live report: DEATHGAZE @ Nagoya ell. FITS ALL, Apr. 26/08
I'm so bemused when I think that tonight was the first show DEATHGAZE has played since they went on hiatus in 2007. I remember when I read Sou's very last message to the fans and the band, and thinking with so much horror that they'd inevitably disband-- but they didn't. They stuck it out, and tonight was evidence that Ai, Naoki, and Naoto really cared about they were doing.
They started just a bit late, with an unfamiliar S.E.... sounded like some sort of hip-hop/nu-metal. The ell. FITS ALL wasn't full, but there was a healthy amount of fans. Maybe around 150-200. There was also a surprising amount of male fans... some of whom I've seen at lynch. lives, lol. Most notably... the Big Guy & Little Guy magic duo. XD
So yeah, they came on and wow, Ai's kind of tall! And pretty masculine. He's broad across the shoulders and not hyper-skinny like a lot of bandmen. Sure, he's lost weight since the old days judging from photos, but he's still solid. I'm not sure how he used to pull off the creepy Lolita look since I can't imagine him in it now. I like him like this, though. He wore his hat (seen in flyers/promo photos) at first, but when he took it off, you could see that he had longish hair, the top half tied into a very spiky ponytail, and the sides of his head shaved off completely. He wore a trench, dark clothes, boots, and had chain mail across his right hand. Naoto was pretty laid back in normalish dark clothes and long hair. Naoki was hidden mostly. The new guy, Kohsuke is very, very blond. And kind of short.
I was standing 3rd row, between Kohsuke and Ai. But the crowd was very loose, so tons of breathing room. Didn't matter, the girls in front of me were short. When the band came on, a lot of girls waved the old white deathgaze towels. So sweet. The two girls in front of me were dressed in dark suits and had their lips painted dripping a la the band.
Stole the following setlist mostly from 2ch, but modified it because I think it's a little messed up:
insult kiss me
yami ni ame fuhaishita sekai
CHAOS
disease
gethsemane
I'm broken baby
MR.FREAKS
SINNER
New song?
MEMENTO Mori
Dies Irae
DOWNER
Killing Floor
shinizakura
RIHITO ZOIRE
EN1
DEAREST
[294036224052]
genocide and mass murder
Scatologist
EN2
yami ni ame fuhaishita sekai
Can't tell if that "New song" is really a new song or not. It didn't register with me. It started out a little slow, but quickly gained momentum. When they broke out into yami ni ame, that's when I really started enjoying myself. Apparently, it's a fan favourite, too, since that was probably the point at which everyone screamed and went crazy. CHAOS is a lot more fun live than on record, too... I never actually used to like that song.
Ai is... not a perfect vocalist, but he's new at this, and he put his all in, and that's all one can ask. There were times when he was a little off-key or his death voice was a little weak and lost among the instrumentation. But honestly, I think they made the right decision in not looking for a new vocalist. Nobody could've cared for the songs more than Ai himself. When they did Dies Irae (my long-time favourite), his voice wasn't as polished and rich as Hazuki's, but I liked it a lot more than Sou's mechanical version on genocide and mass murder. It was sincere, and that moved me. And come to think of it, that song's been through a lot.
He is a little stiff for a vocalist; he needs to get used to moving around more and urging the audience. But we did well without him, and near the end he warmed up and moved across the stage a lot more. The entire front tier (and most of the back) was having a grand old time headbanging the bejeezus out of ourselves. DEATHGAZE is tough on the neck. I think the best heavy song was [294036224052]. They did really well on DOWNER, too. And I quite loved gethsemane. :)
Kohsuke's not bad to watch. He's got fun expressions and gets into it. Naoto is pretty chill from what I saw. The band didn't talk much at first either except for the obligatory, "let's go! come on!" etc. etc., but at the beginning of the first MC, Ai talked for a long-ass time. First he was like, "Long time no see, eh! This is our first live since our hiatus!" and then sighed, "Natsukashiiii~~". He's a slow MC'er. As in, he takes forever to talk and talks with slow deliberation. But at least that way I can understand him better, lol. Well, he thanked everyone profusely for coming, and paused to consider what to say. He asked who bought the new singles and who has heard them. He announced the next couple of lives (at Osaka/Tokyo) and said they'd be playing Ruido K4 in Tokyo (he forgot the livehouse name, haha. The audience had to remind him). He asked who would be going to the Tokyo one-man show and a shocking proportion of fans actually raised their hands. It's good to see they've got support. Then he announced that they'd be back at the ell.FITS ALL 5/17 for a Likea event live. Omg, they'll be playing with MaveRick so I really want to go, but 5/17 is also D'espairsRay... which I refuse to skip.
