HIZAKI Birthday Live 「Elizabeth」

I've realised that I'm not keeping up very good with updating here. I'm doing awesome things all the time and yet I never find the time to write about it. This entry is dedicated to the Hizaki solo gig on the 17th at Shibuya Rex!
I wasn't sure if I was going to go to this gig acctually. I was tempted since I really liked Hizaki's solo album Rosario but then again, I'm not a huge fan and I'm not rich so I thought about not going until when I went to Family Mart to pick up my Schwarz Stein ticket. For those who don't know, Family Mart offers a ticket service by using their machines, the Fami Port. You can search for tickets, or pay or pick them up. I was going to pick mine up, but this time it was a bit different and I had the wrong code, so I never got the Schwarz Stein tickets. However, being an awkward person I felt weird going in, especially since the machine at this store was right infront of the register, without getting anything. So I ended up buying a concert ticket! (Yeah I know it sounds stupid).
I felt kind of bad about it, even until the day of the gig, especially since my ticket number was kind of bad (C :P), but now I certainly don't regret it!

I got there right after school, and I had not been at Shibuya Rex for quite some time so I felt a bit nervous about finding my way, I really don't want to get lost, I have the worst sense of direction. I did find it, and I even saw the people who sat next to me at the Versailles concert! (Not that I talked to them, the guy next to me stared at me like I was an alien, I just remember him because he looked like hide). I assumed Rex would be all full and I'd stand in the back concidering my number, but oh no. Most people stood in the back and either the ticket's were limited in numbers or some people never showed up because I can't believe that I had a C ticket and the club was that "empty" when I got in. I checked the merch and they sold some photosets, a pamphlet, Rosario of course, clearfiles and then they had this paper in yellow stating 1000yen and then lots of Japanese. I began reading what I could read and finally I understood that you could pay 1000 yen to take a cheki with Hizaki! I got so excited because I've never been to a gig where they offer that, usually it's limited to either fanclub or instore events. Not a huge fan, but Hizaki's been with me since high school so obviously I wanted a cheki with him! I didn't quite get when and how this would happen, so I went to buy something thinking I could ask the woman at the merch table. Before me however was another foreigner, who did not speak Japanese, so they tried to tell her the rules in some simple Japanese/English, and I finally understood that everyone was welcome to participate and that you'd pay after the gig and also take the photo then.

The gig was a bit late, but hey most are. Hizaki and the support members got on stage while Elizabeth was playing, and I really love that song so I got so excited! Hizaki was really pretty, he wore the Rosario dress (same as the one he has on the photoset below) but with another hairstyle. He basically played all of Rosario except for Presto, and I really got to appreciate songs that I haven't payed that much attention to while listening to the cd, such as Silent Knight and Church Candle. Seeing Hizaki play in itself is an event. I really admire how awesome he is at it, he is so skilled! Seeing him play live was such an experience, it was great to see how carefully he plays to get certain sounds and how many different techniques he really uses! As a special guest for the day of honour, being his birthday event, Teru joined in and played with Hizaki for a couple of songs. I thought there would be even more people there especially since Teru would be a guest, I mean if Versailles could play Budoukan, how could not more people come when two of the members play a smaller venue?
Anyway, Hizaki did some MC inbetween and at one point they talked about the previous touring in Europe and said it was nice to be back, and then Hizaki pointed out that there was a lot of foreigners in the audience today, so he said welcome to Japan in English X). I didn't really notice until later that there was A LOT of foreigners, perhaps many came to Japan just for the Versailles concert? Also Zin came in on stage with a tiny cake and some flowers for Hizaki. It was kind of funny, because at first I didn't see it was him, I don't listen to Jupiter so I don't keep up with his looks, also he wasn't in costume. Hizaki pointed that out as well, how different he looks without make up.
Before the gig a fan handed out those crackers which explode into strips of paper (no idea what they're called), I was kind of suprised but it was a cute gesture I think. Well, by the time for the cake and flowers we all used those, I was unfortunatley a bit late, hehe. One fun surprise was that Hizaki acctually played a cover of Sara Brightman's Time to say goodbye! He said it was the first time he did it, and it was really nice made as a guitarcover.
When the gig was over it was time to wait for the staff to start the cheki taking. Basically we just waited until everyone had left the floor, so we who wanted to have a photo with Hizaki got to wait in line outside. I was a bit late so I ended up outside for real, and it was cold :P When I got into the club again I saw that they had put up some walls to create a more private space and I could spot Hizaki in there. You were allowed to take several pictures and you could also pose with his guitar! When it was my turn I wished him happy birthday and I decided to just have the photo taken with him, so I had my arm around his waist and he acctually got close enough so that our heads met X) I sort of expected him to be a bit reserved so I wasn't sure I could even tough him but he was totally fine with it. I got my picture and left. The sad thing about polaroid pictures is that they develope slow, I went to pick up my stuff and when I look at it I notice that I closed my eyes! How could I f** do that, I get 1 photo with Hizaki and I'm not even looking!!! XD I'm so pissed at myself.

I had a very nice evening though, and I'm super happy I went! I'm really looking forward to the live DVD he'll be releasing and also future albums! (he mentioned a mini album) Might not be able to see him live again though, since I'm working on getting my ass to that Schwarz Stein/Közi gig in June X)

Chateau de Versailles Nippon Budokan 2017

As most people, who's not been living under a rock for the past 6 months, know Versailles was reunited and had their comeback live at Nippon Budokan on Valentines day no less!

When I heard about this I knew I was going to be in Japan at the time so I made sure to get my ticket through Rakuten as soon as possible. It felt like the gig was so far ahead it would never happen, and now it's over and I feel a bit sad to be honest.
I've never been a big fan of Versailles (meaning I don't own all of their cd's, and I don't enjoy everyting they've done), but I've been listening to them since high school, especially Hizaki has a special place from that time, and some songs are awesome! I also really like their theme. Anyway, since I do like them and this would be a spectacular event, I felt like I couldn't miss this.

Unfortunately I have school all weekdays until 5 p.m and the concert would start at 6.30 p.m, let's just say I felt a bit stressed knowing I had to go pick up my ticket, Lineage that was given as a gift and also my VIP bag. Yes, when I found out there would be VIP tickets, with presumably good seats I was ready to open my wallet a bit more. I've been to Budokan once before and I ended up on the third floor somewhere in the middle. Can't say I saw much, so I rather pay more and we also got some goods so I'm pleased (I'll get back to details on the VIP bag and my seat).

I arrived at the venue at about 5.40 and I just couldn't find the ticket gate! I felt a bit panicked since according to their webpage I needed my ticket to get the cd and also my VIP bag. To begin with I assumed I'd just go pick up everything at the same spot but of course they had to make it a bit difficult. The line for tickets were huge! I had to ask two times to even find it, and when I did I had to stand there for about 15 minutes before I realised that foreigners had their own line which was none :P Fortunately I got the cd at the same time, and I received the limited one since I bought my ticket early. Then I just had to pick up the VIP bag and then go to the merch! Many of the items for sale had been sold out, of course, but I got myself a tote bag.
I think I did pretty good timewise, I acctually got into the venue by 6.15! Then about my ticket, there was never said that the VIP would be any good seats, I just heard that it might be so, and I don't know if it was or if I just got lucky but I acctually got a seat at the arenafloor, line 7! That was a great seat and I couldn't have been happier (it was worth 15 000 yen).

 
Of course there was tons of flowers from other bands, such as D, Kaya and Moi Dix Mois among others. I know you aren't allowed to take pictures during most concerts in Japan, but usually they don't care if it's before, and since I saw a Japanese woman take a picture of the stage when I entered I assumed it was ok. The moment I had taken my picture a guard show up and tells me it's not allowed... So since I don't have a photo to post, the background was as churchwindows, really pretty.

Versailles didn't start until about 6.45, and the start was with Prelude and Aristocrat's Symphony. I remember watching the opening to their first live DVD, which are the same songs, and I thought it was amazing. Seeing it live was beyond words. It felt kind of surreal, like watching a DVD, maybe because I had a really good seat for once. I have to say though that it sounded like there was something weird with the sound for a while. During the chorus of Aristocrat's Symphony it sounded like Kamijo's vocals was drowning in the melody, unfortunately. They played songs from their greatest hits which was released in 2016, but they also played some songs from Lineage, like the titletrack and we even got to hear Vampire! One thing that stroke me as funny was watching the other fans do their parapara. One guy in the row infront of mine even did something similar to Kamijo's strutting in Masquerade, but standing still! And they also imitated Kamijo's movements to Ascendead Master.
During the MC Kamijo talked about his little accident in Poland, he fell off from stage and according to himself this time it really hurt and he couldn't stand on his leg so he had to use a wheelchair for the rest of the tour. It also got quite emotional when he explained that there was a reason for Versailles playing at Budokan, and that was that he promised Jasmine You before he passed that they would. After that they played Serenade in Jasmine's honour and Hizaki looked like he acctually began to cry. They ended with The Revenant Choir and it was an amazing ending! I love that song and hearing it live was great.

