hide memorial summit - 2008/05/03 Ajinomoto Stadium, Tokyo, JP
God damnit, I just made a coaster by tapping my computer to try to get the fan to stop sounding like a goddamn lawn mower, while it was burning a DVD to get the edited Duran Duran show shit off my drive to make room for tonight's shit. -_-;
Anyway. Back to today! Got up, had Tenya for lunch, & got on the Keio line to Tobitakyuu... Got to the stadium around 1ish, headed inside, found Davis, who'd snagged an extra ticket from a friend, & talked a bit, then headed to our seats in B-14 block. The stage was set up w/ a main stage in the center & 2 smaller stages on the sides, each w/ 2 giant pictures of hide- we were about 50' from the right stage. The speakers (1 stack on each side of each stage, so 4 stacks total) were covered by several gigantic ~20'x20' sheets w/ the radioactive symbol, & the usual semi-transparent screens were set up, one over each side stage, & a slightly smaller one on the outsides, angled out a bit. The stands were mostly empty, w/ mostly 3 main areas filled in- the sides, & the back. Girl deduced that the huge open spaces were done on purpose to form the radiation logo. Just barely before 2, since there was still hardly anyone inside, I was just saying "I doubt they'll start on time" when 2 people came out to do announcements- an older woman who was somehow in charge of the event, and apparently hide's brother, who also helped organize. She yelled at everyone to get their asses inside so they could start, & said a bunch of stuff about how hide was watching, so we'd all better go crazy for him. ^^; And so it started...
~2:05 - DJ OZMA
He came out in hide cosplay, having replaced his usual bronze wig w/ a reddish one (still the same 'fro style)... talked a bit, then was joined by a huge group of dancers in pink wigs & camouflage gear- he even had girls (a rarity, apparently) w/ horns on like the Ja, Zoo cover. A couple songs later he covered Ever Free, then did some song about (titled?) Spider Man, complete w/ a guy in a white suit w/ a white spider man mask. Oh, and all the dancers were now in Speedos w/ little plush spiders attached to their crotches. After that, they all took the spiders off & put on funky wigs (pompadours, afros, etc) & draped red towels around their necks... 1 more song in between & then he went back & re-did the first song again. Dunno why, don't really know any of his songs, so... OH- but toward the end, he had his shirt off, and at the very end, he dropped his pants, revealing yellow underwear w/ red hearts, like on hide's guitar. This pattern was also all over the place on the backdrops between & around the stages, so it was rather amusing. His blurb on the goods pamphlet said "I'd strip for hide." >_<;
~2:45 - Daizy Stripper
The left stage curtain rose, & your typical V-kei-looking band stepped up & started by covering Misery. They only had a couple songs after that, and weren't terribly memorable, other than that the lead singer was REALLY girly, and had an extremely high/girly voice.
~3:00 - Ra:IN
Right stage curtain rose, so pretty much 50' in front of us. This band wasn't listed anywhere as part of the event, but included is PATA from X Japan's side project, & includes DIE from Spread Beaver. At the end of the 3(?)-song instrumental set, they trashed all their instruments (including throwing each part of the drum kit), which was rather amusing, considering they were probably all at least in their 40s.
~3:35 - RIZE
Center stage again- haven't heard of this band, but the lead singer had pretty damn good English. Girl suspects he's a haafu, but he doesn't really look it... Although his name's apparently Jesse, so who knows. Did Pink Spider as their 6th track, then one more after that. Obviously I don't know any of them, but apparently one was called Ghost, & went something like "You can see me, but I can't see you / You can killl me, but I can't kill you" etc. They were pretty cool... Might have to look them up at some point once all the craziness is over.
~4:10 - Versailles
Another über-V-kei band on the left stage. The lead signer dressed like Prince Charming, w/ a giant cloth rose on his lapel (gee, I wonder what this band's favorite manga/anime is? :P"), & the rest had the typical big frilly goth dresses, only colorful. The bassist's purple dress was kinda cool. But one of the guitarists was such a blatant Mana-wannabe that it just wasn't even funny. I mean, the frilly goth dress, the curly wig, even down to the facial expressions & movements & shit. No hide covers == no memorability.
