The Underground Youth at Moon Romantic, Tokyo, on 19th March, 2019
April 16, 2019Words and photos by Aki Fujita Taguchi
Proofreading by Yosuke Taguchi
Berlin based dark psychedelic band The Underground Youth played a fantastic live show at Moon Romantic in Tokyo last Tuesday. I was lucky enough to see and photograph their first live in Japan.
Moon Romantic is located in Aoyama area, a very fashionable and chic town in Tokyo. It opened in 2004 with 200 capacities, known for relatively indie, underground music. There’s a big beautiful full moon on the back wall of the stage, and it always put the musicians into the shining bright light.
The Underground Youth were formed in 2009, in Manchester, United Kingdom and currently based in Berlin, Germany. At first, it was a solo project of talented Craig Dyer and he has build up the unique band style. Especially, Olya Dyer’s drumming is very impressive. Her drum set is pretty simple and she plays drums standing up. In addition to the powerful and straight rhythm pattern, her mysterious visual image enhances the band’s artistic atmosphere.
Well, it’s really difficult to categorize their music. (That might be meaningless I guess.) Their style is often described as darkwave, chillwave, post-punk, psychedelic, goth, dream pop, shoegaze, and so on. I’d say that they have been creating the fantastic composite art of those things. Also, that can be seen in their inspiring videos and intense live performances.
In support of their upcoming album ‘Montage Images Of Lust & Fear’, they kicked off a huge tour in Hong Kong on 6th March. They will tour over 25 countries for 4 months!
On their Tokyo show, they were accompanied by 4 Japanese support acts, Group2, No Buses, polly, and Luby Sparks. They are shoegaze, psychedelic bands and warmed up the packed venue. In addition, DJ event team Undercover Suicide perfectly supported them.
Each band performed in their own style. Their young raw energy and strong passion for music stimulated the crowd’s expectations for the main act. I was pretty sure that tonight was going to be very special!
The Underground Youth took to the stage after half past 9. They opened with ‘This Is But A Dream’, from the new album ‘Montage Images Of Lust & Fear’. The audience appreciated their appearance with enthusiasm.
Their set was well mixed and balanced with their past and new songs. Beautiful and dreamy images were projected on the full moon on the back wall of the stage one after another. It was so comfortable to soak in the addictive ambiance of their creative world. We were totally fascinated by them.
At the end part of the show, Craig got down from the stage, set his microphone stand in the middle of the crowd, and he started to play ‘The Rules of Attraction’. Then the bassist Max and the guitarist Leonard also came down to the floor and joined Craig. The audience got so excited and it was absolutely the highlight of the night.
Their performance was really amazing and the audience was totally hooked. I was blown away by their mesmerizing live performance, their creativity,and of course the great quality of their music.
‘Montage Images Of Lust & Fear’ will be released as their 9th studio album on 29th March by Fuzz Club. You can pre-order the album here.
After the Tokyo show, they play in Taiwan, and go on to the European tour until 21st June. Be sure to check them out when they come to a town near you.
Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/TheUndergroundYouth/
Member:
Craig Dyer – Vocals, Guitar
Olya Dyer - Drums
Leonard Kaage - Guitar
Max James - Bass
Set list:
This Is But A Dream
Art House Revisited
Juliette
Hope & Pray
Morning Sun
Delirium
Last Exit to Nowhere
The Outsider
Fill The Void
Mademoiselle
Half Poison, Half God
I Need You
Strangle Up My Mind
The Rules of Attraction