X JAPAN ~night of destruction~ and Stylish Wave CIRCUIT '08 春の嵐
Right, so stuff from before.
X JAPAN revival 3/28 ~night of destruction~ @ Tokyo Dome
Tokyo Dome was HUGE. Largest venue in Japan, but also largest show I've ever attended in my life. (I generally don't listen to artists that are able to sell out stadiums!) We got there around 4:30pm and couldn't even find the International Will Call booth for a good 15 minutes because there were SO many people obscuring it. Loads of hide cosplayers, and Yoshiki, too. It was actually kind of endearing, yet saddening, to see so many hides, though-- it's been exactly a decade since he died, and he left behind so many fans that still hold his memory so dear.
Well, we finally got our tickets, and lined up by Gate 20. The audience was so diverse, too. Loads of Japanese and foreigners alike, neither predominantly male nor female, dressed visual, cosplay, skanky, lolita, punk, casual, men old enough to be fathers, girls young enough to be schoolkids. I cannot begin to describe how crowded it was, lining up outside the Dome. (This show was pretty much sold out, and the Dome has a capacity of 55,000 seats + arena seats, so you can guess.) We met up with hideincarnate there, and her friend H. Disturbingly, 5:00pm ticked by, then 5:30pm, then 6:00pm, and even 6:30pm which was the show start time! Everyone was confused and anxious and it was RAINING and cold. D:
Finally, we got in, maybe 7:00pm... 7:30pm? We found our seats, which were 1st row, stands. JRR didn't shaft fans on seating, that's for sure. That part didn't need to be complained about. But we waited even MORE. The show didn't start until around 8:40pm! Over TWO HOURS late. I was worried that it'd be cancelled altogether. I'm just surprised nobody rioted, but I guess that's Japan for you.
When you're as big a name as X, I guess you can afford putting on a seriously VISUAL show. There's just miles in between what X is capable of and the usual indie band. I'm not saying small bands don't try their hardest, but X had Serious Funding. A huge scaffold, adorned with giant roses, framed on each side by ginormous ornate X's and screens up the wazoo. Lighting was, needless to say, fabulous. There was a sheer white curtain over the stage, too.
There were signs on the arena seats that said "don't stand" and "don't jump", but when they finally started, there was a deafening chorus of cheers and everyone immediately stood up. After 10 years, how could they expect people to stay seated?
SETLIST (stole it from some forum):
01. The Last Song
02. Rusty Nail
~MC~
03. Weekend (with Sugizo)
04. Scars (with Sugizo)
05. Silent Jealousy (with Sugizo)
06. hideの部屋 (hide no heya) - Pose
~MC~
07. Say Anything (Toshi, Pata, Heath)
08. Without You
~MC~
09. I.V.
10. 紅 aka Kurenai (with Sugizo)
~ENCORE~
11. Art of Life (cut short)
Last Song started quiet and Toshi's silhouette was blown up against the white curtain. The curtain dropped on a high note, the lights went on, and everybody screamed for all they were worth. The most disorienting part of the concert was getting used to the hide-hologram. They set up a slightly-higher-than-human-height cylindrical hologram in the lead guitarist position that played old footage of hide in past concerts, synchronized to whatever song it was. He was blasted all over the screens, too. It was a little eerie! They had huge vines lit up on the ceiling of the Dome, crawling towards the audience for one song, as well as a blown-up image of the Silent Jealousy cover art for that song.
"Pose" was almost completely hide-focused, with the odd neon-clad spastic dancers and archival footage of hide singing. But when I thought about it, I realized they really couldn't done it any other way... hide was such a huge part of the band that they had to do as much as possible to incorporate his memory. It would've been an affront to the fans if they hadn't tried their best. In that sense, the concert was so much like a hide tribute.
