Someone posted videos of Yoshiki's first performance at Sundance. It took place yesterday, the 22nd, at the Sundance Festival Base Camp.
I transcribed 2 of his MCs for anyone who might strain to catch his words because the video qualities are somewhat poor and I think what he said is important. Pretty literal transcription, so you can read and listen at the same time if you want.
Part 1: (introductory video, American National Anthem ((starts @ 7:40)), MC, Forever Love, and Tchaikovsky Swan Lake):
https://www.facebook.com/nui.pannamon/videos/vb.571585876/10153247625150877/?type=2&theaterPart 2: (MC, Without You)
https://www.facebook.com/nui.pannamon/videos/vb.571585876/10153247798210877/?type=2&theaterThis song... I wrote this song right after I lost our band member, hide. Um... (sighs), I lost my father when I was 10 years old. And, um, then... since then, death was always around me. But, um, I was doing classical music-- also I met rock-- so music helped me survive through all those painful years.
Then our band... when we started the band... all those amazing friends... then we rocked the world, we rocked Japan. We thought, 'everything's going well,' we thought everything would last forever. Then... we kind of took it for granted, what we had. Then, suddenly, um, the vocalist, uh... actually the vocalist and I grew up together. We met when I was 4-- when we were 4 years old. Anyway, we went separate ways and right after, our guitar player, hide, died. Then I wrote this song... um, when I wrote this song, I didn't know where to throw this anger, this pain. I didn't know how to describe my feeling. But I think through music, um, eventually because of this song, Toshi the vocalist, uh, we got, you know, became friends again. We reunited the band. Also this song led us to create this amazing film, 'We Are X.'
So I'd like to dedicate this song to my dear member hide, Taiji, and my father. A song called, "Without You."Part 3: (MC, Art of Life)
https://www.facebook.com/nui.pannamon/videos/vb.571585876/10153247819365877/?type=2&theater#Ok so I'm gonna play one more song. You know it's so strange, that kind of, like, uh, pain never... really... aged, you know? It's like, a... long time ago... It's like a few seconds, yesterday. But, again, this film- we took all the sadness, all the anger, all emotion; but we tried to make it, everything, very positive. Because we are living right this moment. So... again, I'd really like to thank um, the uh, producer, John Battseck. He brought-- (audience applause)-- he brought this project together. Then Stephen Kijack. Amazing director. Then all those people who worked for this project... I cannot thank enough.
I mean at the beginning I was very afraid. "Please don't open this door." "Please don't put that door, please open that door. That door never should be opened in my life." But... it has opened in a very beautiful way. Now.. leading.. those doors and the road... are leading us to the amazing future. Thank you so much.
You know I didn't come here to cry or anything. I wanted to, you know, share the amazing moment for the X Japan film, "We Are X." It's premiering tomorrow. We have several, uh, screenings. So, ok. So it's gonna be the last song. Um, ok, this song, I also wrote- this, originally this song is X Japan's song-- an X Japan song. The original song is 30 minutes long. Don't worry, I'm not gonna play 30 minutes long. K, so we have very short, short version, classical version, but ok... but it's like, um, Art of Life. That's kind of just, like, um, explains X Japan's film. K.
One more thing. I usually play humongous production but today is a really intimate stage. Um, so I'm gonna play one of my piano parts with a synthesizer and loop it. Sample, loop it. Then I'm gonna play along with it. Anyway, song called Art of Life.
We are not trying to keep the legacy—we are trying to move forward, so our sound is going to change. I’m ready to be criticized, for example by fans saying "you should rather be this style." I’m ready for it, I’m okay with any concept of criticism-Yoshiki