Plastic Tree brought Tent maru san to Nippon Budoukan with the intention of seeing the blooming Sakura, a metaphor for the blooming smiles on the faces of their fans, endearingly called “kurage.”
Plastic Tree brought Tent maru san to Nippon Budoukan with the intention of seeing the blooming Sakura, a metaphor for the blooming smiles on the faces of their fans, endearingly called “kurage.” Despite the long duration of the tour, drummer Kenken who had been unwell, joined the band for the first time at the final, allowing the crowd to enjoy a whole Plastic Tree composed of its four irreplaceable members.
A soft atmosphere during a video screen introduction of gentle weaves of light were blasted away by a sound like a fog horn as the massive tent set began to glow blue. Deep bass began Itai ao with the band’s silhouettes shadowing the tent, the front hanging of which began to slowly part to reveal Plastic Tree surrounded by gauzy pillars. The most active sight was that of Tadashi, backlit and grooving to the strong bass. Beginning the night with breathy but strong vocals, Ryutaro sang out over the ringing guitar line. The theme of blue in the title and in the lighting was contrasted jarringly by a screen seething with orange lava.
Kuchizuke started in darkness, only a few scrolling blue beams breaking the shadow while bass plugged away and Ryutaro joined in, now on guitar. The screens to either side of the stage revealed the deep, gothic make-up the band wore, adding a visual intensity to the light, relaxing performance. The crowd screamed at Akira’s sparse chords introducing Melt. The guitar was basic but made a marked impact and Ryutaro jumped up on the platform, arms spread wide in a dramatic display, his black, crow-like visage stark against the red glow from behind.
“Ya. Yaya yaya.ya. We’re Plastic Tree,” the vocalist drawled. “We’re back, Budoukan.” “Welcome back!” screamed the crowd before an overwhelming cry for Kenken swept the arena. Touched, Ryutaro gave the fans a moment to welcome the drummer back to the fold before continuing. “2012 Spring tour Ao no unmeisen Final, Tent ○3, welcome. It begins, it begins. Night’s coming. E to se to ra.” The number featured Ryutaro taking the lead on guitar to begin with as he sang. In the background, a half moon lit the screen, slowly progressing in fullness as the number wore on. Sanbika then brought another opening solo with Ryutaro and his guitar spotlighted. The vocals were gentle but there was more drive in the guitar line than in the previous numbers, the pebbly gobo glowing on the tent pillars adding more life to the stage. Powerful but short solos from Akira burned the stage an effervescent blue while Tadashi backed up the vocalist, taking the higher harmony. Kenken proved his recovery, swinging at the cymbals and pounding away through the outro.
Following a blackout, drums lurched in in the darkness, and lightly tapped cymbals were joined by the sparse yet drastic melody of guitar and bass for Joumyaku. The light vocal style turned harsher, leading up to an instrumental which Ryutaro pitched in on, filling out the sound as streams of pale blue fire jetted in a circuit from positions about the stage.
“Yo. Today is April 14th. The weather is…?” “RAIN!” supplied the crowd. “It’s rainy. That’s right. It’s rainy. Hahahahaha. Our rainyman is powerful,” Ryutaro praised. Tadashi was proud. “I planned for this day. Amazing, isn’t it?” However, he soon turned meek. “I’m sorry.”
The vocalist began strumming gently and the crowd hushed. “Oh, there’s no meaning to this,” he said suddenly. “You know, I didn’t catch a cold this winter. Thanks to cleaning and masks. But I’ll sing a high fever song, anyway. 37℃.’” Yet, the number that followed was not so feverish in melody, Ryutaro’s guitar and the beat of the drums providing the main course though the chorus lyrics begged “samenaide!” (Don’t cool off!) The screen presented a wide bay windows looking out onto a forest which brought a new perception to Aoi tori, lights spinning wildly as the instrumental grew passionate, then suddenly cut to an even gentler finalistic verse. The song seems poised to end there but with a breath, the chorus chimed in anew, concluding in a black out and well earned round of applause.
A colorful chirp of guitar began the equally coloruf Gabera with a screen adrift in flowers. Ryutaro’s strong lower register was tempered by a playfulness to the melodic rhythm as the vocalist began at last to make use of the vast stage, taking off past Tadashi down the stage's right wing, then crossing the bassist who went to visit that portion of the crowd himself. As the number ended, Ryutaro stood on his platform and waved happily.
“Yay! Yay! Having fun, Budoukan?” shouted Tadashi as the crowd’s faces were reflected onto the stage screen. “Today is the final of the Ao no unmeisen tour. The title, Tent Maru San, has been attributed to this final. So this is our three-tent. When you think of Plastic Tree at Budoukan it must be tent. Let’s make this a truly good day.”
