February 13th, 2007 - House of Blues, Chicago - Dir en grey: TOUR07 INWARD SCREAM
FINALLY, it is done. My report from Feb. 13th, 2007 is done and here it is. It is long, so if you don't wish to read it, you won't offend me or anything. *nods*
WARNING: Fangirlish moments ahead. Maybe some spelling errors. You have been warned.
So, the day started off with snow. When Alex and I awoke at around 7:30am, it was snowing in our town and of course, I’m having a little heart attack because I’m thinking my mom is going to back out and not take us. Of course, I wasn’t going to let that happen, but I didn’t have to worry about it because mom didn’t back out. So, we take our showers and get dressed. Both of us are wearing our Family Values Dir en grey shirts and our concert pants from that show. Other than just the basics, I wore this red guitar and pick necklace that Alex had gotten me for Christmas two years ago, along with my skull ring. Anyway, we go upstairs and fix some food for our lunch, take care of my two dogs while my mom finishes getting ready. We also packed for the night because mom decided that, due to the snow Chicago was suppose to be receiving that night, we would stay the night at the House of Blues Hotel.
At around 9:00am, we packed the car, got in and began our drive to Chicago, but we couldn’t start right away. We had to stop and fill up first. So, we stopped at the gas station we always stop at for gas and filled up the gas tank in Grandma’s car [yep, we took her car because it is bigger and roomier than mom’s car]. So, at around 9:10 - 9:15am we finally were off, but we encountered a problem. As we drove, the windshield wipers weren’t really cleaning the window of the snow. They actually kept making it dirty, making it hard for my mom to see the road. So, at around 9:45am or so, we had to pull over and wipe down the windows, and then, five minutes later we were off again. Well, it didn’t stay clean for very long and the window was dirty once again and with our luck, we were out of wiper fluid [stuff to clean your window with], but we thought we could drive alright without it. But, after a while, we had to stop and get some at a gas station just passed the Illinois boarder. So, after buying some washer fluid and filling up the holder, we were ready to go off once again.
We got back on the road, but thought we were on the wrong road. Thankfully, we found out that the road we were on would eventually get us back to the road that we were suppose to be on. So, we continued our drive as we listened to The Marrow of a Bone, which went quite smoothly after the whole window thing and the whole thinking we got lost thing. Close to Chicago, traffic did slow down for a few moments due to the fact that there was a car accident. I looked to see what happened and it look liked everyone was all right. *nod*
So, around 12:15pm, we finally arrived at the House of Blues [the hotel wasn’t even ten feet away from it] and I’m freaking out. I was ready to jump out the door and head over to the line [which only had to be about 20 - 25 people long], which didn’t look too bad, but my mom forced me to stay in the car and wait while she asked if we could check in early. Obviously, as she is doing this, I’m about ready to jump out of my seat and get in line, but I didn’t because I didn’t want to get in trouble, so I stayed in my seat while Alex tried to keep my calm. lol. Mom came back and told us we could check in, so we grabbed all our stuff from the car and headed up to the hotel. I’m practically freaking out as we are waiting to get our room and then, the elevator was taking forever, but finally, we got in it and got the room. I basically placed my stuff on the bed, went to the bathroom and then headed outside for the line.
While mom and I went into the House of Blues for the tickets, Alex got in the line and about five minutes later, tickets in hand, I joined her and we began to wait. It was cool because there where these two girls there who I began to talk to and they were really nice girls. I found out about an hour later that one of them is actually on livejournal, and I know who she is. It was pretty cool! ^^!
Anyway, outside. Outside it was freezing! At first, it wasn’t too bad, but as time went on, it began to feel so fucking cold. It wasn’t snowing all that much, but the wind was so fucking cold and the wind was dumping the snow from the building on us. Another nice girl offered to get us something from Starbucks if we all saved her spot, so we gave her some money and she got us some coffee. It took her like, two hours to get it [she left at around 12:30 and came back around 2:30], but it was nice and warm. It kept my fingers warm for a little while. Because of the cold, we decided to take turns at who would stand in line and who would go to the bathroom/get warmed up. At around 2:40ish, Alex and I decided that we had to a. to use the bathroom and b. get warm. So, Rachel and Stephanie [the two girls who we met] held our spots while we back into our hotel room to get warm. We stayed inside for about twenty or so minutes before we headed back out and everything. It was nice to be inside for a while. ^^
Finally, it came down to the last forty-five minutes of waiting [5:15pm] and the people from F.Y.E came out with their flyers for the pre-order of The Marrow of a Bone. I pulled my money out and bought a copy, along with Alex, Stephanie and Rachel. Sadly, we didn’t have any sticker on the back, and Rachel wanted to try one more time, so she did, but she didn’t get one either. :(
Anyway, finally, it was 6:00pm and they opened the doors. If you were over 21, you could show an ID and were able to get into the 21 and older places. Obviously, I’m not, so I just headed in and got checked over and everything before heading up the stairs to the venue. I rushed on the floor, which already had people on due to the fact that you could have paid extra to have been waiting in line inside, and got around the fifth row of people right between Kyo and Die. After Rachel and Stephanie got in, they held our spots while Alex and I bought some merchandise. I ended up buying the wristband [which I lost sometime during the show], the dog tag, the cow skull tour t-shirt and the manga [which I love to death]. I gave the stuff to mom to hold [she sat at a small table off to the side by Die] and Alex and I got back into the mosh pit.
