At THE YELLOW MONKEY's live shows, various timelines intersect. However, it is a little different from the feeling of traveling to the past or future in a time machine. The same was true for the April 30 show at Tokyo's NHK Hall. Their nationwide tour titled "Sparkle's Planet X" started in October last year and has been divided into several blocks. Since "FINAL BLOCK" is scheduled to begin in the near future, this show did not feel like a tour final. However, since the final block was an additional performance, this show was also the conclusion of the three-act story.

When the show began at 6:30 p.m., the still-lit venue spontaneously erupted in hand clapping, drowning out the background music. It seemed that the audience was waiting for the live broadcast to start, but it took about 15 minutes for the performance to actually begin, apparently due to the time required to adjust the equipment. However, the clapping did not stop for even a moment during the wait, and the NHK Hall was enveloped in a pleasant sense of unity even before the show began.

When the lights finally went down and the silhouettes of the band members appeared on the dimly lit stage with the opening song, "Thinking Smoke," the audience burst into applause and cheers. reaction that seemed to be a mixture of delight and surprise. The opening song was "Sweet & Sweet," a track from the 1995 album "Four Seasons," which was coupled with the single "The Sun is Burning," released prior to the album. ", a number that was included as a coupling to the single "The Sun is Burning" released prior to the album. The song ends after three and a half minutes, and the band quickly turns to "Trap" from their latest album, "Sparkle X," released last May.

At this point, it was clear that the evening's performance would be centered on a fusion of "Sparkle X" and "FOUR SEASONS" that transcended time and space. Of course, there were many fans who knew this from the beginning and were prepared for it. The songs from "jaguar hard pain 1944-1994" (1994), which had just celebrated its 30th anniversary in "BLOCK.1" and "smile" (1995), the follow-up to "jaguar hard pain 1944-1994," in "BLOCK.2" were combined with those from the newest album. As "BLOCK.2" was composed in the same way as "BLOCK.2", it was only natural to imagine what would happen in "BLOCK.3". However, even if we had been expecting it, we could not help but let out a squeal when the band played songs from 30 years ago that we had not heard live for a long time. Moreover, what we felt was not a gap between the present and the past, but rather a dazzling light that seemed to illuminate both sides.

After the first two songs, Kazuya Yoshii aka Robin said, "How are you, Tokyo? Sorry to keep you waiting. Welcome to 'BLOCK.3'!" and then he revealed the fact that it had been 27 years since he had performed at NHK Hall as THE YELLOW MONKEY. In September 1998, 27 years ago, they performed four times at this venue. This was part of the "PUNCH DRUNKARD TOUR 1998/99" that ran from April of the same year to March of the following year. To add to this, the four of them were also present at this venue during the tour that accompanied "FOUR SEASONS" in 1996, which was titled "Proof of Wildness". The band has since grown beyond the confines of this venue, and has performed more frequently than at NHK Hall. However, as Yoichi Hirose, a.k.a. Heise, mentioned in the middle of the show, Shibuya, where NHK Hall is located, is the birthplace of the band. It was in 1989 when the band was formed with guitarist Hideaki Kikuchi (Emma). It is needless to say that the band's first live performance was held on December 28 of the same year at Shibuya Ramama, and that they have been cherishing that day as their anniversary ever since.

When I see them live, I am often forced to go backward in time and ruminate on memories of the distant past. Since this is the case for those who are watching the show, the four members involved must be feeling even more so. In fact, during the performance at "BLOCK.1," I felt that "Sparkle X" was born from the maturation of the ego and worldview that were once expressed in "jaguar hard pain 1944-1994" over a long period of time, but of course This is also true of "smile" and "Four Seasons". Surprisingly, the two albums were released within the same year (the former in February 1995 and the latter in November 1995). The fact that they were able to release two monster albums in the same year while continuing their vigorous live activities is overwhelmingly unbelievable.

The stage of this day, which began with a convulsive pace from the very beginning of the show, jumped freely through time and space with abundant slow and steady progress, as if to show that there is no essential difference between the past and the present. As Yoshii himself said on stage, as the band's history grows longer, there will be more and more songs that were performed on the tour when the album was first released and then rarely performed. Of course, this is not limited to THE YELLOW MONKEY, but I felt that a tour like this, which is structured around the coupling of the latest album and past works, is very effective in seeking both freshness and satisfaction, and it is also a great way to keep beloved songs from being buried. I thought it was also wonderful that the beloved songs were not buried in the past.

And, along with the songs of 30 years ago, which I had not heard for a long time, the songs of "now" were also evolving during the course of the tour. The most prominent of these was "Rhapsody. This song, which now makes the audience dance, has an uncommonly strong power to get people involved. Moreover, this evolution is not simply the result of repeated opportunities to perform, but rather the "blossoming beyond expectation" that has resulted from their own exposure to unknown audiences at festivals and other venues.

Toward the end of the performance, the band talked about the background of making "Four Seasons," their first London recording, and the musical ground they had reached at the time, while performing "Sky Blue and True Feelings," which was also deeply moving, The first song of the encore, "Punch Drunker," was also very moving. After the nostalgic "Mermaid," the band closed the night with "Beaver," the first song from their latest album, which was released for the first time on this tour, and lasted about 2 hours and 10 minutes. The night's performance came to a close with "Beaver," the first song from the newest album of the tour. It was also pleasant to hear "Beaver" performed in a casual manner, as if the band was playing in a private space, rather than seeking a flashy and explosive climax at the very end of the show. The band's natural receptiveness was evident, as it has been 36 years since their birth.

Finally, I would like to add that a little over a year has passed since the Tokyo Dome concert on April 27 last year, prior to the release of "Sparkle X," and Yoshii's singing has recovered to the point where it can be said that he has returned to his normal state. Although Yoshii himself modestly says, "Sometimes [my voice] goes upside down, but I think that's just part of the flavor (laughs)," one cannot help but think that THE YELLOW MONKEY has achieved something that cannot be described by the word "revival. They are approaching their strongest level ever, evolving and deepening at the same time, and I look forward to seeing what they will show us in "FINAL BLOCK," which is scheduled to open on May 15. No matter how much you go to the show with your expectations inflated, you can be sure that they will exceed them.

Writer: Yuichi Masuda
Photo: Masato Yokoyama