ALL VISIBLE THINGS Chicago, IL 11.16.09
As soon as we were checked in the hotel, around 3:30PM Sunday, we gathered what we needed for the line just in case we got down to the venue and saw a line forming. Well, we should have grabbed the blankets and pillows then and there. We walked the two miles down Clark St. to the venue to find a good chunk of line already there so we decided to stay. XD;
People snuggled in line.
I didn't even notice the sign was spelled wrong at first. *facepalm*
DIR EN GRAY, hahahaha.
I had no intention of camping out, really, but I was in the mood for adventure? We made ourselves known to the fans that weren't sleeping and Ally saved the spot while I walked the two miles back to the hotel to meet Robbie with the blankets and pillows. I grabbed the umbrellas too, which was good because it ended up lightly raining again in the middle of the night. I essentially walked six miles that night just counting those back and forth trips. It warmed me up, so it was nice. We grabbed dinner at the Wrigleysville Hotdog place across the street.
Hotdogs!
The guys over there were interested in why we were camping out and allowed us to use the bathroom and said we could hang out to warm up whenever we wanted. Robbie left us to go back to the hotel after dinner and told us to call if anything happened, since there were no men in line to protect us. Haha. After sitting there a while, the temperature started dropping and the wind picked up. The Oscar Mayer Wiener Mobile drove past the venue and because of my fatigue I thought that was the funniest thing ever, especially since when we passed it on the highway I said something like Dir en grey was riding in it. I made a joke saying we should walk to Walgreens to buy Snuggies… And we ended up doing that around eleven. They never did much good, but my Snuggie did cover my feet which let me cover my face with my other blanket. I wanted to give my free booklight to Toshiya since I think it would have amused him? XD; Some more fans showed up after midnight, around when Ally and I moved from the sidewalk to a little alcove in front of an unused door. It started raining around then, so we opened up the umbrellas and made sort of a covering over us while we huddled and tried to sleep. Several people passed by asking what we were doing and we tried our best to explain, but you know how that goes. Some drunk thought we were there to see "David Gray" which is still funny to me, while a guy with an apartment across the street harassed us saying he could get in the doors before us on Monday night. The police came by to check on us, but didn't tell us to go home, which I thought was nice. As someone drove by they screamed at us, "Get a job!" which I thought was hilarious. Sometime in the early morning someone brought us coffee and donuts. I have no idea why, but the coffee put me right to sleep. The next time I woke up it was daylight, around six. My feet had come uncovered and were numb. I had a scary thought about them being purple and dead, but they warmed up during the walk to McDonald's for breakfast. Robbie met us as McDonald's and there were other fans there taking a break from the line.
The ugly orange tour bus showed up close to nine if I remember right. The line perked up right away. I never expected them in a million years to park in front of the venue with the bus door literally in front of me. I saw everyone who got on and off the bus, except for Toshiya because I was getting hot chocolate and using the restroom across the street. Kaoru!Roadie got off the bus in an Adidas tracksuit for a smoke, he mouthed samui to me and then said Cold! out loud. I nodded and said Samui! back. He then pointed out his lack of socks and Ally and I laughed. He came off the bus later for another smoke dressed in shorts… but with socks. Haha. Crazy man. Another roadie went to grab McDonald's for breakfast. The bus driver and Rick got on and off. Die and Nora were the first two of importance to get off the bus. I didn't like how Die was chased down the street, but fans will be fans. I wanted to do the same. They came back with Starbucks and some fans asked for pictures. Ally had letters to the band, so she handed Die his letter and the rest to Nora. It was around noon then and Robbie was there to check up on us.
Die!
Around the same time the misspelled sign was fixed. The line cheered and clapped. I was too late to get a picture of it being changed.
Sign change.
Picture of me in need of a shower and cold.