We waited a while and then finally, Bleed the Dream came on. They were good. I liked them a lot and even got a sample CD after the show. A lot of people were actually into them, but nobody was really into Fair to Midland. I really didn’t like them at all. The vocalist seemed like a Kyo wannabe, seeing that he was thrashing around and like, spitting up and shit. It was kind of dumb. >__<
Finally, at around 8:00, they started setting up for Dir en grey. It was then when everyone began to freak and the pushing started. Alex and I got slightly separate, but I tried to keep a hold of her. We stayed close for a little while longer, but then the crew accidentally played G.D.S and everyone began to push again, making Alex freak out. She couldn’t really breath anymore, so she had to get out and I felt horrible leaving her there, but I stayed in, afraid that she would bitch at me if I even moved my from spot. So, I stayed in and waited a little while longer and finally, G.D.S played and Dir en grey came out. . .
Here is the set list [in order] of what they played. The only thing I’m not to sure about it is when Kyo did is acappella. ^^;;
G.D.S
THE FATAL BELIEVER
THE FINAL
Agitated Screams of Maggots
--Kyo’s acappella-
Spilled Milk
朔 -saku-
GRIEF
愛しさは腐敗につき [Itoshisa Ha Fuhai Niitsuki] (with different lyrics)
孤独に死す、故に孤独。[Kodoku Ni Shisu, Yueni Kodoku.]
凌辱の雨 [Ryoujoku no Ame]
--Kyo’s acappella-
蝕紅 [Shokubeni]
Merciless Cult
dead tree
OBSCURE
--BREAK--
ENCORE:
Jesus Christ R’ n R
C
THE IIID EMPIRE
Beautiful Dirt
CLEVER SLEAZOID
So, when G.D.S began, the mad house began as well. Everyone began to push and shove to get closer and I tried to watch to see who came out when. It was Shinya first, who went straight to his drum set, then Die, followed by Kaoru and Toshiya. They all looked fucking amazing. I don’t know if they looked better than when I saw them at the FVT, but they still looked fucking amazing. Age isn’t affecting them at all. Then, there was no one and finally, Kyo stepped out on the stage. He went to his box, stood up on it and put his hands together as if he was praying and lowered his head just slightly. It was fucking amazing and moving at the same time. He took my breath away.
Then, the show began.
THE FATAL BELIEVER was amazing! I couldn’t believe that I was seeing one of my favorite songs for the new album live. It was just. . .amazing. After that, THE FINAL started and the pushing and shoving continued and as I’m trying to listen and sing to the song, something horrible happened; I got pushed down. I began to flip out, screaming at people to let me the fuck up because everyone was just trying to push into my spot and finally, I got up but I began to dry hack because I was so shaken up by the experience. Some girl asked me if I was all right, I said I was because I was going to calm down and watch the rest of the show. So, I didn’t see much of THE FINAL performance, except for the beginning and a little bit of the end. It kind of really pisses me off, but I guess I’m living and that’s what counts, right?
Sometime during or after THE FINAL, Kyo was shirtless and did touch himself. Sadly, it wasn’t like, touching the bulge in his pants [he didn’t have one. *tear*], but he ran his hand over his chest and abdomen a few times, making my mouth almost water due to the overload of hotness. lol.
I was really shocked to hear Spilled Milk right after his first acappella, so that was pretty damn sweet because I’ve just recently become obsessed with that song for no apparent reason. So, it was awesome to see that, then 朔 -saku- live again. Damn, that song is amazing live, along with GRIEF. That was fucking awesome to hear him keep saying ‘Fuck Off’ and ‘That’s fucking bullshit’. It was a lot easier to hear him say that live than on the album.
Anyway, they did play 愛しさは腐敗につき [Itoshisa Ha Fuhai Niitsuki], which actually made me quite happy. That was one of the songs I was really looking forward to seeing, though I was a little shocked when I he started singing and I started singing and it wasn’t the same part. The lyrics to the song were different, but the song still was amazing to see live and by this time, I had somehow gotten into the middle of the mosh pit, right in front of Kyo.
During 孤独に死す、故に孤独。 [Kodoku Ni Shisu, Yueni Kodoku.], he did cut himself. There was no fishing hooking in the show at all, but he did pull a little metal thing off of his chain that was on his pants and begin to cut at his chest. I remember hearing somebody say something about there not being any blood because, right away, he didn’t start bleeding, but after a few more seconds you could see the blood begin to show. He also did scratch up his chest with his fingernails for a while during the song, but that was it. After that, there was no more blood being shed
When 蝕紅 [Shokubeni] came on, I screamed. It is one of my favorite Dir en grey songs from VULGAR, so to hear it live, I was really hyped up. When he started singing, I began to sing and after a few seconds, he looked down into the crowd and looked RIGHT AT ME. Kyo looked right at me for about thirty seconds and I looked back at him, continuing to sing the song along with him. I wanted to look away because, when people stare at me, my first reaction is to turn away, but I didn’t and I looked at him and then, finally, he looked away and I was blown away. I couldn’t believe that he just stared at him. He did it one more time later during the song. IT WAS FUCKING AMAZING.
Once again, I got pushed and shoved and got moved over a little farther, just between Kyo and Toshiya by the time dead tree came on. Now, dead tree is another one of my all time favorite songs of Dir en grey, so I’m really happy that I have gotten to see it live twice. This performance of it had to be the best though because after the love, tenderness, freedom and peace part, Kyo took the mic by the chord and lifted it a little above his head. He slowly lowered it down a little to his mouth and I watched, enthralled, as he stuck out his tongue and licked at the mic. I couldn’t believe my eyes as I watched this. I was like, shivering at how hot it looked as he did this. It was just. . .ugh! There are no words for it.
After dead tree was OBSCURE and during this song, I somehow managed to be pushed a little farther over and ended up between Kaoru and Toshiya, though I was a little closer to Kaoru than Toshiya. I was still in about row five, maybe even close to row four at this time. So, after OBSCURE, they got off and took their break and everyone was screaming for them to come back out, chanting ‘Dir en grey’. At this point, I was just trying to get my breath back and everything else and I was talking to a guy and his girlfriend. They were really nice, telling me where they had come from and he had asked me if I went to the Illinois show for the FVT. Obviously, I hadn’t, but we still talked a little until they came back out and everything.
When they came back out, the drums began to play and I flipped. Why’d I flip? IT WAS FUCKING JESUS CHRIST R’ N R! I was so fucking amazed! Out of all the songs that I have wanted to see live, that is the one I had been waiting for. I had figured they weren’t going to play it, seeing that they hadn’t been playing it during the FVT nor the earlier INWARD SCREAM shows, so I really wasn’t going to be upset if they didn’t play it, but THEY PLAYED IT and I was going crazy. I screamed and sang along with the song as long as I could, watching Kaoru during almost the entire song.
During another song [it was either C or THE IIID EMPIRE, I can’t really remember], Kaoru and Die switched places and Die came over to our side and I lost it once again. I was screaming his name, jumping up and down to get his attention as he played and smiled and looked at the crowd. What was awesome was that I did get his attention and he looked at me quickly, smiling before looking away. I was like, OMFG, DIE! I couldn’t believe that Die had looked at me as well! I couldn’t believe that I got both him and Kyo to look at me, but that isn’t all. No, that isn’t.
Now, before they came out again, I realized that Kaoru hadn’t done any ‘macho man’ pose or something that related to it, so I knew that I had to get him to do it. I mean, it is something that has to be done during a show. So, during Jesus Christ R’ n R and during the same two songs [I believe I did it during both of them], I began to do the macho man pose [putting my arm up in a fist, pointing to myself] when he would look in my general direction. TWO TIMES I caught his attention. Two times, he looked at me while I was doing it and gave me that cool look he has before he would look around and then finally, he did it. He pointed to himself and did the ‘come here bitch’ kind of thing and I was just like, FUCK YES! I was so happy that he did it and I did it right along with him. XD That isn’t all though. During IID EMPIRE, the crowd was jumping during one part of the song, and I jumped along with them, jumping higher than the crowd. Well, the jumping stopped and I didn’t stop and I jumped two or three more times, which caught Kaoru’s attention because he looked me. Once again, Kaoru looked at me! I was smiling like an idiot, let me tell you.
Finally, the end came and Kyo began to scream ‘Last Song’ [I’m freaking out because this is something I’ve wanted to hear him so for the longest time and haven’t heard him say it live] and everyone was yelling and screaming there heads of. CLEVER SLEAZOID started up and I was screaming. I screamed the whole goddamn song because it was the song that I had to hear this show because I wasn’t able to hear it at the FVT, seeing that they didn’t play it. So, I fucking screamed everything with him as he sang it.
Then, the show came to a close and they began to throw picks and everything. I tried hard to get a pick from Kaoru, who was kissing every one of them before throwing them out, but I wasn’t able to get it. He even gave one to a girl who was holding an empty cup out [they were from the water that the HoB was handing out during the show] and he even was smiling, so that made my night to see him smile. It was so fucking amazing to see a smile that wasn’t one in a photograph. I could have died right then and there. After he was done, I tried to get one from Toshiya, but I didn’t get one from him either. I did watch as he mouthed a ‘Thank you’ [in English] up to the people in the balcony and throw one up there. Die also came around and I tried to get one from him, but I didn’t. What was really cool was that he actually jumped down from the stage and handed a girl his pick. Obviously, I was jealous, but it made me kind of smile because I thought it was nice of him to do that. ^^ Kyo did put a bucket on his head as well. I was like, "OMFG. . .bucket man!" XD! The bucket was black with white lettering that said "Rape Me". I would have followed the instructions on the bucket, but I was a little too far away from him and it was too crowded to do such a thing. XD! lol.
After the show, I tried to find that wristband I lost and get some water, but I didn’t find the wristband. Thankfully, I did get some water, which I downed in like, five minutes. I was dying. During the show, security was spraying water from water bottle on us and giving out those cups of water, but it only helped to some extent. Before we went off to the coat check, the guy and his girlfriend that I had been talking to a little bit came over and he was grinning, a water bottle in his hand. I asked him, who's bottle did he catch and he didn't answer right away. He waited a moment, then told me that it was Kyo's water bottle and I asked to touch it, my hand reaching out to touch it already, not thinking. I touched it and was like, "HOLY SHIT, KYO'S WATER BOTTLE" and he pulled away from me, smiling the entire time. I apologized for like, grabbing at it without warning, but he seemed pretty cool about it. *nods* Alex touched it too before we left and headed to get our coats. When we were in line, the really hot Japanese roadie that is always by Die was there and he told us, in perfect English, to please move so the people who won the meet and greet could get throw. I was like, staring openly at him for a few minutes because I couldn’t believe that a. he was that close, b. he had spoken perfect English and c. because he was that close. lol. XD! [edit: he isn't actually a Japanese roadie. He is actually Dir en grey's American Tour Manager and his name is Harry. *nods*] When we went to get our coats, we tried to get more merchandise, but they closed up. So, we got a Bleed the Dream sample CD and got the vocalist to sign it for us. It was pretty cool. *nods*
Finally, we found Rachel [Stephanie came a little later] and she was waiting for us. She had put her bag up in our room before the show because they weren’t going to allow it in the show. So, I came down the steps and I notice something was wrong. She told us she fainted during the end of the show and I put my arm around her and hugged her, telling her not to worry about it. I told her I fell and that Alex got out before the show started and everything. So, she wasn’t the only one who had a problem during the show. Before we left the venue, I saw one girl being carried out on a stretcher form the show. I couldn’t believe that somebody had passed out that bad from the show.
We went up to the hotel room for the night and the four of us talked for a while before Rachel and Stephanie decided that they had to head out. That was about 12am in the next morning. So, we all exchanged some info and said our goodbyes. Then, the three of us [Alex, mom and I] got some food and I tried to eat, but I couldn’t. So, I headed to bed and that was that.
I have to admit that the show was fucking amazing, but the mosh pit/crowd was horrible. During the middle of the show, this tall guy kept pressing his arm on the back of my head and resting his arms on my shoulders, along with shoving his hands in my face. So, I had to keep pulling them away from me and everything and it drove me nuts. I also was upset because people kept grabbing on to my sweatshirt [which was falling off my waist during the beginning of show, so I had to throw it over my arm] and tugging at it, along with my shirt. By the end of the night, I had ripped my pants, gotten scratches on my arm and a bruise on my knee. The crowd was a fucking nightmare. I wish I could have enjoyed the show more [don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed it very much], but with the crowd, it was hard to not think about falling and getting trampled on. I swear, after falling that once, I almost fell two more times.
Thank you once again Dir en grey for playing an amazing show. You guys rocked the house down and gave me another handful of memories to remember. I wish there was a way to repay you for all that you have done, but I don’t think that I could every give you as much as you have given me. Thank you.
+|[Nanashi]|+
WARNING: Fangirlish moments ahead. Maybe some spelling errors. You have been warned.
So, the day started off with snow. When Alex and I awoke at around 7:30am, it was snowing in our town and of course, I’m having a little heart attack because I’m thinking my mom is going to back out and not take us. Of course, I wasn’t going to let that happen, but I didn’t have to worry about it because mom didn’t back out. So, we take our showers and get dressed. Both of us are wearing our Family Values Dir en grey shirts and our concert pants from that show. Other than just the basics, I wore this red guitar and pick necklace that Alex had gotten me for Christmas two years ago, along with my skull ring. Anyway, we go upstairs and fix some food for our lunch, take care of my two dogs while my mom finishes getting ready. We also packed for the night because mom decided that, due to the snow Chicago was suppose to be receiving that night, we would stay the night at the House of Blues Hotel.
At around 9:00am, we packed the car, got in and began our drive to Chicago, but we couldn’t start right away. We had to stop and fill up first. So, we stopped at the gas station we always stop at for gas and filled up the gas tank in Grandma’s car [yep, we took her car because it is bigger and roomier than mom’s car]. So, at around 9:10 - 9:15am we finally were off, but we encountered a problem. As we drove, the windshield wipers weren’t really cleaning the window of the snow. They actually kept making it dirty, making it hard for my mom to see the road. So, at around 9:45am or so, we had to pull over and wipe down the windows, and then, five minutes later we were off again. Well, it didn’t stay clean for very long and the window was dirty once again and with our luck, we were out of wiper fluid [stuff to clean your window with], but we thought we could drive alright without it. But, after a while, we had to stop and get some at a gas station just passed the Illinois boarder. So, after buying some washer fluid and filling up the holder, we were ready to go off once again.
We got back on the road, but thought we were on the wrong road. Thankfully, we found out that the road we were on would eventually get us back to the road that we were suppose to be on. So, we continued our drive as we listened to The Marrow of a Bone, which went quite smoothly after the whole window thing and the whole thinking we got lost thing. Close to Chicago, traffic did slow down for a few moments due to the fact that there was a car accident. I looked to see what happened and it look liked everyone was all right. *nod*
So, around 12:15pm, we finally arrived at the House of Blues [the hotel wasn’t even ten feet away from it] and I’m freaking out. I was ready to jump out the door and head over to the line [which only had to be about 20 - 25 people long], which didn’t look too bad, but my mom forced me to stay in the car and wait while she asked if we could check in early. Obviously, as she is doing this, I’m about ready to jump out of my seat and get in line, but I didn’t because I didn’t want to get in trouble, so I stayed in my seat while Alex tried to keep my calm. lol. Mom came back and told us we could check in, so we grabbed all our stuff from the car and headed up to the hotel. I’m practically freaking out as we are waiting to get our room and then, the elevator was taking forever, but finally, we got in it and got the room. I basically placed my stuff on the bed, went to the bathroom and then headed outside for the line.
While mom and I went into the House of Blues for the tickets, Alex got in the line and about five minutes later, tickets in hand, I joined her and we began to wait. It was cool because there where these two girls there who I began to talk to and they were really nice girls. I found out about an hour later that one of them is actually on livejournal, and I know who she is. It was pretty cool! ^^!
Anyway, outside. Outside it was freezing! At first, it wasn’t too bad, but as time went on, it began to feel so fucking cold. It wasn’t snowing all that much, but the wind was so fucking cold and the wind was dumping the snow from the building on us. Another nice girl offered to get us something from Starbucks if we all saved her spot, so we gave her some money and she got us some coffee. It took her like, two hours to get it [she left at around 12:30 and came back around 2:30], but it was nice and warm. It kept my fingers warm for a little while. Because of the cold, we decided to take turns at who would stand in line and who would go to the bathroom/get warmed up. At around 2:40ish, Alex and I decided that we had to a. to use the bathroom and b. get warm. So, Rachel and Stephanie [the two girls who we met] held our spots while we back into our hotel room to get warm. We stayed inside for about twenty or so minutes before we headed back out and everything. It was nice to be inside for a while. ^^
Finally, it came down to the last forty-five minutes of waiting [5:15pm] and the people from F.Y.E came out with their flyers for the pre-order of The Marrow of a Bone. I pulled my money out and bought a copy, along with Alex, Stephanie and Rachel. Sadly, we didn’t have any sticker on the back, and Rachel wanted to try one more time, so she did, but she didn’t get one either. :(
Anyway, finally, it was 6:00pm and they opened the doors. If you were over 21, you could show an ID and were able to get into the 21 and older places. Obviously, I’m not, so I just headed in and got checked over and everything before heading up the stairs to the venue. I rushed on the floor, which already had people on due to the fact that you could have paid extra to have been waiting in line inside, and got around the fifth row of people right between Kyo and Die. After Rachel and Stephanie got in, they held our spots while Alex and I bought some merchandise. I ended up buying the wristband [which I lost sometime during the show], the dog tag, the cow skull tour t-shirt and the manga [which I love to death]. I gave the stuff to mom to hold [she sat at a small table off to the side by Die] and Alex and I got back into the mosh pit.
We waited a while and then finally, Bleed the Dream came on. They were good. I liked them a lot and even got a sample CD after the show. A lot of people were actually into them, but nobody was really into Fair to Midland. I really didn’t like them at all. The vocalist seemed like a Kyo wannabe, seeing that he was thrashing around and like, spitting up and shit. It was kind of dumb. >__<
Finally, at around 8:00, they started setting up for Dir en grey. It was then when everyone began to freak and the pushing started. Alex and I got slightly separate, but I tried to keep a hold of her. We stayed close for a little while longer, but then the crew accidentally played G.D.S and everyone began to push again, making Alex freak out. She couldn’t really breath anymore, so she had to get out and I felt horrible leaving her there, but I stayed in, afraid that she would bitch at me if I even moved my from spot. So, I stayed in and waited a little while longer and finally, G.D.S played and Dir en grey came out. . .
Here is the set list [in order] of what they played. The only thing I’m not to sure about it is when Kyo did is acappella. ^^;;
G.D.S
THE FATAL BELIEVER
THE FINAL
Agitated Screams of Maggots
--Kyo’s acappella-
Spilled Milk
朔 -saku-
GRIEF
愛しさは腐敗につき [Itoshisa Ha Fuhai Niitsuki] (with different lyrics)
孤独に死す、故に孤独。[Kodoku Ni Shisu, Yueni Kodoku.]
凌辱の雨 [Ryoujoku no Ame]
--Kyo’s acappella-
蝕紅 [Shokubeni]
Merciless Cult
dead tree
OBSCURE
--BREAK--
ENCORE:
Jesus Christ R’ n R
C
THE IIID EMPIRE
Beautiful Dirt
CLEVER SLEAZOID
So, when G.D.S began, the mad house began as well. Everyone began to push and shove to get closer and I tried to watch to see who came out when. It was Shinya first, who went straight to his drum set, then Die, followed by Kaoru and Toshiya. They all looked fucking amazing. I don’t know if they looked better than when I saw them at the FVT, but they still looked fucking amazing. Age isn’t affecting them at all. Then, there was no one and finally, Kyo stepped out on the stage. He went to his box, stood up on it and put his hands together as if he was praying and lowered his head just slightly. It was fucking amazing and moving at the same time. He took my breath away.
Then, the show began.
THE FATAL BELIEVER was amazing! I couldn’t believe that I was seeing one of my favorite songs for the new album live. It was just. . .amazing. After that, THE FINAL started and the pushing and shoving continued and as I’m trying to listen and sing to the song, something horrible happened; I got pushed down. I began to flip out, screaming at people to let me the fuck up because everyone was just trying to push into my spot and finally, I got up but I began to dry hack because I was so shaken up by the experience. Some girl asked me if I was all right, I said I was because I was going to calm down and watch the rest of the show. So, I didn’t see much of THE FINAL performance, except for the beginning and a little bit of the end. It kind of really pisses me off, but I guess I’m living and that’s what counts, right?
Sometime during or after THE FINAL, Kyo was shirtless and did touch himself. Sadly, it wasn’t like, touching the bulge in his pants [he didn’t have one. *tear*], but he ran his hand over his chest and abdomen a few times, making my mouth almost water due to the overload of hotness. lol.
I was really shocked to hear Spilled Milk right after his first acappella, so that was pretty damn sweet because I’ve just recently become obsessed with that song for no apparent reason. So, it was awesome to see that, then 朔 -saku- live again. Damn, that song is amazing live, along with GRIEF. That was fucking awesome to hear him keep saying ‘Fuck Off’ and ‘That’s fucking bullshit’. It was a lot easier to hear him say that live than on the album.
Anyway, they did play 愛しさは腐敗につき [Itoshisa Ha Fuhai Niitsuki], which actually made me quite happy. That was one of the songs I was really looking forward to seeing, though I was a little shocked when I he started singing and I started singing and it wasn’t the same part. The lyrics to the song were different, but the song still was amazing to see live and by this time, I had somehow gotten into the middle of the mosh pit, right in front of Kyo.
During 孤独に死す、故に孤独。 [Kodoku Ni Shisu, Yueni Kodoku.], he did cut himself. There was no fishing hooking in the show at all, but he did pull a little metal thing off of his chain that was on his pants and begin to cut at his chest. I remember hearing somebody say something about there not being any blood because, right away, he didn’t start bleeding, but after a few more seconds you could see the blood begin to show. He also did scratch up his chest with his fingernails for a while during the song, but that was it. After that, there was no more blood being shed
When 蝕紅 [Shokubeni] came on, I screamed. It is one of my favorite Dir en grey songs from VULGAR, so to hear it live, I was really hyped up. When he started singing, I began to sing and after a few seconds, he looked down into the crowd and looked RIGHT AT ME. Kyo looked right at me for about thirty seconds and I looked back at him, continuing to sing the song along with him. I wanted to look away because, when people stare at me, my first reaction is to turn away, but I didn’t and I looked at him and then, finally, he looked away and I was blown away. I couldn’t believe that he just stared at him. He did it one more time later during the song. IT WAS FUCKING AMAZING.
Once again, I got pushed and shoved and got moved over a little farther, just between Kyo and Toshiya by the time dead tree came on. Now, dead tree is another one of my all time favorite songs of Dir en grey, so I’m really happy that I have gotten to see it live twice. This performance of it had to be the best though because after the love, tenderness, freedom and peace part, Kyo took the mic by the chord and lifted it a little above his head. He slowly lowered it down a little to his mouth and I watched, enthralled, as he stuck out his tongue and licked at the mic. I couldn’t believe my eyes as I watched this. I was like, shivering at how hot it looked as he did this. It was just. . .ugh! There are no words for it.
After dead tree was OBSCURE and during this song, I somehow managed to be pushed a little farther over and ended up between Kaoru and Toshiya, though I was a little closer to Kaoru than Toshiya. I was still in about row five, maybe even close to row four at this time. So, after OBSCURE, they got off and took their break and everyone was screaming for them to come back out, chanting ‘Dir en grey’. At this point, I was just trying to get my breath back and everything else and I was talking to a guy and his girlfriend. They were really nice, telling me where they had come from and he had asked me if I went to the Illinois show for the FVT. Obviously, I hadn’t, but we still talked a little until they came back out and everything.
When they came back out, the drums began to play and I flipped. Why’d I flip? IT WAS FUCKING JESUS CHRIST R’ N R! I was so fucking amazed! Out of all the songs that I have wanted to see live, that is the one I had been waiting for. I had figured they weren’t going to play it, seeing that they hadn’t been playing it during the FVT nor the earlier INWARD SCREAM shows, so I really wasn’t going to be upset if they didn’t play it, but THEY PLAYED IT and I was going crazy. I screamed and sang along with the song as long as I could, watching Kaoru during almost the entire song.
During another song [it was either C or THE IIID EMPIRE, I can’t really remember], Kaoru and Die switched places and Die came over to our side and I lost it once again. I was screaming his name, jumping up and down to get his attention as he played and smiled and looked at the crowd. What was awesome was that I did get his attention and he looked at me quickly, smiling before looking away. I was like, OMFG, DIE! I couldn’t believe that Die had looked at me as well! I couldn’t believe that I got both him and Kyo to look at me, but that isn’t all. No, that isn’t.
Now, before they came out again, I realized that Kaoru hadn’t done any ‘macho man’ pose or something that related to it, so I knew that I had to get him to do it. I mean, it is something that has to be done during a show. So, during Jesus Christ R’ n R and during the same two songs [I believe I did it during both of them], I began to do the macho man pose [putting my arm up in a fist, pointing to myself] when he would look in my general direction. TWO TIMES I caught his attention. Two times, he looked at me while I was doing it and gave me that cool look he has before he would look around and then finally, he did it. He pointed to himself and did the ‘come here bitch’ kind of thing and I was just like, FUCK YES! I was so happy that he did it and I did it right along with him. XD That isn’t all though. During IID EMPIRE, the crowd was jumping during one part of the song, and I jumped along with them, jumping higher than the crowd. Well, the jumping stopped and I didn’t stop and I jumped two or three more times, which caught Kaoru’s attention because he looked me. Once again, Kaoru looked at me! I was smiling like an idiot, let me tell you.
