They do use backing tracks, but it’s all performed or arranged by the band. Kanami Tonō, the lead guitarist, is their main composer, and she is also a classically trained pianist. They often have synth and/or piano in the background of their songs, all pre-performed by Kanami. There are other songs, like Manners, that have arrangements that would be difficult to have on tour. Manners has a horn arrangement after the bridge, and rather than have a live horn section for just one song, there’s a backing track for the horns. I suspect that the horns are actually synth horns arranged and performed by Kanami, but I can’t say for certain. Real Existence has some synth-y sound effect crashes that I think are controlled by Akane via some electronic pads next to her drum kit, and I assume it’s used for other things as well. Basically yeah, they use backing tracks where appropriate to enhance the song or the stage show, but it’s essentially still all them. And if you want to see them live but stripped down, they have an acoustic “concert” (really a live session recorded for a DVD for a Christmas special) with no audience. Just them in a room. One of the highlights is Sayonakidori. Miku, the rhythm guitarist and main lyricist, as well as band founder and leader, takes lead vocals on that song. While Saiki is the main lead singer, with Miku singing harmony or occasional traded leads (like in the song Freezer), there’s is almost always one song on each album that has Miku singing lead. Sayonakidori is that song from it’s album. Normally, it’s a heavy rocker, but the acoustic version is stripped down and almost delicate. In either case, Miku’s vocals get across the desperate and painful love described by the lyrics. Both versions are worth listening to. Anyways, enjoy Band-Maid. There’s tons of good stuff, with great music videos, great live performances, and great instrumentals as well. You can’t go wrong with anything from their official TH-cam page. There are some wonderful live performances from earlier concert dvd’s that are no longer officially on TH-cam, but they are available elsewhere if you know where to look. The “lost concerts” are the Akasaka Blitz (short setlist from early in their career) and the Shinkiba Studio Coast concert (which sounds incredible but I think has had some post-production touching up). The Zepp Tokyo show probably sounds the best, and is available on their fan-subscriber site (Band-Maid Prime). Real Existence Live on their TH-cam page is from that concert. Domination Live (what you heard here) as well as a number of others is from Line Cube Shibuya. It has the best crowd interaction sound, but most will say Kanami’s guitar is too far back in the mix. And recently they released a new concert, and the newest live performances on their page are from that. During COVID, they released a couple on-line only concerts (no live audience, but live-streamed over the internet) that have some great performances and sound, even if they are missing the give and take of crowd interaction. Anyway, this is all to say Band-Maid is awesome, and they do awesome work. As another reactor has said “Band-Maid doing Band-Maid things”
I have been making music for money, as a main source of income and a side gig, since 1966, and I have never heard anything as fresh, talented, hard, and unique. They are Rock & Roll HOF material.
Band Maid... best served Live... and yes .. Miku did learn to play guitar and a great example of how she really adds to the sound of the Band is the Live version of Puzzle... ...
Freedom l ive has a surprise solo by Akane , who has a big fan of her playing live, one Jimmy Page who saw her carving it up on the drums in Tokyo and had pic taken when they met after the show.
Seeing the Maids live and up close in a small, intimate club is a "Thrill" of a lifetime. One should consider themselves lucky to experience them like this because it's becoming rare. And as for sound... it'll be the best hard rockin' sound you can imagine -- clear, discreet, powerful and full of energy and joyful vibes! (And no compression!! ;-) Just ask anyone who's experienced them live. In fact, we've been getting an earful of "wow's" and "that was incredible" from all the reactors and commenters from their successful 2022 & 2023 Band-Maid USA Tours. Rock on, Mike!
FYI, the first not in this video is the last note of the song "Play". When watching them back to back, you realize the stamina needed to attend a B-M concert. I would also recommend you to try their instrumentals, like "From Now On" or their ballads, for example "About us" or their acoustics or, well, anything really.
Watch DICE/HATE (two songs) at Lalapalooza 2023 if you want to get your socks blown off during Hate. Guitar/bass throwdown. Best rock band on the planet.
I've seen them two times live and they sound even better in person. So charming, fun and talented. What a great band. My favorite songs are Blooming, Puzzle (official Live) and the instrumental song "From Now On".
As mentioned before, they use backing tracks, usually for parts that aren't feasible to take on tour. During their most recent tour they played a ballad "Endless Story" with a crowd-participation "whoa whoa whoa whoa" sing-along in the chorus. At Lollapalooza they anticipated most of their audience wouldn't know the song, so they started with the chorus as a synth backing track to get it into everybody's ear. When the time came, they got good response. They deliberately use "non-lyric" sing-along parts for foreign audiences, or words they will know (like "Hello hello").
@@MikeReichert Saiki clearly loves the crowd participation. I think all of them are amazed when they go to the U.S. or Mexico or France or Germany or England and the crowd knows the words (even Japanese) and sings along. Saiki gets a big smile when that happens.
Another amazing thing about them, their set lists every show are usu 19-23 songs, and each night the set list is anywhere from 20-40% different each show. So, not only talented, but industrious.