~4:30 - Mar:bell
Right stage- Wow, a chick! Apparently she's been playing for a couple years, but her first album isn't out for another couple weeks. Her flier in the stack said something like "One day, a witch fell from the sky..." & then "First album 05/14". One of her songs was apparently inspired by a hide song, but it didn't sound like any. I kinda felt bad for her, since hardly anyone was standing or having any kind of reaction, but I guess that's what happens when you don't have any albums out. She left the stage half-teary, but I'm guessing that had more to do w/ the event.
~4:50 - Maximum the Hormone
Center stage. I think I might've seen a commercial for their live DVD once, and some guys did one of their songs at the last normal karabaka, so I sorta kinda knew what they were like- rap/death metal, complete w/ the growl-screaming. What I didn't realize was there was a chick drummer. She did a bunch of talking in the middle, apologized a lot for everything being in katakana (?), mentioned "Ajino-fucking-moto fucking stadium", then in the middle of giving everyone gesture instructions, grabbed her own boob. *shrug* Only a few songs total, no covers.
~5:30 - Phantasmagoria
Right stage. Apparently a bunch of people around us were huge fans, including 3 girls a couple rows behind us, who were yelling various band members' names in alternating über-cute anime voices & psychotic screams. Only did 2 songs, which caused massive "HEEEEEE?"s but oh well.
~6:00 - T.M.Revolution
Center, of course! Damn, that guy is fruity as Hawaiian Punch. Hmm... I miss Tahitian Treat, that stuff was gooood... But anyway. He mostly did newer songs, so I didn't recognize any, except for the last one, which I know was on the BEST album, but I didn't know the title. Although I suppose I could look it up now- Ah yes, High Pressure. His outfit slowly stripped down from jacket to shirt to a freakin' backless dress-like top. What a nut. The 2 girls in front of us both had TMR shirts, & one of them was shaking her ass the entire set, which reminded me of the R&C "Shaaaaake your booty!" bit. ^^;
~6:40 - hurdy gurdy
Left side- just 1 guy & an acoustic guitar. Apparently he was in Zeppet Store (which did FLAME on the tribute album), & he mentioned the Lemonéd store, I think... Covered LEMONed I Scream & Flame w/ another song in between.
~7:10 - hide with Spread Beaver
Finally, the main event- a big montage of hide clips, then a little animation popped up w/ an old-looking Mac, which launched Netscape motherfucking 3.0 (only the N logo was an H) and opened a "web page" that listed all the Spread Beaver members, while a VJ-sounding voice announced them all as the mouse pointed to them & they took the stage. The screens were mostly of hide, from PV & live videos, occasionally cutting to the rest of the band back in reality. Not a bad set, even if we got a couple repeats for the day:
After waiting for our block to be called to leave (they had to have it semi-organized) we made our way all the way around & out. By the time we got to the goods line, Davis had already left from the station (I emailed while we were still sitting, but apparently he didn't notice). Checked out the goods, went up planning on getting a t-shirt, pamphlet & hand towel, but they were out of the L shirts (only S & SS- um, no?) AND the hand towels, so all I got was the pamphlet, while Girl got the t-shirt, a keitai strap, muffler towel, wristband & nylon bag. And then an unofficial fan on the way to the station. Hopefully they'll have more of everything tomorrow (gonna go before this time), 'cause I want the shirt, too, damnit! And we need to go to the damn Lemonéd store eventually, since we saw about 100 people wearing the black & yellow jackets. Want.
Anyway, need to go to bed now.
Tomorrow is gonna RULE. o_O;
edit: Apparently Girl got the WRONG SHIRT. As in, the hide shirt, not the memorial one. Which makes me wonder if they'd have had any L's of the right one if we'd actually noticed it in time. Oh well- going again pre-show tomorrow anyway, 'cause they were still out of the hand towels. Bed now.
