Ronald Reviews: “Snow Man 1st DOME tour 2023 i DO ME”

On June 10, I ventured to Tokyo Dome to attend the first Tokyo date of Snow Man‘s first dome tour, “Snow Man 1st DOME tour 2023 i DO ME.” Upon taking my seat in the press section, I was amazed at how vast the venue was. My eyes first went to the massive stage across the dome, its various light displays and video screens telling me what I was here to see. In front of the stage on the floor was a series of catwalks, which would later provide the group a chance to get closer to their fans. I was a bit confused by the massive empty space on the floor furthest from the stage, but I would later find out why the space was empty.

My eyes then went around to the audience on the floor and in the stands (55,000 in total), penlights in unison, chattering away in anticipation of the show to come. I then noticed the staff members walking around with giant signs, warning the audience to not take photos or video of the concert.

Then the dome went dark! The opening film, with a spy theme, starts! Each member plays a different role on this elite spy force. The bits that stuck out to me the most were the signature physical attributes of two of the group’s members: Hikaru Iwamoto‘s bare, muscled arm, and Raul‘s long, slender leg as he did a kick with his assassin rifle.

The film ends, and then there is a cry of “Kakatsute Koi Dome!” In a flash, Snow Man descends from the ceiling of the stage, their faces flashing on the screen behind them, as they sing their debut single, “D.D.” Each of the members is dressed in a furry outfit of their member color.

After getting on the stage, they performed their second single, “KISSIN’ MY LIPS”, complete with its signature chair choreography. One interesting thing is how the chairs moved from the upper part of the stage to the lower one.

This lower stage is in fact a moving stage! On this stage, as it moved towards the center of the dome, the boys performed their third single, “Grandeur.” One thing that did annoy me about this part was that I could barely see the group at times due to how much smoke was surrounding them from the stage. I thought about how hard it must be to sing and dance, in a smoke cloud essentially, while the stage you’re on is moving across the dome, 50 feet in the air. I also felt a bit fearful for them over the course of the night because they looked like they were getting to close to the edge of the stage. I also felt a bit fearful for the fans who were underneath this moving stage.

Then came “Nine Snow Flash”, a rap song where each member of Snow Man is introduced by another. A version of this song has always been a fan favorite because it gives each member a spotlight. Something I was told to look out for in particular for this song are the fans who are really dedicated to their oshi, who will not change their penlight color with the rest of the audience in tune with the member that is being rapped about. Sure enough, this did happen.

The moving stage eventually made it to the other side of the dome, giving fans on the side opposite the main stage a chance to see Snow Man much closer. I noticed during this part that the screen in this section essentially served as a mirror to Snow Man, allowing them to see themselves as they performed.

On the screen a flash of light, like a dawn sky. “Julietta”, a standout on their new album “i DO ME.” The song is a profession of first love, with the the members professing their love to the audience by showing them on the screen as they wave their penlights. Some of the members even sit down and mimic the fans with the penlights.

Another highlight was “Gotcha”, the unit song of Koji Mukai and Ryohei Abe. They came out onto the catwalks on motorcycles, which was a fun element for a fun song. At one point, Koji’s motorcycle didn’t work, so he had to ride on Ryohei’s behind him. It was also a cute touch to show the kids in the audience on the screen.

After than came another unit song, Hikaru, Tatsuya Fukazawa, and Ryota Miyadate‘s “Vroom Vroom Vroom.” This song had a lot of breaks in it due to the comedy routines in the middle of it, which at one point included Ryota turning into a doll!

During “Snow World” I realized why the massive empty space on the floor furthest from the stage was empty. It was because there needed to be room for the trucks! During this song, each member had his own truck in his member color, which went around the perimeter of the floor section of Tokyo Dome. During this truck segment, they shot signed colored softballs into the crowd with guns, before rising high into the air on an individual mini stage that rose out of the center of each truck. Then came a storm of confetti!

“Kimi no Kareshi ni Naritai.” starts what I think of as the gay trio of the concert. I say this because this and the two following songs all had a gay undertone, if that’s even the right word. The moment in this song was when Ren Meguro accidentally said “Please be my boyfriend” instead of “Please be my girlfriend.”

Next, it’s time for another unit song: “Two” by Shota Watanabe and Ren. This song has sparked a lot of fan theories since the album came out, a lot of them saying that Shota and Ren are lovers who are parting. Even when asked by the other members about the song’s meaning, they left the meaning vague. But when they are singing with emotion to each other, with Shota as day and Ren as night on the screens behind them, it can be seen why there are theories about this song. When they unite at the end of the song, a sunset is created on the screen.

Time for another gay moment, this time courtesy of “Bass Bon”, Raul and Daisuke Sakuma‘s unit song. I say gay because the choreography for this song is voguing, which is a style of dance that originated in the New York ballroom scene in the later half of the 20th century. As someone who is familiar with this scene, it’s just an amazing moment to see how the dance has crossed space and time to make it to a Johnny’s concert at Tokyo Dome in 2023. The duo rise out from below the stage on a chair, with Daisuke sitting in the chair and Raul on the arm, his long legs crossed. They then perform the song, voguing include, along with a bit of catwalk action. It’s a very gay moment, in a show that surprisingly had a number of them.

Afterwards, there is a VTR which features Snow Man looking like the top hosts of Tokyo in white suits in a black stretch Hummer. Staying in Kabukicho whenever I’m in Tokyo, I’m very used to what hosts look like.

Then came “slow…” When I first heard this song, I thought to myself, “Ohh, this made this for the dome!” I saw the vision! For me, this is what I came into the concert thinking would be the highlight, and I was not disappointed! The reason I anticipated “slow…” was because of the amount of bass in the song. And when that bass hit in Tokyo Dome, I felt it in my chest! It resonated!

A personal favorite moment of the show came during “Party! Party! Party!” There was a moment when Hikaru’s face, full of joy, was on the screen in front of the rainbow-colored disco ball background.

Then came the moment that I didn’t anticipate. I thought “slow…” was going to be the “must see this song live” moment of the concert, but it was actually “Cry out.” First of all, I felt like I was in hell! I was caught off guard by the fire shooting up from the stage! The heat and intensity of it, I could feel it across the dome! I can only imagine what the boys and the audience on the floor felt! But speaking of the boys, there is only one word to describe what they were: feral! Shota and Daisuke singing head to head! Ryota rubbing his nipples through his mesh shirt! Daisuke showing his abs! Raul rolling down the stage! It was a lot going on, but in the best way possible!

We went from hell to heaven, with the final song, “Ai Kotoba.” It’s a very un-Snow Man song, very sweet and nostalgic. The audience sang the closing part of the song.

Snow Man left the stage, and then the screens showed a video flashing back to their debut announcement at Tokyo Dome in 2019. What a full circle moment for them!

They came back for an encore, in which they did “HELLO HELLO.” They threw flowers into the crowd, and a cute moment came when Shota tried to give flowers to a reluctant little boy who eventually gave in.

Then came a hilarious moment when a new shuffled version of “Brother Beat.” The different parts of that song in its original version are so unique to each member, so for them to mimic one another was really funny. Then came white balloons and silver streamers, and the first night of Snow Man’s three days at Tokyo Dome was over!

Overall, I thought the concert was very entertaining! It was truly a marathon, clocking in at about two and half hours.

Setlist