As the minutes ticked away I sat in Bay Area traffic almost but not quite to my destination. The 90 minutes I had thought this trip would take at longest was now whittled away to near-nothing. I hadn't counted on someone getting in an accident and bringing traffic to a standstill. Perhaps I should have because there's always "that guy" who gets in an accident. We're not exactly known for our driving abilities in California.
I had but two realistic ways of getting there before ONE OK ROCK went onstage.
1) Neck Deep playing first
2) No one actually playing at the slated start time of 6PM like most concerts
I came up empty on both.
The nice lady at the box office asked, "You know they're on right now, right?" That was my fear. There were many people still milling about outside so I hoped they were there because the show hadn't started. The man at the door similarly said, "You're late," and asked where I had come from. "San Francisco, taking 280." He knew of the accident already.
Long story short, I missed a good chunk of the performance.
Tonight's venue is the San Jose City National Civic Auditorium. It plays host to a variety of concerts and also serves as the location for Fanime's MusicFest which t-ono readers should be familiar with. Fittingly I had learned of ONE OK ROCK from the Black Rock Shooter game in 2011. The Civic is run by Team San Jose which is part of the San Jose city government (more specifically the San Jose Convention and Visitors Bureau). It is, by far, one of the best concert venues I've been to. A large open floor, seating around the edges for those who wish to rest, and an upper deck with more seats for those who want a different kind of view.
From their humble beginnings playing local shows in Japan they moved on to the Summer Sonic circuit garnering them a much greater number of fans. ONE OK ROCK quickly became a national act touring the length and width of Japan multiple times with an Asian concert here and there. In 2013 they truly went international visiting locations across Europe and finally in 2014 made their way to America which seems to be a sort of destination for all great bands. So far they have toured alongside other bands with only a few stand-alone concerts. For the most recent series of dates they are the opening act for the bands All Time Low and Sleeping With Sirens who both have sizable fanbases.
As the line for autographs would attest ONE OK ROCK has quite a fanbase themself. They were going full factory-line with zero time for people to take photos of, interact with, or even shake a hand. You came up, got your signatures, and were quickly ushered away. Considering the wait for the merchandise table that's a good thing for me and I managed to acquire a set of autographs right before they were cut off. Perhaps fortune had smiled on me just a little bit; for most acts I usually do not exit the main stage area between sets and would have missed this opportunity.
The band has recently signed to Warner Brothers Records and their latest album "35xxxv" which was released in February and re-released in America in September seems to fit the picture. If you didn't know their origins you would never be able to tell from listening to them. There's actually no Japanese at all on the record which, for a Japanese band, is quite odd. When you factor in their influences it makes a lot more sense. Toru and Taka (the leader and vocalist respectively) have many American rockers as their influences; names vary from Good Charlotte to Linkin Park to the Foo Fighters and even Sleeping With Sirens which they now tour alongside.
As opening act the band has a limited time frame to play; they decided to go completely with songs from "35xxxv." I had hoped for some of older songs like "No Scared," "The Beginning," and "C.h.a.o.s.m.y.t.h." The new stuff is definitely easier for people out here to understand (being in English and all). They've been using a specific setlist on all of their openings so far so even though I missed part of it I can still write.
The largely instrumental titular song "3xxxv5" led off followed by "Take Me to the Top" which is a high-paced song designed to get people moving and one of the standout songs on the album. "Cry Out," which is about the point of time when I arrived outside the theater, followed right afterward much like it does on the album. The song "Decision" takes the fourth spot on the list and slows things down a bit. I really like the drumming on this one, especially during the chorus. "Paper Planes" is an interesting song which combines ONE OK ROCK's current sound with some synth. The band finished up with "Mighty Long Fall" which starts off a little slow before ramping up. You can definitely hear Linkin Park's influence on this track. A song we didn't hear tonight is "One by One." I think it would have been a great addition to the set.
Tonight marked the last of ONE OK ROCK's four California shows. They're still touring the US and will continue til about mid-November before taking a break and popping up in Russia followed by a tour of Europe.
Thanks to WB for making this possible and again, apologies for the lack of photos. I suppose next time I have a show in San Jose I'll have to leave two hours earlier instead of one and a half...
Setlist:
3xxxv5
Take Me to the Top
Cry Out
Decision
Paper Planes
Mighty Long Fall
Album song count:
35xxxv: 6
ONE OK ROCK continues to:
10/28 Kent, WA
10/30 Portland, OR
10/31 Boise, ID
11/1 Magna, UT
11/2 Broomfield, CO
11/4 Clive, IA
11/5 Hoffman Estates, IL
11/6 Ypsilanti, MI
11/7 Milwaukee, WI
11/9 Minneapolis, MN
11/10 Indianapolis, IN
11/11 St Louis, MO
11/13 Grand Rapids, MI