Mike, This band can do no wrong. I call them a pan-rock genre band because they can do any genre well. The more you see of them, the more impressed you will become. I'm an old geezer who has seen a lot of rock and roll in my life. Band Maid restored my belief that great rock and roll can still happen. If you want to see how far they have come, you should pull up a clip on TH-cam from their one hour performance at the Lollapalooza music festival in Chicago this past summer. A specific clip of two songs from the performance of "Dice/Hate?" has gone viral on TH-cam. The good thing about Band Maid is they do not block any videos on TH-cam. In the Dice/Hate? combo, Akane, the drummer, keeps hammering the drums during the interlude and easily transitioned from "Dice to Hate?" During "Hate?" there is a call and respond duel between Misa, the bassist, and Kanami, the lead guitarist. It's awesome! If you are looking for another really good J-Rock band to react to, try Asterism, a trio of young but immensely talented musicians. The group started playing together in their early teens. One of the most impressive songs from this group is "Dawn", a heavy metal (but very melodic) instrumental.
Nice to see these where someone’s listening carefully and picking up on the treats the band puts in the music, and not just the catchy pop bits. Not sure if you caught the bassist, Misa, swapping between slapping and picking and back during her solo. It’s like a magic trick.
Another vote for their Lollapalooza performance of Dice-Hate? Over on Doc Loco's channel. And yes, Miku didn't know how to play guitar when she started the band. For about a year, she wore it as an accessory until Akane the drummer daid that if she was going to carry it, she needed to learn to play it. So Kanami taught her to play, and she is considered to be in the top 50 of rhythm guitarists due to her playing a vocals. And she still doesn't know how to read music. She has said in a few interviews that Kanami teaches her what to play either by giving her tabs or the two getting together for her to learn her parts.
Great reaction Mike. BAND-MAID is engaging and FUN. Check out the MV for their latest instrumental FROM NOW ON. You won't be able to stop listening. Peace. 2.24
They do use backing tracks, generally adding piano, synth and sometimes strings. Generally quite subtle, all of which would be composed and played or programmed by Kanami. For the most noticible additional instrumentation you need to check out their alter ego Band Maiko - Secret Maiko Lips and Gion Cho both have MV's. For Secret My Lips the added stuff was a joint effort by Kanami, their producer and another outside programmer but I gather that for the subsequent 6 Band Maiko songs that eventually made up an EP it was Kanami.
THE best Rock band in the universe. Even better live. 🤘🤘At 3:33 - MISA, the bassist, Kanami the lead guitarist and composer, and Miku the rhythm guitarist, main lyricist and founder of the band, are playing Hengao - "strange faces" - with Akane the drummer, which is making funny faces to try and put someone off. Akane, of course, laughs along while not missing a beat. It shows the ladies' confidence in each others' abilities that they can fool around like this while all of them slam out note-perfect Rock at full tilt. At 4:23 - MISA the bassist is holding her plectrum in her curled finger so she can produce it and switch from slapping to picking in half a nanosecond! At 5:32 - Akane the drummer hitting two separate beats on her double kick pedals while simultaneously continuing the song melody on her snare, toms and cymbal. At 8:00 - a brief glimpse of Kanami (who does, as you say, like using octave slides - and an octave pedal to get her synth-like guitar sound) laying down one sweet rolling chord pattern - pure class.
Great on point remarks. One of the first things that got me interested was the great vocal melody. It wasn't until I started to hear some of their instrumental only versions of their songs that I realized just how dense their music is. Second thing I noticed was how tight this band is. Individually and collectively, they can stop and start on a dime, or change musical direction just as quickly. I think that is natural talent and a whole lot of practice. I add my vote for checking out the Dice/Hate combo from Lollapolooza. Rock n Roll lives!
Yeah, you get it. You hear it. This band has a bit of Rush or Tool in them. They have a way of incorporating small prog-rock type elements into their music without it feeling out of place. On my first listen, I also went “what was that” at the transition from the final guitar solo back into the verse and had to listen again, too, to understand it. It was a wow, this is no ordinary band moment - and then many, many more followed as I experienced their catalog for the first time. Enjoy the journey, it’s gonna be great!! Next? - “Puzzle” - official live video or - “No God” - official live video Then maybe - “Influencer” - official MV for a real different sonic approach. Take care and rock on 🤘🏼🔥🎸🥁🎤🎼😎✌🏼
You got it right. They have that magical chorus hook figured out perfectly. It’s definitely a trademark. Even their most heavy metal riff songs bring that uplifting feel when the chorus comes around. You’ve noticed the intricacies and complex guitar work. MISA on bass and guitar lead Kanami are exceptional at playing completely different lines that complement each other. This video also highlights MISA’s pick to slap technique clearly. She hides that extra large triangle with her index. Also, please do more analyzing of their transitions and dramatic dynamic shifts. I really enjoyed your reaction to their downshifts! As a musician, you have to know how hard that is to get right. Everyone has to be on the same page. From here, there’s a magnificent live performance of “Puzzle” that will give you even more insight into Kanami’s approach to guitar playing inside her compositions. I’m looking forward to hearing more analysis from you on that one! Excellent job. Yes, they run a click and use backing tracks. Kanami also plays piano and she is the “sensei” wizard with composing all that, and even the intro music prior to them taking stage at their gigs. “Puzzle” will be a lot of fun for you. Enjoy
People used to say they weren't really playing. That was because they play to backing tracks to sound more like their albums, but Kanami plays the stuff on the backing track. And lots of bands have done that, ever since The Who put their synths on tape. BAND-MAID just use a laptop. It got lost once by the airlines. They were more concerned about the sneakers they had bought in L.A. They just rearranged their setlist and the show went on. You should hear 'Real Existence' LIVE. They didn't use a lot of room mics like this one. It sounds even better!
