(no subject)
I didn’t really know what I was getting into when I started, so I’ll thank now anyone who actually gets through this whole thing and doesn’t have any personal connection to the topic, as this is unbearably long. In fact, it isn’t just unbearably long, it’s TEN PAGES. I’m not even sure how I did that.
[You’ll have to forgive me, as this will probably focus heavily on one guy. I’m playing to my crowd, i.e. Allie]
Lengthy and full of delicious detail, I present to you:
First off, Holiday Shinjuku is located in the sketchiest place I’ve ever been (I haven’t been to Roppongi yet, so I can’t yet call it the sketchiest place in Japan), called Kabukicho. There’s one main thoroughfare of Kabukicho which is pretty decent, but once you leave that stretch, it’s all over, and you’re surrounded by nothing but host clubs and stripper bars. Me and Raven were completely sketched out at like, 4 pm. And you know how hosts crack me up. And how I like to wander around moderately sketchy places. But this scene was too sketchy for even me.
When we did get to Holiday Shinjuku, we had to go down to the second basement (the cd store) and inquire about tickets. They said we couldn’t buy them until doors open, so we wandered off to 0101 to look at clothes and girls (I was with Raven).
While out, there was this sidewalk concert thing going on. Some threesome of girls. That was all fine and good until I actually paid attention to their audience. A bunch of sketchy guys who knew all the words and the dance choreography. Raven was like “Maybe they’re roadies?” Oh, Raven. I am so surprised by your naïveté, at times.
We went back to HS and asked where to buy tickets. The unhelpful broad there told us to go to the top floor. We got there (it was the 5th) and nothing was there. So we took the back stairs all the way down, stopping at each floor and looking around for someone from which to buy tickets (I say backstairs, but it wasn’t a separate stairwell, just the other side of the building). When we got back to the first floor and still hadn’t seen anything, we decided to go to the second basement and ask at the cd store again. So we did. And the area we got to didn’t seem to be connected to the cd store area. But there was this back hall, so I went down that. And as I was walking towards the open door, only maybe 10 feet from me (okay, maybe more. Idk), the door swings shut (I thought “wind?” But I honestly have no idea where the wind would have come from. Divine providence, maybe? *shrug*) and the sign on the back says: VIDOLL SAMA (obviously it was in Japanese, but you get the idea). And me and Raven look at each other. “Oh shit. That’s their fucking dressing room.” And Raven wanted to go down anyway and act like poor, lost, illiterate gaijin. But I just couldn’t do it. Once I knew they were in there, I just couldn’t. That’s why, in my notes, this section is called: “The Dressing Room, or, I’m a Pussy.” After a bit of back and forth about what we should do, this guy came in through some other door. And I figured he’d realize soon enough that we shouldn’t be down there (btw, in Rame’s entry talking about the show, there’s a picture with some guy in a chair. I think that’s the guy we saw). And some other guy came out from some other door, so I made Raven come back up, cuz I didn’t want them to like, get us ejected from the show or something. Idk, I was paranoid. We talked to unhelpful broad again, and found out that you have to basically hang around until every single person with a ticket has gotten into the show before they will sell you one. Why she didn’t say that the first time, idk. Okay, background over, time for bullet points.
Getting through the crowd-
The entrance leaves you at the middle of the crowd. Japanese people have this idea that everyone lines up, and if you have a better number, you deserve to be closer. Anyone from America and Europe knows this to be utter nonsense, and that at a show, it’s every man for themselves. Raven felt bad about pushing her way through the crowd, so I used my skill of being at least two times bigger than everyone else to push her through the crowd to where I wanted to be. I ended up all the way on the left, about 4 bodies from the stage. The girls at this show were lame, so they didn’t squish together to try to get closer to the stage, so even though I say 4 bodies, there was only maybe only 3 people. This one girl gave us dirty looks, but later I realized she just might be one of those people who always looks like angry, anyway. Which is not to say that she wasn’t giving dirty looks. I couldn’t give a flying fuck either way. When I went by these other girls, they made noises that were the equivalent of “What are they doing?!” Getting closer than you, bitch. I also stood all the way on the left intentionally. I wanted to be out of the way for people, cuz I know I’m huge. That didn’t stop lame Japanese girls from being lame Japanese girls. That is, there was this really small girl behind me who did not move around at all to like, try and get around me. Nuts to you, then, I thought.
Vidoll Fans in this Case are Pretty Fucking Lame-
When you hear stuff about Japanese fans not moving, it’s cuz they’ve seen these girls. They just stand completely still. They don’t sing along. If there’s para para, they do para para. If there’s no para para, they do nothing. They don’t move their heads, they don’t tap their feet. They wait till Jui tells them to do something, then they’ll do it till the think they should stop. I don’t even know if they blinked. It was such a dull crowd. I don’t know how Japanese bands can play to people like that. HS is such a small venue, that you could have totally rocked the house out, and had such a fantastic time with a crowd that small, but instead there were a bunch of sad sacks of meat taking up all of me and Raven’s rocking out room. And when a song was over, they’d put their arms up in the air, with their hands turned outward. It wasn’t too gay for me to do it, but don’t think I didn’t throw up devil’s horns; I wanted them to know that there was someone in this place who knew how a concert’s supposed to be. I hope the next crowd isn’t quite this lame.
Oh yes, and something that interested me, at least, anyway. There were hardly any subcultures represented in their audience. There were a couple lolis, a couple goth lolis, a couple Tokyo bitches, but everyone else was your random assortment of Japanese girls, of a surprising variety. It was a new experience for me.
The Most Amazing Stage Entrance EVAR-
It was two of the best possible elements, which was pretty awesome and incredibly gay. First, this techno music started playing. Then all this colored lights started flashing. Then Rame started talking. And I was thinking “Oh, Vidoll, you need your bassist to announce you?” but then I realized he was saying something about there being a contest. And he was like “Let’s see out first contestant,” and he starts describing who’s going to come out. First it was Tero. I was like “HOMGZ TERO.” He is, btw, wearing pants, not a skirt. And this continued, with Giru next, then Rame. And I was like “How is Rame out here when he’s making the announcements?” Cuz I was too dense to realize that it was a recording. At some point, when Rame was describing someone, and I’m going to say himself, cuz I think it’s funnier that way, he was like “OH SHIT!” for some reason, and me and Raven laughed heartily. Then Shun came out, then Jui. Before Jui came out Rame described him as having a sexy voice. I have to wonder who wrote these things, and what other possibly amusing things he said. At some point I realized that the techno song that was playing was actually a remixed or whatever version of the gasoline song (when it started playing, there were no words being said) and I thought, “Oh, Vidoll.” I don’t remember when this was, but Jui was like “Yeah, did you like that opening? That was all DJ Tero.” And then he started making fun of Rame, and I only know that cuz Rame gave him this look that made everyone laugh.
Impressions-
Before I go for the nitty-gritty, I have to say that the stupid audience was easily trumped by Vidoll’s stage presence. I’m actually annoyed at the audience in retrospect, cuz I wasn’t paying any attention to them at the time. Somehow, I had this idea of a Vidoll show as being this cheesy, taking themselves at little too seriously (at least Jui, anyway) kind of thing. And it’s totally not. They’re actually really fun to watch. They have fantastic chemistry, and have a lot of fun with each other one stage.
Giru was surprisingly good looking. I know Allie said he was, but all too often he looks like a surprised peacock. When you finally get to see him not posing for a photo, he looks like a normal human being. Rame was so pretty. I couldn’t get over how pretty he was for a second. It made me so happy to see him. I called him Rame-sensei. I hope he heard me. Raven can’t understand my newfound adoration of Rame, and I can’t explain it.
Tero fixed his hair. He let it grow out some, so the front is long, and he spiked out the back, though spiked isn’t the right word. It’s a recognizable male ‘do for Japan though, and it was so much better. I was happy I could find him hot again. (Yeah, that hair change had that much of an effect on me.)
Shun was Shun. He still wasn’t attractive, and his eyes still look weirdly big (I think it has something to do with his eye make-up). I guess he’s okay though. Raven thinks I don’t like, him, and it’s not that, but I’m finally considering him as Shun, as opposed to that guy who plays guitar, and he’s… just not my favorite.
Jui’s hair was lighter. I guess he missed the blonde. I really liked the brown though. Jui was just as beautiful as I thought he’d be. I forgot, or never noticed that he has dimples, sorta. His smile is just as amazing as ever. I was right about his gloves. I’ll save the rest of my gushing for later.
Thank God, No Fanservice-
Although Raven would have liked it (she said as much herself). He put his arm around Shun’s neck twice, but that was it. The first time he did, I was like “Don’t fanservice! Don’t!” Then I actually asked myself if I might not enjoy it. Then I remembered it was Shun, and was like “No, no I wouldn’t.”
Jui and his Tongue-
He is… an amusing man. In the beginning of the show, particularly, he would lick his lips. But it like, wasn’t… very sexy. You’d want to think “licking lips, that’s hot,” cuz he’d get the upper lip right, but when it got to the bottom lip, that’s when the illusion fell apart and you wanted to pull him aside and be like, “Jui, honey, that’s not how it’s done.” The times he didn’t go for the both lip attempt, it was good. And during some song he was licking his finger, and that was done well, too. Cuz I good finger lick should involve some lip dragging, and he was on target that time. Yeah, this is a little TMI isn’t it?
Everyone’s Sweaty-
Which was expected. But I mean, there were visible drops of sweat falling off them, at times. I imagine their costumes are a bit warm. Jui never took off his jacket, despite having a tank top on, which shows his commitment to… big collars, I guess. And, of course, I’m so hypersexual that instead of being grossed out, like I would be on a train or something, I was just thinking about glistening Jui chest. Also, mildly surprised that Tero played in that coat. Got to give him major props when I see him next.
Tero Sang Along-
And it was adorable. He didn’t all the time, though, so maybe it was songs that he particularly liked. It was really cute to watching Jui and then look over at Tero, watching him hit a cymbal and then singing the next verse, and then stopping to do something else.
Rame Smiles a lot when He Likes a Song-
He pretty much smiled the whole time, but it’d be a little smile, the kind you have when you’re slightly amused by what’s going on around you. But when he liked some song, he’d smile bigger. And when they played Kuro Neko, watch out, cuz Rame was cheesing like whoa. His smile was gigantic. That was one of the highlights of the show, I’d have to say. I knew a lot more of the words to that song, so it felt really good to be able to sing something right, instead of faking it like I did most of the time, and Rame was smiling really huge, which made me smile really huge, too. And, yes, Allie, Jui did all his little cat motions. They were better this time. (In the video I felt like he looked like he was just scratching at himself.)
Rame Kills It-
I wish I knew what song it was, but it was one of the older ones, methinks, and I looked over at Rame, and he was just going to town on that bass. And I wish there was a better expression for it, but he like, blew Raven’s poor little mind, I think.
Tero Tears that Shit Up-
Another one who tried to break Raven’s mind with his utter awesomeness. I didn’t watch him as much as I should have (a regret I always have about drummers), but there was one particularly drum heavy moment where he blew my mind with all the shit he did so quickly.
Giru was Using His New Guitar-
Idk why I thought that was necessary to put in, but he was. It was really cool, too.
More of “The Band’s got a Sense of Humor”-
Time to time, depending on the song, of course, they would joke around with one another. During one song, Jui was on his box (is this a normal thing, for vocalists to have boxes? The only time I’ve seen an American band with a vocalist, it was at stadium show, so that short of set-up doesn’t count), and Rame got on it, too, and he kept bumping into Jui, so Jui would bump back, and at one point, Rame actually bumped Jui on the head with his shoulder, and I laughed a little.
Rame and Giru were on the same side of the stage, so they would play to each other, or back to back. At one point, Rame like, hit Giru in the elbow or arm with his bass, and Giru’s like “Ah!” (though I couldn’t actually hear him) and waved his arm a little, laughing. Then another time, towards the end of one song, Giru put his guitar up in the air, and Rame played it. It was so cool to see them messing around like that.
During some song, Rame, Giru, and Shun came to the front of the stage and played, and Jui walked over to the drum set and started talking to Tero, and I’m like “Tero can’t possibly hear you,” and I tried to see if Tero answered him back, and he might have, which would have to mean they were like, reading lips, or are psychically linked. (Sexy? y/n?) Raven’s like “Maybe they’re talking about you,” cuz she likes to say things like that that can’t be possibly be true.
Three Encores-
Yes, Vidoll hit the magic number. I don’t mind though. I love them so much right now. Plus, it’s not like they played longer than D’espa, so they’ve still got that. Besides, me and Raven saw the schedule back when we were by the dressing rooms. The show was scheduled for 2 hours anyway, I think. There was actually a visible clock in the wings, and the show lasted like, exactly 2 hours. During the last encore, they came out in the shirts that I would call tour shirts if this were a tour, but it wasn’t. Giru, Shun, and Tero were wearing the black ones and Jui and Rame were wearing the pink ones. Tero came back out first, and he got up on the box and would like, yell, and the audience would yell back, and he did it like, two more times, and then he was like “That’s good,” and walked back over to the drums.
During this time I will talk about the pick and the stick, but everyone knows about it anyway, so it’ll be condensed. Basically, Rame threw one of his picks into the audience, and all these girls were like OMG A PICK and hands shot up, but no one got it, and then Raven saw it, but the Tokyo bitch next to her stepped on it, whether or not it was intentional, we don’t know. So then later Tokyo bitch is like MOVE OUTTA MY WAY, RAVEN with her big ass hair, and moved her foot, and Raven’s like YOINK and got the pick. And then she came over to me and was like I GOTZ DAH PICK HOMGZ and I was like HOMGZOMG and screamed a bit.
Then at the last encore, Tero grabbed a bunch of drumsticks and walked over to the crowd, my section first, and was like TOSS and me and a bunch of girls shot our hands up, and I touched it a little, but wasn’t able to grab a hold, and I looked over, and Raven was one of the girls fighting for it, and I was like JUST BREAK IT AND GET IT OVER WITH. But this being Japan, this one girl was like OK JANKENPON (rock paper scissors) and Raven was like PWNED ALL UR ASSES. And I was like HOMGZ CAN I HAVE IT I LOVEZ TEH TERO and she’s like YOU DRIVE A HARD BARGIN, MADAM. And she’s got the awesome pick and I’ve got the lovely phallic object stick.
Idk why I wrote it like that. I hope I didn’t break the English major.
Rame’s Birthday Cake-
It was Rame’s birthday within the past week or so, so when everyone came out at the last encore, Jui backed up on stage with this little cake with three candles in it, and Rame wasn’t paying attention. I don’t know if he knew. This band is fond of giving its members multiple cakes on their birthday, so even if he suspected he was gonna get another cake (the man’s already talked about 4 he’s gotten), he doesn’t necessary know when, so I like to think it was a genuine surprise, even if it was expected. And everyone sang happy birthday, and people in the very front of the crowd pulled noise makers that had little happy birthday signs that popped out. Then they talked about something, and Jui was trying to get Rame to taste some of the cake. And you knew someone was going to end up with cake on their face, you just had to see how it went down (I wanted to shout “YOU KNOW TERO WANTS THAT CAKE,” but I decided against it). So Rame walks over and pushes the cake into Jui’s face, which can’t be imagined well enough if you don’t realize how much topping got on Jui. It must have been whipped cream, cuz that cake was really small, but that topping got all over Jui’s face and on his neck. It was quite amusing. And I was like “Oh, yaoi inspiration,” to Raven. He wiped it off with a towel, but he still ended up singing the first song with topping on his cheek and one side of his neck.
Jui Says More Shit I Can’t Understand-
This was one of the first two encores. Jui came out on stage, and he’s got this playbill looking book, which I think is for Meld Park (their oddly named tour). And everyone’s like “What’s that?” and he says something about how at the end of the month Meld Park will be starting (I think this might have been the time where he talked a lot, and I had to do a lot of “Yeah, I totally know what you’re talking about” laughing) and people are like “No shit we already got tickets.” And he’s like “Yeah, I got something here, wanna see it?” And everyone’s like “Fuck yeah!” And he’s like “You wanna see?” And they’re like “You fucking know we do!” (Of course that’s not what anyone really said. It was actually: “Miru?” “Miru!” “Miru?” “Miru!” But I like my version better.) And then he quickly shows this picture of them, and they’re like, all in white, and it was very late 90s boy band. And the crowd’s like “Kyaa! That’s so awesome!” And I’m like “That’s gayer than 8 guys blowing 9 guys. You expect me to want to pay for that? I’m not 12.” But I love them for trying. I’m not against pretty pictures, just gay pictures. But to be fair, I didn’t bother to take a closer look. I made up my mind with that quick look he gave us. That picture better not turn out to be awesome. Although the odds of me buying it would have been low, anyway. There’s only so much money I’m willing to put out for pieces of paper.
Jui and Dancing-
Which, thankfully, is something he doesn’t actually do. He still does his downward fist punch thing, but if you’ve ever seen Gackt, or Seth, sadly, you know it could be so much worse. He did this weird thing though, where like, when everyone knew to do the thing where you throw your head forward (oh, para para and organized head banging), he would like, sorta… pitch himself forward? And like, bend over, and like, sorta looking like he was fake stabbing himself in the gut with his mic? Idk. I couldn’t think of a good way to describe it when I actually saw it, and I certainly can’t do it in retrospect. Oh, and he would move across the stage as he did it. I was like “Jui, wtf are you doing?” But then I remembered that one opening band for Diru, with the vocalist who was like, having convulsions on stage, and, once again, remembered that it could be so much worse. Also, he didn’t do that stupid, knocked-kneed thing he does, which might be directly due to the fact that he wasn’t wearing platforms, which I wholeheartedly approve of. He looks so much better in the boots he was wearing. Plus, if he stood on that box with platforms, he would have hit his head on the ceiling :D
Swiss/Swedish Girl-
I recognized her from the m10m show. She was with 3 other Scandinavians, who looked so very out of place (two were your typical tall blond guys). Raven talked to her later, and we showed her the pick and the stick. S/S Girl apparently got Giru’s pick. She was jealous of Raven’s though, cuz Rame’s picks are shiny and stuff. Giru’s pick is all black, and I only saw one side of it, but it said “Vidoll- Giru” in silver and had a little design on it, which I didn’t pay careful attention to but am now wondering whether or not it’s like, one of his tattoos or something.
Cosplayers!-
There was a really, really good Jui cosplayer. She was nearly perfect, except her coat fit her a little funny, like maybe the shoulders were a little too tight. She was wearing the red outfit with little red feathers in the hair and stuff. A la the costumes from when VID was released, I think. It was funny, cuz Raven found her attractive as a girl, and I found her attractive cuz she looked so much like Jui. Although up close, they have quite different facial structure. It helped that her hair was so good (can you tell I was really impressed?).
There was another Jui cosplayer. I wanna say she was wearing the white outfit a la the SinAI pv (he didn’t wear pants that time, right? Cuz she was wearing the shorts with the leggings things he normally wears. And you know what? I’m kinda conflicted right now. I really like him in pants, but I was really looking forward to coping a feel of some naked Jui thigh. I’ll save this discussion for later). But she didn’t do her hair at all. It was long and black, and she was wearing glasses.
Lastly, there was a Rame cosplayer, of all people. 1. I just find it unexpected, 2. how easy is it to dress up like Rame? And the only way you could tell that she was cosplaying as Rame? She had his awful bangs that he, THANK GOD, got rid of. And I hope they never come back. Maybe if I make sure to compliment his and Tero’s hair, they will never make such drastic mistakes again.
Side note: Often in Harajuku I see girls cosplaying as Reita from Gazette. One time Raven was like “How do you know that it’s a girl and not him?” and I was like “Cuz he’s an attractive man and they’re obviously Japanese girls.”
Fucking Para para-
I don’t even know what else to say about it, other than it’s gay and I hate it. They weren’t letting anyone touch them this show, so I didn’t have to worry about trying to look like too much of a team player. And I was pretty close, so I’m pretty sure that they, if they looked for more than two seconds, could see the gigantic gaijin bobbing her head and singing along to all the songs (and if they watched for any longer than that, they knew I didn’t know the words XD). Which was probably an exceptional thing, because there would be songs with no para para, and everyone would stand there was dummies, and I’d like “*head bob* *warbled Japanese* *trying to watch Jui’s mouth to match it*”
Holiday Shinjuku CD Store-
Also, and I don’t know why I put this bullet point here, but Holiday Shinjuku’s CD store has a bunch of cds I hadn’t see before. They had The Candy Spooky Theatre (but not the one with Devilish Kidnapper, wtf), a couple Kozi, Vidoll I’d seen before, plus a lot of their lives, some cd by Exist Trace, some Ghost, some Nega, and some other things I’ve forgotten. What was really cool, though, was they had Phantasmagoria’s costumes on display. They looked really big. Like, not as in big costumes, but as if the guys in Phantasmagoria are bigger people. At least compared to Nightmare. I don’t think they would be much bigger though.
The Set List-
I was actually able to make a set list this time, as I recognized nearly every song. They started with like, nevaeH and SinAI, and the first non-VID song they played was Waisetsu Ningyo (I was so very pleased), but that’s all the order I can produce:
nevaeH
SinAI
Deep Blue- during this one there were blue lights. And Jui’s like “Everyone listen… Deep Blue. And I’m like “Is this song serious or something?” That’s the weird thing about this band. Their music doesn’t necessarily reflect the spirit of the song. (At least I think so. My point of reference: Hotel Hickey. Translating that song made me want to cry. And sleep with Jui. But alas, I am not a 20 year old prostitute who hangs out by the docks and wears glittery eye make-up. But anyway, point is, it doesn’t sound the way I think it should. Like, it sounds… too… much like it’s a song about the narrator’s adventures. Less about the hooker. Maybe I am reading too much into this?)
