One OK Rock

Converting the masses, 20 000 at a time.

Pop-rock behemoth One OK Rock made their Fuji Rock debut this evening to mixed crowd of fans and converts. Such was the impact on the crowd that pretty much everyone I was surrounded by heard the first song  and immediately delayed their planned trips to the portaloos.

Drummer Tomoya and bassist Ryota took to the stage first, with a piano backing track announcing the band’s arrival. Guitarist Toru followed and after an anticipatory build-up frontman Taka appeared on stage to rapturous applause and comments on how “cute” they were,  as the band flew straight into their first number. With chug-heavy guitar breakdowns the band instantly caught attention, and it was a sign that there were better things to come. One OK Rock’s first three songs did a great job of showing them off at their best – punkier moments followed by metal moments, Taka working the crowd to jump along with him to the band’s catchy choruses as he belted out number after number with a voice which pretty much never falters from flawless.

With songs like “The End” and Taka’s later turn on acoustic guitar, the band showed the side of them which would probably make a stadium full of teenage girls cry – heartfelt melodies and lyrics heart-rendingly delivered to a crowd perhaps too old and jaded to fall for romantic tales of lost love, yet appreciative enough to let it fly. It was suggested that the band sound like a metal-band fronted by Chesney Hawkes and this more of an accurate description than an off-the-cuff remark may seem. “The Beginning” was a prime example of this, so much so that for a moment I thought we were about to listen to Vanessa Carlton’s “A Thousand Miles” as the prolonged intro went on. The song however is a classic One OK Rock number, showing the band at their very best and, despite a saggy saccharine middle (keep in mind they came on before Moorhead), this was a set which was a exactly what a festival of potential converts needed – a thorough walk-through the One OK Rock oeuvre – and that’s what they got.

It’s hard to fault One OK Rock; they’re a band who never fail to impress.  Their potential to go world-wide is huge and hopefully their set at Fuji Rock will have given them enough word-of-mouth converts to speed that along.