The main part of the day was pretty uneventful. Kyo never got off the bus of course. I knew he'd get off once we all went inside, but I did see him on the bus. I think it was when lunch was delivered to the bus… Hotdogs from across the street of course. (I somehow always end up eating what the band has for lunch. Wendy's back during INWARD SCREAM, Hotdog place for AVT…) The bus door was left open for longer than usual, allowing me to see someone with straight shoulder length light colored hair sitting in the driver's seat. Had to have been Kyo. He wasn't facing me, but he was probably watching the street or the hotdog place through the window coverings. Ally's friend Jami came by around 3PM to wait with us with permission of those in line behind us. After that I absolutely needed some hot chocolate and a bathroom break so I went across the street with Jami. That's when Toshiya came out, who said hi to Ally. When I was across the street warming up, Nora was taking blog pictures. I was talking with Jami when I looked out the window to see Nora and the camera facing the inside of the restaurant directly at me… I was like, "HEYIT'SNORA!" and put on a stupid smile and waved. Only the picture of the sign made it on Shinya's blog… But a stupid picture of me exists on that bus somewhere, I'm sure.
Robbie came by at five to get our coats. I hated stripping down, but I survived. I ran across the street to make my last bathroom break and wondered if Kyo was still in the driver's seat or looking out of a window… Or if anyone was watching me. Sort of weirded me out. There were some issues with "line cutters" around then, but the venue staff was nice about it. I could see the TV on the bus through the window, but I had no idea what they were watching. Jami and I asked questions about coat check and cameras. My camera was approved and I decided to skip coat check to insure a place on the rail. Closer to six we all lined up huddled together… Doors opened a couple of minutes after six, and venue policy was to separate men and women, which pissed me off. I wonder if anyone heard me say, "I wish I had a penis!" on the way inside. ;>.> Anyway, I ran up the stairs despite being told not to run. I did not expect a rail spot center stage. I started out in front of Toshiya's spot, but was pushed right to my preferred spot dead center in front of Kyo. I was so happy.
The hour until the show always goes by fast. Because of that last hour outside without wearing gloves my hand were frozen. It took the full hour until seven for them to feel normal again. It was a little weird actually because there was AC being pumped from above the stage so the front of me was cold but the back was warm from body heat. As far as I know the show started on time at seven.
After seeing Digital Mindy's MySpace I expected the worst… But I was impressed by how engaging they were as a band. Until the strippers came out. The singer met my eyes a couple of times, but I was pretty much thinking about other things than paying attention to them. Like the strippers hanging out with Dir en grey back stage.
After Digital Mindy left the stage was prepped for Dir en grey. I love how Nora turned the beer bottles for Die and Toshiya so that the label faced the crowd. Ha. I caught a good glimpse of the setlist as it was being taped. I saw VINUSHKA first and could make out INCONVENIENT IDEAL most of the way down the list. I tried taking a picture, but without flash it came out blurry. Before the band came out a signing was announced, but I already knew that was going to happen.
Setlist!
SA BIR
VINUSHKA
Red Soil
REPETITION OF HATRED
-MC-
STUCK MAN
Agitated Screams of Maggots
OBSCURE (New lyrics)
-A cappella-
触紅
BUGABOO
蜷局
GLASS SKIN
-A cappella-
INCONVENIENT IDEAL
DOZING GREEN
Merciless Cult
冷血なりせば
-Encore-
THE FINAL
鼓動
凱歌、沈黙が眠る頃
I recorded SA BIR and the band coming out on stage.
I thought it was weird that the first three songs were the first three from UROBOROS, but whatever. I liked VINUSHKA as an opener. Kyo took notice of my camera right away. ;>.> We made eye contact a couple of times, but nothing noteworthy. Kyo's leg blocked Shinya most of the time, so I only saw arms and hair behind the drums. I had a pretty good view of Die and Toshiya, but for some reason had to turn my head far left to see Kaoru. I tried to get decent pictures of everyone. Toshiya was being extra super duper cute! He was really into the show. Toward the end of the set there was a hard push from the back which made me lose my breath a little and I guess I made a face because I looked up to meet Toshiya's gaze. Ha. First time I've had eye contact with him. Shokubeni was the highlight of the night. Except for people talking during the a cappella… Toguro and Stuck Man were also amazing. Kyo's moves are always pure sex.
