#shine encore merch

[autistic-cry-baby]

if you're autistic and worried about how a concert will go, this post is for you!

(no image credit since i took that pic w my crappy camera lol)

my first concert was last night, and this was my experience.

security

if you're UNDER 18, they'll write a big 'x' on both of your hands in sharpie to make sure you don't try to buy alcoholic beverages underaged.

if you're OVER 18, they'll check your ID, and if you're legally allowed to drink in that state, they'll give you a paper wristband. if not, they'll write a big 'x' on both of your hands in sharpie.

next, they'll check your tickets.

after that, they check your bags for weapons. don't worry, it's not completely emptying and going through it. they'll just shine a bluelight flashlight in it.

and lastly, they'll stamp a music note pattern on your right wrist, so the other staff can make sure you've paid to be there.

merch stores

i reccomend buying some to support the artist! the band i saw, cavetown, was doing a fundraiser to help families in palestine.

the size of the store will vary depending on how many products the artist has. not all of it will be on sale, but a pretty good amount.

the show

the band will be jumping around on stage the whole time, and the lights will be super bright. the audience and the music will be loud. for me, i love environments like this. but if you don't do well in them, i reccomend noise cancelling headphones.

the concert should last from 1-3 hours, depending on how long the opening and the encore (if there is one) is.

exiting

for me, this was the worst part.

everyone will be trying to get out at the same time. the hallway will be flooded with people.

once you get outside, you should be good to go!

i hope you have a great time!!!

[louisupdates]

From One Direction to Own Direction: Louis Tomlinson showcases confidence and musical growth in Melbourne

Alex Valentovich, 📸 Olivia Burns | February 4, 2024

British singer-songwriter and former One Direction member, Louis Tomlinson bought his Faith in the Future World Tour down-under and Melbourne was the lucky first on his Australia run to get a taste of what the artist had in store for them at the Sidney Myer Bowl on January 28.

Eager fans were lining up for miles down the road in the hot sun and as the announcement came out that the gates were now open, it saw everyone inching their way forward as fast as they could to get in. People were frantically prioritising either getting their hands on merch or to claim their spot for the rest of the night.

An hour went by from gates opening, people were still finding their way in as Melbourne’s own Velvet Club started off the evening. An indie rock band, who made you feel like all you were missing was the beach or a car with the windows down while blasting their music loudly. Was such a nice way to start off the night with good vibes and the sun shining, a very rare occurrence here, we were here to soak it all in.

Sea Girls hailing all the way from London were up next, giving some energy into the venue as people were still flooding in, filling up the open spaces. Familiar with these guys as I had already seen them live, I knew they would do a great job in amping everyone up for the evening ahead. Playing a few oldies but goodies and some tracks off of their newer album, they gave everyone a little taste of what they were about and surely gained some new fans at the same time.

Now it was just a half hour wait between the fans and getting to see their favourite artist. The excitement exuded from everyone along the barrier, counting down the minutes. But as soon as the intro video started playing on the big screen and over the loudspeakers, the crowd erupted into screaming. The band members swiftly got on stage and started playing the intro music. After getting the crowd all riled up, Louis walked out, hands raised above his head acknowledging the crowd, where the sea of people’s screams became even louder, if that were possible. He made his way to centre stage to a lone microphone where they seamlessly transitioned into ‘The Greatest,’ a ballad of a song to start off the night. Playing through mostly songs off his Faith in the Future album, with some earlier tracks, such as ‘Walls’ and ‘Kill My Mind’. He also added in a great cover of Arctic Monkeys’ song ‘505’ and playing a throwback of One Direction days with ‘Drag Me Down’. He had everyone in the palm of hands, as he moved to each side of the stage, often giving waves into the crowd’s direction which were met with screams of admiration and people singing back the words to him as loud as they could.

It felt as though the night came to an end as he abruptly walked off stage after singing ‘Out of My System’, a crowd favourite and single off his latest record. It felt like an eternity waiting for him to reappear, while the crowd started up many chants to try win him over and get him back on stage from yelling ‘Encore’ and ‘Louis’ to singing a few different songs, he finally gave in and he walked back out. The band started playing, and he broke out the first line of Saturdays. I thought, too chill of a song to end the night on, little did I know he had two extra songs planned, to that he sang another One Direction song ‘Where Do Broken Hearts Go’, he then announced his final song, ‘Silver Tongues’. During this, he took an opportunity to jump off stage and ran across the front of the barrier, giving high fives and stopping to sing some of the song in the middle where fans were clambering to get just one acknowledging hand hold. Before we knew it, he was then back up on stage to finish off the song, before thanking the crowd, waving final goodbyes, and then disappeared, leaving the crowd in a bittersweet, whirlwind of emotion.

Other than a nod to his days in the band, by singing a couple of the group’s tracks, which I’m sure gave everyone a sense of nostalgia, myself included, if you were attending the concert, expecting a One Direction performance, you may have come away a little disappointed. While he may not be bouncing around the stage singing ‘What Makes You Beautiful’ with the others, he commanded the stage entirely on his own. His performance perfectly showcased so much growth and confidence within himself which was so amazing to witness. Going from being able to have other people to lean on, on stage for so many years, you have to hand it to him to take on all of this by himself. Louis was here to make his mark as a solo artist and I believe he did just that.

[louistomlinsoncouk]

British singer-songwriter and former One Direction member, Louis Tomlinson bought his Faith in the Future World Tour down-under and Melbourne was the lucky first on his Australia run to get a taste of what the artist had in store for them at the Sidney Myer Bowl on January 28. 

Eager fans were lining up for miles down the road in the hot sun and as the announcement came out that the gates were now open, it saw everyone inching their way forward as fast as they could to get in. People were frantically prioritising either getting their hands on merch or to claim their spot for the rest of the night. 

An hour went by from gates opening, people were still finding their way in as Melbourne’s own Velvet Club started off the evening. An indie rock band, who made you feel like all you were missing was the beach or a car with the windows down while blasting their music loudly. Was such a nice way to start off the night with good vibes and the sun shining, a very rare occurrence here, we were here to soak it all in. 

Sea Girls hailing all the way from London were up next, giving some energy into the venue as people were still flooding in, filling up the open spaces. Familiar with these guys as I had already seen them live, I knew they would do a great job in amping everyone up for the evening ahead. Playing a few oldies but goodies and some tracks off of their newer album, they gave everyone a little taste of what they were about and surely gained some new fans at the same time. 

Now it was just a half hour wait between the fans and getting to see their favourite artist. The excitement exuded from everyone along the barrier, counting down the minutes. But as soon as the intro video started playing on the big screen and over the loudspeakers, the crowd erupted into screaming. The band members swiftly got on stage and started playing the intro music. After getting the crowd all riled up, Louis walked out, hands raised above his head acknowledging the crowd, where the sea of people’s scream became even louder, if that were possible. He made his way to centre stage to a lone microphone where they seamlessly transitioned into ‘The Greatest’ a ballad of a song to start off the night. Playing through mostly songs off his Faith in the Future album, with some earlier tracks, such as ‘Walls’ and ‘Kill My Mind’. He also added in a great cover of Arctic Monkeys’ song ‘505’ and playing a throwback of One Direction days with ‘Drag Me Down’. He had everyone in the palm of hands, as he moved to each side of the stage, often giving waves into the crowd’s direction which were met with screams of admiration and people singing back the words to him as loud as they could. 

It felt as though the night came to an end as he abruptly walked off stage after singing ‘Out of My System’, a crowd favourite and single off his latest record. It felt like an eternity waiting for him to reappear, while the crowd started up many chants to try win him over and get him back on stage from yelling ‘Encore’ and ‘Louis’ to singing a few different songs, he finally gave in and he walked back out. The band started playing, and he broke out the first line of Saturdays. I thought, too chill of a song to end the night on, little did I know he had two extra songs planned, to that he sang another One Direction song ‘Where Do Broken Hearts Go’, he then announced his final song, ‘Silver Tongues’. During this, he took an opportunity to jump off stage and ran across the front of the barrier, giving high fives and stopping to sing some of the song in the middle where fans were clambering to get just one acknowledging hand hold. Before we knew it, he was then back up on stage to finish off the song, before thanking the crowd, waving final goodbyes, and then disappeared, leaving the crowd in a bittersweet, whirlwind of emotion. 

Other than a nod to his days in the band, by singing a couple of the group’s tracks, which I’m sure gave everyone a sense of nostalgia, myself included, if you were attending the concert, expecting a One Direction performance, you may have come away a little disappointed. While he may not be bouncing around the stage singing ‘What Makes You Beautiful’ with the others, he commanded the stage entirely on his own. His performance perfectly showcased so much growth and confidence within himself which was so amazing to witness. Going from being able to have other people to lean on, on stage for so many years, you have to hand it to him to take on all of this by himself. Louis was here to make his mark as a solo artist and I believe he did just that.

[absolutebloodychaos]

Melbourne 23/11/23

I've seen these all over Tumblr before and now that I actually went to a gig for a band I follow on here, thought I might as well right down my experience of the show so...

Thoughts from the show

Me and my bestie got to the venue and started queuing at about 3:30-3:45 or something and we were in the first like a hundred or so in the queue (we did not mean to queue that early, we were going to go after school had finished - so like 4 or 5, but we got let out at lunch cause of final year 10 exams so...)

Made a bestie in the line who was great and who we stayed with throughout the gig, gonna love them forever❤️

The sun was shining directly down on us so like next time I am making sure to bring an umbrella or something as it was super fucking glary (it wasn't unbearable though which was good).

Bought merch, the Victoria Is My Girlfriend tank top and the grey t-shirt with the pink picture which are both so slay.

The doors opened at 7:30 and we got in some time between then and like 7:40, we had to fast walk to our gates which was fun but then by the time we got to the floor we were only like five people from the front or something.

Made another bestie while waiting for the gig to start who was very tall and basically became like a guardian angel for me and my friend, they had been to a bunch of moshes before and stuff and ended up keeping track of us the whole time which was fun.

There were two girls in front of us doing coke while waiting for the show, they offered me some and I did not know how to feel about it.

Damiano was SO FUCKING HOT IN PERSON I SWEAR TO GOD!!!!!!! I am never going to shut up about how fucking FINE that man is. He was sweaty and so damn sexy and his voice was flawless and I strangely got the gut urge to lick him which is something I've never had before.

Vic CAME INTO THE CROWD during one of the songs (sorry I couldn't remember which one, I was very distracted), stood less than a foot away from me, close enough that I could see that she is shorter than me which I did not realise, and she made DIRECT FUCKING EYE CONTACT WITH ME I AM NOT OKAY!!!!! This was the first of FIVE TIMES that this happened, I am never recovering and she is fucking GORGEOUS in person.

Thomas was so slay up close (and I mean up close, we were so close that I could pick out his individual moustache hairs I swear), he's a fantastic guitar player, he had a couple of solos but the main one was the big one he did at the start of the encore, I also made eye-contact with him once as he was directly in front of us for like the entire gig.

I also locked eyes with Damiano THREE TIMES, he also looked at my friend, I swear to god that man is so sexy I want to die.

Ethan's hair looked fucking MAJESTIC in person, he is such a fucking amazing drummer I SWEAR.

I took my shirt off somewhere in Valentine I think as it was too fucking hot, but then I had the best time just bopping around in my bra.

Damiano, Vic and Thomas all crowd surfed, sadly not near me, but it was fucking awesome.

They did Trastavere and Are You Gonna Be My Girl acoustic on a little stage at the other side of the stadium, I couldn't see that very well but it sounded AMAZING.

Ethan and Vic did a fucking amazing solo while Thomas and Damiano were coming back across the stadium, I think the song after that was IWBYS.

Damiano's shirt at the start was HOT - only buttoned up at his waist, but him shirtless in person killed me.

Vic's outfit was so fucking sexy I swear to god (and I got to see it up close, AAAAAAAAAA).

Ethan started off the show in a suit, then went to just a shirt, and then just a tie, and my god that man is attractive.

Damiano had an Italian flag at multiple times and it was so slay, at one point he got everyone in the crowd who was Italian to put their hands up.

The encore was The Loneliest and IWBYS, someone made Vic laugh during IWBYS and it was the cutest thing ever, she was like right in front of us for that.

In the encore I couldn't choose who to look at as I had Damiano on my left and Vic on my right and I felt weirdly like this was some kind of metaphor for my sexuality turmoil but it was amazing.

I am fully in love with Damiano's hair again, now that I've seen it in person I promise I will never doubt again.

They did all of the new songs from Rush! (Are U Coming?) and they were AMAZING!!!!!!

It is morning now, I only got five hours of sleep or less, the ringing in my ears has only slightly disappeared, my throat is going to hate me all of today, but it was so fucking worth it.

[doomandgloomfromthetomb]

Sonic Youth - Knights of Columbus Hall, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, November 11, 1986

The Flaming Telepaths Tour! Late 1986 saw Sonic Youth taking EVOL on the road all over the place, with Firehose opening up (that band having just recently risen from the ashes of the Minutemen). You have to wonder what kind of impression these strange bands made on audiences out in spots like Kansas City, Tallahassee and Baton Rouge. They must have seemed like they were from another planet. Or maybe not! Back in those days, weird little scenes existed in virtually every city. And Sonic Youth was eagerly exploring most of them, making connections, absorbing and observing.

This Knights of Columbus tape is great — a SBD / AUD matrix that gives us a very up-close-and-personal capture of the band at this stage in their development. Things are getting a little more pro, but not too much; technical difficulties abound at the beginning. Thurston is heckled during a guitar strap malfunction. (Audience member: "You suck!"; Thurston: "You suck me!"; Kim: "Life sucks, you know?") A tuning break is soundtracked by Janet Jackson's deathless "Nasty."

But once things get rolling, Sonic Youth is mercilessly awesome, whether on a vicious "Tom Violence" or a haunting "Shadow of a Doubt." Steve Shelley gets to shine on the new "White Cross," powering everything with a Keith Moon-joins-Black-Flag energy level. Best of all is the version of "Expressway To Yr Skull," wherein Lee Ranaldo conjures up what may be the sweetest guitar tone of the 1980s.

The encore in Baton Rouge adds another wrinkle — Sonic Youth as a bunch of goofballs. Joined by the Firehose dudes (the supergroup is christened Ciccone Life), there's a skronky rendition of "Starpower" complete with free jazz sax and a rollicking, on-the-verge-of-collapse cover of Blue Öyster Cult's "The Red & The Black." Make a dash for freedom, baby!

(Oh and I couldn't track down a tape of Firehose's opening set, but here's one from a couple weeks later!)

Bandcamp | Merch | Concert Chronology

[lazerv4]

Thoughts on Miku Expo (CDMX 2024)

Just my raw thoughts not a review or anything

When I first got the email for the MikuExpo presale I was so excited, something like this was a long time coming and before the pandemic hit it was actually coming but since then I had been waiting so when it finally came back to me I bought tickets immediately which filled me with joy that as the event started happening in other parts of the continent slowly soured, from the infamous screen to the lack of glow sticks to the incredibly mediocre setlist my hopes were getting crushed but I had already bought the plane tickets and planed my week away with a few friends that lived in the city so I was already committed. After a weird mix of anticipation and dread the show arrived and they made us go early for some reason (5:00 pm and the show started at 8:00 pm) and we got in line, then after like 30 minutes of line came another 30 minutes of line with the merch and then finally finding a place to settle for the show going forwards. I also wanna mention we saw Sr. Pelo which was funny but anyways getting back to the point.

Everyone was so excited and shouting, we got chants from silly stuff like Miku Pelona (Bald Miku) when a bald Miku plushie would be thrown into the air to the classic fuck Crunchyroll and other before at 8:00 pm the show finally started.

The first notes of Miku by Anamanaguchi hit and I was instantly enthralled, I don’t even particularly care for that song (I’m for of a Kira fan for my english Miku) but I don’t know, the moment just felt special, like being in something you love with people you love surrounded by a community of people that also love the same thing, it was incredibly surreal and I was happy, the song was followed by Vampire which is also another song I don’t care much for even with me being a crazy Deco*27 fan but I had so much fun dancing, singing and playing with the bootleg glowsticks we all got that I just didn’t care anymore, I was there and I was having fun.

Afterwards we got Unknow Mother Goose which I do like and had fun with but I would have preferred Rollin Girl but it was the moment I started to realize something, as much as I wanted the holograms and to get the full experience, all things considered the screen looks pretty good, the videos I’d seen didn’t do it justice and even the ones I recorded look way worse than it looked irl so at this point I was in, I was having fun, enjoying everything and completely dissociated from my body, I was just part of this and I was having the time of my life, the culmination of 12 years of fandom was here.

Rin in general was a lot of fun and I had a great time cheering (she’s my fave) and Magical Cure Love Shot! (I spell it how I want shut up) was also a lot of fun,  I wasn’t super into the songs but the vibe was still shining, the band was giving it their all with the guitarist especially being a highlight with how crazy she would go for no reason at all, it was awesome.

Our show had an exclusive bonus track which of course was MikuFiesta and it was a moment for sure. After a while (by a while I mean 17 songs out of 24) we get the band introduction and a small break before returning with Hyper Reality Show and then it happened, the moment that will stick forever in my mind as I hear SEKAIIIIIIIIIIII DE and the show peaked, nothing would come close to that performance of World is Mine, the most iconic of Miku songs at least for the shows was like nothing else, everyone was so into it and having so much fun, it was a magical moment that I will always remember fondly and I greatly appreciate having been a part of.

Tell Your World was another song on the setlist I enjoyed a lot but the show was nearing it’s end and with Miku doing the trademarked mention of the place she was in during Intergalactic Bound the show came to an end but of course because this is a concert that was a fake out for the obligatory encore that was pretty short but enjoyable and surprisingly closed with Highlight by KIRA which was a welcome surprised as I had forgotten the setlist at that point and I was just happy to had been there and experience the magic of miku as dumb as it sounds.

Now could it have been better? yes, will I still condemn and talk shit about the event organizers? yes, did I have some of the most fun I’ve ever had at a concert? abso-fucking-lutely. I loved every second I spend there and I’m glad I got to experience it at least once, now we just need to go to another one with a better setlist and holograms but I still won’t ever regret going to this one, it was an experience that will linger in my mind forever.

[estradasphere]

my estradasphere white whale (besides literally any official wearable merch at all) is a recording of the March 11 2003 show at the Rox Club in San Antonio. according to a review there was like maybe two dozen people in attendance at most so I'm not surprised there's no recording of it, but it sounds SO fun and they played a LOT (including a bunch of covers they literally never played again?! how many fucking songs did these guys just have in their back pocket??)

Healing (John solo Tuvan chanting), Walk like an Egyptian medley, Say Your Prayers, Meteorite Showers (short version), Nutch > Material Girl > Doogie Howser MD > Disco Time > King Krab Battle > Nutch, Don't Stop Me Now, Piggies, Now It's Time to Die, King Solomon > Juicy Fruit > King Solomon, Take On Me (tease), Sirba, The Dapper Bandits encore 1: Jam (Based on a James Brown song; w/ Theo on vocals, John on guitar, Jason on drums, Timb on bass, Tim on sax) > Another One Bites the Dust encore 2: The Silent Elk of Yesterday > I Don't Know (tease) > Walk This Way (tease) > Crazy Train > Sweet Emotion (tease), Back in Black (w/ Theo on vocals, John on drums) > Welcome to the Jungle (tease), Nothin' but a Good Time (w/ Tim on vocals)

...mostly I just desperately want to hear/see that jam where everyone swaps instruments and fucks around

my Other One is the two shows where they played rise 'n shine with local rappers (2000 march 31 + may 19) because goddamn am i curious how the hell you would put a rap verse over that song

[marasmusicnotes]

Madrugada

Sep 1, 2023 - Columbiahalle (Berlin)

This was a long-awaited one. Seeing Madrugada the last time only made me more into them. Their warm and raw rock & roll from the north is really something special. Extra cheese? It was our 11th anniversary on that day.

We came to Columbiahalle around 8, just in time to grab some merch and find a semi-decent position on the right side of the stage. The place was packed, and there was no way to go anywhere closer. S.o. and I didn’t mind, since we were tired from having a fairly crappy week.

The support act was Jimmy Diamond, a somewhat shy and quiet guy with his band. Their music was nice though, and backing vocals were making the songs fuller than on his albums actually.

They played for around 25 minutes, and then it was time to wait for Madrugada.

The disco ball was lurking in the dark, knowing its time would come.

Madrugada came to the stage soon after, this time with more energetic, older material. They started with Salt and soon made a nice transition from Industrial Silence into Chimes. They mentioned how some of the new material they actually recorded in a studio somewhere around Tempelhof, hooray. Then came Electric and the disco ball started shining all over. Wonderful as always!

But that was not all.

Later the band played Norwegian Hammerworks Corp., and Sivert came out wearing a glitzy blazer. Then, the light got directed at him, and he himself became the disco ball! My goodness, how did no one think of this before? And, more importantly: who’s telling Donny Benét?!

There was a slight mishap during Majesty, but it was sweet. They did not play Call My Name, despite people at the front calling for it. The band played a lot more songs on the encore before ending the show with Valley Of Deception. Two full hours of rock and roll bliss have come to an end.

Rating: 😍/10

[890428k]

Kim Sung Kyu “Shine Encore” Concert Official Merchandise

[pennylane85]

Singapore & Hong Kong Mayer Review

I’ve had a few days to process the Singapore and Hong Kong shows. I decided to not watch any videos from the New Zealand & Australia shows, I’d look at the set list and a few photos, but that was it. I also didn’t really watch many clips from the rehearsals.

I knew going to countries he’s never visited would mean I’d hear a lot of “Continuum” and “Free Fallin’.” I also held out hope that a surprise might pop up. I was okay with it. I’ve heard these songs live numerous times; they’ve only listened to the albums. I also knew they’d appreciate the music more, they’d be like Brazil, and they’d be all about the music. I was right. I loved watching everyone’s facial expressions and reactions when he’d play “I Don’t Trust Myself (With Loving You)” or “Slow Dancing in a Burning Room.”

In Singapore he opened with “Helpless” a song he didn’t even play in Hong Kong. It reminded me of the 2017 tour and I was giddy.  “New Light” got the crowd dancing and grooving. I loved DRH’s solo vocals in “I Don’t Trust Myself (With Loving You)” and Singapore did too. “Something Like Olivia” was a little surprise for me as I wouldn’t have guessed it. The next song had a welcoming loud reaction that surprised me, “Paper Doll.” I know from the Current Mood in Australia he said that song didn’t get the love it deserved and he was bringing it back out again. I know for the American fans that song wasn’t well received to begin with, not one of my faves, but that response in Singapore, I was like “okay, let’s give this one another shot.”

Mayer & Company have some new members to the group, Aaron Draper, oh my gosh, where have you been all of our lives? You’re breathing fresh air into these songs and I’m trying to remember what they even sounded like before you came along. Welcome! Keyboardist Jamie Muhoberac, welcome as well! I’ll get to more about you in Hong Kong.

The opening chords to “No Such Thing” got to me and the crowd went wild. I started crying. This song was the beginning for him and the beginning of going down the John Mayer Rabbit Hole for me so it hit a spot to hear that song in a foreign country. “Changing” got the crowd lighting up the room with their cell phones. It was pretty amazing to see that b/c that’s not really the type of song that happens on, but it was something special and John thanked the crowd for that.

And then it happened I had no idea what song he was going into, it was an edgy rock sound and I was thinking “What song is this?” It had to be like a “Guns-N-Roses” cover or something as this song just wasn’t coming to me and it was freakin’ “Heartbreak Warfare!” You know how many times I’ve heard that song and I couldn’t even tell what it was. I liked how he started the song with the intro b/c to me he disguised it very well.

The acoustic set was next,  John started talking about songs and how this one is a favorite of Bob Saget’s and his tour manager Ken’s and he says he thinks he’s played it live before, but wasn’t sure, John, you’ve only played it on Instagram, and with that he launched into “Badge & Gun” and I flipped out. I was shaking; I had to brace myself on the poor girl standing next to me b/c I was in shock.  I was finally hearing “Badge & Gun” live. I have my dream set list and that song is in the acoustic set. Thank you Bob Saget for loving that song and thank you John for playing it in Singapore. “Wonderland” and “Free Fallin’” were next and I didn’t even care. Singapore, you sounded so beautiful singing “Free Fallin’” I had to record it b/c it took my breath away.

The band joined John and they launched into “Blues Run the Game” into “Queen of California.” Isiah had a beautiful solo during that one and “I Guess I Just Feel Like.” John thanked Singapore for sending him messages on Instagram to come there and that management didn’t know if he’d be able to sell tickets but he sold the place out and even merch sold out, I had to buy an XL Singapore tour shirt b/c I had to have one, even though I won’t wear it, it’ll go in my collection. I collect JM merch like he collects Visvim. “Age of Worry” is one of my favorite songs and I loved hearing it. DRH’s vocals on Prince’s “The Beautiful Ones” into “Slow Dancing” got the crowd roaring. “Edge of Desire” and “Gravity” closed out the show.

Apologizes as my hand writing is a mess and I couldn’t make out half of what I wrote. I feel like I’ve rambled on for too long and I’m just now getting to the Hong Kong show. My notes are a little more legible for that one.

“Heartbreak Warefare” opened the show and it shot me back to 2010. Loved hearing “Waiting on the Day” from the “Paradise Valley” record and DRH had a nice little guitar solo in that one as well. John told HK that he thought he had his top cities he liked to visit down, but that HK shot up to Top 5. “Vultures” got the crowd dancing.  “A dream is a lie your head tells your heart,” John said as he and the band launched into “Dreaming with a Broken Heart” a song I haven’t heard in full since 2007. Isiah had a nice little solo in “Waiting on the World to Change.”

When John came back out for the acoustic set he played “Emoji of a Wave” from 2017’s “The Search for Everything.” The crowd started shouting out “Neon.” I mean it was a consensus that HK wanted to hear that song so John jokes that he’d play it but we’d never know what song he was going to play and says “It was Covered in Rain” and the crowd immediately went “Aww.” He says no it wasn’t that, but now he felt obligated to play it so he launched into an acoustic “Covered in Rain” before playing “Neon.” If you want to know the song he was actually going to play was “Wonderland.” DRH came out for the two to sing “Free Fallin” and HK you sang it so beautiful, but I enjoyed your singing more on “Stop this Train.” The band came back out for that one and Jamie had a nice beautiful solo on the keys and HK sang it with such love. Isiah and DRH tore it up on “Still Feel Like Your Man.” “Why Georgia” got me all emotional like NST did in Singapore except I was more of a crying mess this go around.

After “Rosie” John talked about how the guy in the song is an idiot b/c he learns Spanish, but doesn’t learn the Spanish word for “and” and just says “Perdon and lo siento” and then says he should have told the story before he sang the song instead of after and joked “Stop This Train is about..” before launching into “Slow Dancing.”

“When I’m old and gray in a rocking chair looking at water somewhere, I’ll think about how 20 years into my career I played a sold out show in Hong Kong,” John said before launching into “Dear Marie.” At the end of the song when John and Co. walked off stage the crowd held up their cell phones and sang “Ohh, ohhh.” and when they came back for the encore John sang “Ohh, ohhh.” They played “Roll It On Home” which was another first for me b/c I hadn’t heard that one live yet. “Gravity” closed out the show with Carlos and Tiffany shining on “Dreams to Remember.” They’re a fun bunch to watch during the show singing and dancing.

Out of the two shows and the 49 songs he played between those two nights, only 13 songs were repeats. Thank you Singapore & Hong Kong for your hospitality and for your love of John’s music. Many thanks to the crew, band and John! I’ll see you kids with the Dead later this summer and then back on the solo Mayer train!

Peace & Love,

Karri~

[ageeksnerdyworld]

A Facade Well Fed

Characters: Zale Young, Emery Becker, Dexterity Burrows, Zephyr Allen & Esteem Wells

Word Count: 4,934

Trigger Warning: Drinking, Drunk Shenanigans, Drug Mention, Death Mention

Notes: Good news is I figured out what to do with my cow boy. Bad news is this story is like all over the place. As always The Cyber World and the viruses therein belong to @voiceoflarka

Summary: After finishing a set at local bar the members of Midnight Decoy decide to celebrate. With drinks, and friends, to go around everyone seems to having a good time. Except for Zale who's having a very difficult night. His past won’t leave him alone tonight. So he heads off on his own to clear his head. But the night is just about to get even worse. Click that read more if you'd like.

~~~

"Now get the hell out," Emery shouts into the mic.

The small crowd, that actually stayed to listen, yelled. A few people called for an encore. But that wasn’t their shtick. Emery yells again, more vulgar and aggressive than the first time, and a few people back off.

As the band dismantles their equipment, and instruments, they chat about the show. It seemed that tonight, for whatever reason, was one of their better performances. They all thought so anyway. But the band didn't care. They made music they wanted to hear. It didn't matter to them if anyone liked it. A few people stuck around and voiced their opinions. Some were fans but most were wannabe critics. Most of them were screaming their thanks for the end of the impromptu concert. It seemed that everyone had something to say about each band member.

“Everyone always thinks they know music better than we do,” Zale mutters as he sees a few people approaching the stage.

The other three nod in agreement. Emery notices that he doesn't want to deal with any of the people tonight. So he gives Zale a nod; a verifiable go ahead to sit this one out. In turn Zale mouths his thanks before heading upstage. He starts to pack their equipment in the respective cases.

Alone, with the sound of chatter at his back, he feels a hand at his back.

Biting his lip he tries to ignore it.

Most of the comments Dexterity receives weren't really about their drumming. The viruses who walked up talked about the music, but, the words were nothing more than an excuse to get close. Dexterity approached whoever was speaking with a smirk. They did what they did best; flirted excessively. Dexterity pulled some of the viruses aside and spoke to them in private. Those then left with the drummer's number and the promise of a good night.

Emery just smiled, eerily, in each angry face. When each critical roast was over he told them all the same thing.

"I don't give a flying fuck what you think."

Zephyr was always the nicest of the group when it came to fans and critics. He knew of course that nothing anyone outside the band could've said would make a difference. Midnight Decoy was never going to make music everyone enjoyed. The band wasn't going to go on tour. Nor would they mass produce an album. That was selling out; something none of them wanted. But Zephyr Allen still spoke to each person with a genuine smile and an interested brow.

As the others dealt with the people as they saw fit Zale stayed upstage. He didn't say anything to any of the viruses who called out to him. Despite the excited screams, and the occasional jeer, he kept his head down. He was focused on packing up the amps and his guitar. Or so it seemed.

Something else was occupying his thoughts.

Someone else.

“You alright, man,” Zephyr asks; stepping behind him and putting a hand on his shoulder.

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

Liar, liar, a voice whispers darkly in his ear.

With the meet and greet, and clean up, done Emery hops off the stage. He lands on the barroom floor with a light thud. His bright purple eyes shine with excitement and leftover adrenaline. The lime green veins that cover his skin pulse rapidly. Hollering to the others he points out the bar. Zephyr nods and also jumps off the edge of the stage. When he lands he runs a hand through his long dark blonde hair; moving it out of his eyes. Dexterity smirks and gives the young man they had been flirting with a soft kiss goodbye. They rush over to catch up with the group.

Zale, somewhat reluctantly, follows the others’ lead.

As the group makes their way a very excited virus rushes up to them.

The virus wears a black leather jacket over a thin, green tartan, shirt. Light blue jeans are tightly tucked into his black boots. Dark boysenberry colored veins glow beneath his gingerbread brown skin. Wide, round, ears emerge from either side of his face. A brown tail, matching his skin tone, hangs lazily behind him. Small, curved, white horns poke through his side-swept hair. The virus’s hair is a light orchid purple with a few streaks of dark eggplant running through it. His eyes are blue at the edges but shifted to green. The bright green colors the rest of his irises.

Eyes that shine brightly with enthusiasm.

"That was your best set ever, guys," he says passionately.

Zale, Dexterity, and Emery simultaneously roll their eyes. This guy came to every random concert they had. His name was Esteem Wells and he was the group’s, self proclaimed, biggest fan. Every time he saw any of them he talked rapidly about how he wanted to buy merch and hear their music on the radio. In reality he annoyed the whole group. He completely missed the point of their band and the music they made.

But as always Zephyr talks to him with a smile and an open ear.

“Thanks, man. Glad ya liked it.”

“It was awesome. And the way Emery did his screaming thing when you played that riff? Epic.”

Before he could ramble on Emery pinches the bridge of his nose and sighs. This guy was full of shit and he knew it. There was something else he wanted. It couldn’t just be the music. No one in their right mind would go see the same band over thousands of times. Running his hand through the hair at the base of his skull he looks away for a split second. He gathers the words and then outright asks the cow virus.

“E, my dude, my guy, how the hell can you be this excited about something I do every show?”

“I’m getting a drink,” Zale mutters to Dexterity. “Meet you at the bar.”

“See you there,” they reply with a wink.

As he leaves the others the thoughts come floating back again. It happens whenever he's not occupying every thought and movement with something else. He tries to shove them out and focus on something else. But he knows that neither his mind or his body are truly occupied at the moment. He's alone and oh so helpless against it.

Against her.

Bonsai Warner haunts his mind like a ghost. An ever present feeling, but, only showing up when no one else is around.

As he winds his way through the other patrons he feels her presence slowly materialize. He can see her in his peripheral. Every part of her is a pristine version of the last time he got a good look at her. Her white skin and long, midnight black, hair. The light coffee brown eyes and bright tangerine colored veins. She wears a white tank top, one of his thicker hoodies, ripped jeans, and thigh-high black boots. A silver and blue ring sits on her right hand. Thin, leather, bracelets cover her wrists. A thin metal ribcage, with a small red stone, hung from a chain around her neck. Her winged eyeliner is perfectly done. Bonsai takes his hand and leans her head against his shoulder.

He doesn't resist.

Her voice whispers in his head.

You did great out there, Zay. I miss you so much.

He looks down at his feet and smiles; embarrassed. To him their relationship never made much sense. She deserved to be with someone who could give her things she wanted. Not a punk with a skateboard, a guitar, and a drug problem. Not to mention the fact that Bonsai Warner was completely out of his league. But he doesn't say anything.

Zale makes it to the bar without any sort of incident. He sits at the only empty seat, the last stool at the very end of the bar, and signals for the bartender. The centaur virus nods and returns a half-empty bottle of scotch to the shelf. He trots over at a causal pace.

He orders a double bourbon with no ice.

The others still haven’t arrived.

A minute or so later his drink is placed in front of him. The drink comes in a tulip shaped glass with a short, round, bottom. The liquor itself is a rich and see-through amber color. The hanging lights above the bar hit the glass and reflect a bright orange glint in the bourbon. Zale picks it up and brings the glass to his lips. It has a strong caramel smell with a small hint of vanilla. The liquor is smooth going down and tastes sweet. As he swallows, the caramel and vanilla flavors linger on his tongue, he turns around on the stool.

The image, only he can see, of his once girlfriend stands next to him.

Looking for the others he accidentally makes eye contact with a woman on the opposite end of the bar.

Her hair is a deep, dark, red. It flows down her back in large, swooping, waves. She wears a black ribbon style choker around her neck. A tight, black, dress with a plunging neckline, and a slit along her right thigh, leaves very little to the imagination. Even from the distance he can make out the ink in between her breasts. The tattoo is of a knife surrounded by peacock feathers. This mysterious woman gets up and makes her way to where he sits.

Zale downs the rest of his drink as the woman steps through his vision of Bonsai. The image of her dissipates like fog clearing. He turns back around and rests his arms on the bar. She whispers one last message before she goes.

Say hi to Mayor Whiskers for me. I bet he misses me.

"Hey there, stranger," the woman says as she sits. She speaks with a slight twang and a soft, comforting, voice.

"Hi," he says; staring straight ahead to avoid really looking at her.

"Heard y'all playing earlier. You were really good."

He shrugs and puts his glass down. Signally for a refill he mutters; "It's just the bass. Nothing special."

"Don't sell yourself short, sugar. Name’s Lotus, but, you can call me Lo."

With the drink quickly refilled he picks it up again. Zale smiles at her comment but tries to hide it with the rim of his glass. This is the last thing he wants right now. The memories, and the love he felt, are far too recent. Far too strong.

"You seem familiar," he says; turning to look at her.

As she starts to speak her face shifts. Her nose changes shape; becoming shorter and more round. The woman’s eyes change color. Shifting effortlessly into a light coffee. The crisscross of veins lining her face also turn from a light daffodil yellow. The woman's face morphs into Bonsai's and he freezes.

"Like your dead girlfriend?"

Deep down he knows that wasn't real. He knows this woman didn't say what he heard. But his mind and his heart drown out his common sense. His eyes go wide and his lips part, just barely, in shock.

What the fuck?!

He mutters the expletive to himself and quickly turns away from her. She gasps, audibly shocked and offended, loudly. Her thin, white, fingers grasp whatever's nearest. They close around the short, thick, glass some other bar patron was drinking from. She throws the rest of the drink on him and stomps away. The liquor soaks his hair and plasters the fringe on his forehead. He sputters; spitting out the bit that landed in his open mouth.

Apparently I said that out loud, he thinks as he watches her leave.

He downs the rest of his drink and orders another.

Bonsai materializes once more at his side. Zale wipes the liquor from his face with a napkin. He blinks as the image of her comes into focus. But before he can say anything to her the voices of his band-mates ring loudly through the bar. He sighs, relived, and turns to see the group with their unwanted groupie close behind. Dexterity sits on the open bar stool to his left. Emery sits on the opposite side.

“Can’t believe Zeph invited this shithead to drink with us,” he says through grit teeth. “Why can’t the guy grow a fucking backbone?”

Dexterity nods in agreement. They lift a hand to get the bartender’s attention. The centaur virus trots over and takes the order. But before he goes to fill the drinks Dex touches the man’s tattooed hand. The bartender blushes at the touch and turns back to face Dex. They lean in to whisper in the man’s ear. The man takes a napkin from somewhere behind the counter and hurriedly scribbles a phone number on it. As he passes the napkin to Dex they take the pen from his hand. They take his non-inked hand in their own and writes an address on his skin.

“I’ll leave the door unlocked,” they say as the bartender leaves.

“Dude, what the fuck?” Emery exclaims with an annoyed expression. “Some of us wanna get shit-faced, Dex!”

“Oh, you will,” they reply with a wink.

Let’s get out of here, babe.

He thinks about it and his gaze shifts to where Zephyr and E sit. They’re in deep conversation about the logistics of doing a pub crawl/concert tour. His gaze moves back to the friends sitting on opposite sides of him. Dex and Emery started a shot contest. Both are currently on their fourth shot of vodka. The bartender is excitedly watching the face off and pouring shots. But his infatuation with the drummer makes it more difficult than it normally is.

Zale reaches over the bar and takes a bottle of bourbon from the shelf. Thankfully the bartender is far too busy with the others to notice. He shoves the bottle in the inside pocket of his hoodie and zips it up. Flipping the hood over his head he steps off the bar-stool. He quickly gives his goodbyes to the others. Emery seems the most upset by his hasty exit. But Zale has his reasons; a lonely and starving cat at home.

So they let him go.

He weaves his way back through the crowded bar. Shoving past other viruses he heads straight for the backstage area. Zale quickly finds his way to the greenroom. Looking around he takes a minute to find his backpack. The faded blue material blended into the gaudy 50′s decor. Almost everything in the room was blue. He swears that the place didn’t look like this when the band came in earlier in the night. Unless it was and he just didn’t notice.

Thankfully his board is still sitting underneath his bag.

He slings the bag over his shoulder and carries his board under his arm. As he walks through the room to the rear exit someone loudly clears their throat. He turns to see Esteem leaning against the door frame.

“Need a lift?” he asks with a surprising sincerity.

“Nah, man, I’m good,” Zale says; gesturing with the skateboard.

“You sure? My bike’s right outside. Pretty sure I can get you home faster than your board.”

An annoyed growl escapes Zale’s lips as he steps up to the cow virus.

“What’s your plan here? Weasel your way into the group? You want an in and you’re trying everybody. And that’s why you’re offering me a ride. You want some reason to have an input on what we do.”

Esteem shakes his head and pushes himself off the wall. He chuckles and closes the remaining space between the two of them.

“You’re a helluva lot smarter than you look.”

Zale scoffs but says nothing. He turns away and crosses to the exit. The last thing he wants to do is talk with this guy. But the other man isn’t backing down just yet. He follows Zale like a shadow; barely even a step behind. He puts his hand on Zale’s shoulder as he pushes the door open.

“Hear me out, okay,” Esteem says. “I know what I’m talking about. My uncle owns Renegade Records so I can hook you guys up. Think about it, Zale. Do you really want to spend your entire goddamn career playing in shitty bars?”

“Newsflash, asshole, we’ve hated you the entire goddamn time,” he says; turning on his heels and walking through the door.

~~~

He walks through the cold night air with hands in the pockets of his hoodie. The dark gray hood is pulled over his head. His light brown fringe pokes out from the edge of the fabric. As he walks he lays his board down on the concrete and steps on. Using the bit of momentum he had he pushed the skateboard forward with his left foot. Cars, and a couple motorists, pass by ignoring him. Headphones in both of his ears, blaring music, block out the sound of the cars. The sidewalks are empty. Zale is as alone as he could have ever been.

But he wasn't.

He feels her at his back; looking over his shoulder. He hears her voice despite the music.

I miss you. Come with me.

He ignores her words and keeps his eyes forward. He knows that she isn't really there. She can't be. Ghosts don't exist. But he still feels her body against his, her arms around his chest, her head on his shoulder. He hears her familiar melodic voice in his ear.

Zale, c'mon baby. You know you want to.

He shakes his head violently as if he's trying to physically push her off him. That doesn't work. She's still there. Digging his foot down on the concrete he tries to move away from her. But she stays on him like a fly on a wall. His thoughts can't escape her on nights like this. She's always with him whenever he's alone.

As is his guilt.

Biting his lip he brings his left foot down again; pushing as hard as he can. He places that foot on the back portion of the board. Gliding down the sidewalk from his own force.

Zale rides his board for a couple blocks before turning into a driveway. The driveway turns into a gravel covered lot that leads up to a fence. Two sections meet in the middle to form a gate. A large lock and chain runs through the front of the gate. Thanks to the streetlights he can make out that much. But everything else beyond that is dark shadows against pitch black night.

Stopping with a hard grind he simultaneously slips the backpack off his back. He unzips the front pocket and takes out a flashlight. Setting it down on the gravel next to him he fishes a large pair of wire cutters from the bag. Picking up the flashlight he clicks it on. The light illuminates the ground in front of him. He shines the beam on the fence and the gate. A pair of bright yellow signs with black symbols warn of the dangers within. One has a silhouette of a fire and the other has a skull and cross bones.

Leaning in closer to the fence he moves the light around to attempt to make out what sits inside.

This isn’t what I meant.

“Yeah, I know,” he says aloud. “But this is what I’m doing so deal with it, babe.”

Picking up his board he walks to the eastern side of the fence; away from the front gate. Holding the flashlight in his mouth he kneels down a few inches in front of the metal. He makes quick work of cutting the thin metal. Returning the wire cutters to the backpack Zale then grabs hold of the cut fence. He’s careful as to not grip the sharp bits. His face scrunches up in a grimace as he pulls the fence away enough to move through.

Before crawling through the gap he shoves his board and his backpack through.

With flashlight in hand he wanders the area.

He walks quietly, passing building after building, with the presence of Bonsai at his side. Surprisingly she stays quiet for the moment. After some time he sees an open door to a building on his right. With an excited smirk he rushes over.

The door is barely open but he squeezes through.

“Well, would you look at that,” he mutters to himself.

Standing in the doorway he looks around the building. A series of furnaces line the farthest wall. Large, grate covered, windows hang high above the structures. Everything about this place forms the coolest looking ramshackle indoor skatepark he could have ever wanted. Thick, curved, metal sheeting forms a half pipe. One overturned metal table sits in the middle of the empty floor. Just looking at it he knows that it would make a good rail.

He sets his backpack down near the door and takes out the bottle. Opening it he takes a long drag and returns the cap. Carefully setting the bottle down by his backpack he gets on his board.

As Zale rides around the empty building, landing a few tricks, exhilaration rushes through his body. He runs the same routine and tricks until he gets bored of it.

With a tired sigh he slowly cruises back to his backpack.

Clutching the bottle by the neck he takes the cap off and throws it behind him. Taking a long chug from it looks around and sees a staircase near the door. Pulling the bottle from his lips he wipes the excess off with the back of his hand. He walks to the staircase and stumbles on his feet.

Sitting down on the bottom step he drinks his way through the rest of the bourbon.

When the bottle’s empty he throws it on the ground and it shatters. He chuckles. Rushing over to his board he picks it up and throws his backpack over his shoulder. Zale trips on his own feet and almost falls on his face but he catches himself. He rapidly turns the edge of the bottom step; his hand grazes against the rail.

Climbing up the rusted steps he grips the side rails as tight as he can. Looking down he sees the glass, and dust, covered floor. He can see the furnaces that sit along the far wall. The metal structures have large black spots around their doors. Signs of the fires that burned in them some time ago. Something near one of the furnaces catches his eye and he slips.

But he quickly catches himself.

You’re gonna get hurt, you know.

"I'll be fine," he says to no one.

At the top of the stairs he sets his board down and carefully steps on. The metal underneath him shifts and creaks loudly. Zale can feel that it’s dangerously close to collapsing. He feels his heart jump in his chest as he grabs the rail to avoid falling. He laughs out a shaky breath. Righting himself on the board he pushes off.

As he skates the air whips through his hair. The feeling sends a shock of euphoria through him. He rushes from one end of the catwalk to the other. When he realizes that he did so and made it out without a scratch he laughs. Pushing harder this time he shoots off and immediately turns the corner instead of stopping. Much to his surprise Zale makes the turn without a problem. Slowing down just a bit he cruises atop the catwalk and feels the air on his face.

Remember what else felt like that, but, times a million?

“Yeah, I do,” he says to the voice of Bonsai in his head. “But this doesn’t come with a side effect of death.”

Not a problem for you anymore, though, is it? Guess it isn’t for me either since you already killed me.

“I didn’t know,” he cried to the empty building. “I wouldn’t have done it if I did and I sure as hell wouldn’t have let you do it.”

THEN MAKE IT RIGHT!

"I'm sorry. If I could take it back I would! I'd trade places with you in a heartbeat but, dammit B, I can't."

He sighs audibly with frustration and turns another sharp corner. But his mind is otherwise occupied and so he misjudges the timing. Instead of cruising with the rail he sharply collides with the rusted metal. The half-broken rail gives way and he crashes to the floor.

Zale lands on his board and his head harshly hits the concrete. The force of the impact knocks him out almost instantly.

