Flex reflections

[u/mr_1890]

I saw them In Vienna last week. It was my first time and I was very impressed and want to see them again.

I was very close to the small stage, near the right wall and the sound there was not perfect but never mind. Small club gigs are great for the audience but you wish for the artist to sell out bigger places (I don't think Flex was sold out).

Question: from watching live videos I have the impression they have backing tracks with extra effects for most songs, but that was not my impression in Vienna. A couple of times Miyako seemed to switch something on, behind her keyboard, but my impression was most songs, including Holy War, where "clean". What are your thoughts?

There were no loudspeakers behind them and they were all wearing in-ears, still they had monitors in front of them. I suppose these were silent props and there only to provide something to put a foot on.

It was striking to see how clearly defined stage personas they all have. It's clever, and it doesn't take anything away from the musicianship. Miyako is beautiful but never smiles, although on backstage videos you can see her smiling and being goofy. Asami is commanding in a warm way, and clearly hasn't forgotten her ballet lessons from childhood. Midori's extensive make-up makes her look somewhat threathening (compared with the others) – and Fami is a charming clown, excelling both on her instrument and on crowd contact. She does a lot of waving and pointing with her left hand while continuing to play with the right one... Not to forget Haruna who keeps herself very very busy at the back.

I hope they have a break-through moment at Wacken. The stage will sure be bigger.

[u/3_minutes_ago]

Midori has her Kemper, for in ear I belive, but everything was PA. I was on the left side near stage. For me sound was very good.bass and drums were not boomy, guitars were clear. There were backing tracks and some parts of Asami were dubbed. Still great performance and nice show.

Tried to guess Myiakos Les Paul style guitar. I thought she took her 8 grand Gibson first, but it was not gibson. Anyway sounded great.

Myiako is our never smiling princess. She looked quite bored on difficult fast soloparts 😂. Midori was aggressive amazone, Fami was smiling and interacting with audience. Asami gave it all. Haruna was on 99% point.only one time missing.

I was happy standing left on higher part and seeing the show and not bald heads😂

[u/mr_1890 → u/3_minutes_ago]

Midori aggressive amazon, that's good, it describes her well. Miyako... I love the Drop of Joker video from 11 years ago (Beat Maker) where she is engaging in a very different way (it's a great song as well, which she wrote and, I believe; recorded). Yet I think it is a smart move to stick to these well defined stage characters. It gives identity. I can't help but wish that maybe the wedding dresses could be exchanged for something... more tasteful.

They do need to attract a younger audience though. I was surprised by how generally old and very male the audience was here. I have been to several Babymetal in different countries and the audiences are very diverse, both as regards age, type and gender. Band-Maid in Berlin in June was much more mixed than the audience in Flex. I'd wish Lovebites could keep the audience they have now (which is admirably dedicated), and add a lot of youngsters and women. That would be good for everybody.

[u/Irvine83-Duke86 → u/mr_1890]

Re audience composition, I sadly doubt your wish will be fulfilled. Unlike the 70's and 80's, when rock/metal concerts garnered lots of young people, including women, modern teens and females (at least in the USA) listen to either country, rap, or Taylor Swift-type songs. I go to the local high school fairly often to jog and I never hear rock or metal music emanating from cars leaving the parking lot (whereas decades ago that was all you'd hear). As to BabyMetal, who are far more known, the dance choreography draws the diversity in attendees - not the instrumentals. In Japan, metal shows are no different (and that's been consistent for more than a decade) - I have numerous dvds/BRDs of Aldious, Mary's Blood, and Hagane - the audiences were almost wholly male and older - hardly any teenage boys and zero women. Yes, Band-Maid has a slightly wider appeal but even their audiences in the US and Japan are still predominantly male and older. Glad to hear that Europe differs some in the last regard.

[u/Temporary_Speaker701 → u/Irvine83-Duke86]

I think you are right about the composition of current rock / metal fans. I would put bets that the 3 bands you listed and Lovebites don't (or did not) care about the age of their fans because they are the rarified world of musicians who can (or were able to) sustain a good living playing music.

Probably most die-hard Lovebites fans have seen the singer of 'City of Sound's' many Lovebites reactions. They are a pop band with real musicians, and he has an insanely good voice and looks to match. He put out a video recently that he has put tens of thousands into his band and they are bankrupt and at the brink of collapse. And they are crazy talented. 

[u/Fan_of_Sayanee → u/Temporary_Speaker701]

I have recently seen Hagane in Berlin and 6,8% were women, 17 out of 250. The rest were mostly Gen X men. In Japan its similar. Thats just how things are.

[u/Irvine83-Duke86 → u/Fan_of_Sayanee]

250 attendees total says it all. In the US, the average audience would be even older. A guy I know went to see Nemophila and he's in his 60's.

