2011/06/16 - TOTALFAT 「THE HERO IS DAMNED TOUR 2011」 GUEST: SHIT HAPPENING, 山嵐 | BAYSIS (横浜)
Have been waiting for this live for SO long. Ever since they announced it, really. TOTALFAT in fests is good, but I think that you're able to better feel the energy in a livehouse.
CATCH ALL Record's boss had announced the day before that goods were going to start selling an hour before the show started, so I headed to the livehouse an hour earlier.
Also because I have ticket number 30! Front rows are dangerous for punk shows, but that's where the adrenaline rush is.
I really like their company culture. Or the fact that it doesn't feel like a company, but rather a group of friends coming together to do things they love. Picture on the left is of the pre-show good sales, and those are people standing around chatting with the boss, who's there manning the booth. Would have liked to join in, but it felt strange :/ I had free wifi anyway, which was a happy surprise. Bummed around in the rain, Shun came out to buy stuff and went back in, Kuboty returned with friends, and then it was time to queue to enter the livehouse. Sold out show tonight, but I was dumb and thought I could take a photo of the sign AFTER the live (which I couldn't because it had been removed).
Ran in, stuffed my bag in the lockers, and headed to the stage to see if I could get a front row spot. Unfortunately, there were only second to third row spots left to both the right and left sides. Was trying to avoid standing in the center because that's where the highest frequency of crowdsurfers go by, from previous experience at the Kawasaki CLUB CITTA' show. But of course as things usually go, there was miraculously an empty spot for one person smack in the center. I debated with myself for a a few seconds, saw that the girls beside me weren't going to take up the spot (because it only fit one person), figured that I'd probably never get the chance to be front row for them in a small livehouse, and decided to take up the place. Not without a huge pool of dread in my stomach though.
SHIT HAPPENING
I've said this earlier, and I'll say this again, but though some bands might have good stuff, I kinda wish that they had a name which I'd feel proud telling people about. Of course they're aiming for a Japanese audience so it's probably cool to them and all. But ohwell. It IS hard to come up with creative names, I have to admit. Still... :/
But name aside, I liked their stuff enough to buy their new CD after the show (released only the day before haha). Listening to it as I type this, and I'm liking what I hear. Their songs sound more mature than I had expected. Then again, all they've had on their discography is one single (released earlier this year) and then it was straight to a full album. Not bad.
Was going to write a setlist, but I realised that it was taking too much effort to try to ID the songs. Having to strain your ears to pick out the music through the static is tiring. Give up. Also because I couldn't seem to be able to find the first song, and that's a pretty bad start. May write one if I get more familiar with them in the future. The vocals/guitar pimped everything he could during the MC (new CD, goods, tickets to the tour final at Shibuya O-West). Everything else was a muffled mess, but I enjoyed everything music-wise. The only thing that turned me off a little during their set was that the girl to my left (who was obviously there for TOTALFAT) looked so bored during the performance. I felt so bad for the boys because it does feel discouraging to see someone like that in the front row.
山嵐
Setlist:
SE: House of Pain "Jump Around"
01. PRIDE
02. BOXER'S ROAD
03.
04.
05. Ride with us
Coincidentally, a friend and I had just been talking about "Jump Around" last week (House of Pain are due to perform for Summer Sonic). Picture is of the setlist peeking out behind the screen. I was THAT close to the stage. However, even though I have a photo of the setlist, I can't ID two of the songs because I've looked at their discography and they don't seem to have those songs there D: I guess what's written was probably shortened from something else :/ If anyone's interested/can ID it for me, all that's written for 03 is Oga and 04 is Koji.
Their sound is harder than that of SHIT HAPPENING, and blends rap and rock. Doesn't venture into hardcore, as far as I can hear. Seems like they're from Shonan, just like SiM. Either bands that come from there tend to have harder sounds, or I just happened to see two which have. Either way, 山嵐 have been around ages in the industry (about 15 years). I got very distracted by their guitarist's hat, because not only does it have a unique shape (kinda wavy brim), it kept getting taken off/falling off/getting knocked off (because the guitarist is tall and the ceiling isn't very high). He also had a white guitar whose body is a small rectangle. Interesting.
The energy from their performance was amazing, and after the second song, the girl to my right went "感動した！！！" very audibly. Girl on left still looked bored. Though by the end she was moving to the music a little. Guess she got infected by their music too. Also, I'm not averse to people who are overweight, but it wasn't a comfortable experience getting squished between two of them when the push occured during the show.
TOTALFAT
Setlist:
01. Livin' for The Future
02. Sky of California
03. Across The Chance
04. Good Fight & Promise You
MC
05. Dance On, My Friends
06. Damage
07. Longest Dreamer
08. Highway 3
09. Invention~Good Morning,My Treasures~
10. Summer Frequence
MC
11.
