THE ROSE TRIMS AGAIN Atlanta, GA 11.08.08
Warnings: Lengthy; Image Heavy; I generalize people I met. I don’t mean to be rude, but I can never remember anyone’s names from these things, unless I talked to you directly for the entire day. That’s my right brained-ness as we were talking about before going inside the venue. I have an amazing visual memory, just not for names.
This is my public version live report. It’s long and somewhat boring. I realize I’m lame. If I say something especially wrong, tell me.
Soph’s alarm went off at 6:30 and I woke up with a groggy, “Yay~” Dir en grey concerts are like Christmas. It’s all in the preparation, the wait, then the aftermath. All for just a couple of hours in the end. I put on my concert outfit and make up, then out the door we went. I was navigator for the day.
It was pretty cold compared to the very warm day before, so we stopped in Conyers for Starbucks. Soph decided to get a venti caramel frappuccino for some reason. I got a tall peppermint mocha, of course, but it made me feel sort of sick, so I didn’t drink all of it.
But we reached Atlanta in no time and found the venue by eight. There were already tons of people in line. (Tons = 20. Ha.) People camped out this time. It’s amazing how just a few minutes determines your position in line. At least two more groups of people showed up within the five minutes Soph and I got situated. If I had my way, we would have been there at five in the morning. Maybe for the next show, if it’s warmer, I’ll camp out.
The line at 8:13AM.
It was freezing, so I bundled up in the blanket I brought. The building across the street blocked the sunlight from warming us up. Sort of like the alley at The Roxy was a windtunnel and kept us frozen.
Soph bundled up in my blanket too. She’s hiding her face.
When I got settled in I text messaged djlancerock to tell her I had gotten in line and about how many people were already there. Her group of people arrived about thirty minutes later. While waiting on them to get to the venue, a group of immature obnoxious line cutters showed up, but they were stupid and left with all of their stuff for a while, so we reclaimed our places in line. Miguel showed up not long after. He brought a book to study, so I didn’t bother him too much. Other people Soph and I met at INWARD SCREAM (Such as Raegan and Julie) were in line too, but ahead of us.
I got bored quickly, so I took pictures of everything. Soph took some too.
Random balloon lady ftw!
The tour bus arrived at eleven, and the line was ordered to move around the corner to the sidewalk. I wasn’t complaining; it was sunny and warm over there. I spread out my blanket in the grass and we had a Diru picnic.
I started to get worried about finding a bathroom and food, especially since the area the venue is in is surrounded by businesses, unlike The Roxy, which had IHOP, Wendy’s, and Johnny Rockets. We heard from the line that there was a Starbucks and a bagel shop just up the road, so Soph and I wandered off for lunch. We discovered there was a Chik-fil-a next door to the Starbucks, so we bought lunch and used their restroom. I honestly was hungry, but could only eat two of my chicken fingers and a couple of waffle fries. I gave away my fries to someone in line. I drank all of my sweet tea, but cautiously, in case I developed a blood sugar headache. I had forgotten to bring the ibuprofen I packed. (Magically, I didn’t develop a headache until after the show.)
The line at 11:56AM.
I realize now that Toshiya and Kyo must have gotten off the bus when it first showed up, because when the bus came back an hour later, only Kaoru, Shinya, and Die were seen walking inside. Kaoru walked back outside the venue with Nora, then got back on the bus and went somewhere. I suppose Kyo and Toshiya could have been sleeping on the bus and they got off whenever the tour bus showed back up for the third time. (I wasn’t paying attention, so I don’t know when this was.) I was lame and took pictures of the roadies unloading things... But I did get a cute picture of Die. I jokingly thought to myself that Kyo was in one of the boxes they unloaded. And that Nora brought Kaoru back outside to wake Kyo up because he’s always sleeping. When the band walked by to go inside, a guy held up the guitar he brought. Nora came out a little later and asked the guy if he still had the guitar. From my knowledge, the band signed it for him.
Die has a mustache and beard made out of plastic! XD; (He’s too cute trying to hide.(?))
