Demivee

For the next 2 weeks I will enjoy my very first Japan-trip. As I will visit 4 concerts in this period I thought you may be interested in a report of the shows. February 15, 2020 - Buglug, Arlequin, Kizu (Man only) - Meguro Rokumeikan So this will be it: My first concert on Japanese ground! I was beyond excited. The concert was scheduled for 5:30. We went there early to avoid any troubles. In front of the venue a nice guy from Israel spotted us and gave us some useful tips for attending a concert in Japan (the entrance system, behaving etc.) Thanks for that man! He also told us that this venue is legendary one. Especially known for X Japan shows in their indies. We entered the venue after climbing some stairs down. It was much smaller then I expected. I would say it has a capacity of 150~200. There were no boundaries in front of the stage so the atmosphere is really intimate. Arlequin (アルルカン) started the evening. Of course I am familiar with the name of the band but never dared to listen to them. But wow - they were great! They really really had fun with the man only gig. Aki pumped us with shouting Otoko!! several times. He even grabbed his guts lol. He did some stage diving between one song. I really liked his stage performance and the rest of the band was great too! I will definitely get into their discography. They played around 45 minutes. I can‘t report a setlist, sorry. Second band was (finally) Kizu (キズ). They were the main reason for choosing this concert as I really ship them! So this report will be very long. 😁 As not being the headliner you could see that most of the fans came for Kizu. So as their intro started the venue was pumped! Lime‘s outfit was a mix between a vampire and the Joker. He had a long black cape, joker makeup (the Heath Ledger one) and hair extension. Reiki looked as usual with his short trousers. But his hair is grown much longer. Yue had a very dandy look with his hair combed back. He wore a black suit which was open so you could see his upper body. Kyonosuke had an interesting look with combed back hair too and a black ruffled indefinable top. They started with Heisei which is so much better live! Lime played a second guitar. Next song was Buta also a very nice live experience. Then Jugo - and omg what a madness. So much headbanging and Furi. Same with the following Elise. I‘m not a big fan auf Kuro ame but I have to admit the song is beautiful live. Lime sang the first verse without microphone and that gave me shivers. You could also see that the song is very emotional for the whole band. The silence after Kuro ame was short as they played Oshimai - fuck yes! It was wild. Reiki did his guitar flip and the crowd was insane. Last song was Kizuato - forget what I was saying about Oshimai... this song was insane! That breakdown in the end. 😱 I hoped that they play it and I was so happy. And this was it. A 45 minute concert which felt like 10 minutes... If you have any chance to watch them, do it! Setlist キズ: 平成 豚 十五 ELISE 黒い雨 おしまい 傷痕 And last but not least BugLug entered the stage. They were the headliner for the show. I‘ve never heard one song of them so I was excited to see what they may deliver. Light went out and a SE started to play as someone tiped my shoulder. It was the lead singer lol. They surprised us and came from the entrance straight through the audience to the stage. They shouted something with a megaphone. That was really cool. Next surprise: Before they started to iniateted a wall of death. Neat! They did a really good and entertaining show with stage diving, moshing, fan service etc. While the last song the singer came right into the audience and sang the whole song there and even started to mosh. Great band but their music is not my cup of tea. (Please don‘t kill me dear BugLug fans!) They also played 45 minutes. I don‘t know their songs but I took a picture of their setlist if someone is interested. So this was it! A great concert with left us all with smiling faces. next one is the Meme Oneman on February 18. I hope you liked this review and didn‘t fall asleep while reading. I will soon write again after the next concert.

Strange, in my opinion the Berlin performance was so much better than the one in Dortmund. Kyo and Toshiya were on fire today! At the Dortmund show Kyo looked like he wanted to be somewhere else. But today his screams and his acting was awesome IMO. TWoM was intense!

The one with TWoM as the starter. Encore was Followers, Gaika, Utafumi. But it was not exactly the setlist from St. Petersburg. E.g. they played Aka after Zetsuentai. I can not recall every song position, sorry! concert was over after 90 minutes (21:30) @EvilHippy yes they did!

Just a quick reminder that Gaika is a fucking beast live. 😱

Sieht man jemanden bei DEG in Dortmund und/oder Berlin?

DSS will be sold as Vinyl again - which is pretty nice. Gan-Shin also is teasing a surprise for the latter half of the tour. Maybe a TIW Vinyl too?! For Arche: I dunno about Spotify, but the here in Germany the album is available at Apple Music.

"In the next episode of Dimlim no Dorama: Will Retsu finally find his true inner self? Is Sho able to handle the sudden fame after the release of MISC or will he leave the band just one week before their sold out Tokyo Dome Show? Will Hiroshi finally doing anything? Will Laptop-san finally get the stage presence he deserves?" I would assume that the Smiley Thing will be their next PV.

I honestly wanted to like this album but the outcome made it impossible for me. Misc is one messy beast and a really unsettling listening experience. The whole thing sounds as confusing and random as Retsu's social media slapping over the last weeks. I really don't know who they (he) want to aim with this sound. Some of you also stated the electronic samples. Yeah, cringy is the perfect description for them. Especially the SEs are freaking annoying. Three quarters of the album sound the same (Which isn't always something bad as CHEDOARA had a stringent structure, too) and songs like MIST or Funny World are kinda bland and forgettable. I rather not start talking about fucking Lament.. What's up? for me is the only highlight followed by before it's too late and Tick Tak. This state of the band really is a waste of talent and I hope that Sho will leave this sinking ship soon and joins a banging VK combo again. He is too talented for draining in a J-Pop band. I'm curious of how well this album will be embraced and if they will gain new fans with their new sound. But it is with a tearing eye that one of my (our) VK hopes left the arena and will definitely not come back.

Sorry, I was talking about the preview snippets from ITunes.

Nobody mentioned yet that Sho is throwing some Engrish lyrics at us? In the samples it sounds actually quite good but I‘m not sure if I like that approach if it is done for pleasing us Gaijins. 🤔

Hmm, difficult. I really dig the song as it is a logical continuation of Rijin. But I fear that the outcome of the album will be to stale and poppy. We‘ll see.. But I‘m defintely grateful that Retsu didn‘t throw some trip-emo-hop at us...

This picture of 9GBO was my mobile phone wallpaper for like 2 years. Dunno why but I love every aspect about this shot.

https://kyotakumrau.tumblr.com/post/190271978167/rock-and-read-087-interview-with-kyo-part-23 Interesting (part of an) interview with Kyo. He gives some (hilarious) new insights in the neverending theme of his hate to touring abroad. And what I found very interesting he tackles the theme of dissatisfaction and how it started with leaving his musically boundarys when he founded sukekiyo.

Yeah they should take good care of that laptop with samples.. 🙃

„We‘ve changed.now it‘s your turn next“ - lol wtf Retsu

Dunno if it is correct to post it here but: I have 1 ticket for Dortmund and 1 ticket for Berlin for selling. If anyone is interested in one or both tickets please contact me.

I will attend their Oneman in February. If they are selling the single at the merch-booth I may buy one for you.

Ah now I see clear. Their masterplan was to step away from VK so that they can‘t be crowned for the worst rollout in VK history. 😂

lol @ the first minute being a complete Take this life - In Flames rip off.

If the whole album sounds as brutal as in the snippet it will be a banger

It's out! But sadly this album sounds mediocore at it's best.. Maybe it clicks with me after a few spins. Outstanding tracks for me so far: PHILIA, anagram (what a beauty!) and 宇宙の詩 〜Higher and Higher〜.

Gaika it was. 😮 I feel so sorry for LA recieving fucking STU..

If lord Retsu would have been around 20 years ago he may have cured Kyo from his pain and showed him the ultimate way of expressing feelings on stage.