#pv: myaku

[slapthebass]

[2000.02.16] Dir en grey ビデオコンサート - 脈 PV recording

Gear focus

[sami--spoon]

Icons I made for LiveJournal, 2006 Edited from the Dir en grey PV for Myaku

[aoimori]

07.25.2017 DIR EN GREY @ Nakano Sun Plaza [mode of MACABRE]

Wow.

Wow.

This happened.

This is a thing that happened.

Setlist

01. Deity 02. MACABRE (original) 03. Audrey 04. egnirys... 05. Chain repulsion 06. Hotarubi 07. ain't afraid to die 08. Hydra -666- 09. Children 10. Myaku 11. Berry 12. Riyuu 13. Zakuro

EN 01. Taiyou no ao 02. [KR]cube 03. Sustain the untruth 04. Utafumi 05. Rasetsu koku

I was near the front of the second floor so I had a good view of the entire venue.

They started with Deity and we all freaked out. There was a screen in front of the stage and video of blue skeletons was projected on it. Then it changed to more abstract visuals and gradually revealed their name and the name of the tour.

The screen was really cool because there was another screen behind the band, and when they projected onto both, it gave this really cool 3D effect. There was also amazing lighting that was used on both sides of the screen, on the floor, and projected onto the walls of the venue.

Then right into the original Macabre. I was actually blown away by this song. It's part of why the show as a whole was so genuinely impressive to me. The screen was down for about half of the song. It started with visuals of bugs etc. but then switched into more abstract things with live video of the members superimposed. The effect was honestly REALLY cool. The guitar solos were also awesome because of the use of spotlights and really cool projectings of lightning etc. There were moments where each member was backlit with kind of pulsating lights and then suddenly they would all light up at once and we'd see these huge, dramatic shadows.

It doesn't sound as cool in writing but at one point during an instrumental part of the song Kyo was backlit and he was moving around using his jacket as a prop so that he looked kind of like an insect? Like slowly flapping his wings, or wrapping himself up in a chrysalis. I personally thought it was really cool and artistic lol

A little past halfway in the song at that big climax the venue lit up and the screen was lifted in the most dramatic way.

I am personally a big fan of guitar solos and there were a ton in this show and I just loved every single one of them. Kaoru seemed really into it.

Ok let me talk about CLOTHES for a second. Kyo wrote a white shirt and black jeans with ripped knees. His hair was, as you have probably heard, teal. It's closer to green but maybe a cool green? I dunno! For the encore he wore a harness with his pink leopard print shirt from the sukekiyo broadcast.

KAORU, AKA MY GOTH KING, has amazing light blonde hair that's cut close in the back. It looks SO GOOD. He didn't have any makeup on his lips or neck, just eyeshadow. He was wearing a long black skirt with high slits on both sides over white leggings, and a black top that had big cutouts on the shoulders/upper arms. Wow. Wowwwwwwwww

Die wore the infamous LEG ARMOR. Basically one leg of his pants was cut really high up to make short shorts and on his entire leg he was wearing this kind of. Black armor looking something? With big open spaces. Basically it was the FESTIVAL OF DIE'S THIGH. For encore he wore the tour cat shirt.

Toshiya wore a suit like he has recently. Same thing for encore but with a black mostly unbuttoned shirt instead of a white one. Shinya wore the same things he has lately too (white shirt) and also wore the cat shirt during the encore.

Anyway next was audrey. I heard that at previous shows Die messed up the intro but it seemed fine this time lol. I think we were all a little surprised with the order of the setlist.

Syringe was really fun as expected, that FUNKY BASS. The lighting was cool and mostly in green and blue. The ending was also really cool, Toshiya SLAPPED his bass and the lights all went out.

Hotarubi was really pretty with video of flowers blooming and lasers pointed at the screen at the end that kind of looked like fireflies.

Then ain't afraid to die, which a lot of people have been talking about. There was low fog on the stage. The video that played was of Tibetan monks, children, and scenery. I heard that the video they showed today was less graphic than previous shows. I'm guessing this is because this show was filmed (there were a lot of cameras). They still showed a self immolation scene though. It was an interesting choice of topic for this song and I think it changed the tone of the performance.

