EXPLOSIVELY DANCE! HARU NEMURI’s 2025 North American Tour – Thoughts & Photos
Haru Nemuri is wrapping up her North American tour, and Teppen! had the honor of covering two shows on opposite coasts. It’s no secret that we’re big fans of Nemuri, from re-arranging an entire Japan trip to make it to one of her gigs, to our interview with her. Nemuri’s outspoken nature, especially on issues like Palestine, has made her question whether she’ll be able to renew her visa, so this may be her last shows in the US for quite a while. Some of the following may be repetitive, but both Jeff and Rich share their thoughts on the shows in Seattle and Brooklyn below.
Seattle
Words and artistic photos by Jeff
Madame Lou’s was the site of the final show of the west coast leg of Haru Nemuri’s US/Canada tour. Lou’s is nestled in downtown Seattle and is part of the Crocodile; you go down a flight of stairs into a big room with a stage, booth seats, and a bar. Haru was onstage alongside DJ/manager Minato, flanked by a Marshall half stack and SVT bass rig. The set list featured a lot of the new songs from ekkolaptómenos, which she even explained to the audience and hoped they would appreciate (they did, and many yelled out in support), and then launched into “supernova,” a song that is highlighted by her commanding yelling of “supernova” that sounded like a message from across space. Oftentimes an artist is sort of expected to rely on the tried and true hits, but Haru is an artist always moving. Her fanbase knows and loves that about her; she never rests on her laurels and is constantly taking risks. This album, for instance, features a lot more clean and powerful singing. She stood enthusiastically between the monitors and conducted the audience to sing the melody of “terrain vague.” Haru did bring out “Ikiru,” and it felt like it was necessary in this period of unrest and overall disenfranchisement felt globally. Things are bad; they can get worse, but Haru reminds us about love and beauty that is parallel to all the despair.
She told a funny story about being at KEXP, and while they were perfectly fine with her saying “Free Palestine,” she did say “fucking” five times during “angelus novus,” and the staff had a panicked look on their faces. BAKU ODORI means to explosively dance, and that’s not just a slogan on her shirt at the merch booth. Haru is an absolute blur of motion on stage; the venue was hot, and she was drenched in sweat but never looked exhausted, feeding off the energy of the crowd. After one of her many trips into the crowd, she returned to the stage with in-ear monitors draped down her back, and she continued on unabated. The showstopper moment was her performing “cosmic egg” and her introducing it as a special song to her, and just like on the album, she was in tears by the final refrain.
Haru was not merely entertaining a fanbase; this was catharsis, and her shows are not so much concerts as they are communal events. Speaking truth to power in ways that need to be more commonplace; as she has mentioned before, women in Japan are subjected to various types of misogyny and are not encouraged to speak up; not only does Haru place a middle finger in that face, but she also growls and screams on stage, which for a Japanese woman is still not very mainstream (much like Joshi wrestlers becoming very vocal and yelling in matches). One of the most important artists who truly cares for her fans and uses her platform to shine a light on uncomfortable topics, she has mentioned that she might not get a new visa given the current political landscape, and she has also felt that her presence on SNS has been throttled or perhaps shadowbanned as a result of her beliefs. It’s hard to prove but not conspiratorial to think that she makes people with influence uneasy. She is a DIY musician at this point in her career, without the backing of a major label to push her new work and tour through, with a pure underground ethos on display. As an aside, this tour has VIP benefits that include a pre-show meet and greet, Q&A, and special merchandise. Unfortunately there was a timing issue and there was little time; however, Haru stayed after the show, spending time with everyone so they got their money’s worth. The main takeaway from the evening was her love for the crowd and telling people that even loving yourself is important and enough. Haru is empathy on a stage, and she allows a vulnerability that speaks of a punk rocker who cares with all her heart.
New York
Words and photos by Rich
This show was Haru Nemuri’s return to the main hall at Elsewhere. Nemuri has played a number of shows in Brooklyn, her first show being at the now defunct Knitting Factory, she’s also played the unique Market Hotel, where the J/M/Z Subway pulls right up to the window. Elsewhere contains three different venues, The Hall is a state of the art venue, Zone 1 is its smaller space, and there’s a rooftop spot. It’s in an industrial area just across Flushing Ave from the heart of Bushwick.
I got there in time to catch the VIP Meet and Greet, which gave fans the opportunity to buy merch, get it signed, and also ask Haru questions in a Q&A session. I didn’t take any photos during this so those participating could enjoy their moment with the artist.
Unlike Seattle, this show had an opening act, New York based-duo Patch+. Both singers paced around on stage, while a third member DJ’d. Their tunes were fairly diverse, some had great grooves, others softer with acoustic guitar samples in the background. Overall, an interesting and creative set.
Then Haru Nemuri took the stage, with her DJ, Minato, set up behind her. Much like the Seattle show, the set was very much focused on ekkolaptómenos. Sometimes when an artist plays a set so heavy on new material, they can lose the audience, but that’s impossible for Haru Nemuri. She’s a whirlwind of motion, spinning around on stage, and indeed dancing explosively. Nemuri encouraged everyone to dance explosively, and jumped down into the crowd to make sure we complied. She even awarded T-shirts to a group of fans who she thought were the best dancers in the venue.
I’ve said it before, but Haru Nemuri shows are so much more than ordinary concerts. As Jeff said, they truly are communal events. Nemuri made sure to take time to open a conversation with the audience. Nemuri’s always been vocal about the world, ekkolaptómenos is about colonialism, and the scars it has left on the world. She spoke about her support for the people of Gaza, and it erupted into a “Free Palestine” chant. Moments like that can induce such anxiety, and you could tell Haru really appreciated the support amongst the vulnerability. An audience member yelled out and asked Nemuri to marry him, and in pure Haru Nemuri fashion, she replied “Sorry, but I stand against the system of marriage“.
The dialogue continued beyond just banter between songs. The audience shouted lyrics back at Nemuri, and she raised her own energy level. And each time she entered the crowd, we were all one collective force, moving and dancing together with no barrier between artist and audience.
Nemuri wrapped her set, then came back for an encore, or three, apologizing for lying to us about her last song, multiple times. It was a really fun way to bring the evening to a close, and she truly gave the audience everything she had for us.
The show was a big reminder that there is still some good in the world, and that we all need to make some fucking noise.
Nemuri still has a pair of US dates on her tour, Boston/Cambridge, MA on the 27th at Middle East and Washington DC at Black Cat on the 29th. This may be the last time Nemuri is able to tour the US for a while, so if you’re interested in some cathartic release with one of the most important voices in the music world today, check out the shows. Tickets are still available here. Nemuri also has an upcoming tour in Japan, kicking off at Yokohama B.B.STREET with The Tiva and AKKOGORILLA on October 7. We’ve actually covered a The Tiva show at B.B.STREET in the past, if you’re in Japan, it’ll be a great gig to catch.
Connect with HARU NEMURI:
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