NEMOPHILA "Live (3 songs!) NAONのYAON 2024 " // Audio Engineer & Wifey FIRST-TIME Reaction & Review

[@user-kf5ty3rb8jn]

Hello from Japan. I believe SAKI’s departure from NEMOPHILA was amicable. She was the oldest member of NEMOPHILA, a sisterly figure to the other members, and has been watching over NEMOPHILA’s growth while providing support both behind the scenes and in public. The Budoukan, where they performed live in February this year, is a very historic venue in Japan and a stage that all musicians in Japan dream of. And the announcement of SAKI’s departure from NEMOPHILA was made the month after NEMOPHILA performed at the Budoukan, a major milestone. The NEMOPHILA Budoukan live was decided a year before the event, so I think SAKI’s departure was already decided at that time last year. The lyrics of ODYSSEY, which was released in December last year, seem to send a cheer to SAKI’s departure. When SAKI left, she commented, “I feel like I have fulfilled all the roles I should play,” so she may have judged that “NEMOPHILA can leap forward even without me.” The remaining members commented, “We will continue to operate as a four-member system in NEMOPHILA from now on, and we will express our determination in music.” At the beginning of NEMOPHILA, Hazuki was invited by SAKI to join, and after the Budoukan live, Hazuki commented in a column, “Since I started NEMOPHILA, my determination to take responsibility for my own sound and the lives of each member has grown day by day.” It seemed that she felt she had grown up. When SAKI announced her full-scale start as a solo artist in April this year, she commented, “In NEMOPHILA, as the oldest, I was conscious of the role of supporting other members’ challenges and have been honing my skills as a metal guitarist. After this independence, I want to join various musical activities that I am interested in without limiting the genre.” So far, SAKI has been actively supporting the core part of the Japanese music industry in her own way, so there may have been a part of her activities in NEMOPHILA that was consistent with that. Also, according to someone who went to see NEMOPHILA’s Budoukan live, SAKI was said to have “asked to add the name of her mother, who passed away a few years ago, to the list of live staff.” The five years that SAKI spent working in NEMOPHILA must have been irreplaceable.

[@kawliga4845]

Great reaction you two and from the bottom of my heart thank you again for your condolences and for reacting to this.I was thrilled when you said you would and I knew you two would enjoy it. Me and my family are doing fine and getting through it all. I wrote a longer post earlier but some reason it did not post haha. But yes this being an ampitheater and more a mix crowd to see different bands it was not as crazy as when Nemophila plays their own show. I watched their livestream from one of their shows a week or so ago and that crowd was jumping all over the place haha. It really depends on the crowd and the venue. Also Mayu was even more brutal with the vocals on that show.Also like someone else mentioned Mayu has always played a little guitar and is now playing on a few of the songs live mainly rhythm but she also played a little bit of the solo and some finger tapping with Hazuki on the song life. It was so cool to see. Hazuki has for sure been mentoring her with her guitar playing. They have another new song coming out next month they said and it will be a new ballad actually. I'm sure some of these new songs are going to be on a new album around the corner too. Love these ladies! They always brighten my day. Also again thank you for the reaction I was thrilled to watch it again along with you.

[@musikbyjh]

Thinking of you buddy!!! Anything we can do to put a smile on your face during this rough time. ;-)

[@kawliga4845]

@@musikbyjh Thank you both of you. It means alot.

[@michelm.6033]

My deepest condolences! I’ve lost all of my parents generation and it is difficult. However, time heals all. God bless. 🙏

[@kawliga4845]

@@michelm.6033 Thank you so much.

[@DragonPhlyy]

What a treat Nemophila Saturday let’s go! This was their first live performance without Saki, love them so much!

[@DavidKAnderson]

American expat in Japan here. Japanese concert crowds aren't really "reserved" in my opinion. They tend to have a lot of superfans of the bands at any given show and they gesture in time with every song, sing along at appropriate times, and are _intensely_ focused on the band. But the majority of venues don't allow pits, and the Japanese aren't big on breaking the rules. One of the reasons the culture works so well over here, but I guess it has some downsides (not so much for me: I'm too old and broken for the pit any more!). But we're talking packed, standing-room-only crowds in small, hot "live houses," for the most part. Most Japanese metal/punk musicians that I know that have toured in the US (and Europe) like it for the pits, but also kinda hate it for all the phone recording idiots (not allowed in Japan, and violating that particular rule will get you kicked out). They _don't_ think of US/Euro crowds as more intense (this show, as others have pointed out, is atypical: a lot of bands on the bill are pretty mellow)...Japanese crowds are intensely immersed, less likely to be distracted by their phones or whatever. Bands also spend a LOT more time talking to the crowd over here. They build "MC" time into the setlist. It's a good scene over here for both concert goers and musicians (I'm both, although I've kinda shifted into being more of a fusion player...completely different live vibe from my many years in metal!).

