너에겐 들리지 않는 그 말

Every word unspoken, every thought left and buried. These are the words I couldn't say. The Words You Can't Hear.

[theghostinmyroom]

The Insulated World in CLUB CITTA 3/15/2019

First concert of the new tour for the newest album, THE INSULATED WORLD, the aptly named TOUR19 The Insulated Tour kicked off from Kawasaki's Club CITTA, a fan club only live launch.

Tickets were hard to come by. Months before the live (lottery winnings were announced mid October last year), resell tickets were priced at minimum 25,000jpy. I know, i checked because I lost the lotteries and didn't have a ticket. I know a bit better now that all I have to do is wait and be patient and search continuously for chances to get 'surplus tickets'. I've been whining about the ticket on my twitter and one of the girls I met during EU tour contacted me to say that she has an extra ticket! I cried real tears 😂 She was really kind and I'd say she was my blessing.

Day before CITTA I was in Nagoya having watched another live and to save money I took a bus to Tokyo instead of Shinkansen. I got lost on the way (part of the journey, everything's all right!) and I reached Kawasaki almost 3 p.m

Goods. Wow. First off, the line was one heck of a line. Considering it was a weekday and most fans would've been doing their day jobs, the goods line WAS LONG. Some came early in the morning. The line in CITTA started from in front of the venue itself and got extended to the opposite building and down into the parking area. Terrific! I knew I wasn't gonna get the limited day shirt especially when they announced that 'they will decide depending on how many people are there the number of limited tee one person can buy'. They then said they'd allow up to 4 shirts per person. Lovely! (update: another friend so blessed me with the limited shirt and i am grateful to receive it!)

Next time I'll take pics of the goods myself although a lot of them are floating in twitter (in case anyone's interested)! I personally liked the shirt because the design is Kaoru's (in case you wanna know!) Jogging my memory, I think, even the FOLLOWERS t-shirt design was his - same design used on the pins which you get for spending 5,000yen at least. If i'm wrong on the last 2 things, i will surely correct myself.). The long shirt looked and felt nice. I don't remember seeing the coach jacket (it'll be released later, i think?).

The face towel is basically 2 normal muffler towels combined but the make of the face towel is thinner. So it is a bigger than usual face towel. The sandals is almost a replica of DIRT sandals. The almost infamous tote bag... hmmm I'm bad in saying it looked cheap from the photos. Kinda something i'd see in grocery stores for sale. Up close though I had a change of heart - a bit. They could've done better with the bag handles really. Anyway, I don't really think it's worth the price. The file binder is cute. The bottle has the band members face in it - basically the new album's member looks. It's ok, they've had better but it's ok.

One for everyone and if I could I'd buy two, the bottle pouch is really handy! You can put your normal pet bottle and sling it across your torso. Totally useful during lives! The stickers are tiny and as everyone noticed it seems to be the member's handprints (just assuming) and goes THE INSULATED XXX (where XXX stands for the city, so for day 1 it was KAWASAKI).

This tour's panel display is the album cover and at night the inner circles in the eyes in the panel seem to light up. It was really cool!

Anyway, onto the live. I had 1200+ series ticket and I ended nearer to the front thanks to fans who moved to let us squeeze in. I had ample space for myself and although majority of male fans are in front of me, I still had a good view of the stage (except Die!).

I remember only one song in the background music but will pay attention next time as Kaoru chose some really old songs this time. One of them is Nine Inch Nails' You are the perfect drug.

Opening video I remember bird's eye view of people walking, I think there was a castle and there's a big chandelier. There's so many dried leaves and a woman's hand passing, touching a tree's trunk. There was a church in the end. I don't know what was the story about, at least not yet as I had to pay attention as well to the members.

Shinya came in and I swear I don't know what has changed in his outfit. Still white fluffy long sleeves, still the same hair color and style. Die was wearing an uber long black trenchcoat with no sleeves uhuh arms exposed and I'm sure he was wearing some lacey pants. Long and as usual majestic and well treated hair. Toshiya's hair is the same length as last time I saw him, still black hair, parted on the side and kinda brushed up, his chest is exposed (why you gotta make me drool so much?), he's wearing a long lacey black night dress/robe that flows as he walked - that damn dress goes down below his knees i think?? Kaoru's hair is kinda puffy curly and under the light I saw brownish streaks in them. He's wearing a coat that has a brooch on the right breast and the coat is of triangle wave design. It's more of grayish black? I'm a bit far away but I swear to pay more attention next time. Kaoru has a moustache and a chin puff. His eyes bit rimmed black. As soon as he entered, he sauntered and nodded at the fans. Kyo was wearing coat and tie. He had suspenders on. His hair is blonde, parted on the side and there's a very small man bun. Also moustached and bearded. Just like in Bar Boo.

Also Kaoru's amp design has been changed. He's got 2 and both of them are his drawings. One is the tamashii painting from nouteikarano exhibit. The other one i couldn't really see but it's black and mostly the small drawings. I'll pay more attention next time.

First song was Aka and it was wonderful. It seriously was. Kyo missed some of the lyrics and mumbled here and there but the song sounded great live. There were lyrics flashed on the screen. Actually the whole live, most of the songs had lyrics in them - either Japanese or English. For Aka, i think it was english. I'll correct myself in case I'm wrong. Fans loved the song that everyone's hands are up in the air as if to welcome the band back. It was very heartwarming! Towards the end of the song, the tour name was flashed on the screen.

Downfall was next and it was a perfect 2nd song. Demanding and powerful. Guitars sustained until Kyo started the song. While I was headbanging I didn't see who was doing the back up but during the verses I saw Toshiya doing it. Unison headbanging in between verses and Kyo shouting KOIIIII! There was definitely english lyrics flashed on the screen. I'd like to experience this song in the warzone bec it feels so energetic and the feeling of being alive is definitely there. As early as Downfall he already demanded us to sing along the last lines huhuhu Downfall is SO FRIGGIN GOOD GUYSSSSS!

After Downfall, I distinctly remember Toshiya fighting his robe off to remove/replace his bass hahaha... and the way he flips his robe is so stunningly beautiful although of course it still looked a bit silly to me as he was pressed for time to do it so he moved frantically. Hahaha! Was it here when Kyo removed his coat? Maybe?

Ash was next and I remember fans kept talking and screaming in happiness and excitement. I really loved how Kyo performed this song. There was the same video background as WHS from what I remember. Kyo let us sing along as usual. Ah felt so good. We jumped like crazy and Kyo wanted us to go just that. Song ended with Toshiya slapping his bass and the stage went dark.

Lots of hush hush talking all over and name calls - it was such an excited crowd. Kaoru came back and was nudging the crowd as he always does. I wanted to be nearer the front bec fans are a lot vocal in the warzone.

Rubbish Heap was next and damn such a good headbanging and jumping song! There was english lyrics on the screen the whole time. Only then I realized there were actually 2 extra screens on the sides of the stage. What they did is show video background for the song and from Rubbish Heap (I believe it was from there!), they started showing member faces on those 2 extra screens. The back up is basically done by all 3. So passionate! But to be honest whenever I look at Kaoru he just doesn't do it ahahaha!

Ningen was next and nothing has changed on the video background and also the same energy. Ah i guess the Japanese lyrics was a change? There were Japanese lyrics onscreen now. We also sang along the same lines. So good to hear Toshiya's back up once again. Aaah....

Revelation of mankind was next and same video as always and the side screens were the member's angle shots. My arms hurt so much already by this time. But there was still space on my area and no one to put my arm on ahahaha! It was a sold out show (i think it was 2k people? Citta cap is actually 1.3k) but seriously there's just so much space.

Followers was next. And here lyrics were flashed again. A combination of japanese and english. Shinya's drums are magnificent huhuhu. In my opinion, Kyo is still yet to perfect this song live. He struggled a bit and his time was a bit off. It was still very good of course, it'd be just so much powerful when he performs this song on his best condition. I still ADORE the part where he points to himself, sore ga watashi, kore ga watashi with the english equivalent flashed onscreen. This wasn't in FOLLOWERS so it was something new and more heart wrenching. the last line "layering memories with you" flashed onscreen is so impactful as ever.

Ranunculus was next and I'd say Toshiya was at his peak drama queen mode in this song. As usual first bassline and he stretches his hands into the air. His face contorted in some kind of emotion. He was very beautiful - the song seems to always speak to him so much. During the part when he didn't do anything he hugged his bass so lovingly. Then he couldn't help it I guess and he mouthed the lyrics again sakebi ikiro and he looked up and down to his bass. As always I look forward to my shimote's in sync movement in this song but it wasn't as perfect as other times kekekeke...

Dozing green was next and i personally didn't know what to do hahaha... the song caught me by surprise. I remember Kyo looking down to check the lyrics at one point. The song sounded divine oh my goodness. mode of Uroboros was like 3 years ago already so it's understandable to feel it's been awhile (or it's been so long). I personally appreciated the unison headbanging of the fans. What made it more perfect is how loud the fans were when we all sang on Kyo's behalf.

Keigaku was next. I really wanted to hear this song again because during FOLLOWERS I had that sinking feeling that Kaoru changed one of the chords during his solo (i only knew bec i was singing the notes and it sounded... different). I wanted to be reaffirmed bec in all 3 shows then, the nagging feeling existed. Toshiya sounded off in like 4 parts and it bugged me. He didn't sound like that in FOLLOWERS (huhuhu stop confusing me i'm already confused!) And Kyo mumbled lyrics again and he looked down to his cheatsheet. He definitely forgot a phrase towards the end. I wish Kaoru's parts will be honed all the more. I want to hear a more solid performance of his parts in this song. It's just so very important to me. If you wonder why i remember a lot, i've been listening to this album for months repeatedly and i have a habit of memorizing the sound of Toshiya(especially), Kaoru's lines. I remember their sound more than the lyrics some times.

I was so excited for Zetsuentai, you have no idea.

Celebrate was next and i guess everyone was surprised by the song. I was actually prepared for the song but most fans didn't know what to do. I really liked Kyo's performance of the song though - especially the 'vocalization' part aaahhh soooooo goooooooddd! And the song is almost played perfectly - everyone's sense of timing was amazing? The english lyrics were flashed as well and i remember the aishite mo lyrics so distinctively. There was one song which lyrics were flashed vertical on screen but i can't remember which one now. And all 3 backed up during Celebrate weeehhhhhh! As for the crowd we can do better than this. Definitely let's do better. The song is great!

No break and keibetsu was next and wow, all i remember seeing was hair flying up, down and side to side! Same video from WHS was flashed. Jeffrey Dahmer's mugshot so distinct in my head. 😂 Kyo stretched his arm and we all shouted and just before the last headbang he screamed to us to go at it and it was so friggin good. We shouted Parasite to perfectly and I remembered the 3 backing up but the most memorable was Kaoru bending backwards as he extended his scream. Oh gosh the sexy. 😭 so friggin sexy.

