~inside this deluded tale @amoontonight - Tumblr Blog

So I wanted to write about how during the 1st week of December (from December 2-7), I went to Japan with the primary goal of attending People In The Box's lives in Nagoya and Osaka~ When people who know me learned that I was going to Japan for the 2nd time this year not because of L'Arc, they were surprised. ^^;;;

As few people might know already, Yamaguchi Daigo has been acid android's support drummer since October 2012 (the 1st time he played with acid was in BUCK-TICK Fest 2012 On Parade, where acid was one of the guest performers). When I learned about him, inevitably I learned that the band where he officially belongs to is called "People In The Box." They had their major debut back in 2009 under Nippon Crown but they're still under Zankyo (their management, and record label back when they were still indie), so they still have this ~indie band~ atmosphere even until now. So now some of my close friends find it strange that I'm currently a fan of a "monster" band (L' obviously) and an "indie" band. ^^;;;

I became curious about them (anything related to yukkie makes me curious) so I listened to some of their songs and actually found their music nice. However, it was not until I attended acid android's live in April 2013 that I completely fell in love with Dai-chan (this is how the members of PITB and his friends call him so I got used to calling him this too, though his nickname is actually Daigoman, haha!). His drumming was really cool and precise and powerful that moment, I felt that I could understand why yukkie (one of the greatest drummers in Japan hihi) chose him to be acid android's new support drummer.

Because of that I became even more interested in him, spent weeks searching more things about him and his band and eventually found out that they're such a dorky band, and that Dai-chan is a very interesting and crazy guy. In the process I listened to more of their songs until I managed to listen to everything and officially proclaimed myself as a ~fan~ (their music constantly gives me warm and happy feelings). And while L' is on hiatus, I have been spending my money on People In The Box, buying the CDs and DVDs they release in real-time. As I learn more about them, I fell in love with the other members as well, and fell in love deeper with Dai-chan that I asked Pikomaru-san to go on behalf of me to Tower Records events wherein Dai-chan became a store clerk for about an hour (these events happen whenever they release new CDs, and these involve him being on the cashier and giving fans his autograph if they buy their newly-released CDs). Last year, during release of Weather Report album, Pikomaru-san managed to have Dai-chan's sign, and even asked him to write my name on the paper! *\(^o^)/* It's one of my earliest PITB-related treasures.

Really, I became such a huge fan in just a short span of time and I didn't expect I could love another band as much as I love L'Arc. By mid of 2013, I've added a new goal in life: attend a People In The Box live.

Earlier this year, they announced that they will be going on a tour in April, and I was already thinking of going (it's the perfect timing because I might also see cherry blossoms!), but then after a few days L' announced their Kokuritsu lives (which happened in March). And although I was not in complete L' mode that time, I decided to go to L's lives instead since you can never know when L' would have a live again. orz PITB is a really active band so I didn't worry about not seeing them soon. I was quite sure they will be having another tour soon which I could attend.

By August I think, People In The Box announced the release of a new single (聖者たち [Seijatachi], which turned out to be Tokyo Ghoul's ending song, it made me so proud of them~!) and a new album (Wall, Window). Soon, they announced the "「Wall, Window」「聖者たち」 Release Tour", which started on the 1st week of December and will end by January in Tokyo. So yes! Right away, I told myself I couldn't wait any longer to fulfill one of my current life goals, so I decided to go to Japan again this December to achieve the goal of seeing PITB live before the year ends. p(*-*)q

I think I was lucky enough because there was a scheduled live in Nagoya on December 4, and another one in Osaka on December 5, so all I had to do was take a two-hour train ride to be able to watch them not just once but twice~~! *\(*0*)/* I was supposed to go to JP with my friend, but she had a problem with her visa application so in the end, I went alone. I stayed in Nagoya from 12/2 to morning of 12/5 and transferred to Osaka in the afternoon and stayed there until 12/7~

