Haiiro No Henko
A note about the subject line: It's a play on Haiiro No Ginka, Dir en grey's newsletter. I don't have an exact translation for that, tho' I know it has to do with the colour grey, & possibly a feeling of gloom. Henko is, according to a translated quote from Kyo that I read on diru_tabloids, what they call strange children in Kyoto, where he comes from. And we are definitely strange children! XD
It was obvious that Dir en grey have some rabid fans in Toronto. As the five-piece Japanese band walked on stage, the screams coming from the crowd to greet them were quite impressive. I am ill-fitted to really wax-on about the songs Dir en grey played live, as my only experience with them as a band is the recently released live CD/DVD package ‘Uroboros’*. I recognized a few tracks from this live package during the band's performance...but for the most part, I was watching Dir en grey as a newbie.
Kyo's vocals throughout the hour long performance were pretty amazing. He can hit notes so menacingly low followed by ear piercing highs, it was hard NOT to be impressed by his singing. He’s a smallish fellow, but what he lacks in physical height, he more than makes up for in massive stage presence. As his band-mates belted out technically amazing song after song, Kyo twisted and bent in all directions as he belted out the lyrics to about a dozen Dir en grey songs. They were pretty damn awesome.
- Mike Bax, Lithium Magazine (in a review of the Toronto show, the first date on the 2010 North American tour)
*I am certain the “live package” to which Bax refers is “Uroboros - with the proof in the name of living - at Nippon Budokan”, as opposed to the studio album “Uroboros”; I will refer to the Budokan concerts later in this write-up.
I hope everyone has had a chance to check out my posts about the Monster-Mania convention:
Day 1 - http://japanesedream.livejournal.com/382408.html
Day 2 - http://japanesedream.livejournal.com/382836.html
Day 3 - http://japanesedream.livejournal.com/383075.html
But if that hadn’t been awesome enough, the 3-day horror-fest was quickly followed by my third Dir en grey concert! (24 Aug., 2010, Nokia Theatre, NYC.)
You can read about the first 2 here:
10 Feb. 2007, Nokia Theatre, NYC: http://japanesedream.livejournal.com/159909.html
14 Nov. 2009, Grammercy Theatre, NYC: http://japanesedream.livejournal.com/334096.html
My mom planned on staying with me for a bit after Monster-Mania, so after Johnathan got home from work on Mon., she & I made our way back to my place. Her mission for the week was to make progress on the home decorating project my house has become, & she made a great deal of headway on the Asian-inspired living room.
But I'm ahead of myself. We stopped off to pick up some food, got out of the car, & found that it was COLD out! There was a reputed storm on its way into the area, which set my mind to the following day. Better wear a jacket, & bring my umbrella. The blankets, too. Also had the little folding/travel chair I won at my job's 4th of July picnic raffle, & some supplies in my backpack. Relaxed a bit, & I made my preparations over the course of the evening.
We'd set it up so that my cousin, Patty, would come to visit my mom once she got off work, so my poor mom wouldn't have to spend the whole night alone. She was already going to spend the day by herself, since I had it in mind to go in early, to try & secure a decent place in line, but I found out people had been lining up for DAYS! Thought I might be doomed.
Up at 5 am! Hoped to get out of the house a bit earlier than I did, but still made good time. Managed to snap some shots before I headed out.
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=30852513&l=0f0d31738f&id=1548491398
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=30852514&l=e17b5b86b7&id=1548491398
Note that my hair is finally straight!! For my sisters-in-frizz, the secret is blow-drying it right away. I’m using Pantene Frizzy To Smooth 2-in-1 (shampoo + conditioner), plus Herbal Essences Dangerously Straight conditioner (a little bit worked through the hair while it’s still wet, like a leave-in). Towel just a bit, blow-dry, then - when it’s completely dry - use the flat-iron. ^_^
Left just after 7, with the plan to stop off at Penn Sushi for lunch, dinner, & snacks, which would get me to the line around 8:30, 9:00 at the latest.
The best-laid plans of mice & Diru fans...
Two or three stops into the train ride, they stopped the trains! Something about low voltage on the lines. A very pretty girl had randomly sat down next to me (the train was fairly full, due to workday traffic - this was a Tuesday, after all), & we spoke briefly about possible alternate plans. But there wasn't really a way to get to any buses or anything from where we were. So we were stuck. They would update us periodically, over the P.A. system...about nothing. Literally! They would say there was “no change” from the previous update. I was trying my hardest not to freak out - which, for those of you who know me well, takes a mighty effort!
It was at least an hour, maybe a little bit more, before they told us they’d been given the all-clear, & the train started up again. I was relieved to be on my way, but terrified at how long the line would have become by now! Got into the City & quickly hit Penn Sushi. Picked up chocolate Pocky, some sushi (I think it was called green veggie, basically vegetable sushi with something like green tea powder on top), a roll cake (I think it was vanilla; I usually get the green tea one, but they haven't had it available for quite a while), some green tea daifuku, & a bottle of green tea. Also had my Pez with me, in the Hello Kitty Pez dispenser my mom had gotten for me. ^_^
Of course, I wasn't able to eat any of it right off the bat, because I'd been nauseous due to nerves, starting the night before! So no breakfast, either. Blah.
Hit the subway, & made it to the Nokia around 10:00. Surprisingly, there weren't a whole, whole lot of people in line! I was about 1/4 of the way down after the first turn! Asked a couple of Asian kids who appeared to be at the end of the line if they were, in fact, at the end of the line. They said yes, & I offered them use of my blankets if they wanted to sit down. It was about 9 hours 'til the doors opened, & I couldn't imagine standing that long! But if it was gonna rain, I didn’t think they’d want to sit on bare concrete.
I'd brought my journal, in case nobody really felt like talking to me (it happened at Vamps last year), so I could make notes about Monster-Mania (I hadn’t written the posts yet), & also a book (Koji Suzuki's Dark Water), in case I felt like reading. I wasn't there tremendously long before a perky, red-headed girl came by, saying she enjoyed meeting people in line. We introduced ourselves & started to chat. Turned out she was VIP (for those who don't know, this tour didn't have a buy-a-DVD-&-get-it-signed thing like last year, it was a special package: $125 for the meet & greet, some special VIP items, entry prior to the 'show-only' attendees, & first choice of merchandise), & while some people might be elitist about it, she was totally nice. :) After chatting for a bit, we learned that we were both members of Livejournal - turns out she was misses_newsman! I had to thank her for helping to continue the tradition of "Kyo Sundays" over on diru_tabloids. I also found out she was one of the people involved in the "tea incident" last year (which wasn't really an incident, I just can't think of a better word), where Kyo & a few other members of Diru's camp brought green tea to the folks camped out at the front of the line (it was Nov., very damp & chilly). I asked her about it, & got a first-hand account. You have to hear her tell it, tho', very sweetly & with the warm-fuzzies. ^_^
I believe it was during our conversation that others began joining the line behind me, so there was a bit of a group chat that began, then misses_newsman excused herself (she was up at the front of the line), but said she'd be back later. She did return a couple of times over the course of our time in line, & I enjoyed talking with her.
Directly behind me in line were some equally nice & very groovy people, a young Lolita-gal & her mom, who'd come all the way from Montreal to see the show! They were also VIP, & had brought some goodies (photobooks & the like) to show the band & maybe get signed - including both of Kyo's poetry books!
Speaking of books, it's funny, but the only thing I ended up using my journal for was to take down the names of people I would meet on this day, so I could friend them on Facebook! XD The first was the aforementioned Lolita-gal, Katty. We got to chatting...& once we started, we didn't stop!! XD I could fill up a whole post in itself with our discussions (which we are still having over on FB), suffice to say, we have lots of things in common besides our love for Diru - including having both been to Japan! - & really hit it off, becoming fast friends. I even told her about the Kyo-rubbing thing. ^_~ She’s agreed to take on Toshiya & Shinya. XD diru915 still has Die. XD I guess we can take turns with Kaoru. XD
And to think, if the trains hadn't been held up, I might've had a different place in line, she wouldn't have been behind me, & I'd never have made a new friend. Things do happen for a reason...
Anywho, I have to say this was the best line experience I’ve had so far! A few fun jokes even cropped up while we were waiting...the best of them being when people kept asking what we were all queued up for. You can't say Diru, 'cuz the average person won't know them. We were saying, "Japanese metal!" (taken from a video of a drunk dude at one of Diru's European shows earlier this year - here Is the video, if you’re curious: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zo87LF8Fvt8), then one guy said, "Justin Bieber!" which cracked us all up! XD After a bit, we somehow came up with the Spice Girls reunion (which later lead to another in-joke about the Spice Boys). XD It's fun to play with passersby. XD
We saw the tour bus pull up! It looked to be a different colour than last year’s (I confirmed this with my brother), darker red than what I remembered as the more brownish one we’d seen last time. But it still had the black trailer. I guess the guys were already inside, tho’ (the venue, I mean, not the bus) - I didn’t hear anybody screaming. XD
A group of gals from DegNat (Dir en grey Nation, Diru's national street team) came by, passing out small flyers (what the heck happened to mine?), & later, caution tape (which we wore like armbands) & lei's. Yes, I got lei'd again! XD First at Rocky Horror, then at Dir en grey! XD The DegNat team were nice enough to ask us which colour we wanted; I asked what colours they had, & the first thing they said was that they had 1 purple one left, & I was, like, "Yes! That's mine!" :D
But the best part was, if you signed up, you got a raffle ticket. The prize? A copy of Diru's album, "Uroboros", signed by all 5 members!! I almost won that. It ended up going to the number directly after mine...Katty's mom!! Insanely jealous? You bet I was...but hey, they came all the way from Canada, so I figured they deserved it. :)
After a while, the DegNat crew came by again, this time to film us cheering & whatnot (they'd told us they were gonna do this). By then, we were having lunch (I was actually able to eat, but only bits at a time), & sharing Pocky (Katty had strawberry). It rained on & off, but by this point in the day, it had stopped. I'd checked in again with my mom (we'd talked earlier, when I was walking up to the Nokia to get in line; she'd seen on the news about the trains), & spent a good deal more time talking up a storm with Katty.
A familiar face soon came into view - Milo! Those of you who read last year's report will recognise him as Camillo (I think I misspelled it, tho', sorry - there should prob'ly only be one L), one of the folks my brother & I were talking to in line. This year, Milo brought his sister, Flavia, along. They were a little further back in line, but Milo stayed & chatted with us for a bit. It was pretty cool to listen to him & Katty talk about the music in technical terms (he's a guitarist, she plays bass & some cello). We talked for a while, then he went back to join Flavia, until Katty & her mom had to join the VIP line, & then he & his sister took their spots. No one seemed to mind.
The lines got a little mixed up when they broke off the VIP people (from the regular line) for early entry, but I still had my good place in the queue, & once Milo & Flavia were behind me, I had people to continue talking to! ^_^ The security, or whatever they were, also moved the line at this time, from one side of the sidewalk to the other. I lent Milo & Flavia one of my blankets so they could sit, & we had a spot of dinner; I shared some of my Pocky & daifuku. I saved my roll cake & tea for later, in case I got peckish after the show. Plus, I still had some Pocky, & my Pez. :)
Talked up yet another storm, & a short while later, they moved our part of the line up. They then said they'd made some sort of mistake & were planning to move us back, but we were, like, no way are we moving back, so they just let us stay there. XD There were a couple of other guys behind us, who I think had been at last year's show, but I didn't remember seeing them. One - the one that cracked the Justin Bieber remark - was named, I think, Bob, I never did get his name (or the other guy, & there was a girl, too). Milo & Flavia were so kind, helping me carry all the stuff I'd schlepped with me (one day, I promise I will learn to pack light!), since we were standing from this point on. Milo & Bob were using their electronic gadgets to play music, & the other guy behind Bob had earphones so we could listen to Bob's gadget. I got to hear all kinds of fun things, most of which I can't remember, except for some Diru, MUCC, X-Japan (who are playing Roseland the day after I see Vamps - I didn't even know they were touring!), Sugizo...you get the idea.
Ah, but time does fly when you're having fun, doesn't it? Soon enough, they were coming 'round to do bag checks & pat-downs for the guys. And then, at long last, they let us in! Bob had asked if he could check his umbrella with my stuff, maybe throw a buck or 2 my way (coat check can get pricey), & I was willing, but he & the other guy went to check out the floor situation, & I never did see them again. But I did see Miss Katty again! She & her mom were standing against the rail (there were stairs next to the rail to go down to the floor/pit, & behind the rail area were seats). I forget if I asked about the meet & greet at this point, or afterward, but I let her know we were going to check out merchandise & go to coat check, & I'd be back.
So Milo, Flavia, & I went to the merch table. On our way, a couple of guys saw me & asked, “Dir en grey or Apocalyptica?” But then they saw my shirt & gave me hi-fives. They said they remembered me from last year. I couldn’t place them, but I suspect they (or, at least, one of them) may have been the same hi-fivers I saw after last year’s show. XD
Lots of things to choose from at the merch table, tho' not quite as impressive, IMO, than other years; like when I saw them in '07, I’d been able to buy a slightly older video compilation, & a video from a previous tour - kind of wish they could do that again, in addition to the current stuff (too bad they didn’t bring the Hageshisa single with them, I still need that!). But they did have a variety of t-shirts (all the audio/video stuff they were selling, I already owned), & I picked out what I thought was the nicest one - 'cuz I always have to get a shirt.
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=30853568&l=54d49c2209&id=1548491398
I have a thing for carousel horses, so this one was the most appealing to me. ^_^
The one thing I was very happy to see were posters! Ones with the band on them! XD So naturally, I snagged one of those.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v415/japanesedream/poster.jpg
Unfortunately, I was less than impressed with the person working the merch table. (What happened to the Asians? Didn’t they have Asians at ’07’s table?) While I did, at first, decide to give the dude a small monetary bonus for the sign on his tip glass (asking for tips so he could get "Desperate Housewives on DVD...so, so desperate" - incidentally, my mention that I was going to tip based purely on the amusing nature of the sign encouraged another attendee behind me to tip, also), I was a little irked when I moved off to the side, further down the table, so I could try to roll up my poster (they hand it to you flat - & it is NOT small!), he was trying to tell me they had bags to put our stuff in. This might've been okay, if I hadn't heard him say, "Hey, lady..." while I was wrestling with the poster. I mean, who the hell puts a big, flat poster in a bag without rolling it up??
Got myself situated, finally (I think Milo may have actually helped me with this), & Milo & Flavia got their merch, after which, we all went off to find coat check. They put their stuff in with mine, & Milo kindly threw a couple dollars my way for that. I hit the ladies' room, then exchanged numbers with Milo in case we got separated, so we could meet up after the show & get our goodies from coat check, since I was holding the tickets.
Milo & Flavia went down into the floor/pit area, but I stayed up at the rail to chat with Katty. I asked her about the meet & greet, & she told me about it. A little rushed, but nice. Kyo did sign the poetry books (her mom asked that in line a few times: "Do you think he'll sign them?"), & he was grinning as he met fans. Just about all of them shook hands, if memory serves. Apparently, Shinya has very soft hands, & Kyo has a firm handshake. Got a few other details, & talked about merch & the like. Continued our Spice Boys in-joke by doling out Spice-related names to the Diru boys. Yes, we are weird. XD
So we stood around talking, listening to the odd musical selections blaring over the loudspeaker (I'd put my earplugs in just before they let us in), & watching roadies set things up (Diru's backdrop - a seemingly upgraded version of last year's Samsara Wheel motif - was already up, as were Shinya's drums, uncovered this time). I decided to take a different approach to concert-going, & stayed with her & her mom at the rail for the whole show! ^_^
It took a while, but the lights were finally cut altogether, & it was time for the first act. Evaline were okay. They seemed to get better as their set went on. The vocalist kind of looked like Jared Leto, & kept jumping into the audience. I thought he was trying a bit too hard to be sexy. The rest of the group were sort of frat-boyish. The most interesting member was on the end (stage right; left side by our perspective), playing guitar, synth, & (for one song) an electric sitar. The pinnacle of their performance was when multiple members of the band were all playing on the drum kit at the same time.
A sample of their sound: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DoLP9bCXoKU
When Evaline finished, we played the waiting game, talking a bit, & wondering whether Diru or Apocalyptica were going to play next. We knew the bands were co-headlining, but it hadn't been made clear what the order might be. We were desperately hoping Diru would go on last - it seemed the logical choice, to us; how do you top Dir en grey with cellos??
Unfortunately, the roadies were Asian - not that we don’t love Asian roadies; one guy even looked a bit like Kaoru! But our fervent hopes were dashed. Sure, we'd get to see our band next, but in this position in the line-up, it makes them look like an opening act. And Diru is not an opening act!! But there they were, the telltale signs: mic stands with picks, guitars, basses, Shinya's drum kit, the fog machine...I think we cheered when they set Kyo's box up. ^_^
We'd talked a lot in line, all of us, about what songs we might like to hear. Of course, the new stuff like Hageshisa & the re-worked Zan fell in with old stuff that hasn't been played in years, even a few standards or things we'd heard at previous shows made the lists. Katty & I wondered again what songs we might be in for.
We were about to find out.
Down go the lights, up goes the volume, & soon it's "Sa Bir" resounding through the place, & we all go completely nuts as the boys begin to emerge from the fog-strewn darkness.
It’s been a while since the show, so a few of the details are a bit fuzzy, sorry. Not that it matters exactly what order the boys came out in, or exactly what they were wearing, but I like to be thorough, & accurate when I can. It’s pretty much always the same anyway, in terms of entrances. Shinya always comes out first, Kyo always comes out last, the guitarists in between. They looked just about like they do in the photo I posted, outfits & all, except Kyo wasn’t wearing shades (& his shirt was, as usual, removed a few numbers into the show), & Die had on this awesome shirt, dark with what I can only describe as gauzy pin-stripes. And yes, the hair is still wind-blown. XD Kaoru had his big, bling-cross on, & either jeans or dark pants; Toshiya had his skirt, with black leggings. He waved when he came out. ^_^ Shinya wore black gloves. Kyo was wearing what I first thought were white pants, but I realised later that they were light brown. Can’t remember if Shinya wore jeans or pants. Die wore white shoes (this is the first time I could ever see Die’s shoes!). Kyo was wearing black shoes, maybe boots.
As for the performance, there were a few technical troubles, & Kyo seemed a little...something. Off in some way? Subdued, perhaps? His performance was great, but he may have been peeved about the technical stuff - sounded like his mic was going out at intervals. I noticed him fidget with the wires/amp on his back at least once, & a tech did come out to fiddle briefly with something. Die had some guitar trouble, too - it was funny, ’cuz I think he just hung out with the crowd for a minute at the edge of his side of the stage, until the techs got him a new guitar. They didn't get to play an encore (the first couple cities on the tour got screwed out of that - NYC was the 2nd date - later shows have been getting them, usually the new Zan, or Saku), so maybe that ticked Kyo off. But he always gives 100+%, no matter what, & we were not disappointed.
The set-list, as posted on diru_tabloids:
Sa Bir
Red Soil
Agitated Screams of Maggots
Gaika, Chinmoku Ga Nemuru Koro
Hageshisa To, Kono Mune No Naka De Karamitsuita Shakunetsu No Yami
Shokubeni
Bugaboo
Obscure
Dozing Green
Vinushka
The Final
Reiketsu Nariseba
Rasetsu Koku
I can't believe they let cameras in! They didn't in '07; I saw Diru at the same venue, & back then, they took people aside who had cameras (tho’ some cameras got in anyway). But people were sticking them right up, in front of the burly bouncer guys that stood at the foot of the stage (one right in front of Kyo’s box) & pulled crowd-surfers out. I thought about using my phone to take a photo or 2, but said screw it. XD
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYwW984xeFU
I didn’t take that video, but it’s one of my favourite moments. That vocal solo was truly amazing. I think we were all mesmerised.
That’s not to say we didn’t make some noise!! We screamed & clapped, & I howled with every bit of energy & breath I had! We head-banged & fist-pumped & devil-horned. We were also doing this thing where we reached. Just held our hands out toward Kyo. And I can’t recall what song it was (not the one in the video), but there was a moment where he reached toward us! I remarked on it when rejoining Milo after the show, & he thought it an odd thing for Kyo to do, but I was, like, “No, that was love for the back row!” XD
We sang along with some of the numbers, as well. I was doing a bit with Obscure (as were some others), but the main ones were Maggots, Hageshisa, & The Final. We had a lot of fun with those!
As for the boys, I think, on the whole, they were having fun, too! Die & Toshiya had AWESOME energy! They were so much fun to watch. Totchi's usually hopping around, & is good at encouraging the audience (which he did quite a bit of this time, as well, in his wonderful way), but he was also spinning around with his bass, & even did this great jump off Shinya’s riser! Die was more energetic than I'd ever seen him (others I spoke to agreed)! He seemed really happy...even when he had to switch out his guitar. XD And he gave us the finger a lot (he did in '07, too); I think it's Die-speak for, "I love you guys." XD Katty & her mom kept saying that he really loves New York. ^_^ Kaoru was more like his old self, as I'd seen him in '07. He was the subdued one last year. This year, he moved about a bit more, & helped encourage the audience. And made his wonderful faces. XD It’s like he’s going, “Coooome ooooooon!” XD Die did something similar; looked like he was mouthing words to get the audience going, but who knows what they might’ve been. XD All the guitarists switched up their positions quite a bit, too, which is nice, ‘cuz then the people over on Die’s side get to see Kaoru & Toshiya for a bit. And, as usual, they all did well with their backing vocals. :)
I was actually able to SEE Shinya this time, & very well! Not just when he threw his sticks out at the end, or glimpses during the performance, or through Kyo's legs when Kyo was on the box, like last year. XD Also got to see Kyo’s back, with its dazzling (& now finished) Buddha tattoo - during the instrumental middle section of Reiketsu Nariseba, he stood on his box, arms spread to the sides, with his back to us! A breathtaking moment.
It was a little weird not being in the pit, but I'm kind of glad, 'cuz I think it was a bit vicious this time (I've already read of one person who seemed to go there just to "f**k people up" XP). I met a couple people after the show who were a bit battle-scarred from the experience. But I’ll get to that later.
OMG, I went a bit fangirl during Bugaboo! Some of the numbers they did were sung just as they’d been arranged for the Nippon Budokan shows (those were done in Jan. 2010, & released as a concert DVD). Shokubeni was beautifully done, in the new way (they re-did it for the b-side of the Hageshisa single), with the a-capella part in the middle. Obscure was tweaked as it had been for Budokan, with a switch-up of one of the chorus lines, the Aah’s in place of the final chorus, with the extended last note…& then there was Bugaboo.
You have to understand, Bugaboo is one of my fave songs, so call me selfish, but I’m really particular about it. They did a fabulous rendition of it at last year’s show, but I was not altogether pleased with the way they did it at Budokan. It prob’ly sounds like I’m demanding a lot from Kyo, but I prefer him hitting the high notes of the chorus, rather than dropping an octave. Just a personal preference, I guess. And even tho’ they did it the Budokan way this time around, it wasn’t as disappointing as the version on the DVD. Despite the dropped octave, this was likely due to what Kyo was doing with his body during the song. He was slowly positioning himself into these fantastic shapes (the song itself is very serpentine), which had a profound effect on me - it turned my legs to jelly! I had to grab onto the rail AND Katty to keep myself up! XD
Kyo also pulled from his usual bag of communicative tricks, pointing at his eyes or touching his chest, & then pointing to people in the audience. And he is still able to bring us to a hush with a mere movement of his hands (this was done before the vocal solos). At one point, he was just staring out into the crowd with what I called his “demon eyes”, very narrowed & intense. Even from my position at the rail, I could feel the force of it.
Right before Rasetsu Koku, Kyo screamed out, “Last song!” Katty & I responded with, “No! No! Nooooo!” I don’t know if he heard us or what, but he must’ve yelled, “Last song!” 6 or 8 times! Each time, we kept screaming, “NO!” It was pretty funny, although, at the time, we really were sad it was going to be the last song.
After that, Kyo made his way off-stage, & the other guys threw picks & water, & water bottles. Totchi did his little Namaste-type thing before leaving. Shinya threw out his drumsticks. Nothing, however, reached the back row. :( I was kinda hoping they’d do what Mana did in the Malice Mizer concert DVD I have from Budokan (kind of the Madison Square Garden of Japan), & chuck stuff out like a baseball pitcher! XD Ah well, at least Kyo loved the back row, LOL (tho’ I did spy a moment or 2 during the set where a couple of the others - Kaoru & Toshiya, I believe - seemed to be encouraging those of us further out). We immediately launched into the customary chants of, “An-ko-ru!” & “Dir en grey!” However, when you see the techs come out & dismantle Kyo’s box, you know it’s over.
But we stayed for Apocalyptica anyway. Milo & Flavia texted me asking if I planned to stay. I said yes, figuring we paid for it, might as well have a look. Plus, I had a sneaking suspicion they might bring out one of the Diru guys during their set. They didn’t, but in L.A. & San Francisco, they did! Kyo came out & did vocals on one of their new songs! Yet another thing NYC got screwed out of. XP Sorry, I’m jealous.
