22nd October 2024: Antwerp & Starset’s Immersion {Belgium October 2024}

Posted on 14 December 2024 by JBinnacle

The weather was clear but crisp in Antwerp [Anvers | Antwerpen] when I left the hotel to grab a coffee at a small supermarket at the station. I walked right up to the Cathedral of Our Lady Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal. The interior was spacious, with a feeling of light and openness, with pointed arches. One of the key features of the cathedral is the art it houses, particularly the four paintings by Peter Paul Rubens (1577 – 1640), the most important Flemish Baroque artist, known for his nude characters, whether mythological or biblical. There are four of his works in the cathedral – The Elevation of the Cross, The Descent from the Cross, The Assumption of the Virgin Mary and The Resurrection of Christ. The cathedral boasts that it contains more “masterpieces”, both classical and contemporary, but they pale in comparison.

The cathedral is 123 metres long, and its tower is 123 metres high, giving it a special proportionality – which would have been even more spectacular if the second tower had ever been completed. The nave has a “secret” skylight that can only be seen if you are standing right underneath – this is supposed to represent the presence of God. The building is considered late Brabant Gothic, with some Baroque decorations. The stained glass windows are mainly Neo-Gothic, since the originals were destroyed. Underneath the nave there is a Medieval crypt.

Antwerp Cathedral interior

Art in Antwerp Cathedral

Afterwards, I headed out for the Plantin-Moretus Museum Plantin-Moretusmuseum, a Unesco Heritage Site. It is a museum on the history of book printing, especially from the 16th century printers Christophe Plantin (founder) and Jan Moretus (heir and son-in-law), located in their former house and workshop. The collection includes original printing presses and typesetter letters, drawings and paintings by Rubens, and hundreds (thousands?) of books printed throughout the centuries, and even some manuscript codexes. There were Bibles, atlases, medicine books… It was absolutely fantastic – though taking pictures was hard due to the lightning (so forgive the strange angles).

Plantin-Moretus Museum

Plantin-Moretus Museum books

I was feeling a bit woozy, probably because I had not eaten anything solid in 24 hours. Thus, I found a supermarket and bought a few items to have lunch, dinner, and breakfast the following day. I was heading back to the hotel, but I became distracted as I walked by the Stadsfeestzaal. Now a shopping centre, it used to be an exhibition hall, built at the end of the 19th century. It burnt down in 2000, and in 2007, it reopened after restoration as a shopping centre… which was celebrating Hallowe’en.

Antwerp festival hall

I ate a sort of pizza bread, warm from the supermarket, on the way, and some sushi when I got to the hotel. It was an unorthodox combination, but it made me feel fine again. I saved a salad for later, and I got some rest and got ready for Starset’s concert Immersion: The Final Chapter. I reached the venue Trix Zaal around 16:20, and I was… second in the VIP queue. The VIP passes were issued around 18:30, with a staff member taking our names and checking IDs. Doors opened at 19:00 and the curtain literally fell at 20:15.

Starset Inmersion poster

I once had to describe Starset and I did it as “weird”. Not in a bad way. They have a futuristic image, with an emphasis on a future rather terrifying technocratic dystopia. The concerts carry out a narrative – the New East is a sort of mental empire that controls everything through a device implanted in your mind. Their music videos are independent though. Their music style is hard rock or alternative metal, I’d say.

When I first saw them in Japan, they were officially four members: Dustin Bates (lead vocals, keyboards, soundboard, guitar), Ron DeChant (bass, keyboards, backing vocals), Brock Richards (guitars, backing vocals) and Adam Gilbert (drums, percussion) – those were the ones I met for the sainkai. They are currently touring with Zuzana Engererova (cello), Siobhán Richards (violin, keyboards), and Cory Juba (guitar, synth). I am very happy to report that the touring members are – at least for the two concerts I’ve attended in Belgium are present for photographs and meet and greets.

I enjoy Starset concerts a lot, I kind of feel the music. Besides, there are a bunch of songs that hit my soul really hard. Out of this concert’s setlist, I particularly love Carnivore and TokSik. However, Trials, Monster and My Demons are the ones that touch me really deep.

The stage was set with a bunch of rotors between the musicians and the audience, and there was a lot of neon and smoke to help with the visuals. The concert took about two hours, with a break in between to take down the rotors (in a matter of minutes). The “final chapter” the tour title refers to turns out to close down the futuristic plot and kickstart a present one with… time travel. And it makes total sense!

Setlist:
1. Unbecoming
2. Carnivore
3. Manifest
4. Perfect Machine
5. Frequency
6. Trials
7. It Has Begun
8. Waiting on the Sky to Change (Downplay cover)
9. Devolution
10. Infected
11. Telekinetic
12. Brave New World
13. Faultline
14. Monster
15. Degenerate
16. Echo
17. Die For You
18. Halo
19. My Demons
20. TokSik

Starset concert snapshot

During the concert, the person who had been first at the VIP queue had a bucket with a glow in the dark message asking for guitar picks. They caught an extra one and gave it to me afterwards! I was extremely grateful! After the encore, VIP pass holders could stay behind to take the official photograph and get some items signed.

I had brought a printed copy from my photograph from the VIP event at the previous concert. Whilst last year the VIP experience was a pre-concert acoustic, this time around it was afterwards, and it consisted on “hanging out with the band”. I had heard about it before, but I could not imagine how that went. First, we lined up for the official photograph. They built up a backdrop for the. After the picture was taken you got a signed poster and the QR to download it, and off you went back to the floor. I was talking to the people I had queued with when I suddenly looked up and saw Cory within the crowd. How can these guys be so tall and at the same time so sneaky? Because I swear, Dustin is 2.5 times me and I never saw him coming.

I asked each member to find themselves in the photograph and they signed it for me. Some asked when it was from, and I explain the one from the previous year. Though technically they could sign two things, I forewent the CD I had because the photograph was easier to hold on its own. I praised Zuzana on the girl-power vibe she and Siobhán had going on for the tour and she was happy “someone noticed”. Trust me, it is very noticeable. It was extremely weird and fun to be chatting with all the members like that. I am not sure it makes sense, but I am a bit intimidated by the interactions with Japanese stars – I would blame it in Japanese being my third language, but both Miyavi and Yoshiki are fluent in English. I could blame it on all rules being broken after the stint on the floor of the Royal Albert Hall, I guess. Or maybe it is just different with American artists, since I had the same feeling with Misha Collins – “approachable and human”.

Though the manager had said “no selfies”, towards the end, when he was the last around and a bunch of people had left already, Dustin (vocals) took a few with the fans who remained. I was one of the lucky ones. Then we ran into Andy (drums) at the bar and we were chatting for a while longer. We also took a selfie, yay us.

Afterwards, I undid the way towards the hotel. I walked because it was actually shorter than taking public transport. It was after 23:00, and the streets were mainly deserted as it was cold, but I had no incidents. I had to walk fast to keep myself warm, so that helped reduce the time out. I was also glad I had bought myself dinner, as I thus I did not have to look for a fast food place open at the time and I could head directly into the shower.

All in all, the whole experience was fantastic and I had a blast, or two. Thank you, Starset, for such an awesome event, and all the nice fans who had zero issues with switching to English whenever I was around, and especially to the person who gave me the pick.

16th June 2024: Southwark, the National Gallery and Kamijo at The Garage {London, England, June 2024}

Posted on 6 July 2024 by JBinnacle

According to the weather forecast, there was a chance of rain in London in the morning. When I got up and drew the curtains open, it was actually pouring, so I decided to wait the rain out. When I left the hotel around 9:00 to head to the queue, there was still a bit of drizzle which cleared as I was walking. However, when I reached the venue, I was surprised to find a notice on the door “We reserve the right to refuse entry. Anyone queueing before 16:00 will be refused entry.” Ho-kay, that sign had not been there the evening before – or I would have planned accordingly. I shrugged it off and resolved to make the most out of the morning and early afternoon, and be back at 16:00 sharp. I mean, what else could I do, mope at the hotel?

I took the Underground to the London Bridge stop, in Southwark. The first thing I came across was Borough Market, which had never even been in my radar before – I tend to stay on the other bank of the Thames. The market is an Art Decó building designed by Henry Rose in 1851. As a business, it had been in operation for centuries at the time though, and the building would get many refurbishments in the following years. Borough Market claims to be place for sustainable products with a short supply chain. There were wholesalers, coffee brewers, tapas bars and for some reason a bunch of guys yelling that everyone should try their mushroom risotto. The area was packed, and it was almost impossible to get a good picture.

Borough Market

Next to the market, stands Southwark Cathedral, officially Cathedral and Collegiate Church of St Saviour and St Mary Overie. London has four cathedrals: St. Paul and Southwark are Anglican, and Westminster and St. George are Catholic. Southwark Cathedral has stood in place for at least a thousand years. However, there is a legend that places its foundation in the early 600s, and there is archaeological evidence of a Roman road dating even further in time. The current structure is gothic, erected after the previous building was damaged in an area-wide fire in 1212, then transformed with the passing centuries. In the 19th century it was “remedievalised”, and in the 20th it became damaged by the Blitz and requited restoration. Today, it prides itself in being LGTB-friendly and having a resident cat, Hodge. It is also common that a fox, nicknamed Richard, visits the garden. Not sure either keeps the cathedral mouse- or rat-free, or they are too full with treats from the congregation.

Southwark cathedral - outside and nave

Southwark Cathedral details

After the cathedral, I headed to the actual reason I was in Southwark, The Old Operating Theatre Museum and Herb Garret. The museum is located in the attic of a former church – in other to access it, you have to climb up a spiral staircase with 52 steps, up the bell tower. The church was attached to a medieval hospital, in whose attic (or garret) the apothecaries dried medicinal herbs and stored medicines. In 1822, this garret became an operating theatre, with a huge skylight built in order to let light in – we are talking about a time when surgery was performed without anaesthetics, painkillers or antibiotics. The hospital was abandoned some 40 years later, and the theatre was lost to time, until it was rediscovered in 1952 – it is considered the oldest surviving operating theatre in Europe.

The museum has a small collection of pathology specimens, a bigger one of nightmarish medical tools, and a reconstruction of an apothecary shop, with a counter and a lot of herbs, and informative panels. Funnily enough, it also runs through the history of medicine, and the great London epidemics using… rubber duckies. Not collecting rubber duckies is becoming more and more difficult… Anyway, these particular rubber duckies have been painted and modelled over, and next to them there is a list of symptoms. From those, you need to diagnose the duckie with “silent killers of the past” – measles, tuberculosis, cholera…

The duckies were a good comic relief of sorts from the pathology collection and specimens, the pre-science artefacts, and the history underlying at the theatre itself. The theatre had several rows of stands where people watched / learnt from the operation while the patients were awake – allowing the procedures to be public was the only way poor people had access to medical treatment and the good surgeons. Honestly, the idea of surgery is scary enough, but just thinking about amputation without anaesthetics makes me shiver. Especially when you see what was used for it – basically a handsaw – with spectators.

The Old Operating Theatre and apothecary

It was still early afternoon, so I hopped onto the Underground towards Charing Cross and Trafalgar Square. I had not seen The National Gallery London since I was a child, and I remembered next to nothing of it, so I wanted to revisit it. The National Gallery, in the City of Westminster borough, dates back from 1824, when the government bought 38 paintings from a private collector – and it has been continuously expanding since then. The current building was designed by William Wilkings in 1832, and opened in 1838. the collection comprises over 2,000 paintings by 750 artists, among them Giotto, Leonardo da Vinci, Dürer, Michelangelo, Raphael, Tintoretto, Veronesse, El Greco, Caravaggio, Velázquez, van Dyck, Rembrandt, Vermeer, Canaletto, Goya, Constable, Delacroix, Degas, Monet, van Gogh…

Here’s the fun thing, I always thought I liked the impressionists, but it turns out that seeing Monet’s Water Lilies myself was rather underwhelming. Conversely, I found myself enjoying British landscapers a lot, especially Constable. I spent a few hours in here, looking for the masterpieces, but a lot of them were on loan to other sites.

National Gallery London

At one point I was taking a photograph and a gentleman thought he was on my way. When I reassured him he was not bothering me, he said something akin to “That’s because you’re a professional”. I wonder, a professional what? I was not carrying a camera or anything, just the phone…

I did a run throughout the whole gallery, and I was considering staying at the café for a bite, but… I was rather close to Leicester Square… so I thought I could walk there and check if I could have lunch at Coco Curry or somewhere in Chinatown. The line at Coco was rather short – surprisingly, since the Chinatown Coco is always pretty full. Thus, I decided to wait it out and have lunch there – after all, it is the “iconic” one, and the previous time I had only visited the Bond Street shop. I’m not sure when Coco became the feeling of a taste of Japan, but it is one of my favourite food places.

Coco Curry Leicester Square

I had a bit of extra time. Not much for exploring, too long to just stay at the restaurant. I wandered Chinatown a little, and then got to Leicester Square. I’ve been to the Lego store, and the M&Ms place, but there is also a tea boutique, the TWG Tea Shop which I had never stepped into. I did it this time, and I was really tempted by a few of the green teas in pretty tins. I however talked myself out of buying any, since it would be silly to take them to the concert, and if a water bottle is a hazard, I cannot imagine what would be thought of a metal box.

Instead, I headed back to Trafalgar Square and stepped into the church Saint Martin-in-the-Fields. This ancient church was rebuilt in the 1720s by James Gibbs – though it was originally “in the fields”, in the outskirts, by this time it was already part of the city. It is a simple rectangular nave with Corinthian columns and a vaulted ceiling. The church holds choir concerts every Sunday afternoon, and I sat there listening to the music for a bit. I then I headed off to Charing Cross to take the underground towards the venue and the surprise of my life.

The church of St Martin in the Fields

I arrived at The Garage for Kamijo’s Europa Tour 2024 “The Anthem” at 16:00 sharp thinking the queue would be assembling, but no. Apparently there was some “secret parallel queue” going on somewhere – there were between 40 and 50 people there already, so I only got the 18th place due to my type of ticket. I was a bit disappointed, but oh well, what can you do? Nothing any more, so I did not dwell on it. The promoter had actually sent a schedule in advance, saying that doors would be at 19:00 for the VVIPs and showtime at 20:30. Of course, it would not be followed, but it was good having an approximate timetable.

Queuing was okay, not extremely long since we actually went in around 18:30. There was a lady organising the line and giving out the numbers, and the venue staff were willing to go along that, so even if there was a “secondary queue”, there were no issues that I know of. The venue was a bit weird. There were a couple of stairs and a small hall before the actual concert hall. In that tiny hall, all painted black and stuck between the two fire doors, and under horrible lighting, stood Kamijo and his dazzling smile, ready for the meet and greets and pictures for the VVIPs and handshakes for the VIPs.

Kamijo The Anthem poster

I walked in, he gave me a warm smile, and said ‘bonjour’. I smiled back. I don’t know whether I’m getting old, or that sitting on the floor with Yoshiki was a game changer for my brain. And despite the fact that I’ve been neglecting my Japanese, I was able to convey my message. He was adorable. I said something like “There is no ‘I’ve missed you’ in Japanese, but it’s really been a long time.” A staff took our picture, he said thank you again, I said thank you back, then walked into the venue. I received my signed poster – a grey A4 signed in black. Apparently, gold or silver markers were out of the budget…

The barrier was almost completely full, but I was able to squeeze on the left, amongst the people I had queued with, closer to the centre of the stage than I had even hoped. Truth is that Kamijo tends to go to the right more often than to the left than the right, but since he holds his microphone with the left hand, you don’t see his face, so I was happy with my place. However, the hour and a half until concert started felt pretty long, since I was quite squeezed in. Maybe I should have sat, I don’t know. The concert started around 20:00, and it was no pictures of videos allowed.

The supporting musicians were Hiro on guitar – Hiro was also the guitar in La’cryma Christi, one of the most important V-kei bands in the 90s. Also on guitar came Yohio, a Swedish artist who managed to break into the Japanese scene a few years back – he actually got a lot of hate at the beginning, so good that he received some love. On bass came Ikuo (Bykk Zeichen 88, Rayflower), and on drums Ushi (Vorchaos). I’m not sure who the sound tech was, but he or she deserves to be yelled at – for about the first third of the concert Kamijo’s microphone was powerless, to the point that his voices was inaudible at times. There were a few songs I did not know (or was unable to identify due to the noise), amongst them the song that gives the tour its name: The Anthem.

Sound was so bad that at times I could not hear what Kamijo was saying, much less understand it. However, he sang two of my favourite songs, Moulin Rouge and Eye of Providence, and I was lucky enough that he repeated my favourite line twice. Despite my being amused by his idealisation of Napoleon, there is a line in Sang I (it took me stupidly long to realise that sang is French for ‘blood’) that resonates a lot with me: ‘Just like flying with the wind: no pain, only gain’. He started the song and interrupted himself halfway to make the musicians greet the audience in English. He either forgot he was going to do an emcee, or since he said it was his favourite song, he wanted to sing it twice.

He had fun, and unlike other times I’ve seen him, he indulged in a lot of “fan service” with the musicians, which sent the crowd screaming. Aside from the sound issue, there was one other hiccup during the concert. At one point Kamijo tripped over a wire, stumbled and ended up almost sitting down on the drums, but he did not fall, which was good.

Setlist:
1. 闇夜のライオン (Yamiyo no lion)
2. Conspiracy
emcee, with Kamijo saying he was glad to be back in London, and inviting the audience to go to Paris with him.
3. Moulin Rouge
4. The Anthem
5. Louis 〜艶血のラヴィアンローズ〜 (Louis ~Enketsu no la vie en rose)
6. 運命 (Unmei)
7. Eye of Providence
8. Habsburg
9. mademoiselle
10. CRIMSON FAMILY
11. Castrato
12. Beautiful Rock’n Roll
13. 薔薇は美しく散る (Bara wa Utsukushiku Chiru; song by Lareine, Kamijo’s first band)
14. Sang I & emcee, where the musicians said what the tour had meant for them
15. Sang II
16. Nosferatu
emcee
17. Avec toi〜君と共に〜
18. NOBLESS OBLIGE part 1
19. Throne
20. NOBLESS OBLIGE part 2
21. Vampire Rock Star

During the emcees Kamijo said that he was glad to be back to Europe / the UK, and that he was especially happy to be in London. He talked about how great the tour had been, and how amazing an audience we were – though he tells that to everyone anyway. All in all, I had a lot of fun, enjoyed myself, clapped during mademoiselle and even jumped (once, I’m not that crazy) during Vampire Rockstar. Whenever his musicians or himself sing / yell the chorus, the words ‘vampire rockstar’ come out as ‘vampire lobster’. This time, he made the audience yell them all, so considering this was London, it sounded correctly for once.

Snippets pre and post Kamijo's The Anthem concert

After the concert, which lasted a bit over two hours, I bought a sandwich at the open-late supermarket next to The Garage, and headed to the hotel for a shower and sleep. I kind of… forgot to go to bed though. God, I love concert highs, as short as they are. It is always hard to come back to reality, but there was still half a day before that.

25th March 2023: Brussels, Antwerp, and Starset {Belgium, March 2023}

Posted on 8 April 2023 by JBinnacle

As my companion D****e was caught in the French air controllers’ strike, she did not make it to our hotel until the wee hours of the morning. I let her sleep, and headed out to explore another area of Brussels. My first stop was again Mont des Arts, because it was on the way to Anneessenstoren, remains of the old city walls – which were being renovated, so I could not see a thing.

I had decided not to take the umbrella because the wind made it useless anyway, so I had to take cover a couple of times. I continued off to the Romanesque-evolved-into-Gothic Church of Our Lady of the Chapel Église Notre-Dame-de-la-Chapelle | Onze-Lieve-Vrouw-ter-Kapellekerk. It was closed, but I hung out around the area for a bit. There is a skate park, a Memorial to Pieter Bruegel the Elder (who is buried in the church) and an obelisk Obelisk Kapellekerk sculpture.

I decided to come back when the church was open, and continued walking towards another church in the area, the Church of Our Blessed Lady of the Sablon Église Notre-Dame du Sablon | Onze-Lieve-Vrouw ter Zavelkerk. It was built in the 15th century, in late Brabantine Gothic. It does not have towers, but a deep portal in the main façade. It is richly decorated inside and out, in light coloured stone from the nearby Gobertange quarry. In the beginning, the church was a parish for the noble and wealthy citizens of the city, but it slowly lost lustre over the centuries. In the late 19th century and beginning of the 20th century, it was “restored” according to the principle of unity of style. The whole building is laden with ogival windows, and the light inside is very beautiful. When I was there, the choir was rehearsing, and there was a “do not visit beyond this point” notice which I abided by.

Gothic church: exterior + nave, flanked with long windows

I went out again, and crossed the street to the garden Square du Petit Sablon | Kleine Zavelsquare , which features statues depicting some of the great humanists of the Belgian 16th centuries, and a fountain in the honour of two noblemen who were executed by the Spanish regime in the same century. The fences are decorated with sculptures that depict the different guilds of the city. It was designed by romantic architect Henri Beyaert in the Flemish no-renaissance style in the 19th century as a flower garden.

I saw the Palace of Justice of Brussels Palais de Justice de Bruxelles, a massive building built between 1866 and 1883 in an eclectic Greco-Roman-inspired style, designed by architect Joseph Poelaert. When it was erected, it was the largest building in the world, and it is currently… being renovated, as part of the ceiling collapsed in 2018.

I had to take cover again as another shower hit, but it went away eventually. I walked further until I reached a former medieval city gate Porte de Hal | Hallepoort, which looks like a tiny French château – it was transformed into a a Neogothic castle in the 19th century, by Henri Beyaert. Today it is a museum, but I decided not to go in and head back towards the city centre.

Decorated medieval-like tower

I backtracked towards the Church of Our Lady of the Chapel Église Notre-Dame-de-la-Chapelle | Onze-Lieve-Vrouw-ter-Kapellekerk which had been closed in the morning, and it had fortunately opened. I walked in. The church has an early 13th century Romanesque base, and the building was erected or reconstructed later in Brabantine gothic in the late 13th century. The nave was reconstructed in the 16th century and is Flamboyant Gothic. It leads to a dark-wood painted altar which contrasts with the wide, light nave. All in all, I guess I can say I was a fan of the gothic style in Brussels.

A gothic church with a dark wood altar and altarpiece, with coloured windows behind

When I was in the church, I received a text from D****e, who had finally woken up. I walked back to meet her and we decided to take the train to Antwerp [Anvers | Antwerpen], where we had plans for the evening. We got off at the central station Antwerpen-Centraal railway station Gare d’Anvers-Central | Station Antwerpen-Centraal. Designed by architect Louis Delacenserie, it was built in eclectic style at the turn of the 20th century. It has two underground levels in modern tunnels, and the original station stands at level +1 (a total of four levels), with an extended train hall in iron and glass designed by the engineer Clément Van Bogaert. The station is sometimes called a “railroad cathedral” with domes, glass windows, an ornate clock, and marble floors.

Antwerp Centraal Station - a red iron tunnel-like structure with a decorated front with a clock at the end

The idea was to look for a place to have lunch near the main square, but the weather did not agree. We ate at a Wagamama chain restaurant instead, to wait out the storm, then headed to see the Bourse of Antwerp Handelsbeurs. It was the first building ever erected with the idea of being a commodity exchange place, but burnt down and was reconstructed in the 19th century by architect Joseph Schadde, who mixed Neogothic and iron architecture elements. The building was abandoned in 1997, but it was later recovered as a cultural and event centre. I absolutely loved it.

The Handelsbeurs inside - lots of gothic details supported by decorated iron beams

We had a look at the Cathedral of Our Lady Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal, but we were pressed for time and did not want to pay to have to rush through the building (a future visit, maybe), so we just peered inside. The cathedral is included in the Unesco World Heritage Site of “Belfries of Belgium and France”.

The cathedral of Antwerp

Outside the cathedral there’s a sculpture of a boy and his dog, from a sad novella about an orphan boy who wants to be a painter, and although written by an English author (Marie Louise de la Ramée) it sounds like the Belgian version of “The Little Match-Seller” tale. It’s called the Nello & Patrasche Statue Nello & Patrasche beeld and it was created by Batist Vermeulen.

A sculpture of a boy sleeping on his dog. The bricks on the road seem to tuck them.

Eyeing the weather, we decided to head out to our destination for the evening, the Trix concert hall – though this meant sacrificing seeing the main square, we were happy that we were under cover when it started hailing at around 16:15. On the way, we saw a mouse happily hopping the main streets, some sculptures, including the Monument to Rubens and the entrance to Chinatown. We had purchased VIP tickets to see the American band Starset, who toured with Japanese singer Hyde in 2018.

Starset is an American alternative rock band formed in 2013 by vocalist Dustin Bates. Aside from Bates (lead vocals, keyboards, soundboard, guitar), the core of the band is formed by Ron DeChant (bass, keyboards, backing vocals), Brock Richards (guitars, backing vocals) and Adam Gilbert (drums, percussion). Touring members currently are Siobhán Richards (violin, keyboards), Zuzana Engererova (cello) and Cory Juba (guitar, synth), and I guess they’ve got an honorary member in Ernie (Dustin’s French bulldog, who apparently attends pizza parties with VIPs when the band tours the US). One could say that Starset is a “concept band” revolving around sci-fi – the band’s fictional backstory refers to The Starset Society, who aims to alert the public about a “Message” they obtained from an outer-space signal. The fact that Bates holds a Master’s in electrical engineering and worked for the US Air Force and the International Space University might have something to do with the theme.

Starset released their fourth album, Horizons, in 2021. After Covid, cancellations and rescheduling, the Horizons Tour finally took place. Since we had a VIP ticket, we had early access and we had to be at the venue at 17:00. We got there a bit after 16:00 – and it was a good place with a hall, so we were under cover when it started hailing. In the end, we were not admitted till 17:20-ish, when a nice lady came and took our names to let us in. The first part of the experience was a short acoustic concert with some games and Q&A. For the games, you were given a raffle number, and if it was picked, you got to spin a wheel and maybe get a price – or a hug.

During the acoustic, we stood next to violinist Siobhán, who is not only beautiful, she is also super elegant. Dustin looked a bit like a hobo, to be honest, and he’s taller than I remembered him. We noticed that Ron’s arm was on a sling – apparently he had hurt himself and was unable to play during the tour, but he still tagged along. Afterwards, we had the chance to take a picture with the band, pick up the free goods that we had a right to – a CD and a signed poster. As we did, we moved into the actual concert hall, where we got the last available spot on the first row barrier.

Starset during the accoustic

The supporting artist was Smash into Pieces, a Swedish rock band composed by Chris Adam Hedman Sörbye (vocals), Benjmain Jennebo (guitar), The Apocalypse DJ (drums) and Per Bergquist (guitar). They were very good, and they fit really well with Starset, I thought. They started playing when the hall was full – it has a capacity of about 1100 people, and maybe they started around 19:30.

Setlist:

Wake Up
Glow in the Dark
Big Bang
Let Me Be Your Superhero
Sleepwalking
Running Away from Home
Vanguard
Boomerang

Smash into Pices front men.

This made the event run faster than expected. Starset were scheduled for 21:00 but came out at around 20:20, and the whole thing started with a bang – almost literally. A big curtain was pulled up and then let down when the band was on stage.

Setlist:

Unveiling The Architecture (recording)
Carnivore
Manifest
Echo
Trials
Icarus
Unbecoming
Monster
It Has Begun
Interlude. BMI ad (video recording)
Satellite
Ricochet
Infected
The Breach
Die For You
Devolution
For Whom The Bell Tolls (Metallica Cover)
Earthrise
My Demons
Boomerang

Dustin (vocals) and Brock (guitar; dressed as an astronaut) from Starset in the middle of the concert

My mind was blown because somewhat this setlist comprises all my favourite songs from the band: Carnivore, Monster, Ricochet and My Demons. The concert was full of little visuals and cool ambience tricks – I mean, Brock actually plays in astronaut suit. There was a lot of smoke and the lights were not good, but the concert itself was amazing. I was very grateful for the barrier, I would not have made it standing for the whole event – probably not even half of it. All in all, I had a lot of fun. I love that Dustin sings with his geek glasses, too.

After the concert, we managed to take the 23:09 train back to Brussels and even get a snack on the way – the one previous to the train I had wanted. That was lucky, because the last train was delayed over an hour and a half, and was a slow one.

3rd August 2019: Higashiyama Sky Tower and ELL {Japan, summer 2019}

Posted on 15 September 2019 by JBinnacle

In the morning I headed out of the Nagoya centre and to Higashiyama Sky Tower [東山スカイタワー]. This was a bit far out and I had slept in – did I mention tiredness catching up? I also considered the zoo/aquarium but in the end I decided against it.

A collage of the Higashiyama Sky tower, a rectangular building with a cylindrical core, mostly built in glass and metal. The smaller pictures show the view of the park, and the earthquake damper

I had an amazing lunch set in the shopping mall underneath / connected to Nagoya Station on my way back.

Lunch set: cold soba, white rice, breaded prawns, pickles, and green tea

Then I headed out for Electric Lady Land. To increase my chances of actually seeing KAMIJO this summer, I balloted for two concerts of the 2019 Japan Tour Persona Grata through the fanclub Rose-Croix international. I was lucky enough to hit for both. When I arrived at the venue, I queued to buy goods – I only wanted the collectible badge, but ended up getting way too many. I waited around, and this time, the Japanese members of the fanclub were let in before the international ones. We did not get a physical ticket, either, just the passport and the reference ticket were enough.

Notice reading ell. Fits all. Japan Tour 19 Persona Grata. Kamijo. Open 18:30, Start 19:00

ELL is a small venue and we were not many people there for the concert – it was strange that there were so much people in Tokyo to fill up the Blitz, but not enough in Nagoya to fill ELL. It was a more humble concert, with a smaller screen for the projections, but it was fun none the less. I was able to stand close to the stage, but I chose the wrong side – I stood left while KAMIJO donned right. I shall learn from that. The set list was the same as the opening concert, which gave me the chance to appreciate the new songs even better. Even if the hall was smaller (tiny, actually) and thus held fewer people, it felt more energetic as attendees were jumping and yelling further – it seemed like the Blitz opening had felt more formal. Glad I got to attend both concerts, never mind how different and similar at the same time they were.

Kamijo Persona Grata poster

Walked distance: 16231 steps / 11.6 km. We don’t trust this measure either as it counts the furutsuke as walking (≧▽≦).

26th July 2019: KAMIJO’s Persona Grata {Japan, summer 2019}

Posted on 12 September 2019 by JBinnacle

I woke up, and had some coffee from the convenience shop on my way to the station. I took a train to Tokyo [東京] – the great thing about the JR Pass is that you can ride back and forth as much as you want. The itinerary I have for this time over might not the most efficient in terms of optimising time, but it does maximise the number of concerts I can attend. This was the day of KAMIJO’s the opening concert of his 2019 Japan Tour Persona Grata.

When I arrived in Tokyo, I headed off towards Roppongi Hills. There, I met up with D****e and we had some some delicious yakiniku together for lunch.

Lunch set. Salad, white rice and some raw meat for the grill, along with the sauces to dip

I first saw KAMIJO in Barcelona in 2018. He is a visual-kei rocker from the old school – with the costumes, the backstory and lots of theatricality. He is basically pretending to be Lestat de Lioncourt during the stint he becomes a rock star. I mean, we are the same age. We must have read the book around the same time, so I know where he is coming from.

Since, aside from vampires, KAMIJO is also obsessed with France, a while back he opened a European fanclub. Unlike most Japanese artists’ international fanclubs, Rose-Croix international allows for very real benefits. Since the European chapter is actually located in France, everything was much easier in terms of payments and so on. I was able to ballot for tickets for the Japan tour, and I actually hit for Premium tickets for Persona Grata’s opening night at Mainabi Blitz Akasaka. The tickets included “seating in front of the stage” and special presents. To prevent tickets getting lost in the post, you have a reference number and need to drop by the ticket booth to receive your physical ticket on the day of the concerts you hit for. I was lucky enough to buy the tickets for the two concerts I wanted.

Kamijo Persona Grata poster

After lunch, I went to D****e’s to drop off my backpack and changed, then I set back out. I arrived at the venue around 16:30, and the shop to buy merchandise was already open, but the ticket booth was still closed. I could not claim my Premium goods without the physical tickets, but I looked at the merchandise. I decided that I needed the small lamb plush with vampire fangs Hitsuji Vampire [羊ヴァンパイア], along with some other items, the more important being the booklet.

Around 17:30 I was able to retrieve my ticket – I only had to show my passport to get it. The premium seat guaranteed a “front seat”, which was second row – better than expected. Afterwards, I went to collect my premium “goodies” – a jewellery pouch (I really thought it was a wallet at first), an autographed board, and a mug, all inside a limited-print plastic bag that was given out for purchases over 3,000¥. I think that between second row and the presents, the ticket price was fair in comparison to the regular one.

Kamijo Persona Grata Premium gifts
The tour doubled as an introduction to the new songs for the upcoming singles. Aside from the new compositions, I discovered a few songs I really liked (a lot of my Book Off shopping this year had to do with trying to build KAMIJO’s entire discography)., The concert felt quite special. I enjoyed every second, and having a chair really helped to get some rest when he was off stage and we had the “film” instalments. Unfortunately, the fandom is not too open so I did not get to make any new friends.

There was a large screen on stage where the conducting story was projected. This is another thing that some v-kei artists do, have “plots” for their concerts, and big stories for tours / releases. This is usually done in the form of short films shown throughout concerts, and snippets written on the CDs or DVDs (it’s the original transmedia strategy, I guess – and reading the booklet helped figure things out). It also works to give the musicians a break during high-energy concerts. The story of Persona Grata takes the viewer back to the times of Louis XVII of France. The Count of Saint Germain – whom is never seen, but is voiced by famous voice-actor Tomokazu Seki [関智一] – is a vampire masquerading as alchemist. He created the Émigré, a system to obtain energy from the blood of resurrected corpses. These corpses are a sort of sentient human “battery” who are allowed to meet their beloved ones once more before their final, eternal death. Émigré created an “ideal world” with infinite energy. Time passes and in the present day, the Émigré is working in Japan and being exported to America. The film opens with the Secretary of Energy in the USA killed, delves into the investigation, and culminates with a meeting between the President and the Count, after which the Count’s car is blown up.

After the first instalment of the film, KAMIJO came on stage along with the musicians – Meku (guitar), Yuki (drums) and Masashi (bass).

Setlist:

Intro: Sang-epilogue- (recorded)
    1. [New song]
    2. [New song]
    3. Nosferatu
    4. Emblem (recorded)
    5. Émigré
    6. Vampire Rock Star
    7. Ecstasy
    8. 闇夜のライオン [Yamiyo no lion]
    9. Delta -Interlude-
    10. Castrato
    11. [New song]
    12.The Star-Spangled banner (recorded)
    13. [New song]
    14. Eye of Providence
Encore
    15. BASTILLE
    16. 第四楽章 – Dying Table – [Dai shi gakushou – Dying Table –]
    17. Moulin Rouge
    18. 追憶のモナムール [Itsuoku no mon amour]
    19. Louis ~艶血のラヴィアンローズ~ [Louis, Enketsu no La Vie en Rose]
Ending + Eye of Providence (recorded)

I like KAMIJO because he is fun. He tries really hard to stay in character all the time, but he does not manage, and keeps slipping into being a goof ball. However, he is a great singer. Furthermore, I also like vampires, I’m not going to lie, and he makes for a very pretty one. One of the things I find hysterical is that he uses a goblet to drink at concerts, a member of the staff keeps it full of water all the time.

The Blitz show was pretty powerful and really good. There was something special about it, something magical. Artistically, KAMIJO showed everything he can do. He did not miss any cue, his voice never wavered, he never hesitated. Every line and twirl and drop were timed perfectly. He hit all his crazy highs and the husky lows, and did not have any issues with songs with completely different tempos back to back. He jumped, made the audience jump, made the musicians jump and fake-bit all the guitarists’ necks. During the emcee, he announced the final October tour, a “trilogy of singles” that would complete the Émigré story arc.

The audience struck me as pretty rather quiet, in comparison with the HYDE concerts I had just attended, where the crowd is a bit… overenthusiastic. In this case, everybody just clapped, but did not scream or speak.

Out of the new songs, I really liked Ecstasy, for which KAMIJO had practised his English a lot. Lyric-wise, I think Eye of Providence hit hard. Of the not-so-new songs, I absolutely adored Bastille. He sadly did not sing Mystery, but it probably did not fit the ongoing theme. Neither did Moulin Rouge, I think, but it is a staple of his. At the end of the nine-minute concert, he said that we all were a family, and coached us to hold hands and jump together with him and the musicians.

Night view of the venue, reading Mainabi Blitz Kamijo

After the concert finished, I headed back towards D****e’s place, and I had some dinner on the way. I must have. I don’t really remember…

Walked distance: 13515 steps / 9.66 km. I don’t believe this for a second, the watch is totally messing up between moving arms doing furutsuke, and walking.

25th July 2019: Sekigahara {Japan, summer 2019}

Posted on 11 September 2019 by JBinnacle

I was staying in Nagoya for another of the HYDE concerts, but I had a free morning, so I decided to take a train to Sekigahara [関ヶ原], which is a nearby little town, which is really only in the books because in October of 1600 a huge battle in the mountains over there decided the establishment of the Tokugawa shogunate, which shaped the history of Japan for centuries. It is known as the Battle of Sekigahara, Sekigahara no Tatakai [関ヶ原の戦い]. Basically there were a bunch of samurai clans warring with each other and Tokugawa managed to convince, bribe and slaughter every one in his way until he was the de facto ruler of Japan.

A vermillion gate with trees in the background

I found a map with a route to follow and thus my first stop was the Higashikubidzuka [東首塚] Mound, where a bunch of samurai were beheaded – this was off to a bloody start. Within the same area there were several monuments signalling different events and encampments – which was to mark how most of Sekigahara is laid out.

Collage of the park, showing a marker, some flags and a torii

Then I continued on to Jinbano Koen [陣場野公園], where I could see the Site of the Battle Camp of Tanaka Yoshimasa [田中吉政陣跡], the Site of Tokugawa Ieasu’s Final Encampment [徳川家康最後陣跡], Kibune Jinja [貴船神社], Mitama Jinja [御霊神社].

Collage of the park, showing a marker, some flags, fences with spikes, and a torii. There are trees and overgrown bushes in the background.

It was hot as could be, so I was not going to do the 17-km route, but I did go to the main area, the Site of Sekigahara Battleground – Sekigahara Kosenjō [関ケ原古戦場], along with the Site of the Battle Camp of Shima Sakon (Sasaoyama) – Shimasako-jin ato [島左近陣跡].

The logo of the city of Sekigahara. It can look like the moon coming up from behind a mountain, or a samurai helmet

After that, I backtracked to the Sekigahara Town History and Folklore Museum Sekigahara-chō Rekishi Minzoku Shiryōkan [関ケ原町歴史民俗資料館], which I had missed at first because there was construction in the area. There I could see some weapons and armours and get the whole collection of samurai clan stamps ~~and enjoy the air conditioning~~.

Samurai armours and pennants

I would have liked to go to the Site of Tokugawa Ieyasu’s First Encampment [徳川家康最初陣跡], but it was too far away to walk, so I had to take picture from the train.

A clear in the forest with some white flags

As an interesting anecdote, I found a Thai coin in the battle site, something I would have never expected.

A Thai coin

Once in Nagoya [名古屋], it was time for HYDE concert’s HYDE Live 2019 at the Zepp Nagoya again. As the previous day, it was a fun concert – I stayed at the end of the venue because my entry numbers were so high I had zero chance to find anything mid-venue, but it was all right, it’s not like I’m ever going to do first row in a HYDE concert in Japan. I have accepted that. I had fun anyway, and that is the most important thing.

My impressions were similar to the previous day. The concert made the 2018 tour feel like a rehearsal for this one, or maybe just a way not to “give up” summer touring on HYDE’s part since he has a pretty devout following.

Setlist:
    1. Who’s gonna save us
    2. After light
    3. Inside of me
    4. Underworld
    5. Fake Divine
    6. Two face
    7. Set in Stone
    8. Zipang (Japanese version)
    9. Out
    10. Mad Qualia
    11. Sick
    12. Don’t hold back
    13. Lion
    14. Another moment
    15. Midnight Celebration II
– break –
    16. Duality (Slipknot cover)
    17. Countdown
    18. Ahead
    19. Ordinary World (Duran Duran cover)

After the concert, Sr-san had skipped back to Tokyo, so I just headed off to my hotel to have a shower and relax. I had another concert coming the next day, making it three concerts in a row, so I needed to rest up a little.

Walked distance: 14683 steps / 10.5 km.

24th July 2019: Morning in Kyoto, afternoon in Nagoya {Japan, summer 2019}

Posted on 10 September 2019 by JBinnacle

After waking up early again (what can be done? Early night → early morning) I walked out the hotel and took another stroll in Maruyama Kouen. Only this time, instead of heading towards Yasaka Jinja and Gion, I continued straight and I found Daiunin [大雲院].

The roof of a pagoda, in oxidized green colour

I continued on to Nene no Michi [ねねの道], which has temples left and right. These temples have little statues that you have to touch for luck, wealth and so on. As I have been feeling so lousy this last year, I decided to find the health one.

Statuettes of the Buddha and local gods

On my way I climbed up the Daidokoro-zaka [台所坂], a bunch of gentle stairs that lead up to Kōdaiji [高台寺], a fun temple with a lot of yokai folklore. It also held some healing sutras, so I took the liberty to make them spin.

Temple with funny-looking lanterns decorated with yokai and ghost faces

From there, I went to Kongoji (Yasaka Kōshindō) [金剛寺(八坂庚申堂)], which is a temple with… colourful balls where people write their wishes. They are supposed to entertain the ‘good faith monkeys’ (Hear no evil, speak no evil, see no evil) that guard the temple, I guess.

Buddhist temple with a decoration of thousands of brightly coloured pompoms

After that, I walked towards the Hōkanji (Yasaka no Tou) [法観寺 (八坂の塔)], a five-story pagoda.

Five story pagoda

A bit farther, I also found Rokuharamitsuji [六波羅蜜寺].

Buddhist temple exterior

I went down towards the river Kamogawa [鴨川], where I saw some more wildlife – ducks, cormorants, herons (cranes? Have I told you I can’t tell cranes and herons apart?).

Black cormorant standing in the river

Finally – for my Kyoto trip – I walked down the Pontocho [先斗町] Alley before I headed for the station. It is renown for its restaurants, but everything was too expensive for my budget.

Narrow alley with restaurant lanterns and signs

Then I took a Shinkansen to Nagoya [名古屋] as I was going to attend HYDE’s 2019 tour that afternoon. As I arrived too early for 15:00 check in, I headed off to Zepp Nagoya to see whether the goods were out. They were. A girl passed out at the queue a bit behind me due to heatstroke, and that was a bit creepy, but the staff took good cafe of her.

After buying goods, I went to leave my stuff and have a shower at the hotel, then I met up with several friends and even new friends. I enjoyed HYDE Live 2019 much better than the 2018 shows, which felt… somewhat disappointing at the time, almost clumsy and disarranged. Since then, HYDE put out the album Anti in May 2019, so he has found his grounds again. Last year he seemed to be rehearsing / perfecting a few of the songs, and combining them with the echoes of L’Arc~en~Ciel and VAMPS, which only emphasised what we did not have any more – I am still not too happy with the covers of VAMPS songs, especially Ahead, where I miss KAZ’s guitar. And honestly? Not a fan of Duran Duran’s Ordinary World.

Setlist:
    1. Who’s gonna save us
    2. After light
    3. Inside of me
    4. Underworld
    5. Fake Divine
    6. Two face
    7. Set in Stone
    8. Zipang (Japanese version)
    9. Out
    10. Mad Qualia
    11. Sick
    12. Don’t hold back
    13. Lion
    14. Another moment
    15. Midnight Celebration II
– break –
    16. Duality (Slipknot cover)
    17. Devil Side
    18. Ahead
    19. Ordinary World (Duran Duran cover)

As his solo goals, HYDE has set his heart in in the US. Thus, his new music is heavily influenced by American producers and musicians, and completely in English. Though he is mainly a vocalist, HYDE started off as a guitarist, so there is a heavy reliance on powerful strings. To emphasise the fact that he is solo now, he has given his support musicians masks to cover their faces. Or maybe he’s just decided he likes masks as he himself wears a half-mask for the first few songs. He was very active and engaging with the audience, which always makes lives more fun. In general, I enjoyed the act, it was powerful and engaging.

Zepp Nagoya logo

When the concert was over I met up with Sr-san for dinner. We had misokatsu [味噌カツ] in a famous shop, and had a long conversation about the concert and HYDE’s new songs.

Dinner: breaded pork on rice and shredded cabbage

Walked distance: 23305 steps / 16.6 km.

21st & 22nd September 2018: The Vampire Rockstar in Barcelona (Spain)

Posted on 9 October 2018 by JBinnacle

I first heard about KAMIJO when someone handed me a flyer for his Paris concert when I was there to see Yoshiki Classical, back in 2014. I did not give that much more thought as I obviously don’t live in Paris. However, tickets for KAMIJO’s Sang Project Act III Europe Tour came out around my birthday this year, and I decided to get them as a present for myself – there was a concert in Barcelona, on a Friday. I had a good connection there, it was the weekend, and the tickets were not expensive. Thus, I bought the ticket, the VIP upgrade (early entrance and Meet and Greet) and the memorial photo ticket (individual Polaroid with him), a grand total of 68 €.

KAMIJO is a Japanese “visual kei” singer, both solo and with the band Versailles. Visual kei (V-kei) is musically similar to rock, though sometimes it leans closer to heavy metal. Singers and bands often don a particular style, the “visuals”, usually associated with some kind of fictional backstory (however, most of them tone “the look” down as they become older). KAMIJO has adopted the persona of an 18th-century French vampire which fits both his solo activities and the ones with Versailles. However, the illusion shatters as his French is worse than his English, despite how hard he tries.

Kamijo Sang Europe tour dates and venues

Between getting the tickets in May and the concert in September, I ordered and listened to the album KAMIJO was promoting, Sang. I recognised influences from older V-kei bands Malice Mizer and Moi dix Moix – both of which have the same vocalist, singer MANA. However, there was something more up-beaty to it that took a couple of listening sessions to fully embrace. In the end, I decided that I liked it pretty well.

Although the original reason why I decided to go to the concert was convenience, the whole thing was a pleasant surprise. I also took the chance to meet with my friends E**** and K*****, who live there. Thus, on the 21st, I took the first train to Barcelona, and I arrived a bit before 10:00. I went over to the queue at Sala Apolo, a venue in the centre of town and I was the sixth person there. I made some nice acquaintances at the queue who held my spot when I ran to the hotel to check in, around 15:00 (with 15 – 20 people at the queue).

Apolo venue façade

As I arrived at the hotel, a man walked in behind me. I did my check-in and the person behind the desk asked me for “the gentleman’s ID too”. I blinked – I had a single room, a reservation for one and he thought we were together? Weird. The guy was actually looking for a hotel for the night without a reservation, and I sure as hell was not going to share my nice, soft bed.

I went back to the queue to wait the evening away. We did not see the tour truck nor the band come in – nor out afterwards – but the venue has an underground car park, so they probably just drove in there VIP doors were scheduled for 18:00, but did not open until around half-past. I think this was one of the nicest queues I’ve ever been in. By the time the venue opened, we had already sorted ourselves into a VIP and a GA line, everything ran very smoothly. However, we were very few – probably not even 300, and most of the tickets had VIP upgrades.

After doors opened, we were shown into the actual hall, the smallest of the three the Apolo has. There was no separation between the actual floor and the low stage – there was no barrier, and we were going to be close. We had to wait in the queue for the Meet & Greet, and after we were done, we would be able to either go to the goods or take our places at the stage.

Once all the VIP ticket holders were inside the hall, KAMIJO appeared to say hi. One by one, we went to him, shook his hand and talked to him for a few seconds. He was very kind and smiled a lot, and he mostly answered “yes” to whatever he was told in any language.

I took on first row, a bit to the left. My spot was kept when I went to buy some merchandise, and we were so few that even when the concert started there was no push (unfortunately, that might mean he will not come back…). The stage was all set, including a perfect glass of water, formal tableware style, he’s above utilitarian water bottles, apparently.

Kamijo Barcelona stage

The fun part was that I was close enough that I had to be careful not to actually hit KAMIJO when he wanted us to reach out to him. The tour story revolves about the Émigré, an innovative energy system that transforms human blood into energy. This system was created by “Louis”, who is over 200 years old, and is exploited by the Count of Saint-Germain during the French Revolution. I am not completely sure how this makes sense, but I’m sure it does for people who have been following him for longer.

The live interweaves narration with recorded and actual songs, building on that outline. At times the instruments and reverberations were a bit too loud. However, most of the concert was okay. After all, this is KAMIJO’s solo project, designed so his voice is the most important thing. There were four of us in the middle of first row who had to wave and cheer with caution or we would literally smack the artist. When he twirled and turned, his velvet coat flew around and we had to be careful he did not hit us on the face with it. I had never been so near a performing artist in my whole life – I could also take a photograph of the setlist.

Setlist:
[Recording] SE あらすじ Scenario narration
1. Theme of Sang
2. Nosferatu
3. Émigré
[Recording] SE Blood Cast セリフshort narration
4. Vampire Rock Star
5. Bastille
6. Symphony of The Vampire 第五楽章「Sonata」
7. 闇夜のライオン instrumental
[Recording] SE Delta with narration
8. Castrato
[Recording] SE Ambition
9 Sang I
10. Sang II
[Recording] Intro as narration
11. Sang III
[Recording] SE mademoiselle
Encore 1
12. 私たちは戦う、昨日までの自分と
MC
13. Mademoiselle
Encore 2
[Recording] Emblem narration (guillotine)
14. Moulin Rouge
15. 第四楽章「Dying-Table」
16. Vampire Rock Star

Kamijo Barcelona 2018 setlist

For the first, and I don’t think this will ever repeat, so quite probably the only time in my life, I got to experience a singer singing to me. He reached out during Mademoiselle. And next thing I know, he’s cupping my face, pulling my chin up and looking into my eyes to the verse do you want to be a princess reaching out to me into les affairs d’amour?. I also got a high-five later, and he was gentle when he noticed my wrist brace, while other people told me he was high-fiving hard at that point – or maybe he just brushed me because he miscalculated.

One of the funniest moments of the concert was the MC. Apparently, last time he was in Europe with Versailles, KAMIJO fell and twisted his ankle in the concert before Barcelona. Instead of cancelling, he continued the tour, and sang in Barcelona with crutches spray-painted in gold, or sitting down. This time he was very adamant to tell us “I can sing on my feet! No need for…” and he forgot the word “crutches” and proceeded to mimic those. Then, he hopped all around the stage like a very fabulous kangaroo.

