This is just their second foray into America after Whiskey-a-Go-Go show back in 2022. I'm really appreciative of the fact they've spent an inordinate amount of time here. There are many bands who only appear in America once or twice, and are never seen from again. Many more that have never come to America period, and I've had to actually go to them in Japan. NEMOPHILA has had about as many concerts over in the States as they have in Japan, and so early into their career. I'm hoping this will become a regular trend.
NEMOPHILA consists of vocalist Mayu, guitarists Saki (also a member of the on-hiatus Mary's Blood) and Hazuki (ex-Disqualia), bassist Haraguchi-san, and drummer Tamu Murata.
I spent most of the last two shows with my camera in hand. Sadly, none from the front, but I wasn't about to let that daunt me. I got plenty of good shots, and I had a good time doing so. I noticed one thing in particular: NEMOPHILA is having a ton of fun. One thing I remember from 2022 is that they were so happy to hear people's voices. At that time, Japan was still very cautious and cheers from the crowd were more or less forbidden. Musicians feed off of the reactions from their fans, and a roaring crowd is just what they need. Now in 2023, they're still quite cautious, but it's getting better.
Hazuki and Haraguchi-san tend to stick to stage right, and Saki on stage left. For some reason I always thought of Saki as being more stoic but you can see, she is living it up. I'm a little jaded after photographing concerts for upwards of a decade but I was happy to see all the smiles on their faces.
The US tour started in Sacramento, the site of last year's Aftershock Festival, which marked the band's festival debut. You've still got plenty of chances to see them live. They'll be hitting up San Diego on March 12 before they head eastward to Texas for SXSW and finally, New York.
The setlist is split between the band's two albums, REVIVE, and Seize the Fate. Seize the Fate was released just this past December.
For each of the two nights I saw them, NEMOPHILA ran a three-set encore. "Night Flight" is a lot of fun, followed by the heavy-hitting "REVIVE," and finally, the song that started it all, "Oiran."
On a side note, what you wear to a concert is ultimately pointless but still something to consider. For the San Francisco show, I had an old Kamelot shirt from 2013 and got the approval of the box office lady for the Great American Music Hall. For Los Angeles, my choice was a 2010 dir en grey shirt. I've been buying shirts at almost every concert I've attended throughout my life. Any good metal show attendee probably has a whole closet full of them. The band sported shirts from Guns n 'Roses, Slipknot, Pantera, Marilyn Manson, and others. It speaks a little bit about who and where they came from, and what influenced them.
NEMOPHILA is a band that is taking the world by storm and I hope to see them again soon. They're a must-see show for any concert-goer and we're very lucky to be seeing them at this point in their career.
Set list as follows.
Seize the Fate
RAITEI
ENTEN
Change the world (LA: Back into the wild)
STYLE
ADABANA
Life
Into the Arena (Michael Schenker Group cover) (LA: The Trooper - Iron Maiden cover)
FIGHTER / Rollin' Rollin' / HYPNOSIS / Monsters (Nemophila Quartette medley)
ZEN
SORAI
DISSENSION
Encore:
Night Flight
REVIVE
OIRAN
Tour stops as a whole:
3/7/23 Roseville, CA - Goldfield Trading Post
3/8/23 San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall
3/9/23 Los Angeles, CA - Echoplex
3/12/23 San Diego, CA - House of Blues
3/14/23 Houston, TX - Scout Bar
3/16-3/17/23 Austin, TX - SXSW
3/19/23 Dallas, TX - Trees
3/20/23 New York, NY - Gramercy Theater
Many thanks to NEMOPHILA's marketing and management for giving the opportunity to photograph the band.
