LOILO at Shibuya Live Stage Guilty (Live Report)

LOILO
Shibuya Live Stage Guilty – November 1, 2025
Live Report by Todd Nelson

LOILO performed at Shibuya Live Stage Guilty on November 1st. This show was LOILO’s second one-man live, titled “THE ORDER OF ÆTHER”. 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.

Propaganda from The Order

LOILO differs from many bands both in its lyrical content and how those ideas are delivered in their shows. Their live performances are known for communal, cathartic experiences, providing deep felt messages in their songs. For this particular performance the band explored and integrated additional elements of entertainment to immerse the audience experience even further. From the very start when the 2nd one-man live was first announced, the band made it very clear that this was not going to be an ordinary music performance. New visuals of the members were released, each one branded with an ominous looking tattoo, and all clothed in white ritualistic robes. Even the title of the live – “THE ORDER OF ÆTHER”, was causing curiosity among fans.

What followed leading up to the live event itself further fueled anticipation and speculation. A couple of movie-like teaser trailers were released, suggesting something sinister underneath it all:

“[Cult “THE ORDER OF ÆTHER (TOOR)]

We have come to know the truth.
That the world we were born and raised in was a cult organization that conducts human experiments.
The cult is carrying out a plan to administer a hallucinogenic drug for schizophrenia, which they developed independently, in order to create members without ego.

Six men and women are selected as the first test subjects.

November 1st, Shibuya
This performance is TOOR’s first PR activity.”

In addition, vocalist Kohaku stated that the event would feature:
“A story of six men and women ensnared by a cult religion, transcending the framework of a band live performance by incorporating elements of theater, musicals, and various entertainment – a small orchestral concert“

She also added: “I started doing ballet, flexibility training, and muscle workouts again”, “We’ll probably put on a performance like nothing you’ve ever seen at any band’s live.”

I have never seen anything done like this before leading up to a concert. The band was sharing on X how they were rehearsing almost daily up until the day of the show. My anticipation was very high wondering exactly what I would be witnessing.

An unfortunate event occurred a few days before the live – bass player Ryosuke broke a bone in his leg. This however did not deter Ryosuke or the other members – “We’ll help each other to deliver the 100% we were originally supposed to be able to do. We’ll deliver more than that!“

For something so different and ambitious I felt that it was important that I ‘set the stage’ so to speak. So as far as the event itself is concerned, how was it? Did it meet expectations? Despite Ryosuke’s setback I do not think they could have delivered anything better.

Prelude

Before the curtain is raised a trailer from The Order of Æther is played on a screen in the venue – the message: you can find purpose and happiness through The Order and Mother Æther. The trailer ends abruptly with an ominous tone and the symbol of The Order against a black background. The dark mood has been set.

Act I

What followed were seamlessly interwoven elements of theater, song, and dance. I am not going to go into the plot details of the story that vocalist Kohaku created, but I will say that the band members and actors in the acting segments were excellent in their performances and the story blended very well with the songs selected for this portion of the live. The opening song, “Sink into a dream”, was beautiful, powerful, and haunting and set the tone for the first act. It was the song’s debut, a total surprise and special treat. I need to hear it again – if I remember correctly, it seemed that each member had an isolated portion in the song where their instrument (including vocals) stood out – an absolutely wonderful song.

Just like from my live report of LOILO’s one-man last year, one thing that hasn’t changed is that every single song was performed beautifully, but again, if I wrote about every song in detail, I believe this report would become quite tedious, so I have kept things brief.

“THE EMPTY CRADLE” followed, a perfect choice to continue the with the established atmosphere – again the sound here was crisp and on point, the keyboard intro from Nana, followed by Rin’s violin and then Mamoru’s drums kicking in along with choral vocals – two excellent songs to set the stage.

For Kohaku’s first MC of the evening, she spoke in character as a member of The Order:
“We expressed our gratitude to everyone for coming to the very first concert of the Æther Cult. The six of us lost our families when we were young, but the great leader Mother Æther saved us and gave us the greatest blessing — music. Every human being possesses a hidden, radiant talent within them. We hope this concert will help everyone realize that inner light.”

The members then had all of us participate with The Order’s greeting and hand gesture – “Gokigenyou, Mother Æther.”

The band then dove right into two of their more aggressive tracks “Deviant Lover” followed by “RADIO DEMON”. Red lighting hit the stage to match the mood. Despite being stationary due to his injury, Ryosuke’s aura made up for it exuding energy in his playing. When she wasn’t standing behind the microphone singing, Kohaku was dancing with passion and precision. She has had dance elements before in past performances, but it was apparent that this night she has taken it to a higher level. I especially enjoyed the choreography changes in “Deviant Lover”, a favorite of mine to begin with since it features Nihon Buyō (fan dancing). Also, for these two songs in particular, Kohei really was able to let loose and be creative with some scorching phonics and tone.

Vocalist Kohaku’s tale resumes with another scene, WHAT exactly are they drinking?!?!

