TFW Idols Have Their Last Lives Abroad: Candye Syrup at SabotenCon

/ Homicidol Maniac

U.S. idol fans on the West Coast are the luckiest of us all, because they’re the ones who get to sweep up the handful of idol lives that trickle across the Pacific. Our man Daemon, hot off the East Meets West Music Fest, hit up SabotenCon over the weekend to connect with Candye Syrup for their last gasp, a remarkable touch of luck.

Candye Syrup, who saw their debut on August 19, 2017 at Shibuya Milkyway in Tokyo, has now held their final performance on August 31 2018, just 377 short days later. The only good thing in this whole wretched mess is that Candye Syrup’s last live was held at Saboten Con in Phoenix, Arizona, so we in the Southwestern U.S. were given the blessed opportunity to send them off.

The crowd that gathered to see Candye Syrup’s last live contained a handful of American chika idol diehards, but was primarily made up of Saboten attendees whose familiarity to the group was watching a few videos on YouTube after hearing they would be performing at the Con. Some had been turned into instant fans on first exposure and were a bit shell-shocked to learn that they would be witnessing both Candye Syrup’s U.S. debut and final show.

SENANAN (Candye Syrup’s fellow boutique coworker, record label mate, and constant companion on this trip) opened the show with her solo set and did a stellar job whipping the crowd into a frenzy. Shortly after, any concerns about the energy CS would bring to the stage, playing their last show as an away game far from their hometown fans, was laid to waste. They hit the stage beaming bright knowing smiles and a destructive force, opening with “White Russian” and spending the next hour blasting through the rest of their catalog while throwing in a couple of anime theme song covers for the Con faithful. The crowd, who numbered around 200, responded with jubilant pandemonium, moshing and improvised mixes. Anyone who didn’t know the news already would have never suspect that this was the last time this quartet would perform together as Candye Syrup. For her part, Non, who handled the brief MC work, didn’t mention it at all.

It was a great show. A really great show. And didn’t in any way feel like an end to anything.

This turned out to be an appropriate feeling as 9:00 a.m. the following morning found myself and 14 other lucky fans in a hotel suite eating cereal and watching Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Crystal with Non, Aisaki, Chian, Sha-yan and SENANAN. This is by far the most unique VIP event I have ever experienced. It was equal parts awesome and awkward but everyone, fans and idols alike, seemed to have a good time. Later in the day, the Saboten Con fashion show featured the five of them again, and the night was capped off by SENANAN’s DJ set at the evening’s rave.

Yesterday saw an hour long Q&A session with the group (and SENANAN) where Sha-yan told us that she has a big announcement coming sometime in September and to watch her Twitter and Instagram accounts for that. This was followed by an autograph and cheki session.

So, since their last live, Candye Syrup has been going non-stop, full-speed ahead. We have been given the opportunity to sit down with them for an interview just before they head back to Japan, so maybe we’ll find some closure there.