Hotel Hickey- Oh god, this was the beginning of the end, and Allie will know what I mean. While he would sing the chorus, he would like, touch his chest. And sort of rub it. And it was a very *squee* moment. And then we he was singing it again, he like, pulled some of his coat back so like, his shoulder was exposed, and was like touching his chest again, but through the arm hole, and I was like “Is he going for the nipple?” and I’m really embarrassed to say this, but I would not have complained about some nipple rubbing. Oh, and it was great fun, by the way, to shout “OK WE WILL UNDRESS!” Also, at the “Give a hickey” part, he would point to his neck. And I was like “Oh yeah, that’s what this part is.” Visual clues help you understand Engrish!
Illicit Love- what I really enjoyed about this song was this is when I really noticed that he was acting the way the mood of the song would dictate. He wasn’t playful or anything. Didn’t make many expressions or even move very much. And when they got to the instrumental part of the song, he sat on his box, with his back to the crowd, and didn’t get back up until the lyrics started again. This was another step towards my downfall. (This song, for those not in the know, is about being suddenly left by your girlfriend.)
Last Lovers- this was when I was like “That’s what rasutorabaazu means!”
Innocent Teens- the bass makes the song, so I probably watched Rame most of the time.
Kuro Neko- Jui did his cat thing, Rame cheesed like mad, and, like I said, it was one of the absolute best songs in the show just cuz everyone, even the audience was having fun, though I think that might have been cuz they hadn’t done any para para in a while or something.
Waisetsu Ningyo- I was so happy to hear something older. Cuz the music they make now is missing some of the rough vocalization, which is what happens as a band gets more popular. Of course, we had to go without the silly sex noises, but there was a heavy, breathy part in the middle where he said “waisetsu ningyo,” so I felt better, although I can’t really remember how it sounded anymore. It’s sad, but I have a really hard time remembering what vocalists looked like when they performed a show, but I can easily recall things that an instrumentalist did.
Peko/Hxmx-clash-trap- First of all, Jui grabs this blue tambourine, and all I thought was “What could that possibly be for omg.” And I’m pretty sure that Rame was saying “Peko,” and not “Homo” but it sounded like Hxmx-clash-trap (like, the sax wasn’t there and stuff), and in the middle they did the thing from Hxmx-clash-trap @ black where they were like “Homo wa?” but instead of yelling “Yukine,” cuz, you know, they can’t, each time they yelled someone else’s name. And Jui would point to who so everyone yelled the same name. And they had the “Gomennasai!” part, which was supplied by the audience. That was cool. And later I got to explain to Raven what the hell was going on.
Karakuri Romance- can I get a fuck yeah, cuz that’s how I felt. I love that song. And I did so much screaming it wasn’t good for me. However, the para para for that song involves hearts? Idk, all I knew was I didn’t want any part of that.
Ningyou- this song involved swaying back and forth, which I’m fine with, since it’s about a mermaid after all. And the band did it too, so you had to. What was really funny was Jui wasn’t swaying cuz he was singing, but the band and the audience were, and when he finished the verse, he started to sway, but he was going the wrong way, so he had to stop and like, start all over, and he like, laughed to himself. It was adorable.
Shinbun Mass Comm Kankeisha no Gata e- this one was fun cuz it involved a lot of jumping. And it’s really long, so I got a lot of exercise in. At one point Rame went up on the box and started jumping. He can do that, cuz he’s so widdle.
II DK- I was… somehow surprised that they played this, but I enjoyed it. And you know what? If they had played Chocoripeyes, I probably would have pissed my pants just from the memory of Rame singing that song in the streets of Osaka, perhaps, with his boom box and microphone.
An Extra (Maybe)
I my aimai (Maybe)
There were a couple of songs I couldn’t recognize, and so I guessed, as you can see by those labeled as “maybe.” There could be one or two others that they played though and I forgot about.
Oh yes, and at some point during the show, there was a little feedback, and Raven and I both picked up on it, though it wasn’t terribly obvious. She was like “I should have been doing the sound.”
And, when it ended only our left ears were ringing, for some reason. And at some point, Jui was singing something, and he sounded a little chipmunky, and I’m like “No! You’re not allowed to distort the sound of anything until the show’s over!”
A Discussion about Jui that Really Only Allie can Appreciate, Unless You’re Particularly Interested in what I Find Attractive about this Japanese Man, So Feel Free to Skip it:
Essentially, and like I said earlier, my initial and long standing impression of Jui was that he was somewhat of a ridiculous human being, running around with his legs exposed and wearing make-up. And always with his mouth open, for some reason. Couldn’t really take him seriously. And then I saw this show. And I saw him as a performer. And, there’s a big difference there. When I watch a vocalist, I’m not just looking to see him sing a song. I watch their entire body language. The best time for that is in between songs, or parts where there are no words. Jui would sometimes put his foot up on the box and just look out in the crowd, like he was looking for something. Or he’d stick his bottom lip out a little. Little things like that totally get to me. It’s like that time we were at the Blood show, and before it started Fu~ki was thinking about something, and he absentmindedly started poking the inside of his cheek with his tongue. Little, idiosyncratic things really get to me. But what also made things worse was that watching Jui perform was like watching this whole other person. Before he was… very feminine in my head. The masculine one, really, for me, was Tero. And everyone else in that band was either boring or Rame. But then he walked onto stage, and he wasn’t like, this girly person. He was a man. And I could see him as a man. Sure he was wearing make-up, and shiny clothes. But I didn’t see some dolled up dude, but a guy. And a damn good looking one at that. When he sings his sort of smiles, and that’s when I noticed his dimples. And when he’d scan the crowd, there was something mildly predatory about it, which I like because if you guys haven’t figure it out by now, I’m a pretty sexually perverse being (although if you read the paper I wrote sophomore year, you’d know that perverse sexuality it just a social construct :D). And he’d touch himself (not down there, but, man, I was waiting for it) when he’d sing songs about prostitutes, even though they weren’t illicitly about sex in any way. And when he sang Kuro Neko, he’d have the prettiest smile. And when he’d stand there, just singing into the microphone, there was just a posture that I adored. It’s really very hard to explain how my view of him changed to so drastically, other than providing examples of his behavior. God, and he was driving me crazy this morning. I listened to something off of VID today that had heavy breathing in it, and that was enough to get me all worked up. And then I had to sit in class and try to pay attention. And I got all this anxiety, and I’m not sure why. I suppose I’m coming to terms with these new found (although, ridiculous, girly, and useless) feelings. I can’t help it though. I’m a sucker for guys in bands. I’m sure if I were born in the right decade, I’d be a total like, groupie skank, or groupie skank wanna-be, at least. He actually drove me to distraction, which is quite a feat, cuz I don’t let my attention down in a class unless I know I can afford to miss what’s going on. And the last time my attention slipped like that I was thinking about Tsukasa and Zero. So that’s what that’s all about, Allie. And you’ve been feeling this way all the time? How do you stand it?
Not very rewarding links:
Iron Age 'Mickey Mouse' Found
Elvis Presley's pills, gun auctioned off- "We'd planned to sell the bottle with the pills, but the Los Angeles Police Department told us it would be a federal crime to do it, so sad to say we had to remove the pills." What a goddamn shame.
