June 2000
2000 LIVE Report ARCHIVE 2
Thu/Jun/2000 16:43
Live Report Vol.2
YEAR is 2000
Laputa: Shibuya Kokkaido, April 21 Sun.
Now I missed my train and had to run to the show and got there just time to hear the first song(at least I think it was the first song). Anyway, It took 3 songs to find my seat. The guy working didn't know the area very well I guess but I was not too angry. He was doing his best. I am usually not late for shows. So like many bands that have a new CD out, they featured the whole dam thing! These was bad for me because I wanted to hear some of their older stuff. The new stuff is good but not the best. They came out for two anchors but the fans were not satisfied because one of their hardest songs call "Master" was not played. I have never seen so many people stay in the auditorium for such a long time when the show ended. The staff practically had to beat the fans out of the place. We were all yelling for another anchor and the staff was trying to get us to leave the building. It was cool!!!! So after the show many people stayed outside and a local band did a street live performance across from the Kokkaido and that show was just as good or better than Laputa!!!! I didn`t even get the name of that band. Oh, well......Laputa will be touring small clubs for the rest of summer and in September will be back in a big venue yet to be announced.
Craze: Akasaka Blitz, April 26 Thursday,2001
Okay, now I have not heard Craze for a long time.I did not know what to expel but I knew that Tusk is a good singer and put on a good show. I was really surprised at how good they were. They had this Craze backdrop logo that looked like the Apple computer logo but it was cracked like broken glass. Then these intense lights flooded the stage and the crowd and they came out blazing. The show lasted about 2 hours and a half. The fans were crazy just like the band name and everyone was jumping up and down and around and around. People were blowing whistles and the chant " We are Craze" kept being shouted out my Tusk and the fans. Now I only knew a few songs but I will definitely be buying their CD`s from now on! Now since this was the last show of their 2000-1 concert tour, they did something special that I have never seen before.
The drummer explained that he went to a Green Day concert and they picked some fans out of the stands who could play a green day song. So they decided to to the same thing. So after about 10 minutes, the people who could really play all the instruments finally were selected and then they selected a song and jammed it out. It was great!!! Then the selected new people and did it again. The show was great and I think we all had a great time. So I recommend a Craze show if you get a chance.
Dir en grey: Nippon Budokan, April 27,2001 Friday.
This was my first time seeing this popular band. This is one of the only visual bands that seems to have a following in France!!!! I heard that many foreigners(in Japan) like this band. Why.....Well I think after seeing their live show, these guys are very original with their stage presence, visuals, and video effects. This was also the last day of there "macabre 2000-1" tour. So like the night before, it was close to 3 hours. Now their latest CD "macabre" is one I don't have so, there were a few songs I did not know. However, they put on a better show than I thought they would. I have a live video of them from their tour last year and I was not impressed. However, I had a good time and I sat next to a couple and the guy was cool so I gave him some of my water. Oh, why did I do that you ask, well the Budokan can get very warm and after about 2 hours of jumping a dancing around, you need to drink something! Anyway, the best part of the show was the ending before the encore's. They had a fairly wide stage and all of the members where in they're set positions why doing the last song. All of a sudden this white sheet(like a circus tent) came down from air and enveloped the whole stage. It was the coolest exit I have ever seen! Then they came out for about 2 or 3 encores. It was a very pleasing show and I hope to see them again.
Cali-gari: Akasaka Blitz, May 4,Thursday 2001
Now, this was Golden week in Japan which means that their are several holidays in the same week so almost everything is closed down. To my surprise, there were still same day tickets for sell and I bought one only to be in the most crowded venue I have ever seen. Now, when I went to Craze last week in the same place, it was packed but you had a little room to move around. Not with Cali#gari! We were like a can of sardines and I was at the edge of the metal opening! The only thing that saved me is that I am fairly tall so I could see well. Now when I went to Sweet Trance 2000 last year, I sat next to this nice girl who told that Cali#gari was a good band so that is the only reason I wanted to see them. I was not disappointed but a little surprised. I had an image that they were a little harder and faster pace. I was wrong, the majority of the songs are medium tempo and with the support of keyboards.The bass player is a good player but a little stiff. However, the guitar player makes up for his rhythm counter part with an array of antics there are very funny and crowd pleasing. Then at the end, we find out he is gay! They keep on showing a video of this famous young good looking pro wrestler while he would just watch a monitor and drool!!! Anyway, they had some cool ideas like having all of the songs be put up on monitors(titles) and sometimes on the stage(it was projected on a see through curtain). So, everyone could read or sing along with some of the songs. This was also their final day of their tour so all of there friends and parents were in the audience. They gave a shout to them in the closing. The singer at one point climbed the speakers and in a dangerous move, jumped into the 2 floor area which is all reserved and has all seats. Needless to say, he did not get back to the stage the same way! When the show was over, I was the person out of there! I had to meet some friends and I was tired! It was a good show, however I only new one song!
Siam Shade: Zeep Tokyo, May 5, Friday, 2001
Now this was another show in which I showed up late! I was not sure if there were tickets on sell because all of their shows are usually sold out. However, I did get lucky and buy a same day ticket from the box office. i even got a reserved seat but since the show had already begun, I could not find my seat since everyone was head banging and jumping around. The staff guys was no help at all. So I stood by the door with a few other late arrivals and enjoyed the show from the second floor with a good view. This show was packed just like Cali#gari on the first floor, so I was glad I was on the second. Now these guys who are hard to place in a category are pretty much a hard rock/metal band. Lead guitarist Daita is one of the best players I have seen in Japan. He can do it all and shows all of his talent. These guys put on a hell of a show that was rockin` from start to finish. It was a perfect way to end my two days off from work! Plus I was able to meet some more friends after the show for Karaoke! The show started early(6:00pm) so I only missed about 10 minutes. If you get a chance to see these guys then I highly recommend them!