Oh my god, I am still alive D: (D'espairsRay 08.12.2010 NYC)
So last night (it was originally Friday morning when I wrote this, but my laptop died before posting and I forgot my charger for the weekend XD) was the D'espairsRay show here in NYC. There's been a lot of trouble with this tour so far - originally nine stops, three (Atlanta, plus the two Texas stops) were canceled and a second all-ages show was scheduled in NYC after the first was 19+ and *still* sold out. Then, when the all-ages show sold out, something happened and it was canceled maybe three weeks prior to the show. I had tickets for that one too, but it was obviously canceled, so I'm sitting in Penn Station waiting on my train to go home for the long weekend (Catholic university means I have a long weekend because of the Feast of the Assumption). (Like I said, Friday morning LOL)
Anyway, after the line craziness, Kim and I lined up around noon. Originally we planned to be there around 9:30, but our night was a bit later than planned so we slept in. We sat there til doors at 8, with Bonnie and Candace joining us through the day. 8:00 rolls around and we started to move, finally. We get up to the doors, they're checking ID (19+ show, like I said) and doing wristbands (Bonnie and Candace were both old enough, Kim and I still have a year lol). Candace wasn't interested in the pit, so we'd decided earlier to give her our money and bags and a list of merch, while Bonnie, Kim and I shoved into the pit. Kim shot straight for Hizumi's section, Bonnie and I headed for Karyu's because her favorite is Karyu and I was equally happy in any of the three sections.
Karyu's side of the pit, at least in NYC, was ridiculous. I've done harsh pits before, but I honestly had to bail out before the fourth song was over. I know the first three songs of the night were Deathpoint, Dope and Love is Dead, because they're my favorite three songs from the new album and I shouted out the words and headbanged along with everyone else for them. Even in front of the fan on Karyu's side like we were, Bonnie and I both decided to bail during the next song. We shove out, head for the bathroom for water.
I know that was still during the fourth song, but I can't remember the song. I know while we were in the bathroom, we happened to find Candace and so we stood talking for a minute. During that time, the fourth song ended and 13 -thirteen- started. I was upset to have missed that one, but it's such a short song that by the time we got back outside, they were finishing it and moving onto the next one. Bonnie and Candace took a minute to get drinks of their own, then I talked them into moving over to the free space on Zero's side. Like I said, I'm equally happy on any side, but Zero and Karyu were tied for my favorite before last night - Zero's officially won himself over as my favorite after last night, so I wanted to get to see his side too. We got over there and discovered a set of very sturdy looking couches - so Bonnie and I climbed up on them and went back to dancing and headbanging. I had a D'espairsRay towel tied around my wrist that was waving around while we did, and the couches made us taller than everyone else in the venue - I know Zero looked up and watched us for a minute, because he was looking directly out at us (instead of down at the crowd), before putting a pick in his mouth and spitting it our way. We didn't get it, of course - spitting a pick does not make it fly very far - but it was still really cool.
There was also a point where Zero switched sides with Karyu, who looked confused and kept moving over to see past the hanging speaker - I'm pretty sure he also saw the flailing towel and was trying to figure it out. He'd gesture at the crowd to surge forward, and I hopped off the couch to go dive into the pit again - it was only like three people deep against the wall on that side of the stage, so it wasn't very far. Unfortunately he's got that tendency to run away shortly after he gets close enough to touch, so I didn't manage to touch him, but I did get close enough to touch Zero a fair number of times and Hizumi's elbow once (plus his high-fives at the end of the show). The girls I barreled into were really nice - I apologized for getting over-excited and crashing into them like I did, and they all seemed more amused at my enthusiasm than anything. I actually owe the girl in front of me, when we'd gotten up to the space between the main set and the encore and I still hadn't gotten close enough to touch Zero, I asked if I could get by for it and she helped me get to during Reddish.
