Tempalay, Budokan performance “Planet X” live report arrives

On October 3rd (Thursday), Tempalay held a solo performance titled “Planet X” at Nippon Budokan. For Tempalay, who celebrated their 10th anniversary this year, this was their first live performance at Nippon Budokan. The band has created a number of wonderful songs over the past 10 years, the synergistic effects of video and lighting create a complete work of art, and the concept has been carefully thought out like a sci-fi movie. Combined with the story-telling that was overcome with all their might, it is no exaggeration to say that it is the best live performance of 2024, resulting in a blissful two and a half hours.

When you arrive at the Budokan, you will be handed out a “Planet X Tour Guide” at the entrance gate, which looks like you would find at a local tourist attraction, and the concept of this day’s concert will be “heading for Planet X on a private space exploration vessel, the Budokan.” It turns out that When you board the “Martial Arts Ship,” the screen shows the view of the launch pad as seen from the window, and the announcement is not “Please wait for a while until the performance begins,” but “Please wait for a while until departure.” The detailed settings are fun.

When the spacecraft is launched with the words “Have a nice trip,” a video of the spaceship traveling through space is shown for a while, and then a strange cabin attendant says, “Thank you very much for taking part in the Planet X exploration sightseeing space tour today. “We’re here,” an in-flight announcement says, and at this point the hall goes dark. The members appeared with a cutting-edge visual that seemed to go back and forth between the future and the past, created by their friend PERIMETRON, who was in charge of the video for the day.The live performance started with the song, “Immerse yourself in it, tremble.”Then Ayato Ohara wasted no time in singing the first song. A shout signaled the start of a grand show.

The first two songs from “Enjoy it, Shiver.” to “Artificial Ingen” were dimly lit to create an immersive feeling, but from there the song took a turn and became more colorful with “Zoku: Austin Town.” On this day’s stage, Natsuki Fujimoto, Obara, and AAAMYYY were lined up from top to bottom, and in the back were support from Shun Enomoto (ODD Foot Works) on bass, Izumi Matsui on percussion, and OCHAN (NIKO NIKO TAN TAN) on synth/guitar. The band consists of six members, and Matsui’s percussion greatly contributes to the light melody of “Zoku Austin Town.” From the greeting “Welcome to Planet Fujimoto passionately hit the rock drums, Enomoto and Matsui soloed in between, and Obara strummed his shouts and strummed guitar solos.It was a masterpiece, and created the highlight of the opening half.

In the first MC, AAAMYYY touched on the fact that it was announced on October 1st, two days before the concert, that she was pregnant with her second child, and that she really didn’t know if she would be able to perform today, but AAAMYYY herself said that she really wanted to do it. After talking about how this day was made possible in response to his wishes, Ohara received a big round of applause when he said, “Today is a success as long as AAAMYYY is released.” Then, it was announced that AAAMYYY would be participating in the break stage, and ermhoi and Sara Wakui were called in as support, and “Booorn!!” featuring AAAMYYY’s vocals was performed.

At this point, AAAMYYY left the stage, and the live performance proceeded with ermhoi playing the chorus and sampler, and Wakui playing the keyboard. The episode “RM’s favorite of BTS” is already nostalgic, from “What shall I do?” to “Festival” where lasers illuminate the ceiling of the Budokan creating a fantastic space, and “Kangaroo” with the roaring noise at the end. At the “Great Tokyo Expo,” a chorus of “Rassera, lassera!” ensues. Like “Great Tokyo Expo,” “The Greatest Dream of the Century,” in which the erhu creates an oriental mood, is a song that is very typical of Tempalay.

After an interlude in which a slowly moving searchlight inside the Budokan brought to mind the concept of “planetary exploration,” “Shingo” was played following “Undressing Mahjong,” and real-time generation AI was used to create the song’s motif. A video that combines illustrations reminiscent of Kazuo Umezu, the author of “Watashi wa Shingo,” and the members’ facial expressions, will be projected. Furthermore, it continues with “EDEN” and “GHOST WORLD”, and the songs in the middle are very impressive with a variety of grooves. Over the course of our 10-year history, we have gradually increased the number of support members, and the current 6 members (7 members when AAAMYYY was absent on this day) have found the optimal solution for outputting the diverse musicality contained in the band live. It seemed like he had found it, and it felt like he was in complete control of the vast space of the Budokan.

At this point, AAAMYYY returned to the stage replacing ermhoi and Wakui, introduced the members (and their families), and were told that they were free to take photos from here on. A smartphone is held up. Then, as if predicting what would happen, fragmentary images that appeared to have been taken with countless smartphones were projected on the screen, making this media art-like experiment truly enjoyable. From “From the Deep Sea,” where the blue lighting literally created an atmosphere like the deep sea, the band geared up again with “Kakumei Eve,” and then Fujimoto’s drum solo followed by “SONIC WAVE,” with Ohara’s guitar roaring, and a huge chorus erupted from the floor. “You want a new sound, don’t you?” was sung by “New Generation,” and now it’s the sound of a band that represents that generation, which is very moving.

During the final MC, Obara expressed his gratitude to PERIMETRON and said, “I think it’s been 10 years since I’ve reached the point where I can say love or hate, and the words love and hate are the most fitting.I plan to continue doing it until I stop. So, I look forward to your continued support of Tempalay.” He continued, “I really enjoyed it up until today. It felt like I was on a training camp, and I remembered a lot of things…I’m glad I didn’t quit.” These words were met with loud applause and cheers. After that, at the end of “Ai Hashii”, Obara screams “Thank you!”, and then they create another enthusiastic climax with “NEHAN” and “Drive My Idea”, which is one of the most beautiful of Tempalay’s songs. The main story ended with the outstanding “Sonachine”.

The main performance alone had already filled up more than two hours of intense time, but an even more special moment awaited in the encore. Along with the members, ermhoi, Wakui, and a 10-person gospel chorus appeared, and they performed “Zoku New York City” with deep singing voices. Saxophonist Ryo Konishi also joined the song, and this was the first time I felt a trembling sense of euphoria at a Tempalay live performance. After 10 years, such a beautiful day is waiting for me. The last song everyone performed was “Last Dance.” As the staff roll played, the band’s roaring performance gave a sense of omnipotence, as if it were the last day on earth, and it was a moving ending to a memorable night.

Photo by Yosuke Torii
Text by Atsutake Kaneko

■setlist playlist

[Event information]

Tempalay “Planet X”
Date and time: Thursday, October 3, 2024 OPEN 17:00 / START 18:00
Venue: Tokyo, Nippon Budokan

■“Planet X” special site

■Tempalay official site