[@musikbyjh]

Excellent (and super helpful) comment, @DavidKAnderson. Appreciate you educating us...this is really good to know!! ❤️🥷🏻🤘🏽

[@kawliga4845]

I agree about them talking more. The last Nemophila stream a week or so ago I watched Mayu talked a lot to the crowd. They had a couple decent breaks where she talked to the crowd. Just wish I understood every word hehe but it still cool to watch.

[@DavidKAnderson]

@@kawliga4845 I'm getting better all the time at understanding spoken Japanese, and the show on 9/20 up here marked the most I've understood of Mayu's banter ever! I still miss a LOT, though. That show was the second time I've seen the quartet lineup (six times total), and they were fantastic. Their amazing, charismatic stage presence remains in full force, and they're really got the different arrangements of their back catalog figured out at this point. Everyone just killed it, but Tamu really stood out...absolute monster behind the kit. Oh, and Mayu played her new blue Gibson Les Paul on a decent number of songs!

[@tackle47]

@@musikbyjh also at Naan Yaon the venue is amphitheater style bench seating . No open room for pits at that venue.

[@otobokegaijin6218]

American raised in Japan and working in the Japanese music industry in Tokyo here. Ironically it was an incident in the mid-1980s at this venue, Hibiya Open Air Theater, in which several people were crushed to death at a punk band’s show, that led the Japanese police to promulgate the first set of crowd-control guidelines to the owners/managers of venues where bands in the harder genres play. Various organizations of club and theaters owners and fest promoters have issued statements banning moshing and diving, but its enforcement is discretionary, and certain bands will (within bounds) encourage it. Venue owners will either post or otherwise make available a statement prohibiting moshing, but will, depending on the club and the band, look the other way. Moshing has occurred at the big fests such as Rock in Japan, Summer Sonic, Fuji Rock, but the promoters or managers will sometimes plant people in the crowds to (try to) restrain things if they look like they’re getting out of hand. Also the fests will have disclaimers. As for what Japanese musicians think about moshing and diving, I’ve had occasion to talk to many over the years, and I can say that-among the band members people on this thread will be familiar with-Saiki, Akane, and Kanami of Band-Maid don’t like the behavior, while Chopper Koga and Hana of Gacharic Spin don’t mind it (and they saw a lot of it especially in their early days); I’ve met Saki ex-Nemophila about 30 times over the years, since her mixx days (for that matter, I live in the same Tokyo suburb that she does), and she has told me she was annoyed by the recording phones on Nemo’s US shows. At the Whisky show in LA a guy was practically molesting her with his phone the whole evening, and she had something about that on her twtr, though she took it down right away.

[@rafaelornelas2085]

Nemophila better then ever!! Nemophila gets you so hyped 🤘🔥🔥❤️❤️

[@cynthiamiller483]

So I heard some serious shredding and loud screaming! The drumming is crazy!! How do they not get their hair caught in the strings of the guitar? This was bad-a**!!!!! You did a great job today catching the nuances in their playing!! I heard a couple too 😂 Have a great Saturday 🎶 Cyd PS: good luck with the lotto!

[@nickr104]

They are so good! Mayu is also learning guitar so you might see her on some songs.

[@DavidKAnderson]

I saw them about three weeks ago up here in Sapporo, and Mayu played that new Les Paul of hers on about 20-25% of the songs.

[@Oldmarty]

NAONのYAON 2024 is a free and open-air festival. The programme is not fixed in advance, except that only women's bands will be playing. Accordingly, the audience is not necessarily Nemophila fans. Or this style at all. At their own concerts, the audience goes along more. It's the same with Hanabie. Otherwise I think it's a bit presumptuous to say that people in Japan should behave the way they do in the West. I'm not saying that the audience at festivals in the US should hold up their phones less and move around more. Even if the audience there isn't the most athletic. If you ask an artist from outside Japan what they think of the audience here, they'll never say it's boring. They always say that it's one of the best things they've experienced.

