Recently, I went to see LUNA SEA on February 7 and 8, 2015 at Kanagawa Kenmin Hall. I chose those shows because, well:
1. I wasn't gonna fly all the way to Japan just for one LUNA SEA concert.
2. The shows were in Kanagawa — Yokohama to be precise. The members were from another part of Kanagawa, but that's the closest we could get to them performing in their homeground, so I figured they'd have pretty nice setlists. They did.
3. February 8, 2015 marked the two-year anniversary from when I first saw them live in Singapore, which was significant because I made a lot of good friends there, most notably my @lessonsfromlunasea fanmily, and I went to the shows with two of them.
4. The current ongoing tour has been conducted in small venues, which is great because (a) small halls make for intimate shows, and (b) even if you get lousy seats you still can see the members onstage quite clearly. I'm short, and I've been known to be kiasu enough to queue from morning onwards for free standing shows because I NEED to secure front row. If the show is in a big ass stadium and the entry is by seat number then I'd rather not go, because there's no point only being able to see them onscreen when you're actually attending their live show, goddammit.
So my rambling, on the live shows, "A WILL", and post-reunion LUNA SEA in general:
1. I only began listening to "A WILL" a week before departing for Japan for their shows. Yes, I blame myself for that, because it came out in 2013, but angsty me would always go back to listening to their dark, atmospheric songs — the LUNA SEA in my teenage years, when they raised the outcast me in a small Malaysian town. Tbh when I heard the new songs played live I was apathetic. But after I've returned I'm spending my free time now actively listening to the album, and oh god they've done it again. It's in no way dark like how I love my old LUNA SEA, but fuck don't they just sound glorious now, and unabashedly so. It's like when I started appreciating "LUNACY" four years after it came out (long into the "closed curtains" period when we didn't even know whether they'd reunite, so imagine the agony). LUNA SEA have always been ahead of their time. As a non-Japanese speaker, I'm thankful that the album booklet came with English translations for all the song lyrics, but even without them, the music alone is shouting that they're so glad to be back, and that it's ok if everything ends now because they've put their everything into this — there's nothing left to lose, basically. And I'm fine with that.
2. Many old bands have made a comeback, most notably X JAPAN — and how could we ignore the fact that SUGIZO was recruited to replace hide so technically he's in both bands? — but LUNA SEA's reunion feels classier, for the lack of a better word. I feel like aging bands should look up to LUNA SEA as an example on how to get their shit together, move forward and grow with their fans. It's not that I don't think they don't care at all for the revenue they're generating since getting back together, but their reunion didn't feel forced, and "A WILL" sure as shit doesn't sound like they did it for money. Some members may have more attention than others, and LUNA SEA is one of the few bands where the vocalist receives the least love, but it's never a "SUGIZO only" show or an "INORAN only" show like how X JAPAN feels like it's a "Yoshiki only" show. The LUNA SEA members themselves have always done things equally, with equal spotlights on all members, and this is the key I think — this is why we are so drawn to them, even more so now that they have a newfound appreciation for each other, because these five men are just so balanced when they're all together and it's evident that they love each other so much. I'm loving this grown-up, matured LUNA SEA very much.
3. LUNA SEA is a live band at their core and neither fame nor wealth could take that away from them. I've seen a lot of bands and they're one of the few that give their ~everything~ into their live performances. Never had I seen INORAN enjoy performing so much (he even spoke during the February 8, 2015 show, which was a lot coming from INORAN), and Ryuichi's vocal may not be as strong as before but I love it now, I think it sounds Just Right. Their live shows are addictive, songs that may not have an impact on you on CD are given their second lives onstage. You don't have to wonder why the shows were sold out and why people still queued up for the first-come-first-served leftover tickets, IF they're available.
4. Seeing LUNA SEA live was like seeing a family. You know they grew apart, but they came back together naturally, and their chemistry was strong enough that it made me feel like crawling back to my own fucked up biological family (didn't actually happen — I called my mom but we fought instead). And oh, one of the highlights of the shows was seeing fans bringing along their kids — I think that's LUNA SEA parenting done right. :) I'm hellbent on not procreating, but on the off-chance that I do I'll sure as hell drag my kid along to LUNA SEA concerts.
TL;DR I LOVE THE NEW LUNA SEA TOO MUCH AND I THOUGHT THAT WASN'T POSSIBLE BUT IT IS TOTES POSSIBLE AND I HAVE TOO MANY FEELINGS FOR THEM I JUST WANNA SEE THEM LIVE IN CONCERT AGAIN HOMAIGOD AND THE NEW ALBUM WHICH IS NOT-SO-NEW-NOW IS ACTUALLY KINDA REALLY GREAT AND AS USUAL I REGRET NOT GETTING INTO IT EARLIER
Cross-posted to @sisterofdusk's personal Tumblr.
