm
VENUE: The Regency Ballroom (San Francisco)
Purchase tickets from: AXS

DATE: April 9(Sun) OPEN 7pm / START 8pm
VENUE: Trees (Dallas)
Tickets from: Ticketfly

Anime Boston - Boston
DATE: Fri March 31- April 2
Guest Info

Official: http://puffyamiyumi.com
FB: https://www.facebook.com/PuffyAmiYumi/
VEVO: http://www.vevo.com/artist/puffy

ALI PROJECT have captivated broad fan base with the innovative melody arrangement, poetic lyrics, dark rock style music, and of course... their sensual gothic look. They’ve combined glamorous ballad, pop, Japanese rock and contemporary art in their music. On March 29, they released their 25th anniversary single “HimikoGaiden” and held an audience. During the audience, they announced the release of their brand new best album in the upcoming June and their tour dates in 2017. Year 2017 will be an active year for ALI PROJECT, both in and outside of Japan!

ALI PROJECT 25th Anniversary Best Album

• Release date: June 21, 2017

ALI PROJECT TOUR 2017

• Sun, June 25 – Maihama Amphitheater, Chiba
• Thu, July 13 – Club Diamond Hall, Nagoya
• Fri, July 14 – Nanba Hatch, Osaka

The latest release from ALI PROJECT – “HimikoGaiden”

Blu-disc edition

 DVD edition

CD INDEX:
01 HimikoGaiden
02 HimikoGaiden (off vocal)

Available on iTunes US

Watch a short Music clip below:

{youtube}fjrvWaXJj_A{/youtube}

The North American west coast kicks things off with a total of six shows before Asia on Tour heads east cutting across the lower states like Texas and Georgia before heading north to New York and eventually terminating in Toronto. The three bands will then head to Europe and play in the UK, Germany, and France, among others. Tonight's show is the third show of the tour and the second stop in America.

KIHA AND THE FACES

Leading things off was South Korea's Kiha and the Faces. Frontman Chang Kiha serves as the namesake of this indie band. They don't fly around the stage like many rock bands I've seen but that's part of their charm; their quirky stage presence alongside the folk rock they produce is what makes Kiha and The Faces Kiha and The Faces. I can't speak a lick of Korean, but you get the feeling that the band is about fun and watching their music videos helps confirm that idea. The crowd was receptive to the total package and a lot of people in the audience seemed to know them already. That's one of the best parts about tours in the US: bands in their home countries might be hard to see (or hard to get near) but here you can have a much more intimate show and be closer than you'd think.

The most animated member of the group is Kiha himself and he led the crowd in singing parts of the song "The Smell's Gone." Another one people could sing along to was a cover of Talking Heads' "Once in a Lifetime." Their songs are full of funk and bass and make for a good way to kick off the night and ease into things. The songs are catchy and fun and even for someone who can't understand them I couldn't help but tap my toes and bob my head to the rhythm.

SLOT MACHINE

I'll admit I did not know of Thai band Slot Machine until looking up this concert. Their Wikipedia article reads like advertising copy (and chances are it is) but I'll be damned if they don't live up to it. The band has been around in some shape or form ever since the turn of the millennium and released their first English album "Spin the World" late last year. It's sung in all English and much of the set list tonight would be representative of it with a few Thai songs were thrown in for good measure.

I wasn't entirely sure what to expect when they came on stage but as I saw them walk in wearing suits I was sure it was going to be good. Vocalist Karinyawat Durongjirakan (aka Foet) with his slicked back hair and sunglasses immediately commanded the stage with scepter in hand. He would get into the music too with tambourine as well as joining drummer Settharat Pancgchunan (Auto) for a bit later in the set. Bassist Atirath Pintong (Gak) had to take off his leather jacket after a few songs since things were getting heated and showed off his guns. Guitarist Janevit Chanpanyawong (Vit) prowled the right side of the stage and held it down. Formally the band is a four-man unit but tonight they had two additional session musicians in the form of a DJ and an additional guitarist nestled in the back of the stage.

The band opened up with "MRT" and continued on with a lot of songs from "Spin the World." "And We Go," "Sky Burning Stars," "I Know, I Know," "Spin the World," and a few in Thai. I could have swore I heard "Give It All to You" but maybe that was just during the interval between Kiha and The Faces and Slot Machine. The band ended with an onstage photo of them and the crowd all with the pyramidesque thumb-and-forefingers-touching in the air.

I think this band could go far with some playtime in America. Foet said that it was hard writing in English but you can't at all. They sound just as good as any of the bands played on American radio right now. I can easily see (or hear) them being in the mix.

MIYAVI

As the third act began guitarist extraordinaire Miyavi walked out of the blue-tinged fog. He should be no stranger to American fans and in fact this marks his 15th anniversary in the scene. He's a showman who has played in the band Due le Quartz and has bumped shoulders (and shared the stage) with the likes of X Japan's Yoshiki and Sugizo and Malice Mizer's Gackt in the supergroup SKIN.

