Takadanobaba SUPER LIVE THEATER AREA to be closed

[patientZERO 1066]

In shocking and disheartening  news, the infamous Takadanobaba SUPER LIVE THEATER AREA is closing down in a little more than a year. On December 31, 2021, the venue that's housed countess VK lives from bands like Nightmare, The GazettE and DEZERT is closing its doors due to the demolition of the building its located inside. Quite a few live DVDs have been shot in AREA over the years, so it'll love on in the footage and in attendees' memories, but it is a loss for fans of VK from the 2000s.

 

 

[Kiryu999 3336]

I'm shocked.. this place is legendary, such an important part of the visual kei scene. So sad.

I hope that because it's closing due to the demolition of the building maybe one day it will reopen at a different location...

Edited December 5, 2020 by Kiryu999

[Jigsaw9 6783]

Damnnnnnnn, that's quite a blow! Sad to see such an underground institution closing.

 

Also r.i.p. @Takadanobabaalien ;<

[suji 8317]

i see a lot of bands booked into this very venue all the time...holy fuck that sucks

[Paraph 826]

rip

[libertine 125]

.

Edited December 18, 2020 by libertine

[Igyou_Hime 80]

So sad, I love the area and I've been to see both Schwarz Stein and D there, good memories ;( 

[Aika 21]

So sad, it was my favourite livehouse and I have so many good memories there... Many bandmen seem pretty shocked by the announcement too... =(

[patientZERO 1066]

2 hours ago, libertine said:

A big bummer as AREA has been a one of the most important VK venues for a while now. But I guess the building was beginning to show its age? The Japanese are pretty liberal with that kind of stuff. Everything's built cheap, then torn down after 20-30 years and redeveloped. It's not meant to be permanent.

Not just that, but earthquake measures are constantly updated, so the building is probably pretty unsafe. Not just for the people in the building itself, but for buildings nearby. So they need to demolish it for safety.

[Tokage 5930]

Hope it'll be able to rise from the ashes in some new shape or form down the line

[Total Saikou 735]

I hope it does come back, even in a different form. The history behind the name just by itself is something special

[The Reverend 3566]

Damn, RIP AREA. What a fun place to see a VK show.

 

AREA seemed to have real cachet as a barometer for a band's rising popularity. Like "ah ok they got their first AREA oneman let's see if their next is at O-West etc."

[Takato 144]

An era comes to an end. Uff.

[Shmilly 519]

That's definitely the end of an era for the VK scene. It's been the go-to place to test a new band's popularity for years. The number of indie one-mans, taibans or even just visitations from veteran artists in this scene must be unparalleled. I've been to plenty of shows there over the years. Just the name feels special at this point. I hope they can find a new location just to keep the name going.

[Serox 482]

22 hours ago, The Reverend said:

Damn, RIP AREA. What a fun place to see a VK show.

 

AREA seemed to have real cachet as a barometer for a band's rising popularity. Like "ah ok they got their first AREA oneman let's see if their next is at O-West etc."

 

This is damn true, even if before the O-West there is "Shibuya WWW" (which can hold up to 500 people) the O-West have a capacity of 600 people.