This fall, Travis Japan brought their “Road to A” tour to the United States! Me and our co-founder Ronald were given the opportunity to attend the final show in New York! I wrote my account of the show for all of you to enjoy!
Also, Travis Japan member Genta Matsuda spoke to us after the show, sharing his thoughts on the group’s American concert series!
Check out the review below!
In recent years, the global expansion of STARTO Entertainment groups has been more and more prevalent, with new music videos being posted on YouTube, the ARASHI live viewings across America, dramas featuring the idols streaming globally on Netflix, and that’s just scratching the surface. The debut of Travis Japan and how heavily they’re pushing for a global fan base is something that resonated with not only me as a Torajatan, but also JPop and STARTO fans around the world. That leads us to Thursday, October 17, the day that me and Ronald attended the last stop of Travis Japan’s “Road to A” tour in New York.
To provide context, most of the concerts I’ve been to are metal concerts. My first idol concert was last year, and my second this year. So while I’m not completely new to idol concerts this was the first JPop concert I’ve been to that’s not behind a screen, and honestly it was so amazing that I’m struggling to put it into words.
Once Ronald and I got to the venue I made sure to buy a penlight before sitting down. Although I’m press, I wanted to have the full STARTO concert experience and I feel penlights and uchiwas are a crucial part of the concert experience. Around us were various fans standing together, taking photos of their goods, and waiting for the concert to start. One fan even gave us some adorable fan made merchandise. As the minutes rolled by I grew more and more excited, my toes were wiggling, and I was fidgeting with my penlight until finally the stage light turned on and the venue was filled with excited screams.
The first song was one of my favorites, “LEVEL UP”, but before the song even started the way the boys walked on stage with the tense music made me hold my breath. It was hard not to be starstruck. Once in their positions, the music stopped and the crowd cheered. Umi, who was in the center, shouted the first words of the night, “Just Dance together. We! Are!” Then the song started. In my years of going to concerts, I think this is one of the most memorable ways a concert has started because the energy that came afterwards was strong and the group managed to keep the energy going all throughout the concert.
Throughout the first part of the concert, my eyes were glued to how good they looked! The black suits fit the idols’ bodies very nicely and matched the group’s Hollywood aesthetic. As they were dancing, I also kept looking at their faces and their facial expressions. The makeup they had on was beautiful and highlighted the best parts of each member’s face, while the faces they were making resonated with the audience and myself. I was able to feel the energy in even the subtle ways.
My favorite part of the first section of the concert was “My Dreamy Hollywood.” They performed impressively in full English! The song bled into a tap dancing break where some of the members left the stage to grab glowing white canes to finish the rest of their choreography with. During moments like this, along with when they pulled out their fox masks during a mashup dance moment, I was impressed with how much they were able to do with so little. The normal image of a STARTO concert is high budget: an almost circus-like performance, a lot of lights, camera angles, moving stages, and flying idols. Although this was missing from this concert, I fully believe that the enjoyment I got during the concert is the same, if not more, than I would get from a STARTO concert I would experience in Japan.
Anyways, onto the second most adorable moment of the concert, “Still on a journey”. Oh my! They were so cute during this song! Machu pushed around Chaka, Genta jumped onto Shizu’s back, it was all so cute! Although the choreography wasn’t as energetic as other songs, my energy was still heightened by just watching the friendship and fun I saw each member have. The intimate setting of a small venue made me feel more connected with the group in a way. Knowing their history and how far they came, it just made everything I felt for them more intense. Knowing that my peers and I’s support for them led them to this moment, it all made me shake my penlight just a bit harder.
After the MC, we were blessed with a surreal dance cover of “Firework” by Katy Perry, a hit song by their labelmate. I can’t lie, throughout the song I was just a bit baffled. My favorite Japanese idol group singing a popular 2010s song from America was not something I expected, but enjoyed it nevertheless. At the end of the the cover, the members thanked Shizu for making the choreography of the song. It was a great feeling having your oshi be praised in a room full of people that love the same group of you.