Then he announced a nation-wide tour in July and August (lots of oohs and aahs!), including Hokkaido, Shikoku and Kyushu! :) Interestingly, they'll be playing Holiday Nagoya on my birthday (7/28), whee! I might go if I don't have other plans. There are worse ways to spend a birthday than in close quarters with DEATHGAZE. Then Ai showed us the tour goods. He was wearing the T-shirt and Naoto turned him around to show us the text on the back, and Ai was like, "Yeah, it says... blah blah somethingsomething, iunno!" lol. "We're also selling other stuff, like phone straps, mirrors and a bag!" and then he considered the bag. "I guess it suits guys since girls use those tiny little--" and he gestured a purse-sized bag, and mimicked a feminine walk while holding a clutch. "But it's a good bag! You can put your bento boxes, PET bottles, or your iPod in it! Or you know what, you could buy it and give it to your mom. Like, 'here, mom! From DEATHGAZE!'" Lots of titters, hehe. Then he suddenly seemed to remember that they have a new bassist now, and he was like, "OH LET ME INTRODUCE KOHSUKE. Wanna talk?" Kohsuke didn't really look like he did, but he said a couple of greetings anyway including the usual 'yoroshiku'.
In the first encore, they played DEAREST, which is the best new song, imo. Sure, it's not very heavy for DEATHGAZE, but I think it's a lovely and optimistic song to start off their new era. Plus, I liked the way he described it on lynch.'s first radio show. I like that it's not an angsty song, that it's hopeful and sweet. Genocide was fucking heavy... my neck was tiring out at this point. Big Guy & Little Guy were devotedly going on, haha. There was a very visually-dressed guy close to me-- from the profile he looked horrifying like one of my students (who I KNOW likes VK), but finally I decided it couldn't be the kid since his hair was too light to be allowed in high school. Ai moved a lot during this encore, and a couple of times when he was on my side, he looked straight at me, and maaaan, he has really intense eyes. They are big, a little sad, and so, so dark like two pools of nothingness sucking you in.
When they went off after the 1st encore, the house lights went up, but the audience kept shouting for them to come back, death voices and everything. They wouldn't relent, and maybe 10 minutes later, the guys came back, and did yame ni ame a second time. Great song, and I think we enjoyed it all the more for hearing it twice. They had started at 6:30pm and finished about 8:45pm.
When I left the venue, I noticed there was a sign on the 2nd landing (ell. FITS ALL has stairs), in the shape of a heart, covered in little pink paper roses with 'DEATHGAZE' spelled out in red. And there were little messages that said things like "Okaeri!" and stuff. It was very cute. Good live, and I hope the shows in Osaka and Tokyo go as well.
highlights:
- DEATHGAZE returning. :)
- The many uses of a tour bag.
- The second encore.
They started just a bit late, with an unfamiliar S.E.... sounded like some sort of hip-hop/nu-metal. The ell. FITS ALL wasn't full, but there was a healthy amount of fans. Maybe around 150-200. There was also a surprising amount of male fans... some of whom I've seen at lynch. lives, lol. Most notably... the Big Guy & Little Guy magic duo. XD
So yeah, they came on and wow, Ai's kind of tall! And pretty masculine. He's broad across the shoulders and not hyper-skinny like a lot of bandmen. Sure, he's lost weight since the old days judging from photos, but he's still solid. I'm not sure how he used to pull off the creepy Lolita look since I can't imagine him in it now. I like him like this, though. He wore his hat (seen in flyers/promo photos) at first, but when he took it off, you could see that he had longish hair, the top half tied into a very spiky ponytail, and the sides of his head shaved off completely. He wore a trench, dark clothes, boots, and had chain mail across his right hand. Naoto was pretty laid back in normalish dark clothes and long hair. Naoki was hidden mostly. The new guy, Kohsuke is very, very blond. And kind of short.
I was standing 3rd row, between Kohsuke and Ai. But the crowd was very loose, so tons of breathing room. Didn't matter, the girls in front of me were short. When the band came on, a lot of girls waved the old white deathgaze towels. So sweet. The two girls in front of me were dressed in dark suits and had their lips painted dripping a la the band.
Stole the following setlist mostly from 2ch, but modified it because I think it's a little messed up:
insult kiss me
yami ni ame fuhaishita sekai
CHAOS
disease
gethsemane
I'm broken baby
MR.FREAKS
SINNER
New song?
MEMENTO Mori
Dies Irae
DOWNER
Killing Floor
shinizakura
RIHITO ZOIRE
EN1
DEAREST
[294036224052]
genocide and mass murder
Scatologist
EN2
yami ni ame fuhaishita sekai
Can't tell if that "New song" is really a new song or not. It didn't register with me. It started out a little slow, but quickly gained momentum. When they broke out into yami ni ame, that's when I really started enjoying myself. Apparently, it's a fan favourite, too, since that was probably the point at which everyone screamed and went crazy. CHAOS is a lot more fun live than on record, too... I never actually used to like that song.
