The Candy Spooky Theater @ the Middle East - 5/20/07
First night of the tour - The Candy Spooky Theater's first ever American live - and we were there to experience it. A night I will never forget.
The journey
So really, my story begins the night before back at home in NYC, with me attempting to transfer from the F to the 6 to get to Canal and Lafayette. Of course I somehow couldn't get from one subway to the other and spent a good 15 minutes wandering up and down Lexington Avenue trying to get to the 6. Once I managed to find the station, though, things got easier. It was a bit of a walk from Lafayette to Bowery, but it was a straight path - and true to the ads on the website, there was a huge sign for Fung Wah bus that was impossible even for me to miss. XD
At this point it was around 9:30pm, and a few minutes later we started loading the bus. I ended up sitting next to this college kid who turned out to be really nice. He asked why I was going to Boston, and when I told him I was seeing The Candy Spooky Theater, he seemed genuinely interested and even asked to hear some of their stuff on my MP3 player. (He liked Bordeaux After Midnight and Murder Toy in the Closet. SCORE. XD)
Anyway, the bus left NY at 10, we stopped for about ten minutes at 11:30, and we ended up in Boston at a little after 2 in the morning. Now, the first T trains don't leave until around 6am, so I had a very long time to just sit around and wait in South Station. At first I started out sitting in the waiting area, but it was so fucking cold in the station that I literally ended up just sitting in the bathroom where it was warm. XD Finally, at a little after 5am, I left the station and headed out to catch the Red Line T.
Now. Here's where things started getting complicated. The thing with the T is that it doesn't make any fucking sense. (Sorry, Bostonians, but it's true. XD) I lost a shitload of money going absolutely nowhere. Well, what I did when I first got to the T station was buy tickets for the train at a vending machine. Come to find out, after the ticket totally didn't work when I tried to get onto the T, that I had inadvertently purchased tickets for the commuter rail and the Red Line is a subway not a commuter rail WTF. So already that was $1.70 I lost. Upon finally being told I had the wrong tickets, I grudgingly went to buy a $2 subway ticket. All right, fine. $1.70 isn't too terrible of a loss.
Except that when I swiped the subway card and walked in, I accidentally walked past the entrance to the Red Line and had to walk backwards to get to it. But guess what you CAN'T WALK BACKWARDS in South Station without paying the $2 fare AGAIN. I attempted to find a T agent to explain my situation, but wouldn't you know it there was no one there at 6am and no one would pick up the customer service line. So naturally, I lost that $2.00 and had to buy a $4 round-trip ticket just to get back to the Red Line entrance. Total lost at this point: $3.70. And more would be lost later.
The line
Finally, I got on the fucking Red Line, and the Middle East was a few blocks from the station. It was about 6:45am - and no one was there. NO ONE. So basically, I ended up being first in line at Cambridge. ^_^
Things were pretty uneventful for the first few hours. No one showed up. I was alone. XD Random people kept stopping in front of me and asking "Are you okay?" and I would explain to them what I was waiting for. So okay, fine. Except when this one guy did the same thing - and didn't leave afterward.
Okay, let me tell you how freaky this guy was. I'm fairly sure he was on crack - he kept bumming cigarettes from random people walking by, but I don't think that was all he was smoking if you know what I'm saying, lol. Once I told him I was waiting outside for a show, I got really nervous that he would buy a ticket and follow me in. That's how freaky he was. XD
I can't quite remember all the freaky things he did because he was there for hours and hours and frankly, for my own mental stability, I think my brain automatically blocked out a lot of it, lol. But he kept hitting on me (despite the fact that I looked like a tired wet dog from the rain and from sheer exhaustion) and simultaneously loudly telling other women how ugly they were as they walked by. O_O He asked if I spoke Spanish and I lied and said I didn't. Then he asked if I heard the new Young Buck album (no, I haven't - someone upload it for me if you have it XD). At one point, a woman threw a closed styrofoam take-out tray into a nearby garbage pail. He took the tray out of the garbage and ate the food inside it. He kept offering me some of the food from the garbage and I was like "Uh, no thanks." And of course as he was eating from the garbage, his pants fell down around his ankles (thank all things holy he at least had pajama pants under those), and he didn't pick them up. He just nonchalantly went on eating and kind of finally got to them after he was done. O_O
And this went on until at least 11am. I was so fucking relieved when other people started lining up not only because I was worrying about the turnout, but because maybe they could protect me from this freak lol.
