After selling over thirty million records worldwide and selling out the Tokyo Dome a record-breaking eighteen times, Japan's answer to Guns N' Roses, X Japan, have finally decided to tour America, and will be hitting seven cities in North America starting September 25th.
"We feel like a new band now, like we are going back to the beginning," said X Japan's leader/drummer/pianist/composer Yoshiki recently about the upcoming U.S. concerts, "and it's very, very exciting. We are looking forward to playing smaller venues here in the U.S., something we haven't been able to do in Japan since the very early days."
Although the band will be unable to bring truckloads of production with them, don't expect to not be entertained. As Yoshiki told one reporter, "You don't see good rock shows anymore. Rock doesn't have enough drama now, rap, R&B, and dance music have taken care of that. We want to be a part of bringing the drama back to rock."
X Japan played their first show on U.S. soil on the main stage of Lollapalooza in Chicago earlier this Summer, and the reviews were nothing short of stellar. The Chicago Sun-Times called the band's set "a spectacular, almost operatic performance of big ballads and speed metal" and new song "Jade," "a rumbling guitar attack that would make Metallica take notice." Time Out Chicago's review thanked Lollapalooza's co-founder Perry Farrell for booking "the coup of the festival," and pointed out Toshi's "Steve-Perry-eat-your-heart-out-vocals," while USA Today wrote, "The metal-pop-punk was fast and furious," and described Yoshiki's drumming as "Keith-Moon-on-Red-Bull."
"While we are confident about coming to America," Yoshiki added, "I don't know if we are going to end up being successful or not. But what I do know is that music breaks down barriers, and it doesn't matter what country the music comes from. Good music is universal."
Artist:
www.xjapanmusic.com/
www.myspace.com/xjapanofficial
Tour:
September 25 – Wiltern Theatre, Los Angeles, CA
September 28 – Fox Theatre, Oakland, CA
October 1 – Paramount Theatre, Seattle, WA
October 3 – Queen Elizabeth Theatre, Vancouver, BC October 6 – Riviera, Chicago, IL
October 7 – Massey Hall, Toronto, ON
October 10 – Roseland Ballroom, New York, NY
Tickets can be purchased through www.ticketmaster.com
