So...I was concerned about this show
cuz I wasn't able to get Lawson tickets. I called the livehouse ppl on Saturday to see if they had tickets, and I was lucky...cuz they did. *-* I just had to come pick up my ticket at 3pm. D: Himeji only has the castle/park area...so I thought I was gonna be bored. I checked the train times and decided I would take the Special Rapid at 1:39pm.
Lately, I've been quite the homebody cuz of my recent gastrointestinal condition...but I'm making sure to eat right, stay active, and keeping up w/ my fluid intake. Kiyoka was scaring me...telling me I had trichinosis from eating, but no one from the yakiniku party got anything. Also, Kirtland msg'd me earlier in the day to ask what was up and if I wanted to go to Kobe w/ her for the day. I told her I would be going to Himeji...which is just a bit past Kobe, and if she'd like to go there instead. Huzzah! YES!! I have someone to accompany me to the castle~ and to chill w/ for 3hrs. X3 And what a cool person to chill w/ at that. She's so easy to talk to.
I ended up being late for my 1:39pm train...and nearly late for my 1:54pm train, but that was actually delayed cuz the Kobe line always has delays anyway. It worked out all right. And if luck would have it!!...Kirtland was on the same train, and had rushed onto the last car. I was in the 3rd car, so we couldn't see each other. But we txt'd each other. :D Long train ride. Over an hour...but as I was looking across Hyogo-ken, I found that the thing I liked most about it was that the parks have grass. Ii na.
Reached Himeji at a little past 3pm...and met up w/ her on the platform. We headed out the central exit towards the castle. She wanted to find a UFJ to do a money transfer...but none of them were open cuz it was Sunday. Not even the ATMs. =-= And I needed to go to Beta to go pick up my ticket. I was Beta #32. Not bad, all things considered. Then, we went to go see what all the commotion was about across the street. There was some sort of international festival that just finished when we arrived. Who the fuck closes festivals at 3:30pm? O_O And I saw lynch. staff boy coming from that general direction. For reasons I know not. But he always has that blank expression, and you never know what he's thinking.
*-* The air smelled like food. Delicious food. I was eating smells. But all the vendors had packed shit up already. There were only a few still selling what they had left. We wandered around for a bit. Lotsa foreigners. We ended up getting some really good beef sticks and some jajeongmian. I wish they used real Chinese noodles and not that bagged ramen stuff. And I asked if they were really Chinese, and they were. XD They were nice.
We brought the food to the park around the castle. Found a bench to sit on, and started chowing down. And we were sharing our bowel trouble stories. Her more than me. I thought I was having some sorta stomach food poisoning deal. And she said that it was different. The kids she teaches at her school have been having diarrhea like non-stop recently. And it's the flu. She got it too (and she just told me today that 4 teachers called in sick). Urgh. But yay for no trichinosis. That beef on the stick thing was sooooo good. Except too salty, I couldn't finish the last chunk and gave it to Kirtland. :) Big. Good. Beef. XD
It was a Sunday, which I conveniently forgot cuz I don't normally have normal weekends, so the castle was gonna close at 4pm...and not 5pm. X_X So no castle again. The moat around the place is serenely peaceful though, so we just killed time that way. It seriously feels like a fairy tale in there. It always feels like fairy tale time in the fall. *-* So peaceful.
We still had another hour to kill so we continued walking all the way around...stopped by the art museum. Chilled around the outskirts of the castle near the zoo, and just sat and talked on a bench underneath spiderwebs and trees that had random leaves spiraling up its branches. We both came to Japan on the same day last year: 10/25. It's already been a year, and we couldn't believe it. It went by so quickly, and our paths had separated so much. Plus, she might be moving to Arizona by next April...and I think I might go back by next year too if no opportunities for me to stay present themselves.
Wow, it got dark. And it was already like 5:45pm. What a way to spend the day. :D And here I thought I'd bring a book or something. Spending time w/ friends is seriously the way to go. We stopped by the shopping center for a potty break, and parted ways in front of the venue. I walked down into Beta, and met up w/ Eri & Takako (YES! I finally know her name). They had #10 & #11 I think. So they got to be 2nd row.
I was actually 3rd row behind them...so, not bad. And I wish girls behind me wouldn't shit-talk me about being in front of them, when if they had just moved forward...they could have been in that spot, instead of just leaving that void in between 2nd and 4th row. Ugh. There was definitely enough room. They just all wanna be in front of dear Hazuki...when I think being in front of dear Junji is just fine. :3 The livehouse was so small...just about anywhere would be the same.
