VIVA LA ROCK 2025 @ 5/4 (Sun) Saitama Super Arena

VIVA LA ROCK 2025

2025/5/4 (Sun)
Saitama Super Arena

Saiyuki -Saitama Edition-
Kosuke Saito from UNISON SQUARE GARDEN / TenTwenty
GUEST: Ito (PEOPLE 1) / Moto (Chilli Beans.)
GARDEN STAGE

-SETLIST-
w/ Moto (Chilli Beans.)
1. you n me / Chilli Beans.
2. Kaze ni Naru / Ayano Tsuji
w/ Ito (PEOPLE 1)
3. Ajisai / PEOPLE 1
4. Lemon / Kenshi Yonezu
w/ Ito (PEOPLE 1), Moto (Chilli Beans.)
5. Haru no Uta / Spitz

Memories from the 3rd row

When I arrived in the morning, the sun was so strong I was worried about getting a sunburn, but by the time the waiting line formed, it started pouring rain, and I had to take my hat off to Kosuke Saito's legendary rain-bringing power.
I was grateful that they called us in order of our queue numbers.
While the staff were doing sound checks and setting up, the rain stopped and it turned into a pleasant spring temperature! It's rare for an outdoor Saiyuki to be sunny! A faint crescent moon was also visible.
Various artists' songs were playing during the setup, and when 'Otona Blue' by Atarashii Gakko! started playing, I remembered Kosuke Saito's cover at the UNICITY live show, and then it was time for the performance to start.

The usual Saiyuki theme song plays.
Voice of Heaven: 'Saiyuki, a show that records Kosuke Saito enjoying himself, is appearing at VIVA LA ROCK for the first time today! We'll be joined by guests Ito from PEOPLE 1 and Moto from Chilli Beans.! Are you all ready to have fun!'
Audience: '(Cheers) 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻'
Voice of Heaven: 'I wonder what kind of stage this will be! Well then! Let's have Kosuke Saito come out! Saiyuki -Saitama Edition- begins!'
↑ Was Sakakuma-san there? Was it a recording? The high-tension voice got me excited too.

Kosuke Saito appears with a smile.
【Costume】
A Saiyuki T-shirt with white text on a black background, baggy white denim-like pants, and chunky black round-toe shoes.
Seeing him up close, I was reminded again that his face is so small and he's so slender, he's incredibly cool...
His main position was in front of the microphone in the center of the stage, with microphones also set up on the left and right.

Saito: 'Hello everyone, I'm Kosuke Saito, nice to meet you!' ← He said it all in one breath.
Audience: '👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻'
Saito: '...The weather is the best. 😸'
Audience: '(Laughs) 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻'
Saito: 'I'm usually the guitarist and vocalist for the bands UNISON SQUARE GARDEN and TenTwenty, and through various connections, I host a show on Space Shower TV. To explain the show briefly, I invite one guest to perform a session, but since we don't do any rehearsals beforehand, it's a pretty edgy stage where we play together for the first time on stage. So, if you think the guest's performance is good, I'd be happy if you could give them a generous round of applause! Thanks for having me today!'
↑ He's such a great host, what a personality...

He puts on his Saiyuki strap acoustic guitar and tries to spread out his sheet music, but the music stand is small + it's windy, so he can't set it up easily.
Saito: 'Please wait a moment, the music stand is smaller than I thought... 💦💦'
A staff member brings some clips from the wings, and Saito-san carefully clips the sheet music while saying 'Sorry 💦💦'.
↑ Everyone digitizes their sheet music and uses iPads these days, but Saito-san definitely uses paper... I wonder if it's a preference (I remembered that while Sou-san used an iPad during Guitar Jam, Saito-san brought his sheet music on big paper).
Saito: '(Sheet music fixed) Alright! Let's call our guest right away! Moto from Chilli Beans.!'
Audience: '👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻'
Moto-san appears, bobbing her pink twin tails, and tries to go to the stage left, but is prompted by Saito-san with a 'This way 🫴🏻' to go to the stage right.
【Costume】
A Saiyuki T-shirt with blue text on a white background, and the same baggy pants with a fine blue check pattern she wore during the Chilli Beans. set, stylish and cute.
When Saito-san appeared, I thought his face was small, but Moto-san's was even smaller, and I was floored. I was thrilled by the height and build difference between the two, so cute.