I was ECSTATIC to see Sugizo (ex-LUNA SEA) filling in for hide. Having heard the rumours, I was expecting Wes Borland, which would've been seriously a let down. But Sugizo was awesome, and really put in his all. It wasn't just seeing X, but seeing Sugizo for the first time, too, that made it such an awesome experience. In fact, at certain times, he was the most on-the-ball in the band... and he wasn't even part of the band! Everyone else... was not at their best, like Toshi's voice cracked and stuff. I'm not saying it was a bad show, but it was not their technically greatest one. I understand why, though-- not only was it the first night, but it must've been such a hugely emotional show for all the ex-X members, that it would've been hard to get through. Toshi wore dark glasses for pretty much all of it, and I suspect it was to hide his tears. Yoshiki refused to talk during one MC, and I suppose it was because he was overwhelmed, too. Pata was the only one who looked like he even remotely kept his cool. And that's because he's Pata.
Say Anything was an acoustic affair with Pata, Toshi, and Heath. It was slow and sweet. I suppose they set it up that way since Yoshiki destroyed his drumkit during Silent Jealousy... like, absolutely trashed it, a la old times. lol, the two American guys in bandannas next to me were pretty entertaining... they'd scream out "TOSHI" at inappropriate times on purpose and one guy kept roaring "PATA!" which is nice to hear aside from all the "hide!" and "Yoshiki!" screams.
Without You was so emotional-- they played old footage of the band in its heyday... scenes like hide fooling around by jumping on Yoshiki, Toshi with his metre-high old visual hair, Yoshiki in a dress, that sort of stuff. It really made me misty-eyed, and I saw a security girl standing close to us who was crying her EYES out. Like, really sobbing, and I couldn't blame her, because I'm sure everyone was thinking the same thoughts: how much the band was loved, how much the individuals were loved, how they worked so well together and how it fell apart in the years after, with one of them gone forever.
With Yoshiki on a grand Kawai piano (I don't know why I noticed the label), they played the new song I.V., which I honestly didn't think too much of, but it was still great live. They tried to get the audience to sing... which we did, but it was a little... uncoordinated, haha. The best part of the night was KURENAI though, hands down. When the acoustic intro came in, everybody went wild, and when the real song started up, there were pyrotechnics flaring up, silver streamers raining down and the audience went batshit insane. It was PRICELESS. Absolutely the best song of the night, and the most nostalgic for me, I'd say. It was beautiful.
Before the encore, the audience did the wave, lol... and it went on for like four waves, actually. Then they came on to do Art of Life... and here's where it gets curious... see, in the middle, Yoshiki suddenly slipped down in his seat and collapsed all over his drumkit. The song was obviously cut short. Security guys came and carried him offstage (it took a good 4 or 5 of them). The concert ended there. The real question was, of course, did Yoshiki fake it? There's compelling evidence he did, and compelling evidence he didn't. On one hand, it was certainly both a physically and emotionally draining show for him-- he hadn't played a concert of that scale since the last X Dome show, I'm certain. There's also hearsay that he fainted a second time on his way to the car, out of sight of the cameras (implying it wasn't faked for the people watching). On the other hand, Yoshiki is a... diva. And perhaps he did to cut the show short on purpose, since it was running over 11:00pm due to the 2+ hour delay.
Either way, he was up and running for the next day's show, so he was alright. And all things considered, I didn't regret going to that night. It was the least prepared of the three nights, but I'm glad I even went to any. It struck a part of me that almost forgot what it was like to be 16 and listening to X and loving it. It was a show of seriously mixed feelings, I'm sure for everyone involved. We went back the next day to get merch-- I bought a tote bag, keitai strap, and mirror. Had to line up for a good hour for it, I think!
Great stuff, but honestly, I'm not a little glad I usually go to much smaller shows, because I was sick of queues by the end of that weekend.
Stylish Wave CIRCUIT '08 春の嵐: lynch., heidi., Irokui, Guy's Family, SuG, Billy, Bergerac @ Nagoya E.L.L., 3/29
I was so tired from Tokyo that I don't think I enjoyed this show as much as I would've normally. My feet hurt, and I was a little bit annoyed that there were so many bands I didn't care about. The setting up times in between got tedious (the downside of event lives with too many bands), so I actually busted out a book I had with me-- an evolutionary biological view on sex written for laymen, haha. It's called Sperm are from Men, Eggs are from Women, by Joe Quirk. It was actually a good read, and well-researched, for the most part! I wouldn't agree with all of it though, since like with a lot of evolutionary biology that tries to convince you you're at the mercy of your genetic heritage, it was too reductionist in some points.