So. The next people who got there were none other than
candyod and
piratemedallion, yay! I also recognized the people that got there a bit later, but even by 11:30 there were no more than ten people on line. We were all just like "WTF?" Because the Boston show did so well in terms of ticket sales... so where was everyone?!
Anyway. The freaky guy was, of course, still there. In fact, he actually got worse as more people got there - literally hanging from the awning and swinging from the bars. Ugh.
Finally, it was the Middle East staff that came to our rescue. First they told us that we could go into the restaurant and sit around, eat something, whatever, so we wouldn't have to be outside. Then, this one staff guy came outside and said to the freak "Yo, you're wigging people out, I'm going to call the cops." This kind of only ended up enraging the guy, who started slamming doors and yelling "CALL THE COPS! GO AHEAD!!!" So we all ran into the restaurant like mofos and i think they really did end up calling the cops because a cop car showed up and we didn't see the guy anymore after that, thank god. XD
We all sat around the restaurant for a while, and eventually the TR staff got there - but we were still the only few people on line. Lol, Matt was all "Where's the line?" and I was like "This is the line!" XD Seriously, more people didn't start showing up until after 12. We got the line wrapped around the block eventually, but only by a few people, and I stopped checking it by 12:30-ish.
candyod and
piratemedallion and I kept wondering where TCST was and how they got in, or were going to get in. (I was kind of hoping for a repeat of BLOOD at the Knitting Factory and that they would walk in right past us. XD) Eventually we saw Zull inside the venue, though - walking around in full makeup and costume. Way to be incognito, Zull, XD A few people saw Peggy, but we didn't see jack at all and we didn't see him walk in either.
candyod and
piratemedallion and I surmised that he must be disguised as a tree. XD XD XD
After a bit, people mentioned that they were hearing the sound check (Spook House!) and that's when I started getting ridiculously excited. It just didn't seem real. That I was waiting outside to see The Candy Spooky Theater. In America. At one point Matt started filming the line and I didn't even know what to do, lol. I was just kind of... in shock at the whole thing.
IT'S A SHOW TIME!
Doors opened a little after 1, and we all made a beeline for the rail (which actually just ended up being the edge of the stage, lol). Being the first person in line at 6:45am, I kind of expected that I'd get somewhere up front. Instead, I found that by the time I got in, the entire front was taken up, half by people behind me in line, and half by Absynthe street team members or something. I headed to the center and ended up being able to see between two of their heads, but still... I tried not to let it get to me, but it was a bit disappointing, and I could tell that
candyodand
piratemedallionweren't exactly thrilled about it either.
Anyway, the opening band was Absynthe, who were actually surprisingly good. Apparently a couple of the band members were stuck in traffic, but they went on with the show anyway. And then at one point, the keyboardist completely had problems with his keyboard, like, falling over, but he got it fixed as soon as he could and carried on like a trooper. More power to them! They had really good interaction with the crowd, especially the lead vocalist, who was a real tease with all the fanservice. XD He would keep coming up to the front speaker and he just kept getting pulled into the crowd and molested, lol. They mentioned TCST a couple of times - the vocalist said "They're so hot, I might go gay for them," which is a sentiment I'm sure we can all relate to. XD XD XD
But, but, but. After Absynthe left the stage, the Absynthe street team members... left. O_O They left! They climbed up onto the stage and followed the band out. And who was right behind them to grab a spot right at the front of the stage? Me, of course - and
candyodand
piratemedallion. Yup. We got RAAAAAIIILL. It hit me that I was going to experience TCST from right up against the stage, that I would have these guys right in front of me... and I lost it. We just looked across at each other and grabbed each other's hands and we couldn't stop smiling.
Roger came out at that point and introduced The Candy Spooky Theater, one by one. First out was Peggy, and he was absolutely adorable. He did this cute thing where he waved his hands and screamed in a high-pitched voice like an excited little girl, and each time I screamed back at him in the same way. It was hilarious. Next out was Zull, who truly personified the mad anatomist doll by staring, unblinking, out at the crowd, then taking his place ever so elegantly behind his guitar, placed in a stand so he could play without even breaking a sweat.
