Several hundred dedicated Naruto fans filed into Portland’s Roseland Theater to catch J-rock band FLOW on their Naruto the Rock tour. While the original manga and anime series has concluded, this concert tapped into the latent passion that fans, young and old alike, have for the series by compiling a setlist of songs from the anime. Ninja headbands, Akatsuki jackets, Uzumaki swirls, nunchucks that double as light sticks, and other Naruto paraphernalia were scattered generously throughout the crowd.
The concert began the same way the anime does, with a gate to the Hidden Leaf Village projected on the screen and the main theme streaming through the speakers. As the projection moved into the village, drummer IWASAKI, guitarist TAKE, and vocalists KOHSHI and KEIGO sauntered on stage. GOT’S, the bassist, was unfortunately absent due to an illness.
FLOW epitomizes the charm of J-rock: catchy hooks, upbeat tempo, and emotive and uplifting lyrics, turbocharged with the nostalgia and stories from a beloved anime. Clips from Naruto played on the large screen behind the musicians throughout most of the show, but the band’s energetic performance commanded most of the attention. KOHSHI, KEIGO, and TAKE wandered freely around the stage, often hanging out at the edge of the stage, making power poses on the speakers and jumping around to hype the crowd. In “Haruka Kanata (Far Away),” they even did a cute dance move where they circled their arms side to side and while lifting one leg. The anthemic bridge of “Haruka Kanata (Far Away)” segued perfectly into the soaring opening of “Viva★Rock,” a cover of ORANGE RANGE’s Naruto closing song. Featuring a chant-able pre-chorus and chorus as well as exciting rap parts, this song was a crowd-pleaser. Similarly, the grungy, rap-heavy “Hero’s Come Back!!” with its rousing intro of “Everybody stand up!” amped up the crowd. They lightened the mood with “~Shooting Star~”, a happy-go-lucky, funky track with lots of horns and even a sprinkle of keys.
In between songs, the band talked about the trials and tribulations they experienced when performing in Portland last year. “Our AC broke, we got a flat tire, the roof started leaking, and our bus driver didn’t have his passport when we were crossing the border,” recalled KOHSHI in English. In comparison, this year was a cakewalk.
Even in the mellower songs, like “Blue Bird,” the band leaped across the stage to bring out the energy from the crowd, all the while keeping stable vocals. KEIGO’s voice had a lovely warm and round quality, though he got a bit pitchy at times, while KOHSHI’s voice was brighter and more nasally. Despite the different timbres, their voices melded well during harmonies, especially during “CLOSER” and “Sign.” Thankfully, the live sound mix allowed the vocals to cut through clearly all throughout the venue, allowing attendees to fully appreciate the band’s expressive and strong vocals. “Sign” is a tragic song about protecting the ones you love, even if it costs you everything, and the piano ballad version, played over slowed-down scenes from the anime, tugged on heartstrings even more. Following the song, a moment of silence filled the room with a somber weight. KEIGO stepped forward and pulled out a notebook, and he started reading a passage about finding commonalities and treating each other with kindness. “We are all friends, and we are all connected,” he said, reminding the crowd that despite our differences, we were all at the same place at the same time, and something about that forged a connection between everyone in the room.
After the emotional moment passed, the band returned to more upbeat tracks. The instrumentalists got to show off for a bit before they segued into a cover of KANA-BOON’s “Silhouette,” an uplifting track that feels like it’s cheering you on. Probably the most well-known song though was FLOW’s very own “GO!!!”, a rousing song filled with the optimism and passion of youth. The snares on the off beat propelled the song forward, and the call and response in the “Right here, right now (Bang!)” from the post-chorus added a sense of camaraderie to the song. TAKE’s light-up hat also injected some fun holiday cheer to the performance of this song. They closed the evening with the symphonic-funk influenced “Kara no Kokoro” (originally by Anly) and a reprise of “Sign,” but this time the rock version. The reprise of this song with more energetic instrumentals felt like a metaphor about how it’s possible to find a path forward after experiencing pain and loss, a beautiful parallel to one of the themes of Naruto.
The joy and togetherness the show invoked was a triumphant testament to the timeless quality of both the band and the Naruto series. FLOW has been around for over two decades, yet their spritely demeanor and infectious passion suggest they’ll be at this for many more years to come.
Click on the photo below to view our photos from the concert:
