Moon Safari in Tokyo
Swedish prog rockers Moon Safari performed the “Lover’s End Complete Edition” album in its entirety at a special Tokyo show for VIP fans.
Moon Safari at Space Odd, Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan on 11th December 2025
With Opeth’s recent Tokyo performance fresh in my mind, I was curious to see if another progressive rock band from Sweden, Moon Safari, could deliver at the same level. They could and they did.
If Opeth is prog metal, Moon Safari is more prog soft rock with symphonic parts. The five-part vocal harmonies play a big part in the band’s trademark sound.
Moon Safari, founded in Skellefteå, Sweden in 2003, currently consists of Petter Sandström (lead vocals, acoustic guitar, harmonica), Johan Westerlund (bass, vocals), Simon Åkesson (lead vocals, keyboards), Pontus Åkesson (guitars, vocals) and Mikael Israelsson (drums, keyboards, vocals).
The show at Space Odd in Tokyo was a special performance for 120 VIP fans where the band performed “Lover’s End Complete Edition”, an expanded version of the “Lover’s End” album released in Japan in 2013. “Lover’s End” is sunshine in vinyl format. It is my favourite among the band’s five full-length studio albums. It overflows with love but also heartbreak.
The Tokyo performance was done in front of a seated audience. These Japanese prog rock enthusiasts are mostly sitting quietly, paying attention to every detail in the musical performance. These are serious fans who know the “Lover’s End” album inside out. It can be scary performing for such an audience, but the Swedish band put on a master class in how prog rock should be performed.
They performed the songs in the same order as on the album. They opened with “Lover’s End Pt. I”. The audience was fully absorbing the performance from the first note. The show continued with “A Kid Called Panic”, “Southern Belle”, “The World’s Best Dreamers”, “New York City Summergirl”, “Heartland”, “Crossed the Rubicon”, “Lover’s End Pt. II” and “Lover’s End Pt. III: Skellefteå Serenade”. What a musical treat!
Moon Safari finished a fine evening with an encore consisting of “Mega Moon” and an a cappella performance of “Constant Bloom”.
As a bonus for the VIP audience, the Japanese record label Avalon will release the show as an LP for those who attended. That will no doubt be a highly sought-after Japanese collectable item.
https://www.facebook.com/moonsafariofficial