12. World of Glory
ENCORE
MC
EN01. Life Like Movies
EN02. Ryan,Don't Worry
EN03. Overdrive
EN04. DA NA NA
The band we've all been waiting for. The SE played, the boys walked in, and "fight for your life" time (a.k.a. the mad crush/moshers/neverending crowdsurfers) began. There was a constant stream of crowdsurfers for practically EVERY song, with the exception of "Summer Frequence". I had to have one eye on the staff throughout the entire show, and whenever they moved in my direction, I'd immediately cover my head with my arms and bend forward. This was usually how I'd spend the choruses of songs because that's when most of the surfers jump. Sweat is an awesome lubricant, and has helped many a surfer slip over me. Also, I've decided that if I were to go bald in the future, it'd be because of going to shows like this rather than eating too much instant noodles. I was so terrified when I looked at my arms after each song because there'd be strands of my hair there every time.
After "Good Fight & Promise You", the band took a break and Shun did the MC. He asked how we were doing and said "Welcome to the show!" Some dude in the crowd shouted out "I CAME FROM SOMEWHERE FAR OFF!!!" and Shun went, "Oh! Where?" "SAITAMA!!" was the answer and Shun tsukkomi-ed him with, "That's near!!", and the whole livehouse burst into laughter. There were other people there in the crowd tonight from Kyoto and Okayama. I was very tempted to go "SHINGAPOORU" but I didn't have the balls to do it. Leave me in the corner please. Regretting for life. Shun continued, "But it's nice to live in a place where everything's 5 minutes away by bicycle!" He then said that the place was totally not warmed up at all, "Look! My skin is still so dry!" But it waqs obviously shiny and covered in a film of sweat, so he wiped it on his shirt and tried again.
The instruments came in for "Dance On, My Friends", Jose tried screaming something (but I couldn't hear him, what's new? :/), and the song started proper. As much as I like the next song "Damage", it just reminds me so much of a rock-ier version of Muse's "Uprising". I know it's kinda different, but the key elements of the song are all there. The bass intro and the electric guitar, and basically the general feel of the song. Oh well. It is said that there's no truly original song around...
Another MC break after "Summer Frequence". Shun said that he was "ハイーパー楽しい" (hyper having fun). Random people in the audience kept shouting random stuff that I couldn't make out, and Shun very nicely asked them to shut up (lol). He talked about how they have been putting out an album a year (last year's was "Overdrive"), and how they had experienced many sights and sounds at all the different places which their "Overdrive" tour had taken them on last year. They write songs with the intention of making the listeners happy and energised, but lately there seems to be role reversal. (CUE STRUMMING OF GUITAR IN THE BACKGROUND.) Many events had been cancelled after the disasters, and when it was time for their first show in a long while, they were unsure if it was alright to perform the way they usually did. However, the crowd had responded very enthusiastically, just like we were responding to them today. Shun said that he was sure that everyone carries a certain weariness in their minds and hearts, accumulated from school and work, and the band members were no different from us. But just by standing here, it was amazing how that weariness would just suddenly disappear. In all his 27 years, lives were the only times when he had ever felt this way. And this is where the guitar started affecting my recorder really badly and everything Shun said just turned into a muffled mess. I'm pretty pissed off about this because he said some really good things and I feel quite sad that I'm not able to share it with you all. SIGH. The guitar adds to the mood, but I could really do without it right now. Anyway, all I managed to catch was the last line (and even then, I'm only sure about the first two-thirds of the sentence): Believe in tomorrow, hold on to the power of music, and let's enjoy tonight to the fullest. The MC ended and so did the guitar as it transited very smoothly into the next song. I wonder how rehearsed all this is, because the timings just fit so nicely. Anyway, I couldn't ID the next song. Sadness +2. I don't remember ever having heard this song from them before though, but man it sounds vaguely familiar.
They did the album version of "World of Glory", which is basically the version without Inoue Joe. I think it sounds much better in the version with Inoue Joe though, because the verse sounds kinda awkward when sung in English. Then again, it might be because I heard the Inoue Joe version first. Also, Inoue Joe has a nice, fuller voice. But it's probably impossible to expect him to tour with them just to sing that one song, so here's hoping he'd guest at their final at Shibuya AX.
The song ended and we all clapped for an encore. It didn't take long before they obliged. Shun came out and said, "Thank you, baybeh!" (in English, lol) and everyone cheered. Then he went, "Rock n' roll!" and we cheered again. I have no idea why haha. He commented his shirt was all soaked, all the band members were settling into their positions, and the head of his bass guitar smacked the microphone, resulting in a mini DUNDUNDUNNNNNNN moment XD Shun thanked everyone for the encore, and asked for a round of applause for the band that had supported them in a few of the shows on their current tour, SHIT HAPPENING. "They've released an album... right?", he said, and looked at Jose for confirmation (to which Jose replied, "Yea, it's selling in Tower Records right now."). He pimped them out for awhile. Okay this makes it sound bad haha. Anyway he talked about how they were all really young (they're my smelly brother's age D: ) but they've been working really hard, so do go to their shows if we liked their stuff.