Posters to be sold later. I wonder who has to roll them up and put rubber bands on them before the show.
(That’s Kaoru, if you can’t tell.)
I really like this picture for some reason. Don’t really care about Nora though. Just like the timing of the picture.
During the afternoon it was warm enough for me to take off my jacket and hat. It was heavenly compared to shivering all day for INWARD SCREAM. The wait went by faster. Miguel put his book in his car and joined my group of people in line. Some time after that we started to play with the little grass hopper bugs that were infesting my blanket (along with leaves). Miguel named the first Spunky, but Spunky hopped away, so he named the rest on my blanket Steven, Sasha, Pookie, and Soph named Helen Marie.
Around three, Soph and I went searching for a bathroom again. Concert days are the only days I place such importance on finding bathrooms. Haha. On our way back to the Starbucks area, we saw a girl from line walking out of some sort of religious center. I asked her if there was a bathroom in there, and she said yes, so we used theirs. Who knows if we were really supposed to or not. This bathroom was just across the street from the venue, so that made me happy. I don’t like straying from the line too much once it gets to the afternoon.
Flash fail in the bathroom.
Camera fail. The grasshopper jumped off the leaf.
Some time around four, the band started their sound testing. Even with sitting on the sidewalk by the road, I could hear Kyo singing. It was then I started to fear for my ears, but thankfully someone offered me free ear plugs. Two girls from the Diru street team came around with a shirt to sign for the band, but I didn’t sign it because I didn’t know what to say. Soph signed it for me and wrote Swango on it. We want to know if they’ll even see it. We’ll know if they have a swing/tango inspired song or a song titled Swango.
As the sun started to go down, the cold creeped back. I put back on my jacket and hat and shivered a little when the wind blew. For the most part I think I was shivering out of nervousness. Around five, a group came around asking for words for mad libs, which was amusing. I took my last picture of the line before putting my things in Soph’s car.
The line at 5:14PM.
My outfit. Praise Soph for the shadow. (She likes it.)
At six, people stood up and started to organize themselves to go inside. Without my blanket I started to shiver, but I lived through it. The venue was really organized when it came to giving out alcohol wristbands, collecting trash, and telling people to pick up will call tickets. Close to seven, the line moved back to the front of the venue. Soph left to go to Swango around that time and I gave her my hat and jacket. I was really cold then. With my ear plugs in, I felt weird talking because my own voice was amplified in my head, while everything else was muffled, so I sort of zoned out. The one thing I didn’t like about the venue was that they let us in a few minutes after seven.
When I saw the inside of the venue, I ran down the stairs, and to my surprise, there was still space directly below the microphone. I wasn’t directly on the barricade, but I figured once the pushing started, I could work my way up. Just like I let short people behind me get their time in the front at INWARD SCREAM. ...I was wrong. I stood to the left of what I’m going to refer to as the elitist fanwall. A six foot tall guy wearing boots who did not belong in the very front at all and on either side two girls around 5’7” completed the fanwall. To my surprise, I was tapped on the shoulder by staying_strong. I didn’t expect her to be so much shorter than me. I felt bad for her, so I was even more determined to push my way to the barricade to give her a chance to see better. Miguel ended up to the left of me in about the third row of people. When the pushing started and I couldn’t move my arms, he asked if I was okay, and I said I was. But in the end, he didn’t like the vibe of the crowd, and he told me he was moving to the back. I should have taken that seriously and moved to the back with him. I would have enjoyed the show much more.
