LUNA SEA's first show after drummer Yamada Shinya (真矢) passed away on February 17, 2026. This concert turned out to be a great celebration of his life/legacy; the show opened with a small part of his drum solo from what was his final appearance with the band back at their 2025 Millenium Eve show with GLAY at Tokyo Dome on February 23, 2025 along with montages of the five together at the end of that concert while part of the speech he gave at LUNATIC FEST (where he said that "LUNA SEA must not end"), played. In hindsight, while he had been very driven to return to playing at this show, it seems he also used this choice of words "just in case".
The drum kit that he had been working on for this XMAS show had also been setup on stage next to Jun-ji's kit (seeing this arrangement made me smile). For a few of the songs in the setlist, videos of Shinya playing were shown; it was never overdone (which IMHO, would've detracted from the actual performances of those carrying on the group as he had wished for during LUNATIC FEST and then by his wife Aya after he had passed). During the short MC's between songs, the band also made it clear they wanted this to be a fun show (and that it was). Ryuichi's vocals struggled at times (from his own past surgeries on his vocal chords to remove cancerous lesions) but he was also giving it his all.
Heading into the portion after a 30 minute intermission, a longer portion of Shinya's drum solo from that February 23, 2025 show was played; that was a great closing tribute. Plus even though he is physically gone, the memories that people have of moments like this from prior concerts, are what keeps him alive. In that regards, it was like he was there for many of the fans in attendance (or for those watching the live stream).
What was a really final nice touch was just before the 2nd encore when a video was played of Shinya trying out this new drum kit in a practice studio (tracking over the song HOLY KNIGHT) as the other members watched the video playback. It highlights just how much he was planning to resume playing with the band again. They closed out the show playing HOLY KNIGHT which at the ending, transitioned into an outro video of their 2026 national tour dates (signifying the band will continue their journey as per what Shinya had said/requested). This tour is being called LUNA SEA TOUR 2026 UNENDING JOURNEY -FOREVER- (kind of reminding me how BUCK-TICK has continued moving forward after "A-chan" passed away).
Shinya's disciple Jun-ji (whom Shinya handpicked to fill in for him for LUNATIC FEST) said on his YouTube livestream that he knows no one can ever replace Shinya or fully replicate his sound; but that he will continue filling in for his mentor (so long as asked) to make sure that LUNA SEA doesn't end. He's definitely going to have a packed schedule since TM Revolution (which he has also been a longtime support drummer for) will be touring during the same time frame.
As for this show, they really put together a quality production to honor his memory and to make a statement about moving forward.
Live performance version of their first release (November 2024) post-Sakurai Atsushi of 雷神 風神 - レゾナンス (Raijin Fujin – Resonance) that was performed at Nippon Budokan on December 29, 2024.
This is a really great song (power ballad) with lyrics and a melody to match (the guitar solo and harmonization by Hazuki and Saki is one of the best). Click the CC button for the English subtitles. The live stream for this (on August 22, 2020) had an emotional/tearful mini chat since this was the first performance they did together after drummer Murata Tamu took a leave of absence to give birth to her 2nd child.
LUNA SEA ROSIER Cover (Fernandes STJ-75). Audio quality isn't that great though. Originally released 1994年7月21日, this is definitely one of my favorite LUNA SEA tunes (especially when played live and more specifically, the 2007 God Bless You -One Night Dejavu- concert performance which I attended).
Steve Augeri era
Digital audio (PM1-D) soundboard (raw) + DAT (audience)
Fly over via Excel Air of the Tokyo metropolitan area (circa 2003). Mori Tower in Roppongi was the newest skyscraper at the time. Note: Excel Air used to offer cruising tours out of Urayasu Heliport near Tokyo Disney (but had to relocate in April 2025 and are now located in Tsukuba and also have flying tours in Okinawa)
Pro-shot at 日本武道館 (Nippon Budokan).
Nostalgic trip down memory lane… one of the more interesting side things I got to experience ~25 years ago was being part of the rollout for the then new Yamaha PM1D professional modular digital mixing console for Shiina Hekiru’s 2001 Precious Garden Summer tour. For this 2004 New Years Day show, the 2003 show served as a reference where lessons were taken from it with the presets and production audio mix being dialed in more tightly.