We continued to shout so loudly and there was no break as we were assaulted by shinya's drums for Devote my life. Same, Kaoru backs up on first To Die In ( the lyrics also flashed onscreen) and Toshiya on the 2nd one. Toshiya/Kyo do the Zankoku Na back up. This song is so magnificent.

Then no break Juuyoku was played and once again damn it so good, i think i was gonna lose my mind shouting 'aishiteru'. Back up was also so good. KAORU SOUNDED SO FRIGGIN GOOD. BUT DIE WAS DEADLY SINGING ‘SAY WHAT YOU LIKE’ (totally badass, totally!). At one point because i think Kyo was headbanging too so he missed some lyrics (i could be wrong bec i was headbanging and screaming too). I'm so happy they played this song because the energy is really overflowing. We sing along, we headbang, we scream. What a demanding song!

As if we'll take a break. No. As if. Utafumi was next. Blinding lights, Kaoru stretching that note and Shinya waiting to drop his anger on his drums. Kyo's arm stretched. Ah it was such a perfect view? Kaoru did the back up and damn.... so sexy. So sexy huhuhuhu. The last part when he did his back up he once again bent backwards like he's gonna fall as he sang. The different thing here that Kyo did is he sang the back up during chorus which he doesn't do normally. Then during the last chorus he demanded we sing the song which we did and once again he sand the back up.

And just like that. The main set ended. 😭

Where is my Zetsuentai? Ah and Values was still not played uh huh.

Encore:

I didn't realize when the chairs were brought in but when the lights went up, Die came out and I thought I missed Shinya but i looked towards the drums area and no Shinya. Die wearing the same outfit. No merch shirt this show huh. Kaoru came next as soon as Die got in actually and Kaoru wore a longsleeves striped polo. White with black stripes? Then Y3 yellow sneakers from what i heard. Kaoru sat down and Kyo came in. The acoustic guitars were brought in and Kaoru looked so smug. I swear he looked so smug. Fans clamored more towards the front. The fans in front of me didn't want to.

UH HUH.... ACOUSTIC ENCORE! BUT THERE IS MORE!

Kyo stood in the centre. Kaoru started playing. IT IS THE PLEDGE!!! I'd say the first 10 seconds was perfect? It was all so good... But then Die came in late! Kaoru was already playing his twin guitar parts and Die didn't come in and when he did, Kyo automatically sang of course. And everything went haywire from that. Kaoru tried to adjust, so did Die and Kyo was just singing away. Kaoru looked to both of them and in my sight I was thinking he was smirking. He just placed his arm down, Kyo was in his own world already, singing. Kaoru then stood up and left the stage from then. Die, sadly was on the other side of the stage so he couldn't leave. So from acoustic, the song became an acapella. 😂 In all honesty, many fans giggled and talked until Kyo first chorus. Hats off to Kyo because he managed to sing it without accompaniment. And he went 'nanana' in one verse because idk, did he forget the lyrics? But from chorus he already commanded the fans and everyone was dead quiet and he sang the song so beautifully. The last part he was struggling for breath and his voice broke but yet it was beautiful. After the last 'inai' he left the stage again and we all clapped. We clapped for a good 2 continuous minutes i think? Amused laughs to go with the claps. Then nothing. The stage was still dark. We all went quiet and still nothing so we called for encore once again. I lost track of time how long that 2nd encore was but it was really long in my opinion.

I was really worried. Really worried. I thought Kaoru must be raising hell in the backstage lolololol.

2nd encore:

Shinya came out wearing the limited tee. Die next. Toshiya didn't change clothes. Kaoru is back and his hands crossed over his chest and he circled and sat on the chair. UH HUH THE CHAIRS ARE STILL THERE! Die also sat down and then another chair was brought in for Toshiya and he also sat down. During this time, when Kaoru sat down he was pouting. HE WAS DAMN POUTING LIKE A LITTLE KID TOWARDS THE SHIMOTE FANS 😂😂😂 . Kyo came in. He also didn't change outfit. Kyo mentioned the trouble and obviously there's another attempt at one more song.

IT WAS undecided. 😭😭😭

Ah that song was so divine? The performance was so.... impeccable. Toshiya held his bass like a viola? And he has this look on his face like he's happily staring at his bass while he played. It was really amazingly beautiful. Kyo, felt the song so much. He clutched his chest and he sang the song with a 100x more emotions and i tried so hard not to cry.

ANOTHER TROUBLE!!! Somehow after the 2nd chorus, Toshiya's bass sounds DISAPPEARED! I remembered Toshiya looked to the side (to his roadie) but didn't make any fuss at all! He then continued to play as if nothing happened/as if his bass is working. He still played his lines but there was no sound. I saw him purse his lips but he's such a good, patient man he didn't do anything to make it look so bad or obvious. So basically no bass after 2nd chorus until the end. Well, the show must go on, right. I discussed this with my friends after the show and they didn't notice at all.

Huhuhuhuhu. That makes me sad because Toshiya's bass is life. When the sound stopped, it was so obvious to me. But for others it doesn't seem like it. *sniffs*

We clapped after the performance and waited for them to adjust to their original stances. Next song was Kigan! Aaahh way to uplift the mood! Such a good song! They played the new version. Victimization was flashed onscreen and once again the members' faces were flashed on side screens. At one point, the arrangement of the angle shots was: Kaoru/Shinya/Kyo/Die/Toshiya. I remember how Kyo stretched his arm so quickly during one line and it was so impactful. Then we jumped a lot so much and shouted OI! OI! OI! LOVED THE ENERGY!

Values was next and Kyo called all the kusottare out! Nothing's changed from the previous video background from WHS. Kyo struggled to sing this one out - figured he was already tired. We sang a good amount of lines from the song this time. Loved it! There were several name calls too DURING the song which surprised me to be honest.

Then... Guitars.... again sounded like shokubeni but since i knew it from FOLLOWERS, I knew it wad The Deeper Vileness! And damn that song is so sick! To better understand it, one needs to get nearer to the front. You don't have to force yourself to headbang bec you will automatically do from the impact of the fans' movement.

Down to the last song. I didn't expect Reiketsu to be the closing song and it's seriously amazing. Once again, it's been 3 years since i last heard it live. They used the same video images from mode of Uroboros - the ones with like cartoons? Damn i dont know how to explain. AAAHHH once again Kaoru's back up OOOOOOOOOO! I WAS DEAD! That was so seriously good and goosebumps inducing! And as usual, the proverbial calm before the storm, Kyo stood with his back to us on his ledge and we screamed so much, he then did a certain different vocalization before growling DESTROY! WE JUMPED AS WE HEADBANGED! AH that song was phenomenal.

I dont know what happened to Kyo after encore but the rest of the members did their customary pick/drumstick/towel throwing. Kaoru, as usual made fun of his fans by teasing to scream louder. Toshiya threw the pick towards my area and i missed it by a step. Fell on my side. Damn it. Toshiya stood on the ledge and threw his towel. Kaoru was the last to leave.

Ah, that was an amazing, yet again, live. Could've been better but what i really love about DIR EN GREY is that they're imperfectly perfect. They make me feel alive like no one else. I'm sad there was no Zetsuentai but i'm glad undecided was played. I am assuming they have 2 setlist types again and 1 day will be The Pledge and 1 day will be undecided on acoustic. But i could be wrong of course. I think this time undecided replaced Zetsuentai.

The insulated world tour is just starting. I am yet to grasp the whole theme but I'm on my way. I'll soak myself real slow and steady. It's gonna be amazing!

[theghostinmyroom]

I still have 2 hours to burn in the bus to Yokohama on onward to Kawasaki for the 1st show of TOUR19 The Insulated World. So i went through my notes and found a finished Zepp Nagoya fanaccount that I didn't seem to have posted. I found both Osaka fanaccounts half done and at this point, I have to go back to my tweets to remember what happened then. Those 2 shows need to be written in an account. For real.

Nevertheless, I'm happy I at least finished one fanaccount out of 3. 👏

I'm posting this for myself, although 3 months late - please disregard if not interested.

Back after a long time. I've been trying (and failing) to finish my WHS EU fanaccounts and I've ignored tumblr for the longest time. I will upload it someday, my recollections, but for now, we have the uber short tour FOLLOWERS in action.

It was a last minute decision fueled by my desire to see Kaoru's hair color. Blue or Pink? 😂 I'm kidding, it was a toss coin decision. Lol. Nah, I followed my heart and shimote won. 😂

Dec 19, 2018 - i was presented with a problem when both of the bands who shaped and fueled my life decided to have a concert on the same day, yet again. It's the third year that they've done this to me and the first time i defied my first love.

Conclusion: I HAD NO REGRETS.

Zepp Nagoya sizzled and I burned with them.

I arrived in Nagoya late. Last minute decisions, girigiri actions, I only managed to reach the venue past 620pm. The staff's calling 200 something and I still had to put my stuff in the lockers. Lucky me got the 2nd to the last empty locker and by the time I went to the line, the staff was already calling 470 and I hurried and squeezed my not so tiny body towards the front of the line.

Funny thing happened when as customary, I folded the ticket so it's easy for the staff to get their stub off and as I squeezed in the stub fell off and I crawled on the ground to find it hahaha! The other fans were like 'hey are you ok?' And i just laughed and told them no worries im fine. Thankfully i found it and I was giggling all the way through the line. How stupid can i be really. 😂

The staff handed us a puzzle piece at the entrance and I thought I had to pay for it at first (like a drink fee but i knew there shouldn't be). What is this puzzle piece??? Everyone got something random too. Curious...

The goods line was short as expected since all the fans were running towards the hall. I wanted to buy some goods but I figured I'll do it after the show.

I ran to shimote as fast as i could. I was within 10 rows in Kaoru's area. I figured there will only be one push since... there aren't that many people tbh. And true enough the only push happened a couple minutes before lights out and BOOM I found myself smack in the middle of Kaoru and Toshiya (heavennn!) 4th row. Before the 1st song I ended in 3rd row. Beats me. I have no complaints. 😂

The opening SE is interesting... I remembered the color red. It was sort of the dominant color? A guy (CG) with a bag of arrows on his back stands on the ground then the scene showed a flag (that bore DIR EN GREY in it) atop a certain tower and then it zoomed out to show the Tower of Babel from WHS. Then we see another man preparing for what seemed to be a gladiator match and the gates opened. I can't remember what happened in the next scene because then Shinya came out and people clamored towards the front.

Outfit. I remembered Die and Toshiya's outfits didn't change much from WHS. Die with his long majestic hair, sleeveless top, this time a long, white vest (last time was black), shorts with tights that has long vertical design on the sides. I don't know if he wore the armor looking leg guard. Tbh i don't think so. Toshiya wore the see through fluffy/victorian type long sleeve top that exposed a bit of his chest and exhibited his beautiful neck and shoulders. This time though, the color of his top is dark blue and not black. Shinya, I think wore black top and black pants? But i could be wrong - i can't remember! 😭

Now as for Kaoru and Kyo - these are the two that had a lot of changes. I'll try my best to describe them in words (one of the many times I wish I can draw!):

Kyo - His hair has grown, short spiked hair, spiked all over. Pink/light purple (?) end with black roots. His hair, in my opinion, is very much reminiscent of what Kaoru wore in WHS, the black priest garb-looking attire. It has flaps on the back, shorter than Kao's that it reminded me of what Kyo used to wear back in Gauze era. Long sleeves midriff, pants a little above waist with belt. Pleated (?) skirt (or was it wide pants?) that made him look a lot taller. His was all black ensemble. Sexy. Very sexy. Make up is a lot tamer compared to WHS lots black and smudged lipstick too (was it also black? I can't remember.).

Kaoru - Saving the best for last lol. Kaoru's hair is super straight. Almost a 100% replica of Toshiya's hairstyle even the length (though Toshiya's is shorter on the back). He still kept the half pink, half black hair colors. It was such a pleasure to look at my shimote pair. They look like twins. ☺😂 Kaoru's outfit is, probably (definitely?) a work of THE d'OR It's the same cloth type as Toshiya's mambo dancer costume from WHS, only that Kaoru's is only black and white and looked like a long coat instead. He has black under shirt that is lacey - i saw patterns and I saw his skin. The neck tattoos including the one on his right upper chest can be seen. He has a thin, black choker on and it's so endearing and accentuated his neck so much esp with his short, straight, sleek hair. He wore baggy pants.

Now onto to the live.

I literally gasped in many of the songs. My surprise though, was justified. As always.

Keigaku was first. The crowd was tame. The crowd was calculating. Not many moved. Majority in awe. The song was so wonderful. Not perfect yet still I had goosebumps the whole time. Kyo messed up the lyrics. He forgot a lot and his adlib was just gibberish mumbles - soooo damn cute and he looked to the ground to help him. It's so exciting how this song will pave the way to The Insulated Tour lives. I am sure there was a background video but I didn't pay attention AT ALL. It's understandable. Kaoru's guitar lines are rough and spell-inducing. I'm pretty sure he was playing a different chord in the mid section of the song. My ears weren't used to it and I found it odd really that I thought he made a mistake but maybe not? I'll check in Osaka again. Toshiya is like a bouncing ball, he moved A LOT. SO MUCH. His basslines are so crisp and loud that I felt shivers down my spine. I'm excited to hear them perfect this song live.

Ningen was next and I have to admit, I became a bit teary-eyed because I remembered EU and our 'front row brigade'. I missed the friends I made from that tour. However it was a pleasure to have us sing along 'for real' with Kyo extending the mic to us and urging us to scream.

Keibetsu was next and once again - memories of EU filled me and there were a couple of guys in front of me and we went mad headbanging. Slowly Nagoya was waking up and Kyo liked it. I remember Toshiya came up to us at one point. It was difficult to really pay much attention becausw we headbanged way too much. We were allowed to sang along the back ups that Toshiya had to lie low a bit on his own.

During most of the 'in between' songs, Kaoru teased the shimote crowd by 'flirting' with us lol. He circled around his area nudging people with his lower mouth. It was effective.

He was all out flirting like this during EU tour and I'm glad he continued the gesture in the current tour. Hope it becomes a normal routine! Hahah! I have to admit, in the dark (since the spotlight is only on Kaoru), I see Toshiya attempting to cover his grin when Kaoru nudges the crowd. Such a cute mean boy. Hahaha!

Next song was Kigan and the crowd was really surprised. It was a nice surprise and I'd assume the version they played is the re-recorded one. I'm sure the last part was played differently. Shinya's drums were mad! So amazing! Another amazing thing is the back up dome by the crowd. The band members didnt have to do it at all. I remembered Toshiya's smile all throughout the song because damn we were loud. The lyrics were flashed on screen and also the faces of the members were flashed in small areas of the screen akin to a controller . Lots of OI's and jumps - it was such a fun song!

No break and Mr Newsman was played and we started shouting Newsman go hell and damn lots of Oi's as well. Die and Kaoru did the back up mostly but they also went all round the stage to nudge the crowd. I particularly remember when Kaoru was so close to us that I screamed like I was dying. We sang a lot in this song. And Garbage followed and it was also lots of singing along. The lyrics Ladies and Gentlemen were showed onscreen and we screamed that too.

Also Please Die was flashed onscreen.

Ranunculus was next and we're back to the same Japanese lyrics onscreen. In Europe after Russia, they showed English translated lyrics. Toshiya did a sign of the cross in this song and he still mouthed the lyrics. He also hugged his bass guutar,and he looked so forlorn it made me sad as well. Kyo messed the lyrics up and he mumbled then he changed the next phrase to make up for it. It was amazing. It's like he didnt make a mistake at all. Normally Kaoru and Toshiya would be so 100% in sync in the end of this song but this time they were so different it was weird seeing it.

Ah also in most of the performances Toshiya faced Kaoru's side and it's so cute and sweet. In Wake which was next, the 2 moved so in sync together like they were dancing. Kaoru mouthed some of the lyrics and everytime Toshiya faces him, he would close his eyes or shake his head and damn so adorable. Kyo changed his adlib lyrics at the end of the song, I think?

Ash was next and so good to finally sing along again! Kyo didnt allow the EU fans to do that. Hahaha! And then they played The Final which was another surprise. Of course there was the mandatory crowd singing. I really like the guitar solos here, so amazing huhuhu.

Rotting root was next and it was like a homecoming of some sort. We sang along and Kyo shouted Kiero so loudly! Values of Madness was next and this was soooo nice! The crowd shouted a lot!

Then Devote my life happened and I just headbanged a lot. Kaoru back up on the first "to die in'' and then Toshiya did the 2nd. When Kyo asked us ''motto!'' We started screaming Zankoku na as well. Chain repulsion was next and Kyo shouted Nagoyaaa before we went on full OI's! It was hard but we screamed I miss I miss I miss as much as we could.

Utafumi was last. What I would never forget is when Kaoru went in front of us, played and teased us and we were all screaming along so much when he gestured us to calm down (like hold on you guys...) then he went to his mic to scream his bit lol (as if to say, ok ladies, you happy now?) Afterwards he went back in front of us again so we can scream his name and that we did and damn that satisfied look on his face. Hahahah! Sooooooo manly but so cute and just overall adorable and sweet AND CONFIDENT!

Encore:

Die and Shinya wore Black FOLLOWERS shirt. Kaoru and Toshiya wore the white ones. Die and Kaoru cut the sleeves. Toshiya rolled the sleeves. Shinya kept it as is.

Kyo wore the madara long sleeves that's on the upcoming line and kept the same skirt/pants.

I figured the song Followers will be sang in this tour and true enough it was the 1st song of the encore. And it was beautiful. So beautiful. Kyo forgot the lyrics once again but it was still beautiful. Glorious. Shinya's performance was magnificent it's like i can still feel the beat of his drums. Kaoru's crying guitar is so glorious. Kyo pointing to himself during sore ga watashi kore ga watashi is so marvelous and then he just stood there and Kaoru did his solo and Die followed and it was just so beautiful i cry. I pray the song grows soon on Kyo so he can perform it with more emotions. Also there was a video background here but i cant remember what it was. All i remember is seeing ''layering memories with you'' flashed on the screen in the end to signify the meaning of the song's last line. So i assume they showed the english translated lyrics during the song? I can't remember. I'll check it during Osaka live.

We were on so much high when drums intro for Zomboid was played and it was earth shattering. Kyo screamed "kusottare Nagoyaaaaa'' and we screamed so loudly i thought my eardrums would explode. We sang along on this song and that's what Kyo wanted. He went to our side in shimote, removed his ear moni and let us scream.

Then Kyo did his usual nudgings and tbh i thought they were gonna play shokubeni. The timing was so good, while kyo was screaming to us, the guitars were already playing and then boom the deeper vileness happened. Damn this song is perfection?? And then they played Lie buried in vengeance and it ruined us and i remembered screaming youre a motherfucker so loudly haha i didnt care!

And then kyo went NAAAAAGOOOOYAAAA! Then ikitennoka and then he just went quiet. And then went NAAGOOOYAAA again. And it was last song: Saku!!!! Everyone went nuts and Kaoru was headbanging so cutely in front of us i just lost it. Toshiya was in front of us towards the end. Kyo didnt shout 'under the sun' but he headbanged so much in the end while screaming Nagoya. It was so good.

I barely registered what happened after the encore. I know Kyo didnt stay long enough. I only remember seeing Shinya and he splashed us water. Kaoru splashed us more water and funny thing is that he wanted to be cool in splashing water and he took 2 bottles in his one hand inserted his fingers and then turned the bottle upside down only to realize he's the only one who's gonna get,wet. And oh when he made this realization, his face scrunched so cutely like 'wth me?. He's such... ahhh what an adorable man.

I noticed takabayahsi-san was not in the area when Toshiya was serving the fans. No pictures huh.

[kyotakumrau]

kyo_official twitter 2018.09.15 16:32

今感じてるこの時間は二度と帰ってこない。

今を取り戻す事は一生無い。

その一度しかないい時間をどう使おうが自由。

遊ぼうが、自分を磨こうが、他人を貶そうが、自分の意思で決める事。

大事なのは、当たり前の様に、誰もが知っているこの時間が、二度と戻らないと理解し何をするかだ。

.

京

◆

What you feel now, this time will not come back.

You can never bring back the current moment.

That time that exists only now can be used as you wish.

Whether it is to have fun, to improve oneself, to belittle other people, it is something you decide with your own will.

What is really important, obviously, knowing that the current moment will not come back, what everyone does.

Kyo

[theghostinmyroom]

I was waiting for this translation. It was so apt before the concert. How it is that he says the simplest things but it cuts you like a knife? Rhetorical question. Needless to say, that moment last night, though will not come back, is the moment i thought i can live forever. Thank you, Kyo 😭

[kyotakumrau]

Nagoya 9/14 ticket

One of my followers asked me to spread the word:

“I have a ticket for sale

DIR EN GREY - TOUR18

WEARING HUMAN SKIN

the first day of Nagoya Sep. 14

Number 9xx

It’s my own ticket, but I just can’t go.

So I am sending you this message to see if you can spread it out for me.

As the time is approaching,

I won’t charge any money before a person receive the ticket.

Anyone interested could send me PM here or Twitter H.M.C @tokagesumikko

I will send the ticket by EMS (ticket now in Taiwan) on Monday morning.

Payment doesn’t have to be money.

I can ask for a Hangman T-SHIRT with a patch sticker at that day. That’s all I want XD”

You can write to me or directly to them on twitter if you’re interested.

