"We waited for this moment for so long," said Radwimps vocalist Yojiro Noda during the band's sold-out performance at YouTube Theater on Tuesday. 6,000 people packed the venue to watch the J-rock band take the stage for their first-ever performance in the city, and for everyone, it was a long wait. In March 2020, the band announced a world tour featuring stops in North America. Unfortunately, the pandemic forced everything to shut down causing the band to postpone their planned trek. With things slowly opening back up, however, the band decided to try again this spring. Between the band's original postponed tour and their current trek, they managed to unveil a slew of music in the form of 2021's Forever Daze and the soundtrack to 2022's Suzume.

With pulsating blue lights behind them, Radwimps kicked off their two-hour set with "Grand Escape" from the Weathering With You soundtrack. As Noda delivered celestial melodies on the piano, the sold out crowd had their cellphones glued to the stage. It wasn't long until Noda stepped away from the piano to lead the audience in a sea of handclaps in the song's climax.

With YouTube Theater being a predominantly seated venue, most of the crowd enjoyed the music from the comfort of their own seats. By the time Radwimps delivered "Twilight," Noda encouraged the entire venue to get on their feet, and many did just that as the band got a better view of their loyal fans. Radwimps paid the Your Name soundtrack a visit next with "Zenzenzense," "Mitsuha no Theme," and "Sparkle." During "Sparkle," thousands in attendance waved their cellphones and glow sticks from side to side as Radwimps delivered one of the most emotional songs on the setlist.

Midway through the set, Radwimps decided to crank things up to 10 with the show-stopping performance of "Oshakashama." During the song, guitarist Akira Kuwahara and bassist Yusuke Takeda battled to see who had the best solo. It wasn't long until drummers Mizuki Mori and Masafumi Eno decided to have a duel of their own before all four members engaged in some tag-team action. Noda decided to grab all four members together to lower the volume. The band would engage in loud sporadic bursts before quieting things down like a car enthusiast revving up an engine.

With the recent release of Suzume in North American theaters, it was only appropriate for Radwimps to play something from the release. During their performance of "Kanata Haluka," fans were greeted to clips from the Makoto Shinkai film in the background. Following the song, Noda acknowledged how much of their fanbase came from working with Shinkai over the years. In our recent interview, Noda said, "I’ve been a fan of Shinkai’s movies since “Voices of a Distant Star” (2002) and I never thought that we would someday make music for his movies."

For Noda, the show was also a return to some familiar territory. When they were a kid, they moved to Los Angeles with their family. The vocalist described themselves as a normal Japanese kid living in one of the biggest cities in the United States. During their discussion about Los Angeles, Noda asked if members of the audience attended the same school as they did growing up.

For the encore, Radwimps jammed their way through "Hyperventilation," "Iin desu ka?," and "Summer Daze," which concluded things with an impeccable four-on-the-floor rhythm intertwined with guitar feedback.

Radwimps setlist

Grand Escape

Never Ever Ender

Twilight

Gimigimikku

Zenzenzense

Mitsuha no Theme

Sparkle

Dada

Oshakashama

Akimatsuri

Sennou

I I U

Tummy

Yume Tourou

Toaru Haru no Hi

Nandemonaiya

Kanata Haluka

Kimi to Hitsuji to Ao

Encore:

Hyperventilation

Iin desu ka?

Summer Daze