Hanabie.: The Belasco - Los Angeles, CA - 4/11/26
Hanabie. is a metalcore band from Tokyo, Japan. Their band name is a Japanese word for the spring day on which the coldness of winter returns. Since forming in 2015, they have released three EP’s and two studio albums with the latest being Reborn Superstar! released in 2023. They announced a US tour with support from Nekrogoblikon and Enterprise Earth. The final stop of the tour was at the Belasco in Los Angeles, California. LA was so excited to have them back that they quickly sold out the show and Hanabie. ended up adding a second show. A Saturday night was the perfect day of the week to be at a concert in LA, and you can bet it was set to be a hot and unforgettable night.
The venue was packed to max capacity by the time Hanabie. was ready to take the stage. The lights went out and the crowd cheered as the band members came out one by one to greet the sold-out crowd. First up was guitarist Matsuri, followed by drummer Chika, followed by bassist, Hettsu, and finally vocalist Yukina. The first song performed was “Neet Game” off the latest album. Right away, you could hear the metalcore influence in their music as Yukina did a combination of clean singing and screaming primarily in Japanese. They refer to their style of metal as “Harajuku-core” which combines metalcore with hardcore punk and nu-metal with J-pop influences. With Harajuku being a district in Shibuya, Tokyo. The show continued as Hanabie. next played Sunrise Miso-Soup. The fans continued to show their appreciation as they continuously moshed and even crowd surfed to the music. The band members themselves were very energetic as they continuously ran around on stage and jumped. They’re definitely a great band to see live with lots of energy. More songs from their catalog were performed which included “Spicy Queen,” “Otaku Lovely Densetsu,” and “Run Away” (Tousou). After the show ended, Hanabie. left the stage and all seemed quiet. The audience was still not ready to go home as they cheered for more music. After a few minutes, Hanabie. came back out for some encores. This time, Yukina was sporting a Dodgers jersey of player Shohei Ohtani who is one of the most popular baseball players in the world and is also of Japanese descent. The first encore was “L.C.G.” and for this song, Hanabie. brought out the singers from the opening bands to join them. The final song of the night was “Today’s Good Day & So Epic” and the audience kept moshing and crowd-surfing nonstop. The show eventually came to an end as the members came up to the audience to thank them. Even though it was only their second time in LA, Hanabie. was met with a thunderous welcome and will for sure be back soon.