The concert felt a lot shorter than it really was, probably because I was enjoying it alot. When it was time to say goodnight the members threw out some stuff for the audience, like roses, picks, drumsticks and towels. Teru acctually threw out a whole bag of his picks (unopened!) which the girl infront of me catched. A really amusing thing was when Kamijo threw out his last rose. It landed in the aisle next to my seat, and people were so eager to catch it that some ran out on the floor, and one girl acctually fell and slided on her stomach to the rose and caught it XD Seriously, true story XD
Finally the members all grabbed each others hands to do the final jump together, because of Kamijo's accident earlier on the tour he couldn't really jump so Yuki had to support him, they both laughed at it and it looked really sweet. Once again they grabbed Jasmine's bass and Hizaki got sad, and he smiled sort of like as if covering up that he started crying but Kamijo hugged him. Then they all left stage and the concert was over.

Like I mentioned in the beginning, I'm not a big Versailles fan who knows all of their songs inside out, but I really enjoy them and I don't regret going to this or paying that much either because it was an awesome live performance! I think even people who don't like Versailles would agree it was a good concert. If you ever get the chance to see them, don't hesitate, it's worth it!

 The VIP bag.

Tote bag.

This was the contents of my VIP bag (coasters, clear files, blanket and signed board).

3 concerts in a week, might have been a bad idea

As the titles say, I had 3 concerts last week, while going to school = not smart.
Since I live a bit outside of Tokyo city, it takes at least 40minutes for me to get there, or more depending on where the venue is.

So, I had to go all the way to Odaiba on thursday to attend a concert (I was exhausted when I got back home x_x), on saturday was Kamijo's Halloween event and on sunday I went to see Jupiter!

I'm not a big fan of Jupiter (and to be honest, even at the concert some songs melted togheter and I felt like they played a song they already played :P), but I never got to see Versailles so I thought this is at least almost all the members! (close enough :P)

They were good as a live band, Zin's voice was good, but yeah, the songs...

They did play my 2 favorites though, Nostalgie and Innovation, so I was happy.

The highlights for the evening (except for those songs) were Yuki and Hizaki's solos. I got so excited because Hizaki's sounded a lot like the old solo songs he did (and also like Hizaki grace project, I wish he'd release something like that again).

I also noticed how manly Hizaki really is XD Everyone calls him Hime and he's so pretty, but damn his bodylanguage! Don't get it wrong, I think it's charming, but also a bit funny. He wore this skirt which was long on one side and shorter on the other, and he put up the leg with the short side on the stairs up to Yuki while playing sometimes and I kept thinking, at least some fangirls on front row has to see straight up his skirt!

Also, at their encore all the member had put on the tour t-shirts, and there Hizaki stood, with his manly arms (so cute), and when he left stage for good, he jumped down to the first row touching everybodys hands, then he jumped up on stage again, the very manly way (when you jump up on the side), which didn't just look funny because of that but also because he wore his really fancy skirt.

Everyone was kind of excited that they announced a new album and a new tour! The new album will be released in january and the tour begins in march.

 

Jupiter's flowers

Kamijo Halloween Special Live

I knew it would be fun, but I didn't think that I'd enjoy it this much. Kamijo's Halloween event was one of the best gigs I've ever been to!

To be honest, I was thinking about going when Kamijo announced this, but then I decided not to, and then I went because Schwarz Stein would be there XD and I'm really happy I got to experience it.

Me and  friend arrived just before they began letting people inside, our ticket weren't that good, but with a bit of pushing I think I got an okey spot. I have to say I really liked Tokyo Kinema, the inside looked more like a theater/opera stage which I think suits Kamijo perfectly!

There was a DJ there who played various songs while we waited for the event to start, then a sort of marchsong began playing and Kamijo's band came on stage, in Halloween costumes of course^^ (the drummer was a police XD) and Kamijo last, in a black suit (with dark red details, as the upper part of the pockets and the "collar"), white shirt and zombie make up!