[psi-psina]

05/09 Niigata LOTS

SE 詩踏み 咀嚼

蜷局 腐海 理由

New song (zankoku ?) New song (omae) 輪郭 THE BLOSSOMING BEELZEBUB

Ranunculus 人間を被る Punk song (GO MAD) Ash Revelation of mankind

EN 鼓動 The inferno THE IIID EMPIRE Beautiful Dirt 羅刹国

Same as yesterday, I wrote this last night before passing out after eating 3 fish taco’s and 3 glasses of red wine so this may have effected my memory a bit but I hope it is somewhat readable :)

Today was absolute FIRE. The setlist yesterday was better (my fave) but the guys were WAY more into it today, especially Kyo. I am so shit at outfits and I am really sorry. Today I only remember Kyo and Die’s because I was closer to kamite in front of Shinya today. (it was so nice!!!) Die wore the outfit from the album promo photoshoot, Kaoru was definitely not wearing his (full) photoshoot outfit and I don’t think? Toshiya was either but I can’t remember anything else, I am sorry. Kyo’s outfit was fantastic, he wore a white sleeveless blouse and his black skinny jeans with the ripped knees and over that his giant alice auaa…suspenders? It’s a big rectangular skirt that he can put his arms through as well, they are fucking awesome and he made WAY better use of them than he did when he wore them in Osaka *__* He wore his rosette badge again, on the front of the suspenders. And he wore his headgear from mode of DSS, with a black hair extension down the right side of his face and his white contacts. He was also wearing his new mac lipstick & gloss combo. I’m not sure if he had his grill in but I think he did? Damn it looked so good! I’m not usually a big fan of headgear on Kyo because I really prefer to be able to see his expressions more freely but even though this gear covers most of his face it actually enhanced his expressions. It just really….suits him? He wears it really well, I love it.

The whole front section of the set was very atmospheric. Niigata’s response to Soshaku wasn’t quite as lusty as Osaka’s was, but ahh people were moving so much during Toguro and just feeling it SO MUCH. BLISS. Fukai was a stand out tonight, I caught Die’s eye near the start of it and we looked at each other briefly, I smiled at him and he smiled back <3 he’s so lovely. Die got my attention during Fukai today, I’m sorry Kaoru (ILU). The Fukai mosh was also Bliss. Kyo got us to sing a LOT, he called on us in the first chorus and other parts of the song, he screamed for more and ripped his monitor out so he could hear us better and we GAVE IT TO HIM. ❤️ Riyuu got lots of movement as well today, and went down even better than yesterday. Then I think it was during this interlude that everyone was pretty quiet, and then Kaoru sidled up in front of shimote with that cocky swagger of his and there was this sudden ROAR for Kaoru from shimote which got everyone in the middle shouting for him as well 😂 Then Kyo came back to the front and tilted his head back in that demented snarl-grin he’s doing lately and everyone roared at him. Then it was time for the new songs again and it was much the same as yesterday, I can’t remember much because I was going crazy. >.< They are just too good.

Kyo made the fox 🤘 at the end of Rinkaku when he was calling the demon. Beelzebub was FANTASTIC today! The flatness of Kyo’s mood yesterday had a big effect in Beelzebub, but today was completely different. He was a lot more intense. After he bundled up his cord-intestines and dropped them, he was looking down at them sullenly and kind of waved at them. He deeply growled ‘kyou wa kono mama nemuri ni tsukitai’ in this transfixing pose…it was fucking Amazing (it’s really stuck in my memory) and again after ‘ugoku kometsubu ni…’ he was trying to stomp on some phantom creepy-crawlies again. He went to town on his mouth towards the end, he did not drool everywhere today but rather uh, deeply fingered his mouth and played with his tongue. He was brazenly eyeballing people up on his crate while doing this, he looked right at me and it was UNCOMFORTABLE.

The interlude between Beelzebub and Ranunculus was really…intense? Idk, legit, no one even moved, the place was so enchanted and thick with anticipation it was just…magic. Ranunculus was also more emotional today than it was yesterday, there was a fair bit of movement from the fans and Die was very passionate during the chorus. Then Ningen was up, oh man…Those moments of stillness as Ranunculus closes out and you are absolutely SODDEN with 5 million emotions and could literally just die and then those deep melancholy chords open up Ningen and Kyo steps forward and raises his hand and calls out and everyone calls back and you can FEEL THE INTAKE OF BREATH as the riff comes crashing in and then !!!!! AAAHHH!!!! IT IS BURNED INTO MY MEMORY!! I know a lot of people did not like Ningen but fuck it is so good live, it is SO emotional and the dynamics just COME ALIVE. I really like the sound of the studio ver but it is flawed, and in some ways hampers the song a bit.

The punk song came next and fans were GETTING DOWN, there was DANCING and so much jumping. God it was so much fun and I could see how satisfied Kyo and Toshiya were with the response. <3 Ash was MESSY. Kyo got us to sing excessively and spent a lot of time at the edge of the stage monitor-less which just makes everyone go crazy. The ending thrash was epic, someone behind me grabbed my shoulders and was going so hard they were shaking me (NO COMPLAINTS JUST GIVES ME MORE MOMENTUM). When the song ended they were kind enough to disentangle from my hair without pulling it 😂 Then Revelation oh my god. Revelation is a song I didn’t enjoy at all right through 2015 but amazingly it has grown on me and I now enjoy it even though it is still too chaotic and dissonant and exhausting. It’s so brutal as a set closer I kind of wish they would just open with it laskdjf. I best remember Kyo shrieking “NIIGATAAAAAA” and at some point someone getting their arm in my mouth asflkjs idk what happened but I definitely got like the sweat of 5 people in my mouth then. Gross. And lol at Kyo making us sing “michinaki michi o” like lkajnfl yes Kyo, stretch us to the very limits of your ridiculous vocal range. The ending thrash was, again, absolute filth and when I emerged all I could see was Kyo towering up there on his crate with this MALEVOLENT look on his face. He turned and left the stage and the other guys followed promptly.

The encore was BEYOND. Kaoru, Toshiya and Die all came out wearing the white goat tee with the sleeves cut, And Kyo changed into a plain black blouse and removed his headgear. I could see at the end he had red and black eye makeup on. Shinya was wearing the white tee with the patches all over it I think. Then Kodou just completely set everyone on fire. skjdnffa. Kyo pointed right at me during Kodou, what even. I clapped eyes with him and Die a few times tonight (it’s just where I was) but he really took me by surprise ;_; at the first chorus of Kodou as he was walking around his crate to stand at the edge of the stage Kyo put a hand over his heart and lunged forward pointing right fuckin at me looking me in the god damn eyes as we sang 'KOE KOROSHITE ME O FUSAIDE’ together. It was like being ATTACKED. Dazzling. Unbelievable. 😭 He stood right at the edge and ripped out his monitor and sang his heart out going mic-less here and there and looking at people HARD and screaming more more more. Kodou owns my entire soul.

I lost my damn mind again during The inferno, someone had grabbed hold of the back of my shirt and was using my back for support and fuckin growling and I was straight up just snarling and shaking my fist at Kyo every time I surfaced from thrashing. Kyo was having some trouble with his mic tonight (the sound was dropping out a fair bit) but during The inferno it completely died. He turned back to the sound guys gesturing at the dead mic then threw it down and turned back to the crowd and snarled at us without it, gesturing wildly and smacking himself and going down in a crouch and fans went NUTS. And a moment later one of the guys had restored his mic and after a tentative moment (he was shy of the mic for a moment as he tested to see if it was working….it was…Cute  lakjsnflgkadf) he was back in full force. All happened VERY quickly and by the end he looked WELL pleased.

My part of the crowd almost collapsed during IIID it was heaving and bouncing so much and the guys started going EVERYWHEREE. Idk if it was during IIID or Beautiful but Kaoru came over to stand right in front of us and the crazed snarls of “KAAAOOORRRUUUUU!!!!” and wordless howling actually made me LAUGH because he totally DEADPANNED us like “Ehh? Is that it??” Then he smirked and went further over to kamite. BITCH. (Eta, pretty sure it was Beautiful actually) Is2g i am lucky my shirt didn’t get ripped during IIID because it was insane and Kyo kept shouting for more more more more until he got drowned out by the screaming. I got a bit of nausea/stomach pain briefly towards the end like whelp going a bit TOO hard rn. My throat and the right side of my ribcage/right shoulder blade feel bruised as hell idek what happened. Feels like I pulled the muscles.

Then straight into Beautiful Dirt which was just as fuckin relentless alkjsnf Kyo swooped over to shimote during the second verse and showered them with some attention because Kaoru was over in kamite quite a lot and Toshiya and Die had come to the centre. Even with Kyo right over on Kaoru’s side everyone kept screaming “SAIKOU NO BARAADO O OKUROU” with no encouragement every time alskjnf. Had a great moment with Die, he was right in front of us at the very edge and he was looking at everyone with such affection. Such a warm expression and I couldn’t help it I just went 'DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE’ and flailed at him and was surely smiling like a fool and everyone around me was calling out to him as well and his face just GLOWED lALKJSNFA he smiled at us again and bowed and flipped his hair the way he does and then moved away ;3; Kaoru and Toshiya joined forces at some point, Kaoru lounged on the edge of the crate briefly. I don’t know what Kyo was doing after he came back from shimote, it was the roughest part of the song and I was thrashing. I totally get why Kyo gets us to sing “saikou….” every damn time because it’s BEYOND EXHAUSTING. He LOVES making us struggle ksdjgnklf.

Kyo’s MC at the end was a lot more enthusiastic tonight, he called twice to the men and women, shouted without the mic and did the usual riles and pounded on his chest. He got shirtless for Rasetsukoku tonight and…yeah, it was crazy. I’m struggling to remember anything it was just solid thrashing and roaring from all involved and giving my all took every ounce of energy I had I HAD NOTHING LEFT FOR OBSerVATION. I can’t actually remember how it ended or what Kyo or any of the guys were doing until the post concert gift-giving. I did see Kyo’s new tattoo very clearly tonight though, it looks good! Kyo stayed back, which was nice. He showered fans with a couple of bottles of water and wiped off all his makeup onto a towel and threw that in. He then got the bucket of water and DUMPED the whole thing onto one guy on the rail in front of him and tossed the bucket in too. He crouched down and slapped hands with the fans on the rail as well <3 I heard him sing out 'bye bye!!’ as he straightened up again and i love the way his face scrunches up with emotion as everyone sings bye bye and waves back to him. He left with a couple of fox kisses. <3

Kaoru and Die threw a lot more picks today and I FELT Die’s pick in my fingers but it escaped me 😭 A girl behind me just kept screaming thank you thank you thank you all of them. ;__; Shinya and Kaoru were fucking adorable, Shinya came to the front after he threw all his drumsticks with the uchiwa and fanned us! It was! Adorable! Then he threw the uchiwa to the Kyo pit. Kaoru was eyeing him as he strutted around and after Shinya left he took his own uchiwa and fanned shimote with it and BLEW ON THE FANS lksdhfnl he is such! a dork! I love him oh my god. As Die finished up his gift-giving he stood just in front of us and just looked at us, his eyes looked really glassy at the end? I was like, did you cry?? And man he looked tired, and really emotional. But he was just looking at us and clapping and smiling and we started a chant for him and he just looked so….overwhelmed and thankful oh my god. Sweetheart. 😭Kaoru was the last to leave again and he kept stopping and lingering to get that last little bit out of us….GAH. Then we all wobbled out.