“Looks like it’s going be a fun time, I think,” commented Ryutaro. “Budoukan! When I say ‘Budoukan,’ say ‘Ou!!!’ got it? BUDOUKAN!” “Ou!!!!” shouted the crowd. “One more time. BUDOUKAN! Now please be quiet.” Into the confused silence, Ryutaro started a slow clap which the crowd picked up. “Stop. We’re doing a song like that now. BUDOUKAN! Clap your hands…’” However, they failed to begin. “Sounds like the computer is in a bad mood,” the vocalist pouted. “It’s seriously broken,” explained Akira. “I think I’ll ask those two to improvise for now. How’s that?” Ryutaro seemed pleased. “That means me and Kenken, right?” The drummer was not so enthusiastic. “I guess I’ll just do it by myself,” Ryutaro said resignedly. “Where did you all come from?” Yet, in the time it took him to ask that one question, the need was negated. “It’s fixed! It’s in a good mood!” announced Akira, earning applause. Ryutaro urged the crowd not to clap the guitarist but the PC itself. “So. Are you ready to clap your hands? ARE YOU READY TO CLAP, BUDOUKAN!?” “OU!!!!” “Uwa no sora.”
Groovy digital bleeps backed up Ryutaro as he stood in silhouette on the platform, leading the crowd’s clapping. Green lazers danced overhead, Tadashi almost dancing himself. The guitar line of Ai yori aoku began in darkness, the movement of the number sending Ryutaro off down the wings again. When the mic was extended to the crowd, the sound of high-pitched female voices permeated the air, prompting Ryutaro to sing the chorus heavily the next time around. Another blackout was broken by the words, “Budoukan! Soon… Soon… Soon shall we go nuts for real? Soon, will we do a real ‘purage’ song? Duet.” The number was a wake up call, guitar and drums driving on in. The verse began simply but quickly pumped up into escalating melodies, leading to the chorus at odds with the remainder of the song. The instrumental, lights up throughout the venue, resulted in a jam session that took off on a tangent from the original number, Ryutaro, Tadashi and Akira gathering in front of Kenken and letting the music run wild.
Ruisen kairo kept the beat up as Ryutaro waved a “Come on!” gesture at the crowd, his vocal expression turning grating for the lively number. “Budoukan?” tested Akira. “MORE! MORE! MOOORE!!!” The guitars drilled in for Melancholic, crowd shouting along until strobes flashed about and the music took off in chaos, only simultaneously pumping fists and Kenken holding the music together. The final chorus of the well-loved number brought some improvised notes in the vocal line for a new twist, Ryutaro outdoing himself in an extremely passionate performance.
“Ya,” he greeted. “Oh, that’s not it though. Wow, this place is amazing. In fact, you guys are amazing. Ne.” “NE!” returned the fans. “On the tour, we often said the sakura at Budoukan are beautiful so let’s all go see them together. Thank you for letting me see my dreams again. Harusaki Sentimental.” The sweet, piano fed melody and gentle, hot pink lighting throughout the tent spoke volumes of spring, Ryutaro soldiering on with the gorgeously busy yet simple tune. The cherry blossom petals gusting about the screen broke out into 4D as jets of paper petals were expelled over the arena, fluterring about in a pink maelstrom and slowly coming to settle in hair and hands, the scent of cherry wafting pleasantly throughout the venue.
The final number, Andro Metamorphose was a powerful experiment in musical arrangement, beginning with a guitar humming into the blackout, thrumming chords and plucked notes strengthening, eventually taking on a whine and only then did the true guitar line begin. A simple vocal line from Ryutaro quickly captured the imagination with its flips from major to minor. The video on the wall behind was full of subtly disturbing images of lone babies and their various toys – toys with a creepiness to them, though nothing outwardly grotesque or scary. The chorus powered in and the airy vocals adjusted instantly to the strong drum, guitar and bass. The instrumental once more built to dominate every breath with a wash of sound, Akira bent over almost to the floor as he improvised while Tadashi’s persistence with the original bass line grounded the piece. The three front men were terrible still for the final notes, a low feedback hum continuing as all but Tadashi exited. The bassist continued to manipulate the feedback until the ovation faded, only to return when he finally cut the sound all together and left the stage empty, Budoukan silent of all but the sound of applause.
“Did you call us? We, Plastic Tree, were called and flew out here. Did you enjoy Ao no unmeisen Tent ○3?” With a silent cue, Ryutaro managed to unite the venue in one solid clap to close the event in true Japanese style. Though it was far from over. “A lot happened on this tour but this is the last day. We’re going to think back on the tour from all the locations. Platic Tree pig, Mr. Nakayama Akira, go ahead.”