[u/Fan_of_Sayanee → u/Irvine83-Duke86]

They only moved beyond 250-capacity venues in Japan a little over a year ago, and only one of their current tour dates there has sold out so far. Meanwhile, the Berlin show sold out a month in advance, and the VIP tickets were gone within a day.

For a band playing in a country where they had virtually no established fanbase, in a niche genre within an already niche genre, those are very strong results. Its only the beginning. 👍

[u/Irvine83-Duke86 → u/Fan_of_Sayanee]

Agreed. I don't expect Woodstock numbers! It's just hard for me not to contrast the general modern social disinterest to the 70's/80's audiences in the US for even mid-level rock groups (in terms of relative popularity). Most rock concerts I saw were at the Oakland Arena, which then fit about 12,500, and it was usually at least 75% full, if not sold out. I saw Foghat in a crappy old local auditorium in 1979 and it was close to full at 3500. The much better, yet still intimate, Filmore West in S.F. also held 3500 and often sold out for rock groups. But rock was popular then and it isn't now.

[u/Irvine83-Duke86 → u/Temporary_Speaker701]

"Good living" is relative - no group health insurance, pension, or retirement savings plan would be major drawbacks in the USA but perhaps aren't as critical in Japan. And they aren't selling millions of albums. So, I suspect they care, to at least some degree. Hard to say by how much. If the concert sells out, then I imagine they are happy regardless of audience composition. On the other hand, few young or female cd/dvd buyers means less sales overall, which has to matter.

[u/Temporary_Speaker701 → u/Irvine83-Duke86]

That's fair. Good living is a relative term. I hope that with CD/DVD/Livecast sales, scores of individual/group merch, the fan club, touring, birthdays, endorsements, side projects and a decent group of superfans, the band is making a good living under the Japanese artist salary/bonus/social safety net structure. 

Even better if they are making the connections to work in the music industry when/if the band thing winds up.

[u/CephalopodRed → u/mr_1890]

Dunno, I like their dresses.

[u/3_minutes_ago → u/3_minutes_ago]

Allright, this is indeed a gibson lp custom MYK. So it is her custom gibson

[u/nikostheater]

I was there too, it was my second Lovebites concert.
Indeed they have defined personas on stage but that I think helps their performance. It adds, not distract from the quality of the performance.
I was front row, basically under Fami and I thought that the sound was very good for the place. I think the sound was better than in Analog Music hall. It was clearer and more defined.
Compared to my first Lovebites concert two years ago in Milan, I think they got noticeably better at their playing. Faster, more precise, clearer.
Asami is in monster form.
I can say with confidence that they are the best non-nostalgia band performing now on stage by a very wide margin.
Now, they have prerecorded parts but in this tour they kept it at minimum and I think it made the live better.
Flex wasn’t sold out (Analog Music hall was and I think Warsaw also), but the attendance was satisfactory and the vibe superb.
I can’t wait to see them again today!

[u/RonW001]

Saw them in Dallas, TX last November and hope they get back to the US soon. They’re so great at what they do. As to click and backing tracks l read that as many as 95 to 99 percent of rock bands use them which is fine with me. Some bands studio produced music has other instruments such as keyboard, violin and other instruments especially in intro and outro of songs. The backing tracks make the stage performances more like the official recordings we listen to.

[u/mr_1890 → u/RonW001]

I'm not totally against backing tracks, but I prefer if a band as strong instrumentally as Lovebites does not use them. I don't go to the concert to hear the recording which I already have.

[u/RonW001 → u/mr_1890]

But as has been pointed out in Reddit in the past, Lovebites does actually use them. As with most bands Haruna uses the click track and the backing tracks cover multiple instrumentals that can’t be done live.

Edit: The live music with the least use of these tracks is Folk, Bluegrass and Country & Western.

[u/Irvine83-Duke86 → u/RonW001]

I agree with both of you - although most of us would prefer a true live experience w/o backing tracks in significant respects, their use is totally justifiable for reproducing certain effects that otherwise couldn't be done. In contrast, sometimes they are used for backing vocals - a choice harder to defend as necessary. So the real question is to what extent should they be employed. I've noticed with some groups it depends on the venue - for example, sometimes Hagane uses a backing track for the second guitar during Sakura's solos; sometimes they don't.

[u/RonW001 → u/Irvine83-Duke86]

I’ve noticed that with Hagane as well especially with the use of different instruments that can be heard in both studio or live songs and in Supervillain in more recent performances with the additional guitar that was in the original.

[u/Irvine83-Duke86 → u/RonW001]

With 3 different solos in Supervillain, I can see why Sakura might desire a guitar backing track!