Fanime, now in its 22nd year, has historically been a good bet for Japanese music fans. This year the spotlight musical guest for the convention’s annual MusicFest is the band BACK-ON who hail from Tokyo, Japan. BACK-ON is well known to fans of Japanese culture and their many contributions to games and anime have cemented them a place as a force to be reckoned with.
BACK-ON has had a consistent lineup since their founding 2002 with the only exception being that of the drummer. The other four members have stayed together ever since high school and show no signs of breaking apart. The band’s rap-rock sound is based upon their two vocalists, Kenji03 and Teeda, who handle lead vocals and rap/MC work respectively. They have release four studio albums and more than a dozen singles. Their latest album, titled “Reload,” was released last October.
Teeda opened up the night by asking “Are you ready to rock this shit?!” The answer is, of course, yes. The San Jose Civic Auditorium is packed with fans ready for a show. This venue makes Fanime a little unique in that it holds concerts in an actual building made for performances and not a converted convention center hall like so many other events. The two floors hold an impressive number of people and today that capacity is well utilized.
Fanime congoers best know the band for their many anime themes and they would feature heavily through the night. “Cerulean,” from their most recent work with Gundam Build Fighters Try, would be one of the first. This was quickly followed by their first anime release from 2006, Air Gear’s “Chain.” “Flower,” from Eyeshield 21, “Strike Back,” from Fairy Tale, “Flyaway,” from Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology 2, would also be heard. Their non-anime work would not be forgotten and the titular track of their latest album, “Reload,” would also make an appearance.
For the encore the band selected the songs “New World” and “Departure.”
More than a decade’s worth of experience is evident as they know how to carefully work the crowd into a frenzy and get them participating. There were constant call/responses with the crowd, cues with the lights for the crowd to sing choruses, and even a quick run by both Teeda and Kenji03 through the fans. With many albums worth of songs they knew how to pick them too; anime and game songs were a given and they were supplemented with fast-paced, high-energy songs like “Ready Set Go” to keep the crowd going. Fans loved the show and people were on their feet and pumping glowsticks in the air to the music. I heard more than a few people proclaim their love for the band and enjoyment afterwards. Eighty minutes flew by very fast and the band managed to pack a good sixteen songs into the set.
The final action of the night was having everyone squeeze as close as possible for a photo with the fans.
The chant:
“BACK-ON!”
“HELL YEAH!”
Partial setlist:
Infinity (Gundam Breaker)
Ready Set Go
Flyaway (Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology 2)
Cerulean (Gundam Build Fighters Try)
With You feat. Me (Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology 3)
Chain (Air Gear)
Flower (Eyeshield 21)
Reload
Butterfly (Shinjuku Swan)
Strike back (Fairy Tale)
Nibunnoichi (Gundam Build Fighters)
ENCORE
New World
Departure