The first act was the quintessential Kobe-kei act: Enemy. They don't necessarily suck...they just gotta work on their sound check and tuning. And um...stage performance. The bassist always looks like he's gonna pop a nerve in his face. He opens up his eyes super big. And he does this un-sexy thing w/ his tongue. Where he sticks it out, and then promptly sticks it back in. More wtf-was-that? than sexy.
They seemed to play endlessly. To be honest, I remembered everyone except for the shimote guitarist...who kinda shies away into his corner. And what is it w/ these bands that have their only good-looking guy...shield his face from the audience. Bad move. You kamite guitarist guy! I really liked the drumming in their music, too bad it's just a backing track!! DDDX They don't have a real drummer yet. The singer's voice is nothing special...but the 2nd song they played killed my ears the least. And when I mean killing my ears, I mean I stuck my fingers over my earfolds to prevent soundwaves from penetrating any further. My ears were bleeding, almost physically so.
The 2nd act was more fun...they're called marvle...and I dunno where they're from. They kinda had a Tenten-feel. Not like Tenten himself, but more like Tenten arranged their clothes for them. XDDD Lotsa leopard, tartan plaid, and fur. X3 The music wasn't suitable for the lynch. crowd but they were definitely more genki. The singer MC'd between every song. They knew that no one was there for them, but they made light of that situation. Very admirable. Cuz lynch. has a tough crowd. I was headbanging by the end. Their support guitarist was the cutest one. And had one of those super-long stud piercings. I saw him before the show...inside the entry area, and just thought he was there to see the show. ehh..Wrong. Haha. He was damn near playing behind the speakers, he was so shy. XDDD~
lynch. wasn't able to start until about 8:15ish? Ugh...why did those bands play for so long? DX I was getting tired, and sat down for a bit...at least until I heard the set-up finish. The crowd didn't necessarily get any tighter in regards to personal space, but the empty areas beside me did fill up. I was still able to hold my ground though. And ugh...they had allowed smoking in the venue. D: Just die! DIE DIE DIE!!! Do that at the back of the venue. Your friends will save your spot.
Stage is super tiny...so SE went by very quickly. It looked to me like Junji was like...behind Yusuke. XO Junji! Oh...but Hazuki had light blue contacts in this time. He normally doesn't wear any. Trying to copy Junji, he is. :D Hmmm...also I got the feeling that he had 2 contacts in at the beginning, but by the end only the one in his right eye stayed. Weird. But it was good on him. He has bad eyesight...I wonder if they were prescription.
What is it w/ Jrockers who wanna be like Super-Aryan! O_O Gothic Super Aryan!! I dunno. I'm glad Reo-sensei doesn't pull that shit. He's like a hardcore-free rocker...which in a way, makes him truly hardcore. In the real sense. XDDD Not the poser sense. Ah, this amuses me. Their setlist for the night:
1. I'm sick,b'cuz luv u
2. liberation chord
3. 59.
4. ecdysis
5. melt
6. roaring in the dark
7. the universe
8. a grateful shit
9. unknown lost a beauty
10. pulse_
encore:
11. alien tune
I must say...ppl at this venue are prb half lynch. followers and half townfolk. Cuz only some of the fans knew the routines. Even the saizen ppl weren't participating. X_X For quite a few songs...they didn't really get into it until "unknown lost a beauty" came up. Cuz it's an older song. But by then...the set was almost over. For "59.", they have no excuse. Like for a couple of the songs...I felt like I was jumping too high or something. But I just realized some ppl weren't jumping at all. And it was throwing me off. Haha.
Also, I dunno why this is...but always right before "alien tune"...I think Hazuki says that they're playing a new song. x_x But when it starts, it's like wait...this isn't new. -_- Lotsa fun tonight. And there was a call for a 2nd encore...like in Kanazawa, but that shit didn't fly. =/ They had to pack up and leave...and get to steppin' to Matsuyama for the show the next day. But even though the PA system was telling us that it was over, no one budged until the curtains actually closed. ;_; Boo. It would have been nice. They're prb beat and needed cigarettes.
