The New World
Going to write a quick entry about tonight's exist+trace show! I want to pound this out before I go to the Mejibray live tomorrow!
Today was unfortunately one of those rare Saturdays when I had to work. I had to go to the closing ceremony at Iruma High School. I was so impatient for it to be over, especially because it ran a bit late. So I had to go all the way from the school to Shibuya.
Luckily, I made it to Take Off 7 right as they called my number. April was waiting when I got there, too! It was great to see her again! We went inside together and I found Aki and Tomonori. They were a bit ahead of us in the crowd. April and I were around the middle. We caught up with each other while we waited for the live to start.
We didn't have to wait too long before the live started and the girls came out on stage. I love their new look! Everyone but Mally now has black hair. I was really surprised the other week when I saw the new pictures because it's been ages since Omi's really changed her hair. I think the black hair suits her too, but I'm not used to it yet. She looks great though! I really love the way Jyou's hair looks right now, too. It's dark and wavy and it's getting longer. I think it really suits her.
The girls started off with "Ginger" and then "本能". Then it was onto the first of many new songs they played tonight! I don't know what the name of it was, but it was really fun and I liked it a lot!
Throughout the night, the girls actually played about six or seven new songs! Definitely enough for a mini album (though a date for one still hasn't been announced yet). The new songs were really cool. Most of them were uptempo rock songs (not too poppy, but not hardcore either). Miko also does a lot of backing vocals and a bit of twin vocals in the new songs, too! I wish I knew the names of the songs, but Jyou didn't really announce the titles and I didn't see an official setlist posted anywhere.
Poor Naoto had a bit of bass trouble during "Be Naked" which was unfortunate as the song has a pretty heavy bass line. At first I could tell that there was something a bit off about the song, but I couldn't quite place my finger on it. Then I peered around the people in front of me and saw Naoto and staff member fiddling around with the amp because her bass wouldn't make noise. She did the best she could though. Omi and Miko threw in some more flourishes on their guitars to try and make up for the missing bass line.
During one of the songs, I think it was "Honey", Omi and Miko started getting a bit flirty. Miko came up to Omi and they rubbed their noses together, like bunny kisses. It was the most precious~
I don't remember a lot of the set order, since there were so many brand new songs mixed in with everything. I remember that the girls ended their first set with "Vanguard" and "RAZE" though.
When the girls came back for the encore, Jyou was the first one on stage. She chatted with us for a few minutes while she waited for the rest of the members. Naoto and Omi came out first. At that point, Jyou seemed a little lost about what to continue talking about, so she started showing us her mic stand, which she said she'd had the same one for about 4 years. Someone in the crowd asked her if it had a name, but she said it didn't. She promised to think about it. Then, since we were still waiting for the rest of the members, Jyou proceeded to show us her tambourine for "Kiss in the Dark". At that point Miko and Mally quietly snuck on stage, but Miko put her finger over her lips and gestured for us to be quiet. We listened to her and watched until Jyou noticed them. I think Miko was waiting to see how long Jyou could keep babbling on about a tambourine. XD
Then, it was time for some important announcements. They announced that the next Vanguard live is going to be on May 19th and this time Miko is producing it! They also announced the date of their next Tokyo oneman, which is going to be on July 7th. Unfortunately, that's the same day that I'm supposed to go to the Gackt concert with Eri. Of course, I'm excited to finally see Gackt, but pretty disappointed at the thought of missing and イグ live. :x
The encore songs were "The Colors", "Signal, and one more brand new song. Before singing the song, Miko talked to us for a bit because she thought we'd be wondering about why she'd been singing more in these new songs. It sounded like it was something that she and Jyou had discussed and that Miko'd always wanted to try doing. She and Jyou are going to play to their strengths because they can each do things vocally that the other can't do. I think that's pretty cool.
After the last new song, Jyou asked us all to hold hands, as usual. (I got to hold April's hand for a minute! :D) Mally played hard to get with Omi, slapping her hand before allowing Omi to hold it (lol). Then we did the usual jump together and the live was over. Omi threw her arm around Miko's waist on their way off of the stage.
April really enjoyed the live, so I was happy! It was her first time seeing the girls. After the live was over, she went over to the goods table to grab a Vanguard card and then bought a copy of VIRGIN. We then met with Aki and Tomonori. I introduced everyone to each other. Aki gave me a little bag with a cookie and some chocolates that she had made, which I thought was really sweet of her.
The four of us then left together in search of food. We ended up eating pasta and pizza at Miami Garden, while chatting about various lives. It was a nice time! We didn't stay out too long though because April is still really jet-lagged. We went our separate ways to go home, but not before promising to go to the Vanguard live together in May. 楽しみ～
I feel like I didn't write about nearly as much this time, but it kind of hard to write about new songs when you don't know their names and you've only heard them once. I really do hope they announce a release date for new mini album soon! I'd love to have the chance to hear the songs again. Until next time though!