Omokage Lucky Hole – Before You Count to Three, You Gonna… The Second Night of OLH’s Return to the Stage

Posted On May 31, 2026

Last year, in an attempt to document some of the great live acts I like to see–you know, outside of just Omokage Lucky Hole–I wrote three posts looking back at the gigs I saw during the summer. But of course, one of these gigs invariably was an OLH show! Held back in August, the show was the band’s first full-fledged performance after six years of absence[1]Likely due to the pandemic.. While OLH did have an impromptu concert at the end of 2024 with only some of its core members, this show in August saw all members of the band return to the stage. The concert was the first part of a series titled Mittsu Kazoeru Mae ni Anta wa… (Before You Count to Three, You Gonna…) held to promote the vinyl releases of their 2000s-era albums–Whydunit, Typical Affair and On The Border. In this post, I’ll be looking at the second show in this series, held in November of last year.

Omokage Lucky Hole – November 8th, 2025@Shibuya WWW

Per release order, this second show in the series was all about Typical Affair–which happens to be the first OLH album I bought in “real time”. This album actually ranks low for me among their oeuvre, but it’s grown on me with time. That said, it actually works really well in a live setting–the album samples a bunch of different genres ranging from tango to country, which come to life colorfully when performed live compared to the cleaner studio recordings.  

While waiting for the show to start, the audience was once again treated to the dank tones of kitschy theme songs of regional supermarkets piped through the PA. Per tradition, the music transitioned to an old-timey Enka tune–this time Karajishibotan by Takakura Ken, from the Shōwa Zankyōden (Brutal Tales of Chivalry) series of films–and on cue, the lyrics started looping at the word “omokage.” aCKy then bounced on stage, opening the show with Konna Kakkoii Band Mita Koto Nai (You’ve Never Seen a Band as Cool as This). Following on from the previous show, it seems the band is keen on opening with this in the tradition of their older performances, and I’m all for it–it’s always an awesome, energetic way to kick things off.

Amongst the setlist, the first surprise of the night was SO-SO-I-DE, which is on Typical Affair as a live recording, but not a studio track. I imagine they slotted this in as Konya, Akuma wa Tenshi ni Makenai (The Devil Will not Lose to the Angel Tonight) is a heavily-produced hip-hop track that’s hard to perform live, so they opted to skip it for SO-SO-I-DE, a more lush disco-y tune that’s fit for live performance. The song was one of my first OLH discoveries, as it was the b-side on the single for the Natsu no Arashi theme, so it was on heavy rotation until I discovered more OLH albums. Anyway, the song was awesome to hear live for the first time–the new keyboardist Itō Takahiro dished out some silky synth disco backing, while Tecchan got to be his usual psychedelic self on the guitar. Meanwhile, the lady on the trumpet[2]I am sorry, your name escapes me… blew out a soulful solo that belongs on an Isaac Hayes album, or something. I also love the soulful way aCKy closes out the song by crooning “I love you~”, and hearing him nail it in person was incredible. He also waddled around funnily like an old-man cheerleader to spell out the words “L-O-V-E” and “L-O-S-T” with his body, per the lyrics.

As many tracks on the album span different genres, they more or less demand to be played around with in a live setting. Senaka Moyō (View Of The Back) is a dramatic tango piece, and aCKy had fun playfully dragging out the lyrics, energetically screaming “MAMBO!” at the end[3]Though, as I mentioned, it’s more of a tango.. Meanwhile, Gomumari (Rubber Ball) is a miserable song about child abuse with a country tang–so of course aCKy completely ignored the serious subject matter, and opened the song by waving at the audience and yelling “Thank you Jesus, thank you Lord,” as if he was a washed-up country star.

As this show was all about Typical Affair, they of course played Atashi Dake ni Kakete (Sprinkle it Only On Me), the aforementioned theme to the anime Natsu no Arashi, and the song that got me into the band in the first place. It’s always a fun and funky piece, and it was my first time hearing it live in a while. But the real treat was hearing Namida no Kawaku Made (Until The Tears Dry Up), a cover of an old kayō kyoku tune given a hot funk makeover. Their live version maintained the hard and boppy funk sound on the bass and horns, but kept the greater arrangement nice and loose compared to the studio cut, with Tecchan cutting in with his sobbing guitar to seep the tragic tune more in misery[4]I say affectionately.. 

