Yogee New Waves
Rain started falling exactly as the Yogee New Waves took to the stage but by the end of their set, they had vanquished the weather with their driving, sunny pop-rock. The whimsical guitar of Fumiya starts the set, with a rock-solid pop groove established by Tetushi on drums. This led into frontman Kengo’s introduction, with his charismatic relaxed voice lightly laying on top of the band’s jaunty energy.
The band gives their reason for forming the band as advancing pop as a music genre and they show they’re not afraid to mix their sound up, with a cacopohonous start to their second song “Good Bye”. It soon breaks into waves of riffs that echo out into the crowd. They continue to evolve, with the next song featuring a slow crooning start before giving way to psychedelic licks of guitar and bouncing tapped bass from Kose.
Just 3 years ago, these guys were on the Rookie Stage at Fuji Rock. They’ve come a long way from there, as proved by the large early morning crowd that made it out to see them all the way at Field of Heaven. The band is built on a sunny adventurous sense of pop and strongly led by their frontman Kengo who has the crowd in the palm of his hand with his onstage dancing and engaging manner. The second half of their set sees the crowd get really involved, dancing and singing choruses, with the cheerful jumpy “Like 16 Candles” proving the highlight.
Ending their set with their now trademark zest and powerful finish, I’m left in in no doubt that the next time we see these guys at Fuji they will be on a bigger stage. Make sure to keep an eye on them!
