First of all, I'd like to direct you to a particularly amazing live report that was written on that day. It's extra awesome, since I wrote it. But...I know that my writing is still a work in progress, so I'd really appreciate your feedback! Please leave a comment or email me with your thoughts!
Now that that's been said, here's the rest of the Tokyo Dome story, complete with photos!
(=long queues, band merchandise and notes I took during the show that aren't considered "professional", including: Aoi fangirling and irrelevant portrayal of my neighbours in the arena. ^^)
The band on display near Shibuya station.
Those of you who are the GazettE fans already know that this was the band's first live performance at Tokyo Dome and it was their tour final on top of that. Those of you who have no idea who they are, probably still realise what a big deal that is. If you still can't fathom it, then this short video may shed some light on the magnitude of this event:
For those of you too lazy to watch the video, here's a summary: largest venue to date was Saitama Super Arena with a max capacity of 37,000 people. Tokyo Dome? 50,000. o.O
Anyway - I was there early to meet and help out the musicJAPANplus staff with the event. (Did I mention I was there to cover the concert and write an awesome live report about the event? Oh yeah, I did. My bad. ;))
Here's Tokyo Dome's concert listing for the month. But uhhh... yeah...
They messed up. It's "the GazettE", not "the GazzetE"!!! No one is immune to Jinglish, not even the Japanese. :'(
There were two places to line up for goods that day. One for HERESY (the GazettE's fan club) members:
The HERESY booth
"Free" goodies only available on the day for fan club members
And then the "proper" merchandise area. I kid you not when I say that line was effing long. And it was cold. And the line was long. And it was really, really cold. And... yeah. But I did have company, so that was great!
Merchandiiiise, come and get it! My fave on here? The pink boxer briefs of course!
They also had a board where you could take a closer look at the merch before buying.
Did I mention the line was effing long yet?
Nice view though. ^^
One hour later we were closer, but still...still...so far.
Incidentally, the band did a collaboration with GemCEREY (they've done a collab with them once before, 3 years ago) in honour of the Dome event, with really, really cute accessories:
I still really want the shoe earrings and the necklaaace
Anyway, we finally reached the sales counter. Eventually. Have I mentio- okay, okay! Anyway! I picked up some stuff for some other people, got a couple of things for myself too:
Ta-daaaa!
The back! Or is this the front?
Obligatory arty shot. Had to be in here somewhere.
Did you spot the typo yet? Rather unfortunate since the original song title is actually correct. ^^;
Including a spiffy pass card case! I didn't actually plan on getting this at all, but when I saw the colour, I was sold! Pretty, pretty, pretty. ^^ (And useful! See, I can be sensible sometimes! ;P)
I also got a kind of a lucky bag thing, which, as is usually the case with lucky bags, a mixed blessing. Here's a couple of things that were inside:
Old tour tee, I really like this one actually! ^^
This badge came with it... not sure if it's a command or just an observation?
Prettiness. Got Uruha x 2 - that's not a complaint, mind you. Not getting Aoi is, though.
There were a couple more old tour t-shirts that came along with the pack, and I'm going to do a *giveaway* and send them out to a couple of lucky readers who are keen on grabbing some the GazettEfreebies. More details and pictures of said t-shirts coming soon!
The best,absolute BEST merchandise though, was....this:
Top of the box...
Side....
.....and the front. ..... ..... any guesses on what this is?
Guess!
Come on!
Guuuuuuess!
GUESS!
That's right, condoms!
And thank goodness for condoms, given the picture on the front of the box. That bear looks like it could give you a few nasties indeed. :( I just love the fact that a band has their own set of condoms. They're not the first to do this (I think VAMPS have issued their own brand of them as well?), but it amuses me to no end. So much so, I'm going to post another picture:
Yeah, I'm giggling like an 8th grader in biology class ^^
Merch is great and all, but after merch retrieval (and then some food and general hanging around) it was time for the show. This is where the magic happened:
Where all those lovely concert details were vigorously noted down!
Ohh, whoops! Of course I meant *this* is where all the action took place:
If you've made it this far, here are some excerpts from my notes that didn't make the cut for the live report. I should add beforehand that there are so many impressions/thoughts and virtually no time to get them down on paper, so there really shouldn't be, realistically, any time for weird extras. I seem to manage it though... Anyway odd notes:
Before the start: "neighbours in stands are two adorable high school boys. Too shy(?) to talk to me much, and are now playing Monster Hunter. Awww!"
Hyena: chorus - "jumping and headbanging, cept Aoi not wanting to ruin his pretty hair." (His hair *was* great (with pink highlights!! I thought it was just the lighting until I checked the post concert vid on the fan site, woot!), and you all know I have a thing for the hair already, right?)
SHIVER: Uruha's solo, pretty. (...honestly? *pretty*? I mean...Uruha is stunning, but a guitar solo, pretty?? I amaze myself sometimes.)
ガンジスに紅い薔薇: "Kai's long ponytail = win. Whirling like a windmill." (Yeah, hair again...sorry. ^^;)
HESITATING MEANS DEATH: "Ruki jumping, Aoi and Uruha headbanging (hair flying). Kai's jacket is long gone, bare arms = hot; headbanging with drums!? / bashing the eff out of those things."
Filth in the beauty: "Aoi's grooving, hot. Guitar lift, hot. Reita, shirt off. Kai, spinning hair!"
ENCORE 1 - Ride with the Rockers: Reita unusually stylish. Uruha, sparkly. (I actually wrote this twice in two different places...^^;) Want Ruki's cardie.
ENCORE 2 - Miseinen: "After the song ends, piano music (PLEDGE). Kai in tears, awww. Reita blubbering like a little girl. Uruha, Aoi more composed - think beauty pageant runner up. (Reita/Kai like winners, but less sophisticated tear wiping). All of them touched, but Ruki's a rock. Not a tear in sight. What a man."
Like I said, I'm still amazed that I managed to add so much nonsense in the middle of it all; but, at least for me, it makes me remember the experience all the more clearly. ;)
I'll end on the next day, over in Yoyogi Park. I didn't get a chance to check out the cosplayers on the day of the show, but thankfully there were a few stragglers left in town on the 27th, too.
Kazuyuki, cosplaying Ruki, from the SHIVER video - she sewed every piece from scratch (excepting the shoes of course)
Another Ruki cosplayer, this time inspired by the "COCKROACH" video
Ruki's surprisingly popular. ;P Here from the "Guren" vid, and Reita's is from...help me out. ^^;
And there ends the unofficial version of the GazettE's Tokyo Dome performance.
And thank goodness for that!I'm glad that something sensible was produced out of the whole affair at least.
Were any of you there for the show? What did you think?
As for the newbies - what's your take on visual kei? Just bizarre craziness, too much focus on the fashion, or just not into rock? Or perhaps a fire has been kindled! o.O
Have you been to any concerts in Japan? I've already discovered some cultural differences with live audiences, and will be getting into that more later - what's your take on it?
I'd love to hear your thoughts, so please leave a comment below, or send me an email! (^-^)/
Posts
