There’s nothing like going from mild 70 degree (21.1C for my non-‘Murican friends) weather into the humid oven that is a Japanese summer. I vote for ONE OK ROCK to stop holding their tours in this crazy heat, yuck! But if you ask if I’d do it again, I would never hesitate.
This DETOX tour is the band’s first stadium tour. Having peeked at the set list beforehand, it was a little disappointing to see that most of the songs were ones that have been played overseas and that there weren’t many songs that you could only see live in Japan. Still, we know the boys always put on a show that exceeds expectations.
I had pretty good seats for both days. On day 1, I was seated in the second row on the right side of the first floor, around the middle point of the stadium. On day 2, I was in the far back of the first floor but literally dead center. When we entered the venue, we received wrist lights just like we did for Ambitions Japan Dome Tour.
The concert started with a video introducing the whole Detox lore (read the CD booklet) and talking about the power of music. Tomoya entered and stayed standing with his arm in the air holding a drumstick. Cheers grew louder as Toru and Ryota came on stage with the loudest cheers for Taka as he appeared.
First up was “Puppets Can’t Control Us,” similar to the North American Tour. The crowd sang the line “you’ll never be happy again,” and pyro effects were used during the song. After the elongated “when it’s over” before the bridge, Taka did a scream which got a huge cheer from the audience. The song title was displayed at the end of the song with flames shooting up from the stage.
“Save Yourself” used the same visual effects as the Luxury Disease Tour. There was lots of clapping and the lyrics “save yourself” rang throughout the stadium each time we got to that part. There was a long intro buildup to “Make It Out Alive” and the song used the same dragon visuals we’ve seen in the past.
Taka told us they had been looking forward to this day and fired up the crowd. Next up was “Cry out” which had a blue light theme. It was the usual call and response from the audience but I have to say that after the concerts in the U.S., I really missed the “ittaikan” (sense of unity) at Japanese concerts where everyone knows all the cues and responds in unison.
“NASTY” used purple, blue, pink, and green lasers, and there was a red filter over the video monitors. The audience sang the “try to be good but we too damn nasty” line and sadly, there was no moaning.
Tomoya started off the MC with his usual shout of the venue name and asking how everyone was doing: “Nissan Stadiummmmm!!! Genki kaaaaa—??” He thanked the crowd for coming to the Japan Tour and said the view of 70 thousand people from the stage was really nice. He asked, “Aren’t you curious what it sounds like when you all sing at once?” On the second day, he mentioned that today (October 31) was exactly 19 years since he joined, and that he’ll celebrate all by himself next year. Ryota asked if everyone was having fun and commented on the crazy view of 70K people from the stage and how our energy reaches them. He said it was the band’s 20th anniversary and was thankful to everyone. On the second day, he talked about how he got cramps because he gave his all the previous day and was worried about today’s performance, but he now feels better than before. He also mentioned that they celebrated his birthday early with a cake. Toru asked how everyone was doing and said that they’ve finally arrived at Nissan Stadium after 20 years. He also mentioned the great view from the stage and asked each part of the stadium how they were feeling. He mused at how there was a time lag for when everyone’s voices reaches the stage and said, “Let’s make summer memories.” Cue the cheers for Taka. He said the stage is really wide so he’ll walk around so people can see, and that he probably looks tiny to the people in the back but there are video monitors (on the stage). He told us to be careful of heat stroke and to not push ourselves. As he walked around the stage, people in those sections cheered in response. On the second day, Taka talked about how happy he was to do this band with these band members. They don’t fight at all and have been able to get along for 20 years.
Next, Taka said they were going to play a nostalgic song. The music for “Living Dolls” began and got the crowd excited. It’s been 10 years since they last performed this so it’s a very nostalgic song indeed. Taka, as he promised, walked around the stage as he sang. There were white spotlights and white smoke visuals on the center monitor. The crowd sang together “oh oh oh ohhh” to close out the song.
The next song started with purple lighting and an unfamiliar guitar intro. Then there was the more familiar guitar strum of “Party’s Over” as the crowd got excited. Up until this point, they hadn’t used the wrist lights. As the lights began to flash, there was ooh-ing from the crowd. The visuals had a sort of haunted house theme with bones and skull motifs. Everyone sang the “karma’s at the door, get out of my house the party’s over” line. Been waiting to hear this song live so it was really exciting.
