【LIVE REVIEW】LUNA SEA announce making a new album on the last day of Nippon Budokan

【LIVE REVIEW】LUNA SEA announce making a new album on the last day of Nippon Budokan

"Today is our 6th and the final day of Budokan. We have been becoming bigger and given a lot of energy from you. We don’t think that we’ll complete tonight perfectly. Let’s build our new world up with 13,000 of you!"

On last Sunday 20th January, the 360° open stage in Budokan sold out ＜The End of the Dream＞was finished. This tour has 3 concepts,【FUTURE ERA -SHINING NEW CHAOS-】,【RISING ERA -UNENDING LOVE & HATE-】 and 【BEGINNING ERA -IMAGINE FOR MY NEW MOON-】.【RISING ERA】was chosen for the last day.

Having said that, it was very LUNA SEA-like that they played【RISING ERA】from the 2nd day, it was performed in a different order. It showed that they would make their fans that frequent their gigs feel more enjoyable and their hunger to reach their satisfaction with their inquiring minds.

The audience gave a deafening roar, the show began with 「LOVELESS」. INORAN went to the left side, SUGIZO ran to the right side of the stage, J whipped up the audience on the edge of stage front, and then INORAN and RYUICHI faced each other during 「Dejavu」which they have played for ages before their major debut. At the end SHINYA was cleverly throwing his drumstick in the air, Budokan was shaken with cheering.

The set list that was arranged with their hit songs such as「END OF SORROW」 and 「TRUE BLUE」more than enough showed us their appeal. The most impressive thoughts I got with this show were that they were definitely heading to the future through their tours, ZEPP and the current one in Osaka, Sendai and Tokyo since last year.Their old tracks are not losing their brightness. Also their latest single 「The End of the Dream」and 「Rouge」which put out a great deal of energy, were core of this tour.

"We major debuted in 1992, although once we left you for a break for a while, we were able to come back here. Our dream, music supported our lives, our crew and you, we came here with your support and time over 20 years. Little by little, we will show you our hope in the future. I want be on the stage, seriously. So.. you should keep your eyes on us otherwise we might have another break! "

I was not sure if RYUICHI was serious or joking.
"The most important thing is, to live day by day, in your place, having a burnout in your mind. We will do our best to make tonight great with you! Come on guys!!"

And they did as RYUICHI said.
RYUICHI’s singing falsetto gave me goose pimples in「ROSIER」, SHINYA powerfully performed in the last tune「TONIGHT」.
No show was the same during the 6 days. Their great performances, the guitarists high fived the back seat audience, all gave pleasure to their fans.

In the encore, the audiences singing voice was getting bigger and louder during the last single before their breaking period「LOVE SONG」.
The noise in the auditorium had risen to a clamour when RYUICHI burst onto the stage in a pure white coat, followed by the other members smiling. And then they performed 「I for You」.

"This song, we didn’t play for a long time for you…" then started playing「IN SILENCE」that was released in 1996 as a tie-up song with a TV drama for the first time.

During「PRECIOUS」, the performance of the 4 members around the drum set made the audience excited. INORAN went on the drum set and played guitar, J put his hand on SUGIZO’s shoulder and they played together closely when SUGIZO was close to the screen camera when 「WISH」was played. I wished time could stop…

"ZEPP tour, Osaka, Sendai and 6 days in Budokan. Our hearts came together as one with your support. Although we are on this tour, we’re ready to create our new album. (clapping audience) We don’t know yet when it will be, but we are a serious rock band, love music so much, so we will definitely make it for you! Usually now is the end of our show, but Budokan hasn’t got a screen to close (laughing), we’re gonna play one more song for you…"

Then they performed their timeless classic「MOTHER」. That used to be a pair with「LOVELESS」. Although it seemed as if the impressive show nearly ended, all members gathered in the centre of the stage having a chat. Then they played 「BELIEVE」, and RYUICHI ran on a slope, it was the first time to see that during this part of the tour. Happiness and a huge chorus welcomed the end. After J kissed his bass guitar neck, he held it higher and handclapped to the audience.

Jumping with everyone together as usual, the venue really responded, RYUICHI left by saying ‘’Love you all.’’ The final member on the stage was SUGIZO, who shouted at the audience " Thank you Budokan!! I love you more than anything!!"

The storming encore did not stop even after all the main lights came on in the venue.

They blew away their previous accomplishments with a great achievement. It is a new awakening and also the start of their never-ending dream.

Written by Hiroko Yamamoto
Translated by Yuko 'dorami' Soutome-Tumilson

＜LUNA SEA LIVE TOUR 2012-2013 The End of the Dream＞
●Taipei
Neo Studio, Taipei, Taiwan
Saturday 26th January
Sunday 27th January

●Hong Kong
Asia World-Expo Arena, Hong Kong, China
Saturday 2nd February

●Bangkok
Impact Arena Muang Thong Thani, Bangkok, Thailand
Tuesday 5th February

●Singapore
The Star Theatre, Singapore, Singapore
Friday 8th February