HYDE celebrates Halloween orchestra-style at Kuromisa 2021 Halloween (live report)

J-Rock Reviews

20th Orchestra Concert HYDE Kuromisa 2021 Halloween
October 31, 2021 – Makuhari Messe
Live Report by Shannon McNaught

HYDE Halloween Party 2021

On October 31, fans packed into Makuhari Messe Halls 9-11 for the second day of HYDE Kuromisa Halloween festivities. This particular event was special because not only was it the first HYDE-related Halloween event to happen in three years, but it was also the first time one of the events fell on Halloween Night.

The stage was appropriately lavish, with huge red velvet curtains lined in gold invoking the high-class mood of an orchestra. Opposite the main stage was a smaller central stage, on which ASH DA HERO kicked off the musical festivities of the night. The band played four of their songs in a mostly acoustic style, giving the crowd just enough energy to enjoy the orchestral remixes of both classic and new HYDE songs later on in the night.

HYDE Halloween Party 2021

HYDE Halloween Party 2021

The main set of the HYDE Kuromisa began in total darkness, followed by strobe lights and thunder sound effects. The two stageside screens depicted stormy clouds. From one side of the hall, Cinderella-esque, black carriage rolled between the audience blocks. Inside was Yuya Tegoshi dressed as a gothic princess, complete with a black lace dress and a long, flowing blond wig. He sang a circus version of “HALLOWEEN PARTY” alone in a girlish, coquettish voice.

When the carriage finally made its way back to the stage, the red velvet stage curtains parted to reveal the Kuromisa orchestra. A coffin and a black podium were in the center of the stage, and the giant backstage screen depicted a lavish foyer with swinging CG chandeliers. The first HYDE song of the night, “Hide & Seek”, started with the bang of fireworks.

HYDE Halloween Party 2021

HYDE came on stage in a red and black version of Ciel Phantomhive from the Black Butler. He took his place at the podium, the full string section providing most of the background music for this first song (like the event name says, these were actually orchestral rearrangements of HYDE songs; while there was still a full drum set, there was not an electric guitar or bass to be seen). The other members – also following the Black Butler theme and wearing maid or butler costumes – contributed with furitsuke hand movements, encouraging the crowd to raise their hands or ring their jingle bells they brought in place of cheering.

“Welcome to Kuromisa. Happy Halloween!”, HYDE shouted to welcome the crowd after the first song. Fans responded with enthusiastic clapping and ringing of handheld jingle bells – due to the pandemic, fans were asked not to vocally cheer. HYDE complimented the audience on their beautiful costumes and thanked them for making it this far despite the chaos that was (and still is) the coronavirus pandemic.

HYDE Halloween Party 2021

The second song, “AFTER LIGHT”, picked up in tempo with a strong, rock-like percussion background, bringing a unique mesh of instrumentals to the set. “DEFEAT” came next with yet another strong contrast, being played in a Broadway-like jazz style complete with a strong brass section. It was a surprising and fascinating contrast to the normally rock-and-EDM-inspired tune.

The somber mood of “VAMPIRE’S LOVE” brought the energy down just a bit. The coffin on the stage turned around to reveal Tegoshi laying on a bed of roses as if dead. HYDE sang the tragic orchestrated song to Tegoshi, and at the end, caressed his face and lovingly kissed him before the lights went out. When the lights came back on, Tegoshi was gone, but a single red rose remained in HYDE’s hand.

After “WHO’S GONNA SAVE US”, HYDE formally introduced the costume theme of the night: Black Butler, with orchestra members wearing the costumes as well. “BELIEVING IN MYSELF” continued the set with a distinct instrumental rearrangement of strings and flute, like an emotional instrumental ballad. “Red Swan” was equally as pretty, with red CG feathers falling in the background towards the end of the song.

