Dalle TOKYO DEATH DISCO #8

On the 7th of May Dalle held a twoman live at Shibuya Vuenos with the band vez. It seems like the coupling band don't really have that much incommon with Dalle, this was like a "normal" rockband, but they had quite the crowd.
Just like before the previous twoman, Atsushi was DJ:ing prior to the gig, playing some of the songs we got to hear earlier. I kind of like it, and I think he has a very interesting taste in music!
The floor on Vuenos is kind of small, so when it's packed, it's packed. I was standing close to the toilet this time, right behind Atsushi's table.
I didn't really enjoy the first band, so I acctually sat down studying on the floor, hehe. When it was finally time for Dalle I tried my best to get as close to the stage as possible infront of Közi, but as I've previously said, Közi's fans are brutal... I ended up closer than last time so I was pleased. While waiting for the gig to start, some guys passed me by to go the mens toilet, I turned around and notice one of them was Ryux from Moi Dix Mois! He seems to be good buddies with Közi.

The gig started and this time I was surprised to see how little make up Ryo was wearing! He's one of those people who I think looks kind of western when wearing make up, so it was nice seeing more of his Japanese features. Since it was such a long time ago, I can't really remember what Közi was wearing, but I have a feeling he had about the same clothes as he did at the previous live, and his hairstyle and make up was the same.
They usually play the same set list, but the last time I realised they played songs which aren't theirs, so I was eager to find out which songs it was, and to my surprise one of those was Crystal Castles Not in Love. I never was a fan of the original song but Dalle's version was awesome! I which they'd release that somehow.

At these twoman they never play an encore unfortunately. Before leaving stage Közi throw out picks, one ended up behind Atsushi's DJ table and I have to admit I first thought of heading there, but then it felt weird going behind that... I bet some other fan rushed there though, there's no rules in fandom it seems.

As always the live was really good, ICU is probably my favorite song with Dalle and it's amazing live! If you like Közi, or just wants to experience something new while in Tokyo, I highly recomend you to check them out!

Keep track of their schedule from their webpage: http://dalle.tokyo/index.html

Tokyo Death Disco #7

As a huge Közi fan I obviously follow all of his projects, including Dalle. I know many just listen just because it's Közi but I genuinl think they're great! And was I suprised, they were fucking awesome live.
I saw Hollowgram, Ryo's band, two years ago and I wasn't very impressed so when I found out he'd be the new vocalist of Dalle I wasn't overjoyed. Honestly though I've been completely turned and I think he's doing a great job as Dalle's vocalist!
This was my first time seeing them live, since they became active when I had left Japan last time. Fortunately this was a two man live so each band got quite some playtime!
The gig was held at Vuenos in Shibuya, I've been there once before to see a Közi solo gig, and I have to say it's a really nice venue with a great cocktail menu! Anyway, my ticket number was B 18, I thought about getting a ticket from Dorothy, the onlineshop selling Dalle items but I wasn't sure about my address yet and I did not want a ticket to get lost in the mail! I was one of the last to get in, not that it mattered because people usually tend to show up for their favorite band and then leave, I still haven't figuered out how they do it though! It's almost never announced and yet people know exactly when they should show up... I saw the whole first act and thought it was worth it since I'd be able to get closer to stage, BUT NO! I don't know what it is with some people, and I have to say that I think I've only seen this specific behaviour when seeing Közi and I think it's very rude. His fans show up just before the gig starts and just walks past everyone or squeeze in to get the best spot. This time, a girl even stoped me from coming closer! I was just about to step forward when she sneaks up on the side and puts out her arm so that her friend could stand infront of me! I don't want to cause any trouble, especially when not in my native language but that's just fucking rude! I've been waiting for an hour to be stopped by another guest, when the tickets are numered, we don't have a specific spot at the venue, it's first comes first. I'm so sick of it...and I think it's really nasty of them.
Like last time at Vuenos, seeing Közi :P, I got myself drunk. Normally I never order any alcohol if I'm alone but like I said Venuos has a pretty nice cocktail menu so I thought I'd try "blue moon". I usually just order whatever has a nice name, so without knowing this drink only included alcohol :P I get drunk pretty quick so just from sipping this I began feeling all tired and relaxed and before I knew it I was swinging along to the music (thinking about it now I feel embarrassed but I doubt it looked weird at the time, it's just I normally don't do that alone XD) Before any band set foot on stage, a pleasant suprise was that Atsushi, bassist from Dalle, was the DJ! He had a pretty nice playlist including Soft Ballet's songs Believe in a blue world and Flow. The band before Dalle Justy Nasty, I had never heard of but they played sort of traditional rock and they seemed pretty old so I'm guessing they've been around for a while. After about one hour it was time for Dalle! They used projections in the background and they came in one by one on stage, Közi wore the same outfit I think as from the hide memorial gig, the long black shirt and his rocking horse shoes. Ryo looked amazing! He was so pale and wore all black, smoked eyes with a little glitter. The setlist included all the singles, I was especially looking forward to ICU since it's my favorite song by Dalle and I have to say, it was fucking amazing live! The single version doesn't really sound like you can hear any electric guitar, but at the live it really noticed and it added something extra to the song. When the band took tinytiny breaks to drink (and probably to wipe themselves off) shorter songs were played and at one of those breaks they acctually played the opening songs from the horror classic Rosemary's Baby (the opening in which Mia Farrow just sings lalala). I get a sort of horror vibe from Dalle, in a classic way and not funny like The Candy Spooky Theater, and I really enjoy that! The time flew by, they were awesome and before I knew it the gig was over. People tried to call for an encore without success though. Beforehand they had announced that everyone who'd show up would receive some gifts, as you can see in the photo it was a signed postcard and a sticker. I also obviously bought the single Metaphor but since I can't rip while in Japan I haven't got the chance to listen to it (it came with cathair, no kidding XD). I also got myself the last white t-shirt in size M! On the merch table I noticed they sold signed pictures from their album released in December, ambivalence to violenta. It said it was the booklet but when the woman showed me what was incldued it was loose papers (maybe that is the booklet?) I acctually still haven't bought the album, and that is also why I can't comment on which other songs they played.
Közi was as usual kind of in his own world, meaning he doesn't really look at the audience or respond when people call him (well he responded with his guitar once). I'm really happy he's staying active and I think his solo, Dalle and ZIZ are great so please go see them if you happen to be in town (or Hong Kong I guess).