I was one of the few excited to see The Human Abstract. When I first heard they would be the opening band, I went to their MySpace and read up about them and listened to some of their songs. I liked their songs, so I downloaded some so I could become familiar with them before last night. Unfortunately I had no idea which song was which when they played. I was okay with my position at that point, although I had to tilt my head at an unnatural angle to see the vocalist. I did not appreciate his encouraging the crowd to form a mosh pit. Dir en grey fans in the middle of the pit are violent enough with the pushing. I didn’t mind the crowd surfing, but I didn’t like the idea of people being dragged over my head. (I couldn’t put my arms up.) When THA went offstage, I politely asked the tall guy in front of me if he would move just a little so I could see. I also asked if I could get in front of him and he could squish me if he wanted. He could have looked right over my head. The top of my head didn’t even reach his shoulders. But no. He said he didn’t camp out to let someone get in front of him. I hate hate hate fans like this. I decided I’d not go easy on him once the real pushing started. I mean, I got there early too, so what if I didn’t camp out. Now that I think about it, before THA came on stage he turned around and said, “It looks like a sea of short people.” I told him he was too tall. I don’t care if he lived outside for a week, it’s really unfair to the other fans to block their view like that. The girls on either side of him kept leaning on his shoulders too, blocking the view I had there. I’m 5’3”, (Kyo-sized, lawl), 5’6” with my boots on, but I still tried to be nice at INWARD SCREAM and let people see. If you go back and read my report I talk about the cute little short girl that ended up beside me on the barricade. (I think that’s in the public version of my INWARD SCREAM report anyway.)
Before I knew it, SA BIR started playing. To be honest, I prefer G.D.S as the intro. It’s much better at pumping the crowd up and it’s so familiar to everyone. I didn’t get to see the band walk on stage, but I know Shinya always comes out first. I didn’t even see Shinya the entire time because of the ass in front of me. I had a perfect view of Kaoru, but he didn’t move around very much and hid behind his hair. I could see Toshiya when he walked to the front of the stage. I found his hair stubble to be amusing. In real life, he doesn’t look bad with half his head shaved. I glanced over at Die whenever I could. His hair looked lovely. But most of the time I was looking at Kyo. I don’t know what Shinya wore, but Toshiya wore a white v-neck stretchy looking shirt with jeans. Die had on a white tank top with jeans from what I remember and could see. And for some reason I think Kaoru had on a button down black shirt and jeans too. Kyo was wearing one of those Adidas tracksuits he wears all the time now. It was shiny is such a way that it changed color when the lighting changed. I liked that. He tossed the jacket aside about three songs in, during AGITATED SCREAMS OF MAGGOTS, I believe. Besides the line of sweat that dripped down his chest and split him in two, I was fixated on his shiny new ring and bracelet. The way that ring refracted the light just captivated me.
Because I was sandwiched between people, I actually got hot, unlike at INWARD SCREAM, when cool air still reached my face. My glasses fogged up, so they were useless. I took them off somehow (my arms were in awkward positions) and stuck them in my shirt. I couldn’t even headbang if I wanted to I was in such an awkward position. I felt stupid just standing there, but I sort of swayed with the crowd and bobbed my head. I managed to fight my way to getting both my hands on the barricade, despite the ass in front of me slamming his elbows on my hands. I can take pain if I really want to. I got a foot up to the barricade as well. Throughout the main set, I was holding on and not letting go. I told the girl next to me to put her hand on top of mine and to help me push to the front before Diru came on stage, but it never worked out. At one point, the guy in front of me tried stepping on my feet and tripping me up, so I kicked him. Hard. This is why I wear my combat boots. He turned around and said, “Fuck you.” to my knowledge. At that point I couldn’t move my left foot that was up to the barricade because of the way the crowd had me sandwiched. I would have lost my balance or had to stand on one leg. I didn’t make any eye contact with Kyo at all, or any of the other members. I think the fanwall blocked my existence. Kyo’s riser was also a lot taller this time, I think, so he stood up a lot taller and looked over the first three rows of people anyway.
Setlist (The beginning and encore are correct, the middle fuzzy):
[01] SA BIR
[02] OBSCURE
[03] GREIF
[04] AGITATED SCREAMS OF MAGGOTS
[05] DISABLED COMPLEXES
[06] THE FATAL BELIEVER
[07] Toguro
[08] Ryojoku no Ame
[09] AGITATED SCREAMS OF MAGGOTS -unplugged-
[10] CONCEIVED SORROW
[11] GLASS SKIN
[12] DOZING GREEN
Kyo a capella
[13] HYDRA -666-
[14] Merciless Cult
[15] LIE BURIED WITH A VENGEANCE
[16] THE DEEPER VILENESS
[17] REPETITION OF HATRED
Encore
[01] Kodou
[02] Gaika, Chinmoku ga Nemuru Koro
[03] Saku
[04] CLEVER SLEAZOID
[05] THE IIID EMPIRE
Please correct me if any of that is wrong or if I missed something.