Please visit this link to see the rest. (Join diru_tabloids if you haven't already!)
I got the first a cappella on video.
Security was really nice and took the time to give people water who needed it. Just before INCONVENIENT IDEAL I felt my phone come out of my pocket and snap off of its strap connected to my jeans and fall to the floor. In between songs I told security and he looked with a flashlight but didn't see it. I thought it was lost in the crowd.
The encore ended up being THE FINAL, Kodou, and Gaika… I like THE FINAL, but wasn't feeling it that night. But Kodou is one of my favourite songs and was happy to get it on better video than I did with my cell phone last year. After Gaika Kyo gave a half-smirk smile to the crowd and left the stage.
I never expected to catch anything since I was in the front and center, but Kaoru threw a pick that bounced off of something and landed in front of me. Security picked it up and put it in my hand. A couple of seconds later Toshiya threw a pick that did the same thing, but I let the girl standing next to me have it. A drumstick is what I've always wanted, but I doubt I'll ever catch one.
As soon as the crowd backed off I scoured the ground for my phone, only to find it perfectly wedged on its side between the left toe of my boot and the barricade. You don't know how glad I was! I can't put cell phone straps or charms on my phone anymore though. After that I rushed to get in the merch line. I bought a $3.00 bottle of water… Then the DVD, blue shirt, and poster. I love the blue shirt's design with the way it coincides with the tour name but it took me forever to find Toshiya and Die in the pattern. XD;
I ripped off the DVD plastic with my teeth and took out the DVD cover while in line for the signing. Shinya was first, then Toshiya. I didn't bother shaking hands because I didn't want to give them germs from the pit, just had them sign the DVD. I wanted to say something nice in Japanese but wasn't confident enough, but I was able to spit out two perfect arigatous.
Poster.
Autographs.
Kaoru's pick.
After that I met up with Ally outside. She wanted to hang around the bus a bit until Jami found us. I went back up to the door of the venue to catch Jami. I wasn't about to wait thirty minutes for the rest of the band to get back on the bus, so I walked across the street to Wrigleysville to keep watch. Ally ended up going in the bar across from the bus, while I ended up buying food. Jami walked across the street to get hot chocolate and sit with me and slowly the fans started dispersing across the street. We heard a cheer when the rest of the band got on the bus, and later Ally joined us across the street and bought herself dinner. And we also talked with a fan from China who was watching across the street for her friends to come out of the bar.
We talked about the show and general things like Ally talking with Rick, then for some reason I turned around to see if the bus was still there. (We were wondering why they hadn't left yet since it was close to midnight. No, we weren't stalking the bus, we were eating dinner.) I was like, "HAYIT'SDIE!" He was facing the restaurant smoking. I have no idea if he was watching us or not. We were done eating and we were about to call a cab anyway… Ally walked out of the restaurant and asked Die if we could approach him while Jami and I crossed the street. He said it was alright, so Ally and Jami asked him questions. Jami hadn't been able to get the wrapper off her DVD before the signing so Shinya and Toshiya signed the wrapper, so she asked Die if he'd sign it. Unfortunately her Shinya and Toshiya autographs ended up in the trash, but Die signed her DVD properly. Jami tried to get Die to say what musical direction the band is headed for, basically wanting a hint about the new single and for some reason Die answered with looking the single up on YouTube. Hahaha! So then Ally asked Die if he ever Googled himself, since we were wondering earlier in the day if the band ever searched their names, but he didn't really understand the question. I kept quiet because I didn't have a question, but I did manage to hand him my DVD to sign. And then the next thing I know his tattooed hand reached out to shake mine. That was a surprise. I really wanted to take a picture with him, but he was done with his cigarette and I didn't want to bother him.
