LOILO at Live House Zirco Tokyo (Live Report)

photo credit @s_c_s_v

LOILO
Live House Zirco Tokyo – September 23, 2024
Live Report by Todd Nelson

LOILO performed at Live House Zirco Tokyo on September 23rd. This particular show had some special significance and importance to it – this was LOILO’s first one man live, titled “CALL ME RELIGION”, and the very first one man live for a number of the band members. LOILO is a six-piece rock band consisting of Kohaku on vocals, Ryosuke on bass, Kohei on guitar, Nana on keyboards, Mamoru on drums, and Rin on Violin. In addition to being a solo concert, this show would be the first time that many of the band’s fans would be hearing material performed from their recently released Alice and Roxanne EP live, since this was the band’s first Tokyo appearance since the EP was released.

LOILO differs from many bands both in its lyrical content and how that message is delivered during their live performances. This will be covered in more detail in a soon to be published interview with the band. To summarize, attending a LOILO live is a communal, cathartic experience, deeply feeling the messages expressed in their songs. These emotions the band delivers to the audience through their songs encompasses – jealousy, hatred, pain, sadness, resentment, but also love. As Kohaku puts it “some of these songs will make the listener feel uneasy”.

photo credit @s_c_s_v

This one man live was my 3rd time seeing LOILO perform live. Everything mentioned in the previous paragraph was turned up to 11 for this performance. The band performed their entire catalog along with two instrumental pieces. It will be more apparent when covered in more detail below, but the band put out an enormous amount of thought and effort for this live, determining the order in which the songs would be performed, but also dramatically rearranging some, in order to achieve a single immersive experience. Everything flowed seamlessly in terms of feeling and mood.

Every single song was performed beautifully, but if I wrote about every song in the setlist individually, I believe this report would become quite tedious. So, if a particular song is not mentioned it is no slight at all.

photo credit @s_c_s_v

The live started with a heavy instrumental, serious in tone to set the atmosphere for what was to come, at its conclusion Kohaku entered on stage as the band dived into the rock driven and satirical “You Are My Religion”. This was the perfect opener, as I mentioned the band’s lives are similar to a communal experience, the audience was about to receive LOILO’s sermon for the evening.

The band kept the high energy going, performing the visual-kei inspired “Courage”. Although this track is new and the first time it was performed in Tokyo, most of the fans knew the choreography (featuring waving, clapping, dancing, and head banging!), which the band introduced on their X account a few weeks ago.

After three blistering songs Kohaku gave her first MC of the evening:
“At last, this day has come. I struggled for two years since we started “LOILO”, there were also many wonderful moments. Yet there was something twice as painful as that. To be honest, there were times when I felt that we couldn’t be together anymore, but at the end of the agony, I felt the sparkle of a moment that I felt because of these six. The sparkle cannot be changed into anything, and it reaches today. We are not close friends in music. Each of them is an accomplice of six people who colluded to pursue their aesthetics in a different direction.
Welcome to our religion
CALL ME RELIGION
‘6 of us are LOILO’ ”

photo credit @s_c_s_v

The band shifted tone and slowed the pace a bit with the next three songs, “Midnight Ballerina” (the band’s first single), “Will forever, I loved you”, and “Storyteller”. All very moving covering the sadder themes of love.

The next section that followed was a wonderful surprise. Rearranged acoustic versions of “FRIDAY BUTTERFLY” and “In a World of Ashes” were performed. These stripped versions were slowed down and sung in a different style which fit in perfectly with the overall mood and tone of the show. While the original versions are great in their own right, these rearrangements were absolutely beautiful, a true treat for those able to attend this event. I hope that these will be made available in some form so that everyone will be able to listen to them at some point. Rysosuke played with an upright bass for these two songs, Kohaku’s singing style on the two tracks were overflowing with emotion giving true meaning to the lyrics being uttered – this paired with raw sound of the acoustic instrumentation was one of the highlights of the show for me. I can’t say enough how wonderful these rearrangements by Ryosuke are.

