Perfume gives London its life during their World tour 2nd stop at Shepherd's Bush

Perfume embarked on a world tour which made a stop in London and I was fortunate enough to attend. I'mma just get this out of the way here and now. The gig was fucking amazing. I've been slow to appreciate what these girls do, but that all came to a head during this concert. Perfume put on a show. Wonderfully intricate, yet simple. Big, but intimate. The range of people at the venue was as varied as fuck. There was no particular type at this concert. There were youngsters there from the age of 12, to older men in their 50s. There were white girls with blonde pig tails, middle aged Japanese women, tall black guys (What it do, yo!!). Perfume's demographic is wider than the chasm between current Ayu and her former self who was able to sell a record. The wonderful thing about this is that it validated how diverse Perfume's fanbase really is. And seeing all of these people gave a nice sense of affirmation (not that I needed it, as I don't give a shit) that it's okay to like Perfume. No matter who you are. Once you are inside the venue, the lights go down and the music starts pumping, every body is one and the same.

When I got into the venue and saw the stage, I was throwing shade all over Twitter about how cheap, basic and run down the stage looked. But then it happened. The lights went down and even in the pitchest of blacks you could all make out a-chan, Kashiyuka and Nocchi taking their positions on the stage. They stood. Motionless. Silent for an entire minute. And then it began. These bitches gave the flyest looking gig intro I've seen in my life. You all remember that spectacular spectacle from their showcase in Cannes which surfaced on YouTube a month ago, right? They did that whole damn thing and gave Shepherd's Bush its entire life.

The intro was nothing short of spectacular. Lighting and projection are always the focuses of Perfume's performances. But even in lieu of what they've pulled off at the Tokyo dome, what they put on in this small little shit hole of a venue in West London was breathtaking. I watch videos back of it now and I'm in awe of how brilliant it all looks technically and wonder how it was all done. It's like watching some form of illusion. And just when Perfume have have grabbed you by the hair with their epic filled intro, they mass scalp the crowd with a remix of "Spending all my time". Perfume forums are already calling for this remix to appear on their Level 3 album and I'd have to co-sign. When I heard it on YouTube I wasn't too on board with it. But upon hearing it live, I'm now in love. House loving gays and those trashy clubs drunk white people go to for Summer holidays in Europe will be all about this remix. Then just when you think the girls might stop for breath to address the crowd, they go straight into the album mix of "Laser beam", complete with green laser beams which I'm almost certain blinded the home girl on crutches at the far back,stage right. Perfume dropped new choreography to this mix of the song which saw the girls step and flick their fake telephones like Kashiyuka's hair depended on it. The girls opened with a killer string of songs and did not let up until the encore.

For the encore the crowd has three choices: "Nee", "Glitter" and "Love the world" - with Perfume performing the song to which the crowd cheered the loudest for. It was a tough call between "Glitter" and "Love the world" and I was pretty sure "Love the world" had won out. But much to my delight the girls performed "Glitter" - the most fitting of songs for them to close a set with. London. I love you for loving this song as much as I do. And once again, it was a nice sense of affirmation for me that I wasn't the only "Glitter" loving Perfume fan in the village. The performance was fucking magical. The front row was getting crunk, people in the back swaying in unison, everybody was mesmerised. The only thing missing was the shower of sparks during the final run of the chorus to match the video. But Perfume's tech team ain't trying to burn down the Shepherd's bush empire. Although that place could do with an insurance claim to make way for a much needed renovation.

Perfume's set list was generous on hits and also showed love to their B-sides. "Polyrhtyhm" B-side "Seventh heaven" turned the entire venue in a club. I hadn't heard this song before and was Shazam'ing and tweeting like a mo'fucka for somebody to identify the song. Turns out Perfume-city forums dwellers were Twitter watching during the event and managed to identify it for me. Why Tokuma communications left this song off of Game, I do not know. The song is a BANGER. As on point as their performance of "Magic of love" was, they threw that under a Central line train with "Daijobanai". The dance routine to this song gives you everything you didn't get from the videos to "Spring of life", "Spending all my time" and "Magic of love". The damn song should have been an A-side. "Handy man" was played during the intermission, but alas, there was no performance of it. A real shame, as I think a performance of it would have been a nice surprise and gone down a treat, as by this point the girls already had everybody in the palm of their hands. The venue was packed with fans who knew all of Perfume's material, so "Handy man" would not have been a stranger to anybody. The girls also performed "My colour", which was a welcomed entry to the setlist, as it was my favourite album track off of JPN. It was the only moment during the entire gig where the girls didn't dance their arses off. But of course Kashiyuka still arched that back, a-chan still got on dem knees and Nocchi worked dem legs how she always does.

Let's get one thing straight. a-chan and Nocchi know a fair amount of English. a-chan was off stage for much of Perfume's first segment of banter with the audience. She'll tell you it was due to adjusting her outfit. I'll tell you it was so that Nocchi had to put herself on the front line with the Engrish to make it easier for a-chan later on. But Nocchi rose to the occasion. She knows far more English than she lets on. a-chan is every bit as crazy and energetic as she is in interviews. She was absolutely obsessed with fish and chips (one of the UK’s signature dishes) and used any opportunity to just say the 'fish and chips', commandeering the crowd to chant it with her. She also surprisingly broke into Queen's "We will rock you", tearing through that first verse live and in English. The crowd went ballistic as it was so unexpected and unlike what you'd expect Perfume to do. a-chan was so fun and playful and didn't seem phased or shy about speaking in English despite her limited grasp of it. In fact, she seemed to enjoy speaking in it, because she got instant reactions from us every time she did due to us understanding her. Kashiyuka didn't really do much tho' [Tumbleweed bounces down the escalator of Shepherd's bush station]

What really hit me about Perfume, is that despite coming off as tourists who are so in awe of everything new and so wide eyed at being in London, the second the lights went down and the music stared, they transformed. a-chan could stand and be shouting "Fisss ando chipssu!" one moment and then in a heartbeat she's switched on and giving you a performance. It's crazy to see and I guess part of the charm of Perfume. That they seem like regular girls who are able to pull off something so extraordinary.

All of the videos I took at the gig are shit and it was just my fucking luck that my phone battery died mid way through. I'm not going to bother uploading my videos to YouTube as there are so many better quality videos which have been uploaded by others. For now, I'll give you some Japanese news coverage of the gig which shows that good shit shot by proper cameras and not some shaky ass Samsung Galaxy.

Perfume's London gig was an absolute blast. I hope as a result of the success of their 2nd world tour, that Perfume's team will extend their European leg and also add US dates - doing bigger venues and also working in some press. If Perfume announce future dates and that they are coming to snatch wigs in your country, do not think. Just go. You will not be disappointed. Even if you aren't a fan of Perfume, just take the plunge and go for the sheer experience of attending a J-Pop concert. Perfume's live showmanship is something to behold. Haters can shit on them not singing live all they want, but your fave ain't getting on those knees without tights like a-chan, hitting a routine to a Euro house banger like Nocchi and givign you two steps and shimmies in a mini skirt like Kashiyuka. And your faves' creative director ain't coming with anything as fly as that "Spending all my time" set.

Shout outs to the super fan who was in the first tier stalls dancing the choreography to PERFECTION to every single song Perfume performed.

Reviews: Game | JPN | Spring of life | Spending all my time