I was very nervous and excited on the day of Nagoya live since it would be my first time to watch their live, and although I've watched all the DVDs they released so far and watched plenty of live videos, I still didn't know what to expect. In addition, I don't have PITB fangirl friend that I could come to the live with so I was really tensed. (T_T) Although I was very excited to hear Dai-chan's MC because he always sounds funny when he does his MC (he's actually the "spokesperson" of the band even if he's the drummer and not the vocalist). It was a good thing that Motoko-san (friend who's a yukkie fan living in Nagoya) was available to have dinner with me and spend some time together before the live that I was able to feel a bit calm~ Anyway, the live was just in a small club inside a mall so even if my ticket number was 100+, I was still very near the stage (I think four rows of people away??), and was able to stand on a spot on the left side where I could see Dai-chan perfectly! It was really the perfect spot for me because whenever Dai-chan turned his head to his mic to do back-up vocals, and also whenever he stood up to do his MC, I could see his face clearly and sometimes we'd have eye-contact (he loves looking and having eye-contact with fans). I was also able to see Hatano-san's angelic smile easily~ Kenta-san's spot is in the middle so it was a bit hard for me to see him though. ><;

Before the live started, I bought some of the tour goods, I bought both colors of the shirts because they look so nice! I even got PITB plastic bag because my purchase costed 4k yen~ I was actually surprised at first because the booth was inside the club itself, unlike in all the lives I attended so far wherein the goods booth was outside the venue... ^^; And the ones selling the goods were PITB's manager Yano-san and I think their lady staff who updates the Zankyo Community Twitter. I was very happy to see them even if they have no idea who I am! XD

Anyway, as expected, JP fans don't express themselves that much so even if I wanted to scream when the members entered the stage, I was only able to clap my hands just like what everyone did. (/_-) I wanted to scream "Dai-chan!! Hatano-san! Kenta-san!!!" but I didn't want to become the center of distraction. orz Even during the whole live, I think I was one of the few people who moved my body too much, I think that's why I had countless eye-contact with Dai-chan during that night because I was moving way too much than normal (haha!) and I could grab his attention easily~ Too much eye-contact that sometimes I'd purposely look away whenever he turns his head to the direction where I was standing because he might notice I was just looking at him 80% of the time! (*///*) I spent 15% of the time looking at Hatano-san and his gentle smile while he's singing, and 5% trying to take a good look at Kenta-san~

Hearing Hatano-san's angelic voice live warmed my heart on that cold and rainy evening~ One of the reasons why I fell in love with the band aside from Dai-chan is because of Hatano-san's angelic voice. It's something that I can't explain, but I can claim that he's my favorite vocalist currently. It's easy to see that he loves what he's doing, he enjoys singing and being with the band and the fans. He looks very genuine in everything he does. His smile as he sings, and the way he chokes up whenever he does his MC because he's so thankful to everyone who came to the show touch my heart so much. He's so precious that my heart hurts whenever I see some people bash him and his looks just because he became YUI's ex-boyfriend. Hatano-san is not the handsome or cool type of vocalist, but I can feel that he's a very pure person that's why I love him dearly.

Kenta-san on the other hand is a very private person, no Twitter and rarely goes to PITB promotional activities (like yukkie), so I don't know much about him~ But that night, as I saw him interacting with the members and audience, laughing with them, and playing his bass earnestly, my respect for him increased another level higher!

And Dai-chan, oh dear Dai-chan, his drumming has become even more intense and powerful since the last time I saw him in acid android live!!! Watching him in front of me, closer this time, playing the drums made me very very very happy. (Although I got a bit worried that he looks much thinner this time~) And during his MC, even though I only understood 10% of what he was saying, I couldn't help but laugh too because he's just really too energetic and crazy! When he was introducing the tour goods, he even had the guy in front row hold the towel and then asked him if the towel is nice! That time I regretted more not being in front row. XD He's crazy and cute but can look really really cool at the same time. Then was also a moment when he asked something to the audience, and said that whoever will do it, he will marry and bring to Osaka with him. XD Because I wasn't entirely sure what he was asking, I couldn't react at all, although none of the audience seemed to have reacted as well, I think they were really being too shy~~

The way the three of them interacted was very cute too. They would laugh at each other, cut each other's sentences and it was really funny to watch, it warmed my heart so much. Whenever Hatano-san was loss for words, Dai-chan would crack a joke and aaaahhh they're just really really cute together! The entire atmosphere was almost perfect really, I just wish the fans were more "reactive". I think the band would be so happy if they could clearly see the people having fun, dancing and all~ I kind of expected it already based on the DVDs I watched but experiencing it myself was quite frustrating for an energetic fangirl like me... ^^;;;

