Though the ladies in Scandal from Japan have been a band since their formation in 2006, tonight’s performance at the Sony Hall in Hell’s Kitchen would be my first time witnessing them in action. I had heard them a few months earlier when the press releases were discussing upcoming music and a live-streaming show. I didn’t participate in the streaming event because after doing a couple of them during the pandemic craziness I found that I couldn’t keep my attention to them. Let’s not forget that folks like myself are glued to the computer all day long which always made escaping the cyberworld for a live show very appealing. Despite some absolute favorites doing streaming shows like KISS and Trans-Siberian Orchestra I only managed to watch two of these kinds of things for the purpose of show review and that fell to Anthrax and Hollow Mellow, the latter one also being a Japanese artist that was very interesting.
The Announcement:
Thank you so much for all your warm messages to Tomomi. Unfortunately, now Mami and Rina have testing positive and Haruna also have some throat pain although their tests are negative for now. We are very emotional and there is no easy way to say this, however, we have no choice but we need to cancel the rest of the North America tour including Seattle, Anaheim and Dallas.
The Announcement:
Unfortunately, We found out TOMOMI is testing positive with Covid, we will be unable to play our upcoming shows in Chicago (tonight) and Vancouver (7/18). We are working on the rescheduled dates and more info will coming soon.
The Press Release:
Iconic Osaka, Japan rock band SCANDAL has announced new dates and additional cities for their upcoming North American tour, which was rescheduled last year due to COVID-19. The summer trek kicks off in Toronto on July 9th and coincides with the band’s 15th anniversary and the release of their highly anticipated 10th LP “MIRROR”, which will be available worldwide on January 26.
The Press Release:
Osaka Japan rock band SCANDAL regretfully announces the postponement of its highly-anticipated 2020 “Kiss From The Darkness” North American WORLD TOUR, due to COVD-19. The tour which was originally set to kick off on September 17 in Anaheim, CA has been rescheduled for FALL 2021. The updated 5-city run of dates includes a NEW show at Sony Hall in NYC on Saturday, November 13. See canceled and updated dates below.
While fans may have to wait a while longer to see the band, SCANDAL is excited to announce details for their FIRST-EVER WORLDWIDE LIVESTREAM CONCERT! The SCANDAL WORLD TOUR 2020 “Kiss From The Darkness” WORLDWIDE Livestream will take place live from Japan on Friday, August 21, 2020 (the band’s 14th anniversary) at 7:00PM JST (3:00AM PDT/6AM EDT, 11 :00AM UK). Tickets are $30.
To purchase tickets for the Livestream event visit: livefrom.events/scandal. To watch the live stream on August 21, log on to livefrom.events/scandal. For fans outside of Japan who are unable to stream the show live, the full set will be archived for 48 hours after.
In a statement to fans, the band says, “We are very saddened by the fact that our World Tour that was supposed to take place this year has been postponed. However, we are very excited about our first worldwide livestream concert! Our tour was going to visit more than 30 cities in the world, so we are working very hard to put all of our energy and passion into this one night, so that we can bring you the very best of SCANDAL!! Even though the concept of a livestream concert is very new to us, seeing and hearing all of your positive comments, like “Everyone is in the first row!” or “Venue capacities are unlimited!” is so uplifting. We can’t wait to make some great memories with our fans from all over the world on August 21st!”
“Kiss From The Darkness” North American WORLD TOUR Canceled 2020 dates: Sep. 17 Anaheim, CA- HOB Sep. 19 Dallas, TX – Canton Hall Sep 21 Atlanta, GA -The Masquerade Sep. 23 Toronto, ON – Queen Elizabeth
++NEWLY RESCHEDULED 2021 DATES++
11/11 (Thu): Queen Elizabeth Hall / Toronto
11/13 (Sat): Sony Hall / New York (New additional show!)
11/17 (Wed): House of Blues / Anaheim
11/19 (Fri): Canton Hall / Dallas
11/21 (Sun): The Masquerade / Atlanta
About Scandal:
SCANDAL is an all-female Japanese rock band from Osaka, Japan. Formed in Summer 2006 by four high school friends, they played live street performances until they were noticed and signed to the indie label Kitty Records. Although all four members have provided lead vocals, their primary roles are Haruna on vocals and rhythm guitar, Mami on lead guitar, Tomomi on bass guitar, and Rina on drums. In 2008, they released three singles and a mini-album while simultaneously touring the United States, France, and Hong Kong. That October, Scandal released their major debut single, “Doll”, on Epic Records Japan.
With massive support radio and media support (Billboard, CNN, ABC, etc), and an energized international fanbase behind them, the band went on to perform the theme songs for several anime series, including “Shōjo S” and “Harukaze” for Bleach, “Shunkan Sentimental” for Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, “Pride” for “Star Driver” and “A.M.D.K.J.” for “GeGeGe no Kitarō”.
In 2019, the band founded their own label named “her” and has continued to release a steady stream of chart-topping singles and albums, while bringing their music to venues all across the globe.
The band’s 9th studio album ‘Kiss From The Darkness’ was released in February 2020. The album peaked at number five on the Oricon weekly charts, extending Scandal’s streak of having all nine of their albums reach the top 5 of the charts upon release.
The band’s latest digital single “Spice” dropped earlier this month in collaboration with Xflag for their animated film “Xpice”, which was released on the official Xflag Anime YouTube channel the same day.
Stream the latest single “Spice” HERE
Stream SCANDAL’S album, “Kiss From The Darkness” HERE
PiercingMetal Thoughts: So exciting to find another band that is new to my ears mapping out a tour of our country and also making a stop in my own music metropolis. Truth be told I didn’t know too much about the band before I started receiving these press releases but when the time rolls around I will be sure to look into attending. I played the single that was linked to up above and I liked it. Its fast-paced, slightly Punkish Rock and it is sung in Japanese so don’t worry if you don’t understand the lyrics. Of course these dates are rather far away and that’s only provided we get ahead of this terrible virus. Right now there really isn’t much happening anywhere but we keep on sharing the news so you know the scoop of the entertainment scene around you. Let’s face it, reading this stuff is better than the constant politicians who don’t know what they are talking about anyway. So wrapping this up I wonder what you readers think about it all. Are you fans of the band already? I know a lot of my friends are way ahead of me when it comes to bands from Japan. See you again soon my friends, please stay safe out there.
