GazettE Live Report - Munich
Last night, henceforth to be known as the Night of All Nights, started with me meeting up with my friend Claudia (Ruruu on LJ) at the train station in the Pasing section of Munich. She and I and her two friends boarded a train to the live, while I had attacks of sweaty palms, pounding heart and other OMG THIS IS REAL THIS IS HAPPENING symptoms. We got off at the proper station and headed off for the Tonhalle, which was in a complex of clubs - it's isolated enough from the main city that they can have loud-loud music there.
Well, as it turns out the complex was, y'know, complex. It took some wandering around until we found the right hall - when we saw the long line of girls and women, we knew we had the right place.
Now, I had a regular-type ticket, but I also had membership in the Global PSC Fan Club, which was supposed to entitle me to special privileges. There was a hall staffer calling out for VIP ticket holders, but nothing about fan club. Claudia gave me a little shove and told me to go ask the guy, and she'd find me again after the live. I was directed to a window where a female GazettE staff member was checking fan club credentials. She looked at my passport and was shocked - "You came ALL THE WAY FROM THE STATES?" She handed me my badge and bag and directed me to the front doorman.
So I was ushered over to the door and allowed inside, where I saw the stage setup and went into squee mode. (Kai's drums! His DRUMS!) I got into the long merch line and got up there to find out none of the shirts fit me. (Ruki dearest, you have plus-sized fans). So I got a towel, sparkly slippers, the poster and the makeup case (plus an extra case for a friend in Canada).
Then I went out on the floor to pick a spot and wait it out. Fortunately, there were nice people around me who spoke English, including a couple who came from Italy. Yay, more people who came to Germany for the live!
As the hour got closer, there was some pushing and shoving, but not as bad as I was expecting. When the crew came out to tune the instruments, the crowd erupted in chants of "GAZETTO! GAZETTO! GAZETTO!"
Finally, a staffer made an announcement about "being nice to each other," the lights went down, XI started playing . . . and then, DEAFENING, EARSPLITTING SCREAMS. Like nothing else I have ever experienced. That's okay - I was screaming, too.
I didn't see them enter the stage. At first, there was nothing but a sea of waving arms. And then, suddenly, Derangement started playing. Through gaps in the arms, I caught a glimpse of Reita (OMG THEY'RE REAL!) and then . . . Ruki emerged. Oh, my God. He was my first bias and always a very close second in my heart. Pictures and video don't do justice to his beauty, his magnetism and his sensuality. Those lips looked even more gorgeous than they do in magazines.
One by one, as the crowd shifted this way and that, they became visible. Uruha was fabulously pretty. His sleeveless top showed off some very sexy arm muscles which I've never noticed before. Aoi got more into it as the show went on, tossing his hair about in a sexy way and treating us to a couple of his famous backbends. Reita was SPARKLY!!! in his costume but still managed to seem manry.
As for Kai . . . alas, my dear bias was hard to see for much of the evening. I caught glimpses here and there, and what I saw? Gorgeous, and an energetic whirl of sticks. (No, I didn't witness any drumgasms).
The playlist was heavy on the last two albums - Gabriel on the Gallows, Venomous Spider's Web, Dripping Insanity, Suicide Circus, Untitled. They also did Clever Monkey and a big and pleasant surprise for me - Agony, one of my three favorite Gaze songs of all time. (I'd heard it was in other shows, but I didn't think it would be in this one!)
Ruki gave us some delicious fanservice, too, slowly licking his fingers and doing a self-pleasuring dance. Before Dripping Insanity, he posed dramatically, drawing the audience into the story behind the song. And he even spoke German (Rukman?) at a couple of points. He sometimes jumped up on a box allowing the crowd to see him better, as did the two guitarists.
During lulls between songs, the crowd took up the "GAZETTO!" chant again, as if afraid they'd leave the stage if they didn't keep up the enthusiasm. I think the band responded - they seemed to be REALLY enjoying themselves.
After Filth in the Beauty, they left the stage. After a long pause during which the crowd chanted for an encore in the proper Japanese way the whole time, they were back - Ruki and Kai still in Fadeless gear, the others in tour shirts. The first song, Shiver, was no surprise. The second, though? I was expecting Ruder, but we got HYENA! YES! Complete with Ruki/Uruha fanservice! Aoi also acknowledged the fangirls who were holding up heart symbols with their hands to them, gracing them with a big smile.
Finally, it was time for Linda, and the end. Aoi clapped, Reita spun, and Uruha jumped up on Aoi's box and reached out toward the fangirls. Ruki sprayed the fans with water and flung the bottles into the crowd. At the end, things were flying everywhere - bottles, drumsticks, picks. ( Alas, I caught nothing). And then, the magic moment - Kai finally emerged from behind the drums and came to the edge of the stage. There, live and in person, was the most beautiful smile in the world. Pics don't do it justice. That's when I started to cry.
Claudia found me (crying) by the drink stand after the show. I collected my things from coat check (who managed to lose my tour goods at first) and we headed out to the cool night and back to reality.
It was an experience like no other. It was worth coming to this country for, and I'd do it again in a heartbeat. So, GazettE, thank you for everything. Hope to see you again - maybe in America next time? XD