“All you useless people who gathered from across the country… I’m happy. All you useless bangya. I mean, we four useless idiots have come on this useless tour and done our useless best. I don’t at all believe that we did this all by ourselves. I’m truly grateful to all of our staff and you and all the people who helped us out. The end. There’s four of us to speak after all.” Akira shamelessly kept it short.
“Then, Plastic Tree bass, Mr. Hasegawa Tadashi, go ahead,” directed Ryutaro.
“This time, the theme was a spring tour and we saw a lot of spring views. When we came back to Tokyo, the cherry blossoms were in bloom. It was a deeply interesting tour. Many people helped us out to make this tour happen, as Akira said. I’m really grateful. Thank you. This year is our 15th since our debut. Much has happened, ne.” “Soudesune!” the crowd agreed. “Not everything has been great but I think it’s amazing that we were able to get past these troubles so I hope you’ll stick with us. Thank you. This was Hasegawa.”
Kenken reached out a hand to put an end to the crowd’s endless shouts of encouragement but they only yelled louder. “I’M BACK!” he shouted. “WELCOME BACK!” they returned. “Thank you! I was able to come back and that’s thanks to all of you. I’m so nervous my mind is a whiteout right now! I can’t even express my gratitude. I feel like I’ve put my whole life into this show as a drummer.” All of a sudden, he bent over the drums in tears. Turning away momentarily, he faced the crowd again remarkably dry-eyed. “I prefer smiles, so please cry with smiles! I caused our staff and helpers a lot of trouble. I’m sorry. But I’m back safely now.” The emotion was obviously too much as he began to cry again though this time with a smile big enough for all the world. “From here on, I’ll express my feelings with the drums, not words! There’s a lively song coming up! Put your bellies into it and bend like this!” He showed the crowd an example of the variation on headbanging called oritatami. (Folding tatami.) “There’s only a little left. Can you still get fired up?” If the crowd’s yells were anything to gauge by, it would take more than a squadron of fire-trucks to put out the blaze.
“Since I’m last… Could you say my name or something?” requested Ryutaro with no-one to introduce him. The crowd did a fine job. “That’s right, I’m Arimura Ryutaro. Thank you. This winter was long and cold desu ne.” “SOU DESU NE!” came the agreement. “Sugoi desu ne.” “SOU DESU NE!” “It was a long winter but I’m glad it’s become spring. This time onstage during lives is my everything. This is something I can’t do by myself so I’m truly grateful to everyone, everyone, everyone, from the bottom of my heart. That’s all. I think your strength must be back now so can you rampage some more? Budoukan. Budoukan. Budoukan! Budoukan!! BUDOUKAN! Can you play with me more BUDOUKAN!?” Lazily, he added, “Can you play with me more, Plastic Tree?”
“Before you rile us up…. You can’t forget the wave,” interjected Akira. As a punishment left over from the tour, Ryutaro had to start a Mexican wave, something he confessed he had never done before. Eventually, he got the hang of it, though his personal touch of pointing out the exact person the wave would start from and his lack of passion in directing it proved interesting to behold.
hate red.dip it with its full, all-encompassing riffs and Ryutaro’s careless twirling and the high-energy dancing of puppet talk put a neat exclamation mark on the evening. Or so it seemed. An announcement video of Plastic Tree’s 15th anniversary second single on June 20th was displayed onscreen along with the music video to Kuchisuke, primarily presenting a zoom-in on Ryutaro’s singing lips, the imagery in grayscale.
Then came a video displaying Tadashi and Akira walking, which soon resulted in screams as the crowd realized they were walking in view of the arena, up onto the stage once more. What followed was a never-ending hum, atmospheric music cresting and falling in blue-lit shadow in an endless loop with minor changes until finally the drums started in and the lights focused on Kenken looking badass in visor-like sunglasses at he beat out a short but satisfying drum solo over the continuing hum of guitar and bass. As the drummer poured his heart into every crash, the crowd noticed a shift in the darkness, Ryutaro making his appearance in full pierrot get-up. He paused with his arm in the air for what seemed like a pain-staking interim, then dropped into a fetal crouch. Kuuchuu Buranco was performed in full character, the sad clown of old stories, rarely shifting his pose, but keeping each to a puppet-like presentation when he did, eyebrows raising drastically for emphasis. As the number ended, the tent wall was drawn shut, the flimsy material no block to the screeches of guitar and crashing drums that heralded one last round of heart-warming applause.
Set List
01. Itai ao
02. Kuchizuke
03. Melt
04. E to se to ra
05. Sanbika
06. Joumyaku
07. ３７℃
08. Aoi tori
09. Gabera
10. Uwa no sora
11. Ai yori aoku
12. Duet
13. Ruisen kairo
14. Melancholic
15. Harusaki Sentimental
16. Andro Metamorphose
EN 1
17. hate red.dip it
18. puppet talk
EN 2
19. Kuuchuu buranco
