The event "Banzai to Natsuyasumi" featuring the popular junior group "B & ZAI" opened on August 3rd at EX Theater Roppongi (Minato Ward, Tokyo). Before the opening performance, the members spoke about their enthusiasm in an interview.
The event was planned by the band members themselves for their fans and the band itself as "Summer Fest ROPPONGI SUNNY BEATS" at TV Asahi's annual large-scale summer event, "TV Asahi Roppongi Hills SUMMER FES." Hashimoto Ryo explained the meaning behind the title, saying, "As the title suggests, it's like a 'summer vacation,' and I wanted to create something relaxed, in a good way, and get closer to the audience, and explore a new way of doing things."
Konno Daiki, who became the leader at the June live concert, said, "We spent a lot of time on the corner, thinking about how we could get closer to everyone, make it feel like summer vacation, and have fun and be lively, so it's one of the highlights." Mototaka Katsuki said, "This will be the first time we'll be performing four songs as a duet, and we're a pair of the same age, and the oldest and youngest, so I hope you'll pay attention to the relationship between the two of us."
The event began with a Bon Odori-style arrangement of music accompanied by the Japanese drumming of Kawasaki Seiki, followed by a summery tune with Yabana Rei strumming the bass, and a song performed by all the members in a band, along with popular songs from senior groups.
In the special event corner, there was the "Banzai Hayakara Challenge," where the two members competed in a speed-eating contest wearing two-person haori coats, with the fastest pair getting to sing one phrase of the chorus at karaoke; the "Banzai Song Making" contest, where they came up with an image of the members that could be used in a self-introduction rap; the "Banzai Nikuession" contest, where they answered questions from the audience; and the "Banzai and Janken" contest, where if they won rock-paper-scissors they could request a line of their choice from a member.
In the second half, Mototaka mentioned that the highlights of the show were duets, which were performed by Suda Rinnei and Inaba Michiharu, Mototaka and Suzuki Yuujin, Konno and Kawasaki, and Hashimoto and Yabana. All the members also sang the group's original song "Natsu♡Ai," the theme song for the "Summer Festival" event, and the band performed popular songs by senior groups as well as the group's first original song, "First Beat."
The event will run until the 7th with a total of nine performances.
