Tokyo 2012: [The Gazette] -10TH ANNIVERSARY THE DECADE- at Makuhari Messe
okay this is seriously waaaaaaay overdue, most of my memories weren't from the live itself, but from the entire day's experience. thank goodness this live is released on DVD, and to mark the day of finally receiving the DVD itself i shall get this hugely-inaccurate live report up for posterity's sake.
it was a madness-inducing morning, as i woke up late and rushed down to Makuhari Messe. the weather certainly wasn't kind - it was gloomy and raining and exceptionally cold. probably the coldest and wettest day i had for my entire trip. also i was feeling kinda unwell, probably still too fatigued from the SuG live the night before.
anyway, i rushed to Makuhari Messe, made the mistake of not grabbing an onigiri and water at the conbini, and joined the goods queue immediately. it was so cold that i cursed myself for not bringing extra heat-pads.
it took me about 2 hrs to reach from that corner to where i snapped this pic =__=
so okay i got goods! i didn't have anything particular in mind, but i was really very happy that they did a bath towel! i missed out on the Budokan one in 2010 and was really moping over it for a while.
goods queue! by the time i got here, my Daiso umbrella was already leaking water at the stem.
what i got - bath towel, muffler-towel, pamphlet, bearbrick and totebag
aah, how i'd love to have this huge canvas hanging on my room wall!
after getting my goods, i headed for the GFC booth to get my ticket.
A-block, entry number 190. it's a free-standing live, which i am very, very bad at. i can't take the constant squashing, the lack of breathing space and the fear of falling down. so after i got the ticket, i rushed back into the hall area where the "cloak service" was. basically you pay 500yen for a large clear trash-bag, put all your stuff inside and the staff will keep it for you. as slots are limited, i quickly grabbed one, bought a hot-dog and water and settled down at a corner. as i was staying at Makuhari that very night, i had another duffel bag to carry and my shoulders were aching badly. probably spaced out for an hour or so, i deposited all my stuff and went for the insanely-long toilet queue. if there is anything i've learned after so many lives, is that you can never go wrong with a toilet visit before the live. doesn't matter if you feel the need to pee or not, just queue. cos by the time it gets to your turn, your bladder will be bursting.
thank goodness the rain stopped just before they opened the doors, cos the entrance to the hall was a non-sheltered area, on a green field and it was all muddy. the staff were flipping these huge number cards built on-top of a makeshift stage, so as soon as it gets to your number range, you run through the entrance, get your ticket checked and just run to the hall entrance! by the time i got in, i was able to stand at about row 4 right infront of Ruki's line.
and as soon as the lights dimmed, there was a huge rush to the front, and i was squashed right towards the front railings, smack into a group of gyarus infront of me. IT WAS HORRIBLE. my feet were off the ground, and i was basically just packed into a sea of bodies. i could barely see the video that they were playing on the big screen, cos all i had in my face was hair and more hair.
as soon as the guys came onstage, there was another awful push to the front again, and this time i was squashed right up to the front rail! unfortunately i couldn't hold the rail tightly enough and was squashed towards the left side again, lost my balance and basically leaned all over the poor folk behind me for the first song with me feet off the ground. then the pack moved again, and i was squashed to the right, to the left, to the right again, to the front again, and all in all, i saw NOTHING. i merely caught glimpses of the guys as they moved towards the edge of the stage! also, the stage was pretty high, so it was extremely uncomfortable to crane the necks upwards all the time. staff stood on erected stands around us, and began pulling people out cos some were already fainting.
about five songs later, i decided that i have had enough of all this madness, and after all the travelling, queuing and suffering in the cold wet rain, I DESERVE TO WATCH THE LIVE PROPERLY. so i turned around and snaked my way out of the madness pack, and headed all the way to the last rail of Block A. which was probably only like what, 30m from the stage?! suddenly i felt so stupid, that i should have planted myself here right from the start. finally i got to breathe and really watch the live, and the amazing, amazing lighting choreography.
