Gackt Requiem et Reminiscence II ~Rebirth and Reunion~ Sapporo (03/15/09) and Hakodate (03/17/09)
Sapporo March 15, 2009 - Hokkaido Welfare Pension Hall (2nd live)
For this concert I was totally unable to use my advantage as a Dear and Japanese speaker and ended up being forced to use a foreign ticket service to get my tickets for this show. Needless to say I found myself in the back row on the second floor because I did not want to spend my entire salary to get closer (by this time I already had my premium seat for Hakodate).
When I got there however I realized it wasn't too bad at all, the seats were stacked high like an arena and we could see the stage the whole time. In an effort to find the door I managed to find the tour truck, though for Hokkaido they just rented weather-hardy trucks (it was snowing the whole weekend) and put the banners on the outside. Kind of sad looking...
At this concert I really noticed a lot of the staging and atmosphere. It was completely amazing but exactly like described by previous concert goers. I loved all the new songs and, when my friend wasn't busy staring at YOU through the binoculars I sometimes got to peer down at Gackt.
The war sounds effects, however, scared the living daylights out of my, particularly when the entire building shook and rattled around us!
After reading some reports about how tired Gackt was I was relieved to find him well rested and not wobbly at all.
Gackt is undoubtedly the best artist I have ever seen live, not just because of his skill, but how well he treats his audience. Us poor saps on the second floor got out OWN call and response tadaima/okaeri and he teasingly refused to do it with the first floor until he broke down. They of course were much louder but I still didn't feel super disconnected like nosebleeds normally make one feel.
During his MC he had to deal with some pretty pushy fans who, because of how close the stage was to the front row, would steal his water bottles before he even had a sip.
He dealt with it well and was mean to them in a funny way. At one point he faked lunging at a bottle thief. He went on to say that he had forgotten how awkward the stage was in Sapporo (there was a huge gap between his set and the end of the stage) and he and his crew had a hard time figuring out what to do with it.
At one point they suggested Platinum seats where the dears would pay a huge price to kneel for the ENTIRE concert. He then proceeded to demonstrate how he would push them over and laugh cruelly. He mocked us for agreeing to it and for agreeing to pay 2,300 yen ($23 us) for his water bottle.
Apparently somehow during his stay in Sapporo he broke one of his contacts and during the concert he really really couldn't see anything. During his MC people started screaming for his underwear and he guilted us with a speech something like this.
"I spent 3 months preparing and arranging and training for this tour and all you can say is you want my underwear?!"
And then he proceeded to flash us his underwear. It was black.
During his introduction of the band members Gackt made fun of Junji for not wearing his shoes all the time, and made fun of us for sucking at call and response. Chacha had us chant something particularly perverted which made Gackt giggle but I can't remember it, forgive me.
Finally as YOU came up to introduce himself Gackt renamed him daikon (white radish) because of his recent obsession with the vegetable. It is quite delicious and everywhere during the winter. YOU then used the famous Hokkaido mascot marimokkori in his call and response. Marimokkori is a cross between the word for a special Hokkaido algae and the word for erection. He looks like this.
YOU told us that he had his first mokkori (erection) during a concert in Sapporo and then proceeded to cover his crotch with his hands. Gackt, after he stopped laughing, informed us that YOU has been obsessed with marimokkori since they came to the island. Gackt then assured us that he did NOT have a mokkori, it would be painful in his outfit.
After this we moved into U+K and by the time the concert finished I was almost dying. I was sure to bring a fan and water to Hakodate.
Hakodate March 17, 2009 - Public Hall of Hakodate
For this live I was particularly careful about what I wore and what I brought with me. My seat was in the fourth row off to the side. At first I was feeling a little devastated about this but when I arrived at my seat, wearing my hot yellow wristband, I realised that all the seats to the right of me were blocked off. This was most likely because from that angle you couldn't see the stage well enough in Gackt's opinion. I was also thrilled because the aisle seat never arrived so my neighbour and I stood in the void but sat in our assigned seats.
This time I was sure to buy a ghost hand towel so I could dance along with Gackt like a proper Dear. The people around me were mostly housewives or calmer fans. The really hardcore goths, lolitas and cosplayers were all clumped into the middle. The way the hall was designed it made three areas for Gackt to pay attention to, not four, so I got lots more attention than I thought I would!