Shun also asked for a round of applause for 山嵐. He hesitated for a few seconds and went, "My first girlfriend..." to which Jose went, "Oh, are you going to talk about that?" and everyone in the crowd went "OOOOOOOOO" XD Anyway, it was when Shun was in senior high school, and the girl was a HUGE fan of 山嵐, especially their bassist 武史. Apparently she kept going "OMG HE'S SO COOL" to the then 14 year old Shun, which (very understandably hurhur) annoyed him greatly and made him feel like doing undescribable things if he were ever to meet them one day. He didn't know what kind of people they were at that time. So anyway, this were the memories he had ever had of 山嵐. Then, he had the opportunity to meet 山嵐's 武史 last year, and was considering telling him about it (with borrowed courage from alcohol, of course). He did, and 武史's response was, "That's so manly.. I like that! Let's be friends!" and that was how they got to be support for TOTALFAT's current tour XD Jose agreed with Shun that 武史 was a manly dude, Shun told everyone how the band were long-time fans of 山嵐, thanked them for playing support, and then told everyone that it was Yokohama BAYSIS' 5th anniversary this year.
He congratulated the livehouse, and Jose related one of the memories they had of the place. TOTALFAT were doing a previous show there 5 years ago (to celebrate the opening of the livehouse, probably?) when Shun collapsed and had to be sent to the hospital via ambulance. Jose asked him if he was fine, and he replied, "Haha, somehow I guess?" Shun then proceeded to pimp their tour final at Shibuya AX. He went, "And then..." when there was a thud sound from the stage right and an immediate "OEI" from the TOTALFAT staff member standing there. Shun talked about how their tour had started from May, but no one was paying any attention to him anymore because everyone's attention got drawn to the hapless cameraman behind going, "I DIDN'T TOUCH IT! I DIDN'T TOUCH IT!!!" to the very visibly annoyed TOTALFAT roadie. Apparently, a guitarcase had dropped. Cue the inevitable DUNDUNDUNNNNNNNNN moment. And Shun went, "See, this is clearly the worst time to make an announcement because no one's paying any attention." He waited for awhile and then resumed pimping their tour final at Shibuya AX. After last year's hugely successful "Overdrive" tour, they had set their dreams bigger. "Bigger" not only in terms of venue size, but in terms of the kinds of songs and lyrics they wrote, the live atmosphere, communication with the audience during shows... these were the things they were working hard everyday at improving while on their tour. He invited everyone to come down to Shibuya for their tour final, and the band started up again. Jose screamed some stuff, which as usual, I couldn't hear over the instruments, and they played "Life Like Movies". Was really happy when I heard it, because I hadn't heard this song in a long while.
This is where (if I recall correctly) tragedy happened to me. I had previously been able to safely ward off attacks from the crowdsurfers passing by overhead (and, fuck me, but I am sure that I probably had about 50 of those motherfuckers pass over my head during TOTALFAT's show alone. It was THAT bad). The crowd had gotten crazier in the second half, and there were a couple of times that I almost got flipped OVER the metal bar because the staff were trying to pull crowdsurfers out. Needless to say, my ribs and stomach were also permanently forced against the metal bar by the crowd pushing from the back. But back to my tragedy. It was probably because I was overjoyed at hearing "Life Like Movies" that I let my guard slip a little. In a moment of madness, my arms which were shielding my head didn't hold strong enough on the metal barrier in front of me, the crowdsurfer passing by pushed my head down, and the bridge of my nose connected with the metal bar. There was a sickening "pop" sound, the kind you hear when you break a thin chicken bone. I quickly ran my fingers over the spot, and there was a very obvious horizontal indent in the bone. I could also smell iron, but touched my nose and felt no blood. Really got damn sian after that. Whatever adrenaline I had throughout the entire show suddenly dissipated, and left me feeling extremely tired. But since this was already the encore, I decided that I was going to tough it out here no matter what. I think it was also during "Overdrive" that a few staff members suddenly climbed into the stage and jumped into the crowd. Apparently some girl had fainted in the front row and they had to drag her out. Hasegawa (one of the staff) also kept giving the "Are you okay?" look to the girl standing beside me (because she did look like she was going to faint as well). Towards the end, some guy tried to start to surf by pushing himself up using my shoulder, but that was pretty fail because I was in the front row, which meant that his surf started and ended in a split second (LOL FAIL). I saw Hasegawa forcibly shove one guy a couple of times to the side, because he was taking too much time to move off (not Hasegawa's fault, since he needed to clear the space fast to take in other surfers). But I was going "YEA PUSH THE FUCKERRRRRR" internally ahaha. Got some skin grazed off my wrist because I felt a burn when one surfer was going past.
The band played "DA NA NA" and Hasegawa made an "OMG WHYYYYYYYYYY YOU NO END???" face and flung his hands up exasperatedly, though in a joking manner XD I can kinda understand how he's feeling because EVERY part of that song is fit for surfing. I was crouching with my arms over my head for almost the ENTIRE song except for the last few lines. I did learn something useful though. Apart from crouching with arms over your head, you should also lean back into the people around you so that you don't get dragged forward or hit the metal barrier. Some livehouses put cushioning over the barriers, but Yokohama BAYSIS doesn't.