So the encore! Over on the west coast, the band hadn't been playing Reddish. They'd been playing other older songs, but I was hoping for Reddish at ours - it's probably tied with Garnet for my favorite song. When they started playing it in Chicago and Toronto, I was hoping they would play it for us too - and they did! They opened the encore with it, and as soon as I heard the piece at the beginning that Karyu does, I screamed. I didn't know I still had a shout like that in me at that point, but apparently I did. It was amazing - and like I said, the girl in front of me helped me get close enough to touch Zero. I think that's when I got to brush Hizumi's elbow, too. First I got close enough to run my hand along Zero's wrist and hand, but I didn't want to go near his hand - he was playing, and I didn't want to mess him up or anything. Then the girl in front of me grabbed me and helped push me forward, so I got to reach higher up his arm and actually stroke from about his elbow down, which was awesome. There was another point in the encore where we all tried to reach him and he wasn't playing for a second, and he saw us all and reached out towards us. We latched onto him and weren't letting go - I definitely felt a few tugs before he finally managed to get free. I tried to get to Karyu too, because they switched sides at one point during the encore, but he never stayed close enough to the side long enough for me to reach him.
After the encore, Zero was throwing picks out at the center of the crowd. I think he spit another one at our section along the wall, but I didn't get it - I think the girl who helped me reach him did, so I'm happy for her. Then he got the water bottles and started spraying the crowd. I'm pretty sure he started on our section. Sprayed once, we cheered and leaned for more. Sprayed a second time, everyone seemed to shrink back that time. I didn't, though, I just swished the towel across my face and cheered and leaned forward again. I don't know if the third one was actually straight in my face, but for as hard as that one was, it sure felt like he sprayed it straight at me. He seemed amused by it, too, so I'm pretty sure it was. He went back towards the main section of the pit again after that, and I think that's when Karyu came over? He just held out a pick for us to fight over and take directly from him, but I wasn't close enough. Hizumi came through high-fiving everyone, and he came re-high-fived our section a couple of times because we couldn't all reach. I know Tsukasa followed him and tossed a drumstick, but Tsukasa never came close enough to touch, I don't think.
We backed out of the crowd then, long enough to grab our bags (and Candace), but still close enough that we were right up front for the signing. Bonnie, Kim and I all had Candace get posters for us. They started moving things around and setting up the table, and it turns out the couches Bonnie and I had been dancing on were what they were using for the boys to sit on (wiped down, although I don't think we left them too dirty). Because we hadn't moved too far, we ended up as third, fourth and fifth people to get the posters signed. I saw Zero cut through the crowd with some people from the venue (I'm guessing other people saw him, but I don't know if Bonnie or Kim noticed?), and we cheered when the band finally came out. Zero seemed tired, but I think he was amused when he saw the towel still on my wrist (I think only like two other girls at the show had the towels, so there weren't many to notice). Tsukasa seemed a lot more friendly than I expected (not that I expected him to be unfriendly, just that I was surprised by how friendly he actually was. Hizumi was like... buzzing. I don't know if someone gave him an energy drink or coffee or if it was just post-show adrenaline, but he seemed to be vibrating in his seat. Even sliding across the bench, whereas Karyu just scooted across, Hizumi slid across like he was playing baseball or something. Just, zoom! across the bench. He was really excited when we got to shake his hand, and especially when Kim gave him the little stuffed bat thing she'd decorated for him. Next was Karyu, who seemed like he was tired but entertained by our excitement - and he laughed at me and said thank you when I told him I liked his contacts. I've seen a few other reports who said they told him the same thing, so I'm sure he's heard it fairly often on this tour. All of them, I told some variation of how excited I was to be there and how great the show was, and thanked them for coming. I was an excited little thing - I've been trying since right after their first shows in the US to see them, but have never managed because of different circumstances each time, and they're one of my top three bands.
Outside, we went to McDonalds and got sodas (and I changed my shirt, because I was soaked, courtesy of Zero) and sat down for a few minutes. Before long, we headed back to the venue, though - we wanted to wait to see them come out and go to the bus. We hung out with a few others that were there (I know I got to meet communistmuffin, which was exciting because I love reading Zero's blog through her translations, and I didn't know we both were in the same borough). We waited for a while and hung out with everyone, but the train running out towards my dorm starts running only once an hour after 1:30, so we had to leave before the band eventually came out, sadly. Candace and Bonnie both live in different parts of the city, so we split up from them and headed our separate ways.
The show was absolutely amazing, one of the best I've been to (not that I expected any less from D'espairsRay).
