27 November 1991 Shibuya CLUB QUATTRO
Live Report
Fool’s Mate
February 1992
Text＝Iwamoto Miki (岩本美紀)
Photos＝Ikeda MIchihiro (池田倫弘)
Thrown back in time in one night’s dream
It was a truly abrupt move by them. Just when we thought that they would go off to work on their own projects after their tour ended, they suddenly announced that they would be performing at live houses. Scheduled were performances at Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagoya’s QUATTROs for one night each. Since it’s been a while since their last performance in a live house, this has gotten us wondering what it’s going to be like. Hearts pounding with anticipation, a crowd gathered at the venue.
Wednesday, November 27. BUCK-TICK performed at Shibuya QUATTRO. How many years has it been since they last stood on the stage of a live house? Naturally, tickets were extremely difficult to get. Whether they were the lucky fans who cleared the tough obstacle of a lottery, or fans who unfortunately didn’t get a ticket, there is no doubt that people of all walks of life and with all sorts of emotions were gathered here.
Entering the venue was the familiar sight of a horizontal black curtain hanging over the stage, something that you’d often see back when they used to run the live circuit. The white “BUCK-TICK” text against a black background brings back a wave of nostalgia. Compared to large venues, this small set in a cosy space offers an intimate view no matter where you stand. Waiting for the show to begin, a man’s cheer of “Atsushiー!” came from somewhere in the audience, leading to the crowd’s ‘whoo’s and laughter and applause filling the venue. The fans’ desire to see the band as soon as possible was manifesting in a number of different ways.
Then, the lights went out. To the backdrop of Theme of B-T and the club illuminated in red light, the band appears. Last to come on stage was Sakurai holding a cigarette by the corner of his lips. The light at the end of that cigarette looked even redder than usual on the darkened stage. Then, a spotlight shines on Sakurai. He’s wearing brown sunglasses!
The opening song was Taiyou ni Korosareta.
Only in a live house will we get to see U-ta and Yagami positioned a little lower instead of being on their usual platforms. With Sakurai’s forceful gesture, the sunglasses flew. Imai and Yagami were dressed in red while Sakurai, Hide, and U-ta were dressed in black; outfits which created a simple and unusually unified image.
In the second song, TO-SEARCH, Imai went from the left side of the stage to the right, lining up with U-ta while Hide moved to the left. This feeling that they were all focused on the same thing was not something that could have been felt if this was a bigger stage, and it’s probably another one of those things you can only see in a live house setting.
“Now, then, playtime ends here!” Following Sakurai’s words, Aku no Hana begins. There was even a fleeting moment when Sakurai joined Imai under his spotlight and hugged. The mood of the audience shifted along with the songs; they sang along when the band continued into HURRY UP MODE, the club sang in symphony, but when they went on to perform MY FUNNY VALENTINE, the audience listened quietly. Then came the second MC.
“It’s been a while. It’s been a while since everyone’s this excited.”
In response, the audience replied with the words, “We aーre.”
“Well, then, please fall deeply and descend on behalf of the tens of thousands who didn’t get selected.”
Blue and yellow lights set the mood to the song that started, VICTIMS OF LOVE. During the interlude, Sakurai sucked on another cigarette as he drew close to Hide’s face, then, changing spots, he plastered himself to Imai. Sakurai displayed his emotional expressions with subtle hand gestures like running his fingers through his hair. With his blond hair, Imai looked like a foreigner too. Then came a rare number; MISTY ZONE. Fans jumped up and down to this lively, bouncy song, and clapped in time during ICONOCLASM. They were, in short, beyond fired up.
At the third MC, Sakurai appeared to respond to the calls of the grooving audience with,
“Seems like I don’t have to talk today.”
“Keep it coming.”
It was a comfortable, friendly vibe. As if we were having a casual conversation.
“And now, for the first time,” JUPITER began with an air of melancholy and the atmosphere in that space turned hushed as people quietly listened on. When the song ended, Sakurai gently clasped his hands to his chest and they proceeded into Sakura. Two heart-aching songs, back to back.
From LOVE ME, they continued on into Speed and the audience was once again fired back up. Then, as if seeing the audience through to the climax of it all, the members left the stage. The applause for an encore echoed endlessly……
“I aren’t even tired at all.” Those were the words that Yagami said into the center mic when he came back out for the encore. A searchlight was hoisted up, shining down at the audience who laughed at this unexpected MC. The song which started was HYPER LOVE. it was then followed by an extremely nostalgic song; PLASTIC SYNDROME. When the song was over, Sakurai closed with a deep bow.
In the second encore, they played IN HEAVEN, and the very last song which capped it all off was MOON LIGHT.
Somehow, it felt as if the members of BUCK-TICK and everyone in the audience slipped back in time together to the wonderful memories of “those days” that have been etched into their hearts. Those were a warm and pleasant few hours that allowed us to experience the impossible; to relive precious memories that we don’t ever want to forget. A dream within a dream…… And now, this one night’s dream has probably also turned into new memories that are now carved into the hearts and minds of everyone who was there.
Setlist
Shibuya CLUB QUATTRO 1991.11.27
—Theme of B-T—
- Taiyou ni Korosareta…
- TO-SEARCH
- HURRY-UP MODE
—MC—
- Aku no Hana
- M.A.D
- MY FUNNY VALENTINE
- Angelfish
—MC—
- VICTIMS OF LOVE
- MISTY-ZONE
- ICONOCLASM
- PHYSICAL NEUROSE
—MC—
- JUPITER
- Sakura
- LOVE ME
- Speed
—ENCORE—
E1. HYPER LOVE
E2. PLASTIC SYNDROME TEPE Ⅱ
E3. …IN HEAVEN
E4. MOON LIGHT