We waited a while, discussing Diru’s set & whatnot, watching as the floor cleared pretty fast. Many Diru fans either left, or went to the back of the floor/pit area, some coming up to our level to take the seats behind us. Some people stayed where they were, tho’ - there were folks who knew/liked both bands.
I have to say, Apocalyptica were good. I don’t think some of us quite knew what to do with them at first, but they grow on you. XD I don’t want to say it was hard to take them seriously, ‘cuz they really are serious musicians. Doing metal songs on cellos might seem like a novelty act, but stick around a while, & you’ll see that isn’t the case. Dig a little deeper & read up on these guys. They are classically trained, academy graduates, some have won awards for their playing, even playing for philharmonic orchestras in their native Finland. But they do act like a rock band, too.
Initially, there proved to be some resistance, but the band worked hard to try & win over any skeptics. I have to applaud them for that. Their energy turned out to be pretty amazing - by the end, they were spinning around with these big cellos, carrying them back & forth across the stage, even lifting them over their heads - with one hand! Speaking of heads, there was a bit of head-banging & hair-spinning going on, too. It was almost dizzying to watch! Told you they act like a rock band. XD
I’ve only just read up on who’s who in the band, so in case you don’t know, the long-haired blonde is Eicca. The short-haired one is Paavo - he did the most to try & get the audience involved, & was fun to watch as he did it. (For anyone who’s read or knows about Toshiya’s blog posts, Paavo’s the guy that was teaching him a little bit of cello.) My favourite proved to be Perttu. With his long, dark hair & devilish goatee, he looked like Vlad Dracula, honestly! A really nice-looking one. ^_~ He wore this great military-style jacket, & had some nifty tattoos. They also had a percussionist, Mikko. For some songs, there was a vocalist. I believe this is Tipe Johnson from...is it Leningrad Cowboys? Some group I haven’t heard of. They use guest singers on some of their album tracks (including Flyleaf’s Lacey, Gavin Rossdale from Bush, the singers from HIM, Lacuna Coil, & Rammstein, & Nina Hagen!), but this guy’s touring with them.
Considering I hadn’t even heard of this band before finding out they were touring with Diru, I can’t give you a run-down of their set. But it did get more interesting to watch as they went on. A few times in between, they spoke to the audience, with accents you couldn’t help but think of as cute (esp. when Perttu was talking about the band being glad they had their music & “each others”). I believe there may have been a couple Fins in the audience, as well, ’cuz we heard some Finnish goin’ on. XD I did recognise one number they played, Metallica’s Master of Puppets. People were singing along with it, & the band encouraged that (in Paavo’s case, vigorously, LOL). I know Apocalyptica is well-known for doing covers of many Metallica songs; unfortunately, I’m not terribly familiar with Metallica’s older stuff, so I don’t know if they did any others.
In the middle of the set, Eicca asked if we wanted to hear some “beautiful music”, so they slowed it down & played a couple of actual classical pieces. Mikko played, I think it was a double-bass, on those. They really were lovely numbers. Now that I think of it, that might’ve been the turning point that changed our opinion of them as serious musicians, more than just a novelty act.
They saved the best little surprise for last, tho’. When I was at my mom’s, Johnathan had showed me Apocalyptica’s video for a song called “I Don’t Care”, featuring Adam Gontier, vocalist of 3 Days Grace. It’s a good song & a good video, with very pretty-looking, Gothic visuals. Well, Tipe came out & introduced none other than Gontier, who came on-stage & did that song with them! (Knew I had to tell deadfoxkyo1 about that, since he likes 3 Days Grace a lot.) Everybody who knew the chorus was singing along, myself included. It was a nice finale.
Apocalyptica w/Adam Gontier, “I Don’t Care” - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxDcWvZCSRg
Sadly, after this, it was time to say good-bye to Miss Katty & her mom, as they were driving back to Canada immediately following the show. Met up with Flavia & Milo, & we got our stuff from coat check. Milo got some good pictures of both Diru & Apoca from the show, on his phone! Flavia tried taking a couple of him & me together, but I think his battery was low or something, ‘cuz they came out kinda dark. (Milo, if you’re reading this, & you still have those, send them to me; I might be able to lighten them w/my photo software.) Unfortunately, we were going in different directions, so these friends, too, I was forced to part with.
I did, however, run into misses_newsman again, as I was trying to figure out which direction I needed to go in to hit the subway (exits always confound me). She was out by where the tour bus was parked. We talked a bit about the show, & I got her opinion on the meet & greet (she concurred with the notion that it had been somewhat rushed, but enjoyable nonetheless). She invited me to friend her here on Livejournal, & drop her a comment. ^_^ It was starting to rain again, so we said good-bye, & I draped my jacket over my poster (this poor thing was a little bruised & battered by the time I got home, I tried so hard to keep it dry!), & made off toward the subway.
Oops! It wasn’t until I’d gotten to the subway station that I realised I still had Milo’s sweater! He’d stuffed it into my blanket bag - the only bag we didn’t look in when we were separating our stuff. I got a text from them almost at the precise moment I noticed this. I’ve now got it in a nice, padded envelope, ready to ship out. Milo just has to tell me where to send it. He’s been busy, I guess, having just started college, but I’ll feel guilty if it gets cold up there, & here’s his nice, warm sweater, sitting in an envelope in my living room. :P
Drank my entire bottle of tea while waiting for the subway train. Boy, was I thirsty! (Ended up having my roll cake for breakfast on Wed.) The ride back to 34th, where the train station is, was uneventful. Some guys sitting across from me were speaking German or something. Thought of dreitropfenblut, who prob’ly would’ve been able to get what they were talking about. I know one guy had green Chuck Taylor sneakers on (which made me think of el_jefe59), but he also had them up on the pole that people hold onto when they’re riding the subway & all the seats are filled. Blah.
As I’m directionally challenged, I always need to get my bearings when I come off the subway or out of places with multiple exits. :P So it took me a while to figure out just where I was, & which direction I’d have to walk in to get to the train station (the subway doesn’t go directly into it, you have to walk about a block to hit the Penn Station entrance). Plus, it was raining, & I was terrified of my poster getting wet! It’s hard to juggle an umbrella, 2 bags, a chair (in a carrying bag), & a backpack, with a jacket draped over the bag with the poster. XD But I soon found my way, & called my mom (who’d been invited to stay at Cousin Patty’s for the night) once I hit the train station.
OMG, where the hell was my head that night?!?! I nearly got on the wrong train!!! In fact, I DID get on the wrong train!!! The DOVER train!!! I might’ve ended up in Delaware if I hadn’t realised it sooner!!! Got off ASAP, remembering that I’m supposed to be on the TRENTON train!!! Of course, the Trenton train wasn’t due for another HOUR. What the hell am I gonna do for an hour??? Maybe that novel would come in handy after all.
Turns out I didn’t need it. Texted diru915 about the show & merch & whatnot, & soon found myself entering into conversation with Miss B. Lily Rose & her brother, Josh, who’d also been to the show, our topics starting, obviously enough, with the show, & branching out from there. Josh was one of those people who knew/liked both Diru & Apocalyptica (noting that he thought the Apoca guys sounded, when they spoke, a little like Skwisgaar [Toki, too!] from Metalocalypse - what do you think? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cR6bCgJUcYw - I am inclined to agree XD). B. has this really pretty tattoo; I was trying hard not to stare at it, but it was sort of anime meets Labyrinth. I didn’t ask her about it, but my eyes were continually drawn to it. EDIT: Miss B. has since informed me that it's of Howl's Moving Castle (a film by Hayao Miyazaki).
They were on my train! So we all sat together & continued our conversation. It was they who, as I mentioned earlier, were a little bit battle-scarred from being in the pit. Ouch! :P (If memory serves, they’re also going to the X-Japan show next month!) B. had Diru’s Lie Buried With A Vengeance as her phone ringtone (mine is Hageshisa), & said she was pretty certain they did that at the ’07 show. That must’ve been one of the numbers I didn’t know yet - that album, The Marrow of a Bone, hadn’t been officially released when they did that show; I’d actually pre-ordered it there, before the performance).
Miss B. & Josh got off at the stops just before mine, but they were lots of fun to talk to, making it a great ride back. More friends for Facebook, too, ha ha! But by the time I got back to the train station, it was almost 2:30 in the morning! Found my car (fortunately, I’d gotten a nice, close-to-the-bottom-level parking space, surprising for a weekday), & made my way home. Of course, I didn’t go to sleep right away...first I hopped on the computer, friending all the cool folks I’d met! XD
It was about 4 am when I finally hit the couch & passed out.
