MUSIC: You're My Constant Companion [ p r i m e r o ]
As a preface, I really didn't sleep the night before the trip. I was up preparing everything until the last minute. I may have slept between the hours of 4am and 5am. I only packed a duffel bag and my Giru tote. During the trip, I wish I actually had a wheelie suitcase one cuz it would have made moving around a lot easier. Online check-in saved so much time, and security was a breeze. I had so much time to kill; I listened to Giru & watched news about the ship hijacking at my Southwest gate. I was torn between giving up my seat and getting breakfast for like the entire time. The seat won. But I missed the snack service on the plane. The blueberry nutrigrain bar passed me by, never to return.
This airline has a really interesting system. Basically, first come first serve. You line up according to your number and grab whatever seat is available when you board. The crew is also hilarious. I wish I could remember all the jokes they told. xD There was one about the safety protocol: "Thank you for listening to the safety instructions. And for those who didn't...Good luck!" XDDDDDD And when we disembarked, "We know that there are many airlines you could have chosen, and we want to thank you for being intelligent (plus a load of kiss-ass adjectives I forgot) and choosing Southwest." (I paraphrased) Love them.
Just a warning...each cut leads you to a tl;dr into my every waking thought. If that's okay with you, please proceed.
ARRIVAL
Wow, security is so lax. I arrive at a departure gate? And just walk right down to the carousels. The bus stop was to the right, and it took me awhile to understand the signs. Why do the arrows point downward? That is the most confusing shit ever for a person used to arrows facing up to signify going forward. Anyway, I figure it out finally and pass by a gaggle of Asian students in uniform. I'm just gonna assume they're Japanese.
As I leave, I see the 194 departing. D: So I have to wait for the next one. There were other ppl going to the convention too. The bus ride was nice since I had a seat. After the freeway, the bus took a rather scenic route through an avenue of murals painted on industrial buildings. I regret not snapping photos. They all had a very urban feel to it. Eventually passed the SafeCo? stadium and entered Downtown Seattle. I was happy that Seattle wasn't as dreary as I had anticipated. I got off at Westlake Ctr. and walked to the Paramount Hotel.
HOTEL / CONVENTION
I spent a few moments basking in the awesomeness of our hotel room, which in my apparent daze forgot to take pictures of...I really liked the bathroom and all the mirrors. xD Argh! So many things I remember in hindsight. The TV was huuuuuge. I tried to make myself presentable before going to the con, and waiting in the purgatory that is the pre-reg line. I brought a bunch of things with me cuz the signing was right afterward, but failed to bring my ipod. This is important.
It took me forever to snake through the convention center and find out where reg was being handled. It was WORSE than AX!!!!!!!!!! Can you imagine? Shouldn't pre-reg have priority? We paid first. But no...the line is always longer and there are less ppl serving. ;_; I waited 1.5hrs to get a sticker printed and taped onto a piece of paper with a holographic sticker. Lame. No laminate? No lanyard? Whatever. I stood through so many "Marco! Polo!" calls...I could have used my ipod.
Clockwise from the left: MySpace sticker ; Con Pass ; Room Key Card .
Jane arrived when I was about half way through the snake of doom (so did Jess, towards the end). We should have taken a photo to commemorate the event!! D: I guess we were in such a rush to deal with crap. We went to the autograph room and met up with the gang! Finally, I meet Jennifer, Emily & Meg...the Giru Bloggers! :DDD And the cosplay dynamos, Becky & Adam, who had awesome handpainted Giru t-shirts on. xD Then, there was the wristband ordeal. I thought they ran out cuz the line was gone. But they still had plenty when I got there. I showed my confirmation and got our wristbands. At this point, Mere wouldn't be here until we were already inside. I was worried about carrying stuff into the show so I hurried back to the hotel to drop off everything. I only brought what I could carry in my pocket. I left Mere's wristband in the room. DDDDDDDDDDDDx
At this point, I also left my camera in the hotel room...so there are no pictures. I always seem to ignore the camera function on my phone. I guess I don't like it cuz it lacks flash, and I need it. When I got back, the line had divided into the wristband haves and have-nots. Jane and I went to chat with Becky & Adam in the other line. And some random girl was like "The wristband line is over there!" in a really condescending tone. I don't like it when ppl say unnecessary things just to sound authoritative.
Lots of drama ensued because Sakura-Con doesn't believe in rules being rules. There were these kids who kept trying to squish into the group in front of us and Jen was having none of it. It was just ridiculous. Press gets special priority. That's a given. As do the disabled. But apparently, there was this one disabled girl who wanted to bring 13 of her assistants with her. Um, if you need 13 helpers on-hand. Maybe you shouldn't be at a rock concert? There are limits to ADA regulations. And y'know...common sense. Oh and the secret rule? Ppl with a wristband can bring a GUEST!!! O_O WTF. There is a time and place for unwritten rules, and this just wasn't one of them.
CONCERT
As we approached 3:30pm and beyond, the side-panel that separates the two large halls opens up and we start the seating. Muahahahaha! There's a pit. Initially, we're just entering the hall but as soon as we get about halfway...we all make a mad dash for the center!! But we somehow end up with the group that was behind us in between us. D: But dude. From right to left, it was Mere, Me, Adam, Becky, & Jennifer!! We were so dead center it was ridiculous. I think we fit parallel to the width of Яyo's drum set. Amazing.
The Slants were fun, but it felt like they were on stage for a long-ass time. Possibly 45min. I didn't wear my watch, but I was close enough to see the singer's. Are opening acts supposed to play that long? I think I would have enjoyed their set more if there wasn't so much press all up in my grill taking pictures from the oddest angles that could not have been flattering. I'm glad Girugamesh had a 3-song-rule: after 3 songs, the press had to peace out. The singer was really fun to watch and was chock full of energy, but his vocals were drowned out by the bass. Later, I find out that the bassist is the leader...but shouldn't mean his instrument is louder, amirite? The whole jumping on the box thing was really unnecessary, even if they do it just for kicks. And the drummer's shredded drumsticks were so fucking dangerous. Just splintered shreds thrown into the audience. I can't see that being safe. And the guitarist is someone Ebony would think is hot just for the sake of his nose. :) I thought he was good-looking. I dunno about the keyboardist, he was really feeling his mojo over there. The sunglasses made him look kinda douchey though.
But alas, for Giru's intro...we were stuck with the "press". After The Slants' set, they had to dismantle all their equipment and the Giru boys sans 左迅 came out to check their stuff. 益子さんwas up and about making sure everyone's shit was in the right place. :DDDDDDDD We're getting that much closer to the show. I'd say it's close to or past 5pm at this point. We still have to wait and wait. The girl behind me said she wasn't feeling to well, so I said it was ok to hang onto the bar. 割り込み？ Yea, I guess. She also set her stuff by my feet, which kinda made it hard for me to move about. She told me her feet were bleeding. I said she should prb get someone to take a look at that, but she insisted that she had a report to write. D: Bad times.
Security comes along and passes on the msg that if any of the bars push forward, the show is canceled. That prety much kept everyone at bay for the rest of the night. I didn't think it'd work, but Seattle was as orderly as a 名古屋 crowd. It was great for my 初ギルガメ最前経験. (I went through my list and this is my 24回目 seeing them...I thought it was the 21回目 =X)
And then we hear -INTRO-!!! xDDD The boys don't come out one at a time, but in a burst...they just run on stage. And 左迅 finally appears. x3 At this point, I still had my bandana on...but fuck, it was hot, so I took it off and put it in my pocket. Everyone is screaming their heads off and the band segues into Break Down. That song is so much fun to sing along to. *-* Then, they proceed to breeze through the next 3 tracks from MUSIC: ULTIMATE 4, FREAKS, & アングリージュース. Like everyone's been mentioning, this is where 愁 comes up behind 左迅 and ruffles his hair a bit. x3 And as I said before, the camera ppl finally cleared the front area! Woohoo! Finally.
Now that I'm reviewing the track list, I notice that the song choices were kinda sandwiched: MUSIC -- Girugamesh -- 13's Reborn -- volcano' -- Reason of Crying -- Girugamesh -- MUSIC -- 13's Reborn. Or maybe not. They played all their power songs from Girugamesh: CRAZY-FLAG, Dance Rock Night, & shining -- to start the next portion of the show. All these songs have audience participation parts (or at least it does for me), which are always fun. Ah, it brings back good times. Their Stupid tour still resonates with me. CRAZY-FLAG has that ”Burning the flag, Get up, 動き出せ！" part. Dance Rock Night has the "1 break time, 2 break time, 3 break time, 騒げ！" And we all sing for the majority of shining. During this song, they form the Giru diamond with 弐 & 愁 faux-dueling and mockery. Their antics are just too amusing. I wish that there could be some やっさいもっさい action, even if it's strictly in Japanese. The slapstick comedy routines transcend language. Some ショットコント, please.
