Venomous Cell -Finale- OMEGA
Last night was GazettE's OMEGA concert at Yokohama Arena. I got to see my bbs again and I couldn't have asked for a better concert.
I was still feeling slightly off yesterday morning, but I decided to hope for the best. I wanted to dress in proper attire for the concert, but didn't feel up to doing anything really intense, so I wore my skinny jeans and my h.NAOTO shirt. I bundled up, put on my cold mask, and put my medicine in my purse. Then, I was on my way. I arrived at Yokohama Arena an hour and a half before doors opened and that proved to be just the right amount of time. It was pretty crowded and there were a bunch of cool GazettE cosplayers around. The first thing I did was get in line for goods (aka tour merch). That took about an hour total. I ended up buying the tour bag, a tour shirt, the photo book, and a Black Moral bear keychain. (I really like the artsy minimalistic designs that Ruki's been creating for this tour.) Then, I got a sandwich at the 7-11 right next to the arena. I needed to eat so that I could take my meds before the concert. After that, I found the ticket window so that I could pick up my fan club ticket. I checked my seat number and saw that it looked pretty close to the stage, so I was excited to get in the arena and see where it was. I then spent a little bit of time chatting with a girl from France who was seeing GazettE for the first time. When she had to go line up in a different section, I was adopted into another group of mostly foreign fans because they saw that I was at the show by myself. They were two Italian girls, a girl from Taiwan, and their Japanese friend. All of them were really nice and my seat was right next to them, so we spent the rest of the evening together. By the time all of that was done, it was time to go inside.
We entered the arena to find our seats. I was so happy with my ticket (which made the FC membership worth all the money I paid for it). I was in the 9th row from the stage, right in the center! This was a great view, especially for an arena show. In high school, I used to watch GazettE's NLSG live all the time and be envious of the people near the front of the stage. It was a weird, but great feeling when I realized that I was now one of those people.
The concert started and it was time for the amazingness to begin. The concert started with "Infuse Into", while everyone clapped along and a strobe light flashed during the dubstep parts. The band then entered the stage and started the show with "Venemous Spider's Web", just like on the new album. I had my moment of disbelief that I was actually there and the band was right in front of me. They were gorgeous as usual, wearing their Toxic outfits. Aoi, Reita, and Kai had all changed their hair a bit though. Aoi's hair is pink in front again, half of Reita's hair is black and the other half is his usual blond, and Kai's hair is a light brown. I had a really great view of all of the band except for Kai because Ruki was right in front of him. Even though Uruha's my favorite, I found myself watching Ruki much of the time, partly cause he was directly in my line of sight and partly because he's got a great stage presence. When the band came out everyone was full of energy and headbanging right away. I joined in and was pleased to note that I felt fine! I'd been worried that my head would start swimming or my nose would start running if I headbanged, but somehow I was fine. There were so many people jumping and headbanging that you could literally feel the arena floor shaking.
The band played a bunch of new songs from Toxic (which makes sense, since it's their newest album). The show continued with "Sludgy Cult", "Vortex", and "Suicide Circus". There was a video of creepy-esqe images playing behind the band during "Suicide Circus". I think "My Devil on the Bed" came after that. During "My Devil on the Bed", Ruki brought out a rhinestone studded cane and did some dirty dancing with it. He also gave us the most devilish smirky face at the end of the song. Somewhere during the beginning of the set Ruki threw his water bottle into the crowd and it landed right in front of one of the Italian girls. She promptly drank the rest of the water in the bottle lol. After this my memory of songs and song order gets a bit fuzzy, but I know they played "13 STAIRS [-] 1". It's my favorite song off of DIM, so hearing it live was so amazing. It's just got this gorgeous dark, deep sound. I started getting all emotional when the band played "Untitled". The venue went dark and Ruki came to the front of the stage and set a single candle on the ground. When he started singing, firefly lights appeared on the screen in the background. I got a bit teary. It was beautiful. At the end of the song everything went silent and Ruki blew out the candle. Sometime after that I remember the band playing "Headache Man" because it's always fun to shout and dance along to the song. They also played my (and many other fans) personal favorite, "Filth in the Beauty". Damn, I love that song. I'd say it's one of the songs that really got me into GazettE's music. I also remember that the band ended their first set with "Tomorrow Never Dies", another great song from Toxic. This brought the first part of the show to a close. The band left the stage and "Omega" played. I couldn't believe that the first set was already over. It seemed like it went by so fast, even though it hadn't. During the break between sets, one of the Italian girls breathlessly asked me if GazettE's shows were always so intense. I cheerfully replied that they were.
Of course, we called the band out for the usual encore. Reita and Kai were the first one's back out on stage, as usual. This time Reita was dressed in all black and Kai was looking adorable in geeky glasses. The each did a short MC. They started us off with the usual "Ride With the Rockers", which they've changed up a bit for this tour. Then, Aoi and Uruha joined in. Uruha had changed into an all white outfit and Aoi was wearing his outfit with the swishy red skirt from his latest Rock & Read photoshoot. Once we'd been suitably pumped up, Ruki took the stage again, this time in a leopard print jacket. They started us off with "Akai One Piece". The band got pretty playful at this point. They took turns playing on the catwalks on the sides of the stage. There's also some fun furitsuke during this song. Ruki then did his MC, thanking us for a great tour. He said that it'll be a bit lonely once the tour's over and that even though the year is just starting GazettE is ending their tour and that's the GazettE way of things lol. After that they played "Cockroach", which brought me back because it's the first GazettE song I ever heard. They also played "Discharge", which everyone headbanged extra hard during. They ended their set with "LINDA ~candydive pinky heaven~", which is also a really fun song because of all the clapping and dancing. The boys then threw a bunch of picks, water bottles, and drum sticks into the audience before they made their way off of the stage.
Then, we called the band out for another encore. This time they played another classic GazettE encore song, "Kantou Dogeza Kumiai". This is another song that the band has a ton of fun with. They kept the song going for quite a while. The boys were all over the stage and the catwalks. Ruki even jumped the bars on the catwalk and went into the audience on both sides of the stage. I was so sad when the song ended because I knew that meant the live was ending. (If I had it my way it would've gone on into the late hours of the night.) All of the members except Ruki left the stage. He gave one last tiny MC, thanking us and telling us he loved us. Then he was gone, but the live wasn't quite over yet. An announcement video started playing. First they announced that the DVD of the show is going to be released on 5/9. I definitely want to get it. (There's even a possibility that I might briefly be on the DVD because I was close enough to the stage.) Then, they announced that GazettE is releasing a new album in August! I was so surprised and excited. It generally takes GazettE about two years between full album releases, so to have them release a new album less than a year after Toxic is fantastic. There was still one more announcement after that. It was about GazettE's 10th anniversary live on 3/10 at Makuhari Messe! I'm not sure if I'll be able to yet, but I want to go so badly! After the announcement was played, the lights came back on and "Tomorrow Never Dies" was played over the sound system. Though the live was over, the arena kept singing and dancing along. And, despite my cold, I felt pretty great.
The stage, after the live.
I got on the train with my little group and then we said our goodbyes. They're studying in Japan and won't be in the country for much longer, so I doubt I'll see them again, but it was a fun time nonetheless. I then made the rest of my longish trip back by myself, just me and my headphones full of GazettE music.
I was sad to see the live end. It was such a great experience and I want to do it again and again. I definitely have to see GazettE as many times as I can while I'm still in Japan. I love seeing other bands, but there's nothing quite like seeing the GazettE. ♥
I was still feeling slightly off yesterday morning, but I decided to hope for the best. I wanted to dress in proper attire for the concert, but didn't feel up to doing anything really intense, so I wore my skinny jeans and my h.NAOTO shirt. I bundled up, put on my cold mask, and put my medicine in my purse. Then, I was on my way. I arrived at Yokohama Arena an hour and a half before doors opened and that proved to be just the right amount of time. It was pretty crowded and there were a bunch of cool GazettE cosplayers around. The first thing I did was get in line for goods (aka tour merch). That took about an hour total. I ended up buying the tour bag, a tour shirt, the photo book, and a Black Moral bear keychain. (I really like the artsy minimalistic designs that Ruki's been creating for this tour.) Then, I got a sandwich at the 7-11 right next to the arena. I needed to eat so that I could take my meds before the concert. After that, I found the ticket window so that I could pick up my fan club ticket. I checked my seat number and saw that it looked pretty close to the stage, so I was excited to get in the arena and see where it was. I then spent a little bit of time chatting with a girl from France who was seeing GazettE for the first time. When she had to go line up in a different section, I was adopted into another group of mostly foreign fans because they saw that I was at the show by myself. They were two Italian girls, a girl from Taiwan, and their Japanese friend. All of them were really nice and my seat was right next to them, so we spent the rest of the evening together. By the time all of that was done, it was time to go inside.
We entered the arena to find our seats. I was so happy with my ticket (which made the FC membership worth all the money I paid for it). I was in the 9th row from the stage, right in the center! This was a great view, especially for an arena show. In high school, I used to watch GazettE's NLSG live all the time and be envious of the people near the front of the stage. It was a weird, but great feeling when I realized that I was now one of those people.
The concert started and it was time for the amazingness to begin. The concert started with "Infuse Into", while everyone clapped along and a strobe light flashed during the dubstep parts. The band then entered the stage and started the show with "Venemous Spider's Web", just like on the new album. I had my moment of disbelief that I was actually there and the band was right in front of me. They were gorgeous as usual, wearing their Toxic outfits. Aoi, Reita, and Kai had all changed their hair a bit though. Aoi's hair is pink in front again, half of Reita's hair is black and the other half is his usual blond, and Kai's hair is a light brown. I had a really great view of all of the band except for Kai because Ruki was right in front of him. Even though Uruha's my favorite, I found myself watching Ruki much of the time, partly cause he was directly in my line of sight and partly because he's got a great stage presence. When the band came out everyone was full of energy and headbanging right away. I joined in and was pleased to note that I felt fine! I'd been worried that my head would start swimming or my nose would start running if I headbanged, but somehow I was fine. There were so many people jumping and headbanging that you could literally feel the arena floor shaking.
The band played a bunch of new songs from Toxic (which makes sense, since it's their newest album). The show continued with "Sludgy Cult", "Vortex", and "Suicide Circus". There was a video of creepy-esqe images playing behind the band during "Suicide Circus". I think "My Devil on the Bed" came after that. During "My Devil on the Bed", Ruki brought out a rhinestone studded cane and did some dirty dancing with it. He also gave us the most devilish smirky face at the end of the song. Somewhere during the beginning of the set Ruki threw his water bottle into the crowd and it landed right in front of one of the Italian girls. She promptly drank the rest of the water in the bottle lol. After this my memory of songs and song order gets a bit fuzzy, but I know they played "13 STAIRS [-] 1". It's my favorite song off of DIM, so hearing it live was so amazing. It's just got this gorgeous dark, deep sound. I started getting all emotional when the band played "Untitled". The venue went dark and Ruki came to the front of the stage and set a single candle on the ground. When he started singing, firefly lights appeared on the screen in the background. I got a bit teary. It was beautiful. At the end of the song everything went silent and Ruki blew out the candle. Sometime after that I remember the band playing "Headache Man" because it's always fun to shout and dance along to the song. They also played my (and many other fans) personal favorite, "Filth in the Beauty". Damn, I love that song. I'd say it's one of the songs that really got me into GazettE's music. I also remember that the band ended their first set with "Tomorrow Never Dies", another great song from Toxic. This brought the first part of the show to a close. The band left the stage and "Omega" played. I couldn't believe that the first set was already over. It seemed like it went by so fast, even though it hadn't. During the break between sets, one of the Italian girls breathlessly asked me if GazettE's shows were always so intense. I cheerfully replied that they were.
Of course, we called the band out for the usual encore. Reita and Kai were the first one's back out on stage, as usual. This time Reita was dressed in all black and Kai was looking adorable in geeky glasses. The each did a short MC. They started us off with the usual "Ride With the Rockers", which they've changed up a bit for this tour. Then, Aoi and Uruha joined in. Uruha had changed into an all white outfit and Aoi was wearing his outfit with the swishy red skirt from his latest Rock & Read photoshoot. Once we'd been suitably pumped up, Ruki took the stage again, this time in a leopard print jacket. They started us off with "Akai One Piece". The band got pretty playful at this point. They took turns playing on the catwalks on the sides of the stage. There's also some fun furitsuke during this song. Ruki then did his MC, thanking us for a great tour. He said that it'll be a bit lonely once the tour's over and that even though the year is just starting GazettE is ending their tour and that's the GazettE way of things lol. After that they played "Cockroach", which brought me back because it's the first GazettE song I ever heard. They also played "Discharge", which everyone headbanged extra hard during. They ended their set with "LINDA ~candydive pinky heaven~", which is also a really fun song because of all the clapping and dancing. The boys then threw a bunch of picks, water bottles, and drum sticks into the audience before they made their way off of the stage.
Then, we called the band out for another encore. This time they played another classic GazettE encore song, "Kantou Dogeza Kumiai". This is another song that the band has a ton of fun with. They kept the song going for quite a while. The boys were all over the stage and the catwalks. Ruki even jumped the bars on the catwalk and went into the audience on both sides of the stage. I was so sad when the song ended because I knew that meant the live was ending. (If I had it my way it would've gone on into the late hours of the night.) All of the members except Ruki left the stage. He gave one last tiny MC, thanking us and telling us he loved us. Then he was gone, but the live wasn't quite over yet. An announcement video started playing. First they announced that the DVD of the show is going to be released on 5/9. I definitely want to get it. (There's even a possibility that I might briefly be on the DVD because I was close enough to the stage.) Then, they announced that GazettE is releasing a new album in August! I was so surprised and excited. It generally takes GazettE about two years between full album releases, so to have them release a new album less than a year after Toxic is fantastic. There was still one more announcement after that. It was about GazettE's 10th anniversary live on 3/10 at Makuhari Messe! I'm not sure if I'll be able to yet, but I want to go so badly! After the announcement was played, the lights came back on and "Tomorrow Never Dies" was played over the sound system. Though the live was over, the arena kept singing and dancing along. And, despite my cold, I felt pretty great.
The stage, after the live.
I got on the train with my little group and then we said our goodbyes. They're studying in Japan and won't be in the country for much longer, so I doubt I'll see them again, but it was a fun time nonetheless. I then made the rest of my longish trip back by myself, just me and my headphones full of GazettE music.
I was sad to see the live end. It was such a great experience and I want to do it again and again. I definitely have to see GazettE as many times as I can while I'm still in Japan. I love seeing other bands, but there's nothing quite like seeing the GazettE. ♥