photo credit @s_c_s_v

Following the acoustic section, the second instrumental of the evening aptly titled “The End of An Era, and The Beginning”, because of what was about to come next as the band entered the last stretch of their set. This ‘Beginning’ of course is their sounds from their latest EP as “THE EMPTY CRADLE” and “Supreme love for Ester” were played next. “THE EMPTY CRADLE” of course is the band’s lead single and is also performed in English. Kohaku’s live vocals in English were outstanding. “Supreme love for Ester” of course has long been a fan favorite. another of the band’s tracks with some great choreography for fan interaction. I especially loved watching Rin jump up and down during the chorus for this song.

photo credit @s_c_s_v

As much as I loved the acoustic set my favorite part of the show may have been the last stretch before the final song of the evening. “RADIO DEMON” is one of my favorite songs by the band and I was curious how this song would sound live due to the number of things going in this track on the studio version. It sounded absolutely spot on. The various effects as well as the shifting ‘personalities’ with the vocalization all performed wonderfully.

“Dying Toeshoes” was also a big highlight for me as it is my favorite LOILO song, it just hits right emotionally, and the band performs it so well every time I hear it.

The audience was finally able to vocalize some emotional release from everything they had been taking in when “Life-size” was played. There was some nice banter back and forth prior to the song with each member getting the audience to sing the chorus.

photo credit @s_c_s_v

Prior to the closing song for the live Kohaku gave the most emotional speech of the evening. I know a large portion of the audience including myself teared up a bit, and for good reason:

“12 years have passed since I started making music. Why have I never done a solo concert during that time? Because I couldn’t. Time passes so quickly. The friends who gathered with me, the same comrades also soon leave. Music activities were only fleeting. But today I achieved it. For me today is the most important day of my life. This will be the last song. I decided to sing this song on this special day. ‘My sister is in heaven’. This song is about an older sister who was never born speaking from heaven to her younger sister who was born but tried to commit suicide and stopping her. This actually happened to me, I have an older sister who was never born. I felt her presence even before I knew about it. When I was young, I tried to jump in front of a train. Then I heard her voice, and I was able to go home. From there I started making music and I am singing here today. I dedicate the last song of this special day to my family and my sister in heaven. Please listen to it while thinking of your loved ones. And don’t forget today.”

What followed was one of the most emotional and heartfelt vocal performances I have ever heard. “My sister is in heaven” was so moving, you could feel the emotion in the vocals and the accompanying instrumentation matched that emotion perfectly. I couldn’t think of a better way for the concert to have concluded.

photo credit @s_c_s_v

LOILO’s stories and feelings from this special one man were received and delivered by the band beautifully.

LOILO has only been around for a little over 2 years now, but even in that small amount of time the strides and the growth the band has been made have been significant. I was impressed with them the prior 2 times I saw them, but at this one man they were at the top of their game, playing as one cohesive unit. Throughout the entire set every member’s sound stood out and was very clear, yet at the same time not overpowering or drowning out anyone else. The sound was absolutely superb. Rin’s violin playing, Nana’s keys, Kohei’s fret work, Mamoru’s drumming and excellent fills, Ryosuke’s bass playing, and Kohaku’s range of vocals and emotions all working together for something truly exceptional, heartfelt, and unique. I look forward to what the future holds for them.

LOILO
Live House Zirco Tokyo – September 23, 2024
Setlist

1. Proof of innocence in the dark (instrumental)
2. You Are My Religion
3. Courage
4. Think in the Day, Dream in the Night
-MC-
5. Midnight Ballerina
6. Will forever, I loved you
7. Storyteller
-MC-
8. FRIDAY BUTTERFLY (Acoustic version)
9. In a World of Ashes (Acoustic version)
10. The End of An Era, and The Beginning
11. THE EMPTY CRADLE
12. Supreme love for Ester
-MC-
13. RADIO DEMON
14. Dying Toeshoes
15. Life-size
16. Say Lace
-MC-
17. My sister is in heaven