Milwaukee Rave Review

[niapwols]

Oh boy, i guarentee this is going to be long, so I'll warn all readers now XD

to start off, we didn't even purchase our tickets until the night before, like an hour before ticket master closed XD I'm sure we could have gotten them the day of possibly, but yeah.

So a few of my friends and I stayed over at the_na_sama's apartment. Of course we didn't go to sleep until hella late and we watched this a million times XD. too awesome. so yeah, rapturouspurple was going to meet us at the_na_sama's apartment. So we all meet up, finish getting ready and go to get gas and all that and leave.

It was raining a bit which was actually a relief at the time considering how hot it has been lately. it lasted for a while, but then the sun came out and it got really hot again. I was trying to hold off on the a/c in order to conserve the gas we just put in, but then I gave in considering we were getting pretty close. We stopped once on the way down to bathroom-ize and then we continued the journey. Milwaukee is only about a two hour drive from where we live, so it's pretty painless. We get into the city area, and of course, there is road construction and i'm confused. I somehow made the right turn and then was looking for the exit. got on that alright. i made a turn too soon so i went back and then basically found the rave instantly.

I pulled into the main drive way to ask security where i'm supposed to park. the girl was very friendly. she told me i could park anywhere on the road or wait until later when they open the parking and charge $20 for it. -0- yeah, I'll take the road that's right next to the venue, thank you. She said that they had already started lining up. so we hurried up, got what we needed out of the car, locked the face of my radio in the glove compartment and went into the line that was only as large as one group. I met corpses_smiling there. :D it was fun. We all just sat around and talked about previous shows and music for a while. even though it was hot, it was awesome because the sun was actually going to hide behind the venue, so we wouldn't actually have any contact with it.

so I had a water spray bottle that we used continually in order to keep cool. it disintigrated very quickly, but it definately helped. slowly, more and more fans came. I also got to see oyasumiyabi again! It was nice to see you! You looked very cute ^^ after a while we saw their green tour bus drive by. everyone was all silent and staring XD somehow we just knew it was theirs. At one point we went to the bathroom at this tiny shop across the street, but the guy seemed a little reluctant to let me use the bathroom since it wasn't actually a public one, though it was nice that he told me anyways.

blah, so we eat things, we drank some water, and we continually sang the shoes song over and over XDD it's what kept us going. at about 5:20 my friends and I went over to mcdonalds to go to the bathroom one more time. oyasumiyabi came with us. On our way over to mcdonalds, we saw Die outside talking on his phone, and then he noticed people looking at him, and he got shy and put his head down XD When we came back, everyone was gone!!!! They had let everyone inside! we totally freaked out. We sat out their the second longest besides corpses_smiling's group, so we were so pissed. However, when we went inside, we realize everyone was still in line, just inside the venue more. so we went to our spot in line and found that we still had our spot ; ~ ; wow, i seriously would have cried otherwise XD

it had finally started to cool down outside, but of course, this room was freakin hot and the red lights didn't help a bit. we go inside another set of doors, give our tickets and get checked, go through a room with a bar, stand in another line for 5 minutes, and then we stand in the final line. it was like two bike rack looking things blocking the stairs, 2 sets of them, that led to the final destination. i was a little perterbed that people that hadn't been waiting very long at all were right at the front of that line, so i was starting to feel very anxious. I was talking to some of the girls from corpses_smiling's group (you guys were all so nice!) and I was starting to feel a bit better, despite the fact that it was really hot and i was getting reallllly anxious and nervous. The guy that was behind the bars that would open them was pretty cool. I asked him many questions XD after about 45 minutes standing there wanting to throw up out of fear, he finally came from upstairs down to the bike rack things, told everyone to back up a bit and told us all to wait. I grabbed hands with the girl next to me and rapturouspurple and we all slowly made our way up the stairs. XD they seriously had to escort us. as soon as we got up there, they told us to walk.

yeah right.

