WhirlingBlack

Edited the setlist, in the future please refrain from rewriting the song names as it might cause confusion.

I don't think it's a clear cut division as much as it's a generalization to make the point easier. There's plenty of bangya who are into many bands and have a wide knowledge of the scene, and there are plenty of guys who go to the lives and enjoy them despite not always feeling like circumstances are ideal (I've attended upwards of 100 VK shows, for example.) It's just that the majority fall into the stereotypes, whether it's self-imposed or formed by the strong consensus culture of Japan I don't know, but once something gets viewed in the public eye as being geared towards a specific audience, the threshold to dare to break that mold gets much higher, especially in a country like Japan where this is strongly discouraged in general. In an ideal world people wouldn't care, like you say, but we all know that's not how group psychology works. Also, I think it's pretty normal that people who invest a lot of time and money into something, whether accidentally or not, look down on those who settle for less, but fandom elitism is another topic and far from exclusive to the guys either - it goes both ways, it's just that both groups measure dedication by different scales. I know bangya who look down on girls who attend lives of other bands, for example, because it's seen as "treason" towards their main act. Or look down on the fanboys for not supporting the bands at shows more. Just like I know guys who look down on those who don't know and love that one band that was around for three weeks in '93. It's problematic for sure but I think delving deeper into it is taking the thread off topic? If people want to make another thread to discuss the toxic elements of bangya culture or fandom elitism, I'd be all for it, and I think it'd be interesting topics to discuss in a wider sense, but let's try to keep it relevant to the topic of male fans in the VK scene here. @KomorebiI think it's pretty easy to spot when someone actually cares about the music and when someone is only there to drool at the band. All it takes is a short conversation on the topic of the bands music. And it's not mutually exclusive at all. I have plenty of female friends who can do both, and as long as I can participate in the discussions about the music and they keep the discussions about the bandmens physique with ones that are interested, I'm all good.

Of course there are two sides to everything, but the topic in question was about guys and how they feel about VK so I answered from that perspective, which happened to be my own as well.

It's an essential part of what VK turned out to be eventually, at least. If that's good or not I suppose is in the eye of the beholder.

I think that this situation sort of showcases the discrepancy between the western and Japanese fandom, in some ways. We in the west have sort of built up our own subculture surrounding VK that isn't the same as it is in Japan. In Japan, attending VK lives can have connotations that a lot of guys would want to avoid, the informal rules surrounding the lives can also make the shows less enjoyable to men too, as in the whole staying put in your spot, allowing time and space for the girls to fix their hair between each headbang and stuff like that. The western VK fandom treats it more like any other alternative subculture whereas I feel like in Japan it has unhealthy connections with the host ideals. I went to a VK bar in Tokyo and talked to the bartender and he said that the regular girls scared away other customers on the weekends by refusing to let him serve others, since they "paid for his company" by buying drinks, and they would demand from him to play only the one band they listen to the entire night. I think for a lot of guys who are into VK, most Japanese men who are into VK are CD-only by the way, as in they don't attend the shows but just buy the music from stores and might occasionally show up to onemans and stand in the back, this doesn't create a fun atmosphere since they would prefer to just hang about and talk shit about music and listen to a dozen different bands. I realize that the bangya culture is what keeps the bands afloat, but I think it's also this culture that sort of kills the fun for a lot of guys who enjoy the music and enjoy the scene aesthetically but isn't just invested in one band and wants to enjoy some host fantasy with them. And this is why guys have a larger part in the western fandom because ours really isn't connected much to the Japanese one beyond listening to the same bands. To be fair though, quite a few bands try to remedy this by doing those male only shows, and I think that's an awesome thing, although I wish it weren't necessary.

No. Besides most features don't work and people haven't been online for years so you won't have any luck there. Discussing Dir on batsu was always quite the thrill. Wasn't uncommon with hundreds of pages in a thread... I think communities work differently these days what with the advent of instagram and twitter and stuff having divided the scene.

That's a good idea, it's just that the shape feels off to me to use as a face towel at home, I like them more... square. Personal preference perhaps.

Some of that info is incorrect: SKY HIGH is actually a cover of a 1970s band called Jigsaw.

I respect your opinion, even though it's wrong. On another merch note, I don't know why I keep buying towels, I never ever use them for anything! I have a collection of Dir towels still in their plastic wrap in my wardrobe and it's filling it up. I really need to stop. In fact, any merch other than shirts and sometimes bags (like the EXTREMELY COOL MACABRE BAG) just collects dust in my wardrobe so I'm probably going to cut costs and just focus on those in the future.

Disagree, although the dolman sleeve on this tour looks great too, the MACABRE one is the second best only to the Kisou tour one. The rest of the merch for this tour looks... forgettable. I like how they probably bought like 2000yen garbage cans, slapped a Dir en grey sticker on it and charge 8000 for it. The phone battery is pretty sweet though, good idea there.

By the way, for anyone who might be curious, this was the playlist of the night! Klubb Lunacy 1/9 Grand Revival 「† Return of Visual "Monster" †」 Setlist Klubb Lunacy 21:00 - 22:30 ROUAGE - めざめのうたげ (Mesame no Utage) | 1994 emmuree - グロセックス (Gurosex) | 2000 deadman - Blood | 2001 Baiser - Dye | 1995 D≒SIRE - JESUS? | 1995 Madeth gray'll - 狂死曲 (Kyoushikyoku) | 1999 Dir en grey - Ash | 1998 Sleep my Dear - Flowers | 1997 sukekiyo - 黝いヒステリア (Aoguroi Hysteria) | 2017 Girugamesh - Decieved Mad Pain | 2005 lynch. - unknown lost a beauty | 2005 Versailles - The Red Carpet Day | 2007 摩天楼オペラ (Matenrou Opera) - honey drop | 2007 LUNA SEA - ROSIER | 1994 BUCK-TICK - スピード (Speed) | 1991 Dir en grey - Unknown...Despair...a Lost | 1998 Rentrer en Soi - PROTOPLASM | 2007 MUCC - ファズ (Fuzz) | 2007 Plastic Tree - Ghost | 2005 Malice Mizer - 月下の夜想曲 (Gekka no Yasoukyoku) | 1998 D'espairsRay - Garnet | 2003 -DJ Dispo set- 22:30 - 00:00 (order might not be 100% accurate) DADAROMA - リズリーサーカス (Risley Circus) | 2016 NOCTURNAL BLOODLUST - Strike in fact | 2014 SCAPEGOAT - 眠れない僕の趣味 (Nemurenai Boku no Shumi) | 2015 0.1gの誤算 (0.1g no Gosan) - 溺愛ヤンデレボーイ (Dekiai Yandereboi) | 2017 Lycaon – 残酷のサロメ (Zankoku no Salome) | 2013 アルルカン (Arlequin) - 像 (Zou) | 2014 ゴシップ (Gossip) - R-18 | 2015 蜉蝣 (Kagerou) - XII Dizzy | 2004 黒夢 (Kuroyume) - 親愛なるDEATH MASK (Shinainaru DEATH MASK) | 1993 AvelCain - PSYCHO -サイコ- | 2014 Mejibray - Sadisgate | 2012 Dir en grey - 脈 (Myaku) | 2000 蜉蝣 (Kagerou) - 根暗高速子守唄 (Nekura Housoku Komoriuta) | 2003 黒百合と影 (kuroyuri to kage) - 「便所２」 (benjo 2) | 2016 DEZERT - 「胃潰瘍とルソーの錯覚。」 (Ikaiyou to Rousseau no Sakkaku) | 2014 D'espairsRay - 「タトエバ」キミ...ガ...シンダ...ラ ([Tatoeba]Kimi...ga...Shinda..ra) | 2002 MUCC - 我、在ルベキ場所 (Ware, Arubeki Basho) | 2003 The Gazette - Beautiful 5 [shit]ers | 2003 グリーヴァ (Grieva) - 幻影Syndrome (Genei Syndrome) | 2016 Phantasmagoria - NEO ARK | 2005 phobia - 「Ⅵ」ײ section | 2000 Due' le quartz - 自殺願望 (Jisatsu Ganbou) | 2000 Penicillin - Blue Moon | 1996 Buck-Tick - … in heaven … | 1988 Klubb Lunacy 00:00 - 03:00 DENTAKU - エフエルアウトライン (FL Outline) *Background music while announcing outfit competition winner.* X Japan - 紅 (Kurenai) | 1989 Dir en grey - GAUZE MEDLEY (Schwein no Isu -> Tsumi to Batsu -> 304 Goushitsu, Hakushi no Sakura -> Yurameki -> Yokan -> MASK -> ZAN) | 1999 Gackt - Vanilla | 2000 An Cafe - Smile Ichiban Ii Onna | 2006 ゴールデンボンバー (Golden Bomber) - Dance My Generation | 2013 Girugamesh - evolution | 2008 cali≠gari - マグロ (Maguro) | 2001 deadman - follow the night light | 2005 D'espairsRay - MIRROR | 2007 MUCC - 大嫌い (Daikirai) | 2002 Dir en grey - CLEVER SLEAZOID | 2005 Girugamesh - Shining | 2007 The GazettE - HEADACHE MAN | 2009 NOCTURNAL BLOODLUST - DESPERATE | 2014 DADAROMA - 溺れる魚 (Oboreru Sakana) | 2014 MEJIBRAY - DECADANCE - Counting Goats … if I can't be yours - | 2013 Malice Mizer - Beast of Blood | 2001 Versailles - Zombie | 2008 Dir en grey - 鱗 (Uroko) |2014 X Japan - X | 1989 Luna Sea - SHADE | 1991 黒夢 (Kuroyume) - JESUS | 1993 La'Mule - ナイフ (Knife) | 2000 hide - Rocket Dive | 1998 LAREINE - 冬東京 (Fuyuu Tokyo) | 2000 D'espairsRay - "forbidden" | 2005 Dir en grey - OBSCURE | 2003 UnsraW - -9- | 2006 Maximum the Hormone - 絶望ビリー (Zetsubou Billy) | 2007 The Gazette - Ruder | 2005 Girugamesh - 終わりと未来 (Owari to Mirai) | 2006 蜉蝣 (Kagerou) - 絶望にサヨナラ (Zetsubou ni Sayonara) | 2005 MUCC - 絶望 (Zetsubou) | 2002 D'espairsRay - in vain | 2005 Dir en grey - raison detre | 1999 Malice Mizer - illuminati | 1998 Malice Mizer - 月下の夜想曲 (Gekka no Yasoukyoku) | 1998 Gackt - Vanilla | 2000 The GazettE - Filth in the beauty | 2006 Dir en grey - THE FINAL | 2004 To be continued in Lunacy vol.2... †††

Thanks! I hope to see you there next time! It was a huge success, never seen so many people dancing to good music at the same time. We will probably have an event of some sort next month so keep up with our facebook page!

I'm meeting Yoshiki for a Q&A session on the 19th of October, if there aren't any news by that point on the album I'll just ask him for a release date. My best guess is that he'll immediately cancel the Q&A and have his guards escort me off the premises.

I've actually never had a to hide a drink at a venue. I wonder if it's a being a tall gaijin male perk or something but as long as it's water, no one has ever complained about me bringing drinks from outside despite signs that say otherwise. I just assumed they referred to alcoholic beverages and the likes. Just bring water and don't drink it in the face of the staff and you should be perfectly fine. Also, for anyone not living in Japan, if you want to attend a decently compact tour, nothing beats buying a Japan Rail Pass. Unlimited travelling with all JR routes is what's enabled me to travel from Sapporo to Fukuoka and back to see Dir en grey tours in the past, and all in pretty great comfort onboard the Shinkansen I might add. The "bangya culture" is actually pretty unsavory to me as a whole, and when I first came to Japan I was a bit disappointed that the lives weren't the glorious punky chaos I expected, but once you get used to it you sort of just adapt to it just enough to not cause friction while still enjoying the shows on your own terms. That's my tip to any other guys (or girls) who also feel a bit disappointed at times with the atmosphere at the lives, haha. A good advice would be to stand in the back for the first show for a band and watch and see what the fans do, and then decide what you feel good about, and what you don't. I never participate in furi but I'm always game for headbanging and fistbumping and various other things, and since my main band is Dir en grey, that's perfect since there's no furi at their shows, haha.

Klubb Lunacy is one of Europe's oldest Visual Kei nightclubs, which originally ran between 2004 and 2010. After a 7 years long hiatus, I'm happy to announce that I'm the one who is carrying on the torch and together with the old owner I'm reforming it and intend to make it stronger than ever. The first date is set for 1 of September in Stockholm, Sweden. Six hours of old and new Visual Kei music, a Visual Kei outfit competition with an amazing prize sponsored by RarezHut, and the chance to hang out with over one hundred other fans of this increasingly rare style of music. And while we hope that some of you might be able to attend this grand revival, we don't intend to limit our activities to Sweden, and would be glad to bring it wherever enough people who are interested might be located, mainly in Europe. So if you have any connections or ideas please feel free to message me and we'll see what can be done! The clubs Facebook is located here: https://www.facebook.com/KlubbLunacy/ And the event itself is located here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1435508826514161/ Most posts have an English version after the Swedish text, so please scroll down if you want more info! We're glad for any and all support we can get from you guys as we try to bring back some community and party to the fandom! Also a special thanks to @orange~ who designed our logo!

I actually saw them perform with Metronome last month in Japan. I went to see Metronome and my friends went to see PLC. I did enjoy their set, but I've always felt that their theme is kind of cringe-y. But it might be because I'm not into the anime/cosplay world so I don't quite get the point, and it might be one of the reasons I never gave their music much of a shot in the past. I wasn't sold on everything but some of the stuff was quite good, so I might check out some releases again, I think I might even own a few CDs... somewhere... (unsurprisingly, my friends said the songs I enjoyed the most were quite old material.) Will take recommendations!

About 4½ but yes, your point still stands, I actually didn't think they gained much overseas exposure until they started putting out their mini albums. I can only speak about the fandom from 2003 (when Batsu started out) and forward but since then at least D'espairsRay have been in fairly good standing. And it's true that the early fandom focused on different bands, but it wasn't until the VK boom that VK fans became a force to be reckoned with in terms of playing concerts and stuff, so I think the point about GLAY, Shazna etc. being of relatively tiny importance to the overseas fandom compared to how it was in Japan still stands. And probably the reverse for a lot of the no name bands that were riding on the VK popularity boom and saw their chance to come overseas and play to audiences of a size they had no business playing to. To be fair though, I think the American and the European perspective is a bit different and I don't have a lot of knowledge on the early days of the fandom over there, so it could also be that I have a different perspective based on that.

Based on the oneman tours D'espairsRay could do before their first disbandment, I think it's fairly safe to say they had a decently large fanbase in Japan. Also, as for being the target of dislike overseas, I'm not sure if we were in different circles or what but I distinctly remember them being quite hyped from an early stage, just the fact that they were one of the earliest bands to come to Europe back in 2004 should be proof that they received popularity fairly early here, the shows sold very well too. I think bangya circles are kind of misleading often as well, because most people have one or at most two bands they hardcore follow and don't usually care much for other bands, so you can often end up thinking that it's representative of the VK fanbase as a whole. Sort of like how overseas VK fans have no idea who GLAY is since they don't have any fans, but in Japan they're one of the biggest VK bands around. It becomes a closed group culture of sorts, just like there are bands that are/were hyped on here that had next to no following in Japan.

Was this setlist chosen by vote? If so then their fans should feel bad about themselves. Honestly.

They didn't play Akuro no Oka at any macabre shows. I went to them all.

Why would it be? When they can earn money selling two dvds why would they include the best selling points of one of them in another set?

I'm pretty sure that foreign fanbase is an afterthought at best. That said though, I attended the entire tour and didn't see one single of the many Chinese people present break out in tears, rip their Dir shirts to shreds or try to suicide bomb the venue. I didn't see a single overtly supremacist statement or controversial point beyond a very mainstream "free tibet" deal which makes sense based on their Buddhist backgrounds. It's about as dangerous and edgy as wanting to free Syria from ISIS. I think it's safe to say these "problems" mostly exist in your head, and to be frank you present them in such a convoluted way that I think most people aren't even sure of what you're trying to say. Let that be an end to this for now, we don't need any "Dir en grey are supremacists" discussions based on hearsay.

Are you referring to the tibetan independence stuff during ain't afraid to die?