The band resumed their music portion with the staple “You Are My Religion” and “EVA”. I was amazed how these songs that were already written long before the story was even a thought paired so well together. This really hit me during “EVA”, with Rin’s jig like riff, and Ryosuke’s steady bass line, culminating when Kohaku hit the crescendo of the chorus – ‘I will let you escape’.

Two newer songs making their live debuts were also in the first act. First up was the recently released single “Call to EDEN” followed. A stirring song about wishing to once again speak to a loved one who has passed on. Nana’s piano and Kohaku’s vocals filled with emotion were quite touching. Then a song that was released THAT VERY DAY was also performed – “Kenā‘an“. This is an incredibly fast paced and complex song that pushes every member to their limits, seeing it unfold live was one of the biggest highlights of the show.

The story finishes with poison, murder, and betrayal. I do not want to give anything away and it isn’t the focus of this report but for those interested you can read the flyer below if you want to know the plot points. These flyers were handed out at the end of Act I of this show. The amount of creativity and effort that went into this production was amazing, and I’ve only discussed the first half so far.

Intermission

While processing everything that occurred in Act I, another artistic surprise occurred. With the curtain down, radio static filled the live house with the sounds of someone trying to tune in something on an analog radio dial. Various LOILO songs from the past would be tuned in and out, it was very effective and moving. I don’t know if it was intentional or not, but in particular portions of ‘My sister is in heaven’ were played – this song is very meaningful to Kohaku as those who attended the band’s first one-man live would surely know. Echoing and bringing back memories and emotions from that special night. The radio dial continued to change frequencies until finally locking in as the curtain raised – as if to say: ‘OK Act I is over, get ready to retune your heart for what comes next.’

Act II

LOILO once again appeared on stage, this time in more familiar black attire. They opened ACT II by performing their very first two singles, “Midnight Ballerina” and “FRIDAY BUTTERFLY”. Despite being dressed in black the mood was a bit lighter now, especially after “FRIDAY BUTTERFLY”, it brought a totally different vibe into the venue. Kohaku then spoke once again, this time not in character and with something very heartfelt:

“I’ve always wanted to create a performance like what we did in the first act. During LOILO’s three years of activity, I began to feel that we could go beyond the framework of a ‘band’ and express ourselves more freely through art and storytelling. This production was the first step toward that. The story we performed was about orphans who were trapped and lost their lives in a cult. Although this story was a fiction written by me, while creating it we realized we didn’t want it to remain as mere fiction. So, we decided to donate a part of the live show’s proceeds to a children’s care facility. This is still a small step, but one day we hope to hold a charity concert.”

More of the band’s back catalog was emphasized in ACT II, including fan favorite “Supreme love for Ester” – the choreography during the chorus is especially fun in that number. During this segment there was much more movement around stage by the members moving to different sides of the stage, as well as Kohaku moving around no longer standing behind the microphone stand. Symbolic that they are now free unlike Act I of the show where they were under control and restricted – a very subtle and excellent artistic touch.

Prior to the last two songs Kohaku delivered the final MC of the evening:
“When Ryosuke broke his bone, we were really shaken. But we didn’t want to say, ‘Sorry, we can only give you a half-hearted performance because of that.’ Instead, we supported each other — and I truly believe we achieved the same 100% performance we originally aimed for. It has been three years since LOILO started. In the beginning, I was struggling with that affected my eyes illness and mental health. I was taking too much medication, my weight dropped to 36 kg, and I could only rehearse while sitting down. But today, I stand here healthy, looking at this view with my own eyes, and the five members are still beside me. Right now, I am truly happy, and I’m grateful to everyone who has supported us along the way.“

LOILO then closed out the set with “Dying Toeshoes” and “Say Lace”. I personally was very happy about this since “Dying Toeshoes” is my favorite song – something stirs in me every time I hear it especially the bridge near the end of the song. Kohaku was an absolute powerhouse sounding just as strong at the end of the show as the beginning.

I know I am echoing what I reported at last year’s one-man live but for the entire show every member’s sound stood out and was clear, perfectly balanced with the others. Every member was at the top of their game – Rin’s violin, Nana’s keys, Kohei’s fret work, Mamoru’s drumming, Ryosuke’s bass, and Kohaku’s range of vocals and emotions. This band has really gelled into one cohesive unit. I can’t wait to be there for one-man live number three; after what I just witnessed there’s no telling what the band will be planning for that!

Photo Gallery
It was very hard to pick what photos to use for this report, so I have included more below. The setlist information is further down past the Photo Gallery.

Setlist
LOILO
Shibuya Live Stage Guilty – November 1, 2025

1st Act
——–
1.〈Short Play ①〉〜SE〜Sink into a dream
2. THE EMPTY CRADLE
-MC-
3. Deviant Lover
4. RADIO DEMON
〈Short Play ②〉
5. You Are My Religion
6. EVA
〈Short Play ③〉
7. Call to EDEN
-MC-
8. Kenā‘an (oneman arrange)

2nd Act
———
9. 2nd SE~Midnight Barellina
10. FRYDAY BUTTERFLY
-MC-
11. Supreme love for Ester
12. Think in the Day, Dream in the Night
13. In a World of Ashes
-MC-
14. Dying Toeshoes
15. Say Lace