more drama followed. shortly after i made my way to the back, one girl half-dragged her fainting friend out and both collapsed infront of me. another two girls around me helped them up, i turned and yelled at a oneesan-looking fan to get the staff behind her, and one other girl started fanning the fainting girls with a towel. IT WAS SHEER MADNESS. two male staff came and carried the girls out, soon more people made their way out from the front mess to the back, and suddenly the back area became really cramped. during the headbang songs i had to hold against the lower backs of the two girls infront of me cos they were headbanging and losing balancing and looked like they were going to crash into me any second.
and there's the set-list:
未成年
赤いワンピース
春ニ散リケリ，身ハ枯レルデゴザイマス
舐～zetsu～
Psychedelic Heroine
SWALLOWTAIL ON THE DEATH VALLEY
ガンジスに紅い薔薇
菫
枯詩
Cassis
THE $OCIAL RIOT MACHINE$
Ruder
VERMIN
VORTEX
HEADACHE MAN
IN THE MIDDLE OF CHAOS
Filth in the beauty
Encore
Ride with the ROCKERS
Nausea & Shudder
十四歳のナイフ
泥だらけの青春
貴女ノ為ノ此ノ命
関東土下座組合
LINDA～candydive Pinky heaven～
Double Encore
別れ道
春雪の頃
okay i admit i cheated. i had watched the DVD before i started on the report, and i am glad that i watched it first because there seems to be so little of the actual live that i could remember. but i remembered how stoked i was to hear 春ニ散リケリ，身ハ枯レルデゴザイマス cos it's been a good seven years since i've heard it at my first live in Shibuya. also 舐～zetsu～ drove me screaming madly. it's crazy how it took 20 lives to finally get to hear this song live! the Sumire + Kare Uta combo was still just as beautiful as experienced during [SEVEN], which was also held at Makuhari Messe. the headbang medley was absolutely wicked and deadly - a neck-snapping seven-hit combo that lasted right up to the first encore break. my heart brimmed with pride as the Disorder backdrop was raised onstage, cos i always feel that the Disorder album/period was the defining phase for them. not dark, not emo, just full of imploding rage within.
ashamedly, i was clapping and furi-ing away subconsciously for half of 十四歳のナイフ before i remembered the damn title. the final trip down the nostalgia lane came with 泥だらけの青春 and 貴女ノ為ノ此ノ命. i think it was my first 泥だらけの青春 too, and 貴女ノ為ノ此ノ命 was precious as always. in fact it was one of the songs that sealed my Gazette-worship fate.
i bursted into tears when they started with 別れ道. it's one of the few songs from their early days that wasn't fanciful, but had a strong message behind it. when i finally got to the level where i could read and understand the lyrics by myself, it was an overwhelming realisation. i never knew the significance of the song back then, and i felt truly grateful that i could hear it once again.
and of course, the live had to end with 春雪の頃. there is no song more apt to end off a birthday live, with a heart full of hope and anticipation for the future. and just like during [SEVEN], white confetti were shot into the air, creating a beautiful scene of falling flakes gently floating in the air. it was a truly magical sight.
absolutely amazing sight.
getting out of the venue, however, was another long wait. there was crowd control and the blocks infront were the last to let go. so i sneaked in another shot to show how far i was from the stage.
not too shabby methinks.
made a quick dash to retrieve my bags, the queue was insanely long and we were moved to queue outside the hall. IT WAS JUST HORRIBLE. i certainly didn't expect my night to end on such a bad note. it was freaking cold at night and every person in the queue was just struggling to keep warm. it took me almost two hours to finally get my stuff, and a final mad dash to the train station for the shuttle bus to the hotel. THANK GOODNESS I DID NOT HAVE TO GO BACK TO TOKYO FOR THAT NIGHT! *cries*
alright that's as much as i have for a live report. it's terrible, i know. but i blame it on them for always delivering such a good, solid live everytime, all the time. without fail. so much so that nowadays my memories get hazy and confused hahaha. :p