Nice reaction. You recognized the wonderful and instant switch after the solo section! Great 👍 There are so many special songs from them. The MVs of "Dice", "Warning" and especially "Rinne" are great and hard rocking. The instrumentals "From now on" (MV) and "Onset" (live) are also mind-blowing. And you should try "Manners/Blackhole" for something different. I also love "Play"(Live) as well as "Influencer" (MV). The best live performance IMHO is "Freedom" ... Just watch how much fun the girls have there on stage. At last but not least there are some mid and slow tempo songs that are great: "Daydreaming", "About us" and "Memorable". 😅 I am not finished yet, cause you might be interested to their great acoustic performances (e.g. "Sayonakidori") or the "Band Maiko" songs .... And did I mention "The dragon cries"? ❤ ... I sure missed some important ones ("blooming", "puzzle" and "different" are also well known but not my favourites)
Great reaction. They do use some backing tracks such as some keyboards but they certainly don't cheat. They are an amazing band. I am an ex musician and Band Maid are the best band I have heard in many, many years. They are special and I certainly hope they can achieve their World Domination. If you want another great heavier tune, try Rinne.
Nice noticing that both Misa-bass and Kanami-lead use slides a lot. For more live-vids from the same period try Play and Real Existence. Or for a live change of pace Sayonakidori-acoustic.
Have you heard of Wagakki Band? It's another Japanese band, but they mix modern rock with traditional Japanese instruments and singing style. They're all insanely talented, many having their own bands and being top musicians for their own instruments. The most common starting point with them is Homura/Akatsuki no Ito (two songs with two different styles, the first being an all modern rock instrumental, and the second having the traditional element brought in with singing). It's a live performance, which is also how you should watch them, as they're extremely good live. They've also been around for several years.
Everything from the first part of the bass feature to the "even better guitar solo" was added for the live performance. Band Maid often lengthens intros or breakdowns for a few songs, just for a tour. As far as I know the Domination _everybody feature_ was only played at the Line Cube Shibuya okyuji. During their last USA swing they revived a bass/guitar duel in their song "Don't You Tell Me". _Then_ they broke out a new duel for their newer song "Hate?" Which is why everyone wants you to react to the Lolla perforamance. Thanks for the reaction!
This was one of my covid music finds. Really enjoy a lot of their stuff. Amazing what you can get when you take conservatory players and let them loose a bit. Band-Maid, The Warning, BabyMetal and others are proof to me that the future of rock and good heavy music is female, and I am all for it.
Yeah!!!! You'll love the performance preceding this in the same concert...the song 'Play'. You'll love everything else too. If they make most songs with a catchy chorus...it's only because they want the fans singalong...they're ALL about the fan connection.
Yes, this song is a great demonstration of how solid they are when live. For comparison, you might want to privately compare this Official Live video to their Official MV, so that you can get a true feel of how much they changed things up when performing live. I do wish they'd drop by my corner of the world. Their USA fans have been very lucky to get them heading there for two tours in two years. If you ever do get a chance to see them live, you should really go.
Awesome Mike……My 2nd favorite band from Japan (after Band Maid) is Nemophila. “Dissension” is a great start……an instrumental by Band Maid that you would really like I believe is “From now on”. Love the channel.
They use some synth backup tracks in some songs. But haven't heard being over used yet. Their recent performance from Lolapalooza "HATE" has some good back n forth between guitar and bass.
Band-Maid is one of the best live bands around ! I have seen them 4 times in the past year and all the performances were top notch ! Another band that sounds great live is "Nightwish" "Ghost Love Score" Official Live - Wacken 2013 ! Finish Metal Band sings in English =) Thanks Mike New Sub
I'll tell ya the truth. When I first heard of Band-Maid I thought "Oh no not another Japan factory created band". Boy was I wrong, Japan is killing it right now with all female sick metal bands. Lovebites, Nemophila, and Band-Maid. Other than Greta Van Fleet the US is falling way behind on good music right now. Jinjer (Ukraine), The Warning (Mexico), Bloodywood (India), Eruca Sativa (Argentina). These bands are just killing it. (Edit) Oh yeah, don't forget Ren (England) he's on another whole level.
For me I consider this their signature LIVE video. MISA IS the Slide Queen on bass for sure. I think you'll really enjoy "Freedom" LIVE from the same concert. There's only a handful of "official" songs from this concert so check them all out and don't ever overlook their Official Music Videos. Many of them are works of art in their own right, "Manners" Official Video is a masterpiece IMHO. Band-Maid NEVER disappoints.