When 弐 whipped out his sparkly white guitar and I expected them to break out into 曖昧な味覚 just cuz I've seen it happen before, but I was wrong. It was Mission Impossible! I honestly thought it was gonna be a one-time thing in LA, but I was wrong again! And how that transitioned into Deceived Mad Pain...I was just floored to hear something that is a 定番 yet also so OLD! I just felt like dancing so much. I think this song is best paired with 亡者の行進, but I don't make the set lists, do I? No, I don't. But volcano' was definitely a treat!! Except there was a surprising lack of hurling myself forward. The railing was just too high to do that successfully. Maybe if I had longer legs and less torso. I couldn't even rest my foot on any part of it. The ergonomics just weren't meant for the human body to embrace. ;_;
And then the silence. フリージア was also unexpected. I knew they had to have a slow song, but I thought it'd be from MUSIC or something. Wrong again! I've never been so happy to be wrong. For me, this song comes second only to 腐界の闇 as far as ballads go. *-* I sung along to every word. Not just cuz the lyrics are simple and easy to memorize, but because the words themselves carry so much meaning it's hard not to. The words just seem to slip out, even when I'm listening to the song in public on my ipod. Everyone remembers 弐 riding out his solo forever and ever, but I didn't even notice. I was like, "Ahhhhh, this is so beautiful...let it go on forever." *_______* Totally in the zone.
Their MCs were amusing! 左迅 gets points for trying. And 愁 could have done without the Japanese, cuz it just served to confuse the audience what with the back and forth between the two. "準備できた？アー・ユー・レディー？Are you ready?" He seemed pretty proud of his moment. What else did they say?
I forget which break it was, but some kid yelled out Dirty Blue Blood when the band was silent. I thought that was pretty funny...however misguided. xD I'm not sure if Girugamesh is a band that strays away from their set list. After this was a slew of songs from their self-titled: patchwork, Vermillion, & stupid! I LOVE STUPID!!! I wanna know what the lyrics are. Cuz all I ever do is sing along to what I think the lyrics are. C'mon!! This curious mind of mine wants in!
You're gonna want a piece!
Get away from me!
Gonna make, gonna move!
Whoa! Whoa!
And I keep hearing "Flay the burger" sprinkled in. XDDDD For the most part, it's just completely inaudible. On purpose, I know. The song is about food, I know it!
Ah, and here's that elusive "イチロー" section that has everyone stumped. Am I mistaken in saying that they played smash!! here? I somehow distinctly remember singing along to the chorus of it. Like this section was a medley of that song and Real my place (esp. the "自分で居られる場所" & the "タイムリミット" part). I just remember there being no crime ー罪ー. =/ I'm just hallucinating; I'm known to do that. Maybe it's just stupid having a similar part.
from 2ch:
【smash!!】
左迅『俺は同意が欲しいんじゃない共感を歌え』
客『ｳｫｰｩｳｫｰｩ』
左迅『半端は嫌いだ共感を叫べｳｫｲ』
客『ｳｫｲ』
左迅『ｳｫｲ』
客『ｳｫｲ』
I don't remember anymore. They should just play their discography over the course of 3 days as to not leave anything out. :DDD That'd solve my memory problem.
Last song! They had to play this...evolution. OMG!!! So much fun. XDDD 左迅 stuck his tongue out at one point, not quite in the sexy 葉月 way or playful 美月 manner, in his own weird way and to the left. Maybe it was a combo of sexy & playful. I thought it was fun at AX, but way more fun when you're in the thick of it. At AX, I couldn't even see the stage, and might as well have been listening to my ipod and watching the mini-monitor in the back. No one fucking moves in the back. The nature of the beast, I suppose. I felt like I had to psych myself up just to enjoy it. Anyway, back to fun times!! I think evolution is totally Яyo's song. x3 Before the guys left, everyone threw out a bunch of items. And Яyo's drumstick was so close, yet so far. -_- Someone behind us got it.
At this point, I don't even remember if evolution was the encore or if we only had one encore or two. And did we call three times and fail the 3rd. It's all a blur. My brain is swimming in it's fluids and is trying to find its bearings at this point. I know we definitely experienced 終わりと未来. And then it was over. Definitely the last song. I wonder if we called hard enough, they would have come out with 開戦宣言, cuz then it really would have been over. Or お前に捧げる醜い声. Out of all the shows I've seen, 2008.05.29 still trumps them all. Or if I had made it to their first FAZE tour oneman, that prb would have been it. Oh man, they were way too cool for school back then. I just have to laugh. XDDDD Look at them now!!
AUTOGRAPHS
Oh the dizzyness as we escape. Nothing left on the floor. Everyone ventured back to the autograph hall. I had to go pick up my stuff for the signing. I'm pretty sure I went by myself. I brought a whole bunch of crap cuz I didn't know if we could go once or back in line or whatever. Cuz god knows Sakura-con changes the rules as they go. It's their SOP. I ended up grabbing my copy of 腐界の闇, MUSIC, & my sign book. I also grabbed Jane's book that had a Giru photocard inside w/ their old school look. Y'know, fork&spoon!愁. Haha. I hurry back thinking the signings have already started. Only to find everyone is still waiting.
