a mosaic hallelujah
The day DEFINITELY ended on a much better note than the one on which it started. Now I'm kinda back to feeling sick, & feeling a LOT like a tool.
But I'm really, really happy.
Johnathan & I made some pretty good time. Including the stop-offs at Penn Sushi for snacks & K-mart for cough drops (I knew we'd need them after all that screaming, & maybe before, due to the weather) & crackers (to help my nausea; I got a small bag of Goldfish), we got to the Blender at around 1:30. The tour bus was parked out front! (It's unmarked, it's a sort of coppery brown colour, & it's got a black trailer with Tenn. plates hitched to it). The line was already around the corner & down the next block (to be fair, the theatre is not terribly far from the corner), & we were the beginning of the next turn, on the following corner. I'd brought provisions, including an umbrella (which I needed, 'cuz it rained - kind of heavily, at one point), a scarf to wrap 'round my head (which I needed, 'cuz the damp does horrible things to my hair), & blankets to sit on/wrap up with (needed & used!).
We got into a lot of awesome conversations with people (there was an endearing story floating about that the first people in line, who'd camped out the night before, were approached by one or a couple of the Diru members, who gave them some tea & told them to keep warm), including fellow Diru fans Steve & Camillo, & a couple of girls whose names I never caught. Steve (an auto enthusiast & generally artistic type) was right behind us in line, the others not far behind. Camillo (a guitarist who is learning some Diru numbers, & who was at the same show I was 2 years ago) let me listen to some Diru stuff on his Ipod, including some alternate versions of various songs, & live tracks.
And, of course, whenever someone asked what we were all standing/sitting in line for, we eagerly spread the word of J-rock!
I'll cut to the best bits, since we waited until just after 7:00 to get in the place. (Note: the show was sold out!!) After buying merchandise (a shirt for me, one for deadfoxkyo1, & a DVD that played a VERY important part later in the evening, which I will come to in due course), & sticking it all in coat-check, we headed upstairs to the show.
I didn't know it until just prior to the show, but there was an opener, Suicide City. They were pretty cool, very loud, & INCREDIBLY energetic. (I swear, I saw the guitarist do a cartwheel! And the vocalist - who, at one point, referred to the crowd as 'sexy m***erf***ers' - briefly crowd-surfed. He also said something in Japanese that sounded remarkably like, "I am a Ninja!") They had a groovy female bassist, who was heavily tattooed. But the best part was when they covered "Burn" by The Cure!!
It was a while between them & Diru, so we once again played the waiting game. As with the show I saw 2 years ago, Shinya's drum kit was set up already, behind the one used by the openers. There was a tapestry hung as background, which I want to say was a Tibetan motif. There were letters across the top (in a foreign text), & a large, circular pattern in the center of the elabourate design. I thought it reminded me of a Samsara wheel (this would tie in with the Uroboros theme).
After some time, some roadies bringing out & tuning instruments (including the drums) & setting up Kyo's box, some weird songs on the PA system (incl. a snappy, jazzy thing), plus a little bit of the early forward-push that often accompanies such performances (though there were a few bad vibes I was getting from certain people - I think I found some of the jerks in the crowd; sadly, every crowd has them), "Sa Bir" began to play...& the boys emerged.
(Wanna see who I'm talking about? Look here: http://orchestrated-chaos.com/direngrey/members)
Shinya came out first, in a white tank top & dark pants. His hair is a little bit shorter than before, & he put a touch of a wave in it; it's still honey-blonde, but underneath he's been leaving it dark these days. And yeah, he's still pretty. Then, I'm fairly certain, Toshiya appeared. He's begun evening out his hair, & though it's still asymmetrical, it looked quite nice. He's grown the shaved bits in & cut the long side down, keeping it a little long in front. He had a dark shirt on, it might've been 3/4 sleeves, with something like Ninja stars on the back. (I couldn't see what he wore on the bottom, I wanna say it was something a little baggy, like those long shorts a skateboarder might wear.) I think Die was next, in a grey or black sleveless hoodie (which he later removed to reveal a white tank top) & dark pants. His hair was long, passing his shoulders a bit, & it's either a dark, dark red or a reddish brown. I am certain that Die MUST have a fan somewhere at the foot of the stage, because that hair is PERFECTLY wind-blown through the performance. (I've heard of runway models creating 'wind in the hair' as they walk, but this was ridiculous!) Kaoru followed (I'm pretty sure that was the order in which the guitarists entered), looking similar to the last time I saw him (he might've cut his hair a little bit), with a dark sweater with 3/4 inch sleeves. Maybe dark pants? I couldn't really tell.
Then, of course, came Kyo.
In a black shirt (which came off a few numbers into the set) with white pants, he stood on the box with one hand held aloft. He's still beautiful (somebody said that he'd gained a bit of weight, but he looked absolutely fine as could be to me), & the first thing I thought as I saw him in that position was, "He is a prince." His hair is golden, & asymmetrical - kind of a short shag on one side, which gets longer at the back & on the other side. One hand aloft, he gave us a silent greeting, then pointed to himself, giving us the all-clear to return the salutation, which we did, quite rousingly.
They launched into a spirited rendition of "Obscure", & from there, the melee started, & never stopped. Naturally, there were the customary apologies to people for being crushed into them, the bouts of dizziness that come with lack of oxygen or even breathing space (Johnathan was a TRUE ANGEL in saving me, so many times, from falling over!!!), & attempts to fill or create spaces with which to advance one's position. Surprisingly, we managed to stay together throughout the entire show, & by the end, I'd say we were about 4 people deep. Saw all the usual tidbits - facial expressions, jewelry, tattoos (I found myself looking quite a few times at Kyo's tiger tattoo on his left hip, which hadn't been there when I'd seen them previously), teeth.
The setlist, as is my recollection, including encore, & in no particular order:
Sa Bir
Obscure
Vinushka
Red Soil
Toguro
Glass Skin (Japanese)
Stuck Man
Reiketsu Nariseba
Bugaboo
Gaika, Chinmoku Ga Nemuru Koro
Dozing Green (Japanese)
Inconvenient Ideal
Agitated Screams of Maggots
Repetition of Hatred
The Deeper Vileness
Merciless Cult
Kodou
Amber
Ugly
As well as 2 vocal solos that were truly breathtaking.
(For the official setlist, in order, look here: http://www.setlist.fm/setlist/dir-en-grey/2009/blender-theater-at-gramercy-new-york-ny-4bd7379e.html)
I'd been so hoping to hear "Bugaboo" & "Repetition of Hatred", & I was chuffed to bits to have been granted that wish! It was nice to hear a few old numbers, too, like "Amber" & "Ugly" (I'd actually been told that they went so far back into their repertoire at the other nights' shows as to do tracks like "Akuro No Oka", which, apparently, they haven't done live in nearly a decade!). We sang along with quite a few of the numbers. EDIT: Especially memorable moments included singing the chorus of "Kodou", & shouting the opening lines of "Stuck Man" ("but this is the fact").
The boys were all spot-on in their performances, & perfectly in sync with each other. In addition to top-notch instrumentation (though there seemed to be 1 or 2 technical glitches early on - Kaoru had to fix something, Kyo lost his earpiece & had to re-insert it, & Die left the stage for a minute or 2 to get a new guitar; Johnathan said the roadie took the one he was using off him, & Die looked kinda ticked that it wasn't working right), the guitarists all did very nicely on their respective backing vocals. Kyo's voice (both singing & screaming) was spectacular, & he was, as always, an amazing showman. He didn't do much jumping around, but really worked with his upper body, doing strange things with his arms, on occasion (he'd, like, cross them, wrapping one sort of around himself, but holding the mic to sing, & keeping the other one straight out, waggling it about almost jerkily), & sometimes made interesting shapes, like arching forward or back, turning so we could see this in profile. He also did the arms stretched out to the sides/head back thing (known often in music as 'the Jesus pose') several times (even Totchi got up on the box & did it once, I believe with Kyo in front of him, bent down), as well as a couple of prayer positions during certain numbers, among other things. He'd point to people (I swear once he looked RIGHT AT ME...I forget what song he was singing), or point to his eyes, then to certain people, then to himself. Once, he was enciting the crowd to make some noise, & pointed to one side of his head.
