Budokan had once again been transformed into the wonderland of Plastic Tree's Tent. Like the first Tent, fans were greeted by the dulcet, ambient strains of Brian Eno and the fantastic Big Top stage design. As the lights went down, the screens flickered into life, showing classic scenes from silent movies that quickly merged into a surrealist trip down a never-ending corridor with Plastic Tree paraphernalia flying at the camera until it reached the sign for Tent at the end. The audience cheered loudly, so much so that the soft tones of the accompanying music could barely be heard. After the members were introduced, the screams grew louder until they were silenced by the opening notes of Suisou.
The live opened by showcasing some of the band's more artsy songs, songs that had sudden changes of character midway through or demanded closer listening. It was a chance to hear the more serious side of Plastic Tree before the latter part of the set, which would deliver the more fan friendly hits. Suisou, a track from the 1997 album HIDE AND SEEK, floated gently with Ryutaro's soft vocals until a manic and jarring solo from Akira gave it an interesting flavour. 1999 followed with a quaint, interesting guitar melody that perfectly complemented the video of shooting star trailing behind the band.
"Yo, you having a good evening?!" Ryutaro greeted the crowd, answering the calls to his name being shouted as he spoke. "There are many people here, right? Thank you for gathering in our Tent. We are Plastic Tree." He made reference to the habit of Plastic Tree lives falling on rainy days by saying, "Today was sunny, right?" which earned him applause. "Anyway, our Tent is starting, so let's countdown from three as one! OK our first trip is Rocket!"
The fans cheered wildly as the strong guitar riff brought back the older Plastic Tree feel. It was a night in which Plastic Tree revisited their past with some rarely heard songs, too. Ryutaro strolled the runways to greet the fans, who danced with smiles on their faces as they embraced the nostalgia. Tremolo also brought happy sighs. The band reveled in the sounds as Ryutaro strode around, encouraging fans to jump to the upbeat song while Akira's guitar solo was played with an extra flourish. Their more recent single, Sanatorium, fit well, closing the section with its dreamy, wistful sound. Ryutaro's vocals shone. The previous day he had given some cause for worry, but those fears were now dispelled with a beautiful performance.
After a short break, the band moved on to another new single, Moonlight. The song was in an interesting style for Plastic Tree, taking on an electronic character while the vocals were spoken speedily during the verses before becoming a grander soaring sound during the choruses. It suited Budokan well. It eased the band into a section that gave way to some of their more electronica-tinged songs, starting with the heavier, crunching guitars and and spiky siren notes of Zange wa yogoshitsu and Gessekai, which reminded of the mid-90's. Tadashi's bass line was particular notable in the latter song, threading a neat line beneath the floating vocals and Akira's wailing guitar.
During the MC, Ryutaro took a longer time to talk about summer memories. "It's been a rare summer for Plastic Tree as we didn't have a tour. We've been lonely, so we were really looking forwards to today. Budokan is an awesome place. It's hot... and it's summer... what do we do in summer?"
The audience shouted their suggestions, which Ryutaro announced for the benefit of all. "Festivals, yakisoba, goldfish and dancing!" He said this last one with extra emphasis. "Until the end, here, let's dance! Are you ready? Can you dance?"
Ryutaro turned to the band and shouted, "Plastic Tree, can you dance?"
With tension raised, the band began to play the darker and heavier Danse Macabre. Everyone was jumping and as Ryutaro bounced on stage. Tadashi began running about the runways. He continued running as Kenken's thudding drums led the band into National Kid. The crowd sang along and danced with enthusiasm to the punk-styled song as Ryutaro flailed around on stage. As if the preceeding had not been enough, Ryutaro announced to the audience that it was "time to get violent" and obliged by playing upbeat, heavy songs: Ghost and Melancholic. The latter is a particular Plastic Tree anthem and always encourages singing along from the fans.
The band had been through the arsty, the electronic and the crowd pleasers by now, and to close they went back to beautiful experimental pieces. Circus swelled with a classic rock feel, with gentle plucked guitar notes in a piece that was classy and soft.
It could not compare with the mesmeric finale though, an atmospheric instrumental with an introduction faintly reminiscent of Eno's Above Chiang Mai played gently under blue lights. Soon enough, the guitar notes charged in and the lights turned red as the piece became heavier and climaxed into an amazing crescendo of sound. It was made even more atmospheric as the silhouette of Kenken, passionately hitting his drums, could be seen, and in the lighting took on an unusual drama with an almost eerie silent-movie feel. An artful performance until the end, the band left amidst the shadows; the fiery lights and the jarring feedback held the fans in captivated silence until the members had long left the stage.
In Plastic Tree's latest fashion, the encore chants were cut short when the screens shot into life once more. Having given much thought to the date of the show - Friday the 13th - the band presented another Plastic Tree Production, a marvelous pastiche of old black and white horror films that the four were inserted into. An expressionist silent movie served as narration, with Ryutaro in a church watching three candles burn down. As each flame was extinguished, a new film began. The first was "Night of the Living Dead" with the Plastic Tree quartet cleverly inserted into the original film footage as zombies. The second film was the original "Frankenstein:" Tadashi played the doctor and Kenken acted as the monster. Then the final flame extinguished and the screen went out. Creepy music filled the auditorium as Neko, the Plastic Tree mascot, came on stage explaining that they wanted to think of one more horror movie since it was Friday the 13th. After Neko left, thirteen men came on dressed as Jason - the most iconic image of Friday the 13th for the Japanese - and amongst them were the band members, who eventually revealed themselves.
The nine other Jasons remained on stage for Picasso Gokko in a surreal scene as they danced along to the bouncy tune. Then suddenly mid-song, there was a break, and all the members save Kenken left. There was a short drum solo before everyone returned. "Shall we continue Picasso Gokko?" asked Ryutaro.
It was followed by the super energetic Puppet Talk. The fans moshed away joyously while Ryutaro danced and spun like a child dizzy on lemonade. "Thank you very much for the encore. It's an amazing Friday the 13th and it's super hot! It's not a good day for make-up, my make-up is totally melting!" he explained to the fans, causing murmurs of agreement to ripple through the crowd. As he finished, Ryutaro asked Akira to speak.
"We want to play at Budokan a third time. Until today we have worked very hard and we are so thankful to the staff and to you." Akira's sentiments were echoed by the other members. Kenken said he had nostalgic feelings for the place as this was where he had first truly appeared with the band.
It was fitting then that the final songs seemed like a beautiful thank you to the fans, first with Replay, and then with the stunning Kioku Yuki. The former was simply astonishing while Kioku Yuki provided a gentle, beautiful finishing note as Ryutaro's sweet, innocent vocals told the melancholy tale. It was nonetheless a grand performance of a lullaby-like song. The stage sparkled as a curtain of glitter fell over the band, but Akira's guitar notes shone brightest of all, leaving a trail of beautiful memories.
Tent was, both last year and now, considered a special concert for Plastic Tree, and they lived up to the expectations they created. With the well chosen set list and some amazing performances, this year may even have surpassed the last.
Setlist:
SE
01. Suisou
02. 1999
03. Fukuro
- MC -
04. Rocket
05. Tremolo
06. Balloon
07. Sanatorium
08. Moonlight ----。
09. Zange wa yokushitsu de
10. Gessekai
11. Dance Macabre
12. National Kid
- MC -
13. Ghost
14. Melancholic
15. Circus
16. --- Anten.
Movie
EN01. Picasso gokko
EN02. Puppet Talk
EN03. Bambi
EN04. Kioku yuki
