#live report

[ringoarchive]

Sheena Ringo performing at JAZZ NOT ONLY JAZZ II, September 18, 2025.

[darumaji]

DIR EN GREY live report in FOOL'S MATE vol. 255 (Nov. 2003)

2002.11.03 Zepp Tokyo "5 Ugly KINGDOM"

[yridenergyridenergy]

Dir en grey - Tour25 Enen at Namba Hatch day 1 [2025/12/06] live report

Behind a vacant image

New song 1

Devote my life

Utsutsu, bouga o kurau

(Interlude 1 here?)

Keibetsu to hajimari

Keigaku no yoku

Ranunculus

(Interlude 2)

New song 2

Schadenfreude

(Interlude 3)

Ningen wo kaburu

New song 3

The Devil In Me

T.D.F.F.

-encore-

Marmalade Chainsaw

Fukai

Utafumi

Hageshisa to, kono mune no naka de karamitsuita shakunetsu no yami

I think it's my first time hearing so many new songs live, having no expectations as to what they sound like. Unfortunately, I'd say that they lack characters, even compared to The Devil In Me, which is already quite stripped down compared to most of Dir en grey's songs. The melodies are so simple that I could probably have them memorized in no time.

In the first new song, Kyo "answers" himself often: there's a soft vocal melody, then him singing normally, soft, normal, etc. Later in the song, it's Toshiya who "answers" him, much more harshly.

Whichever song ended with a series of "kachi" had a slightly epic ending, but that was it. It felt like the third song had a more complex melody out of the three new songs, and new song number two was more of a ballad.

The first new song has a solo from Kaoru, which I was just thinking a more simple melody could pair well with. However, it also didn't seem memorable. One of the songs also has Shinya maneuvring around his drums kinda like in Glass Skin, left then right with his right arm, clearly not listening to his own wish to simplify his compositions hah.

I added the interludes to the setlist, because they play an important part in the concert.

First of all, the SE this tour is very ominous, not rock-punky like Kaoru's background music setlists usually are. It was like those atmospheric instrumentals that they have for the interludes, heavy on the subwoofer and some kind of intermittent percussion and even a little bit of piano, I think. It was so unusual that I wondered how they would tease that the show is starting, since they usually amp up the volume of whatever song's playing, right before shutting the lights. Indeed, it was weird with this music.

Another thing I noticed while waiting: I don't know if something went wrong regarding the transportation of their equipment, but Kaoru's, Toshiya's and Die's amps were completely absent. Die had one column off to the side, probably hidden from most of the audience. Instead, there were about five bland, much smaller amps at the back, evenly spaced. I don't know if they figured that their traditional amps were in the way for the background screen? But not only that, Kyo's crate also had no panel, they just stuck two speakers and two lights in that space. You could see a very cheap, translucid piece of corrugated plastic haphazardly taped to the top of the crate too. Really weird. I think this tour was really meant to be something else (actual new album) and they had to improvise.

Also, there were some cameras set up around the stage. As far as I could see, none of them were mobile/manually operated except during the songs where they projected closeups of each member. I'm not sure in what capacity they will be using that footage. The announcement did warn that it could be used for commercial or promotional purposes.

In terms of looks, Shinya was the only one wearing white. Die had a black and red outfit, where the red parts were crossed by vertical black lines, like to give the impression of progression or a simplified shadowing method. Toshiya had a black attire with the bold white collar that makes it seem like a priest's uniform. When he took it off after several songs, you could see that the black dress shirt he wore under the thick coat had subtle shiny black dots, as though it held mildew. Kaoru's outfit up close was amazing: it seemed like a one-piece, for the top, because what looks like a dress shirt underneath at the front is also used as a large panel on his back. And there's an elaborate golden crest on his chest against that red, and the red tissue has multiple waves folded in it, it's mesmerizing. Same with that panel on his back. The whole thing sermed like a cape. His pants were more simple, but there is a slit on each leg, from the knee opening wider as it goes down the leg to show red as well. And his hair was tied in two small horns again! The elastics at the end of each horn holding his hair in shape were red too, as though his horns had red tips. Now, Kyo... He came in head down, long black hair extensions covering his face, basically not facing us so that we wouldn't see his makeup. It was pretty obvious very soon though that he had heavy mascara around his eyes, a completely white contact lens on his right eye, and a wide black grin again. Once he uncovered his face throughout the songs, the makeup became clear: the grin stretched madly, sinuously to reach his forehead, where a sort of light red star was drawn. His face definitely had white paint everywhere else too. He wore all black.

In Keigaku no yoku, Kyo forgot the lyrics after one of the two screams, eventually picking up when he was more familiar with the lyrics but he kind of mumbled them. In doing so, and perhaps because of that lack of memory, he started hitting the side of his head with his left palm. At the end of the song, his rendition of "hayaku, shine" (Hurry up and die) was: "hayaku, hayaku, hayaku... shine shine SHINE SHINE SHINE SHINE SHINE" in quick succession.

The three interludes all had a theme, projected on the screen: Living, Destruction, Despair. While we were cheering loudly at the first break, the songs before the two other interludes really did not warrant any cheers, due to what Kyo was singing. That made the second interlude really silent and awkward. It felt lile they hurried back to the front of the stage to make up for it. Then, for the third interlude, Kyo dragged his mic back to Shinya's platform, and he began almost playfully lifting it, dropping it, etc. until he kept it high and began dryly inhaling, screeching, and everything else he does in Inward Screams. He held the mic from the cord slightly above his head sometimes, and with the red light that got suddenly shone on stage and his demeanor+attire, it made him look like the reaper or whichever creature is responsible for helping lost souls cross the Styx river, like that light at the end of the wooden boat. I don't know if doing an Inward Scream was improvised, in reaction to the silence in the second interlude, and given that the red light only got shone a few seconds after Kyo started.

I remember two moments when Toshiya spit water: once, it was at that third interlude, where Kyo was performing a kind of Inward Scream. With the centre of the stage bathed in red light, it was not subtle and not gracious to see him full-on spit the water he had drunk, a huge chunk of it, straight on the floor between his area and Shinya's platform. His back was turned to us, and I guess most people in the back or in the centre looking at Kyo didn't see, but I know he could have been more careful hah. The second time was more intentional: in the encore, I think, he spit water upward in a roundabout way, intentionally showering his own head, causing him to smile.

I just realized now that Toshiya doesn't even play the bass solo in The Devil In Me live? It's a pre-recorded segment. Is it that they couldn't reproduce the volume, the tone, the trebel? But it's so weird to have him stand there, bass held straight vertically against him, clearly not playing it while we hear the basa notes... At least they fixed it by having him do some of the backup vocals, rather than recordings like before.

There was indeed a lot of AI-generated stuff in the background, but at least it was much better animated. Otogi's backdrop video, Schadenfreude's at some point, and Soshaku's had been an insult to our intelligence, but those new scenes were a lot more sophisticated. That doesn't excuse the use of AI when it bases its stuff on real artists' work without their permission, but at least it was more tolerable. There was a ton of movies featuring frogs, dressed in royal clothes but leaping to devour what's on the table. And one of the new songs has imagery of lambs/sheep ending up as carcasses at the butcher shop. The third new song showed a naked woman floating in water with a tube stuck at her nape, with tape all around the base of the punction. In the end, it gets ripped off and she hugs another person.

Overall, after Ranunculus especially, there was a lot of dragging the mic on the ground from Kyo, letting it drop to the crate, then from the crate to the stage heavily.

At the end of T.D.F.F., both Die and Kaoru were at Shinya's platform. Kaoru clearly stared straight at Shinya, in the hole below his cymbals, and he even raised his guitar to point it and move it toward Shinya in that free space a few times. Die was in the right corner and he could only smile, mouth open in disbelief at what he was witnessing.

It seemed like we waited forever for the encore: in the end, apparently Toshiya's bass had to be tuned again, so that could be why. He also did accidentally unplug his round white one during a song, when he swung it upward. With his hand holding his pick, he struggled to plug it back hah.

T.D.F.F. was funny for two reasons: Toshiya went to a very small leg of stage on the left side of the room, but he had to go beside a large column opf speakers and he failed to see that there was a mini microphone sticking out on that side. He kind of flinched and did a double-take when he bumped into it. The next time he went there, during the encore, he very consciously stared at it and avoided it hah.

The other funny thing is how Kyo almost always turns his head toward Toshiya right before it's his turn for the bass solo, after finishing his singing, like he's saying: "Where's my man?"

I think the highlight of the show was the two or three moments when Kyo headbanged or rolled his head with his loooong hair extensions. It' very intimidating, in a way hahah.

But at the same time... Man, Toshiya had the fondest smile in the world for so many minutes at the end of the show. The kind that almost forces your eyes to close in slits. Oh, and he opened at least the first two buttons of his ample grey dress shirt for the whole encore, so we totally saw a nipple, but that's another thing.

Also, I think mostly during the encore, there were two other interactions between the members: Die went to the left side, where only Kaoru was left. He crept up behind/next to him, and he leaned in enough that his hair definitely touched Kaoru's shoulder, and I'm sure the back of his right hand/arm also touched Kaoru's lower back while they were playing. They kind of smirked at each other, from what I recall. Then Die moved away to return to his spot, which happened to be at the same time as Toshiya was coming back to the left side. The coincidence had Toshiya beaming with happiness, he and Die shared a big smile as they passed each other, facing one another slightly behind Kyo.

I'm lying about there being just one true highlight the more I write, but another highlight was at the beginning of a song in the encore, either Utafumi or Hageshisa, Kyo began singing but he quickly stopped and there was clearly a piece of his fake hair stuck in his mouth, causing him to choke in disgust. He had been on his crate, but he was so caught off guard that he stopped singing, brought his hand to his mouth, and stepped backward off the crate while he fixed the situation. We took up the singing meanwhile.

For the last song, and basically the only MC he did all night, Kyo said: "Osaka!" multiple times, progressively louder and more aggressively. Then he asked if we could go on, until he finished with: "Ja, shine! / Well then, die!" before erupting in: "LAST SONG!"

Globally, Kyo lingered two, three seconds on his crate before exiting the stage. There was one time when he asked us to sing, and the gesture or facial expression he made afterward before resuming his singing really expressed: "Meh, I guess that'll do." Basically like a shrug. Closer to the end, he seemed more satisfied. But overall, the crowd was really loud and into it, even with the new songs which the majority were really acquainted with already, somehow. Kyo didn't seem much into Marmalade Chainsaw.

When the rest of the band threw stuff at the very end, Die was the first to spray a ton of water on his side of the crowd. Then Toshiya did it too, more than once. Kaoru finally did it as well, but before doing so, he was having a kind of mute argument with the fans in front of him. He was miming an X with his fingers in front of the bottle he was holding, and either the crowd didn't get it, or he feigned ignorance and kept asking a couple more times, until he outright sprayed everyone with a very mischievious face. And I swear, Die worked out only to be able to throw his towel farther. This time, he threw it all the way up at the front row of the balcony! I think he thumped his fist on top of his heart and pointed toward the guy who caught it, like it was a heartfelt success.

In general, considering all the hurdles I went through to even reach Osaka, it was well worth it!

[cherrylng]

My Chemical Romance live report [INROCK (March 2007)]

My Chemical Romance

World Exclusive

The forbidden (!?) secrets of My Chemical Romance are revealed one after another.

REPORT & PHOTOS: YUKO KATO ★PHOTO BY P.G. BRUNELLI/INROCK

Following the huge success of ‘The Black Parade,’ My Chemical Romance has become extremely difficult to access. INROCK has been trying since September last year, even pursuing them all the way to the Netherlands, only to fail. I was determined to catch them in Japan no matter what (mainly me, one-sidedly). And it happened! I'm thrilled to be able to deliver a detailed report soaked in love and sweat (it's so dirty). Congratulations!

Introduction: What a shame! Frank Iero returns home in disappointment

As you may know from seeing the sold-out concert in Japan, Frank Iero (g./right photo) was not present for this tour of Japan. As Gerard (Way, Vo.) explained on stage with the help of an interpreter, he was absent due to illness. He did come to Japan, though. According to sources, Frank had four wisdom teeth extracted at once just before departing for Japan. Even one wisdom tooth extraction is painful for a grown man—but four at once! That was nothing short of reckless! Plus, the cabin pressure on a plane can exacerbate tooth pain. Naturally, Frank endured hellish pain during the long flight (presumably) and arrived exhausted. That night, he developed a fever of 40°C, and the next day, he had to return home immediately, accompanied by his manager. As Frank headed to the airport, he looked dejected and muttered, “Sorry…” to the Japanese staff. It was so heartbreaking that no one could bring themselves to speak to him… Everyone felt sorry for him, thinking that with the long tour ahead, he wouldn't have time to visit the dentist.

The band's response was swift. They couldn't cancel the tour, which had sold out everywhere except Nagoya… By the 9th, they had arranged for a replacement guitarist. The chosen one was Todd Price (vocals/guitar) from the indie band Drive By, who was under the same management. He had previously filled in for Frank when he withdrew from a tour for about two weeks. (Incidentally, his girlfriend works as a roadie for My Chemical Romance…) Todd, who was relaxing at home, suddenly received a call from his manager, rushed to prepare, and headed straight to the airport. “There were only five hours until the flight,” Todd casually mentioned, but well, he got to travel to Japan with his girlfriend after all…

However, there were other issues as well. As can be seen from the setlist for this tour, most of the songs were from the newly released album. Thus, Todd, who went straight from Narita Airport to the venue, had to memorise all the new songs. As a result, the show started significantly late (by about two and a half hours).

Most of the members, including Frank, arrived in Japan on January 9th, but Gerard, who openly declares his love for Japan and wants to live there, arrived two days early and took two days off on the 8th and 9th to enjoy a Japanese holiday. In fact, My Chemical Romance has hired two security guards for this tour. As a result of their explosive popularity worldwide, fans are always following the band. Even more problematic are the professional autograph hunters chasing them to get signatures to sell on eBay, and the paparazzi. These people, whose livelihoods depend on it, show no mercy. At times like these, the most important part of the security guards' job is to protect the members so they don't have to say “no” themselves.

During his two days off, Gerard apparently indulged in his hobbies, accompanied by the security guard (the reason I say ‘apparently’ is that there were no Japanese staff members with him, so I couldn't hear any firsthand accounts of who went with him). According to Gerard, he mostly spent his time wandering around Shibuya and spending time at Loft. The last time he came, he happily said, “I went shopping at Tokyu Hands,” but this time he said, “Actually, I like Loft more than Hands.” He also went to Book First and bought his favourite anime books and art books.

Well, the first day of the Japan tour went smoothly. After the show, they were presented with a gold disc for their newly released album, ‘The Black Parade.’ Gerard was moved and said, “Thank you, Japan, for believing in us from the beginning!” Japan has been supporting this band since the days of ‘Sweet Revenge,’ when they weren't even attracting attention in their home country, and the band is well aware of this.