To cap this experience as I was going to cloak I stood near a little girl while fumbling for my ticket, who saw me and turned to me, absolutely THRIVING, and said ‘KONNICHIWA’ with the most beautiful smile on her face and I was just like alksjnfliaj OVERCOME and said “konnichiwa sweetheart!!” to her and she like…squealed and just stared at me and her mum was laughing. Her mum said hello to me as well ;3; Fans with kids are the absolute best. The little girl wasn’t wearing a tour shirt but she was proudly sporting the hanged-man muffler towel and was just LOVING LIFE skldjfn. I love her ;___;

Niigata…thank you for these memories. I will always treasure these nights. ❤️

[theghostinmyroom]

This is absolutely gorgeous. So much love. This rawness is absolutely dazzling. Thanks for sharing, love! I cackled a lot while reading it that I got nervous looks from people around me (i'm in a bus now). Fufufufu so what.

Niigata sounds fab. Super fab. It's a must be place next time. 👍

お疲れsweetheart! 😂

[psi-psina]

04/09 Niigata LOTS

SE 詩踏み Ash

蜷局 腐海 理由

New song (zankoku ?) New song (omae) 輪郭 THE BLOSSOMING BEELZEBUB

Ranunculus 人間を被る THE FATAL BELIEVER THE IIID EMPIRE Beautiful Dirt

ENCORE:

空谷の跫音 Punk Song (GO MAD) 鱗 The inferno 羅刹国

I wrote this last night and then died. 

Today’s live is one I won’t be forgetting! It stands out to begin with in this tour because it’s a smaller venue without a screen backdrop. For the backdrop they had the cover image for The Insulated World, albeit with hands framing the face. The Inner circles of the ‘eyes’ reflected different colours, i remember purple, pink and turquoise. It was impressive! I was in the Kyo pit today about 9-10 rows back and I can’t remember any of the guy’s outfit’s except for Kyo and Toshiya’s.

Toshiya wore his outfit from the album promo photoshoot. Kyo was in a very basic outfit today. A white dress shirt with a black rosette badge pinned below his breast and plain black trousers and his fluffy black beret. He wore his golden grill and eye make-up very similar to the PHY photoshoot, and I’m pretty sure he was wearing the contacts from the PHY photoshoot as well. The crowd was HOT right from the start and I was also surrounded by a bunch of VERY passionate dudes who I salute, because they were totally awesome. Utafumi got a massive response and really passionate singing, but people seemed to struggle a bit with parts of Ash. Myself included, I still haven’t bothered to look at Ash’s lyrics, and I haven’t listened to the studio version that much because i haven’t been…overly into it? I was definitely hoping they would change/update it more. I am enjoying it FAR MORE now after seeing it live half a dozen times though. GOOD FUCKING SONG.

Kaoru was dancing a lot in Fukai again, especially to Die’s opening riffs at the start. He gets DOWN to Fukai, Toguro and Rinkaku guys. Absolutely loves it. ;3; He also can’t stop singing Rinkaku, with so much passion. Rinkaku has always been Die’s song for me in the past but damn it’s like Kaoru is trying to outdo his passion so I can’t take my eyes from him! I love Riyuu in that spot in the setlist, it’s so good there where it gets the flow on of energy from Fukai, and then that eerie interlude before the two new songs. It leaves much more of an impression. The new songs just keep getting better and better, I can’t overstate how good they are live. I moshed so much they are mostly a blur of scarlet light and whipping hair and Kyo’s black silhouette towering over us. Oh and about ‘Zankoku’, Kyo repeatedly shouts a word that sounds a lot like that during that song, but obviously, it could be something else. Gaijin ears and all.

The performance of Beelzebub today is probably the strangest one I have ever seen. I think due to the lack of 'effects’. Kyo was not costumed or shrouded in any way and he didn’t have his mic cam setup. He remained on his crate for the entire song. It began as the last few performances have, Kyo pulls his mic chord through his fingers in front of his belly as though he is pulling out his own intestines, which he pools into a bundle and huddles in his arms maniacally before dropping it to his feet. He played with the chord in a couple of parts of the song, draping it around his neck at one stage. When he sang 'ugoku kometsubu ni itsuka hane ga haeru?’ he looked down at his feet and began stomping like he was trying to crush something underfoot. He also drooled a lot. He reached into his mouth once towards the end but otherwise he just straight up drooled everywhere. It felt extremely subdued after the intensity and ghoulishness of it at the other lives this tour (especially in Tokyo, Tokyo’s Beelzebub’s were absolutely unreal). That’s not to say it was 'bad’ in any way, it was brilliant, it was just something completely different to anything else I’ve experienced, including all previous tours.

Ranunculus was similar; it just felt different. I didn’t realise how huge the effect of the scenes in the lyric video was until it wasn’t there…I can’t get over the scene when the song begins though…always the stage is brightly backlit with this soft, pale light and you can just see the five silhouettes standing perfectly still…waiting. Sometimes it brings tears to me eyeballs. Like when they do that with Rinkaku. Kyo was not as emotional today as he has was in other lives, it was a lot more understated but still made made me cry. This song is truly…a treasure. Toshiya was also not emotional today like he was in Osaka. I didn’t see him sing at all today. :( His presence was very subdued today as well, he stayed toward the back of the stage a LOT and did not come to the front very much. During Rinkaku (I think) I noticed I couldn’t see him at all and was trying to find him before I realised he was standing next to Shinya directly behind Kyo.

Ningen was next and the rest of the main set was absolutely crazy. I haven’t been in a mosh that energetic since like…Kyoto/Osaka 2015 lol. The Fatal Believer and Empire were so much fun, we went absolutely crazy and I completely lost my damn mind so there may have been interactions (i doubt it tho) etc, but I definitely didn’t see any of them alksjdnflk. Beautiful Dirt was too much like…I did my best but I could feel my body dying on me. Kyo making us all shout “SAIKOU NO BARAADO O OKUROU” EVERY TIME…after Empire…fucked up. D:

They all promptly left the stage and the call for encore was loud and pretty brief. Kaoru, Toshiya and Die all wore the hanged-man tee, Shinya wore his goat tee with the cut sleeves and Kyo changed into a plain black dress shirt and also completely removed all his make-up and his contacts. He was totally bare-faced. Then they started Kuukoku. I have only seen Kuukoku performed at Budokan before this, so it really was something. It was an understated performance. Beautiful and enchanting. During the chorus the stage flooded with soft orange light (backlit again, or course) and they again became near-silhouettes.

Then the…rest of the encore. The punk song got things well and truly heated up again and then ahhhhh…..AAAHHHH, THEN THEY PULLED OUT UROKO AND HOOOOOOOOOO BOY!! Collective mind? LOST. Fans SCREAMED and this is the only time I would use the word 'violent’ to describe the intensity of EXCITEMENT this song caused!! People (around me) THREW THEMSELVES into that fuckin riff in a way I have never experienced before HOLY SHIT I’m getting butterflies remembering it ;__; it was heaving!! FUCK I LOVE UROKO i am so happy they played it!! There was no break between Uroko and The inferno, as Uroko was ending Kyo brought his palms together over his head and many fans made the action also and then we plunged right into it. It was crazy, I can’t remember a god damn thing except how FUCKING HARD WE WENT :D Before Rasetsukoku Kyo spoke briefly but I couldn’t hear him very well. Was he dissatisfied? Idk his 'mood’ was not great during this live and it felt like he withheld a lot, I could not say he was enjoying the live in the way I would say he was in Osaka, where he was pretty explicitly happy (with the live), especially at the end. He sounded tired in Osaka, especially on day 2 and he seemed tired tonight but also quite flat. His calls to the men and women were very brief, and I did hear him shout 'KUSOTTARE NIIGATA!!!’ and then Rasetsukoku was fucking wild. I could hardly hear anything through the fans, people were literally howling. The girl next to me went crazy, she started thrashing and just didn’t stop for the entire song, including the slow/rhythmic parts. I barely saw the band….I remember seeing Die smiling at some point which made me happy, I can’t remember seeing Kaoru or Toshiya at all! Where were they!? I don’t know. And then the song ended and guys Kyo legit BAILED, I didn’t even see him leave the stage, and neither did a lot of other people because fans were asking 'did you see Kyo leave??’ and trying to see if he had just fallen down. I thought he’d fallen at first as well but ahh no he was gone. He left before the song was over lol.

The other guys stayed back for the usual gift-giving but it was also brief. I came close to Kaoru and Die picks and a drumstick but nothing came quite close enough, and they didn’t throw very much or linger long at all. Needless to say Niigata was not satisfied with this treatment and as soon as they had left we started shouting for a second encore. A few people left, but almost everyone stayed and called for them to come back out. We were very persistent. We didn’t give up until staff got up on the barrier and firmly told us to leave while shooing the people on the sides out ;___; Then we all stumbled out, drenched and gross. I felt a camaraderie amongst the fans tonight…and everyone was so lovely, including the staff. So many smiles and friendly nods and queries from people. ❤️

Thank you so much Niigata, I ❤️❤️❤️ you. Lets make tomorrow even crazier.

[theghostinmyroom]

Yes, baby, yes! 🙌

[theghostinmyroom]

Osaka instore event for THE INSULATED WORLD

01/09/2018

After a 2-day Namba Hatch performance, DIR EN GREY had the instore event for the upcoming new album, this time in HMV Grand Front Osaka.

The first 3 were done by Kaoru in Sendai, Toshiya in Fukuoka and Shinya in Kyoto.

I reserved 2 copies for myself and a friend. However she couldn't make it to Osaka so I thought I'd go twice in line so I won't lose the chance. Thankfully I met a new friend for the 1st time in Hatch who also wanted to go so I didn't end up going alone this time.

I truly didn't expect to see Kaoru in the Osaka instore event. I did wish though. Who would've thought he'd come when he barely slept😂 (He said he went to bed at 7 am c/o one fanaccount and the instore event was at 1pm) I did think he'd come because of how he reacted to the fans on both Hatch performances. Kaoru has this gentle demeanor to him when it comes to fans and in Hatch he looked like he didn’t want the live to finish.