Toldja.

~~~

An hour or two, he has no idea, later Zale wakes up. He’s lying on his back facing the night sky above. As his consciousness returns he feels something poking his back. He smells the uncanny reek of lighter-fluid. With a groan he reaches behind his back and grabs hold of the object. He pulls it out and looks at it; more confused than he already was.

In his hand he holds a small plastic wheel.

Once again her voice floats through his head; Don’t you remember? Or is your mind that worn?

He ignores her. Struggling to his feet he stumbles slightly. He barely notices when the wheel falls from his fingers. Zale reaches out to the nearest thing in an attempt to keep his balance. His hand touches a cold concrete pillar and he latches onto it. Even with that stability he feels like he can’t stand. Bile rises up in his throat and he puts a hand over his mouth. 

“Hey kid,” someone yelled from across the street. “You’re not a kid anymore. What the hell are you doing?”

“That doesn’t make any sense,” Zale shouts back.

The stranger says something else but thanks to the blur in his head and the white noise in his ears Zale doesn't catch a word of it.

Shaking his head he tries to shake the fog from his mind. Nothing about this makes any sense. But then again not much made sense when it came to Bonsai. Sometimes he felt like he never actually knew her. And now he’ll never have the chance to see her again. To hear her voice.

He hears her in mind, but, that isn’t really her.

With a sigh he pulls his phone out of his back pocket.

He isn’t the least bit surprised when the screen is shattered. Small bits of glass fall out into his palm. Muttering under his breath he curses himself for putting his phone there. Carefully as possible he taps the screen; bringing the phone to life. The images of the screen and the apps are a mess of static lines and blocks of black.

Oh, poor baby. Calling for help?

Clicking the small white text box icon he opens his messages. He stares at the screen; scanning for the group text. After a minute or so he finds it. The text thread sits near the bottom of the list. He hadn’t sent anything through there in awhile. But the thread underneath it had been empty for a very, very, long time. It had been at least a year. Maybe verging on two now.

Her name glows brightly through the screen.

Zale’s thumb hovers over it for a minute.

But he clicks the one above it. He doesn’t type a message to the others. Instead he simply sends an emoji. A red square with a white capital “B” inside it. Leaving the phone in his hand he leans against the pillar. It’s cold and strangely comforting in the moment. He slides down into a crouching position as he closes his eyes. Closing his empty hand into a fist he taps it against his forehead.

Times melds into nothingness as his consciousness fades once again. Blackness covers his vision and he lets it overtake him.

Wake up, Zale.

“Go away,” he says with a tired, drunken, voice.

“Zale,” the voice repeats over and over again. Each time the voice repeats his name it’s louder than the previous time. But with each new iteration of his name the voice of Bonsai Warner fades away. It deepens and drops a series of octaves. The typical subtlety on her tone is replaced by a brash, loud, attitude.

He blinks slowly. His vision is blurry and he can only see swatches of color. Most of what he can make out is white. The edges are black. But there is a bright, almost blinding, watermelon pink at the top of what he can see. Zale blinks hard but the sensation of a harsh slap across his face brings him to.

“Wake the fuck up, dude!” Emery shouts.

“Hey,” Zale says, still tired and drunk but, happy. “You guys came for me.”

“You texted us,” Emery replied as if that explained everything.

“Of course we came, man,” Zephyr says; wrapping his friend’s arm around his shoulders.

“You think we’d leave you when you need us the most? I’m hurt.” Dexterity says with a fake pained voice.

They shoot Zale a wink and a smile. They take the other side of Zale, wrapping their arm around his waist, and help Zephyr walk him out of the building. Emery leaves and comes back after a few minutes with Zale’s bag in his hand. The parts of his skateboard are in Emery’s other hand. He apologizes to Zale and promises to buy him a new one. Zale shakes his head and declines the offer.

The quartet exits the building and walk out into the night.

[bcatboy]

p!atd pftw concert highlights & noteworthy events:

hayley kiyoko was unable to perform bc of issues at the boarder and this is how i know homophobia never sleeps

the pre-concert music playing was the most random assortment. wrecking ball by miley cyrus. this is america by Childish Gambino. delicate by taylor swift. heavy dirty soul by twenty one pilots. who made this playlist. 

the last song to play before the concert started? africa by toto. everyone collectively l o s t  t h e i r  s h i t it was great

he did a backflip it was fucking epic 

he did the encore shirtless (which got the biggest reaction from the crowd of the entire night)

before the concert started there was a person handing out rainbow coloured hearts with the instructions to shine phone flashlights through them during girls/girls/boys so the audience would make a rainbow 

speaking of girls/girls/boys brendan urie had a pan flag wrapped around his neck during it and threw a rainbow flag at hayley kiyoko when she came out to sing the chorus (i cried when i saw her tbh I am SO BUMMED that her set was cancelled)

they were selling rainbow flags with #20gayteen on them as merch fucking iconic

[bokdeongeori]

SEVENTEEN IDEAL CUT FAN ACCOUNT 180628/29/0701

So I went to IDEAL CUT on June 28th (”The Scene” All Units), June 29th (Hiphop Team Day), and July 1st (Performance Team Day) in Korea and I want to jot down all my memories and things that stood out to me! I couldn’t go to Vocal Team’s day because I had something else I had to do that day but I wish I could’ve! ;__; I’m going to sort it by day so that I can keep my thoughts organized but honestly this is everywhere because I have so many things to say.

180628 The Scene

This was my first day and understandably I was the MOST excited because I didn’t know what to expect. I managed to get seats on the 2nd floor so it was decently close! This is how close the extended stage was! 

It was POURING outside that day, but I remember feeling how unreal it was to be queuing in line AND watching Jeonghan and Vernon’s pre-concert Vlive right outside the venue. Usually I’m watching from like 2AM in my room, so it was unreal how close they were. Soggy shoes or not, I was so happy to be there. 

The first day, the first few songs were kinda a blur because I was just in pure shock. You know it’s about to start when they play the Thanks MV in full stereo and everybody is doing the fanchant (which I still can’t do lol), but then the VCR plays and we scream every time a member comes on screen (so we screamed a lot.) The first day, everything was new so I died at EVERYTHING lmao. There were so many VCRs and the visuals were out of this world. The lighting and effects in this concert was incredible, it made everything BIGGER and BETTER and the synchronized carat bongs flashing different colors was the most beautiful sight. 

First song was OT13 Highlight, then Thanks and they did this really cool dance breakdown in Thanks that I didn’t get to record because I was dying, seriously my heart was beating so fast. It was so unreal hearing their voices and SEEING the choreo I’ve watched millions of times over through a computer screen, I’m still in shock, it’s exactly as you imagine it. Perfect synchronization and always in tune, and their stamina is amazing. DK and Seungkwan were obviously the strongest singers but everybody held their own. I remember thinking how HIGH Seungkwan, Woozi, and Joshua’s voices were in the theater in comparison to how it sounded on recording, which is interesting because their voices are already high.  

Hoshi and Woozi did Bring It and I was like......what song is this??? BUT IT WAS SO LIT and the choreo is so badass. Hoshi’s stage presence is so commanding, probably the best out of all of them, but Dino is so charming and so is Vernon, but in a swaggy chill way, you know what I mean lol.....

FLOWER, the choreo is sooooooooooo good, I DEMAND A DANCE PRACTICE VIDEO TO DO IT JUSTICE. I was just screaming my head off and trying to pay attention so I didn’t miss anything. The formations.....CHAN U RLLY DID THAT LIL BUDDY!! Later on during the ment when they told us that Dino made the choreo all by himself he was all bashful about it and they kept making fun of him, but then Coups stopped them and praised him on how hard he worked and how stressed Dino was, and Wonwoo/Coups said it must’ve been hard for Chan to teach hyungs because they don’t listen well. AHHH CHAN ;___;

Then they performed NO FUN and CHUCK, which was so cool to see live and sing along. Then they did a long ment to introduce themselves. Hoshi really knows how to rile up a crowd. He comes to the front and we all chant “wangja-nim” (prince) and he LOOOOOVES that, then he asks “what time is it?” etc. u know the drill, BUT HE’S SO FUN and interactive in concert, HE’S JUST ALL OVER THE PLACE. I love Hoshi a bit more than I already did after Ideal Cut. Jun and Wonwoo were the more quiet ones but they were always whispering secrets, Wonwoo was always whispering to members next to him. Dino did this thing where he’s like “SAY HO!” “HOOOO” “SAY ____” “____” sorry I forgot but those kinds of little things were fun. Mingyu and Seungkwan were bickering as usual, I love them. Then they performed Run to You and everybody had mic stands. I loved seeing Vernon and Minghao air guitar with each other. 

Beautiful was a lot of fun because they ran everywhere and HOSHI WAS RIGHT THERE. Then leader line did Change Up AND I DIED BECAUSE I WANTED TO SEE THIS SONG LIVE SO BAD. Hoshi was on that extended stage for so long we all tried to wave to him and he waved back looked at everyone, I love him. :(

Then Hiphop Team did Un Haeng Il Chi (me: died), and an unreleased song (me: died 2x) I think I blacked out like the entire second HHT song because it was new, all I heard was SKRRR SKRRR and Vernon’s MOSHI MOSHI and I was really dyinglmaodshlskhkd. Mingyu came up to the extended stage and we all Died. 

Then Vocal Team did Habit (rearranged) and Pinwheel, ugh my heart. They sounded so beautiful. This was when I noticed how high some of their voices really were. I can’t believe the first time I saw Pinwheel in full was LIVE. 

Then Performance Team did Swimming Fool, and there’s this one part where everything went in slow motion and they were doing funny/cute poses in the air, I love them so much. :(  AND JAM JAM. I GOT TO SEE JAM JAM, WITH THE8′s T-H-E-to-the-8 PART MY GOD.........and Jun doing Vernon’s rap part and the dance breakdown and the part at the end where they all do a freestyle. 

Then on to my favorite set, the cute bongbongs. I was dying of how cute they were because they all wore the Bongbong outfits exactly as Mingyu drew them on the washi washi tape they sold as merch. 

They performed Thinkin About You which was the CUTEST EVER. WONWOO WAS SO CUTE WITH HIS LIL PINK LAPTOP AND JEONGHAN WITH HIS MILK AND ANGEL WINGS AND PRINCE HOSHI AND SCOUPS WITH HIS LEADER FLAG AND EVERYONE FOLLOWING HIM LIKE LIL DUCKLINGS AND DINO MAKNAE ON TOP AND JUN WITH A CAT......GOD...... We all sang along to the “I’m thinking about you” part so much fun...

Then Mingyu, DK, and Jun did Hello, which was so cute and sweet. I think they threw their roses into the crowd, lucky carats! 

THEN, THEN..........I GOT TO SEE ROCKET WITH MY OWN EYES!!! You don’t know how badly I wanted to see Rocket, it was so much fun, the choreo was so cute and Joshua and Vernon utilized the entire stage. At the end they did a freestyle dance off, but the first day it was Vernon’s spotlight and the 2nd day it was Joshua’s. I believe they’ve would’ve switched off again but Vernon got injured by the 3rd day. :( Vernon was like “JOSHY JOSHHH!! GO JOSHY GO JOSHY GO GO WHOAAAAA” it was so much fun. 

THEN I GOT TO SEE MISS PRETTY U??? THE LEGEND?? Boo Seungkwan’s high note, that’s all. Then there was another VCR and they did the killer combo of Shining Diamond, Boom Boom (Remix), and ROCK. Mingyu was lying on the floor after they did that set lmao he was so tired. They did another ment and they ended with CLAP (remix). Then they showed a long interview video before the encore and I wish I understood more of what they were saying but basically saying how happy they were to be on stage and in SVT and how thankful they are for carats, etc. people in the crowd were sniffling. :’( 

Then the encore, they did Campfire and we held up our signs....I saw Verkwan in action and also Seokkwan because they were sitting next to each other. They did another ment to say their goodbyes and it was so cute because we were already “AWWW-ing” when it got to Hoshi and Joshua even though they hadn’t said anything yet lol. DK looked really touched but he was like....stop I’m not gonna cry, and he didn’t (At least not on the first day....)

