Despite being billed as a solo tour, X Japan¡¯s Yoshiki Hayashi¡¯s ¡°Yoshiki Classical¡± tour is undoubtedly deeply rooted in the lore of one of the biggest rock acts of the country.
The concert at Tokyo International Forum on Dec. 6 was packed with tear-jearkers, highlighting a career ¡ª and life ¡ª filled with both triumph and tragedy. Yoshiki, performing on piano and backed by an orchestra conducted by Yuga Cohler, played arrangements of his band¡¯s hits ¡ª including ¡°Forever Love,¡± ¡°Art of Life¡± and ¡°Kurenai¡± ¡ª along with compositions from his solo repertoire.
The concert began with a performance of ¡°I¡¯ll Be Your Love¡± by the orchestra, a piece written by Yoshiki for the 2005 World Exposition in Aichi. Afterward, a scene from the X Japan documentary ¡°We Are X¡± played on the screens above the stage. In the clip, Yoshiki recounted the day he came home from brass band practice as a child, only to find his father dead from a suicide. The musician then appeared on stage and launched into a rendition of ¡°The Last Song,¡± which closed X Japan¡¯s farewell concert in 1997.
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