MSG-L'Arc Weekend Part 2 of 2
We sat in section 108, Row 9, which was the first balcony on Ken's side that was completely filled. (They wound up giving away some seats near the aisle of section 109. More than a few seats in on that section and you wouldn't have a view at all.)
We met a girl that flew up from Brazil for the concert. It was her first time to the US. In front of us was a couple from SC and two my right, two girls originally from Burma who now live in NYC. Their friend is a big L'Arc fan and wanted them to come. They had only heard a few songs and liked them but weren't sure they'd recognize anything at the concert. To my left were nepenthes59 and my s-i-l.
Five minutes before the concert was supposed to start, the two girls to my right went to get something to eat. They came back with boxes of waffle fries and ketchup. "Do you think people will stand during the songs?" asked one of them to me. "I intend to," I said. "Oh," said she wolfing down the fries because the lights were just then starting to dim.
The great big black curtain dropped and was carried off by a team of ninja stagehands. We watched videos on the big screens showing all the places L'Arc would be at and cheered all the way through, especially when the big screen was dominated by just hyde's eyes. Then it ended and we cheered more because that meant the concert was really beginning.
I have never been to a L'Arc live before but I have seen all the videos. I was so excited! I expected to see yukihiro come out first and head to his drums... but no... instead the light shone on hyde singing Ibara no Namida acapello and we could see ken, tetsuya and yuki already in place. I grabbed my s-i-l's arm, practically ripping it off. I waved my glowstick, all but hitting the nice man from SC in the head. I sang. I danced. I watched. I watched them on the stage, occasionally looking at the huge screen to my right, but wanting to see THEM for real! What you don't get from the DVDs is being able to watch what they are all doing at the same time and being able to look between them. And you don't get the crowd's energy. We were very energized and got more so all the way through!
hyde looked lovely. He had on a black brocaded sleeveless top thing with a jacket that depending upon how he moved you could see underarm and or shoulders and off course it was flowing. He seemed to have more braids than usual and whipped them about as he whirled. tetsuya was in red plaid and oh no!!! his head was half or partially shaved! The other side was 20th Anniversary hair, complete with red feathers. ken looked like he was wearing crinkly black trash bags, mostly tightly fit but maybe one was tied to his waist. And yuki had on a black top with translucent sleeves with black swirly patters that made him look tattooed until you looked at his wrists.
They went right into CHASE in English! I grabbed my s-i-l's arm again. We were all rolling on cold asphalt singing along. Our entire section, including the girls next to me were all up dancing and waving our glowsticks and singing. Opposite us, they were just sitting there. Poor souls. L'Arc fever hadn't yet reached them.
Next up was GOOD LUCK MY WAY. I watched tetsuya jump up and down and hyde run around singing. I sang along. I waved my stick and I hit the poor man in front of me again, I think. It didn't matter. We were all there for the moment and oblivious to everything except L'Arc~en~Ciel.
Then, hyde's MC. I was all prepared for him to talk about being in NYC and what he ate. He asked us where he was. We yelled "New York" or "Madison Square Garden" and he asked again and we yelled whatever we didn't yell the first time. Oh well. No food talk but right on to HONEY. It was very smooth-sounding. They had images of the butterfly on the big screen and hyde stood so it looked like he was wearing butterfly wings. I closed my eyes because I just wanted to hear the sound for the moment.
Next was a fiery DRINK IT DOWN. By now it was all becoming a bit of a blur, albeit a fantastically happy one. Then the opening two sounds to REVELATION. We were all ready with our glowsticks, pounding along to the beat. The folks across from us were finally on their feet, getting into it.
Then hyde left the stage. Yikes!!! But he was soon back, sporting a very diva-ish hat, all the better to peer out at us from. And things are silent as hyde began to sing Jojoushi acapello. Beautiful! Tetsuya and ken were seated on the front of the drum stage and hyde joined them as he sang the rest of the song with the rest of the band's accompaniment.
Next was XXX and we were all swaying and singing and waving our glowsticks. It was the English version. fate and Forbidden Lover followed and while we continued singing and waving our sticks, hyde had us all mesmerized.
It could have ended here and I would have been happy. It was already everything I'd hoped for and more. But it wasn't over and they were ready to suck us farther into their world and we were all ready to go... ken started playing the long intro to My Heart Has A Dream and the screens displayed drawings of landscapes. hyde re-emerged from where ever he'd been and sang. When he reached the line "My heart draws a dream", he put his hands in a heart shape and then stretched his arms out to us. We were ready! We sang all the yume wo egaku yo's right back to him and it was amazing to hear and be a part of.
Next was ken's MC. It was so funny. I think he was nervous and he carefully read from the paper that he held. He spoke all in English and although I was afraid he'd keep it short because he might not be confident enough to say it, he read on and on. It was hilarious and it was as good as any other ken MC I've heard, but even better because I didn't have to figure out what he was saying. I loved his "Us not Ass" line. yuki seemed pleased with ken's gift of the Nightmare Before Christmas Monopoly game that ken said that they'd all play after the show. (Can't you just picture them playing it and drinking out of the silly Statue of Liberty mug that ken bought?)
He introduced the next song Caress of Venus and we were all back waving our sticks and singing along. Now that his MC was over, ken seemed to relax and move more about the stage.
Then... the opening sounds of DRIVER'S HIGH and fireworks erupted across the front of the stage! hyde was now fully revved up himself and is running/skipping/dancing across the stage singing, pausing only to put his hand on tetsuya's shoulder as he sang for a bit.
During tetsuya's bass-playing solo, I took a quick break, sitting down on my seat and pulling out my bottled water. I only had a tiny bit, gulped it down and got up again, just in time for STAY AWAY. I think this is the song where hyde jumped off the amplifier. He definitely twirled all about. There were CGI'd robots on the screen doing a synchronized dance, but it was more fun to watch hyde.
Ready, Steady, Go and yes, we were ready. There were fireworks across the front of the stage. And then there were more. And more. Pop, pop, pop! Really loud and bright. hyde,tetsuya, and ken were all over the place on this song. It truly was crazy and yuki made up for not being able to run around by playing the drums long after the song ended and the others had left the stage.
Intermission... sigh... you know it's almost over when they take a break. We tried the Wave a few times, but honestly? We really just wanted to wave our sticks while watching L'Arc. The two girls next to me told me that they thought L'Arc~en~Ciel were fantastic and were now confirmed fans. My s-i-l looked up the song lists on her phone to see what was probably going to come up after the break. I looked around to see if there were any way they could get those great big balloon things on the floor in case they did Link. I have very simple desires and one has been to hit the balloon up in the air during that song. I had one other secret wish to experience and never thought I would but...
Opening music began and the screens filled with romaji: Mune ni itsu no hi ni kagayaku.... Really? Wow! Yes!!! They were teaching us the lines to Anata! I have seen concerts where it's all dark (except for the glowsticks and a great big disco ball reflecting little lights spinning round and round) and hyde starts singing and soon everyone is joining in and they sing back and forth. I have always been awestruck at what a powerful moment that is and how the band must feel to hear so many people sing those lines... and they were going to trust NYC to sing it with them! WOW! Then I wondered... would they keep the lyrics up for us? Do they do that in Japan, too? Probably not, because the lyrics disappeared as soon as hyde came out and started singing. I know I got the lines twisted around but I did my best and when I closed my eyes and could hear everyone else sing... wow! Then, I opened my eyes again so I could take it all in. This was probably better than hitting the balloons... which they didn't have anyway.
Next song: Winter Fall I think I was still on an Anata high, but I watched and was totally mesmerized. I glanced at the screen near the end and saw hyde wink. :)
I figured that next would be niji, which I've decided I only don't like because it means it's the end of the show... but, wait! Blurry Eyes! Fantastic! Would they break in the middle? Would hyde throw his whistle? He teased, by spinning it and *almost* throwing it...and then he did. They took their break and tetsuya came out tossing bananas AND tootsie pops. (Note to self: if ever the possibility comes of getting floor seats, aim about 6-9 rows about straight back from where tetsuya stands on the stage, because the whistle, the first banana and lollipops all landed there.) tetsuya tossed one banana as far as he could and it landed in the deadspace on the floor between the barricades where more cameras/lights were set up. One of the techs picked it up and threw it back farther. He pulled out water bananas and sprayed everyone he could as well...
And then they resumed the song... and then hyde gave his last MC of the night. If I wasn't so euphoric from the show, I'd be depressed that it was so very nearly over. hyde thanked us for everything and told us we were the best. He wondered if we'd meet again soon... and there was something about the way in which he worded it that was just as ambiguous some of his lyrics, but I honestly can't remember the details now.
