Buono! Conquers The Holy Land of Rock: Buono! Festa 2016 at Nippon Budokan

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When it was announced that Buono! was going to hold a concert titled “Buono! Festa 2016” at Nippon Budokan, fans held their breath and hoped that this would lead to an active Buono! again. Composed of Miyabi Natsuyaki (formerly of Berryz Kobo), Airi Suzuki (of ℃-ute) and Momoko Tsugunaga (also formerly of Berryz Kobo, currently Playing Manager of Country Girls), Buono!'s future looked unsure following Berryz Kobo's hiatus and besides small one-off performances at joint Hello! Project concerts, Buono! had not been active in several years. As the concert drew nearer fans learned more about this event. Miyabi Natsuyaki's new group would be revealed at this concert and in the weeks leading up to the concert itself, we learned that Buono! had recorded a new single and that it would be made available before its actual release date at this concert! Besides this the Buono! Festa 2016 line-up would be filled by the individual member’s other groups. This meant that Country Girls, ℃-ute, as well as Miyabi’s unnamed group would all perform in their own guest corner segments.
 
August 25th, 2016, the time had come for the world to see Buono! again! The crowd shuffled into the sold-out Nippon Budokan and got ready for what was going to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Besides the crowd at the venue, the concert was also being broadcast live in several theaters in not only Japan, but also in Taiwan and Hong Kong as well. A huge Buono! banner covered the stage and everyone at Nippon Budokan eagerly waited to see the banner finally be removed. The excitement of the crowd could be felt as a countdown signaled the group's arrival. A silhouette gave way to the trio we had all been waiting for and Buono! took the stage along with their backing band Dolce. They immediately jumped into their first song, their come-back single "Rockno Seichi", a song that is a spiritual successor and answer song to their earlier favorite, “Rockno Kamisama”. The crowd went wild and following an MC would only get more crazy when Buono! followed this with "We are Buono! ~Buono no Theme~". The crowd's cheers of "B-U-O-N-O!" rocked Nippon Budokan and not a bit of energy was lost when the band finished out their initial set with "Rottara Rottara".

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Now being that this is Buono! Festa 2016 and not your standard one-man live, we were going to be treated to several other acts before Buono! took back the stage. First up was the introduction of Miyabi Natsuyaki's then-unnamed group. Following the announcement of Berryz Kobo's hiatus, the future of some of the members was unsure. While many of the members stayed within Up-Front or Hello! Project, only a few, like Momoko Tsugunaga, remained in the performing spotlight Therefore, fans were very excited when it was announced that Miyabi would be leading her own group and that excitement was brought to a head at Buono! Festa 2016! The audience was treated to video auditions of the chosen members (Hikaru Kobayashi and Yuka Nihei) and a short documentary of the new group learning the material as well as recording their first release. Following this introduction we were treated to the much-anticipated reveal of the new group's name, "PINK CRES." short for "pink crescendo".

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The trio took the stage next supported by DJ JURI. Their first song was a medley of "Warning ~Mirai Keihou~" and "Uwa no Sora". These songs were very different, one being a dance song and the next being a slow ballad, but they definitely showed the crowd that this was a group that was worth watching in the future. The crowd was then treated to PINK CRES.' very first MC where Miyabi asked the crowd to change their penlights to pink. Everyone happily obliged and their set closed out with the song "Summer Wonderland" which was complete with not only pink penlights, but also twirling towels.

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Country Girls were up next. Following the hiatus of Berryz Kobo, Momoko Tsugunaga made a new name for herself as the Playing Manager of Country Girls and took the group on a path straight to the top. They opened their set "Koi Dorobou" and the crowd's cheers and chants were completely on point. Following this introduction we got an MC where it was mentioned that while this was Country Girls' third time at Nippon Budokan it was the first time for with the new line-up that sadly featured the absence of Manaka Inaba who had left the group just weeks before. Their next song was their latest single, "Doodatte Iino". They closed out their guest corner with the fan favorite "Itooshikutte Gomenne" a song that is both very catchy and cute, but still able to whip the crowd into a frenzy.