Saito: 'Nice to meet you!'
Moto: 'Nice to meet you 🙂' ← Cute.
Saito: 'You had a performance this morning, aren't you tired? How are you feeling?'
Moto: 'I'm fine 🙂'
Saito: 'We decided what song to play when we did a joint gig for TenTwenty's project the other day.'
Moto: 'Yes 🙂'
Saito: 'First, I'd like to sing a Chilli Beans. song, but (to Moto-san) did you play it today?'
Moto: 'We did! ...At the very end 🙂'
Audience: 'Oh!?? (I think everyone expected them to play 'lemonade', but the last song for Chilli Beans. wasn't 'lemonade')'
Saito: '(Looks around the audience) ...A few people are buzzing! Well, it means you can enjoy it twice, so let's do it! (To Moto-san) If you have any requests for the monitor, now is the time, are you okay?'
Moto: '~♪ (Light vocal warm-up)'
Saito: '(Plays guitar to match Moto-san's check)'
Moto: '...I'm okay 🙂'
Saito: 'Alright, let's go!'

1. you n me / Chilli Beans.
Starts with Saito-san arranging the drum parts of the original song on guitar.
From the opening 'Don't go far away?~', you could tell the affinity between their voices was high, which was pleasant. Saito-san sang the lower harmony.
Saito-san sang the main vocals for the first verse. It's a song with female vocals, but he sang it in the original key, and I thought it was nice to hear him sing lyrics like this... but then, when he sang 'crazy night' in the chorus at the lower harmony pitch, I suddenly felt a masculine vibe, which was bad for my heart.
Moto-san sang the main vocals for the second verse. It's the real thing... what an incredibly good voice...! I was moved, and when I looked at Saito-san, he was closing his eyes, listening carefully to Moto-san's voice as if savoring it while playing the guitar, and I couldn't help but smile. I felt like I was witnessing what Saito-san wanted to do most in Saiyuki.
I love this song and listened to it often, so I didn't imagine it being played as an acoustic performance, but there were many parts where the chorus and the chase-like parts returned to harmonies, and I thought it was perfect for these two's acoustic performance (I think it's also because Saito-san's arrangement is genius).
Also, Moto-san sang while looking at the audience so much, which made me happy. We definitely made eye contact...
I was happy to see them look at each other and have fun during the final 'ja-jan' at the end of the song.

Audience: '👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻'
Saito: 'So fun!'
↑ He tries to set the sheet music for the next song, but it gets blown away by the wind and he can't set it up easily.
Moto: '.........It cleared up 🙂'
↑ Moto-san started talking to fill the silence after seeing Saito-san struggling with the wind.
Saito: 'It cleared up, didn't it! Saiyuki live shows have never been sunny (laughs).'
Audience: '(Laughs)'
Saito: 'Every time it becomes a legendary live show... and today it's so sunny! Thank you! ...Though it's weird to say thank you (laughs).'
:
Saito: 'Next, we're going to do a cover song, and I chose this song because I thought it would be nice to do it under a clear blue sky like this. Please try listening to it while feeling the spring breeze.'

2. Kaze ni Naru / Ayano Tsuji
With Saito-san's count, Moto-san started singing 'Wasureteita', and voices of 'Oh~!!' came from the audience.
Moto-san's slightly husky voice was perfect for this song, it was the best.
They sang alternately with Saito-san. It's amazing that they sang in the original key as a matter of course, and their gentle singing voices matched perfectly.
Saito-san sang the chorus, and when Moto-san joined in with the harmony on 'Kimi to nakushita', their voices were so beautiful that I got goosebumps. And the moment Moto-san switched to main vocals and Saito-san switched to lower harmony from 'La la la la la' afterwards, I felt like I was going to turn into a bird and fly away, surpassing goosebumps.
I thought, is it okay to have such luxury, listening to a masterpiece with the beautiful singing voices of two musicians I love, while being blown by the pleasant spring breeze that appears in the lyrics... and it's on a stage where you can watch for free......... Thank you, Saiyuki.
The last 'Kimi to deaeta shiawase inoru you ni' was in unison, and the two sang slowly while looking at each other.