Miyavi's animated style of guitar playing makes for an entertaining one-man whirlwind as he spins and dances across the stage while doing his trademark finger-slapping. Tonight he would be accompanied by a DJ and a drummer but make no mistake: Miyavi is the main attraction. He wore a long dark overcoat that showed just his arms and feet for the extended version of opening song "Raise Me Up." As he transitioned to "Ain't No Sunshine" he stripped off the overcoat, bared his tattooed arms, and the show went from there.

He managed to pack a whopping 17 songs into the just over one hour of playtime on stage. More than a few songs from his newest album "Fire Bird" were featured on the setlist but snuck on some special ones like "Youth of a Nation" that he played at SXSW. Even though he might not have a full band behind him he makes it work. He dips into a modern sound incorporating electronic/breakbeat and even a bit of dubstep. It's a far cry from the visual kei of Due le Quartz where even back then he dominated with his skills. Miyavi has evolved and much like the phoenix has been reborn.

For his 15th anniversary he had a message for the crowd: "Thanks for believing in me, and helping me believe in myself." More than a couple of times had the legendary guitarist bantering back and forth with the crowd and replying with "I fucking love you too."

He closed the night off with his rendition of "Mission Impossible" and one more song titled "What's My Name?" More of a gesture than anything since everyone knows it by now. As the show ended he waded into the crowd to greet fans and gave away the setlist to one lucky girl.
[[Photos go here]]

I've been telling my friends that this is a concert worth seeing. One had intended to just show up for Miyavi but I urged him to come early and see all three bands. I'm going to stick to that judgment: if you're in this concert's path, come on by. Tickets are a steal and you get way more than the monetary cost might suggest. Three world class acts on one bill.

The Asia on Tour concert series continues on to San Diego on Tuesday. A full list of American dates are as follows:

4/1 Vancouver, BC (CAN) - Venue
4/4 Seattle, WA - The Neptune Theater
4/6 San Francisco, CA - The Fillmore
4/7 Anaheim, CA - The Parish at House of Blues Anaheim
4/9 Los Angeles, CA - The Belasco Theater
4/11 San Diego, CA - House of Blues San Diego
4/14 Dallas, TX - The Cambridge Room at House of Blues Dallas
4/15 Houston, TX - The Bronze Peacock at House of Blues Houston
4/18 Atlanta, GA - Variety Playhouse
4/21 Philadelphia, PA - The Foundry - Philadelphia
4/22 Boston, MA - Brighton Music Hall
4/23 New York, NY - Irving Plaza
4/25 Chicago, IL - House of Blues Chicago
4/26 Toronto, ON (CAN) - The Phoenix Concert Theatre

For more information and tickets visit: http://www.livenation.com/artists/167727/live-nation-presents-asia-on-tour-feat-miyavi

Sound absurd enough? Well, it would be, if it wasn't Love Live.

Love Live, if you have been living under a rock, is a hyper-popular mixed-media franchise with a group of nine singing girls at its core. This particular viewing is of the second generation of girls called "Aquors." I've been following the franchise for almost two years now and saw some of the members of Aquors at Anime Expo last year which you can read about here. The full title of the live concert is "Aquors First LoveLive! ~Step! ZERO to ONE!~."

These girls are the manifestations (or more accurately their real-life counterparts) of the anime characters they portray and are the targets of adulation and adoration of hundreds of thousands if not millions. There's a game, there's anime, manga, lots of goods to buy, and of course, concerts. At the beginning of the first generation they took place in small venues but now instantly sell out stadiums. The 17,000 person capacity Yokohama Arena would be the location of Aquors' first big show.

While many locations in Asia were lucky enough to have live simultaneous broadcasts America was deemed to be too far in both distance and time zone to do the same. A one-week delay was the best option available and that's what led me to the Lark Theater is Larkspur, just north of San Francisco. I'm glad that this theater was selected as a screening location because the next closest was six hours away in Los Angeles. A special giveaway postcard was included for every concertgoer. It depicts all nine girls with a simulated autograph from each in metallic gold ink.

The broadcasts were of day one of the two-day concert series from Japan. The reason this is of note is because of an incident where Rikako Aida (the voice of Riko Sakurauchi) flubbed her piano playing during the song "Omoi yo Hitotsu ni Nare." The crowd here acknowledged this with chants of "Rikako! It's okay! It's day one!" As each girl was introduced the crowd in the theater broke into applause and cheers. Each girl has her own theme color and fans who were able to do so switched between them rapidly.

If you've never been to an idol concert there's a lot of crowd participation. The first thing you'll notice is the prevalence of light. At a normal concert in America the most illumination from the audience might be lighters in the air. In Asia, and carried over to America, are an abundance of glowsticks and multicolor pen lights. Songs have specific vocal calls by the audience and there are special motions with which to wave your lights in the air. The crowd becomes an ocean of undulating light and it's a lot of fun to get into it alongside so many others.