Then, the ruckus begins. Suddenly, we find out they're only signing things at this session if we own or intend to buy a JapanFiles release of Girugamesh's CDs. Nevermind if you own every Japanese release they've put it out. It just doesn't count. First we heard, they're only signing the JFiles version. Then, we find out we just need to own it already or fork over $20 at the table for something you already own save for 1.5" of text. And I'm just there stunned. And ppl around me are like fuming. We came all this way and we get this kind of treatment. What can we do? We suck it up and keep the ball rolling. It was a bitter pill to swallow.
We had also separated into two lines for a reason (ppl who own & ppl who will buy?). I have no idea what it was anymore cuz rules are ephemeral at Sakura-Con. In fact, you can make them up too and say it's con policy just for kicks. I was so fed up and tired and hungry at that point. I remember meeting Jane's friend, Midori, sometime here...while we were like "Fuck this shit! Lines don't matter!" But I managed to have the presence of mind to ask for pictures!! Except I missed 弐. DDDDDDDDD: I will forever regret it. It happened all so fast! I remembered to お疲れ all of them, but didn't get handshakes. Yea, doing this after a show is not such a good idea...I think I forgot everything I wanted to say. But I think I managed to say something to everyone, whatever it was. Yea.
Me & 左迅!!!! XDDDDDDDDDDD
He started the broken record of 「懐かしいぃ～」 that continues with the rest of the members.
中元さんsaid, "Hi." :D No pic w/ her, of course.
Oh, and I told him I went to their CRAZY Final, and he gave me an enthusiastic thanks. XD
BIG EMPTY SPACE WHERE 弐 OUGHT TO BE!!!!!!!!! DDDDDDDDDD:
Jane said he noticed I didn't take a photo with him. 故意じゃなかったよ！
What did I even say to him?! I don't remember. Zucchini.
Me & 愁!!!!!!! X3
He NEVER EVER took off those shades.
I think there's a name for ppl who do that...=X
I don't like this weird angle,
and I wish my hair wasn't pushed back behind my ears.
Me & Яyo!!!!!!!!! 8DDDD
He's so manly. Look at his 5 o'clock shadow.
Again. Hair. Angle. Bad.
FINISHED!! *-* やっとやった！
I feel stupid for not taking photos while we were in line. Again. Presence of mind? No, absent. I completely checked out. I walked away when I was supposed to take a photo for Jane. Not on purpose! The camera hand off part just made it so complicated. D: I couldn't very well take a photo at arm's length. I suck at that cuz my arms are short.
FOOD
All right, and what did we do next. Did we stop by our hotel? I believe we did...to get our lynch. hoodies. :D Man, I love mine. It's perfect. Praise 玲央. We chilled out at the Sheraton lobby waiting for everybody cuz we were gonna go eat together. We ended up going to mall. Back and forth looking for a cheap place. Where is a コンビニ when you really need one? I swear I didn't see a single one in Seattle, but I saw a Starbucks on every block. I swear there's some city ordinance that makes it so.
Oh yea! Pictures from the lobby! :D One of the few times I was bored enough to bring it out.
Me & Mere~~~~ Travel buddies!! Gonna trek the globe...someday.
Becky & Jane!! :) What are y'all doin'?
Jane & Me!! I'm so tired.
I'm physically in the photo, but not mentally. Hows about you?
WHUT?! A repeat...
No more pics!! Still perfecting the alternating camera persons.
Midori arrives! She gives Jane lots of Sugar goodies. X3 And we wait some more for everyone else, so we can fill out tummies with yummy carbs & protein.
We end up at this mall that has a food court-ish kinda thing. We pass by a bunch of places and settle on Johnny Rockets. We're completely ignored for what seems like forever, and walk away. And then walk back cuz I already had my heart set on it. Other food felt like more of a commitment, and this was to-go ready. Seats start to clear up, and we settle down. I ordered a single?, root beer float, & half-half fries-onion rings. It came out to an expensive total for fast food. Alls I can say. Everyone else orders too. And after we get all of our food, we go our separate ways. I wish we had more pictures.
Jane, Mere, & I end up chowing down in the hotel room...and the food is starting to get soggy. I'm glad I ate the burger first. The sides were getting cold. If only there were a way to enjoy both. Maybe I should have alternated bites. But then my float would have completely melted. Fast food is a formidable foe. -_- I think we were also watching TV. I was also contemplating giving Giru their gifts the next day, but decided not to cuz writing 4 letters felt so daunting. I'd worry about it later, since tmrw was such a free day. *-*
When did we pass out? I forget, but I remember flipping through a lot of channels. Wow, I think I covered everything. Ppl who have read this far...good job. I guess I could share my HQ photos with you if you read all of my entries. :) Of the band, not me.
Note: Way for photobucket to suddenly decide to completely eliminate the auto-copy feature when I have so many photos to post!! Oh, and I may update this entry as I remember things or if I'm corrected. I'm not perfect. And it's 3:30am. I will check for typos tmrw. -_-
This airline has a really interesting system. Basically, first come first serve. You line up according to your number and grab whatever seat is available when you board. The crew is also hilarious. I wish I could remember all the jokes they told. xD There was one about the safety protocol: "Thank you for listening to the safety instructions. And for those who didn't...Good luck!" XDDDDDD And when we disembarked, "We know that there are many airlines you could have chosen, and we want to thank you for being intelligent (plus a load of kiss-ass adjectives I forgot) and choosing Southwest." (I paraphrased) Love them.
Just a warning...each cut leads you to a tl;dr into my every waking thought. If that's okay with you, please proceed.
ARRIVAL
Wow, security is so lax. I arrive at a departure gate? And just walk right down to the carousels. The bus stop was to the right, and it took me awhile to understand the signs. Why do the arrows point downward? That is the most confusing shit ever for a person used to arrows facing up to signify going forward. Anyway, I figure it out finally and pass by a gaggle of Asian students in uniform. I'm just gonna assume they're Japanese.
As I leave, I see the 194 departing. D: So I have to wait for the next one. There were other ppl going to the convention too. The bus ride was nice since I had a seat. After the freeway, the bus took a rather scenic route through an avenue of murals painted on industrial buildings. I regret not snapping photos. They all had a very urban feel to it. Eventually passed the SafeCo? stadium and entered Downtown Seattle. I was happy that Seattle wasn't as dreary as I had anticipated. I got off at Westlake Ctr. and walked to the Paramount Hotel.
HOTEL / CONVENTION
I spent a few moments basking in the awesomeness of our hotel room, which in my apparent daze forgot to take pictures of...I really liked the bathroom and all the mirrors. xD Argh! So many things I remember in hindsight. The TV was huuuuuge. I tried to make myself presentable before going to the con, and waiting in the purgatory that is the pre-reg line. I brought a bunch of things with me cuz the signing was right afterward, but failed to bring my ipod. This is important.
It took me forever to snake through the convention center and find out where reg was being handled. It was WORSE than AX!!!!!!!!!! Can you imagine? Shouldn't pre-reg have priority? We paid first. But no...the line is always longer and there are less ppl serving. ;_; I waited 1.5hrs to get a sticker printed and taped onto a piece of paper with a holographic sticker. Lame. No laminate? No lanyard? Whatever. I stood through so many "Marco! Polo!" calls...I could have used my ipod.
Clockwise from the left: MySpace sticker ; Con Pass ; Room Key Card .
Jane arrived when I was about half way through the snake of doom (so did Jess, towards the end). We should have taken a photo to commemorate the event!! D: I guess we were in such a rush to deal with crap. We went to the autograph room and met up with the gang! Finally, I meet Jennifer, Emily & Meg...the Giru Bloggers! :DDD And the cosplay dynamos, Becky & Adam, who had awesome handpainted Giru t-shirts on. xD Then, there was the wristband ordeal. I thought they ran out cuz the line was gone. But they still had plenty when I got there. I showed my confirmation and got our wristbands. At this point, Mere wouldn't be here until we were already inside. I was worried about carrying stuff into the show so I hurried back to the hotel to drop off everything. I only brought what I could carry in my pocket. I left Mere's wristband in the room. DDDDDDDDDDDDx
At this point, I also left my camera in the hotel room...so there are no pictures. I always seem to ignore the camera function on my phone. I guess I don't like it cuz it lacks flash, and I need it. When I got back, the line had divided into the wristband haves and have-nots. Jane and I went to chat with Becky & Adam in the other line. And some random girl was like "The wristband line is over there!" in a really condescending tone. I don't like it when ppl say unnecessary things just to sound authoritative.
Lots of drama ensued because Sakura-Con doesn't believe in rules being rules. There were these kids who kept trying to squish into the group in front of us and Jen was having none of it. It was just ridiculous. Press gets special priority. That's a given. As do the disabled. But apparently, there was this one disabled girl who wanted to bring 13 of her assistants with her. Um, if you need 13 helpers on-hand. Maybe you shouldn't be at a rock concert? There are limits to ADA regulations. And y'know...common sense. Oh and the secret rule? Ppl with a wristband can bring a GUEST!!! O_O WTF. There is a time and place for unwritten rules, and this just wasn't one of them.
