December 8, 2024 (Sun) Mega Shinnosuke ONEMAN TOUR 2024 "I want to be popular with you! @Zepp Shinjuku, Tokyo Live report

Text: Ryutaro Kuroda
Photo = Goku Noguchi

A pop star and a rock star. Sakiyama Aoshi, who appeared as a guest at the event, described his friend Mega Shinnosuke in this way in a post on X. "He is a natural musician who speaks to his listeners with a charming attitude, yet captivates the audience with his intense energy on stage. He enjoys music in a natural way, exchanges words with listeners with a charming attitude, and yet captivates the audience with his intense energy on stage. It is certainly a fitting description for Mega Shinnosuke (and he is an exceptional melody-maker). The tour will end on December 8. The tour finale was held at Zepp Shinjuku in Tokyo on December 8, an evening that showcased Mega Shinnosuke's multifaceted character.

　As a house-style track played in the background, the band members took the stage one by one, and Mega Shinnosuke appeared last to start the live performance. The first song was "ao", which continued the mood of the sound effects. Under the shimmering blue lights, he sang lyrically with an autotuned voice along with inorganic digital sounds. A somewhat fantastic atmosphere enveloped the venue ......, but as if to cut through the atmosphere, Mega Shinnosuke dropped the latest version of hyper pop song "iPhone feat. The air on the floor suddenly exploded. Kenta Furuichi's menacing four-strikes and Kohei Shimizu's intense guitar playing pierced the eardrums and shook the brain. Everyone found themselves shaking their bodies.

　Keeping up the momentum, the band digested alternative rock influences in "Thinking Boyz! which digests influences from alternative rock. Are you ready to get fired up? Mega Shinnosuke asked the audience. The floor is still chirping with the same chorus as before, and then the pop-punk style "Sports" comes on, and the crowd cheers every time Mega Shinnosuke kicks a soccer ball into the floor (he used to be a homecoming club member), and the tight drums and noisy guitars lift the spirits. The bass was great throughout all the songs, and his thick, hip-shaking bass brought a pleasant mood to the music.

　The tour was able to reach out to a new audience, thanks in part to the TikTok buzz of "Ai to U." The audience seemed to be mostly college students. It seemed that many of the audience members were university students on this day, but when Mega Shinnosuke called out to the audience, voices were heard from a variety of audience members, from high school students to working people to the unemployed. The next two songs were danced cheerfully by the 1,500 people.

　The rock number "Tokyo Kirai☆" unleashes mixed feelings of love and hate for Tokyo. On the screen, a music video of a burning doll in an uninhabited parking lot was shown, and the fire seemed to be coming out from behind the drummer. Kohei Shimizu's unrestrained guitar playing was a perfect match for Mega Shinnosuke's guitar solo, which seemed to drop even more gasoline on the flames of the fire. Kohei Shimizu's unrestrained guitar solo was a perfect match for Mega Shinnosuke. There was an atmosphere of something breaking down, and the love for rock and roll came out with the song, "I'm saying, 'Let's start running now. It was definitely the most cathartic moment of the day.

　The band cooled down a bit with "Isei Kono Mamata," a song that shows respect for Ginko BOYZ. The band's performance was attractive in that it carefully listened to the songs while maintaining a lively vibe. The performance that drew the most cheers was the collaboration with Sakiyama Aoshi, who made a surprise appearance. The two, who have been drinking together on a regular basis and know each other well, started talking in a relaxed manner, as if they were meeting here by chance today. (Despite the MC's flirtation, they both seemed to be extremely nervous when they were singing.)

　The collaboration with Aoshi Sakiyama was particularly memorable, even though they only performed one song together. From this point on, the band members joined in for the folk section.

　Mega Shinnosuke continued with his acoustic guitar from the previous song (probably a guitar loaned indefinitely by Gibson), and Kohei Shimizu also played a casino. The ensemble sang "Come to My Room," an easygoing song with an unusually light ensemble, before moving on to the folk-rock style "Summer Vacation for 18-Year-Olds. The performance was generally clear, and Mega Shinnosuke's melodies stood out. Sweet Breath," a "love song I wrote when I was 18 years old," was also excellent, with a calm performance and passionate drums that enhanced the emotion of the song.

　Now, I'm sorry for making you feel sad with my sweet singing voice. From here on, it's the one you can dance to." True to his declaration, the last part of the song goes through like a runaway train. Ai to U" makes you dance with its addictive guitar loops and light rhythm, and the rap part is hotter and more passionate than the original song. The signature song "Momogengo to Taxi" was transformed into an alternative rock song, with a powerful bass that raised the audience's voltage. The audience found themselves singing along to "Sweet Dream feat. The tension was already unbearable, and the boiling point was reached with "Aishiteru Jinsei feat. Let's go! Let's go! Mega Shinnosuke kept inciting the audience to go wild, and the audience responded in a frenzy. The bass swelled and the guitars sparked again and again as the drums pounded dynamically. But the inorganic yet cute voice of Hatsune Miku poured out with a presence that was distinctly different from the heat of the crowd. What is this ...... explosive tension and mysterious openness, an ecstatic moment that can be experienced at a Mega Shinnosuke live performance.

　The live performance went by in a blink of an eye, and the main event ended with the final two songs, "Dance with That Girl (feat. chelmico)" and "Futari no Eiga (A Movie for Two)". In the former, Kohei Shimizu's cheerful cutting was pleasant, and the ensemble in the second half, which created a sense of immersion, was excellent (we hope the collaboration with chemmico will be realized in future live performances). ) The latter was a smart performance in which every grain of sound could be heard clearly. The rushing drums and driving bass seemed to keep the audience pleasantly entertained until the very end of the show.

　They appeared for an encore and played "Love and U" again, allowing the audience to take pictures. The audience responded with even more intensity than before, as if this was the last time they would see each other. Mega Shinnosuke left the stage after singing "Eien no Shonen" (Eternal Boy), saying, "See you again for sure.
After the show, an image of a QR code was projected on the screen, and the audience was given the chic gift of being able to download a commemorative photo taken during the concert on the spot.

Mega Shinnosuke said in the MC of the day that he wanted to sing in "Kimi ni mo teitai! He said that he wanted to make the audience listen to the song in "I want to be popular with you! The fact that the number of members on stage was reduced to four compared to last year's tour "Rock is Around the World" may have nothing to do with the fact that they tried to focus on singing. In fact, after the tour was over, the explosive tension was kept and the range of expression was broadened. The live performance tour that will begin at the beginning of the new year is sure to reaffirm his appeal. There is no doubt that he will make even greater strides in the coming year and beyond.