Despite being billed as a solo tour, X Japan's Yoshiki Hayashi's "Yoshiki Classical" tour is undoubtedly deeply rooted in the lore of one of the biggest rock acts of the country.
The concert at Tokyo International Forum on Dec. 6 was packed with tear-jearkers, highlighting a career — and life — filled with both triumph and tragedy. Yoshiki, performing on piano and backed by an orchestra conducted by Yuga Cohler, played arrangements of his band's hits — including "Forever Love," "Art of Life" and "Kurenai" — along with compositions from his solo repertoire.
The concert began with a performance of "I'll Be Your Love" by the orchestra, a piece written by Yoshiki for the 2005 World Exposition in Aichi. Afterward, a scene from the X Japan documentary "We Are X" played on the screens above the stage. In the clip, Yoshiki recounted the day he came home from brass band practice as a child, only to find his father dead from a suicide. The musician then appeared on stage and launched into a rendition of "The Last Song," which closed X Japan's farewell concert in 1997.