It was obvious that Dir en grey have some rabid fans in Toronto. As the five-piece Japanese band walked on stage, the screams coming from the crowd to greet them were quite impressive. I am ill-fitted to really wax-on about the songs Dir en grey played live, as my only experience with them as a band is the recently released live CD/DVD package ‘Uroboros’*. I recognized a few tracks from this live package during the band's performance...but for the most part, I was watching Dir en grey as a newbie.
Kyo's vocals throughout the hour long performance were pretty amazing. He can hit notes so menacingly low followed by ear piercing highs, it was hard NOT to be impressed by his singing. He’s a smallish fellow, but what he lacks in physical height, he more than makes up for in massive stage presence. As his band-mates belted out technically amazing song after song, Kyo twisted and bent in all directions as he belted out the lyrics to about a dozen Dir en grey songs. They were pretty damn awesome.
- Mike Bax, Lithium Magazine (in a review of the Toronto show, the first date on the 2010 North American tour)
*I am certain the “live package” to which Bax refers is “Uroboros - with the proof in the name of living - at Nippon Budokan”, as opposed to the studio album “Uroboros”; I will refer to the Budokan concerts later in this write-up.
I hope everyone has had a chance to check out my posts about the Monster-Mania convention:
Day 1 - http://japanesedream.livejournal.com/382408.html
Day 2 - http://japanesedream.livejournal.com/382836.html
Day 3 - http://japanesedream.livejournal.com/383075.html
But if that hadn’t been awesome enough, the 3-day horror-fest was quickly followed by my third Dir en grey concert! (24 Aug., 2010, Nokia Theatre, NYC.)
You can read about the first 2 here:
10 Feb. 2007, Nokia Theatre, NYC: http://japanesedream.livejournal.com/159909.html
14 Nov. 2009, Grammercy Theatre, NYC: http://japanesedream.livejournal.com/334096.html
My mom planned on staying with me for a bit after Monster-Mania, so after Johnathan got home from work on Mon., she & I made our way back to my place. Her mission for the week was to make progress on the home decorating project my house has become, & she made a great deal of headway on the Asian-inspired living room.
But I'm ahead of myself. We stopped off to pick up some food, got out of the car, & found that it was COLD out! There was a reputed storm on its way into the area, which set my mind to the following day. Better wear a jacket, & bring my umbrella. The blankets, too. Also had the little folding/travel chair I won at my job's 4th of July picnic raffle, & some supplies in my backpack. Relaxed a bit, & I made my preparations over the course of the evening.
We'd set it up so that my cousin, Patty, would come to visit my mom once she got off work, so my poor mom wouldn't have to spend the whole night alone. She was already going to spend the day by herself, since I had it in mind to go in early, to try & secure a decent place in line, but I found out people had been lining up for DAYS! Thought I might be doomed.
Up at 5 am! Hoped to get out of the house a bit earlier than I did, but still made good time. Managed to snap some shots before I headed out.
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=30852513&l=0f0d31738f&id=1548491398
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=30852514&l=e17b5b86b7&id=1548491398
Note that my hair is finally straight!! For my sisters-in-frizz, the secret is blow-drying it right away. I’m using Pantene Frizzy To Smooth 2-in-1 (shampoo + conditioner), plus Herbal Essences Dangerously Straight conditioner (a little bit worked through the hair while it’s still wet, like a leave-in). Towel just a bit, blow-dry, then - when it’s completely dry - use the flat-iron. ^_^
Left just after 7, with the plan to stop off at Penn Sushi for lunch, dinner, & snacks, which would get me to the line around 8:30, 9:00 at the latest.
The best-laid plans of mice & Diru fans...
Two or three stops into the train ride, they stopped the trains! Something about low voltage on the lines. A very pretty girl had randomly sat down next to me (the train was fairly full, due to workday traffic - this was a Tuesday, after all), & we spoke briefly about possible alternate plans. But there wasn't really a way to get to any buses or anything from where we were. So we were stuck. They would update us periodically, over the P.A. system...about nothing. Literally! They would say there was “no change” from the previous update. I was trying my hardest not to freak out - which, for those of you who know me well, takes a mighty effort!
It was at least an hour, maybe a little bit more, before they told us they’d been given the all-clear, & the train started up again. I was relieved to be on my way, but terrified at how long the line would have become by now! Got into the City & quickly hit Penn Sushi. Picked up chocolate Pocky, some sushi (I think it was called green veggie, basically vegetable sushi with something like green tea powder on top), a roll cake (I think it was vanilla; I usually get the green tea one, but they haven't had it available for quite a while), some green tea daifuku, & a bottle of green tea. Also had my Pez with me, in the Hello Kitty Pez dispenser my mom had gotten for me. ^_^
Of course, I wasn't able to eat any of it right off the bat, because I'd been nauseous due to nerves, starting the night before! So no breakfast, either. Blah.
Hit the subway, & made it to the Nokia around 10:00. Surprisingly, there weren't a whole, whole lot of people in line! I was about 1/4 of the way down after the first turn! Asked a couple of Asian kids who appeared to be at the end of the line if they were, in fact, at the end of the line. They said yes, & I offered them use of my blankets if they wanted to sit down. It was about 9 hours 'til the doors opened, & I couldn't imagine standing that long! But if it was gonna rain, I didn’t think they’d want to sit on bare concrete.
I'd brought my journal, in case nobody really felt like talking to me (it happened at Vamps last year), so I could make notes about Monster-Mania (I hadn’t written the posts yet), & also a book (Koji Suzuki's Dark Water), in case I felt like reading. I wasn't there tremendously long before a perky, red-headed girl came by, saying she enjoyed meeting people in line. We introduced ourselves & started to chat. Turned out she was VIP (for those who don't know, this tour didn't have a buy-a-DVD-&-get-it-signed thing like last year, it was a special package: $125 for the meet & greet, some special VIP items, entry prior to the 'show-only' attendees, & first choice of merchandise), & while some people might be elitist about it, she was totally nice. :) After chatting for a bit, we learned that we were both members of Livejournal - turns out she was misses_newsman! I had to thank her for helping to continue the tradition of "Kyo Sundays" over on diru_tabloids. I also found out she was one of the people involved in the "tea incident" last year (which wasn't really an incident, I just can't think of a better word), where Kyo & a few other members of Diru's camp brought green tea to the folks camped out at the front of the line (it was Nov., very damp & chilly). I asked her about it, & got a first-hand account. You have to hear her tell it, tho', very sweetly & with the warm-fuzzies. ^_^
I believe it was during our conversation that others began joining the line behind me, so there was a bit of a group chat that began, then misses_newsman excused herself (she was up at the front of the line), but said she'd be back later. She did return a couple of times over the course of our time in line, & I enjoyed talking with her.
Directly behind me in line were some equally nice & very groovy people, a young Lolita-gal & her mom, who'd come all the way from Montreal to see the show! They were also VIP, & had brought some goodies (photobooks & the like) to show the band & maybe get signed - including both of Kyo's poetry books!
Speaking of books, it's funny, but the only thing I ended up using my journal for was to take down the names of people I would meet on this day, so I could friend them on Facebook! XD The first was the aforementioned Lolita-gal, Katty. We got to chatting...& once we started, we didn't stop!! XD I could fill up a whole post in itself with our discussions (which we are still having over on FB), suffice to say, we have lots of things in common besides our love for Diru - including having both been to Japan! - & really hit it off, becoming fast friends. I even told her about the Kyo-rubbing thing. ^_~ She’s agreed to take on Toshiya & Shinya. XD diru915 still has Die. XD I guess we can take turns with Kaoru. XD
And to think, if the trains hadn't been held up, I might've had a different place in line, she wouldn't have been behind me, & I'd never have made a new friend. Things do happen for a reason...
Anywho, I have to say this was the best line experience I’ve had so far! A few fun jokes even cropped up while we were waiting...the best of them being when people kept asking what we were all queued up for. You can't say Diru, 'cuz the average person won't know them. We were saying, "Japanese metal!" (taken from a video of a drunk dude at one of Diru's European shows earlier this year - here Is the video, if you’re curious: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zo87LF8Fvt8), then one guy said, "Justin Bieber!" which cracked us all up! XD After a bit, we somehow came up with the Spice Girls reunion (which later lead to another in-joke about the Spice Boys). XD It's fun to play with passersby. XD
We saw the tour bus pull up! It looked to be a different colour than last year’s (I confirmed this with my brother), darker red than what I remembered as the more brownish one we’d seen last time. But it still had the black trailer. I guess the guys were already inside, tho’ (the venue, I mean, not the bus) - I didn’t hear anybody screaming. XD
A group of gals from DegNat (Dir en grey Nation, Diru's national street team) came by, passing out small flyers (what the heck happened to mine?), & later, caution tape (which we wore like armbands) & lei's. Yes, I got lei'd again! XD First at Rocky Horror, then at Dir en grey! XD The DegNat team were nice enough to ask us which colour we wanted; I asked what colours they had, & the first thing they said was that they had 1 purple one left, & I was, like, "Yes! That's mine!" :D
But the best part was, if you signed up, you got a raffle ticket. The prize? A copy of Diru's album, "Uroboros", signed by all 5 members!! I almost won that. It ended up going to the number directly after mine...Katty's mom!! Insanely jealous? You bet I was...but hey, they came all the way from Canada, so I figured they deserved it. :)
After a while, the DegNat crew came by again, this time to film us cheering & whatnot (they'd told us they were gonna do this). By then, we were having lunch (I was actually able to eat, but only bits at a time), & sharing Pocky (Katty had strawberry). It rained on & off, but by this point in the day, it had stopped. I'd checked in again with my mom (we'd talked earlier, when I was walking up to the Nokia to get in line; she'd seen on the news about the trains), & spent a good deal more time talking up a storm with Katty.
A familiar face soon came into view - Milo! Those of you who read last year's report will recognise him as Camillo (I think I misspelled it, tho', sorry - there should prob'ly only be one L), one of the folks my brother & I were talking to in line. This year, Milo brought his sister, Flavia, along. They were a little further back in line, but Milo stayed & chatted with us for a bit. It was pretty cool to listen to him & Katty talk about the music in technical terms (he's a guitarist, she plays bass & some cello). We talked for a while, then he went back to join Flavia, until Katty & her mom had to join the VIP line, & then he & his sister took their spots. No one seemed to mind.
The lines got a little mixed up when they broke off the VIP people (from the regular line) for early entry, but I still had my good place in the queue, & once Milo & Flavia were behind me, I had people to continue talking to! ^_^ The security, or whatever they were, also moved the line at this time, from one side of the sidewalk to the other. I lent Milo & Flavia one of my blankets so they could sit, & we had a spot of dinner; I shared some of my Pocky & daifuku. I saved my roll cake & tea for later, in case I got peckish after the show. Plus, I still had some Pocky, & my Pez. :)
Talked up yet another storm, & a short while later, they moved our part of the line up. They then said they'd made some sort of mistake & were planning to move us back, but we were, like, no way are we moving back, so they just let us stay there. XD There were a couple of other guys behind us, who I think had been at last year's show, but I didn't remember seeing them. One - the one that cracked the Justin Bieber remark - was named, I think, Bob, I never did get his name (or the other guy, & there was a girl, too). Milo & Flavia were so kind, helping me carry all the stuff I'd schlepped with me (one day, I promise I will learn to pack light!), since we were standing from this point on. Milo & Bob were using their electronic gadgets to play music, & the other guy behind Bob had earphones so we could listen to Bob's gadget. I got to hear all kinds of fun things, most of which I can't remember, except for some Diru, MUCC, X-Japan (who are playing Roseland the day after I see Vamps - I didn't even know they were touring!), Sugizo...you get the idea.
Ah, but time does fly when you're having fun, doesn't it? Soon enough, they were coming 'round to do bag checks & pat-downs for the guys. And then, at long last, they let us in! Bob had asked if he could check his umbrella with my stuff, maybe throw a buck or 2 my way (coat check can get pricey), & I was willing, but he & the other guy went to check out the floor situation, & I never did see them again. But I did see Miss Katty again! She & her mom were standing against the rail (there were stairs next to the rail to go down to the floor/pit, & behind the rail area were seats). I forget if I asked about the meet & greet at this point, or afterward, but I let her know we were going to check out merchandise & go to coat check, & I'd be back.
So Milo, Flavia, & I went to the merch table. On our way, a couple of guys saw me & asked, “Dir en grey or Apocalyptica?” But then they saw my shirt & gave me hi-fives. They said they remembered me from last year. I couldn’t place them, but I suspect they (or, at least, one of them) may have been the same hi-fivers I saw after last year’s show. XD
Lots of things to choose from at the merch table, tho' not quite as impressive, IMO, than other years; like when I saw them in '07, I’d been able to buy a slightly older video compilation, & a video from a previous tour - kind of wish they could do that again, in addition to the current stuff (too bad they didn’t bring the Hageshisa single with them, I still need that!). But they did have a variety of t-shirts (all the audio/video stuff they were selling, I already owned), & I picked out what I thought was the nicest one - 'cuz I always have to get a shirt.
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=30853568&l=54d49c2209&id=1548491398
I have a thing for carousel horses, so this one was the most appealing to me. ^_^
The one thing I was very happy to see were posters! Ones with the band on them! XD So naturally, I snagged one of those.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v415/japanesedream/poster.jpg
Unfortunately, I was less than impressed with the person working the merch table. (What happened to the Asians? Didn’t they have Asians at ’07’s table?) While I did, at first, decide to give the dude a small monetary bonus for the sign on his tip glass (asking for tips so he could get "Desperate Housewives on DVD...so, so desperate" - incidentally, my mention that I was going to tip based purely on the amusing nature of the sign encouraged another attendee behind me to tip, also), I was a little irked when I moved off to the side, further down the table, so I could try to roll up my poster (they hand it to you flat - & it is NOT small!), he was trying to tell me they had bags to put our stuff in. This might've been okay, if I hadn't heard him say, "Hey, lady..." while I was wrestling with the poster. I mean, who the hell puts a big, flat poster in a bag without rolling it up??
Got myself situated, finally (I think Milo may have actually helped me with this), & Milo & Flavia got their merch, after which, we all went off to find coat check. They put their stuff in with mine, & Milo kindly threw a couple dollars my way for that. I hit the ladies' room, then exchanged numbers with Milo in case we got separated, so we could meet up after the show & get our goodies from coat check, since I was holding the tickets.
Milo & Flavia went down into the floor/pit area, but I stayed up at the rail to chat with Katty. I asked her about the meet & greet, & she told me about it. A little rushed, but nice. Kyo did sign the poetry books (her mom asked that in line a few times: "Do you think he'll sign them?"), & he was grinning as he met fans. Just about all of them shook hands, if memory serves. Apparently, Shinya has very soft hands, & Kyo has a firm handshake. Got a few other details, & talked about merch & the like. Continued our Spice Boys in-joke by doling out Spice-related names to the Diru boys. Yes, we are weird. XD
So we stood around talking, listening to the odd musical selections blaring over the loudspeaker (I'd put my earplugs in just before they let us in), & watching roadies set things up (Diru's backdrop - a seemingly upgraded version of last year's Samsara Wheel motif - was already up, as were Shinya's drums, uncovered this time). I decided to take a different approach to concert-going, & stayed with her & her mom at the rail for the whole show! ^_^
It took a while, but the lights were finally cut altogether, & it was time for the first act. Evaline were okay. They seemed to get better as their set went on. The vocalist kind of looked like Jared Leto, & kept jumping into the audience. I thought he was trying a bit too hard to be sexy. The rest of the group were sort of frat-boyish. The most interesting member was on the end (stage right; left side by our perspective), playing guitar, synth, & (for one song) an electric sitar. The pinnacle of their performance was when multiple members of the band were all playing on the drum kit at the same time.
A sample of their sound: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DoLP9bCXoKU
When Evaline finished, we played the waiting game, talking a bit, & wondering whether Diru or Apocalyptica were going to play next. We knew the bands were co-headlining, but it hadn't been made clear what the order might be. We were desperately hoping Diru would go on last - it seemed the logical choice, to us; how do you top Dir en grey with cellos??
Unfortunately, the roadies were Asian - not that we don’t love Asian roadies; one guy even looked a bit like Kaoru! But our fervent hopes were dashed. Sure, we'd get to see our band next, but in this position in the line-up, it makes them look like an opening act. And Diru is not an opening act!! But there they were, the telltale signs: mic stands with picks, guitars, basses, Shinya's drum kit, the fog machine...I think we cheered when they set Kyo's box up. ^_^
We'd talked a lot in line, all of us, about what songs we might like to hear. Of course, the new stuff like Hageshisa & the re-worked Zan fell in with old stuff that hasn't been played in years, even a few standards or things we'd heard at previous shows made the lists. Katty & I wondered again what songs we might be in for.