Final song: niji White feathers blew out in batches over the floor crowd, The singing was gorgeous and then it was over... except for more bananas and tootsie pops getting thrown and tetsuya saying "See ya!" and "Mata ne!"
We met a girl that flew up from Brazil for the concert. It was her first time to the US. In front of us was a couple from SC and two my right, two girls originally from Burma who now live in NYC. Their friend is a big L'Arc fan and wanted them to come. They had only heard a few songs and liked them but weren't sure they'd recognize anything at the concert. To my left were nepenthes59 and my s-i-l.
Five minutes before the concert was supposed to start, the two girls to my right went to get something to eat. They came back with boxes of waffle fries and ketchup. "Do you think people will stand during the songs?" asked one of them to me. "I intend to," I said. "Oh," said she wolfing down the fries because the lights were just then starting to dim.
The great big black curtain dropped and was carried off by a team of ninja stagehands. We watched videos on the big screens showing all the places L'Arc would be at and cheered all the way through, especially when the big screen was dominated by just hyde's eyes. Then it ended and we cheered more because that meant the concert was really beginning.
I have never been to a L'Arc live before but I have seen all the videos. I was so excited! I expected to see yukihiro come out first and head to his drums... but no... instead the light shone on hyde singing Ibara no Namida acapello and we could see ken, tetsuya and yuki already in place. I grabbed my s-i-l's arm, practically ripping it off. I waved my glowstick, all but hitting the nice man from SC in the head. I sang. I danced. I watched. I watched them on the stage, occasionally looking at the huge screen to my right, but wanting to see THEM for real! What you don't get from the DVDs is being able to watch what they are all doing at the same time and being able to look between them. And you don't get the crowd's energy. We were very energized and got more so all the way through!
hyde looked lovely. He had on a black brocaded sleeveless top thing with a jacket that depending upon how he moved you could see underarm and or shoulders and off course it was flowing. He seemed to have more braids than usual and whipped them about as he whirled. tetsuya was in red plaid and oh no!!! his head was half or partially shaved! The other side was 20th Anniversary hair, complete with red feathers. ken looked like he was wearing crinkly black trash bags, mostly tightly fit but maybe one was tied to his waist. And yuki had on a black top with translucent sleeves with black swirly patters that made him look tattooed until you looked at his wrists.
They went right into CHASE in English! I grabbed my s-i-l's arm again. We were all rolling on cold asphalt singing along. Our entire section, including the girls next to me were all up dancing and waving our glowsticks and singing. Opposite us, they were just sitting there. Poor souls. L'Arc fever hadn't yet reached them.
Next up was GOOD LUCK MY WAY. I watched tetsuya jump up and down and hyde run around singing. I sang along. I waved my stick and I hit the poor man in front of me again, I think. It didn't matter. We were all there for the moment and oblivious to everything except L'Arc~en~Ciel.
Then, hyde's MC. I was all prepared for him to talk about being in NYC and what he ate. He asked us where he was. We yelled "New York" or "Madison Square Garden" and he asked again and we yelled whatever we didn't yell the first time. Oh well. No food talk but right on to HONEY. It was very smooth-sounding. They had images of the butterfly on the big screen and hyde stood so it looked like he was wearing butterfly wings. I closed my eyes because I just wanted to hear the sound for the moment.
Next was a fiery DRINK IT DOWN. By now it was all becoming a bit of a blur, albeit a fantastically happy one. Then the opening two sounds to REVELATION. We were all ready with our glowsticks, pounding along to the beat. The folks across from us were finally on their feet, getting into it.
Then hyde left the stage. Yikes!!! But he was soon back, sporting a very diva-ish hat, all the better to peer out at us from. And things are silent as hyde began to sing Jojoushi acapello. Beautiful! Tetsuya and ken were seated on the front of the drum stage and hyde joined them as he sang the rest of the song with the rest of the band's accompaniment.
Next was XXX and we were all swaying and singing and waving our glowsticks. It was the English version. fate and Forbidden Lover followed and while we continued singing and waving our sticks, hyde had us all mesmerized.
It could have ended here and I would have been happy. It was already everything I'd hoped for and more. But it wasn't over and they were ready to suck us farther into their world and we were all ready to go... ken started playing the long intro to My Heart Has A Dream and the screens displayed drawings of landscapes. hyde re-emerged from where ever he'd been and sang. When he reached the line "My heart draws a dream", he put his hands in a heart shape and then stretched his arms out to us. We were ready! We sang all the yume wo egaku yo's right back to him and it was amazing to hear and be a part of.
Next was ken's MC. It was so funny. I think he was nervous and he carefully read from the paper that he held. He spoke all in English and although I was afraid he'd keep it short because he might not be confident enough to say it, he read on and on. It was hilarious and it was as good as any other ken MC I've heard, but even better because I didn't have to figure out what he was saying. I loved his "Us not Ass" line. yuki seemed pleased with ken's gift of the Nightmare Before Christmas Monopoly game that ken said that they'd all play after the show. (Can't you just picture them playing it and drinking out of the silly Statue of Liberty mug that ken bought?)
He introduced the next song Caress of Venus and we were all back waving our sticks and singing along. Now that his MC was over, ken seemed to relax and move more about the stage.
Then... the opening sounds of DRIVER'S HIGH and fireworks erupted across the front of the stage! hyde was now fully revved up himself and is running/skipping/dancing across the stage singing, pausing only to put his hand on tetsuya's shoulder as he sang for a bit.
During tetsuya's bass-playing solo, I took a quick break, sitting down on my seat and pulling out my bottled water. I only had a tiny bit, gulped it down and got up again, just in time for STAY AWAY. I think this is the song where hyde jumped off the amplifier. He definitely twirled all about. There were CGI'd robots on the screen doing a synchronized dance, but it was more fun to watch hyde.
Ready, Steady, Go and yes, we were ready. There were fireworks across the front of the stage. And then there were more. And more. Pop, pop, pop! Really loud and bright. hyde,tetsuya, and ken were all over the place on this song. It truly was crazy and yuki made up for not being able to run around by playing the drums long after the song ended and the others had left the stage.
Intermission... sigh... you know it's almost over when they take a break. We tried the Wave a few times, but honestly? We really just wanted to wave our sticks while watching L'Arc. The two girls next to me told me that they thought L'Arc~en~Ciel were fantastic and were now confirmed fans. My s-i-l looked up the song lists on her phone to see what was probably going to come up after the break. I looked around to see if there were any way they could get those great big balloon things on the floor in case they did Link. I have very simple desires and one has been to hit the balloon up in the air during that song. I had one other secret wish to experience and never thought I would but...
Opening music began and the screens filled with romaji: Mune ni itsu no hi ni kagayaku.... Really? Wow! Yes!!! They were teaching us the lines to Anata! I have seen concerts where it's all dark (except for the glowsticks and a great big disco ball reflecting little lights spinning round and round) and hyde starts singing and soon everyone is joining in and they sing back and forth. I have always been awestruck at what a powerful moment that is and how the band must feel to hear so many people sing those lines... and they were going to trust NYC to sing it with them! WOW! Then I wondered... would they keep the lyrics up for us? Do they do that in Japan, too? Probably not, because the lyrics disappeared as soon as hyde came out and started singing. I know I got the lines twisted around but I did my best and when I closed my eyes and could hear everyone else sing... wow! Then, I opened my eyes again so I could take it all in. This was probably better than hitting the balloons... which they didn't have anyway.
Next song: Winter Fall I think I was still on an Anata high, but I watched and was totally mesmerized. I glanced at the screen near the end and saw hyde wink. :)
I figured that next would be niji, which I've decided I only don't like because it means it's the end of the show... but, wait! Blurry Eyes! Fantastic! Would they break in the middle? Would hyde throw his whistle? He teased, by spinning it and *almost* throwing it...and then he did. They took their break and tetsuya came out tossing bananas AND tootsie pops. (Note to self: if ever the possibility comes of getting floor seats, aim about 6-9 rows about straight back from where tetsuya stands on the stage, because the whistle, the first banana and lollipops all landed there.) tetsuya tossed one banana as far as he could and it landed in the deadspace on the floor between the barricades where more cameras/lights were set up. One of the techs picked it up and threw it back farther. He pulled out water bananas and sprayed everyone he could as well...
And then they resumed the song... and then hyde gave his last MC of the night. If I wasn't so euphoric from the show, I'd be depressed that it was so very nearly over. hyde thanked us for everything and told us we were the best. He wondered if we'd meet again soon... and there was something about the way in which he worded it that was just as ambiguous some of his lyrics, but I honestly can't remember the details now.
Final song: niji White feathers blew out in batches over the floor crowd, The singing was gorgeous and then it was over... except for more bananas and tootsie pops getting thrown and tetsuya saying "See ya!" and "Mata ne!"