[You’ll have to forgive me, as this will probably focus heavily on one guy. I’m playing to my crowd, i.e. Allie]
Lengthy and full of delicious detail, I present to you:
First off, Holiday Shinjuku is located in the sketchiest place I’ve ever been (I haven’t been to Roppongi yet, so I can’t yet call it the sketchiest place in Japan), called Kabukicho. There’s one main thoroughfare of Kabukicho which is pretty decent, but once you leave that stretch, it’s all over, and you’re surrounded by nothing but host clubs and stripper bars. Me and Raven were completely sketched out at like, 4 pm. And you know how hosts crack me up. And how I like to wander around moderately sketchy places. But this scene was too sketchy for even me.
When we did get to Holiday Shinjuku, we had to go down to the second basement (the cd store) and inquire about tickets. They said we couldn’t buy them until doors open, so we wandered off to 0101 to look at clothes and girls (I was with Raven).
While out, there was this sidewalk concert thing going on. Some threesome of girls. That was all fine and good until I actually paid attention to their audience. A bunch of sketchy guys who knew all the words and the dance choreography. Raven was like “Maybe they’re roadies?” Oh, Raven. I am so surprised by your naïveté, at times.
We went back to HS and asked where to buy tickets. The unhelpful broad there told us to go to the top floor. We got there (it was the 5th) and nothing was there. So we took the back stairs all the way down, stopping at each floor and looking around for someone from which to buy tickets (I say backstairs, but it wasn’t a separate stairwell, just the other side of the building). When we got back to the first floor and still hadn’t seen anything, we decided to go to the second basement and ask at the cd store again. So we did. And the area we got to didn’t seem to be connected to the cd store area. But there was this back hall, so I went down that. And as I was walking towards the open door, only maybe 10 feet from me (okay, maybe more. Idk), the door swings shut (I thought “wind?” But I honestly have no idea where the wind would have come from. Divine providence, maybe? *shrug*) and the sign on the back says: VIDOLL SAMA (obviously it was in Japanese, but you get the idea). And me and Raven look at each other. “Oh shit. That’s their fucking dressing room.” And Raven wanted to go down anyway and act like poor, lost, illiterate gaijin. But I just couldn’t do it. Once I knew they were in there, I just couldn’t. That’s why, in my notes, this section is called: “The Dressing Room, or, I’m a Pussy.” After a bit of back and forth about what we should do, this guy came in through some other door. And I figured he’d realize soon enough that we shouldn’t be down there (btw, in Rame’s entry talking about the show, there’s a picture with some guy in a chair. I think that’s the guy we saw). And some other guy came out from some other door, so I made Raven come back up, cuz I didn’t want them to like, get us ejected from the show or something. Idk, I was paranoid. We talked to unhelpful broad again, and found out that you have to basically hang around until every single person with a ticket has gotten into the show before they will sell you one. Why she didn’t say that the first time, idk. Okay, background over, time for bullet points.
Getting through the crowd-
The entrance leaves you at the middle of the crowd. Japanese people have this idea that everyone lines up, and if you have a better number, you deserve to be closer. Anyone from America and Europe knows this to be utter nonsense, and that at a show, it’s every man for themselves. Raven felt bad about pushing her way through the crowd, so I used my skill of being at least two times bigger than everyone else to push her through the crowd to where I wanted to be. I ended up all the way on the left, about 4 bodies from the stage. The girls at this show were lame, so they didn’t squish together to try to get closer to the stage, so even though I say 4 bodies, there was only maybe only 3 people. This one girl gave us dirty looks, but later I realized she just might be one of those people who always looks like angry, anyway. Which is not to say that she wasn’t giving dirty looks. I couldn’t give a flying fuck either way. When I went by these other girls, they made noises that were the equivalent of “What are they doing?!” Getting closer than you, bitch. I also stood all the way on the left intentionally. I wanted to be out of the way for people, cuz I know I’m huge. That didn’t stop lame Japanese girls from being lame Japanese girls. That is, there was this really small girl behind me who did not move around at all to like, try and get around me. Nuts to you, then, I thought.
Vidoll Fans in this Case are Pretty Fucking Lame-
When you hear stuff about Japanese fans not moving, it’s cuz they’ve seen these girls. They just stand completely still. They don’t sing along. If there’s para para, they do para para. If there’s no para para, they do nothing. They don’t move their heads, they don’t tap their feet. They wait till Jui tells them to do something, then they’ll do it till the think they should stop. I don’t even know if they blinked. It was such a dull crowd. I don’t know how Japanese bands can play to people like that. HS is such a small venue, that you could have totally rocked the house out, and had such a fantastic time with a crowd that small, but instead there were a bunch of sad sacks of meat taking up all of me and Raven’s rocking out room. And when a song was over, they’d put their arms up in the air, with their hands turned outward. It wasn’t too gay for me to do it, but don’t think I didn’t throw up devil’s horns; I wanted them to know that there was someone in this place who knew how a concert’s supposed to be. I hope the next crowd isn’t quite this lame.
Oh yes, and something that interested me, at least, anyway. There were hardly any subcultures represented in their audience. There were a couple lolis, a couple goth lolis, a couple Tokyo bitches, but everyone else was your random assortment of Japanese girls, of a surprising variety. It was a new experience for me.
The Most Amazing Stage Entrance EVAR-
It was two of the best possible elements, which was pretty awesome and incredibly gay. First, this techno music started playing. Then all this colored lights started flashing. Then Rame started talking. And I was thinking “Oh, Vidoll, you need your bassist to announce you?” but then I realized he was saying something about there being a contest. And he was like “Let’s see out first contestant,” and he starts describing who’s going to come out. First it was Tero. I was like “HOMGZ TERO.” He is, btw, wearing pants, not a skirt. And this continued, with Giru next, then Rame. And I was like “How is Rame out here when he’s making the announcements?” Cuz I was too dense to realize that it was a recording. At some point, when Rame was describing someone, and I’m going to say himself, cuz I think it’s funnier that way, he was like “OH SHIT!” for some reason, and me and Raven laughed heartily. Then Shun came out, then Jui. Before Jui came out Rame described him as having a sexy voice. I have to wonder who wrote these things, and what other possibly amusing things he said. At some point I realized that the techno song that was playing was actually a remixed or whatever version of the gasoline song (when it started playing, there were no words being said) and I thought, “Oh, Vidoll.” I don’t remember when this was, but Jui was like “Yeah, did you like that opening? That was all DJ Tero.” And then he started making fun of Rame, and I only know that cuz Rame gave him this look that made everyone laugh.
Impressions-
Before I go for the nitty-gritty, I have to say that the stupid audience was easily trumped by Vidoll’s stage presence. I’m actually annoyed at the audience in retrospect, cuz I wasn’t paying any attention to them at the time. Somehow, I had this idea of a Vidoll show as being this cheesy, taking themselves at little too seriously (at least Jui, anyway) kind of thing. And it’s totally not. They’re actually really fun to watch. They have fantastic chemistry, and have a lot of fun with each other one stage.