Saito: 'Moto-san! 🫱🏻'
Moto: 'Thank you very much 🙂'
Audience: '👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻'
Saito: 'Don't catch a cold' ← Gentle.
Moto: '🫶🏻' ← Exited while repeatedly making the heart sign she did during the Chilli Beans. stage towards the audience.
:
Saito: 'Well then, I'd like to call our next guest, Ito-kun from PEOPLE 1!'
Audience: '👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻'
Ito-san appears.
【Costume】
A Saiyuki T-shirt with white text on a burgundy background tucked into black slacks, and he's wearing colored sunglasses, too stylish.
When Saito-san appeared, I thought he was slender, but Ito-san was also quite slender, and I was floored.

Ito: 'I'm Ito from PEOPLE 1, nice to meet you!'
Saito: '(While holding down the sheet music) Nice to meet you! It's so windy today that the sheet music flies away 💦'
Ito: 'The first time I did an acoustic performance, it was outdoors, and the wind was so strong that my pick got blown away...'
Audience: 'Eh~!!'
Ito: 'I did it with my face bright red.'
Saito: 'Ahahaha (laughs) 😸 I've had times when I couldn't stop it while playing guitar and stopped it with my foot (recreates by lifting his left foot).'
Audience: '(Laughs)'
Saito: 'Thanks for coming despite being busy with your acoustic tour today!'
Ito: 'Not at all! I couldn't appear as PEOPLE 1 this year, and I lost my voice during last year's Viva La and couldn't sing at all, so I want to rewrite it into a good memory and go home today!'
↑ I remember that last year, on the 4th at JJ and the 5th at Viva La, Yu and Pipo-wan overlapped for two consecutive days, and when deu-san mentioned in the MC that Ito-san couldn't sing on the Viva La stage, he introduced him by saying 'But he is also a wonderful guitarist!', which was so lovely that it's stuck in my memory.
Audience: '👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻'
Saito: 'Let's do a PEOPLE 1 song right away! ...Should I say the title?'
Ito: 'Can I say it! Then please listen, Ajisai.'
Audience: 'Oh~!!!'
Ito-san, who heard the cheers, stretched his neck to look at the audience and then bowed with a smile. Seeing Saito-san look at him sideways and smile quietly before starting to play the guitar, his big brother-like watching-over feeling was good.

3. Ajisai / PEOPLE 1
The original song proceeds with piano accompaniment, but the guitar arrangement is also incredibly good...
Saito-san starts singing. Since female singer covers had been continuing until now, I was startled by the low-pitched whisper voice.
They sang alternately with Ito-san. When Ito-san started singing, I thought 'It's the real thing...' (obvious), and I was drawn into the world of the song with his singing style that was painful yet had a core.
From the chorus 'Hitotsu shika nai shinzou wo~', it was Saito-san, and from 'Watashi anata wa yasashii hito', it was Ito-san, but the expressive power was just amazing... the high notes that seemed like they would disappear but were firmly delivered were painful and painful...
Saito-san sang, and up to 'Watashi wa okubyou de anata wa ajisai~', he sang with emotion but calmly from the beginning, but from 'Sasai na shigusa ya~', he sang a cappella, and unlike the original song, Saito-san expressed it with a singing style that seemed like his emotions exploded. The moment after 'Itooshii no yo', where there was no guitar or singing, and only the sound of the wind shaking the grass and trees could be heard, I caught my breath. He completely dominated the place.
Seriously, why is this acoustic performance free while plastic bags cost money????????,?
I wanted to pay to listen to it, it was the best.

Audience: '👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻'
Ito: 'Thank you for looking all the way to the back... Thank you! (Smiles)'
Saito: 'The session we did together when you appeared on the show before was really extremely well received,'
Ito: 'Really...!'
Saito: 'I want to have many people listen to it outside, not just in a pure white studio, so I want to do that session song. If you know it, please sing it in your heart.'

