I'm Retired! Now what?

April 9, 2026

Because my first concert experience within the realm of retirement was the cool and sophisticated jazz sounds of Pat Metheny, I thought I should get a bit wild and crazy with my next one.  And I do mean crazy!   One of my former work buddies is a guy who has always been a little obsessed with S&M… sports and music, and when he’s not doing a deep dive into all the local major league sports and his favorite division one college teams, he’s got his ears jamming to something loud and proud.  Although he’s probably one of the few people I know whose mind if filled with more worthless classic rock trivia than my own, he’s always sending me music videos of the wild and obscure.  For the last few years though, the guy has become a little obsessed with everything Asian and that includes music, and his favorite seems to be all-girl rock bands.  I’m not talking about some candy dance, K Pop bands here.  I’m talking about bad ass rock bands!  A couple of years ago he introduced me to the Japanese band Hanabie, and they are an all-girl band who has a sound like nothing I had ever heard.

A few months ago I saw where Hanabie was going to be playing at the House of Blues in Dallas the same week I was retiring.  So what better way to launch my retirement than with a little screamo/pop/metal/deathcore Asian rock?  Now how many retirees can say that they celebrated the beginning of their retirement by watching some little Japanese women romping around on a stage, screaming their lungs out?  Then again, I’m not sure how many would want to say that, but I was game for the experience.

I had seen this band in a club down in Dallas a couple of years ago, so I knew what to expect.  I just wasn’t expecting such a huge crowd to show up this time.  These girls from the land of the rising sun have gotten pretty popular over the last couple of years, but I’d probably be safe to say that I’m one of the few, if not the only, fan on hand who could make the claim that they had just retired.  Indeed, the kid standing behind me was a senior in high school.  Regardless of our status in life, this is my review of the Hanabie concert.  Certainly something very different and a little crazy.

Hanabie Concert at the Dallas House of Blues April 3, 2026

 Last time I saw Hanabie play they were the opening act for some geek band at Trees in Deep Ellum in Dallas, Texas.   Since then these ladies from Japan have become quite the cool girls in the music world, and as I walked up to the Dallas House of Blues, the line of folks waiting to see this quartet stretched on for blocks!  And it was indeed a party night.  I think I got on a first name basis with every guy around me as we all nestled in close to the stage, and the favorite topic for everyone seemed to be anime and video games!  Okay, there were a few dudes discussing how they were learning Japanese, and I say dudes because this was certainly a guys’ night out.  There were a few girls on hand, but they were few and far between!  Actually, there was a girl in front of me with a glow in the dark Pikachu hat.

After plenty of concert talk regarding Japanese girl bands, Enterprise Earth took the stage, and there was nothing girly about this band.  Although I could probably understand Japanese better than the deathcore lyrics these guys were screaming out, they were singing in English…I think.  The band had a great stage presence, and their blood curdling screeches inspired the impromptu mosh pit that broke out behind me.  However, what really got my attention was the inflatable goblin head that appeared on the stage for the next band.

I can’t say that I had ever heard of the band Nekrogoblikon, but you’ve got to love a band that comes with its own goblin!  The star of the stage was some dude who strutted around in a goblin costume which explains why the guy next to me had huge goblin ears.  Apparently, he was a true fan, but I just thought he might have grown up a little too close to a nuclear power plant.  The goblin had some cool dance moves though, and he noted how they were starting to feel the effects of all the Texas barbeque they had enjoyed before the show.  I was just hoping those guys could hold it down.  I certainly didn’t need those special effects.  Strangely enough, the screeching was left to the band’s other singer while the goblin fell into melodic harmony with the band’s keyboard player.

After the guys had their fun, it was time for the ladies, and the girls from Hanabie came on stage one at a time to the cheers of everyone, even the dude with the ears!  Guitarist Matsuri had a whole different look from the last time I saw her.  With her dark hair and loose-fitting jersey, she truly looks the part of a bad ass rocker!  The girl dished out plenty of smiles during the show, but I don’t think anyone puts out a bigger smile than bass player Hettsu!  Although she wasn’t hoisting up a beer like she was the last time I saw her, this girl just gives the impression that she’s there for the party!  Drummer Chika is also a hard one to ignore, but it’s singer Yukina who really takes command of the stage.  Indeed, all 4’10” of her!  There’s nothing dainty about this girl’s voice though.  With super human screamo power, Yukina belts it out like she’s 6’10”!

Apparently, the band had stopped by Buc-ees for the day, and she was even sporting a miniature Buc-ee hanging from her clothes.  The little Japanese lady certainly had the words Buc-ees and barbeque down.  Well, in Texas what else do you need?  She even gave a shout out to the Pikachu girl and some dude dressed up like a banana.  I swear, some guys will do anything to get the attention of a cute girl.

Acting like she was ready to break out into a line dance, Yukina launched into her wild, screamo screeches while Matsui followed up with the more melodic lyrics, creating a sound that’s ringing all over the world!  Considering all their songs are in Japanese no one could understand them anyway, and better yet, nobody seemed to care!  Opposed to Mastsuri, Yukina has gone blonde now, and between songs she’d break into a huge smile while talking about barbeque and Buc-ees in her high pitch, cutesy voice and then fall right back into screamo mode!  Yea, you’re not going to find this sound on too many stages, and all the guys pushed up around me had fallen in love with it!  The little lady knew she had the power and gave the order to open the pit.  As if on cue, thirty guys broke into a serious mosh right behind me, forcing everyone around me to get really close and personal with those in front of us.

I can really tell that the girls have put a lot of effort into working on their English in order to interact with their fans.  But with their popularity, maybe we need to start working on our Japanese.