Finally, after the crowd had been thoroughly worked into a frenzy, jack Spooky walked out on stage, limbs stiff and eyes wide, Frankenstein's monster back from the dead, looking down his nose at us, daring us to look away. Behind each of them was a Living Dead Doll in a box, and Tsutomu sat up on the stage, grinning.
The strains of This Is Halloween suddenly filled the air, a desperate, breathtaking pulse electrifying the venue, as Peggy and Zull stood motionless and jack began to jerk to the beat, head down, a marionette without strings. And then... IT'S A SHOW TIME.
~SE~
This Is Halloween (Nightmare Before Christmas)
~Set~
Devilish Kidnapper
TRICK or TREAT
Strip
Nightmare -不眠症の少女とカーテン越しの悪夢-
Ferris Wheel ～シンデレラの君と、完全に壊れてしまった王子様の僕～
A Clockwork World
Murder Toy in the Closet
ネジマキ電気椅子 [nejimaki denki isu]
眠れる森の花嫁 [nemureru mori no hanayome]
Exocist
Merry Go Round
Spook House
From reading other live reports online, I expected them to open with Merry Go Round, but when they started with Devilish Kidnapper, I freaked. The guy next to me and I started headbanging so hard (although he had to take off his little EGL hat to do it XD) and I proudly screamed along to the words. I don't think I had ever screamed so loud and hard in my life. "...... e o gatsu o namuka ure o kikomioyoka......"
I screamed along as best I could to every song, not caring how loud I was, only existing in one moment, for one purpose. I loved singing the end of TRICK or TREAT back at jack: "futari kiri no HALLOWEEN o hajimeyou..." The perfect words for the evening.
Strip took me completely by surprise, I never expected them to play it - same with Nightmare. But I was so thrilled when they launched into them. Unfortunately, it kind of seemed as though I was the only one who had even heard them before, lol. I mean, Strip, okay, Pumpkins Scream... is out of print and all, but there's fucking English in Nightmare. How was I the only one screaming "IT'S A SHOW TIME." XD Nevertheless, I let loose with it.
After that, the music softened, and jack began the most heartbreaking a capella - intoning the last words of Ferris Wheel so softly, you had to strain your ears to hear him. Once they launched into the song, jack's eyes were all over the place and he motioned with his hands, painting the images before his eyes, and it was a shame very few people had even the slightest clue what he was singing about. *sigh* But god... my heart was just breaking, and by the end of the song I was just totally losing it, screaming "mawaru" as jack's voice was breaking and he fell to his knees... I could barely catch my breath.
They kept the vibe going with A Clockwork World, another one which no one seemed to know. Such a shame, because jack's vocals are so amazing in this one, and to hear it live, just sends chills down your spine.
All of a sudden, the deathly tranquility was broken with Murder Toy in the Closet (everyone ought to have been singing along to that chorus, lol) and then... ネジマキ電気椅子! OMG, when they threw themselves into that. I lost it again. I let out such a fierce, gutteral scream I totally surprised myself, lol. jack came to the front of the stage, raising his arms, and together we all counted down to his execution: "10 byou mae... 9 byou mae... 8 byou mae..."
Right after 眠れる森の花嫁 (another beautiful song which no one seemed to know), a pregnant pause... and they began Exocist, and naturally everyone went crazy since everyone knows this one. XD I headbanged and thrashed around and screamed along so loudly, to every word. Toward the end of the song jack went down, writhing around on stage. Lewd, possessed. When he finally lifted his head and sat up, people's hands were right in his face... and he bit their fingers. XD
They continued with Merry Go Round and wrapped up their set with an explosive, anthematic Spook House. Everyone was jumping for that one (including Peggy and jack), clapping along and watching jack move along to the music. Seriouly, boy has some moves. He would hang the mic cord around his neck, lift his arms above his head, and just thrust his hips from side to side... and it was just like.... hegwdbywrfhfergfcn... XD XD XD
And then... it was over. jack left his mic and Zull left his guitar and they walked off the stage, leaving Peggy there. As Peggy left, he went up to Zull's guitar, still in its stand, and awkwardly strummed it a bit. Lol, it was hilarious. He grinned broadly and then made his way off the stage as well. It had all ended as soon as it began... and we were all left wanting more.
The autograph session
Roger came back onstage at that point to announce that TCST would be signing their merch, which was awesome. I crawled away from the stage, gloriously shell-shocked, and caught up with
candyodand
piratemedallion, who were both grinning from ear to ear. All we could do was inch our way to the merch table.
I really had only $30 to spend on account of the fucking T eating my money. Somebody up/down there must like me, though, because as it happened, all the maxi-singles (except Pumpkins Scream in the Dead of Night Parade) were being sold for $10 each. HELLO, you do the math. XD So I plopped down my $30 and was like "UH GIVE ME ALL OF THOSE PLZ" and so I am now the proud owner of Wonderland, Murder Land, and The Bedroom. ^_^
As it also happened, there was a deal where if you bought all three of the singles, you got a free DVD. So they handed me the DVD on top of my stack of CDs. I looked down at it... and it's fucking Meguro Rock May-Kan. THEY GAVE AWAY THE DVD FROM MEGURO ROCK MAY-KAN AT CAMBRIDGE AND NY. How the hell did I get so lucky? So on top of all the singles except Pumpkins Scream..., I now have the Meguro Rock May-Kan DVD as well. ^_^
Shortly after I bought my stuff, Roger was like "OKAY EVERYONE MAKE A SINGLE-FILE LINE RIGHT HERE," where I was standing. That was when the ass-rapeage began. Honestly, there was hardly any real pushing during the live itself - I didn't begin to feel violated until the line to get stuff signed by TCST. XD
Anyway. The rule was that you could only get one item signed per person, and all the CDs had to be unwrapped (because, you know, it would be awkward if they signed the wrapping instead of the liner notes XD), so in those extremely close quarters I unwrapped all the singles (and almost lost my Murder Land obi - thankfully I found it again on the floor later) and decided it would be best if they signed The Bedroom since it's their most recent one.
I got to jack first, giving him a friendly "Konnichiwa!" and he smiled, the most adorable smile you could ever imagine. ARGH. Then I opened The Bedroom so he could get to the liner notes... and because it's such high-quality stuff, it kind of fell apart in my hands. XD So it was kind of sad, but I handed jack the two pieces and was like "UH, DOZO?" and since jack is smart, he figured it out pretty quickly, lol.
Anyway, as jack was signing it, I told him "otsukaresamadeshita!" and he immediately raised his eyebrows, grinned, and gave a nod of recognition. And afterwards he stuck his hand out so cutely to shake. I couldn't get over it, lol! When he took my hand in his I was all "ARIGATOU" and I bowed, like, a lot. XD
Then I got to Zull - really, too beautiful for his own good, that man - and did the same thing. Lol, now... when I told him otsukaresamadeshita, I think he assumed I, like, spoke Japanese fluently or something, because he was all "OH! blah blah blah blah blah!" and all I could do was be like "UH HAI HAI." XD
Finally, I got to Peggy, who seemed all happy at my greeting (he honestly just radiates this pure joy, it's practically impossible not to be in a good mood around him). He also has the most adorable handshake, lol!
And after that... I just didn't have the heart to leave. I didn't have to be back for my bus until much later, so I just hung with
candyodand
piratemedallionfor a bit more until they had to leave (you guys were seriously soooooo awesome - much love, and see you at TCST's next US lives!) and... stood there. I stood there until the entire line was finished and everyone had their autographs, and kept standing there when suddenly, there were photo ops for everyone left. I didn't partake, but it was so cool to see the guys interacting with all the fans (and Zull, like, massaging this one guy's head during a picture, LAWLZ XD) and I convinced Nancy to let me take a pic of my idol Tsutomu (thanks for that!). Finally, Roger announced that everyone except street team members had to leave, so we said our goodbyes, I shouted a quick "Ja mata!" over my shoulder to the guys... and out into the blinding sunlight.
I left Cambridge in a daze. I stopped in for a quick bite and some water at Wendy's, lost another $2 going the wrong direction on the T (final total loss: $5.70) and made an early bus back to NY, my home base, blasting TCST the whole ride back and so excited for the rest of the tour.
Two nights left...
Zull's guitar. Taken right after the live ended. There's something amazing about seeing it just... standing there.
Tsutomu desu! Many thanks to Nancy for letting me snap this one, lol.
Ah, jack. Somewhat stalker-ish pic taken from further back in line. <3
The journey
So really, my story begins the night before back at home in NYC, with me attempting to transfer from the F to the 6 to get to Canal and Lafayette. Of course I somehow couldn't get from one subway to the other and spent a good 15 minutes wandering up and down Lexington Avenue trying to get to the 6. Once I managed to find the station, though, things got easier. It was a bit of a walk from Lafayette to Bowery, but it was a straight path - and true to the ads on the website, there was a huge sign for Fung Wah bus that was impossible even for me to miss. XD
At this point it was around 9:30pm, and a few minutes later we started loading the bus. I ended up sitting next to this college kid who turned out to be really nice. He asked why I was going to Boston, and when I told him I was seeing The Candy Spooky Theater, he seemed genuinely interested and even asked to hear some of their stuff on my MP3 player. (He liked Bordeaux After Midnight and Murder Toy in the Closet. SCORE. XD)
Anyway, the bus left NY at 10, we stopped for about ten minutes at 11:30, and we ended up in Boston at a little after 2 in the morning. Now, the first T trains don't leave until around 6am, so I had a very long time to just sit around and wait in South Station. At first I started out sitting in the waiting area, but it was so fucking cold in the station that I literally ended up just sitting in the bathroom where it was warm. XD Finally, at a little after 5am, I left the station and headed out to catch the Red Line T.
Now. Here's where things started getting complicated. The thing with the T is that it doesn't make any fucking sense. (Sorry, Bostonians, but it's true. XD) I lost a shitload of money going absolutely nowhere. Well, what I did when I first got to the T station was buy tickets for the train at a vending machine. Come to find out, after the ticket totally didn't work when I tried to get onto the T, that I had inadvertently purchased tickets for the commuter rail and the Red Line is a subway not a commuter rail WTF. So already that was $1.70 I lost. Upon finally being told I had the wrong tickets, I grudgingly went to buy a $2 subway ticket. All right, fine. $1.70 isn't too terrible of a loss.
Except that when I swiped the subway card and walked in, I accidentally walked past the entrance to the Red Line and had to walk backwards to get to it. But guess what you CAN'T WALK BACKWARDS in South Station without paying the $2 fare AGAIN. I attempted to find a T agent to explain my situation, but wouldn't you know it there was no one there at 6am and no one would pick up the customer service line. So naturally, I lost that $2.00 and had to buy a $4 round-trip ticket just to get back to the Red Line entrance. Total lost at this point: $3.70. And more would be lost later.
The line
Finally, I got on the fucking Red Line, and the Middle East was a few blocks from the station. It was about 6:45am - and no one was there. NO ONE. So basically, I ended up being first in line at Cambridge. ^_^
Things were pretty uneventful for the first few hours. No one showed up. I was alone. XD Random people kept stopping in front of me and asking "Are you okay?" and I would explain to them what I was waiting for. So okay, fine. Except when this one guy did the same thing - and didn't leave afterward.
Okay, let me tell you how freaky this guy was. I'm fairly sure he was on crack - he kept bumming cigarettes from random people walking by, but I don't think that was all he was smoking if you know what I'm saying, lol. Once I told him I was waiting outside for a show, I got really nervous that he would buy a ticket and follow me in. That's how freaky he was. XD
I can't quite remember all the freaky things he did because he was there for hours and hours and frankly, for my own mental stability, I think my brain automatically blocked out a lot of it, lol. But he kept hitting on me (despite the fact that I looked like a tired wet dog from the rain and from sheer exhaustion) and simultaneously loudly telling other women how ugly they were as they walked by. O_O He asked if I spoke Spanish and I lied and said I didn't. Then he asked if I heard the new Young Buck album (no, I haven't - someone upload it for me if you have it XD). At one point, a woman threw a closed styrofoam take-out tray into a nearby garbage pail. He took the tray out of the garbage and ate the food inside it. He kept offering me some of the food from the garbage and I was like "Uh, no thanks." And of course as he was eating from the garbage, his pants fell down around his ankles (thank all things holy he at least had pajama pants under those), and he didn't pick them up. He just nonchalantly went on eating and kind of finally got to them after he was done. O_O
And this went on until at least 11am. I was so fucking relieved when other people started lining up not only because I was worrying about the turnout, but because maybe they could protect me from this freak lol.
So. The next people who got there were none other than
candyod and
piratemedallion, yay! I also recognized the people that got there a bit later, but even by 11:30 there were no more than ten people on line. We were all just like "WTF?" Because the Boston show did so well in terms of ticket sales... so where was everyone?!
Anyway. The freaky guy was, of course, still there. In fact, he actually got worse as more people got there - literally hanging from the awning and swinging from the bars. Ugh.
Finally, it was the Middle East staff that came to our rescue. First they told us that we could go into the restaurant and sit around, eat something, whatever, so we wouldn't have to be outside. Then, this one staff guy came outside and said to the freak "Yo, you're wigging people out, I'm going to call the cops." This kind of only ended up enraging the guy, who started slamming doors and yelling "CALL THE COPS! GO AHEAD!!!" So we all ran into the restaurant like mofos and i think they really did end up calling the cops because a cop car showed up and we didn't see the guy anymore after that, thank god. XD
We all sat around the restaurant for a while, and eventually the TR staff got there - but we were still the only few people on line. Lol, Matt was all "Where's the line?" and I was like "This is the line!" XD Seriously, more people didn't start showing up until after 12. We got the line wrapped around the block eventually, but only by a few people, and I stopped checking it by 12:30-ish.
candyod and
piratemedallion and I kept wondering where TCST was and how they got in, or were going to get in. (I was kind of hoping for a repeat of BLOOD at the Knitting Factory and that they would walk in right past us. XD) Eventually we saw Zull inside the venue, though - walking around in full makeup and costume. Way to be incognito, Zull, XD A few people saw Peggy, but we didn't see jack at all and we didn't see him walk in either.
candyod and
piratemedallion and I surmised that he must be disguised as a tree. XD XD XD
After a bit, people mentioned that they were hearing the sound check (Spook House!) and that's when I started getting ridiculously excited. It just didn't seem real. That I was waiting outside to see The Candy Spooky Theater. In America. At one point Matt started filming the line and I didn't even know what to do, lol. I was just kind of... in shock at the whole thing.
IT'S A SHOW TIME!
Doors opened a little after 1, and we all made a beeline for the rail (which actually just ended up being the edge of the stage, lol). Being the first person in line at 6:45am, I kind of expected that I'd get somewhere up front. Instead, I found that by the time I got in, the entire front was taken up, half by people behind me in line, and half by Absynthe street team members or something. I headed to the center and ended up being able to see between two of their heads, but still... I tried not to let it get to me, but it was a bit disappointing, and I could tell that
candyodand
piratemedallionweren't exactly thrilled about it either.
Anyway, the opening band was Absynthe, who were actually surprisingly good. Apparently a couple of the band members were stuck in traffic, but they went on with the show anyway. And then at one point, the keyboardist completely had problems with his keyboard, like, falling over, but he got it fixed as soon as he could and carried on like a trooper. More power to them! They had really good interaction with the crowd, especially the lead vocalist, who was a real tease with all the fanservice. XD He would keep coming up to the front speaker and he just kept getting pulled into the crowd and molested, lol. They mentioned TCST a couple of times - the vocalist said "They're so hot, I might go gay for them," which is a sentiment I'm sure we can all relate to. XD XD XD
But, but, but. After Absynthe left the stage, the Absynthe street team members... left. O_O They left! They climbed up onto the stage and followed the band out. And who was right behind them to grab a spot right at the front of the stage? Me, of course - and
candyodand
piratemedallion. Yup. We got RAAAAAIIILL. It hit me that I was going to experience TCST from right up against the stage, that I would have these guys right in front of me... and I lost it. We just looked across at each other and grabbed each other's hands and we couldn't stop smiling.
Roger came out at that point and introduced The Candy Spooky Theater, one by one. First out was Peggy, and he was absolutely adorable. He did this cute thing where he waved his hands and screamed in a high-pitched voice like an excited little girl, and each time I screamed back at him in the same way. It was hilarious. Next out was Zull, who truly personified the mad anatomist doll by staring, unblinking, out at the crowd, then taking his place ever so elegantly behind his guitar, placed in a stand so he could play without even breaking a sweat.