[@musikbyjh]

We are learning. Thanks for the comment, always good to hear others' perspectives!

[@user-lj8zp6ts5g]

Fans of Japanesegirl metal bands basically come to listen to the music. I think Rockin' Fest is probably the festival in Japan where the audience is the most out there. And of course Summer Sonic and Fuji Rock. They might be the best in the world right now. That's because most festivals in Japan prohibit taking photos of the artists. So it's the same as it was before. What's changed is concerts around the world. People are obsessed with taking photos.

[@otobokegaijin6218]

I’ve been to every NnY but one since 2008 and the program is very much set in advance. I’ve been backstage and the program is taped to the wall here and there.

[@SidHudgens]

I have been to many of their gigs in Japan, and some of them have involved circling, surfing, and death walls. In Japan, those acts are sometimes penalized by strict regulations, so they are not very public. Anyway, your great reviews for NEMOPHILA, especially Hazuki? that is always great. Thanks for your continued support to them!　Take care.🇯🇵👍

[@musikbyjh]

Wow, @SidHudgens!! Thank you for your kindness and generosity. We are humbled!! Also, we appreciate you confirming the social norms around concert “raging” in Japan. We’ve heard mixed statements, so this is very helpful. Thank you again, we appreciate you! 🤘🏽

[@ericifune5543]

Yes, it's a band by band thing. Acts such as Maximum the Hormone and Hanabie seem to endorse it. Others not so much.

[@boshiken4914]

Amazing

[@schelin1447]

NAONのYAON is the festival to go to...all elite female musicians! Organized by the legendary band Show-Ya! Been going on since the 80's! A lot of legendary bands have played there. It's held at Hibiya Park amphi theater and there are all seats...so moshpits are impossible.

[@ericifune5543]

And concrete bleachers in an amphitheater format.

[@yakidin63]

Their crowds at their last lot of concerts go off crazy. This Naon yaon festival crowd is made up of a lot of people who weren't just Nemophila fans (Gacharic Spin, Show ya) plus I think for the first time in ages it hadn't rained at naon yaon and it was a hot day. I think OSKR is a Japanese game played amongst children. Someone can correct me here. I went to Japan a few weeks back and went to see two concerts from a Japanese easycore band called Launcher No.8 and the crowd goes off. It was like a scene form a bruce lee kung fu movie. I saw one guy hit his head on the floor after diving off the stage and I got an elbow to the head. Had a ball.🤘💙🤘

[@figuerio1]

!!!GOODISM¡¡¡ NEMOPHILA is 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 Greetings from Argentina

[@ericifune5543]

Mayu is so cute, yet her vocals can be so brutal.

[@DavidKAnderson]

Mayu: the Weapon of Mass Charisma!

[@nightrider9666]

OSKR GOAT = OSKR ("OShiKuRa manju" ...pushing back)

[@markspencer3680]

Love Nemophila. Just so you know Ale from TW in the song Error switches from fingers to pick several times in the one song. Ale starting use a pick a lot more. Nemophila is the one band I really wished they would come back to U.S. again. I’ve seen TW now it’s time to see Nemophila.

[@enmigo1496]

i love Nemophila and will always follow them but i liked them better with Saki , i wonder , but if Hazuki plays in KOIAI why Lisa-x doesn't play with Nemophila ? that would be great but surely there's a very good reason that i don't know🙂

[@booradley4891]

Sooooo good to see this! No Saki? No worries! Nothing can stop the NEMOPHILA train! 🤘🥰

[@panterarufo9734]

Que gran reacción estimados amigos,lo disfrute mucho! Amo a Nemophila por sobre todas las cosas! Un anhelo es verlas algún día en una presentación! 😎👌

[@kirilkirilov7185]

that Disturbed reference was so awesome, that I almost anticipated David Draiman to pop up on the stage)))

[@ManOShevitz]

My parents been dead 20 years, 2024, no Saki, let's move on and recognize-appreciate-respect the resurrected Power of the Fearsome Foursome!? Saki has always been a force of one with different projects and was good enough to realize how good the band id without her. (I do keep tabs on her solo stuff as she seems to becoming Joe-saphine Satriani)

[@josephdoo]

😎🤘

[@iQiLefty]

I think you guys might wanna check out a band called Dimrays, their lives are like small setting underground gigs. Easy to find the videos if you search for videos for their lives, you can see the fans go wild, headbanging moshing, circling around. Any song is good. They dont seem to get enough videos from reactors. Dimrays keeps changing members, but the original memebers without changes are the clean/harsh vocalist, and bassist. The guitarist and drummer are now session musicians.