On another note, as expected they played all the songs from the album and the single. Their first song was a song not present in any of the CDs though, I think it was especially composed to be the intro of every live in this tour, as the lyrics starts with "wall, window~~" There was also a part of the live where Hatano-san was playing the keyboards for I think 3-4 songs. The atmosphere was really solemn, I had to close my eyes every now and then just to feel Hatano-san's voice soothing my soul~ I really enjoyed the performance of "もう大丈夫", it's one of my most favorite songs in the new album and watching Hatano-san playing the keyboards for it was precious. They also played "水面上のアリア", one of the songs from their earlier album (Frog Queen), and it's cute how after performing the song, Dai-chan said he was so nervous because it has been a while since they last performed it live. Which reminds me, they played around seven songs which are not from Wall, Window/Seijatachi, and I think for each of them, they re-arranged the intro so at first I thought they were performing new songs~ ^^;; During "風が吹いたら" (the song before encore), Dai-chan and Hatano-san instructed the audience to clap our hands along with them, and it's the most energetic audience participation in the entire live, haha~ The band looked very happy seeing the crowd dancing and clapping (it got me more energetic too). (*w*)

After this the band left the stage, and I learned how PITB fans call for encore -- they clap their hands all-together without stopping (for around 5 minutes I think) until the band comes back to the stage. It's like it's the unspoken rule~ I was quite surprised because I'm used to L' lives wherein audience calls for encore verbally and with full enthusiasm. But in PITB live, everyone just claps in unison, with same rhythm~ ^^;;;; So I clapped along while wondering why they haven't played "あなたのなかの忘れた海" from Seijatachi yet. XD It's one of my most favorite songs so I got worried they might not play it~ When the members came back on stage Dai-chan was already wearing the blue tour shirt, and it made him look slimmer~~~~~!! *O* I could see his white arms more clearly~~~! Anyway, he said some more jokes, bullied the other members and suddenly Kenta-san butted off and said it's almost Christmas and they have a present for everyone~ They performed "リマ", PITB's only Christmas song haha! Hatano-san was really cute singing "Merry Christmas ye-yeyyy~"

After リマ, the stage went dark and finally, it's the song I've been waiting for, "あなたのなかの忘れた海"!!! (I was actually waiting for a lot of songs because I love a lot of songs but this one I was so sure they will play because it's included in the Seijatachi CD.) Hearing it live after listening to it every day via my phone felt very surreal~ Dai-chan's heart-felt drumming also didn't fail to make my heart feel like it was soaring high~~ And finally the last song for the live was performed, which is one of the crowd favorites, "ニムロッド", so the live ended on a very energetic note~ \(^0^)/ Even though a lot of my favorite songs from the other albums were not played (since it's the Wall, Window, Seijatachi release tour after all), I left the venue very contented and happy to be able to achieved one of my current goals in life, and People In The Box didn't disappoint. They were too wonderful, their music filled my heart and soul with too much happiness and warm! And because of this, I became even more excited to see them again in Osaka~~! Although the thought that it would also be the last time for me to see them in this trip made me sad~~ Conflicted fangirl feelings!! >w<

And so the next day I transferred from Nagoya to Osaka~! When I arrived in my new guesthouse, all I was able to do was change my clothes then headed to the venue (which is also a small club) because I was too afraid to get lost and not make it on time (since during my trip, I got lost twice already~). I downloaded a video tutorial of how to go to the venue because it seems far from Umeda train station, and so thanks to that I didn't get lost at all and arrived one hour earlier from time of doors open. It was so cold that night and I was left with no choice but to walk around and enter some random shops to keep myself warm. XD

This time, the live was sold-out so outside the venue was already packed some minutes before the doors opened~ And my ticket number was 300+ so I had to wait for some more minutes before I could enter... orz Since it was sold-out, they had to call the numbers one-by-one until I think number 200? Then after that, the numbers were called in tens~ As expected when I entered, the front rows were filled already. T_T I was forced to stand somewhere as near as I could manage to the stage where I could still see Dai-chan clearly, but the spot I got wasn't within Dai-chan's vision anymore. T_T And there were too many tall guys in front~ But anyway, that didn't stop me from enjoying the live!! >w< The setlist was I think exactly the same as in Nagoya, Dai-chan's MC involved telling people to repeat some of the words he was saying (as one of his usual MCs) and making everyone laugh in the process; Hatano-san and Kenta-san still as giggly as ever. The Osaka crowd was a bit more energetic than in Nagoya, I guess one factor was also because the event was full-house.