Another great surprise came during the encore, where the band performed a special version of one of my favorite songs, Pillow Talk, Tagalog-go (Pillow Talk in Tagalog). Titled Pillow Talk, Nippon-go (Pillow Talk in Japanese), it follows the story of Airi, one of the “Tōyoko Kids” standing out by Ōkubo Park, and a foreign tourist who falls in love with her. This is a play on the original, in which a Japanese salaryman hooks up with a Filipino woman named Irene. “When we wrote that song 30 years ago, many women from the Philippines came here for work,” spoke aCKy, “However, now it’s Japanese kids who are standing out there.” As always, I appreciate OLH for continuing to provide sharp social commentary–this time even using an old song to do so. They mixed up the lyrics to great effect, with my favorite being “I just want to talk to her about oshi-katsu using the Japanese I learned off YouTube, and take her to Nakano Broadway.” In contrast, the original mentions the main character learning Tagalog from radio lectures, and how he wants to take “Irene” to Disneyland one day. Another lyric in the original states that “Irene” “becomes an angel” after getting too deep into her illegal work–in this performance, aCKy dopily crooned the English word “ANGEL” before finishing the original lyric of “tenshi ni nareru”. The song always fucks live, with this performance underscored by beautiful and sad strokes on the guitar, and an excellent sax solo from Kaori, back from New York!

The whole setlist is as follows

Encore 1

Encore 2

  • Tokyo (Ja) Night Club (Wa) (At The Tokyo Night Club)

The MC bits for this show continued on with the storyline (?) that started back in November of 2024, focusing once again on aCKy’s fictional (?) girlfriend “Maki,” the STDs she has, the yakuza she’s sold her body to, and all the other trouble she’s been getting into. This time aCKy used these little stories to segue into each song, by tying his spiels into the subject of the piece they were about to perform. He also did the call and response routine again, hitting on a bunch of controversial and too-close-to-home topics as usual. “80-50!” aCKy yelled, waiting for a reaction from the audience who wouldn’t cheer–likely because they don’t know what he’s talking about. “You know, this refers to parents in their 80s and their NEET children hitting their 50s now.” He then went on to yell out a bunch of diseases such as “DIABETES!” and “HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE!” I of course cheered in solidarity, and in the middle aCKy interjected, “Don’t worry, I have these afflictions too!” aCKy did also note that their keyboardist[5]Who has performed with the likes of Kirinji and Yuzu who joined from the last show hadn’t quit yet. “He’s still here! Even though we’re a band always talking about dicks and other private parts…” aCKy muttered in a childish tone, “Well if you want to leave, just let me and the band leader know. No need to use Mō Muri (I Can’t Take it Anymore),” aCKy continued, making fun of a famous concierge service that helps younger salarypeople quit their job without having to go directly through internal red tape. 

To rewind a bit, the opening act for this show was Machi Akari. The last time she opened for OLH was back in 2013, during the New Name Concert, at the very same venue. What was shocking is how… little she had changed. “My body went numb,” commented a friend of mine upon seeing Akari perform, seemingly unfrozen from a cold sleep. As such, she continues to put on a good show, belting out original retro-styled J-pop tunes–of her setlist, my favorite was Anata Futsū no Salaryman Desho? (Aren’t You Just a Normal Salaryman?), a catchy tune making fun of the arrogant things many salarymen are want to say about the minutiae of life. I’m glad she’s still doing her thing, and seems to be going strong.

At the end of the show, the band held an autograph session with aCKy–this is likely the third of these I’ve attended, after their free show in Tower Records over a decade ago, and their show in Osaka back in 2012. As you can see, they don’t do these much. However, outside of opportunities like this, there have been more than a few times in which I’ve run into aCKy after shows. As such, when he first saw me, he exclaimed “Wah-kun![6]Yes, he only knows me by my internet handle.” with extreme familiarity. I had him sign the record single they were selling at the show, and we chatted for a bit. “How can we contact you? You used to be connected with Sone-chan,” he mentioned, referring back to the dearly departed former keyboardist of the group, who I was mutuals with on Twitter. Flustered, I wanted to just drop my Line ID, but had forgotten it. In lieu of that, I wrote down my Twitter handle on a piece of paper and handed it over. Of course, when I finally gained composure to check my Line ID back home… I realized it was the title of an OLH song. My partner in crime insisted that I DM the band on Twitter with this information, which I did against my better judgement. Of course, there was no response. Guess I just gotta run into aCKy randomly again, and get him to take me out for drinks the old-fashioned way!

Well, that went long. I had originally planned to write about two shows in this post… but seeing as I am already pushing 2,000 words, that’s it for this one.

Until next time!

Notes
Notes
↑1 Likely due to the pandemic.
↑2 I am sorry, your name escapes me…
↑3 Though, as I mentioned, it’s more of a tango.
↑4 I say affectionately.
↑5 Who has performed with the likes of Kirinji and Yuzu
↑6 Yes, he only knows me by my internet handle.
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