The band left the stage, and people started clearing out. But there were people suddenly coming to the front so I stayed there to see what they were doing. Apparently, this is when people start grabbing for all kinds of band paraphenalia, like setlists, drumsticks and picks. The fans were all going "CAN I HAVE A PICK PLEASE" "SETLIST PLEASE", all the while waiting with outstretched arms. And there was a MAD grabbing frenzy when a roadie obliged. It seriously looked like zookeepers handing out bananas to a bunch of starved monkeys. I was... honestly quite shocked at the rabid fans. Anyway, the crowd dissipated after 10 minutes or so when it looked like the roadies were not passing out anymore things. I was the last one to leave the area, but gravitated to the side and waited for awhile, wondering if JUST MAYBE they might be kind enough to pass me something if I asked, since I was the only one there. They didn't look too friendly, but I decided to be thick-skinned and asked one of the roadies (who I saw throwing picks earlier - I think he's Kuboty's guitar tech) if I could have a pick. I thought that he was going to ignore me on purpose (and half-expected him to do so), but he fished around in his pockets, and then went to the box of picks placed on top the amps, took one out, and tossed it to me!! He must be a pro at this because it landed squarely in my palm. Here it is!! :DDDDD
Beggars can't be choosers, and I was happy enough to even get anything (though I would have preferred Shun's pick). I thanked him, went to the washroom to check out just how messed up my hair was (looked in the mirror and it was surprisingly decent even though it didn't feel that way), saw the red line on my nose bridge, checked for any bleeding (still none, thank goodness), and then left the livehouse.
Photo is of roadies packing up, and the BAYSIS sign outside the livehouse. It was still raining when the live ended :/
Checked the damage I got after I reached home. Besides the nose, I also had unknowingly sustained large angry bruises on my left forearm, had skin scraped off on my left wrist, bruised lower ribs and couldn't bend my head forward. I suddenly got a slight runny nose after the show, and blew into a tissue to see faint pink spots. Guess there was internal bleeding after all :S
Some other things which happened during the live, but I couldn't remember exactly when they happened:
1. Kuboty kicked Hasegawa on purpose in the middle of a song. It was full of LOL because Hasegawa had the "OMG WTF DID YOU JUST KICK ME???? DDDDD:" look on his face. Everyone around the area who saw that was laughing away.
2. Shun looked straight at me and smiled (this happened in the second half of their set, probably before the encore). And it wasn't just a quick glance, but a good 4 seconds or so. I think it's because I was singing along to ALL their songs, so he probably noticed me mouthing the lyrics all the time. I nearly died.
3. Okay this isn't really something which happened, but I'm wondering if Jose has eczema. His left elbow joint looked badly scratched, how my joints used to look back when my condition was a lot worse.
4. Also during the soundcheck, Shun played the intro to Muse's "Hysteria"!!! I was happily surprised. I tweeted him about it, and he replied saying that he was a huge fan of Muse, had watched them live twice, often plays "Hysteria" during soundcheck because he loves the bass riff, and was happy that I had noticed. They had also played another song (Bunta started on the drums and Shun joined in), and it was a song which I was really happy to hear (English song), but I forgot the song. Fall Out Boy? No idea :((( (EDIT: I think it was Good Charlotte's "The Anthem".)
I know this going to sound masochistic and all, but going to shows like this, singing your heart out, being shoved around, coming back all bruised and beaten, and having to deal with the lactic acid in your muscles over the next few days is what makes me feel alive. This is why I will still try to make it to the front row (despite it being the most dangerous spot) every time. That closeness you feel with the band just isn't the same in a large venue, and even if you were to stand at the back of a small livehouse. One of the vocalists from 山嵐 headbanged during one of their songs, and I could feel his sweat droplets on my face. It's an experience you can't get anywhere else.
I'm a drummer myself, so I unconsciously look at the drummer all the time (occupational hazard haha), but if a band is good, I completely forget about the drummer and usually concentrate on just the vocalist and the band in general. TOTALFAT's one of the bands which I can totally forget that the drummer exists (which is kinda sad since Bunta's an awesome drummer and I would love to learn from how he plays). Also, I'm always thoroughly drenched - both shirt and pants - during their shows. The show ended around 9pm, and my shirt was still soaking wet when I reached home at 2am. In any case, what I just want to say is that if you like their songs, you HAVE to check them out live. Do yourself just this favour.
EDIT: The CATCH ALL Records' boss uploaded some photos taken by the cameraman during the show (not going to paste them here due to copyright, but you can click on the link to see them at his blog), and I can spot myself in two of the photos! Even if you know what I look like, it's probably impossible to find me, but I can point myself out to anyone who's interested hurhur. It really helps to use a different handsign from everyone else, and wear accessories which can identify you easily.
