X JAPAN Blows Away Coachella Crowd & Marilyn Manson Joins As Special Guest

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X JAPAN
BLOWS AWAY COACHELLA CROWD WITH POWERFUL ROCK CONCERT
 
MARILYN MANSON JOINS AS SPECIAL GUEST
 
LEGENDARY JAPANESE ROCK GROUP PROVES ROCK IS NOT DEAD, DESPITE PERFORMING AT THE SAME TIME AS BEYONCÉ
Legendary Japanese rock group X JAPAN made a triumphant return to the Coachella Music &  Arts Festival this past weekend (Saturday, April 21). As one of only a few rock artists performing at the festival, X JAPAN’s powerful rock performance and elaborate production thrilled the Coachella crowd with a rousing hard rock concert, pyrotechnics and special effects that delivered both surprises and guest stars. Mid set, YOSHIKI of X Japan welcomed Marilyn Manson on stage to perform “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” which the Los Angeles Times described as “…a haunting rendition” (4/22/18) of the Eurythmics’ classic. Guitarists Wes Borland (Limp Bizkit) and Richard Fortus (Guns N’ Roses) returned for Weekend Two along with holograms of X JAPAN’s two deceased members, Hide and Taiji. View the full X JAPAN set list, as well as critical soundbites from the show and more below.
 
“It was such an honor to be part of this amazing festival, playing with so many great artists,” says YOSHIKI of X JAPAN. “Because of our time slot, I was sad I couldn’t see Beyoncé’s show, but at the same time I was shocked so many people showed up to support us. The mosh pits surprised me, too--the audience’s energy was unbelievable. There were so many rock fans onsite, let’s bring back rock to the mainstream, rock’s not dead. Thank you to our fans and Coachella from the bottom of my heart.”

Watch video of YOSHIKI’s performance with Marilyn Manson on Instagram HERE.
Marilyn Manson and YOSHIKI of X JAPAN perform at Coachella.
X JAPAN’s second Coachella performance capped off a frenzied media week which included a sold-out GRAMMY Museum event for the band’s award-winning documentary film WE ARE X (available on Hulu and iTunes) as well as YOSHIKI’s appearance with Steve Jones of the Sex Pistols on his show, “Jonesy’s Jukebox,” among others. Watch YOSHIKI’s interview with Steve Jones HERE.
 
X JAPAN-the most successful rock group in Japanese history-has sold over 30 million albums, singles and videos combined, and has sold out Japan’s 55,000-seat Tokyo dome a record 18 times captivating a wide range of admirers as Sir George Martin, KISS, Stan Lee, and the Japanese Emperor—all while pioneering a spectacle-driven style of fashion and visual rock called Visual Kei, a one-of-a-kind cultural phenomenon.
 
X JAPAN, led by composer, drummer, and pianist YOSHIKI, PATA (guitar), HEATH (bass), TOSHI (vocals) and SUGIZO (violin, guitar) are currently in the studio in Los Angeles completing their first full-length album in over 22 years, set for release in 2018.
X JAPAN performs with deceased members Taiji and Hide via hologram at Coachella 2018.
A mosh pit forms during X JAPAN at Coachella 2018.
YOSHIKI of X JAPAN greets the crowd at Coachella 2018.
Backstage at Coachella (L-R): Billy Idol, YOSHIKI of X JAPAN, Nile Rogers and David Byrne. 

X JAPAN’s hour-long set list at Coachella (April 21, 2018) was as follows:
 
INTRO
“JADE”
“RUSTY NAIL”
“KISS THE SKY”
“I.V.”
“KURENAI”
“SWEET DREAMS”
“BORN TO BE FREE”
“X”
“TEARS”
 
X JAPAN bio: HERE
YOSHIKI bio: HERE
Band photo: HERE
 
X JAPAN live videos:
Yoshiki stage dive: HERE
Coachella Promo: HERE
Drum Solo Vid​eo: HERE
 
X JAPAN:
 
YOSHIKI:
 
About X JAPAN:  X Japan is the most successful rock group in Japanese history. Led by composer, drummer, and pianist Yoshiki, the band has sold more than 30 million albums, singles, and videos combined, sold out Japan’s 55,000-seat Tokyo Dome 18 times, and played to millions of fans around the world. In the band’s early days, their look and sound sparked a global interest in the Japanese cultural rock phenomenon “Visual-Kei”, a wild fashion and music movement X Japan pioneered that spread worldwide. In 1997, at the height of their success, the band broke up. Four months later, Hide, X Japan’s original lead guitarist, was found dead in his Tokyo apartment. At his funeral, more than 50,000 fans came to mourn his passing. In early 2007, Yoshiki and vocalist Toshi reunited, and later that year X Japan officially reformed. The band launched its reunion in 2008 with 3 nights at the Tokyo Dome. In 2010, X Japan performed for the first time at Lollapalooza in Chicago. Immediately following the festival, X Japan played the biggest concert in its history, selling out two consecutive shows at Japan’s Nissan Stadium, filling 140,000 seats. The band then launched their first North American tour, selling out across the U.S. and Canada. In June 2011, X Japan launched a 14-city world tour across Europe, South America, and Asia. In 2012, X Japan was the first Japanese band to win “Best International Band” at the Golden Gods Awards. In 2014, X Japan headlined a colossal show at New York’s famed Madison Square Garden. The documentary film We Are X, chronicling the history of X Japan, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2016 and won the award for Best Editing. The film then won an award at the SXSW Film Festival, followed by a worldwide release in over 20 countries and 27 international film festivals. In January 2017, band leader Yoshiki held 2 sold-out concerts at Carnegie Hall, performing original classical compositions and orchestral versions of X Japan’s songs with the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra. The We Are X Original Soundtrack was released on March 3, 2017, hitting #1 on the UK Rock Chart and dominating music charts worldwide. The following day, X Japan headlined a live concert at Wembley Arena in London. In May 2017, the band’s future was threatened when Yoshiki was forced to undergo emergency neck surgery, requiring artificial disc replacement after years of intense drumming. In December 2017, the We Are X DVD, Blu-ray, and vinyl soundtrack LP were released, topping sales charts worldwide. X Japan recently announced the release of the band’s first new studio album in over twenty years, which will be available worldwide in 2018. Coachella 2018 marked not only X Japan’s return to the U.S., but Yoshiki’s first concerts playing drums since his surgery. The current line-up of X Japan is YOSHIKI (drums/piano/composer), TOSHI (vocals), PATA (guitar), HEATH (bass), SUGIZO (violin/guitar).

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