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).
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.
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.
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). This was the live sonic edge being strived for (guitars, drums, bass with very clear separation) on songs like these two (Ken Kimura's short guitar solo in between the two songs is also included highlighting how great this system was). Old band + house soundboard (flat mix for on-air broadcast) from the first part of the Precious Garden tour.