After that, the three of us got in a cab and headed back to the hotel to take showers and get a couple of hours of sleep. At four we woke up to leave. Jami went her separate way while Robbie drove us the entire 14 hours home. The entire trip took us almost exactly 72 hours, 28 of that spent in the car, 26 of that spent in line… All for just a couple hours. It was worth it.
People snuggled in line.
I didn't even notice the sign was spelled wrong at first. *facepalm*
DIR EN GRAY, hahahaha.
I had no intention of camping out, really, but I was in the mood for adventure? We made ourselves known to the fans that weren't sleeping and Ally saved the spot while I walked the two miles back to the hotel to meet Robbie with the blankets and pillows. I grabbed the umbrellas too, which was good because it ended up lightly raining again in the middle of the night. I essentially walked six miles that night just counting those back and forth trips. It warmed me up, so it was nice. We grabbed dinner at the Wrigleysville Hotdog place across the street.
Hotdogs!
The guys over there were interested in why we were camping out and allowed us to use the bathroom and said we could hang out to warm up whenever we wanted. Robbie left us to go back to the hotel after dinner and told us to call if anything happened, since there were no men in line to protect us. Haha. After sitting there a while, the temperature started dropping and the wind picked up. The Oscar Mayer Wiener Mobile drove past the venue and because of my fatigue I thought that was the funniest thing ever, especially since when we passed it on the highway I said something like Dir en grey was riding in it. I made a joke saying we should walk to Walgreens to buy Snuggies… And we ended up doing that around eleven. They never did much good, but my Snuggie did cover my feet which let me cover my face with my other blanket. I wanted to give my free booklight to Toshiya since I think it would have amused him? XD; Some more fans showed up after midnight, around when Ally and I moved from the sidewalk to a little alcove in front of an unused door. It started raining around then, so we opened up the umbrellas and made sort of a covering over us while we huddled and tried to sleep. Several people passed by asking what we were doing and we tried our best to explain, but you know how that goes. Some drunk thought we were there to see "David Gray" which is still funny to me, while a guy with an apartment across the street harassed us saying he could get in the doors before us on Monday night. The police came by to check on us, but didn't tell us to go home, which I thought was nice. As someone drove by they screamed at us, "Get a job!" which I thought was hilarious. Sometime in the early morning someone brought us coffee and donuts. I have no idea why, but the coffee put me right to sleep. The next time I woke up it was daylight, around six. My feet had come uncovered and were numb. I had a scary thought about them being purple and dead, but they warmed up during the walk to McDonald's for breakfast. Robbie met us as McDonald's and there were other fans there taking a break from the line.
The ugly orange tour bus showed up close to nine if I remember right. The line perked up right away. I never expected them in a million years to park in front of the venue with the bus door literally in front of me. I saw everyone who got on and off the bus, except for Toshiya because I was getting hot chocolate and using the restroom across the street. Kaoru!Roadie got off the bus in an Adidas tracksuit for a smoke, he mouthed samui to me and then said Cold! out loud. I nodded and said Samui! back. He then pointed out his lack of socks and Ally and I laughed. He came off the bus later for another smoke dressed in shorts… but with socks. Haha. Crazy man. Another roadie went to grab McDonald's for breakfast. The bus driver and Rick got on and off. Die and Nora were the first two of importance to get off the bus. I didn't like how Die was chased down the street, but fans will be fans. I wanted to do the same. They came back with Starbucks and some fans asked for pictures. Ally had letters to the band, so she handed Die his letter and the rest to Nora. It was around noon then and Robbie was there to check up on us.
Die!
Around the same time the misspelled sign was fixed. The line cheered and clapped. I was too late to get a picture of it being changed.
Sign change.
Picture of me in need of a shower and cold.
