Babymetal played not one, but three nights at the House of Blues Anaheim with support from Scene Queen on December, 3-5th. These are two bands that I haven’t really followed but I’ve heard of what they’ve done and I was intrigued to see what they are all about. I did see a few songs of Babymetal at Sick New World earlier this year and they are definitely in a league of their own.
We walked in right as Scene Queen took the stage. I’ve heard different opinions about her, some say she is a man hater (she’s actually not), some say she’s a Barbie kind of girl, some say she’s just “TikTok famous”, and some are huge fans. I always try to keep an open mind and have my own opinion but I’ll be honest, I thought I wasn’t going to like her. She embraces a new genre she dubs “bimbocore” which mixes metal core and feminist. I can only imagine what I’m walking into, but again, keeping an open mind. I loved her! She’s a gorgeous bad ass that has fun talking shit about the scene. The part of the scene that we all don’t like, but she has the balls to write songs about it. On her Spotify she says “I’m plastic, fantastic, and musically dramatic. This is my catalog of mental illness.” She’s fun, go check her out.
We saw Babymetal briefly at Sick New World in April and we knew we wanted to see their headlining show. This was the second night of three at House of Blues Anaheim and it was a full house. As a photographer, we get a unique view point between the stage and the fans. On the rail were fans of all ages, which surprised me. There was a young girl dressed in the same outfit as Babymetal. She knew every word and every hand gesture. Security pulled her out when she got lightheaded along with another fan shortly after. She was clearly devastated that she lost her spot. One of the things I love most about Anaheim HOB is the security staff because they seem to actually care about the fans and their safety. They took care of this girl with water, a break, and a good spot to still see the band.
I felt a little out of place not knowing all the moves, but it was fascinating watching the fans. The towels during “PA PA YA!!” reminded me of the Terrible Towels for the Pittsburgh Steelers. The energy was amazing and the floor was literally moving beneath us. The girls took a quick break before “METAL!!!” The Kami band is lined up at the back of the stage mostly in the dark, wearing all black and masks. I like the idea that there isn’t really a star, they are a team, so no member stands out more than any other. Each member of the Kami band did a quick solo before the girls came back out. The energy was high the entire show, but “RATATATA” everyone lost their minds. The song features Electric Callboy, since they couldn’t be there, they were on the screen behind them. They closed out their set with “Road of Resistance” This tour has since concluded but Baby Metal will return in 2025!
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