Giru was surprisingly good looking. I know Allie said he was, but all too often he looks like a surprised peacock. When you finally get to see him not posing for a photo, he looks like a normal human being. Rame was so pretty. I couldn’t get over how pretty he was for a second. It made me so happy to see him. I called him Rame-sensei. I hope he heard me. Raven can’t understand my newfound adoration of Rame, and I can’t explain it.
Tero fixed his hair. He let it grow out some, so the front is long, and he spiked out the back, though spiked isn’t the right word. It’s a recognizable male ‘do for Japan though, and it was so much better. I was happy I could find him hot again. (Yeah, that hair change had that much of an effect on me.)
Shun was Shun. He still wasn’t attractive, and his eyes still look weirdly big (I think it has something to do with his eye make-up). I guess he’s okay though. Raven thinks I don’t like, him, and it’s not that, but I’m finally considering him as Shun, as opposed to that guy who plays guitar, and he’s… just not my favorite.
Jui’s hair was lighter. I guess he missed the blonde. I really liked the brown though. Jui was just as beautiful as I thought he’d be. I forgot, or never noticed that he has dimples, sorta. His smile is just as amazing as ever. I was right about his gloves. I’ll save the rest of my gushing for later.
Thank God, No Fanservice-
Although Raven would have liked it (she said as much herself). He put his arm around Shun’s neck twice, but that was it. The first time he did, I was like “Don’t fanservice! Don’t!” Then I actually asked myself if I might not enjoy it. Then I remembered it was Shun, and was like “No, no I wouldn’t.”
Jui and his Tongue-
He is… an amusing man. In the beginning of the show, particularly, he would lick his lips. But it like, wasn’t… very sexy. You’d want to think “licking lips, that’s hot,” cuz he’d get the upper lip right, but when it got to the bottom lip, that’s when the illusion fell apart and you wanted to pull him aside and be like, “Jui, honey, that’s not how it’s done.” The times he didn’t go for the both lip attempt, it was good. And during some song he was licking his finger, and that was done well, too. Cuz I good finger lick should involve some lip dragging, and he was on target that time. Yeah, this is a little TMI isn’t it?
Everyone’s Sweaty-
Which was expected. But I mean, there were visible drops of sweat falling off them, at times. I imagine their costumes are a bit warm. Jui never took off his jacket, despite having a tank top on, which shows his commitment to… big collars, I guess. And, of course, I’m so hypersexual that instead of being grossed out, like I would be on a train or something, I was just thinking about glistening Jui chest. Also, mildly surprised that Tero played in that coat. Got to give him major props when I see him next.
Tero Sang Along-
And it was adorable. He didn’t all the time, though, so maybe it was songs that he particularly liked. It was really cute to watching Jui and then look over at Tero, watching him hit a cymbal and then singing the next verse, and then stopping to do something else.
Rame Smiles a lot when He Likes a Song-
He pretty much smiled the whole time, but it’d be a little smile, the kind you have when you’re slightly amused by what’s going on around you. But when he liked some song, he’d smile bigger. And when they played Kuro Neko, watch out, cuz Rame was cheesing like whoa. His smile was gigantic. That was one of the highlights of the show, I’d have to say. I knew a lot more of the words to that song, so it felt really good to be able to sing something right, instead of faking it like I did most of the time, and Rame was smiling really huge, which made me smile really huge, too. And, yes, Allie, Jui did all his little cat motions. They were better this time. (In the video I felt like he looked like he was just scratching at himself.)
Rame Kills It-
I wish I knew what song it was, but it was one of the older ones, methinks, and I looked over at Rame, and he was just going to town on that bass. And I wish there was a better expression for it, but he like, blew Raven’s poor little mind, I think.
Tero Tears that Shit Up-
Another one who tried to break Raven’s mind with his utter awesomeness. I didn’t watch him as much as I should have (a regret I always have about drummers), but there was one particularly drum heavy moment where he blew my mind with all the shit he did so quickly.
Giru was Using His New Guitar-
Idk why I thought that was necessary to put in, but he was. It was really cool, too.
More of “The Band’s got a Sense of Humor”-
Time to time, depending on the song, of course, they would joke around with one another. During one song, Jui was on his box (is this a normal thing, for vocalists to have boxes? The only time I’ve seen an American band with a vocalist, it was at stadium show, so that short of set-up doesn’t count), and Rame got on it, too, and he kept bumping into Jui, so Jui would bump back, and at one point, Rame actually bumped Jui on the head with his shoulder, and I laughed a little.
Rame and Giru were on the same side of the stage, so they would play to each other, or back to back. At one point, Rame like, hit Giru in the elbow or arm with his bass, and Giru’s like “Ah!” (though I couldn’t actually hear him) and waved his arm a little, laughing. Then another time, towards the end of one song, Giru put his guitar up in the air, and Rame played it. It was so cool to see them messing around like that.
During some song, Rame, Giru, and Shun came to the front of the stage and played, and Jui walked over to the drum set and started talking to Tero, and I’m like “Tero can’t possibly hear you,” and I tried to see if Tero answered him back, and he might have, which would have to mean they were like, reading lips, or are psychically linked. (Sexy? y/n?) Raven’s like “Maybe they’re talking about you,” cuz she likes to say things like that that can’t be possibly be true.
Three Encores-
Yes, Vidoll hit the magic number. I don’t mind though. I love them so much right now. Plus, it’s not like they played longer than D’espa, so they’ve still got that. Besides, me and Raven saw the schedule back when we were by the dressing rooms. The show was scheduled for 2 hours anyway, I think. There was actually a visible clock in the wings, and the show lasted like, exactly 2 hours. During the last encore, they came out in the shirts that I would call tour shirts if this were a tour, but it wasn’t. Giru, Shun, and Tero were wearing the black ones and Jui and Rame were wearing the pink ones. Tero came back out first, and he got up on the box and would like, yell, and the audience would yell back, and he did it like, two more times, and then he was like “That’s good,” and walked back over to the drums.
During this time I will talk about the pick and the stick, but everyone knows about it anyway, so it’ll be condensed. Basically, Rame threw one of his picks into the audience, and all these girls were like OMG A PICK and hands shot up, but no one got it, and then Raven saw it, but the Tokyo bitch next to her stepped on it, whether or not it was intentional, we don’t know. So then later Tokyo bitch is like MOVE OUTTA MY WAY, RAVEN with her big ass hair, and moved her foot, and Raven’s like YOINK and got the pick. And then she came over to me and was like I GOTZ DAH PICK HOMGZ and I was like HOMGZOMG and screamed a bit.
Then at the last encore, Tero grabbed a bunch of drumsticks and walked over to the crowd, my section first, and was like TOSS and me and a bunch of girls shot our hands up, and I touched it a little, but wasn’t able to grab a hold, and I looked over, and Raven was one of the girls fighting for it, and I was like JUST BREAK IT AND GET IT OVER WITH. But this being Japan, this one girl was like OK JANKENPON (rock paper scissors) and Raven was like PWNED ALL UR ASSES. And I was like HOMGZ CAN I HAVE IT I LOVEZ TEH TERO and she’s like YOU DRIVE A HARD BARGIN, MADAM. And she’s got the awesome pick and I’ve got the lovely phallic object stick.
Idk why I wrote it like that. I hope I didn’t break the English major.