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Now up to this point all the previous groups had proper introductions and stage exits, all that ended when it was time for ℃-ute to take the stage. ℃-ute came on stage immediately following the end of Country Girls' set and the "Are you ready?!" shouts that accompanied the intro of "Tokkaiko Junjou" were nearly enough to tear the roof off the venue. This was a particularly hard set to watch as it was announced just days before that ℃-ute would be graduated from Hello! Project the following June. Following their MC they went into "Jinseiwa STEP!" and followed that up with the ever-popular "Kiss me Aishiteru". Their set was pure energy and both ℃-ute and the fans gave every bit of themselves to each other. Also following immediately, "Dance de Bakoon!" wrapped up their guest corner. Before we were treated to the return of Buono! we were given one last performance. ℃-ute (minus Airi Suzuki) along with a Momoko-less Country Girls performed the Buono! hit "Hontono Jibun". While I personally would have loved to have seen this song performed by Buono!, this was an interesting take on it nonetheless.

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Buono! took back the stage with “Independent Girl ~ Dokuritsu Joshide Arutameni” a song that brought every fan in the venue to their feet and into the air. To go along with this powerful return we were also given flames which heated up Budokan even more so than the fan’s cheers did. The group was in rare form here and continued to several other hard-rocking numbers “Zassou no Uta” and “JUICY HE@RT”. While the physical fire on stage had died down by this point, the fire within their performance was not showing any signs of giving way. Buono!’s interaction with backing band Dolce is worth noting here too. With the addition of a second guitarist (bringing the total of musicians who could traverse to stage to three) the group was able to more properly pair off for fun on stage antics. Together, Buono! and Dolce owned the stage and took the show directly to everyone be they down the middle along the ramp, or along both wings of the stage.

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Following this powerful opening, we got the second MC from Buono!. This one was special though as following some remarks about how it had been a long time since they shared the same stage, Miyabi was presented with a birthday cake and everyone from those in the crowd to those on the stage took part in wishing her a happy birthday! What a birthday it was too! A birthday that saw the reformation of the beloved Buono! and the debut of her own group PINK CRES. Surely this birthday can be seen as a new beginning bright with opportunity!

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Following the MC, they continued with their new single, “Sorashido~Neenee~”. This was followed by “Gachinkode Ikou!”, “My Love”, and “Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!” which saw this segment wrapped up with the girls on a centrally placed bed where they eventually finished the song following a pesky alarm. This was a fitting place to end this segment as the songs up to this point were all high energy and the power of the concert would be enough to tire out even the most seasoned of performers!
 
The MC that followed saw Buono! changed into elegant white dresses as they introduced the band to the crowd. This introduction also featured a special guest violinist who would play an important part in the next segment. Following a request for the fans to sit for the next part, the band took us into a nice acoustic set that was as beautifully powerful as the first half of the show though in a more subtle way. With the girls seated far to the front in the middle ramp, they began with “Urahara”, by the time they moved into “Kimiga Ireba”, the sole violinist was now joined by a full string quartet. This part closed with “You’re My Friend” which saw the full band accompanying the strings bringing a sound one rarely hears at Hello! Project concerts.

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Before we moved onto the next set of songs we were treated to some very funny special videos that are best seen rather than explained. Suffice to say that they were quite amusing and played up to the comedic strengths of the members very well! The next set of songs was kicked off by “Nakamushi Shonen” which was followed by “Kataomoi。”. “Hatsukoi Cider”, with a slightly slower opening finished this set. We had been taken on a musical journey that had taken us to many different stops, but things were clearly getting ready to ramp up again following the earlier acoustic parts.
 
The shouts of “P. A. T. I!” signaled the start of “Bravo☆Bravo” a song whose iconic chants were something that must be witnessed to believe how powerful they could be. Other powerful rocking songs “Janakya Mottainai!” and a “Lady Panther” complete with dueling guitar solos. Fire, along with smoke this time around, once again filled the stage for “MY BOY” which was every bit the hard-rocking metal crossover song it was. “Renai♥Rider” was officially the last song of the night and a fitting way to wrap up the main part of Buono! Festa 2016 as it was their second single (Their first single being performed earlier by the non-Buono! members). Streamers fell from the ceiling and filled Nippon Budokan with a colorful rain during this song and fans grabbed at them all the while continuing to cheer with them held high. Following this song Buono! exited the stage, but it thankfully would not be for long.