Anyway. Back to today! Got up, had Tenya for lunch, & got on the Keio line to Tobitakyuu... Got to the stadium around 1ish, headed inside, found Davis, who'd snagged an extra ticket from a friend, & talked a bit, then headed to our seats in B-14 block. The stage was set up w/ a main stage in the center & 2 smaller stages on the sides, each w/ 2 giant pictures of hide- we were about 50' from the right stage. The speakers (1 stack on each side of each stage, so 4 stacks total) were covered by several gigantic ~20'x20' sheets w/ the radioactive symbol, & the usual semi-transparent screens were set up, one over each side stage, & a slightly smaller one on the outsides, angled out a bit. The stands were mostly empty, w/ mostly 3 main areas filled in- the sides, & the back. Girl deduced that the huge open spaces were done on purpose to form the radiation logo. Just barely before 2, since there was still hardly anyone inside, I was just saying "I doubt they'll start on time" when 2 people came out to do announcements- an older woman who was somehow in charge of the event, and apparently hide's brother, who also helped organize. She yelled at everyone to get their asses inside so they could start, & said a bunch of stuff about how hide was watching, so we'd all better go crazy for him. ^^; And so it started...
~2:05 - DJ OZMA
He came out in hide cosplay, having replaced his usual bronze wig w/ a reddish one (still the same 'fro style)... talked a bit, then was joined by a huge group of dancers in pink wigs & camouflage gear- he even had girls (a rarity, apparently) w/ horns on like the Ja, Zoo cover. A couple songs later he covered Ever Free, then did some song about (titled?) Spider Man, complete w/ a guy in a white suit w/ a white spider man mask. Oh, and all the dancers were now in Speedos w/ little plush spiders attached to their crotches. After that, they all took the spiders off & put on funky wigs (pompadours, afros, etc) & draped red towels around their necks... 1 more song in between & then he went back & re-did the first song again. Dunno why, don't really know any of his songs, so... OH- but toward the end, he had his shirt off, and at the very end, he dropped his pants, revealing yellow underwear w/ red hearts, like on hide's guitar. This pattern was also all over the place on the backdrops between & around the stages, so it was rather amusing. His blurb on the goods pamphlet said "I'd strip for hide." >_<;
~2:45 - Daizy Stripper
The left stage curtain rose, & your typical V-kei-looking band stepped up & started by covering Misery. They only had a couple songs after that, and weren't terribly memorable, other than that the lead singer was REALLY girly, and had an extremely high/girly voice.
~3:00 - Ra:IN
Right stage curtain rose, so pretty much 50' in front of us. This band wasn't listed anywhere as part of the event, but included is PATA from X Japan's side project, & includes DIE from Spread Beaver. At the end of the 3(?)-song instrumental set, they trashed all their instruments (including throwing each part of the drum kit), which was rather amusing, considering they were probably all at least in their 40s.
~3:35 - RIZE
Center stage again- haven't heard of this band, but the lead singer had pretty damn good English. Girl suspects he's a haafu, but he doesn't really look it... Although his name's apparently Jesse, so who knows. Did Pink Spider as their 6th track, then one more after that. Obviously I don't know any of them, but apparently one was called Ghost, & went something like "You can see me, but I can't see you / You can killl me, but I can't kill you" etc. They were pretty cool... Might have to look them up at some point once all the craziness is over.
~4:10 - Versailles
Another über-V-kei band on the left stage. The lead signer dressed like Prince Charming, w/ a giant cloth rose on his lapel (gee, I wonder what this band's favorite manga/anime is? :P"), & the rest had the typical big frilly goth dresses, only colorful. The bassist's purple dress was kinda cool. But one of the guitarists was such a blatant Mana-wannabe that it just wasn't even funny. I mean, the frilly goth dress, the curly wig, even down to the facial expressions & movements & shit. No hide covers == no memorability.