CONCERT
As we approached 3:30pm and beyond, the side-panel that separates the two large halls opens up and we start the seating. Muahahahaha! There's a pit. Initially, we're just entering the hall but as soon as we get about halfway...we all make a mad dash for the center!! But we somehow end up with the group that was behind us in between us. D: But dude. From right to left, it was Mere, Me, Adam, Becky, & Jennifer!! We were so dead center it was ridiculous. I think we fit parallel to the width of Яyo's drum set. Amazing.
The Slants were fun, but it felt like they were on stage for a long-ass time. Possibly 45min. I didn't wear my watch, but I was close enough to see the singer's. Are opening acts supposed to play that long? I think I would have enjoyed their set more if there wasn't so much press all up in my grill taking pictures from the oddest angles that could not have been flattering. I'm glad Girugamesh had a 3-song-rule: after 3 songs, the press had to peace out. The singer was really fun to watch and was chock full of energy, but his vocals were drowned out by the bass. Later, I find out that the bassist is the leader...but shouldn't mean his instrument is louder, amirite? The whole jumping on the box thing was really unnecessary, even if they do it just for kicks. And the drummer's shredded drumsticks were so fucking dangerous. Just splintered shreds thrown into the audience. I can't see that being safe. And the guitarist is someone Ebony would think is hot just for the sake of his nose. :) I thought he was good-looking. I dunno about the keyboardist, he was really feeling his mojo over there. The sunglasses made him look kinda douchey though.
But alas, for Giru's intro...we were stuck with the "press". After The Slants' set, they had to dismantle all their equipment and the Giru boys sans 左迅 came out to check their stuff. 益子さんwas up and about making sure everyone's shit was in the right place. :DDDDDDDD We're getting that much closer to the show. I'd say it's close to or past 5pm at this point. We still have to wait and wait. The girl behind me said she wasn't feeling to well, so I said it was ok to hang onto the bar. 割り込み？ Yea, I guess. She also set her stuff by my feet, which kinda made it hard for me to move about. She told me her feet were bleeding. I said she should prb get someone to take a look at that, but she insisted that she had a report to write. D: Bad times.
Security comes along and passes on the msg that if any of the bars push forward, the show is canceled. That prety much kept everyone at bay for the rest of the night. I didn't think it'd work, but Seattle was as orderly as a 名古屋 crowd. It was great for my 初ギルガメ最前経験. (I went through my list and this is my 24回目 seeing them...I thought it was the 21回目 =X)
And then we hear -INTRO-!!! xDDD The boys don't come out one at a time, but in a burst...they just run on stage. And 左迅 finally appears. x3 At this point, I still had my bandana on...but fuck, it was hot, so I took it off and put it in my pocket. Everyone is screaming their heads off and the band segues into Break Down. That song is so much fun to sing along to. *-* Then, they proceed to breeze through the next 3 tracks from MUSIC: ULTIMATE 4, FREAKS, & アングリージュース. Like everyone's been mentioning, this is where 愁 comes up behind 左迅 and ruffles his hair a bit. x3 And as I said before, the camera ppl finally cleared the front area! Woohoo! Finally.
Now that I'm reviewing the track list, I notice that the song choices were kinda sandwiched: MUSIC -- Girugamesh -- 13's Reborn -- volcano' -- Reason of Crying -- Girugamesh -- MUSIC -- 13's Reborn. Or maybe not. They played all their power songs from Girugamesh: CRAZY-FLAG, Dance Rock Night, & shining -- to start the next portion of the show. All these songs have audience participation parts (or at least it does for me), which are always fun. Ah, it brings back good times. Their Stupid tour still resonates with me. CRAZY-FLAG has that ”Burning the flag, Get up, 動き出せ！" part. Dance Rock Night has the "1 break time, 2 break time, 3 break time, 騒げ！" And we all sing for the majority of shining. During this song, they form the Giru diamond with 弐 & 愁 faux-dueling and mockery. Their antics are just too amusing. I wish that there could be some やっさいもっさい action, even if it's strictly in Japanese. The slapstick comedy routines transcend language. Some ショットコント, please.
When 弐 whipped out his sparkly white guitar and I expected them to break out into 曖昧な味覚 just cuz I've seen it happen before, but I was wrong. It was Mission Impossible! I honestly thought it was gonna be a one-time thing in LA, but I was wrong again! And how that transitioned into Deceived Mad Pain...I was just floored to hear something that is a 定番 yet also so OLD! I just felt like dancing so much. I think this song is best paired with 亡者の行進, but I don't make the set lists, do I? No, I don't. But volcano' was definitely a treat!! Except there was a surprising lack of hurling myself forward. The railing was just too high to do that successfully. Maybe if I had longer legs and less torso. I couldn't even rest my foot on any part of it. The ergonomics just weren't meant for the human body to embrace. ;_;
And then the silence. フリージア was also unexpected. I knew they had to have a slow song, but I thought it'd be from MUSIC or something. Wrong again! I've never been so happy to be wrong. For me, this song comes second only to 腐界の闇 as far as ballads go. *-* I sung along to every word. Not just cuz the lyrics are simple and easy to memorize, but because the words themselves carry so much meaning it's hard not to. The words just seem to slip out, even when I'm listening to the song in public on my ipod. Everyone remembers 弐 riding out his solo forever and ever, but I didn't even notice. I was like, "Ahhhhh, this is so beautiful...let it go on forever." *_______* Totally in the zone.
