Plastic Tree Thanks Taiwan

Not even one year has passed since their latest concert at the Legacy and they are already back. Plastic Tree made a stop at the Wall for another concert, sold-out within a few days. As the concert flyer said, it was a tour to promote their latest album ammonite but also just to thank their fans. How nice of them.

We thought the band would be a little tired. Indeed, they held a free live concert in the Ximending district under a typical Taiwanese heavy rain just the night before. But after 18 years of activity, the band is used to this kind of exercise. So, no wonder Ryutaro and his band mates managed to transport their audience into their world. The first notes of 13th Friday instantly set the pace and the mood, helped by the judicious play of lights and background animations that would change according to the songs. Just seeing that, it was apparent that Plastic Tree invested more than any other Japanese band performing at The Wall recently.

Hit songs followed up at a restless pace, as if the band aimed to give no break to the fans. Of course, tracks from their latest album, ammonite, were mainly promoted. Moonlight--------. was magnificent, moving, and fans even chanted the chorus with the singer. And what to say about I Love You So? The CD version already foretold its live potential. The performance was literally explosive and the audience was blissfully happy. In addition to that, they also surprised their fans by treating them with old songs. Popular songs like Replay or Mirai iro were performed as well as tracks from their early days. It was thus a nice surprise to hear Angel Dust, which was their first single's B-side. And the longer the concert went on, the hotter the atmosphere got, until it reached its climax towards the end. The two encores granted were just like a grand finale of fireworks. Ryutaro just let it all out, jumping and twirling around during spooky, which is quite surprising compared to the first impression he gives on stage: inhibited and blasé.

Even the very short yet numerous MCs did not feel like a break for the audience. Yet they were very simple and funny, even hilarious at times. Ryutaro may be a little frightening at first, but he was totally different during the MCs - joyful, sometimes widely smiling and even playing and making jokes to the audience. While greeting the fans with a "Ni hao" ("Hello" in Chinese), and seeing the fans' high and warm response to him, he replied with a "Zai jian" ("Good bye") and pretended to leave the stage. In a word, he was in a very good mood, and so were his bandmates. There was a real harmony between the members and with the fans tonight, and by the end, each member did not hesitate to take the microphone and express their love to their Taiwanese fans. "I love Taiwan! I love Taipei! I love you, you, you!" screamed drummer KenKen while pointing out at fans.

In one word: phenomenal. Plastic Tree gave a real blast to their audience tonight. Even all the media covering the event that night agreed that Plastic Tree had held one of the best Japanese lives in Taiwan this year so far. And seeing the amount of Japanese lives and the many big names Taiwan welcomes every year, this is actually quite a feat.


Setlist

1. 13th Friday
2. Moonlight--------.
3. Melt
4. Fujunbutsu
5. I Love You So
6. Setsugekka
7. Aria
8. Harusaki Sentimental
9. Taikutsu Machine
10. Bambi
11. Duet
12. Mirai Iro
13. Melancholic
14. Replay
15. Sabishinbou
16. Blue Back

Encore
17. Angel Dust
18. Makka na Ito
19. spooky

Encore2
20. Hate. Red, Dip. It.
21. Ghost