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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.
ZARD was one of my favorite JPOP artists in the 90's. While it was originally an actual group, vocalist Izumi Sakai was the only consistent member (and thus ZARD and Izumi Sakai became synonymous). Concerts (with guest performers from the same studio ZARD/Sakai Izumi has been contracted with) have been held to honor her memory while also keeping these widely known songs alive for many.
The ~What a Beautiful Moment 2004 Tour~ was ZARD's actual first large-scale concert tour encompassing 11 dates. The only prior live concert was on August 31, 1999 aboard the (now defunct as of 2023) Pacific Venus cruise ship where tickets were available via lottery to 600 attendees (I tried but wasn't one of the lucky ones).
I fortunately got tickets for the tour final Nippon Budokan show in July 2004. At the time, little did we know that Izumi Sakai (real name Sachiko Kamachi) had been suffering various health issues (related to her uterus) from between 2001-2003, and thus was not really at her peak even during this tour (but she took things like forgetting the lyrics or struggling to hit certain notes, all in stride). That final concert will forever remain a precious memory for me, a truly beautiful moment in time (this was Yureru Omoi from the Tokyo International Forum concert).
Unfortunately, in 2006, she was diagnosed with cervical cancer, promptly underwent treatment, and was initially thought to be clear. However, the cancer was found to have spread to her lungs where she was admitted to Keio University Hospital in April 2007 to undergo chemotherapy. Sakai unfortunately passed away on May 27, 2007, after taking a fall the day prior on a wet/slippery emergency exit slope at the hospital. The location was a place she would often walk around to meditate/relax during her treatment and rehabilitation. She was only 40, but her music has transcended time and still remains impactful even to this day.
These anniversary concerts over the years have gotten better in terms of the videos used (some of them have been enhanced OA performances, clips from old PV releases, and previously unreleased footage that has been found over the years).
LUNATIC FEST 2025 Writeup (in progress)
LUNA SEA's drummer Shinya (Yamada) made a "surprise" appearance at LUNATIC FEST 2025 after deciding to sit out from performing due to the discovery of a brain tumor several months ago. He decided to turn over the drumming duties to a long trusted friend; his former student and drum technician, Jun-ji (Sakuma) who was the drummer for SIAM SHADE (and has been support drummer for many different acts).
Doctors originally informed him that he might require the use of crutches for 3 months while undergoing chemotherapy (which began in September 2025), but he has been able to stand and walk unassisted after just the first month (back in early September, he still attended a festival in his hometown albeit in a wheelchair, and required assistance to stand for a short time to perform the opening ceremony/make a short speech). Part of me believes this rapid recovery is due to the inherent stamina required to even play the drums the way he does.
He made this appearance on day 1 of the festival (walking on stage, giving a short speech of thanks/gratitude, and announcing the bands Xmas concert where he hopes to be able to play the drums at least in a limited capacity), and did the same on day 2 (though it didn't have the same surprising/emotional effect). It was incredibly inspirational to have been able to experience this moment in person.
NOTE: excuse the raw audio vocal quality; it's basically minimally processed soundboard where you can hear how rough the vocals are (can still hear how Ryuichi's singing voice still hasn't recovered after past vocal chord surgeries). Will be interesting to hear the broadcast version in December and the future Bluray DVD release once the audio goes through its usual post-production processing.
ESP Ltd M-400 Dual EMG
Live edit from Animelo Summer Live 2006 -Outride- at Nippon Budokan on 2006.7.8
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.
![(2024.12.14 The Republik, Honolulu, HI) 羊文学 [Hitsujibungaku] - First Live Concert in the U.S.](https://img.youtube.com/vi/9qa3HlsFwiU/maxresdefault.jpg)
Best Japanese Alternative Artist for the 2025 Music Award Japan (held May 2025 in Kyoto)
Setlist:
• Opening: Yokan (予感); instrumental
• Girls
• countdown
• Party wa sugusoko (パーティーはすぐそこ)
• Sabaku no Kimi e (砂漠のきみへ)
• Hikaru Toki (光るとき)
• Aimai de iiyo (あいまいでいいよ)
• Eien no Blue (永遠のブルー)
• tears
• honestly
• MAYOIGA (マヨイガ)
• Burning
• OOPARTS
• more than words
• GO!!!
• 1999
• Addiction- ENCORE -
• Jingle Bells
• FOOL
Thanks to Aizawa Toshi
![(2024.12.14 The Republik, Honolulu, HI) 羊文学 [Hitsujibungaku] - Addiction](https://img.youtube.com/vi/pqlARI3jDzE/maxresdefault.jpg)
Best Japanese Alternative Artist for the 2025 Music Award Japan (held May 2025 in Kyoto)
![(2024.3.8) 羊文学 [Hitsujibungaku] - Addiction (Official Music Video)](https://img.youtube.com/vi/AteWl40-UP8/maxresdefault.jpg)
3rd track off of their December 12, 2023 album (4th major album) "12 Hugs (Like Butterflies)".
As soon as I heard the guitar tone of the opening riff (with the distortion and "atmospheric" groove), I immediately took a liking to this song before hearing the entire thing. This official music PV released a few months later (March 8, 2024) cemented the deal.
Hitsujibungaku (formed in 2011 by Shiotsuka Moeka) is Moeka Shiotsuka (vocals, guitar), Yurika Kasai (bass) and Hiroa Fukuda (drums); on hiatus due to health issues (currently being filled in for by Yuna).
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.
ELT - Dear My Friend (Fernandes STJ-75). ELT's former keyboardist Igarashi Mitsuru composed,arranged, and wrote the lyrics for this fun song (single was originally released 1997年1月22日). I wished I still had this guitar.