Their MCs were amusing! 左迅 gets points for trying. And 愁 could have done without the Japanese, cuz it just served to confuse the audience what with the back and forth between the two. "準備できた？アー・ユー・レディー？Are you ready?" He seemed pretty proud of his moment. What else did they say?
I forget which break it was, but some kid yelled out Dirty Blue Blood when the band was silent. I thought that was pretty funny...however misguided. xD I'm not sure if Girugamesh is a band that strays away from their set list. After this was a slew of songs from their self-titled: patchwork, Vermillion, & stupid! I LOVE STUPID!!! I wanna know what the lyrics are. Cuz all I ever do is sing along to what I think the lyrics are. C'mon!! This curious mind of mine wants in!
You're gonna want a piece!
Get away from me!
Gonna make, gonna move!
Whoa! Whoa!
And I keep hearing "Flay the burger" sprinkled in. XDDDD For the most part, it's just completely inaudible. On purpose, I know. The song is about food, I know it!
Ah, and here's that elusive "イチロー" section that has everyone stumped. Am I mistaken in saying that they played smash!! here? I somehow distinctly remember singing along to the chorus of it. Like this section was a medley of that song and Real my place (esp. the "自分で居られる場所" & the "タイムリミット" part). I just remember there being no crime ー罪ー. =/ I'm just hallucinating; I'm known to do that. Maybe it's just stupid having a similar part.
from 2ch:
【smash!!】
左迅『俺は同意が欲しいんじゃない共感を歌え』
客『ｳｫｰｩｳｫｰｩ』
左迅『半端は嫌いだ共感を叫べｳｫｲ』
客『ｳｫｲ』
左迅『ｳｫｲ』
客『ｳｫｲ』
I don't remember anymore. They should just play their discography over the course of 3 days as to not leave anything out. :DDD That'd solve my memory problem.
Last song! They had to play this...evolution. OMG!!! So much fun. XDDD 左迅 stuck his tongue out at one point, not quite in the sexy 葉月 way or playful 美月 manner, in his own weird way and to the left. Maybe it was a combo of sexy & playful. I thought it was fun at AX, but way more fun when you're in the thick of it. At AX, I couldn't even see the stage, and might as well have been listening to my ipod and watching the mini-monitor in the back. No one fucking moves in the back. The nature of the beast, I suppose. I felt like I had to psych myself up just to enjoy it. Anyway, back to fun times!! I think evolution is totally Яyo's song. x3 Before the guys left, everyone threw out a bunch of items. And Яyo's drumstick was so close, yet so far. -_- Someone behind us got it.
At this point, I don't even remember if evolution was the encore or if we only had one encore or two. And did we call three times and fail the 3rd. It's all a blur. My brain is swimming in it's fluids and is trying to find its bearings at this point. I know we definitely experienced 終わりと未来. And then it was over. Definitely the last song. I wonder if we called hard enough, they would have come out with 開戦宣言, cuz then it really would have been over. Or お前に捧げる醜い声. Out of all the shows I've seen, 2008.05.29 still trumps them all. Or if I had made it to their first FAZE tour oneman, that prb would have been it. Oh man, they were way too cool for school back then. I just have to laugh. XDDDD Look at them now!!
AUTOGRAPHS
Oh the dizzyness as we escape. Nothing left on the floor. Everyone ventured back to the autograph hall. I had to go pick up my stuff for the signing. I'm pretty sure I went by myself. I brought a whole bunch of crap cuz I didn't know if we could go once or back in line or whatever. Cuz god knows Sakura-con changes the rules as they go. It's their SOP. I ended up grabbing my copy of 腐界の闇, MUSIC, & my sign book. I also grabbed Jane's book that had a Giru photocard inside w/ their old school look. Y'know, fork&spoon!愁. Haha. I hurry back thinking the signings have already started. Only to find everyone is still waiting.
Then, the ruckus begins. Suddenly, we find out they're only signing things at this session if we own or intend to buy a JapanFiles release of Girugamesh's CDs. Nevermind if you own every Japanese release they've put it out. It just doesn't count. First we heard, they're only signing the JFiles version. Then, we find out we just need to own it already or fork over $20 at the table for something you already own save for 1.5" of text. And I'm just there stunned. And ppl around me are like fuming. We came all this way and we get this kind of treatment. What can we do? We suck it up and keep the ball rolling. It was a bitter pill to swallow.
