The live was Deviloof’s first live and not only a lot more people showed up than what I expected, but there probably were more guys than girls in the audience for a change.
by:ARLANT was the first act and played 6 songs plus a cover of Dir en Grey. Sadly, they didn’t seem to have any fans there, but I really enjoyed seeing them again.
D.I.D. came in second and played a lot of their heavier songs. Some guys joined in to the mosh during W.O.D. 2. Someone tripped and fell and as I was trying to help them up, someone else bumped into me from the side and knocked me down to the floor. Luckily, no harm done this time, except it being slightly embarrassing.
Deviloof was the sponsor of this event so they came in last. What was interesting about them is that the first 2-3 rows were girls doing regular v-kei furi (headbanging, ori-tatami and fist-pumping mostly), but then a real metal mosh pit opened behind them with guys slamdancing and all that. It was pretty intense and made D.I.D.’s mosh look kinda tame in comparison XD
At the very end, the vocalists of each bands came back on stage to do a short song together. Then Deviloof was called back for an encore and the D.I.D. members and Ayumi from by:ARLANT came in the audience and started a circle mosh, but Issei just walking around it like an old man.
When it was done, I only had time to buy some D.I.D. chekis and Deviloof’s first single before running out to catch my bus back to Tokyo. But it was a pretty good live and I really enjoyed all the bands. I’m glad I did go~
Since I changed my job to a more flexible one earlier this year, I’ve been able to go to all of D.I.D.’s shows and follow their entire tours. So in September this was my schedule:
Tokyo > Sapporo (2 days) > Tokyo (2 days to work) > Sendai (1 day) > Kooriyama (half a day) > Tokyo (just for the night) > Nagano (one day) > Tokyo
And then in October:
Tokyo > Fukuoka (1 day) > Hiroshima (1 day) > Osaka (2 days) > Nagoya (half a day) > back to Tokyo for 4 days (to work) > Niigata (1 day) > Tokyo
Some of the highlights of the tours include:
- Learning that Akane wasn’t going to be on stage 30 minutes before the first show in Sapporo, failing pretty hard at furi without his vocals cues and then realizing that he’d been watching everything from the back of the livehouse.
- Meeting the new drum roadie and calling him Ramenya-san (because he looks like this) until we finally asked him his name (it’s Asaki).
- Nearly not realizing that D.I.D. was the next band playing and taking our spots at the front bar just on time for the curtains to open in Sapporo - Day 2.
- Yoshiatsu (DADAROMA) and Leo (XENON) doing W.O.D. II in Kooriyama. Leo jumped in the audience and moshed with us while Yoshiatsu did the vocals.
- Sad 4 people mosh in Nagano.
- Akane actually talking to people during demachi instead of hiding from them during the entire Geki-on tour.
- Sho not having enough space to sit in the band van and the other members making him sit at the back with the equipment. It looked like there was a ghost at the back of their van because you could only see him when he turned on his phone.
- Having to stand on the shinkansen from Nagoya to Tokyo (2 hours) because we didn’t have reserved seats and we forgot it was right before a 3-day holiday.
- Issei having fever and passing out in the band van after the Niigata show.
- Tohma doing a backflip and landing in Issei’s bass drum in Tokyo.
- The look on Issei’s face when Tohma did that.
And~
- Eating delicious food with other D.I.D. fans all around the country.
Selist:
SE.雲の巣
1.LiLLY Of THe VaLLeY
2.THE LOST MY HANDS
3.atheism
4.Anti+Christ Anthem
5.ira
-----
When D.I.D. announced their participation to this live, the A and B tickets were already sold out, so I ended up buying a C ticket. When I arrived at the livehouse, I found out that the other D.I.D. gyas had all been hooked up with A tickets, except for me and my friend. But in the end, the new shikiri offered to exchange my C ticket for a A ticket without me even needing to ask. Yay! It didn’t really make a huge difference and I would probably have gotten the same spot on saizen as if I had gone in on my C ticket because D.I.D. doesn’t have a lot of fans and it’s pretty much always the same people getting into saizen, but the thought and the upgrade were appreciated anyway.