I thought it's really either Kyo or Kaoru tbh. Only bec of how they appreciated the Osaka fans on those 2 days. Toshiya couldnt have done it bec he just finished 2 events (although yes he was full of enthusiasm in 2 days Hatch). Shinya just finished and well Die... Die didn't seem to be in his zone in Osaka lives. I can’t really explain. He was just not as warm when he was on our area.

So voila! It was Kaoru and man, how noisy the shop became. I didn't see him come in bec i was in the furthest corner inside HMV. I only heard the rapid movements of the crowd and the shrieks. Lol.

In my corner I sniffed. Literally. I covered my face bec i was tearing up.

I thought 'Chance to talk to Kaoru again!' The girl in front of me, a very, truly nice Japanese, began talking to me. She asked 'Kaoru is your fave? You are really lucky, you're meeting him today!' I told him yeah and pointed to my Krim shirt. Told her I'm not 日本人 though so in case my Japanese was bad.

She said 'No, I understand you just fine. Are you studying here, do you live here?' I said no to both questions and said I just travel to JP for concerts. She said 'That's amazing! Tell Kaoru you came here from overseas. Do your best!'

I am surrounded by good people. I swear I am. Once again Kaoru was just behind a panel board and they used cd shelves to cover the signing area. There's plastic twines cordoning the area all over so you won't wander elsewhere lol. There were a lot of staff as well. Minimum of 6 people when I counted (Kaoru entourage not included lol)!

The nice thing was while standing in the line, you can see Kaoru as he signs for the fans and you can see how he interacts with fans for a few more seconds. It really depends on the fan whether they just want the sign or they want to talk further. He was sitting and you see his side profile while you’re in the line. You see him as he looks up to the fan and make small talks. Really nice. Really, really nice.

Nobody pushes you away unlike in other events. So you can talk to the band member really quickly, nothing too detailed, nothing too complicated. Not because staff will shoo you away but to allow others to enjoy their time with the band member too.

The immediate fans before me, except for a couple fans, talked to Kaoru further. I really liked it because it gave me extra seconds to stare and commit his natural features to my memory. I really, truly find Kaoru handsome, manly handsome and so it was truly such a pleasure to see him that close again. I don't think i'll tire of it anyway.

So Kaoru was wearing a black, uber long polo. I remembered seeing in one of Kaoru's Takoyaki boys insta. Can't remember his name now but he's the owner of that shop. After the instore event me and my new friend went to Loom shop and the tenchou was there. i will always remember him as one of the Takoyaki boys though. Blame Kaoru for that. 

You can find the details of his top here (already sold out. A friend checked Loom Osaka and the black print is really sold out but white one is still available in the shop. I didn’t have the heart to enter the shop because I have no money and I’m embarrassed to enter a shop without money hahahah!).

http://loom-osaka.com/smartphone/detail.html?id=000000003948

Kaoru's hair looks so ふわふわ and it's now a faded blue. BLUE!!! i die. Haha! He accentuated his attire by wearing the Namba limited purple cap.

Anyway, Kaoru looked so good. Looked so young and refreshed. It's unbelievable. Barefaced, no make up, no specs/glasses, just his normal, prolly fresh/straight from bed face. How he managed to look that handsome au naturale is beyond me. Ok, move on, i'm wheezing again. 💜

Takabayashi was on his left, religiously handing out the picture cards for Kaoru to sign. Here's how our convo went:

Me: Hi, Kaoru-san! I come to see you again, it's been awhile.

薫: Oh! Hi! Nice to meet you! *brief look*

Me: I travelled here from Dubai. How do you do?

Kaoru stopped moving and looked at me again. And smirked. His eyes became big and I swear he looked like he couldn't believe it. He looked at my shirt and then...

薫: EHHH?!! Are you serious?? *smirks* (i cannot unhear that EHHH?)

Me: Uhm... Yes?

薫: Wah, thank you for coming. *signs picture card*

Me: The Hatch live yesterday was really fun! I'm really happy.

薫: Is that so? You've done well! *mega watt smile*

Me: I will go to the Europe tour, too. I look forward to it.

薫: Really? That's amazing. *mega watt smile* Thank you for your support. *mega watt smile* *hands over card*

Me: No, thank you. I'll see you again! Baibai! *waves*

I acted like a normal, decent fan! I'm learning! 😂 Yey to you, self! Be proud! 😂 when i got out though I was like a dam that exploded and I teared up again. So overwhelming. The power is just too strong. I sometimes hate myself for being this obsessed but I can't help it. I've been a fan for 18yrs now - there's just no easy way to un-knot myself.

Another Japanese fan approached me outside the shop and talked to me. She asked me how it was and when I told her my story, she was so close to hugging me. She took my hand, shook it and bowed to me. She showed me her goosebumps. She said it's such a big deal for someone to come to JP repeatedly for DIR. She was very grateful on behalf of DIR, so cute. I told her there are many of us who come to JP. There are those who came to live in JP too. Can't believe it myself.

I waited for my friend to finish and since fans were still lingering around the area, we thought we'd stay put as well and wait. It was worth it... 💜 after the signing event, Kaoru had to take the customary picture for the shop and we were all behind that make shift panel. Kaoru knew because some fans were rabidly screaming (it was so funny, soooo funny!). So after the picture, he stepped out, took the mic (that uber low volume mic grrr!) And from what i've seen in fanaccounts, he said look forward to the album this month and that the teaser for the RanunculusPV is out (yes we know!). He then left and I swear there was a mini stampede of some sort and there was this fan who kept on screaming Kaoru’s name. Growling like one would during lives (yknow, the deep, booming kind lol) and she went totally nuts, not minding about the others. I laughed so hard and I’m really sorry because it was over the top. In a way she calmed me and I’m grateful for that. But seriously, dude.... It's not like he cannot hear, and it's not even during a concert, so don’t growl. Kekekeke....

We were once again cordoned to an area and the security kept on telling us off, either leave or step back. Kaoru was in a room in the other shop and I dunno why. But there were about 4 people with him, Takabayashi and another guy with him inside the room and 2 others waiting outside. I believe they were Kaoru's friends.

After some time, maybe 15-20mins?, security went stiff again and that's when we knew he was coming out. The first thing that made me jawdrop was that Kaoru had an uber flowery, uber big backpack on him. He removed the black polo and was just wearing shirt. Seriously the bag looked bigger than him ahahaha! Takabayashi brought the black polo in a hanger with him. Then Kaoru waved to us and left with his entourage. Lol.

So there you go, yet another long fanaccount of not even an hour event. Sorry for those who get bored and thanks for those who read till the end. Don't worry, i mostly write for myself so whether it's read by others or not doesn’treally matter to me.

I look forward to my next live - Nagoya and my next instore event in Shinjuku.

[gabumon-s]

[FOR SALE] Dir en grey ticket for the Cologne show. I’ll sell it for 30€+ shipping. message me if your interested! Please share the post if your able to, I’d appreciate it (:

[theghostinmyroom]

how do you keep getting their picks. please give me some of your luck because I need it.

I totally want to know the secret, too. In almost a 100 DIR lives I've watched, I only caught 3 picks. One from Toshiya 2015, one from Die in 2018 and one from Kaoru in 2018 as well. The ones for Die and Kaoru were both on the ground and I didn't catch them actually. I wish I am someone who can teach you but I'm totally useless in catching. 😭😭😭

[theghostinmyroom]

WEARING HUMAN SKIN

Fukuoka Civic Hall

28/08/2018

The 9th (my 7th) and last hall performance for this tour has just finished. Fukuoka Civic Hall, in my opinion, is an amazing hall venue, simply because the band members are able to see the audience a lot clearer. It is a venue with more opportunities for intimacy. I'm probably just being too melodramatic again but if you read Toshiya's insta post on Fukuoka, it tells the same thing.

A week ago I was also in the same venue for the GazettE. It was scorching hot a week ago, and it was the same weather this week. Though a day prior there was a 'guerilla bou' in major cities in Japan, Hakata included. Those who are subscribed in mobile or aknot members can get a clue of what happened on 27th based from Kaoru's post. Lol.

I arrived in Hakata after almost a whole day of travel from Yamagata. I was chasing different bands in this trip and I watched another live of the GazettE in Yamagata. Imagine I left Yamagata at 7am and arrived in Hakata at 430pm. From Tohoku to Tokaido, but of course, for our lovely bands yes.

I was in such a hurry to reach the venue because I wanted Kyo's patch and luckily, I managed to get it. YAY!

I was on shimote area (yessss!), in direct view of Toshiya and I couldn't be happier. The usual, Shinya and Die wore the same outfits that they wear during mainset. Kaoru wore the official photo costume. Toshiya wore the gakuran style costume and MAN HE WAS SPARKLING! LITERALLY. For some reason, the venue's lighting is bright and it has that sparkling effect on Toshiya's costume. Toshiya is literally ピカピカ😂😂😂 Kyo wore the black pants and black kimono vest combi. His make up is plain, he had the white veil on his head which he basically threw away from the first song itself because it was in the way when he removed his ear monitor so he could hear us sing.

Utafumi was 1st and from the onset, Fukuoka was loud. Really loud. You can guess from the voices how much they wanted DIR there. It was truly nice. Ash followed and fans eagerly sang along and again, LOUD. As i mentioned, the veil was immediately dropped in Utafumi and somewhere i think before or after Ash that he removed his black vest as well?

Toguro came next after a short break and it's like an automatic thing, Kaoru would go round in huge circles, snapping his fingers and the faint glow of light directed to his area and he looked at the fans in shimote and nodded and we all screamed his name and he counted again and with a scowl on his face he started the strums for Toguro. Kaoru was really engrossed in it and he danced a little too much which was so cute. Toshiya complimented him by moving along Kaoru a little too similar and I can't help at gawk at their synchronicity. That last note of Toguro they have 100% same movement and it was so amazing. How. Like how. And Kyo, like he did in Tokyo Day 2, extended his arm out on the last lyric and only put his arm down when the lights went off.

Fukai was next and for some reason, Die seriously headbanged in the song. Heavily. Like how he normally does in Rinkaku. Surprise! Kaoru and Toshiya showed our area so much love from the onset really. I love the fact that they both looked at us with so much intensity in their eyes. Their eyes bore holes in me. During Fukai I returned Toshiya's gaze shamelessly and I had no regrets. 😋

Prior to Phenomenon, Toshiya's staff came to remove Toshiya's coat. Toshiya basically let the staff pull the coat off him like how a butler would do it? Fufufu... Prince Toshiya ne? Now both Kaoru and Toshiya had bare arms (Kaoru had his overcoat removed before Toguro started). I really liked the lights because of the shadows on their firm arms. So happy that lida has been working out and getting firmer arm muscles yipeee sexayyy!