This Chapter: A Night in Nagoya

On January 12th, the band arrived in Nagoya and did several radio interviews in the dressing room at Zepp Nagoya, the venue for their concert. We were sitting in the hallway, and in front of us was a black wardrobe. The left half of it was a drawer unit containing the members' personal belongings. Each drawer had the member's name and a sticker on it. Gerard's space had a piece of paper scribbled with “G” and a photo sticker of Amy Lee (Evanescence, vocals). For some reason, his drawer was wide open, revealing its contents. It contained neatly organized books. Among them was an art book of ‘Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind’, apparently purchased at Book First. There were also numerous toys that had been carelessly tossed inside.

The hallway was bustling with people coming and going. Mikey (Way, bassist) in particular kept popping up from various places. Despite being shy, he seemed to have a friendly personality, and when he spotted the Japanese staff member, he gave a wink that sounded like it might make a ‘click’ noise. He's quite a charming guy. However, Mikey had asked the other members to handle all the interviews that day because he wasn't in the mood. When it came time to take a group photo, all the members gathered in their stage costumes, and I was stunned. Isn't that the marching band uniform!? Gerard explained, “This is still a production tour, so we're not using those uniforms yet.” The US arena tour starting in late February will be the official ‘The Black Parade’ tour, and it will apparently debut with a spectacular stage set… Additionally, it was revealed that during this Japan tour, only two songs from ‘The Black Parade’ were not performed due to equipment issues.

The stage was amazing. Gerard's running antics were still in full force, and the Zepp concert hall, 98% full, was in a frenzy. What surprised me was Mikey's tambourine. There he was, this handsome young man, just standing there blankly, blankly hitting the tambourine… It was so funny. After the 70-minute show, an excited girl repeatedly shouted, “It was the best!” and “I'm going to see the Osaka show tomorrow too!” But unfortunately, except for Nagoya, all the shows were sold out…

Gerard tries miso cutlet bento

I was so excited, I arrived at 9:30am, even though the meeting time was 11:45am. I decided to wait at a nearby family restaurant. When I went to the lobby at 11:30am, the Japanese staff had gathered early, while the American side trickled in. Then Gerard returned from outside with security. In his hand, a Starbucks coffee. He was wearing his favorite wool hat, a khaki down jacket, jeans, and sneakers. Barely any make-up, just eye makeup. He had such a baby face, he looked almost like a teenager.

By the way, the members of My Chemical Romance are all huge coffee lovers, so much so that insiders have said, “Those kids live for Starbucks.” Not that it has to be Starbucks, mind. When travelling, you'll often catch them with a can of coffee or a bottle of milk coffee in hand. Gerard's current obsession is hot canned coffee, and he was thrilled to discover that in Japan, you can buy hot drinks from vending machines. Mikey loves coffee just as much as his big brother. “I used to drink ten cups a day. But I've stopped that now. Now it's two or three cups a day!” says Mikey. We took two jumbo taxis to Nagoya Station. Upon arriving at the platform, Gerard promptly headed off alone to the bento shop. He's more used to this than most foreign tourists. He spends a little over 10 minutes examining the contents of each bento box, looking at pictures, and after much deliberation, he buys a miso cutlet bento and a bottle of milk coffee.

Arrival in Osaka

We took the 12:34pm Nozomi train to Shin-Osaka. I was expecting trouble, as I'd heard from a source that “these kids are noisy on the Shinkansen.” The day before, during the journey from Tokyo to Nagoya, all the members gathered in one place, opened their makunouchi bento boxes, and whoever lost rock-paper-scissors got to eat the side dish — essentially a dark bento game!? It was a game they'd all had a blast playing, which raised the eyebrows of other passengers. Today, however, they were quiet. Gerard, seated next to his personal assistant, quickly ate his miso-katsu bento and spent the rest of the day discussing it with his assistant, with the US tour set plans on his lap. Gerard, by the way, said the bento tasted “okay. I bought it because I had a similar one before and it was delicious,” suggesting it didn't quite live up to his expectations. The person in charge said, “If Gerard could eat miso-katsu, he could live in Japan.” …Maybe.

Shin-Osaka Station was already in utter chaos. There were an unusually large number of fans waiting, including many older men who were professional autograph hunters. Even the curious onlookers joined in, creating an atmosphere almost like a Johnny's idol event. Amidst this, I too was pushed aside by staff waiting in Osaka and couldn't get near the band. I ended up almost missing the van. We finally entered the venue, IMP Hall, around 2 o'clock. Several computers were set up in the dressing room lobby, and Mikey spent most of the time playing games there, except for sound check, until the show started. Meanwhile, Gerard had vanished. Where was he? Inside the hall, where the lights weren't on yet. He was sprawled out on the floor in front of the mixing desk, lying face down and perfectly still. He wasn't asleep, as he occasionally lifted and lowered his legs and shifted his head. An assistant happened to pass by and asked, “What's wrong?” He replied leisurely, “I'm tired.” Judging he wasn't actually unwell, the assistant left Gerard be and went about his own business. He lay there alone for about 20 minutes. When Gerard finally got up, I wondered if he'd just fancied a cigarette? After all, he's more addicted to nicotine than coffee. Whether standing or walking, unless he's holding something else, he's clutching his beloved Marlboro Ultra Lights. One pack a day just wasn't enough. He also had a unique way of smoking, twisting his mouth to exhale the smoke he'd inhaled into his lungs. It gives him a rather manly look at those moments.