Then they performed Healing (so many cute moments) and Very Nice, which they punk’d us by making us think it ended but it didn’t........like TWICE. And this time it worked because it was the first day. You know how everyone always uwuwuwus Woozi during Healing, well this time, Woozi went down a line and avoided them all but then he got to Wonwoo and PICKED HIM UP ON HIS SHOULDERS SLKdhflksdh don’t know if Woozi’s that strong or Wonwoo’s that skinny, probably both. DK always had a spotlight during Very Nice, he was so hype and funny. We all stood up for the last 2 songs and we were about to sit down after they took their bows but THEY STARTED SINGING AJU NICE AGAIN I WISHED IT WOULD NEVER END.  AHHH it was so much fun, I was so excited to go back the next day.  

180629 H Cut (Hiphop Team Day)

Alright so for Day 2, I’m gonna mostly talk about Hiphop team’s performances because the others were basically the same. Although the thing I really appreciate about SVT is that they realize there are many people who come to their concert more than once so they always change up little things in performances that you would only notice if you saw it before, it’s really the in the little details and they’re so good at that.  But I loved seeing everything again because once wasn’t enough and this time I actually had more of a bird’s eye view. Also, the things they talk about during ments change a little bit too, they always keep you entertained. Oh, and HHT’s parents/families were there too. Vernon was like during his ment, “I love you guys” :’) 

On HHT day, vocal unit still performed Pinwheel and Performance unit performed Jam Jam, but there was no Change Up. 

Hiphop team started out with with Un Haeng Il Chi and THIS TIME they went all out. There was a loooong table with backup dancers and it was so LIT, like at one point Coups got up on the table and walked down the table passing Vernon, Wonwoo, and Mingyu one at a time. I was so unprepared for what was gonna happen next, I expected like, Trauma and Check In BUT NO WE GOT FUCKISDGNDLHF SOLO STAGES. 

WONWOO. There was a female voice in his track so I didn’t know what was happening but then he appeared by himself and I was literally about to pass out. HE FINALLY GOT THE EMO RAP TRACK HE DESERVES. The song has Epik High vibes and he killed it, he really fits that style so well............I have a fancam but it’s honestly a mess bc I was dying so I can’t let u all see me like that. Oh and during the ment, they kept making fun of Wonwoo’s solo by imitating the girl’s part, (Hoshi did of course), yes I saw Soonwoo in action.

VERNON. His track so SOOOOO.....HIM. It’s has a summery chill hop vibe with Deep lyrics about finding himself YOU KNOW, VERNON STUFF, I love him. Did I mention Vernon has so much stage presence, it’s natural and it just oozes out of him. I HAVE A FANCAM OF HIM TOO. I realized they put his lyrics on the screen so I filmed that, and he mentioned that he requested they do that. Okay go off poet. 

MINGYU.......I was clutching my heart. Hiphop team went off but Mingyu, Mingyu finds his true calling. He sang his big heart out beautifully, a soft spring ballad, I was dying in my fancam of him too lmao GOD I’m so embarrassing. His song was so good, and I’m partial to ballads. In the ment they mentioned that Woozi made the song and Mingyu helped and he got scolded a lot....lol love it. At the end of the song he has this look on his face and I just......anyway...

S DOT COUPS. Oh my god, he did some magic trick where he was in a room with a glass window and someone shot the window then POOF he’s outside the room with a gun in his hand and I guess HE shot the window?? He freed himself?? Deep stuff. I think I heard Woozi’s voice in his track, but Mr. Coups went OFF and he was really h...ot, we don’t talk about it anymore. 

They they all show up again for the unrleased HHT track they performed the other day, which I got a better fancam of because I knew it was coming. The other performances were basically the same, I’m just glad I got to see them again. 

180701 P Cut (Performance Team Day, Final Day)

So again, same stuff so I’m mostly going to be talking about the solos and some ending stuff because this was the last day. It was so bittersweet. Honestly I was thisclose to crying because what kind of devil plans these events. 

I didn’t get any fancams of this day because I just wanted to enjoy it. Also, this was Vernon’s second day of having to sit in performances because of his ankle. I was so sad for him, so I screamed so loud for him every time he appeared. But the members were so sweet to him, like there was always someone there to keep him company when he had to sit on the main stage while everyone was running around. Like Coups or DK or Wonwoo, I love a family. :’(    

SO...DINO’S SOLO STAGE. DINO IS SOOOOOO CHARISMATIC, SO TINY BUT STAGE PRESENCE SO HUGE, AND HE’S THE BEST DANCER!!! LIKE THAT’S MY SON UP THERE!! Before the song began, he had his jacket hung up and he changed into a different jacket and we all screamed, then he danced his butt off to some autotuned EDM bop and of course paid tribute to MJ at the end. I was just screaming so loud, Chan makes me so proud, I rlly raised him. 

Then The8 performed his mixtape but in Korean, and his stage was sooooooo beautiful and relaxing. I’m glad he found his style because he really shined. He was sitting on swing and the backdrop was a crescent moon so it looked like he was sitting on the moon and the lyrics were to the right of the screen in the stars, gosh it was so beautiful. 

Then Jun performed a pop rock song in a sheer shirt which i didn’t even realize because I was so far away but you could definitely see.....everything...lmao. ANYWAY I’m so glad Jun found confidence on stage when he’s with carats because he ROCKED IT OUT THERE AND THE VOCALS WERE GOOD. #morelines4junnie

Then Hoshi, oh my god Hoshi. He really brought it all out with the sensual stuff, like he went full Taemin on us. He came to the middle stage and the lights came down staggered and he started dancing like “you. can. touch” the stadium went wild. The DANCE was really like.......sensual?? but like not overtly sexy like um...WHO, but really sensual and reminded me a lot of Taemin’s Move. Not like a copy, but like, inspired by it. And he had female backup dancers oh ho ho Mr. Hoshi. AND THE DANCE BREAKDOWN, there was a part when he bent backwards at the knee but he kept going down step by step, it was so cool, I was screaming my head off. 

The rest was basically the same with an added aju nice, but Hoshi kept HINTING that we had to stay until the end, ok we see you. Oh, and on the last day, DINO, DK, AND JUN CRIED. My heart really couldn’t take it. SEEING DK IN TEARS GETS ME EVERY TIME, JUN TEARING UP AFTER SAYING HE FEELS SECURE IF MEMBERS AND CARATS ARE WITH HIM, AND DINO ALWAYS BEING STRONG BUT FINALLY BREAKING DOWN AFTER MEMBERS SAID HE DID WELL.............i’m crying right now.  

God I love them so much, you could really feel the sincerity, like they LOVE IT on stage and they love performing at concerts so much, and they say we make them so happy but do they know they make us so happy ;__________; 

And they played the teaser you all saw on youtube at the end of the concert after they exited the stage. All in all, I lived my best carat life and I have no regrets and my love for them grew infinitely, which I didn’t even know was possible. The only thing is that I have terrible post-concert depression after 3 days and I miss them so much now. Like I woke the the morning after the last concert and saw Hoshi on Vlive chat and...........

 .....tears. See why is he so happy? Anyway thanks for reading my long fan account if u made it to the end, amazing. I hope I see them again someday and I can’t wait for the comeback!!!! 

[double-croche1]

[INTERVIEW #362] Gents a sorti cette année un superbe troisième album intitulé ‘souvenir’. On a rencontré le duo danois dans le cadre de la dernière édition du très chouette Le Beau Festival. Ils nous ont parlé des relations à l’ère du numérique, d’hyperréalisme et du départ du Tour de France à Copenhague. Pouvez-vous nous parler du titre de l’album ? ‘souvenir’ est un mot français ! Theis : C’est le cas, oui ! Il y a aussi l’idée de décadence qui nous attirait dans le concept de “souvenir”. De nos jours, la plupart des “souvenirs” sont des produits cheap en plastique, des choses totalement jetables. Le son sur l’album est beaucoup en lien avec l’idée de trouver la beauté dans la laideur ou dans les choses dysfonctionnelles. ‘souvenir’ convenait parfaitement à cette idée. A propos de choses dysfonctionnelles, il y a les mêmes paroles “Memories fade” [“Les souvenirs se dissipent”] sur deux morceaux de l’album : souvenir et couple tattoos. On dirait que c’est un aspect important. Niels : Bien vu ! Ce sont des paroles comme celle-ci qui permettent de façonner l’album. C’est petit à petit devenu apparent pour nous que tout était à propos du temps qui passe, de l’asymétrie entre le souvenir de quelque chose qui s’est produit et le temps présent. Un souvenir est cette promesse bizarre de voler un moment du passé et de le faire durer pour toujours, mais évidemment c’est une promesse que tu ne peux pas vraiment garder car ce sera toujours une interprétation de ta mémoire. Il y a aussi d’autres sujets sur le disque comme la rupture après une longue relation ou encore les relations de nos jours avec les réseaux sociaux et les outils numériques. Avant de commencer à travailler sur l’album, vous saviez que ce seraient des thèmes importants ? Niels : On a commencé par jammer. On avait toutes ces démos. Les choses ont commencé à prendre forme puis on a eu des conversations sur ces sujets, en particulier le côté vague de la mémoire, notre relation avec les réseaux sociaux et les outils numériques, comment on les utilise dans nos relations romantiques par exemple. Aussi, je pense que pour moi en tant qu’auteur, c’était une idée consciente d’essayer d’implémenter ces types de mots plus spécifiques dans les paroles parce que j’écris toujours des paroles assez génériques. Je voulais investiguer si je pouvais approfondir cela et dire des choses comme : “device”, “online”, “feed”, “ghosting”. Utiliser ces mots qui sont tellement ancrés dans le XXIème siècle. A propos des mots, vous avez même conçu un petit livret “Gentsionary” présenté comme une sorte de dictionnaire avec les 12 titres de l’album. Theis : Exactement et on le vend au merch’ !

On a trouvé les pages en ligne. A propos du morceau the flower and the gardener il y a écrit : « Theis was playing all the instruments so Niels could shine on stage. » [« Theis jouait tous les instruments de sorte que Niels puisse briller sur scène. »] Theis : En effet ! (Rires) C’est comme ça que notre dynamique a été une bonne partie du temps mais c’est parfois aussi l’opposé. C'est ce qui est beau avec l’image de la fleur et du jardinier. Niels : Parfois tu as besoin de donner cet espace à quelqu’un que tu aimes. Tu as besoin de te retirer un peu pour apporter ton soutien à cette personne. Je pense qu’il y a une certaine beauté à parfois se retirer un peu pour donner de l’espace à quelqu’un pour éclore et cultiver cela. Ceci dit, à long terme il faut le faire avec précaution parce que ça peut aussi être toxique. Toujours à propos du “Gentsionary”, quelle est la signification du titre p.m.u. ? Niels : C’est une abréviation de “pick me up”. Theis : Cela pourrait être un verre de vin, une bière, un café ou encore une cigarette électronique... Un “pick me up” est un “remontant” ! Theis, tu as commencé à utiliser une flûte digitale, n’est-ce pas ? Pour vous, il y a eu un changement majeur en comparaison à votre précédent album ‘Human Connection’ ? Theis : Comme je disais tout à l’heure, on a cherché à trouver la beauté dans la laideur. Cela se retrouve dans l’utilisation des instruments MIDI. J’utilise les vrais instruments, mais des versions cheap et discount. Par exemple les guitares sur l’album sont majoritairement des guitares MIDI que je joue au clavier. Les flûtes sont aussi des flûtes MIDI qui sonnent cheap ou au moins ont été conçues comme des versions cheap du vrai instrument. On aime que cela ait un son de plastique. (Rires) Niels : On a trouvé de la fierté à utiliser des sons vraiment digitaux. Il fallait aussi que la production et le design sonores soient digitaux. Il y a très peu d’instruments acoustiques sur l’album. Quand ils étaient là, on s’est toujours assurés de les traiter d’une façon qui les ferait sonner très digitaux. C’était un concept sur toute la création du monde de cet album. Cela se retrouve aussi dans la pochette qui est un monde hyper réaliste. Il semble naturel mais il est également évidemment non naturel. C’est là où nous sommes en ce moment quand on parle de la technologie et ce qu’on peut en faire. C’est le point qu’on a atteint. On peut recréer la nature, les sons acoustiques, des paysages organiques à un degré où cela pourrait sembler même plus réel que la réalité. Cela questionne évidemment l’idée d’authenticité qui est également quelque chose que plein d’artistes investiguent. [Une exposition ‘Hyperréalisme. Ceci n'est pas un corps’ se tiendra d’ailleurs au Musée Maillol du 8 septembre 2022 au 5 mars 2023, plus d’infos par ici.] On est très inspirés aussi par l’hyperpop comme PC Music, ces artistes conscients d’être tout le temps exagérés, digitalisés et hyper réalistes. Cela va aussi avec le changement de ta voix. Cela n’est pas vraiment du vocodeur, mais parfois les curseurs sont poussés pour moduler ta voix sur l’album. Theis : Tout à fait ! On a essayé d’expérimenter beaucoup avec le son de la voix, avoir quelques espaces où ce serait comme si on avait différents narrateurs.

