【連載】BAND-MAID<10TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR in NORTH AMERICA>5月前編

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■5/18 Daytona, FL Welcome to Rockville Fest

3日目はフロリダ州デイトナビーチにあるサーキットレース場・Daytona International Speedwayで4日間に亘り開催された<Welcome to Rockville Fest>へ出演。Slipknot、PANTERA、TOOL、AVENGED SEVENFOLDなどの世界的人気のロックバンドがヘッドライナーに名を連ねる本フェス。初日となったこの日は、Slipknotをヘッドライナーに迎えて開催された。


晴れ渡る青空の下始まったフェスだが、夕方には突如天候が崩れ、観客も含めてステージ周りから避難するようにアナウンスがされる。当初は夕方の予定だったBAND-MAIDのステージも、雨風の通過を待ち、約2時間押しとなる20時50分からのパフォーマンスとなった。

天候のトラブルがあったにも関わらず、BAND-MAIDを待ち侘びる観客でいっぱいとなったROCKVILLIAN STAGEにメンバーが現れると、大歓声が響き渡る。ヒューストン、オースティン公演と同様「DOMINATION」で幕を開け、「One and only」「Blooming」と立て続けに演奏すると、激しく力強いパフォーマンスで聴衆を惹きつける。一曲一曲と演奏を重ねる毎に観客がみるみる増えていき、ステージ間にある歩道も見えなくなるほどに、BAND-MAIDの観客で会場が埋め尽くされていく。先の2公演ではラストを飾り会場をひとつにしていた「endless Story」を3曲目に演奏すると、初見の観客も多いだろうフェスにも関わらず、シンガロングが巻き起こる。


30分という短い持ち時間ながらも、こうやって海外の観客をしっかり魅了できるのは、この10年間、海外での公演も数多く重ねてきたBAND-MAIDだからこそ。続く「Screaming」ではKANAMI(G)の攻撃的なギターから始まる激しいパフォーマンスで観客を再び煽り、お給仕人気の特に高い「Play」「NO GOD」ではメンバー各々の演奏力の高さを見せつける。ラストは「Warning!」で締めくくり、鳴り止まない歓声のなか、ステージを後にした。

昨年出演した米国の野外フェス<Aftershock Festival>」では延べ1万人以上の集客をしたが、今回の「Welcome to Rockville Fest」では昨年の倍となる延べ2万人以上を集める超満員を記録。さらにはこの日、ヘッドライナーのSlipknotメンバーもSNSでBAND-MAIDのライブの模様をアップするなど、アーティストからの注目度の高さも窺えたステージだった。



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▪️May 18 Daytona, FL Welcome to Rockville Fest
On only the third day of their tour, BAND-MAID joined the likes of Slipknot, Pantera, Tool, Avenged Sevenfold, and other huge headliner names at the Welcome to Rockville Fest, held over four days at the Daytona International Speedway in Florida's Daytona Beach. The 18th was Day 1 of the festival, with Slipknot appearing as the headliners.


The day began under cloudless blue skies, but the weather took a turn for the stormy that evening, making it necessary to evacuate an area around the stage that included the waiting audience. Originally scheduled to play in the early evening, BAND-MAID waited out driving wind and rain and were finally able to start their performance at 8:50 PM, about two hours later than scheduled.

Bad weather proved no match for BAND-MAID, and when they set foot on the Rockvillian Stage it was to the delighted cheers of the fans awaiting them. Like in the Houston and Austin shows, they opened with "DOMINATION", followed at a rapid tempo by "One and only" and "Blooming" for a charming performance that had every fan straining to get closer. The audience grew larger with every song as festivalgoers were drawn by BAND-MAID's presence and music, filling the space in front of the stage and spilling out onto the walkways between stages until the whole area was blanketed with BAND-MAID lovers. "endless Story", performed as the closing number of their last two shows, was #3 in the set list this time, and even in an audience full of first-time music festival participants, a sing-along broke out.


Though they played for only 30 short minutes, BAND-MAID's ten-year history of international performances let them captivate this new audience with ease and style. "Screaming" featured a characteristically aggressive and showstopping solo from guitarist KANAMI that raised the audience's excitement through the roof, and okyuji favorites "Play" and "NO GOD" shone the spotlight on the individual skills of every band member. The set ended with "Warning!", but the cheering didn't, even after BAND-MAID said goodbye and departed the stage.

At the Aftershock Festival in 2022, they played before an audience of 10,000 people, and Welcome to Rockville was twice as large, placing BAND-MAID before a crowd of over 20,000 in total. It wasn't just the audience who loved them, either - headliners Slipknot shared live footage of BAND-MAID performing to their social media sites, perfectly highlighting the way that they're grabbing the attention of fellow artists all over the world.

JAPANESE TEXT & PHOTO FG5
TRASLATION Natalie S. Hadjiloukas
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