4. Lemon / Kenshi Yonezu
With Saito-san's count, Ito-san started singing, and voices that couldn't be put into words leaked from the audience at 'Yume naraba'.
Ito-san's voice quality was too perfect for this song, and I was about to cry just listening to his voice, and at the timing of 'ueth', Saito-san got a little closer to the microphone, so I was nervous thinking 'Are you going to say that!??', I'm really glad he didn't.
They also sang this alternately with Saito-san. Saito-san sang the main vocals for the chorus and Ito-san sang the upper harmony, but the affinity of their singing voices was so good, so good, so good. Thank you for suggesting we do this song together as an acoustic performance, thank you Kenshi Yonezu for making this song.
Ito-san sang the main vocals for the second chorus, but there was no harmony from Saito-san. That's precisely why Ito-san's expressive power was conveyed straight, and it was just, painful... (Good).
I was able to hear the lyrics 'Jibun ga omou yori koi wo shiteita anata ni arekara omou you ni iki ga dekinai' in Saito-san's voice, and I was sincerely grateful for my choice to come to this place today.
Saito-san sang the main vocals for the last chorus and Ito-san sang the upper harmony.
It was beautiful until the end.........

Audience: '👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻'
Saito: 'PEOPLE 1 Ito-kun! 🫲🏻'
Ito: 'Thank you very much!'
Saito: 'Since we're here, I'd like to do one song with the three of us at the end... how is the time? (Peeks at the staff in the wings) Is it okay? ...That guy Tanabe from a band called BLUE ENCOUNT talked too much last time and pushed the schedule so much that he got scolded a lot 😫 So I was doing it (to avoid pushing) one after another, but does it look okay?'
Staff: '🙆🏻‍♂️'
Saito: 'Then, since we're here, I want to hear the announcement for Ito-kun's acoustic tour!' ← Too gentle of a senior.
Ito: 'Eh! Is it okay! Then... I'm doing a tour where I go around 47 prefectures with acoustic performances, so if you'd like, please come to Saitama in June, and, although I'm embarrassed to say it in front of Saito-san, I'm doing a 3-man show with WurtS-kun, Chilli Beans., and PEOPLE 1.'
Audience: '(Laughs)'
Saito: '(A face like, hmm 😕)'
Ito: 'Um... the three of us are appearing, so if you'd like, please come and play!'
Saito: 'I'll prepare my throat and go play 😸'
Audience: '(Laughs)'
:
Saito: 'Well then, let's call them one more time, Chilli Beans. Moto-san!'
Audience: '👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻'
↑ Moto-san didn't come out for a while, so I thought she had gone home (no way).
Moto-san appeared safely, and the three of them lined up on stage.
Saito: '(Looking at the two) Making such classy and tasteful juniors wear such crappy T-shirts... what kind of harassment is that! (Laughs) Thank you for matching it so nicely (laughs).'
Ito: 'It's burgundy (while emphasizing the Saiyuki logo with both hands), nice to meet you.'
Moto: 'White and blue, nice to meet you.'
Saito: 'The black one is not for sale 😼 (a full-blown smug face).'
Audience: '(Laughs) 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻'
:
Saito: 'Let's do one last song and finish, thank you all very much today!'
Audience: '👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻'

5. Haru no Uta / Spitz
While Saito-san was playing the intro on guitar, Ito-san gave a lead-in saying 'Today's main character, Saito-san 🫱🏻', and Saito-san started singing, followed by Ito-san and then Moto-san.
Moto-san sang the main vocals for the chorus, and Saito-san and Ito-san each sang harmonies. All three have unique singing voices, but when they sing together, they are balanced and have tremendous stability. The vocal arrangement that let Moto-san sing the Spitz song as the main was just too good, the sense is crazy.
Saito-san sang the main vocals for the second verse B, but halfway through, he was hit by a strong wind and the sheet music was about to fly away -> Ito-san stretched out his left hand but couldn't move much because he was in the middle of the chorus -> Moto-san instantly held down the sheet music with both hands -> Saito-san 'Ahahahaha 😹 (laughs)' an accident where he couldn't help but laugh and the singing and guitar were interrupted!
Audience: 'Fooo~~~‼️👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻'
Saito: 'It's a legendary live show! Hahaha 😸 ... (Takes a deep breath) Kimi no na wo nazoru'
↑ Even though there was laughter, it's truly amazing that as soon as Saito-san took a deep breath and the guitar and singing started, it instantly became the world of Haru no Uta.
It was good that Saito-san made eye contact with Ito-san and Moto-san when it was time to go to the last chorus.
I will never forget listening to my favorite Spitz song on a pleasant spring day with the singing voices of Saito-san, Ito-san, and Moto-san.

