X Japan Enthralls the Roseland Ballroom

The biggest Japanese rock band the average American has never heard of came to New York City last night for their first ever US performances, blowing away a sold-out of crowd of die hard fans with their melodic but fierce brand of hard rock music.

During the 1990s, while glam metal was being replaced by grunge only to fall to alternative rock here in the US, X Japan was creating its own wildly popular brand of music and culture in their home country, selling out arenas to hundreds of thousands of fans over their initial decade-long career. Often drawing parallels to Guns n’ Roses due to their massive appeal, as well as notable power ballads, X Japan was one of that country’s defining rock bands until their dissolution in 1997. Solo records and the death of a member seemed to suggest that the band was permanently laid to rest, but in the past few years the band has reconfigured itself, and finally arrived in New York last night for their first ever tour in the United States.

Last night, the Roseland Ballroom was packed to its capacity of 3,500 people, with security reporting that fans had began lining up literally days in advance. Many of the fans, the vast majority of whom appeared to be of Asian descent, were dressed in wigs, masks, and other outrageous costumes, or holding dolls which represented the band, showing a level of devotion even few American rock bands can muster. The hot floor of the Ballroom was crammed as fans pushed as far up to the stage as they could, some fans even carrying large stuffed animals and other gifts.

Even before the show started, screams of “X!” were answered by “Japan!” from the ramped up crowd, many of whom crossed their forearms in an X shape. The band came out to thunderous applause, and began rocking out with their signature melody-driven rock songs. Frontman Toshi whipped the crowd up as he wailed, roared, and sang, and androgynous-looking guitarist Sugizo spun around and played with all the flash and aplomb of American rock stars. But drummer Yoshiki, the primary songwriter of the band, appeared to garner the most attention, switching between his drum kit and a see-through grand piano as girls in the crowd and mezzanine screamed his name.

X Japan as a whole put on an arena-quality show, with a giant video backdrop paling in comparison to the dazzling lasers which appeared early on the night’s second song. The band played unfazed by the colored beams of light and strobes zig-zagging in every direction, lighting up the small venue like a science fiction laboratory gone mad. Sugizo also put down his guitar for a violin solo, playing haunting melodies which included a brief snippet of the Star Spangled Banner, leading into the multi-talented Yoshiki’s own piano solo, and later a drum solo as well.

The crowd sang along on virtually every song, excitement evident on the faces of the fans who packed both the floor and sidestage passageway for the closest possibly glimpse of the band. At their peak, X Japan often played to over 50,000 people at a time, making last night’s show at the small Roseland an intimate experience for longtime fans, many of whom were so young they couldn’t possibly have had an opportunity to see the band elsewhere. The band sang in both English and Japan, but hit their peak on the particularly hard-hitting, American-style Born To Be Free, which had the entire venue shaking from the crushing bass and drum-blasts.

While the band filled their setlist with powerful songs, they also took their time to banter and thank the crowd, as well as pausing to mark Toshi’s 45th birthday with a giant cake on stage, and the band and audience sang happy birthday to him as one. Fans in the front rows even threw gifts on stage, ranging from bouquets to giant stuffed bears, which the band graciously accepted.

As the night went on, giant blasts of smoke were added to the band’s repertoire of special effects, creating a surreal atmosphere that matched the almost ethereal nature of the band’s music. While the packed, hotter-than-hell front of the crowd was comprised mostly of young fans who had arrived early enough to claim a prime spot, audience members of all ages and ethnicity milled about the back sections of the floor and bar, even entire families standing together and clearly enjoying the music.

Both Toshi and Yoshiki graciously thanked the crowd before leaving the stage for an unusually long wait, letting fans chant and scream for them and the band before finally reappearing for an encore. The crowd seem reenergized by November Rain-like Endless Rain, which had the entire audience singing along to the uplifting chorus. Despite encores traditionally being reserved for a few final songs, the band jammed for a solid 20 minutes, as Yoshiki brilliantly worked his way through a beautiful piano piece before returning to the drum kit for the night’s final tune.

Even once it was all over, the band stayed on stage, taking pictures of their fans and each other, clearly enjoying the experience. Girls in the audience literally had tears running down their faces, and even Yoshiki’s voice cracked as he spoke of his and Toshi’s boyhood dreams of being rock stars and playing in America.

From start to finish, X Japan put on a performance that clearly proved why their band has become a global phenomenon and created such die hard fans. Their songs hit the ‘radio sweet spot’ of being both hard-rocking yet catchy and melodic, and their stage presence and effects-heavy show was everything one could want at a rock concert. While the band has already played a number of North American dates on this tour, in addition to a summer slot on Lollapalooza, their debut New York show will surely go down as one of their finest performances yet. You can check out fan video below for an idea of the night’s dazzling light show and roaring sound, and my slideshow for high quality pictures of the band performing.

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