Hello Mike! I think now the time has come for me too, that I just send you some greetings from Germany and say hello and welcome (back) on board of the Maid-Express. :) It's true Miku, founder of the band and rhythm guitarist, had no experience with instruments at all when this band started. She wanted to form a band and saw herself as the lead singer in this dream. Only when she realized that her voice alone was not powerful enough for this kind of music, she brought Saiki into the band and learned to play guitar from scratch from Kanami (lead). And boy, she couldn't have picked a better one for this job. Because Kanami is not only a gifted guitarist, but at the same time also the songwriter for almost every song since 2016 of the ladies. And their catalog of now 130+ songs does not contain a single bad one! It may sound completely exaggerated, but it's true! You can pin all their songs one by one on a dartboard and throw the dart. You won't be disappointed with the hit. :) See you next time! 🙋🏻♂ _____________________ 「 _"Our rock never dies ever. Forever!"_ 」 - from *BAND-MAID* - 'Manners' 🎶🕊
A great 3 piece instrumental band from Japan is Asterism. The bassist has a 7 string bass. Two songs to check are ‘Church’ live in studio and ‘Dawn’ live. ‘Church’ has no post-production, recorded straight out of the amps.
React to their songs Blooming, Influencer, On Set, From Now On, Giovanni (Instrumental/with lyric), Watch them live at Lollapalooza 2023 songs Dice and Hate..... 🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘
Band Maid are incredible live my 1st concert was in 1985 and I have never seen a band with such a positive feel on stage and with the crowd as Band Maid. Just a couple weeks ago I had the privilege of seeing Hanabie live and frankly their show was the most energetic and insanely intense live I have ever been too. I suggest you check out their mv Pardon Me I Have to Go Now.
Mike , BAND-MAID never disappoints , MV or live video , saw them live twice they are amazing , the music , the interaction with the audience , there playfulness with each other , its all off the charts .
I'm not a song structure expert by any means but I think instead of a drum fill before the next verse, you encountered a quick guitar solo instead. :D That is indeed a little different.
Instrumentals like Onset Live ( tapping Madness ) and From now on are crazy good. Dont get me wrong , I love Saikis Voice and the Vocal Harmonies with Miku.
@@RahimRahmat It's serious enough to keep him out of the comments. He said about a week ago that he was going back in the hospital for a kidney infection.
Yes, it is true that Miku could not play guitar. She is the founder of this band, and the plan was that she would be the main singer. But she found out that this would not fly so she got Saiki as main singer. And then as a backup singer she used to hold a guitar as a prop. The guitarist Kanami did not like that and said - "if you are to hold a guitar you have to play it". And then Kanami did teach Miku how to play guitar.
Akane > Kanami > Saiki transition, never gets old, Po! 🦍🍌 Btw, they use click and backing tracks, and there is certainly post-production work on the audio. Great reaction, Sir!
I like that Band Maid change things, you hardly hear the same thing twice. You mention the chorus, they bring back the chorus but typically a little bit different, different lead in, different backing, tempo... something. Familiar just different in some small. Many times, they play the bridge or chorus and you expect them to return to that cool riff that caught your attention the first time around... but no, it's gone, they are working something different this time around, just as cool, but what you heard before is never to return...
Hey Mike, have you reacted to a Japanese heavy metal band called Nemophila yet... definitely, check out there songs like "Revive" or "Adabana" or "Seize the Fate"
Puzzle live....band maid doing band maid things...thanks Mike
They do use backing tracks, but it’s all performed or arranged by the band. Kanami Tonō, the lead guitarist, is their main composer, and she is also a classically trained pianist. They often have synth and/or piano in the background of their songs, all pre-performed by Kanami. There are other songs, like Manners, that have arrangements that would be difficult to have on tour. Manners has a horn arrangement after the bridge, and rather than have a live horn section for just one song, there’s a backing track for the horns. I suspect that the horns are actually synth horns arranged and performed by Kanami, but I can’t say for certain. Real Existence has some synth-y sound effect crashes that I think are controlled by Akane via some electronic pads next to her drum kit, and I assume it’s used for other things as well.
Basically yeah, they use backing tracks where appropriate to enhance the song or the stage show, but it’s essentially still all them.
And if you want to see them live but stripped down, they have an acoustic “concert” (really a live session recorded for a DVD for a Christmas special) with no audience. Just them in a room. One of the highlights is Sayonakidori. Miku, the rhythm guitarist and main lyricist, as well as band founder and leader, takes lead vocals on that song. While Saiki is the main lead singer, with Miku singing harmony or occasional traded leads (like in the song Freezer), there’s is almost always one song on each album that has Miku singing lead. Sayonakidori is that song from it’s album. Normally, it’s a heavy rocker, but the acoustic version is stripped down and almost delicate. In either case, Miku’s vocals get across the desperate and painful love described by the lyrics. Both versions are worth listening to.
Anyways, enjoy Band-Maid. There’s tons of good stuff, with great music videos, great live performances, and great instrumentals as well. You can’t go wrong with anything from their official TH-cam page. There are some wonderful live performances from earlier concert dvd’s that are no longer officially on TH-cam, but they are available elsewhere if you know where to look. The “lost concerts” are the Akasaka Blitz (short setlist from early in their career) and the Shinkiba Studio Coast concert (which sounds incredible but I think has had some post-production touching up). The Zepp Tokyo show probably sounds the best, and is available on their fan-subscriber site (Band-Maid Prime). Real Existence Live on their TH-cam page is from that concert. Domination Live (what you heard here) as well as a number of others is from Line Cube Shibuya. It has the best crowd interaction sound, but most will say Kanami’s guitar is too far back in the mix. And recently they released a new concert, and the newest live performances on their page are from that. During COVID, they released a couple on-line only concerts (no live audience, but live-streamed over the internet) that have some great performances and sound, even if they are missing the give and take of crowd interaction.
Anyway, this is all to say Band-Maid is awesome, and they do awesome work. As another reactor has said “Band-Maid doing Band-Maid things”
Nice one 👍🍻
Kanami likes her slides. She's a rock and roll girl.
I have been making music for money, as a main source of income and a side gig, since 1966, and I have never heard anything as fresh, talented, hard, and unique. They are Rock & Roll HOF material.
You want to see some great guitar work, Mike, check out Blooming or any of the other 130 Band-Maid hits! 🤘😂
5 of the greatest musicians in the world. Musical transition experts. Band Maid…The Perfect Storm. Great reaction. Thank you.
Band Maid... best served Live... and yes .. Miku did learn to play guitar and a great example of how she really adds to the sound of the Band is the Live version of Puzzle... ...
Freedom l ive has a surprise solo by Akane , who has a big fan of her playing live, one Jimmy Page who saw her carving it up on the drums in Tokyo and had pic taken when they met after the show.
Seeing the Maids live and up close in a small, intimate club is a "Thrill" of a lifetime. One should consider themselves lucky to experience them like this because it's becoming rare. And as for sound... it'll be the best hard rockin' sound you can imagine -- clear, discreet, powerful and full of energy and joyful vibes! (And no compression!! ;-) Just ask anyone who's experienced them live. In fact, we've been getting an earful of "wow's" and "that was incredible" from all the reactors and commenters from their successful 2022 & 2023 Band-Maid USA Tours. Rock on, Mike!
FYI, the first not in this video is the last note of the song "Play". When watching them back to back, you realize the stamina needed to attend a B-M concert. I would also recommend you to try their instrumentals, like "From Now On" or their ballads, for example "About us" or their acoustics or, well, anything really.
Watch DICE/HATE (two songs) at Lalapalooza 2023 if you want to get your socks blown off during Hate. Guitar/bass throwdown. Best rock band on the planet.
I've seen them two times live and they sound even better in person. So charming, fun and talented. What a great band. My favorite songs are Blooming, Puzzle (official Live) and the instrumental song "From Now On".
As mentioned before, they use backing tracks, usually for parts that aren't feasible to take on tour. During their most recent tour they played a ballad "Endless Story" with a crowd-participation "whoa whoa whoa whoa" sing-along in the chorus. At Lollapalooza they anticipated most of their audience wouldn't know the song, so they started with the chorus as a synth backing track to get it into everybody's ear. When the time came, they got good response. They deliberately use "non-lyric" sing-along parts for foreign audiences, or words they will know (like "Hello hello").
Brilliant. They clearly know what they are doing!
@@MikeReichert Saiki clearly loves the crowd participation. I think all of them are amazed when they go to the U.S. or Mexico or France or Germany or England and the crowd knows the words (even Japanese) and sings along. Saiki gets a big smile when that happens.
Another amazing thing about them, their set lists every show are usu 19-23 songs, and each night the set list is anywhere from 20-40% different each show. So, not only talented, but industrious.
Mike, This band can do no wrong. I call them a pan-rock genre band because they can do any genre well. The more you see of them, the more impressed you will become. I'm an old geezer who has seen a lot of rock and roll in my life. Band Maid restored my belief that great rock and roll can still happen. If you want to see how far they have come, you should pull up a clip on TH-cam from their one hour performance at the Lollapalooza music festival in Chicago this past summer. A specific clip of two songs from the performance of "Dice/Hate?" has gone viral on TH-cam. The good thing about Band Maid is they do not block any videos on TH-cam. In the Dice/Hate? combo, Akane, the drummer, keeps hammering the drums during the interlude and easily transitioned from "Dice to Hate?" During "Hate?" there is a call and respond duel between Misa, the bassist, and Kanami, the lead guitarist. It's awesome! If you are looking for another really good J-Rock band to react to, try Asterism, a trio of young but immensely talented musicians. The group started playing together in their early teens. One of the most impressive songs from this group is "Dawn", a heavy metal (but very melodic) instrumental.
"pan-rock genre band" ... I like that 👍
Thanks Mike!
Nice to see these where someone’s listening carefully and picking up on the treats the band puts in the music, and not just the catchy pop bits.