As the film began to play the giant bodyguard took his post near the stage and I swear he glared at me the entire concert. He had a bunch of Gackt's pretty boys in their army coats hold back the first row with a rope. However it wasn't difficult to take my attention away from him as the screen went up and there was Gackt...so....so close to me....
First thought, don't hate me please, he's not really that tall. He's...a real normal (gorgeous) human being. Second thought...damn his teeth are white! Third thought wow his ear pieces sparkle! Fourth thought, Chacha's hair is prettier than mine will ever be...After that it was mostly staring at him in awe while somehow managing to follow the dances. Thank god for practice in Sapporo.
At one point during the first half YOU and Chacha switch spots on the stage, though I really can't remember which song, forgive me, and YOU was very very close to my seat, playing his guitar skillfully. I looked up to take note of his pretty hair and (this sounds really ridiculous) but his eyes totally widened and he seemed to look surprised as I look to his eyes. He was gone shortly after...and I was grinning.
When Chacha came back there was kind of a similar shock and Juken too, but there could have been something crazy going on right behind me...I never looked anywhere but at the stage. Again...tall white girl...short japanese housewives...
While he was singing I noticed he would sometimes stand rather awkwardly or stumble a bit, but still look graceful. I can't say I have or have not seen this on the DVDs.
During Ghost I had a positively lovely view of everything that was under than body suit (including the cup) and his beautiful shoulders as he shrugged out of the jacket. I was also close enough to notice how much Gackt favoured fingering the nipples of the impaled torso more than anything else.
All too soon the second video appeared and it was much more effective close up and I understood more of what was going on. Gackt et al came out for My Father's Day looking lovely and coming a whole lot closer to us. I love Gackt and his method of story but honestly both times I enjoyed the second half more because it feels a lot more personal.
Leading up to Mirror we screamed our hearts out with Gackt jibing that Sapporo was better than us. This of course led to a whole lot more loud screaming. During the break in mirror he got us screaming so hard by flashing his deliciously smooth tummy at us that he ended up screaming a lot more than he needed/intended to. The rest of mirror was still musically perfect but there was a lot of eye fluttering and wobbling. As the lights went out at the end of the song Gackt turned away from us and fell onto his guitar-free side in a fetal position. Even though it was dark we could still see a swarm of men haul him up and remove him...he wasn't conscious from what I could tell.
We screamed and called his name and clapped and jumped and cheered for what seemed like forever until he finally appeared at the top of the stairs and the lights came back on. He was still very weak looking however. He stumbled around a bit, drinking water, offering a straw and spitting on who took it. When he went to throw the first bottle however he simply spun out and almost fell again. He managed to keep standing however and laughed to himself, a little annoyed...embarassed...and went to try again.
Before throwing the bottle, however, he stopped and yanked his bracelets off before throwing the bottle I think 3/4 of the way to the back (all one floor). My side of the stage got a simple spray right out of the bottle, since he couldn't reach a straw to us, and he gave the cheekiest grin before I was quiet damp. It's crazy and I know mostly due to contacts and lighting but his eyes sparkle when he smiles....*dreamy sigh*.
After throwing the bottles and his autographed balls he asked us if we were genki...and then proceeded to conjugate it in far far advanced ways to test if we could yell the correct response. I failed!! He did this with hot and a few other adjectives as well before he asked if we wanted to do "that" in reference to okaeri. We did a few times before he picked out the guys in the audience. Unlike Sapporo there were a ton of guys there and Gackt talked about how he likes Northern men even if they are a little shy.
He then said that there are a lot of strange things in the North...like the seaweed...and the women. He then did something he highly regretted for the rest of the show. With his arm he made a cranking/winding motion in the air and let out a high pitched sound kind of like a siren. Every chance we got we did it back at him...and every time he would firmly assure us we were scary. At one point the men even did it and Gackt was like no no I'm not that strict/unjust, you guys can't make a sound that high pitched. And then acted them out hurting themselves.
After calling us crazy and scary a bunch more Gackt said that he would probably have no voice later on (he was doing a radio show after I think) and did an impression of himself with a gravelly voice...it was rather hot actually.