Next live: 2011/06/19 - [Champagne] tour 2011 「I Wanna Go To Hawaii. ～いや、総長マジで～」 | 恵比寿LIQUIDROOM
CATCH ALL Record's boss had announced the day before that goods were going to start selling an hour before the show started, so I headed to the livehouse an hour earlier.
Also because I have ticket number 30! Front rows are dangerous for punk shows, but that's where the adrenaline rush is.
I really like their company culture. Or the fact that it doesn't feel like a company, but rather a group of friends coming together to do things they love. Picture on the left is of the pre-show good sales, and those are people standing around chatting with the boss, who's there manning the booth. Would have liked to join in, but it felt strange :/ I had free wifi anyway, which was a happy surprise. Bummed around in the rain, Shun came out to buy stuff and went back in, Kuboty returned with friends, and then it was time to queue to enter the livehouse. Sold out show tonight, but I was dumb and thought I could take a photo of the sign AFTER the live (which I couldn't because it had been removed).
Ran in, stuffed my bag in the lockers, and headed to the stage to see if I could get a front row spot. Unfortunately, there were only second to third row spots left to both the right and left sides. Was trying to avoid standing in the center because that's where the highest frequency of crowdsurfers go by, from previous experience at the Kawasaki CLUB CITTA' show. But of course as things usually go, there was miraculously an empty spot for one person smack in the center. I debated with myself for a a few seconds, saw that the girls beside me weren't going to take up the spot (because it only fit one person), figured that I'd probably never get the chance to be front row for them in a small livehouse, and decided to take up the place. Not without a huge pool of dread in my stomach though.
SHIT HAPPENING
I've said this earlier, and I'll say this again, but though some bands might have good stuff, I kinda wish that they had a name which I'd feel proud telling people about. Of course they're aiming for a Japanese audience so it's probably cool to them and all. But ohwell. It IS hard to come up with creative names, I have to admit. Still... :/
But name aside, I liked their stuff enough to buy their new CD after the show (released only the day before haha). Listening to it as I type this, and I'm liking what I hear. Their songs sound more mature than I had expected. Then again, all they've had on their discography is one single (released earlier this year) and then it was straight to a full album. Not bad.
Was going to write a setlist, but I realised that it was taking too much effort to try to ID the songs. Having to strain your ears to pick out the music through the static is tiring. Give up. Also because I couldn't seem to be able to find the first song, and that's a pretty bad start. May write one if I get more familiar with them in the future. The vocals/guitar pimped everything he could during the MC (new CD, goods, tickets to the tour final at Shibuya O-West). Everything else was a muffled mess, but I enjoyed everything music-wise. The only thing that turned me off a little during their set was that the girl to my left (who was obviously there for TOTALFAT) looked so bored during the performance. I felt so bad for the boys because it does feel discouraging to see someone like that in the front row.
山嵐
Setlist:
SE: House of Pain "Jump Around"
01. PRIDE
02. BOXER'S ROAD
03.
04.
05. Ride with us
Coincidentally, a friend and I had just been talking about "Jump Around" last week (House of Pain are due to perform for Summer Sonic). Picture is of the setlist peeking out behind the screen. I was THAT close to the stage. However, even though I have a photo of the setlist, I can't ID two of the songs because I've looked at their discography and they don't seem to have those songs there D: I guess what's written was probably shortened from something else :/ If anyone's interested/can ID it for me, all that's written for 03 is Oga and 04 is Koji.
Their sound is harder than that of SHIT HAPPENING, and blends rap and rock. Doesn't venture into hardcore, as far as I can hear. Seems like they're from Shonan, just like SiM. Either bands that come from there tend to have harder sounds, or I just happened to see two which have. Either way, 山嵐 have been around ages in the industry (about 15 years). I got very distracted by their guitarist's hat, because not only does it have a unique shape (kinda wavy brim), it kept getting taken off/falling off/getting knocked off (because the guitarist is tall and the ceiling isn't very high). He also had a white guitar whose body is a small rectangle. Interesting.
The energy from their performance was amazing, and after the second song, the girl to my right went "感動した！！！" very audibly. Girl on left still looked bored. Though by the end she was moving to the music a little. Guess she got infected by their music too. Also, I'm not averse to people who are overweight, but it wasn't a comfortable experience getting squished between two of them when the push occured during the show.
TOTALFAT
Setlist:
01. Livin' for The Future
02. Sky of California
03. Across The Chance
04. Good Fight & Promise You
MC
05. Dance On, My Friends
06. Damage
07. Longest Dreamer
08. Highway 3
09. Invention~Good Morning,My Treasures~
10. Summer Frequence
MC
11.