Back to fast songs with Hydra -666-. I love the original Hydra and kinda wish I could hear it live but the remake is awesome too. Around here I realized how happy I was to be in a venue full of other Dir fans during songs like this. The last time I saw them was at Androgynos, which was great, but definitely a Pierrot fan-focused event. I was lucky to have two girls on either side of me getting REALLY into it so we all headbanged together. Hair flying everywhere lol

Next was children which surprised me!! I hadn't been following setlists or anything. Seeing this live was crazy. It goes harder than I expected somehow lol. Everyone was kind of dancing at their seats.

Myaku was SO COOL. They showed clips from the PV (not of the members) and related images. I really, really want a remake of this song. I think it has the potential to be so creepy. That nemurimashou / yume wo miyou part sounded SO cool live.

Berry started with the same intro as the recording but didn't end with the gunshot. Probably a good choice. It was crazy overall though. It just felt like total chaos lol. Near the very end of the song when Kyo sings "Shall I shoot you first?" Kaoru held up his guitar and pretended to shoot us lol.

Riyuu was a nice, calm song after Berry. Around here I started kinda thinking about how Kyo has progressed as a vocalist? Like the way he added adlibs to some songs or just the way he sings in general. Really great stuff. The video of weird gif-looking butterflies on fire? Maybe not so great lol

And now the last song of the main set... Zakuro. A lot of people were talking about this song in particular on twitter after the show. This was one of the most raw and emotional performances I've seen from Kyo in a very long time. I think most of us were really overwhelmed. Personally, it's been one of my favorite songs for years, and I was expecting to get a little emotional, but I honestly had no idea that it was going to be this intense.

As the song progressed Kyo sounded more and more emotional, and near the end was just sobbing out the words. He fell to the floor, with his forehead pressed against the stage, then got back up for the end of the song. I honestly can't even describe the screams he made.

At the climax of the song a disco ball was lowered and the hall filled up with light. 

As the song ended the screen came back down in front of the stage and everything went dark. We could hear Kyo weakly sing the last line of the song alone, then a pause, then the sound of his mic hitting the floor loudly. For a moment everyone was silent, but then we all applauded... I’ve never had that happen at a show like this before. I got chills.

 Red lights came on throughout the venue, and set one was over. This was the first time for me to NOT participate in calling for an encore. I was really overwhelmed and needed time to process and cry into my towel a little.

First song of the encore was Taiyou no ao. I was still trying to get myself back together mentally after Zakuro so I had a hard time transitioning to the tone of this song lol. It was really crazy to see it live, I felt like it was a song they would never ever play again but here we are! It's such a pleasant song.

Then everyone's favorite... [KR]cube. Everyone was doing furi (including Kyo at one point lol) and the band was definitely having fun on stage. At a few points in the encore they all stood at the edge of the stage in a line spanning the whole stage. It was really cool!?

I can't remember which song this was for, but during the encore Kyo snuck up behind Die and kind of leaned to one side looking up at him, then switched to the other side, teasing him. Die turned around and they both smiled and it was ADORABLE. Kyo then went to the edge of the stage in front of the audience and Die kind of cornered him there and they performed together for a little while. ADORABLE! AMAZING!

Sustain was the same as usual with lots of crowd singing. Then the very last song was Rasetsu koku and everyone went SO HARD. My neck hurts from this song lol. Kaoru headbanged a lot too and I LOVED IT.

During the MCs around here Kyo was screaming at us as usual but then started saying I can't hear you... I still... can't hear you... in this really quiet and uninterested voice lol. The next time he called to us he surprised everyone by deviating from his usual script. He basically told us like. I can't hear you... how many times do you have to be TOLD... say it with FEELING!! Twitter is now calling him a PE teacher for this comment lol. It was kind of hilarious. I put in as much attitude as I could. He also called us Nakano-san every time lol

After the show Kyo stayed on stage for a while. He threw two water bottles (after very purposefully pouring out one of them on the stage lol) and clapped to everyone and blew us kisses before leaving. While he was clapping he started clapping very slowly so we all imitated him for a few seconds lol.

So overall impression is basically just... I'm so impressed. Everything about this show was stunning. I loved the use of screens and lighting, the band sounded great, there were a few songs that Kyo put his whole soul into, Die's weird leg thing is distracting, and Kaoru looks INCREDIBLE. The fact that I saw this entire album live doesn't even feel real. I feel like I just woke up from a dream. Who would have guessed that like 16 years after the album was released I would be in Japan watching it be performed!?