Anyway, when the curtains opened, we all peeked at the setlist and started freaking out when we saw “LiLLY” on it. It’s a song they haven’t played since Satoshi left the band in 2013, and even then, they only played it at one-man shows, so it came up as a nice surprise. It had also been more than a year since they played “THE LOST MY HANDS”, so half of us messed up the special furi. Oh well.
Akane looked particularly tired and had huge bags under his eyes. I guess it affected his voice because he said on Twitter that there’d never been a live where he couldn’t use his death voice as much as this one. It was particularly obvious during “Anti+Christ” where he spent most of the song watching us instead of death growling like he usually does.
After the live, my friend and I bought chekis and went to a nearby family restaurant for a bit of food because we were starving. Just as we came back out, we saw D.I.D.’s van drive off. (Looks like it didn’t die off completely yet!) We couldn’t tell whether they were just moving their van somewhere else after packing up their equipment or if they had left altogether, so we decided to stick around for a bit and see. We found the rest of the D.I.D. gyas in a nearby parking lot and joined them in hiding from the ridiculously strict livehouse staff.
After about 30 minutes of waiting, the van pulled into the very same parking lot we were in. The four members climbed out, already in their personal clothes and no makeup, but they looked busy so we didn’t accost them. The shikiri asked Sho if they would be back (they sometimes hole themselves into the studio attached to that livehouse after lives) and Sho answered with a vague “Well, if the car’s there...!”. So we set up for another long wait. Half the girls had been guzzling down beer and chu-hi and were already pleasantly drunk by that time, so we shared a lot of funny bangya stories and I laughed so much my face was hurting.
It took another hour and half before the members came back out of the livehouse. The girls hurried to hand over their presents and have a few words with them before the members climbed back into the van. They were about to drive off when one of my friends noticed I hadn’t talked to Akane and despite me telling her that it didn’t matter, she started banging on the windows and shout “Akane! Wait! You didn’t talk to Regine!” Which was really sweet of her but also kinda embarrassing because then Akane rolled the door back open and the girls made me go say hi to him while Sho kept trying to stick his head out. And then we noticed that the van was obstructing the street so we had to let them go.
But it was a really fun night. I used to think the japanese fans were intimidating, but they’re actually a really sweet bunch.
SE. 雲の巣
1. paradox
2. Amaryllis
3. the code number[13.]
4. Anti+Christ Anthem
5. I want to die
6. ira
-----
I got up at 5 in the morning to find out that D.I.D.'s van broke down somewhere on the highway. Thankfully it wasn't something much worst. So I finished getting my suitcase ready and hopped on a train to Shinjuku to catch my bus to Nagoya. There were 5 more D.I.D. fans on the same bus, and luckily I got to sit with my friend Ren. It was a 6 hour ride between Tokyo and Nagoya, most of which I spent snoozing or playing games on my phone.
When we got to Nagoya, Ren and I checked in to our respective hotels and went out for lunch before heading out to the livehouse. Just as we were getting out of the station, we saw a blond guy in Adidas track suit holding a bag of McDonalds. I wasn't wearing my glasses so it took me a few seconds to register that it was Akane. As soon as he saw us, he smiled and waved and we asked him about the van. He said it was still rolling for the time being but it might be on its last few miles. We followed him back to the livehouse and waited for doors to open.
The tickets for this live had gone on sale via phone. and no matter how good my Japanese has gotten, I still hate talking on the phone, especially with people I'm not familiar with. But even though I had initially asked my japanese friend to call for us, I decided to overcome my apprehensions try calling too. And about 60-re-dials-in-2-minutes later, I finally got through, BEFORE my japanese friend did. And the ticket I got put me into saizen center spot so I was quite proud of myself. :D
Anyway, stage time was a bit longer than usual for this live too, but the setlist was pretty similar to the previous day's live, except for ira, which is one of my all time favorites. A bit disappointed that there was not aori (crowd stirring) song, though, but the live was fun nonetheless. Sho had a new stage "costume" which a friend tried to draw on her phone:
After the live, Tohma was at the merch table and Akane joined him toward the end of the night. As usual I couldn't think of anything to say so I just "otsukaresama"ed them and went back to my spot. We meant to demachi later but we were tired and we figured they were probably out for food somewhere, so we retreated back to our hotels for the night and I fell into a coma within a few minutes of slipping under the sheets despite the crazy person who was constantly yelling outside. That's how tired I was.