[@musikbyjh]

Thanks for the recommendation! Always looking for good, new (to us) music!

[@iQiLefty]

@@musikbyjh great! They're a relatively new band, I think they formed in 2021. But very slowly but surely, their recognition is growing

[@TM-ij2ww]

Most female metal fans in Japan are older. That's why mosh pits don't happen. As far as I know, the people who are currently the most violent at live shows are Japanese.

[@musikbyjh]

This doesn’t seem right…

[@TM-ij2ww]

@@musikbyjh No, that's correct. I have never seen a customer dive at a Nemophila concert. This happens frequently at regular festivals. Photographing artists is prohibited in Japan. Customers from other countries are engrossed in taking photos with their smartphones.

[@AntonioGarcia-ux2pg]

In Japan they sometimes go a little crazy, here's an example from this year's Deadpop festival during YOASOBI's song "IDOL". Link: kzbin.info/www/bejne/m6anaWCBm5xsjs0si=f8jODo73pGvqUWNF A big hug from Spain

[@user-lj8zp6ts5g]

Mosh dives happen frequently at festivals such as Rockin' Fest, where only Japanese bands gather. We don't see this kind of scene at YOASOBI's solo live shows. They don't have YOASOBI songs on their smartphones. They just want to go wild. Too bad nemophila isn't invited to these festivals. I don't know why.

[@AntonioGarcia-ux2pg]

@@user-lj8zp6ts5g Did I say, does this happen at every Yoasobi concert??? More than 72 weeks in Japan's top 20, YOASOBI's "IDOL" song, don't talk nonsense, like people there don't have their songs on their smartphones

[@user-lj8zp6ts5g]

Sorry for offending you. I didn't say that you said that. I don't know much about the music scene in Spain. But I know a lot about Japan. I often listen to heavy rock and metal. I know a few songs by YOASOBI, but I don't listen to them. The rock listeners around me don't listen to them either. They definitely don't have YOASOBI on their smartphones. They just know the songs. Not all Americans listen to Taylor Swift. From Japan

[@markspencer3680]

I always thought she said push back.

[@willemkoekemoer5042]

I agree Saki who?

[@Dead-EyeMetal]

I have to disagree with "Nemophila does not need SAKI" and "They are not missing her". Some songs (such as the ones played here) work great with just Hazuki and Hara-chan's instruments: others just have not yet been successfully rearranged, IMO. 'Oiran' in particular no longer works for me as a live song. The new version, IMO, loses momentum at the bass solo. Not Hara-chan's fault at all - it's just that the song either needs two guitars or another shot at the arrangement. They recently streamed a full live show. Nemophila is doing great and is definitely capable of continuing as a 4-piece but, IMO, they will miss SAKI a little until they have a full live set that is specifically arranged for just Hazuki's guitar (and Mayu's occasional guitar parts). Just my opinion, and no more valid than any other.

[@musikbyjh]

We love and respect your opinion. Always good to hear others' perspectives. Thanks for taking time to share with us!

[@DavidKAnderson]

I don't disagree. Having just seen them three weeks ago, I can attest that they have made a LOT of progress with those quartet-based arrangements, and almost all the older tracks they choose to perform are in great shape now. "Oiran" _is_ a tricky one, though (which I realize when I take off my Nemo superfan hat and put on the pro musician one). I agree about the momentum loss, but I still love the solo...it's worth it, imo, but I have to acknowledge the ramifications. Overall, I love where the band is at, and songs like "G.O.D." point to continued greatness. I initially questioned the decision to move on as a quartet instead of finding another guitarist; I no longer do so. But you don't lose a musician of Saki's caliber without giving up significant elements, too.

[@tackle47]

It is not that they don’t miss Saki, a talent of her level and that 2nd guitar is missed. They are though still great musicians and can continue to succeed without her.

[@Dead-EyeMetal]

@@tackle47 Definitely.