Kyo & the rest of the group were very encouraging toward the audience. They do want the cheering & whatnot (& yes, I howled), & they all looked really happy. Die was smiling quite a bit. Toshiya remains Mr. Serenity, though he added a touch of cute by grinning a lot, & moved more this time than last time. He has this, what I call, 'stompy dance', which he did a lot, either in place or around the stage. He also played his bass upright quite a bit (more than last time, it seemed). Kaoru didn't do the devil horns too much, something he did A LOT when I saw them in '07. I didn't see as much of Shinya as I did (or thought I did) at the previous show, but I did catch some prime glimpses - once, I caught perfect sight of him from between Kyo's spread legs! (Kyo was on the box at the time; I couldn't really see him that much when he wasn't on the box - there were a couple of 9-foot heads in front of me.) Die didn't seem to move around as much as last time (however, I did catch him headbanging a bit here & there), though the guitarists did switch up their positions a tad, which they didn't really do before.
And despite all the people who weren't supposed to bring cameras (bags were checked, boys were patted down), the cameras & camera phones were EVERYWHERE. (I, of course, did not bring mine.)
There was a water bottle passed around, much like at Vamps, & I saw Kaoru throw a couple bottles into the crowd. I don't think Die threw any water (I'm not sure he even had water - when the assistant was putting out water bottles prior to the show, I swear she put a can of beer on Die's amp), but Toshiya did, & Kyo, too. Well, Kyo swigged his & played water fountain, spitting it on us. He got me a few times. Totchi got me, too, when he threw his, but then he started following Kyo's example, & I got a little of that, also.
We chanted, "En-ko-ru!" (encore) & "Dir en grey!" for a while before they came back out for a few additional numbers.
Toward the end of the show, they kicked it up. Kaoru went over to Die's side of the stage & they were playing together. Totchi was up on the box with Kyo. Then Die went to the other side of the stage. And Kyo, Toshiya, & Kaoru, in turn, stood on the box after the final number to wordlessly address the crowd. We, naturally, returned their enthusiasm, in spades.
Once again, they didn't speak very much during the show. Kyo might have said something that included "New York" at one point, & I know he said, "Last song," before...whatever the last song was. I can't remember. Was it "Ugly"? Or "Gaika"? Anyway, he was the first to go. Toshiya did a sort of Namaste with a bow before he departed. Die held his guitar aloft. Kaoru got on the box, grinning slightly. He struck me as somehow humble, & gestured with his hands in thanks. They all threw guitar picks, but we didn't catch any. (Toshiya also threw out something he’d had around the back of his neck - a bandana, maybe? - of course, he wiped his neck before throwing it.) Shinya came to the front of the stage & threw out 2 pairs of drumsticks, & while we didn't get any of those, either, we did watch something of a fight break out over one of the sticks.
However, the coup de grace, as it were, was yet to come.
There were reports of CD/DVD signings at the previous nights' shows. Wednesday, it was all 5 boys. Friday, it was Kaoru & Toshiya. This time, they said at the merchandise table (which didn't really have a lot of merchandise - a few different shirts, a wristband, & a poster, plus the "Uroboros" CD & the "Average Blasphemy" DVD), that they were unsure who would be signing.
You'll recall, earlier in this report, that I bought a DVD (yeah, the same one I passed up in the stores recently - thank goodness!!!). Well, all you needed to do to get into the signing was to buy a CD or DVD.
We high-tailed it out of the pit as soon as we were sure the band wasn't coming back for a second encore, toward the coat-check. Ripped the DVD from my bag, asked Johnathan to hold my stuff, & made my way to the long & winding line in front of the stage area.
I was talking with a couple of very nice girls in the line, & we finally saw who it was that would be signing.
I GOT TO SEE SHINYA & DIE!!!!!
I mean, there was a railing separating us, but I was less than a foot from them. We're talking MERE INCHES. Some people were shaking their hands or asking for hugs, but I didn't want to be so forceful. The boys were tired, & everybody, myself especially, was a sweaty frickin' mess. (Oddly enough, THEY looked phenomenal, very content - they were both smiling - & not at all visually messed up from their efforts.)
I'd been speaking with those girls in line; we were all speculating about what to say. You know me, I can't even talk to 'regular' people! The thought occurred to us to say something in Japanese (they had been taking it in school). We were herded quickly through by security, which further confounded me, as I would have precious little time to not only decide what to say, but to actually say it.
Which is probably why I feel like I messed things up kinda royal.
I got up to Shinya, to whom I presented the cover insert from the DVD, with the case to lean on. I don't know what happened, how I got so brave, or whatever, but the Japanese came gushing out of my mouth! (This from a woman who is nervous about using 'practical Japanese' on the clerks at the BOOKSTORE!!) I said, with as much politeness as I could muster, "Shinya-san, hajimemashite, yoroshiku onegai shimasu." (Mr. Shinya, how do you do? Nice to meet you.) He smiled a little, & I noticed his sweet, small eyes (I don't know if they're small, they were more sort of squinty), & he gave a couple of nodding bows, as did I. I said "Arigato" (thank you) to him when he gave the disc back. Die was next, but I didn't even get to say anything to him. I hardly even looked at him - not that I didn't want to, believe me, 'cuz he's beautiful, but I didn't really have a chance.
I watched him sign his name (he has his tattoo on that hand, & I was staring at it...I dunno, I was just transfixed by it), & as he handed the DVD back to me, his hand sort of brushed mine, just a tiny bit, & I started to look up, when HE said, "Thank you," in perfect English, to ME. I might have gotten so far as his mouth to actually see him say the words, I can't even remember. I might only have looked at his chest. That (in addition to the rest of the night) almost wasn't real.
I did give a grateful, nodding bow, & uttered the latter part of a thank you to Die. I think I caught his face for, like, half a second before I had to go (like I said, they were kind of rushing people). It didn't even register in my brain to sneak in a comment, like, "You were great tonight," or even to quickly call him "Die-san". I wish I'd have had a couple more seconds with him, just a couple, so I could've done that.
I don't want to ruin a good thing, but I feel bad, 'cuz I didn't want to sound patronising (to Shinya), & I certainly didn't want it to seem (to Die) as though I were showing Shinya favouritism, since they're both uber-awesome! Sorry, guys!
But thanks to them all for a fantastic performance.
The beautiful surrealism of the night was coming to a close, & with a few good-byes to the folks from the line/pit (including a hi-five from a dude who had the same shirt on as me, who agreed that our '07 show was an awesome one), we were on our way. Called my mom once we got to Penn Station, where the sushi place was closed, but we picked up a snack (mine was a green tea smoothie) & caught the train home. I clutched my prize most of the way home, & played it as soon as we got there...which was about 2 am!
Johnathan went to bed after the video, & I started writing this, but I couldn't stay awake. So I'm finishing it now, while he's still sleeping. I must say, I kept my illness in check for the show, though I'm still not quite right this morning. Maybe I'll be okay once I get to my mom's, later today. Some of it, I think, is psychological, so the distraction will, hopefully, help.
Later!
EDIT: A further note regarding my encounter with Shinya & Die. I told Toshie, my friend in Japan, about it, & her response made me feel much better regarding the situation.
I thought you deserved assurance about your little communication with the Diru guys asap, knowing how you must be clutching your hands now and then hoping you haven't said anything wrong. You haven't. Phew! In fact, well done! I think you must be worried if you gave an impression of "favoring" one over the other, but no I'm sure they noticed...you liked them both. If you're worried in future about saying something to the next guy, just say "xxx-san mo" (you too!) or a simple "Onegaishimasu!" And you probably looked so star-struck you stroked his ego, so no I don't think you were rude.
