Schwarz Stein -another dimension-

There’s no better feeling than seeing Schwarz Stein. I could give up seeing any other band live for them. Because of an accident I couldn’t attend the Nairobi live or the signing event so I really looked forward to this. I don’t think i can describe how much i enjoy Schwarz Stein to be honest. I’ve followed them for almost 20 years but now and i still love their music just as much as i did when i first heard them. I feel like an empty battery going in to one of their shows and then I’m fully charged by the end. I was talking to a friend yesterday and she also  said all her problems just goes away once she gets to see them. 

This time they brought back the streaming service so I don’t really have to go through any details of the songs. I personally really enjoyed the remixes, Fester Love though I like the original more. That song has a special place in my heart. Since it was a remix live I feel like it was a high energy live from beginning to end and I love that. Kaya pointed out that the section with hard songs were shorter, and usually i would mind that because i love them but this time it was ok because the remixes are harder anyway.

I was very curious about the Corroded Cage remix and I loved it. After the gig they had a photo session and I told Hora that I think remixes are scary because you never know how much the song will change but I loved these remixes.

They haven’t decided on a new date for the next live but they have a fan trip planned and Hora’s bar event for his birthday (i can’t go to either because i have work). For Hora's bar there will be a Hora cocktail (even though he doesn't drink). They joked about Hora spitting in the drinks, Kaya saying some fans might even like that XD 

Other than that there wasn’t anything news worthy. Kaya and Hora just jokes a lot. 

I’m praying the next live will be on a Sunday xD

About the goods though, they sold clear files, a pack of 2. They're now up on Kaya's web store but at the Limehouse they sold them signed. They also added more random badges (I got Kaya from their greatest hits look and Hora's cat).

Schwarz Stein Immortal Verses Tour Encore Final -Daywalker-

Okey, this is odd. Never ever have I written a live report over 6 MONTHS after it acctually took place :P I considered not Writing anything, but as a huge fan of Schwarz Stein (and other smaller Visual kei bands) I know the available material is limited and therefore decided to write this...based on what I remember.

I wasn't even sure I'd be able to attend this live due to some issues with my uni in Osaka (one of my courses was going on a fieldtrip that very weekend and I was told it was mandatory). In the end I obviously decided to go anyway...because it's Schwarz Stein :P but it was stressfull because it wasn't very planned out from my part and I ended up leaving Saturday night from Osaka arriving on Sunday morning in Tokyo. With barely any sleep I headed for Shibuya where the live would be and spent a couple of hours at the infamous Starbucks (I tried waiting for as long as I could but I never got to see the crazy amount of people crossing unfortunately), then went to Donki to change into my live clothes and back to Hachiko to meet up with my friend. I've mentioned Before how I didn't really like it in Osaka, so I was so happy to be back in Tokyo, seeing my favorite band and meeting up people that I know (in contrast to my life up the mountains alone in Osaka:P).

This live was during daytime, like the title hints, and I have to say it was a bit disapointing. For me it was rather convenient as I could return to Osaka the same evening but I do prefer going to lives at night.

Kaya had mentioned on Twitter (I think) that there would be announcment during the live so I was hyped thinking there might be a new single or something, I'll get back to the disapointing news later...

Shibuya Rex was not so crowded, I bought my ticket late due to the issue with uni and assumed I'd get a high ticket number, but I ended up on the second third row from stage (and during the heavier songs I even managed to get to second row) so I wasn't too disapointed. I don't remember the exact order of the songs, but I do remember morgue and Apocalypse being in the begining and I really like those songs so it really got me in the Schwarz Stein mood. Kaya told us that people had been a bit jealous of the setlist from Hokkaido so they would basically do that, except for Beautiful the Virgin! The moment he said that I wanted to cry a bit (Beautiful the Virgin is one of my favorite songs and I still haven't been able to hear it live yet). Obviously they played all the songs from Immortal Verses and they were all good live, especially Immortal Light and Lotus. I'm not saying that just because Hora does vocals for them, but I've realised that the songs in which Hora acctually do have vocals Kaya tend to improvice more to be part of the performance if that makes sense. Everyone who hasn't been able to see them live, perhaps you've seen their live dvd from 2011? During Creeper and Syphilis and Disorder for example, Kaya will add stuff (might it be the arm movement during Creeper or the shouts in Syphilis and Disorder) so that he still is a big part of the song, and that I really like. They also played Release Me, one of my all time favorites so I was pleased. 

So what was the announcment? Before the live I noticed a woman to my right holding a paper or something with an image of Kaya and Hora, and my mind went wild imagening what it might be. Ticket for soemthing perhaps? ...oh no. The announcment was that added to the merch was a sticker set... 1000yen for 3 tiny stickers. sorry, but that was not what I expected (didn't stop me from buying it though...) Funny thing was they had a new photoset of Hora which was not announced and I think that was a lot more of value...

Like they seem to do most of the time nowadays, an after event was held as well as a 3person cheki. Unfortunately they're charging 2000yen for a cheki now, used to be 1000yen, so with the after event ticket, sticker and regular cheki I couldn't afford 2 but got 1 cheki with them. I'm not gonna post my cheki, because I fucked that one up bad :P let's just say it turned out to be the most funny cheki I've ever taken but also a really big failure. (I will be so disapointed if that will be my last cheki ever with Schwarz Stein XD)

Truthfully I don't have much memory from the after event, I don't think any special questions were raised and they didn't do any extra performance if I remember correctly. I do remember thinking it was way too short, I seriously think it was shorter than their previous after events I've attended which is a shame considering the price.

After the live, me and my friend went to a Hawaiian restaurant, in Hora's honour. Warning, if ever ordering pancakes, make sure you're REALLY hungry. The restaurant is called Moke's Hawaii and is located in Meguro, highly recomended. Very nice restaurant, the macadamia milk cocktail was really nice :3

Night Low Be 2017 at Club Zion, Nagoya

Where Schwarz Stein goes, I will follow. Sort of. (2 years ago I was about to go to Sapporo to attend their oneman and instore, but decided not to because it would cost too much)

So when they announced they'd do a coupling live with Közi in Nagoya again I couldn't stop myself from going. Being a fan of both Közi and Schwarz Stein I just had to see this, especially since I missed the last live they did together in 2015.

 So, right after a concert in Tokyo on Saturday night I went to Osaki station and got on my bus to Nagoya! Since I went just for the gig (I also did some sightseeing that I will post about in a seperate entry) I only stayed for one night and therefor decided to try a dorm for the first time in my life. When I arrived I passed by the bathroom/powder room, seeing that someone was applying some heavy make up. I didn't pay much attention to it, but then I went back to have a shower and realise that the make up this girl is applying is Hora's! I've always wanted to make his magic circle for a live but I know I wouldn't be able to pull it off (too much details!) and she'd done his make up so perfectly, I was so impressed. We talked a bit and since we were headed the same way we went together! Most of the time (basically always) I go to live gigs alone because I don't know anyone who likes the same bands as me so it was really nice and fun having someone to share the experience with for once. But talk about coincidence, I meet someone from Tokyo who's come to Nagoya just like to see Schwarz Stein and we're staying at the same dorm!

Anyway, I was kind of split about who'd start the evening and who'd end it. I acctually thought Schwarz Stein might be the opening and Közi the ending but it showed to be the opposit. So Közi started, and like the other times I've seen the E//+Z project he had projections being shown of different images, and he had his red suit on. I really like his hairstyling, instead of teasing it up it's combed down. I think with the red suit it makes him look sort of stylish salaryman á la visual kei.
Közi acctually didn't have his guitar for this live, just some sort of machine to change and do effects on his vocals (I'm not into music equipment so I have no idea what it was and how it works...). Like I've said before, Közi is really great live, I feel like he just goes up there and does his thing and it feels very natural and like he's enjoying it. Közi isn't just a very good musician but also very amusing to watch. For example, when the intro for Cacophony began playing he grabbed his bottle of tea to drink, and he just stood there with one arm in his side and the bottle in his other hand and the remix version of the song has a kind quiet opening and then all of a sudden the guitar will just break out sort of. And in that moment he quickly took a sip of his tea. It looked very amusing and everyone began laughing and I even think I could see a smile on Közi's face too. One interesting thing is that he make small changes to the songs live, so it doesn't really feel repetitve to watch E//+Z despite it just being one CD with songs, and you know what he'll be playing (I love the CD so I wouldn't mind just listening to the songs as they are but it's nice to see he puts some effort to change the setlist as much as he can while still using the same songs). He greeted everyone, Közi isn't much of a talker really (unless he's talking to the other members), so he kept quiet but it seemed like one of his members didn't know if he should start the next song or not so they quickly exchanged a look and Közi nodded but it got kind of awkwardly silent for a while so Közi just shouted out Nagoya again and then the song started. I don't have a setlist but I'm pretty sure he played all the songs off the remix album. I do however remember that the last song he played was ISM, and I couldn't help but to wonder if Hora would join him for it, but it didn't happen. Közi thanked everyone and left stage.

We in the crowd were left to listen to some Sopor Aeternus. I felt like the paus was kind of long, and then all of a sudden Testament began playing. I was so happy they opened with that, I love it and they didn't use that for their oneman in Tokyo. Everytime I hear Testament I just get this adrenalin rush, probably because I get so hyped knowing I'm at a Schwarz Stein live! Hora entered first as always, followed by Kaya. I don't take notes on the setlist because I just want to enjoy the gig, I do remember the songs though (in the wrong order), but as soon as a setlist is announced I'll put it on here!
Both Kaya and Hora wore their Sleeping Madness costumes, and of course they played their most recent release Fleeting Beauty, the live started off a bit slow, but then they did the classics and eventhough people always are a bit stiff to begin with they began loosen up during Perfect Garden and Release me. I was really hoping to hear Release me because it's awesome on CD and even more awesome live. During their onwman in Tokyo the sound was a but off, the bass was too loud but this time around you could acctually hear the melody as well. Hora and Kaya both gestured to people to raise their hands and dance to the music but people seem to stop when they stop their instructions which I find kind of funny...
I found it kind of funny that both Közi and Schwarz Stein mentioned that it was fun being back in Nagoya, because I recognized most of the people there. This means that either the people all came from Tokyo to see this gig, or these people come from other cities to Tokyo everytime to see them. I bet most came from Tokyo though, and if that's really the case....did they have to make a live in Nagoya making us travel across the country? :P During the MC Kaya and Hora talked quite a bit, and people shouted kawaii and Kaya said "I know", quoting Hora from the previous live, hehe. Kaya seemed to have some trouble pronouncing the title of the event, and then he mentioned, like always, that Schwarz Stein is a "my pace" project and for now they don't have any plans. Hora will however be a guest at Kaya's anniversary live later this month. The plan is for them to do some Rudolf Steiner and some Schwarz Stein songs (making me wonder what the difference will be concidering the Rudolf Steiner songs has all been released as Schwarz Stein, or Another Cell. Or will they acctually perform them as they sound on the demos?). 
Then came the biggest suprise. Kaya mentioned that in Tokyo they do the after events, and then they will say goodbye to everyone, but they've never had that in Nagoya so for this evening they decided to offer a 3shot cheki for 1000yen after the gig. I barely couldn't believe my ears, I've been so jealous of the people who attended their gig in the US who got to take a picture with them, and I was hoping they'd do some instore for Fleeting Beauty offering a 3shot cheki. I was so happy I did go to Nagoya for this gig after all. 
Like always they ended with all their heavier songs, Creeper, Syphilis and Disorder, Sleeping Beauty and Succubus. One thing I've noticed is that over the years the crowd has gotten more violent. The first gig I attended in 2012 everyone was sort of leaning towards the stage for these songs, this time one girl acctually fell to the ground (and I was about to fall too once). I noticed that the girls standing closest to the stage was basically lying with their upper body on the stage by now, and at one point Hora even gesticulated to everyone to back a bit. The club was also extremly hot. There must've been something wrong with the airconditioner because it was so warm I could see how Hora was dripping of sweat after just one song (and I felt it running down my back after just a short while). Kaya mentioned during their first MC that it was very warm, asking if everyone was ok. I was very happy we'd get to take pictures with them, but did it have to be the day I was sweating like there was no tomorrow? Like always, despite it being a bit aggressive, I really like the end bit of Schwarz Stein's lives because those songs are just awesome live and Hora and Kaya really gives it their all. Kaya as always went to kiss and lick people's hands (hehe).
They left stage but of course came out for an encore. I was kind of excited since I remember they did Succubus with Közi last time, I really wanted to hear that. Kaya mentioned that he thinks Közi is really cool at one point, hehe. Közi entered stage with his fellow support members (all with a drink in their hands of course) and then they talked a bit. Közi said he liked the hand movement Kaya does in Creeper, so they wanted to do that together. He also asked Hora what it is he says during Creeper, and then they decided it would be changed to "nairobi" (ナイロビ), a shorter version of Night Low Be (probably easier for Kaya to pronounce as well, hehe). So they started Creeper, just like it always sounds but when it was time for the chorus Hora changed "crave your wings" to "nairobi" and then Közi would get in with a "nairobi" right after like an echo. Both Kaya and Hora had a hard time keeping a straight face, Kaya began laughing and couldn't do the arm gesture and Hora had problems keeping up his death vocals. Közi however kept going without problems, and his support members did the arm gesture with us in the crowd. I felt a bit like Közi and his "gang" was a bit too amused (perhaps had one too many), and when they then did Succubus (changing "nightmare" to nairobi" of course) Közi went accross the stage to do something with one of the speakers (adjust volume maybe?) he acctually fell on his behind! No harm done though, he just got up again, I've just never seen him fall, I thought that was a Mana thing (fufufu). For those who follow Közi on Twitter might have noticed that Közi wrote that he lost his phone in Nagoya...(just saying...).

Közi said it was nice to do the Night Low Be, and that they'll do a Night Low Be 2018 (something for everyone in Japan to look forward to). Then they left stage and I sort of rushed out to get some air (it really was like a sauna in there) and to buy that 3shot cheki! I noticed the tickets didn't sell out, and also that most people only bought one, I got two (I don't want closed eyes again like with Hizaki...). I was waiting by the end of the stairs, outside of the actual stage area to be able to breath, when all of a sudden I see Kaya, followed by Hora coming down the stairs! I always feel so weird because I don't know what to say, so I said good evening, haha. I also hate taking these kinds of photos having all the people watching me so I waited until last. I also wanted to see how others did it who bought several tickets (like if you could request a pose etc). One thing I noticed which I haven't seen before was that one girl requested a cheki of Hora and Kaya together, without her. Then it was my turn and I got one regular and one pose, hehe (not posting my photos, I look to awkward). Then before Kaya and Hora left Hora said thanks and take care. I went out of the club feeling like I was on drugs or something. 
Schwarz Stein's gigs are always so intense it's crazy. And getting the chance to take a cheki with them was just overwhelming for my fangirl heart. The day after I had to look at the photos again, assuring myself it really happened, haha. It was totally worth traveling to see this. Schwarz Stein is always worth it.

2017.6.8 Set List

SE(testament)

１：Lilith
２：Release me
３：Perfect Garden
MC
４：Fleeting Beauty
５：方舟
６：Current
MC
７：Sleeping Madness
８：CREEPER
９：Syphilis and Disorder
10：Succubus

encore

11：CREEPER(“Night Low Be”ver)
12：Succubus“Night Low Be”ver)

Schwarz Stein der Winter

I don't know where to start, I'm seriously speechless, that's how awesome this live was. If I were to pick on gig that I've been to that's better than any other, this would be it. But let's start from the beginning.

The live was Schwarz Stein's first oneman since last spring! So it's been a long time, and they haven't released anything new since Sleeping Madness in November 2014! So it was a happy surprise when they announced the new single Fleeting Beauty and its following oneman at Shibuya Rex.
Since the single won't be released at record stores, and therefore not have an instore event, they also decided on an afterevent.
This time around the tickets to the gig wasn't sold through e-plus or any of the other regular online services, but at Shibuya Rex/Ruido's webpage. The tickets were released in December, and at that time I was still in Sweden but desperate as I am for a good ticket I decided to try and buy the ticket by paying with credit card and have it printed when I arrived in Japan. Normally it haven't worked to do so with other tickets but this time it acctually did! So I payed and got it confirmed in December and then I went to a Family Mart here in Tokyo to get the actual ticket. Because of this I assume I got a good number, sort of, 57! Considering many like to stand in the back I felt like I had a chance to get pretty close to the stage. For once I got myself a coinlocker, and for everyone's information, at Shibuya Rex they're 300yen! The thing was that I didn't know if I were supposed to be scared that the remix cd would've sold out unless I bought it when I arrive, I also had a tiny gift for Hora which I wanted to give the staff, and at the same time I wanted to get in as quick as possible to get a good spot infront of the stage. I decided to leave the shopping and gift for last, and hoped I'd be able to get everything I wanted. I always go for the right side of the stage since Hora stands there :P and there was only one person in front of me so I had a pretty good view. The music we were left listening to while waiting was Sopor Aeternus, might have been another band too but I recognized some of the songs playing. They started almost on time, just a bit passed 7 p.m, and the entrance was made to The Alternation of Generations -Conception- (I was a bit sad it wasn't Testament). Hora entered first followed by Kaya, and they wore their Sleeping Madness outfits, just Kaya wore another wig, a dark long and Hora had a very good looking cardigan on top of his corset. I seriously loved Hora's cardigan, I wonder where he bought it...
The gig started off with a lot of slow songs like Transient and Lilith, then when they played Queen of Decadence Hora and Kaya made people move around a bit. Everyone was so still and silent I almost felt bad for them, I know it's Japan but it still can't be fun to stand on stage and performing to a crowd which doesn't make any noise whatsoever. They also played Lapis Lazuli, which was the first time for me to hear live! That song has really grown on me, to begin with I wasn't too excited but now I think it's really good acctually.

I also got to hear Fester Love, which is one of my favorite Schwarz Stein songs and it's amazing live! The first one I went to, in 2012, Kaya brought out a whip. Unfortunately I haven't experienced that since then... I got the feeling the setlist was aiming to a slower and darker sound, so they also played Cocoon -Fallen-. This is song which I think gets better live than listening to it on CD/computer. The bass is so loud live, and I really love how that helps project that kind of dark image they're going for. The stage lightning was red, but it kept shifting between red and no light at all. Hora was standing by his keyboard, but Kaya danced around slowly, making it look like he didn't move at all since he would be standing in a different position and place when the light would be turned on (if anyone has seen the horror movie Lights out, you get what I mean).
Like always Kaya and Hora keeps joking on stage, Hora made fun of Kaya's dramatic poses by making a similar but way too exaggerated and silly version of it making both the crowd and Kaya laugh. Kaya pointed out that they should save the talking to the after event but it seems like they enjoyed it so much it was hard to stop.
Of course they played the new single, Fleeting Beauty as well! Kaya presented it and they played both the title track and the B-side, Hakobune
The songs followed the slow theme, imagen Transient sort of. Hakobune has a Hora solo song in it, I got to excited so I can't recall which one, might've been Flow but I don't want to promise anything!
Out of the more speedy songs I got another favorite of mine, Release me. It's so good live, and they really got the crowd going for that.
Just like always, when they leave stage everyone immediately starts calling for an encore. However this time Hora came out alone, grabbed a mic and said it's been 14 years since last time and then he presented no less than BIO GENESIS! I've been waiting for this song, forever! I've requested it, I've been hoping everytime but I've given up on it ever being played live, and then he does it today! I can't say how happy I was to be there for this live. I love BIO GENESIS and being able to hear it live, I'm out of words. Kaya wasn't present during this song, Hora did it mostly looking up the ceiling but god was it awesome or what? I got so excited it felt like it ended just after it began. I still can't believe he did that!
After that kaya joined him for the rest of the awesome, harder songs (Creeper, Syphilis and Disorder, Sleeping Madness and Succubus). They ended with Last Hallucination, and eventhough I haven't mentioned it they also played Perfect Garden and New Vogue Children. Then te live was over and we had to wait for the after event to start.
I didn't realise, but when I paid for the pass I received a paper on which I could write a question for the event, I just put that paper in my envelope for my ticket and didn't realise what it was until it was too late so I didn't ask any question. We waited for a while until those who wouldn't stay for the event had left and for the staff to collect the questions and check that everyone had their pass. When the event started some choir song started and the curtain was raised. On stage Kaya stood in some dramatic pose with a mac. It was time for his Dj session. It was really short but it included trance music with the choire, and in that some old Japanese pop songs and then Hora joined in and they played Sodomy! Eventhough I rather would've heard another Schwarz Stein song (or Hora solo), it was nice since I really like Sodomy. This was followed by Medusiana. Then they began reading the messages. They talked kind of fast so it was hard for me to follow, but someone asked Hora which kind of song is the easiest to compose, and he said that the harder songs are easier than the slower ones, and then someone else asked about their make up. Kaya mentioned that people used to coem in cosplay more often before, and Hora said that if everyone showed up in white make up next time they'd make an album. They then also mentioned how Hora never have shown himself without make up. He said that after a gig with Moi Dix Mois years ago, he and Kaya went to the car, passing fans and at that time he didn't wear any make up but it didn't seem like anyone noticed. Hora also said he had shown himself before, or after I think, an instore event.
The afterevent was a lot shorter than I imagened, especially considering it cost 2000yen, so I felt a bit sad when it was over so quickly. They said good bye and Hora came to wave and touch our hands again and then it was over. I went to buy Fleeting Beauty and some chekis (it started with four chekis, but I only got one of Hora so I decided to get two more, look carefully on the picture below and you'll understand why I couldn't help but to smile when I saw the Hora one...)
Anyway, I was just about to go and get my drink before getting my coat and hand my present for Hora to the staff when I see that Hora and Kaya is standing in the door saying bye to everyone who leaves! I panicked, my fellow fangirls/boys will understand this, but it was like in one of those dreams, when you see your favorite musician and you can't understand that they're really standing there and then when you're about to walk up to them you wake up. Just that this time it really happened! I was so happy that I didn't hand my gift to the staff, I sneaked by Hora to get my stuff from the locker, scared they'd go before I came back. Rushed back and then I noticed the line got smaller so I went to get a drink thinking since I have a gift it might be better to wait until last. So as fourth counted from the back I approached them in the line. When I got closer Hora saw me and gave me a smile and I felt like a child on christmas eve X) I first got to shake hands with Kaya, his smile is contagious so I just smiled and I couldn't really think of anything to say because I just really wanted to get to Hora XD I told him thanks for making wonderful music and it felt so sweet because he really looked at me when I talked to him, and his hands were so warm (I'm always cold so it was very nice). Then I finally got to Hora! I'll just sum it up, I'm so freaking happy, and his hands were also very warm and nice to hold.
This was such a great evening and the setlist was perfect except for Testament (I also would like to hear Beautiful the Virgin some time...). I'm so happy I got to be here for that particular live, I can't describe it in words.

Kaya announced something very nice during the evening, which now is on Twitter so some might already have seen it, but Schwarz Stein will make a coupling live in Nagoya in June with no less than Közi! I'm gonna do my best to get there since Közi and Hora are my two favorite musicians, I feel like I can't miss this. Too much awesomness...

I'm so tired now, so I'm gonna leave it like this, I'll update with a setlist when or if Kaya will post one.
Now I'm off to some sweet Schwarz Stein dreams~

Setlist from Kaya's blog:
2017.2.24 『Schwarz Stein der Winter』
SetList
１：transient
２：Perfect Garden
３：current
MC
４：lapis lazuli
５：Lilith
６：Queen of Decadence
MC
７：Fleeting Beauty
８：方舟
９：cocoon-fallen-
10：fester love
11：Release me
12：Rise to Heaven
13：New vogue children
MC
14：Last Hallucination
encore
15：BIO GENESIS
16：Sleeping Madness
17：CREEPER
18：Syphilis and Disorder
19：Succubus

Velvet Eden - Behind the Tales

This is a bit late to write, but for me Behind the Tales feels kind of new since I didn't get a chance to see it until february.
The DVD was pre-released at Velvet Eden's live gig on the 31 October and officially released on the 26 November.
This DVD is the bands second since the revival (I don't count the Sad Mask DVD) and contains 6 live videos and a PV for the song Marionette Waltz.

Me and a friend talked about the livevideos for some time, we both got a bit annoyed and confused by the way they've edited them...

Most of the time it looks like the above, several images a top of eachother, making it rather hard to focus on one thing.

I thought that was rather sad, it felt like the images got blurry after a while.

The setlist was good though, we finally got to see Street of Alice, old style.

Dada and Kalm used to fence during this song and so did Dada and Chro.
The DVD also included a PV for Marionette Waltz, which I have to say is my favorite of their new PV's. It's not recorded as a selfie, and it's in black and white.

I've noticed Behind the Tales haven't made it up on Starwave records topchart over sold items, and it doesn't seem like that many international fans have ordered it, how come?

Setlist:
1. Street of Alice
2. Freakshow
3. La fin
4. Luzifer
5. Masquarade Alone
6. Confession of Mask
7. Marionette Waltz PV

Velvet Eden at Ikebukuro CHOP

Last night was my final Velvet Eden gig!
I was cursing over how hard it was to find Chop last time, and was sort of happy when I got home thinking now I don't have to worry about that again... so of course I had to go back once more.

It went a bit faster this time, BUT I did get lost, again.

There were 5 bands playing, Rapunzel (female vocalist and male bassist with fairytale inspired lyrics to the regular kind of visual kei rock), Howling (regular rock band with members looking slightly visual kei, seemed to be older than average and their fans were too, I've never heard of them though), Benisemi (angura kei band, some songs were kind of interesting so I'm gonna check them out later), Kalavinka (barely saw anything of them since I left Chop) and of course Velvet Eden!

I was looking forward to seeing the new costumes and I've also heard that they played Sad Mask at their last gig in Osaka, so I assumed they'd play it here aswell. But no, the setlist was almost identical to the previous gigs I've been to, except that they played No15 this evening.

I stood on Dada's part of the stage, and since it was my last night I tried to focus and remember as much as possible (Velvet Eden and Dada plays a big part of my life, so this live was very important for me).
As soon as the live started I noticed Dada's fingers weren't doing that well, to be honest they were kind of broken. The middle finger on his left hand was almost completly off. Don't worry, I'm not talking about his actual fingers, but his claws. He mentioned it in his MC, and I think it happened during their last gig in Osaka in December.

One big thing was that Dada announced that their working on a new cd! I don't remember where, but I think I saw that the one man they'll have in May will be the release for their 3rd DVD, and now we have a cd to look forward to aswell. I'm really glad things are going so well for them.

The song which has impressed me the most is Toxic Queen, and I've been able to hear it all 3 times I've seen Velvet Eden live which has been completly awesome. But all good things come to an end.

Setlist
Intro

One Caress
Luzifer
Toxic Queen
MC
No15
Confession of mask

The bathroom at CHOP (just because I didn't have nything else to share this time...

ZIZ on Takadanobaba Club Phase

Friday night ZIZ participated in an event on Takadanobaba Club Phase togheter with Amber Gris and Hollowgram.

I rarely know in which order the bands play so I'm always a bit confused about if I should rush to get a good spot or if I can have a drink and wait... Usually I just rush because I don't want to end up in the back :P
Amber Gris was first out and to be honest they made me yawn XD Their 40 minutes felt like 1 hour, and they just felt so random... I googled them before I bought the ticket just to see what I had to endure for the sake of Közi, and since they acctually had PV's I didn't think they'd feel so...amateurish XD They looked so random, like the bassist was dressed in lolita fashion, the singer reminded me of Adam from ADAMS and one of the guitarists looked a bit steampunk and obviously was their fangirl magnet :P
I was kind of happy when they finally left stage and ZIZ got on.

Club Phase has this screen which is pulled down when the bands prepare the stage, but you can still see them on the sides of that screen. I kept looking to see if I could catch a glimpse of Közi but no Közi....

ZIZ played for 40 minutes, but time always flies by when you enjoy something. Közi was awesome as always, and looked great as most of the times. He had a black blouse with pink dots/spots, black velvet blazer and black tight leather pants.
All the members came in on stage one by one while Ö was playing, and Közi was last of course. he took quite the time to join the others and I couldn't help myself from thinking that he probably had a last drink.... before getting on stage to have one more... (since he had liquor on stage last time I saw him)

As the other times I've seen Közi he was really into what he was doing, and when comparing ZIZ performance with the other two bands, well there was a huge difference XD Közi just seems so comfortable on stage, like he's just doing his thing but it comes out so great and relaxed.

They played some songs I didn't recognise though. Közi announced in the MC the finished the recording of the new album so maybe it's on the coming release? I certainly hope so because I really liked the second song. It felt very Közi, like Katharsis meeting something electronic XD it's kind of hard to explain, but sometimes I feel like Közi's songs, or just part of certain songs is "dreamy" in a way. Like not straight forward like RayD5, like they're blurry, like Katharsis or parts of Memento. Does that make sense? maybe it's just in my head but I feel like Közi's songs sometimes does that, they enter some sort of trans-stage XD like they sound a bit repetative, but not in a bad way, and melancholy. Yugami did vocals with Közi on this, and it didn't sound like anything ZIZ released so far...so I'm very excited for this new album.

Except for ZIZ great performance, I acctually found myself a bit annoyed... Since bands like ZIZ are really small, the people who come to see them are usually the same, so they come on like fangirl groups and they usually know or are familiar with the other people who come to see the other bands aswell. SO, this live gig wasn't so small that they ahd one of those "lists" for the frontrow, instead it was one of those in which the fangirls wait in the back and then they just change place with someone they know :P so it's impossible to get really close, and I feel a bit frustrated especially since these people see these bands several times a year and for me it's once in a lifetime XD (sorry, this might sound a bit like I should get a privilege just because I'm a foreigner, but it's more I feel like I should get a privilege because I might not see them again XD). All though I prefer the japanese live-system, the whole ticket with number is great IMO, but inside I get kind of pissed to be honest. As a foreigner you really feel a bit left out.
Also I really don't get everyones systematic behaviour. Like I mentioned before, everyone does the same movements at the exact same time, and sometimes it's not just wave your hand, sometimes it's almost like tiny dances XD and I just want to know who the *** came up with that XD It takes so much energy and focus to do all that, you almost miss the whole livegig. Like I mentioned before I didn't care when I saw The Velvet the last time, I just wanted to enjoy the gig, and same with ZIZ...ESPECIALLY with ZIZ. Their music (IMO) isn't even suited for all that dancing and headbaning or whatever...I don't get it, the front row went all crazy with the headbanging, and I can really not hear that in their music... it's almost like the japanese fans HAS to do all that stuff, even if the music doesn't even have parts in which it's suitable. I mean not even the band hints at that (normally you can just look at the band, like with D, Tsunehito headbangs, you headbang). It's a true mystery to me... the Japanese way of concerts (should be a book about that..).
Over all I had a great evening though (still want to hear Spiegelwelt though...).

Setlist:
Ö
RayD5
Unknown *LLELVI
MC
FREAKQUENCY
Unknown*ECHOFALLS
Night Creature
MC
Unknown *BE POP HIGHSTYLE
Sanityman
SUPERBSAW

Velvet Eden at Chop

Last night Velvet Eden had their somewhat "secret" livegig at club Chop in Ikebukuro.
I don't mean secret as in no one can find out, but it was a bit weird they didn't promote it until really late (I found out last week).

I'm not that good at finding directions, acctually I'm worthless at it. I'm still getting lost in my hometown, that's how bad it is. So when I'm supposed to find my way around Ikebukuro, where I haven't spent that much time, well to put it simple, I'm fucked.

Me and my friend had a hard time finding the club, and an even harder time finding the station on our way back (yeah, not kidding).

But we got there first! *yay* Not that lines matters in Japan :P

Chop was small, but not as tiny as Ikebukuro Cyber (thank god), and they even had soap in the bathroom! *yay* (Cyber doesn't...)

There were 4 bands playing, カルぺディエム (Carpe Diem), ジグラット (jiguretto), ロクダマカルタ (Rokudamakaruta) and Velvet Eden.

This time Velvet Eden wasn't last out....just 3rd :P The first band to play was Carpe Diem. Never heard of them before, but the vocalist (who also calls himself Chro) made me think of Tetsu from first era Malice Mizer. He had that kind of hysterical voice going on, and their music was kind of okey. The second band was  one of those amazingly random bands...which makes me laugh on the inside because bands like that would seriously not work on any other place than Japan. The singer looked like some sort of Marilyn Manson copy, while the basist and guitarist looked very visual kei. The guitarist was really pretty, with pink pigtails (at first I thought he had a wig because that might have been the most perfect pigtails I've seen, plus he had pink hair, but then I noticed it was his real hair which really impressed me XD) Their music varied quite a lot, some songs were kind of hard, and some more regular rock. They were kind of fun watching from the back because they had a lot of set movements for the fans (love seeing how synchronized everyone's moving at gigsXD).
I kind of liked one song they played, so I'm just gonna post a link to a preview from their Youtube channel;

Then it was time for Velvet Eden, well before that they sat by their merchtable as usual (from what I saw they didn't sell anything though...). I was sitting in the back amazingly bored when I just randomly looks up and see Dada and Chro passing me.

This stage didn't have a real curtain so while we were waiting by the front of the stage we could see Chro walking around, setting up his keyboard and guitar (fun leg-entertainment).

Their opening song is not something I recognise, I wonder why they haven't released that as a demo on youtube... anyway, the setlist was just like last week, exactly the same, so was their outfits. 

I've also finally figuered out the mysterious song XD That was my head being retarded and mixing up Luzifer for Jailed Prince... so no new song, the song I meant was Jailed Prince.

This MC was a bit fun (I also acctually understood more of this than at the gig last week). Dada mentioned he had a hard time grasping things when he has his gloves, so he had his stage pass stuck to his ass, and a girl seriously got to remove it for him and then it was given to Chro, who put it on his mic XD They also mentioned they'll play in Osaka in December, and that they haven't decided on Tokyo yet, so it will come later.

One funny thing was that one of the women in the audience shouted kawaii at Dada at some point during the MC and he began to laugh, saying he's 44, but thanks XD

When Velvet Eden's session was over Dada got back to their merchtable, and since it was empty I decided to go over there. I wanted to thank him for this evening and for Velvet Eden, because it's been a HUGE part of my life since I was 16. He didn't really seem to care that much though. This made me feel extremly embarrassed to be honest, and I regret saying anything at all....

Dada then began to shake hands with those who came to see Velvet Eden, (even me:P), and then Chro showed up out of nowhere, he was really kind.

Then I decided to go, partly because I had early class and partly because I felt really weird after that to be honest.

I might not see Velvet Eden again since they don't have a date for the coming Tokyo live and I'm leaving in February, would've been fun to hear some other songs though :P

Tomorrow I'm going to Khaos Rave Decadence to see Schwarz Stein for the last time ;_; and on saturday I have a ticket to see Közi (I just randomly got the ticket when he announced the new cd, have to get that *_*) so a fun weekend ahead of me.

Schwarz Stein Incubus Garden

Tonight I went to Shibuya Rex for Schwarz Stein's oneman live Incubus Garden!

I've not only seen Schwarz Stein at Kamijo's Halloween event 2 weeks ago, I acctually went to Japan JUST to see them in 2012 (back in the days when we thought it would be the second and final reunion live). So I knew what I could look forward to tonight...

I've never been to Shibuya Rex, so I'm happy that I'm a time pessimist because I got lost...

Anyway, I thought I had a great ticket because my number was 7, BUT, then they said that the people who preordered was A1-A90 :P so after a 100 people was let in, it was my turn :P
Of course I went for the right side of the stage as usual, since I want to stand infront of Hora.

My outfit for tonight, was dedicated to Hora <3

As far as I saw, there was only me and another girl in the Hora t-shirt!

While waiting they played songs from Hora's solo, happy suprise! Then the curtain raised and for a change they didn't start with Testament, but with The Alternation of Generations -Conception-. I really like Testament and think it's a better opening...BUT since the second song was COCOON this was probably better. When the curtain was raised you could see that they had really thin, black fabric hanging across the roof and Hora was on the left side of the stage this time (so sad, I noticed he posted that on his blog just before I left home... T-T) and Kaya stood in the middle of the stage.

It really felt like they went for a darker theme tonight, Kaya didn't run out smiling, he was deadly serious most of the time, and the setlist felt a bit "heavier".

Again they had a bit of a problem with the sound, during Profane Gene it just stoped for a short while. Kaya smiled and then just continued when the sound went back on.

Kaya kept a serious face through the MC as well...until people screamed that Hora was cute and his reply was "I know", that made Kaya laugh. And when he agreed that Kaya was pretty, Kaya said there was something wrong with Hora tonight, hehe. Kaya also mentioned that Hora and Közi became friends after their coupling tour with ZIZ (Közi went over to Hora's place, Kaya mentioned that, but Hora also wrote about that on his blog).

People yelled A LOT for Hora tonight, and in the beginning he just raised his hands like he wanted more to shout, then he began to smile and finally he raised his hands as in a "I don't know"-expression XD I'm guessing Hora's not that comfortable with a lot of attention.

 Tonight they played both Lilith and Sleeping Madness, and Lilith grew on me, I wasn't that impressed by the preview but live, it was good. Sleeping Madness on the other hand, OMG I love this! It's by far the best track they've released since their comeback! Like I said about Kamijo's event, it's really great live, it's a perfect livesong, so I'm really happy that I was here for this release and got to hear it 3 times! (I assume now that they'll play it on friday aswell)

Just like before, most people stand kind of calm at their own space....until it's time for the heavy stuff. I'm happy about that because thanks to Creeper, Syphilis and Disorder and Succubus I squeezed almost till the first row. Kaya got all crazy too, I don't even remember which song it was because I just died a bit on the inside; he got to the left edge of the stage, holding on to the pillar and bent down. All of us in the crowd held out our hands, but he didn't reach out for us, then I saw how people aimed for his face XD So I stroke the back of my hand against his cheek, and when I did that he turned his face a bit to my hand and kissed it slightly (draged his lips towards it). I was so suprised XD I felt his lipstick on the back of my hand (asdfghjkl), unfortunatley I didn't get any on my hand...

The same hand got to touch Hora's hand aswell *fangirling*... I'm almost thinking about skinning my hand to save Kaya's and Hora's DNA.... *obviously joking*

For their first encore Hora entered stage alone, when Kaya joined him he joked and asked if he was going to do Bio Genesis (since that's the only song Hora sings completly by himself). Instead they did Kuroageha, and Kaya said that was the first song they did togheter. Hora posted some time ago on his blog saying they'd do old songs so people should help them with the lyrics....but I didn't think he meant songs they've already played! (Hora come on, you've done Kuroageha at least twice...)

I don't really remember the full order of songs, but I do remember they did SIRIUS at the end and Kaya looked sad, like he was crying to be honest. He stood with his back when the song ended, Hora picked up his portabe keyboard and Kaya went over to him and whispered something and then they both went off... I got the feeling they didn't mean to have a paus there...no idea what happened to Kaya.

Everyone began to shout for another encore of course and Hora came out again with his phone, not taking pictures this time, but filming, and then he joked about putting it on youtube :P

Then they ended the evening with Last Hallucination.

On the merchtable, the only new items were Sleeping Madness (yes, they began a presale today) and a photoset! Kaya tweeted just now though, that there will be new items for the gig on friday (something about a poster). I was suprised there were no chekis for sale this evening...

And just as Hora said on his blog, we all recieved a demo cd. I haven't heard it yet, hopefully I'll have it ripped tomorrow.

I didn't have the last Hora photoset, but now the Hora photos are complete, muahaha

After I saw Schwarz Stein in 2012 I used to think it was the best live gig I've ever been to, but tonight, after seeing them for the 3rd time I can honestly say they are the best band I've ever seen. There's so much energy on stage and in the audience, and I love to see how happy Kaya and Hora seems on stage. Eventhough Hora's a bit shy and sometimes just stands there^^

I'm really looking forward to the gig on friday with the band called aki, but I'm also sad because it might be the last one I'll see before I leave Japan.

Setlist:

The Alternation of Generations -Conception-
COCOON -Fallen-
Fester Love
Queen of Decadence
MC
Profane gene
Emergence of Silence
Lilith
Transient
MC
Current
Perfect Garden
Rise to Heaven -2014-
Sleeping Madness
Creeper

Syphilis and Disorder

Succubus -2014-

New Vogue Children

The Alternation of Generations -Increase-

Encore

Kuroageha

SIRIUS-Hallucination-

Encore

Last Hallucination

Next livegig will be Velvet Eden on wednesday! Look forward to a livereport~

Back on Odaiba

I first went to Odaiba in 2011, and it became one of my favorite places in Tokyo. It's an artifical island, so IMO it feels a bit more quite than other parts of this metropolis (I acctually enjoy the busy streets, but it's nice to see some quiet places from time to time).

For some weird reason I did my sightseeing and never came back XD Until last night! I was going to the Japan Night event at Zepp Tokyo Divercity, and since I was a bit late I couldn't really enjoy Odaiba like I was hoping I would, but it was an amazing feeling to step out from the trainstation and look out over the beautiful view! It's so pieceful and yet so futuristic. The buildings look very modern, and seeing the big ferris wheel painted in different neonlights really made my night.
I promised myself I have to go back and enjoy it for a whole day before winter has arrived.

Tomorrow I'll be going to Kamijo's Halloween event! I'm very much looking forward to this. (I'll be seeing Schwarz Stein again!!!) and on Sunday I'll be going to the final gig on Jupiter's tour! (going to 3 concerts in 1 week is exhausting... really, but I'll sleep all Monday)

I didn't have time to take photos, but I finally found the Gundam robot! (yeah it's huge so how did I ever miss it....)

(ow yeah, I was so impressed by a band called サカナクション (sakanaction) last night! They played some sort of electronic rock, awesome, check the video out below!)

I want to timetravel...

When I went to see The Velvet I had to endure lots of random bands before they got on stage. They were mostly small visual kei bands, and what kept running through my head was; What happened to good old visual kei?

All the new bands are young pretty boys, without any unique voice or style. I really miss the 90's.
Not that I listened to visual kei then, but god I love the old bands. There were something special about the way they dressed and the way they sang, the way the music was played, everything.

Before I left for Japan (well about this summer) I got into the old, successful visual kei band Raphael. Among foreigners they're probably known mostly because their guitarist, Kazuki, killed himself at the age of 19.
Everyone who enjoys old Malice Mizer or Lareine should check this band out for sure! This song is called Eternal Wish~ Todokanu Kimi e, a ballad with a lot of emotions. A new version was released in memory of Kazuki in 2012.
So please give them a try (at least if you're into older stuff)! I really love Yuki's voice, it's really something special, the deep kind you rarely hear in todays VK scen.

(random comment; Mimi updated his blog and The Velvet will have a Tim Burton theme at their Halloween live *_* Mimi will go as Edward Scissorhands and Bera as Jack! A bit sad I can't go and see that, but on the other hand I'll be watching Velvet Eden play their fantastic new song Toxic Queen, so I can't complain!)

The Velvet at Ikebukuro Cyber

Yesterday I had a reservation to go see The Velvet at Ikebukuro Cyber! I got some guidance from a The Velvet fan, otherwise I would've been completly lost! I had no idea all these events with a million bands playing had so much set "rules", so I was lucky to get help^^

While standing in line, in the rain, for 2 hours you could see bands arriving, Mimi and Bera aswell.

The Velvet was scheduled for 8pm, so for 4h we had to watch all these other random bands (I thought I had seen random, I had not...one band had a dragon bassist O_o).
Ikebukuro Cyber was so much smaller than I imagened! Eventhough it felt bad that most left when their favorite band played, it was acctually nice since the floor was so tiny.
The Velvet got a bit delayed, they were scheduled for 8pm, but the band playing before them never seemed to start :P
Their gig was so much more fun than I thought, both Mimi and Bera was so full of energy eventhough they weren't even playing for a full livehouse. Mimi danced and jumped around so much you couldn't help but get some of that energy. I totally forgot I was soaking wet XD
I enjoyed all the songs but Shiroi karasu wa nemurenai and Kansensuru android were two highlights^^ I stood infront of Bera and he came so close to the edge of stage I had his crotch like 30cm from my face, and a few drops of sweat landed on me. (XD)
Mimi stood at their table selling items afterwards (he was so cute*_*), I asked if he had any t-shirts with him and he looked so suprised, and apologised saying he didn't bring them, so he asked if I was coming to the Halloween event, but I'm not =( so I just got a cheki ^^ He was really kind =) (then I sat on the floor by their merchtable, taking short glances at them XD)

I can't go to the Halloween event, but I have to see them once more before I leave Japan *_* (and hopefully Mimi can bring t-shirts^^)

Setlist:
1. Shiroi karasu wa nemurenai
2. Fukigenna Mari
-MC-
3. Oboreru ningyo
4. Plastic doll
5. Meikyuu shoujo
6. Kansensuru android

Közi event at Naked Loft

Last night I went to Shinjuku Naked Loft to attend a talk/accoustic event with Közi among others!
I didn't really know what it was, but Közi was gonna be there, so I went XD

The bar was so much smaller than I imagened! I sat in the corner sipping my drink while trying to breath (so many were smoking x_x). They let us in it at 6pm, but the event didn't start until 7pm. Those who attended was Közi, Jiro and Chargeee from ZIZ and then a duo called bulb (which I never heard of), and both bands had their own menu^^ (see the picure below).

At 7 it started and Chargee rushed unto the tiny stage, followed by Jiro and then Közi <3 My inner fangirl wanted to faint but I decided to stand up instead to see him better XD He looked awesome, black suit, kind of widelegged pants, and the inner of the jacket had a pattern in darkred. To that he had a white/red striped shirt, a black tie, and big sunglasses. His hair was like it's been for the latest time, sort of brownish, in a similar hairstyle to this picture:

There was a lot of talking and I didn't understand it all =( they had one fun bit though, which every person had taken a picture! Közi's first was of his toiletpaper...which his cat had made a whole through! Yeah, looked like it put it's claw stright into it XD Közi had two more pictures, which was of toys for his cats ^^ (sweet ne).
He also drew a portrait of Chargeee :P
Like I said, there was a lot of talking, then finally, last they were going to sing a song each (ZIZ and that other band), and they did Kosmostill *_*
I have to say, I was so impressed by Közi. I mean he didn't start out as a singer, and now he sounds so amazing! He sounds good on the cd's but live, sugoi! and he didn't even look strained, he just sat there, so calmly and sang so amazingly. Really, I can't say how great it was to see that.
At the end of the event, when they were going off stage he accidently steped on the cord to the mic (I think it was Közi and not Jiro who did), they both looked a bit suprised when the mic made the noise from falling ^^ Then he waved good bye and got off.

This was the first time I saw Közi, which is kind of weird, I mean I've been to Tokyo twice and I've never seen one of my most beloved bandmen. I can't wait until I'll get to see him again!

This was the menu for tonight, ZIZ had a curry^^ (I wonder if that was Közi's decision since he sued to say it was his favorite food^^)

Next up is to see The Velvet on sunday! Looking forward to that!
Also, I finally found VIDEO GAYTION at Closet child!