~4:30 - Mar:bell
Right stage- Wow, a chick! Apparently she's been playing for a couple years, but her first album isn't out for another couple weeks. Her flier in the stack said something like "One day, a witch fell from the sky..." & then "First album 05/14". One of her songs was apparently inspired by a hide song, but it didn't sound like any. I kinda felt bad for her, since hardly anyone was standing or having any kind of reaction, but I guess that's what happens when you don't have any albums out. She left the stage half-teary, but I'm guessing that had more to do w/ the event.
~4:50 - Maximum the Hormone
Center stage. I think I might've seen a commercial for their live DVD once, and some guys did one of their songs at the last normal karabaka, so I sorta kinda knew what they were like- rap/death metal, complete w/ the growl-screaming. What I didn't realize was there was a chick drummer. She did a bunch of talking in the middle, apologized a lot for everything being in katakana (?), mentioned "Ajino-fucking-moto fucking stadium", then in the middle of giving everyone gesture instructions, grabbed her own boob. *shrug* Only a few songs total, no covers.
~5:30 - Phantasmagoria
Right stage. Apparently a bunch of people around us were huge fans, including 3 girls a couple rows behind us, who were yelling various band members' names in alternating über-cute anime voices & psychotic screams. Only did 2 songs, which caused massive "HEEEEEE?"s but oh well.
~6:00 - T.M.Revolution
Center, of course! Damn, that guy is fruity as Hawaiian Punch. Hmm... I miss Tahitian Treat, that stuff was gooood... But anyway. He mostly did newer songs, so I didn't recognize any, except for the last one, which I know was on the BEST album, but I didn't know the title. Although I suppose I could look it up now- Ah yes, High Pressure. His outfit slowly stripped down from jacket to shirt to a freakin' backless dress-like top. What a nut. The 2 girls in front of us both had TMR shirts, & one of them was shaking her ass the entire set, which reminded me of the R&C "Shaaaaake your booty!" bit. ^^;
~6:40 - hurdy gurdy
Left side- just 1 guy & an acoustic guitar. Apparently he was in Zeppet Store (which did FLAME on the tribute album), & he mentioned the Lemonéd store, I think... Covered LEMONed I Scream & Flame w/ another song in between.
~7:10 - hide with Spread Beaver
Finally, the main event- a big montage of hide clips, then a little animation popped up w/ an old-looking Mac, which launched Netscape motherfucking 3.0 (only the N logo was an H) and opened a "web page" that listed all the Spread Beaver members, while a VJ-sounding voice announced them all as the mouse pointed to them & they took the stage. The screens were mostly of hide, from PV & live videos, occasionally cutting to the rest of the band back in reality. Not a bad set, even if we got a couple repeats for the day:
- Rocket Dive
- Pose
- Pink Spider
- Doubt
- Celebration [X Japan] (w/ PATA)
- Ever Free
- Dice
- Tell Me
After waiting for our block to be called to leave (they had to have it semi-organized) we made our way all the way around & out. By the time we got to the goods line, Davis had already left from the station (I emailed while we were still sitting, but apparently he didn't notice). Checked out the goods, went up planning on getting a t-shirt, pamphlet & hand towel, but they were out of the L shirts (only S & SS- um, no?) AND the hand towels, so all I got was the pamphlet, while Girl got the t-shirt, a keitai strap, muffler towel, wristband & nylon bag. And then an unofficial fan on the way to the station. Hopefully they'll have more of everything tomorrow (gonna go before this time), 'cause I want the shirt, too, damnit! And we need to go to the damn Lemonéd store eventually, since we saw about 100 people wearing the black & yellow jackets. Want.
Anyway, need to go to bed now.
Tomorrow is gonna RULE. o_O;
edit: Apparently Girl got the WRONG SHIRT. As in, the hide shirt, not the memorial one. Which makes me wonder if they'd have had any L's of the right one if we'd actually noticed it in time. Oh well- going again pre-show tomorrow anyway, 'cause they were still out of the hand towels. Bed now.