But I'm really, really happy.
Johnathan & I made some pretty good time. Including the stop-offs at Penn Sushi for snacks & K-mart for cough drops (I knew we'd need them after all that screaming, & maybe before, due to the weather) & crackers (to help my nausea; I got a small bag of Goldfish), we got to the Blender at around 1:30. The tour bus was parked out front! (It's unmarked, it's a sort of coppery brown colour, & it's got a black trailer with Tenn. plates hitched to it). The line was already around the corner & down the next block (to be fair, the theatre is not terribly far from the corner), & we were the beginning of the next turn, on the following corner. I'd brought provisions, including an umbrella (which I needed, 'cuz it rained - kind of heavily, at one point), a scarf to wrap 'round my head (which I needed, 'cuz the damp does horrible things to my hair), & blankets to sit on/wrap up with (needed & used!).
We got into a lot of awesome conversations with people (there was an endearing story floating about that the first people in line, who'd camped out the night before, were approached by one or a couple of the Diru members, who gave them some tea & told them to keep warm), including fellow Diru fans Steve & Camillo, & a couple of girls whose names I never caught. Steve (an auto enthusiast & generally artistic type) was right behind us in line, the others not far behind. Camillo (a guitarist who is learning some Diru numbers, & who was at the same show I was 2 years ago) let me listen to some Diru stuff on his Ipod, including some alternate versions of various songs, & live tracks.
And, of course, whenever someone asked what we were all standing/sitting in line for, we eagerly spread the word of J-rock!
I'll cut to the best bits, since we waited until just after 7:00 to get in the place. (Note: the show was sold out!!) After buying merchandise (a shirt for me, one for deadfoxkyo1, & a DVD that played a VERY important part later in the evening, which I will come to in due course), & sticking it all in coat-check, we headed upstairs to the show.
I didn't know it until just prior to the show, but there was an opener, Suicide City. They were pretty cool, very loud, & INCREDIBLY energetic. (I swear, I saw the guitarist do a cartwheel! And the vocalist - who, at one point, referred to the crowd as 'sexy m***erf***ers' - briefly crowd-surfed. He also said something in Japanese that sounded remarkably like, "I am a Ninja!") They had a groovy female bassist, who was heavily tattooed. But the best part was when they covered "Burn" by The Cure!!
It was a while between them & Diru, so we once again played the waiting game. As with the show I saw 2 years ago, Shinya's drum kit was set up already, behind the one used by the openers. There was a tapestry hung as background, which I want to say was a Tibetan motif. There were letters across the top (in a foreign text), & a large, circular pattern in the center of the elabourate design. I thought it reminded me of a Samsara wheel (this would tie in with the Uroboros theme).
After some time, some roadies bringing out & tuning instruments (including the drums) & setting up Kyo's box, some weird songs on the PA system (incl. a snappy, jazzy thing), plus a little bit of the early forward-push that often accompanies such performances (though there were a few bad vibes I was getting from certain people - I think I found some of the jerks in the crowd; sadly, every crowd has them), "Sa Bir" began to play...& the boys emerged.
(Wanna see who I'm talking about? Look here: http://orchestrated-chaos.com/direngrey/members)
Shinya came out first, in a white tank top & dark pants. His hair is a little bit shorter than before, & he put a touch of a wave in it; it's still honey-blonde, but underneath he's been leaving it dark these days. And yeah, he's still pretty. Then, I'm fairly certain, Toshiya appeared. He's begun evening out his hair, & though it's still asymmetrical, it looked quite nice. He's grown the shaved bits in & cut the long side down, keeping it a little long in front. He had a dark shirt on, it might've been 3/4 sleeves, with something like Ninja stars on the back. (I couldn't see what he wore on the bottom, I wanna say it was something a little baggy, like those long shorts a skateboarder might wear.) I think Die was next, in a grey or black sleveless hoodie (which he later removed to reveal a white tank top) & dark pants. His hair was long, passing his shoulders a bit, & it's either a dark, dark red or a reddish brown. I am certain that Die MUST have a fan somewhere at the foot of the stage, because that hair is PERFECTLY wind-blown through the performance. (I've heard of runway models creating 'wind in the hair' as they walk, but this was ridiculous!) Kaoru followed (I'm pretty sure that was the order in which the guitarists entered), looking similar to the last time I saw him (he might've cut his hair a little bit), with a dark sweater with 3/4 inch sleeves. Maybe dark pants? I couldn't really tell.
