Monday 2 February 2015

The Weekly Quickie: Sukekiyo, Perfume, ViViD, Crossfaith, X-Japan, Yeti, ONE OK ROCK


Super group Sukekiyo will be holding a one-man performance in Shanghai, China.  The show is part of their national tour, The Unified Field, commemorating the release of their first mini-album, Vitium, and will take place on March 15.



Lord help me, it's almost South by Southwest time again and the artist lineup is already getting intense.  Our friends over at Japan Night are bringing over a stellar group of Japanese artists and, in addition to that, Perfume has just announced they will be making an appearance at the festival as well.  The exact date and venue have yet to be determined, but keep an eye on that event calendar and we'll make sure to let you know what's up.


Unfortunately, I've got a handfull of pretty major sucks for you this week.  We'll start off light with the disbandment of VK vets, ViViD.  You guys may remember I had the opportunity to hang with them at Nerd Fest Orlando last year and it really bums me out to see them go.  They made the announcement during the Nico Nico broadcast celebrating the release of their latest single, Thank you for all / From the Beginning.  The band will be ending all activities after their live at Pacifico Yokohama Kokuritsu Hall on April 29.


You may remember a while back, we reported on Crossfaith guitarist, Kazuki, having trouble with his hand, resulting in the cancelation of a few appearances.  Turns out, things have only gotten worse.  Just announced, Kazuki has been diagnosed with basal ganglia damage caused by brain bleeding.  Needless to say, he will be on indefinite hiatus while he pursues treatment.


It seems even vampires aren't immune to injury as X-Japan drummer, Yoshiki, is currently battling issues with his right hand.  It turns out a tendon is partially torn and he is in need of surgery in order to repair it.  If the tendon tears completely, he will lose the use of his hand, but pursuing surgery now may jeopardize X-Japan's upcoming world tour.  It seems he is determined to continue, using injections to deal with the pain.  What do you guys think?  Is he making a wise decision?


Oshare-kei group, Yeti, will soon be saying goodbye to one of their guitarists.  Aramaki Yukihisa will be departing the group following their live on February 23 at Shimokitazawa MOSAIC.  The rest of the band will continue on with a support guitarist.


I like to end the Quickie on a positive note, so here's a cool bit of news that just came to my attention this morning.  ONE OK ROCK will be joining Yellowcard and Finch on a short US tour in April.  It starts April 6 in Lawrence, KS and runs through April 17 in Pittsburgh.   Check the OHP for details and ticketing information.

And that's the Quickie.  Mata raishyu~