Radwimps North American Tour 2023 Review

Hello blog readers! It’s your girl, Nostalgia. Rookie guitarist and long time J-music fan. I never cared for concerts (loud, crowded spaces), but it was on my bucket list to see One OK Rock at least once. I got to see them in 2019 and have since opened up to more concerts.

I started this blog in late 2021, and I’ve had the opportunity to attend and review 3 concerts in 2022: Scandal, One OK Rock, and Miyavi. It’s been almost 6 months since my last review as not many Japanese artists stop off in Toronto, let alone Canada, but I’ve been keeping an eye out. Next one visiting my home down though, just happens to be RADWIMPS!

Radwimps is certainly a popular band that I think many people have heard so far, as their tracks, “Zenzensense”, “Sparkle” and “Nandemonai” were part of the soundtrack for some of the biggest animated movies ever, “Your Name” and “Weathering with You”. The band, however, has been active since 2003, long before their global popularity.

According to Crunchyroll, this tour serve two purposes: One is in celebration of the band’s FOREVER DAZE album which released in November 2021. Second is to assist in promoting the now released animated film, “Suzume”, in which Radwimps once again collaborating with legendary director Makoto Shinkai to provide the music score.

Pre-Concert Thoughts

Now, I purchased my ticket on February 2, 2023. I saw the ad on Instagram, found the Crunchyroll code, and got my tickets a little after they released on January 31, 2023 (I get paid on the 1st, and still considered if I should just save my money. I’m not that reckless of a spender haha).

Up to this point, I’ve only heard their popular tracks mentioned above as they’d often come up on Spotify’s top Japan and popular anime music playlists, so I was deciding if I should check out their other music beforehand. I knew all of One OK Rock’s discography, half of Scandal’s (up to 2012), and only a couple songs from Miyavi. I actually enjoy going in blind as I find I’m more attentive to a band’s sound and the atmosphere they create since it’s all new to me.

I also find you can learn a lot about a band and the people in it when you see them perform their songs live. I just love being indrenched by a band’s energy and seeing their chemistry, learning from them as a rookie performer myself. Sometimes, I leave concerts feeling refreshed and in a really good mood, like I did with Scandal. It’s also just nice being around other Japanese music fans as I’ve always felt quite lonely as a fan since childhood.

So with all that, I decided I would go in blind for Radwimps as well. I wasn’t sure if Radwimps only did more sentimental, orchestral, movie soundtrack kinda stuff or if they have a diverse discography, but I guess we’ll see!

“Sold Out” But….Will The Venue Be Full?

Radwimps sold out very quickly. I was thinking, ‘wow, they must be more popular than I expected!’. Don’t take that the wrong way. As I said in the intro, I know their music is super popular and included them in my 50 Japanese Artists Known Internationally list, BUT I’m still aware that Japanese artists as a whole still aren’t that popular in the West and it’s harder to sell tickets here than in other Asian countries.

People may know the songs cause of the anime, but that doesn’t mean they know the band’s name or will pay money to see them live. Scandal and Miyavi didn’t sell out. One OK Rock didn’t sell out Rebel when I went the first time in 2019, but they sold out in 2022….but they’ve had multiple tour stops in Toronto even before then, and had time to build their reputation via collabs and opening acts with Western artists. So I’m just being a realist here.

So not even a couple weeks after tickets went live and Toronto sold out, Radwimps announced that they are hosting a 2nd tour stop in Toronto. You can see in the ad that New York’s 2nd stop also sold our right away, but Toronto? Weeks went by and tickets were still available. I was a little confused, and I’m sure they were too.

That’s when I learned about Scalping, and that it may be what happened in this case. Scalpers would buy out in-demand shows with the intent of reselling them at a higher cost. But with a second date available, fans can just buy the 2nd show for regular price. February went by, March went by, and tickets were still available. It’s now mid April as I’m prepping this article, and there’s still tickets.

Having secured first date tickets, I am curious how many seats will be filled on the 1st day. I would feel really bad for them if they have to perform back-to-back nights just to see 2 half-filled venues. It’s really not fair for the artists who are coming from abroad to perform here, and not fair for the poorer fans (Toronto is too expensive for us young adults) who honestly want to see them. Hopefully, most seats are filled though <3

Update: It’s the morning of the first concert in Toronto. I see two Facebook posts. One was made in a Facebook group yesterday telling people Toronto tickets are still available, and then one by Radwimps announcing that they have finally sold out their tour. Yatta! [During the concert, they also confirmed that they only sold out the 2nd day yesterday. It was cutting it short, but congrats to them and their successful SOLD OUT North American tour!]

Day Of The EVent (April 26)

Arriving At The Venue

This event was hosted at Queen Elizabeth Theatre, located within Exhibition Place. I was here once before for Scandal. I was gifted VIP tickets then so I got to enter before Doors opened. They also didn’t sell out so the venue was only 1/3 full. Thus, I was not ready to see a line circling the whole building. Doors opened at 7, and I purposely arrive later at 7:25 hoping most of the line would be gone, but it kept growing. I got inside around 7:45 which wasn’t bad though.

As I walked in, the venue was pretty crowded. There really isn’t much space in the lobby are for those who want to wonder around, buy merch/food/drinks, or wait for the washroom. They also had a Radwimps banner on the wall and a Suzume ad in the middle for people to take photos with.