We were about to find out.
Down go the lights, up goes the volume, & soon it's "Sa Bir" resounding through the place, & we all go completely nuts as the boys begin to emerge from the fog-strewn darkness.
It’s been a while since the show, so a few of the details are a bit fuzzy, sorry. Not that it matters exactly what order the boys came out in, or exactly what they were wearing, but I like to be thorough, & accurate when I can. It’s pretty much always the same anyway, in terms of entrances. Shinya always comes out first, Kyo always comes out last, the guitarists in between. They looked just about like they do in the photo I posted, outfits & all, except Kyo wasn’t wearing shades (& his shirt was, as usual, removed a few numbers into the show), & Die had on this awesome shirt, dark with what I can only describe as gauzy pin-stripes. And yes, the hair is still wind-blown. XD Kaoru had his big, bling-cross on, & either jeans or dark pants; Toshiya had his skirt, with black leggings. He waved when he came out. ^_^ Shinya wore black gloves. Kyo was wearing what I first thought were white pants, but I realised later that they were light brown. Can’t remember if Shinya wore jeans or pants. Die wore white shoes (this is the first time I could ever see Die’s shoes!). Kyo was wearing black shoes, maybe boots.
As for the performance, there were a few technical troubles, & Kyo seemed a little...something. Off in some way? Subdued, perhaps? His performance was great, but he may have been peeved about the technical stuff - sounded like his mic was going out at intervals. I noticed him fidget with the wires/amp on his back at least once, & a tech did come out to fiddle briefly with something. Die had some guitar trouble, too - it was funny, ’cuz I think he just hung out with the crowd for a minute at the edge of his side of the stage, until the techs got him a new guitar. They didn't get to play an encore (the first couple cities on the tour got screwed out of that - NYC was the 2nd date - later shows have been getting them, usually the new Zan, or Saku), so maybe that ticked Kyo off. But he always gives 100+%, no matter what, & we were not disappointed.
The set-list, as posted on diru_tabloids:
Sa Bir
Red Soil
Agitated Screams of Maggots
Gaika, Chinmoku Ga Nemuru Koro
Hageshisa To, Kono Mune No Naka De Karamitsuita Shakunetsu No Yami
Shokubeni
Bugaboo
Obscure
Dozing Green
Vinushka
The Final
Reiketsu Nariseba
Rasetsu Koku
I can't believe they let cameras in! They didn't in '07; I saw Diru at the same venue, & back then, they took people aside who had cameras (tho’ some cameras got in anyway). But people were sticking them right up, in front of the burly bouncer guys that stood at the foot of the stage (one right in front of Kyo’s box) & pulled crowd-surfers out. I thought about using my phone to take a photo or 2, but said screw it. XD
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYwW984xeFU
I didn’t take that video, but it’s one of my favourite moments. That vocal solo was truly amazing. I think we were all mesmerised.
That’s not to say we didn’t make some noise!! We screamed & clapped, & I howled with every bit of energy & breath I had! We head-banged & fist-pumped & devil-horned. We were also doing this thing where we reached. Just held our hands out toward Kyo. And I can’t recall what song it was (not the one in the video), but there was a moment where he reached toward us! I remarked on it when rejoining Milo after the show, & he thought it an odd thing for Kyo to do, but I was, like, “No, that was love for the back row!” XD
We sang along with some of the numbers, as well. I was doing a bit with Obscure (as were some others), but the main ones were Maggots, Hageshisa, & The Final. We had a lot of fun with those!
As for the boys, I think, on the whole, they were having fun, too! Die & Toshiya had AWESOME energy! They were so much fun to watch. Totchi's usually hopping around, & is good at encouraging the audience (which he did quite a bit of this time, as well, in his wonderful way), but he was also spinning around with his bass, & even did this great jump off Shinya’s riser! Die was more energetic than I'd ever seen him (others I spoke to agreed)! He seemed really happy...even when he had to switch out his guitar. XD And he gave us the finger a lot (he did in '07, too); I think it's Die-speak for, "I love you guys." XD Katty & her mom kept saying that he really loves New York. ^_^ Kaoru was more like his old self, as I'd seen him in '07. He was the subdued one last year. This year, he moved about a bit more, & helped encourage the audience. And made his wonderful faces. XD It’s like he’s going, “Coooome ooooooon!” XD Die did something similar; looked like he was mouthing words to get the audience going, but who knows what they might’ve been. XD All the guitarists switched up their positions quite a bit, too, which is nice, ‘cuz then the people over on Die’s side get to see Kaoru & Toshiya for a bit. And, as usual, they all did well with their backing vocals. :)
I was actually able to SEE Shinya this time, & very well! Not just when he threw his sticks out at the end, or glimpses during the performance, or through Kyo's legs when Kyo was on the box, like last year. XD Also got to see Kyo’s back, with its dazzling (& now finished) Buddha tattoo - during the instrumental middle section of Reiketsu Nariseba, he stood on his box, arms spread to the sides, with his back to us! A breathtaking moment.
It was a little weird not being in the pit, but I'm kind of glad, 'cuz I think it was a bit vicious this time (I've already read of one person who seemed to go there just to "f**k people up" XP). I met a couple people after the show who were a bit battle-scarred from the experience. But I’ll get to that later.
OMG, I went a bit fangirl during Bugaboo! Some of the numbers they did were sung just as they’d been arranged for the Nippon Budokan shows (those were done in Jan. 2010, & released as a concert DVD). Shokubeni was beautifully done, in the new way (they re-did it for the b-side of the Hageshisa single), with the a-capella part in the middle. Obscure was tweaked as it had been for Budokan, with a switch-up of one of the chorus lines, the Aah’s in place of the final chorus, with the extended last note…& then there was Bugaboo.
You have to understand, Bugaboo is one of my fave songs, so call me selfish, but I’m really particular about it. They did a fabulous rendition of it at last year’s show, but I was not altogether pleased with the way they did it at Budokan. It prob’ly sounds like I’m demanding a lot from Kyo, but I prefer him hitting the high notes of the chorus, rather than dropping an octave. Just a personal preference, I guess. And even tho’ they did it the Budokan way this time around, it wasn’t as disappointing as the version on the DVD. Despite the dropped octave, this was likely due to what Kyo was doing with his body during the song. He was slowly positioning himself into these fantastic shapes (the song itself is very serpentine), which had a profound effect on me - it turned my legs to jelly! I had to grab onto the rail AND Katty to keep myself up! XD
Kyo also pulled from his usual bag of communicative tricks, pointing at his eyes or touching his chest, & then pointing to people in the audience. And he is still able to bring us to a hush with a mere movement of his hands (this was done before the vocal solos). At one point, he was just staring out into the crowd with what I called his “demon eyes”, very narrowed & intense. Even from my position at the rail, I could feel the force of it.
Right before Rasetsu Koku, Kyo screamed out, “Last song!” Katty & I responded with, “No! No! Nooooo!” I don’t know if he heard us or what, but he must’ve yelled, “Last song!” 6 or 8 times! Each time, we kept screaming, “NO!” It was pretty funny, although, at the time, we really were sad it was going to be the last song.
After that, Kyo made his way off-stage, & the other guys threw picks & water, & water bottles. Totchi did his little Namaste-type thing before leaving. Shinya threw out his drumsticks. Nothing, however, reached the back row. :( I was kinda hoping they’d do what Mana did in the Malice Mizer concert DVD I have from Budokan (kind of the Madison Square Garden of Japan), & chuck stuff out like a baseball pitcher! XD Ah well, at least Kyo loved the back row, LOL (tho’ I did spy a moment or 2 during the set where a couple of the others - Kaoru & Toshiya, I believe - seemed to be encouraging those of us further out). We immediately launched into the customary chants of, “An-ko-ru!” & “Dir en grey!” However, when you see the techs come out & dismantle Kyo’s box, you know it’s over.
But we stayed for Apocalyptica anyway. Milo & Flavia texted me asking if I planned to stay. I said yes, figuring we paid for it, might as well have a look. Plus, I had a sneaking suspicion they might bring out one of the Diru guys during their set. They didn’t, but in L.A. & San Francisco, they did! Kyo came out & did vocals on one of their new songs! Yet another thing NYC got screwed out of. XP Sorry, I’m jealous.