Not sure if you caught the bassist, Misa, swapping between slapping and picking and back during her solo. It’s like a magic trick.
Another vote for their Lollapalooza performance of Dice-Hate? Over on Doc Loco's channel.
And yes, Miku didn't know how to play guitar when she started the band. For about a year, she wore it as an accessory until Akane the drummer daid that if she was going to carry it, she needed to learn to play it. So Kanami taught her to play, and she is considered to be in the top 50 of rhythm guitarists due to her playing a vocals. And she still doesn't know how to read music. She has said in a few interviews that Kanami teaches her what to play either by giving her tabs or the two getting together for her to learn her parts.
Great reaction Mike. BAND-MAID is engaging and FUN. Check out the MV for their latest instrumental FROM NOW ON. You won't be able to stop listening. Peace. 2.24
+1
This was my intro to this fantastic band almost 2 years ago, and it still gives me goosebumps.
They do use backing tracks, generally adding piano, synth and sometimes strings. Generally quite subtle, all of which would be composed and played or programmed by Kanami. For the most noticible additional instrumentation you need to check out their alter ego Band Maiko - Secret Maiko Lips and Gion Cho both have MV's. For Secret My Lips the added stuff was a joint effort by Kanami, their producer and another outside programmer but I gather that for the subsequent 6 Band Maiko songs that eventually made up an EP it was Kanami.
THE best Rock band in the universe. Even better live. 🤘🤘At 3:33 - MISA, the bassist, Kanami the lead guitarist and composer, and Miku the rhythm guitarist, main lyricist and founder of the band, are playing Hengao - "strange faces" - with Akane the drummer, which is making funny faces to try and put someone off. Akane, of course, laughs along while not missing a beat. It shows the ladies' confidence in each others' abilities that they can fool around like this while all of them slam out note-perfect Rock at full tilt. At 4:23 - MISA the bassist is holding her plectrum in her curled finger so she can produce it and switch from slapping to picking in half a nanosecond! At 5:32 - Akane the drummer hitting two separate beats on her double kick pedals while simultaneously continuing the song melody on her snare, toms and cymbal. At 8:00 - a brief glimpse of Kanami (who does, as you say, like using octave slides - and an octave pedal to get her synth-like guitar sound) laying down one sweet rolling chord pattern - pure class.
Great on point remarks. One of the first things that got me interested was the great vocal melody. It wasn't until I started to hear some of their instrumental only versions of their songs that I realized just how dense their music is. Second thing I noticed was how tight this band is. Individually and collectively, they can stop and start on a dime, or change musical direction just as quickly. I think that is natural talent and a whole lot of practice. I add my vote for checking out the Dice/Hate combo from Lollapolooza. Rock n Roll lives!
Yeah, you get it. You hear it. This band has a bit of Rush or Tool in them. They have a way of incorporating small prog-rock type elements into their music without it feeling out of place. On my first listen, I also went “what was that” at the transition from the final guitar solo back into the verse and had to listen again, too, to understand it. It was a wow, this is no ordinary band moment - and then many, many more followed as I experienced their catalog for the first time. Enjoy the journey, it’s gonna be great!!
Next?
- “Puzzle” - official live video or
- “No God” - official live video
Then maybe
- “Influencer” - official MV for a real different sonic approach.
Take care and rock on 🤘🏼🔥🎸🥁🎤🎼😎✌🏼
You got it right. They have that magical chorus hook figured out perfectly. It’s definitely a trademark. Even their most heavy metal riff songs bring that uplifting feel when the chorus comes around.
You’ve noticed the intricacies and complex guitar work. MISA on bass and guitar lead Kanami are exceptional at playing completely different lines that complement each other. This video also highlights MISA’s pick to slap technique clearly. She hides that extra large triangle with her index.
Also, please do more analyzing of their transitions and dramatic dynamic shifts. I really enjoyed your reaction to their downshifts!
As a musician, you have to know how hard that is to get right. Everyone has to be on the same page.
From here, there’s a magnificent live performance of “Puzzle” that will give you even more insight into Kanami’s approach to guitar playing inside her compositions. I’m looking forward to hearing more analysis from you on that one!
Excellent job. Yes, they run a click and use backing tracks. Kanami also plays piano and she is the “sensei” wizard with composing all that, and even the intro music prior to them taking stage at their gigs.
“Puzzle” will be a lot of fun for you. Enjoy
People used to say they weren't really playing. That was because they play to backing tracks to sound more like their albums, but Kanami plays the stuff on the backing track. And lots of bands have done that, ever since The Who put their synths on tape. BAND-MAID just use a laptop. It got lost once by the airlines. They were more concerned about the sneakers they had bought in L.A. They just rearranged their setlist and the show went on. You should hear 'Real Existence' LIVE. They didn't use a lot of room mics like this one. It sounds even better!
Transitions, transitions, transitions- The queens of transitions, with Kanami (lead guitar and music) at the helm with a little help from the others.
Love your reaction! Band Maid are amazing!!!