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Seeing Nippon Budokan lit by thousands of colorful penlights is something that can never be properly described unless one has directly witnessed it themselves. It is as beautiful as it is powerful and it can be nearly breathtaking. Added to this sea of light were the constant and rhythmic calls for Buono’s return. After several minutes of this, return they did and their first encore song was none other than “Rockno Kamisama”. Following this amazing towel-swinging performance and another MC, the band entered into the true final songs of the night, “Warp!” and “Tabitachino Uta”. The former of which saw hearts fall from the sky in the colors of the group which featured a message. These were quickly scooped up by the lucky fans while on stage the string quartet had grown yet again into a full ensemble that added a new layer to what was already a wonderful show. Following some call and responses with “Tabitachino Uta” the concert came to a reluctant end.  All said, Buono! Festa 2016 was made up of three hours of music and performance, but everyone within Budokan probably wished the night didn’t have to end.
 
It had been over four years since Buono! had properly active, but if one didn’t know any better they would have assumed that no time had passed at all. They were in as perfect a form as they ever were and performed with as much power and drive as they did on their first ever solo concert. While the night had more than its share of bittersweet moments especially when one recalled the recent announcement regarding the future of ℃-ute, these were counteracted by the fact that the thousands of fans assembled, as well as those watching from afar, had witnessed something special. Something that could never happen again. A legend had reformed and hopefully would begin a new chapter. A chapter that would be long and bright and hopefully one that would never again see such a prolonged absence of such great a group.

-Manuel (alavic_222)
 
Setlist:
M01.Rockno Seichi
MC1
M02. We are Buono! ~Buono! no Theme
M03. Rottara Rottara
 
Guest Corner: PINK CRES.
Warning ~Mirai Keihou~ / Uwanosora (Medley)
MC
Summer Wonderland
 
Guest Corner: Country Girls
Koi Dorobou
MC
Dou Datte Ii no
Itooshikutte Gomenne
 
Guest Corner: ℃-ute
Tokaikko Junjou
MC
Jinsei wa STEP!
Kiss me Aishiteru
Dance de Bakoon!
 Hontono Jibun (Maimi Yajima, Saki Nakajima, Chisato Okai, Mai Hagiwara, Risa Yamaki, Chisaki Morito, Mai Ozeki, Nanami Yanagawa, Musubu Funaki)
 
SE
M04. Independent Girl~Dokuritsu Joshi de Arutameni ~
M05. Zassou no Uta
M06. JUICY HE@RT
MC2
M07. Sorashido~Neenee~
M08. Gachinkode Ikou!
M09. My Love
M10. Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!
MC3
M11. Urahara
M12. Kimiga Ireba
M13. You're My Friend
Video Corner
M14. Nakimushi Shounen
M15. Kataomoi。
M16. Hatsukoi Cider
MC4
M17. Bravo☆Bravo
M18. Janakya Mottainai!
M19. Lady Panther
M20. MY BOY
M21. Renai♥Rider
 
ENCORE
EN1. Rockno Kamisama
MC5
EN2. Warp!
EN3. Tabitachino Uta

Buono! Is:
Tsugunaga Momoko (嗣永桃子) (Leader)
Natsuyaki Miyabi (夏焼雅)
Suzuki Airi (鈴木愛理)

PINK CRES. Is:
Natsuyaki Miyabi (夏焼雅) (Leader)
Kobayashi Hikaru (小林ひかる)
Nihei Yuuka (二瓶有加)

Country Girls Is:
Tsugunaga Momoko (嗣永桃子) (Playing Manager)
Yamaki Risa (山木梨沙)
Morito Chisaki (森戸知沙希)
Ozeki Mai (小関舞)
Yanagawa Nanami (梁川奈々美)
Funaki Musubu (船木結)

℃-ute Is:
Yajima Maimi (矢島舞美) (Leader)
Nakajima Saki (中島早貴)
Suzuki Airi (鈴木愛理)
Okai Chisato (岡井千聖)
Hagiwara Mai (萩原舞)

Official Links
Buono! Official YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/buonochannel

PINK CRES. Official Site: http://www.pinkcres.com/
PINK CRES. Official Blog: http://ameblo.jp/pinkcres

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