mwhahahahaha, guess what i did last friday on 4th may!?!?!?  

WENT TO A LIVE!!!!    

it had a funne name though - X-dayII ～ Node of Scherzo!?!?!  what is a scherzo!?!?!  ...kinda makes me think of snot.  odd live too, no real bands played - except for the opening & intermission acts.  basically it was an excuse to get vocalists kamijo [ex. lareine], kaya [ex. schwarz stein] and juka [ex. moi dix mois] together and cause fangirls to combust.  seriously, the girls there were crazy, and would not shut up when screaming their favourite vox!  but i can understand, since i like all three vox and the bands they come from.  plus hizaki was there - an awesome old school visual kei guitarist. 

hah, coz i bought the ticket on the day, got spot at the back, but i kinda liked it.  it meant i could lean against the wall!  plus, since i was at the back, it meant i was surrounded by the worried mums and dads who accompanied the many teenager girls.  very peaceful, no fangirls near me doing para-para [weird choreographed moves that can take an eye out if you are not careful.  and if you don't do it correctly, make sure you have a clear route to the exit, or you going to get mauled by the fanatics!].

but the real reason i went to this live was to buy a ticket to kamijo's new band versailles' first live.  i am truely sad.

coz i am lazy, here is the live report i wrote for a forum - which explains why i'm using capitals correctly for once!  i've added piccies and a handful of mp3s.   


hurts 

I have heard of them, but never actually have heard any of their music. They weren't bad; and I loved the fact that their bass and drummer were so loud that it HURT your teeth. But while I like heavy thrashy music, after five of songs, it sort of ran into each other. And their vocalist sounded better screaming than he did singing. Nevertheless, I wouldn't mind picking up a CD of theirs to see what they sound like recorded.

intermission
where they removed all the intruments! But it meant that the following acts had plenty of room to move. And where the drums were, were two white garden chairs and a table full of roses ^_^ 
note: kamijo is OBSESSED with roses 

Kaya [vox ex. Schwarz Stein - a techno band produced by Mana of Moi Dix Mois / Malice Mizer fame]
um, I think he either sang Masquerade or Kaleidoscope [http://rapidshare.com/files/30721514/01_Kaleidoscope.mp3.html], I can't really remember... >_<;; But I'm leaning towards Kaleidoscope. Kaya's voice live is as good as his recorded version, but with more expression. And I was amazed at how naturally feminine his gestures were. He could totally pass for a girl, especially when he spoke. The only thing that bugged my about his persona, was his twirlling - not as neat as it should be, but then again he is not a professional dancer, and dancing in platforms is not easy. I was a bit disappointed that he only sung one song, before he left and was replaced by...

Jasmine You [bass ex. Jyakura & Hizaki Grace Project] 
Basically this was just an instrumental set [I didn't really like the music they choose for this - reminded me of palm beaches] to allow Jasmine to dance around the stage with a whip [? o_O]. I personally felt he over-exaggerated his movements, but I was kind of glad that he did, as it meant I could make his movements out a bit clearer since I was pretty much all the way at the back. He was then joined by...

Juka [vox ex. Moi Dix Mois & Hizaki Grace Project]
Juka sang S, which is a lot better song live. It amused me that pretty much all the instruments were pre-recorded, so it gave Juka and Jasmine the opportunity to dance around together. Very interesting. From where I was standing, it looked like Juka kicked Jasmin in the face when Jasmine was on his knees in front of Juka o_O. And after seeing Juka last night, it confirmed my opinion that Juka's live voice is way better than his recorded one [When I first heard Moi Dix Mois first album, Dix Infernal, I was not very impressed by Juka, I found him a tad flat. But then I saw the live DVD, and was completely blown away by his singing]. Juka's live voice, while not as polished as his CD one, has a lot more emotion and raw power. He needs songs which allow him to belt it out. I think he is in the wrong genre, he needs to join a band like Onmyouza. And Juku's speaking voice is very deep and sexy. Again, only one song was played.

Hizaki [guitarist ex. Schwardix Marvally, Sulphuric Acid & Hizaki Grace Project]
I can't help but stare at Hizaki's fingers when he plays [to the point where I got annoyed -_-;; at the first row fans waving their hands about and thus blocking my view]! This is partially due to Hizaki is an excellent guitarist, and he played one of my favourite songs of his - Race Wish [http://rapidshare.com/files/30716716/07_Race_Wish.mp3.html]. I really wish Hizaki would just release tons of instrumental songs, so he can showcase his skills. But I am glad that he is in Versailles with Kamijo. Anyway, Hizaki left, so that meant next was...

Kamijo [ex. Lareine - who is one of my fave bands]
I really wanted to cry during the first song Kamijo sang - ano hito no aishita hito nara [I really was not expecting to hear any Lareine songs]. It is a beautiful song, and when it is done solely on piano/keyboard, it absolutely soars! And since there is only the keyboard accompanying Kamijo, you can his voice really well. Argh, I really did not want this song to end. And was really disappointed when it did [I just wanted Kamijo to keep on singing], but then another song was played! Saikai no hana [http://rapidshare.com/files/30719098/01_saikai_no_hana.mp3.html]. I always liked how saikai no hana felt like an upbeat wedding song. On piano, it was slower and different. But very enjoyable.

MC + guest singers + Masquerade
After singing, there is a brief duet with Kamijo and Kaya. Pretty, and light. After Kaya leaves, Kamijo began to MC. And made us guess who was coming in next, and did funny character descriptions.

- Seijyuu [Dollis Marie - produced by Kamijo]
It was funny, before Seijyuu sang, he and Kamijo were chatting away, and Seijyuu could not keep a straight face half the time, and ended up apologising to Kamijo several times, but Kamijo just kept on talking! And it was cute to see Seijyuu make the dame [crossing of the arms in an X sign] when Kamijo said Kaya was his koibito [sweetheart]. I want to say that he sung artemis, but I don't think he did -_-;;. I like Seijyuu, he has a nice sweet voice, and his stage presence was nice to watch. And I liked the fact Kamijo kept on bullying him afterwards, and ordered him to go to bed.

- Akito [sorry, have no idea where he is from]
Heh, he came in and got to his knees in front of Kamijo. Heh. But unfortunately, with him on his knees I couldn't hear a word he was saying >_<. And all I know is the Kamijo told him not to call him that. The song Akito is a bit too poppy for me, but it was a nice change of pace, since everyone since Juka have been singing slow ballard songs. But when Akito did the chorus, woah, the power of his voice! I wouldn't mind listening to him going oooooooooooooh for the rest of the night.

- Michiru [Mask]
This was a really pleasant surprise. I haven't actually kept up with Michiru's stuff since S to M, but I really liked him in Aioria. And while Michiru did not play anything, he did a funny skit with Kamijo. Oh, and he randomly brought in Pon Juice [?]. I think that is what he called it, even though it sounded more like Pond Juice... And then he and Kamijo made each other, and the audience, say 'bonjour honey' and 'pa pau[?]' Those two have the silliest voices when they say their trademark line that you can't help but grin. And then Michiru and Kamijo divided the audience into the side of the light and the side of the darkness?!?

- Masquerade, a two man band, were next. Their music is a bit like techno pop. Not bad, fun, but not something that would make go out and buy. And there were way too many flashy lights. And in their first song, the guitarist did a 5sec guitar solo?!? I was like, wtf, what is the point of doing a solo when it is so short??? Anyway, he redeemed himself later by doing a longer guitar solo that was pretty decent. I liked their last song though - 'We are masquerade, you are masquerade'. Heh. And they did some funny MC, since Kamijo and Michiru had divided us before into different worlds, he was like, there are none in Masquerade. And then he talked about Masquerade's upcoming events, etc.

Ok, from here my memory gets a bit fuzzy, so things might be a tad out of order.

the world of light vs the world of darkness 
ok, as they are all stingy, and use horrible flash sites that won't let me still their photos, here is a group one of the previous X-day live.  
left to right: top - Kaya, Kamijo, Juka; bottom: Hizaki and Jasmine You  [and yes, they are all GUYS]

- Kaya and Juka duet! Very pretty, and the two compliment each other very well. And after some talking, Kaya pretty much ditches Juka, saying they are not made for each other, or something along that line. My Japanese is not that great, and since Kaya uses that breathy girly voice os his, it is near impossible for me to make out what he is saying -_-;;.

Anyway, Juka gets mad that Kaya REJECTED him, so he calls for backup [!] and says that the world of darkness will win! So Jasmine and three members of Metis Gretel [another band produced by Kamijo.  Members present were vox. Sui, drummer. Kuzuki, guitarist. um he was wearing a mask, and had red hair, so a tad difficult for me to identify... Mizarii?]. And Metis Gretel members were carrying PLASTIC weapons! A battleaxe, what looked like a baseball bat [but I think it was a kendo sword] etc. Then Juka does a lot of evil laughing and posturing, before he is interrupted by Kamijo who said that the side of light will never lose! So Kamijo enters the stage with rose in hand, and is soon joined by Hizaki, Akito, Seijyuu and Michiru! So more posturing and threats made between Kamijo and Juka, with their minions waving their weapons.

Then Jasmin on bass, and Hizaki on guitar started playing, and everyone began to fight with Kamijo and Juka kind of doing a half spoken, half sung duet! And it was very cute seeing Michiru with his umbrella STABBING the minions of darkness. It was kind of obvious some of the minions were having more fun than others. Seijuu and Mizari were having fun sword fighting each other, Kuzuki just looked bored despite he had the coolest weapon - the axe. Then Juka and Kamijo grabbed a weapon each [I was kinda sad that Kamijo traded his rose for a sword, since earlier he was waving his rose about like he wanted to stab Juka with it, and it would have been amusing to see Kamijo fight Juka, who now had the axe, with his rose]. After a really bad fight scene [I couldn't stop laughing at how bad Kamijo and Juka were at fighting each other] the two managed to kill each other!?!?! And the curtains falls!

Kaya
Yay! Kaya sings another song! I'm pretty sure it's Masquerade, but again not 100% sure. I love Kalm's music, but I find that I tend to listen to it as background music, so I don't know the songs so well. After Pyscho Butterfly, Kaya does some talking, coughs - the fans go wild and call him cute, and he denies it, the fans shout out that he is definately cute. Kaya goes on a bit about beauty, cuteness etc. He gets tired, looks for microphone stand, fiddles with it - too low, too high, more kawaii from the crowd. Complains a tiny bit that he is tired. Reveals he is doing a tour and going to Osaka and Nagoya - it was amusing to see him make a girl from Nagoya promise that she would go, so he won't be so lonely and not know anyone. Then Kaya goes and sings Psycho Butterfly - some interesting screaming. I think I prefer Kaya's CD screams, as here they are a bit odd with his stage persona and outfit, plus, his voice cracked a bit on them.

Juka
He sings Averesque [http://rapidshare.com/files/30712654/01_Aravesque.mp3.html], with Jamine and Hizaki accompanying him. Like S, this song sounds a lot better live. Mwha, Juka's growly voice is hot. Again, more promotion, how he is releasing a mini-album soon.

Kamijo
I think this is where Kamijo talked about how you need both the world of light and darkness. And that the answer he is looking for is not in trying to defeat Juka. And then more pretty piano Lareine songs - Metamorphose and Fleur. Yay! before Fleur was played, Kamijo told us that we should not forget Lareine, and look forward to Versailles [Kamijo/Hizaki/Jasmine's new band] will be a new journey! Fleur was really sad, and again I felt like crying, seeing all the Lareine fans waving their flowers and singing along. It was a really powerful scene, and sort of surreal. As I was at the back where all the mothers and fathers of the younger fans were waiting, everyone was quite still, while in front of me there are all these Lareine fans moving. Fleur made me feel very nostalgic. And the live "ends"

encore #1
A Versailles song was played! I think it was called Pride. I liked it a lot! Only grouch was that, since Hizaki and Jasmin were also playing, I found it difficult to hear Kamijo. Anyway, Pride, while not as heavy as Solitude, was a bit like Scarlet Majesty in pace, but slowed down during the verse. Fun, and I liked that it had a bit of a punch. Can't wait for them to release stuff.
Versailles: left to right - Jasmine You, Teru, Kamijo, Yuki and Hizaki 


encore #2
More talking, with Juka, Kamijo, Kaya, Jasmine and Hizaki. This time they talked about food and what to make. And if anyone could make misou soup [?]. Kamijo does an impression of Juka singing S, woah, Kamijo pulled it off really well. They talk about cuteness for a little while, since Kaya seems to have been branded the cute one by the fans. And there was an annoucement of the next Node of Scherzo live on halloween. Then they gave the flowers from the table to fans in the front who didn't have any. It was funny, Hizaki tried to through the flowers, and threw them too high, so they just landed back on the stage.

And with the fans waving the roses about, everyone then played a song - I guess it's called Node of Scherzo. Hearing Juka, Kaya and Kamijo sing together was amazing, and very cheezy in a fun way. While I think Kamijo is the weakest singer of the three - as he can't project as well at the other two - it was nice to hear them harmonising each other.

Was sad that it ended, but had a lot of fun.

Tags: live reports, visual kei
Current Mood: satisfied