Saito: 'Thank you very much! That was Saiyuki!'
Audience: '👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻'
Ito: 'Thank you very much!'
Moto: 'Thank you very much ~ 🙂'
Saito: 'See you somewhere again 👋🏻'
Moto: '🫶🏻' ← Exited while repeatedly making the heart sign she did during the Chilli Beans. stage towards the audience.

Saiyuki -Saitama Edition- Kosuke Saito from UNISON SQUARE GARDEN / TenTwenty.........

It was an incredibly happy time;;
Why do plastic bags cost money when a live show that makes you feel this luxurious and happy is free????????,?
I think being able to do a free live show at a distance where the audience's voices are directly conveyed is something that can only be done if the artist trusts the audience, so I'm happy about that, I thought.
I was nervous because the distance to the stage was so close that I could see Saito-san and the guests exchanging glances and even the momentary expressions of them enjoying themselves, but I think it was something that could only be seen because it was the GARDEN STAGE at VIVA LA ROCK. Thank you so, so much for your first appearance!
It was a live show packed with the charm of Saito-san, Ito-san, Moto-san, and the show Saiyuki. I love it.


Other than the live show, I thought the GARDEN STAGE's numbered ticket system was very kind!
The notice about the numbered tickets said they would be distributed next to Gate B from 9:30 AM, but when I looked it up, it seemed like Gate A opens earlier, and most people line up and queue from there (it's important to look it up in advance).
When I arrived, I went to Gate A and lined up -> Staff came to distribute wristbands -> When the gates opened, we formed a line and moved to the waiting area together without running or cutting in line -> Received numbered tickets in order.
By the way, I arrived before 8 o'clock and my queue number was in the double digits 🙂‍↕️
Go to the waiting line 30 minutes before the artist you want to see starts -> Called in order of queue number -> A narrow path is made to the stage, and you proceed without running or cutting in line -> Watch the live show from your favorite position.
I don't know if this is the system every time, but if you want to see from the front row, you can just come early in the morning, line up, and get a numbered ticket with a young number!
When I asked about things I was worried about or didn't understand, the staff taught me very kindly 🥹
I love Viva La even more now.

【Other bands I saw that day】

◼︎Chilli Beans.
A band I came to love incredibly much after seeing them at the 2-man EB3 with TenTwenty in April. Saiyuki can be seen for free, but I bought a 1-day ticket because I really wanted to see bassist Maika-san (Good).
I was happy to hear many songs I wanted to hear in the setlist! I love the atmosphere of the songs 'See C Love' and 'aaa' and listened to them often, so I was excited to hear them live again. The venue was excited by the title call of 'lemonade!' at the beginning of the song, and the yellow lighting was cute. For 'lemonade', only vocalist Moto-san did the steps in reverse during the 'iya iya iya' part, which was cute. During the interlude of 'Mum', guitarist Lily-san and Moto-san were facing each other and playing around, and it was the best to see Lily-san and Maika-san facing each other and playing with big smiles during 'Shake Lala', and the memory that these two interactions were also done at EB3 came back. I also loved 'you n me', so I was happy. I was also happy to hear it at Saiyuki...
I hope I can see them somewhere again, it was the best.