This time when the members came back on the stage for the encore, Dai-chan was already wearing the tour shirt again, but now the white one! I rarely see him wearing white and it made him look so frail but cute!!! (;w;) Also, they had an impromptu members intro portion! XD It was really funny because I think it wasn't really part of the plan (because if it was, they should have done that in Nagoya too) but somehow, all three of them just agreed to do it. XD Even though at first Dai-chan didn't know if they should really proceed or not. At any rate, Hatano-san started to introduce Kenta-san, the latter showed of his bass skills, and after that he introduced Dai-chan who played some beats on his drums, twirled and tossed his drumstick but failed and laughed at himself instead (I almost screamed "kawaiiiii!!!"). Then Dai-chan introduced Hatano-san as "Hirofumi Hatano" (he said his first name first instead of the usual so I was quite surprised) and Hatano-san played some "sensual" music on his guitar which made the members and audience laugh at him. He said something like it's the type of music being played on the love hotels around the venue. ^^;;; It was a really cute portion!!! And after that Kenta-san mentioned about the Christmas thing again and the live proceeded and ended just like how it did in Nagoya~

After the live I met with Hasu-chan, a Japanese PITB fangirl from Fukuoka whom I met in Twitter earlier this year. We have been exchanging a lot of tweets because we are both big Dai-chan fans. XD We gave each other souvenirs (she gave me the Niwaka senpei cookies and mask, the one acid members had during their rehearsals way back in the April 2013 live!!!). However we were not able to talk much because she only knows little English (I think online she uses translator sometimes to communicate with me) and I only know little Japanese. T_T Anyway, that night I also brought the souvenirs I bought for the members (I didn't bring in Nagoya live because I wanted to assess first if it would be possible for me to give), and because I had no idea how to give it since there were no present boxes unlike in L'-related lives, I ended up falling in line again for the goods (when there were only very few people left) because Hasu-chan told me I could give it to Yano-san, their manager. However, I ended up in the line which the lady Zankyo staff was managing. So I bought the tote bag this time and afterwards, I told her "Is it okay to give this to the members?" and she looked surprised but happy and and said "thank you" in English when I handed it to her~~ If she's really the one managing the Zankyo Twitter, I was able to communicate with her several times in Twitter and her English is good, so I was relieved she understood me! After that I still stayed inside the venue around the goods booth, and after some minutes I noticed that the members went out from backstage and started hanging out around the stage, watching the staffs fix their instruments (though it's quite far from where the goods booth was located)! I got excited hearing Dai-chan and Kenta-san's voice, although none of the other fans seemed to be as excited as me. orz They were just falling in line for the goods as if the members were not there... orz I think it's not a big deal for them since they usually see them already? Anyway, Dai-chan was laughing and complaining about something while scrubbing his neck with something (I think something to keep his body warm?), he's really cute. XD

When all the people had gone out already, of course I also went out, with a heavy heart. orz Though my mind was still calculating if there's a possibility to meet the members outside (I really wanted to meet them since it'd be my last chance to see them in this trip). I was looking for some fans who might do demachi but I couldn't spot any group of people waiting outside. >< So I just took few more pictures of the venue.... but when I was about to leave, I saw a guy fan who was standing in front of the venue, as if waiting for someone. I stood a couple of feet away from him and observed if he was waiting for the members... and luckily, it seemed he was! He was not leaving even if there were no people around anymore except for some of the staff~~~ I think both of us were just standing there for around 30 minutes, when the band's van arrived and their things were put into the car (I even saw manager Yano-san carrying the paper bag with my gifts for the members). After some time, one of the staff approached the guy and seemed to tell him he can come closer. So when he did, I also approached where he was standing~~ ^^;;; Only the two of us waiting for the members! o_o Soon, he talked to me! He said "samui ne?" at first, and although I understood him, I replied with "yes, hai!" because I wanted him to know that I'm not Japanese (and I hardly speak Japanese), just so he wouldn't continue to talk with me in Japanese. XD He seemed surprised and asked me "kaigai?", I nodded and said "yes" again~ From there, he started trying to talk to me in English. He asked me where I came from, then I told him I also attended the Nagoya live yesterday and he seemed surprised. He also asked me how I learned about PITB so I told him because of yukihiro from L'Arc~en~Ciel, he then asked me if I love L' and so on. Then I learned he's been a fan of PITB for 5 years already. He even told me Hatano-san understands a little English so it should be fine. I then noticed he was holding the PITB calendar (which I didn't buy) and realized he wanted to have the members sign on it, and in that instant I had an idea to take out my ticket to have the members sign on it too. (Actually the whole time I was waiting outside, I just wanted to take a last glimpse on the members, I had no idea what to do aside from that~)

