Yellow Fried Chickenz in Warsaw, 6.08.2011
On Saturday, at 8 o'clock PM, my twelve-year-old dream finally came true. After all this time of thinking it was impossible and would never happen, I have seen Gackt-sama live at a concert in Poland.
This post will now turn into a very biased report of a kind... but remember before reading that most of this report will actually be my own feelings, emotions and impressions not only about the live, but about everything surrounding it too, and will have little to do with actual report of an event. It'll be long and can get boring; I wrote it because I had to let it all out.
First of all - yes, I live in Warsaw. Actually, I live twenty minutes by underground train from the venue where the concert was supposed to take place. As a result, I could have come to the club an hour before the live and still be happy, right?
Wrong. Thanks to some prodding by Anowi (hoshi-no-omoide), I decided to do something extreme. Something I haven't done in years, and U had certainly never done in Poland. Together with hoshi-no-omoide, we were at the venue at around 6PM on Friday before the concert. We weren't the first people there; at first we ignored the other girls, Ano went to buy us some Chinese take-out while I sat on a blanket, reading a book :) It wasn't until later when we moved from the grass to the small concrete staircase by the entrance to the club (it had a nice roof in case it rained, too) that I started talking to the other girls.
Funny how a can of anti-bug spray can act as a friendly offering :) Because from that moment on, everything got better and better. Meanwhile, Ano went home to take some stuff (blankets and warm clothes - I was wearing a sundress, so I wouldn't have survived the night like that ^^). At that point in time not only couldn't I believe that I was so crazy to stay the night out there, but also it was hard for me to comprehend that yes, I was going to see my God.
I slept at night. Actually, I put on my earphones, covered myself thoroughly in blankets to protect myself against mosquitos (unfortunately, because of a whole month worth of rainy weather, those are something of a plague in Warsaw) and I slept like a log. It was strange - usually I wouldn't have been able to sleep outside, it's always been too cold for me even in summer (like before J-Shock in Cologne in 2007). This time, though, I missed most of the Night Watch becoming a group of comrades; I hope you aren't mad at me, guys~!
In the early morning, we moved from the staircase to form the beginning of the line in front of the barriers. We set camp comfortably on the pavement; Ano went home again, to discard the stuff we didn't need anymore, and I stayed. Here, I need to apologise for never introducing myself properly to anybody whom I talked to~ because of that, we didn't recognise each other even if we had met before ^^'
When Ano came back, we went for a little walk... and that proved to actually be a very fruit-bearing decision. Because of that little walk, I met the most awesome foreign fans in the world, Satya and Niki from Vienna, Austria. I spent the remainder of the day with the two of them, chatting away in English about nothing in particular.
Fast forward to the late afternoon - we were joined by my friend Alice, who couldn't come earlier but she wasn't going to push her way into the que - she's just amazing like that. All of a sudden, there was a thunderstorm, with cold rain and everything; still, our Night Watch group was so amazing! We stayed sitting on that pavement, keeping our places in the line, and as far as I know, so did everybody else. Poor Satya looked so sad as she was getting soaked, so all the time, I patted her arm and told her it was so going to be worth it in the end. It was about to be her first Japanese concert ever, too.
We got filmed by the nice Japanese man with a video recorder... I guess now they know how hardcore we are in Poland :D
Probably because of the thunderstorm, the decision came to let us into the venue a bit earlier. I can't believe how integrated the Night Watch was when entering; we formed a line and didn't let anybody else push into it, so that all fifteen of us could enter as we please. Somehow, that still got a bit thwarted by the girls directly behind us (I hear that behind them, on the other hand, the line was very well-behaved), but in the end, me, Ano, most of the Night Watch and Satya got into the first row~! Then we intercepted Niki so that she stood behind Satya and you won't believe how happy the girls were because of that.
Then, after an unbelievably long wait (which was slowly becoming painful, as the people from the rows behind us started pushing forward), it started.
And to be perfectly honest, I couldn't tell you what was happening on stage apart from Gackt-sama being awesome, because I actually ignored the other guys most of the time (except for the rare moments when I couldn't see Gackt-san, who went too far off to the other side of the stage; one of those moments was actually good, because it enabled me to acquire a straw. Yes, a straw used for drinking water. It was special, though - it was spit at us fans by Chachamaru the friendly guitarist :D. I quickly hid the straw in my bra - oh, isn't that the best spot to keep stuff in?).
