Premonition (noun): A strong feeling that an event is about to happen… much like the roars of delight from the packed crowd even before lead singer Taka appeared, spiky mint hair peeking out from behind his gas mask.
As one of the biggest Japanese music acts of all time, “stars” doesn’t feel like a big enough moniker for the four musicians that took to the stage of the Wembley OVO Arena last Friday. The venue was swamped from corner to corner; it’s not unreasonable to think that ONE OK ROCK could populate its bigger brother, a sentiment Taka half-shared when he expressed his wishes to perform at Wembley Stadium someday.
An intense intro sequence narrated the powerful will of rockstars, before two gloriously-maned guitarists took their posts and headbanged to the mania they’d designed.
The four poured their souls into the show. A leap to the sky here, an intentional stumble there – as if the music itself were an intoxicant – and faces of raw passion every moment; ONE OK ROCK have a seat amongst live performer royalty. Taka particularly showed his raw vocal power during “Vandalize”, where he didn’t shy from utterly screaming his soul out into the mic.
The crowd returned the power flawlessly. When told to get crazy, they obeyed.
It’s got to be addressed that at the show’s midway point, one of Japan’s biggest global acts of all time was joined by one from U.K: none other than Ed Sheeran. Maybe we should’ve suspected things a bit earlier, when Tomoya made his very normal introduction by loudly proclaiming his love for cheeky Nandos, Heinz baked beans, and the aforementioned British pop star. The acts united on stage for a special acoustic performance of “Wherever You Are”, which had fans reeling in excitement throughout.
“Renegades” and “Stand Out Fit In”, two of their biggest hits, were well received by the international crowd. The former had everybody in the arena woah-ing along to the Glastonbury-worthy anthem, and if any of those attendees had closed their eyes, they might’ve tricked themselves into believing the band really were taking that monumental stage. (Soon, hopefully.)
“Wonder” brought choreographed twirling, “Mighty Long Fall” brought the screams, and ONE OK ROCK brought the sound that rumbled throughout the body and left you stunned. At one of those tiny pauses between the sweating and raving, Taka chatted to the packed audience about his views on music: ‘[It’s] the most f***in’ peaceful thing in this world.’
Bringing two opposite corners of the planet together in one place, PREMONITION is basically a wormhole, and we’re more than grateful to have been taken in by its pull.
More about the ONE OK ROCK PREMONITION Tour can be found here. ONE OK ROCK can be found on Instagram here and on all major streaming platforms.