12. World of Glory
ENCORE
MC
EN01. Life Like Movies
EN02. Ryan,Don't Worry
EN03. Overdrive
EN04. DA NA NA
The band we've all been waiting for. The SE played, the boys walked in, and "fight for your life" time (a.k.a. the mad crush/moshers/neverending crowdsurfers) began. There was a constant stream of crowdsurfers for practically EVERY song, with the exception of "Summer Frequence". I had to have one eye on the staff throughout the entire show, and whenever they moved in my direction, I'd immediately cover my head with my arms and bend forward. This was usually how I'd spend the choruses of songs because that's when most of the surfers jump. Sweat is an awesome lubricant, and has helped many a surfer slip over me. Also, I've decided that if I were to go bald in the future, it'd be because of going to shows like this rather than eating too much instant noodles. I was so terrified when I looked at my arms after each song because there'd be strands of my hair there every time.
After "Good Fight & Promise You", the band took a break and Shun did the MC. He asked how we were doing and said "Welcome to the show!" Some dude in the crowd shouted out "I CAME FROM SOMEWHERE FAR OFF!!!" and Shun went, "Oh! Where?" "SAITAMA!!" was the answer and Shun tsukkomi-ed him with, "That's near!!", and the whole livehouse burst into laughter. There were other people there in the crowd tonight from Kyoto and Okayama. I was very tempted to go "SHINGAPOORU" but I didn't have the balls to do it. Leave me in the corner please. Regretting for life. Shun continued, "But it's nice to live in a place where everything's 5 minutes away by bicycle!" He then said that the place was totally not warmed up at all, "Look! My skin is still so dry!" But it waqs obviously shiny and covered in a film of sweat, so he wiped it on his shirt and tried again.
The instruments came in for "Dance On, My Friends", Jose tried screaming something (but I couldn't hear him, what's new? :/), and the song started proper. As much as I like the next song "Damage", it just reminds me so much of a rock-ier version of Muse's "Uprising". I know it's kinda different, but the key elements of the song are all there. The bass intro and the electric guitar, and basically the general feel of the song. Oh well. It is said that there's no truly original song around...
Another MC break after "Summer Frequence". Shun said that he was "ハイーパー楽しい" (hyper having fun). Random people in the audience kept shouting random stuff that I couldn't make out, and Shun very nicely asked them to shut up (lol). He talked about how they have been putting out an album a year (last year's was "Overdrive"), and how they had experienced many sights and sounds at all the different places which their "Overdrive" tour had taken them on last year. They write songs with the intention of making the listeners happy and energised, but lately there seems to be role reversal. (CUE STRUMMING OF GUITAR IN THE BACKGROUND.) Many events had been cancelled after the disasters, and when it was time for their first show in a long while, they were unsure if it was alright to perform the way they usually did. However, the crowd had responded very enthusiastically, just like we were responding to them today. Shun said that he was sure that everyone carries a certain weariness in their minds and hearts, accumulated from school and work, and the band members were no different from us. But just by standing here, it was amazing how that weariness would just suddenly disappear. In all his 27 years, lives were the only times when he had ever felt this way. And this is where the guitar started affecting my recorder really badly and everything Shun said just turned into a muffled mess. I'm pretty pissed off about this because he said some really good things and I feel quite sad that I'm not able to share it with you all. SIGH. The guitar adds to the mood, but I could really do without it right now. Anyway, all I managed to catch was the last line (and even then, I'm only sure about the first two-thirds of the sentence): Believe in tomorrow, hold on to the power of music, and let's enjoy tonight to the fullest. The MC ended and so did the guitar as it transited very smoothly into the next song. I wonder how rehearsed all this is, because the timings just fit so nicely. Anyway, I couldn't ID the next song. Sadness +2. I don't remember ever having heard this song from them before though, but man it sounds vaguely familiar.
They did the album version of "World of Glory", which is basically the version without Inoue Joe. I think it sounds much better in the version with Inoue Joe though, because the verse sounds kinda awkward when sung in English. Then again, it might be because I heard the Inoue Joe version first. Also, Inoue Joe has a nice, fuller voice. But it's probably impossible to expect him to tour with them just to sing that one song, so here's hoping he'd guest at their final at Shibuya AX.
The song ended and we all clapped for an encore. It didn't take long before they obliged. Shun came out and said, "Thank you, baybeh!" (in English, lol) and everyone cheered. Then he went, "Rock n' roll!" and we cheered again. I have no idea why haha. He commented his shirt was all soaked, all the band members were settling into their positions, and the head of his bass guitar smacked the microphone, resulting in a mini DUNDUNDUNNNNNNN moment XD Shun thanked everyone for the encore, and asked for a round of applause for the band that had supported them in a few of the shows on their current tour, SHIT HAPPENING. "They've released an album... right?", he said, and looked at Jose for confirmation (to which Jose replied, "Yea, it's selling in Tower Records right now."). He pimped them out for awhile. Okay this makes it sound bad haha. Anyway he talked about how they were all really young (they're my smelly brother's age D: ) but they've been working really hard, so do go to their shows if we liked their stuff.