And I'm super glad that I spent the day in Himeji the way I did. I finally picked up a copy of the "underneath files vol.3" and have finished reading almost everyone's except for Reo's. I don't even wanna try his. The sheer amount of Japanese text just boggles my mind. I filled out their enquette, and wrote strictly about Junji. Like I'm curious as to why he's not officially in the band...is something wrong? We fans really like him. If there's something stopping the decision, please get over it. Looking forward to the oneman and CD. Thanks! XDDD Just sending the Junji love.
While we were in that entry area...we could see the band packing their shit up. So it was like everyone except for Hazuki hauling shit around...although I did see his backside going back inside somehow (I could tell it was him cuz of his hardcore white wallet & chain). I guess it was mostly Reo & Yusuke hauling their own equipment. Yup. And some Asanao. Junji was wearing his white shirt w/ the orange balloon again. Haha. It was nearly 9:45pm, so I thought it was best to leave. This was when I took the opportunity to ask Takako her name...cuz I dunno about them, but it's awkward not knowing the name of someone I see and talk more than a couple times. I left the venue...and had to tie my shoe. I found well-lit bench to sit on, and tied it up. Then, I saw Yusuke pulling equipment out from the venue. :3 Obviously, from a distance...but I hadn't intended to demachi...so I finished tying my shoe and started walking to the station. Fun times.
On another note, UI doesn't start coming in until one month after the paperwork is completed. That sucks. I need to at least secure more interviews, if I wanna keep doing what I wanna do here. I can easily substitute a paycheck if I sold a lot of my material possessions. Yea. That's how much I have. I did a personal inventory check. And it's quite a lot of shit. I just need to make it through November. Wow. Each month really did get progressively worse after August.
edit uno: I've just been granted an interview from Kinder Kids. *-* I am so fucking happy. I think I've been in a bit of a slump lately. Sick & depressed, but then a bit high...all wrapped together. My stomach is still doing flippies. But OMG...an interview. Why did I feel like job hunting was so difficult in America? Maybe cuz it's not a tech field. Maybe I'm just not a tech person. Seriously though. I'd like this job more than the other jobs I interviewed for. And kids!!! OMGKIDS! <333 I miss my kids. =/ I didn't even get a chance to take pictures of them.
edit dos: 後ろに居た人達、無理矢理割り込んで来て嫌だった is what Kaori said about the Spanish girls honing in on the bar. So true. I wish I could have said something back, but I didn't wanna pick a fight. And then like...not have anymore Spanish to say back to them. u_u
Lately, I've been quite the homebody cuz of my recent gastrointestinal condition...but I'm making sure to eat right, stay active, and keeping up w/ my fluid intake. Kiyoka was scaring me...telling me I had trichinosis from eating, but no one from the yakiniku party got anything. Also, Kirtland msg'd me earlier in the day to ask what was up and if I wanted to go to Kobe w/ her for the day. I told her I would be going to Himeji...which is just a bit past Kobe, and if she'd like to go there instead. Huzzah! YES!! I have someone to accompany me to the castle~ and to chill w/ for 3hrs. X3 And what a cool person to chill w/ at that. She's so easy to talk to.
I ended up being late for my 1:39pm train...and nearly late for my 1:54pm train, but that was actually delayed cuz the Kobe line always has delays anyway. It worked out all right. And if luck would have it!!...Kirtland was on the same train, and had rushed onto the last car. I was in the 3rd car, so we couldn't see each other. But we txt'd each other. :D Long train ride. Over an hour...but as I was looking across Hyogo-ken, I found that the thing I liked most about it was that the parks have grass. Ii na.
Reached Himeji at a little past 3pm...and met up w/ her on the platform. We headed out the central exit towards the castle. She wanted to find a UFJ to do a money transfer...but none of them were open cuz it was Sunday. Not even the ATMs. =-= And I needed to go to Beta to go pick up my ticket. I was Beta #32. Not bad, all things considered. Then, we went to go see what all the commotion was about across the street. There was some sort of international festival that just finished when we arrived. Who the fuck closes festivals at 3:30pm? O_O And I saw lynch. staff boy coming from that general direction. For reasons I know not. But he always has that blank expression, and you never know what he's thinking.
*-* The air smelled like food. Delicious food. I was eating smells. But all the vendors had packed shit up already. There were only a few still selling what they had left. We wandered around for a bit. Lotsa foreigners. We ended up getting some really good beef sticks and some jajeongmian. I wish they used real Chinese noodles and not that bagged ramen stuff. And I asked if they were really Chinese, and they were. XD They were nice.
We brought the food to the park around the castle. Found a bench to sit on, and started chowing down. And we were sharing our bowel trouble stories. Her more than me. I thought I was having some sorta stomach food poisoning deal. And she said that it was different. The kids she teaches at her school have been having diarrhea like non-stop recently. And it's the flu. She got it too (and she just told me today that 4 teachers called in sick). Urgh. But yay for no trichinosis. That beef on the stick thing was sooooo good. Except too salty, I couldn't finish the last chunk and gave it to Kirtland. :) Big. Good. Beef. XD
It was a Sunday, which I conveniently forgot cuz I don't normally have normal weekends, so the castle was gonna close at 4pm...and not 5pm. X_X So no castle again. The moat around the place is serenely peaceful though, so we just killed time that way. It seriously feels like a fairy tale in there. It always feels like fairy tale time in the fall. *-* So peaceful.
We still had another hour to kill so we continued walking all the way around...stopped by the art museum. Chilled around the outskirts of the castle near the zoo, and just sat and talked on a bench underneath spiderwebs and trees that had random leaves spiraling up its branches. We both came to Japan on the same day last year: 10/25. It's already been a year, and we couldn't believe it. It went by so quickly, and our paths had separated so much. Plus, she might be moving to Arizona by next April...and I think I might go back by next year too if no opportunities for me to stay present themselves.
Wow, it got dark. And it was already like 5:45pm. What a way to spend the day. :D And here I thought I'd bring a book or something. Spending time w/ friends is seriously the way to go. We stopped by the shopping center for a potty break, and parted ways in front of the venue. I walked down into Beta, and met up w/ Eri & Takako (YES! I finally know her name). They had #10 & #11 I think. So they got to be 2nd row.
I was actually 3rd row behind them...so, not bad. And I wish girls behind me wouldn't shit-talk me about being in front of them, when if they had just moved forward...they could have been in that spot, instead of just leaving that void in between 2nd and 4th row. Ugh. There was definitely enough room. They just all wanna be in front of dear Hazuki...when I think being in front of dear Junji is just fine. :3 The livehouse was so small...just about anywhere would be the same.
The first act was the quintessential Kobe-kei act: Enemy. They don't necessarily suck...they just gotta work on their sound check and tuning. And um...stage performance. The bassist always looks like he's gonna pop a nerve in his face. He opens up his eyes super big. And he does this un-sexy thing w/ his tongue. Where he sticks it out, and then promptly sticks it back in. More wtf-was-that? than sexy.
They seemed to play endlessly. To be honest, I remembered everyone except for the shimote guitarist...who kinda shies away into his corner. And what is it w/ these bands that have their only good-looking guy...shield his face from the audience. Bad move. You kamite guitarist guy! I really liked the drumming in their music, too bad it's just a backing track!! DDDX They don't have a real drummer yet. The singer's voice is nothing special...but the 2nd song they played killed my ears the least. And when I mean killing my ears, I mean I stuck my fingers over my earfolds to prevent soundwaves from penetrating any further. My ears were bleeding, almost physically so.
The 2nd act was more fun...they're called marvle...and I dunno where they're from. They kinda had a Tenten-feel. Not like Tenten himself, but more like Tenten arranged their clothes for them. XDDD Lotsa leopard, tartan plaid, and fur. X3 The music wasn't suitable for the lynch. crowd but they were definitely more genki. The singer MC'd between every song. They knew that no one was there for them, but they made light of that situation. Very admirable. Cuz lynch. has a tough crowd. I was headbanging by the end. Their support guitarist was the cutest one. And had one of those super-long stud piercings. I saw him before the show...inside the entry area, and just thought he was there to see the show. ehh..Wrong. Haha. He was damn near playing behind the speakers, he was so shy. XDDD~
lynch. wasn't able to start until about 8:15ish? Ugh...why did those bands play for so long? DX I was getting tired, and sat down for a bit...at least until I heard the set-up finish. The crowd didn't necessarily get any tighter in regards to personal space, but the empty areas beside me did fill up. I was still able to hold my ground though. And ugh...they had allowed smoking in the venue. D: Just die! DIE DIE DIE!!! Do that at the back of the venue. Your friends will save your spot.