Rame’s Birthday Cake-
It was Rame’s birthday within the past week or so, so when everyone came out at the last encore, Jui backed up on stage with this little cake with three candles in it, and Rame wasn’t paying attention. I don’t know if he knew. This band is fond of giving its members multiple cakes on their birthday, so even if he suspected he was gonna get another cake (the man’s already talked about 4 he’s gotten), he doesn’t necessary know when, so I like to think it was a genuine surprise, even if it was expected. And everyone sang happy birthday, and people in the very front of the crowd pulled noise makers that had little happy birthday signs that popped out. Then they talked about something, and Jui was trying to get Rame to taste some of the cake. And you knew someone was going to end up with cake on their face, you just had to see how it went down (I wanted to shout “YOU KNOW TERO WANTS THAT CAKE,” but I decided against it). So Rame walks over and pushes the cake into Jui’s face, which can’t be imagined well enough if you don’t realize how much topping got on Jui. It must have been whipped cream, cuz that cake was really small, but that topping got all over Jui’s face and on his neck. It was quite amusing. And I was like “Oh, yaoi inspiration,” to Raven. He wiped it off with a towel, but he still ended up singing the first song with topping on his cheek and one side of his neck.
Jui Says More Shit I Can’t Understand-
This was one of the first two encores. Jui came out on stage, and he’s got this playbill looking book, which I think is for Meld Park (their oddly named tour). And everyone’s like “What’s that?” and he says something about how at the end of the month Meld Park will be starting (I think this might have been the time where he talked a lot, and I had to do a lot of “Yeah, I totally know what you’re talking about” laughing) and people are like “No shit we already got tickets.” And he’s like “Yeah, I got something here, wanna see it?” And everyone’s like “Fuck yeah!” And he’s like “You wanna see?” And they’re like “You fucking know we do!” (Of course that’s not what anyone really said. It was actually: “Miru?” “Miru!” “Miru?” “Miru!” But I like my version better.) And then he quickly shows this picture of them, and they’re like, all in white, and it was very late 90s boy band. And the crowd’s like “Kyaa! That’s so awesome!” And I’m like “That’s gayer than 8 guys blowing 9 guys. You expect me to want to pay for that? I’m not 12.” But I love them for trying. I’m not against pretty pictures, just gay pictures. But to be fair, I didn’t bother to take a closer look. I made up my mind with that quick look he gave us. That picture better not turn out to be awesome. Although the odds of me buying it would have been low, anyway. There’s only so much money I’m willing to put out for pieces of paper.
Jui and Dancing-
Which, thankfully, is something he doesn’t actually do. He still does his downward fist punch thing, but if you’ve ever seen Gackt, or Seth, sadly, you know it could be so much worse. He did this weird thing though, where like, when everyone knew to do the thing where you throw your head forward (oh, para para and organized head banging), he would like, sorta… pitch himself forward? And like, bend over, and like, sorta looking like he was fake stabbing himself in the gut with his mic? Idk. I couldn’t think of a good way to describe it when I actually saw it, and I certainly can’t do it in retrospect. Oh, and he would move across the stage as he did it. I was like “Jui, wtf are you doing?” But then I remembered that one opening band for Diru, with the vocalist who was like, having convulsions on stage, and, once again, remembered that it could be so much worse. Also, he didn’t do that stupid, knocked-kneed thing he does, which might be directly due to the fact that he wasn’t wearing platforms, which I wholeheartedly approve of. He looks so much better in the boots he was wearing. Plus, if he stood on that box with platforms, he would have hit his head on the ceiling :D
Swiss/Swedish Girl-
I recognized her from the m10m show. She was with 3 other Scandinavians, who looked so very out of place (two were your typical tall blond guys). Raven talked to her later, and we showed her the pick and the stick. S/S Girl apparently got Giru’s pick. She was jealous of Raven’s though, cuz Rame’s picks are shiny and stuff. Giru’s pick is all black, and I only saw one side of it, but it said “Vidoll- Giru” in silver and had a little design on it, which I didn’t pay careful attention to but am now wondering whether or not it’s like, one of his tattoos or something.
Cosplayers!-
There was a really, really good Jui cosplayer. She was nearly perfect, except her coat fit her a little funny, like maybe the shoulders were a little too tight. She was wearing the red outfit with little red feathers in the hair and stuff. A la the costumes from when VID was released, I think. It was funny, cuz Raven found her attractive as a girl, and I found her attractive cuz she looked so much like Jui. Although up close, they have quite different facial structure. It helped that her hair was so good (can you tell I was really impressed?).
There was another Jui cosplayer. I wanna say she was wearing the white outfit a la the SinAI pv (he didn’t wear pants that time, right? Cuz she was wearing the shorts with the leggings things he normally wears. And you know what? I’m kinda conflicted right now. I really like him in pants, but I was really looking forward to coping a feel of some naked Jui thigh. I’ll save this discussion for later). But she didn’t do her hair at all. It was long and black, and she was wearing glasses.
Lastly, there was a Rame cosplayer, of all people. 1. I just find it unexpected, 2. how easy is it to dress up like Rame? And the only way you could tell that she was cosplaying as Rame? She had his awful bangs that he, THANK GOD, got rid of. And I hope they never come back. Maybe if I make sure to compliment his and Tero’s hair, they will never make such drastic mistakes again.
Side note: Often in Harajuku I see girls cosplaying as Reita from Gazette. One time Raven was like “How do you know that it’s a girl and not him?” and I was like “Cuz he’s an attractive man and they’re obviously Japanese girls.”
Fucking Para para-
I don’t even know what else to say about it, other than it’s gay and I hate it. They weren’t letting anyone touch them this show, so I didn’t have to worry about trying to look like too much of a team player. And I was pretty close, so I’m pretty sure that they, if they looked for more than two seconds, could see the gigantic gaijin bobbing her head and singing along to all the songs (and if they watched for any longer than that, they knew I didn’t know the words XD). Which was probably an exceptional thing, because there would be songs with no para para, and everyone would stand there was dummies, and I’d like “*head bob* *warbled Japanese* *trying to watch Jui’s mouth to match it*”
Holiday Shinjuku CD Store-
Also, and I don’t know why I put this bullet point here, but Holiday Shinjuku’s CD store has a bunch of cds I hadn’t see before. They had The Candy Spooky Theatre (but not the one with Devilish Kidnapper, wtf), a couple Kozi, Vidoll I’d seen before, plus a lot of their lives, some cd by Exist Trace, some Ghost, some Nega, and some other things I’ve forgotten. What was really cool, though, was they had Phantasmagoria’s costumes on display. They looked really big. Like, not as in big costumes, but as if the guys in Phantasmagoria are bigger people. At least compared to Nightmare. I don’t think they would be much bigger though.
The Set List-
I was actually able to make a set list this time, as I recognized nearly every song. They started with like, nevaeH and SinAI, and the first non-VID song they played was Waisetsu Ningyo (I was so very pleased), but that’s all the order I can produce:
nevaeH
SinAI
Deep Blue- during this one there were blue lights. And Jui’s like “Everyone listen… Deep Blue. And I’m like “Is this song serious or something?” That’s the weird thing about this band. Their music doesn’t necessarily reflect the spirit of the song. (At least I think so. My point of reference: Hotel Hickey. Translating that song made me want to cry. And sleep with Jui. But alas, I am not a 20 year old prostitute who hangs out by the docks and wears glittery eye make-up. But anyway, point is, it doesn’t sound the way I think it should. Like, it sounds… too… much like it’s a song about the narrator’s adventures. Less about the hooker. Maybe I am reading too much into this?)