Shun also asked for a round of applause for 山嵐. He hesitated for a few seconds and went, "My first girlfriend..." to which Jose went, "Oh, are you going to talk about that?" and everyone in the crowd went "OOOOOOOOO" XD Anyway, it was when Shun was in senior high school, and the girl was a HUGE fan of 山嵐, especially their bassist 武史. Apparently she kept going "OMG HE'S SO COOL" to the then 14 year old Shun, which (very understandably hurhur) annoyed him greatly and made him feel like doing undescribable things if he were ever to meet them one day. He didn't know what kind of people they were at that time. So anyway, this were the memories he had ever had of 山嵐. Then, he had the opportunity to meet 山嵐's 武史 last year, and was considering telling him about it (with borrowed courage from alcohol, of course). He did, and 武史's response was, "That's so manly.. I like that! Let's be friends!" and that was how they got to be support for TOTALFAT's current tour XD Jose agreed with Shun that 武史 was a manly dude, Shun told everyone how the band were long-time fans of 山嵐, thanked them for playing support, and then told everyone that it was Yokohama BAYSIS' 5th anniversary this year.
He congratulated the livehouse, and Jose related one of the memories they had of the place. TOTALFAT were doing a previous show there 5 years ago (to celebrate the opening of the livehouse, probably?) when Shun collapsed and had to be sent to the hospital via ambulance. Jose asked him if he was fine, and he replied, "Haha, somehow I guess?" Shun then proceeded to pimp their tour final at Shibuya AX. He went, "And then..." when there was a thud sound from the stage right and an immediate "OEI" from the TOTALFAT staff member standing there. Shun talked about how their tour had started from May, but no one was paying any attention to him anymore because everyone's attention got drawn to the hapless cameraman behind going, "I DIDN'T TOUCH IT! I DIDN'T TOUCH IT!!!" to the very visibly annoyed TOTALFAT roadie. Apparently, a guitarcase had dropped. Cue the inevitable DUNDUNDUNNNNNNNNN moment. And Shun went, "See, this is clearly the worst time to make an announcement because no one's paying any attention." He waited for awhile and then resumed pimping their tour final at Shibuya AX. After last year's hugely successful "Overdrive" tour, they had set their dreams bigger. "Bigger" not only in terms of venue size, but in terms of the kinds of songs and lyrics they wrote, the live atmosphere, communication with the audience during shows... these were the things they were working hard everyday at improving while on their tour. He invited everyone to come down to Shibuya for their tour final, and the band started up again. Jose screamed some stuff, which as usual, I couldn't hear over the instruments, and they played "Life Like Movies". Was really happy when I heard it, because I hadn't heard this song in a long while.
This is where (if I recall correctly) tragedy happened to me. I had previously been able to safely ward off attacks from the crowdsurfers passing by overhead (and, fuck me, but I am sure that I probably had about 50 of those motherfuckers pass over my head during TOTALFAT's show alone. It was THAT bad). The crowd had gotten crazier in the second half, and there were a couple of times that I almost got flipped OVER the metal bar because the staff were trying to pull crowdsurfers out. Needless to say, my ribs and stomach were also permanently forced against the metal bar by the crowd pushing from the back. But back to my tragedy. It was probably because I was overjoyed at hearing "Life Like Movies" that I let my guard slip a little. In a moment of madness, my arms which were shielding my head didn't hold strong enough on the metal barrier in front of me, the crowdsurfer passing by pushed my head down, and the bridge of my nose connected with the metal bar. There was a sickening "pop" sound, the kind you hear when you break a thin chicken bone. I quickly ran my fingers over the spot, and there was a very obvious horizontal indent in the bone. I could also smell iron, but touched my nose and felt no blood. Really got damn sian after that. Whatever adrenaline I had throughout the entire show suddenly dissipated, and left me feeling extremely tired. But since this was already the encore, I decided that I was going to tough it out here no matter what. I think it was also during "Overdrive" that a few staff members suddenly climbed into the stage and jumped into the crowd. Apparently some girl had fainted in the front row and they had to drag her out. Hasegawa (one of the staff) also kept giving the "Are you okay?" look to the girl standing beside me (because she did look like she was going to faint as well). Towards the end, some guy tried to start to surf by pushing himself up using my shoulder, but that was pretty fail because I was in the front row, which meant that his surf started and ended in a split second (LOL FAIL). I saw Hasegawa forcibly shove one guy a couple of times to the side, because he was taking too much time to move off (not Hasegawa's fault, since he needed to clear the space fast to take in other surfers). But I was going "YEA PUSH THE FUCKERRRRRR" internally ahaha. Got some skin grazed off my wrist because I felt a burn when one surfer was going past.
The band played "DA NA NA" and Hasegawa made an "OMG WHYYYYYYYYYY YOU NO END???" face and flung his hands up exasperatedly, though in a joking manner XD I can kinda understand how he's feeling because EVERY part of that song is fit for surfing. I was crouching with my arms over my head for almost the ENTIRE song except for the last few lines. I did learn something useful though. Apart from crouching with arms over your head, you should also lean back into the people around you so that you don't get dragged forward or hit the metal barrier. Some livehouses put cushioning over the barriers, but Yokohama BAYSIS doesn't.