Stage is super tiny...so SE went by very quickly. It looked to me like Junji was like...behind Yusuke. XO Junji! Oh...but Hazuki had light blue contacts in this time. He normally doesn't wear any. Trying to copy Junji, he is. :D Hmmm...also I got the feeling that he had 2 contacts in at the beginning, but by the end only the one in his right eye stayed. Weird. But it was good on him. He has bad eyesight...I wonder if they were prescription.
What is it w/ Jrockers who wanna be like Super-Aryan! O_O Gothic Super Aryan!! I dunno. I'm glad Reo-sensei doesn't pull that shit. He's like a hardcore-free rocker...which in a way, makes him truly hardcore. In the real sense. XDDD Not the poser sense. Ah, this amuses me. Their setlist for the night:
1. I'm sick,b'cuz luv u
2. liberation chord
3. 59.
4. ecdysis
5. melt
6. roaring in the dark
7. the universe
8. a grateful shit
9. unknown lost a beauty
10. pulse_
encore:
11. alien tune
I must say...ppl at this venue are prb half lynch. followers and half townfolk. Cuz only some of the fans knew the routines. Even the saizen ppl weren't participating. X_X For quite a few songs...they didn't really get into it until "unknown lost a beauty" came up. Cuz it's an older song. But by then...the set was almost over. For "59.", they have no excuse. Like for a couple of the songs...I felt like I was jumping too high or something. But I just realized some ppl weren't jumping at all. And it was throwing me off. Haha.
Also, I dunno why this is...but always right before "alien tune"...I think Hazuki says that they're playing a new song. x_x But when it starts, it's like wait...this isn't new. -_- Lotsa fun tonight. And there was a call for a 2nd encore...like in Kanazawa, but that shit didn't fly. =/ They had to pack up and leave...and get to steppin' to Matsuyama for the show the next day. But even though the PA system was telling us that it was over, no one budged until the curtains actually closed. ;_; Boo. It would have been nice. They're prb beat and needed cigarettes.
And I'm super glad that I spent the day in Himeji the way I did. I finally picked up a copy of the "underneath files vol.3" and have finished reading almost everyone's except for Reo's. I don't even wanna try his. The sheer amount of Japanese text just boggles my mind. I filled out their enquette, and wrote strictly about Junji. Like I'm curious as to why he's not officially in the band...is something wrong? We fans really like him. If there's something stopping the decision, please get over it. Looking forward to the oneman and CD. Thanks! XDDD Just sending the Junji love.
While we were in that entry area...we could see the band packing their shit up. So it was like everyone except for Hazuki hauling shit around...although I did see his backside going back inside somehow (I could tell it was him cuz of his hardcore white wallet & chain). I guess it was mostly Reo & Yusuke hauling their own equipment. Yup. And some Asanao. Junji was wearing his white shirt w/ the orange balloon again. Haha. It was nearly 9:45pm, so I thought it was best to leave. This was when I took the opportunity to ask Takako her name...cuz I dunno about them, but it's awkward not knowing the name of someone I see and talk more than a couple times. I left the venue...and had to tie my shoe. I found well-lit bench to sit on, and tied it up. Then, I saw Yusuke pulling equipment out from the venue. :3 Obviously, from a distance...but I hadn't intended to demachi...so I finished tying my shoe and started walking to the station. Fun times.
On another note, UI doesn't start coming in until one month after the paperwork is completed. That sucks. I need to at least secure more interviews, if I wanna keep doing what I wanna do here. I can easily substitute a paycheck if I sold a lot of my material possessions. Yea. That's how much I have. I did a personal inventory check. And it's quite a lot of shit. I just need to make it through November. Wow. Each month really did get progressively worse after August.
edit uno: I've just been granted an interview from Kinder Kids. *-* I am so fucking happy. I think I've been in a bit of a slump lately. Sick & depressed, but then a bit high...all wrapped together. My stomach is still doing flippies. But OMG...an interview. Why did I feel like job hunting was so difficult in America? Maybe cuz it's not a tech field. Maybe I'm just not a tech person. Seriously though. I'd like this job more than the other jobs I interviewed for. And kids!!! OMGKIDS! <333 I miss my kids. =/ I didn't even get a chance to take pictures of them.
edit dos: 後ろに居た人達、無理矢理割り込んで来て嫌だった is what Kaori said about the Spanish girls honing in on the bar. So true. I wish I could have said something back, but I didn't wanna pick a fight. And then like...not have anymore Spanish to say back to them. u_u