Gackt then voiced his extreme displeasure with the Asahikawa situation and vowed that he would return to them ASAP. But he wasn't sure about Hakodate...we were scary...we responded with the siren and he looked down in playful regret.
He also pointed out how pathetic his set looked in Hakodate. The stage was rather small and so the speakers were mostly in front of the two pillars. The top part of the logo was hidden, though we could still see it up close. Overall during his MC Gackt seemed much more congenial, since no one was stealing his water from him.
When the band came out to be introduced, Junji again made a big deal of putting on his shoes. Gackt pondered if we were better at call and response than Sapporo and we proved him right. Though we were busy laughing as Junji told us he rode a horse for the first time and "totally lost."
As Juken bounded down to greet us he knocked Gackt's water bottle out of his hand and received a truly scathing look. It was hilarious. He mentioned something about soup curry, Hakodate is famous for it. Chacha again had us chanting something that left Gackt in stitches and YOU sadly did not talk about erections. As for Gackt he harassed us that when he arrived at the station on Monday there was hardly anyone there (this is totally normal for Hakodate) so where the hell did we all come from?!
Gackt then started to sing U+K and I got to see the cats up close...finally....I love this song! He spent a lot of time close to the audience and grinned as we all whipped out our hand towels to dance with him. I swear (fangirl) at one point during kimi no tame ni dekiru koto he watched closely to see if I actually knew the words and nodded to me before starting to walk off. I waved and he waved back...amazing!
There was thankfully no more wobbling or fainting during the rest of the show and it ended so extremely fast I wish it could have lasted forever. I am however a complete wreck after two concerts and only 4 hours of travel...I can't imagine how Gackt does it...
At the ended, however, I was rewarded with having my wristband removed and some lovely presents!
The flower is from the end of the movie as Gackt narrates some deep point about humanity that I can't understand. It's in a vile of water with Requiem et Reminiscence II printed on the side. The medallion was impossible to photograph but it's got the words Ghost and Requiem et Reminiscence II overlayed on an etching of a skull. The only thing I could possibly need now is the new album! I want to listen to those songs REPEATEDLY!!!
Final note: It was so strange to see YOU's picture in stained glass shop in Hakodate...I have been there so many times...just so weird!
For this concert I was totally unable to use my advantage as a Dear and Japanese speaker and ended up being forced to use a foreign ticket service to get my tickets for this show. Needless to say I found myself in the back row on the second floor because I did not want to spend my entire salary to get closer (by this time I already had my premium seat for Hakodate).
When I got there however I realized it wasn't too bad at all, the seats were stacked high like an arena and we could see the stage the whole time. In an effort to find the door I managed to find the tour truck, though for Hokkaido they just rented weather-hardy trucks (it was snowing the whole weekend) and put the banners on the outside. Kind of sad looking...
At this concert I really noticed a lot of the staging and atmosphere. It was completely amazing but exactly like described by previous concert goers. I loved all the new songs and, when my friend wasn't busy staring at YOU through the binoculars I sometimes got to peer down at Gackt.
The war sounds effects, however, scared the living daylights out of my, particularly when the entire building shook and rattled around us!
After reading some reports about how tired Gackt was I was relieved to find him well rested and not wobbly at all.
Gackt is undoubtedly the best artist I have ever seen live, not just because of his skill, but how well he treats his audience. Us poor saps on the second floor got out OWN call and response tadaima/okaeri and he teasingly refused to do it with the first floor until he broke down. They of course were much louder but I still didn't feel super disconnected like nosebleeds normally make one feel.
During his MC he had to deal with some pretty pushy fans who, because of how close the stage was to the front row, would steal his water bottles before he even had a sip.
He dealt with it well and was mean to them in a funny way. At one point he faked lunging at a bottle thief. He went on to say that he had forgotten how awkward the stage was in Sapporo (there was a huge gap between his set and the end of the stage) and he and his crew had a hard time figuring out what to do with it.
At one point they suggested Platinum seats where the dears would pay a huge price to kneel for the ENTIRE concert. He then proceeded to demonstrate how he would push them over and laugh cruelly. He mocked us for agreeing to it and for agreeing to pay 2,300 yen ($23 us) for his water bottle.
