SuG's Revival Concert at Yoyogi National Stadium Second Gymnasium

SuG held a performance on December 29, 2013 entitled "SuG onemanshow 2013 'update ver.0.'" We would like to bring you a report of the details of that show.

Here, SuG made a total comeback. Is this really a revival? Will all the members be there? Are they still popular? Once they come back, will they continue activities? It was an exhilarating performance that dispelled each and every doubt fans had.

On December 29, 2012 at Yoyogi National Stadium Second Gymnasium, SuG held their final performance prior to their hiatus, entitled "SuG Oneman Show 2012 'This is O'." At the same time, they parted ways with their management at the time. SuG returned to the same venue exactly one year later for their comeback performance.

"I want to say the words I promised I'd say one year ago. Our comeback was an easy success!!"

(Takeru)

The tickets for SuG's revival performance sold out in only one minute. And not just Japanese fans were waiting for this revival. The concert was also broadcast live in various Asian countries such as Taiwan, Hong Kong, Thailand, and Singapore. 

Even though they spent a year without activities, rather than lose popularity, SuG's power has only increased. Due to equipment trouble prior to the start of the show, the performance began half an hour late. The silhouettes of the five members were visible through a white curtain as they began with the ballad "0 song," which features piano. As Takeru began to sing the unreleased track, the final song they performed at the concert one year ago, fans in the audience broke into tears in much the same way they had one year prior. Although fans had to suffer not knowing whether or not the band would really make a comeback, they didn't forget SuG…the tears were mixed with various emotions as they trailed down everyone's cheeks. But these tears were different from the tears they had cried one year ago. This time, the lyric "I will continue to sing" was not wishful thinking but instead an unwavering decision. So these tears can be thought of as warm tears that were half happiness. But then, sound suddenly erupted from the stage with such strength that it banished all those tears. The white curtain dropped and they performed their major debut single "gr8 story," and finally the five members were revealed to the audience's gaze. During the next song, "Life 2 Die," closeups of the members' faces were screened to the back of the venue, and once more the area was filled with loud cheers. Then, everyone waited for vocalist Takeru to speak for the first time. 

"Good evening, we're SuG. (raises both hands in the air). We're back! (the audience called, 'Welcome back~')."

The distance that had opened between the band and the fans during their year of absence narrowed instantaneously in that moment. Takeru continued to speak. "Everyone was expecting a good performance today, right? We're going to use all our power to betray that expectation! (Audience: 'Huh~?') We're going to give an even more amazing performance than you expected, so follow us!" After that declaration, they performed the song "39GalaxyZ," during which the fans spin their towels at a high speed, following it with the SuG-style Japanesque song "-bushido-FREAKY," in which fans can hear bassist Chiyu rap. SuG greatly enhanced the feeling of unity within the venue with dancers, headbanging, jumping, and sing-alongs. Their free musical sense, which cannot be defined as pop or hip-hop or punk or visual-kei, is something that is unique to SuG.

Following an instrumental session from guitarist masato and drummer shinpei, Takeru danced with the background dancers as though to encourage the audience to dance some more during the song "mad$ship," and in response, shinpei played his bass drum at high speed with a smile on his face. SuG continued with "R.P.G.~Rockin’Playing Game" followed by "Koakuma Sparkling," during which the audience calls out "Oi!" and claps along with the beat. The audience tried to surpass the members by doing the enjoyable and cute movements along with the song, becoming one with the music as together they created a wonderful atmosphere fully loaded with smiles. Not just the band but also the fans created an original scene that can be seen nowhere else. "Tokyo is great!" Takeru abruptly declared.

SuG performed the quiet songs "Mujouken Koufukuron (album version)" and "Kuchiyakusoku," during which everyone could keenly feel the fact that here has been a huge transition between the SuG of one year ago and the SuG of today. With his extensive vocal range that extends from breathily voices to emotional, high-toned vocals, Takeru has become even more able to convey painful feelings and dynamic expressions. Not a single person in the crowd even thought of moving as as everyone listened carefully, trying to capture every word Takeru was singing.