Then, of course, came Kyo.
In a black shirt (which came off a few numbers into the set) with white pants, he stood on the box with one hand held aloft. He's still beautiful (somebody said that he'd gained a bit of weight, but he looked absolutely fine as could be to me), & the first thing I thought as I saw him in that position was, "He is a prince." His hair is golden, & asymmetrical - kind of a short shag on one side, which gets longer at the back & on the other side. One hand aloft, he gave us a silent greeting, then pointed to himself, giving us the all-clear to return the salutation, which we did, quite rousingly.
They launched into a spirited rendition of "Obscure", & from there, the melee started, & never stopped. Naturally, there were the customary apologies to people for being crushed into them, the bouts of dizziness that come with lack of oxygen or even breathing space (Johnathan was a TRUE ANGEL in saving me, so many times, from falling over!!!), & attempts to fill or create spaces with which to advance one's position. Surprisingly, we managed to stay together throughout the entire show, & by the end, I'd say we were about 4 people deep. Saw all the usual tidbits - facial expressions, jewelry, tattoos (I found myself looking quite a few times at Kyo's tiger tattoo on his left hip, which hadn't been there when I'd seen them previously), teeth.
The setlist, as is my recollection, including encore, & in no particular order:
Sa Bir
Obscure
Vinushka
Red Soil
Toguro
Glass Skin (Japanese)
Stuck Man
Reiketsu Nariseba
Bugaboo
Gaika, Chinmoku Ga Nemuru Koro
Dozing Green (Japanese)
Inconvenient Ideal
Agitated Screams of Maggots
Repetition of Hatred
The Deeper Vileness
Merciless Cult
Kodou
Amber
Ugly
As well as 2 vocal solos that were truly breathtaking.
(For the official setlist, in order, look here: http://www.setlist.fm/setlist/dir-en-grey/2009/blender-theater-at-gramercy-new-york-ny-4bd7379e.html)
I'd been so hoping to hear "Bugaboo" & "Repetition of Hatred", & I was chuffed to bits to have been granted that wish! It was nice to hear a few old numbers, too, like "Amber" & "Ugly" (I'd actually been told that they went so far back into their repertoire at the other nights' shows as to do tracks like "Akuro No Oka", which, apparently, they haven't done live in nearly a decade!). We sang along with quite a few of the numbers. EDIT: Especially memorable moments included singing the chorus of "Kodou", & shouting the opening lines of "Stuck Man" ("but this is the fact").
The boys were all spot-on in their performances, & perfectly in sync with each other. In addition to top-notch instrumentation (though there seemed to be 1 or 2 technical glitches early on - Kaoru had to fix something, Kyo lost his earpiece & had to re-insert it, & Die left the stage for a minute or 2 to get a new guitar; Johnathan said the roadie took the one he was using off him, & Die looked kinda ticked that it wasn't working right), the guitarists all did very nicely on their respective backing vocals. Kyo's voice (both singing & screaming) was spectacular, & he was, as always, an amazing showman. He didn't do much jumping around, but really worked with his upper body, doing strange things with his arms, on occasion (he'd, like, cross them, wrapping one sort of around himself, but holding the mic to sing, & keeping the other one straight out, waggling it about almost jerkily), & sometimes made interesting shapes, like arching forward or back, turning so we could see this in profile. He also did the arms stretched out to the sides/head back thing (known often in music as 'the Jesus pose') several times (even Totchi got up on the box & did it once, I believe with Kyo in front of him, bent down), as well as a couple of prayer positions during certain numbers, among other things. He'd point to people (I swear once he looked RIGHT AT ME...I forget what song he was singing), or point to his eyes, then to certain people, then to himself. Once, he was enciting the crowd to make some noise, & pointed to one side of his head.
