BABYMETAL WORLD TOUR 2014 -- London

Well, friends. Well, well, well, here we are in London. Where I live. Which means I could have conceivably gone to this show, but I was busy not knowing about BABYMETAL at the time, like an idiot.
A couple of fun facts -- this was BABYMETAL's first UK headline performance, and they had to move to a gig to a larger venue because tickets were so in demand. It was also streamed live to Japan, which is very cool!
There are notable differences in the way this show was shot, compared to previous ones.
Specifically we get a lot more focus on and close-ups of the crowd. This is the case for most of the pro-shot foreign gigs, and I have two theories for why this is.
First theory is just the cultural differences around privacy in Japan and the UK. My (admittedly non-expert) understanding is that there is a higher expectation of privacy in Japan, and therefore maybe they're less prone to deliberately filming people's faces at Japanese shows.
My second and more fun theory is that the team behind BABYMETAL spent a lot of 2014 working really hard at establishing their credibilty as an actual metal band. Not a "silly" idol group, not a gimmick, an actual group pioneering a new type of metal music. And the UK is where heavy metal originated. Plus there's a difference in demographics -- I haven't done a survery or anything because how would I even go about that, but the majority of Western fans I know were metal fans first and got into BABYMETAL through the metal scene. It was actually interesting to see when I went to see them -- the crowd there was about what you'd expect for a metal gig (according to Friend-Metal, who has been to other metal shows -- this was only my third ever gig, so I was less knowledgable).

Thoughts During:

• This show opens by showing the fans engaging in the British national pastime, queuing, presumably to prove these we are actually in the UK
• We also get to see the opening lore for this tour! It's riffing on Star Wars, so I've been calling it the Lore Wars Crawl
• Opening silhouttes include the Kami Band! We also get to see the girls behind the sheet, which is cool -- I like it when we get to see an angle we're not normally privy to



• We are getting a lot of close ups of the crowd losing their minds
• Direct quote from me to Friend-Metal: "I know I say this every time but why have we not been watching BABYMETAL nonstop?"
• Now more long shots of the packed crowd
• They all seemed nervous at the start but Su's nerves are gone now she's seen the crowd react -- she knows we're into it



• We're so into it
• Yui is very smiley so far
• The crowd is loving Mischief of the Metal Gods and so are the Kami Band
• The bald bassist, BOH, always paints some kind of design on the back of his head, relevant to the show they're playing. He has the Union Jack on the back of his head, which is very funny to me
• A lot of people doing the fox sign
• The opening for Onedari Daikusen starts and people are very excited for it
• As they should be, it slaps
• They kept their hoods completely synced! They never manage to do that!
• Once again the crowd goes wild for a Kami solo
• There are multiple shirtless men in a considerably more violent mosh pit than we've seen before



• There's also a shot focusing on the crowd handing out water in the break before Akatsuki, which I found endearing. The Fox God wants you to stay hydrated!
• EVERYONE SINGS ALONG WITH NAMETARA IKANZEYO



• So, in a lot of these shows, there has been a man in a Pikachu kigurumi -- I make a note of him every time and every time I cut him from these write-ups because I wasn't sure mentioning him was adding anything, and it was getting repetitive
• So I'm just now bringing him up, but know that Pikachu's been here the whole time



• Now that you know about Pikachu, please retroactively insert him into your mental image of previous gigs
• The crowd are doing the Doki Doki Morning hand movements, which is great to see from an international crowd
• Finally, Su is speaking to us during Gimme Chocolate! In English!
• And so are Moa and Yui!
• I'm sure you're worried, but there's no need -- Moa still bullies the crowd in English
• She cannot and should not be stopped
• People are screaming for an encore, and now we're getting the iconic chant of "BA-BY-METAL! (clap clap clap!)" It's a delight, partly because we'll be hearing it in almost every gig going forward, but in big part because when it's being chanted by a crowd of Brits, it really sounds like we're at a football match. But less threatening
• The Kami band have returned first, to mug at the audience
• Oh, the speech before IDZ is starting, but not as you know it! Su has re-recorded it entirely in English, as a special treat. "If you show true courage, we will show true metal!"
• "More than ever, I do not want to see you cry anymore" ironically tends to make me tear up a little. I really love this band!!
• Oh that is a big fucking wall of death



• Su's face at the end! She looks so overwhelmed and happy



• Oh my god, they have BABYMETAL flags with Union Jacks and I think this is the best iteration of my country's flag I've ever seen. We should replace the original flag with the BABYMETAL version



• Moa: I had so much fun!
  Yui: We love you!



• Su: Thank you for coming to see us!



• Love that we get to see that after the girls leave the stage, the Kami Band wait to toss their picks into the audience and say goodbye to their friends in the front rows

Thoughts After

BABYMETAL have called the UK their second home, and I will be honest with you: the closest I get to national pride for this terrible island is watching a group of British Metalheads bow down to Su-Metal during Headbanger!!!

Number of times I've now said X

• She's/They're so talented! x14
• That fucking baseline x2
• Takayoshi my beloved x1
• Fire near the children! x3
• Why do they make announcements like this? x3

Setlist:

• BABYMETAL DEATH
• Iine
• Uki Uki Midnight
• Mischiefs of the Metal Gods
• Rondo of Nightmare
• Onedari Daisakusen
• Catch Me If You Can (with Kami solo)
• Akatsuki
• 4 no Uta
• Megitsune
• Doki Doki Morning
• Gimme Chocolate!!
• Headbanger!!!!
• Ijime, Dame, Zettai

Kami Band lineup:

• Fujioka Mikio -- Guitar
• Leda Cygnus -- Guitar
• BOH -- Bass
• Aoyama Hideki -- Drums