He did a phone interview and a meet-and-greet with a local radio station. Only girls came to the meet and greet, and they were quite proactive. One asked, “Can I give you a hug?” and when Gerard readily agreed, everyone else wanted one too. He was kind, gentle, and cheerful throughout, but his smile at times like this seemed a little unnatural. It was like a smile plastered on his face… perhaps? In the two-shots taken at the request of fans, it was usually this smile. Among them was a girl wearing a baseball jacket, which Gerard took a real liking to as he smiled and said, “That's a nice jacket. I'd like to buy one while I'm still in Japan.” After the meet and greet, the band went to soundcheck. They played for ages, but Gerard only joined in for three songs: ‘Dead!’, ‘This Is How I Disappear,’ and ‘Mama.’ But I never expected to see such a luxurious performance. Gerard's voice was a little hoarse, and he started miming halfway through, perhaps to save his voice, but he sang ‘Mama’ in full, and perhaps he got emotional while singing, because he sang with the same passion as he would on stage. Satisfied after singing ‘Mama’, he exchanged a glance with Mikey, made a V sign with his fingers, and headed backstage. The band continued rehearsing for about three more songs.

As it was Saturday, the show started at 6pm. There were still about two hours to go. Since there was only one small dressing room, everyone gathered in the catering and computer space to chat. Mikey was engrossed in a game. The Japanese staff were surprised, but apparently after the Tokyo show, Mikey came off stage and sat down in front of the game console to play. Normally, most artists are still buzzing with excitement. I was watching Mikey and thought, hang on…? I spotted a simple silver ring on his left ring finger. After a bit of probing, I found out that Mikey is dating a woman who works as a guitar tech for Avenged Sevenfold, and that they are engaged and will tie the knot in February, before the US tour begins. Just when he'd established his image as a handsome guy, he's already taken…!

Just before going on stage, I witnessed the handsome brother hugging Mikey. Why?

As the stage time drew near, Gerard poured plenty of honey into his organic mint tea and drank several cups. Perhaps warming up his throat, he moistened his throat with the warm herbal tea, nibbled on nuts, and enjoyed chatting with the staff. Here too, the aforementioned Japanese staff member murmured, “Everyone's so quiet today…” Just the day before, they'd brought their radio-controlled plane and been having fun… In fact, the day before, they'd got too carried away and the plane crashed into the tour manager's laptop. Perhaps they'd been severely scolded, so they'd been holding back today?

Gerard, who loves Japan, said he wanted to walk around the city while he was in Japan. Besides, the IMP Hall is located inside a mall, so why not at least check out the mall? That was his reasoning. He was told it would be difficult to go out now as fans had already gathered, and the other members backed down, saying “we're not going,” but Gerard stuck to his original plan. Mikey seemed to think, well, if his big brother's going… I was told, “If you bring your camera, the fans will notice you, so you mustn't come,” so I waited. But I didn't notice when they left or when they came back. I mean, Mikey was playing games the whole time. Actually, they snuck out to the mall using the back elevator, were spotted by fans immediately, and after they walked about ten metres or so, it turned into a huge commotion, so they didn't see anything and returned without buying anything… Is that the price of fame?

With about 30 minutes until showtime, it was time to change. Gerard suddenly transformed into the face of a handsome artist. Snow-white skin, with only the area around his eyes shaded in brown to create a square contour. Gerard, who had holed up in the toilet fixing his hair himself, did his own make-up too. Then, with just ten minutes left before going on stage, I witnessed Gerard and Mikey embracing backstage. I instinctively took a photo, but Gerard's personal assistant immediately rushed over, demanding I delete it. It seemed that something had happened, as Mikey was crying with tears streaming down his face. Gerard was holding Mikey tightly around the neck… It felt like witnessing a special bond. What on earth happened? With one minute left, the traditional My Chemical Romance high-five began. Roadies, staff, and members formed a double circle, spinning round and round, slapping each other's hands to pump themselves up. It was also a moment when the tension rose.

Then the band took to the stage. Of course, they put on one of their best shows in Osaka.

Translator's Note: I actually procrastinated on translating and posting this particular article for a reason: I hated the way the scans came out using my home scanner because of how uneven the scans were, sometimes even cutting off parts on the top or bottom parts. It wasn't until I used the office printer to get better scans that I finally can post this.

Please do support me via my ko-fi! ☕

[ruruguro]

DEG LIVE REPORT Nov 14th 2025 Zepp Nagoya

Ok hi so I will basically only be talking about the live itself because I am TOO TIRED to talk about all the little complications I had before getting inside the venue ok ❤️

So, I had VIP for this day so I was moderately close to the stage and had a moderate view. I was at kamite and could’ve chosen a very good forward facing Die-view, but I made the choice that I did want to see Kyo more so to look at Die I kinda had to glance around this taller guy and not be able to see anyone else in the meanwhile. I did get good glances and also had a good view of Shinya but I was mainly focused on Kyo.