everyone ran, including me a bit, and we all hurried up and did our best to grab a spot at the bar. Two of my friends, tousaku and the_na_sama, got the bar closer to the center. rapturouspurple, esreverebirth and I got the bar closer to the right side in front of Die, but it was a really good spot regardless. It would have been nice to all be together, but I'm just happy that all 5 of us got the bar. ah, so we must wait another hour until the show even starts. man, I was sooooooooooooo hot, I thought i was going to pass out even before it started. we didn't really eat much, we didn't get much sleep, so now i'm tired, weak and hot. great combination. esreverebirth was finding ways to cool down, so I decided to just lay my head down and just try to relax (while standing up -0-) and it worked a bit. i didn't feel cool, but i didn't feel so overwhelmed. i stared to get dizzy though, so i decided i'd just try to stay conscious until fall of troy began. so many people around me, and even in front of me, had water. it was so mean!! XD i asked the security guard if he knew how long it would be (i didn't wear a watch) and he's like, hmmm, i'm not sure *get a water from co-worker and drinks in front of me* ; ~ ; that's cruel. XD

finally the lights go out and them mothas come out and do their thing. I had never heard fall of try before, but they were pretty decent. not exactly my style, but it definately got my adrenaline going and I finally felt ready to see dir en grey. at one point, he's like, our friends dir en grey are going to be coming out. The crowd reaction was insane. then he's like, then the deftones!! and there was seriously less of a reaction XDD poor deftones. then he's all like, ok, 2 more songs. and then the last song lasted for 10 minutes -0-

so were waiting for them and the roadies are bringing out everything. Fall of troy didn't have a banner, but dir en grey did, and everyone went wild when they released that beast, myself included. the break here was kinda long, 15-20 minutes maybe. finally.. the lights went out.

I'll start by writing the set list the best that I can remember it:

G.D.S.
Grief
Repitition of hatred
Disabled complexes
Ryoujoku no ame
Dead tree
Merciless cult (i think? does anyone else remember this?)
Saku
The final
The deeper vileness
The III D empire

the order might be a little off.. but I think it's pretty close. Damn, I remember after the chicago show, I wanted to start trying to take note of the order, but it's kinda impossible i think ^^;;

G.D.S.
So anyways, G.D.S. comes on, and I'm feeling so happy. I'm ready to shout KILL at the top of my lungs. there was absolutely no pushing. I felt awesome. I could finally just enjoy the show without having to concern myself with my goddam survival. So the entire crowd shouts KILL over and over and finally they all come out. They go to their stations and Kyo comes out, stands in the center, and puts his hands together in front of his face, closes his eyes and stands there for a while, just like he did at the Chicago show and I'm sure at all the other shows. I remember saying "oh my god" to myself, because it was just so amazing to see them all walk out

Grief
They dive right into grief. It was so fucking amazing. Kyo is like throttling on the ground and just going nuts. I can hear everyone singing along, especially to the obvious parts "shut up, that's fucking bullshit" it was so awesome to hear everyone. Then during the quieter part where he kinda "ooOOooOOOOoo"'s and says "i say, destroy fuck off" Kyo started a clap rhythm. It was so awesome. it's not like i'm all about those, but if Kyo is going to start one for his music, i will gladly do what he asks. :D God, it was just amazing.

The repitition of hatred
This song was amazing to hear live. It's such a wonderful mix of screaming, singing, falsettos, and just crazy sounds. He did all of those and it was so amazing. Everyone sang along and screamed with their hearts. I believe at this time his shirt came off, but I was headbanging so hard that I didn't really notice right away.

somewhere between these songs (in the area of these songs at least) Kyo was sitting on the ground facing away from everyone, and everyone was cheering. it got quiet for a minute and I got a wave of people to start cheering again. even though I was so tired, i found a loud voice somewhere

disabled complexes
at first, no one of us could figure out what it was, because we couldn't hear very well. I either thought it was dead tree or conceived sorrow, but then I heard it better, and I was so happy to hear that it was disabled complexes. I absolutely love that song. it's slow and gloomy in the beginning, and then it opens to the madness and pain. everyone sang along to this also, it was so awesome. Kyo did an amazing dance during this song.

