Just at the end of the summer of 2018, PLASTICZOOMS announced that Tom Takanashi, guitarist and band member of the group for 6 years, will leave the band after a performance on November 2 of the same year, during a show that bears the title DIE KÜSSE 12 , and with that will also say goodbye to his music career. A shock for fans, since the band has been stable for a number of years with Sho Asakawa at the front, Tom Takanashi on guitar and Jun Yokoe on bass. In the more than ten years that PLASTICZOOMS is active, the band has built up a decent track record in Japan, with an emphasis on Tokyo.
On the November 2 issue, a Friday night, the intimate and atmospheric Chelsea Hotel in Shibuya slowly filled up while the sounds of 80s new wave set the mood. Fans are waiting with a lot of patience at the start of the show, the last live show with Tom Takanashi, who even took a bit longer to wait.
Instead of starting immediately with the blasting of bangers tracks, PLASTICZOOMS starts quietly with Time In The Cellar, Sleepwalker and Smoke Motion. Only later will bangers as Veiled Eyes start.
The band seemed to have made conscious choices by keeping the poppy and post-punk songs together and that made sure that the transition to other genres was clearly audible. Smashing songs like KMKZ and Crack might have been missed, but they have often been audible enough during other live shows of the band. The choices for the tracks in this setlist were highly appreciated by the audience. With many tracks, Tom Takanashi got the space to make his guitar sound good during the solos, so you clearly get the idea that the setlist is really tuned to the guitar artist. PLASTICZOOMS shows what they are good at. The crowded room confirms it by taking on the musical adventure that the band has in store for them. But especially during this evening, the band members go for the full 150% to make a good show of it.
Between the songs the band grabbed chances to talk about the fun times they had with Tom Takanashi. The band has even allowed to spend a year in Berlin and thus gained various experiences. Then they went touring Europe twice. These memories were collected during the last live show with Tom Takanashi. It created a moving scene, with a big cheerful note.
The Morning Sun is the track that ends the show. A beautiful ballad that is too much for Sho Asakawa at the moment. While Tom Takanashi is clearly present with his guitar playing, Sho falls silent and then returns to the song again. The emotion is clearly audible in the voice of Sho Asakawa. At the end of the song a lot of applause is heard from the audience. The band bows to the audience all together and leaves the stage to come back shortly afterwards for an encore.
M A S K E D was the encore with more than one hour at the counter. The fans made it clear to the band that they had not finished the live show yet. PLASTICZOOMS obeyed and gave another encore. Sho Asakawa said that this was not really planned and went to see what song could be played. It became a cover of Spandau Ballet. The strings of Tom Takanashi’s guitar are still quite cited, for the last time, but maybe not quite the last time as the musician performed one month later on stage with PLASTICZOOMS sharing the stage with THE NOVEMBERS and Lillies and Remains. gezien de muzikant uiteindelijk nogmaals het podium betrad een maand later tijdens een avond vol goede muziek met PLASTICZOOMS, THE NOVEMBERS and Lillies and Remains. We will certainly hear again Tom Takanashi, but for now: Thanks for the memories, good luck with the future ambitions and goodbye!
Setlist:
01. Time In The Cellar
02. Sleepwalker
03. Smoke Motion
04. Veiled Eyes
05. Quite Cleary
06. Liquid Crystal
07. U12
08. Breitenbach
09. Ice Pops
10. Illumination
11. Highway
12. Wire Tensioning Method
13. Minds
14. Frontal Attack
15. The Future
16. Night and Hurt
17. The Morning Sun
encore 1
M A S K E D
encore 2
To Cut A Long Story Short
