I have been a fan of One OK Rock (OOR) long before they sang the theme songs for the three Rurouni Kenshin live action films (they had had successful albums before these). I had been watching them, thanks to the world wide web, even before they electrified concert halls outside of Asia, in Europe and the Americas.
So imagine how euphoric I was when I finally got to see them live in 2016, during their XXXV concert in Manila! It was such a highly-charged evening, nothing less than what I had seen in their concert videos, that when vocalist Taka Moriuchi said, “See you next time!” I was sure I’d watch them again.
Last January 29, that “next time” was here. The Mall of Asia Arena, as in two years ago, again burst with the energy of the band and the hysteria of thousands of us OORockers. Their Ambitions concert was a reminder that this Japanese band, whenever you think you’ve identified all the reasons to love them, would just decide to get better.
That Monday night, the moment the lights dimmed, fans started screaming. When the instrumental intro from their latest album Ambitions played, the crowd just roared. And when Taka, Toru (Yamashita, lead), Ryota (Kohama, bass), and Tomoya (Kanki, drums) finally opened with “Bombs Away,” the hall just sort of exploded.
Then all eyes and ears were on Ryota as he performed a bass solo to signal the next song, “Deeper Deeper,” after which the band took things up a notch with “Taking Off.” They didn’t give the fans the chance to breathe since they followed it up with “Cry Out.”
That was just for the opening. Because the fans went wild as band members took turns greeting us in Filipino.
The screaming, jumping, dancing, singing, and head banging just went on the entire night. It’s the effect they have on you when the four of them hit the stage. Taka hit the notes effortlessly while bobbing and running across the stage and leaping. Toru and Ryota never missed a chord even while spinning. And Tomoya, his precision with the drums was pure thrill.
Next, Toru took centerstage playing the guitar solo for their old song, “Re:Make,” before the band slowed things down a bit with “Clock Strikes,” where Taka displayed his impressive vocal range as the crowd sang along, “Believe that time is always forever!”
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