The band left the stage, and people started clearing out. But there were people suddenly coming to the front so I stayed there to see what they were doing. Apparently, this is when people start grabbing for all kinds of band paraphenalia, like setlists, drumsticks and picks. The fans were all going "CAN I HAVE A PICK PLEASE" "SETLIST PLEASE", all the while waiting with outstretched arms. And there was a MAD grabbing frenzy when a roadie obliged. It seriously looked like zookeepers handing out bananas to a bunch of starved monkeys. I was... honestly quite shocked at the rabid fans. Anyway, the crowd dissipated after 10 minutes or so when it looked like the roadies were not passing out anymore things. I was the last one to leave the area, but gravitated to the side and waited for awhile, wondering if JUST MAYBE they might be kind enough to pass me something if I asked, since I was the only one there. They didn't look too friendly, but I decided to be thick-skinned and asked one of the roadies (who I saw throwing picks earlier - I think he's Kuboty's guitar tech) if I could have a pick. I thought that he was going to ignore me on purpose (and half-expected him to do so), but he fished around in his pockets, and then went to the box of picks placed on top the amps, took one out, and tossed it to me!! He must be a pro at this because it landed squarely in my palm. Here it is!! :DDDDD
Beggars can't be choosers, and I was happy enough to even get anything (though I would have preferred Shun's pick). I thanked him, went to the washroom to check out just how messed up my hair was (looked in the mirror and it was surprisingly decent even though it didn't feel that way), saw the red line on my nose bridge, checked for any bleeding (still none, thank goodness), and then left the livehouse.
Photo is of roadies packing up, and the BAYSIS sign outside the livehouse. It was still raining when the live ended :/
Checked the damage I got after I reached home. Besides the nose, I also had unknowingly sustained large angry bruises on my left forearm, had skin scraped off on my left wrist, bruised lower ribs and couldn't bend my head forward. I suddenly got a slight runny nose after the show, and blew into a tissue to see faint pink spots. Guess there was internal bleeding after all :S
Some other things which happened during the live, but I couldn't remember exactly when they happened:
1. Kuboty kicked Hasegawa on purpose in the middle of a song. It was full of LOL because Hasegawa had the "OMG WTF DID YOU JUST KICK ME???? DDDDD:" look on his face. Everyone around the area who saw that was laughing away.
2. Shun looked straight at me and smiled (this happened in the second half of their set, probably before the encore). And it wasn't just a quick glance, but a good 4 seconds or so. I think it's because I was singing along to ALL their songs, so he probably noticed me mouthing the lyrics all the time. I nearly died.
3. Okay this isn't really something which happened, but I'm wondering if Jose has eczema. His left elbow joint looked badly scratched, how my joints used to look back when my condition was a lot worse.
4. Also during the soundcheck, Shun played the intro to Muse's "Hysteria"!!! I was happily surprised. I tweeted him about it, and he replied saying that he was a huge fan of Muse, had watched them live twice, often plays "Hysteria" during soundcheck because he loves the bass riff, and was happy that I had noticed. They had also played another song (Bunta started on the drums and Shun joined in), and it was a song which I was really happy to hear (English song), but I forgot the song. Fall Out Boy? No idea :((( (EDIT: I think it was Good Charlotte's "The Anthem".)
I know this going to sound masochistic and all, but going to shows like this, singing your heart out, being shoved around, coming back all bruised and beaten, and having to deal with the lactic acid in your muscles over the next few days is what makes me feel alive. This is why I will still try to make it to the front row (despite it being the most dangerous spot) every time. That closeness you feel with the band just isn't the same in a large venue, and even if you were to stand at the back of a small livehouse. One of the vocalists from 山嵐 headbanged during one of their songs, and I could feel his sweat droplets on my face. It's an experience you can't get anywhere else.
I'm a drummer myself, so I unconsciously look at the drummer all the time (occupational hazard haha), but if a band is good, I completely forget about the drummer and usually concentrate on just the vocalist and the band in general. TOTALFAT's one of the bands which I can totally forget that the drummer exists (which is kinda sad since Bunta's an awesome drummer and I would love to learn from how he plays). Also, I'm always thoroughly drenched - both shirt and pants - during their shows. The show ended around 9pm, and my shirt was still soaking wet when I reached home at 2am. In any case, what I just want to say is that if you like their songs, you HAVE to check them out live. Do yourself just this favour.
EDIT: The CATCH ALL Records' boss uploaded some photos taken by the cameraman during the show (not going to paste them here due to copyright, but you can click on the link to see them at his blog), and I can spot myself in two of the photos! Even if you know what I look like, it's probably impossible to find me, but I can point myself out to anyone who's interested hurhur. It really helps to use a different handsign from everyone else, and wear accessories which can identify you easily.
Next live: 2011/06/19 - [Champagne] tour 2011 「I Wanna Go To Hawaii. ～いや、総長マジで～」 | 恵比寿LIQUIDROOM