The concert would be split up into three sections: full group, sub-unit songs, and full group again. Aquors is split up into three subgroups called AZALEA, CYaRon, and Guilty Kiss. Each subunit sang their two specific songs and showed off their costumes. Being that Aquors is fairly new the setlist contained practically all of their current songs in one long block. My three favorite songs were sandwiched right next to each other: Guilty Kiss' "Strawberry Trapper" and "Guilty Night, Guilty Kiss" and the Aquors song "Mijuku Dreamer." I consider "Mijuku Dreamer" to be one of Aquors' best. It's a song about pushing forward, growing, and facing things together. It's very representative of the trials and tribulations both the anime girls and real-life counterparts face.

While I've seen previous Love Live concerts before this is the first time I've ever seen it in its entirety and in its correct order. The animated portions were fun to see even if I couldn't understand them all fluently. On videos they are usually separated out from the main bulk of the concert but during an actual live they help conceal costume changes and allow for breaks which for a physically exhausting multi-hour show are essential.

I had a great time and hope that someday I'll be able to see them perform live.

Set list as follows:

Aozora Jumping Heart
Koi ni Naritai AQUARIUM
Aqours☆HEROES
Kimeta yo Hand in Hand
Daisuki dattara Daijoubu!
Yume de Yozora o Terashitai
Genki Zenkai DAY! DAY! DAY! (CYaRon)
Yozora wa Nandemo Shitteru no? (CYaRon)
Torikoriko PLEASE!! (AZALEA)
Tokimeki Bunruigaku (AZALEA)
Strawberry Trapper (Guilty Kiss)
Guilty Night, Guilty Kiss! (Guilty Kiss)
Mijuku DREAMER
Omoi yo Hitotsu ni Nare
Todokanai Hoshi da to Shitemo
MIRAI TICKET
Kimi no Kokoro wa Kagayaiteru kai?

ENCORE:

Pops heart de Odorun da mon!
Yume Kataru yori Yume Utaou
Step! ZERO to ONE

Get the information below.

Tour Info

NAGOYA

Dates

August 5th (Sat) OPEN 5:00PM / START 6:00PM
August 6th (Sun) OPEN 3:00PM / START 4:00PM

Location Nippongaishi Hall

KOBE

Dates

August 19th (Sat) OPEN 5:00PM / START 6:00PM
August 20th (Sun) OPEN 3:00PM / START 4:00PM

Location World Memorial Hall

SAITAMA

Dates

September 29th (Fri) OPEN 4:00PM / START 6:00PM
September 30th (Sat) OPEN 3:00PM / START 5:00PM

Location MetLife Dome (before Seibu Prince Dome)

Official Goods

{gallery}Love Live{/gallery}

AQOURS AND THE IDOLM@STER CINDERELLA GIRLS JOIN ANISONG WORLD MATSURI AT ANIME EXPO 2017!

{youtube}1XAIRLi3eHw{/youtube}

ABOUT AQOURS

Aqours (pronounced “aqua”) is the school idol group formed in Uchiura, Shizuoka, for the multimedia project “Love Live! Sunshine!!”. The project started in April 2015 and spread across various media including CDs, live events, magazines, and mobile apps. The first single “Kimi no Kokoro wa Kagayaiteru kai?” was released in October 2015. The TV anime aired in summer 2016, and they had their first live shows at Yokohama Arena on February 25 and 26, 2017, which attracted 12,000 fans each day. Their future project “Aqours Next Step! Project” includes a second anime season, tour, and CD releases.

[Special Note] Aquors will perform at Anisong World Matsuri at Anime Expo 2017 with all 9 members of the team!

Anisong World Matsuri “Japan Kawaii Live” at Anime Expo 2017 Tickets and Info.

Official Website

iTunes US

The band probably does not need any introduction if you've ever watched Naruto; they provided one of the earliest OP songs as well as one of the movie's themes. If you haven't watched Naruto you've probably seen or heard them in one of their eight albums. Their most recent was 2015's "Wonder Future" so they're due for another coming up.

It's hard to believe we're finally going to see them stateside but I suppose it was inevitable. They did spend a couple of weeks in New York back in 2010 but nothing came from it concert-wise.

One thing I'm worried about is the choice of venue; the Teragram Ballroom has a max capacity of 600 people. For their first show ever in the country during an anime convention that gathered 100,000 people last year and in Los Angeles to begin with this seems a little insufficient.

Tickets go on sale Tuesday 5/23 at 10AM PST.

http://www.teragramballroom.com/event/1491373-asian-kung-fu-generation-los-angeles

EDIT 6/6: Tickets are up and they are plentiful! All sections of the venue are open for tickets so it looks like the 2300 max capacity will come into play. Get them while they're hot!

EDIT 5/30: A second show has just been officially announced! It will be at the even closer venue The Novo which you might remember from last year's FLOW and OLDCODEX concerts among other things from previous AX events. The Novo's max capacity is almost four times that of the Teragram at 2300 bodies so getting one of these tickets should be much easier. They should have announced for Tickets go on sale on Tuesday 6/6 at 10am PST.

http://www.thenovodtla.com/events/detail/337332

EDIT 5/23: As expected, tickets went fast. The bulk were reserved in the first minute and a few leaked back out as people's carts expired.