Anyway, this isn't about biology. The E.L.L. was more packed than I ever saw it! If it wasn't sold out, it was close to. I finally managed to wiggle to right side, against the wall, with my book after Bergerac. By the time lynch. came on, I'd squeezed into 4th row, I think. Not bad, considering I came late.
Bergerac: I completely didn't give a damn.
Billy: They did well, and were the only familiar band besides heidi. and lynch. They had a surprising amount of people participating. They were fun and energetic like before, but the guitarist with the indie glasses didn't slick back his hair, haha. Billy is thumbs up.
SuG: SOoooooo oshare. Everyone was dressed in pink. They had an incredible amount of fans, actually! They certainly knew how to work the crowd, and I'll admit they knew what they were doing. It's just that their music is so not my style. The vocalist is kind of annoying. They had a little bit in the middle where each member came to the front and the vocalist would go, "dare?!" and the fans would scream the name of the member. Anyway, slick show, not my kind of music.
Guy's Family: Heavier than I expected, but ultimately, I remember very little about their set! I guess they need to do something more interesting.
Irokui: They were missing their vocalist, too. I think he's in the hospital. Bad year for vocalists, seriously. They played a vocal track-- it sounded like it was straight off the studio recordings. In a way, it was a bit weird because the guy was obviously not there. I think I like what UnsraW did better... it was less distracting. Also kind of oshare-y music; they had presence and style, but were at a disadvantage without their vocal guy. I think SuG outdid them that day.
heidi.: man, I was RELIEVED to see heidi. take the stage finally. They were the first band of the night I unequivocally liked. They also looked the exact same as they did the last time I saw them, although I swear Nao looks more and more lizard-like every time. They started off with シンクロ. :) I want to say they played 解放, but I'm not sure. I think they played センチメンタル... if that's the one that gets girls jumping from side to side (it wasn't 夕焼けと子供). SO ANNOYING. This time because the crowd was so tight, I wasn't able to escape the crush, and got swept up into the jumping frenzy and that shit is killer on your feet (the precise part of me that was wailing from Tokyo). I think they did 街角幕情, too. The last one was レム, which is always good. In total it was only 5 songs, so that about covers it. GOoooo heidi.!
lynch.: Finally! ♥ Like always, I was Reo side (it just works out that way; I've nothing against Yusuke). Hazuki was his usual self, in a good mood. He did a lot of kissing his fingers, that night, lol. Silly, but hot. Which is an apt description of him in general. He wore his brown trench. I think he needs a haircut-- it's getting that positively electroshocked look lately. XD They played:
I'm sick,b'cuz luv u
59.
an illusion
Adore
unknown lost a beauty
pulse_
I think that was it. Too fucking short! When they played I'm sick, the sound was kind of messed up, like Hazuki sounded too drowned out. Right after it, a stagehand came up to switch mics for him (including a stand), thus it was the first time I saw him without the wire wrapped around his wrist.
I was kdsgjlsjgkjlls so happy when they played an illusion, which, imho, is better than Adore. It's a more creative song, with more layered elements. The sample I'd heard before led me to believe the structure would be the obvious verse-verse-chorus-verse-verse-chorus pattern, but the progression is actually something fairly interesting. Reo's solo in the middle was also really nice. an illusion wins. Why are B-sides always so awesome but so overlooked? Like how stuck pain never gets enough credit. Adore was alright, but kind of lacklustre after an illusion... plus the key change disoriented me. The other two were as good as always. :)
I think at one point, Hazuki put Reo in a headlock, lol. They went off after NOT ENOUGH songs. Hazuki did that thing where he dropped the mic and yelled out his thanks in his unaugmented voice. Aww. Then he sauntered off with the smuggest, most chill smile (lol, it's weird when you start differentiating between his types of smiles) and waved a casual bye.
Bought the new towel and strap. Yay... can't wait for the one-man! But they need to stop FRUSTRATING ME with their sales distribution tactics! I can't believe they're not selling via Likea anymore, and the limited press was out at Parco Tower Records. Fuck, it means I need to check the Kintetsu Tower Records. I hope it won't be sold out by the time I get there. ;-;
edit: ahhahaa, my playlist decided to play The Smashing Pumpkins' Adore album. How fitting.