Apparently somehow during his stay in Sapporo he broke one of his contacts and during the concert he really really couldn't see anything. During his MC people started screaming for his underwear and he guilted us with a speech something like this.
"I spent 3 months preparing and arranging and training for this tour and all you can say is you want my underwear?!"
And then he proceeded to flash us his underwear. It was black.
During his introduction of the band members Gackt made fun of Junji for not wearing his shoes all the time, and made fun of us for sucking at call and response. Chacha had us chant something particularly perverted which made Gackt giggle but I can't remember it, forgive me.
Finally as YOU came up to introduce himself Gackt renamed him daikon (white radish) because of his recent obsession with the vegetable. It is quite delicious and everywhere during the winter. YOU then used the famous Hokkaido mascot marimokkori in his call and response. Marimokkori is a cross between the word for a special Hokkaido algae and the word for erection. He looks like this.
YOU told us that he had his first mokkori (erection) during a concert in Sapporo and then proceeded to cover his crotch with his hands. Gackt, after he stopped laughing, informed us that YOU has been obsessed with marimokkori since they came to the island. Gackt then assured us that he did NOT have a mokkori, it would be painful in his outfit.
After this we moved into U+K and by the time the concert finished I was almost dying. I was sure to bring a fan and water to Hakodate.
Hakodate March 17, 2009 - Public Hall of Hakodate
For this live I was particularly careful about what I wore and what I brought with me. My seat was in the fourth row off to the side. At first I was feeling a little devastated about this but when I arrived at my seat, wearing my hot yellow wristband, I realised that all the seats to the right of me were blocked off. This was most likely because from that angle you couldn't see the stage well enough in Gackt's opinion. I was also thrilled because the aisle seat never arrived so my neighbour and I stood in the void but sat in our assigned seats.
This time I was sure to buy a ghost hand towel so I could dance along with Gackt like a proper Dear. The people around me were mostly housewives or calmer fans. The really hardcore goths, lolitas and cosplayers were all clumped into the middle. The way the hall was designed it made three areas for Gackt to pay attention to, not four, so I got lots more attention than I thought I would!
As the film began to play the giant bodyguard took his post near the stage and I swear he glared at me the entire concert. He had a bunch of Gackt's pretty boys in their army coats hold back the first row with a rope. However it wasn't difficult to take my attention away from him as the screen went up and there was Gackt...so....so close to me....
First thought, don't hate me please, he's not really that tall. He's...a real normal (gorgeous) human being. Second thought...damn his teeth are white! Third thought wow his ear pieces sparkle! Fourth thought, Chacha's hair is prettier than mine will ever be...After that it was mostly staring at him in awe while somehow managing to follow the dances. Thank god for practice in Sapporo.
At one point during the first half YOU and Chacha switch spots on the stage, though I really can't remember which song, forgive me, and YOU was very very close to my seat, playing his guitar skillfully. I looked up to take note of his pretty hair and (this sounds really ridiculous) but his eyes totally widened and he seemed to look surprised as I look to his eyes. He was gone shortly after...and I was grinning.
When Chacha came back there was kind of a similar shock and Juken too, but there could have been something crazy going on right behind me...I never looked anywhere but at the stage. Again...tall white girl...short japanese housewives...
While he was singing I noticed he would sometimes stand rather awkwardly or stumble a bit, but still look graceful. I can't say I have or have not seen this on the DVDs.
During Ghost I had a positively lovely view of everything that was under than body suit (including the cup) and his beautiful shoulders as he shrugged out of the jacket. I was also close enough to notice how much Gackt favoured fingering the nipples of the impaled torso more than anything else.
All too soon the second video appeared and it was much more effective close up and I understood more of what was going on. Gackt et al came out for My Father's Day looking lovely and coming a whole lot closer to us. I love Gackt and his method of story but honestly both times I enjoyed the second half more because it feels a lot more personal.
Leading up to Mirror we screamed our hearts out with Gackt jibing that Sapporo was better than us. This of course led to a whole lot more loud screaming. During the break in mirror he got us screaming so hard by flashing his deliciously smooth tummy at us that he ended up screaming a lot more than he needed/intended to. The rest of mirror was still musically perfect but there was a lot of eye fluttering and wobbling. As the lights went out at the end of the song Gackt turned away from us and fell onto his guitar-free side in a fetal position. Even though it was dark we could still see a swarm of men haul him up and remove him...he wasn't conscious from what I could tell.