Band maid is a super live band nice reaction 🎸🤘👍
Nice reaction. You recognized the wonderful and instant switch after the solo section! Great 👍 There are so many special songs from them. The MVs of "Dice", "Warning" and especially "Rinne" are great and hard rocking. The instrumentals "From now on" (MV) and "Onset" (live) are also mind-blowing. And you should try "Manners/Blackhole" for something different. I also love "Play"(Live) as well as "Influencer" (MV). The best live performance IMHO is "Freedom" ... Just watch how much fun the girls have there on stage. At last but not least there are some mid and slow tempo songs that are great: "Daydreaming", "About us" and "Memorable". 😅 I am not finished yet, cause you might be interested to their great acoustic performances (e.g. "Sayonakidori") or the "Band Maiko" songs .... And did I mention "The dragon cries"? ❤ ... I sure missed some important ones ("blooming", "puzzle" and "different" are also well known but not my favourites)
Great reaction. They do use some backing tracks such as some keyboards but they certainly don't cheat. They are an amazing band. I am an ex musician and Band Maid are the best band I have heard in many, many years. They are special and I certainly hope they can achieve their World Domination. If you want another great heavier tune, try Rinne.
There's a track but only of stuff they don't do. Sometimes some synth, percussion or production effects.
Nice noticing that both Misa-bass and Kanami-lead use slides a lot. For more live-vids from the same period try Play and Real Existence. Or for a live change of pace Sayonakidori-acoustic.
Have you heard of Wagakki Band? It's another Japanese band, but they mix modern rock with traditional Japanese instruments and singing style. They're all insanely talented, many having their own bands and being top musicians for their own instruments. The most common starting point with them is Homura/Akatsuki no Ito (two songs with two different styles, the first being an all modern rock instrumental, and the second having the traditional element brought in with singing). It's a live performance, which is also how you should watch them, as they're extremely good live. They've also been around for several years.
I have not. They are added to my list. Thanks for the recommendation!
Everything from the first part of the bass feature to the "even better guitar solo" was added for the live performance. Band Maid often lengthens intros or breakdowns for a few songs, just for a tour. As far as I know the Domination _everybody feature_ was only played at the Line Cube Shibuya okyuji. During their last USA swing they revived a bass/guitar duel in their song "Don't You Tell Me". _Then_ they broke out a new duel for their newer song "Hate?" Which is why everyone wants you to react to the Lolla perforamance. Thanks for the reaction!
Perfect transitions for me this is the defining part of BM musicianship.
This was one of my covid music finds. Really enjoy a lot of their stuff. Amazing what you can get when you take conservatory players and let them loose a bit. Band-Maid, The Warning, BabyMetal and others are proof to me that the future of rock and good heavy music is female, and I am all for it.
20 songs into a 22 song concert (serving-Okyuji) and they have so much energy and Misa by this point of the concert is more than half drunk
Yeah!!!! You'll love the performance preceding this in the same concert...the song 'Play'. You'll love everything else too. If they make most songs with a catchy chorus...it's only because they want the fans singalong...they're ALL about the fan connection.
Yes, this song is a great demonstration of how solid they are when live. For comparison, you might want to privately compare this Official Live video to their Official MV, so that you can get a true feel of how much they changed things up when performing live. I do wish they'd drop by my corner of the world. Their USA fans have been very lucky to get them heading there for two tours in two years. If you ever do get a chance to see them live, you should really go.
Awesome Mike……My 2nd favorite band from Japan (after Band Maid) is Nemophila. “Dissension” is a great start……an instrumental by Band Maid that you would really like I believe is “From now on”. Love the channel.
Thanks! Nemophila is on my list of bands to check out soon!
@ReichertMusic have you heard VOB(Voice of Baceprot) yet?
@@eaglez1901 I have reacted to a couple VOB songs already and more on the way!
This lady's is really good at live.mgo watch them if they go to ur area
They use some synth backup tracks in some songs. But haven't heard being over used yet. Their recent performance from Lolapalooza "HATE" has some good back n forth between guitar and bass.
Band-Maid is one of the best live bands around ! I have seen them 4 times in the past year and all the performances were top notch ! Another band that sounds great live is "Nightwish" "Ghost Love Score" Official Live - Wacken 2013 ! Finish Metal Band sings in English =) Thanks Mike New Sub
I'll tell ya the truth. When I first heard of Band-Maid I thought "Oh no not another Japan factory created band". Boy was I wrong, Japan is killing it right now with all female sick metal bands. Lovebites, Nemophila, and Band-Maid. Other than Greta Van Fleet the US is falling way behind on good music right now. Jinjer (Ukraine), The Warning (Mexico), Bloodywood (India), Eruca Sativa (Argentina). These bands are just killing it. (Edit) Oh yeah, don't forget Ren (England) he's on another whole level.
For me I consider this their signature LIVE video.
MISA IS the Slide Queen on bass for sure.
I think you'll really enjoy "Freedom" LIVE from the same concert. There's only a handful of "official" songs from this concert so check them all out and don't ever overlook their Official Music Videos. Many of them are works of art in their own right, "Manners" Official Video is a masterpiece IMHO. Band-Maid NEVER disappoints.