They broke up the performance with a session by Chiyu and guitarist yuji, following it up with "Lollipop Kingdom," "Pastel Horror Yum Yum Show," and "Howling Magic," during which Takeru plays the guitar. SuG led everyone completely into their dark fantasy world, also using LED lights in order to create a theatrical feeling. The way that SuG combined their music and visuals in order to create a feeling that is like looking at a horror picture book is one of the band's methods of musical expression. It is quite unusual for a band to be able give such a wide range of images. Then Takeru spoke again, saying, "We're going to give the last three songs everything we've got. It's a year's worth, a year's worth!" With this signal from Takeru, SuG performed three of their popular live tracks. First was "Toy Soldier." With images from American comics behind them, the clapping from the audience, and the motto "Yes, sir!" the members posed with their instruments as though they were shooting rifles. This kind of enjoyment is something that can only be experienced at a SuG performance. During the song, with a smile peeking through, Takeru called out things like "We made you feel lonely, but with this scenery we're going to erase all that!" and "I wanted to sing this song with you guys!" With the introduction of, "The next song is one that everyone loves," SuG performed "☆Gimme×Gimme☆." With a signal from Takeru, the sound of the audience's singing voices reverberated through the venue. Saying, "Can we do the last song? Everyone scream!" they performed "Fukanzen Beautyfool Days." The clapping from the audience added to the sounds of the band, and the members vehemently accepted the challenge. During the chorus, everyone in the audience gave a huge jump and the main set ended.

The venue was immediately filled with the sound of voices calling for an encore. Five banners appeared in the audience, made by fans. They were SuG flags with hand-drawn portraits of each of the members' faces and messages like, "Thank you" and "Welcome back," written on them, a surprise present from the fans to the band. A short time later, the members returned to the stage. They first performed their last single track prior to their hiatus, entitled "sweeToxic," followed by the groovy, modern dance tune "Vi-Vi-Vi." After that, Takeru said, "At last, comments from the members," and the members talked about their current feelings.

"We began the performance and hit the sync button, and we could hear everyone's cheers really well. That made me really happy. (while crying) I'm happy to have been able to create this kind of performance with everyone." (shinpei)

"There are banners and people dressed as Santa even though it's after Christmas. I stood onstage with the resolution that I'd look at everyone's faces. When I saw everyone's faces, at last the fogginess disappeared from my brain. I want to move forward with everyone." (Chiyu)

yuji did an impression of Ukyou-san from the drama "Aibou" and of the movements of the character Funassyi, saying he had watched "Aibou" during the entire hiatus.

"When I stood here a year ago, I said that this place is small. The reason that it's small is because so many people have filled it up. I want to make it so that no matter where we go in the future, I can say, 'It's small.'" (masato)

"I thought about various things, but all I can say is 'It's fun.' It's been so fun that for the first time in a long time, my facial muscles are cramped," said Takeru. He continued, "The next song is means, 'what is there doesn't exist.' It's filled with all our feelings from the last year. Please feel it. Please listen. Please go crazy." SuG then performed the song "MISSING," the title track of the single that they will release on February 19, their first single following their revival. This was their first live performance of the hard number that features aggressive guitar and a heavy rhythm. And during the encore a year prior, Takeru had promised the audience, "We'll do our best to be able to say, 'it was an easy victory,'" and so he told the audience that they had fulfilled their promise. But his true feelings were slightly different.

"I realized that being able to say, 'It's fun,' is actually really hard. If you aren't living your life earnestly, you can't say, 'It's fun.' During our hiatus, nothing was enjoyable. I stopped being able to listen to music. I couldn't listen to SuG. I stopped being able to be happy for other people's successes, and I hated myself then and worried and worried. Because of that, I finally listened to SuG's songs. The reason I was able to say, 'it was an easy victory' is because, even though you didn't know what would happen to us, all of you waited. I want to say thank you to all of you, and to the people who created SuG. And to our manager, who didn't know what would happen to us but threw everything away and came along with us. And I want to say thank you for our new friends who will lend us their strength in the future."

Tears were streaming down Takeru's cheeks as fans wiped away their tears with their towels. Everyone was experiencing the same emotions. "Next is a special song that I think we might have made for today," said Takeru before they performed "dot.0." The song was so in tune with the members' current feelings that Takeru's voice got choked up many times. masato softly laid his hand on Takeru's back as Takeru tried to sing the song despite his overwhelming emotions.

"In 2014, we'll become stronger and cooler," said Takeru before SuG was joined by horn players for the song "LOVE SCREAM PARTY." During "Tokidoki Suteki na Kono Sekai," heart-shaped confetti floated into the crowd like paper airplanes and the performance came to an end.

Following the performance, a short version of the music video for the new single "MISSING" appeared on the screens. SuG also announced that they would begin a nationwide tour starting at Shibuya WWW on March 9, begin an Asia tour starting April 1, and hold a performance at Hibiya Open-Air Concert Hall on May 6.