Kyo & the rest of the group were very encouraging toward the audience. They do want the cheering & whatnot (& yes, I howled), & they all looked really happy. Die was smiling quite a bit. Toshiya remains Mr. Serenity, though he added a touch of cute by grinning a lot, & moved more this time than last time. He has this, what I call, 'stompy dance', which he did a lot, either in place or around the stage. He also played his bass upright quite a bit (more than last time, it seemed). Kaoru didn't do the devil horns too much, something he did A LOT when I saw them in '07. I didn't see as much of Shinya as I did (or thought I did) at the previous show, but I did catch some prime glimpses - once, I caught perfect sight of him from between Kyo's spread legs! (Kyo was on the box at the time; I couldn't really see him that much when he wasn't on the box - there were a couple of 9-foot heads in front of me.) Die didn't seem to move around as much as last time (however, I did catch him headbanging a bit here & there), though the guitarists did switch up their positions a tad, which they didn't really do before.
And despite all the people who weren't supposed to bring cameras (bags were checked, boys were patted down), the cameras & camera phones were EVERYWHERE. (I, of course, did not bring mine.)
There was a water bottle passed around, much like at Vamps, & I saw Kaoru throw a couple bottles into the crowd. I don't think Die threw any water (I'm not sure he even had water - when the assistant was putting out water bottles prior to the show, I swear she put a can of beer on Die's amp), but Toshiya did, & Kyo, too. Well, Kyo swigged his & played water fountain, spitting it on us. He got me a few times. Totchi got me, too, when he threw his, but then he started following Kyo's example, & I got a little of that, also.
We chanted, "En-ko-ru!" (encore) & "Dir en grey!" for a while before they came back out for a few additional numbers.
Toward the end of the show, they kicked it up. Kaoru went over to Die's side of the stage & they were playing together. Totchi was up on the box with Kyo. Then Die went to the other side of the stage. And Kyo, Toshiya, & Kaoru, in turn, stood on the box after the final number to wordlessly address the crowd. We, naturally, returned their enthusiasm, in spades.
Once again, they didn't speak very much during the show. Kyo might have said something that included "New York" at one point, & I know he said, "Last song," before...whatever the last song was. I can't remember. Was it "Ugly"? Or "Gaika"? Anyway, he was the first to go. Toshiya did a sort of Namaste with a bow before he departed. Die held his guitar aloft. Kaoru got on the box, grinning slightly. He struck me as somehow humble, & gestured with his hands in thanks. They all threw guitar picks, but we didn't catch any. (Toshiya also threw out something he’d had around the back of his neck - a bandana, maybe? - of course, he wiped his neck before throwing it.) Shinya came to the front of the stage & threw out 2 pairs of drumsticks, & while we didn't get any of those, either, we did watch something of a fight break out over one of the sticks.
However, the coup de grace, as it were, was yet to come.
There were reports of CD/DVD signings at the previous nights' shows. Wednesday, it was all 5 boys. Friday, it was Kaoru & Toshiya. This time, they said at the merchandise table (which didn't really have a lot of merchandise - a few different shirts, a wristband, & a poster, plus the "Uroboros" CD & the "Average Blasphemy" DVD), that they were unsure who would be signing.
You'll recall, earlier in this report, that I bought a DVD (yeah, the same one I passed up in the stores recently - thank goodness!!!). Well, all you needed to do to get into the signing was to buy a CD or DVD.
We high-tailed it out of the pit as soon as we were sure the band wasn't coming back for a second encore, toward the coat-check. Ripped the DVD from my bag, asked Johnathan to hold my stuff, & made my way to the long & winding line in front of the stage area.
I was talking with a couple of very nice girls in the line, & we finally saw who it was that would be signing.
I GOT TO SEE SHINYA & DIE!!!!!