MISA MISA MISA 🤘😍🤘
Hello Mike! I think now the time has come for me too, that I just send you some greetings from Germany and say hello and welcome (back) on board of the Maid-Express. :)
It's true Miku, founder of the band and rhythm guitarist, had no experience with instruments at all when this band started. She wanted to form a band and saw herself as the lead singer in this dream. Only when she realized that her voice alone was not powerful enough for this kind of music, she brought Saiki into the band and learned to play guitar from scratch from Kanami (lead). And boy, she couldn't have picked a better one for this job. Because Kanami is not only a gifted guitarist, but at the same time also the songwriter for almost every song since 2016 of the ladies. And their catalog of now 130+ songs does not contain a single bad one! It may sound completely exaggerated, but it's true! You can pin all their songs one by one on a dartboard and throw the dart. You won't be disappointed with the hit. :)
See you next time! 🙋🏻♂
_____________________
「 _"Our rock never dies ever. Forever!"_ 」 - from *BAND-MAID* - 'Manners' 🎶🕊
A great 3 piece instrumental band from Japan is Asterism. The bassist has a 7 string bass. Two songs to check are ‘Church’ live in studio and ‘Dawn’ live. ‘Church’ has no post-production, recorded straight out of the amps.
React to their songs Blooming, Influencer, On Set, From Now On, Giovanni (Instrumental/with lyric), Watch them live at Lollapalooza 2023 songs Dice and Hate..... 🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘
I recommend Nemophila and oldies Ningen Isu :)
I am very familiar with Ningen Isu! I'll check out Nemophila as well! Thanks for the recommendation!
B-M the best ever pick me up on the planet 😁 👍🍻
Band Maid are incredible live my 1st concert was in 1985 and I have never seen a band with such a positive feel on stage and with the crowd as Band Maid. Just a couple weeks ago I had the privilege of seeing Hanabie live and frankly their show was the most energetic and insanely intense live I have ever been too. I suggest you check out their mv Pardon Me I Have to Go Now.
That is on my to-do list. Coming soonish!
There's nothing else to it: Band-Maid is the best band in the world today.
Next suggested live
- Puzzle
- Hate? @Lollapalooza
I have to suggest Lovebites the band , amazing band with extremely talented musicianship
Welcome to the Band Maid world best rock band today
Mike , BAND-MAID never disappoints , MV or live video , saw them live twice they are amazing , the music , the interaction with the audience , there playfulness with each other , its all off the charts .
I'm not a song structure expert by any means but I think instead of a drum fill before the next verse, you encountered a quick guitar solo instead. :D That is indeed a little different.
Instrumentals like Onset Live ( tapping Madness ) and From now on are crazy good. Dont get me wrong , I love Saikis Voice and the Vocal Harmonies with Miku.
Great react! All their music is great. Pick any song and you won't be disappointed. Enjoy the ride!
Get well soon Gary Holloway. 🤕
❤🩹
Yes, quickly please 🤒 🍻
Bless the man, what happened to Gary? I do hope it's nothing serious....
@@RahimRahmat It's serious enough to keep him out of the comments. He said about a week ago that he was going back in the hospital for a kidney infection.
@@johnmatthew102 .........
I feel.... sad.....
I really do hope he makes a speedy recovery. I think we all do.
Yes, it is true that Miku could not play guitar. She is the founder of this band, and the plan was that she would be the main singer. But she found out that this would not fly so she got Saiki as main singer. And then as a backup singer she used to hold a guitar as a prop. The guitarist Kanami did not like that and said - "if you are to hold a guitar you have to play it". And then Kanami did teach Miku how to play guitar.
Born for the live stage.
Akane > Kanami > Saiki transition, never gets old, Po! 🦍🍌 Btw, they use click and backing tracks, and there is certainly post-production work on the audio. Great reaction, Sir!
👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
I like that Band Maid change things, you hardly hear the same thing twice. You mention the chorus, they bring back the chorus but typically a little bit different, different lead in, different backing, tempo... something. Familiar just different in some small. Many times, they play the bridge or chorus and you expect them to return to that cool riff that caught your attention the first time around... but no, it's gone, they are working something different this time around, just as cool, but what you heard before is never to return...
Mike, do yourself a favour and listen to their performance of Dice and Hate at the Lollapalooza Festival.
more more mor more of band maid pls
I will be doing more BAND-MAID for sure!
Next song play live ….pls 😅
Hey Mike, have you reacted to a Japanese heavy metal band called Nemophila yet... definitely, check out there songs like "Revive" or "Adabana" or "Seize the Fate"
Coming soon!
😁
Wow somebody reported my comment as spam for recommending Nemophila. Wtf
No worries that's coming soon!
@@MikeReichert awesome man! Love the content, your knowledge, and enthusiasm. Keep it up 🤘😎🤘
Well, you asked...so, SCANDAL...17 years as the #1 J-Girl band and counting. Maybe start with Saishuheiki Kimi?
Thanks for the recommendation! Added to my list. And it's perfect because they just put out a new video five days ago!