◼︎SHISHAMO
The schedule overlapped with the time to line up for the Saiyuki waiting line, which was a huge shock. Personally, one of the reasons I cut my hair by 30cm recently is Asako-chan, so as a girl who loves Asako-chan so much, I couldn't give up, so I decided to stick with it until the last minute to see them.
Then, they played 'Koisuru' during the rehearsal, which was unexpected;; It's my youth from high school days and my favorite SHISHAMO song, so I was really happy;;
And then, for the first song, 'Kimi to Natsu Fes' ahhhhhhhhh thank you 😭😭😭 It was too much youth. Both 'Koisuru' and 'Kimi to Natsu Fes' made me cry a lot, remembering various things like the Budokan I went to when I was a high school student and the outdoor concert where I took friends who weren't interested in bands when I was in vocational school. Asako is cute, she's cute............
I mean, I know it's rude to the original artist, but I want to say, are you really that good at guitar??? I did 'Koisuru' and 'Kimi to Natsu Fes' in a copy band, and it was really difficult and I was overwhelmed, but she was playing with a shining smile without looking, which was cool...
When the keyboard was placed on the stage right, I knew they would do it. 'Kimi no Me mo Hana mo Kuchi mo Ago mo Mayu mo Nete mo Samete mo Chou Suteki!!!' was the second song, and when I heard the acoustic part where she played 'pyon pyon pyon' at the beginning, I headed to the GARDEN STAGE while being reluctant to leave.
I really love SHISHAMO-chan, next time I want to see the complete SHISHAMO-chan with Yoshikawa back.

◼︎SUPER BEAVER
I originally liked and listened to their songs, but after watching Saiyuki on the YouTube distribution of Love Shower 2024 the other day, I left it playing, and Beaver came out, and after seeing the feeling of their live show properly for the first time, it became a boom in my house because of how cool they were. They also overlapped during JJ, and I was looking forward to it, but in the end, I was swallowed by the big afterglow of Yu and couldn't see them properly, so it was a long-awaited performance!
As a result, it pierced me, penetrated me, and left a big hole. It was incredibly hot and I cried;; Why haven't I listened to them properly until now;;
First of all, it's too cool that they appear without an SE, and when I thought it started, I was overwhelmed by the singing ability in 'Kataomoi', and then 'Toppakou' ohhhhh!!! The venue warmed up immediately, and I love 'Utsukushii Hi' which started with clapping that was incited by 'Hands above your head because we want to see it 😊'!!! Then 'Aoi Haru' I love!!! Furthermore, after songs I like continued as if it were my own playlist, like 'Hitamuki', 'Setsubou'!!!!! I was happy to hear my favorite song that I wanted to hear the most 😭😭😭 And then 'Tokyo' came, and finally 'I Love You'......... Are they geniuses? Are they geniuses at making people cry??
Honestly, I have a tendency to be bad with hot-blooded or talking-to-you type bands (because I'm the worst and twisted, I'm the type who thinks 'aren't you just escaping to emo-type bands in the end'), so I often get cold, but the persuasiveness of the words and songs, and the charisma that makes you think they are the real thing is amazing. I thought they were just really good at the flow of the live show and how to lead it.
I was in the stand seats on the opposite side of the stage where Beaver was performing, so I basically watched the monitor, but Shibuya-san stood on the very edge of the stage and said 'Not the monitor‼️ Look at me‼️‼️‼️' and grabbed my heart easily. It was cool... I'm sorry, I'll look... I thought.
Also, personally, I feel the heat in the fact that the vocalist doesn't write the songs, and the composition where he entrusts songs with such meaningful lyrics and hot thoughts to reliable members other than himself and he turns to follow is good, isn't it? Every time the creator's face was shown on the monitor during the song, I was overwhelmed... What kind of life have they lived to be able to write so many gentle and strong lyrics......... I definitely want to see them again.

After Saiyuki ended, when I was eating outside, the next DJ event started, and the first song was surprisingly Sugar Song 🎶
I was happy that many people ran and gathered when they heard the intro and were having a great time... but the Unison geeks (including me) were just watching the situation from afar without making noise together, and the fact that we were grinning was so much like Unison geeks, it was the best.
When we were joking around saying 'Is the person himself coming!??', the DJ said 'Kosuke! I called him but it was no good.........' lol lol

It was a day where I toasted to my own judgment of choosing to come today and choosing to buy a 1-day ticket 🍻
It's the best to be able to listen to Saito-san's singing for two days in a row‼️
...So the next article is a memorandum of Viva La 5/5 where Yu appeared~