Ryoujoku no ame
I always love hearing this one live. It's such a wonderful song and holds a lot of meaning for me. Everyone's arms were out and everyone was dancing. Kyo sang very nicely throught the song and screamed with wild intensity. I sang along right with him, and it was wonderful to open up my heart and scream with everything I had.

Dead tree
Just as he has before, he changed up some of the words to this, but it always sounds so beautiful. Everyone was shouting "nobody wants the present" and his singing was phenomonal. It's such a beautiful song to hear live.

Somewhere in this area, Kyo sang this acapella melody as he has been. It was just amazing. The echo was on as well, so everything he did was just amplified and I honestly felt hypnotized. It was a mix of this beautiful melody and then he threw in this painful scream that echoed and then he started this frantic mumbling, but it all was so awesome.. my heart was hanging on a fine wire that he controlled with his voice. (haha, pardon my imagery here, but it works really well with how i felt.)

Merciless cult
as I said.. I'm not entirely sure that this song was played, but I'm pretty sure that it was. I can kinda remember in the chorus part where the other members shout, because when that happened, the lights flashed white on the crowd with each breath and for some reason I remember screaming "aishikudasai" so I kinda think they did play it, but if not, I must be remembering something from another song. Can anyone else make or break this?

Saku
Saku was fucking awesome. esreverebirth, rapturouspurple and I were all headbanging and jumping around like crazy. I have no fucking idea where I got the energy from, but during this entire show, it just skyrocketed and I found strength I never knew I had. I held my notes as long as Kyo and I kept going. I never stopped moving completely at any time. I have several bruises because of it, but you know, i'm kinda proud of them. as I said in an entry in my journal, I guess for me, the bruises are a sign of my enjoyment for me. I compare this experience to my experience at chicago. I didn't really get any bruises, but I did feel like my ribs were going to cracked and continually got the wind knocked out of me. that was not enjoyable. At this show, I was not pushed at all. so, in fact, these are all unintentionally self-inflicted. but you know, it was totally worth it and I had the most I've ever had at a concert. For me, they symbolize my love for the music, as they were caused by me headbanging and jumping around. I don't regret anything at all. my neck is hella sore, but again, worth it.

The final
I couldn't really tell it was the final at first, but when I did, I was really excited. During this song, he ran his hand along an area below his chest and then he cut a line down himself. when the blood came out it was bright red and and it dripped down his stomach. The song was really amazing. at times he would stop singing and everyone sang for him. at the end, he held the "Saa" very long as usual, and he also held the very last note for a long time. haha, he's changing it up a bit i see. <3

The deeper vileness
my energy was running very low at times, but still I kept going as hard as I could. I'm not sure which song this occured during, but at one point, I saw Kyo come over to our side and he pointed in our direction. He was basically right in front of us, and the three of us were headbanging so much and after he came and did that, we went fucking nuts. I'm actually starting to believe he may have pointed at us. I can't say for sure, but these are the reasons I believe that. For one thing, Kyo is always in the middle, because duh, he's the lead singer. But, he came to our side, he definately pointed in our direction, he stayed there for a while, and as far as I know, he never went to the far left side. I mean, if he was just making rounds, then of course I wouldn't be quite as convinced, but I don't recall him making and special trips over there. Also, like I said, the three of us were going completely nuts the whole show, we weren't just standing around staring at him, we were headbanging, jumping around and just showing raw emotion and love for the music. not that what anyone else does is bad by any means, but that is the only thing I could do. I have a feeling that he is more inclined by actions that show gratitude towards his music rather than his face. And at least as far as I could see, I didn't really see anyone else headbanging at all. I also wondered if maybe it was to someone behind us, but you can't really headbang or go nuts too well when you're surrounded by people. haha, i don't know, maybe I'm just being delusional, but I know for sure that I saw him point towards us, and given the rest of what we did.. I'd say theres a good chance. It's not that I'm looking to impress him, but it's an honor if it did impress him, because all I'm doing is being myself. Anyways, rather that was during this song or not, this song was awesome to hear live. Everyone was shouting "i don't even think of you as my friend" wow, it was just so cool.