The main part of the day was pretty uneventful. Kyo never got off the bus of course. I knew he'd get off once we all went inside, but I did see him on the bus. I think it was when lunch was delivered to the bus… Hotdogs from across the street of course. (I somehow always end up eating what the band has for lunch. Wendy's back during INWARD SCREAM, Hotdog place for AVT…) The bus door was left open for longer than usual, allowing me to see someone with straight shoulder length light colored hair sitting in the driver's seat. Had to have been Kyo. He wasn't facing me, but he was probably watching the street or the hotdog place through the window coverings. Ally's friend Jami came by around 3PM to wait with us with permission of those in line behind us. After that I absolutely needed some hot chocolate and a bathroom break so I went across the street with Jami. That's when Toshiya came out, who said hi to Ally. When I was across the street warming up, Nora was taking blog pictures. I was talking with Jami when I looked out the window to see Nora and the camera facing the inside of the restaurant directly at me… I was like, "HEYIT'SNORA!" and put on a stupid smile and waved. Only the picture of the sign made it on Shinya's blog… But a stupid picture of me exists on that bus somewhere, I'm sure.
Robbie came by at five to get our coats. I hated stripping down, but I survived. I ran across the street to make my last bathroom break and wondered if Kyo was still in the driver's seat or looking out of a window… Or if anyone was watching me. Sort of weirded me out. There were some issues with "line cutters" around then, but the venue staff was nice about it. I could see the TV on the bus through the window, but I had no idea what they were watching. Jami and I asked questions about coat check and cameras. My camera was approved and I decided to skip coat check to insure a place on the rail. Closer to six we all lined up huddled together… Doors opened a couple of minutes after six, and venue policy was to separate men and women, which pissed me off. I wonder if anyone heard me say, "I wish I had a penis!" on the way inside. ;>.> Anyway, I ran up the stairs despite being told not to run. I did not expect a rail spot center stage. I started out in front of Toshiya's spot, but was pushed right to my preferred spot dead center in front of Kyo. I was so happy.
The hour until the show always goes by fast. Because of that last hour outside without wearing gloves my hand were frozen. It took the full hour until seven for them to feel normal again. It was a little weird actually because there was AC being pumped from above the stage so the front of me was cold but the back was warm from body heat. As far as I know the show started on time at seven.
After seeing Digital Mindy's MySpace I expected the worst… But I was impressed by how engaging they were as a band. Until the strippers came out. The singer met my eyes a couple of times, but I was pretty much thinking about other things than paying attention to them. Like the strippers hanging out with Dir en grey back stage.
After Digital Mindy left the stage was prepped for Dir en grey. I love how Nora turned the beer bottles for Die and Toshiya so that the label faced the crowd. Ha. I caught a good glimpse of the setlist as it was being taped. I saw VINUSHKA first and could make out INCONVENIENT IDEAL most of the way down the list. I tried taking a picture, but without flash it came out blurry. Before the band came out a signing was announced, but I already knew that was going to happen.
Setlist!
SA BIR
VINUSHKA
Red Soil
REPETITION OF HATRED
-MC-
STUCK MAN
Agitated Screams of Maggots
OBSCURE (New lyrics)
-A cappella-
触紅
BUGABOO
蜷局
GLASS SKIN
-A cappella-
INCONVENIENT IDEAL
DOZING GREEN
Merciless Cult
冷血なりせば
-Encore-
THE FINAL
鼓動
凱歌、沈黙が眠る頃
I recorded SA BIR and the band coming out on stage.
Click to viewI thought it was weird that the first three songs were the first three from UROBOROS, but whatever. I liked VINUSHKA as an opener. Kyo took notice of my camera right away. ;>.> We made eye contact a couple of times, but nothing noteworthy. Kyo's leg blocked Shinya most of the time, so I only saw arms and hair behind the drums. I had a pretty good view of Die and Toshiya, but for some reason had to turn my head far left to see Kaoru. I tried to get decent pictures of everyone. Toshiya was being extra super duper cute! He was really into the show. Toward the end of the set there was a hard push from the back which made me lose my breath a little and I guess I made a face because I looked up to meet Toshiya's gaze. Ha. First time I've had eye contact with him. Shokubeni was the highlight of the night. Except for people talking during the a cappella… Toguro and Stuck Man were also amazing. Kyo's moves are always pure sex.
Please visit this link to see the rest. (Join diru_tabloids if you haven't already!)