In more than one song, the shimote pair played almost back to back. Toshiya facing his left and Kaoru facing his right. Both so into their playing that they didn't realize they're so alike. Toshiya looked up to the ceiling a lot and on plenty occasions he raised his right arm towards the ceiling and I always thought he'd make a sign of the cross but no, he just fixed his hair. 😵 drama queen.

New songs. As what Kumrau shared in her account, the new songs (the fast 1 with drum intro and the 2nd which has the omae and warai lyrics) are always played in succession so it's easier to probably remember. I kinda felt off bec the Fukuoka crowd wasn't ready for these new songs and there I was with a few other bunch of torikos headbanging and fist bumping like there's no tomorrow. I couldn't help it! I wanted to tame it a bit and that I did for a while until the others followed through. Kaoru's attention was dispersed through the crowd as if canvassing reactions. Lol. Kyo spent most of his time in the ledge and in a way he also sent some signals on when to move. It really helped.

Rinkaku. Two things struck me in this performance the most. 1st: the super blinding light after Minerva. It was so bright I saw nothing after. Like temporary blindness. 2nd: Kaoru singing along with so much emotion in his face. He had his eyes closed while he shook his head slowly and mouthed the lyrics: 'Musakui ni furimaita negai wa tada' and 'utsushidasu' and 'Koko ni iru kono ore wa'. I had so much goosebumps watching it. He looked so vulnerable at that moment.

Beruze. Fukuoka had a tamer version if i may say. In a way. First off the make up is light. He had white make up with poorly drawn eyebrows. His snake eyes contacts - slanted on both eyes that if you look at them on a straight view, it's almost forming a / \ shape. He didn't put on the veil at all. I don't think I mentioned it in Day 2 Tokyo but Kyo laughed creepily in Day 2 Tokyo while he pooled his mic cable into his hands. He did it only there so far. The rest he was just smiling and acting demented. In Fukuoka, he did a bit of both. He laughed at first, and then he started pooling the cable in his hands again while standing on the ledge. I remember another in Day 2 Tokyo and while he was laughing, the cables got into a knot so when he released them there's a bunch of knotted cables. 😂 thankfully in Fukuoka it didn't happen. He didn't wear gold teeth in Fukuoka. What he did differently is that he placed the camera a bit lower this time so the focus is on his mouth area. The only time we see his nose and up is when he stepped away from the mic and smiled sinisterly. Towards the end he started stretching his mouth again with 4 fingers on both hands and again lotsa saliva. One more thing that distracted me a lot is Toshiya, once again. He was totally in a dancing zone in this concert, lots of energy! In Beruze, like in previous lives, he squatted and would bounce to the beat of Shinya's drum with swooshing of his right arm from in front of him towards the back. I hope you can imagine that. So yes, there's nothing for him to play but he still dances. Tsk tsk. Adorable twat. And in the last note, when Shinya hit his cymbals, Shinya's right hand was stretched to the right, with his face facing the left and he stayed like that until lights off. And Toshiya who didnt have notes to play, stood tall with his bass on vertical position and he'd do a slap to the side like how he does in Kukoku performances. Too primadonna-ish really. 😂

If Kaoru sings along in Rinkaku then Toshiya's song is Ranunculus. Every so often in the whole main set, esp on slow songs, he'd look up to the ceiling and fix his hair. In Ranunculus, he added more by singing along. He always, in all of the concerts I've been in this tour, sings the 'sakebi ikiro' part sometimes onwards till the end if sometimes starting from 'tame nanka janai' onwards.

Ningen followed and from there till the end Fukuoka was on fire. All hands stretched out to Kyo, many fans headbanged, and majority sang in unison. Kyo once again removed his ear monitor. In Inferno, he once again dictated the parts that he wanted us to go mad with him. His eyes scanned every part of the hall and he was really demanding. During IIID, Kyo jumped with us and pointed to his head lots of times. There was one point when he just watched who was headbanging and who's not. Too demanding he wanted us to headbang while we shout "spark and spark"! That was too difficult! Toshiya shouted 'Ikou zo Fukuoka!!' And then he threw his mic stand! (Did i mention Toshiya threw his mic stand as well in Tokyo? Oh how enjoyed it. So smug!) It was such a cramped stage and his mic stand hit his amps and bounced backwards. His staff ran immediately to put the stand up again. Thankfully no one got hurt.

I'm not sure when but there was one moment when Die was in shimote and then Kaoru was in kamite and all of a sudden Toshiya is in kamite as well and him and Kaoru almost clashed with each other and Kaoru seriously looked worried because Toshiya was totally in his zone and unaware of his surroundings. Thankfully Kaoru was able to take enough steps away so Toshiya can move freely. Love. So much love. 💜💙💜💙

Also Toshiya, in one song decided to a very fast spin and he almost tripped because he looked a bit dizzy to me? Good thing he managed to balance himself in the end. Dunno he was just too energetic in Fukuoka! Hahaha!

As soon as Beautiful Dirt ended, all the members swiftly left. Die looked really tired and his shoulders were slumped on the way out. We called out to him in unison and in succession and he just nodded to us.

Btw, in between plenty songs, Toshiya threw away to the crowd the picks he used.

Encore. Everyone except Toshiya wore merch shirts. Die and Shinya both white shirt with cut cleeves. Kaoru had the black one with cut sleeves. Kyo wore the hanging tee as normal. Toshiya wore the black dress shirt showing off his bony ribcage lol.

Wake was the first and the crowd enjoyed the new rendition and many headbanged actually. Punk song was next and interestingly, though relatively new, the Fukuoka crowd easily got into the song. Fatal was next and that's when the energy went off the roof again. Loud voices filled the hall as we sang with and along Kyo. The energy continued till Revelation. Rasetsukoku was last and before that Kyo once again screamed at the top of his lungs without the mic. During this time Toshiya was on a resting bitch mode pose on his amps. He frequently does that now as I remembered he did it a couple times as well in Tokyo. Anyway, Kyo called out the men first then the women (Tokyo Day 2 he called out the women first then the men) twice each and he then hit his chest hard and repeatedly. It was time to give our all! And that, Fukuoka surely did.

Kyo showered lots of kisses before leaving. Dunno what else happened because there was a lot of action in shimote area. More of a personal thing really. First Toshiya threw a pick towards my area and it fell a couple rows in front of us. He then tried again and boom it reached me but it bounced in my hand. When I looked up, I saw Toshiya looking at me and then he held another pick and he pointed at me with his 2 pointy fingers and I nodded as I pointed to myself as well just to be sure I'm not imagining it. He threw the pick and it boomed it reached me it bounced again. I think around that time it fell on the seat in front of me and I dove but got scared bec of the fans who were on that row. I truly got scared. When i looked up Toshiya was still looking at me or towards my area i dunno and he threw a pick again and guess what... bounced again. I'm on the verge of crying really when Kaoru started throwing picks our way and none reached us. Toshiya started wetting his towel and once again looking at our side when i felt a pick land on my hand and I realized it was Kaoru who threw something last through my peripheral vision and the pick landed on the ground. Me and the fan in front of me dove once again in search for the pick and I heard people calling Toshiya out while I crawl on the ground. I couldn't find the pick neither the girl in front of me. I gave up and when I looked up Toshiya is already on the ledge and the rest was just a blur.

Before Kaoru, Toshiya and Die left, I saw Shinya holding one of his cymbals once again. And he looked so serious when he walked towards the front acting like he will throw the cymbals to the crowd. The fans literally went 'whoaaaaa' and then Shinya switched gears and went towards backstage. Such poker face I cannot hahaha!

When Die finally left after throwing his towel, the lights went off and fans didn't know what to do. While the majority kept standing, I sat down. I knew it will be Ranunculus PV which indeed was. The fans then sat down to watch the PV.

Preparing to leave, I took my umbrella and my flyer which were on the ground and voila! Under my flyer was Kaoru's pick! 💜💜💜 i supressed my excitement until I got out because pretty sure the girl in front of me will be infuriated because till the end she was still searching for it.

Finally I got Kaoru's pick. Years I waited and finally! I know probably trivial but it was truly important to me. That was the highlight of my week. Thank you!

Up next is the Hatch 2 days. I'm guessing it'll be a violent 2 days and I just pray i have the energy as I'm literally spent. Shouldn't be chasing bandomen when I'm already old. Ugh.

Anyway, show must go on! Travelling bangya will still go on!

[kyotakumrau]

DIR EN GREY twitter 2018.08.29

今日はタワーレコード京都店にてアルバム『The Insulated World』の予約会でした。

京都はShinyaが登場！一人一人しっかりと見てサインをしていました。写真を撮ろうとすると…つい先日見たポーズが…。「僕の真似をしてる、とある人の真似をした僕」とのことです(笑)。

高林

Today we have held an instore event for ‘The Insulated World’ at TOWER RECORDS Kyoto.

The participating member was Shinya! He signed [postcards] properly looking at each fan. When taking a photo… a pose that’s I’ve seen the day before… He explained 'I’m imitating someone who imitated me’.lol

Takabayashi

[theghostinmyroom]

I cannot stop cackling. Shinya is so cute! 😂😂😂

[theghostinmyroom]

Why is it that I always get errors when using Tumblr. So annoying.

[theghostinmyroom]

Toshiya's polaroid from the FM Fukuoka radio guesting last 27/08/2018

For anyone who would visit Fukuoka soon, you can freely visit this place which is just in JR Hakata station. Go towards the AMU Plaza, take the elevator from the Takashimaya entrance to 3rd floor. Then turn left(to your right is the way to the Shinkansen) and you will see FM Fukuoka booth. The polaroid which is placed together with many other guests from the past, is by the glass window by the doors.

[theghostinmyroom]

Kyoto instore event for The Insulated World (pre-album release)

29/08/2018

Reposting from my twitter so I can properly tag and re-read when needed (sadly twitter can only keep 1,000 or so tweets and tags are so difficult to utilize).

Background: The reservation for the instore events happened after the Rohm Theatre concerts. Luckily I was still in the area and managed to reserve a slot for myself.

Today, from Fukuoka, I headed to Kyoto for the event excitedly.

And we were graced with Shinya's presence yahoooo! The signing event was held in a tiny corner of Tower Records with only panel boards obscuring Shinya. We were asked to line up by our number. I got #27 so I was among the first ones. It was pretty nice because you can talk to him for a bit without anyone looming at you to finish. Takabayashi-san was behind Shinya and he's the one picking the picture card for Shinya to sign. So before my turn, I stood just a step away from the board so I can stare at him while he signs for the person before me. Kekeke.

There was no other staff so why not, right? Shinya's hair is beautiful, nicely combed and styled like in his insta pics. He's got light foundation on and was wearing all black. His contacts are of beautiful greyish color? During my turn, he looked at me briefly and smiled and interestingly, for the very first time, i didn't get a double take after the greetings (I said Konnichiwa)? I probably passed as Japanese today because he only looked at me twice when I said I'm not Japanese.

