Japanese rock band RADWIMPS enthralled a sold-out crowd of thousands at the Araneta Coliseum on the 1st of May.

RADWIMPS, composed of vocalist Yojiro Noda, guitarist Akira Kuwahara, bassist Yusuke Takeda, drummers Mizuki Mori and Masafumi Eno marked their first visit to the Philippines with their Manila stop for The way you yawn, and the outcry of Peace World Tour.

Their two-hour setlist felt like a visceral space exploration with the band at the helm, guiding the crowd to the different phases the spacecraft would take and making them see all the places around. As Yojiro Noda put it during the concert, “Receive it (the music) in your body, in your heart, is that okay with you guys? Will you capture it in your heart? And hold tight until the next time?” He asked the crowd, similar to how a friend would ask you to keep something important for them in the future.

In all honesty, that was the best way to experience their concert. The majority of RADWIMPS’ lyrics were in Japanese. While a lot of fans have studied the language, a good portion of the audience was not well-versed with it. However, that did not stop the crowd from immersing themselves in the show’s beats and melodies. They didn’t have to know each song by heart, they just had to feel the music and let it take them away from there. They clapped, stomped their feet, waved their hands, and sang along to each song.

Since their formation in 2001, RADWIMPS has created a robust discography composed of 13 studio albums, with genres including alternative, rap-rock, ska, emo, punk, and more. From these albums, there are three tailor-made soundtracks for Makoto Shinkai’s critically acclaimed movies, specifically “Your Name.” (2016), “Weathering With You” (2019), and “Suzume” (2022). These movies, which have captured the imaginations and hearts of millions of people worldwide, played a big part in the band’s global success. Interestingly, the band wove all the vital elements and fit them right into a compact 18-song setlist.

Blasting off with the EDM-infused “Lights Go Out” and “NEVER EVER ENDER”, the Big Dome instantly turned into a bustling and screaming dance pit. This was followed by the fiercely belligerent tone of “DARMA GRAND PRIX” which sustained the flow of the energy.

The band paused to scan the crowd. With the lights on, it was easily visible how the Big Dome was packed with people from the pit area to the bleachers in the general admission area. “This is incredible. This is so f— incredible! Thank you so much for coming out. This is our first show in the Philippines. You guys are already amazing,” Yojiro said. Following this, the laid-back pop-rock tracks “September-san” and “Nanoka” were easy sing-alongs for the Filipino crowd.

The mood turned solemn when the lights dimmed and the bluish hue filled the stage. Suddenly, the words “Is there still anything love can do?” flashed on the screen. Immediately, everyone recognized this as the track from the movie “Weathering With You”—the song, which is about the kind of love that seeks to overcome darkness. Soon after, the eerily familiar ru-ru-ru-ru-ru was heard in the background, signaling the time for Toaka to join the band on stage for “Suzume”.

The live RADWIMPS experience was further enhanced by the state-of-the-art lighting design all throughout the concert. The lights moved symbiotically to the music – they folded and expanded, burned and weakened to the sway of the melodies. It was easy to imagine the Comet Tiamat in “Your Name” – the streaks of blue, pink, and purple falling gracefully in the night sky or the turbulent reddish dust similar to the skyline in “Suzume”. This is why it felt more precious to hear the piano introduction of “Katawaredoki” leading to the much-awaited “Sparkle” and “Zenzenzense”.

RADWIMPS have this innate (most likely engraved) synchronicity on stage – they have been together for more than 20 years now after all. As the frontman, Yojiro has this mesmerizing charisma which is palpable in the unwavering way he carries their songs and the gentle way he speaks.

The other members also reciprocate this energy – in loads of rambunctious outbursts. When they did individual instrument face-offs/solos for “Oshakashama”, they just seemed like a bunch of teenagers having the greatest time of their lives on stage. They also came prepared to face the crowd with a whole load of properly translated Filipino messages (and we don’t mean the Google Translate kind).

“Hello sa inyong lahat! Ako si Kuwahara. Masaya akong makilala ka. Salamat sa pagpunta ngayon. Matagal na namin kayo gustong makita,” Akira Kuwahara, the zestful guitarist greeted the crowd.

“Magandang gabi! Ako po si Yusuke. Kamusta? Nice to meet you. First time namin pumunta sa Pilipinas. Masaya kami ihandog ang concert na ‘to sa inyo. Maraming salamat po sa pagpunta. Sana maging memorable ang concert na to sa inyo. Handa na ba kayo? Gawin nating epic ang concert na ito,” Yusuke followed up.

Beyond this, Yojiro also took the time to say something quite unexpected of any artist. He mentioned that the day before the concert, he went to a few historical places specifically relating to the era of World War II. As seen on his Instagram stories where he took a video of himself riding a kalesa, he seemed to be in Intramuros.

“I know what the Japanese army did to people,” he spoke in a slightly fragmented manner at first. “We don’t want to forget what the people did. I truly feel thankful to be able to stand in front of you guys and perform music and you guys cheer up on the music. This means so much to us. We would like to keep this peace moving on with our music,” he went on. The tour title The Way You Yawn and the Outcry of Peace was chosen for this purpose.

Towards the end, RADWIMPS went back to their older material to play “Yuushinron”, ”Iindesuka” and “Kimi to Hitsuji to Ao”.

“Thank you so much for being an amazing audience! Is it ok if we come back in the future? Definitely, we will be back. Please be happy, please be healthy until we meet again,” Yojiro said to bid the crowd goodbye.

For the encore, RADWIMPS completed the spectacular evening with “Nandemonaiya” and “05410-(n)”. We were expecting simple sparkles, but RADWIMPS delivered a lot more than that. Their concert was inspiring and spellbinding – truly a memorable experience. Hoping to see them again in the near future!

Special thanks to PULP Live World!

by Sandra Mae Laureano

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RADWIMPS WORLD TOUR 2024 The way you yawn, and the outcry of Peace IN MANILA Setlist
Lights Go Out
NEVER EVER ENDER
DARMA GRAND PRIX
September-san
Nanoka
Is There Still Anything Love Can Do?
SUZUME – feat. Toaka
DADA
G-Koui
Oshakashama
Katawaredoki
Sparkle
Zenzenzense
Yuushinron
Iindesuka
Kimi to Hitsuji to Ao
Nandemonaiya
05410-(n)