July 2003
2002-2003 LIVE Report ARCHIVE 5
Wed/Jul/2003 17:29
Live Reports 5 -2003-
Welcome back to live reports! I have been a little slow in writing these live reports but don't worry, my mind is like an elephant(with a few notes included)!! So without further adieu!!!
Now lets back Track to 2002!
メリー
Nov.24, 2002 @ Shibuya Club QuattroNow I think the English form of this bands name is Merry so that is what we shall call them. This was an exciting night because we were also filming the band for the up and coming film about Japanese Rock music. The guys had been rehearsing for a long time and seemed a little tired by the time we arrived but this was their last show of their tour. The place was packed and showed how popular this band has become only after being together for one year! The presentation was cool as usual with a giant sheet covering the stage while the played video from some of their past shows over the past year. Then the silhouette of each member in the background excited everyone as the members where being introduced individually. Without getting into the songs and titles with take longer explanation, lets just say that is was a total of 16 songs that included two encores and a jamming drum solo by Nero who was not even feeling well that night! Like most shows, the first half of the show was heavy and the middle numbers were a little slower and the ending was like an explosion of TNT! It turns out the there latest single reached number one on the Indies charts at Tower Records in Japan.The also announced that they will be releasing their first full album by Spring of 2003. This should also be around the same time of their first Concert Hall show which takes place at the Nihon AonenKan on 3/22/03.These guys are on their way and we will be there with them!
Buck Tick
Dec.29,2002@Nippon Budokan "The day in Question" third year!Okay, so this is the 3rd straight year I have seen BT at the Budokan. It was sold out as usual and this was my first time sitting in the arena(Thanks to Ms. Nomura).Now the stage was very cool with a futuristic look that feature a center piece that can only be described like the Fallopian tubes that are inside a woman's body! Since this show will be shown for Viewsic Music Television in Japan next February, they had 12 cameras!! Must be nice! Unfortunately, they seem to use the Budokan to do most of their filming for live concerts for either Television or DVD releases; this is kind of an upstart to the viewing audience with giant cranes in front of the stage or to the side of the stage. However, it wasn't so bad that you couldn't enjoy the show it just seems to let you know you are not the only one they are playing too! Now the fan favorite is Mr. Atsushi Sakurai and boy did he look good on this night. He came out with a velvet smoking jacket and had that Vampire Le stat look to him with is long black hair grown back(it has been kind of short that the few years). As for crazy Imai on guitars, I don't know what kind of hair due he was trying but it looked like something from the mutants in HokutonoKen TV series(okay, I am not an otaku but...). It had white and orange and green tints all at once. As for the rest of the members, surprisingly, Toll on drums, had is hair died in White with black roots!! This may be a first! Now with the number of fans and no album to push, they came out with a decent mixture of old, present, and new. Of course the old is the most popular and they played about 3 really old songs. They have a new single being released Jan.08 called 残骸-ZanGai, which is a hard rocking tune that is easy to get into. However, the reception was a little luck warm. Many songs came from the Cosmos album which is kind of slow and they seem to like it but I think their heavier stuff is much better. There was a total of 16 songs, first encore had 3 songs and last encore had 2 songs! They turned on the house lights for the last song which was the classic "Just one more Kiss". All in all, this was a fun show and they did a good job. However, I noticed the energy level was a little low for some of the guys. I noticed that many Japanese bands seem to take that fans for granted and just play with out moving with the music. I really believe this the the reason why many Japanese listen to Western bands bands because they seem to put more energy into the stage performance. However, it is all relative to your audience and what you are about as a band. The audience for BT were from mid 20's and up , so no teenagers were present that I could see.
Kaggra
@ Shinjuku Liquid Room Jan.5, 2003This was my official first show of the New Year! The boys were a little nervous but came out swinging hard! The stage was sort of plain but the whole image of the Gozen world they created came through. Gozen is the name of their first album which also happens to be a concept album. This tells the story of a demon who wants to inter the human world or something like that! Well, the whole show featured an on screen presentation of various writings and visual effects. It was quite entertaining even if you could not understand what was completely happening! I got to speak with the guys after the show and they did say they were worried about how the people would like their performance but I told them that everything was great and the fans had a good time I believe. They did the new CD from start to finish and so many people hadn't heard a lot of the new songs so the applause took longer than usual but after they finished "gozen" then they came back out for the second stage of the show. This also featured a costume change. They had a total of four outfits in all .I am sure the staff backstage was busy. They continued the show with many of the fan favorites and this lasted about 2 hours total,with two encores. They are usually a non encore band so it was quite cool for everyone! Ms. Aoyama who does many things for the band seemed happy too after the show. I would like to thank her for all of the support toward AMU! The band will be playing in March and at a few events before then. So check them out if you have a chance to come to Tokyo! If not, stay tuned for the film which should be out next year!
2003 Live Reports
Laputa @Shibuya AX Jan. 13, 2003
Now Laputa used to be my favorite band and this night showed why I felt that way a few years ago. This year, they will be celebrating 10 years together. So this show is actually a 3 shows in 3 consecutive months. Next month will be Feb. 16 and after that will be March 16. The tour is called:HOUSE OF CRUNCH L∞P PPF@AX／SHUBUYA-AX P.P.F=(Past, Present, and Future). So on this night was the past! Oh, boy!!! The stage was fairly bland with Tammie drums high up on risers. As he came out first he started playing the drums like a solo and next came Junji. The jammed for a minute and then Koichi came out with is now short blond hair and miniature cowboy type hat and long coat. Finally Aki blasted out and this got everyone into it and they started into B.C. The AX was jammed packed down on the floor level all standing. That was good to see since the last show(in August)seemed like it was half full.Oh, on a cultural note, Today was also Adults Day in Japan in which everyone who turns 20 in Japan becomes legal for voting,drinking,etc. So it is custom to dress up in an expensive Kimono for the Girls and Nice suits for the guys and on this night, their were a few nice Kimono's on display! Now, back to the show that had many songs from their -emadara- CD(the second major release). Koichi seemed to be a little rusty and not so energetic on these older songs. I noticed that the next 3 songs came from their new direction with songs off "glitter"(Face and Unusual) and from"new temptation" Night and Day. Now the next 4 songs were what I really came to see which was stuff from the very first laputa indie CD/Demo Tape and First indie album. Nervous was on their first DT and Skeleton Dance was off[ Watashi ga Kieru] CD. The the head banging was in full swing and then they hit us with 罠[wana] off of -memai-! It was great and I felt like I was back in 1995! Next came one of their favorites"AKALOIDA" Now why they like doing that song instead of "Master" which also on the -emadara-CD is beyond me. However,"Master" is a difficult song to play and maybe that is why they don't do it live anymore. However, I know many people want to hear that one. Fortunately, on this night, they played those past 3 songs that they have not played on any concert video so that was special! Next they moved on to the Future of Laputa with a New song called"Freedom". It was actually not bad and I really liked the chorus! It is in the danceable heavy metal techno type thing but was cool. The song was made by Junji and the next song was also his called "Treat Your Fuck" which was sung with some serious vocal changing equipment and I couldn't understand what the hell he was saying but it was interesting. Oh, Tomoi and Junji did jam a little bit of "BUZZ"off of [Coupling Collection + xxxk ] before getting into "T.Y.F." Next was a song off of -Jakko- "Knife"ナイフ. This one of their better ones before they took a little break. They then got more into the -glitter-mini album with "Final" and "POPular Uprising". I noticed that Koichi seems more comfortable playing with the Keyboardist than by himself.No remember, a long time ago Laputa had a Keyboardist and then got rid of him. So he probably is going back to doing things he has been wanting to do for a while. The reason I mention this is since he writes the music for the majority of the songs it makes since. Now out of all of the new Laputa sound the next two songs "Target" and "Dummy" are the type I can hang with. And finally, came "Shita"舌 which means "tongue" in Japanese and it made your tongue come out of your mouth with excitement! That was the last song of the night and was pleased with what they decided to do! .......OH.....but hold on......En-core-re, En-core-re, these fans wanted more and I have not heard a continuous chanting like this since the Dir en grey show last year. They were non-stop until the guys surprised us and came out for 3 more songs!!奈落の底 (ならくのそこ)-Naraku no soko-which means the abyss, blasted out as the first song of the Encore performance. This song was off their -眩く廃人 (mabuku haijin)- indies CD. That got the head bangers going and then up next was "An Eternity"which was also off of the same mini album. Then Aki had the guys and the girls scream to see who was louder and of course the girls were but he have it to the guys to make us feel good!!!Ha,ha. So finally came the last song off of -Jakko-" Crash Boy"!!!! It was a great show and I would like to thank Mr. Furutani and the band for letting me see the show!
メリー (Merry)
@ Nihon Seinen Kan, Tokyo, March 22, 2003For these talented young guys, this was the biggest place they have ever played. It only seats about 1500 but it feels like 4000 or so. There is a first and second floor. I was lucky enough to be on the first floor seating right behind the light control board. Guess who I sat next too? Did you know MUCC! Well, the singer and I were together all night! He is a shy guy but seemed very nice. Anyway, now Merry came out with another cool video to start out the show and it introduced the members who were all in tuxedos with tails! The only problem was the set was just about the same as the last show! The first 4 or 5 songs had some sound mixing trouble meaning I could not hear the guitars so clearly! However, it did mix good soon after and by the 9th song, the show was off the hook! They played about 4 new songs and they all were good. One problem, although, is that some of their songs sound too much like other songs mainly because of the guitar effects. I am sure, they will be able to expand on their sound in the future and bring in a little more variety. However, if you have a great formula, why change!! The drum solo as usual was great and Nero is a powerful drummer. He used these mini-drums for the first part of the solo and I have never seen that before so that was very original. Nero also seems to be the bands spokesman while on stage! Gara doesn't talk and just writes on Japanese calligraphy paper! Speaking of Gara, he was really in the mood this night and after the drum solo, he came out singing while sitting in this strange green gel! If he tried to stand he would probably break his neck so he kind of just acted like a zombie, slithering around and jerking his head and torso! He puts on quite an act! Now after the show ended. There was a 20 minute break before the encore! They announced the release of their first album called:現代ストライク(gendai strike) which should be out on 4/13. They signed a record contract with FullFace Records who also put out SADS! Now after 5 encore songs, some dude jumped on stage and started betting down Gara!!! The roadies came out and were trying to pull the guy off him and then the curtains came down! I asked what happen after the show they said it was a gag! However, he had a big lump on his head so I don't know if believe that story or not!!!
Well, I would like to thank Mr. Todo and Ms. Kusano for letting me attend the show!
Buck-Tick
June 28,2003 @ Hibiya Outdoor Amphitheatre.
This was a show I was interested in since I have not gotten their latest release- Mona Lisa Overdrive. Unfortunately,the show started 45 minutes late, and in the end, they could only do one encore. But before we get into that, let's talk about the set and show.
It was a rain threating day that turned out to be nice and cool for the show. The funny thing is, if it rained, no one would be allowed to use an umbrella inside the ampitheater!!! So after talking to the manager for a short time, I sat down right in the middle of one of the best seats in the place! I was able to see a bit of the sound check and I noticed the guys seemed kind of tired! Singer Atsushi has really grown his hair long and it looks good on him. About 30 minutes later, they came out on stage to a packed house!! One thing about BT is they always seem to sell out shows. They may not have any hit songs on the charts but they can keep an arena full! Oh, an another thing, the guy to girl ratio is about 1 to 10! Maybe more since all I could see is ladies dressed in black screaming for their favorite Atsuchan!(Atsushi). Now for the show, they like filming themseleves and this was no exception with about 10 cameras in various places. The stages is small compared to the Budokan but they seem to fit in it nicely. Atsushi(with his Matrix Reloaded Neo Outfit) has his hair long again almost like their early years and it looks good on him. The rest of the guys are looking fairly well with Toll still sporting the Blond and Black Fake Mowhawk! Now most of their songs started with a pre-programmed track! I think this is done when are recording live but it doesn't make the show interesting. It is like they pause and wait for it to kick in! As for the songs, they did aboout 15 with one anchor which was a brand new song. Most of the material was from their MonaLisa Overdrive CD. I am horrible with names of songs for this band since they have so many! However,I heard the second day was much better than this show and they played about 5 anchor songs! They still sound tight and have not lost a step in their old age! Next up for them is the Summer Sonic music festival in August!
L`arc~en~Ciel
June 29, Yoyogi Gynamisum
After a 2 year rest, the boys are back for 7 days of concerts in Tokyo! Let me tell you, if you thought people had forgot about these guys, forgot about it! They packed the house all 7 days! This place holds about 15000 people so they pulled in some nice cash! Let me tell you about marketing, you try to get as much out of your product as you can and these guys had a different color theme for everyday! All of the T-shirts and everything else had it's own unique color. My day was Blue! And no, I didn't buy anything! The show did not go without it's mistakes. On the second song, Hyde started playing and singing the wrong lyrics for Heaven's Drive! It was a funny moment for him and the whole band just stopped! Then after a short chat with the fans,they started again with Heaven's Drive. Then they went on and played various songs from their latest Singles releases! However, Shinshoku Lose Control and Genso to Senso did it for me. They played only about 15 songs and two anchor songs. However, I did not like how they ended the show! They knew they were going to play more days and so they just left the stage without really saying thank you or waving! I think you should give it your all every show. Because for someone like me who doesn't have time to see every show, they might never come again after something like that. They were a little bit more lively this show than for the Tokyo Dome shows of two years ago. Hyde's MC has gotten better. However, they are not the best live band. I think when their next album and tours comes out, it will prove if they are here to stay or fade away like many of the others. Oh, yes on the final day they annouced a new album due out next year with a tour to follow!
Dir en grey
July 3 @ Akasaka Blitz
Now this is a band that knows how to party and have fun on stage......well at least Kyo!! On this night, they weren't has good as the last time I saw them because they too like L`arc-en-Ciel were in between shows so they tried to do some different mixes of songs from various CD's. Some worked and some didn't. The one interesting one was Kyo's rendition of Unknown....Despair....a Lost with only a piano accompanyment. I keep on waiting for it to kick in but it never did ! Ha,ha.They use many songs from the Macabre CD and Zakuro is a favorite for Kyo to get crazy singing and beating his chest with the mic.All in all, you get what you pay for with these guys and if you get hurt that is your own fault because I have never heard a longer speech about what to and what not to do in my life before the show even started!!!Wow!! Oh the annoucement at the end was the new album to be released on 9/10/03 called "Vulgar".