Regardless, I’ve long wanted to “visually re-master” the original pro-shot footage (480p) to at least 1080p but that tech didn’t really exist until recent years. Hours of experimenting with different settings plus GPU processing has resulted in this video which now more closely matches the audio. Getting this to 4K (with excellent quality) is years away BUT I almost got a usable 1440p60 version (maybe a few software iterations away). Anyway, this is the fully “remastered” version in 1080p60.
Pro-shot at 日本武道館 (Nippon Budokan).
Nostalgic trip down memory lane… one of the more interesting side things I got to experience ~25 years ago was being part of the rollout for the then new Yamaha PM1D professional modular digital mixing console for Shiina Hekiru’s 2001 Precious Garden Summer tour. Most shows from these tours in 2001 through 2002 (～Around the sadistic～ tour) were at concert halls and smaller live houses except the 2002 ~NEW STEP~ News Years Day show at the much larger Nippon Budokan (which has challenging hall acoustics) which was not pro shot recorded. For this 2003 New Years Day show (which was pro shot), the presets and production audio mix ended up leaning towards a more bass heavy sound that IMHO, lacked the crystal clear separation of the 2001 mix. Hekiru also was slightly congested/not feeling 100% (which may have affected the soundcheck/preset calibrations).
Regardless, I’ve long wanted to “visually re-master” the original pro-shot footage (480p) to at least 1080p but that tech didn’t really exist until recent years. Hours of experimenting with different settings plus GPU processing has resulted in this video which now more closely matches the audio. Getting this to 4K (with excellent quality) is years away BUT I almost got a usable 1440p60 version (maybe a few software iterations away). Anyway, this is the fully “remastered” version in 1080p60.
From before a lot of redevelopment projects began throughout Tokyo (including the area surrounding Shibuya Station); not that any of it is clearly captured in a night shot video (originally 480p and somewhat ML upscaled to 720p). Also from the good old days when you had to fix a portable video camcorder onto the roof (before drivecorders were an actual thing).
Pro-shot at 東京厚生年金会館 (Tokyo Koseinenkin Hall) • closed as of 2010年3月31日.
Nostalgic trip down memory lane… one of the more interesting side things I got to experience ~25 years ago was being part of the rollout for the then new Yamaha PM1D professional modular digital mixing console for Shiina Hekiru’s 2001 Precious Garden Summer tour. It was introduced in December 2000; a modular system of the control surface and modules like the DSP engine, controller, I/O units, and power supply along with Windows software which allowed additional functionality (by connecting a PC/laptop to the system). Due to my side interest in music, I ended up being part of the prototype field test group (in Silicon Valley).
This was during that time period of the transition from analog to digital (my tech background with digital audio/video, networking, and systems is partially why I ended up being involved as event staff). I was still working in Silicon Valley but spent time in between Santa Clara, California and Tokyo as the enterprise liaison (at Apple) working with the Japanese office. Things sort of fell into place with Yamaha Japan/this side gig; when I moved to Japan a few years later (due to another opportunity), it resulted in one of the best life experiences I’ve had.
I still remember how this setup shaped the dimension of her live sound going forward (why I noted the “sonic superiority” in that draft (words from her long time sound engineer). Being at many of her concerts for the next 5 years, that live sound is still very vivid. This system was finally EOL in 2015 (PM5D replaced it in 2004). Since 2015, Yamaha now has a RIVAGE PM series that builds on this legacy but in a much more portable form factor (the old consoles required a team to move and set it up).
I’ve long wanted to “visually re-master” the original pro-shot footage (480p) to at least 1080p but that tech didn’t really exist until recent years. Hours of experimenting with different settings plus GPU processing has resulted in this video which now more closely matches the audio. Getting this to 4K (with excellent quality) is years away BUT I almost got a usable 1440p60 version (maybe a few software iterations away). Anyway, this is the fully "remastered" version in 1080p60.
ML Upscaled/Enhanced 1080p60 (using this newer process). Live audio comparison with a new band + new modular digital mixing console (Yamaha PM1D) used beginning from the Starting Legend 2001 ~Precious Garden Summer~ tour which ran from July-September 2001 (an encore concert was held in November and pro shot). Old band + house soundboard (flat mix for on-air broadcast) from the first part of the Precious Garden tour. STARTING LEGEND 2000 performance of One with the prior band and sound system.