We waited a while, discussing Diru’s set & whatnot, watching as the floor cleared pretty fast. Many Diru fans either left, or went to the back of the floor/pit area, some coming up to our level to take the seats behind us. Some people stayed where they were, tho’ - there were folks who knew/liked both bands.
I have to say, Apocalyptica were good. I don’t think some of us quite knew what to do with them at first, but they grow on you. XD I don’t want to say it was hard to take them seriously, ‘cuz they really are serious musicians. Doing metal songs on cellos might seem like a novelty act, but stick around a while, & you’ll see that isn’t the case. Dig a little deeper & read up on these guys. They are classically trained, academy graduates, some have won awards for their playing, even playing for philharmonic orchestras in their native Finland. But they do act like a rock band, too.
Initially, there proved to be some resistance, but the band worked hard to try & win over any skeptics. I have to applaud them for that. Their energy turned out to be pretty amazing - by the end, they were spinning around with these big cellos, carrying them back & forth across the stage, even lifting them over their heads - with one hand! Speaking of heads, there was a bit of head-banging & hair-spinning going on, too. It was almost dizzying to watch! Told you they act like a rock band. XD
I’ve only just read up on who’s who in the band, so in case you don’t know, the long-haired blonde is Eicca. The short-haired one is Paavo - he did the most to try & get the audience involved, & was fun to watch as he did it. (For anyone who’s read or knows about Toshiya’s blog posts, Paavo’s the guy that was teaching him a little bit of cello.) My favourite proved to be Perttu. With his long, dark hair & devilish goatee, he looked like Vlad Dracula, honestly! A really nice-looking one. ^_~ He wore this great military-style jacket, & had some nifty tattoos. They also had a percussionist, Mikko. For some songs, there was a vocalist. I believe this is Tipe Johnson from...is it Leningrad Cowboys? Some group I haven’t heard of. They use guest singers on some of their album tracks (including Flyleaf’s Lacey, Gavin Rossdale from Bush, the singers from HIM, Lacuna Coil, & Rammstein, & Nina Hagen!), but this guy’s touring with them.
Considering I hadn’t even heard of this band before finding out they were touring with Diru, I can’t give you a run-down of their set. But it did get more interesting to watch as they went on. A few times in between, they spoke to the audience, with accents you couldn’t help but think of as cute (esp. when Perttu was talking about the band being glad they had their music & “each others”). I believe there may have been a couple Fins in the audience, as well, ’cuz we heard some Finnish goin’ on. XD I did recognise one number they played, Metallica’s Master of Puppets. People were singing along with it, & the band encouraged that (in Paavo’s case, vigorously, LOL). I know Apocalyptica is well-known for doing covers of many Metallica songs; unfortunately, I’m not terribly familiar with Metallica’s older stuff, so I don’t know if they did any others.
In the middle of the set, Eicca asked if we wanted to hear some “beautiful music”, so they slowed it down & played a couple of actual classical pieces. Mikko played, I think it was a double-bass, on those. They really were lovely numbers. Now that I think of it, that might’ve been the turning point that changed our opinion of them as serious musicians, more than just a novelty act.
They saved the best little surprise for last, tho’. When I was at my mom’s, Johnathan had showed me Apocalyptica’s video for a song called “I Don’t Care”, featuring Adam Gontier, vocalist of 3 Days Grace. It’s a good song & a good video, with very pretty-looking, Gothic visuals. Well, Tipe came out & introduced none other than Gontier, who came on-stage & did that song with them! (Knew I had to tell deadfoxkyo1 about that, since he likes 3 Days Grace a lot.) Everybody who knew the chorus was singing along, myself included. It was a nice finale.
Apocalyptica w/Adam Gontier, “I Don’t Care” - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxDcWvZCSRg
Sadly, after this, it was time to say good-bye to Miss Katty & her mom, as they were driving back to Canada immediately following the show. Met up with Flavia & Milo, & we got our stuff from coat check. Milo got some good pictures of both Diru & Apoca from the show, on his phone! Flavia tried taking a couple of him & me together, but I think his battery was low or something, ‘cuz they came out kinda dark. (Milo, if you’re reading this, & you still have those, send them to me; I might be able to lighten them w/my photo software.) Unfortunately, we were going in different directions, so these friends, too, I was forced to part with.
I did, however, run into misses_newsman again, as I was trying to figure out which direction I needed to go in to hit the subway (exits always confound me). She was out by where the tour bus was parked. We talked a bit about the show, & I got her opinion on the meet & greet (she concurred with the notion that it had been somewhat rushed, but enjoyable nonetheless). She invited me to friend her here on Livejournal, & drop her a comment. ^_^ It was starting to rain again, so we said good-bye, & I draped my jacket over my poster (this poor thing was a little bruised & battered by the time I got home, I tried so hard to keep it dry!), & made off toward the subway.
Oops! It wasn’t until I’d gotten to the subway station that I realised I still had Milo’s sweater! He’d stuffed it into my blanket bag - the only bag we didn’t look in when we were separating our stuff. I got a text from them almost at the precise moment I noticed this. I’ve now got it in a nice, padded envelope, ready to ship out. Milo just has to tell me where to send it. He’s been busy, I guess, having just started college, but I’ll feel guilty if it gets cold up there, & here’s his nice, warm sweater, sitting in an envelope in my living room. :P
Drank my entire bottle of tea while waiting for the subway train. Boy, was I thirsty! (Ended up having my roll cake for breakfast on Wed.) The ride back to 34th, where the train station is, was uneventful. Some guys sitting across from me were speaking German or something. Thought of dreitropfenblut, who prob’ly would’ve been able to get what they were talking about. I know one guy had green Chuck Taylor sneakers on (which made me think of el_jefe59), but he also had them up on the pole that people hold onto when they’re riding the subway & all the seats are filled. Blah.
As I’m directionally challenged, I always need to get my bearings when I come off the subway or out of places with multiple exits. :P So it took me a while to figure out just where I was, & which direction I’d have to walk in to get to the train station (the subway doesn’t go directly into it, you have to walk about a block to hit the Penn Station entrance). Plus, it was raining, & I was terrified of my poster getting wet! It’s hard to juggle an umbrella, 2 bags, a chair (in a carrying bag), & a backpack, with a jacket draped over the bag with the poster. XD But I soon found my way, & called my mom (who’d been invited to stay at Cousin Patty’s for the night) once I hit the train station.
OMG, where the hell was my head that night?!?! I nearly got on the wrong train!!! In fact, I DID get on the wrong train!!! The DOVER train!!! I might’ve ended up in Delaware if I hadn’t realised it sooner!!! Got off ASAP, remembering that I’m supposed to be on the TRENTON train!!! Of course, the Trenton train wasn’t due for another HOUR. What the hell am I gonna do for an hour??? Maybe that novel would come in handy after all.
Turns out I didn’t need it. Texted diru915 about the show & merch & whatnot, & soon found myself entering into conversation with Miss B. Lily Rose & her brother, Josh, who’d also been to the show, our topics starting, obviously enough, with the show, & branching out from there. Josh was one of those people who knew/liked both Diru & Apocalyptica (noting that he thought the Apoca guys sounded, when they spoke, a little like Skwisgaar [Toki, too!] from Metalocalypse - what do you think? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cR6bCgJUcYw - I am inclined to agree XD). B. has this really pretty tattoo; I was trying hard not to stare at it, but it was sort of anime meets Labyrinth. I didn’t ask her about it, but my eyes were continually drawn to it. EDIT: Miss B. has since informed me that it's of Howl's Moving Castle (a film by Hayao Miyazaki).
They were on my train! So we all sat together & continued our conversation. It was they who, as I mentioned earlier, were a little bit battle-scarred from being in the pit. Ouch! :P (If memory serves, they’re also going to the X-Japan show next month!) B. had Diru’s Lie Buried With A Vengeance as her phone ringtone (mine is Hageshisa), & said she was pretty certain they did that at the ’07 show. That must’ve been one of the numbers I didn’t know yet - that album, The Marrow of a Bone, hadn’t been officially released when they did that show; I’d actually pre-ordered it there, before the performance).
Miss B. & Josh got off at the stops just before mine, but they were lots of fun to talk to, making it a great ride back. More friends for Facebook, too, ha ha! But by the time I got back to the train station, it was almost 2:30 in the morning! Found my car (fortunately, I’d gotten a nice, close-to-the-bottom-level parking space, surprising for a weekday), & made my way home. Of course, I didn’t go to sleep right away...first I hopped on the computer, friending all the cool folks I’d met! XD
It was about 4 am when I finally hit the couch & passed out.