The moment when Gackt-sama entered the stage was the moment when I started crying for the first time. Ano told me that the security guy standing in front of us looked worried at that moment; he must not have expected anybody to just burst into tears for no particular reason. But you know what? There was a reason. That reason was, looking at Gackt-sama up there on that stage, so close to me and yet so far, I knew my dream - that was my dream for half of my life! - was coming true. So I cried and it took me a long time to calm down...
The calm, though, was broken again. Because Gackt-sama does something wonderful during lives - he looks directly at the fans. I couldn't believe it, I'm still not sure, but I think I was one of those fans. Why do I think so? Because at one moment, it looked like Gackt-sama was looking directly at me with such a warm expression, and I reached out my hand to him - mind you, I kept my hands at the barriers before - and he did the same, he reached out his hand to me of all people. You could say that it's just wishful thinking, that I imagined it because I so wanted it to be true, but both Ano and Satya (both were standing next to me, I was actually between them) confirmed that they also thought so. It only lasted for a few seconds, but that was the moment I started crying for the second time... and then, I was crying all the time.
I can't tell you the setlist; not only didn't I know most of the songs, but the sound system sucked and I barely recognised whatever I knew. I know they played Vanilla (I didn't cry then, because I laughed instead, and it felt so good to laugh at that; Vanilla was the first song by Gackt-sama I had heard all those years ago and hearing it live and laughing at it good-naturedly was... nice), Mind Forest (English version. WHY? I love the song, but English? NO~! T_T), Speed Master, Uncontrol and JESUS. Jon, who's a support vocalist, was pretty nice, but I ignored him most of the time as well... sorry, Jon. You're cool, but I wasn't there for you.
My ugly crying face was videotaped over and over by the nice Japanese camera-man. I am so going to be the star of the DVD. I think that guy must have filmed me at least three times :D
Gackt-sama is my God. This show only confirmed to me that he is no human being. He's perfect and he is God. He made my dream come true. He made me feel special. The only regret I had about the live was that it ended eventually.
I gave the straw away to a girl from our Night Watch; because when I told her I had it, she asked if she could touch it. Seeing how important just touching something like that was to her, I decided I didn't need to keep it - I like Chachamaru as much as the other fan, but he is not as special to me as to her. She cried when I told her she could keep the straw. You know? I felt like a better person :) Sorry for not remembering your name, honey~!
Satya and Niki told me that thanks to me and Ano, their experience at the live was so good. They thought they couldn't have made it to the first rows without our help; they gifted us with two guitar picks Satya caught - one from Chachamaru and one from Takumi. We kept those, of course. They are framed nicely along with our tickets. They are more of a souvenir from the girls than from the musicians, though... <3
I bought a wristband and a keyholder/phone strap at the store. Ano bought a poster and a set of badges. I regret not buying a tanktop, but they probably didn't have my size anyway. Both me and Ano also regret not buying a fan, those were great! If anyone wants, I can take photos of the goods we did buy tomorrow :3
Gackt-sama promised to come to Poland again. He almost cried at the end of the show. It's not my imagination. I saw tears in his eyes and so did the girls. Even Niki, who had seen YFC in Germany the year before, said that it was so unexpected for her to see Gackt-sama emotional, because he wasn't like this back then. You know why? Because the audience in Poland rocked so hard. So, so hard <3
I exchanged email addresses with Satya and Niki. We're going to keep in touch. Next year, they can come to Poland to see Gackt-sama with us again. Maybe we can go to Vienna, too - they have invited us ^_^ I have been on a couple of concerts abroad, but never have I met foreign fans who would be so nice and kind like those two. It's another thing I can thank Gackt-sama for: his live gave me an opportunity to meet some wonderful people.
And it filled me with so much love for humankind... it's not like me at all.
Thank you, everybody from the Night Watch, for being there with me and Ano at night (if you read this, girls, and want to keep in touch - just drop me a comment or a PM, let's not forget each other easily!). Thank you, Satya and Niki, for being so wonderful, for letting me buy you coffee and for everything else. Thank you, Ala, for helping everyone out during the rain with your umbrella, even though there was nothing in it for you. Thank you, security staff, for keeping the audience supplied with water so that nobody fainted this time around. Thank you, everybody else worth thanking (and you would know who you are, you wonderful girls you!).
Last, but not least - actually, most importantly - thank you, Gackt-sama and your Yellow Fried Chickenz, for coming to Poland of all places in the world and doing your best for your small, but loving audience. We love you. ARI-GATO. Come visit Poland again. We will surely meet again. It's a promise.
