Schwarzer Anfang
Mar. 6th, 2013 12:13 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rinlinOn Sunday night, I went to my first Mejibray live! It was fucking fantastic! This is gonna be a long entry, so buckle your seat belts.
This live was the final of their Schwarzer Anfang tour and it was at Ebisu Liquidroom. I arrived at the live house right around the time they started letting people in. I was able to stash my stuff in a locker and still have plenty of time to get inside the stage area, since I had a B ticket and all the (500+) A tickets were called inside first. I noticed a surprising number of other foreigners at the live while I was waiting to enter. Probably about 2 dozen or so, which is a lot for an indies band.
Once I was inside, I was able to get a spot a little further back on the right side. It wasn't quite as close as I would've liked, but it wasn't a bad view and I could see all of the stage, which was nice. I then proceeded to wait for what felt like forever for the live to start.
I had worked myself into a fine state of impatience by the time the live finally started. The intro started playing and the curtains parted on stage to reveal Meto. He was sitting in his wheelchair with his teddy bear, pushed by a black hooded figure. Meto was wearing his Avalon outfit, complete with kitty hood and grotesque eyeball hanging from his eye socket. The only difference was that his hair is now blonde. He slowly got up from the wheelchair and pounced onto the platform at the front of the stage. He ripped off his hood to reveal his bare chest covered in some intense looking (fake) scratches. Next up was Koichi, who prettily posed on the platform. I always forget and then find it adorable when I remember that Koichi has bare feet on stage. I think he was wearing the top part of his Avalon outfit, but pants that showed off his hips instead of the shorts. Mia was next on stage and he was wearing his Avalon outfit, but had his Die Kusse hair. He did a sexy little pose. I swear Mia makes a ridiculous amount of sex kitten faces. He's lucky that they look good on him lol. Last, Tsuzuku finally took the stage. He was wearing his Avalon outfit (the leopard spotted one, with the net shirt), but had his Die Kusse hair which I love. Dark hair is definitely a good look on him.
Here's the set list for the live, courtesy of Tsuzuku's blog:
1.DIE KUSSE
2.Sliver
3.CRAZED BRAIN
4.DISTANCE.exe
5.VIOLET
6.EMILY
7.これを依存と呼ぶなら
8.呼吸
9.Spice
10.サバト
11.KILLING ME
12.WRATH of GOD
13.Black baccarat
14.WANT
15.APOCALYPSE
16.Sadisgate
17.剥落
Encore
1.Chameleon YUMMY
2.メサイア
3Invisible Tower maker
4.-THINKER-
5.D.E.INCUBUS
6.アヴァロン
Encore2
1.トロシナ
2.カルマ-瓦礫のマンティコーラース-
The band opened with "DIE KUSSE", the newest single. I love "DIE KUSSE" and I'd been wondering if the band would open with it, so I was pleased. In the crowd, we all yelled the "Eins zwei drei vier" part with Tsuzuku. It seemed like it took most of the first song for the back of the crowd to get warmed-up, but once they warmed-up we were off, head banging and jumping all over the place. It was the type of show where if you don't want to actively participate in the head banging (etc.) you'd best get the fuck out of the way, or someone will accidentally get hurt. That kind of energy is always amazing!
I remember a specific moment during "DISTANCE.exe" during the head banging when I noticed Tsuzuku watching the crowd, holding his arms like he was conducting us in a symphony. I thought it was pretty cute.
After getting off to a hard and fast start, the band gave us a bit of a breather with a small slow set. Tsuzuku sang a bit of his part in "Emily" acapella, without the mic and his voice carried perfectly clearly through the venue. At the end of the song, he gave this heart wrenching scream and then went into the beginning of "これを依存と呼ぶなら".
"Spice" was sexy. I always thought the song had a sexy sound and this performance just made it better. Tsuzuku brought the mic stand to the platform at the front of the stage. He then proceeded to climb on the platform and lounge on it like a cat while he sang. Unf, Tsuzuku. That wasn't the only interesting thing about the song though. At the end of the song, a group of four hooded figures appeared on stage and surrounded Tsuzuku. Tsuzuku's body went limp and one of the hooded figures sprinkled (or maybe pretended to sprinkle?) something on his chest. They then carried his motionless body off the stage.
The stage went dark and this eerie sort of giggling and singing started. Then, there came this guitar squealing sound. I could see Mia's shadow in the light from his amp and I'm pretty sure he was actually making the guitar noises. The giggling and squealing blended together in an even creepier sound. This went on for a couple minutes.
Then, everything went silent. A pentagram of green light shone on the front of the stage and the intro from the "サバト" PV began playing. Five hooded figures re-appeared on stage and four of them began to circle around the fifth figure. The four figures then left the stage and the fifth figure removed his cloak, revealing that it was (of course) Tsuzuku. He'd changed into a sparkly black jacket. Then, the band performed "サバト" (one of my favorites). There was a cute moment that I think happened during "サバト". Koichi and Mia both came near the front of the stage, on either side of the platform, while they were playing. They looked at each other and then all of the sudden Tsuzuku butted his way in between them, needing to be in the middle of everything.
After the song, Tsuzuku did a little MC thanking us for coming and asking us how we liked his new jacket. Then he told us that though there had been tickets available earlier in the day, the venue had sold out. He asked us to get loud enough to make the floor shake upstairs (because there's a cafe attached to the venue upstairs).
