Stereopony graced the stage at Slim's for the first time on a Tuesday night in San Francisco; this stop marked the first official date on their U.S tour after their appearance at Sakura-Con.

The show opened at 8:00 sharp by a three piece band called All Ages, who played a handful of upbeat songs and thrilled the crowd by performing solos literally all over the venue – the mohawked bass played dashed through the crowd in the middle of the song to play from the balcony, followed and cheered by the audience. The band had a ton of fun and mingled with the crowd for the half hour it took for Stereopony to set up – by the time they came on, it was a few minutes after 9:00 and the crowd had pressed close to the low, un-barricaded stage for optimal contact with the members.

All three girls came on together, took their spots and took up their instruments to the delighted reception of the crowd – Aimi, guitarist and lead vocalist, was to the left of the stage, Nohana, their long-haired bassist took center stage, directly in front of Shiho, who had settled behind the drums. They were assisted by a backup guitarist named Mao, who was standing attentively to the far right, out of the girls' way. The band jumped into playing the first two songs, Effective Line and Sweet Blue without introduction. The band didn't move around much save for Nohana, who swung both her hair and her bass in time with a patient smile while Aimi sang and played with remarkable strength. The crowd responded substantially to their dedication, screams peaking as the lights lowered and the band stopped for a breather. They introduced themselves and Aimi addressed the crowd: "Let's make it a special night."

The third song, Hanahiraku Oka, opened with rolling drums and then slowed, less fast n' furious than the next song, Chiisana Mahou, where the audience clapped their hands in time when Aimi prompted them and bounced along to the frantic guitar and furious drumming. The next three were just as quick and crazy – Super Girl, fuzz, and Never Look Back. The lights dimmed again soon after; there was a moment of quiet, and then an alarmingly loud and accented voice shouted into the mic,

"Hi!"

"Sorry, one minute!"
It had been Shiho from behind the drums. Another pause while the crowd laughed and awwed as she adjusted the mic.
"Are you having fun? I am happy to be here! Next song is Namida no Mukou!"

Namida no Mukou turned out to be sweet and gentle, prompting the crowd to wave their arms in time or retire to the sidelines to appreciate Aimi's tender vocal work. Shiho closed this song with a short drum solo and then switched the pace completely – It's A Wild World and Hanabunko followed, to the delight of a crowd frantically trying to keep up with the furious guitar – (serious props to Mao and Aimi for their fast fretting!).

The band took another short break and Aimi took up the mic again. "Are you having fun? Next song is from our new single, Stand by me."
This news was well-recieved by the fans and Stand by me proved to be complex and emotional, with less emphasis on furious guitar/drum work and more attention given to transitory riffs and pauses in the drumming. This may have been the most enjoyable song of the night due to the sheer uniqueness in its instrumental work and introspective qualities. There was a significant drum finish and then the poppy, bouncy Tsukiakari no Michishirube began, ended with another adorable MC from Aimi - "Thank you for coming tonight," the vocalist started. "I'm so happy to be here for first time! San Francisco is an exciting city." She paused and sighed, evidently having lost her footing with the English wording, to the adoration of the crowd, who cheered her on as she groped for words- "Let's enjoy all the time we have left together!"

Forceful, rolling drums led into I do it, a fast and upbeat song, and Vivala Vivala, which was impossible not to bounce along to with its interesting interludes and vocal harmonies. Nohana swung her bass and her long hair in time, shifting her weight and smiling at the fans at the front as Aimi flipped her hair and sung with all her strength, hitting perfect notes and changing frets without a beat missed.

The last song of the night was Hoshikuzu Kantera, and if on cue, the fans knew exactly what to do – the entire crowd had their hands in the air, waving in time with Aimi and Nohana, who were enthusiastically swinging their instruments in time, perfectly in sync with the crowd. Shiho closed off the show with a huge drum finish – this, however, wasn't the end - the band responded to shouts for an encore within a minute and were back on stage to play Hitohira no Hanabira.

This was extremely well received by the crowd and finished off the night on a wonderful note, with all the fans singing along – Aimi shouted, "You guys are awesome!" as all three girls came to the edge of the stage and took a bow before heading off and fans started to edge towards the merchandise booth.

Their mostly upbeat and fast-paced music makes for a fun, active show and the band is sweet and engaging – Stereopony will be wrapping up their tour with two more stops in the United States before heading back to Japan.

More tour info can be found on their site,
http://www.stereopony.com/

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Setlist:

1. effective line
2. Sweet Blue
MC
3. Hanahiraku Oka
4. Chiisana Mahou
5. Super Girl
6. fuzz
7. Never Look Back
MC
8. Namida no Mukou
Shiho Drum solo
9. It's a wild world
10. Hanbunko
MC
11. stand by me
12. Tsukiakari no Michishirube
MC
13. I do it
14. Vivala Vivala
15. Hoshikuzu Kantera
Encore - Hitohira no Hanabira