My BABYKLOK Tour Experience
In 2019 I went to my first metal concert at The Anthem in DC. The show consisted of a Swedish band, Avatar, and a Japanese band, BABYMETAL. The show was amazing, and since then I’ve seen Avatar multiple times but hadn’t had a chance to see BABYMETAL again, until this year.
For those who don’t know, BABYMETAL is a Japanese metal band. It consists of three members: Su-Metal, Moametal, and Momometal. They combine the metal genre with pop and other styles of music. They have 2,092,054 monthly listeners on Spotify and have been performing live since 2010.
Originally I wasn’t going to go see BABYMETAL on their most recent tour (the BABYKLOK tour). The closest date to me was Philly and when tickets originally went on sale I couldn’t figure out a way to get there. As the date got closer though, I wanted to go more and more. I love both the bands performing (BABYMETAL and Dethklok), so I did some research.
It was around 2am the Saturday before the concert where I figured out how I could go to Philly for the show and make it back in time for work the next day. If I caught the 6:54am train out of Richmond I could be in Philly around noon, go to the concert, and catch the 1:52am train back to Richmond. It would be a long day, but I could do it. I eventually went to sleep after figuring this all out and bought the train tickets and concert tickets the next day. Was it expensive? Yes, but as Tom and Donna say, treat yo self.
On September 12th I embarked on my trip and found myself in Philly. Before the concert I walked around Philly and stopped in some shops and grabbed some food. Eventually it was time to head to the venue.
I got to the venue an hour early since I had never been there before. While waiting to get in I was able to meet some some other fans and chat about our experiences seeing the bands in the past.
Eventually they let us into the venue and I ran straight to the merch booth. Every concert I go to, I try to get a shirt or some sort of merch to commemorate the experience. I got a shirt for both bands and had to stop myself from buying more merch.
After getting my shirts, I went to my seat. Well, I didn’t exactly have a seat. I am crazy about both BABYMETAL and Dethklok so I paid a lot of money to get pit tickets. Did I cringe seeing the money leave my bank account? Yes. Was it worth it? 100%. Just look at this view!
I was so close to the stage! It reminded me of when I first saw BABYMETAL since I was also so close to the stage (though those tickets were much cheaper).
And then the show started. Since this is a co-headliner tour, BABYMETAL and Dethklok alternate on who plays first. In Philly, BABYMETAL went first. The energy was high and the girls slayed. They hyped the crowd up, played some of their best songs (in my opinion), and put on an amazing performance. They don’t only stand on stage and sing, but they have full on choreography for each song! They are such an experience live and I can’t wait to see them again in the future.
After BABYMETAL performed, it was time for Dethklok. Dethklok is the band that the animated show Metalocalypse focuses on. The show ended in 2015, but recently was brought back for a movie so it could have an actual ending. Their set was amazing as well. It was a mix of live performers and scenes from the show projected on screen.
The two bands have a very different style, with BABYMETAL describing themselves as “Kawaii Metal”, and Dethklok being “Melodic Death Metal”. Though the sounds vary greatly, them touring together made sense. It shows two vastly different sides of the metal genre and how the genre has evolved over time.
Looking back on this trip, I am so glad I went. Yes, it was expensive but it was 100% worth it. I got to see the band that got me into metal for the second time and I got to see one of the bands I’m currently obsessed with. It’s not everyday you see a metal girl group and I’m happy to say that I’ve been able to see them twice. Go follow BABYMETAL on Instagram (babymetal_official) or check them out on Youtube (https://www.youtube.com/@BABYMETAL).
