Prologue
That was just one year ago in February. The official Twitter suddenly announced the news.
I was so happy to hear this news because I had made the wrong choice to give up my ticket for the 2020 LIVE, Ethical TREK 2K20▲03, and I had regretted it for a long time.
In addition, it was a sequel to the 9th Mandala, and the same members of Ethical TREK 2K20▲03, so I had no choice but to go.
I secured my schedule immediately!
Looking at the information carefully, I realized that the venue was not in Tokyo but Osaka.
It was a little hard for me to go to Osaka because I am living in the Kanto area, but this time I decided immediately without any time to hesitate.
April 27th
I arrived the previous day by Shinkansen from Tokyo to prepare for unforeseen circumstances.
9:45 p.m. Around Nagoya.
There were so few people on the streets that I thought it was midnight. The city is like a dystopia.
11:00 p.m. Arrive in Osaka
No one was here. Could it be that the human race has perished?
Then we arrived at the hotel.
Unizo Inn Osaka Kitahama, a business hotel near the venue. It was built in 2019, so it was very clean and spacious.
During the day, I had online classes as usual and was tired, so I went to bed early.
April 28th
I spent some meaningful time at the hotel, doing my assignments.
Lunch is at the nearest burger shop! (Japanese fast food restaurant, Mos Burger.)
After that, I departed for the 6:00 p.m. opening.
Osaka Festival Hall
It was a great space, as the venue has hosted some of the world’s biggest names like KING CRIMSON.
The background music playing in the hall was also great.
Black Death by The Darkening Scale was particularly impressive.
The title (Black Death) may have an ironic nuance to this situation.
I waited for the show to start with a very unique atmosphere.
24(fushi) Mandala Day 1 Set List
1 ロタティオン(LOTUS-2) – Rotation (LOTUS-2)
2 論理空軍 – Logic Airforce
3 高貴な城 – High-Minded Castle
4 回路OFF回路ON – Circuit OFF Circuit ON
5 脳動説 – Brain-Centric Theory
6 Amputee ガーベラ – Amputee Gerbera
7 スノーブラインド – SNOWBLIND
8 Gemini
9 MURAMASA
10 アヴァター・アローン – Avatar Alone
11 TOWN-0 PHASE-5
12 排時光 – Time-eliminating Light
13 遮眼大師 – SHAGAN DAISHI
14 AURORA 2021
15 空転G – Circular G
encore
1 Kingdom
2 BEACON
The venue darkened and the performance began.
It started with the same music as the 9th mandala, [e]dge#9, but with a narration!
The meaning of the narration is almost the same as the official website, so I will skip it.
After the narration, drummer Yuji “Rerure” Kawaguchi (#STDRUMS) appeared!
I was captivated by the sound of the live drums.
And with the beginning of the new additional part of the music, Susumu Hirasawa + EJIN also appeared! I was surprised to see a four-drummer band.
From the first song, I was surprised to hear Rotation (LOTUS-2), because this is the ending theme of Millennium Actress, so I was not expecting this song to come first.
It was a song that symbolized the 24(fushi) Mandala, coupled with the themes of loops and infinity in the film and this concert.
What was the most amazing thing was the guitar solo, which was not in the original version!
The second song. Logic Airforce. This is the song that got me hooked on P-MODEL.
And the third song. High-Minded Castle. Probably, it was the first time to be selected for a non-interactive concert. I felt that Mr. Hirasawa was really serious about this concert.
The fourth song was Fuji Rock 19’s encore song “Circuit Off Circuit On,” and I was again numbed by the guitar solo.
The fifth and sixth songs were Brain-Centric Theory and Amputee Gerbera from The Secret of The Flowers of Phenomenon. More than I expected, it works very well with live drums. First showing of the Mosrite PHYTOELECTRON at Amputee Gerbera. The sound was so beautiful that I did not think it was a guitar.
Snowblind, New arrangements of Gemini and MURAMASA followed.
The tenth song is Avatar Alone. I forgot to mention that this was one of the songs that looked fascinating with the new laser harp and the most distinctive tool in this concert. It was also interesting to feel the difference in drumming from the 9th Mandala.
And then came, TOWN-0 PHASE-5, my favorite solo song of all. This song was also the first song of Fuji Rock 2019. This song also had a cool guitar solo.
Furthermore, KAKU P-MODEL zone began from here.
Time-eliminating Light, featuring the twin guitars of Hirasawa and SSHO the Ejin.
The new arrangement of SHAGAN DAISHI with a long selfie stick! Instead of a guitar solo, change to a silent cello part by SSHO the Ejin.
At the end of the concert , this song started with a distinctive guitar sound. When I first heard it, I thought it was a new song, but as soon as the song started, I understood.
AURORA
I thought this was also a new arrangement with some KAKU P-MODEL elements mixed in.
Finally, the main program ends with Circular G.
The afterglow, the applause, the encore!
After the usual member introduction mc, the big announcement!
They were going to perform a new song!
I am so glad that I was there.
The first song of the encore!
KINGDOM!
It was a real pleasure to hear the song from Switched On Lotus!
The sound of his extended voice sounded great to us!
And the last song of the first day! A new song, BEACON!
I had never heard that song before, and my brain could no longer keep up. And it has a guitar solo!
I thought it was the most powerful song to light up the darkness of the world.
This is the end of the first schedule!
I wanted to eat takoyaki (Takoyaki is a famous food in Osaka), but the restaurant was closed, so I bought dinner at a convenience store and went back to the hotel.
I had dinner in my room while watching the archives.
I went to bed in the afterglow.
The LIVE concert had a power that cannot be beaten by the trendy online streaming, and I think that it was worth the trip to Osaka.
At this time, it was just the first day.
I was so excited to think that there would be a second day.
Thus, in the next article, I will look back at the second day!
To be continued on the web!