Wow, well what can I say about Babymetal- a J-pop metal band that features three teenage girl singers. Hilarious? Stunning? Exorbitant? To describe Babymetal in one word is impossible, you have to see them and listen to them multiple times to understand. Instead of spending half this review describing their music, just check out this link to understand.
Already creating a die-hard fan base, thousands of dedicated fans lined up outside Hammerstein Ballroom Wednesday night to see the eclectic band play. Upon arrival at Hammerstein Ballroom I saw a wave of misfit fans mesh together. The fifteen year old boy who looked like he leapt from the pages of some sort of manga stood side by side with the forty year old bearded man who looked like he rode his Harley to Hammerstein Ballroom coming from a Metallica concert. The line for this concert was one of the lengthiest I have ever seen. I arrived at 5:30 with the doors opening at 7, anticipating I would be one of the first people in line. I was wrong. There were at least a few hundred ahead of me already. This concert was some serious business.
Once inside, I waited eagerly a few rows away from the front of the stage. There was no opening act, which was a bit surprising but did not bother me so much. However, I can understand fans having an adverse reaction to the absence of an opener to get the juices flowing. The show began around 8:30 when the jumbo screen on stage showed a Star Wars themed introduction which told the story of gods, Babymetal, and their calling to journey to the USA. This segued into the three lead singers of Babymetal rising to the stage and pumping out their first song “Baby Metal Death”. This song was my favorite of the night; partly because it is the one of two songs that have any English lyrics, and partly because it is such a good concert song. It was great to shout “Baby Metal Death! Baby Metal Death!” and have an entire venue scream out the spelling of Babymetal in their best death metal voice. Babymetal is the only band I know that can make the spelling of the word baby so hardcore.
The theatricals of this concert were quite enjoyable. Babymetal packaged a story with their tour which played out from beginning to the end, and even the encore. The choreography was a blast, blending the physical movements of your stereotypical J-pop band with the harsh instrumentals of metal.
While there was so much to love about this concert there are some aspects of it that fell flat. While Babymetal was great, the crowd was less than outstanding(this is referring to those near the front of the stage where I was standing). People were pushy and throwing elbows in selfish attempts to pry their way to the front. And no this was not moshing. In between songs and at instrumentally calm moments, a plethora of people throughout the whole night were blatantly shoving, pushing, and elbowing their way to the front. I have been in rough concert environments and this sort of pushiness is not acceptable. Besides this pocket of obnoxious fans, Babymetal has a fun fan base. I really enjoyed seeing how diverse Babymetal’s fan base was.
The only other minor quibble I had with this concert was that Babymetal’s music falls susceptible to mosh confusion. The crowd seemed befuddled; some fans thought it appropriate to mosh at certain points, others not, and then another group of fans kind of just stood there questioning “Can I mosh to this right now?”
Overall the concert spirited, weird, and a bunch of fun. While the crowd that surrounded me and the lyrics being in Japanese may have limited my experience, this was a great experience and I will be seeing them again next time they come to New York. If you are looking for something a bit weird, off-kilter, and a loads of fun, check out Babymetal.
Favorite moment of the night: A lot of great moments in this one. I have to say that one of my favorite moments was during the introduction when USA was mentioned and everyone started chanting “U.S.A, U.S.A”. I just find it hilariously wonderful that you can get a USA chant going anywhere and everyone will immediately join in.
Real favorite moment of the night: The guitarist performing on the right side of the stage was a joy to watch. He was so interactive with the audience and looked like he was having an immense amount of fun. When the band has fun, I have fun.
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ConsonancevDissonance 