1. The parting of ways
It's been two years since I saw Babymetal in Cologne. It was the fifth time I saw them live and I felt back then I had reached my saturation point. Traveling all the way to London in 2014 to witness the Brixton concert was a momentous event for me, but after no less than three concerts in the first half of 2016, my enthusiasm was spent. I had other things taking over my life at that point too. A lot has happened with me in the meantime, and my fandom quickly faded into the background. It took a little while before I got up to speed on the fact that they would be returning to Europe, but when I learned Utrecht would be one of their destinations I knew I had to be there.
To say I had been out of the loop would be an understatement. I didn't even know they finally had a new single out, or that they were touring without Yui. I had no idea about the costume change, or pretty much anything they'd been up to in the last two years. I stopped frequenting the subreddit quite a while ago, and had to rub my eyes for a bit when I saw the 14k subs that inhabit it now. And, I have to admit, I felt a bit estranged from the whole Babymetal phenomenon the moment I put on Distortion: it sounded awful to me on the first listen. The hardcore beats threw me of guard I think. I'm pretty open minded about music, but I really can't stand hardcore. It's less exciting concerts or deep emotional connection to me, and more bratty teenagers from the middle of nowhere getting drunk on a park bench.
Thankfully Distortion grew pretty quickly on me and I even quite liked the two other new songs I found live recordings of. But something bugged me about it. The darker tone of the new stuff, the change in costumes, something about it rubs me the wrong way. One has to understand that to me Babymetal has always and forever will be a Pop act. The whole discussion I remember about them either being or not being a legit metal group ranked pretty high on my list of things I didn't give a crap about. I wrote a way too long piece on why BM is good back then, but I can simply summerize their main appeal the same way everyone else has. Their dancing and cheerful high pitched singing infused the heavy riffs with tons of joy and positive energy. BM are good because they are just so much FUN. Or at least that's how it used to be. I get the uneasy feeling that the Fox God might steer BM straight into the mold of just another heavy metal act. And honestly, who wants that?
2. Old flames can warm you
All of these discoveries on my end happened the day before the concert. I'd almost forgotten I bought tickets two months ago. I would be going together with my sister again, but this time my fifty nine year old mother would be accompanying us as well, having been convinced by my constant chocolate pushing at last. Once again I set out from my home town of Groningen, but this time not to some far away foreign place. This time Miffy's city would be host to our encounter. It's a bit strange since I've become so used to associating BM concerts with travelling abroad, not to a city I visit literally every week. And travelling by train together with my mother... Let's just say it was difficult to feel like old times. We met my sister at Utrecht central station, after which we walked past the venue, seeing the line of waiting fans outside. We decided to grab something to eat before the show. At the place we walked in we noticed a little sign saying "Babymetal after". Something to remember...
My first time in Tivoli does not disappoint. The new building is quite spacious and beautiful, though the hall seemed packed. To our relief we do notice the air conditioning hard at work. Good, I have no desire to see another Cologne like fiasco, where the show had to be cut short because of the heat. I still remember the looks of suffering on the girls faces after dancing for an hour in that scorching heat. My mom and I decide to stay in the back this time. Who knows, maybe this will give me an entire new way of enjoying a BM gig. It's certainly easier to get a drink. After enjoying the supporting act, a British metal band called Dream state who are quite well received by most present, including me, my mom and I chat a bit about this and that. She assures me she can handle any kind of loud music after almost having her ears destroyed by the Ramones in 1979. And then the moment is finally there once again. Even though I know exactly what is going to happen there's still so much about it that catches me off guard. The old intros are gone, to be replaced by new ones. There's four dancers now of course, only two of which are familiar to me. And then there's the new costumes. The tutus were so quintessentially Babymetal I still can hardly believe they got rid of them, even though I'm seeing it with my own eyes. I really have trouble seeing Su and Moa in the figures appearing before me at first. But it's really them. As they start singing and dancing soon they look and sound as familiar as ever. As if my whole body has to readjust to the new situation. I may have changed in the meantime, but so have they. It's like meeting an old flame which you haven't seen in years. You first laugh and talk awkwardly with each other, but soon enough the old patterns emerge and it's like no time has passed at all.
I'm having a blast the whole evening, singing, dancing and jumping. That I decided to stand in the back this time does mean that I can't really see the girl's faces all that well, or all the little details that go on on stage. The show is as sparkling with joy and skill as it always is though. I still don't think the shape of that one wonderful night in Frankfurt in that tiny venue has been recaptured in this performance, but seeing them again after such a long time is magical in its own right. And the show certainly isn't shabby. Though there's of course not much in the way of special effects, but with four people and a couple more years under their belt the choreography seems to be only improved. The new songs are first, and while Distortion does sound a whole lot better live, Tattoo remains my favourite of the three new tracks. The rest of the evening is filled with the most beloved of the BM tracks from the old days. Moa performs GJ all alone, which I have to admit looks a bit weird. But getting to enjoy Karate and Megitsune again is an unfathomable pleasure. Gimme Chocolate gets a good response from everybody, especially my mom who really gets into it. And Su treats us to Akatsuki which still hasn't lost any of its power I'm happy to say. The set ends with the two big singalongs, Road of Resistance and The One, which for the first part is accompanied by just piano. While I'm a little unsure of that choice since it calls all the more attention to the, and let's be honest here for bit, not very impressive lyrics of that song, I'm too ecstatic by that point to care. I sing until I'm sore. And with that, after just an hour, the show ends. My mother and I look at each other, and start a salvo of "we want more". To our complete shock however we find ourselves alone, with everyone else starting to leave...