X JAPAN revival 3/28 ~night of destruction~ @ Tokyo Dome
Tokyo Dome was HUGE. Largest venue in Japan, but also largest show I've ever attended in my life. (I generally don't listen to artists that are able to sell out stadiums!) We got there around 4:30pm and couldn't even find the International Will Call booth for a good 15 minutes because there were SO many people obscuring it. Loads of hide cosplayers, and Yoshiki, too. It was actually kind of endearing, yet saddening, to see so many hides, though-- it's been exactly a decade since he died, and he left behind so many fans that still hold his memory so dear.
Well, we finally got our tickets, and lined up by Gate 20. The audience was so diverse, too. Loads of Japanese and foreigners alike, neither predominantly male nor female, dressed visual, cosplay, skanky, lolita, punk, casual, men old enough to be fathers, girls young enough to be schoolkids. I cannot begin to describe how crowded it was, lining up outside the Dome. (This show was pretty much sold out, and the Dome has a capacity of 55,000 seats + arena seats, so you can guess.) We met up with hideincarnate there, and her friend H. Disturbingly, 5:00pm ticked by, then 5:30pm, then 6:00pm, and even 6:30pm which was the show start time! Everyone was confused and anxious and it was RAINING and cold. D:
Finally, we got in, maybe 7:00pm... 7:30pm? We found our seats, which were 1st row, stands. JRR didn't shaft fans on seating, that's for sure. That part didn't need to be complained about. But we waited even MORE. The show didn't start until around 8:40pm! Over TWO HOURS late. I was worried that it'd be cancelled altogether. I'm just surprised nobody rioted, but I guess that's Japan for you.
When you're as big a name as X, I guess you can afford putting on a seriously VISUAL show. There's just miles in between what X is capable of and the usual indie band. I'm not saying small bands don't try their hardest, but X had Serious Funding. A huge scaffold, adorned with giant roses, framed on each side by ginormous ornate X's and screens up the wazoo. Lighting was, needless to say, fabulous. There was a sheer white curtain over the stage, too.
There were signs on the arena seats that said "don't stand" and "don't jump", but when they finally started, there was a deafening chorus of cheers and everyone immediately stood up. After 10 years, how could they expect people to stay seated?
SETLIST (stole it from some forum):
01. The Last Song
02. Rusty Nail
~MC~
03. Weekend (with Sugizo)
04. Scars (with Sugizo)
05. Silent Jealousy (with Sugizo)
06. hideの部屋 (hide no heya) - Pose
~MC~
07. Say Anything (Toshi, Pata, Heath)
08. Without You
~MC~
09. I.V.
10. 紅 aka Kurenai (with Sugizo)
~ENCORE~
11. Art of Life (cut short)
Last Song started quiet and Toshi's silhouette was blown up against the white curtain. The curtain dropped on a high note, the lights went on, and everybody screamed for all they were worth. The most disorienting part of the concert was getting used to the hide-hologram. They set up a slightly-higher-than-human-height cylindrical hologram in the lead guitarist position that played old footage of hide in past concerts, synchronized to whatever song it was. He was blasted all over the screens, too. It was a little eerie! They had huge vines lit up on the ceiling of the Dome, crawling towards the audience for one song, as well as a blown-up image of the Silent Jealousy cover art for that song.
"Pose" was almost completely hide-focused, with the odd neon-clad spastic dancers and archival footage of hide singing. But when I thought about it, I realized they really couldn't done it any other way... hide was such a huge part of the band that they had to do as much as possible to incorporate his memory. It would've been an affront to the fans if they hadn't tried their best. In that sense, the concert was so much like a hide tribute.
I was ECSTATIC to see Sugizo (ex-LUNA SEA) filling in for hide. Having heard the rumours, I was expecting Wes Borland, which would've been seriously a let down. But Sugizo was awesome, and really put in his all. It wasn't just seeing X, but seeing Sugizo for the first time, too, that made it such an awesome experience. In fact, at certain times, he was the most on-the-ball in the band... and he wasn't even part of the band! Everyone else... was not at their best, like Toshi's voice cracked and stuff. I'm not saying it was a bad show, but it was not their technically greatest one. I understand why, though-- not only was it the first night, but it must've been such a hugely emotional show for all the ex-X members, that it would've been hard to get through. Toshi wore dark glasses for pretty much all of it, and I suspect it was to hide his tears. Yoshiki refused to talk during one MC, and I suppose it was because he was overwhelmed, too. Pata was the only one who looked like he even remotely kept his cool. And that's because he's Pata.