Other things I remember, a few days later - I distinctly remember dancing to Infection while we were on the couch, because that one always makes me want to dance (it might've been the one where Zero watched us, maybe?), and I know I was on the couch headbanging for Mirror. I was a mixture of up on the couch and in the pit for Sixty-Nine, and I'm 98% certain the second song of the encore was Fuyuu Shitsu Risou, but I'm horrible with titles so I could be completely wrong on almost any of these.
Anyway, after the line craziness, Kim and I lined up around noon. Originally we planned to be there around 9:30, but our night was a bit later than planned so we slept in. We sat there til doors at 8, with Bonnie and Candace joining us through the day. 8:00 rolls around and we started to move, finally. We get up to the doors, they're checking ID (19+ show, like I said) and doing wristbands (Bonnie and Candace were both old enough, Kim and I still have a year lol). Candace wasn't interested in the pit, so we'd decided earlier to give her our money and bags and a list of merch, while Bonnie, Kim and I shoved into the pit. Kim shot straight for Hizumi's section, Bonnie and I headed for Karyu's because her favorite is Karyu and I was equally happy in any of the three sections.
Karyu's side of the pit, at least in NYC, was ridiculous. I've done harsh pits before, but I honestly had to bail out before the fourth song was over. I know the first three songs of the night were Deathpoint, Dope and Love is Dead, because they're my favorite three songs from the new album and I shouted out the words and headbanged along with everyone else for them. Even in front of the fan on Karyu's side like we were, Bonnie and I both decided to bail during the next song. We shove out, head for the bathroom for water.
I know that was still during the fourth song, but I can't remember the song. I know while we were in the bathroom, we happened to find Candace and so we stood talking for a minute. During that time, the fourth song ended and 13 -thirteen- started. I was upset to have missed that one, but it's such a short song that by the time we got back outside, they were finishing it and moving onto the next one. Bonnie and Candace took a minute to get drinks of their own, then I talked them into moving over to the free space on Zero's side. Like I said, I'm equally happy on any side, but Zero and Karyu were tied for my favorite before last night - Zero's officially won himself over as my favorite after last night, so I wanted to get to see his side too. We got over there and discovered a set of very sturdy looking couches - so Bonnie and I climbed up on them and went back to dancing and headbanging. I had a D'espairsRay towel tied around my wrist that was waving around while we did, and the couches made us taller than everyone else in the venue - I know Zero looked up and watched us for a minute, because he was looking directly out at us (instead of down at the crowd), before putting a pick in his mouth and spitting it our way. We didn't get it, of course - spitting a pick does not make it fly very far - but it was still really cool.
There was also a point where Zero switched sides with Karyu, who looked confused and kept moving over to see past the hanging speaker - I'm pretty sure he also saw the flailing towel and was trying to figure it out. He'd gesture at the crowd to surge forward, and I hopped off the couch to go dive into the pit again - it was only like three people deep against the wall on that side of the stage, so it wasn't very far. Unfortunately he's got that tendency to run away shortly after he gets close enough to touch, so I didn't manage to touch him, but I did get close enough to touch Zero a fair number of times and Hizumi's elbow once (plus his high-fives at the end of the show). The girls I barreled into were really nice - I apologized for getting over-excited and crashing into them like I did, and they all seemed more amused at my enthusiasm than anything. I actually owe the girl in front of me, when we'd gotten up to the space between the main set and the encore and I still hadn't gotten close enough to touch Zero, I asked if I could get by for it and she helped me get to during Reddish.
So the encore! Over on the west coast, the band hadn't been playing Reddish. They'd been playing other older songs, but I was hoping for Reddish at ours - it's probably tied with Garnet for my favorite song. When they started playing it in Chicago and Toronto, I was hoping they would play it for us too - and they did! They opened the encore with it, and as soon as I heard the piece at the beginning that Karyu does, I screamed. I didn't know I still had a shout like that in me at that point, but apparently I did. It was amazing - and like I said, the girl in front of me helped me get close enough to touch Zero. I think that's when I got to brush Hizumi's elbow, too. First I got close enough to run my hand along Zero's wrist and hand, but I didn't want to go near his hand - he was playing, and I didn't want to mess him up or anything. Then the girl in front of me grabbed me and helped push me forward, so I got to reach higher up his arm and actually stroke from about his elbow down, which was awesome. There was another point in the encore where we all tried to reach him and he wasn't playing for a second, and he saw us all and reached out towards us. We latched onto him and weren't letting go - I definitely felt a few tugs before he finally managed to get free. I tried to get to Karyu too, because they switched sides at one point during the encore, but he never stayed close enough to the side long enough for me to reach him.