When I told him where I came from, he reacted the same way as Die during the Shinjuku instore. He smiled and said 'Dubai... Sugoi!' I told him I went to Fukuoka and it was great and he said thanks for coming. Then I said I'm coming to see him again tomorrow and he said 'i look forward to seeing you again. Thank you!'. I wanted to ask him something more like what song is his fave from the new album that we can look forward to but my tongue got tied and my brain shortcircuited that I just stood there staring. Ugh it was so bad. So to just avoid potential embarrassment I said thank you and bowed.

He looked at me the last time, said thank you and bowed as well. Tbh i dunno who was more shy between the two of us. 😵😵😵

And that was it! I think i did well all things considered. I'm glad I didn't do anything humiliating and I was normal. 💗💗💗 So happy to meet Shinya! Next time, I'll prepare lots!

It seems Shinya drew images based on what the fans had on them. I didn't have anything remarkable on but a friend had hers with Snoopy bec she had Snoopy charm, another had a beret so he drew a beret on the sign. Others had Penyu keychain so he drew Penyu.

ISNT HE SO NICE???

[theghostinmyroom]

Day 2 - Tokyo Kokusai Forum

24/08/18

It's the revenge I waited for and I'm so glad to have been there to experience the scorching hot response of Tokyo to DIR EN GREY's new music. Day 2 was one of the best Tokyo nights ever!

I expected it to be good, but the crowd and the band were beyond great. It was a good night to be alive!

From the onset, when the members came out the crowd has already been enthusiastic. Loud name calls from all over reverberated inside the hall. Shinya, Die wore the same costume as Day 1. Well Shinya's top was different but it's still white so it's roughly the same get up? Lol. Toshiya wore the gakuran costume. He posted a pic of it here: https://twitter.com/DIRENGREY_JP/status/1030742475839692801?s=19. Kaoru wore the all black priest-like get up. He looks really royal tbh. Then Kyo wore black skirt over black pants, with black top and the white veil on his head like a nun. I couldn't see his make up then from where I was so I anticipated Beruze to see it. His make up was totally ghoul type and it was really beautifully done (how can a ghoul make up be beauiful, beats me!).

Utafumi was first and man that was hot! The response of the crowd was deafening. Many points during the concert, Kyo removed his earmoni to listen to our voices. Do understand Forum is really huge so singing along with the intent of having him hear us required a lot of effort UNLESS everyone sang. Day 1 he did the same actions as well and I couldn't make out if he was happy or not but Day 2 he seemed very satisfied. I think his tweet before the live helped a lot. I think it was some kind of distress call. And torikos heeded that call. Just thinking of it made the hair on my skin rise.

I thought Ash would come next but instead it was Soshaku. So very powerful songs from the onset and it was great. We were treated to a roller coaster of emotions. Kyo's voice continued to break but he didn't care. He kept singing. He still managed to sing all the notes but yes, the struggle was there.

Toguro and Fukai were next and as usual prior to Toguro starting, the shimote Kaoru side would switch to active name callings until Kaoru is situated on his area with the light blue spotlight. Kaoru would return the favor to the crowd by slowly bouncing while on squats. On both days I'm far from the front so I can't really see their faces but from my unobscured view, I knew Kaoru was nodding at his fans with a pout on his face. It's really between a pout or a ''wow'' face with Kaoru haha!

I liked the moment when Kaoru was so engrossed in playing that he was completely facing sideways while Toshiya was also the same. It was almost like they're playing back to back but of course not. The stage is wide and so they have got quite a space between each other.

Fukai is where Die shines a lot. Apart from Rinkaku which he shares the spotlight with Kaoru primarily (because Shinya is also a rival). I like the fact that in Day 2, Kyo let us sing more than in Day 1. I guess Kyo has trusted us now to carry on as loud as we could.

During Rinkaku, after "Minerva" the light was almost blinding. Kaoru was lost in his space in Rinkaku that he was counting sounds in his fingers, like gentle snapping of fingers and it was beautiful and I just drowned.

Beruze, as always, was fantastic beyond words. It's always like being face to face with a dream that is also your nightmare. I've said it before and I say it again, Kyo is a genius. Every Beruze performance varied from another. Similar but not. He played with his mouth again and his saliva was all over and I remember my mouth gaping open. I'll never get used to it. It's like he's breaking himself open for everyone to see.

Ranunculus. Toshiya sang along again and he moved like his song is his. Dunno, but he made me feel that way. Ningen came after and thankfully the fans sang along when Kyo extended his mic to us. We moved so much in Day 2 and surely it looked amazing from their view. Thank goodness it was so warm (not the temp).

The punk song was next and it was very clear how Kyo sang 'I cannot love myself'. Toshiya held the mic with his both hands as he back up "go mad!!!". Ash came next and it was a good placement because the energy was still up. Thankfully again many fans sang along unlike Day 1 which was dead.

Revelation was the last song of the main set and it was as powerful as the beginning of the concert. The energy was just off the roof. By this time I didn't pay attention anymore what the band members were doing anymore. It mattered to me to just give my all as they did. So i headbanged the whole song through. It was amazing!

The encore and the after encore were the ones to watch out for. The fans' encore calls were a lot enthusiastic than Day 1. It made a lot of difference.

They played Kodou which was last played in Sendai and I saw a lot of people jumping in places in happiness. The parts where we sang along were loud and I distinctly remembered Kaoru's smug face. The leader looked very satisfied and happy. Toshiya sang along during the last line and his "ohayou!" was so cute and truly adorable.

Inferno was next and needless to say Tokyo was on fire. The unanimous slow headbang during the last minute of the song was truly goosebumps-inducing. I liked the fact that Kyo basically dictated when he wanted us to headbang. He pointed to his head, to his temple as he squatted on his ledge to signal us 'hey, now you headbang!' And it was sooooo fine!

No break and IIID was next and I knew it... the trio of destruction was our closer on Day 2. I think I teared up a bit. Tokyo is indeed special. And I'm glad Tokyo delivered.

Beautiful Dirt was where Kyo just lost it and I think he wanted to be closer to the fans so he went mad for a sec that he went to shimote hanamichi, the staff was not too far from his heels ensuring that there was enough mic cable for him to pull. But Kyo wanted to go further and the cable was no more so he stopped singing, dropped his mic, walked further to the hanamichi and that was when I saw Takabayashi appeared from nowhere (where did he come from!?) and stopped him. I saw fans went mad as well and I heard shrieks and many calling Kyo and it was so shocking tbh. Kyo went back (as he was reprimanded from going further lolololol) and the next thing I saw was him stepping on the metal railing just at the end of the hanamichi and like trying to reach out to the fans nearby. He was unstoppable! Hahahahaha!

There was one point (not Beautiful Dirt, I just cant remember which one) wherein Toshiya played by the edge of the shimote hanamichi and it's like he couldn't decide whether to step to the hanamichi or not. So he stayed there casually by the speakers just oozing sexiness. Umph.

Rasetsukoku. Kyo screamed during the MC micless. He hit his chest with the mic twice thrice i dunno and we returned the fervor by screaming at the top of our lungs. Prior to the MC, Kyo went to his area by the edge of Shinya's drumset and removed his ear monitor completely. He tugged them violently and left it there. So the whole song he didn't hear what he had designed for himself to hear. He heard what was, I'd say, the climax of being one with the crowd. Honestly, I was so touched by that action. So touched and so honored that he wanted to hear us.

During the last stretch of Rasetsukoku, Die went behind Shinya and played there until Shinya finished his super long, extended closing drum rolls. WHY ARE THEY ALWAYS SO SWEET? And after encore, Die called out to Shinya from the side and they talked briefly. Saw Shinya nodded from his drumset as he removed his ear monitor.

So many things happened after the encore. I was sure Kyo splashed water at least to the front centre block, he blew kisses and peace signs before leaving.

Toshiya interactions in the hanamichi after encore:

Die - Toshiya shook hands with Die and let Die go thru first to the shimote hanamichi.

Shinya - Toshiya bowed a little to Shinya and very briefly Shinya smiled back, Toshiya let Shinya thru first to the shimote hanamichi.

Kaoru - Kaoru was on the way back from kamite hanamichi while Toshiya is about to go. Toshiya waved his hand, like he did to Die and Shinya, like a host letting his clients go through first lolololol. But Kaoru like almost ignored him and turned his back to him so Toshiya can go first. 😂😂😂 WHY ARE THESE 2 ALWAYS SO AWKWARD. (A rhetorical question)

Toshiya letting himself be touched by the shimote fans by the aisle. He went to the shimote hanamichi and he extended his right hand so fans can touch him. His smile can brighten up the world *sobs* He was so nice. He laughed at one particular fan too (the last girl!) Huhuhuhu... according to a friend of mine who was in kamite, Toshiya also did the same thing to the fans in the kamite aisle.

Kaoru, coming back from kamite hanamichi after throwing his picks, fans were shouting his name and he stopped at that break between the side stage and the main stage, looked at the fans who called him and he raised both his arms like he was scaring them. YES AGAIN WITH RAWR POSE!💜

In relation to the insta pic posted by Toshiya, he stood on Kyo's ledge, removed his ear monitor and he was genuinely surprised by the screams of everyone. I remember Die was in do-kamite while Kaoru was in do-shimote when this happened. Majority of the fans then called for Toshiya and he was so flustered. He placed his hand together and bowed in gratitude. Afterwards he covered his mouth with his left hand in embarrassment while laughing. Hahahaha! That moment was just so adorable I remember jumping in giddiness.

Last, Shinya went to his drumset and removed one the cymbals and just casually walked out of the stage. For me who has no idea what was going on, I thought he was gonna throw it. I seriously didn't have an idea why until I read Kumrau's fanaccount. So he was such a sweetheart to have removed his cymbals so we can watch the Ranunculus PV unobscuredly. Shinya's truly a lovely person.

Sooo thus ends my Day 2 fanaccount. Honestly, there's so many things I still wanted to write but I'm not sure anymore if I've seen them in Tokyo or in another show. I'm so confused and so tired already with all these chasings that I do. Don't get me wrong I'm very happy. But yes, I'm human and I forget and body and mind can give up too.

Up next is Fukuoka. I LOOK FORWARD TO THE CITY KYO LIKES A LOT (or the most?).

[kyotakumrau]

kyo_official twitter 2018.08.24

俺はライブをする為に生きている

俺は音源に意思を込める為に生きている

ただ、それだけの為に明日が存在する

今はそれだけで十分だ

.

誰の為に生きる？

京

I live to give concerts

I live to put my mind into music we make

Tomorrow is there just for that reason

Now, just that is enough

.

What/whom do you live for?

Kyo

[theghostinmyroom]

Can't help but think it's a push for tonight.

Let's give it our all torikos!

[theghostinmyroom]

WEARING HUMAN SKIN

Tokyo Kokusai Forum

23/08/2018 - Day 1