During "WANT" was when the back and forth started. Following the beat of the song, on four counts, we would hop/dance from right to left. We'd only just barely started when the band stopped. It seemed that someone had fallen or the crowd had gotten too wild. Tsuzuku kept asking if we were okay. Then he turned to the crowd and gave the guys in the audience a strict talking to. (おい、男！) He told them that he knew they wanted to enjoy themselves, but that they had to be careful and watch out for the girls in the crowd. He told them that if they see a girl fall, they should help her up. This brought much clapping and cheering from us girls in the audience. If he didn't already have my heart, he definitely did then. He's such a sweetie to worry about us. Then, Tsuzuku started the song over from the beginning and we all hopped to it. It was so much fun!
Next up was "Apocalypse". Tsuzuku came up behind Koichi and Mia in turn while they were playing. He'd put his arm around their necks and make a motion like he was slitting their throats. I believe "Apocalypse" was also when Koichi decided to stage dive. He took off his bass and jumped into the crowd. I couldn't quite see what was going on after that, but it took him a while to get back to the stage. The band stopped playing again. Koichi climbed back on stage and Tsuzuku said "おかえり". He then (playfully) scolded Koichi a bit. I got the impression that Koichi had almost taken someone out with his stage diving. Oops. Tsuzuku asked the girl if she was okay several times and then asked Koichi to apologize. Koichi sheepishly went up to the microphone and said "ごめんね". Tsuzuku told him to say in again from the heart, so he said "ごめんなさい". With that taken care of, the band started playing again and finished off the end of the song.
During "Sadisgate" Tsuzuku brought out his red whip and cracked it. The boy clearly knows what he's doing with that whip. (I mean he did end up writing his first Shoxx column about S&M...)
The final song of the main set was "剥落". Good god, Tsuzuku. He really puts all he's got into this song. He started by hunching over and twisting his arms out oddly behind him, like something out of the Exorcist. His screams and singing during this song are chilling. As the song builds up, he works himself into this furor, somehow simultaneously headbanging and kicking one of his feet up at the same time. The song ended with Tsuzuku standing at the front of the stage and a green lazer light appeared pointing straight at his heart. The curtains closed and the light disappeared.
The encore calls began right away, but the boys kept us waiting for a little bit before returning. Before they returned to the stage and an announcement was projected in more green laser lights onto the curtains. They announced that their next mini album "MESSIAH.bat" will be released on 5/1! According to Mia's tweets, this is going to be a companion album to "Slivers.exe". (Guys, I didn't even know that .bat was also a file extension...) And they'll be releasing it just in time for the start of the next tour!
Then, the curtains opened and cute Meto-chan appeared on stage with his teddy bear. The audience got really loud, but Meto gestured at us to be quiet as he picked up the microphone and held it up to his teddy bear. A squeaky, distorted voice greeted us. It was a little hard for me to understand what the teddy bear was saying because of the distortion, but I later realized that the teddy bear was telling us about the contest the band is holding to submit names for Meto's bear. The winning name will be announced at their next tour final.
Meto then climbed behind his drums and started drumming. He would drum for a bit and then pause. Then, everyone in the crowd would raise up their hands and yell "Meto~". He would then start drumming again. This pattern continued, speeding up as we went along, until Koichi and Mia burst out onto the stage and started playing. Koichi had styled his bouncy ponytail into a doughnut bun. Mia was wearing a long grey jacket with a hood. After a minute, Tsuzuku joined them as well. He'd switched his jacket for one with some black feathers on the collar. He also congratulated us because the staff had told him that we had made the floor shake above us. Aww yeah~
The boys kicked off the encore with "Chameleon Yummy" another song that's fun as hell. This song also has the back and forth. Tsuzuku would point while he sang, directing the crowd left then right. Then, he would call us to the front and people would rush the stage. The boys would go near the front and let the crowd touch them. I wish I could've gotten in on that action, but the back of the crowd didn't seem to be into it. I was a few rows behind people who weren't doing it otherwise I would've squeezed my way into the front like some of the other crowd members did.
The band then performed "Messiah" from the new mini album. I can definitely hear how it's related to "Slivers.exe", as it has the same kind of sound. I'm looking forward to the rest of the tracks!
Tsuzuku did some cute hopping dancing during "Invisible Tower Maker". It was also during this song that I realized I was probably getting blisters on my big toes from all the jumping around. (>.<;) I guess that means I should probably get some new shoe inserts.
At some point during the encore, (though I don't remember when) Tsuzuku gave Mia a kiss. Adorable boys.
They ended the set with "Avalon". Right after the boys left the stage, we started calling for another encore. We had to wait for a little while again, but the boys came back. Mia wheeled Meto out in his wheelchair and zoomed him around the front of the stage. Mia then sat in the wheelchair and wheeled his way around a bit. Tsuzuku teasingly told him not to play around, so he wheeled his way off stage.
The band kicked off the 2nd encore with "トロシナ", which is like the Mejibray equivalent of "Kantou". It's a song that repeats over and over while the crowd goes crazy, and the boys have their fun. All of the boys started out on their instruments, but quickly abandoned them to have some fun as the backing track kicked in. During this song there was more back and forth in the audience. We did it over and over again, watching the antics at the front of the stage. Meto had a tambourine that he shook around. Then he and Mia brought out the smoke machines and sprayed the crowd with them. The boys would also reach into the crowd. At several points Koichi and Tsuzuku definitely threw themselves into the crowd. Between all of this, the boys kept spraying water bottles and throwing them into the crowd. I swear, they had to have thrown about 2 dozen bottles into the crowd. At one point, Tsuzuku took a sip of water and spit it into Meto's mouth. Then, Meto made out with him for a couple seconds. This all went on for quite a while, until Tsuzuku announced it was the last time. The boys then ran back to their instruments and finished the song.
Tsuzuku then thanked all of us. He told us that we were all part of Mejibray. Aww. Then, it was time for the final song. They hadn't played it yet, so I'd guessed that it was going to be "カルマ". I was right! It's another one of my favorites, so I was happy to hear it.
When the song ended, the boys left the stage. Meto was the last one left on stage.To get to the front of the stage, he climbed over the drum set instead of walking around it. (Meto is nothing if not dedicated to his stage persona.) He threw a bunch of drumsticks into the audience. He would kiss each stick before he threw it to the crowd. After he was done, he had a sort of animalistic breakdown on stage. He then grabbed his teddy bear and sank to the ground, holding his hands over his head. The curtains then closed, signaling the end of the live.
I tried to get up to the top floor and the goods line fairly quickly. I waited in line for a little bit and was able to buy a towel and some チェキ pics. I ended up with two pictures of Mia, one of Koichi, and one of Tsuzuku. I sadly didn't get any of Meto this time. As I slipped through the crowd to get my things out of the locker, a Japanese girl offered to buy my Tsuzuku picture, but I politely declined. I collected the rest of my stuff and I was off.
Of course, the night can't just end there. As I got on my final train transfer to get home, I literally walked straight into a group of my students from Koyo. It took a second for the girls to recognize me, since I was all made up for the concert and I wasn't wearing my glasses. (Teacher Erin and normal Erin have pretty different fashion styles.) The girls were surprised to see me and wanted to take a picture with me. They saw what I was carrying and asked me which live I'd gone to. I told them it was a visual kei live (not specifically Mejibray, cause well...Mejibray's a pretty oddly sexualized band). They asked if there was head banging and when I said yes they seemed impressed. Luckily, that line of questioning ended there and they started asking me if I'd be coming back to Koyo during the new school year instead. After that they left me alone. It's not that I mind seeing my students. It's just that I'd prefer them to see me when I'm not disheveled and coming home from a concert. I guess it was bound to happen sooner or later though, with the amount of lives that I go to. And that was the end of my night.
I loved Mejibray before this live, but the band definitely has my heart now. The live was good enough that it's catapulted them up near the top on my list of favorite bands. (It's also probably cemented Tsuzuku as my favorite member of the band.) I definitely want to get tickets to at least one of their shows during their next tour. It's also my goal to be closer to the stage next time. Gotta buy from e+plus so I can get A tickets instead of B tickets!
This live was the final of their Schwarzer Anfang tour and it was at Ebisu Liquidroom. I arrived at the live house right around the time they started letting people in. I was able to stash my stuff in a locker and still have plenty of time to get inside the stage area, since I had a B ticket and all the (500+) A tickets were called inside first. I noticed a surprising number of other foreigners at the live while I was waiting to enter. Probably about 2 dozen or so, which is a lot for an indies band.
Once I was inside, I was able to get a spot a little further back on the right side. It wasn't quite as close as I would've liked, but it wasn't a bad view and I could see all of the stage, which was nice. I then proceeded to wait for what felt like forever for the live to start.
I had worked myself into a fine state of impatience by the time the live finally started. The intro started playing and the curtains parted on stage to reveal Meto. He was sitting in his wheelchair with his teddy bear, pushed by a black hooded figure. Meto was wearing his Avalon outfit, complete with kitty hood and grotesque eyeball hanging from his eye socket. The only difference was that his hair is now blonde. He slowly got up from the wheelchair and pounced onto the platform at the front of the stage. He ripped off his hood to reveal his bare chest covered in some intense looking (fake) scratches. Next up was Koichi, who prettily posed on the platform. I always forget and then find it adorable when I remember that Koichi has bare feet on stage. I think he was wearing the top part of his Avalon outfit, but pants that showed off his hips instead of the shorts. Mia was next on stage and he was wearing his Avalon outfit, but had his Die Kusse hair. He did a sexy little pose. I swear Mia makes a ridiculous amount of sex kitten faces. He's lucky that they look good on him lol. Last, Tsuzuku finally took the stage. He was wearing his Avalon outfit (the leopard spotted one, with the net shirt), but had his Die Kusse hair which I love. Dark hair is definitely a good look on him.
Here's the set list for the live, courtesy of Tsuzuku's blog:
1.DIE KUSSE
2.Sliver
3.CRAZED BRAIN
4.DISTANCE.exe
5.VIOLET
6.EMILY
7.これを依存と呼ぶなら
8.呼吸
9.Spice
10.サバト
11.KILLING ME
12.WRATH of GOD
13.Black baccarat
14.WANT
15.APOCALYPSE
16.Sadisgate
17.剥落
Encore
1.Chameleon YUMMY
2.メサイア
3Invisible Tower maker
4.-THINKER-
5.D.E.INCUBUS
6.アヴァロン
Encore2
1.トロシナ
2.カルマ-瓦礫のマンティコーラース-
The band opened with "DIE KUSSE", the newest single. I love "DIE KUSSE" and I'd been wondering if the band would open with it, so I was pleased. In the crowd, we all yelled the "Eins zwei drei vier" part with Tsuzuku. It seemed like it took most of the first song for the back of the crowd to get warmed-up, but once they warmed-up we were off, head banging and jumping all over the place. It was the type of show where if you don't want to actively participate in the head banging (etc.) you'd best get the fuck out of the way, or someone will accidentally get hurt. That kind of energy is always amazing!
I remember a specific moment during "DISTANCE.exe" during the head banging when I noticed Tsuzuku watching the crowd, holding his arms like he was conducting us in a symphony. I thought it was pretty cute.
After getting off to a hard and fast start, the band gave us a bit of a breather with a small slow set. Tsuzuku sang a bit of his part in "Emily" acapella, without the mic and his voice carried perfectly clearly through the venue. At the end of the song, he gave this heart wrenching scream and then went into the beginning of "これを依存と呼ぶなら".
"Spice" was sexy. I always thought the song had a sexy sound and this performance just made it better. Tsuzuku brought the mic stand to the platform at the front of the stage. He then proceeded to climb on the platform and lounge on it like a cat while he sang. Unf, Tsuzuku. That wasn't the only interesting thing about the song though. At the end of the song, a group of four hooded figures appeared on stage and surrounded Tsuzuku. Tsuzuku's body went limp and one of the hooded figures sprinkled (or maybe pretended to sprinkle?) something on his chest. They then carried his motionless body off the stage.
The stage went dark and this eerie sort of giggling and singing started. Then, there came this guitar squealing sound. I could see Mia's shadow in the light from his amp and I'm pretty sure he was actually making the guitar noises. The giggling and squealing blended together in an even creepier sound. This went on for a couple minutes.
Then, everything went silent. A pentagram of green light shone on the front of the stage and the intro from the "サバト" PV began playing. Five hooded figures re-appeared on stage and four of them began to circle around the fifth figure. The four figures then left the stage and the fifth figure removed his cloak, revealing that it was (of course) Tsuzuku. He'd changed into a sparkly black jacket. Then, the band performed "サバト" (one of my favorites). There was a cute moment that I think happened during "サバト". Koichi and Mia both came near the front of the stage, on either side of the platform, while they were playing. They looked at each other and then all of the sudden Tsuzuku butted his way in between them, needing to be in the middle of everything.
After the song, Tsuzuku did a little MC thanking us for coming and asking us how we liked his new jacket. Then he told us that though there had been tickets available earlier in the day, the venue had sold out. He asked us to get loud enough to make the floor shake upstairs (because there's a cafe attached to the venue upstairs).
During "WANT" was when the back and forth started. Following the beat of the song, on four counts, we would hop/dance from right to left. We'd only just barely started when the band stopped. It seemed that someone had fallen or the crowd had gotten too wild. Tsuzuku kept asking if we were okay. Then he turned to the crowd and gave the guys in the audience a strict talking to. (おい、男！) He told them that he knew they wanted to enjoy themselves, but that they had to be careful and watch out for the girls in the crowd. He told them that if they see a girl fall, they should help her up. This brought much clapping and cheering from us girls in the audience. If he didn't already have my heart, he definitely did then. He's such a sweetie to worry about us. Then, Tsuzuku started the song over from the beginning and we all hopped to it. It was so much fun!
Next up was "Apocalypse". Tsuzuku came up behind Koichi and Mia in turn while they were playing. He'd put his arm around their necks and make a motion like he was slitting their throats. I believe "Apocalypse" was also when Koichi decided to stage dive. He took off his bass and jumped into the crowd. I couldn't quite see what was going on after that, but it took him a while to get back to the stage. The band stopped playing again. Koichi climbed back on stage and Tsuzuku said "おかえり". He then (playfully) scolded Koichi a bit. I got the impression that Koichi had almost taken someone out with his stage diving. Oops. Tsuzuku asked the girl if she was okay several times and then asked Koichi to apologize. Koichi sheepishly went up to the microphone and said "ごめんね". Tsuzuku told him to say in again from the heart, so he said "ごめんなさい". With that taken care of, the band started playing again and finished off the end of the song.
During "Sadisgate" Tsuzuku brought out his red whip and cracked it. The boy clearly knows what he's doing with that whip. (I mean he did end up writing his first Shoxx column about S&M...)
The final song of the main set was "剥落". Good god, Tsuzuku. He really puts all he's got into this song. He started by hunching over and twisting his arms out oddly behind him, like something out of the Exorcist. His screams and singing during this song are chilling. As the song builds up, he works himself into this furor, somehow simultaneously headbanging and kicking one of his feet up at the same time. The song ended with Tsuzuku standing at the front of the stage and a green lazer light appeared pointing straight at his heart. The curtains closed and the light disappeared.
The encore calls began right away, but the boys kept us waiting for a little bit before returning. Before they returned to the stage and an announcement was projected in more green laser lights onto the curtains. They announced that their next mini album "MESSIAH.bat" will be released on 5/1! According to Mia's tweets, this is going to be a companion album to "Slivers.exe". (Guys, I didn't even know that .bat was also a file extension...) And they'll be releasing it just in time for the start of the next tour!
Then, the curtains opened and cute Meto-chan appeared on stage with his teddy bear. The audience got really loud, but Meto gestured at us to be quiet as he picked up the microphone and held it up to his teddy bear. A squeaky, distorted voice greeted us. It was a little hard for me to understand what the teddy bear was saying because of the distortion, but I later realized that the teddy bear was telling us about the contest the band is holding to submit names for Meto's bear. The winning name will be announced at their next tour final.
Meto then climbed behind his drums and started drumming. He would drum for a bit and then pause. Then, everyone in the crowd would raise up their hands and yell "Meto~". He would then start drumming again. This pattern continued, speeding up as we went along, until Koichi and Mia burst out onto the stage and started playing. Koichi had styled his bouncy ponytail into a doughnut bun. Mia was wearing a long grey jacket with a hood. After a minute, Tsuzuku joined them as well. He'd switched his jacket for one with some black feathers on the collar. He also congratulated us because the staff had told him that we had made the floor shake above us. Aww yeah~
The boys kicked off the encore with "Chameleon Yummy" another song that's fun as hell. This song also has the back and forth. Tsuzuku would point while he sang, directing the crowd left then right. Then, he would call us to the front and people would rush the stage. The boys would go near the front and let the crowd touch them. I wish I could've gotten in on that action, but the back of the crowd didn't seem to be into it. I was a few rows behind people who weren't doing it otherwise I would've squeezed my way into the front like some of the other crowd members did.
The band then performed "Messiah" from the new mini album. I can definitely hear how it's related to "Slivers.exe", as it has the same kind of sound. I'm looking forward to the rest of the tracks!
Tsuzuku did some cute hopping dancing during "Invisible Tower Maker". It was also during this song that I realized I was probably getting blisters on my big toes from all the jumping around. (>.<;) I guess that means I should probably get some new shoe inserts.
At some point during the encore, (though I don't remember when) Tsuzuku gave Mia a kiss. Adorable boys.
They ended the set with "Avalon". Right after the boys left the stage, we started calling for another encore. We had to wait for a little while again, but the boys came back. Mia wheeled Meto out in his wheelchair and zoomed him around the front of the stage. Mia then sat in the wheelchair and wheeled his way around a bit. Tsuzuku teasingly told him not to play around, so he wheeled his way off stage.
The band kicked off the 2nd encore with "トロシナ", which is like the Mejibray equivalent of "Kantou". It's a song that repeats over and over while the crowd goes crazy, and the boys have their fun. All of the boys started out on their instruments, but quickly abandoned them to have some fun as the backing track kicked in. During this song there was more back and forth in the audience. We did it over and over again, watching the antics at the front of the stage. Meto had a tambourine that he shook around. Then he and Mia brought out the smoke machines and sprayed the crowd with them. The boys would also reach into the crowd. At several points Koichi and Tsuzuku definitely threw themselves into the crowd. Between all of this, the boys kept spraying water bottles and throwing them into the crowd. I swear, they had to have thrown about 2 dozen bottles into the crowd. At one point, Tsuzuku took a sip of water and spit it into Meto's mouth. Then, Meto made out with him for a couple seconds. This all went on for quite a while, until Tsuzuku announced it was the last time. The boys then ran back to their instruments and finished the song.
Tsuzuku then thanked all of us. He told us that we were all part of Mejibray. Aww. Then, it was time for the final song. They hadn't played it yet, so I'd guessed that it was going to be "カルマ". I was right! It's another one of my favorites, so I was happy to hear it.
When the song ended, the boys left the stage. Meto was the last one left on stage.To get to the front of the stage, he climbed over the drum set instead of walking around it. (Meto is nothing if not dedicated to his stage persona.) He threw a bunch of drumsticks into the audience. He would kiss each stick before he threw it to the crowd. After he was done, he had a sort of animalistic breakdown on stage. He then grabbed his teddy bear and sank to the ground, holding his hands over his head. The curtains then closed, signaling the end of the live.
I tried to get up to the top floor and the goods line fairly quickly. I waited in line for a little bit and was able to buy a towel and some チェキ pics. I ended up with two pictures of Mia, one of Koichi, and one of Tsuzuku. I sadly didn't get any of Meto this time. As I slipped through the crowd to get my things out of the locker, a Japanese girl offered to buy my Tsuzuku picture, but I politely declined. I collected the rest of my stuff and I was off.
Of course, the night can't just end there. As I got on my final train transfer to get home, I literally walked straight into a group of my students from Koyo. It took a second for the girls to recognize me, since I was all made up for the concert and I wasn't wearing my glasses. (Teacher Erin and normal Erin have pretty different fashion styles.) The girls were surprised to see me and wanted to take a picture with me. They saw what I was carrying and asked me which live I'd gone to. I told them it was a visual kei live (not specifically Mejibray, cause well...Mejibray's a pretty oddly sexualized band). They asked if there was head banging and when I said yes they seemed impressed. Luckily, that line of questioning ended there and they started asking me if I'd be coming back to Koyo during the new school year instead. After that they left me alone. It's not that I mind seeing my students. It's just that I'd prefer them to see me when I'm not disheveled and coming home from a concert. I guess it was bound to happen sooner or later though, with the amount of lives that I go to. And that was the end of my night.
I loved Mejibray before this live, but the band definitely has my heart now. The live was good enough that it's catapulted them up near the top on my list of favorite bands. (It's also probably cemented Tsuzuku as my favorite member of the band.) I definitely want to get tickets to at least one of their shows during their next tour. It's also my goal to be closer to the stage next time. Gotta buy from e+plus so I can get A tickets instead of B tickets!
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Date: 2013-03-05 09:18 pm (UTC)and to cap it all off, this seemed to have happened already at the end of 2011! just where have I been all this time?? *mumbles*
ok, scratch that. I know where I have been *eyes her employer*
you know, my subject line would have been "fünf sechs sieben acht", in continuation of your lj-cut text, haha. :)
I'm tempted to overrun the coding with some scripts and make your posts the testing ground for my comments.
Anyway, I'm glad you enjoyed the concert and had a fun night - even though you ran into your students. But hey, at least you've seen them only after the concert.
Just think about what impression they will get when you end up right beside them while being at a concert. XD
I haven't listened to Mejibray that much yet. Only 2 or 3 songs, after Aoi started mentioning them. I am aware that their fanbase is increasing rapidly and surely with good reason, but I've kept my distance so far.
This might end in another addiction otherwise, I'm afraid. I don't even know who is who, shame on me :P
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Date: 2013-03-06 01:22 pm (UTC)I actually think I'd be pretty amused if I saw some of my students at a J-rock concert. XD I actually ran into a couple of my students at a K-pop concert that I went to last year, but our seats were not near each other.
I've honestly only started listening to them pretty recently, but I definitely recommend Mejibray! They're quite talented for being such a young band. Their lead singer Tsuzuku is definitely a big Gazette fanboy, too. A while ago he tweeted about crying while watching the Decade DVD. XD
Also, I've been meaning to ask you, do you want me to pick up anything for you at the Gazette live this weekend? I probably can't get a lot of stuff, but if there's a few things you want I should be able to pick them up for you. :)
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Date: 2013-03-06 11:42 pm (UTC)You see, I'm currently staying home for a few days (unavoidable necessary - I have to thank the doc for realizing this on my behalf) and after one week and a half I had relaxed to the point that I could actually give my attention to such simple things as writing comments and thinking about coding. It's a sad situation when you look closer at it, so let's not dwell there. ^^;;
Now it's already Thursday and I'm mentally preparing to get back to work on Monday. It makes me totally jittery and I'm unable to handle any mundane stuff right now. You could also say that I'm blocking myself. I'm good at that lately.
I've made some notes about the coding, though. I will take you up on your offer at the beginning of April probably, when I have a few days off. Something to look forward to, haha. :)
Haha, it probably takes much of a coincidence to actually end up direct beside your students at any concert, given how many people attend such events. XD
That sounds so gay... fanboy crying while watching their DVDs. XD I guess we can label him as being adorable for doing that.
I wonder if it creeps them (Ruki and Aoi) out when they notice such tweets from fellow musicians.
You would pick up some stuff for me?? *_____*
*glomps tightly* I love you~
I haven't checked out the goods list before, because I thought I wouldn't be able to buy any at all.
I'd love to buy 2 or 3 items from that live.
Like always I wondered what the stuff would look like this time. Shame that they never post any previews on the OHP.
At least we can count on our man Ruki to post a pic on twitter beforehand (even though you need a magnifying glass to actually make out some details on that tiny thing)! XD
Is Ruki in love? There are these heart shapes everywhere... O__o
Anyway, could you try to get me the bear keyholders (1x black, 1x pink) and the pamphlet?
★BEARキーホルダー＜BLACK/PINK＞ 各¥2,000
★パンフレット＜with B3変形ポスター1種(全5種)＆A4変形ステッカーシート＞ ¥3,500
I kinda hope the pamphlet itself won't be in B3 format again, even though it includes a poster of that size. They could have it folded, no? Though I wouldn't be suprised if Ruki is anal about their posters being folded...
Let me know if the above is okay for you and I will send money to your paypal account right away. :)
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Date: 2013-03-07 10:11 am (UTC)Haha, okay. I really don't know about much more than basic coding, so have fun!
Gay? I know, right? XD But, I really do think he's adorable. He seems like a very emotional person. Sometimes he writes these really deep blog entries about life and music.
You know, I bet Ruki and Aoi would be flattered at other musicians looking up to them. J-rockers are such weirdos; they probably understand each other. XD
Ruki's being such a tease right now, posting that tiny picture! I'm sure he'll post better pics of things by the day of the concert though. He usually does. I wish he'd post them soon though because I want to know how much money I should bring.
I was surprised by the hearts this time, too. Gazette doesn't really seem like a hearts kind of band to me.
It's no problem! (^_^) <3 I'll try to get the keyholders and pamphlet for you. I'm planning to arrive early enough at the venue, so I don't think there should be a problem getting the goods.
I'll let you know after I buy the goods. As for payment, I think it'd probably be easiest to wait until I ship them to you and then just send all of the money to my Paypal at once.
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Date: 2013-03-07 08:15 pm (UTC)Honestly, I don't know what awaits me when I return to work. I will just have to wait and see how everything develops from now on. (oh, and I heard that one of my colleagues handed in her resignation at the same time. I'm not surprised.)
But yes, I really want to work on my approach towards my employment. Employers benefit from high motivated employees, who cut down their private life in order to keep running the big picture. I was kinda shocked to realize how much we all brainwashed ourselves over the past two years to the point that you feel guilty when you leave the office after 9 or 10 hours working, even though that's technically already overtime.
I want to get back to being able to leave the office after a normal range of hourse without feeling guitly. To be able to build up a life that does not consists only of work. I want to get back to the point where I can do creative stuff like work with photoshop and break my head over silly codes no one really needs without feeling that I'm sacraficing precious time which I should rather invest in work. Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy the work I'm doing. It's a rewarding job, in the sense that you get to work with lots of different people and scenarios. But work isn't everything in life, is it?
As strange as this sounds, I need to re-learn normal boundaries and it will be hard to stop current habits, especially when the whole working environment is kinda infected with it.
As a first step I'm trying to re-establish a normal slepping pattern. As things are I'm not able to sleep without the aid of sleeping pills, which scares me. For now they are necessary or I would not be getting any sleep at all, but my goal is to discontinue with the medication as soon as possible. Small steps... *nods*
I'm rambling a lot. XD
Maybe we should have a call via skype every now and then. Then I wouldn't have to type novels instead, haha.
I prefer artists who show a part of their inner dealings. Makes them appear more human.
So in this regard, thumbs up for Tsuzuku. （´-`）
Yeah, it's like J-rockers are a species of their own who can communicate via mind-speaking with each other.
Working in the same business seems to leave a mark on everyone. And it isn't as if they didn't deserve the attention from other musicians. They have come far by working hard and being persitent in their beliefs. It is admirable and probably incentive for younger bands to do similar.
These hearts are suspicious. (¬_¬)
But the printings one the t-shirts and other goods are probably lewd in detail, even if they are enclosed in a heart-shape. At least that's what I'd expect from Ruki. :P
Where will you be seated? Do you already know the section?
The hall is pretty big, I hope for you that you won't be too far away from the stage. :)
Thank you, this is much appreciated! <3
Sure, whatever works best for you. I will wait until the final payment amount then. ^^
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Date: 2013-03-08 09:49 am (UTC)It's not fair that you should have to make your life all about work. You deserve to have free time and you should be able to relax and enjoy yourself without worrying. I hope that things will improve!
I don't blame you for not wanting to take the sleeping pills. I don't like the idea of having to take medication to go to sleep. Hopefully you can get to a point where you'll no longer need them.
Yeah, we should Skype! Is there a certain time that's good for you to Skype? I'm usually on Skype during the weekends, or sometimes in the evenings during the week. Of course, that's Japan time. I'm not sure what time that would be in Germany though.
I agree with you. I like artists who reveal their personal feelings. It makes them feel more like their real people, instead of some mysterious figure on stage. I think that's a big part of the reason why Tsuzuku's become my favorite member of Mejibray.
They definitely deserve the attentions from other musicians. I'm sure that being admired by younger bands makes them feel good because surely they've been in the same position as the younger bands, looking up to older musicians.
I'll be surprised if the details of the hearts aren't lewd. If they're too cute, I'll be pretty shocked. XD
I don't know where my seat will be yet. I won't know until I pick up my ticket the day of the show. GFC tickets at larger shows usually tend to be pretty good, so hopefully I'll have a nice view.
You're welcome! <3
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Date: 2013-03-09 08:58 pm (UTC)She will come to our office only about twice per month it seems, as she is also the manager of other teams in other countries.
If things do not improve I'll worry myself to death... and before that happens I will have to change jobs, and when this becomes necessary then I'll worry about actually finding a new job. Vicious cycle. But we will see. At the moment I still have some hope.
I'm usually on Skype only within the week due to the job. But it is no problem for me to log on on the weekends when I have agreed on calls in specific time frames (I usually avoid messengers on the weekends, as turning them on makes me available for my colleagues when they happen to work on the weekends and I just try to avoid that). XD
As for the time, in Japan you are 7 to 8 hours ahead of me, depending on standard time in winter and daylight saving time in summer. We currently have the winter scheme here, so you are 8 hours ahead. We will be changing to DST on 31st March. So right now, if you are for example on skype at 7 PM your time, it will be 11 AM for me.
We could try out some different times and see which work best for us? Though I'll most likely orientate myself on your schedules. ^^
I would say they still are in that position with some artists they have always looked up to, even though the scales are more balanced now. They must feel good about the attention, no doubt. XD
I mean, they are in the position to be recognized by the musicians they look up to, as well as being a role model for younger bands. It's always good to be in the middle, haha.
*points at the pouch slogan* 'take me' says it all... (¬_¬")
I can't help but think that Ruki always stays on the perverted side, not that I complain. XD
I bet on anything between row 6 until 15, first floor. XD
You only have a few hours left to find out. Have a great time there! ^^
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Date: 2013-03-11 09:45 am (UTC)Weekends would probably be the best time for us to talk then. It looks like it would be hard to coordinate our schedules during the week because of work. If you're not too busy this weekend, I think that I might be able to talk late Saturday night (Japan time), which I think would be during Saturday afternoon for you.
If you can send me your address, I can try to get the goods shipped to you this week! Just send it to my email (either egorz@comcast.net or rinlin813@gmail.com). Also, is there a certain type of shipping you'd prefer? I usually like to send stuff via EMS. It's a little expensive, but it's fast and you're able to track the packages.
The 11th row was a pretty nice spot! I'm planning on writing a live report, so hopefully I'll get that posted in the next couple of days. :)
I'm so excited about the new tour! I hope that plans work out, so that we can see each other!
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Date: 2013-03-11 10:11 pm (UTC)I will have a call with my boss on Wednesday about my contract. Doesn't look too promising, tbh.
I guess I'll do what mom advised. Setting everything ruthlessly on one card. I have nothing to lose anyway.
If I continue to work under the current circumstances, then I'll fall ill again, and they will kick me out for that. And if it's already decided that they don't want to keep me for whatever agenda they're following, then I'm out of there either way, no matter what arguments I have at hand. Now I just need to demonstrate this calmness when I actually have that meeting. I'm nervous around new people, especially when I need to talk in English.
Looks like it. At least on weekends we don't have to rush. XD
Saturday sounds great.
I will send you my address in a few minutes. ^^
Either EMS or registered airmail is fine (everything else mostly falls prey to evil stealing people at the delivery agencies... I never received Gazette's new year card due to this, can you believe this?! evil! *sobs*).
EMS is pretty fast and I'd prefer getting the stuff sooner than later, so please use EMS if possible :D
I'd hope that you write one! XD
Memories need to be captured. From experience I know that little details start to fade away after a while, even when you thought that you would never forget those. Our memory is funnily structured.
Can you please include a gimmick for me in the report? I'd like to know if they played Skid Row's "Breakin' down" as an outro song after the concert was over. They played that song after every live in the past tours and I deeply connect it to them by now, so I'd just like to know if they stick to this tradition. ^^
The news yesterday had me totally excited, but as things are now I really need to get my current employment clarified first. When I tumble headfirst into this excitement and then in 2 months it turns out that I cannot make it happen simply because I'm jobless, then I'd be really crushed. I need to avoid getting my hopes up too high in this situation.
But I really hope I'll be able to work things out so that we can see each other again! That would be a highlight for 2013 and I need such sparks in my routine :D
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Date: 2013-03-12 10:07 am (UTC)Okay, then let's try Saturday! I think I'll be able to talk after 10 PM (Japan time). I'll send you a tweet if something changes.
I shipped the package after work today! I used EMS, so if we're lucky maybe you'll have it by the end of the week! Shipping was 2,000 yen and the goods were 7,500 yen, so the total is 9,500 yen. You can send the money to my Paypal (egorz@comcast.net). If you could send the money in dollars like last time, I'd appreciate it!
I'm definitely going to write one! I wrote notes about the live right after it happened, I just need to sit down and type it all up coherently now. XD
I don't think they played "Breakin' Down". They played a different English song that I recognized, but I can't remember the name. ^_^; They did still play "Knockin' On Heaven's Door" before the second encore though.
I'll keep my fingers crossed for you! Let me know how things go!
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Date: 2013-03-12 09:18 pm (UTC)Then all should go fine. *nods*
I even found out that I'm not alone with my frustration. A colleague of mine with similar contract circumstances and salary is fed up about the same issues as me. Makes me feel relieved that I'm not the only one that thinks that most people in our environment are hopelessly brainwashed.
Alright! :D
I will switch on skype around that time then. Looking forward to it! yay <3
Ahh, these were the best news of the day! Made me so happy~ =^.^=
I sent the money in dollars. Let me know when the amount after paypal fees is less than it is supposed to. I don't trust the rates paypal applies, so I usually round up.
I always need to type reports the same night after the concert or I lose too many details. It feels kinda like everything's overflowing and at some point my brain simply shuts down... like when you have closed away a memory very far in the back of your mind with a lid above it and it's closed so tightly that you cannot re-open it again. I seem to do that equally with all kinds of memories.
One of my colleagues can tell hundreds of tiny anecdotes from her life and I only wonder why I cannot pull up so many memories from my past as she obviously does without any troubles. XD
Knockin' On Heaven's Door is a classic! I love that they include this song before the 2nd encore every single time (at least to the concerts I've been to) :D
I will *nod nod*
I mean... you will probably notice. ^^;;
Either I will bawl my eyes out or I will write novels about the progress of the vacation planning, haha. Mom always says I jabber like a waterfall when I'm talking about things that are exciting to me.
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Date: 2013-03-13 01:57 pm (UTC)Okay! It'll be good to actually talk with you! <3
I got the money and it was just enough after the fees. Thank you! ^_^
Sometimes it takes me a couple days to get around to writing concert reports, so if I can't write them right away I always make notes for myself. Otherwise, I'd definitely forget details about what I wanted to say.
I actually just posted the concert report, so check it out if you want to read it!
Well, I'll hope for the best option! I'd much rather hear the novels about the process of vacation planning. XD