After a short pause, “Tiny Pieces” began to play. There was a yellow spotlight for Taka in the middle with red and white lighting. The crowd sang the “whoa oh oh whoa oh oh” part. Taka’s voice sounded so vulnerable during this song.
During the second MC, Taka asked if their songs reach those in the back and the second floor. He suggested everyone sit down and remarked that summer concerts are difficult. He wakes up and it feels like Southeast Asia. He was using his “hare otoko” (sunny man) powers. Taka mentioned that Tenblank’s vocalist (Satoh Takeru) was watching today and that there are parts where they overlap. (If you haven’t seen the Glass Heart drama, Takeru was channeling his inner Taka in the live performance scenes.) On the second day, Taka talked about how the last time he came to Nissan Stadium was for UVERworld’s concert and he was sitting “over there.”
Before the next song, “This Can’t Be Us,” Taka said that it was a song written for an important person that has lots of feelings in it. He explained that his grandma collapsed last April and is currently in a state where she can’t talk. His grandma gave him a lot of love when he was a child, and he wondered how to communicate with them. Since he’s a musician, he’s going to use music. On the first day, Gakushi was on keyboard but it was a different person on the second day. There were Japanese translations of the lyrics on the side of the screen and the visuals featured simple line drawings of a kid crying and being consoled by his grandma. The grandma and child walk through the changing seasons, and they continue walking as the child grows older while the grandma falls further back into the distance. Then the two walk towards the light and the grandma now has a cane, and it ends with a bright star shining. It was a very simple yet emotional visual.
Taka started feeling kind of lonely by himself and said that he’ll sing a song that hasn’t been sung in a long time. The audience clapped as the piano intro for “All Mine” began. The wrist lights lit up again and the monitor visuals had a galaxy with stars.
The next song also started with a piano intro and there were four fire torches on stage. It was the piano version of “Renegades”! The center monitor showed a light as if from Heaven and Taka’s powerful voice echoed throughout the stadium. He was practically screaming the chorus at times.
Up next was the instrumental. The instrumental for the overseas tours thus far was the same as the one for Premonition World Tour so it was a small relief that they were playing something new for this tour. It started off with what I would describe as melodic prayer chants, like those you would hear at a Buddhist temple, which was new and interesting. Overall the instrumental went hard.
After the cheers from the instrumental, a guitar riff began playing and DAIDAI from Paledusk appeared along the right side of the venue. This got the crowd murmuring about what was to come. More cheers as Chico Carlito appeared and walked around the perimeter rapping. Yup, we were getting both Paledusk and Chico Carlito for “C.U.R.I.O.S.I.T.Y.”! KAITO started a deep “whoa oh” call and response with the crowd. As the guitar riff ended, Taka introduced the song to many cheers from the audience. I still find it kind of weird how Japanese audiences can always find occasions to clap during a song. Pyro effects pumped up the crowd even more.
Everyone was surprised when the opening notes for “One by One” began playing. It was totally unexpected but soooooo fitting! Taka and KAITO screamed at the beginning of the song, and KAITO lent his screams to the “can’t see my way out” parts. Chico Carlito added a rap to the song which was cool. I honestly could not make out what he was saying at the time, but it seems he’s written it out in an Instagram post.
We waved to the guests goodbye as they went off stage and then began the familiar piano intro of “The Beginning.” We got the usual visuals on the screen and this was the one song from the concert that everyone sang in its entirety from beginning to end. They can take “Mighty Long Fall” off the set list but I think I will be very sad if they ever removed “The Beginning.” It wouldn’t feel like a ONE OK ROCK concert without this song.
After a pause, Taka let out an “acchiiiiii~” (it’s so hotttttt) which elicited a laugh from the audience. He thanked everyone for coming and said they were really feeling everyone’s energy. He said that he doesn’t get nervous because the band has a trust bond with the audience. These concerts are a place where people can throw out their frustrations. Taka talked about how DETOX is a political album and the next song is an important song to the band. It isn’t meant to be the right answer or anything but if it allows people to leave their frustrations behind then that’s good enough.
Cue “Delusion:All.” The visuals were the same as in the past. After was “Dystopia” and the wrist lights were in use once again. After the “find euphoria” part of the first chorus, fireworks shot out from the top of the stage. Taka had the crowd wave their arms for the last verse and we sang the last few “dystopia” lines.
