From bawling at Eurovision to supporting BABYMETAL at London’s massive O2 venue, it has been quite a journey for the artists known as Bambi Thug. Flanked by two dancers and performing a series of suggestive dance routines, tonight finds Bambi treading water in a sea of sixth-form sexuality. It’s pertinent to note that those with young children (BABYMETAL appeals to a wide demographic) have chosen to delay their arrival and looking around me, others wish they had too. It’s a very disjointed set with Bambi using the spaces between songs to deliver half-baked political rants and when they do, some of the crowd cheer (over) enthusiastically while the other half look slightly embarrassed. A BABYMETAL gig was always a positive, unifying event that brought together various tribes in a love of music, but Bambi Thug has turned it into a divisive affair. Poor.

Like a soothing balm sent to heal the preceding thirty minutes, Poppy and band prove themselves a major step up in class. Hitting the stage like raging tornado, Poppy is right on the ball from the very first note and you can almost feel the shards of effervescence shattering throughout the venue. Poppy’s making the most of this opportunity and as such there’s no time for political posturing and preaching, preferring to hit us with a succession of songs that land like well aimed punches. The crowd respond in kind and it doesn’t take long for a couple of swirling pits to erupt, becoming huge whirlpools that suck in the unwary. It’s a very organic type of performance that exudes just the right amount of danger and encapsulates everything a good support band should be; it has got the crowd in just the right mood and has raised the bar exceptionally high for BABYMETAL, and that’s made Poppy a winner.

With the exception of festival dates and a sold-out show at Wembley Arena in 2016, BABYMETAL’s headline shows in the UK have been in mid-sized venues (reviewed here and here) meaning that we’ve been deprived their full-on arena extravaganza. Thankfully, that’s been rectified by their first-ever arena tour of Europe and a sold-out crowd fill the venue with excited chatter as the clock ticks slowly towards show time. With a stage protruding into the heart of the crowd like a needle piercing skin, along with the hype surrounding this show since tickets went on sale, to say there was a weight of expectation regarding this gig would be something of an understatement. It means that when the lights dim and the opening chords of ‘BABYMETAL DEATH’ ring out the chatter becomes an ocean’s roar and the scenes in the seats around me recall those heady days of Beatlemania as ear-piercing screams fill the dark and fists pump the air in affirmation. Another track from their debut album follows in the shape of ‘Megitsune’ and it’s here where things really click into gear as flames lick the stage and the band burst into life, as if aliens somehow thrown into our dimension.

The vibe of a BABYMETAL show is very unique; it’s an uplifting affair that really is contagious, it radiates positivity and could do more to cure depression than anything a doctor could prescribe (and that makes the choice of Bambie Thug as opening act all the more puzzling). A camera periodically transmits faces in the crowd onto a big screen and the sheer joy and utter delight on those visages can barely be contained and when you factor in the sheer life-affirming, sing along quality of cuts such as ‘BxMxC’ you have a marriage made in heaven. BABYMETAL make full use of the stage, on a plinth that falls and rises, and also the catwalk that penetrates the crowd, on a seemingly unending quest to make contact with everybody in the crowd.

An often overlooked aspect of the BABYMETAL experience is their backing group, the “kami band”, a collective who ensure the songs are delivered with requisite punch, and they each display a little of their virtuosity as a precursor to a thunderous rendition of ‘METALI!!’. With this gig at the O2, it feels as if BABYMETAL have reached a peak, yet there’s no danger of them standing still and the new tracks debuted tonight (including a world premier of ‘Sunset Kiss’; if you were there you know it rules, if not I can tell you you’re in for a treat) suggests there is much more territory to be mapped in their multiverse. It’s one of those new tracks (‘from me to u’) which is the first of several encores and finds Poppy making a welcome return to add guest vocals. It is with ‘Road To Resistance’ with which the band depart, we might not know to where, but we know it’ll be entertaining.

BABYMETAL Set List:

1. BABYMETAL DEATH
2. Megitsune
3. PA PA YA!!
4. BxMxC
5. METALI!!
6. Kon! Kon!
7. Sunset Kiss
8. Song 3
9. Headbangeeeeerrrrr!!!!!
10. RATATATA
11. Gimme Chocolate!!

Encores:

12. from me to u
13. KARATE
14. Ijime, Dame, Zettai
15. Road To Resistance