Finally: COLOGNE YFC 2011 REPORT
YFC - Cologne July 23 2011
So, after a friend cancelled on short notice and I was stuck with an extra card, another friend told me on the day before the live that she would come with me. She does neither know GACKT nor does she listen to this kind of music.
Anyway, we arrived at the venue at 2 p.m., one our later than planned since she couldn’t leave earlier. There we met up with another friend and the waiting began. First positive thing: A toilet close by! Last year in Bochum we had to walk up the whole street and use the 2 toilets at a gas station, which has soon become so crowded that we used bushes instead. It sucks a lot, so I was glad one was in close proximity. It was just kinda….weird….that it was right next to one of G’s busses. Lol So we joked that they were probably sitting in the bus watching us using the toilet and making jokes.
Around 4 p.m. most people became giddy and took their cameras out. We were waiting for the bus to arrive and waiting and waiting and waiting…. The security began to use barriers and we were standing practically shoulder next to shoulder and…thought the boys would arrive. Those who read my tweets know what comes next. LOL As soon as we heard anything remotely to a bus made us look towards the street, but no luck. The closer we got to 5:30 p.m. the more we thought that they were
a) incredibly running late
b) already inside the venue
Since we heard the instruments on the inside before and they had fallen silent minutes ago, it could have only been option B, but some told me “No, there were people already waiting since yesterday and they said they haven’t seen the boy arriving!” and “No, we’ve been here since morning! They can’t be inside!”. Some even asked the security guys who refused to answer, as far as I’ve been told.
(Since I just found nearly all of my tweets can be found on OGYD lol: not much to comment here.)
Somewhere in between a Japanese press-woman appeared and we had to help her to get inside of the venue. Since the door wasn’t opened upon her knocking, a girl moved over the barrier and slammed her fist against the door, saying “We do it like that in Germany!”. She quickly disappeared behind the barrier again and the press-woman was let in. She soon came outside again and the security guy with the red goat-beard demanded that all of us sat down. Well, it would have worked at the beginning since only around 100 people had been there at that time, but not around 5 p.m. when the place was crowded with hundreds of us. So after trying to sit down in vain, the Japanese woman told us to wave instead and then she took her pictures. The security guy went back inside and….closed the door. So the girl had to go up and slam her fist against the door again in order for the Japanese woman to get inside. Lol
The whole time it had been dry but cloudy and the sun had come out here and there BUT: around 5:30 p.m. it started to rain buckets. We got together like penguins and tried to help each other out with umbrellas but some got really soaked. So at 6 p.m. we started to shout for them to let us in and they actually did. The security was much better as in Bochum last year and, as far as I’ve heard from where I was standing, the goat-bearded guy told one guys he wouldn’t get in with that umbrella and water bottle. I was like “WTF??” and told my security woman that I might need the umbrella later and still had to travel home and that I would give up my bag anyway, and she told me to just get inside. That aspect of them was weird, really. (Oh, and before the rain had started the goat-bearded guy pointed at a boy with what appeared to have been a sword on his back. I first thought it was a samurai sword, too. The security guy told him to put it away and the boy took the “sword” which was actually an umbrella. The crowd laughed upon this.)