Hotel Hickey- Oh god, this was the beginning of the end, and Allie will know what I mean. While he would sing the chorus, he would like, touch his chest. And sort of rub it. And it was a very *squee* moment. And then we he was singing it again, he like, pulled some of his coat back so like, his shoulder was exposed, and was like touching his chest again, but through the arm hole, and I was like “Is he going for the nipple?” and I’m really embarrassed to say this, but I would not have complained about some nipple rubbing. Oh, and it was great fun, by the way, to shout “OK WE WILL UNDRESS!” Also, at the “Give a hickey” part, he would point to his neck. And I was like “Oh yeah, that’s what this part is.” Visual clues help you understand Engrish!
Illicit Love- what I really enjoyed about this song was this is when I really noticed that he was acting the way the mood of the song would dictate. He wasn’t playful or anything. Didn’t make many expressions or even move very much. And when they got to the instrumental part of the song, he sat on his box, with his back to the crowd, and didn’t get back up until the lyrics started again. This was another step towards my downfall. (This song, for those not in the know, is about being suddenly left by your girlfriend.)
Last Lovers- this was when I was like “That’s what rasutorabaazu means!”
Innocent Teens- the bass makes the song, so I probably watched Rame most of the time.
Kuro Neko- Jui did his cat thing, Rame cheesed like mad, and, like I said, it was one of the absolute best songs in the show just cuz everyone, even the audience was having fun, though I think that might have been cuz they hadn’t done any para para in a while or something.
Waisetsu Ningyo- I was so happy to hear something older. Cuz the music they make now is missing some of the rough vocalization, which is what happens as a band gets more popular. Of course, we had to go without the silly sex noises, but there was a heavy, breathy part in the middle where he said “waisetsu ningyo,” so I felt better, although I can’t really remember how it sounded anymore. It’s sad, but I have a really hard time remembering what vocalists looked like when they performed a show, but I can easily recall things that an instrumentalist did.
Peko/Hxmx-clash-trap- First of all, Jui grabs this blue tambourine, and all I thought was “What could that possibly be for omg.” And I’m pretty sure that Rame was saying “Peko,” and not “Homo” but it sounded like Hxmx-clash-trap (like, the sax wasn’t there and stuff), and in the middle they did the thing from Hxmx-clash-trap @ black where they were like “Homo wa?” but instead of yelling “Yukine,” cuz, you know, they can’t, each time they yelled someone else’s name. And Jui would point to who so everyone yelled the same name. And they had the “Gomennasai!” part, which was supplied by the audience. That was cool. And later I got to explain to Raven what the hell was going on.
Karakuri Romance- can I get a fuck yeah, cuz that’s how I felt. I love that song. And I did so much screaming it wasn’t good for me. However, the para para for that song involves hearts? Idk, all I knew was I didn’t want any part of that.
Ningyou- this song involved swaying back and forth, which I’m fine with, since it’s about a mermaid after all. And the band did it too, so you had to. What was really funny was Jui wasn’t swaying cuz he was singing, but the band and the audience were, and when he finished the verse, he started to sway, but he was going the wrong way, so he had to stop and like, start all over, and he like, laughed to himself. It was adorable.
Shinbun Mass Comm Kankeisha no Gata e- this one was fun cuz it involved a lot of jumping. And it’s really long, so I got a lot of exercise in. At one point Rame went up on the box and started jumping. He can do that, cuz he’s so widdle.
II DK- I was… somehow surprised that they played this, but I enjoyed it. And you know what? If they had played Chocoripeyes, I probably would have pissed my pants just from the memory of Rame singing that song in the streets of Osaka, perhaps, with his boom box and microphone.
An Extra (Maybe)
I my aimai (Maybe)
There were a couple of songs I couldn’t recognize, and so I guessed, as you can see by those labeled as “maybe.” There could be one or two others that they played though and I forgot about.
Oh yes, and at some point during the show, there was a little feedback, and Raven and I both picked up on it, though it wasn’t terribly obvious. She was like “I should have been doing the sound.”
And, when it ended only our left ears were ringing, for some reason. And at some point, Jui was singing something, and he sounded a little chipmunky, and I’m like “No! You’re not allowed to distort the sound of anything until the show’s over!”
A Discussion about Jui that Really Only Allie can Appreciate, Unless You’re Particularly Interested in what I Find Attractive about this Japanese Man, So Feel Free to Skip it:
Essentially, and like I said earlier, my initial and long standing impression of Jui was that he was somewhat of a ridiculous human being, running around with his legs exposed and wearing make-up. And always with his mouth open, for some reason. Couldn’t really take him seriously. And then I saw this show. And I saw him as a performer. And, there’s a big difference there. When I watch a vocalist, I’m not just looking to see him sing a song. I watch their entire body language. The best time for that is in between songs, or parts where there are no words. Jui would sometimes put his foot up on the box and just look out in the crowd, like he was looking for something. Or he’d stick his bottom lip out a little. Little things like that totally get to me. It’s like that time we were at the Blood show, and before it started Fu~ki was thinking about something, and he absentmindedly started poking the inside of his cheek with his tongue. Little, idiosyncratic things really get to me. But what also made things worse was that watching Jui perform was like watching this whole other person. Before he was… very feminine in my head. The masculine one, really, for me, was Tero. And everyone else in that band was either boring or Rame. But then he walked onto stage, and he wasn’t like, this girly person. He was a man. And I could see him as a man. Sure he was wearing make-up, and shiny clothes. But I didn’t see some dolled up dude, but a guy. And a damn good looking one at that. When he sings his sort of smiles, and that’s when I noticed his dimples. And when he’d scan the crowd, there was something mildly predatory about it, which I like because if you guys haven’t figure it out by now, I’m a pretty sexually perverse being (although if you read the paper I wrote sophomore year, you’d know that perverse sexuality it just a social construct :D). And he’d touch himself (not down there, but, man, I was waiting for it) when he’d sing songs about prostitutes, even though they weren’t illicitly about sex in any way. And when he sang Kuro Neko, he’d have the prettiest smile. And when he’d stand there, just singing into the microphone, there was just a posture that I adored. It’s really very hard to explain how my view of him changed to so drastically, other than providing examples of his behavior. God, and he was driving me crazy this morning. I listened to something off of VID today that had heavy breathing in it, and that was enough to get me all worked up. And then I had to sit in class and try to pay attention. And I got all this anxiety, and I’m not sure why. I suppose I’m coming to terms with these new found (although, ridiculous, girly, and useless) feelings. I can’t help it though. I’m a sucker for guys in bands. I’m sure if I were born in the right decade, I’d be a total like, groupie skank, or groupie skank wanna-be, at least. He actually drove me to distraction, which is quite a feat, cuz I don’t let my attention down in a class unless I know I can afford to miss what’s going on. And the last time my attention slipped like that I was thinking about Tsukasa and Zero. So that’s what that’s all about, Allie. And you’ve been feeling this way all the time? How do you stand it?
Not very rewarding links:
Iron Age 'Mickey Mouse' Found
Elvis Presley's pills, gun auctioned off- "We'd planned to sell the bottle with the pills, but the Los Angeles Police Department told us it would be a federal crime to do it, so sad to say we had to remove the pills." What a goddamn shame.