On the second day, we were are startled at the end of “Dystopia.” Taka suddenly told us sorry and asked us to wait as he hurried off stage. We had no idea what was going on and several minutes later, Taka came back on stage but was in a wheelchair! We all figured maybe he just got cramps in his leg or something. He would announce later that night on an Instagram live stream that he had broken his pinky toe during “Dystopia.” For the rest of the concert on the second day, Taka performed sitting down. He said that it felt weird to be sitting while the crowd was standing.
“Tropical Therapy” featured the same intro video as past concerts with a monochrome theme. Taka had the crowd sing some parts. He sang the song seated in front of the drums on the second day.
During the MC, Taka talked about how it took a lot of energy to create this album and that there was a hidden theme. I didn’t catch/can’t remember everything he talked about, but he was thankful for joining the band and thanked the crowd for coming, saying that tomorrow we all return to the battlefield but don’t forget that ONE OK ROCK is always here.
Lighting for “The Pilot </3” was very simple with just a yellow spotlight, but all the lights turned back on around the second chorus. Taka held a long note for the “so I will fight for myself” line. Violins joined in when the music started up again and I have no idea when they got on stage. On the second day, Taka rolled around the base of the drums and sang the “I’m going home” and “this is my home” part of the outro on his back. He hobbled off the stage on one leg while the instrumental outro continued.
The encore started with an orchestra instrumental that then lead into the opening of “Stand Out Fit In.” Unlike other recent songs that have been performed in the past, SOFI got new visuals. There were colorful brush strokes instead of the lyrics appearing on screen. We also got the wrist lights again for this song.
Taka told the crowd that we might be sore tomorrow but asked if that’s OK. (Of course!) “+Matter” featured pastel lights and there was a drone camera flying around to feature of the members. Toru smiled and Tomoya had a straight face before breaking into a huge smile.
The wrist lights were in use for “We are” and the background was similar to the music video with the horizontal lights. Taka gave a short, encouraging speech before the bridge so we didn’t get a chance to sing this time. There were fireworks during the last chorus going into the finale and a big one at the end. As usual, Taka took video of the crowd at the end but the smoke from the fireworks made it very difficult. He joked that they won’t fire off any tomorrow and that he could only see about 3000 people. (The smoke cloud was all over the arena.) The crowd reacted when Taka took off his encore shirt to throw into the crowd. Ryota took a bunch of photos and Toru also threw his shirt into the audience. At the end, they took a photo with all the banners laid out on stage.
Taka sat on his platform while singing the encore on the second day and lied down on his back when he finished. When he sat up, there was a fan on stage blowing air that lifted the back of his shirt which was kind of funny. The band greeted the crowd from different parts of the stage. Taka hopped along, leaning on Tomoya, then on Ryota, and he took a short rest while going towards the other side of the stage. Toru and Ryota lent their shoulders so he could move a little faster. At the very end, the camera zoomed in on Taka and he put his hands together in apology, then apologized and hopped off the stage.
It’s really sad that Taka injured himself, and on a day they were recording for the home release at that, but I can confidently say that his injury did not affect his vocal cords one bit. Wow! Even though I’ve been a fan for several years now, the man still does not cease to amaze me. Seriously, how can he sing like that while sitting down? I really hope he is able to rest up and and heal in time for the European Tour in October.
On the first day, a guy near me was one of those people who like to yell out the band members’ names between songs and during MCs. He had a pretty high voice which wasn’t very pleasant on the ears, but it was funny that by the end of the concert, his voice was so hoarse that he could barely yell.
Another amazing concert in the books! It will be interesting to see if they will include all the other guest performances on the home release. I really hope they include a tour documentary video like they used to. The fact that so many people were ready and willing to help the band out on such short notice shows how well-liked they are by their peers and senpai. ONE OK ROCK truly is a one-of-a-kind band.
Setlist
- Puppets Can’t Control You
- Save Yourself
- Make It Out Alive
- Cry Out
- NASTY
- Living Dolls
- Party’s Over
- Tiny Pieces
- This Can’t Be Us
- All Mine
- Renegades
- Instrumental
- C.U.R.I.O.S.I.T.Y ft. Paledusk & Chico Carlito
- One by One ft. Paledusk & Chico Carlito
- The Beginning
- Delusion:All
- Dystopia
- Tropical Therapy
- The Pilot </3
Encore - Stand Out Fit In
- +Matter
- We Are