Inside my ticket was torn up. A girl in front of me started bitching at the security guy who told her that she’d get a new one anyway. I didn’t get that aspect at all since my friend’s card was only torn at the bottom. I received a new ticket, too. Anyway, I went to the merch stand, which was on the right next to the entrance and bought my stuff. We then headed down for the toilet and to give our bags away and then headed for the venue. As I’ve learned from last year: buy water and use earplugs. I gave earplugs to my friend too. She first said she doesn’t need them and afterwards thanked me over and over again that I had given them to her. Lol
We were standing in row 9 or 10 first and waited for the show to begin, as all of a sudden some people in the front jumped up, went “kyaaaaaaaaaaa” and we were pushed forward like a wave. No idea what was kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa-worthy. There was no one and nothing on stage, yet. The camera guy, who had filmed us on the outside, filmed us again on the inside and we had to wave and scream. I must say in Bochum I had much more room to move. It was also not really nice of three girls (who were so NOT smelling nice, if you get my drift…) to try to push us away and that 8 others acted as if there was a friend at the front and took our places. I hate that, really. It was funny though that the exact same girl was standing in front of me as had been the case in Bochum last year. Lol
The live started around 7:35 p.m. and I felt so sorry for the camera guy. He had to stand in the middle of us and filmed the live. The new songs are amazing. I really loved them, especially the SYH-ballad. JON and GACKT sung it so well that I was close to tears and after the girl from last year started bawling, I nearly started for real too. Lol The new band is awesome, I think. My friend was jealous of Chacha’s and Takumi’s hair all evening and all the way back home. It was also funny when JON picked up a reddish bra from stage and put it on, then posing with it. No idea where he got it from and if it really was for him, since You was standing in that corner, too. Lol Some girls had signed a German flag that Takumi danced with on stage after the live. G and JON work really great together as twins. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Even so much that I decided to go to Amsterdam, too. XD
After all the negative stuff I heard (via net and by people waiting in the crowd who went to the lives) about the 2 Paris’ lives, I can say that the band was so surprised, happy, touched and simply amazed by our reactions at the end. They even copied the “Heart”-sign we made with our hands and G had to blink several times after singing the SYH-ballad, during which most of us had made the heart-gesture. He even laughed and smiled a lot while we cheered them on and he had to wait a lot before he could say something. I think it was U:zo or Takumi who suddenly had fun doing the La Ola-wave with us for a couple of times, which made G and Jon laugh. You was also so hyped that he mimicked the heart-gesture like crazy at one point and Chacha was cheering us on even the more. They definitely looked so, so happy with our reactions and could only watch and shake their heads.
It was funny when G could finally say something and asked “Do you want me?” (leaving out the to come back again) and we screamed YES!!! He went all naughty, shook his finger in a “No, no, noooooo!” gesture and then asked if we want him to come back again. After the last song, I think it was again Takumi (or U:zo) lol, picked up the German flag, danced around with it and made the waves with us again for a couple of times. The show was over after nearly 2 hours in total. We left the venue around 9:30 p.m., got our stuff and met on the outside again.
We decided to wait for the band. At around 10 p.m. the staff-cook left food in the bus. Some girls looked inside and said “There are MARS bars!”, some said upon this “Probably for YOU!” The bus driver seemed bored and was playing around with a white Apple computer. (Someone was generous, huh? lol) After another hour the security told us to leave the grounds and to stand behind the fence. It still took another thirty minutes at least before anything happend. Another staff member carried boxes to the bus, just wearing a shirt, ran bank and screamed “Atsuiiiiiiiiii!!!”. I was thinking “Atsui?? It’s cold as fuck!” After that stupid Europe Car finally disappeared, it took even more minutes before some girls finally started screaming. Chacha (who had received a gift by a fan at the end of Uncontrol) came first, then You, then U:zo and Sinya, then Takumi and finally Jon and theeeeeen, veeeery sloooowly Mister himself. He waved his usual G-wave and went to the bus. I must say, I’m glad I’m no bus driver. Only a very slim person would have fit between the front of the bus and the wall in that curve. O.o It was really a close call. Some girls were so crazy and ran over to their cars to follow them….
As we were told afterwards the band had arrived the day before and had slept at the venue. So yeah, so much to “We’ve been here all day yesterday and NOOOOO they are not here!!”. I’d post the pics I made but they came out shitty. I hope I’m more lucky in Amsterdam.
EEven though there were not that many people on the outside first, the place became crowded closer to entrance time and I'd say the whole venue was around 3/4+ full.
Oh, and after a Twitter discussion now: I had a guy behind and in front of me who were non stop taking pictures of the live, one girl next to me with her mobile phone and another one even used her Nintendo DS. The security came constantly through our row and were trying to catch those, which was really annoying as fuck. Why can’t you guys simply respect THE WISHES OF THE ARTIST and RULES?? It’s so incredibly disrespectful!
Anyway, looking forward to Amsterdam live. I hope it will be as hot as Cologne was because Cologne seriously ROCKED!! And G's English is way better than last year!
EDIT: totally forgot to report about the JON hate I witnessed after the show. Promised to do that.
The things that were said were:
- That white guy doesn't fit into the group, he should just piss off
- He is a bad actor
- G can do fanservice with anyone but him. With him it just looks disgusting and gay
- He sucks
Etc.
Sad, really.
EDIT 2: the same people were also bad mouthing the Vanilla-Para (as the new, Vanilla-like song was called by them). According to them it was written only so that JON could show off... *rollseyes*