SE. 雲の巣
1. paradox
2. Amaryllis
3. the code number [13.]
4. nihilism.
5. Anti+Christ Anthem
6. I want to die
7. $howtime in the [World's end.]
8. THE NATURAL BORN SINNER
9. the LIBRA
-----
I managed to get a spot in the saizen, a bit more off-center than I usually like to be, but I couldn't really bother to try holding a spot in the second row during the other bands, so it didn't matter. At EDGE, the stage is really close to the rail, and for some reason Tohma was all up in my face and I had to be careful not to accidentally clock him while doing the furi XD. I still got plenty of eye contact with Akane and had a nice view of Issei. I couldn't see Sho at all, though.
There were only three other bands and one opening act, so they got a bit more stage time than usual. Half the setlist consisted of songs they hadn't played in a little while, which was a nice surprise too. I still wish they played gula or infinite∞numbness (which they still have NEVER played live except as Para:noir). During THE NATURAL BORN SINNER, I was hoping we would do the circle mosh again instead of the regular side-to-side moshing, but unfortunately it wasn't possible since basically everyone else besides the saizen and about two people in the second row was dead fish and had their purses on the floor.
After D.I.D., I bought some chekis, which is still pretty much all they currently have at the merch table. My friend and I decided not to demachi since we had to get up early the next day to go to Nagoya, so we just grabbed a bite at the restaurant and went back home.
I am actually thinking about going to see By Arlant, I liked their stuff on Youtube! How's the single?
Sorry about the delayed response! I can’t speak for the other members since I only really know the vocalist, but he hauls from the metal scene so the songs (that I’ve heard so far) are pretty heavy but also have more melodic sections. You’ll probably like their music if you’re into bands like Nocturnal Bloodlust, D.I.D. and lynch.
Hey there. I just wanted to say a big thank you for having this blog. I was also at D.I.D.'s oneman on Sunday (I came up alone from Osaka), and it was absolutely incredible and I'm glad you write reports here. There were some details I couldn't remember fully when explaining the show to some friends and your writing was really helpful. I also thought Akane being carried offstage bridal-style was hilarious! Anyways, if you come to Osaka for their show on 12/19 I'll be there. Take care.
Hello! Thanks for reading my reports! I think I might have seen you since there weren't a lot of foreigners that night. I will definitely see you on 12/19!
00.until the Day I Die (instrumental)
SE.雲の巣 / Kumo no su
01.atheism
02.the resolution
03.the RED
04.Ira
05.瓦解 / Gakai
06.invidia
07.ANTI+CHRIST anthem
08.I want to die
09.Good morning,MOTHER fxxker
10.the Point of No Return
〜Drums Solo〜
SE.---
11.心眼、そして双眼。/ Shingan, soshite sougan.
12. THE NATURAL BORN SINNER
-Encore 1-
01.paradox
02.the time has come
03.Amaryllis
04.BLEADEAR
05.acedia
06.W.O.D.
07.$howtime in the [World's end.]
-Encore 2-
〜MC〜
01.until the Day I Die
-----
Once inside the livehouse, I unexpectedly managed to get a front row spot right next to the center. There was still an hour to wait before the show would start, which I spent talking with two lovely German girls and buying excessive amounts of chekis to try to get an atari cheki. Which I didn't even get in the end because I have shit luck.
Anyway, here's a short account of what happened at this live.
00.until the Day I Die // When the curtain was drawn, only Sho, Issei and Tohma were on stage. They played the song without vocals and in near pitch darkness. It felt like a sort of reminder of the past few months when they had to play without Akane. When the song finished, they all walked off stage.
SE.雲の巣 // The lights came on and fans called the members names. Akane finally came on stage. They were all dressed in black clothes (no costume).
01.atheism // Coincidentally(?), when Akane came back at the Black Hole show in August, this was also the first song they played. During the MC, Akane said he was so nervous he forgot half the lyrics.
03.the RED // They hadn't played this song in about a year and it made me really happy to hear it again!
06.invidia // During the first few songs, Akane seemed to be having trouble with his earpiece (which lets him hear himself sing). At this point, he just went fuck it and ripped the thing out of his ear and continued without it.
〜Drums Solo〜 // Issei is a wonderful drummer and he really kicked ass with that drum solo. And there was none of the usual gaudy stuff that other v-kei drummers do when they do drum solos (like making fans scream their name). He said on Twitter that it was his first live drum solo ever.
SE.--- // Issei kind of changed the drum lines for this one and it sounded really cool. Everyone came back on stage -- Akane got his earpiece fixed finally-- and they eased into "Shingan, soshite sougan." which is one of my favorite songs!
01.paradox
02.the time has come
04.BLEADEAR // Three more songs they hadn't done in a really long time.
05.acedia // This is the song where Akane goes on Thoma's side and then on Sho's side and has some sort of interaction with them. Otherwise, these guys just stay in their own little corner all the time.
06.W.O.D. // One of my favorite songs because wall of death. Akane was stradling the fence during half the song.
07.$howtime in the [World's end.] // This is pretty much D.I.D.'s staple song. They will play it at 95% of their shows. Today, it didn't drag on for very long. Akane reached out for the fans and pulled their hands. Tohma did backflips as usual. There was a lot of eye contact with the fans and a lot of smiles too.
〜MC〜 // There was a second encore call and Akane came on stage by himself and sat on the platform. They hardly ever do MCs but Akane said the occasion called for it today.
In short, he talked about his hospitalization and how he started to remember how to be happy again. He confessed that his feelings used to be dead, that he didn't see the worth in living and that he had tried to kill himself many times. He said he was surprised to find out that the other members and the fans were still waiting for him, even though he had been told initially by his family that D.I.D. was going to disband. He thanked the fans and the members for sticking with him, said that he was happy to be alive and promised he wasn't going to die anymore. He said he wanted to continue to sing and try to convey his thoughts and feelings to us, and thus announced that he was officially revoking D.I.D.'s activity break. He also confirmed that he was still on very good terms with Satoshi despite the rumors going around that they hated each other.
01.until the Day I Die // The members came back on stage and finally closed the loop by playing the first song of the night again, but WITH Akane's vocals.
closing // Akane had been sweating profusely during the entire live and now seemed to be at the very limits of his physical endurance. When the song finished, he collapsed on the floor with a really pained look on his face. Sho was the first to check on him but BURST into laughter when Akane told him he had a cramp in his leg and in his hands and that he couldn't leave the stage. At first, Akane refused to let Sho and Tohma help him get up, but no matter how many times he tried to get up, he'd fall back down in agony again. Sho told him he could just roll off the stage then. A staff person brought him a crutch, but he still couldn't get up. So eventually, Tohma picked him up bridal style and carried him backstage. It was the most hilarious thing ever. After they finally all left the stage, they played the demo for "Fatal Error Race" and it sounded really promising. Can't wait for the release!
SE. 雲の巣 / Kumo no su
01. the Point of No Return
02. Good morning,MOTHER fxxker
03. I want to die
04. W.O.D.
05. $howtime in the [World's end.]
-----
We didn't really expect that Akane would be at this live since Sho had said he wouldn't, but when the curtains opened and we saw the microphone on the podium, we all just lost our shit again. The live was really intense and energy-filled. Akane often pointed at fans and smiled and locked eyes with us as if to say thank you for being there. During "W.O.D.", he even came off the stage and straddled the front bar and sang from there.