Band Focus - Rentrer en Soi

Since I can't be reporting from funfun Tokyo anymore *sob*, and I want to keep this blog going, I was thinking about what I could possibly write about that would be interesting. I do update when I buy stuff, but besides that? I hate those boring blogs which posts a link to a song and goes "check them out, they're awesome", everyone can find new bands by looking through youtube for endless hours (been there, done that unfortunatley). So I thought since I want to recomend bands I might aswell do it all the way, from presentation, recomendations to discography.

First up is a new crush of mine, Rentrer en Soi ~

Out of a very random happening during my last week in Tokyo I decided to check Rentrer en Soi out. They're one of the bigger, modern visual kei bands so of course I've heard of the name before but to be honest I never really listened to anything from them. So I checked some songs on youtube and then I downloaded the complete discography. (That's how you do it when you have too much freetime)
Rentrer en Soi began their activities in 2001, and because of their connection with BAISER member Katsura (who also was their drummer until Mika came along), the band was heavily influenced by BAISER (to be honest, in the early days Rentrer en Soi looked a bit left behind compared to newer visual kei bands). In sound the band also had a sort of 90's visual kei touch to it, aswell as visually. Have a look to a PV from their early period, Sincerely.


By this time the guitarist Ao had left and been replaced by Shun. I have to honestly say I'm not a big fan of their early sound, In my opinion shit started happening in 2005.
Their sound changed a lot, one of the fanfavorites, Protoplasm was released and in that you get a preview of what their future releases would sound like. The song itself is very catchy, and Satsuki changes from singing beautifully to screaming, this was a love at first hear for me, totally. (In other words, I listened to it nonstop for hours...during a couple of days)
Their visual style also changed, from very typical visual kei in old manner, to something more modern. Check this one out for sure, it won't disapoint you.


The band kept releasing some of their best works, in my opinion,the selfnamed album Rentrer en Soi, The Bottom of Chaos, and they also played in the US and gained some international fans (VK-sized but still). The previously mentioned cds both include a heavier sound, Satsuki mixes growling with his normal singing style alot. What also made me very interested in this perticular era of Rentrer en Soi is that the lyrics got way more darker than the previous releases. For those who enjoy shouting I can highly recomend the song I hate myself and want to... (also called I hate myeslf and want to die on The bottom of chaos)
Everything seemed to go great, they released the amazing single Stigmata, and it seemed like they tried to loose the visual kei style a bit (I'm sorry but Satsuki looks so much like a host at times), normally that means bands are aiming to go major-MAJOR. Unfortunately that wasn't the case for Rentrer en Soi. They announced their Millenarism tour in Japan and then they left the very sad message on their official webpage that they would stop activities after the last concert in Shibuya on the 25th of December 2008. Earlier that year they released their last minialbum Megiddo, which includes one of my personal favorite songs Baptism. It's very hard compared to other Rentrer en Soi releases and also a huge contrast to the sound they had when they first started.


In 2009 Satsuki went solo and changed sound completly, he's a bit more pop/rock, I'd even say he reminds me a bit of Gackt's early work. Takumi and Mika is now active in the somewhat famous band Sukekiyo .
To get a full discography I recomend to check their webpage out, also they have 3 free videos to download! If someone decides to check Rentrer en Soi out, please leave a comment and tell me what your impression was/is!

捨て猫

A while ago I came across an auction for Velvet Eden's single Sute Neko. This auction included a photo of the band, I have no idea where it came from, if it were a first press bonus or something from a special store. I bet most are familiar with this picture already, but the copy which has spread is in very bad quality, so I tried my best (without a scanner!!) to get a proper and big version of this fantastic picture.

I have a bit of a special bound to Sute Neko because it was the first song I ever heard from Velvet Eden, and I absolutely love it! It's a bit fun to see Dada still doing the scorpio outfit which was used in the 90's (and again now in the VELVET EDEN PV), and I also think this is the most bizarre and different look for Velvet Eden. The bandmembers look like each and one of them has their own style and not particularly gothic either (I mean RYO is a skeleton, Hora has Cloud hair and Abexx has horns! :P). I feel like this probably is the least loved era of Velvet Eden, perhaps because it broke many of the boundaries which made Velvet Eden what it was?