We screamed and called his name and clapped and jumped and cheered for what seemed like forever until he finally appeared at the top of the stairs and the lights came back on. He was still very weak looking however. He stumbled around a bit, drinking water, offering a straw and spitting on who took it. When he went to throw the first bottle however he simply spun out and almost fell again. He managed to keep standing however and laughed to himself, a little annoyed...embarassed...and went to try again.
Before throwing the bottle, however, he stopped and yanked his bracelets off before throwing the bottle I think 3/4 of the way to the back (all one floor). My side of the stage got a simple spray right out of the bottle, since he couldn't reach a straw to us, and he gave the cheekiest grin before I was quiet damp. It's crazy and I know mostly due to contacts and lighting but his eyes sparkle when he smiles....*dreamy sigh*.
After throwing the bottles and his autographed balls he asked us if we were genki...and then proceeded to conjugate it in far far advanced ways to test if we could yell the correct response. I failed!! He did this with hot and a few other adjectives as well before he asked if we wanted to do "that" in reference to okaeri. We did a few times before he picked out the guys in the audience. Unlike Sapporo there were a ton of guys there and Gackt talked about how he likes Northern men even if they are a little shy.
He then said that there are a lot of strange things in the North...like the seaweed...and the women. He then did something he highly regretted for the rest of the show. With his arm he made a cranking/winding motion in the air and let out a high pitched sound kind of like a siren. Every chance we got we did it back at him...and every time he would firmly assure us we were scary. At one point the men even did it and Gackt was like no no I'm not that strict/unjust, you guys can't make a sound that high pitched. And then acted them out hurting themselves.
After calling us crazy and scary a bunch more Gackt said that he would probably have no voice later on (he was doing a radio show after I think) and did an impression of himself with a gravelly voice...it was rather hot actually.
Gackt then voiced his extreme displeasure with the Asahikawa situation and vowed that he would return to them ASAP. But he wasn't sure about Hakodate...we were scary...we responded with the siren and he looked down in playful regret.
He also pointed out how pathetic his set looked in Hakodate. The stage was rather small and so the speakers were mostly in front of the two pillars. The top part of the logo was hidden, though we could still see it up close. Overall during his MC Gackt seemed much more congenial, since no one was stealing his water from him.
When the band came out to be introduced, Junji again made a big deal of putting on his shoes. Gackt pondered if we were better at call and response than Sapporo and we proved him right. Though we were busy laughing as Junji told us he rode a horse for the first time and "totally lost."
As Juken bounded down to greet us he knocked Gackt's water bottle out of his hand and received a truly scathing look. It was hilarious. He mentioned something about soup curry, Hakodate is famous for it. Chacha again had us chanting something that left Gackt in stitches and YOU sadly did not talk about erections. As for Gackt he harassed us that when he arrived at the station on Monday there was hardly anyone there (this is totally normal for Hakodate) so where the hell did we all come from?!
Gackt then started to sing U+K and I got to see the cats up close...finally....I love this song! He spent a lot of time close to the audience and grinned as we all whipped out our hand towels to dance with him. I swear (fangirl) at one point during kimi no tame ni dekiru koto he watched closely to see if I actually knew the words and nodded to me before starting to walk off. I waved and he waved back...amazing!
There was thankfully no more wobbling or fainting during the rest of the show and it ended so extremely fast I wish it could have lasted forever. I am however a complete wreck after two concerts and only 4 hours of travel...I can't imagine how Gackt does it...
At the ended, however, I was rewarded with having my wristband removed and some lovely presents!
The flower is from the end of the movie as Gackt narrates some deep point about humanity that I can't understand. It's in a vile of water with Requiem et Reminiscence II printed on the side. The medallion was impossible to photograph but it's got the words Ghost and Requiem et Reminiscence II overlayed on an etching of a skull. The only thing I could possibly need now is the new album! I want to listen to those songs REPEATEDLY!!!
Final note: It was so strange to see YOU's picture in stained glass shop in Hakodate...I have been there so many times...just so weird!