As I walked into the hall, I was really surprised to see an open floor. Scandal had all the seats in place and I didn’t even know they could be moved ^^” I made sure to find a clear spot by 8pm, and the show officially started at 8:15pm.

Setlist

1. Grand Escape
2. NEVER EVER ENDER
3. TWILIGHT
4. Gimigimikku
5. Zenzenzense
6. Mitsuha no Theme
7. Sparkle
8. DADA
9. Oshakashama (with band solo battles)
10. Sennou
11. I I U
12. Tummy
13. Toaru Haru no Hi
14. Nandemonaiya
15. KANATAHALUKA
16. Kaishin no Ichigeki

Encore:
17. Yume Tourou
18. Iin desu ka?

Notes On The Concert

As mentioned, I went in pretty blind for Radwimps. I wasn’t even sure how many members was in the band. I assumed 3-4 as I have seen the Zenzenzense MV a couple times which had 3 people in the shot, but obviously a drummer is needed. I was surprised to see 7 people get on stage, the singer, guitarist, bassist, and TWO DRUMMERS. I’m guessing the other guys assisted with vocal effects or additional sounds like in the first song.

For the first few songs, the main singer, Noda, would also go farther back on stage to play piano, but come back to the front when those parts was done. I was worried he was going to keep switching between the two, but then he pulled out the guitar and stayed near the front for the rest of the show. His vocals were on par and pretty steady throughout, even with all the movement.

As for the music, I was pleasantly surprised by the range of genres covered (but not surprised surprised as I know Japanese bands love to mix and explore as it is). The background graphics ranged from nature, to clips from their anime films, and they even put up translated English lyrics for a couple of their songs.

The guitarist, Akira, and bassist, Yusuke, were super energetic. The show lasted about 2 hours, but they were dancing and moving from beginning to end. My favourite part was when they had a guitar vs bass showdown. I figured the drummers were just session/touring musicians (they didn’t say anything to the crowd), so it was nice to see them included in this bit, getting their own spotlight, and having fun with the others.

The band made sure we knew they were happy and grateful to be here. Of course, every artists thinks it’s cold (you guys can come in the summer too! Today was actually pretty nice for 8c, I didn’t even zip up my jacket on the way home.

They asked when summer starts, and trust me, we don’t know ^_^” We had 28c weather 2 weeks ago, and snow a couple days later. The guitarist said he tried ‘Canadian Toronto Ramen’, but said it was delicious, so people can stop hating!

Also, the singer mentioned a couple times that they weren’t sure what the turn out would be. They mentioned how the first event sold out fast, but the second only sold out yesterday. I’m sure it was a great relief for them. I did see more ads pop up this week, so I assume it reached the right people ^_^

During one of their breaks, they said that the band has been together for almost 20 years, and this was their first North American tour, so they really didn’t know what to expect. But even if there was only 50 or 100 people in the crowd, they would still give it their best.

The crowd was a pleasant bunch. While the venue was full, people weren’t squished like sardines or pushing to get to the front like I would see at One OK Rock. You could have easily walked through the crowd and get a better spot if you wanted to. A lot of couples though…and they had a couple romantic moments when the slower anime OSTs came on *barf*.

At one point, I was feeling a lil faintish (Tired. Didn’t eat enough beforehand as I mixed up show time with doors open time. Good I double checked! Also not used to standing for long since I work from home. Either all that, or this is my first concert since I switched from being a 4am night owl to a 8am morning riser, so I had to squat and sit for a short while.

That’s when I noticed 5 other people sitting on the ground, one guy was clearly resting his eyes. They weren’t sleeping, definitely engaged, but I guess that’s what midweek (Wednesday) concerts do to ya. Some may have rushed home from work just to come back out. Regardless, all of them jumped right up once Nandemonaiya started.

As for encores, we got 2 songs. I checked the setlist beforehand and it seems some stops got 3. We also totalled 18 songs, but looks like previous stops got 20 and even 21 songs! (You can check out each stop’s setlist here).

It may be because we started a little late and had a small guitar technical difficulty midway through….OR cause the band battle break during “Oshakashama” went on for a full 5 minutes! If that was the case though, it was totally worth it! I love when band members get their time in the spotlight and just seeing them interact and have fun with each other. I’d take that over another song any day haha

But if they were just done for the day and wanted to get some rest for tomorrow, that’s fine too! They gave it their all today, so I hope they get enough rest for tomorrow’s show!

Conclusion

All in all, I had a great time. Got to learn more about Radwimps, their sound, their fanbase, and their personalities. Since all their North American stops are sold out, I can only say that those who already have tickets will definitely get their money’s worth. They have tours elsewhere as well, so if you haven’t got tickets for those stops, be sure to grab em before they’re gone!

But that’s all for now. Who will be next to visit Toronto? I’m aware some other Japanese bands are visiting the states, but Toronto doesn’t seem like much of a popular spot.

A couple days ago, I heard the band, Survive Says The Prophet will be playing at Anime North, but conventions aren’t really my thing. I’ve only been there once just to see what it’s like, and to a different anime convention perform with my cover band haha

Anyways, I’m gonna finish uploading some clips and head to bed, cause it’s been a long day!

Ciao~~

P.S. It’s still the day after (April 27th), but thanks to Wong in the comments, I just got tickets to see Man With A Mission on May 25th! Look forward to that review next~