Ai is... not a perfect vocalist, but he's new at this, and he put his all in, and that's all one can ask. There were times when he was a little off-key or his death voice was a little weak and lost among the instrumentation. But honestly, I think they made the right decision in not looking for a new vocalist. Nobody could've cared for the songs more than Ai himself. When they did Dies Irae (my long-time favourite), his voice wasn't as polished and rich as Hazuki's, but I liked it a lot more than Sou's mechanical version on genocide and mass murder. It was sincere, and that moved me. And come to think of it, that song's been through a lot.
He is a little stiff for a vocalist; he needs to get used to moving around more and urging the audience. But we did well without him, and near the end he warmed up and moved across the stage a lot more. The entire front tier (and most of the back) was having a grand old time headbanging the bejeezus out of ourselves. DEATHGAZE is tough on the neck. I think the best heavy song was [294036224052]. They did really well on DOWNER, too. And I quite loved gethsemane. :)
Kohsuke's not bad to watch. He's got fun expressions and gets into it. Naoto is pretty chill from what I saw. The band didn't talk much at first either except for the obligatory, "let's go! come on!" etc. etc., but at the beginning of the first MC, Ai talked for a long-ass time. First he was like, "Long time no see, eh! This is our first live since our hiatus!" and then sighed, "Natsukashiiii~~". He's a slow MC'er. As in, he takes forever to talk and talks with slow deliberation. But at least that way I can understand him better, lol. Well, he thanked everyone profusely for coming, and paused to consider what to say. He asked who bought the new singles and who has heard them. He announced the next couple of lives (at Osaka/Tokyo) and said they'd be playing Ruido K4 in Tokyo (he forgot the livehouse name, haha. The audience had to remind him). He asked who would be going to the Tokyo one-man show and a shocking proportion of fans actually raised their hands. It's good to see they've got support. Then he announced that they'd be back at the ell.FITS ALL 5/17 for a Likea event live. Omg, they'll be playing with MaveRick so I really want to go, but 5/17 is also D'espairsRay... which I refuse to skip.
Then he announced a nation-wide tour in July and August (lots of oohs and aahs!), including Hokkaido, Shikoku and Kyushu! :) Interestingly, they'll be playing Holiday Nagoya on my birthday (7/28), whee! I might go if I don't have other plans. There are worse ways to spend a birthday than in close quarters with DEATHGAZE. Then Ai showed us the tour goods. He was wearing the T-shirt and Naoto turned him around to show us the text on the back, and Ai was like, "Yeah, it says... blah blah somethingsomething, iunno!" lol. "We're also selling other stuff, like phone straps, mirrors and a bag!" and then he considered the bag. "I guess it suits guys since girls use those tiny little--" and he gestured a purse-sized bag, and mimicked a feminine walk while holding a clutch. "But it's a good bag! You can put your bento boxes, PET bottles, or your iPod in it! Or you know what, you could buy it and give it to your mom. Like, 'here, mom! From DEATHGAZE!'" Lots of titters, hehe. Then he suddenly seemed to remember that they have a new bassist now, and he was like, "OH LET ME INTRODUCE KOHSUKE. Wanna talk?" Kohsuke didn't really look like he did, but he said a couple of greetings anyway including the usual 'yoroshiku'.
In the first encore, they played DEAREST, which is the best new song, imo. Sure, it's not very heavy for DEATHGAZE, but I think it's a lovely and optimistic song to start off their new era. Plus, I liked the way he described it on lynch.'s first radio show. I like that it's not an angsty song, that it's hopeful and sweet. Genocide was fucking heavy... my neck was tiring out at this point. Big Guy & Little Guy were devotedly going on, haha. There was a very visually-dressed guy close to me-- from the profile he looked horrifying like one of my students (who I KNOW likes VK), but finally I decided it couldn't be the kid since his hair was too light to be allowed in high school. Ai moved a lot during this encore, and a couple of times when he was on my side, he looked straight at me, and maaaan, he has really intense eyes. They are big, a little sad, and so, so dark like two pools of nothingness sucking you in.
When they went off after the 1st encore, the house lights went up, but the audience kept shouting for them to come back, death voices and everything. They wouldn't relent, and maybe 10 minutes later, the guys came back, and did yame ni ame a second time. Great song, and I think we enjoyed it all the more for hearing it twice. They had started at 6:30pm and finished about 8:45pm.
When I left the venue, I noticed there was a sign on the 2nd landing (ell. FITS ALL has stairs), in the shape of a heart, covered in little pink paper roses with 'DEATHGAZE' spelled out in red. And there were little messages that said things like "Okaeri!" and stuff. It was very cute. Good live, and I hope the shows in Osaka and Tokyo go as well.
highlights:
- DEATHGAZE returning. :)
- The many uses of a tour bag.
- The second encore.