It’s been a week since One Ok Rock performed at the Best Buy Theatre in New York City and I’m still coming down from the high.
The performance was amazing! They pulled off such a fantastic show for their second USA performance and proved that they will only continue to impress for Rock On The Range coming up in May 2014.
If you couldn’t go and see either the NYC show or the LA show, definitely make plans NOW to come over to my home-state of Ohio and support them at ROTR. But, enough of my recommendation… let’s get to the NYC show~
I arrived at the Best Buy Theatre close to 3PM… doors open at 6PM and the show starts at 7PM. Time to stand in line for 3 hours- with toes growing colder and tensions of nerves building up on themselves more and more, it was hard to keep still. A fan banner with signatures upon signatures piled up on and around each other was passed around by about 4/5PM.
Let me tell you the setlist that was played for the roughly 2,000 attendants crammed in to the venue:
1. [Introduction] ~Where Idiot Should Go~
2. Ending Story??
3. Deeper Deeper
4. Nothing Helps
5. C.H.A.O.S.M.Y.T.H.
6. Let’s Take It Someday
7. Jibun ROCK
8. Clock Strikes
9. Be The Light
10. Liar
11. Answer Is Near
12. [Re:Make]
13. Kanzen Kankaku Dreamer
14. The Beginning
[ENCORE]
15. Wherever You Are
16. No Scared
(setlist information can be found here: http://www.setlist.fm/setlist/one-ok-rock/2014/best-buy-theater-new-york-ny-1bc519bc.html )
Open with the ending and end with the beginning? Great choice, OOR!
This setlist in itself was jam packed with emotion and movement. From the beginning, the crowd was jumping and throwing their all into it- and that kept strong till the end. I believe it was somewhere around 4 or 5 times that Taka said “you guys are fucking awesome!”
Many of the songs were featured on full length PVs and were the most popular tracks to come from the band in the past 3-4 years. All of which are just fan favourites in general that never get old to see live.
My first ever One Ok Rock song was No Scared and I was in tears when it played for the final song of the entire night. I just think back- that song is the main reason I was there. My first time in NYC was devoted to them and it was well worth it!
I’d go in to detail about every song and how it erupted with the crowd- from the pounding beat followed by everyone jumping up and down, to the swaying and loud singing of the crowd during ballads such as Be The Light & C.H.A.O.S.M.Y.T.H. …but well I just summed it up right there.
This show along with the LA show were just two lives you had to be at if you are a huge OOR fan. But my biggest theory I was trying to prove wrong to myself was “Will OOR have a hard time at ROTR here in May?”
And my answer is: No, as long as the fans come out to support.
Why would I have such a bleak view for this band? I love them right? I should be nothing but positive… and I am… but hear me out for a bit:
-Rock On The Range is the Midwest’s largest rock and metal festival. It brings in headliner bands such as Korn, Guns n Roses, Avenged Sevenfold, Three Days Grace, etc. If you’ve ever been to one of their shows or even to the ROTR festival, you’d know the adrenaline is fast, the people are wild, and the atmosphere is loud in multiple senses of the word. From growing up in Ohio and knowing a fair share of rock/metal fans… the idea of a Japanese band at the festival probably won’t go over well. People are stupid- they’re racist and ignorant. They want music with lyrics they can “understand” and, while OOR has a lot of primarily English songs, the small blips of Japanese alone are enough to garner disgust from the viewers. Throw in some beer and you’ve got a disaster made in Hell~ Now, that’s WORST case scenario… and that’s me probably not giving enough credit to long-time Rangers. I know from other people that even small bands on the stage that no one hardly knows gets a good response and support. But… I’m just worried and voicing my deep down nasty gut-feeling. I thoroughly believe, the way for OOR and the fans to have the best time at ROTR is to show up en masse and sing your lungs out. Support the band and don’t give that sliver of ignoramuses the satisfaction of disrespecting the band. If you hear negativity, let it go- sing louder. Show OOR that you’re there for them and make the experience great for everyone. That’s one of the problems with rock festivals- is you’re gathering a bunch of fans together with a bunch of bands and not everyone is going to get along or like the music particularly being played. I’m a huge Black Veil Brides fan and everyone knows the negativity surrounding them and their fans but they were at ROTR last year and there was nothing posted about fan vs fan disasters.
And I’m 80% certain nothing will happen to that degree… but I can bet a few scoffing negative comments. So just let it go and have fun. If you’re able to show up- GO! I’ll be there. (Hoping to do a OOR ROTR special project coming up soon so we’ll see how well this goes)
ALL IN ALL- the One Ok Rock NYC show was AMAZING. A great setlist by a remarkable band with a fantastic crowd~
If you need proof… here is a fancam recording of Wherever You Are- the first song of the encore. Enjoy this~! (And the balloons were special balloons that say “Congratulations on completing your first US tour”. I have mine deflated and pinned to my ticket stub on my wall~ And Taka did see what the balloon said <3)
“We Live On Different Sides Of The Earth, But, Because Of Music, We Meet Each Other” – Taka
