Schwarz Stein 22nd Anniversary Live 2024-07-31

 I haven’t updated here in such a long time it almost feels like i should’ve kept it abandoned. 

I stopped updating because there were so many things going on, mostly bad, that i just didn’t feel motivated nor did i feel like i had the time. When covid hit a lot of bands started the live streaming too so it didn’t feel necessary for me to write live reports when everyone could see it themselves. 

However, that has changed and part of me also feels like i need to get back into my bangya era instead of just digging myself deeper down this hole I’ve been in. 

So for my comeback I will present to you the Schwarz Stein 22nd Anniversary live!

Recently Schwarz Stein has scheduled some lives on weekdays which makes it impossible for me to go. For those who don’t know me I live in Osaka, currently I also work 6 days a week so unless the live is on a Sunday or a holiday I can’t go. 

Unfortunately this happened with the anniversary too, it happened on a Tuesday but that Tuesday seemed like a very slow day at work so I asked if I could take the day off and I got an ok so of I went to Tokyo on Tuesday morning!

I’ve stopped taking the highway buses, I guess I’m too old but it hurts too much xD so going to Tokyo for a live only will result in at least a 30,000 yen train fee x_x I also hate stressing so to be able to participate in the after party, as they decided to call it this time, I actually stayed the night making it even more expensive x_x

I used to always wear the same outfit for Schwarz Stein, the original Hora t-shirt, but I feel really nostalgic for it so i don’t want to overuse it xD therefore I’ve left it in Sweden and have been dressing up a bit more for their lives. BUT Hora announced a new t-shirt for his birthday live in May which a friend kindly bought for me, so I decided to restart the Hora t-shirt dress fashion once again. Also Japanese summer is like walking around in a sauna so didn’t really feel like getting dressed up just to sweat through layers of clothing.

This time the live was at the 二万電圧, a club I’ve never been to before. It was very small, even though there can’t have been more than 80 guests it was full. 

My ticketnumber was pretty bad, 30, despite reserving my ticket within 5 minutes of the release (I now have the theory you get the number based on when you pay because I waited until around 9p.m that day to pay, if anyone knows how it works please leave a comment).

There were some new merch, a Hora keychain, compact mirror set and a signed photo included in the new Hora release Anima. I had already ordered Anima from his online store but i wanted to photo so I bought one more. I actually also got the keychain but I resisted the mirrors despite Hora’s cat being very cute. I just don’t have space to buy endless of merch anymore and i don’t use compact mirrors. This time they sold extra cheki tickets for the after party (since a couple of years back one cheki with the band is included in the afterevent/party price and they stopped selling tickets for it but it made a comeback this time). So i got an extra photo >_> because I feel like the risk of me closing my eyes or doing something else stupid is too high….

Being an anniversary I hoped they’d play a lot of the old classics. The setlist started with 黒揚羽 so I was pleased. I was even happier that they continued with Fester Love, Queen of Decadence and Apocalypse.  For Hora’s birthday live they played a new version of Addictive Epicurean, this made me so happy because it’s one of my favorite songs and I’ve mentioned that it would be nice to hear  a couple of times <3 and fortunately they played it this time too! It felt a bit slower than the original but i liked it.

Kaya mentioned in one of the short MCs that they’d keep it short and talk more during the after party. They had already announced there would be news so that came during the last MC. As I had thought, the news were that they will release a full album containing 11 songs in October. The new songs they have performed live will be included and then he said there will be new songs, at least that he grant sung before so i guess that’s a hint that there will be more remakes from Hora solo songs. The album will be followed by one live in Osaka and one in Tokyo. Then in December there will be a live with Közi as guest. Kaya had made a new flyer for this and had accidentally written that it would be Közi’s project E//+Z xD

They did keep the Mcs shorter but what surprised me was that the afterparty literally was them asking if people would be interested in a fan trip again and then discussing where to go, and they also played Perfect Garden. That was it. No question corner so it felt very short. I never ask questions but this time I actually wanted to. 

When it’s time to take a picture with them I never know what to say so it’s usually one thanks and bye xD Kaya complimented me on my shirt when I came in :p

I immediately checked my schedule and
realized I can attend all the planned lives so I’m really looking forward to both the album and the gigs ^^