Akane was the first to leave the stage after "$howtime". Sho was next after throwing his pick at the audience and bowing in thanks. Tohma did an amazing backflip across the stage and nearly lost his pants in the process. Issei threw his drumsticks and the paper on which the setlist was written. And the curtains closed to a big round of applause.
After the live, Sho and Tohma were at the merchandise table for the first time in FOREVER. They used to only come to the merch table when they were playing outside Tokyo, but since coming back from their little break, they hardly ever showed up. It was good to see Sho being his usual, obnoxiously-loud self while Tohma just stood quietly next to him. When I got there, Sho told me "I saw your name written on the billboard today!"
(from Sho's Twitter)
My name is Regine and the livehouse staff apparently cannot spell Reign. I bought some chekis and Sho started counting in English then suddenly switched back to Japanese. They didn't have Akane chekis on the 28th but they did this time and I managed to get two. Then we went outside and did demachi, watched them load their van, talked to Akane for a few seconds and gave Sho a beer that he cracked open right away. Yes. You deserved it. Otsukaresama and see you again.
Good thing: Akane was at tonight's Osaka show too! Bad thing: D.I.D. is now officially on indefinite break. More details about today's live as soon as I get home.
SE. ---
01. atheism
02. the resolution
03. Good morning,MOTHER fxxker
04. acedia
05. W.O.D.
06. $howtime in the [World's end.]
-----
I had a feeling about this live from the beginning. When Sho posted a picture of himself, Tohma, Issei and Akane earlier this month, he also said that Akane would not be performing with them on the 3rd nor on the 30th, the last two lives on their schedule at that time. The 28th's show was only announced two weeks after that, but technically they never said Akane wasn't going to be with them. I also dreamed that Akane performed at this live, and I often tend to have premonition dreams. But as the day got closer and no one said a thing about Akane, I eventually just half-dismissed it as me being a deluded bangya.
In any case, I managed to get a REALLY good ticket and got to be in the front row near the center. D.I.D. was going to be the last band out of six to play.
It took them FOREVER to do their sound check, so I thought they might be having technical trouble again. Somehow I still couldn't shake off the feeling that Akane was there. When the lights dimmed, the SE started and the curtains finally opened, I could not believe my eyes when the first thing I noticed was a microphone sitting on the pedestal at the front of the stage. There was NEVER a microphone on the pedestal whenever Akane wasn't there. And that could only really mean that there was going to be a vocalist. I pointed it out to the girl next to me, and we just looked at each other like WTF is going on. Tohma, Issei and Sho came on stage. So far nothing different than usual. Me and the girl stared at the door, whispering "Please come out! Please come out!" And... HE CAME OUT!
Akane walked out on stage. No one knew. The members didn't say a thing about it. They kept it a total secret from everyone. We were all literally jumping with joy and screaming his name. And he looked freakin' happy to just be there and soak in all the love. It was easily one of the best show they ever gave.
I love D.I.D. to death, even without Akane, but tonight made me realize that they really are at their best when he is present. For the past few months, they've been doing their best but they were really missing his energy, the one he gave to the other members and to the fans. And it was good to be able to feel that again for the first time since February.
Sadly, I think it was just a one-time deal, at least until they come back from their hiatus, whenever/if that happens. But I'm happy I got to see D.I.D. whole again.
And for the records, Akane had a new tattoo on his right upper arm, a few lines of small, script text, but sorry I couldn't read what it said.
01. nihilism.
02. the resolution
03. acedia
04. W.O.D.
05. $howtime in the [World's end.]
I was happy that they finally were able to play "nihlism." (they were supposed to play it in Osaka but couldn't because of technical issues). They also finally got the recording of Akane's voice to work again for the first time since their two-man with アルルカン on July 6th. So it was a good live without any moments of confusion or major mishaps.
It felt like them having been able to do a rehearsal with Akane had re-energized the other members. Tohma even ditched his guitar and started break-dancing on stage during "$howtime". And there seemed to be quite a lot of people there to cheer on them too.
It was also D.I.D.'s last live in Tokyo before they go on hiatus. Now, just one more to go...