Kyo was wearing probably the same outfit as lunafes? But different hair (black thin braids with a little tied loop). Similar makeup too, some of it was UV makeup! Die was wearing black-red longsleeve with I think wide black pants + cross choker. Shinya was I’m pretty sure wearing the white top thingy with the silver chain/jewlery things hanging on the front. Kaoru was wearing black and red set I think same from lunafes, it had bootcut pants. Toshiya also same as lunafes but he took off his jacket and then his tie and unbuttoned about halfway down.

Die was definitely the most active from the beginning and was coming to the edge a lot and hyping up the dai-torikos gathered around him. He was sometimes also doing that kind of ominous blue-contact stare thing and stared right in my eyes (?? or maybe somewhere else?) like that for multiple seconds while just standing still. It was bizarre I just stared back as hard as I could and smiled… I also caught a famous blep :p in action.

This time Shinya’s hair actually looked like it didn’t quite stay as it had been styled 🤔 (I mean almost but I can spot hair stuff very easily, small nitpicky things).

I couldn’t see Kao or Totchi very well until encore or until during TDFF Kao came to the kamite side - he was expressive, pointing his guitar at us and was playing next to Die for a while, smiling at eachother. So sweet…he also played a little facing Shinya.

Kyo…well…I’m very mentally unwell and I could say many things. He was dancing quite a bit and did that creepy-cute tooth smile a couple times. It was so so so cute!!! His voice was clear and he was singing a fair amount of the clean vocals too. Maybe not as much as I would ideally prefer during ranunculus but I know from experience that technique switching is hard and annoying! Oh…right…ranunculus…I was CRYIINNGG crying cying during it. I wonder if I was the only one. It’s a very meaningful song to me. Also at some point, pretty towards the end I am quite sure he looked me in the eyes for a few seconds because the the way between us was clear. I’ll never know 100% because of his contacts but. Let me have this moment ok…

During encore I could see Toshiya a bit better but still not much… He was mostly keeping to his designated spot. For encore he had changed into a black blouse and pearl necklace. Die changed into his black plain tanktop, Shinya into the a knot only shirt with sleeves cut off, Kyo and Kao unchanged.

Btw the setlist was really amazing. I didn’t care that much for some of the first songs and I couldn’t focus on the new songs properly this first time but the rest was too good. Many faves and two songs that have been my ultimate wishes to hear live (ranunculus and hageshisa). Oh BOY was hageshisa great. Also ningen was SO MUCH FUNN as a participant, so was chainsaw ❤️❤️.

In the end, I didn’t catch anything but Shinya’s stick actually hit me in the head 🤣 but it fell on the ground and a few people got down to fight over it…pretty sure he was trying to throw it to the girl right behind me who was screaming SHINYAAA SHINYAA SHINYAAA at any moment made possible. I am happy to let her have it! I got splashed with Die’s water, yay! He also threw his towel veeery far, baseball-style. Kaoru somehow squeezed the water from his bottle also very very far. Yes I am pissed off that I didnt get anything since I was so close but…what can you do…

With this experience, I was very, very happy. But it was not enough for my greedy ass because I will be satisfied only when I’d get first row, directly in front of kyo. 🫠

[putschki1969]

Kalafina Anniversary Live 2026 Report

I really hope I did these concerts justice with my report. Tried my best to take some notes whenever I could but I only now had some spare time to write a proper report. Might have forgotten a few things so I’ll probably edit the post later. But for now, here’s what I’ve got👉

Seats: I had 1st Floor (ground level) seats for Day 1 / Day 3 and a 2nd Floor seat on Day 2. Overall, I think I had the best experience on Day 2 on the 2nd Floor right in the center with a great view of the entire stage. No one was obstructing my view of the girls and even though it was a bit further away, it still felt close enough. Mind you, I was using binoculars for all three shows because I was never super close to them but naturally, I really wanted to see all of their expressions. It’s a shame that these halls don’t have any screens for the people in the back but it would probably not work with the aesthetic of the venues. These three days also made me realise that I am not made for the 1st floor experience 😅Everyone is too hyped and always standing up, I hate doing that but at some point you don’t really have a choice when all these surprisingly tall people are obstructing your view🥲

Acoustics/Sound: Wonderful acoustics in both halls although I think I might have preferred Festival Hall over NHK Hall. Everyone knows this already but the sound was off on Day 1☠️. It wasn’t horrible by any means but you sometimes couldn’t even hear the girls due to all the background noise. Their harmonies weren’t quite there either, at least for certain songs (mostly during the start). They fixed all those issues for Day 2 so you could hear the girls loud and clear. They made full use of that and delivered what is in my opinion the most solid performance of this mini tour - vocal wise. Day 3 in Osaka was the most crisp regarding both their vocals as well the instruments. I was able to hear everything clearly which I really appreciated. Their vocal delivery was slightly better on Day 2 if you ask me.

