LUNA SEA celebrated their 25th anniversary in Yoyogi National Stadium on May 29th and made it an unforgettable night.
On May 29th, LUNA SEA held their 25th Anniversary Live -the Unfinished MOON- in the sold out Yoyogi National Stadium. More than 10,000 people fill the arena, sitting to wait for the show to start. The band had released their album A WILL last December and released two best-of albums NEVER SOLD OUT 2 and LUNA SEA 25th Anniversary Ultimate Best -THE ONE- one day before their anniversary live.
Half an hour later, the lights go out and a video starts playing. It shows the year 1989 and a very old picture of the band. Years go by, and when it reaches 2000, there are no pictures of the band--the audience laughs. This goes on to 2007, then the audience applauds as pictures appear again on the screens, until it finally reaches 2014 to show the band members' more recent looks.
The lights turn on and the intro starts playing; the audience claps and cheers as the members walk onstage. As the stadium is enormous, it’s rather convenient that there are two screens hanging above so the people in the back also can see the LUNA SEA members. During the concert, the screens often switch between the members to showcase their talents, such as giving SUGIZO's guitar solos a shot from up close. TONIGHT is met with an explosion of applause as they recognize the song immediately. Because they’re playing in an arena, they have space to do spectacular things and make the best show out of it, like the loud bang of cannons in the second song.
All of the members are energetic: Ryuichi dances along with the music while singing as INORAN, J and SUGIZO walk around on stage, getting close to the audience members seated at the sides of the stage. They also take their moments to play their parts while standing across from each other, Ryuichi joining them too. Shinya plays skillfully and gets his own round of cheering from the crowd when he appears on the big screens. The dynamic of the band is relaxed; they play their parts with joy and seem to love every moment of the show.
Not only the band is energetic, but the also crowd shows their dedication to the band by singing along at times and doing furitsuke in each song, moves that they remember by heart. With a crowd of 10,000 people singing along with songs, it’s definitely impressive and gives an intimate feeling to this concert. Ryuichi gives them many opportunities during the concert, pointing the mic towards the audience while they sing along.
SUGIZO switches his guitar for a violin and makes scratchy noises with it first, then continues by playing a gentle melody. The crowd reacts with cheers as they recognize Providence immediately. INORAN sits on a chair with his acoustic guitar, strumming his parts. Drums are softly played in the background. It’s a danceable song which feels melancholic at the same time. The bass joins the others later on and makes the song deep and a tad heavy. Ryuichi finishes the song in a capella with the words, 'I just want..', ending the song on a soft note.
Shinya continues with this drum solo, showing all different techniques and different sounds with background music. The audience chants 'Shinya!' time after time, their voices getting louder as the drummer urges them on to be louder, pretending not to be able to hear them. He continues his playing and flames shoot out in the background, intensifying the drum solo. J then enters the stage, starting his solo with upbeat rock as background music. He yells at the audience and starts a call-response with the crowd who enthusiastically join his screaming. Shinya then joins the bass solo, while J spurs the audience on every side of the stage to get their hands up in the air and in no time, the whole crowd joins him, creating a sense of unity.
After another MC, they begin I for You. Ryuichi puts all his emotion in the song by making a fist while singing and opening his arms when the song finishes. They change the atmosphere after that; as The End Of The Dream starts, all hands go in the air. Smoke fills the stage and catchy tunes are played. INORAN and J, both coming from opposite sides, play together for a bit while walking in a circle and then parting ways to entertain the audience.
The set list is ended with ROSIER and the crowd is ecstatic; obviously the perfect choice for a closing song. When J says his part while playing, the audience goes crazy. Ryuichi and SUGIZO scream simultaneously in the microphone that’s between them. After the song, they retreat for ten minutes before carrying on to the encore. In that short break, the audience sings ‘Happy birthday’ for LUNA SEA.
During the encore, Ryuichi introduces the other members with a funny remark to make the audience laugh. SUGIZO takes his turn introducing the vocalist in the same way, continuing in a relaxed style. Their last song of the encore is WISH where strings of confetti are blown into the audience. The audience members catch the strings and hold them up in the air. Both guitarists mouth the words that Ryuichi is singing, happily singing along. Once again, they leave the stage--however, it isn’t the end. The lights stay dimmed and the audience remains in their spots, entertaining themselves by doing a wave in the arena.
Their final song is MOTHER, with the guitarists playing acoustic. The screens are turned off, one spotlight on the stage, cloaking the venue in darkness. Ryuichi puts all his emotion in this last calm song, his arms spread when singing. SUGIZO switches to his violin halfway, changing the sound. As the song develops, more and more lights come on, and the screens switch on closer to the end. Finally they stand hand in hand and begin bowing but jump at the end. They ask the audience to do the same and everyone enthusiastically joins the band. The audience is thanked, and the members get their smartphones out to take pictures of the crowd and themselves, then they take their time in talking to the audience before they all exit the stage.
LUNA SEA celebrated their anniversary with style and variety, going through their repertoire of 25 years of music, playing their big hits like ROSIER and TRUE BLUE, the energy on stage not showing that they’ve been around for such a long time already. After this celebration live, the band will go touring through Japan with their tour LUNA SEA 25th ANNIVERSARY LIVE TOUR THE LUNATIC -A Liberated Will-, that starts on June 7th.
Set List:
1. Anthem Of Light
2. TONIGHT
3. DESIRE
4. TRUE BLUE
5. Rouge
6. 乱 -RUN-
7. gravity
8. Glowing
9. Providence
10. MOON
Drum solo and Bass solo
11. Déjàvu
12. I for You
13. Metamorphosis
14. The End Of The Dream
15. STORM
16. TIME IS DEAD
17. ROSIER
Encore 1:
1. Thoughts
2. IN MY DREAM
3. BELIEVE
4. WISH
Encore 2:
MOTHER