This post will now turn into a very biased report of a kind... but remember before reading that most of this report will actually be my own feelings, emotions and impressions not only about the live, but about everything surrounding it too, and will have little to do with actual report of an event. It'll be long and can get boring; I wrote it because I had to let it all out.
First of all - yes, I live in Warsaw. Actually, I live twenty minutes by underground train from the venue where the concert was supposed to take place. As a result, I could have come to the club an hour before the live and still be happy, right?
Wrong. Thanks to some prodding by Anowi (hoshi-no-omoide), I decided to do something extreme. Something I haven't done in years, and U had certainly never done in Poland. Together with hoshi-no-omoide, we were at the venue at around 6PM on Friday before the concert. We weren't the first people there; at first we ignored the other girls, Ano went to buy us some Chinese take-out while I sat on a blanket, reading a book :) It wasn't until later when we moved from the grass to the small concrete staircase by the entrance to the club (it had a nice roof in case it rained, too) that I started talking to the other girls.
Funny how a can of anti-bug spray can act as a friendly offering :) Because from that moment on, everything got better and better. Meanwhile, Ano went home to take some stuff (blankets and warm clothes - I was wearing a sundress, so I wouldn't have survived the night like that ^^). At that point in time not only couldn't I believe that I was so crazy to stay the night out there, but also it was hard for me to comprehend that yes, I was going to see my God.
I slept at night. Actually, I put on my earphones, covered myself thoroughly in blankets to protect myself against mosquitos (unfortunately, because of a whole month worth of rainy weather, those are something of a plague in Warsaw) and I slept like a log. It was strange - usually I wouldn't have been able to sleep outside, it's always been too cold for me even in summer (like before J-Shock in Cologne in 2007). This time, though, I missed most of the Night Watch becoming a group of comrades; I hope you aren't mad at me, guys~!
In the early morning, we moved from the staircase to form the beginning of the line in front of the barriers. We set camp comfortably on the pavement; Ano went home again, to discard the stuff we didn't need anymore, and I stayed. Here, I need to apologise for never introducing myself properly to anybody whom I talked to~ because of that, we didn't recognise each other even if we had met before ^^'
When Ano came back, we went for a little walk... and that proved to actually be a very fruit-bearing decision. Because of that little walk, I met the most awesome foreign fans in the world, Satya and Niki from Vienna, Austria. I spent the remainder of the day with the two of them, chatting away in English about nothing in particular.
Fast forward to the late afternoon - we were joined by my friend Alice, who couldn't come earlier but she wasn't going to push her way into the que - she's just amazing like that. All of a sudden, there was a thunderstorm, with cold rain and everything; still, our Night Watch group was so amazing! We stayed sitting on that pavement, keeping our places in the line, and as far as I know, so did everybody else. Poor Satya looked so sad as she was getting soaked, so all the time, I patted her arm and told her it was so going to be worth it in the end. It was about to be her first Japanese concert ever, too.
We got filmed by the nice Japanese man with a video recorder... I guess now they know how hardcore we are in Poland :D
Probably because of the thunderstorm, the decision came to let us into the venue a bit earlier. I can't believe how integrated the Night Watch was when entering; we formed a line and didn't let anybody else push into it, so that all fifteen of us could enter as we please. Somehow, that still got a bit thwarted by the girls directly behind us (I hear that behind them, on the other hand, the line was very well-behaved), but in the end, me, Ano, most of the Night Watch and Satya got into the first row~! Then we intercepted Niki so that she stood behind Satya and you won't believe how happy the girls were because of that.
Then, after an unbelievably long wait (which was slowly becoming painful, as the people from the rows behind us started pushing forward), it started.
And to be perfectly honest, I couldn't tell you what was happening on stage apart from Gackt-sama being awesome, because I actually ignored the other guys most of the time (except for the rare moments when I couldn't see Gackt-san, who went too far off to the other side of the stage; one of those moments was actually good, because it enabled me to acquire a straw. Yes, a straw used for drinking water. It was special, though - it was spit at us fans by Chachamaru the friendly guitarist :D. I quickly hid the straw in my bra - oh, isn't that the best spot to keep stuff in?).
