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

■5/27 St. Louis, MO Pointfest Radio Show

9日目はミズーリ州セントルイスで大型野外ロックフェスティバル＜POINTFEST 2023＞に出演。オルタナティブ・ロックチャンネルとして人気を誇るラジオ局KPNTが主催し、1993年から30年続く米国でも歴史のあるロックフェスへ日本人ガールズバンドが出演するとあって、開催前から注目を集めていた。ヘッドライナーにINCUBUSを迎えたこの日、BAND-MAIDはWHITESTAGEへの参加となった。

昼下がり、ステージに掲げられたフェスの幕が風にはためくなか、BAND-MAIDが颯爽と登場。この日も「DOMINATION」で幕を開けると、“Hello Hello”の歌詞に合わせて早速会場からコールが起こるなど、一曲目から大盛り上がり。間髪入れずに「glory」のギターリフが流れると、両手を挙げジャンプしながら観客を焚きつけるSAIKI（Vo）。風に煽られ髪を靡かせながら熱唱する姿は、この10年メインボーカルとしてハードロックを歌い上げてきた自信と貫禄に満ち溢れている。


KANAMI（G）とMISA（B）がステージの上手・下手を行き来しながら、お互い笑顔で向き合い演奏するなど、本当に楽しんで演奏していることが観客にも伝わってくる。時折何かを口ずさむような様子を見せながら、はにかんでギターを奏でるKANAMIに、観ているこちらもふと笑顔がこぼれてしまう。

続く「secret My lips」では、小鳩ミク（G, Vo）がハンドクラップを客席に促すなど、観客とのコミュニケーションも欠かさない。フェスでコール＆レスポンスが巻き起こることもおなじみとなった「endless Story」では、客席からの声を大切に確かめるよう、耳に手を添えるジェスチャーをするSAIKIが「Everybody,Raise your hands!」と叫ぶと、観客の掲げた手が波打つように広がって揺れていく。異国の地でも初見の観客が多いなかでも、どんな場所でも堂々としたパフォーマンスで観客を引き込み、一瞬にして一体感を作り出してしまうBAND-MAIDの魅力は唯一無二のものだろう。


一転、「Screaming」の激しいギターリフに歓声が巻き起こると、AKANE（Dr )のタイトなドラムに合わせて小鳩ミクも首を左右に激しく降りながらリズムを刻む。ギターソロではKANAMIがステージ中央を陣取り激しくギターをかき鳴らし、その細い腕からは想像もつかない力強い音を放っていく。メンバー各々の魅せ場も楽しみな「influencer」では、MISAが舞台下手で力強いベースソロを弾き始めるやいなや、KANAMIが傍に駆け寄っていく。MISAを一瞬のぞきこむように笑顔を向けたかと思うと、ソロのバトンを受け取ったかのように一心不乱にギターをかき鳴らすKANAMI。時に恍惚の表情で天を仰ぎ見ながら気持ちよさそうにのびのびと弾くその姿に、誰もが魅了されてしまう。

ラストの「NO GOD」では、小鳩ミクが“楽しんだ者勝ち”の歌詞に合わせて、客席に向かって笑顔を振り撒きながらツインテールを揺らし飛び跳ねる。SAIKIも「Jump! Jump!」と観客を煽りまくり、観客のボルテージも最高潮に。鳴り止まない歓声のなか、”Bye bye,cluppo! ”と小鳩ミクのお決まりの挨拶で明るくステージを後にした。


なお、この日はヘッドライナーINCUBUSのマイク・アインジガー（G）もステージ袖でBAND-MAIDの演奏を楽しみ、自身のSNSで彼女たちの演奏を讃えるなど、世界で活躍するアーティストからも大絶賛で迎えられたBAND-MAID。8月には＜Lollapalooza Chicago＞出演も控えており、ガールズバンドとしていま世界で最も注目を集めている彼女たちの快進撃は止まらない。


On the ninth day of the tour, it was off to St. Louis, Missouri and the outdoor rock music festival Pointfest 2023. Organized by popular alternative rock station KPNT, the festival was celebrating the 30th anniversary of its founding in 1993, and plenty of buzz had been building around the appearance of BAND-MAID, the first all-female Japanese band ever to play there. Sharing the bill with headliners Incubus, BAND-MAID took their positions on the White Stage.

It was early afternoon, and the breeze had set the stage curtain waving in the wind when BAND-MAID sashayed onto the stage. They once again opened with "DOMINATION" and the audience sang along, replicating the "hello hello" portion of the lyrics and ramping up the atmosphere at the festival right from the start. When the guitar line transitioned seamlessly into the next number "glory", SAIKI rose to get the audience going, leaping onstage with both hands raised in the air. Her confident figure as she passionately sang with the wind playing through her hair showed perfectly her dignity and assuredness as the band's vocalist for ten years running. KANAMI and MISA had huge smiles on their faces as they moved freely between the upper and lower tiers of the stage while playing, making their enjoyment at performing clear to the spectators.


KANAMI's bashful guitar playing, punctuated by moments of humming to herself, had the audience unable to keep the smiles from their faces. The next number "secret My lips" got MIKU leading the audience to clap along, never failing to keep her masters and princesses engaged. During "endless Story", a popular choice for call-and-response during festival shows, SAIKI called out "Everybody, raise your hands!" before cupping her hands to her ears to show the audience she was listening closely to them and causing a wave of raised arms to bloom from the stands. Even in a foreign country, playing before lots of first-time attendees, BAND-MAID's ability to draw in their audience and instantly create a sense of oneness with them in any setting through their magnificent performance is a testament to their unique appeal and skill.

Changing tempo with "Screaming" brought yells of delight at the furious tones of the guitar riffs, coupled with AKANE's tight drumming and MIKU's headbanging to the rhythm. KANAMI took center stage for a thrashing guitar solo, unleashing surprising fury and blistering sound with her slender arms. The moment that MISA started up a powerful bass solo during "influencer", KANAMI rushed to her side, and went from grinning at MISA to staring rapturously up into space as she started her own solo as though she'd been handed the baton, making for a charming sight.


For their final number, the band had chosen "NO GOD", MIKU jumped around the stage and shook her twin ponytails in rhythm to the lyrics "tanoshinda mono kachi" ("those who have fun are the victors") while grinning out at the audience. SAIKI got into it too, encouraging the audience with cries of "Jump! Jump!" that turned the voltage of excitement up to 11. They left the stage amid cheers and MIKU's standard parting words of "Bye bye, cluppo!", bringing the performance to a bright and brilliant end.

BAND-MAID's fans weren't limited to the audience area, either - guitarist Mike Einziger of that day's headlining act Incubus was enjoying their performance from offstage, and later shared his praise for their show on his social media, bringing a flood of new international attention and acclaim to BAND-MAID. With a slot at Lollapalooza in Chicago coming up in August, there's no stopping the current #1 all-female in worldwide popularity, BAND-MAID!

JAPANESE TEXT ＆ PHOTO FG5
TRASLATION Natalie S. Hadjiloukas