After a couple of minutes, all the members came out of the club with some of the staff, who instructed us that we could approach the members already. I was too dazed and shocked that I didn't know what exactly to do from thereon so I just went after the guy and imitated what he was doing~ *_* He approached Hatano-san first and had him sign the calendar, so when he separated from Hatano-san, I approached Hatano-san and handed him my ticket and had him sign on it!! I couldn't even say anything while he was smiling and thanking me!!!!! >____< I was too mesmerized and in disbelief~~~! Though I think I managed to say some "thank you." ><;;;

After that I approached Dai-chan because he was the one the guy approached after Hatano-san... And this time I couldn't help but really smile and look so giddy, it was embarrassing but I was really too excited to see Dai-chan up-close, so with heart beating so fast all I could say as I approached him was a tiny "Daigo-saaaan~" He was really slim and cute up-close!!!!! ;_______; Without knowing what else to do, I handed him my ticket, and as I waited for him to finish signing it, I looked at his tote bag (because I couldn't stare at his face, I was too shy) which he was carrying on his right arm and knew instantly that it was the acid tote bag (which I was using as well that night), even though the back of the bag was the one visible instead of the design. So I pointed at it and said "is it acid?" and then he held his bag to show me the design while saying "ah, hai" then something else in Japanese ksjdkdjfsgdjsaldks;gf and I almost lost myself at that moment and I think I managed to say "ah, same!" and I pointed to my bag and he said something which I didn't understand again and then now I can't remember anymore what exactly happened after that because I couldn't believe I only managed to talk to him about the acid tote bag!!!! *slaps myself* OTL

Before I knew it, he was handing me back my ticket already and though I was still in a daze meeting the 2nd most important guy in my current fangirl life, I had to separate myself from him and approach Kenta-san next. He looked so shy (although smiling) as he was signing my ticket and saying "arigatou." He was really gentle!!! >< After exchanging a couple of words with the guy, they started bowing at each other and saying thank you again and soon the band with their staffs started walking away, I think they were going to a nearby restaurant~~

So though still in a daze, I was left there with the guy (we couldn't even ask each other's name, everything went fast!) with both of us still looking very excited and happy because of what happened. The guy was really cute as he stared at the members' signatures on his calendar and wondering why the signatures were in blue color, when his marker was black. XD Anyway, soon we started walking away from the venue, chatting a little until we had to go towards separate directions. (;_;) I was still in disbelief that I walked to the station with an idiotic smile on my face and while squealing internally~!

Until now I'm still very excited whenever I remember that encounter, it's the closest I could possibly be to people I admire so much! Although the scene is blurry in my head because of how dazed I was, the feeling of excitement is still clear to me as if it happened just yesterday! I'm also extremely grateful to the guy I was waiting with; while he was standing there I was really praying for him not to give up and just leave (I think we waited outside in the cold for around one hour for the members to come out ), because if he did, I would've left as well because I have no courage to wait alone and approach the members alone. @_@

Anyway, because of the awesome lives and this precious encounter, my 2nd trip to JP this year was really worth it!!! Not to mention the next day, I was able to watch the "Over the L'Arc~en~Ciel" documentary film too (I was in JP too when it was announced during the day 2 of L' Kokuritsu March lives... so being in JP again at the same time it was shown, I felt extremely lucky), but that's another story~! Going back, these experiences made me love PITB and their music even deeper, and I'm really hoping they make it bigger as the days go by. I hope more people will discover and appreciate their music! Dai-chan mentioned in Twitter once that he's wondering if their band can be like L' someday (he's a big fan of L' and a yukkie fanboy obviously), playing in a large venue with large audience (he went to day 1 of L's March Kokuritsu lives)... and I really hope it will come true, and I will surely be there to cheer on them and support them when that happens! (*_*) I really look forward to their activities next year, and I hope I can have the chance to watch them live again soon! ♪( ´θ｀)ノ

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~inside this deluded tale