Japanese indie band, Lamp, celebrated their quarter century of being together by returning to The Americas for the second time. During their sold-out 2024 ‘FUTURE BEHIND ME World Tour,’ the group was stunned by the overwhelming reception of the American crowds, and thus, they decided to come back in 2025. Luckily for those in Southern California, Lamp booked two nights at the Anaheim House of Blues where they were greeted by young, passionate fans who filled the venue for the first night to the brim.
For a band that’s been together for 25 years, their international fanbase is notably much younger than the group itself. Their popularity outside of Asia climbed exponentially after 2020 as people began discovering their older discography on streaming and social media sites and applications. The re-popularization of Shibuya-kei and city-pop sound combined with the renewed interest in vinyl collecting was the perfect social formula to grow their intense following. Understandably, fans lined up extra early to buy “Lamp Genso” on vinyl, with some even offering double the price in cash.
Ahead of showtime, the stage was already set with three small, intricately decorated lamps for the main three members. These would light up and provide a small orb of illumination as the fog machines lightly kicked in. Onstage came the three Lamp members, Yusuke Nagai (vocals, guitar), Kaori Sakakibara (vocals, flute), and Taiyo Someya (guitar). Behind them were their supporting bandmates Jun Suzuki (keyboard), Hiderow Nishioka (percussion, trumpet, and chorus), Keisuke Tanaka (bass), and Toshiyuki Sasaki (drums). Before they continued, Kaori asked the crowd to give Toshi warm wishes for his 47th birthday.
Starting off strong with the gentle bossa nova track, “From the Window,” Nagai and Kaori’s matured vocals clearly contrasted with their recorded studio version from 22 years ago–a benefit of watching a performance live. Following up with the jazz track, “Autumn in City A,” the band transpoted the audience into a warm autumn evening, pretending as if “City A” was Anaheim. Hiderow added extra trumpet ad-libs to the end of the song to round out the exciting performance.
Taking a moment to speak directly to the crowd, Nagai asked loudly if the crowd understood Japanese. He mainly spoke in Japanese while Kaori took over to introduce the band in English. Despite this being their second tour in the US, they were nervous speaking in front of a packed crowd. However, they showed no signs of tension while performing their viral hit, “Yume Utsutsu.” Kaori’s vocals were as stable and heavenly as they were in the recorded version, and Hiderow’s striking percussion brought the song to its end.
Part of the magic of seeing a concert live is both hearing the band explain their interpersonal chemistry as well as witnessing a do-over. On that first night performance, Lamp fans observed both situations. Taiyo explained that sometimes the band members don’t say anything because there’s nothing to talk about, yet they still understand each other. Shortly after that, Yusuke stopped thirty seconds into his vocals for “If You Cry” before asking the crowd if he could try again. “This part is very difficult, and I’m so nervous to sing,” he confessed. Indeed, the high note in the first verse sounded much better after his warm up.
Before the upbeat song, “Windy Afternoon,” Taiyo asked fans if they knew where the Lamp members were from. Of course, the loudest guesses were for Tokyo, which the three members laughed at. “That’s about right.” Yusuke admitted they were based out of Tokyo when they were young, but now they’re split into different prefectures. “This is very private information,” said Kaori while laughing.
As they wrapped up the night with two encore songs, “For Lovers” and “Last Train at 25 O’ clock,” the stage cannons blew bubbles into the air as opposed to confetti or fog–a fitting end to a magical night.