I’ve never been a big fan of “King of the Jungle”; it’s always been a skip for me personally. When I heard this song for the first time when “Road to A” released, I knew that this was a song more suited for live performances rather than my AirPods while working at my soul sucking job. That being said, this is one of the songs I felt myself dancing the most to. I had to hold myself back from moving too much in the limited space I was working with, but by this point, I didn’t even care. I let loose as I saw my peers jump in place, the energy my favorite idols was giving as they shouted, “Hey! King of the jungle!” was on another level. The boys’ choreography with their red gloves and red hats was truly captivating and I felt truly sucked into the concert.
Now to my favorite part, the moment that I continue to replay again and again in my head! I’ve always wanted to hear this song live and be part of it, but I doubted that I would ever be able to see it live. Not only because I’m a fan that lives outside of Japan, but also because it’s a song they made before debuting. Hearing the start of “Lock Lock” filled me with the most excitement I’ve had in honestly my entire year! I instantly felt so many variations of excitement and happiness as I told my calm and collected boss Ronald, “Record this!”, as I grabbed his wrists out of excitement for a split moment. My smile was the widest it had been that night and honestly the widest it’s been in a long time. My wrist was moving in the same way I’ve moved it when I was watching a performance of “Lock Lock” with my normie friend that knows nothing about Japanese idols. I truly felt that all the years I spent believing that behind a screen was the closest I’d ever get as an international fan was worth this one moment! And on top of it all, the members were wearing gorgeous white outfits, with the top having small sparkles that looked so good! Some of the members’ shirts were even open which made my heart do several flips!
At the end of the concert, Travis Japan performed their latest song, “Fly Higher”, and wrapped up the concert with thank yous and goodbyes before they walked off stage. But of course we wouldn’t let them go that easily! After cheers and chants from fans, the boys came back in their tour T-shirts and performed a few more songs, including “Okie Dokie!”, which was so much fun to sing along to. After the true last song of the night, the boys made us put our hands straight out and in sync, and we all shouted “Sansei!” as we threw our hands in the air. Truly a beautiful ending to a memorable concert!
Now here is where I would put my closing thoughts if Travis Japan didn’t lie to us all for the second time that night! This betrayal was fun, so I can’t hate on it too much! They came back out and talked to the audience and asked us to sing along to their real last song of the night, “JUST DANCE!”, which was better the second time. Now actually out of songs to play, the boys each gave their final words to both us the audience, and to the “Road to A” world tour that was finally coming to a close. I can confidently say that my heart felt full for many reasons, for my best friend and boss that I went to the concert with, for the Torajatans that I shared the venue with, and of course, all seven members of Travis Japan coming together as one on stage! Before the concert I wondered if I would be able to enjoy a concert in a small venue in America as much as I would enjoy it in a large arena in Japan, but at the end of the concert I came to the conclusion that they each have their own appeal. One thing would remain consistent though: No matter where they perform, their showmanship would shine through. They were able to do the most with what they had and that is what I believe showmanship is about. I truly can’t wait to be entertained by them again!
From Genta Matsuda, on behalf of Travis Japan:
Getting to perform in the United States as part of our World Tour was very special. Los Angeles will always be like a second home to us and we treasure the memories from our 7 months pre-debut, but I really love that we also got to see even more of America this time.
When we arrived in New York City the day before the show it was already past midnight, but the glow of the lights of Times Square was so mesmerizing that I just had to go out and explore. It was like nothing I’d ever seen before, and then walking down the side alleys and seeing theater after theat werith famous Broadway shows listed up on the marquee I felt a connection with our own group heritage and our love for the stage. Our very first original song, “My Dreamy Hollywood,” despite the name is in fact very Broadway inspired, which also made walking that street myself a very special experience!
https://www.instagram.com/p/DBRZZ9MzKqH/
On behalf of the group, I want to thank everyone who came to see our 2024 concert shows wherever they were held, and hope you enjoy our new album “VIIsual” and everything we have planned for 2025!
Check out more photos from the show!