DISABLED COMPLEXES is always pure sex live. Love love love it. The bass in HYDRA -666- was amazing. My whole body was vibrating. REPETITION OF HATRED made me happy too. GLASS SKIN and CONCEIVED SORROW were beautiful. ...AGITATED SCREAMS OF MAGGOTS -unplugged- I snickered at, but couldn’t bring myself to look away from Kyo. I think the band turns their backs to the crowd to hide their own snickering.
When the band went offstage before the encore, I got fed up with fighting to see, so I decided I’d go to the back. The encore is the most violent part of a Diru show, and I didn’t want to miss anything. This also worked out in the end because I could buy merch and not worry about smalls selling out. When I turned around to fight my way out of the crowd, I saw that everyone behind me was short. I probably would have seen perfect if I was a couple of rows back, but I would have gotten beat up a lot more. (My only sore spot is on my left shoulder blade.) Somehow I got to the back, and Miguel immediately came to my rescue like a big brother as if he had been watching for me. He asked if I was okay. He gave me his water bottle. The encore was my most favorite part. Kyo screaming, “ATLANTAAARGH” made my night. It was so cute. Since pictures were allowed, I took video on my phone. Unfortunately, the videos of Saku and THE IIID EMPIRE didn’t have sound for some reason. When Kodou started playing I immediately started singing. The guy to the left of me looked over at me when he realized I was singing, so I quieted down a little. I don’t care if I was being obnoxious, I love that song and sang every word. I’m so glad to have caught Kyo’s extra “ohayo” at the end on my phone. But what had to have been my most favorite song of the night was THE IIID EMPIRE. I love this song live so much and Kyo really put 110% into singing it. His voice was absolutely perfect. When it was time to try to catch something, I put my hands in the air, but unfortunately nothing came back my way. Miguel managed to catch Toshiya’s pick though.
As soon as the band left the stage, I raced to find the merch table. It sort of depresses me when I think that I could have been one of the few to get my CD signed if I had bought it, but I didn’t have a reason to buy it because I already ordered the Japanese version in August. But whatever. I was in a daze when I bought my things. I knew what I wanted, but it took me a second to say it. It came out as, “Small hoodie, small poster, small shirt.” Because I had small on the brain. The guy at the table said, “How about a large poster and which shirt?” I apologized for being stupid, gave him the $100, and walked out front to call Soph to come get me.
I stood on the stairs to wait for people I knew to come outside so I could tell them goodbye. I watched someone help a guy out of the building. Later, an ambulance showed up. I overheard that the guy was kicked in the face while reaching for a drum stick. I really hate fans like that. I don’t know if it was an accident or not, but I doubt it. I said goodbye to my LJ people group when they came out, and when Miguel came out he waited with me until Soph arrived.
My headache started to develop when I got in Soph’s car on the way to Sushi House to meet Nick for a late night dinner. Thankfully, Nick had some Advil and gave it to me. My headache wore off during dinner, then I got sleepy. I was hungry, but I only ate five pieces of sushi. It was really good sushi though and would love to go back. Soph followed Nick back to Oxford, and I was glad that I didn’t have to be navigator and could be brain dead tired.
Overall, looking back, I had an awesome time. Dir en grey concerts are the only time I enjoy socializing with people and don't mind befriending strangers and helping them out. It's funny... I hate contact with other people, but when in the pit I don't care. It's all about the experience. Waking up sore all over the next day from being beat up in the pit is refreshing. There will always be suck-y fans who scream at the wrong times and throw things on stage. (Although, that wasn't too bad this time from what I could see and hear.) It's the nice fans who I make connections with in line and in the pit that I remember long after I've forgotten the set list. Going to these concerts is truly a spiritual experience.
This is my public version live report. It’s long and somewhat boring. I realize I’m lame. If I say something especially wrong, tell me.
Soph’s alarm went off at 6:30 and I woke up with a groggy, “Yay~” Dir en grey concerts are like Christmas. It’s all in the preparation, the wait, then the aftermath. All for just a couple of hours in the end. I put on my concert outfit and make up, then out the door we went. I was navigator for the day.
It was pretty cold compared to the very warm day before, so we stopped in Conyers for Starbucks. Soph decided to get a venti caramel frappuccino for some reason. I got a tall peppermint mocha, of course, but it made me feel sort of sick, so I didn’t drink all of it.
But we reached Atlanta in no time and found the venue by eight. There were already tons of people in line. (Tons = 20. Ha.) People camped out this time. It’s amazing how just a few minutes determines your position in line. At least two more groups of people showed up within the five minutes Soph and I got situated. If I had my way, we would have been there at five in the morning. Maybe for the next show, if it’s warmer, I’ll camp out.
The line at 8:13AM.
It was freezing, so I bundled up in the blanket I brought. The building across the street blocked the sunlight from warming us up. Sort of like the alley at The Roxy was a windtunnel and kept us frozen.
Soph bundled up in my blanket too. She’s hiding her face.
When I got settled in I text messaged djlancerock to tell her I had gotten in line and about how many people were already there. Her group of people arrived about thirty minutes later. While waiting on them to get to the venue, a group of immature obnoxious line cutters showed up, but they were stupid and left with all of their stuff for a while, so we reclaimed our places in line. Miguel showed up not long after. He brought a book to study, so I didn’t bother him too much. Other people Soph and I met at INWARD SCREAM (Such as Raegan and Julie) were in line too, but ahead of us.
I got bored quickly, so I took pictures of everything. Soph took some too.
Random balloon lady ftw!
The tour bus arrived at eleven, and the line was ordered to move around the corner to the sidewalk. I wasn’t complaining; it was sunny and warm over there. I spread out my blanket in the grass and we had a Diru picnic.
I started to get worried about finding a bathroom and food, especially since the area the venue is in is surrounded by businesses, unlike The Roxy, which had IHOP, Wendy’s, and Johnny Rockets. We heard from the line that there was a Starbucks and a bagel shop just up the road, so Soph and I wandered off for lunch. We discovered there was a Chik-fil-a next door to the Starbucks, so we bought lunch and used their restroom. I honestly was hungry, but could only eat two of my chicken fingers and a couple of waffle fries. I gave away my fries to someone in line. I drank all of my sweet tea, but cautiously, in case I developed a blood sugar headache. I had forgotten to bring the ibuprofen I packed. (Magically, I didn’t develop a headache until after the show.)
The line at 11:56AM.
I realize now that Toshiya and Kyo must have gotten off the bus when it first showed up, because when the bus came back an hour later, only Kaoru, Shinya, and Die were seen walking inside. Kaoru walked back outside the venue with Nora, then got back on the bus and went somewhere. I suppose Kyo and Toshiya could have been sleeping on the bus and they got off whenever the tour bus showed back up for the third time. (I wasn’t paying attention, so I don’t know when this was.) I was lame and took pictures of the roadies unloading things... But I did get a cute picture of Die. I jokingly thought to myself that Kyo was in one of the boxes they unloaded. And that Nora brought Kaoru back outside to wake Kyo up because he’s always sleeping. When the band walked by to go inside, a guy held up the guitar he brought. Nora came out a little later and asked the guy if he still had the guitar. From my knowledge, the band signed it for him.
Die has a mustache and beard made out of plastic! XD; (He’s too cute trying to hide.(?))
Posters to be sold later. I wonder who has to roll them up and put rubber bands on them before the show.
(That’s Kaoru, if you can’t tell.)
I really like this picture for some reason. Don’t really care about Nora though. Just like the timing of the picture.
During the afternoon it was warm enough for me to take off my jacket and hat. It was heavenly compared to shivering all day for INWARD SCREAM. The wait went by faster. Miguel put his book in his car and joined my group of people in line. Some time after that we started to play with the little grass hopper bugs that were infesting my blanket (along with leaves). Miguel named the first Spunky, but Spunky hopped away, so he named the rest on my blanket Steven, Sasha, Pookie, and Soph named Helen Marie.
Around three, Soph and I went searching for a bathroom again. Concert days are the only days I place such importance on finding bathrooms. Haha. On our way back to the Starbucks area, we saw a girl from line walking out of some sort of religious center. I asked her if there was a bathroom in there, and she said yes, so we used theirs. Who knows if we were really supposed to or not. This bathroom was just across the street from the venue, so that made me happy. I don’t like straying from the line too much once it gets to the afternoon.
Flash fail in the bathroom.
Camera fail. The grasshopper jumped off the leaf.
Some time around four, the band started their sound testing. Even with sitting on the sidewalk by the road, I could hear Kyo singing. It was then I started to fear for my ears, but thankfully someone offered me free ear plugs. Two girls from the Diru street team came around with a shirt to sign for the band, but I didn’t sign it because I didn’t know what to say. Soph signed it for me and wrote Swango on it. We want to know if they’ll even see it. We’ll know if they have a swing/tango inspired song or a song titled Swango.
As the sun started to go down, the cold creeped back. I put back on my jacket and hat and shivered a little when the wind blew. For the most part I think I was shivering out of nervousness. Around five, a group came around asking for words for mad libs, which was amusing. I took my last picture of the line before putting my things in Soph’s car.
The line at 5:14PM.
My outfit. Praise Soph for the shadow. (She likes it.)
At six, people stood up and started to organize themselves to go inside. Without my blanket I started to shiver, but I lived through it. The venue was really organized when it came to giving out alcohol wristbands, collecting trash, and telling people to pick up will call tickets. Close to seven, the line moved back to the front of the venue. Soph left to go to Swango around that time and I gave her my hat and jacket. I was really cold then. With my ear plugs in, I felt weird talking because my own voice was amplified in my head, while everything else was muffled, so I sort of zoned out. The one thing I didn’t like about the venue was that they let us in a few minutes after seven.
When I saw the inside of the venue, I ran down the stairs, and to my surprise, there was still space directly below the microphone. I wasn’t directly on the barricade, but I figured once the pushing started, I could work my way up. Just like I let short people behind me get their time in the front at INWARD SCREAM. ...I was wrong. I stood to the left of what I’m going to refer to as the elitist fanwall. A six foot tall guy wearing boots who did not belong in the very front at all and on either side two girls around 5’7” completed the fanwall. To my surprise, I was tapped on the shoulder by staying_strong. I didn’t expect her to be so much shorter than me. I felt bad for her, so I was even more determined to push my way to the barricade to give her a chance to see better. Miguel ended up to the left of me in about the third row of people. When the pushing started and I couldn’t move my arms, he asked if I was okay, and I said I was. But in the end, he didn’t like the vibe of the crowd, and he told me he was moving to the back. I should have taken that seriously and moved to the back with him. I would have enjoyed the show much more.
I was one of the few excited to see The Human Abstract. When I first heard they would be the opening band, I went to their MySpace and read up about them and listened to some of their songs. I liked their songs, so I downloaded some so I could become familiar with them before last night. Unfortunately I had no idea which song was which when they played. I was okay with my position at that point, although I had to tilt my head at an unnatural angle to see the vocalist. I did not appreciate his encouraging the crowd to form a mosh pit. Dir en grey fans in the middle of the pit are violent enough with the pushing. I didn’t mind the crowd surfing, but I didn’t like the idea of people being dragged over my head. (I couldn’t put my arms up.) When THA went offstage, I politely asked the tall guy in front of me if he would move just a little so I could see. I also asked if I could get in front of him and he could squish me if he wanted. He could have looked right over my head. The top of my head didn’t even reach his shoulders. But no. He said he didn’t camp out to let someone get in front of him. I hate hate hate fans like this. I decided I’d not go easy on him once the real pushing started. I mean, I got there early too, so what if I didn’t camp out. Now that I think about it, before THA came on stage he turned around and said, “It looks like a sea of short people.” I told him he was too tall. I don’t care if he lived outside for a week, it’s really unfair to the other fans to block their view like that. The girls on either side of him kept leaning on his shoulders too, blocking the view I had there. I’m 5’3”, (Kyo-sized, lawl), 5’6” with my boots on, but I still tried to be nice at INWARD SCREAM and let people see. If you go back and read my report I talk about the cute little short girl that ended up beside me on the barricade. (I think that’s in the public version of my INWARD SCREAM report anyway.)
Before I knew it, SA BIR started playing. To be honest, I prefer G.D.S as the intro. It’s much better at pumping the crowd up and it’s so familiar to everyone. I didn’t get to see the band walk on stage, but I know Shinya always comes out first. I didn’t even see Shinya the entire time because of the ass in front of me. I had a perfect view of Kaoru, but he didn’t move around very much and hid behind his hair. I could see Toshiya when he walked to the front of the stage. I found his hair stubble to be amusing. In real life, he doesn’t look bad with half his head shaved. I glanced over at Die whenever I could. His hair looked lovely. But most of the time I was looking at Kyo. I don’t know what Shinya wore, but Toshiya wore a white v-neck stretchy looking shirt with jeans. Die had on a white tank top with jeans from what I remember and could see. And for some reason I think Kaoru had on a button down black shirt and jeans too. Kyo was wearing one of those Adidas tracksuits he wears all the time now. It was shiny is such a way that it changed color when the lighting changed. I liked that. He tossed the jacket aside about three songs in, during AGITATED SCREAMS OF MAGGOTS, I believe. Besides the line of sweat that dripped down his chest and split him in two, I was fixated on his shiny new ring and bracelet. The way that ring refracted the light just captivated me.
Because I was sandwiched between people, I actually got hot, unlike at INWARD SCREAM, when cool air still reached my face. My glasses fogged up, so they were useless. I took them off somehow (my arms were in awkward positions) and stuck them in my shirt. I couldn’t even headbang if I wanted to I was in such an awkward position. I felt stupid just standing there, but I sort of swayed with the crowd and bobbed my head. I managed to fight my way to getting both my hands on the barricade, despite the ass in front of me slamming his elbows on my hands. I can take pain if I really want to. I got a foot up to the barricade as well. Throughout the main set, I was holding on and not letting go. I told the girl next to me to put her hand on top of mine and to help me push to the front before Diru came on stage, but it never worked out. At one point, the guy in front of me tried stepping on my feet and tripping me up, so I kicked him. Hard. This is why I wear my combat boots. He turned around and said, “Fuck you.” to my knowledge. At that point I couldn’t move my left foot that was up to the barricade because of the way the crowd had me sandwiched. I would have lost my balance or had to stand on one leg. I didn’t make any eye contact with Kyo at all, or any of the other members. I think the fanwall blocked my existence. Kyo’s riser was also a lot taller this time, I think, so he stood up a lot taller and looked over the first three rows of people anyway.
Setlist (The beginning and encore are correct, the middle fuzzy):
[01] SA BIR
[02] OBSCURE
[03] GREIF
[04] AGITATED SCREAMS OF MAGGOTS
[05] DISABLED COMPLEXES
[06] THE FATAL BELIEVER
[07] Toguro
[08] Ryojoku no Ame
[09] AGITATED SCREAMS OF MAGGOTS -unplugged-
[10] CONCEIVED SORROW
[11] GLASS SKIN
[12] DOZING GREEN
Kyo a capella
[13] HYDRA -666-
[14] Merciless Cult
[15] LIE BURIED WITH A VENGEANCE
[16] THE DEEPER VILENESS
[17] REPETITION OF HATRED
Encore
[01] Kodou
[02] Gaika, Chinmoku ga Nemuru Koro
[03] Saku
[04] CLEVER SLEAZOID
[05] THE IIID EMPIRE
Please correct me if any of that is wrong or if I missed something.
DISABLED COMPLEXES is always pure sex live. Love love love it. The bass in HYDRA -666- was amazing. My whole body was vibrating. REPETITION OF HATRED made me happy too. GLASS SKIN and CONCEIVED SORROW were beautiful. ...AGITATED SCREAMS OF MAGGOTS -unplugged- I snickered at, but couldn’t bring myself to look away from Kyo. I think the band turns their backs to the crowd to hide their own snickering.
When the band went offstage before the encore, I got fed up with fighting to see, so I decided I’d go to the back. The encore is the most violent part of a Diru show, and I didn’t want to miss anything. This also worked out in the end because I could buy merch and not worry about smalls selling out. When I turned around to fight my way out of the crowd, I saw that everyone behind me was short. I probably would have seen perfect if I was a couple of rows back, but I would have gotten beat up a lot more. (My only sore spot is on my left shoulder blade.) Somehow I got to the back, and Miguel immediately came to my rescue like a big brother as if he had been watching for me. He asked if I was okay. He gave me his water bottle. The encore was my most favorite part. Kyo screaming, “ATLANTAAARGH” made my night. It was so cute. Since pictures were allowed, I took video on my phone. Unfortunately, the videos of Saku and THE IIID EMPIRE didn’t have sound for some reason. When Kodou started playing I immediately started singing. The guy to the left of me looked over at me when he realized I was singing, so I quieted down a little. I don’t care if I was being obnoxious, I love that song and sang every word. I’m so glad to have caught Kyo’s extra “ohayo” at the end on my phone. But what had to have been my most favorite song of the night was THE IIID EMPIRE. I love this song live so much and Kyo really put 110% into singing it. His voice was absolutely perfect. When it was time to try to catch something, I put my hands in the air, but unfortunately nothing came back my way. Miguel managed to catch Toshiya’s pick though.
As soon as the band left the stage, I raced to find the merch table. It sort of depresses me when I think that I could have been one of the few to get my CD signed if I had bought it, but I didn’t have a reason to buy it because I already ordered the Japanese version in August. But whatever. I was in a daze when I bought my things. I knew what I wanted, but it took me a second to say it. It came out as, “Small hoodie, small poster, small shirt.” Because I had small on the brain. The guy at the table said, “How about a large poster and which shirt?” I apologized for being stupid, gave him the $100, and walked out front to call Soph to come get me.
I stood on the stairs to wait for people I knew to come outside so I could tell them goodbye. I watched someone help a guy out of the building. Later, an ambulance showed up. I overheard that the guy was kicked in the face while reaching for a drum stick. I really hate fans like that. I don’t know if it was an accident or not, but I doubt it. I said goodbye to my LJ people group when they came out, and when Miguel came out he waited with me until Soph arrived.
My headache started to develop when I got in Soph’s car on the way to Sushi House to meet Nick for a late night dinner. Thankfully, Nick had some Advil and gave it to me. My headache wore off during dinner, then I got sleepy. I was hungry, but I only ate five pieces of sushi. It was really good sushi though and would love to go back. Soph followed Nick back to Oxford, and I was glad that I didn’t have to be navigator and could be brain dead tired.
Overall, looking back, I had an awesome time. Dir en grey concerts are the only time I enjoy socializing with people and don't mind befriending strangers and helping them out. It's funny... I hate contact with other people, but when in the pit I don't care. It's all about the experience. Waking up sore all over the next day from being beat up in the pit is refreshing. There will always be suck-y fans who scream at the wrong times and throw things on stage. (Although, that wasn't too bad this time from what I could see and hear.) It's the nice fans who I make connections with in line and in the pit that I remember long after I've forgotten the set list. Going to these concerts is truly a spiritual experience.