The III D empire
This was really awesome too. It lets you know it's the last song, but its a really awesome song anyways. I heard a million "spark and spark"'s and of course we all went insanely nuts during this song. Again, Kyo throttled his body on the ground and flipped around. at the very end of it they all stood for a minute and everyone cheered. I say Die smile and he said something to himself, but I don't know what it was he mouthed. Then they all walked off. Shinya threw his drumsticks. haha, Kyo left very quickly. I got a pretty decent look at everyone, but with everything going on, I didn't get a crystal clear look of everyone. Shinya had his hair flipped out, i remember that for sure XD

ah, and then as we were all trying to get out, like a million and one fans of whatever started piling up into the front and i was getting super pissed since i was trying to leave and they were pushing me back, so i threw myself around and pushed my way out, but not without getting beer spilled on me first -0-

we went over to the merch stand right away to get a shirt. I bought this one:





I really liked the pattern on the front, and I liked that it was the only one that had the pattern behind the tour dates on the back. they were $30 though!! jaysus!! haha, they were out when i went up at first, and the guy said he would go get more, but after everyone else got what they wanted, but too many kept asking for them, so he just started giving out the example ones, so I just took a small and gtfo-ed.

blahblah, we got outside out of the heat. i felt like i would throw up and pass out. the air outside was wonderful. I also met a girl that I saw at the chicago show, I think it was twinklecup. we all went over to the little shop thing, bought hugeass waters, and sat outside and drank it. An ambulance was obviously called at somepoint, i'm not sure what had happened. I noticed only two people were pulled out (at least that I saw). I don't know, maybe some of you remember my chicago and the rant about being pushed, but seriously, this show was so amazing. I mean, to me, the show is about hearing and enjoying the music, both with the band and fellow fans. it's not about selfish bastards trying to all collectively get to the front at once. I mean, even if i wouldn't have gotten the front by coming later, i wouldn't have let it stop me from having an awesome time. I just hate it so much when people feel it necessary to kill eachother just to get closer to a band that is only interested in sharing their music with you. They don't care what you look like and if you're only interested in seeing their faces, they probably dont even like you. For me, it's all about the music. Being able to see them close is awesome, but I can handle not being in the front. personally, I like the bar because it allows me to put all my weight on it and headbang and jump around without fear of death XD but yeah, this show was the best experience for me ever. Ever since, I've been in such a wonderful state of mind. It was so fun, and I'll never forget it. it makes me a little sad in a way, though, because I fear I'll never have such a wonderful experience again. but I guess you can never rule that out.

so yeah, the rest isn't too interesting. We all drove home, ate some food, went to sleep, and talked about the show some more XD I always dread writing these things just because 1) i definately want to write it and 2) it's going to take me a long time so 3) I am required to sit for a long time typing and probing my mind to retrieve as accurate and precise memories as I can remember.

Anyways.. this was by far my best show ever. I really love this band, and I'm so grateful that after a good 5-6 years of listening to them I am so privledged as to be able to see them 3 times in one year. To me, that is just amazing. I love what their doing. I don't care that they're not "visual" anymore, I don't care that they sing in English more now, I don't believe that their "americanizing" or selling out. I just love the band for who they are and the music the make and share with us. I am so honored that they have come here so many times and I hope they will continue to be successful and continue in the direction that they want to move toward. Since I have this strong love for them and know that many of you do as well, I decided to post this here again:



They are at number 6 right now, so they really have a great chance of winning if we take the time to vote! I believe you can vote once a day. Imagine the damage we can cause XD just like headbanger's ball. which is fine. people complained about that, but that just shows how dedicated their fans are.

Anyways, I better wrap this up for now. I am so happy about this concert and it has changed a part of me, I feel I was really able to let the music into my soul and embrace it. I hope any of you who have gone have felt this also, and for those of you who are still going to go will feel the same thing.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this! <3333