Wrapping their Good Morning [New] World U.S. Tour on a strong note, BURNOUT SYNDROMES performed a sold out show in Los Angeles at The Roxy Theatre. Despite taking place on a Tuesday night, the small theater was filled to the brim with passionate fans, each ready to wave their lightsticks in the air and scream their hearts out.
Starting a little after their slated 8pm time, the three band members casually strolled onstage with a shout, asking if the crowd was ready. This led into the first song of the night, “Good Morning World!” from the anime, Dr. STONE. Serving as a bright and welcoming opening song to both the anime and the concert itself, the track would also later be revisited for the finale of the night’s show. Effortlessly going through several more energetic songs, the band only paused momentarily to greet fans and show off their playful personalities with their casual banter and jokes.
After giving individual introductions to the crowd, BURNOUT SYNDROMES shared how honored they were to be performing to this sold out audience in Hollywood, especially as the last stop of their tour. “We had 10 stops on this tour,” they began seriously, before guitarist and vocalist Kazuumi Kumagai (熊谷和海) and bassist Taiyu Ishikawa (石川大裕) playfully made a bet on whether drummer Takuya Hirose (廣瀬拓哉) would be able to name all 10 stops. Betting a banana and bag of Hot Cheetos, Kumagai won the bet (and therefore a banana) when he guessed Hirose would remember seven of the 10 cities. This was just the first of many instances of the band’s funny banter onstage, as they showed off their decades-long friendship.
The trio clarified that the band actually has four members, with the fourth being their fans. Later on in the show, the three childhood friends would realize this was their third visit to LA — counting a middle school trip. “When we came [for our middle school trip], we had already formed the band,” Ishikawa began. “We are so happy to be back 20 years later. We love to make songs, so it’s an honor to have our songs chosen for anime, and also to have everyone here know us and our music.”
Throughout the night, Ishikawa also made sure to include their fourth member as often as possible. He had the audience vote on the best American burger joint (which In N Out unsurprisingly won by a landslide), on how everyone found out about the concert (most of the crowd found the show via Instagram), and on which anime opening song fans knew them from first (of which Haikyu!! was the most common one). While the constant voting and inquiring with the audience may seem silly to an outsider, for those in the crowd, it was a unique way for the band and fans to interact, overcoming the language barrier.
Even with a small technical hitch mid-show when Ishikawa’s mic battery died, the trio never once slowed down or lost energy. Within the 90-minute show, the band made sure to pack in as much music as they could. BURNOUT SYNDROMES performed a slew of songs that got the crowd’s blood pumping including, “Hana Ichi Monme (花一匁)” from Gintama and tracks off their latest album like “Ocean -WORLD Edition-,” during which Hirose swapped his drums for a DJ pad instead. Before launching into the album’s title track, “The WORLD is Mine,” Kumagai explained that it was inspired by American dance music and EDM and shouted, “Everyone please shake your body and enjoy!”
Although all the performances that night were energetic and engaging, the songs that garnered the loudest cheers were from volleyball anime Haikyu!! Fourth season opening song “PHOENIX” was met with overwhelming cheers as fans head banged and sang along to the song, but it wasn’t until the last number of the night (prior to the encore, of course) that the energy truly felt palpable. Ishikawa shouted in introduction, “This song was used in the volleyball games in the Paris Olympics, so everyone please prepare and fly as high as the volleyball in the sky!” As the band played the first notes of season two opening song, “FLY HIGH!!,” the crowd screamed in unison, almost as if they were also cheering on their favorite characters or team in an intense volleyball match. After leaving the stage briefly, BURNOUT SYNDROMES closed the night with a reprised version of “Good Morning [New] World” to bring the concert full circle, and the U.S. tour officially came to an end.
Despite the technical error midway, it was still a perfect night of live music and bustling energy, as the band left the stage drenched in sweat. With excellent chemistry between the members and even with the audience, BURNOUT SYNDROMES provided fans with a great show and memories to last a lifetime or, at least until their next visit to Hollywood.
Click on the photo below to view our photos from the concert:
