PMX 2008 - Day Two
PMX 2008
or
You have not truly lived until you've seen this live.
Day Two
JRockRevolution Panel
The day started with Reiko and Krystal getting up kind of early to prepare for the JRR panel at ten. I ended up heading down with them and waiting at the back of the room for the panel to start, meeting Etsu for the first time when she turned up. While they finished setting up the table, laying out fliers was about all I could do to help. There wasn't that great a turn-out to begin with, but more people trickled in steadily. Hikari, Christina (another staff member), and Krystal introduced themselves and talked about the site/organization's origins, where it is now, and a bit about where it's going. They asked some trivia-type questions to the audience, offering stickers and posters as prizes. I was happy to get an X Japan and JRR festival poster, though my answers could have been better (Wes Borland's name completely evaded me at the time, and I forgot about Vidoll being at JRR--Casey/Retro would not be pleased). Members of the audience shared how they were introduced to Japanese rock and some of their favorite bands--until Suicide Ali showed up as guests and took the audience's questions. The questions from here and those from the specified Suicide Ali panel shortly after blurred together in my mind, so I'll just talk about their responses when I get to that. The band, particularly Yuu (who made coveting motions with the basket) took some of the extra candy the panel attendees had left over. After buying another CD at the merchandise table, I left to go to eat at the cafe and head to the forum meet-up. I didn't spend much time at the meet-up, but I got to watch people play the modded version of apples to apples for a bit before I headed the Vaeidos panel at noon.
Vaeidos Panel
The staff member handling the microphone asked a lot of questions about individual preferences and history to fill the time, and both he and the attendees asked about the workings of the band and their future aspirations. Being fairly unfamiliar with the band, I asked what resources there were for fans; I found out that their MySpace is the best place to go for updates, though there is also a fansite or two running. After the panel, I scooted out to buy the CD they had available--quite a great deal at only $5--and have the band sign it.
Suicide Ali Panel
I hurried over to the Suicide Ali panel, which had already started, and took a seat. This panel could have gone better, mostly because some people asked ridiculous questions that put the band in an awkward spot. In general, though, the band's responses were interesting, especially when they talked about how their image was inspired by a unique backstory and that each member portrays a character. They told us that their song writing process begins with the background before the melody is added, and Roger let us know, not for the first time, that the band hopes to return to the US and possibly tour. There was no shortage of personal preference questions, and we found out that some members' favorite American bands artists include Ozzy Osbourne, Metallica, Mötley Crüe, and Marilyn Manson. We also heard about favorite anime and Japanese bands (hooray for BUCK-TICK!). Other random things we learned included that Hisashi likes animals (particularly dogs), Goshi likes cats and has two (one black and one white), and that, as far as make-up is concerned, they "were all born that way." Once the panel was wrapped up, I eventually decided to exchange my CD from earlier, which was a compilation to which Suicide Ali had contributed, for some photo cards and one of the band's mini-albums; I figured a CD that was entirely theirs would be a better thing to have them sign at the upcoming autograph session.
Suicide Ali Autograph Session
I headed over to room Newport D for the signing and got my new CD ready. I went down the line of band members at the table again, this time offering a simple thanks for coming. From there, I dropped by the room to drop off some stuff and proceeded to the already partially formed Kaya line.
Concert Line
I joined the end of the line and ended up in conversation with some fans nearby. It was during my time in line that I first met tarariri, whom I'd see a lot of the next day (she stood out in her dramatic, Kaya-esque red and black dress and headpiece), and I was happy to see in line two boys comfortable enough to wear some rather pretty dresses (I was particularly fond of both of their wigs). Around four, I headed over to the Suicide Ali photograph session, but it went pretty smoothly and swiftly, so I won't start an entirely new section for it. Basically, people in line paid for a picture with the band that'd be sent to them via e-mail later. (I just received mine recently; you can see it here.) My acquaintances in the line from earlier held my spot for me until I got back. The line was pretty uneventful until about five or so, when we heard the first of Kaya's sound check. People went kind of crazy and started screaming and squealing and scrabbling to see through the cracks between doors. It seemed like the check was performed at full volume, so we could hear both the background music and Kaya's voice just fine, and several people started dancing. People calmed down after a while, though we still heard bits of songs occasionally. Some time around six, Krystal was amazing and brought me back a burger from Carl's Jr. Some time between then and the doors opening, they handed out to the first hundred people in line ad cards for the concert that Kaya had signed, and that made people happy, obviously. Toward the end of our wait, a group of silly guys--some with guitars--went up and down the line performing amusing renditions of songs like the Pokémon theme and ones by Britney Spears and the Backstreet Boys, and that helped kill the time a bit. As showtime approached, they emphasized further the no camera policy; I'd never seen staff be as adamant about it at a concert.
Concert
Right on time at just about 7:30, they let us in, and I scrambled to get as far up front as I could. I ended up in the first row, but way off to the right directly in front of the speakers (see the dot in the lame diagram below).
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I quickly fashioned some makeshift earplugs from scraps of paper, which I kept in for the duration of the show. I ended up moving from my spot, since I didn't have that clear a view of center stage where a vocalist would stand. This time, I ended up in the second row, but considerably closer.
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Heday: We didn't have to wait long for the first opening act, Heday (yes, pronounced about the same as X Japan's "hide," leading to some confusion in conversation). He at first came out by himself with an acoustic guitar and played a short, pretty piece. Once he was done, his band followed him on stage. He started talking to the audience, and though his English was good, his humor really missed the mark most of the time. Jokes about "I thought Halloween was last week" don't work so well with a crowd often ridiculed for their style of dress, and the pervy comments stopped being cute pretty fast. His voice kind of got irritating to me, though it might have been more to other people's tastes, and I realized that the annoying background music from the night before had actually been a Heday recording. Still, his band was pretty decent and lively, and he had good energy, though it might have been a bit misdirected.
Nylon Pink: The second opening band took a little while to come on stage, and I heard later that staff members had actually needed to search for the singer before the band could come on. Nylon Pink ended up being better than I'd anticipated, though they didn't make music I'd listen to on my own. The group had good stage presence, and after Vamp Star's performance last night, it was good to see women on stage actually singing and playing instruments. The singer, Kaila, had a very American pop singing style, and the group sounded pretty normal, like something you'd expect to hear on American radio. After Nylon Pink finished, it took quite a while to prepare the stage for Kaya, since they had to clear EVERYTHING off--all instruments, stands, amps, wires, everything.
Kaya:
Set List
Kaleidoscope
Walküre
MC #1
Masquerade
Silvery Dark
Chocolat
Epicurean
Dance break - costume change
Kagami Oni
MC #2
Psycho Butterfly
Kugutsu
MC #3
Kasha
Glitter Arch
Encore: Rose Jail
Let me start by saying that, going in to this concert, I really liked Kaya and enjoyed his music; I held him at about the same level as some of my other favorite artists. However, by the time this concert and the Sunday panel were over, I was completely blown away. He's a near perfect entertainer to me, though I'm sure my personal tastes come into play here, and any artist would really have to struggle to impress me as much as Kaya did with his wit, talent, and ability to make his fans feel appreciated. I don't go around gushing about artists like this regularly, but I truly think Kaya's earned it. Anyway, on with the concert report.
Once the stage was clear, it didn't take long for the intro to Kaleidoscope to start playing and send the crowd into a frenzy. Kaya's entrance--he grabbed a cordless microphone off a stand set off to the right--was greeted with impressive cheers, and he started immediately with dancing and twirls that showed off his dress--the black one from Chocolat. His dancers for the show, Yui and Ochi (the same from the Chocolat PV) joined him for the second song, Walküre, and they got the crowd doing their best to follow the movements. The Walküre dance was really fun to do, actually, and I find myself doing it randomly days later when the song's in my head.
Kaya's first MC set the tone for the evening. He spoke mostly in Japanese, quickly sticking to simple phrases that much of the crowd could at least get the gist of, with occasional short bits of English that were easy to understand (such as "Nice to meet you~"). He gave a quick introduction and asked us, "Kawaii?" (referring to himself); when we screamed in reply, he said "I know~" in English and "Of course; needless to say," in Japanese. He asked if Japanese was okay with us, and when the crowd shouted back in the affirmative, he asked jokingly if we were all Japanese. A guy next to me shouted back in Japanese that we understood a little, and Kaya acknowledged his comment, as he did with every shouted out comment I can remember. He had us all shout his name ("K-A-Y-A、Kayaです。"), urging "More!" in English until we couldn't shout any louder, and went into the next song.
Masquerade got the crowd dancing again and clapping to the beat, though they settled down quickly for Silvery Dark. His dramatic performance had everyone completely focused on him. I'm a bit ashamed to say that I was overwhelmed at this point by how lucky I was to be there in that audience, and this was the first time I ever cried at a concert. The crowd went from quiet and captivated to bursting with energy in the space of a few seconds when Chocolat began. The shouting was among the loudest of the night, and a large portion of the audience sang along, some even performing the dance. Speaking of the dancing, it was the same as the video for the most part, though Kaya had to do a one-handed version since he still held the microphone. Kaya noticed that most people knew the song really well and happily pointed the mic to us a few times. Though the audience had great energy throughout the entire concert, Chocolat was definitely a high point. The crowd's exuberance carried over into Epicurean, and Kaya had us jump during the chorus.
Following Epicurean, Kaya left the stage for a bit, and attention shifted to his dancers while some unfamiliar music came on. Yui and Ochi did a great job at keeping the audience entertained and enthusiastic, so the dance break wasn't really a low point as most would expect it to be. Kaya came back onstage to loud cheers wearing the outfit he'd worn on Friday, a cream and purple wa-loli influenced dress with a white waist clincher, high heeled and platform calf-high boots, and spider web stockings. He brought out with him an umbrella (I'm pretty sure it was a wagasa, a Japanese paper umbrella) filled with rectangles of pink paper that resembled flower petals when he tossed them out over some of the stage and audience; he tossed the umbrella off to the side of the stage once he was done with it. Some time after his costume change, there was a point when he teased the audience by hiking up his skirt a bit--the cheers were resounding. The dancing started up again with Kagami Oni, and this song had a pretty simple furi that the audience had little difficulty with.
After Kagami Oni was done, we had another MC. Kaya introduced his dancers, and instead of introducing himself, he prompted the audience to yell his name; I believe it was also during this MC that a fan yelled out "I love you!" in Japanese, which Kaya smiled at and repeated back. I'll take the time here to mention another small detail of the show: Kaya had a chair set up way off to the left where he'd sit for a quick moment during regular breaks for water; his bottles, like all of his I saw that weekend, had red straws, avoiding smudging his lipstick as much as possible. While he'd pause in talking to take a drink, he'd hold the microphone out to us, gesturing with it for us to cheer again and again. Kaya's second MC ended with him letting us know the next song would be Psycho Butterfly.
The crowd quickly got back into the groove of the music and had fun attempting the dance Kaya and his dancers performed during the chorus to this song. I thought this one was pretty interesting; it involved hand waving, spinning, and this puppet-like motion, among other things. I actually remember the least about the next song Kaya performed, Kugutsu. I know the audience was just as involved as the rest of the the show--that's for sure. Also, by this time, the dancers had also gone through a costume change; they now wore more Japanese-influenced outfits (I believe they're often referred to as the Kugutsu outfits) instead of those from Chocolat.
Kaya's final MC for the evening followed Kugutsu. He let us know regretfully that there were only two songs left (when the crowd made a collective sad "Aww," he told us in English, "Yes, I'm sad too."), but he promised us at least the possibility of an encore. He again wrapped up his MC by calling out the title of the next song, Kasha.
As it started up, the crowd went wild again, and the dancing got pretty intense. Everybody was really putting their all into enjoying what was left of the show, and I think Kaya was too. The liveliness and sheer joy spilled over into Glitter Arch, and I think it was here that Kaya had the entire audience waving their arms back and forth with him. When the song was done, Kaya waved good-bye and left the stage, taking his dancers with him, but the stage lights remained on, and the crowd quickly launched into a pretty impressive Japanese-style chant of "Encore!" The chant degenerated into simply loud cheering before taking it's final form as a fervent chant of Kaya's name.
Kaya's return shortly later was met with more of some of the night's loudest cheering. He quickly launched into Rose Jail, and everybody happily started dancing earnestly again. There was a bit of slight fanservice here for those interested; Kaya had a moment of suggestive caressing with one of his dancers that was met with cheers. Throughout the song, the crowd throwing their arms forward and jumping in sync with Kaya's encouragement pushed over the flimsy rope set up as a barricade and almost overwhelmed the staff by the stage. It was a fantastic end to a fantastic show. Kaya left for good this time, and there had been no plans made for second encore, though calls for one were pretty strong.
After Concert
The first thing I did once the house lights came on was head for the water cooler set up near the doors. After that, I headed out the door, saying hello to Krystal who was handing out fliers. I fell victim to the merchandise table again, buying a copy of Chocolat (which came with a free poster) and picking up a cell phone strap for Krystal. I headed back to the room once more and quickly got ready for bed. Krystal came up shortly after, and sleep was more than welcome after such an exhausting day. I had to get up after a little while to let in Etsu, who stayed with us for the rest of the night, but after that, I was out until morning.
Sorry for the delay! Writing about the concert was difficult--there was so much to say. Day three, featuring Kaya's panel and photo session, should be up faster.