Crédits photo : Dennis Morton A propos des voix, on peut entendre des murmures à la fin du premier morceau see u. Qui est-ce ? Les mots sont difficiles à saisir, qu’est-ce qui est dit ? Theis : En fait c’est strictement confidentiel. Je ne peux pas dire qui c’est. (Rires) C’est vrai que les mots sont difficilement audibles, mais idem je ne peux pas en parler ! Il y a quelques sons non musicaux sur l’album. Dans sweet nothings à un moment on peut entendre un vieux téléphone à cadran. Aussi, à la toute fin de l’album, dans les dernières secondes du morceau trust, on peut entendre un son de clic. Pourriez-vous nous parler du design sonore ? Theis : On a beaucoup expérimenté et on voulait aussi jouer avec cela. Par exemple dans trust, on avait cette idée d’avoir une partie médiévale. Cela pourrait être une façon amusante d’être extirpé de l’univers et d’aller dans un âge vraiment différent. On s’est demandé comment on pouvait faire cela d’un point de vue sonore. On a ajouté ces effets sonores qui ont fait partie de ce paysage différent. Beaucoup de chansons ont été faites avec cet aspect ludique, on voulait s’amuser et faire quelque chose de stupide puis on pouvait peut-être rationaliser par la suite, en se demandant ce qu’on avait fait et pourquoi. Parfois cela fait sens et d’autres fois c’est toujours stupide, mais cela sonne bien ! Niels : Souvent, ces mouvements ludiques comme le son médiéval sont aussi des choses qui sont inspirées par les paroles. On peut souligner les paroles encore plus avec le design sonore. Theis : Et on se demande jusqu’où on peut aller pour que ce soit vraiment trop. C’est toujours amusant d’essayer d’aller le plus loin possible, le plus près de la limite sans la dépasser. La plupart du temps, on se rend compte qu’on peut aller bien plus loin que l’on croyait, juste en essayant de faire quelque chose d’extrêmement stupide. On se dit alors : « C’est toujours cool ! » (Rires) Toujours à propos de la conception, on a lu que le morceau instrumental essential oils avait au départ des paroles et aussi que la chanson souvenir était complètement différente. Dans les deux cas, vous avez semble-t-il commencé à créer un morceau quasi abouti que vous avez par la suite complètement déconstruit. Vous pouvez nous parler de cela ? Niels : C’est exact ! Theis : Comme plein d’autres artistes, on a une très grosse pile de démos qu’on a réalisées en vue de l’album. Seule une petite partie se retrouve sur le disque. Pour essential oils, c’était une démo sur laquelle on a énormément travaillé. C’était un morceau complètement différent à la base, quelque chose de pop plus léché. Puis quand on assemblait l’album et qu’on a réécouté le morceau essential oils qu’on avait fait il y a longtemps, on s’est dit qu’on allait complètement le déconstruire et qu’il pourrait peut-être bien s’intégrer au disque d’une façon bizarre. On voulait expérimenter et obtenir quelque chose de vraiment personnel au moins pour nous.

Vous avez parlé de la pochette. Il y a en fait de nombreuses pochettes, une par morceau ainsi qu'une pour l’album. Elles ont toutes été faites par la même artiste Tabitha Swanson. Vous pouvez nous en parler ? Niels : C’est sympa que vous ayez remarqué cela ! Theis : On a scrollé sur Instagram pendant bien trop d’heures, comme beaucoup d’autres gens font de nos jours. (Rires) Tabitha Swanson était une artiste qui n’arrêtait pas de revenir dans notre flux. On aimait beaucoup son style. On ne savait rien d’elle mais on a continué à suivre de près ce qu’elle sortait. On voulait trouver le bon aspect visuel pour notre projet. Quand on a fait l’album, on s’est dit qu’on allait lui demander. Elle a été super ouverte à propos de cette collaboration. On a pas mal échangé à distance, c’était en plein Covid. On ne s’est rencontré physiquement que bien plus tard. Je l’ai rencontrée une fois. Sinon c’était principalement via Zoom et avec beaucoup d’emails. On a recherché le style qu’on voulait, ce qui symbolisait au mieux le disque. Ce ne sont pas que des pochettes, c’est tout un monde en 3D dans lequel tu peux te balader. Elle a aussi conçu tous les objets en lien avec chaque morceau. Niels : On avait toutes ces pensées à propos de l’hyperréalisme, l’esthétique de ces versions digitales de vérité et de la réalité. On se disait : « Comment peut-on représenter cela dans la pochette ? Comment peut-on mettre en avant ces idées et la musique ? » C’était vraiment un choix évident pour nous d’écrire à Tabitha. On avait fait ces mood boards et c’était toujours ses réalisations qui ressortaient. Theis : Ce qui est beau avec ce qu’elle fait, c’est qu’on se sent si attirés par ses sculptures un peu horribles. Niels : On voulait quelque chose qu’on pouvait explorer, donner aux gens la notion d’un monde qu’on pourrait habiter et que nous habitons nous-mêmes. C’est aussi la raison pour laquelle on voulait apparaître sur la pochette de l’album. On a demandé à un photographe Dennis Morton de nous prendre. C’était aussi une collaboration avec Tabitha sur comment on pourrait mettre les lumières et le fond vert. On voulait se placer dans ce monde digital pour établir le lien entre quelque chose qui étaient évidemment vraiment réel comme nous-même, en chair et en os, et ce monde digital. Au début on ne voulait pas apparaître dessus, mais on a réalisé que c’était la seule façon pleine de sens de le faire. Je crois que c’est plus à propos de l’idée de marier ces deux royaumes supposément opposés : l’humain et le digital. A ce propos, on a vu que vous travaillez actuellement sur un jeu vidéo pour smartphone en lien avec l’album. Vous pouvez nous en dire plus ? Theis : Oui, on travaille sur un jeu depuis quelques temps maintenant. Avec la tournée, cela a un peu retardé le projet mais cela sortira bientôt pour iPhone et Android. Ce sera fun et mignon. Ce sera vraiment dans la continuité de ‘souvenir’ et des symboles de Tabitha. Qui a développé ce jeu ? Theis : C’est moi ! J’ai fait des études de game design et j’essaie de coder. L’idée est venue de là. Le monde des jeux vidéo est une inspiration pour votre musique ? Theis : On a beaucoup d’esthétique qui pourrait s’apparenter au monde des jeux vidéo. Je joue bien plus aux jeux vidéo que Niels. On a cette fascination pour l’esthétique des jeux vidéos. Ce truc d’être très digital, super naturel, synthétique, c’est aussi un monde qu’on veut créer avec l’album. Un monde où tout peut se passer, rien n’a besoin d’être réel. On peut prendre un lapin et le rendre géant et bleu, c’est OK. C’est une chose très belle avec les jeux vidéos qu’on veut avoir dans notre musique d’une certaine façon.

Crédits photo : Dennis Morton Vous avez sorti une unique vidéo jusqu’à présent pour gimme. La vidéo est une reconstitution d’une mauvaise expérience que tu as vécue Niels, où tu es arrivé avec un bouquet de fleur au terminal d’arrivées d’un aéroport et personne n’est venu, n’est-ce pas ? Niels : Ce n’est pas vraiment une reconstitution, c’est plutôt une simplification de notre dynamique. Theis : C’est une histoire fictionnelle, c’est quelque chose qu’on voulait voir se produire. Elle s’est donc produite au moment de faire la vidéo, on a fait en sorte qu’elle se produise. (Rires) On est allés en Suède et on a acheté des bonbons sur la route. On a eu une très bonne journée. J’imagine que tout s’est donc vraiment produit, on l’a juste filmé directement ! Vous avez également enregistré une session pour le festival néerlandais Eurosonic [à voir par ici] dans laquelle on pouvait aussi voir à l’arrière le bouquet de fleurs bleues du clip. Niels : Exactement, bien vu à nouveau ! Vous avez l’intention de faire plus de vidéos ? Theis : On avait une idée d’en faire plus avant la tournée, mais je ne pense pas qu’on sortira d’autre vidéo pour le disque, avant quelques temps en tous cas. Parfois on en fait, parfois non. Il faut aussi que ce soit avec les bonnes personnes. Il faut également l’idée qui va avec. On a la motivation pour en faire, mais on ne va pas faire des vidéos juste sans raison particulière, sinon elles seront mauvaises. A propos de collaborations, Niels tu as travaillé sur le morceau I Wish avec l’artiste Sonic Girl. Tu peux nous en parler ? Niels : En fait, on a tous les deux travaillé sur ce morceau. Sonic Girl est une nouvelle artiste montante à Copenhague. Avant cela, elle avait uniquement sorti deux ou trois chansons, mais on était déjà de grands fans. Elle nous a envoyé un message pour nous proposer d’aller en studio. J’y suis allé. Elle travaillait avec un producteur à l’époque, on a co-produit le morceau. J’ai travaillé sur la conceptualisation et j’ai aidé pour la composition en général. Je trouvais qu’il manquait quelque chose donc j’ai ajouté un peu plus de textures. Plus tard Theis est venu, il a touché à certains paramètres. Theis : On a surtout bu des cocktails ! (Rires) Niels : Plus sérieusement, tout s’est fait très facilement. C’était très rafraîchissant. Il y a quelque chose assez libérateur d’être en featuring parfois car tu n’as pas toute la responsabilité. Bien sûr, on veut que la musique soit la meilleure possible. On ne veut pas avoir notre nom sur de la musique avec laquelle on ne se connecte pas ou qui n’ait pas la qualité qu’on souhaite avoir. On est allés en studio et elle est sortie comme cela. Pourriez-vous nous donner des recommandations musicales ? Des amis à vous par exemple ? Niels : Il y a une artiste basée à Copenhague nommée Debbie Sings que j’aime beaucoup. C’est de l’art pop mélangé avec quelque chose de très brutal mais aussi très sucré. Je pourrais qualifier de pop “brutale-bonbon” ! (Rires) C’est très cool. Je pense que ce n’est qu’une question de temps jusqu’à ce qu’on parle beaucoup d’elle. Theis : Debbie Sings a fait le meilleur concert que j’ai vu au festival à Roskilde festival cette année [le 27 juin dernier]. C’est vraiment dingue sur scène. Quels sont les films que vous avez vus récemment et aimés ? Theis : ‘The Lighthouse’ [Robert Eggers, 2019, chronique par ici et interview par là] était super, j’ai adoré ce film ! J’aime beaucoup aussi les frères Safdie et en particulier leurs films ‘Good Times’ [2017, chronique par ici] avec Robert Pattinson et ‘Uncut Gems’ [2020, chronique par là] avec Adam Sandler. Ils sont si intenses !

Crédits photo : Dennis Morton Des séries ? Theis : J’ai vu la dernière saison de ‘Stranger Things’ [Matt et Ross Duffer, 4 saisons pour l’instant et une saison finale à venir, depuis 2016 sur Netflix, nos articles sur les secrets des deux volumes de la saison 4 par ici et par là], elle est plutôt bien ! Niels : Je pourrais citer ‘Euphoria’ [Sam Levinson, 2 saisons pour l’instant, depuis 2019 sur HBO]. J’aime beaucoup ces films et séries sur le passage de l’adolescence à l’âge adulte. Je regarde aussi ‘L'Amie prodigieuse’ [Saverio Costanzo, 3 saisons pour l’instant et une saison finale à venir, depuis 2018 sur la Rai et sur HBO], qui est l’adaptation de la saga de livres d’Elena Ferrante [quatre volets ‘L’Amie prodigieuse’ (2014), ‘Le Nouveau Nom’ (2016), ‘Celle qui fuit et celle qui reste’ (2017) et ‘L’Enfant perdue’ (2018), chaque saison de la série est une adaptation d’un des volets]. C’est notamment un portrait de la brutalité de Naples au fil des années au XXème siècle et les difficultés d’être une femme à cette époque là et peut-être encore aujourd’hui. C’est très beau et les acteurs sont super. Sur scène, vous jouez avec un groupe ou juste tous les deux ? Niels : Cela dépend vraiment des concerts, parfois comme ici c’est juste nous deux dans une version plus club. D’autres fois, on joue avec le groupe, il y a notamment notre guitariste qu’on peut entendre à la fin du morceau souvenir. Peut-être que la prochaine fois qu’on jouera à Paris, il y aura tout le groupe. Theis : La dernière fois qu’on est venus à Paris au Pop-Up du Label [le 30 novembre 2019 et la première partie était assurée par Antonin Appaix, notre récente interview par ici] on avait joué avec le groupe entier. C’était peu de temps avant le coronavirus [le premier confinement a été débuté le 17 mars 2020]. C’était une super soirée, c’était complet. On est toujours très bien accueillis à Paris. Qu’appréciez-vous dans la culture française ? Theis : Pour moi, c’est plein de choses, mais j’aime beaucoup le luxe de la vie en France, prendre soin de soi-même. Quand je viens en France, j’ai envie de trouver un bon vin, acheter de la bonne nourriture et profiter de la vie. On manque parfois de cela je dirais dans les pays scandinaves comme au Danemark. Ici j’ai l’impression que c’est mieux accepté de profiter du bon-vivre. Niels : La vie peut être dure ici et pourtant vous avez l’air de bien tolérer ce bon-vivre, ce qui est positif. A part cela, on a regardé le départ du Tour de France au Danemark à Copenhague [Le 1er juillet dernier, le Tour de France a en effet débuté exceptionnellement au Danemark, plus d’infos par ici. Il débutera l’an prochain en Espagne à Bilbao.] Les commentateurs parlent toujours d’à quel point le Danemark est merveilleux. Ils disent tout le temps, vu qu’on est environ 6 millions de personnes [en comparaison la France a une population de 68 millions de personnes] : « Par rapport à notre petite taille, on est un si grand pays ! On a tous ces écrivains, on a les meilleurs restaurants du monde. Regardez comme ce paysage est magnifique ! » Ils ne parlent que d’une manière comme cela qui commencer toujours par l’expression “Par rapport à notre petite taille”. Alors qu’en France, j’ai l’impression que vous savez juste que la France est probablement le plus beau pays du monde. Ici, c’est plus : « Bien sûr” que c’est le cas ». (Rires) Crédits photo de couverture : Dennis Morton Le nouvel album ‘souvenir’ de Gents est disponible et hautement recommandé ! A&B