Vocals: They all had their stronger and weaker moments of course but overall I think they did a consistently great job on all three days. From what I could tell, Wakana was noticeably more shaky on Day 3 but only during a few songs, she made up for it in other songs where she was on fire again. Keiko was a bit overly shouty once or twice but otherwise she was as reliable as always. Her “cutesy” voice has become pretty much a fixture in recent lives, including these Kalafina performances. I used to not like it but it has grown on me. I feel like it is her way to inject some of her own emotions into the song instead of just going for a straightforward delivery. It’s endearing so I’ve really come to like it.

Outfits: We still haven’t gotten a proper look at the outfits. That one picture of them wearing their black/white dresses is a little too blurry to make out all the details. Suffice it to say, the girls looked beautiful in those black shiny jackets/vests and flowy white skirts underneath. With the added jewelry,their outfits were sparkling all over.✨As for their red outfits, they definitely left an even stronger impression. We got a picture from Keiko but it’s not from the best angle, better than nothing though. With the velours sections in this gorgeous deep red, the girls looked like a million bucks, don’t you think? Keiko’s skirt might have had a little too much fabric though, looked a bit overly bulky and maybe a tad too long. Loved how Hikaru’s bottom part looked like a skirt at first glance but it was actually a pair of pants with some flowy lace on the side.

Stage production: A real throwback to the old days. Classic and elegant. Beautifully dramatic and a particularly good match with their red outfits.

Setlist: Now THAT’s what I call a great Kalafina setlist. Totally obsessed 😍Maybe I am a bit biased since they included so many of my faves this year but damn, I had a vastly better time compared to last year. I understand why they stuck to their mainstream stuff for last year’s live show but I am so glad we got some of their more niche songs this time around. With the exception of two or three songs, it was honestly amazing and it really felt like a proper representation of their entire music catalogue. Didn’t care for “Blaze”, especially since we already had “believe” earlier in the live. These two are my least favourite out of Kalafina’s most meanstream anisongs. While I will openly admit that the “consolation” performance was a bit meh due to the sound issues on Day 1, I am still bummed it was replaced by “ ring your bell” which is typically not my favourite😢The other new additions such as “moonfesta” or “in every nothing” didn’t bother me at all since they were all great picks, except “Far on the Water” maybe which is my least favourite RHH song to be honest. Really wish they had done something else for Day 2😔

Overall: I have zero regrets. So happy I went through all the trouble of getting those tickets, it was 100% worth it (even though I probably lost 10 years of my life🙃). I am also beyond relieved that I didn’t skip any of the concerts because with those changes to the setlist, they each had an individual charm that I wouldn’t have wanted to miss. Plus, hearing some of my all-time favourite songs three times in a row felt like such a blessing🥹As I mentioned earlier, I think that Day 2 was probably their best performance in terms of vocal delivery so I am glad that they decided to film that one despite it arguably having the “weakest” setlist. I guess I am a bit sad about certain songs being dropped but oh well🫣The atmosphere felt a lot more positive this time around because there wasn’t any uncertainty on whether we would ever get to see them again. Don’t get me wrong, we all had fun last time but as the end drew closer, we did all become a bit apprehensive I guess. This time, they reassured us multiple times that they want to continue singing as a group and that we will surely meet again. I think this was weighing heavily on us last time so to have that burden removed felt like such a relief.

Now let’s get to the setlist➡️➡️➡️

0.al fine - ring your bell in the silence - overture: Not much to say about these except that it was really fun to guess the first song right away solely based on the intro. Kinda disappointed that I caught the rehearsal for “oblivious” because it would have been a nicer moment during the live being surprised by the first few notes of “overture” and immediately knowing what would come next.

1.consolation - ring your bell - oblivious: My God, I have always wanted to hear “consolation” live!!! My dream finally came true!!🥰It was a bit disjointed so I couldn’t fully appreciate it (their 9+ONE version was definitely better) but I still had a blast. Especially with the epic backdrop and everything. Fully immersed in the world of Kalafina from the very first second. “ring your bell” was definitely a downgrade for me, especially after having experienced the epicness of “consolation”. That’s not to say that I didn’t enjoy myself. As far as “ring your bell” performances go, it was certainly one of the better ones but I will never love it unfortunately. Much preferred the acoustic version from the Day 1 encore but more on that later. Never cared all that much about “oblivious” until last year’s anniversary live. It holds so much meaning as their debut single and to have a concert start with it does feel kinda special. Also, the girls sounded absolutely amazing 🤩

2.believe: Was okay I guess. I loved the intro with the strings and the vocals were solid too but it’s one of my least favourite songs from this concert if I am being honest.

3.progressive: Waaaahhhh!!!! Yessss! This is a staple during my long walks and workouts to stay motivated. It’s always a pleasure to hear it live. Was a banger each and every time (although I feel like Wakana struggled a bit on Day 3).

4.storia - moonfesta - storia: I don’t want to say this but “storia” didn’t really work for me during these lives. The harmonies felt off, even on Day 3 when they didn’t have those sound issues. I did love THAT WaKei part but the rest was just okay. Usually I love this song so it’s a shame. I am actually glad they did “moonfesta” on Day 2 for the broadcast since it sounded much more flattering, gave me a new appreciation for the song which I usually tend to skip.