I got the first a cappella on video.
Security was really nice and took the time to give people water who needed it. Just before INCONVENIENT IDEAL I felt my phone come out of my pocket and snap off of its strap connected to my jeans and fall to the floor. In between songs I told security and he looked with a flashlight but didn't see it. I thought it was lost in the crowd.
The encore ended up being THE FINAL, Kodou, and Gaika… I like THE FINAL, but wasn't feeling it that night. But Kodou is one of my favourite songs and was happy to get it on better video than I did with my cell phone last year. After Gaika Kyo gave a half-smirk smile to the crowd and left the stage.
I never expected to catch anything since I was in the front and center, but Kaoru threw a pick that bounced off of something and landed in front of me. Security picked it up and put it in my hand. A couple of seconds later Toshiya threw a pick that did the same thing, but I let the girl standing next to me have it. A drumstick is what I've always wanted, but I doubt I'll ever catch one.
As soon as the crowd backed off I scoured the ground for my phone, only to find it perfectly wedged on its side between the left toe of my boot and the barricade. You don't know how glad I was! I can't put cell phone straps or charms on my phone anymore though. After that I rushed to get in the merch line. I bought a $3.00 bottle of water… Then the DVD, blue shirt, and poster. I love the blue shirt's design with the way it coincides with the tour name but it took me forever to find Toshiya and Die in the pattern. XD;
I ripped off the DVD plastic with my teeth and took out the DVD cover while in line for the signing. Shinya was first, then Toshiya. I didn't bother shaking hands because I didn't want to give them germs from the pit, just had them sign the DVD. I wanted to say something nice in Japanese but wasn't confident enough, but I was able to spit out two perfect arigatous.
Poster.
Autographs.
Kaoru's pick.
After that I met up with Ally outside. She wanted to hang around the bus a bit until Jami found us. I went back up to the door of the venue to catch Jami. I wasn't about to wait thirty minutes for the rest of the band to get back on the bus, so I walked across the street to Wrigleysville to keep watch. Ally ended up going in the bar across from the bus, while I ended up buying food. Jami walked across the street to get hot chocolate and sit with me and slowly the fans started dispersing across the street. We heard a cheer when the rest of the band got on the bus, and later Ally joined us across the street and bought herself dinner. And we also talked with a fan from China who was watching across the street for her friends to come out of the bar.
We talked about the show and general things like Ally talking with Rick, then for some reason I turned around to see if the bus was still there. (We were wondering why they hadn't left yet since it was close to midnight. No, we weren't stalking the bus, we were eating dinner.) I was like, "HAYIT'SDIE!" He was facing the restaurant smoking. I have no idea if he was watching us or not. We were done eating and we were about to call a cab anyway… Ally walked out of the restaurant and asked Die if we could approach him while Jami and I crossed the street. He said it was alright, so Ally and Jami asked him questions. Jami hadn't been able to get the wrapper off her DVD before the signing so Shinya and Toshiya signed the wrapper, so she asked Die if he'd sign it. Unfortunately her Shinya and Toshiya autographs ended up in the trash, but Die signed her DVD properly. Jami tried to get Die to say what musical direction the band is headed for, basically wanting a hint about the new single and for some reason Die answered with looking the single up on YouTube. Hahaha! So then Ally asked Die if he ever Googled himself, since we were wondering earlier in the day if the band ever searched their names, but he didn't really understand the question. I kept quiet because I didn't have a question, but I did manage to hand him my DVD to sign. And then the next thing I know his tattooed hand reached out to shake mine. That was a surprise. I really wanted to take a picture with him, but he was done with his cigarette and I didn't want to bother him.
After that, the three of us got in a cab and headed back to the hotel to take showers and get a couple of hours of sleep. At four we woke up to leave. Jami went her separate way while Robbie drove us the entire 14 hours home. The entire trip took us almost exactly 72 hours, 28 of that spent in the car, 26 of that spent in line… All for just a couple hours. It was worth it.