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MONSTA X 2ND WORLDTOUR IN AMSTERDAM (LIVE REPORT) - AFAS 20.06.2018

This is a long live report containing things how I even became a fan, to the AMAAAAAZING (not) queue, setlist, live, m&g and random moments. All fan cams and fanpics are uploaded on my twitter which I linked in this post too!

I went to Monsta X’s 2nd Worldtour in Amsterdam this month! I started to get to know Monsta X during their Beautiful promotions and when I heard they would come to Europe the first time (in 2017), I was doubting whether I should go or not. I knew like 10 songs and another fan could go instead of me. It was not close anyway, so I decided to take part in the campaign for Amsterdam. For people who don’t know MMT. MMT is a fan dedicated promoter, in which you can request an artist to come to your city and if you have enough ‘makes’ (so points) they’ll talk with the artist. 

Anyways, I took part in the campaign in august 2017. Uni was about to start and I kinda forgot about the lives for a while. Until it was around the DRAMARAMA period (and their first win omg!), I followed them again; so after their MBC performance, I got a text message from MMT that they’re starting to talk to MONSTA X. At this point I would give this presale code to somebody else, but I didn't know when the actual concert was supposed to be so I waited. So while I was waiting for their JEALOUSY comeback, I started to watch their shows because I was bored and I LITERALLY FELL INTO THE FANDOM (and not just the music). I loved these guys so much? They were so precious and funny. I really wanted to see them live and regretted not going to the Beautiful Tour. So for their Jealousy comeback, I even bought The Connect; I texted every time they had a show and streamed their MVs so they could win another win (and they did!) (I've only done this for BTS before). So just around the time of the MV release, they announced they would be coming to AMSTERDAM. I was so happy. Flash forward to the ticket sale: I went to uni early, had a computer; laptop and my phone ready and immediately bought 2x VIP tickets!!

After counting down the days to the concert, I was finally here. I couldn't wait to hear Destroyer and Lost In the Dream live (My fav songs of the new album). Fans were allowed to queue from 11, but no-one seemed to listen to it :’) Every standing type had to get a wristband (VIP included). So I was kinda late and arrived at 12 , but my wristband number was 139. I quickly had sushi with my sister at ICHI-e and went to Starbucks (and a grocery store) to get some food and drinks for the queue. Just when we were about to leave the restaurant, I got a message from MMT that they messed up the wristband numbers for VIP and it was now FCFS (First Come first Serve). It was also the hottest day of the week, yippie :’)

Queue The queue was one big mess... Fans were incredibly rude and mean and staff didn’t do anything about it either. Girls were screaming at the security and talking very rudely, fans saying to each other ‘shut the fuck up and sit the fuck down’ (this is an actual phrase someone was screaming behind me). The venue staff gave us WATER IN A BUCKET and it wasn't until a monsta x staff came and gave everyone bottles. I also met two very sweet fansites! They gave out free stuff and were overall very sweet! They talked a lot to us and were next to us in the queue. We also met two friends who wanted to go to their friends, but since people were rude; my sis stopped them and they were next to us. Even though we were strangers, me and my sis shared our food and drinks with them. During the queue certain people started to push fans and we told them to stop and they started to fight with us??? and basically telling us ‘are you blind’ :)) (also they thought the fansites were Korean so they were all nice to them but shitty to other people, but the fansites turned out to be Chinese so these rude koreaboos were really boo boo the fools) at around 18:00 we were allowed to go inside but everyone started pushing each other so we were really stuck and could barely breathe. Once we were inside we had to wait another 2 hours and I was so tired, but wow I was 4th row!  Live I also made a big thread of Monsta X on my twitter. Fancams Fanpics Okay first of all, this group has no visual hole. THEY ARE ALL SO VISUALS I COULDNT BELIEVE MY EYES. Honestly they're so beautiful irl??????? Although I knew they were all handsome, I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw IM, Kihyun, Shownu and Hyungwon DAMN. 

The live was amazing, they kept playing DRAMARAMA, SHINE FOREVER and STUCK in the venue and we were so hyped! Once the live started; they all came in Swaroski Suits (they looked so expensive) singing Jealousy. The fan chants (at least in the VIP) were A M A Z I N G.  AAHHH I finally saw monsta x im sobbing. They then played Be Quiet (it’s one of my fav older songs) ;; and BEAUTIFUL IN SWAROSKI SUITS GUYSSSSSS. They didn't do the jacket dance since, yeah the jackets were pretty expensive HAHAHAH. Too bad.. They then had a long MC and started with Gravity and Tropical night (still wearing the suits). After changing their clothes (some kind of harness?)  they sung Crazy In love (finally a full version) and All In. The crowd really loved All In!!!!!!!! Then we had 20 minutes of solo stuff; the solo of Wonho, Minhyuk and Kihyun were my absolute favourite! It was so cute. The other solo’s were really good too!! The crowd died at Hyungwons and IMs solo though.  AAAAAAAAAAAAAH AFTER SOLO they sung From Zero (Seven member version) and oh my god Wonho looked so beautiful??? This song is so cute?? I can't remember much of Because of You im sorry ;; White love was really emotional, they didn't expect the banner project (1000days with monbebe) at all and really loved it. Rollercoaster was so cute live as well, they all pretended to sit in a rollercoaster lol. After they went off stage, the destroyer MV played AND I SCREAMED SO LOUD I WAS NOT READY, NO ONE WAS READY NO ONE! LITERALLY IM DEAD. But they bloody sung LOST IN THE DREAM and I was really lost in the dream, wow....... The vocals..... wow.. Im........................... it was so beautiful live. Guys, ive heard Kihyuns iconic high note (well a lot of people shouted OOOOFFFF BUT I STILL HEARD ONE OF MY FAV SONG I! CANT! BELIEVE!). Also very random to mention but Jooheon is one hell of a good performer, he was not even nervous and the stage was HIS BITCH, his rap and his stage aura are so mind-blowing.

I always joked they should play lost in the dream and destroyer after each other to let the fans die but they really did IT! The choreo of Destroyer was so good and fitted the song. In the beginning Wonho waved and gave a finger heart though... I was never a fan of Shine Forever, but It was so nice and also doing the fan chants! Rush is a song I used to skip but ooof, it was also very nice to hear. Monsta X really enjoyed singing Special too AND YESSSSSSSS FINALLYYYYYYY TRESPASS THE WHOLE CROWD WAS SO LIT WE ALL RAPPED ALONG AND IT WAS HONESTLY ONE OF THE BEST PERFORMANCES SO FAR IDGJKDSGS. They all positioned to the Dramarama pose and yes they did Dramarama!!!! but now the concert was about to end too :( Monsta X said they love Falling, Ive heard people say they love performing Falling and yes they REALLY LOVE FALLING. My heart was so full of uwu when I saw them performing falling, I love these babies so much :’). We showed them the banners during If Only again and Wonho, Minhyuk and Kihyun were really emotional and it was so sad to see this ending :( But I was about to meet these guys as well AAAAAAHHH. I dont know if it was Minhyuk or IM but one of them took of Wonho’s shirt lol and he threw it in a crowd. Before that they also took a group pic ;; tbh I wished they did Stuck and Hero as well, but overall I really loved the setlist so much.

Meet and greet Order: Wonho - Shownu - Kihyun - Minhyuk - Hyungwon - Jooheon - IM Usually when fans meet artist, fans are the ones talking to the artist but now Monsta X was rather talking to the fans, they were so sweet and they all had the most genuine and sweetest smile ever. The M&G was unfortunately very fast and I could only say  Wonho: I think he was still very sad and looked like he cried too but his hands are so soft ;; I thanked him and he nodded and gave a thumbs up lol Shownu: I knew it was his birthday in London so I told him a happy belated birthday ;; and he said thank you as well! Kihyun: ok, I may have said I love you instead of thank you AHHGHGHHGHAHAHG and yeah that was kihyuns reaction too he laughed and said thank you lol Minhyuk: He said thank you very much!! NO THANK YOUUU (while smiling so sweet) Hyungwon: Somehow he was very giggly but we both said thank you to each other!! Jooheon: We both said thank you to each other aaaaaahh IM: Since I barely had time (after hyungwon) I just told him thank you and he said the same ;; We then got a poster from the tour and the show was unforunately over :(( MMT announced a week before the concert there would be no merch so I didn't have a lightstick either so it was nice having a poster as a reminder (and the fans we got from the fansites ofc). Setlist (duration 2,5hours) 1. Jealousy 2. Be Quiet 3. Beautiful -- 4. Gravity 5. Tropical Night -- 6. Crazy in Love 7. All in -- 8. Wonho, Minhyuk, Kihyun - Neol Hada 9. Jooheon, Shownu - Versace on the Floor 10. Hyungwon, IM - Fake Love (Drake) 11. Hyungwon, IM - How long // another IM solo (not sure) -- 12. From Zero 13. Because of you 14. White Love 15. Rollercoaster -- 16. Lost in the dream -- 17. Destroyer 18. Shine forever -- 19. Rush 20. Special 21. Trespass -- 22. Dramarama *ENCORE* 23. Falling -- 24. If Only *Group pic*

Random moments -  They talked a lot of Dutch such as ‘I am...’, ‘I love you’, ‘I miss you’, ‘Fries with Mayo’. IM also wanted to say Sexy but he didn’t say Sexy and Jooheon said to erase our minds LMAO KSJKD he was so embarassed - In the beginning when Kihyun was talking about Hyungwon, Hyungwon looked at him and he kinda slapped away his face (Kihyun to Hyungwon) - Just before Crazy in Love, the group was devided into two to talk with fans (one group was changing their clothes) and Jooheon was doing a weird movement with his hand and was saying AY AY AY and the fans said it too, but then the other group came (Kihyun, Shownu, Hyungwon and Minhyuk) and they all looked honestly so confused and Kihyun was like ‘AY go change your clothes now’ and then Kihyun and Hyungwon were showing off their dance moves lol - Also during the live I started as the fourth row, but people behind me kept pushing and I was suddenly 2nd row and there is a higher place for the first row so my knees kept going on that and it hurted so much lmao - Shownu, IM and Jooheon went to Beyonce the day before and talked about how amazing it was (lmao fanboying on their own concert KAJDKSFJFS) and they also said we will make it possible for them to perform there one day ;;A;; - The day of the Amsterdam concert would be 1000 days with Monbebe we would show during If Only, but since London got cut off we weren't sure whether we would hear If Only and decided to do it during White Love. - Wonho, Minhyuk and Kihyun got teary at If Only - Their reactions to White love were so sweet :((  - Our group hyped up every member whenever they were close to us. Hyungwon, Kihyun and Wonho noticed us a lot lol. Hyungwon waved at us too ;; - During FALLING Kihyun was drinking water and then he came to our side and you could see in his face he was about to do something and when the beat dropped he threw WATER ON US and I got so wet :((((( the fan next to me, her fan was all wet lmao.  - I got a lot of confetti in my face :’)  

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