5.neverending: So so good! And what a pleasant surprise! Certainly didn’t expect them to sing this song. Hikaru really got to shine here! I am so weak for “lalala” parts in songs so this hit me right in the feels.

6.Hikari no Senritsu: What a gorgeous acoustic intro!! Absolutely smitten 🥰 Cannot wait for you to hear it! It’s short but their vocals are on point! That WaKei harmony is to die for🥹I really loved this more than I would have thought (I am not typically someone who enjoys this song). It was just so good. Keiko was going on and on about how this is her all-time favourite song to perform with the girls and you can really tell, it was such an emotional performance. Perfection 💕

7.interlude 01: I had quite high hopes in this song since it’s so rarely performed, unfortunately, this was a bit underwhelming. Their voices didn’t work for me here, don’t know why. Probably didn’t help that I’ve never been a fan of the song to begin with so it would have been hard to impress me either way.

8.Kimi ga Hikari ni Kaete Iku: 🥹🥹🥹This hit me right in the feels. As you all might know, this is my all-time favourite Kalafina song. I already felt so moved when Keiko performed it during her birthday event back in December. To have the girls sing it a total of three times is more than I could have ever asked for. It felt like such a much-needed reward after all the shit I had to go through. Wakana and Keiko sound quite different than they used to but not in a bad way. I honestly love the way Wakana is singing here, it combines her solo style with some of her Kalafina techniques to create some beautiful vocals. She is a bit shaky during “へ/he” parts but I don’t mind. Keiko does use a very cutesy voice here but as mentioned earlier, I kinda love it these days and it’s quite sweet.

9.ARIA: So freaking epic, can never get enough of this. You’ll never convince me that this doesn’t sound amazing anymore just because they adjusted the key to better match Hikaru’s matured voice.

10.sprinter: Solid as always but I’ll never be a huge fan

Madoka Medley Instrumental (Hikari Furu-Mirai-Kimi no Gin no Niwa-Misterioso): Had so much fun with this, they did a great job!!!

11.Magia(quattro): Do I even need to say it? This “dark” block after the intermission was epic from beginning to end. However, this might have actually been the weakest out of the three. Wakana’s voice didn’t blend well together with the other two for some reason.

12.red moon: OMG😱 I am deceased, loved every second of these three performances. Another one of my all-time faves and the girls really knocked it out of the park. Wakana in particular blew me away (although poor girl had some lyric slip-ups both on Day 1 and Day 2🫣)Keiko’s final chanting fell a bit flat on the first two days unfortunately. On Day 3c it was a bit too high-pitched and shouty. Hopefully they can fix it with some studio magic for the Day 2 performance.

13.obbligato: What a pleasant surprise😍I felt so spoiled! After “progressive” and “Kyrie”, this is my third favourite workout song. I was beyond thrilled to have them perform it. They were all on fire 🔥 Absolutely breathtaking performance!

14.Kagayaku Sora no Shijima ni wa: This almost is as special to me as “Kimi ga Hikari ni Kaete Iku” (as it was the very first Kala-song I ever heard) so I couldn’t believe my luck to have both songs in one single live. Simply beautiful, no notes!!

15.Märchen - in every nothing- Märchen: Hell, “Märchen” was out of this world, I almost got goosebumps from how cool it was. Can’t remember having such a stron reaction to the “9+ONE” version but I guess I didn’t experience that live. Either way, it was epic beyond words and I really wish they would have sung it on Day 2😭”in every nothing” was a more than worthy replacement but I feel like the performance lacked some “oooomph”, their FOTW tour version was a lot better I think.

16.to the beginning: I mean, what can I say? Solid. Didn’t mind it, didn’t love it though but that’s because I am not a fan. Still, it’s always a blessing to hear Kalafina’s version after having heard it at YK lives. Same with “Magia” and so on…

17.adore: Usually a banger that I absolutely adore (pun intended 😅) but their vocals were a hit and miss for me. I think I only properly enjoyed their Day 3 performance.

18.Signal: Mind blown 🤯 ! I see the light now! It took me many years but I am finally converted, this is such a good song! Can’t believe I was a non-believer for so long😅Hikaru killed it, such a queen!! Wakana did amazing as well!!

19.blaze: Meh…it wasn’t bad of course but the song doesn’t do anything for me

20.Ongaku: Yessss!! Had a blast and it was the only song where I happily stood up from my seat😅The other times were forced🫣

21.Yume no Daichi - Far on the Water - seventh heaven: “Yume no Daichi” is the type of song I’ll never purposefully put on but once I hear it, I realise that it’s actually such a lovely piece. This was no exception. Wonderful performance. But I can’t say that anything stood out to me. “Far on the Water” didn’t leave a lasting impression at all unfortunately. Do sad they picked this for the Day 2 recording. “seventh heaven” almost made me tear up, it was so beautiful and emotional 🥹

En.ring your bell acoustic ver. - into the world - into the world: These were all good to be honest but “into the world” was the most perfect ending in my opinion. It does represent their future and all the things that await them if they dare to move ahead into unknown territory.

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