I mean, there was a railing separating us, but I was less than a foot from them. We're talking MERE INCHES. Some people were shaking their hands or asking for hugs, but I didn't want to be so forceful. The boys were tired, & everybody, myself especially, was a sweaty frickin' mess. (Oddly enough, THEY looked phenomenal, very content - they were both smiling - & not at all visually messed up from their efforts.)
I'd been speaking with those girls in line; we were all speculating about what to say. You know me, I can't even talk to 'regular' people! The thought occurred to us to say something in Japanese (they had been taking it in school). We were herded quickly through by security, which further confounded me, as I would have precious little time to not only decide what to say, but to actually say it.
Which is probably why I feel like I messed things up kinda royal.
I got up to Shinya, to whom I presented the cover insert from the DVD, with the case to lean on. I don't know what happened, how I got so brave, or whatever, but the Japanese came gushing out of my mouth! (This from a woman who is nervous about using 'practical Japanese' on the clerks at the BOOKSTORE!!) I said, with as much politeness as I could muster, "Shinya-san, hajimemashite, yoroshiku onegai shimasu." (Mr. Shinya, how do you do? Nice to meet you.) He smiled a little, & I noticed his sweet, small eyes (I don't know if they're small, they were more sort of squinty), & he gave a couple of nodding bows, as did I. I said "Arigato" (thank you) to him when he gave the disc back. Die was next, but I didn't even get to say anything to him. I hardly even looked at him - not that I didn't want to, believe me, 'cuz he's beautiful, but I didn't really have a chance.
I watched him sign his name (he has his tattoo on that hand, & I was staring at it...I dunno, I was just transfixed by it), & as he handed the DVD back to me, his hand sort of brushed mine, just a tiny bit, & I started to look up, when HE said, "Thank you," in perfect English, to ME. I might have gotten so far as his mouth to actually see him say the words, I can't even remember. I might only have looked at his chest. That (in addition to the rest of the night) almost wasn't real.
I did give a grateful, nodding bow, & uttered the latter part of a thank you to Die. I think I caught his face for, like, half a second before I had to go (like I said, they were kind of rushing people). It didn't even register in my brain to sneak in a comment, like, "You were great tonight," or even to quickly call him "Die-san". I wish I'd have had a couple more seconds with him, just a couple, so I could've done that.
I don't want to ruin a good thing, but I feel bad, 'cuz I didn't want to sound patronising (to Shinya), & I certainly didn't want it to seem (to Die) as though I were showing Shinya favouritism, since they're both uber-awesome! Sorry, guys!
But thanks to them all for a fantastic performance.
The beautiful surrealism of the night was coming to a close, & with a few good-byes to the folks from the line/pit (including a hi-five from a dude who had the same shirt on as me, who agreed that our '07 show was an awesome one), we were on our way. Called my mom once we got to Penn Station, where the sushi place was closed, but we picked up a snack (mine was a green tea smoothie) & caught the train home. I clutched my prize most of the way home, & played it as soon as we got there...which was about 2 am!
Johnathan went to bed after the video, & I started writing this, but I couldn't stay awake. So I'm finishing it now, while he's still sleeping. I must say, I kept my illness in check for the show, though I'm still not quite right this morning. Maybe I'll be okay once I get to my mom's, later today. Some of it, I think, is psychological, so the distraction will, hopefully, help.
Later!
EDIT: A further note regarding my encounter with Shinya & Die. I told Toshie, my friend in Japan, about it, & her response made me feel much better regarding the situation.
I thought you deserved assurance about your little communication with the Diru guys asap, knowing how you must be clutching your hands now and then hoping you haven't said anything wrong. You haven't. Phew! In fact, well done! I think you must be worried if you gave an impression of "favoring" one over the other, but no I'm sure they noticed...you liked them both. If you're worried in future about saying something to the next guy, just say "xxx-san mo" (you too!) or a simple "Onegaishimasu!" And you probably looked so star-struck you stroked his ego, so no I don't think you were rude.