My first time in Tivoli does not disappoint. The new building is quite spacious and beautiful, though the hall seemed packed. To our relief we do notice the air conditioning hard at work. Good, I have no desire to see another Cologne like fiasco, where the show had to be cut short because of the heat. I still remember the looks of suffering on the girls faces after dancing for an hour in that scorching heat. My mom and I decide to stay in the back this time. Who knows, maybe this will give me an entire new way of enjoying a BM gig. It's certainly easier to get a drink. After enjoying the supporting act, a British metal band called Dream state who are quite well received by most present, including me, my mom and I chat a bit about this and that. She assures me she can handle any kind of loud music after almost having her ears destroyed by the Ramones in 1979. And then the moment is finally there once again. Even though I know exactly what is going to happen there's still so much about it that catches me off guard. The old intros are gone, to be replaced by new ones. There's four dancers now of course, only two of which are familiar to me. And then there's the new costumes. The tutus were so quintessentially Babymetal I still can hardly believe they got rid of them, even though I'm seeing it with my own eyes. I really have trouble seeing Su and Moa in the figures appearing before me at first. But it's really them. As they start singing and dancing soon they look and sound as familiar as ever. As if my whole body has to readjust to the new situation. I may have changed in the meantime, but so have they. It's like meeting an old flame which you haven't seen in years. You first laugh and talk awkwardly with each other, but soon enough the old patterns emerge and it's like no time has passed at all.
I'm having a blast the whole evening, singing, dancing and jumping. That I decided to stand in the back this time does mean that I can't really see the girl's faces all that well, or all the little details that go on on stage. The show is as sparkling with joy and skill as it always is though. I still don't think the shape of that one wonderful night in Frankfurt in that tiny venue has been recaptured in this performance, but seeing them again after such a long time is magical in its own right. And the show certainly isn't shabby. Though there's of course not much in the way of special effects, but with four people and a couple more years under their belt the choreography seems to be only improved. The new songs are first, and while Distortion does sound a whole lot better live, Tattoo remains my favourite of the three new tracks. The rest of the evening is filled with the most beloved of the BM tracks from the old days. Moa performs GJ all alone, which I have to admit looks a bit weird. But getting to enjoy Karate and Megitsune again is an unfathomable pleasure. Gimme Chocolate gets a good response from everybody, especially my mom who really gets into it. And Su treats us to Akatsuki which still hasn't lost any of its power I'm happy to say. The set ends with the two big singalongs, Road of Resistance and The One, which for the first part is accompanied by just piano. While I'm a little unsure of that choice since it calls all the more attention to the, and let's be honest here for bit, not very impressive lyrics of that song, I'm too ecstatic by that point to care. I sing until I'm sore. And with that, after just an hour, the show ends. My mother and I look at each other, and start a salvo of "we want more". To our complete shock however we find ourselves alone, with everyone else starting to leave...
3. Homecoming
Flabbergasted would be a completely justified description of our reaction to all the other fans starting on their way for the exit, without even a peep regarding an encore. I remember BM always giving an encore when asked, except in Cologne, for obvious reasons. But that's apparently one of the things that changed when I wasn't paying attention. Still, my mom half jokingly remarks that not even asking for an encore was unheard of in her time, and I share her surprise over it completely. Eventually we have to admit defeat and leave the venue, appropriately drenched in sweat. We join the after party for a single cocktail. Of course I stay completely sober as always, though I suppose people who saw me running through the bar wouldn't think as much. While I'm a bit miffed over the abrupt ending to the show, not helped by my mom and sister both coming up with the same joke when I tell them each about Yui's mysterious absence ("Maybe she's pregnant"), the emotional residue of this evening is still overwhelmingly positive. The atmosphere in the bar is great, though I do feel my excess of energy fading after about half an hour. We can't stay too long anyway, since we still need to catch the last train back to Groningen.
When I started writing I was still on the train. Now I'm sitting behind my computer in the wee hours of the morning. I still have my reservations about where exactly Babymetal is heading. Where can they go, really? I do realise that evolution is both necessary and inevitable, but I'm worried for the future nonetheless. And I just miss those silly tutus, especially one of them... On the other hand: the concert was as as invigorating as ever. I felt right at home again after just a little adjusting on my part. For only the second time after visiting a BM gig I'll be sleeping at home again right afterwards. But I'll lay myself to rest safe in the knowledge that for the first time in years BM is not just a warm memory, but something that makes me feel excited for the future!