We had also separated into two lines for a reason (ppl who own & ppl who will buy?). I have no idea what it was anymore cuz rules are ephemeral at Sakura-Con. In fact, you can make them up too and say it's con policy just for kicks. I was so fed up and tired and hungry at that point. I remember meeting Jane's friend, Midori, sometime here...while we were like "Fuck this shit! Lines don't matter!" But I managed to have the presence of mind to ask for pictures!! Except I missed 弐. DDDDDDDDD: I will forever regret it. It happened all so fast! I remembered to お疲れ all of them, but didn't get handshakes. Yea, doing this after a show is not such a good idea...I think I forgot everything I wanted to say. But I think I managed to say something to everyone, whatever it was. Yea.
Me & 左迅!!!! XDDDDDDDDDDD
He started the broken record of 「懐かしいぃ～」 that continues with the rest of the members.
中元さんsaid, "Hi." :D No pic w/ her, of course.
Oh, and I told him I went to their CRAZY Final, and he gave me an enthusiastic thanks. XD
BIG EMPTY SPACE WHERE 弐 OUGHT TO BE!!!!!!!!! DDDDDDDDDD:
Jane said he noticed I didn't take a photo with him. 故意じゃなかったよ！
What did I even say to him?! I don't remember. Zucchini.
Me & 愁!!!!!!! X3
He NEVER EVER took off those shades.
I think there's a name for ppl who do that...=X
I don't like this weird angle,
and I wish my hair wasn't pushed back behind my ears.
Me & Яyo!!!!!!!!! 8DDDD
He's so manly. Look at his 5 o'clock shadow.
Again. Hair. Angle. Bad.
FINISHED!! *-* やっとやった！
I feel stupid for not taking photos while we were in line. Again. Presence of mind? No, absent. I completely checked out. I walked away when I was supposed to take a photo for Jane. Not on purpose! The camera hand off part just made it so complicated. D: I couldn't very well take a photo at arm's length. I suck at that cuz my arms are short.
FOOD
All right, and what did we do next. Did we stop by our hotel? I believe we did...to get our lynch. hoodies. :D Man, I love mine. It's perfect. Praise 玲央. We chilled out at the Sheraton lobby waiting for everybody cuz we were gonna go eat together. We ended up going to mall. Back and forth looking for a cheap place. Where is a コンビニ when you really need one? I swear I didn't see a single one in Seattle, but I saw a Starbucks on every block. I swear there's some city ordinance that makes it so.
Oh yea! Pictures from the lobby! :D One of the few times I was bored enough to bring it out.
Me & Mere~~~~ Travel buddies!! Gonna trek the globe...someday.
Becky & Jane!! :) What are y'all doin'?
Jane & Me!! I'm so tired.
I'm physically in the photo, but not mentally. Hows about you?
WHUT?! A repeat...
No more pics!! Still perfecting the alternating camera persons.
Midori arrives! She gives Jane lots of Sugar goodies. X3 And we wait some more for everyone else, so we can fill out tummies with yummy carbs & protein.
We end up at this mall that has a food court-ish kinda thing. We pass by a bunch of places and settle on Johnny Rockets. We're completely ignored for what seems like forever, and walk away. And then walk back cuz I already had my heart set on it. Other food felt like more of a commitment, and this was to-go ready. Seats start to clear up, and we settle down. I ordered a single?, root beer float, & half-half fries-onion rings. It came out to an expensive total for fast food. Alls I can say. Everyone else orders too. And after we get all of our food, we go our separate ways. I wish we had more pictures.
Jane, Mere, & I end up chowing down in the hotel room...and the food is starting to get soggy. I'm glad I ate the burger first. The sides were getting cold. If only there were a way to enjoy both. Maybe I should have alternated bites. But then my float would have completely melted. Fast food is a formidable foe. -_- I think we were also watching TV. I was also contemplating giving Giru their gifts the next day, but decided not to cuz writing 4 letters felt so daunting. I'd worry about it later, since tmrw was such a free day. *-*
When did we pass out? I forget, but I remember flipping through a lot of channels. Wow, I think I covered everything. Ppl who have read this far...good job. I guess I could share my HQ photos with you if you read all of my entries. :) Of the band, not me.
Note: Way for photobucket to suddenly decide to completely eliminate the auto-copy feature when I have so many photos to post!! Oh, and I may update this entry as I remember things or if I'm corrected. I'm not perfect. And it's 3:30am. I will check for typos tmrw. -_-