JAM Project tour is in the final stage! TOKYO DIVE" tour report from the first day in Kawasaki!

On Thursday, November 2, 2017, super anime song unit JAM Project opened its one-man live tour "JAM Project JAPAN TOUR 2017-2018 TOKYO DIVE" at the Kawasaki City Sports and Culture Center in Kanagawa Prefecture.

JAM Project is a super-unit featuring some of Japan's most talented singers, including Hironobu Kageyama, Masaaki Endo, Hiroshi Kitadani, Masami Okui, and Yoshiki Fukuyama. This is the first day of their nationwide tour in support of their original album "TOKYO DIVE," which was released in October of this year, and they are currently touring the country until the final show at Nippon Budokan on February 17, 2018. Let us introduce you to the memorable first day of their tour!

The members appeared on stage in suits glowing with LED lights!

Ahead of the three-day weekend in November, many fans gathered at the venue. What is most noteworthy is the wide range of fans. From young men and women to mature men and women, and even people who had come from overseas to see the band perform, it was clear just by looking at the audience that JAM Project has continued to attract people throughout its long history, and that it has also created new fans.

In addition, since taking pictures with cell phones was banned during this tour (*Taking pictures was prohibited during the MC, acoustic corner, and encores), it was impressive to see how many fans hurriedly checked their cell phone cameras when the announcement was made before the show began. Fans uploaded the photos to social networking sites, which was a nice touch to show the excitement of the tour that will continue until the end of the year.

When "Springing Out of Control" was played to open the show, the audience was instantly heated up. The entire venue was covered in red psyllium lights. When the band members appeared on stage one after another, the audience cheered yellow and shouted loudly. The live started with "TOKYO DIVE," the title song of the album. The opening of the live show, which followed the order of the songs on the album "TOKYO DIVE", raised the tension of the audience.

Then, the five members appeared on stage wearing dazzling suits with LED lights!　The LEDs turned red, blue, yellow, green, and pink, each in the color of the squadron, and then changed to white, purple, orange, and other colors in time with the music. The members also switched formations, overwhelming the audience with their intense movements and music. Combined with the stage projection, a photogenic scene spread out before our eyes in the audience seats.

The powerful voice of the singer was followed by "BAD CITY -We'll be alright!

After the frenzy from the beginning, Masaaki Endo took a turn during the MC and said with a laugh, "I finally emitted light (laughter). The members also celebrated the return of Hiroshi Kitadani, who was hospitalized this past August due to sudden hearing loss, and reiterated their enthusiasm for the upcoming tour. Hironobu Kageyama also revealed that this would be the first time he had performed in Kawasaki since the 1970s, when he was still in his teens, at a live house near the Kawasaki City Sports and Culture Center, the venue for this event.

Then they sang "Kamino Kiba - The Fang of Apocalypse", the theme song for the movie "GARO KAMINOKIBA", and "Kachi no Mirai - Toki-", the theme song for the special effects movie "HE-LOW". The latest song was followed by "Beni no Kiba," the opening theme song for the TV anime "Choujujin Gravion Zwei," which aired in 2004, and other hot songs typical of JAM Project. During the MC later in the show, Kageyama said, "I get excited when I hear the intro to an old song and say, 'Oh, wow! (laugh)," the tension was kept high throughout the show with a selection of both old and new songs.

From the acoustic middle part of the show, the audience was excited to hear the last part of the show!

The live performance moved into the solo/duet part of the show. Particularly impressive was "Hoshizora no Requiem" sung by Kageyama and Yoshiki Fukuyama with acoustic guitars. The music was well played and gave a sense of the breadth of JAM Project's musicality. Other songs include "Alexandria," in which Masami Okui's voice, along with the solemn music, captivates the audience.

But the breadth of their musical horizons did not stop there, as they performed "I Kill" and "Growing up" with acoustic guitars, djembes, bongos, and other instruments in the customary acoustic corner. The audience responded by clapping their hands. During "Growing up," a call-and-response began, and for some reason the similarity in the sound of the two songs led to the audience chanting, "Kawasaki Daishi! and "Great Buddha of Kamakura! The call and response was "Kawasaki Daishi! The live performance was not only hot and shaking, but also made the audience smile.

The audience was again enchanted by the hot music of "Gou-oum Punch," the image song of Saitama, the main character of the TV anime "One-Pan Man," and "The Brave," the opening theme song of the TV drama "Yusha Yoshihiko and the Seven Guided Men," and then "Tokyo Scandal" was followed by the light of the mirror ball. The audience was enveloped in the light of the mirror ball as they turned the song. Then, the band folded up with "Shining Storm ~Rekka no Yoku~" and "Kou no Resistance", and ended with the theme song of the TV anime "One Pan Man", "THE HERO! ～The last song was the theme song from the TV anime "One-Pan Man," "THE HERO! Fukuyama's shout echoed through the venue, and everyone jumped!　The members left the stage.

The encore of the Sparobo medley shook the venue violently!

But of course, this was not and could not be the end. Encores of "MOTTO! The members changed into live T-shirts and came out to sing "HERO" without pause, sending the audience into a frenzy once again. during the MC, Kageyama said, "For me, this is the 40th anniversary (of my activities), and I thought again that I would close 2017 by going ahead with JAM, which is the main stream for me. I know there will be a lot of things to do until the Budokan, but I hoped we could do it with these members. You guys are the best!" and the audience cheered with joy.

Kageyama continued, "I'd like to close with a Sparobo medley! Kageyama declared, "I'd like to close with a Super Robot medley! The audience had no choice but to get excited by the medley of songs from the "Super Robot Taisen" game series, so they had no choice but to put their last bit of energy into it!

The voltage was pushed to the limit as "Rocks," "Victory," "Gong," and "Skill" were played one after the other, all of them classic songs from the past!　The audience was in full force, giving everything they had to this one-time-only live performance, from the chants of "Oi oi oi" and jumping to the "MOTTO! And again, Fukuyama's shouts echoed through the venue, making the audience jump!　Thus, the show came to an end.

After the final MC, the first day's performance closed with a banzai sansho (three cheers for all). The audience called for the audience to join in the Sanbonjime, a three-stringed Japanese banner, to kick off the first day of the tour, which will continue from now on.

(Reporting and writing by Michi Sugahara)

*This is a correction of a mistake in the live tour schedule. We apologize for the error and correct it.