【E】rockin'on Cut 편집부 일기

The four-piece Korean band CNBLUE, which had participated at last year’s COUNTDOWN JAPAN 11/12, completed their first arena tour of 9 shows at the Saitama Super Arena.
The show I saw was the Saturday performance; I was simply awestruck by their growth.

At the Yoyogi 1st Gymnasium concert I saw last year, while being overwhelmed by the full-on rock scale, it felt somewhat like the people on stage weren’t quite sure if they were idols or a rock band, a bit lost about where they should stand. But at the live show I saw few days ago, there was none of that whatsoever.

I felt their realization and confidence as a “rock band”, which was directly backed up by their sound. More than anything, every sound they performed felt like they were increasingly becoming free.

With the first major Japanese album “Code Name Blue” released a while ago, they achieved No. 1 on Oricon Weekly. While demonstrating various challenges that made huge shifts in direction in both pop and rock genres, this rich and substantial album is full of tracks that excel even more at live performances.

As if boosted by such an effect, their previous songs have become more masculine, with a broader range of expressions. The powerful way in which they led the vast arena with undoubtable energy and popularity was a sheer spectacle in itself.

Though this year, there were some limitations on their music career due to many individual activities, such a situation seemed to have strengthened the bond between the four, allowing them to enter a new phase as a band. I feel as though I witnessed the culmination of their current state at this tour. (Nakamura)