People would pass by the line we were in wrapping around a full city block on 34th street and 8th in NYC, when the high was a frigid 19 degrees Fahrenheit, and they would ask us “who are you seeing tonight?”. When we’d answer The Last Rockstars they were understandably perplexed. By the unfamiliarity of the name no doubt but I’m sure by the grandeur of the name as well. Yet this name feels earned, and the unfamiliarly unsurprising but sadly disappointing, as we were there to see living legends in the Japanese rock scene who have fought for so many years for even basic rock star status in America.
Like I feel I shouldn’t even have to introduce these stars, yet I know I must. So comprising The Last Rockstars, a veritable supergroup, we have Miyavi, an incredible rock guitarist whose played for 20 years as a solo artist, Sugizo, who played in the legendary Japanese rock band LUNA SEA as a guitarist and violinist since the late 80s, Hyde, frontman of The Lastrock stars along with the legendary L’arc en Ciel, a favorite domestically thanks to both Hyde’s own presence and their many theme songs for anime, and last but certainly not least Yoshiki, a composer, pianist, drummer, and member of Japan’s most legendary group of all X-Japan. Yoshiki, Miyavi, and Hyde in particular have all made various attempts at breaking into the American market, and Yoshiki’s perhaps had the most success, with a reunion of X-Japan taking place in LA, his own performances in Carnegie Hall, and music for the Grammy’s, and most recently a documentary of his life and X-Japan’s career released on Disney +.
Honestly each of their statuses and their talent alone should warrant them all their own shows at Madison Square Garden, as they could easily hold multi-day sold out shows (and for some have) at Budakan – to be fair . Even more so when bringing this talent together in a supergroup it’s practically a shame they did not play in a larger venue; however, this is hopefully just a beginning and the Hammerstein Ballroom was a beautiful spot for such.
Back in line even after arriving early we had many issues getting in from the cold, that regretfully prevented me from seeing the opening band BAND MAID. However I fortunately made it in time for the show to kick-off and it did with a bang!
Prior to this show The Last Rockstars released one single, eponymously titled, an interesting melding of chanting arena rock with a symphonic hook that melded the strengths of all the artists. They came out to this song which despite its recency many fans already knew all of the words of and shouted back along with the band. I mentioned the name earlier, and though it’s certainly grand, as Yoshiki himself admitted in a talk break, it felt earnest and in a world that (not nessecarily for bad mind you) feels so dominated by pop, you could feel that this was an earnest plea to rock on!
In their first of many outfit, they all looked the part of rock stars through and through, heavy eyeliner and leathered up, and as a supergroup that was once called S.K.I.N. it felt appropriate how much of it they showed off. Miyavi and Hyde, ever the consummate front men, knew how to play to the audience in this regard. Sugizo saved more of his cheekiness till later in the show, and Yoshiki, a humble front man as any almost seemingly unaware of his rock star status – in this crowd certainly – was at first confused by the excited reactions when the camera projected him up on the screen.
Yoshiki launched us into the first 3 new songs the band composed for the show. We later learned they wrote most of the music in less than a month to go before their first show, which considering how excellent it all was is a testament to their skills as songwriters and composers. Yoshiki then took a turn to thank the audience for supporting each of the members respective bands over the years, and said something to the effect of “as we all come together, fans of X, Hyde, Miyavi, Luna Sea” we demonstrate we can all come together and be united together. A bold statement but one that felt for a glorious evening like one that would come true through this concert alone.
Each band member then had a chance to highlight their own skills, starting with a guitar duel between Miyavi and Sugizo, where truly the winner was we the audience. Sugizo would later also show his excellent skills on the violin. Yoshiki also demonstrated his own skills, playing Swan Lake on the piano with a stunning camera shot from above capturing him on the big screens, and then seguing into classic X-Japan song Kurenai. He performed an incredible drum solo that was uniquely set to an operatic backdrop playing behind him. Hyde would largely take a break for these sets, but he was able to also further highlight his own vocal chops – equivalent to Iron Maiden’s Bruce Dickinson my friend suggested – when playing alongside Sugizo for a duet.
In addition to new songs crafted for The Last Rockstars tour, they also performed tracks from X-Japan and L’arc en Ciel. Both had fans singing along and I think it’s fair to say L’arc en Ciel’s Honey had the biggest crowd reaction of the night. The audience comprised fans of all types, but I think this song especially hit the overlap of the Japanese fans, along with the American anime fans as well, both of whom were in abundance at the show. Miyavi’s song Bang too was a particular standout. If there were a single to breakout in America I’d have thought it’d be this one. Miyavi’s likely played in America more than any of the other artists, and he now lives in the United States, and as his command of English has grown so has the use of it in his songs. The language barrier has regretfully always held these artists back I think from the global ascendancy they deserve, but hopefully in a year with BTS and Bad Bunny as hit makers this won’t matter as much.
The band then paused the show for another talk break where thanked the audience further, they talked about how this group unlike their previous effort S.K.I.N., which came together for one show and produced only one single, would come back for sure! Yoshiki hinted at the complexities of forming a group and past struggles, to which Miyavi said they’d all matured since then (perhaps suggest some interpersonal struggles.) We will see what happens but I know the audience was quite hopeful!
The band came back for an encore of three more songs to close out the night. We were brought in to assist with some singing one of of Yoshiki’s tracks, and the crowd joined along with great enthusiasm. Lastly the band members this time played The Last Rockstar track in full, before bidding a fond and touching farewell to their fans. This send-off lasted several minutes and included many moments where each band member went up to the audience, many taking gifts flowers from their fans. You could see that even these veteran rock stars were overwhelmed by the moment.
And why shouldn’t they be? After years of hard work on the road in their home country, and Japan, they showed they still had a power and a resonance to bring incredible music to the masses. Even for such venerable rock stars truly this was a moment to pause and reflect on. And though they may not have achieved the great standing they deserve (as of yet), to accomplish what they did each night of this tour, for their fans and for themselves, is worthy enough of accolade.
The Last Rockstars will be streaming their final show live from the Hollywood Paladium on Feb. 10th at 8pm PST/11pm EST. Streaming is available for $19.99.
The Last Rockstars – Hammerstein Ballroom – February 4, 2023
