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The GazettE is a band that I feel everyone here has liked or at least listened to once with in their J-rock craze, and in many cases they are even the reason people found an interest in Japanese music to begin with. This is the case for me. Since they heavily influenced me during my younger years, I jumped on the chance to see them live in my own country. Originally I was set to see them for three dates that included Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Vancouver. Due to certain circumstances, I only made it to two dates which were more than enough to quench the gaze-thirst in my sixteen-year-old self. San Francisco The first show I attended was in San Francisco at the Regency Ballroom. I traveled with one friend and met up with many I hadn't seen in a long time. Most of us had VIP tickets. Despite already having early entry, many fans with VIP lined up at the venue much earlier than general admission attendees. Around 3pm I made my way over to the line with a few friends. It was a good time since the line for VIP grew rapidly after that. The general admission line was wrapped down an alley and around the building at this point. The wait from that point on wasn't so bad and considering their reputation the fans seemed tolerable for the most part. Aside from a few glares, everyone was generally kind and glad to share the excitement. I even made a few friends who traveled all the way from Japan just to experience the GazettE in this new environment. Though they didn't seem to speak English very well, they were still ecstatic to show me different furitsuke* that they use in Japan and were even kind enough to hold a few of my things during the show. After passing the time with social interactions, it was time to start heading inside. The staff came down the VIP line to inform everyone how everything would work and what to expect. This is where things went downhill. VIP included early entry, first priority to the goods line, a VIP shirt, and a handshake with the band. With only an hour left before doors opened, staff had their hands full. They lined us up and filed us in to the venue in groups of ten with the plan of directing us back outside in the order we entered. That lasted about halfway down the line. I was at the half way mark for the VIP line and while I was lined up to buy merch, staff started to direct us to the actual standing area. I found it odd as not all VIP had been let in yet to purchase merch. Turns out the venue was running behind and had to sacrifice their organization to speed up the process. This left the people who had waited since 5am with the short end of the stick. Many disappointed VIP holders filed in behind two to three rows of people who had shown up one hour before doors opened. Another disappointing factor was that they didn't have a section dedicated to just VIP members. Word of mouth had passed on that previous shows had such accommodations, but the Regency Ballroom had one huge open standing floor. Because of this, and the poor organization in letting VIP enter first, many general admission holders were able to get closer to the stage with ease. Many snobby fans pushed forward and upset VIP holders, which resulted in direct threats to prevent anyone from getting in the way of them and the stage. Everyone shut up once the background music went silent. The stage was decently sized and while it didn't spread the members out too much there was definitely enough room for them to be interactive. After waiting nearly an hour and watching staff set up last minute equipment things got cheesy real fast. Instead of the typical dimming of the lights and sudden intro music playing, an announcer spoke over the microphone, "Hello. Welcome to the show." The announcer said a few more things which may have been about no video or photography, but I don't quite recall. The short speech ended with, "And now... the GazettE!" That's when everything went dark. Cheering and screaming filled the venue and everyone got real friendly with each other as the crowd was pushed forward. Just when I thought it couldn't get any louder, the members start to file out on to the stage. First it was Kai, Reita, Aoi & Uruha, and finally Ruki. Fans went crazy and people were already trying to inch their way in front of me. I was about two rows from the stage between Reita and Ruki, so despite being as short as I am (5'3")I did have a good view. Now I haven't been an active listener of the GazettE in recent years, so most of their music during this set was unfamiliar to me. I still found my groove with songs I didn't recognize, but the crowd didn't seem to move much aside from the girls in the very front row. Fans were excited to see and interact with their favorite members which caused a bit of a personality clash within the crowds as people pushed closer to the front. There were a lot of threats and an overall disrespect for the other fans around them. I'm not saying every person at this venue had such a mentality, but this behavior certainly dominated over kindness. The band members showed a lot of energy during the entire show and were surprisingly interactive. I heard from many of the girls up front that they felt singled out by the members and that they really took the time to make their fans feel excited and special during the performance. The effort and money that went in to the visuals must have been fair for it being their first tour in the United States. The most beautiful of the visual performances was when Ruki suddenly pulled a lantern out of nowhere and dance and swayed around with the prop like it was his child that needed love and protection. Maybe that sounds odd to first time viewers or listeners of visual kei, but overall is really gave a darker vibe. But of course it wouldn't be a genuine show if Ruki didn't sway and roll his hips. Reita was quite enthusiastic and often times came up tot he edge of the stage to play. He playfully stuck his tongue out a lot at fans too. A real call-back was the break down of Filth in the Beauty where everyone does the windmill head-bang. I never thought I'd see that in person. Though encores shouldn't be expected, fans crazily stomping and screaming for one should be. I was a little disappointed with this crowd though. They came together and cheered as one voice a few times, but never once did they sound hungry or demanding enough for the the band to really come back on stage. Even so, they got the encore they asked for, though I feel like the crowd really didn't give it their all even during the encore. "Tomorrow never dies" ended and the members began to throws their drumsticks, picks, water bottles, and even a towel. I managed to find Uruha's pick on the ground and gave it to another fan who looked like they'd appreciate it much more. Aoi was aiming to throw his picks to specific clusters of people but his poor throws just weren't making it. Immediately after the show was over, staff cleared out the floor and lined people up with VIP to meet the band. It would have been so easy for anyone to just slip into the line. Anyone could have met them at this show if they were casual enough about it and I believe I saw a few people take advantage of the situation. Aside from that, the handshake was extremely fast-paced. It was almost so quick that I didn't have time to even really read their faces. The entire band was extremely polite. They even shared a few laughs and exchanged words with a few fans. Ruki was my main focus and even if he didn't understand what I said, it was nice to just say it in his direction. He acknowledged it and held onto my hand and replied with a "Thank you." Uruha had a very firm handshake. The songs that resonated with me the most, and many of their long following fans, was "The Suicide Circus", "Filth in the Beauty", "Leech", and "Headache Man". But I really enjoyed "UGLY" and "Derangement" live. I didn't care for the venue at all. Other than the three girls I met in line and the people I already knew, the fans seemed like a mix all around. Sound quality and projection in the venue was a little iffy, but the band really gave a lot of energy and put on an enjoyable performance. set list opening track: NIHIL 01. Dogma 02. Rage 03. Vortex 04. Fadeless 05. Derangement 06. Bizarre 07. Wasteland 08. Ominous 09. The Suicide Circus 10. Ugly 11. Blemish 12. Undying 13. Filth in the Beauty -encore- 14. Leech 15. Headache man 16. Tomorrow never dies Los Angeles The Los Angeles concert was held at the Wiltern. I'm very familiar and biased with this venue and I have a lot of great memories attached to it. I did not have VIP for this show and I was quite alright with getting a view from afar this time, so I arrived after collecting some of my long time friends to join me. Once we arrived, the line had yet to get anywhere near the Denny's entrance for general admission and the VIP line was longer by far. For those who haven't seen this venue, Denny's and the Wiltern sit on the same block and share the same parking garage so they're practically next door neighbors. Because of how close Denny's is to the entrance I found it odd that people decided to roam around a bit more before lining up. Once I finally got in line around 3-4pm, band staff checked the line for people who were in HERESY*. I had planned ahead when there was a leaked rumor going around that the GazettE might come here so I signed up for it. Now if you were a HERESY member and could provide your confirmation e-mail or badge, they provided you with a colored bracelet. These bracelets varied in color depending on the date and allowed early entrance to general admission attendees. Since I only had VIP in San Francisco, I was delighted to discover that I could enter after VIP simply because I had the bracelet. I'm not sure if it's because I've been to this venue so many times, I know more people in this area, or if the staff and organization was all around better but Los Angeles was an amazing experience. The staff started handing out the VIP shirts about an hour and a half before doors were set to open, and let the group in to the goods line and then straight in to the venue. After VIP was let in, HERESY was next. I'd like to believe everyone was moved in to the venue in a very organized and timely fashion which meant happier fans. The way the Wiltern is set up is completely different than The Regency Ballroom. Unlike San Francisco's show which had one huge open un-barricaded floor, the Wiltern was set up in three to four sections, with each one at a level higher the further back it went. This set up also allowed staff the ability to secure a spot specifically for VIP holders. While I was only general admission, I did appreciate the seriousness and value of the VIP pass at this venue. This of course meant that I couldn't go in to the front section despite there being plenty of room. I chose a spot right in the middle a few sections back and had the perfect view the entire time. When the lights went out and the show started the crowd roared. This crowd seemed way more united than the show in San Francisco, but that's because Los Angeles has a small community of its own when it comes to visual kei. Everyone knows everyone and that may have been a determining factor. This concert brought so many people out of hiding that I hadn't seen in years. the GazettE are no fools and I'm sure were very aware of the stronger demand for them in Southern California, and they chose so many good songs that shook our past selves right out of us. I know I wasn't alone in feeling like I had traveled back in time. the GazettE shook the venue, slamming down one good song after another. I was also glad I got to see the whole lantern performance again and there was something about the distance back this time that really allowed for me to see things in a completely different light. They ran around a lot at this show and teased each other a lot on stage. They looked like they were having a blast putting on their performance. The crowd really came together for the encore, and let me tell you it was worth all the shouting and screaming because the band came back on stage and blew our faces away. There was literally a moment of silence while people registered what song was playing and if it was real life. "Agony" started and, after a ten second delay, screams filled the room and hair flew. The intensity of the crowd was recognized by the band and they all ran around to visit each side of the stage. Aoi even rolled up his sleeves and stood at the edge of the stage to show off and Reita joined in beside him. "Agony" was enough to rock the boat, but "Cockroach" created a tsunami of chaos within the crowd. The pure shock alone of such a nostalgic song being played may have put a few people in to a coma. After Cockroach, they closed with Tomorrow never dies which was a great song to end with in a celebratory way. The crowd even sang along and it rang through the venue. The band exited the stage after the typical toss of stage goods and the lights came back on. I immediately headed outside and tried to find all of my friends so I missed the set up of the VIP meet and greet. From what I heard, it was a lot more strict and easier to direct considering the VIP holders were already in a designated section. set list opening track: NIHIL 01. Dogma 02. Rage 03. Derangement 04. Venomous Spiders Web 05. Sludgy Cult 06. Bizarre 07. Dripping insanity 08. Ominous 09. The Suicide Circus 10. Vortex 11. Ugly 12. Undying 13. Filth in the Beauty -encore- 14. Agony 15. Cockroach 16. Tomorrow never dies To sum this up, San Francisco was a nice place to visit, but the venue was very unorganized. Had staff been more prepared, maybe the fans would have seemed nicer like they did in line. Los Angeles spoke to me on a different level, but that's prominently because everything was so familiar and it was like reliving the past. I wish the meet and greets were a little longer though. I understand they want to get as many as they can into VIP, but I spoke to a staff member at the Wiltern and VIP maxed out at 250 people. If they had made VIP a smaller group, maybe they could have allowed more time to get an autograph or a photo. But it's PSC we're talking about here, so scratch that whole concept. *furitsuke - Synchronized hand movements commonly used in Japan at (not limited to) visual kei concerts. *HERESY - the GazettE official Fan Club