HYDE Halloween Party 2021

Suddenly, a deep and recognizable voice said “Ciel Phantom HYDE-san”, and DAIGO came on stage dressed as Sebastian Michaelis. They bantered in-character on stage, DAIGO usually answering HYDE with “Yes my lord” in English. Then they performed a remixed duet to L’Arc~en~Ciel’s “flower”, complete with a saxophone solo. DAIGO and HYDE alternated verses and choruses, then joined together in harmony at the end. They performed “HONEY” similarly, which was done in an acoustic jazz version with strings and piano, and Yuya Tegoshi even joined in towards the end. Tegoshi told the audience that he had sung “HONEY” so many times in karaoke and had seen it performed live, so it was like a dream come true to be able to sing it on stage with HYDE.

Then it was Halloween Game Time, where all of the special guests that night – Yuya Tegoshi, DAIGO, Kanon Wakeshima, and Pele Kusada – played a rhythm game. They were each given a handheld instrument like a tambourine and were made to follow HYDE’s rhythmic lead. If they messed up, they faced a penalty of drinking a mystery drink onstage. Some were green, some were red, and some were clear – and the contents of all of them were unknown. Both Pele Kusada and DAIGO lost, with the latter saying his clear drink was unbelievably sour.

HYDE Halloween Party 2021

Following the game, the three vocalists of the night – Yuya Tegoshi, DAIGO, and HYDE – joined together for an orchestra-backed rendition of “GLAMOROUS SKY”.

Before the encore, Yuya Tegoshi performed a few of his own songs including his new single “Wink”. It had a distinct Halloween-like tone that was the perfect match for the night’s festivities.

After Yuya Tegoshi’s set, the mood of the set changed completely to the world of Poupelle of Chimney Town, to which HYDE had contributed a remix of Halloween Party last year. Lozareena, also known as the Poupelle theme’s singer, came out singing the theme song of Poupelle on a moving ship near the stage. She was dressed fittingly as Lubicchi, the human main character of the children’s story. HYDE appeared on the ship shortly after, dressed as Poupelle, the movie’s namesake.

They played out a scene from the film where a ship propelled by balloons flies up to the sky, and they see stars for the first time and realize how bright they are and that they are not alone. To recreate this star-filled sky scene, the audience was asked to turn on their smartphone lights and create a literal sea of stars.

The ship sprouted a ton of balloons and the ship lifted off the stage to travel to the center stage. They then started singing “Halloween Party”, joined shortly by DAIGO, Yuya Tegoshi, and more. The ship traveled around the venue a couple of times to see fans up close and personal, and with the closing notes of “Halloween Party”, the evening ended. “Thank you so much!”, HYDE thanked the crowd.

HYDE Halloween Party 2021

HYDE Halloween Party 2021

ASH DA HERO Setlist
1. Rockstar
2. THIS IS LOVE
3. HELLO NO FUTURE
4. Everything

HYDE Setlist
1. HALLOWEEN PARTY -Circus Ver.- (Yuya Tegoshi)
2. Hide & Seek
3. AFTER LIGHT
4. DEFEAT
5. THE ABYSS
6. VAMPIRE’S LOVE
7. WHO’S GONNA SAVE US
8. DEVIL SIDE
9. BELIEVING IN MYSELF
10. MAD QUALIA
11. Red Swan
12. flower (with DAIGO)
13. HONEY (with DAIGO and Yuya Tegoshi)
14. GLAMOROUS SKY (with DAIGO and Yuya Tegoshi)

Yuya Tegoshi Setlist
1. Wink
2. DoLLs
3. LUV ME,LUV ME

15. Poupelle of Chimney Town (Lozareena with HYDE)
16. HALLOWEEN PARTY -Poupelle Ver.- (with DAIGO, Yuya Tegoshi, ASH DA HERO, Pele Kusada, Lozareena, and Kanon Wakeshima)

HYDE Official Website: https://www.hyde.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HYDEOfficialENG/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/hydeofficial_
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hydeofficial

Live Photos by: Toshikazu Oguruma, Kazuko Tanaka