Hanabie’s Phoenix show was a rocking study in contrasts

I admit it. I am one of those Western Japanophiles hypnotized by the history, culture, arts and many other things in Japan. Music has been, without a doubt, a big part of that. 

Among the Japanese bands I follow is this one: Hanabie (pronounced Ha-NAH-bee-eh), which refers to a brief moment in spring, during cherry blossom season, in which the temperature drops again. 

Linguistics aside, a few years ago, I discovered the band like millions of other YouTube viewers, trapped by the algorithm after watching one of their early videos. It felt like an audiovisual contradiction: four young Japanese women delivering crushing metal hardcore riffs with harsh vocals, screams and shrieks, combined with high-pitch J-pop melodic singing and harmonic chords. 

The band calls its style “Harajuku-core,” mixing the toughness of hardcore metal with the eclectic feel of Harajuku, the anime and cosme-infused Tokyo fashion district, with its playful kawaii (cute) vibes and J-pop influence. 

It is unique and unmistakably Japanese. And its formula has turned the band into an international phenomenon. 

If Phoenix had the cool springtime weather of Japan, it could be hanabie season. And we might not get those chills, but we got the band’s thrills, as The Van Buren got packed by those willing to witness Hanabie’s strong performance on Tuesday. 

Most of the crowd looked exactly like what you might expect at a hardcore show: dudes dressed in black, heavy Dr. Martens or worn-in Vans, yakuza-style tattoos … but also some manga-looking hairstyles and souvenir Japanese clothes, from Hokusai-inspired shirts to Onitsuka Tiger sneakers. It was the kind of audience that knew exactly what they were doing there and why. 

An example was when Yukina, the singer, instructed the crowd to open the pit. The classic ritual of the hardcore dancefloor unfolded: people running in circles, pushing, pogo dancing and occasionally colliding. Meanwhile, the band delivered, fast, loud and precise. 

Hanabie’s members (Yukina on vocals, Matsuri on guitar and vocals, Hettsu on bass and Chika on drums) are top-class musicians, possessing technique, ability and creativity. Gosh, I wish the last few albums by Metallica had at least a drop of Hanabie’s music quality and energy.

Hanabie is unique and amazing, yet another reminder that Japan continues to produce some of the most inventive and refreshingly fascinating music in the world.

Rudeness meets politeness. Aggressiveness meets playfulness. Cuteness meets darkness.

Is that contradictory? Maybe. Yet, somehow, it works.