Concert Report; Wink up: May 2006
Photo by Jun Murata
Text by Eriko Takahashi
LIVE!! TOKIO!!
TOKIO Ashita wo Mezashite! LIVE TOUR! 2006 March 12th at the Nihon Budokan
TOKIO's come back to the Budokan again! This concert, filled with power and cheers, was the best concert; the 5 members presented the power to aim for Tomorrow to the 10,000 people in the hall.
The Budokan was on fire! TOKIO was on fire! At TOKIO's "home," 5 guys + 10,000 people explode!
During the concert, the sudden decision for an acoustic live!?
When it's time for the concert to start, the crowd starts to clap to bring the members on stage. It gets louder and louder. The lights of the hall slowly darken. The fans take their jackets off and are ready to start. As expectations rise, the audience lights go down and the five of them, lit by the backlights of the stage, appear. Then cheers rang out through the air, realizing that TOKIO had returned to the Budokan!
The opening song is the melodious relaxing number, 'for you.' Strings and horn section take both sides of the five. This sound played is a sound only possible live. A warm sound and tender singing voice. The brass combined with the power of those five and a positive air fills the hall. And then the second song, 'Boku no Renaijijo to Daidokorojijo', the power exploded in the seats! With Tomoya's "Welcome Budokan! We're going to rock!" the penlights held by 10,000 people waved in response to their thoughts. The third song, the title of the tour, a song overflowing with speed, 'Ashita wo Mezashite!' The magnesium tape flies and even though it's only the third song, it's already rocking like the second half. TOKIO's home ground, the Budokan. It made everyone there happy to have met again in this place.
The fourth song is "a gamble song." A heavy tune written by Mabo: 'No More Bet'. A manly song, Tomoya's vocals are pretty thick. Fire flames up on the stage. It gives off the appeal of night. The next 'Starving Man' is also a masculine song. But this one is Tatsuya's "So hungry, you can't help it" rocking number. Taichi says "If you don't jump, Yamaguchi-kun will get mad," and Yamaguchi adds "No breaks, OK?" If he puts it that way, how could you not jump? And during the chorus, 10,000 people were jumping like mad! Anyone walking by outside at the time probably saw a shaking Budokan (laughs).
The heart-gripping 'Hummingbird.' The encouraging straight message of 'Save As...'. And bringing the tension way up with 'AMBITIOUS JAPAN'. After a bit more rocking, everyone sits down for MC time. With Taichi's "Yesterday, my mom and dad came to the concert and my mom said 'I was jumping too.'" the subject of conversation changed to everyone's parents. "Nagase's mom is amazing. She's so young!"(Mabo) "Yamaguchi-kun's mom is powerful"(Taichi) "My mom took a picture with Nagase's arm around her (laughs)."(Tatsuya) "So she wanted a picture with Nagase more than her own son (laughs)."(Mabo) "Leader's mom is an amazing character too. She calls her son, whose going to turn 40 soon, Shigechanman (laughs)."(Taichi) The five of them looked like they were having fun and the crowd was laughing; it had a very at-home feel. And then in closing, "We prepared a song to present as a gift from TOKIO to you. This is a song we've never done for an audience."(Nagase) It is an acoustic version of 'Sunset, Sunrise'. The crowd quietly lend their ears to the beautiful number. In a great atmosphere, Tatsuya must have been feeling greater and suddenly checks with the other members "Can we do an acoustic concert this summer?" The other 4 quickly agree, and ignoring the intentions of anyone else involved (laughs), an acoustic live was decided! One more thing for the fans to look forward to.
They move around on the mini stage in the back of the arena for the classic songs, 'Uwasa no Kiss' and 'LOVE YOU ONLY' And they use a crane to go up close to the 2nd floor to get closer to the fans. Tomoya's passionate thought-filled voice was moving for 'Kimi wo Omou toki'. Leader's guitar and cello collaboration was so satisfying to listen to for 'Joshima SONG 2006'. 10,000 people danced for 'Transistor G Girl' and jet ballons flew for 'T2'. And in the powerful number 'SCREAM', the entire Budokan was jumping again. The air was filled with the energy created by TOKIO and their fans.
The last song of the main set is their new song 'Mr. Traveling Man', a song that looks towards the future. It is the perfect number for them now. With the simple staging for this tour, TOKIO was able to show how they have matured as a band. The future of these 5 who continue to grow, even 12 years after they became a group, is something to look forward to even more.