The Die Has Been Cast! Femme Fatale Rocks PMX 2015!

Kaya returns to Pacific Media Expo (PMX) for the first US performance of his new band Femme Fatale! A change of look, style, and sound for Kaya go hand-in-hand with the changes that PMX has embarked on this year too! PMX has largely called the LAX Hilton for the past several years (with one brief stint at the Pasadena Hilton), but this year they moved to the Pasadena Convention Center and also changed their date (traditionally Veteran's Day Weekend) to Labor Day weekend even changing their three-day schedule to include the Monday holiday as well!

Keeping these changes in mind, Femme Fatale's concert took place on Day One (Saturday), before their panel and autograph session which took place the following day. It is the view of this author that concerts should always come after these type of events so that casual attendees can perhaps get to know the group and feel the need to attend their concert as these are indeed quite rare occurrences for many of these bands to be playing such a relatively intimate show in the US. Kaya's name does carry some weight though and he has performed at several events in the US prior to the formation of Femme Fatale. Femme Fatale having come off a string of amazing releases were sure to bring an amazing experience to PMX for those who filled the Pasadena Convention Center's Ballroom that night.

Femme Fatale took to the stage amidst some unfortunate sound problems, but the band made the most of it by jumping right into "Freya" and not looking back from there. Technical issues aside, the band was in good form and there was a lot of chemistry between the members that was quite refreshing and amusing to see. I will admit that I came into the show largely a fan of Kaya, not familiar with any of the other members of Femme Fatale, but after a couple songs I realized that this band had many powerful figures both in terms of musical ability and personality. Iori quickly became a favorite of mine and it was clear from some of the cheers thrown in his direction that he was an audience favorite as well.

Speaking of audience, the crowd was somewhat smaller than I remember seeing for Kaya's 2008 PMX concert, but they were no less enthusiastic for the show. This smaller audience was most likely due to the aforementioned changes in location and date of the convention. That didn't stop everyone from having a good time though and audience interaction was at a high as Kaya and band called for more enthusiastic movements which the audience was more than happy to give them. The MCs were a highlight as well as the band moved around naturally and spoke to the audience in a way that belied the fact that they were one of the rising bands in the Japanese visual kei scene.

Iori's take on the Star-Spangled Banner was an unforeseen surprise and while it was arguably out of place for the show, it won over the crowd and was an otherwise interesting interlude. Even though the start of the concert had issues with sound, these were thankfully solved before the middle of the concert. While the entire concert was an amazing experience, standout performances of "Salome" and "Voyage" stuck out in mind, the former being one of the best vocal performances I've seen in recent memory. The closer of the show "Judgement -The Die Has Been Cast-" is a personal favorite of mine and I was beginning to worry that it was somehow going to be left off the setlist. Thankfully this was not the case and the band closed their set with a bang!

Following some closing messages, including one where bassist Toshi very nearly gave out his hotel information, we were treated an encore performance of "Grim Reaper" which would be their true final song of the night. Following the concert fans immediately lined up for the autograph session which unfortunately was going very behind schedule at this point. Among the many awesome goods for the band they were selling their limited single "Kodou" which previously was a live-only release. Whether the fans were aware of this fact or not, it quickly sold out.

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An amazing performance and a receptive crowd all but ensures that this won't be the last time we see Femme Fatale in the US!

-Manuel (alavic_222)

Set List
1. Freya
2. Jester
3. Mephistopheles
4. Akai Hana
5. Faust
6. Kurumeku Taiyou
7. Digitalis
8. Kodou
9. Voyage
10. L’oiseau Bleu
11. Burn
12. the Fatal Day
13. Stardust
14. Crimson Nail
15. BABEL
16. Medeia
17. Salome
18. Judgement -The Die Has Been Cast-
Encore
19. Grim Reaper

Femme Fatale Is:
Kaya: Vocals
TaNa: Guitar
Iori: Guitar
Toshi: Bass
Fumi: Support Drums

For More On Femme Fatale
Website: http://femme-fatale.jp/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/info_femme