I went to Shugo Tokumaru's one-man live concert. It was a commemorative performance for the 10th anniversary of the release of Night Piece in NY, titled "Complete Reproduction of Night Piece + α."

The venue was the World Theater in Osaka. I was originally planning to arrive about 5 minutes late, but the train was delayed even further, and I ended up rushing in about 15 minutes after the show started. Fortunately, I was able to get in around the time the first song ended, so that was good.

Many of the songs from Night Piece don't seem like they could be reproduced live, so I was curious about how it would turn out, but I was surprised by the level of reproduction, which exceeded my expectations.

The number of instruments used was incredible; there were six band members, and each one was responsible for five to ten instruments. There were various instruments like melodica, toy piano, glockenspiel, trumpet, recorder, flute, banjo, kazoo, and more. The banjo and kazoo were a big adventure. During Sleet, everyone, including the drummer, was holding string instruments. Even with just the electric bass, there were various sounds produced by plucking and bowing. There were also instruments like the taishōgoto and Andes, and it seemed like there were many other unfamiliar instruments as well. Not only were there traditional instruments, but toys and everyday items were also making sounds, which was a revelation about what those sounds actually were. They were tearing paper, crumpling things, and making things bounce.

There was an interesting tweet about this.

Despite using so many instruments and potentially creating a chaotic sound, it was not like that at all; each part was heard in a very good balance. I wonder if it was the skill of the sound engineer. In any case, it was incredibly pleasant. Sometimes at rock concerts, the sound can get messy, which is terrible for both the performers and the audience, but this time it was ideal.

In the second half, I got to hear various songs other than Night Piece. This felt more like live arrangements rather than reproducing the recorded versions. I was really happy to hear so many of my favorite songs. La La Radio was so good that it brought me to tears. They also played songs from Fragment, which was before Night Piece. There was even a cover of Video Killed The Radio Star. They ended with a chant of "ramhee ramhee."

After the show, I got a Horoyoi drink with a drink ticket I had forgotten to exchange, and I chatted a bit with a girl who seemed to be into subculture, sitting next to me, before heading home. I was amazed when I asked about her really cool bicycle and she said it cost around 200,000 yen.

I think I also went to a Super Exchange Meeting that day, but the live performance was so good that I forgot about it.