#148 Live Theory ⑥ | TOUR 2000 Relaxin' 2000.7.27 Factory Hall (THE HIGH-LOWS)

I listened to music like crazy during my high school days, but the bands that reigned as the top two were Hi-Standard and The High-Lows.

The High-Lows consistently released works during my high school years: Baumkuchen in '99 (1st year), Relaxin' in '00 (2nd year), and TIKI-POTO in '01 (3rd year), and every time I listen to those albums, I'm reminded of my high school days.

And 2000 was, above all else, the year of the single "Seishun" (Youth).

First of all, I was happy that their allies, The High-Lows, were selected as the theme song for "Densetsu no Kyoushi" (Legendary Teacher), which was Hitoshi Matsumoto's first starring role in a drama. The theme song, Seishun, was truly a dead-center, straight-down-the-middle hit, and it was an exemplary tie-up that fit the content of the drama perfectly. It was a fantastic relationship where both the drama and the theme song created a synergistic effect. Also, Seishun appeared on the Oricon charts, and I was happy to be able to see The High-Lows on M Station and other commercial TV programs for the first time in a while.

I also recorded this M Station footage on video and watched it until it wore out.

The High-Lows released their 5th album on June 9th (Rock Day).
The title was "Relaxin' with THE HIGH-LOWS", and as the title suggests, it was an album with relatively laid-back songs, serving as a counterpart to the super-aggressive Baumkuchen. Personally, I preferred Baumkuchen, but I quite liked Relaxin' as well.

The circumstances leading up to the concert ~ until the start of the concert

Just like with the previous Hi-Standard concerts, my cousin, who taught me about soccer, manga, and music, invited me by saying, "You're going to see The High-Lows, right?" and got the tickets for us.

This cousin had been a fanatical fan since the Blue Hearts era and was a veteran who had been going to The High-Lows' concerts since their first album.
I borrowed an arrow-patterned wristband from him, and we headed to Sapporo Factory Hall.

And just as the concert was about to begin, the chant of "GO! HIGH-LOWS! GO!" ~applause~ "GO! HIGH-LOWS! GO!" started from somewhere, and the voltage reached its peak.
Then, blackout! This moment is always the most exciting!

Start of the concert ~ End

The first song was the unexpected, super-ballad Okamoto-kun, which caught me off guard, but the second song was the killer tune Seishun!
The mosh pit and crowd surfing here were seriously insane. Honestly, I thought it wouldn't be as intense as Hi-Standard, but it was incredibly wild.

I was moved to see Hiroto and Mashima, whom I had only ever seen on TV, singing just a few meters away!
These charismatic figures actually exist! Anyway, it was incredibly fun.

They played several songs from the new album Relaxin' (honestly, my memory of this part is a bit hazy), and then Hiroto said, "B-side special!" and played Detroit Motor Boogie, the B-side to Soudan Tengoku. The lyrics to this song are just "car" over and over lol.
And the next song they played was Sokushi (Instant Death)!
This was rare, and since it was a song I really liked, I got super hyped.

And after Sokushi finished, he said, "The A-side of this song is...", and then Tsumi to Batsu (Crime and Punishment)! Whoaaaa!!
This was the riff I wanted to hear! Anyway, I was incredibly hyped during this part.

From there, the killer tunes didn't stop, including the live staple Soudan Tengoku, and just before the end of the main set, Hiroto grabbed his guitar (I think it was an SG back then? My memory is fuzzy) and sang Fujimi no Elekiman (Immortal Electric Man), and the main set ended with Mayonaka Laser Gun (Midnight Laser Gun), which I also love.

And the first song of the encore was,Fujimi no Hana (Immortal Flower)!
It's my favorite song from Relaxin', and I was looking forward to hearing it somewhere, but I never expected them to play it as the first song of the encore.
It's such a masterpiece that it's almost painful, so I'll post the lyrics and a video here. The bass is turned up quite high, and it sounds really great.

And the second song wasGekko Yoko (Moonlight Sunlight)!
I talked to my cousin after it was over, and"Gekko Yoko is rare"he said, and I don't think I ever heard it after that, so it was definitely rare.

And finally, this song, the eternal last number of The High-Lows!
As soon as the drums started, I reached my hands up high, put my palms together to make a missile pose, and just as things were getting exciting, Hiroto shouted,"Missile Man!!"The venue went wild! What an incredible live show.

Anyway, it went by in a flash.

Setlist (I don't remember it anymore, so some parts are vague)

After the live show

It sounds cheap, but it really just comes down to saying it was truly cool.
It was the youth of my high school days.

It's been over 20 years, but I still remember it; it was the best live show.