Say Anything was an acoustic affair with Pata, Toshi, and Heath. It was slow and sweet. I suppose they set it up that way since Yoshiki destroyed his drumkit during Silent Jealousy... like, absolutely trashed it, a la old times. lol, the two American guys in bandannas next to me were pretty entertaining... they'd scream out "TOSHI" at inappropriate times on purpose and one guy kept roaring "PATA!" which is nice to hear aside from all the "hide!" and "Yoshiki!" screams.
Without You was so emotional-- they played old footage of the band in its heyday... scenes like hide fooling around by jumping on Yoshiki, Toshi with his metre-high old visual hair, Yoshiki in a dress, that sort of stuff. It really made me misty-eyed, and I saw a security girl standing close to us who was crying her EYES out. Like, really sobbing, and I couldn't blame her, because I'm sure everyone was thinking the same thoughts: how much the band was loved, how much the individuals were loved, how they worked so well together and how it fell apart in the years after, with one of them gone forever.
With Yoshiki on a grand Kawai piano (I don't know why I noticed the label), they played the new song I.V., which I honestly didn't think too much of, but it was still great live. They tried to get the audience to sing... which we did, but it was a little... uncoordinated, haha. The best part of the night was KURENAI though, hands down. When the acoustic intro came in, everybody went wild, and when the real song started up, there were pyrotechnics flaring up, silver streamers raining down and the audience went batshit insane. It was PRICELESS. Absolutely the best song of the night, and the most nostalgic for me, I'd say. It was beautiful.
Before the encore, the audience did the wave, lol... and it went on for like four waves, actually. Then they came on to do Art of Life... and here's where it gets curious... see, in the middle, Yoshiki suddenly slipped down in his seat and collapsed all over his drumkit. The song was obviously cut short. Security guys came and carried him offstage (it took a good 4 or 5 of them). The concert ended there. The real question was, of course, did Yoshiki fake it? There's compelling evidence he did, and compelling evidence he didn't. On one hand, it was certainly both a physically and emotionally draining show for him-- he hadn't played a concert of that scale since the last X Dome show, I'm certain. There's also hearsay that he fainted a second time on his way to the car, out of sight of the cameras (implying it wasn't faked for the people watching). On the other hand, Yoshiki is a... diva. And perhaps he did to cut the show short on purpose, since it was running over 11:00pm due to the 2+ hour delay.
Either way, he was up and running for the next day's show, so he was alright. And all things considered, I didn't regret going to that night. It was the least prepared of the three nights, but I'm glad I even went to any. It struck a part of me that almost forgot what it was like to be 16 and listening to X and loving it. It was a show of seriously mixed feelings, I'm sure for everyone involved. We went back the next day to get merch-- I bought a tote bag, keitai strap, and mirror. Had to line up for a good hour for it, I think!
Great stuff, but honestly, I'm not a little glad I usually go to much smaller shows, because I was sick of queues by the end of that weekend.
Stylish Wave CIRCUIT '08 春の嵐: lynch., heidi., Irokui, Guy's Family, SuG, Billy, Bergerac @ Nagoya E.L.L., 3/29
I was so tired from Tokyo that I don't think I enjoyed this show as much as I would've normally. My feet hurt, and I was a little bit annoyed that there were so many bands I didn't care about. The setting up times in between got tedious (the downside of event lives with too many bands), so I actually busted out a book I had with me-- an evolutionary biological view on sex written for laymen, haha. It's called Sperm are from Men, Eggs are from Women, by Joe Quirk. It was actually a good read, and well-researched, for the most part! I wouldn't agree with all of it though, since like with a lot of evolutionary biology that tries to convince you you're at the mercy of your genetic heritage, it was too reductionist in some points.
