Japan Expo 2012

Kyari Pamyu Pamyu Live House

Kyari Pamyu Pamyu, looking like a combination of Lady Gaga and Punky Brewster, performed to a packed audience who chanted her name for a good five minutes before she came onstage. Although her lyrics are insipid - "Candy Candy, chewy chewy chewy" - her music and energy are infectious. Her androgynous backup dancers wore crinolines, sneakers, and camisoles over T-shirts and sleep masks, possibly so as not to distract from KPP's pretty face. The audience was enthusiastic throughout, even if it took about five minutes to catch on to the singalong, and obligingly began chanting KPP's name midway through the show when she asked them to. It was clear that, no matter how strange or silly the show and music, KPP's first French show was an unqualified success.