After the encore, Zero was throwing picks out at the center of the crowd. I think he spit another one at our section along the wall, but I didn't get it - I think the girl who helped me reach him did, so I'm happy for her. Then he got the water bottles and started spraying the crowd. I'm pretty sure he started on our section. Sprayed once, we cheered and leaned for more. Sprayed a second time, everyone seemed to shrink back that time. I didn't, though, I just swished the towel across my face and cheered and leaned forward again. I don't know if the third one was actually straight in my face, but for as hard as that one was, it sure felt like he sprayed it straight at me. He seemed amused by it, too, so I'm pretty sure it was. He went back towards the main section of the pit again after that, and I think that's when Karyu came over? He just held out a pick for us to fight over and take directly from him, but I wasn't close enough. Hizumi came through high-fiving everyone, and he came re-high-fived our section a couple of times because we couldn't all reach. I know Tsukasa followed him and tossed a drumstick, but Tsukasa never came close enough to touch, I don't think.
We backed out of the crowd then, long enough to grab our bags (and Candace), but still close enough that we were right up front for the signing. Bonnie, Kim and I all had Candace get posters for us. They started moving things around and setting up the table, and it turns out the couches Bonnie and I had been dancing on were what they were using for the boys to sit on (wiped down, although I don't think we left them too dirty). Because we hadn't moved too far, we ended up as third, fourth and fifth people to get the posters signed. I saw Zero cut through the crowd with some people from the venue (I'm guessing other people saw him, but I don't know if Bonnie or Kim noticed?), and we cheered when the band finally came out. Zero seemed tired, but I think he was amused when he saw the towel still on my wrist (I think only like two other girls at the show had the towels, so there weren't many to notice). Tsukasa seemed a lot more friendly than I expected (not that I expected him to be unfriendly, just that I was surprised by how friendly he actually was. Hizumi was like... buzzing. I don't know if someone gave him an energy drink or coffee or if it was just post-show adrenaline, but he seemed to be vibrating in his seat. Even sliding across the bench, whereas Karyu just scooted across, Hizumi slid across like he was playing baseball or something. Just, zoom! across the bench. He was really excited when we got to shake his hand, and especially when Kim gave him the little stuffed bat thing she'd decorated for him. Next was Karyu, who seemed like he was tired but entertained by our excitement - and he laughed at me and said thank you when I told him I liked his contacts. I've seen a few other reports who said they told him the same thing, so I'm sure he's heard it fairly often on this tour. All of them, I told some variation of how excited I was to be there and how great the show was, and thanked them for coming. I was an excited little thing - I've been trying since right after their first shows in the US to see them, but have never managed because of different circumstances each time, and they're one of my top three bands.
Outside, we went to McDonalds and got sodas (and I changed my shirt, because I was soaked, courtesy of Zero) and sat down for a few minutes. Before long, we headed back to the venue, though - we wanted to wait to see them come out and go to the bus. We hung out with a few others that were there (I know I got to meet communistmuffin, which was exciting because I love reading Zero's blog through her translations, and I didn't know we both were in the same borough). We waited for a while and hung out with everyone, but the train running out towards my dorm starts running only once an hour after 1:30, so we had to leave before the band eventually came out, sadly. Candace and Bonnie both live in different parts of the city, so we split up from them and headed our separate ways.
The show was absolutely amazing, one of the best I've been to (not that I expected any less from D'espairsRay).
Other things I remember, a few days later - I distinctly remember dancing to Infection while we were on the couch, because that one always makes me want to dance (it might've been the one where Zero watched us, maybe?), and I know I was on the couch headbanging for Mirror. I was a mixture of up on the couch and in the pit for Sixty-Nine, and I'm 98% certain the second song of the encore was Fuyuu Shitsu Risou, but I'm horrible with titles so I could be completely wrong on almost any of these.