The moment when Gackt-sama entered the stage was the moment when I started crying for the first time. Ano told me that the security guy standing in front of us looked worried at that moment; he must not have expected anybody to just burst into tears for no particular reason. But you know what? There was a reason. That reason was, looking at Gackt-sama up there on that stage, so close to me and yet so far, I knew my dream - that was my dream for half of my life! - was coming true. So I cried and it took me a long time to calm down...
The calm, though, was broken again. Because Gackt-sama does something wonderful during lives - he looks directly at the fans. I couldn't believe it, I'm still not sure, but I think I was one of those fans. Why do I think so? Because at one moment, it looked like Gackt-sama was looking directly at me with such a warm expression, and I reached out my hand to him - mind you, I kept my hands at the barriers before - and he did the same, he reached out his hand to me of all people. You could say that it's just wishful thinking, that I imagined it because I so wanted it to be true, but both Ano and Satya (both were standing next to me, I was actually between them) confirmed that they also thought so. It only lasted for a few seconds, but that was the moment I started crying for the second time... and then, I was crying all the time.
I can't tell you the setlist; not only didn't I know most of the songs, but the sound system sucked and I barely recognised whatever I knew. I know they played Vanilla (I didn't cry then, because I laughed instead, and it felt so good to laugh at that; Vanilla was the first song by Gackt-sama I had heard all those years ago and hearing it live and laughing at it good-naturedly was... nice), Mind Forest (English version. WHY? I love the song, but English? NO~! T_T), Speed Master, Uncontrol and JESUS. Jon, who's a support vocalist, was pretty nice, but I ignored him most of the time as well... sorry, Jon. You're cool, but I wasn't there for you.
My ugly crying face was videotaped over and over by the nice Japanese camera-man. I am so going to be the star of the DVD. I think that guy must have filmed me at least three times :D
Gackt-sama is my God. This show only confirmed to me that he is no human being. He's perfect and he is God. He made my dream come true. He made me feel special. The only regret I had about the live was that it ended eventually.
I gave the straw away to a girl from our Night Watch; because when I told her I had it, she asked if she could touch it. Seeing how important just touching something like that was to her, I decided I didn't need to keep it - I like Chachamaru as much as the other fan, but he is not as special to me as to her. She cried when I told her she could keep the straw. You know? I felt like a better person :) Sorry for not remembering your name, honey~!
Satya and Niki told me that thanks to me and Ano, their experience at the live was so good. They thought they couldn't have made it to the first rows without our help; they gifted us with two guitar picks Satya caught - one from Chachamaru and one from Takumi. We kept those, of course. They are framed nicely along with our tickets. They are more of a souvenir from the girls than from the musicians, though... <3
I bought a wristband and a keyholder/phone strap at the store. Ano bought a poster and a set of badges. I regret not buying a tanktop, but they probably didn't have my size anyway. Both me and Ano also regret not buying a fan, those were great! If anyone wants, I can take photos of the goods we did buy tomorrow :3
Gackt-sama promised to come to Poland again. He almost cried at the end of the show. It's not my imagination. I saw tears in his eyes and so did the girls. Even Niki, who had seen YFC in Germany the year before, said that it was so unexpected for her to see Gackt-sama emotional, because he wasn't like this back then. You know why? Because the audience in Poland rocked so hard. So, so hard <3
I exchanged email addresses with Satya and Niki. We're going to keep in touch. Next year, they can come to Poland to see Gackt-sama with us again. Maybe we can go to Vienna, too - they have invited us ^_^ I have been on a couple of concerts abroad, but never have I met foreign fans who would be so nice and kind like those two. It's another thing I can thank Gackt-sama for: his live gave me an opportunity to meet some wonderful people.
And it filled me with so much love for humankind... it's not like me at all.
Thank you, everybody from the Night Watch, for being there with me and Ano at night (if you read this, girls, and want to keep in touch - just drop me a comment or a PM, let's not forget each other easily!). Thank you, Satya and Niki, for being so wonderful, for letting me buy you coffee and for everything else. Thank you, Ala, for helping everyone out during the rain with your umbrella, even though there was nothing in it for you. Thank you, security staff, for keeping the audience supplied with water so that nobody fainted this time around. Thank you, everybody else worth thanking (and you would know who you are, you wonderful girls you!).
Last, but not least - actually, most importantly - thank you, Gackt-sama and your Yellow Fried Chickenz, for coming to Poland of all places in the world and doing your best for your small, but loving audience. We love you. ARI-GATO. Come visit Poland again. We will surely meet again. It's a promise.