Finally, after the crowd had been thoroughly worked into a frenzy, jack Spooky walked out on stage, limbs stiff and eyes wide, Frankenstein's monster back from the dead, looking down his nose at us, daring us to look away. Behind each of them was a Living Dead Doll in a box, and Tsutomu sat up on the stage, grinning.
The strains of This Is Halloween suddenly filled the air, a desperate, breathtaking pulse electrifying the venue, as Peggy and Zull stood motionless and jack began to jerk to the beat, head down, a marionette without strings. And then... IT'S A SHOW TIME.
~SE~
This Is Halloween (Nightmare Before Christmas)
~Set~
Devilish Kidnapper
TRICK or TREAT
Strip
Nightmare -不眠症の少女とカーテン越しの悪夢-
Ferris Wheel ～シンデレラの君と、完全に壊れてしまった王子様の僕～
A Clockwork World
Murder Toy in the Closet
ネジマキ電気椅子 [nejimaki denki isu]
眠れる森の花嫁 [nemureru mori no hanayome]
Exocist
Merry Go Round
Spook House
From reading other live reports online, I expected them to open with Merry Go Round, but when they started with Devilish Kidnapper, I freaked. The guy next to me and I started headbanging so hard (although he had to take off his little EGL hat to do it XD) and I proudly screamed along to the words. I don't think I had ever screamed so loud and hard in my life. "...... e o gatsu o namuka ure o kikomioyoka......"
I screamed along as best I could to every song, not caring how loud I was, only existing in one moment, for one purpose. I loved singing the end of TRICK or TREAT back at jack: "futari kiri no HALLOWEEN o hajimeyou..." The perfect words for the evening.
Strip took me completely by surprise, I never expected them to play it - same with Nightmare. But I was so thrilled when they launched into them. Unfortunately, it kind of seemed as though I was the only one who had even heard them before, lol. I mean, Strip, okay, Pumpkins Scream... is out of print and all, but there's fucking English in Nightmare. How was I the only one screaming "IT'S A SHOW TIME." XD Nevertheless, I let loose with it.
After that, the music softened, and jack began the most heartbreaking a capella - intoning the last words of Ferris Wheel so softly, you had to strain your ears to hear him. Once they launched into the song, jack's eyes were all over the place and he motioned with his hands, painting the images before his eyes, and it was a shame very few people had even the slightest clue what he was singing about. *sigh* But god... my heart was just breaking, and by the end of the song I was just totally losing it, screaming "mawaru" as jack's voice was breaking and he fell to his knees... I could barely catch my breath.
They kept the vibe going with A Clockwork World, another one which no one seemed to know. Such a shame, because jack's vocals are so amazing in this one, and to hear it live, just sends chills down your spine.
All of a sudden, the deathly tranquility was broken with Murder Toy in the Closet (everyone ought to have been singing along to that chorus, lol) and then... ネジマキ電気椅子! OMG, when they threw themselves into that. I lost it again. I let out such a fierce, gutteral scream I totally surprised myself, lol. jack came to the front of the stage, raising his arms, and together we all counted down to his execution: "10 byou mae... 9 byou mae... 8 byou mae..."
Right after 眠れる森の花嫁 (another beautiful song which no one seemed to know), a pregnant pause... and they began Exocist, and naturally everyone went crazy since everyone knows this one. XD I headbanged and thrashed around and screamed along so loudly, to every word. Toward the end of the song jack went down, writhing around on stage. Lewd, possessed. When he finally lifted his head and sat up, people's hands were right in his face... and he bit their fingers. XD
They continued with Merry Go Round and wrapped up their set with an explosive, anthematic Spook House. Everyone was jumping for that one (including Peggy and jack), clapping along and watching jack move along to the music. Seriouly, boy has some moves. He would hang the mic cord around his neck, lift his arms above his head, and just thrust his hips from side to side... and it was just like.... hegwdbywrfhfergfcn... XD XD XD
And then... it was over. jack left his mic and Zull left his guitar and they walked off the stage, leaving Peggy there. As Peggy left, he went up to Zull's guitar, still in its stand, and awkwardly strummed it a bit. Lol, it was hilarious. He grinned broadly and then made his way off the stage as well. It had all ended as soon as it began... and we were all left wanting more.