Finally, the end came and Kyo began to scream ‘Last Song’ [I’m freaking out because this is something I’ve wanted to hear him so for the longest time and haven’t heard him say it live] and everyone was yelling and screaming there heads of. CLEVER SLEAZOID started up and I was screaming. I screamed the whole goddamn song because it was the song that I had to hear this show because I wasn’t able to hear it at the FVT, seeing that they didn’t play it. So, I fucking screamed everything with him as he sang it.
Then, the show came to a close and they began to throw picks and everything. I tried hard to get a pick from Kaoru, who was kissing every one of them before throwing them out, but I wasn’t able to get it. He even gave one to a girl who was holding an empty cup out [they were from the water that the HoB was handing out during the show] and he even was smiling, so that made my night to see him smile. It was so fucking amazing to see a smile that wasn’t one in a photograph. I could have died right then and there. After he was done, I tried to get one from Toshiya, but I didn’t get one from him either. I did watch as he mouthed a ‘Thank you’ [in English] up to the people in the balcony and throw one up there. Die also came around and I tried to get one from him, but I didn’t. What was really cool was that he actually jumped down from the stage and handed a girl his pick. Obviously, I was jealous, but it made me kind of smile because I thought it was nice of him to do that. ^^ Kyo did put a bucket on his head as well. I was like, "OMFG. . .bucket man!" XD! The bucket was black with white lettering that said "Rape Me". I would have followed the instructions on the bucket, but I was a little too far away from him and it was too crowded to do such a thing. XD! lol.
After the show, I tried to find that wristband I lost and get some water, but I didn’t find the wristband. Thankfully, I did get some water, which I downed in like, five minutes. I was dying. During the show, security was spraying water from water bottle on us and giving out those cups of water, but it only helped to some extent. Before we went off to the coat check, the guy and his girlfriend that I had been talking to a little bit came over and he was grinning, a water bottle in his hand. I asked him, who's bottle did he catch and he didn't answer right away. He waited a moment, then told me that it was Kyo's water bottle and I asked to touch it, my hand reaching out to touch it already, not thinking. I touched it and was like, "HOLY SHIT, KYO'S WATER BOTTLE" and he pulled away from me, smiling the entire time. I apologized for like, grabbing at it without warning, but he seemed pretty cool about it. *nods* Alex touched it too before we left and headed to get our coats. When we were in line, the really hot Japanese roadie that is always by Die was there and he told us, in perfect English, to please move so the people who won the meet and greet could get throw. I was like, staring openly at him for a few minutes because I couldn’t believe that a. he was that close, b. he had spoken perfect English and c. because he was that close. lol. XD! [edit: he isn't actually a Japanese roadie. He is actually Dir en grey's American Tour Manager and his name is Harry. *nods*] When we went to get our coats, we tried to get more merchandise, but they closed up. So, we got a Bleed the Dream sample CD and got the vocalist to sign it for us. It was pretty cool. *nods*
Finally, we found Rachel [Stephanie came a little later] and she was waiting for us. She had put her bag up in our room before the show because they weren’t going to allow it in the show. So, I came down the steps and I notice something was wrong. She told us she fainted during the end of the show and I put my arm around her and hugged her, telling her not to worry about it. I told her I fell and that Alex got out before the show started and everything. So, she wasn’t the only one who had a problem during the show. Before we left the venue, I saw one girl being carried out on a stretcher form the show. I couldn’t believe that somebody had passed out that bad from the show.
We went up to the hotel room for the night and the four of us talked for a while before Rachel and Stephanie decided that they had to head out. That was about 12am in the next morning. So, we all exchanged some info and said our goodbyes. Then, the three of us [Alex, mom and I] got some food and I tried to eat, but I couldn’t. So, I headed to bed and that was that.
I have to admit that the show was fucking amazing, but the mosh pit/crowd was horrible. During the middle of the show, this tall guy kept pressing his arm on the back of my head and resting his arms on my shoulders, along with shoving his hands in my face. So, I had to keep pulling them away from me and everything and it drove me nuts. I also was upset because people kept grabbing on to my sweatshirt [which was falling off my waist during the beginning of show, so I had to throw it over my arm] and tugging at it, along with my shirt. By the end of the night, I had ripped my pants, gotten scratches on my arm and a bruise on my knee. The crowd was a fucking nightmare. I wish I could have enjoyed the show more [don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed it very much], but with the crowd, it was hard to not think about falling and getting trampled on. I swear, after falling that once, I almost fell two more times.
Thank you once again Dir en grey for playing an amazing show. You guys rocked the house down and gave me another handful of memories to remember. I wish there was a way to repay you for all that you have done, but I don’t think that I could every give you as much as you have given me. Thank you.
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