In the months since the COVID-19 pandemic put the brakes on live music, artists the world over have taken all kinds of steps to help fill the void. In Japan as elsewhere, these have ranged from free-to-watch informal jam sessions on YouTube to full-fledged paid-for concerts in crowdless venues.
When SUGIZO made his first foray into the newborn medium of the ‘no-audience live’ on October 14th, the LUNA SEA and X JAPAN guitarist forewent a conventional livehouse. Instead, he and a skeleton crew of collaborators he christened the COSMIC DANCE QUARTET streamed their performance from the shadowy confines of Shibuya nightclub WOMB.
The show began without much in the way of ceremony. As the video feed started, SUGIZO could be seen standing statuesque, bathed in blue and purple laser light. He mouthed along to the vocals of the late Origa that dominate the intro to DO-FUNK DANCE. Meanwhile, to his right, percussionist Kenji Yoshiura pounded away on a drum with a coiled steel chain resting on its skin.
As the brass-tinged electronic number went on, SUGIZO went walkabout, stalking around the middle of the dancefloor-turned-stage as he riffed away. Sticking his tongue out at the camera, his trenchcoat billowed out behind him as he spun on his heel and returned to his station below the large square-shaped backdrop. There, he raised his right arm above his head, fingers parted in a Vulcan salute as the electronic beats faded.
The lights and lasers turned violet for TELL ME WHY NOT PSYCHEDELIA?. SUGIZO went to town on his whammy bar whilst shifting geometric patterns swirled on the backdrop overhead. After a second walkabout, rounded off with another elegant spin, he struck the same pose as before, this time silhouetted against a bank of white lights.
During NEO COSMOSCAPE, SUGIZO surrendered the spotlight to Kenji Yoshiura, who came centre stage with a djembe strapped to his waist. Meanwhile, SUGIZO took a shift behind the drums, setting about them in a primal frenzy. Then, the guitarist wandered back to his station and picked up an odd stick-like object.
Any hopes of it being a violin bow were soon dashed as SUGIZO dragged his finger along what was in fact a synthesizer’s ribbon controller, producing a sound akin to static. He seemed to treat it like a gadget he’d happened upon by chance, sliding his hands up and down the fingerboard at random as Yoshiura drummed away.
The lazy strumming of Raummusik heralded a major change of pace. Amid squelchy electronic beats, slowly oscillating turquoise lasers and images of jellyfish on the backdrop, SUGIZO stayed rooted to the spot, availing himself of the plethora of effects pedals at his feet.
This calm ambience carried over into ARC MOON. That is, until the climatic solo, wherein SUGIZO’s face contorted as he seemed to channel the energy of his wailing guitar. After that dexterous display, he swapped instruments, taking up his violin for the duration of FATIMA.
At the onset of Lux Aeterna, the troupe of ghostly blue belly dancers vanished from the backdrop and the entire performance space was plunged into darkness. For several minutes, between flashes of white strobe, the most visible light source was synthesist MaZDA’s laptop screen in close-ups of him tending a daunting array of dials, knobs and sliders.
When a spotlight eventually illuminated SUGIZO, he was revealed to be holding a black guitar with the words ‘SAVE SYRIA’ emblazed in white capitals on the bodywork. As he played, the backdrop was filled by a succession of portraits of Syrian child refugees, possibly photographed when the guitarist visited the camps in Jordan.
The sombre mood turned abruptly violent as FOLLY saw archive footage of World War II military parades and bomb tests roll on the backdrop. The red lighting set the mood for some suitably incendiary guitar work as MaZDA looked on, pumping his fist in time with the pulsating beat.
Then, there was a swell of strings as the harsh spotlight shone down on SUGIZO once more. The guitarist stood motionless, hands held together as if in prayer whilst iconic portraits of Che Guevara, Martin Luther King, Mahatma Gandhi and Mother Teresa came and went over his shoulder.
The performance space was suddenly awash with red and blue lights as Misogi began. Kenji Yoshiura stepped out from behind the drums again with djembe in tow. SUGIZO joined him centre stage and the duo faced off in an unlikely battle. Yoshiura beat his chest with his fist during guitar licks, and the duel culminated in a few manic moments of them playing together.
Snarling into the camera, SUGIZO briefly flailed a hand at the djembe’s drumskin before returning to his station. There, he took the ribbon controller in hand and held it aloft like He-Man invoking the power of Grayskull. He ran his fingers down the length of the curious instrument in a claw-like motion, putting it down in time to assume his Vulcan stance a third and final time as the music faded.
A lingering roadie obligingly traded SUGIZO his guitar for a microphone, which he used to formally introduce his bandmates for the evening: synthesist and manipulator MaZDA, percussionist Kenji Yoshiura, and “special guest” synthesist HATAKEN. Repeating each man’s name twice for good measure, he blew a kiss to the camera and walked away.
Returning with an iPod in hand, SUGIZO embarked on an extended MC which he concluded by announcing the last song: “The Voyage Home.”
Bathed in orange light with sound of a twanging acoustic guitar and lapping waves, SUGIZO took up his violin for an instrumental that was equally soothing and melancholic. This mixed mood was echoed on the backdrop, where footage of sun-kissed ocean waves was intermingled with the faces of displaced Syrian children.
Picking up his microphone for the final time, SUGIZO shouted out his bandmates again, throwing in mentions for VJ ZAKROCK and the presiding sound mixer Dub Master X. Finally, the guitarist joined MaZDA, Kenji Yoshiura and HATAKEN in the middle of the dancefloor-cum-stage where, arm in arm, they bowed in unison.
Then, as if to reinforce the feeling we’d just watched a live DVD being produced in real time, the credits rolled.
Set List
01. DO-FUNK DANCE
02. TELL ME WHY NOT PSYCHEDELIA?
03. NEO COSMOSCAPE
04. Raummusik
05. ARC MOON
06. FATIMA
07. Lux Aeterna
08. FOLLY
09. Misogi
Encore
10. The Voyage Home
For more information on SUGIZO's upcoming activities and current mindset, check out our recent interview. LUNA SEA have also announced that they will be holding two back-to-back performances at Saitama Super Arena titled LUNA SEA -RELOAD-on December 26th and 27th. Details on these shows and the COVID-19-related safety measures that will be in place during them can be found on the band's official website.
Zdroj: https://www.jame-world.com/en/article/155685-sugizo-live-streaming-from-tokyo-episode-i-re-echo-to-cosmic-dance.html
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