The autograph session
Roger came back onstage at that point to announce that TCST would be signing their merch, which was awesome. I crawled away from the stage, gloriously shell-shocked, and caught up with
candyodand
piratemedallion, who were both grinning from ear to ear. All we could do was inch our way to the merch table.
I really had only $30 to spend on account of the fucking T eating my money. Somebody up/down there must like me, though, because as it happened, all the maxi-singles (except Pumpkins Scream in the Dead of Night Parade) were being sold for $10 each. HELLO, you do the math. XD So I plopped down my $30 and was like "UH GIVE ME ALL OF THOSE PLZ" and so I am now the proud owner of Wonderland, Murder Land, and The Bedroom. ^_^
As it also happened, there was a deal where if you bought all three of the singles, you got a free DVD. So they handed me the DVD on top of my stack of CDs. I looked down at it... and it's fucking Meguro Rock May-Kan. THEY GAVE AWAY THE DVD FROM MEGURO ROCK MAY-KAN AT CAMBRIDGE AND NY. How the hell did I get so lucky? So on top of all the singles except Pumpkins Scream..., I now have the Meguro Rock May-Kan DVD as well. ^_^
Shortly after I bought my stuff, Roger was like "OKAY EVERYONE MAKE A SINGLE-FILE LINE RIGHT HERE," where I was standing. That was when the ass-rapeage began. Honestly, there was hardly any real pushing during the live itself - I didn't begin to feel violated until the line to get stuff signed by TCST. XD
Anyway. The rule was that you could only get one item signed per person, and all the CDs had to be unwrapped (because, you know, it would be awkward if they signed the wrapping instead of the liner notes XD), so in those extremely close quarters I unwrapped all the singles (and almost lost my Murder Land obi - thankfully I found it again on the floor later) and decided it would be best if they signed The Bedroom since it's their most recent one.
I got to jack first, giving him a friendly "Konnichiwa!" and he smiled, the most adorable smile you could ever imagine. ARGH. Then I opened The Bedroom so he could get to the liner notes... and because it's such high-quality stuff, it kind of fell apart in my hands. XD So it was kind of sad, but I handed jack the two pieces and was like "UH, DOZO?" and since jack is smart, he figured it out pretty quickly, lol.
Anyway, as jack was signing it, I told him "otsukaresamadeshita!" and he immediately raised his eyebrows, grinned, and gave a nod of recognition. And afterwards he stuck his hand out so cutely to shake. I couldn't get over it, lol! When he took my hand in his I was all "ARIGATOU" and I bowed, like, a lot. XD
Then I got to Zull - really, too beautiful for his own good, that man - and did the same thing. Lol, now... when I told him otsukaresamadeshita, I think he assumed I, like, spoke Japanese fluently or something, because he was all "OH! blah blah blah blah blah!" and all I could do was be like "UH HAI HAI." XD
Finally, I got to Peggy, who seemed all happy at my greeting (he honestly just radiates this pure joy, it's practically impossible not to be in a good mood around him). He also has the most adorable handshake, lol!
And after that... I just didn't have the heart to leave. I didn't have to be back for my bus until much later, so I just hung with
candyodand
piratemedallionfor a bit more until they had to leave (you guys were seriously soooooo awesome - much love, and see you at TCST's next US lives!) and... stood there. I stood there until the entire line was finished and everyone had their autographs, and kept standing there when suddenly, there were photo ops for everyone left. I didn't partake, but it was so cool to see the guys interacting with all the fans (and Zull, like, massaging this one guy's head during a picture, LAWLZ XD) and I convinced Nancy to let me take a pic of my idol Tsutomu (thanks for that!). Finally, Roger announced that everyone except street team members had to leave, so we said our goodbyes, I shouted a quick "Ja mata!" over my shoulder to the guys... and out into the blinding sunlight.
I left Cambridge in a daze. I stopped in for a quick bite and some water at Wendy's, lost another $2 going the wrong direction on the T (final total loss: $5.70) and made an early bus back to NY, my home base, blasting TCST the whole ride back and so excited for the rest of the tour.
Two nights left...
Zull's guitar. Taken right after the live ended. There's something amazing about seeing it just... standing there.
Tsutomu desu! Many thanks to Nancy for letting me snap this one, lol.
Ah, jack. Somewhat stalker-ish pic taken from further back in line. <3