Anyway, this isn't about biology. The E.L.L. was more packed than I ever saw it! If it wasn't sold out, it was close to. I finally managed to wiggle to right side, against the wall, with my book after Bergerac. By the time lynch. came on, I'd squeezed into 4th row, I think. Not bad, considering I came late.
Bergerac: I completely didn't give a damn.
Billy: They did well, and were the only familiar band besides heidi. and lynch. They had a surprising amount of people participating. They were fun and energetic like before, but the guitarist with the indie glasses didn't slick back his hair, haha. Billy is thumbs up.
SuG: SOoooooo oshare. Everyone was dressed in pink. They had an incredible amount of fans, actually! They certainly knew how to work the crowd, and I'll admit they knew what they were doing. It's just that their music is so not my style. The vocalist is kind of annoying. They had a little bit in the middle where each member came to the front and the vocalist would go, "dare?!" and the fans would scream the name of the member. Anyway, slick show, not my kind of music.
Guy's Family: Heavier than I expected, but ultimately, I remember very little about their set! I guess they need to do something more interesting.
Irokui: They were missing their vocalist, too. I think he's in the hospital. Bad year for vocalists, seriously. They played a vocal track-- it sounded like it was straight off the studio recordings. In a way, it was a bit weird because the guy was obviously not there. I think I like what UnsraW did better... it was less distracting. Also kind of oshare-y music; they had presence and style, but were at a disadvantage without their vocal guy. I think SuG outdid them that day.
heidi.: man, I was RELIEVED to see heidi. take the stage finally. They were the first band of the night I unequivocally liked. They also looked the exact same as they did the last time I saw them, although I swear Nao looks more and more lizard-like every time. They started off with シンクロ. :) I want to say they played 解放, but I'm not sure. I think they played センチメンタル... if that's the one that gets girls jumping from side to side (it wasn't 夕焼けと子供). SO ANNOYING. This time because the crowd was so tight, I wasn't able to escape the crush, and got swept up into the jumping frenzy and that shit is killer on your feet (the precise part of me that was wailing from Tokyo). I think they did 街角幕情, too. The last one was レム, which is always good. In total it was only 5 songs, so that about covers it. GOoooo heidi.!
lynch.: Finally! ♥ Like always, I was Reo side (it just works out that way; I've nothing against Yusuke). Hazuki was his usual self, in a good mood. He did a lot of kissing his fingers, that night, lol. Silly, but hot. Which is an apt description of him in general. He wore his brown trench. I think he needs a haircut-- it's getting that positively electroshocked look lately. XD They played:
I'm sick,b'cuz luv u
59.
an illusion
Adore
unknown lost a beauty
pulse_
I think that was it. Too fucking short! When they played I'm sick, the sound was kind of messed up, like Hazuki sounded too drowned out. Right after it, a stagehand came up to switch mics for him (including a stand), thus it was the first time I saw him without the wire wrapped around his wrist.
I was kdsgjlsjgkjlls so happy when they played an illusion, which, imho, is better than Adore. It's a more creative song, with more layered elements. The sample I'd heard before led me to believe the structure would be the obvious verse-verse-chorus-verse-verse-chorus pattern, but the progression is actually something fairly interesting. Reo's solo in the middle was also really nice. an illusion wins. Why are B-sides always so awesome but so overlooked? Like how stuck pain never gets enough credit. Adore was alright, but kind of lacklustre after an illusion... plus the key change disoriented me. The other two were as good as always. :)
I think at one point, Hazuki put Reo in a headlock, lol. They went off after NOT ENOUGH songs. Hazuki did that thing where he dropped the mic and yelled out his thanks in his unaugmented voice. Aww. Then he sauntered off with the smuggest, most chill smile (lol, it's weird when you start differentiating between his types of smiles) and waved a casual bye.
Bought the new towel and strap. Yay... can't wait for the one-man! But they need to stop FRUSTRATING ME with their sales distribution tactics! I can't believe they're not selling via Likea anymore, and the limited press was out at Parco Tower Records. Fuck, it means I need to check the Kintetsu Tower Records. I hope it won't be sold out by the time I get there. ;-;
edit: ahhahaa, my playlist decided to play The Smashing Pumpkins' Adore album. How fitting.