yomii

first, any dasein pv.
second, this: 
 

We need more industrial bands in VK

Yeah to be honest a lot of people who are allegedly so repulsed by the fandom, tanuki and bandmen being bandmen seem awfully preoccupied by them. I can't even wrap my mind around the idea that people would voluntarily expose themselves to people that they already pretty much know to be certain way; like, if you don't like the drama then why incessantly hover around it on twitter and tumblr and etc? If someone goes to lives then maybe shit gets annoying, but first of all who are you to tell these people how they should behave and what is toxic and what isn't unless you're willing to hear some opinions that are on the contrary. 

i actually find pretty toxic the same never ending discussions here of how shitty certain bandmen/fandoms/fans are
like its not even a year since ive been an active member lol

Live distributed singles have been a thing since the beginning of time. I can even make the argument that it's how the first bands got started. A prominent example of older live distributed demo tapes would be La:Sadie's. Many of their early demo tapes are essentially the same six songs. We don't really think of it that way because that's how it was done before the internet. V/A albums strike me as a relic of the past, when fans needed a way to scope out talent quickly and bands needed good exposure. The right song on a compilation album could score them a record deal. They were essentially middle men in the equation, and the explosion of internet has turned music consumption into a more direct affair. There is simply no money in compilation albums of unknown prospects when there are recommendation algorithms that can scan my taste and recommend hundreds of similar, better bands in an instant. Why buy an album of twelve tracks when I can stream their single on YouTube and see if I like it or not? They were cool but there isn't a compelling reason for them to exist. The single format is also more flexible and as we saw with DEZERT x MUCC  there is room to do fun things, like cover each others songs or to write songs for the other band to play. Those are good enough reasons for me at least.

 

I'm addicted to PuriKura, sue me.

 
It's been non stop raining and it's been cold. Gear: Shoes by Dsquared2, everything else is Diesel.

you're totally right, and i dont know what i would do myself in such situation, but quitting a band means giving bullies exactly what they want and letting some little noisy pieces of shit win easily. that is so unfair :c

I guess not really, but I don't think just attending many lives regularly makes a fan a stalker

gesu being always so kind and lovely is my reason to believe in humanity

If it makes you feel any better, just remember that pretty much everyone in this thread is opposed to what we're all discussing.

still dont understand how one can quit a band they love cuz of some girls being mean. just...fuck these girls, no?

i actually find pretty toxic the same never ending discussions here of how shitty certain bandmen/fandoms/fans are
like its not even a year since ive been an active member lol

Well, when there is picture or other proof like arrests, it seems more than just a rumor, and there is enough of this out there. I even saw a bandomen i liked, but heard he slept around, trade something with a fan and then quickly hurry away before a live. 
But I am old enough not to take these things seriously. There are so many more important things in life. And if the artists are bad people, who cares? They are not your roommates....

Especially considering the foundations for most of these discussions/opinions. I mentioned in another thread that a lot of people's definitions of "shitty person" seem to be "bcuz rumourz".

Thank you! It was my first proper live in Japan and it was great. The intimacy of the atmosphere really made the experience what it was. And I absolutely get that! I feel like I usually leave early for everywhere I'm trying to go, especially leading up to an event and I somehow usually end up late. Oh well, it's all...experience or something? Haha.
 
 
WOW I am so jealous!! That sounds absolutely surreal, couldn't imagine being in that setting overall and then finishing it off with the autograph, that's too much.
 
Thanks for reading, all - will hope to have the other report posted this week. 🤗

i actually find pretty toxic the same never ending discussions here of how shitty certain bandmen/fandoms/fans are
like its not even a year since ive been an active member lol

oh this made me remember how i bought a ticket for some random tgads live, came to nagoya from tokyo without any maps or pocket wi-fi, managed to get to the venue and this turned out to be an acoustic two-man live with a noname band which attended literally 8 people l m a o
BUT i managed to get his sign (still thanking myself for being a bakagaijin) and i also still have a pen he wrote it with...yeah i was hell of a fan
thank you for the report! this brought back some memories ♡

Eh, I think a lot of people's definition of "shitty person" seems to be "well, I read something nasty about them someone else said so it's definitely true". Personally, I very rarely believe anything I don't see with my own eyes.
 
Anyways, more on-topic, I second this:
He was great in Malice Mizer, but he's since just gone really cringy. I mean... the guy admitted that he bought a frickin' mountain just so he could snowboard on it. Yeah, that's not shitty, but it's damn frivolous and just begs the question of why. That said, I think he does that in general.

Wanted to write this up sooner, but better late than never!
 
Spent the end of April/beginning of May in Japan - during this time I got to attend two live events, this was the first of those. I've been a die-hard Aie fan since deadman so I absolutely couldn't pass up an opportunity to see him (and Kazu, too!!) play live.  I quite enjoy most of the god and death stars output and had heard many good things about eStrial so I ventured out to Ikebukuro on a rainy evening to see them do their thing.
 
It was one of my first nights in Tokyo and I am a bit, uh, directionally challenged without the aid of a map in larger city settings, so despite leaving quite early I missed my first train changeover and ended up turning a 15 minute trek into a 45 minute anxious train ride, landing me at the show 15 minutes late and a few songs into eStrial's set.
 
I descended the staircase into RUIDO K3 and emerged into the long, narrow live hall, quickly moving to the back of the rather full crowd. eStrial played a set of jazzy, upbeat tunes that had half the crowd participating in some light furi. Vocalist/guitarist Yumeji slid effortlessly through every manner of funky lick, matched in skill and precision by bassist Mina Takahara and drummer Atsuto (who was looking a fair bit more casual here than his time in Sugar - ten years ago at this point???). 
 
I wish I knew more of their songs as I found them to be a ton of fun, bassist Mina being a particular standout as she really knew how to keep energy levels high. She was sporting a huge grin almost the entire set and kept the entire crowd engaged. Much of the band banter made me wish I had a far better grasp of Japanese than I do (read: somewhere between almost none and not being a total know-nothing ass 😶) as Atsuto had the crowd chuckling quite a bit between songs. 
 
Being that this was one of a few two-man dates these bands had booked, it seemed clear that there was a really strong camaraderie between everyone in both bands! There was a lot of commentary that I picked up regarding Aie himself and the crowd no doubt seemed excited by his presence and the god and death stars' forthcoming set.
 
eStrial played for maybe a total of 45 minutes before the curtains closed, sending the crowd back to the bar in the corner to turn in their drink tickets. After a few moments passed, dedicated fans lined up right against the stage and I took this opportunity to grab a more ideal spot closer to the middle of the crowd. 
 
We could see band members shuffling past the entryway and behind the stage curtain and surely enough it wasn't long until a dramatic, orchestral track started playing over the PA. The crowd directed their full attention to the stage and as soon as the curtains were drawn, we were greeted by the god and death stars + Yumeji of eStrial! I found myself wondering if we were going to see Yumeji providing some secondary guitar for their set, but the ensemble jumped into a track that I didn't recognize at all, a poppy number that had Aie and Yumeji vocalizing in a goofy sort of way. The song lasted only a few minutes before the curtains closed once again, the audience left chuckling and eager. 
 
Luckily, we didn't have to wait too long, as the god and death stars proper were revealed as the curtains drew back again. Aie looked just as "cool casual" as I could have anticipated, wearing a thin t-shirt and fedora (perhaps the only person this hat looks properly good on in this day and age?) Kazu was dressed in black from head to toe, sporting a blazer that gave him a sort of "funereal" look alongside his long, slick hair. I must say, Kazu is a rather...imposing looking fellow on stage. Maybe it's because he is next to Aie, who is quite small in stature, but I found him to be quite striking in person in an almost intimidating way. Guest drummer Seiji Matsumoto (of the telephones and a number of bands that I need to take the time to check out) rounded out the trio, taking place of Otaka Jun who is away for health-related reasons (get well soon!!)
 
I will interject here and state that I can't recall their exact set due to time passing and just being...way too enamored with everything to take the time to write the songs down, so I apologize in advance for not being able to post that!
 
The band wasted no time getting into their set. Aie's signature guitar tone pulled me in immediately - that special twang reminded me of where I was and who I was watching. They played a selection of tracks from their newest album, funky ghost hollywood (most of the set was pulled from this album, understandably), to start things off. Watching them was a treat not only from the standpoint of someone who has loved their respective individual discographies (from one iconic band to the next), but simply as very clearly experienced musicians. That should go without saying, but these guys really, really know their stuff. They played each song effortlessly (my god, they really are a wonder at their instruments - I mean seriously, they're so stylistically committed and developed that it's a spectacle seeing them play the way they do).
 
Their set was fun and entirely un-theatric, perhaps the antithesis of the visual kei bands they came up in. Being that they were playing with a guest drummer, it was quite endearing to see them give him visual cues as the songs progressed (he was knocking it out of the park, no doubt, but it was nice seeing them interact in that "power trio" sort of way) The crowd was clearly having fun as they blasted through song after song and, more importantly, the guys in the band looked like they were having a ton of fun themselves. The air over the entire night felt casual and friendly, as if they were "just some guys getting together to play songs." 
 
There was some fun banter with the crowd near the middle of the set which really maintained that same "casual air" and in the end, they were done before I knew it. They got quite a few songs in (I wasn't kidding when I said they were just "blasting through them") for only playing maybe an hour-long set. I can't comment on the exact order, but the songs below are the ones I remember them playing off the top of my head. Nothing older than after the addle apple as far as I can recall. I was really pleased to hear "elephant in the room," "Good Night My Love," and "ママイズジャム" as those are some of my recent favorites.
 
薄荷
サニーゴーサニー
Good Night My Love
ママイズジャム
Life Is Beautiful
cannabis
damned
夜を歩く葡萄
濾過
elephant in the room
 
I hung around the venue for a little while since it was still very early (and there was a little part of me hoping I could shake Aie's hand, but that was wishful thinking, haha). As I watched the crowd wander back out into the rain little by little, it was obvious how varied their fanbase is, from age to personal style. Just a testament to these guys and their time/experience in the scene. 
 
Thanks for reading! Don't miss an opportunity to catch either of these bands if you can - it was a really special evening that I won't soon forget.
 
I'll have one more live report up soon for the event I attended at 高田馬場AREA on 5/6! (DIMLIM, gulu gulu, more)

bonjour😜
 
 
 

Usually don't really like doing this kinda thing, but one of the things I got is so awesome, I had to show it off lol.
 

…。【サイレンス】 - …。【ACOUSTIC】
Tokyo Shoegazer - Revive
 
got these two from a friend. hit me up if you're interested in buying

"You only listen to post 2010 VK? I, an intellectual individual, avid connoisseur of the Visual Kei scene with peak music taste know that only obscure 90s bands with unpronounceable names count as true VK" 

"[insert band here] is totally copying [insert other band here] and you should be mad about it!"

I enjoy guest appearances very much! It's fun to see people sometimes very out of character! 😁
Let's collect these MVs here!
 
Even though Rame is semi-retired, he still loves to dress up as a woman and act in his labels MVs, also his labels musicians have cameo roles in MVs:
 
Rame as Ghostbuster secretary - 
 
Rame as evil witch (San, Ivy etc. as monsters)  -
 
And Kaitou love guests, too.
It's Mia
 
 
And Hikaru
 
 
Also yuka of SiREN
 
 
The Raid. have Hoshiko-san (vk ojaji) featuring as a rapist... 😓
 
 
 
So where else do we have interesting cameos?