Concert report: HITT @ Liège

So HITT paid our country a visit again, this time in Liège, inside a refurbished cargo ship. The entire interior was rebuilt to accommodate a bar room (supposedly there would be tables and chairs in there on a normal day), with a smaller space in the back where a full band could perform comfortably.

A small section of wall on either side of the room divided these areas, creating a very snug jazzy/bluesy/rock'n'roll environment. Before the actual concert, many people just took a little time to look around the inside of the ship. After all, you don't get to go inside one every day, much less for a Japanese rock concert.

After the usual announcement by Râmen Events' founder Aurélie, it was HITT's turn to take his place at the microphone.

The concert itself was pretty much what we've come to expect from HITT: a lot of eccentric dancing, lots of smiles going back and forth between him and his HITTERS, passionate performances at his keyboard..

There was a very warm atmosphere throughout the whole show, whether he was rocking out or being very delicate. That's the good part about seeing a solo artist in a small venue: you feel very cozy, very close and very snug. What I particularly like about HITT's concerts, is that it's pretty much the same people coming every time, so you kind of get to know each other and recognize people.

HITT himself certainly does, he's starting to recognize faces and picks out different people to dance with every time. Speaking of dancing, besides his own choreography he traditionally invites people on stage during his Flamenco-sounding song "Lalilalulalola" (I was one of those people at Made in Asia last year). Although this time around they got a bit more.. .. ..manic. HITT doesn't care if you're a girl or a guy, he'll dance with anyone who wants to have a good time, and did the frantic Lalilalulalola dance with 3 guys in total. Another guy, whom we've seen at every concert so far, was pulled out and placed on HITT's keyboard stool.

This guy was a bit taller than HITT, but on top of that stool he really towered above everyone, and HITT had to take several steps back in order to properly communicate with him. It should be noted that this stool isn't particularly stable, so getting on and off it was quite an ordeal..

Of course, this makes a lot more sense if I tell you HITT announced that it was "Boys night"..

It was a rather eventful evening, but I do feel that everyone left there happy and satisfied, so that's always a good thing.

Please find the rest of our photos of the night here.

To top it all off, we were granted an interview with HITT after the show, so stay tuned for that!

Report by Marjan Van Esbroeck
Photos by Kelly Govers
Concert courtesy of Râmen Events

Song of the Week: Kakkotsuke man (カッコつけマン)

Artist: HITT

Album: Kakkotsuke man (カッコつけマン)

As you've probably seen, we went to HITT's show in Liège on June 2. (Pictures can be found on our Facebook page.) Like always, this song gets stuck in my head after seeing HITT live. The song is so catchy that you can't help but dance/sing along.

Album is available at:

カッコつけマン

カッコつけマン

カッコつけマン

Song of the Week: "Sakura Romance" by HITT

HITT is touring Europe again, playing all over the continent.

Last time he visited was May and this is one of the most memorable songs from back then for me personally.

He will be playing in Liège (Belgium) on 14 December 2012.

Concert Review: HITT @ LR6 (Brussels)

Japanese artist HITT has a love for Belgium, and that's good news for us! He's been here for 5 years in a row (if I'm not mistaking?) and isn't thinking of skipping our country any time soon!

Last Sunday he was in Brussels, at LR6, a Jazz bar. The concert itself took place in the cellar, haha!

I seriously don't think there were more than 30 people in there, it was so cozy and lovely to just be there with those few HITTERS (that's what he calls his fans) and HITT. It was the kind of concert that you'd expect from an unknown band: cozy, very intimate and still full of energy. We had already seen HITT at Made in Asia in Brussels, on April 1st, but this was something totally different.

Made in Asia was a Japan-related event that just so happened to have live concerts, so HITT was seen by many people, not just the fans. At the LR6, it was just the fans, who knew all the songs, screamed along, did the dance moves.. I'd never experienced anything like this before, and was very pleasantly surprised!

He attempted to speak French, failed and switched to English, failed that too and just continued in Japanese, luckily someone knew Japanese and was able to translate for the rest of us.

Among the songs played were "My Punks", "Crazy for You", "Kakkotsuke Man" and "Sexy Galaxy", four songs that I think sum up HITT's general attitude and music style: a bit of everything. Although the jazzy groove is a constant in his songs, his style ranges from blues over rock to neo-rock, with happy hyperactive beats and tunes over the groovy bass line.

After the concert he did a photo/signing session and since the audience was so small, we got to "hang out" with him, sort of. He is a really nice guy, everyone got a hug and his smile was very contagious.

He is what I call a truly versatile musician and person.

Sorry there aren't any pictures..