The Reverend

Pretty much my feelings. I theoretically could check a ton of twitter pages myself... but I never will. Miss you @Trombe! (My boss will be happy... I've definitely wasted a ton of time at work reading about crappy bands Trombe posts about)

I voted for Avelcain. I imagine this poll would be closer if we were judging peak-2014-Avelcain vs. current Dezert. Of course right now it's Dezert no question. We've already seen the rise and fall of Avelcain. Dezert might (and hopefully will) blow us away and release two great albums the next few years and go down as all-timers... but I'd say history would lead me to believe they won't, and that we should be selling our Dezert stock as this is likely the high.

For the other folks here who bought the box-set: how lame was the lyrics 'booklet'??

Got some goodies on presumed dead but surprisingly resurgent media this weekend: My buddy's hardcore band and another split I picked up on a whim 'cause they're from my hometown. That DLQ goodness courtesy of Rarezhut.

Be real did you just clean your desk? (If not I'm impressed. My desk, at work at least, is a disaster)

Yo! Here's some fliers I was given in Japan (mostly at AREA I think?) that I don't really want... so whoever does can have them for the cost to send them to you (I'd prefer to send them to someone who's also in the US.... because I'd feel bad making you pay way too much shipping for some paper, but if you really want them anyway holla) Some 'highlights' include a gloriously cheesy three different costumes Asagi flier, Heart, Gotcharocka, Sick2, Screw.

Seminal.

Amen! *goes to check out the first album based on your review AND so I can choose option B in the poll*

So last month I went to some VK shows in Japan. My first night in Tokyo I actually planned to just sleep (jetlag be damned!) because I had been awake for about 30 hours of airports and planes and was gross and tired. Fortunately, because it makes for a better story not that I wasn't cursing it in the moment, I arrived at the AirBNB apartment I was renting about 20 minutes before I was supposed to check in and my host was still cleaning it. So, I had to kill at least 20 minutes but since I was wandering back outside (at least I got to drop my bag off!) I decided to hit a concert nearby. I was staying near the Otsuka station in Ikebukuro. It was now 15 minutes to 5pm... and knowing how early these VK shows start I knew I'd have to pick something nearby to not miss a few bands. I could name three livehouses in Ikebukuro off the top of my head (who knows what important information has been pushed out of my brain by all this pointless VK minutiae.) Ikebukuro Chop had a few bands I'd never heard of playing, and I'm pretty sure Aie isn't in any of them. Ikebukuro Blackhole had a slew of bands, a couple of whom I'd heard of but not listened to.... but oh that show started at 4 not gonna work. Ikebukuro Edge has bands I've mostly heard of but never actually checked out any of them.... let's do that! I started at a different train station just ten minutes before the show was scheduled to start and still made it just before the first band went on! None of the bands at this show really wowed me, and it was a month ago at this point, so I don't think I could manage a very good fully fleshed out live report. But it also seemed a waste to have taken notes and not doing anything with them (and I love to read about concerts I can't go to from others)... so below you'll find my unedited notes (I didn't delete or add anything.... I don't even remember what some of the things I wrote mean at this point haha) from: 2016.5.31 Rivabook Presents 「Neo STARGATE」@ 池袋EDGE featuring: iNSOMNiA, Van9ish, Pisarro, Vexent, Salivan, Jack Caper, Piglow in Gloomy Insomnia - not a unique sound but at least are all in on it. Support drummer I assume, no makeup and tshirt. Didn't realize shitty VK shows would be literally 100% girls and me (and jeans are not the standard concert wear... only one other pair) Van9ish - I've been saying 'vanish' are they going for 'vanquish' ala Infi2ty? Doing that heavy/poppy arlequin/pentagon thing they're all doing. Vocalist laid on the 'me so crazy' a little too thick (writing all over him, possessed voice, that fucking maniacal laugh in every.single.song.) Stage right guitarist broke his B string in second song and didn't try to fix it. Could tell during a solo where he would've needed that string but he ad-libbed well enough. Cool ending, band all fell down and singer let out bloodcurdling scream as curtain closed. Pisarro - sound mostly the same. The bassist was having fun. Opened to members holding framed pictures of themselves (weird/narcissistic?) Vocalist screamed less and had pretty good vibrato. All seem a bitter older/mature... probably have been in other bands. Vexent - heavy/noisy. Had the most crowd participation. (Somebody's dad walked in between sets here) Salivan - guitarist had stuffed leopard on Ruki's wide-brimmed black hat. Michael Flatly dancing from vocalist. Technical difficulties... And singer definitely didn't want to have to fill the air for five minutes. Youngest. (Mobile game. Looked like host RPG on top... but had Bejeweled shit on bottom half.) Jack Caper (I think) - Thought they'd be darker... maybe because when I hear 'Jack Caper' I immediately think of Jack the Ripper. I actually left before the last band because, as I mentioned, I was freaking tired. Yes, I did not realize till afterward that the dude from Siva is now the vocalist of Pisarro... at least I was right about him being a scene vet. Here's a picture of the Salivan guitarist from the day of the show and his ridiculous hat (I think 'Michael Flatly dancing' was this weird dance the singer did that was mostly legs): And if anybody can post a link of whatever mobile game that girl was playing in front of me please do! It was definitely like Host-kei looking boys as the RPG sprites... but then during the battling part you had to do some bejeweled match shapes shit.

Damn I forgot Daishi + dude with a sax band was a thing!

I honestly can't decide if I think it's fun or really lame that he has a bunch of his own band's posters all over his walls.

Good to hear! (I haven't read any long reviews about it yet) I only managed to watch one of the new episodes this weekend.... I need to carve out some time this week.

Definitely D'espairs Ray for me. They were one of the first crop of indies VK bands I checked out in the very early 2000s after digging a little deeper than the DEG/MM/Luna Sea I first learned about... and that made me love them more in a "I've been riding for them since the beginning" kinda way. Not to mention... when it was de rigeuer for VK bands on the rise to play at anime conventions in the US, D'espairs Ray actually went on an honest to goodness (mini) tour. Seeing them at a hole in the wall club (how rock music is best experienced) in my hometown is a live music highlight for me!

So of course I agree that the Yomigaeri "PV" is embarrassing (and damn I'd be pissed if I shelled out the bucks for that super special edition of their latest release to get the PVs.... unless I really wanted that tshirt I guess). BUT! I think it's even lamer (more lame?) that they re-edited the ID video to cut out the two members who left the band. (you can still watch the preview from when it was new.... had shots of the drummer and other guitarist that are gone now.) I mean... this was released on a big, career-spanning box set! Don't pretend those dudes weren't part of said career, even if Avelcain's popularity undeniably happened after they had left. Hell, Kasumi wrote two (at least) of their early songs.... considering the vast majority of their songwriting was done by Eve, Kasumi may have written just as many Avelcain songs in total as any of the current members.

Alright so in the current trade-off thread I threatened to make a Fast and Furious power rankings.... and I totally meant it! Let me know what your list would look like/ why my order is terrible and I'm an idiot . In order from best to worst: 1. Fast Five - kinda came out of nowhere to mark the series getting really good when almost no one would've expected F&F making the leap from 'brainless gear-head porn' to 'smart action movie'. 2. Furious 7 - I love Jason Statham 3. Fast & Furious 6 - 6 and 7 are both slightly below Five because I thought the Rock was best as the antagonist. 4. The Fast and the Furious (1) - This one actually came out right when I was first getting my drivers license so I vividly remember seeing it in theaters and totally thinking I was going to be drag racing my old af, front wheel drive beater just as soon as I got a body kit and some NOS haha. 5. Tokyo Drift (3) - not 'good', but kinda fun. 6. Fast & Furious (4) 7. 2 Fast 2 Furious - this is about the only one I expect to be in the same position on everyone's list... god this one was embarrassing. If Eva Mendes wasn't seriously hot this might not have an redeeming qualities.

Legend definitely is a more worthwhile/interesting movie than all the sparkliness would have you believe at first blush.

SCAPEGOAT presents 全国TOUR 『死体は語る』Koriyama Club #9 2016/6/7 So I really wanted to see The Gallo while I was in Japan, and perhaps my best chance was to head up to Koriyama (about an hour away on the Shinkansen), a not particularly noteworthy city but that didn’t matter to me much. The day before I actually tried to use the 7-11 all in one business machine (or whatever they call it) to buy a ticket through Ticket Pia but the p-code listed on the website returned no results (maybe this was because the show was less than 24 hours away?). So with no more reassurance that I could get in after a train ride other than the fact that it didn’t say ‘Sold Out’ anywhere I boarded a train bound for Fukushima. I arrived at the venue (which had a real marquee out front!) about an hour before the doors opened hoping they had a ‘box office’ of sorts where I could buy a ticket. It turns out I could not, but maybe the most helpful staff member ever assured me if I came back at showtime I’d have no problem getting in. And when I returned he was super gracious about making sure I knew where the stage and bars were, props to you Club #9 guy. I imagine because this show was a bit more in the boondocks then the Tokyo or Osaka concerts I’d been attending, this was the first time I was the only foreigner in attendance… and I think I got a couple more (not unwarranted) looks of “what’s this old white dude know about VK?” than before. (All the attendees were super nice when we had reason to interact… which was mostly when I wanted to make sure I wasn’t blocking somebody’s view haha). This show started at a ridiculous 4 in the afternoon… do VK fans not have jobs or is it literally all high school girls and me in here? I think the entry foyer and bar might both be about the same size as the stage area at Club #9… yet they still have all the merch crammed here at the back. (though again the venue proves smarter than me because it was far from sold out and probably would’ve appeared painfully empty if they let people spread out any further.) Before the first band I headed up to the bar to grab a drink and marvel at the various band posters plastering the walls of the place. I don’t always even bother to cash in the drink ticket they make you buy at the door… but Club #9 actually uses little laminated tickets and I would’ve felt like a dick keeping that, intentionally or otherwise. On to the bands! IV - A band I’d never heard of. They’re like a filler VK band. Not good or bad. Hit the exact beats you’d expect them to. Here’s the headbanging at the waist part, here’s the jumping one way and then back the other part, etc. The worst part was the singer headbanging like he didn’t want to mess up his hair, get the fuck outta here with that. The bassist had a shirt that said “Less Stress More ____” with a block of white to fill in the blank, he definitely should write something in there. (or better yet get a cute fan to do it!) IV were eminently forgettable at this stage of their career. Forgot any melodies from their songs as soon as they stepped off the stage. As they were exiting the drummer tossed his water bottle into the crowd and it hit the floor and rolled limply to the feet of a girl near the back. After a second or two she resigned herself to picking it up and then offered it to fans of the band as they were filtering away from the stage. Between sets I spotted my first pair of earplugs on an audience member… though maybe there have been others with them covered by their hair. Iggy - To someone unfamiliar with VK you'd be hard pressed to explain the difference between IV and Iggy’s sets. But Iggy were acting like they *meant* it and having fun on stage. That feeling can come through a little bit on CD but is a huge factor in a live show. Iggy actually give me slightly Heisei-Ishin vibes during some tracks, so I was excited to see their set. The halloween looking guitarist came out with black make up smudged all around his mouth and lips and was definitely wearing gym shorts. I mean, they were VK-ified with some pointless zippers, but they were definitely just basketball shorts. Their bassist busted out a quick little slap solo that perked up my ears, not because it sounded great but because it sounded so unique in a VK song. The vocalist liked to make prolonged eye contact with people in the audience not participating, and also just used a girl up front to lean his foot on so he could get closer to the crowd at one point. Ouch. They played the song that stuck with me longest after the show/on the train ride home… always a good sign for a band. Nihilizm - Another band I have a soft spot for but would be hard pressed to explain why I like them over a hundred other bands that basically sound the same. I mean, I’ll be honest, the vocalist is not a very good singer. He’s like the epitome of an over nasally VK vocalist. But he was an imposing figure on the metal riser at the front of the stage screaming and snarling at the audience. Nihilizm also looked great, they came out with those red lace bands over their eyes that I think is just an aces look. They probably had the breakdown that sounded the most like legit deathcore (and there’s nothing I love more than skinny Asian boys who look like they’re cosplaying Louis XIV’s leather daddy courtesan rocking those downtuned guitars the fuck out.) Between sets I saw a bunch of those bowls (one of which I bought later) come out of girls’ bags… The Gallo must be next! ギャロ (or 大日本黒鶏主義者聯盟 as they’re going by for this tour for reasons I don’t know) - all had slightly matching sparkly black marching band inspired outfits (except for the support guitarist ). The stage left guitarist handed out small paper plates to the crowd before the music began so that even people who didn’t have an official Gallo bowl and spoon could join in the clapping (damn it I could’ve brought mine!) So I like The Gallo and their kind of weirdo, a little jangly take on VK; and the band lived up to that billing live. Jojo had lots of ‘I just escaped a mental institution’ faces and the other members too did lots of things I can’t describe as anything other than ‘weird’. Had some fun crowd participation bits. In addition to the bowl clapping, there was also one song wherein the crowd did a miniature version of the wave back and forth across the venue. During another the crowd all did that ska dance with the short little kicks I can’t remember the name of from high school…. Ahhh memories. Jojo, whose vibrato is just as intense live, could really wail like a banshee and was even a bit scary when doing so thanks to his blood red contacts and matching red lips. The guitarist could really bend backwards with the best of ‘em and did a lot of… I can’t really describe it was like he was feathering his strings with his fingers picking softly and rapidly. Their best bit of fun on stage was when the guitarist and bassist lined up behind Jojo and would pop out in opposite directions, or wave their arms to make a kind of hindu goddess figure from the front (if you’re as old as I am… think that Cosby Show intro with all the arms haha). Again, though, the support guitarist kind got left out of this. The song with the theremin did not have any theremin in it live (neither pre-recorded or extra-disappointingly played on stage). When their set ended the PA played a Gallo song and some of the crowd did the synchronized furi as if the show were still happening, glad to see the Gallo fans have as much fun as the band. (Though I must say Jojo seemed kinda angry or slightly detached during this performance, though again he’s a weirdo maybe it’s just part of the act.) Savage - Oh hey this is Depain with a new name (literally, not just that they sounded like them)! I would’ve paid them $100 to play Black Bother Barbarian. So they do dark/heavy VK with poppy choruses… which isn’t breaking any ground on wax but works for me live. When you’re not great musicians you can bury that shit in distortion if you’re playing metal! So the vocalist used to be charmingly bad but now he’s just average, I think I prefer the former. He does have a lot of confidence on stage though, and a slight oral fixation if how much he stuck his fingers in his mouth or spit water at the crowd is any indication. His best move of the night was crouching low on the riser, tumbling backwards into a reverse roll of sorts, then springing up perfectly timed to a big guitar/drum hit. I noticed the drummer looking totally envious of the other members during the ‘moshing’/diving part that he was stuck behind his kit not grabbing and throwing a bunch of pretty girls around. Ah the life of a drummer. Does anyone know which song of theirs (I’ve never listened to Savage) had the ‘whoa-oh-oh’s part? I rather liked that song, and enjoyed that the guitarist and bassist led the ‘whoa-oh’s rather than a pre-recorded vocal track. Reign - Reign, like And before them, are basically right at the center of the VK bell curve… it’s hard to have a take on them. They did do some cool roto-headbanging that included switching direction halfway through. Bet that took some rehearsing. Scapegoat - As the curtain opened one band member was standing on the riser posing with a scythe over his shoulders (which was probably intended to be badass but he also had a hat with feathers on it, which when lit from behind, may as well have been a straw hat lending the scene some serious scarecrow in a field vibes). To my surprise the scarecrow dude turned out to be the drummer… very rarely does the drummer get a chance to shine up front like that. And even more strange that the drummer had the most elaborate outfit of the four, in addition to the floppy hat he also had a very high vinyl collar. Scapegoat began their set with a piano and acoustic guitar ballad. Which would’ve been a really awesome move except we just listened to a pulsating SE track for their intro. The acoustic stuff should have just literally come first for more impact. Their bassist may have been the first VK bandman I’ve seen whose makeup was probably covering up a bit of a five o’clock shadow. He also achieved the lowest note I’d heard at any of these shows… he had my organs shaking during one track. So Scapegoat are by all appearances VK pros, and have some songwriting chops, but their tunes have just never clicked with me. It was a fun live, but I still left feeling that they were missing something. But I fully acknowledge that this is probably a failing on my part and not theirs. Different strokes and all that.

Just popping in to offer some more positive feedback about my experience with the V Star webshop: The web store experience itself was wonderful... it's such a joy to be able to buy some VK stuff from Japan without any extra, mandatory paypal steps, or getting emailed shipping quotes after the fact. At V-Star I could just enter my credit card info (yay my credit card doesn't charge foreign transaction fees!), pay for shipping right then, and that's everything. My CDs were packed well... and I also got some flyers and a handwritten note too! Special thanks to @Suuu and V-Star for letting me place an order but honoring my request to hold my package for a couple weeks as I was out of town. Go support people like V Star making it easier for people outside Japan to get ahold of VK goods!

Ok this one is for @emmny So as you can see above, Emmuree actually posted the lineup order (with set beginning times!) the day before the show. Given how long a lot of these event concerts can be, that’s a very nice move on their part. I wanted to see both the first and last band, however, so I was in it for the long haul. Today’s show at AREA had a much better crowd than the other day, but it was still far from its capacity. Shout-out to my new friend from Finland (whose name I forget I’m sorrrrrrrry) who was the only other white dude at the Kimi wa Surudoku show the other night, and was here again at AREA for this show. He came over and we chatted a little bit about shows we’d seen or were going to see (he had just seen SibileBashir who I planned to later). He said he’d read my report of that previous show which of course made me smile…. M-H is bringing people together worldwide! 紅蝉 (Benizemi) - I think all these concerts in a row is starting to affect my hearing a little bit (though Japan’s clubs haven’t been so loud I’ve pulled my earplugs out of my pocket yet… I wish tiny 100 person venues in America had the light and sound set up of these Tokyo spots) because I’m not sure if the singer for Benizemi walked out to just a little feedback static or if there were faint ocean waves playing. I kept hearing waves, but then I would chalk that up to my brain just trying to find patterns in the noise. Anyway, he came out looking all goth-y with a sleep mask (I’m not sure what better word for ‘mask that just covers your eyes is, ha’) full of flowers and performed the first song with it on. He (and most of the band) were very animated and the singer especially enjoyed spazzing out on stage. Hold up, is this girl bassist the same as the bassist from Karabinka the other night? I mean, it kind of looks like her (the makeup is way different) and how many gothy/angura girl VK bassists can there be??? If it is the same person, unnh what a cool chick… marry me please? The two guitarists for Benizemi had very defined stage personas. The stage left (audience right) guitarist was the cocky/aloof one while the stage right guitarist was the goofy/smiling big- happy to be there one. The goofy one threw a pick into the audience at the end of the set with way too much gusto (with the flat side up for way too much wind resistance) and his arm rocketed forward but the pick just stopped in midair and fell back onto the stage, hahaha. I liked that they had the courage in such a short set (and they have no shortage of songs to choose from) to do an out-and-out ballad…. Though they did obliterate it from our memories quickly by following it up with a super fast, noisy track. A short anecdote about why when you’re in an indies band you should hang out by your merch table: I stopped by their merch table later in the set to get a live DVD for a friend, and since the singer was there talking to people and I enjoyed the set…. I figured I’d pick up a CD for myself as well. The vocalist was super nice, despite the language barrier, and when I asked which CD was best he was quick to pick one out for me and thanked me for the purchases. (He also was the only person so far in Japan who stuck out his hand for a handshake, I liked him.) Foxpill Cult - This band (who I would not call VK… but neither was another band we’ll get to later) had a really weird lineup. There was; drummer, vocal/guitar, keyboard/guitar, and single snare/tiny keyboard thing that wasn’t powered but he had to blow into (or melodica apparently). They had some real diversity in their sound based on what instruments the members were manning for that particular track. One track was veering heavily into like dance rock and then the next would be really punk-y. It should be noted however fun he was on stage, that you definitely couldn’t hear melodica dudes tiny little wind powered keyboard though. The keyboard/guitar dude had a bright red lip outline on his cheek, I wonder which band member had the privilege of putting that there ;). Noticed during their set there were both lots of dudes in the crowds compared to most VK shows (it was probably 35% male at its peak.. Whereas most VK shows are maybe 5%?). The audience also skewed older, though that makes sense considering the bands were mostly middle aged guys themselves. It was a different feeling for me not being wildly out of place because I’m 30. 2 - I guess this was a revival of a 90s VK band (that were not named 2)?? It was refreshing to hear some old-school, golden age VK that wasn’t full of breakdowns or acting psychotic on stage (though I love those things, don’t get me wrong). It was just some old dudes having fun, rocking out. I wouldn’t want to see it all the time, but I enjoyed a little dose. I feel like @robkun would dig these guys’ sound. Between sets they were playing some French woman singing songs that were definitely recorded in the 1940s or earlier. I liked it. Phaidia - Another band that wasn’t VK at all, but rather straight forward goth rock. Also these guys were capital O OLD. They were probably rocking when goth was first a thing in the 80s. This is going to sound much meaner than I intend it, but the vocalist looked like if Asagi had a picture of Dorian Gray in his attic. Straight raven-black hair, black corset with spiderweb-y mesh underneath. He also would just randomly hold very goth-y props for effect (he actually walked onstage holding a skull on some real ‘Alas, poor Yorick’ shit) such as a sword, candelabra, that skull, one of those catholic incense holders that swing. He probably had a bit too much echo on his vocals for my tastes, but it fit with the haunting atmosphere of their set. Bassist was locking into some good grooves with the drums while the guitarist mostly provided *noise* rather than riffs. I noticed one chick up front for their set who was fucking *enraptured*. Hair everywhere, just losing it to the music. I wish I was able to forget about my inhibitions like that sometimes. So the bands were running a little late by this point and Phaidia didn’t end their set until 9:15. Isn’t it like a rule that these shows all end by ~9:30? I hope Emmuree didn’t have to cut any songs they planned to play because of this. Emmuree - Obviously I wasn’t the only one who noticed the show running over time as the curtain was whipped open with the band in place but the background French lady still singing for about four seconds. Oops. Of course Emmuree were dressed in all black, with Sou rocking a trademarked by this point slinkly black sweater. The guitarist’s long bangs were shorter than I’ve seen (I think). And of course the bassist looked like an Italian widow with dense black covering his whole body and a giant black floppy hat so that we could never see his face (the whole band was actually lit from the rear a lot… so we couldn’t see any of their faces a lot of the time). When Emmuree perform the guitar and bass are somewhat reserved, moving around to the music but mostly staying in place while Sou puts on the show. And he is one of the most expressive/emotive singers going at the moment. He also thrashed around and ad-libbed some vocals more than I was expecting (at one point he repeatedly yelped like a puppy who had his tail stepped on, and at another he threw in some ‘lalala’s while miming scissors in front of his face). Sou’s favorite move of mine was when he pointed one finger straight up high above his head to mark a rising swell in the music and then jerked his arm around incrementally to mimic the movement of a clock. (Unfortunately this did not indicate that “I Hear the Clocks Counting Down” was coming.) I could gush a little bit more… but I’ve covered the highlights. Besides, when they played the first track from their new album (a song I love) I was lost enough in the sights and sounds that I was not focusing on remembering what was happening but rather just enjoying it.

Based on its relative shallowness yes I'd call it a plate. But in my world to keep it simple 'comes with spoon = bowl' haha.

Bought a Gallo bowl! They handed out a (random?) CD to anyone who bought some merch. I'll let you know if it has anything worthwhile on it.

Oooh I hadn't seen that new spot (it was posted just yesterday/the day of the show). I'm glad you all can get a look at the vocalist and see why I was so enamored haha.

(Do people like reading live reports like I do?? Even if not... you're getting another one. Maybe someday someone will be browsing the forums wondering 'is Archemi. any good live?' and now they'll have the opinions of a goofy white dude to answer that question.) So I actually planned to take the weekend off from Vk shows while I was in Osaka... but then I was buying a few things at Puresound and I saw a little add near the cashier advertising a free concert. I can't pass up a good deal! Of course I had no idea how to ask in Japanese "can I still get a ticket two hours before the show/are any left?" But the friendly cashier basically got what I meant when I pointed at the sign and smiled dumbly. Kill some time shopping and eating the various local specialties (mmmmm takoyaki) and we're off to Osaka Muse for Crow Music's Gold Rush 2016. Something I've never seen at a rock club before.... Muse is completely carpeted! Big red and black checkerboard carpeting, and you're allowed to bring your drinks into the main floor area. Seems bold! So I had ticket 292 of 350 (I doubt they were given out in order since the bands and different stores had them) and that's probably actually a pretty good guess for how full the venue was; 'full' when everyone had a little space, but you could've packed 50 more in there. I, of course, took up a position near the back against the wall. I'd really hate to be blocking someone's view who was a fan of one of these bands (I've really only ever heard Holyclock, though I know that Archemi and Diealo have members from Bioshphia.) And I have no idea when the crowd is going to start running/jumping from side to side and don't want to get knocked over by a bunch of tiny Japanese girls. Holyclock - I have a new VK crush. The vocalist was wearing a sort of white kimono/gold sari hybrid, had a bunch of jet black hair worn straight down in front, and had a very sultry, elegant stage presence. From my vantage point in the rear he definitely just looked like a beautiful Persian woman. He also never headbanged (or screamed but once or twice), rather he danced and writhed around to the beat. His sexiest move was when he pointed at an audience member and then just barely grazed his lips with his finger... Alright, I'll stop fangirling over here. Holyclock do what I kind of think of as more 'adult' VK. It's standard stuff, just with a little art-kei and smarts tossed in to keep me interested. The guitarists had a good rapport on stage, often joining up for some back-to-back playing when one was soloing or switching sides seamlessly. The most unfortunate part of their set was the support bassists green extensions which looked like yarn the way they were braided. He looked like he was having a ton of fun playing with them though, so I'm not mad. Between sets I noticed a few of the girls in the crowd had brought tiny, fold-flat stools to sit on during the breaks. No fair! I wish I had a little seat. Archemi. - singer came out in a kimono (or not a kimono, but something like the summer coats with really big sleeves) and had writing all over his outfit. Archemi. do what I can only describe as slightly spiritual (?) infused heavy-ish VK. As someone else mentioned on M-H recently... if I pay attention to this band it's mostly for the bassists long green hair. His bass playing was pretty solid too, his sound always came through crisp even though I worry about that sometimes when a bassist doesn't use a pick. I liked the song where it sounded like the vocalist just repeating 'kumbaya' for the chorus. During one song you could feel the floor shaking as the girls were jumping up and down in unison (Muse in on the fourth floor of a building rather than the basement). I assume their drummer was a support drummer (though Archemi. did not thank him as Holyclock did their support members) because he was wearing a black hoodie and little makeup. Props to the slightly older (still younger than me, heh) dude smack dab in the middle of the crowd rocking out with his extremely tall girlfriend (seriously she was probably 6 feet tall in flats... I bet the VK bitches hate seeing her at shows). I wonder if the vocalists arm/hand tattoos were real. I feel like that makes an even bigger "I will never have certain jobs" statement in Japan than it does in the US. Revine - the curtain opened on Revine and the vocalist was standing behind a custom lectern holding a sword in one hand over his head and its sheath in the other. Their intro music was heavy enough on air raid sirens, and saluting, and they had a rising sun flag onstage... was I supposed to feel a little awkward during this? Anyway their music was heavier than I expected when I saw them wearing matching purple suits. The singer probably lost some connection with the crowd by standing behind that lectern for half the set (though I thought it was practical and a bit hilarious that he actually kept a bottle of water back there). He also overused shouting through a bullhorn... I've never really liked that in VK and Revine didn't change my mind about that. The highlight of their set for me was the drummer keeping himself entertained in various ways behind his kit. During one song he was throwing his head almost 90 degrees to either side for each bar and then playing the next one with his head pointing the other way. Diealo - Basically Biosphia 2.0 as far as I could tell. Enjoyable but kind of mindless. The kind of band where you'll be like "they're fun" but never "they're one of my faves". Vocalists pants seemed like dangerously low rise. And then the show was over by about 8pm! Pretty awesome experience for a free concert. And I need to check Holyclock out more seriously... and not only because the vocalist was pretty but because they had some good tunes too.