X Marks the Spot

Without realizing precisely what I’d done, I now realize that I chose to attend the X Japan concert that occured on vocalist Toshi’s 45 birthday. The final performance of X Japan’s first North American tour was a spectacular show held on October 10, 2010, 10/10/10.

AnimeNation’s Phil Norris and myself flew from Tampa, Florida to New York’s JFK airport the morning of Sunday, October 10th, expecting to arrive in plenty of time for the 7pm door opening. Both of us were stunned to arrive at the Roseland Ballroom in downtown Manhattan at 3 in the afternoon to find a line already stretching around the block. The line, which stretched around three sides of the building, consisted primarily of young adults in black, many of them obviously Japanese. Realizing that there was no point to us lining up at the back of the que four hours early, Phil and I wandered around the Times Square vicinity and grabbed some (expensive) cheeseburgers for lunch before later resting in a bar for some NFL football on TV and a few beers.

We made our way back to the venue at 8pm expecting to walk right in, only to find the line still stretching down the street. Opening band Vampires Everywhere certainly suffered since their performance ended while a percentage of the audience was still out on the sidewalk, waiting to get in. Eventually, get it we did. The Roseland Ballroom is an elevated stage and an open floor roughly the size of a high school auditorium, an excellent, intimate sized venue for a rock concert. At 9pm the front 90% of the floor was crowded to elbow room only with nearly 3,000 X Japan fans. Phil and I found satisfactory position at the rear of the crowd.

Roughly five minutes past the 9pm start time, a recorded epic choir of angelic female voices rolled over the crowd, finally introducing Yoshiki standing over his drum kit like a statuesque god. The performance launched with a rendition of “Jade” that rocked just a bit harder than the recorded version does. The giant illuminated screen behind the band, flashing lights and colors, gave way to a spectacular laser display as the group transitioned into its English language version of “Rusty Nail.” The show continued with a performance of “Silent Jealousy,” proving that the middle-aged artists could still rock just as hard as they did in their younger days. A preformance of the infrequently heard “Drain” was an unexpected surprise. Performances of “I.V.” and “Born to Be Free” also rocked just a bit harder than their conventional studio versions.

With the band performing multiple shows in rapid succession, a bit of lassitude from the band might be expected, but X Japan showed none of it. The energy and passion of both the band and the crowd was at a pinnacle height throughout the night. Particular highlights of the evening included Sugizo’s violin introduction to “Kurenai” that included an “X Japan” rendition of “The Star Spangled Banner,” a lengthy crowd participation performance of “X,” Yoshiki wheeling out a giant cake to commemorate Toshi’s birthday and “Happy Birthday” sung by the crowd, and a lengthy, nearly tearful explanation from Yoshiki that he and Toshi had first met when they were four-year-old children and had always dreamed of becoming rock stars making it big in America.

During a rather lengthy pause after the band’s initial 90 minute performance, I had only two small complaints in my mind. The initial set had included no ballads, and the 90 minute performance was just too short. As though the group had read my mind, its encore consisted of an emotional 15 minute long rendition of the abbreviated radio edit of “Art of Life,” and a performance of “Endless Rain” that still earned a lengthy crowd participation despite some of the lyrics being in Japanese. X Japan’s final show of its first America tour ended with a recording of the acoustic “Forever Love” played while the band took its bows, celebrated on stage, and threw water bottles to the adoring crowd.

Following the show, I, and a thousand other fans, crowded the lobby vendors to purchase tour shirts. For better or worse, I’ve never before been squeezed between so many young girls, and I probably never will be again. Upon exiting the Roseland Ballroom, Phil suggested that we camp the rear of the building in hopes of spotting the band leave. We weren’t the only ones with the idea, as we found a crowd of concert-goers already forming nearby the stage exit. As the crowd grew and time passed, our hopes for autographs dimmed. After an hour, Phil and I silently agreed to stay only to avoid having wasted our time. After two hours Yoshiki quickly slipped out of the back door and into a waiting SUV. His appearance literally caused a sudden stampede of fawning young girls, as the crowd literally knocked over the steel baracades and rushed toward the fleeing musician. A small handful of obviously obsessively devoted Japanese girls ran down the middle of the street, chasing after Yoshiki’s departing truck while a stage hand furious shouted at them to get out of the path of traffic.

While, for Phil and I, the evening concluded with a whimper rather than a bang, unquestionably the concert was absolutely phenomenal and worth every dollar, moment, and effort we’d spent to attend.