I was afraid he'd only play new songs, and I haven't listened to Heart yet, but I got to hear Symphony of the Vampire, and some other old songs, like Louis! He was as charming as you can expect from him. Talking gently, or making everyone scream "Bonjour" XD. Before playing Gensou, he mentioned that he wrote it with his heart. Then he left the stage for MU, the groupe he has signed to his label. They sat on the "balcony" of the stage and played 2 songs acoustic (the first had a flute, which made me feel like Kamijo probably wanted the whole scenery to seem a bit nocturnal, with them playing on the balcony instead of the stage).

Then Kamijo marched in again to the same song as before making everyone put their hands in the air. In that suit, Kamijo really felt like some sort of cabaré host or something XD He was very charming. I don't really remember order of songs, he played a few newer ones, like Lion, it was kind of fun, he tried making everyone sing a long at one part but he didn't really get everyone to say it (it was in english so I can honestly say I didn't hear what he was saying...), but he laughed it off and just started the song.

The second time he went off, the DJ came back and I realised what was up next, Schwarz Stein! She put Testament on and Kaya and Hora entered stage. They both had their new outfits for the new single, Sleeping Madness, and Hora decided to join the Halloween theme, making stitches from his mouth. They played Release Me first, it didn't sound like when I heard it in 2012, I think they made some small changes, at least Kaya sang it a bit differently, not much, but a tiny bit. Then Kaya said Happy Halloween and talked a bit, then he announced Transient, but Release Me got back on, so he stoped, saying it was the wrong song, laughed and then Transient played, but that stoped as well and Kaya laughed saying Happy Halloween again. THEN, they acctually did Transient. After that I saw Hora removing his portable keyboard (the one he wears as a guitar) so I assumed they'd do like Creeper or Syphilis and Disorder, that he'd grab a mic, but no, he went off stage! Just like that, I was a bit disapointed =(

Kaya stayed on, saying he had a secret to tell, he was gonna let the secret guest in, and in comes no less than Juka!...I mean Shaura. Also in a bit spooky make up. He played a song (don't know which, I'm not a fan of his solo) and then he went off and in came Kamijo again wit his marching beat. I was very suprised Juka didn't get more respons from the audience...I mean he disappeared from the music scene...

Then only 1 guested was left, Hizaki. Kamijo played some songs on his own first (Moulin Rouge among others), then Hizaki came along and played with him. He was really energetic, I haven't seen him live before, but I didn't expect that XD It looked like they really had fun on stage togheter. Kamijo told us that the first time his support guitarist saw Hizaki, he said he was cute, which Hizaki thought was sweet I guess because he went over to him and gave him a tiny sidehug. After just a short while everyone went off and MU played one more song, which of course led to Schwarz Stein entering stage again <3 This time Kaya announced that they'd play their new single Sleeping Madness. I listened to the preview just before I left home this morning and I felt like finally, they're back to their more aggressive sound! I also love when Hora sings, so I was really happy to hear that he's doing the chorus. BUT, the song was so awesome live. It might have been my inner fangirl just being very happy to see them again, or it really was great :P It felt like one of those songs which just is great live, the sound was perfect.

Kaya stayed on stage, with the singer from MU, making everyone shout stuff, they went from sounds to Halloween, Bonjour and finally Kamijo :P So Kamijo came out on stage again, and they all sang Bastille togheter (EDIT).

Kaya and the singer from MU left, and this time Kamijo made us all scream Hizaki out, telling us to yell "hime". Hizaki came holding a clown mask, with a pink mask which only covers the eyes over that ^^ Then one of the highlights (at least for me) came. Kamijo held a mask, put it on and then he asked if we remembered when he wore this the last time, and at that point I got really excited. So, with Kamijo's support band and Hizaki on stage, they played Versailles song Masquerade! The best part was that I was listening to that song on my way to Shinjuku thinking how it's one of Versailles best songs, and I wish I would've been able to seen it live, and then I got to! I'm really happy they played this, not only because the song's great, but since this Halloween event was a "masquerade party", after the guitarsolo in the song, ALL guests came out holding a mask infront of their face, doing a little spin (may I add the best part of it was Hora, he was so obviously uncomfortable, he kept having one hand in his waist or as if he were pulling down his corset, but I feel with him, I'm just the same XD). Since everyone was on stage, they ended with Kamijo's song Death Parade. I haven't listened to his new album, but I searched for the song just now on youtube and it was by far better live. It was really fun seeing everyone togheter on stage (again, especially Hora, looking like he wanted to run backstage, while the others danced around). Unfortunetly that was it. I could've stayed all night. Kamijo really made an impression on me, I'd love to see him live again.

Chekis I got^^