After the show, we had some time at the hall, without being herded or anything, before we lined up for the photograph with the artist. As you reached the head of the queue, they checked your tickets – and kept them – and took your personal stuff. We could shake his hand again and get the Polaroid taken. I reached out for the handshake saying thank you, and he pulled on me so he could wrap his other arm around my waist for the picture. I think because I was just the right size for this, compared to him and his platforms.

A few of us stayed behind for a while after the pictures were done, but we did not see anyone leave. I walked back to the hotel before it got too late, and headed straight for the shower, then the bed. All in all, the concert was extremely – and unexpectedly – fun, even if (or because?) we were few. I really expected him to be much more stuck-up due to the “vampire persona” act. People at the queue were very nice, too.

The following morning, I went out to meet my friends E**** and K*****. We went to an Asian restaurant and ate some really great food, with very good conversation until I had to go back to the station to take a train home.

4th September 2018: また今度 with a red rose petal (HYDE LIVE 2018, Strike 3) {Japan, summer 2018}

Posted on 7 October 2018 by JBinnacle

First thing in the morning, after D****e left for work, I got packed (hoping that my suitcase did not get lost again). Later, I went to Odaiba [お台場] on my own as she was working. It was my last HYDE live for the season, and my last day in Japan, too. It was windy and it rained on and off, but it was not bad especially considering that there was a super typhoon in Osaka that had slammed a ship against a bridge and cut down communications to the airport… I mean, compared to that I won’t even complain that my hairdo went to hell because woah there. I just had to not worry about my own flight a few hours later.

I checked out the Venus Fort to check if there were any new goods, but as there were not, I moved on. There are two exhibit rooms about cars in the area. One deals with newer and racing cars – MegaWeb Toyota City Showcase [メガウェブトヨタシティショウケース].

A collage with some cool and futuristic-looking car. The logo reads MegaWeb Toyota City Showcase

The other one is quite the opposite, and focuses on classic and historical cars – History Garage [ヒストリーガレージ].

History Garage classic cars.

It was at this time 12:55, so I hurried to the giant Gundam that stands in front of the Diver City. I wanted to check whether it moved at 13:00 and I was lucky. It changed its helmet and all (≧∇≦).

Gundam robot looking up to the sky. it is white and taller than the two-story shopping centre behind it.

After that, I went to eat get some food. The food court in the shopping centre was not too busy as it was a weekday, so I decided to sit down and have some ramen. I really love the way they prepare eggs for ramen, so I wanted ramen with egg. Unfortunately, could not read the super long name of the ramen to save my life, so I just asked for it using the number. The girl just turned to the kitchen and ordered ‘tamago’ (egg), which was pretty frustrating.

Ramen bowl with algae, chasuu (pork), spring onions and noodles

Once I had eaten, I went to see the waves, because even if the typhoon was making its effect known, and I am still fascinated by hot storms. Odaiba is, in the end, an artificial island in the middle of the bay, so it makes strange patterns sometimes.

A cargo harbour with unsettled sea

And I got a drink at Starbucks.

Starbucks plastic cup. It says thank you and it has a smiley face and a heart

I joined the people wait for HYDE to come in, waved hi at him, and thought that he did not look too awake. Afterwards, I decided that I had not spent enough in this trip (sarcasm). Thus, I went to buy something else: since I liked HYDE’s opening act STARSET, I wanted to get their CD and M&G experience, which included a handshake and an autograph. I felt that they had done an awesome job and deserved the credit and the cheering.

Once D****e made it, we went inside. By now, I had figured out what I had found amiss on Saturday and Sunday regarding HYDE’s live 2018 and made peace with it. Or maybe it was just my last day, and I really wanted to enjoy myself. I found a good spot in Zepp Tokyo – one thing I really like about going to converts there is that they keep the barriers up to separate the areas of the floor. That allows me to lean onto something and I don’t need to stay back to have something to hold on to, so I can get rather close even when I’m tired or sore. This time it was even better – since I was closer than usually, I managed to find a petal from one of the roses HYDE threw as goodbye at the end.

STARSET’s setlist:
1. Frequency
2. Carnivore
3. Gravity Of You
4. Telescope
5. Monster feat. HYDE
6. Ricochet
7. Bringing It Down
8. My Demons

HYDE’s setlist:
1. Fake Divine
2. After light
4. Out
5. Set in Stone
6. Don’t hold back
7. Zipang
8. Who’s gonna save us
9. 監獄ロック [Kangoku Rock]
10. Rise or Die
11. Lion
12. Two Face
13. Devil’s side
14. Midnight Celebration II
(pause)
15. Kiss of Death
16. Ahead
17. Rise up
18. Ordinary World (Duran Duran cover)

After HYDE’s concert was over, I put my rose petal away, and I found my way towards the STARSET M&G. They were were extremely nice. We were around ten people, and they paid attention to each of us and they shook our hands (whoops, I forgot to take my wristband off). They were pretty patient and nice to everybody. Even after they left the venue, they were willing to sign items for people who had not purchased their merchandise (even though 3,500 ¥ for CD and signature is almost a gift).

Zepp Tokyo Venue from above

Starset CD with the band's autographs

A red rose petal

Finally we got home and D****e helped me so I got my trains sorted out to go to the airport the following day.

Night view of Tokyo, with Tokyo Tower lit up

2nd September 2018: HYDE LIVE 2018 @ Odaiba, Strike 2, and Pretty Lights, Strike 3 {Japan, summer 2018}

Posted on 5 October 2018 by JBinnacle

It was raining that morning when D****e and I walked out and headed towards Shin-Okubo [新大久]. The weather actually turned so bad for a while that around halfway, we just walked under a bridge to wait the worst of the downpour out. By the time we arrived at our destination, though, it had cleared out. We were walking to Kaichū Inari Jinja [皆中稲荷神社], also called Minna Ataru no Inari.

Entrance to a Shinto sanctuary through a back alley, and main altar

The shrine is dedicated to the kami [神] Inari [大稲荷], one of the most important deities of the Shinto mythology, the kami of fertility, rice, tea, sake, agriculture, and worldly success. Inari is said to use foxes as messengers. Shrines dedicated to Inari often have a lot of torii gates, usually offered by business in search of that success, and stone fox guardians. The most famous Inari Shrine is Fushimi Inari Taisha in Kyoto.

The legend surrounding Kaichū Inari Jinja tells that after the introduction of firearms in Japan during the Edo Period, a battalion was stationed near the shrine. The captain could not shoot well, no matter how much he trained. The deity Inari appeared to him in a dream, and after he went to the shrine to say thank you, he became a great shooter. Not only him, all of the battalion went to the shrine and they became good shooters. Both “Minna Ataru” and “Kaichū” translate as “hit all the targets” and at the same time “everybody hits”. Kaichū Inari Jinja became “the Inari shrine of everybody hits the target”, Minna Ataru no Inari Jinja. The news spread, and eventually people from the whole country started visiting so their wishes came true. The shrine’s relation with firearms was constant until it was burnt down in WWII.

Nowadays, Japan does not have firearms, but people still want to hit… for concerts! And thus Kaichū Inari has become the fan-shrine, where people go to pray to hit for lotteries for concerts and events!

I’m not even kidding. Kaichū Inari Jinja is also known as “the fan shrine”. In Japan, you do not queue for concerts. Instead, your ticket has a number printed on it, and you enter when it is called. However, there are different series of numbers. The best tickets are offered within the artists’ fanclubs, and if there are more requests than tickets, these are assigned lottery-style. Fanclubs also have lotteries for other privileges such as attending trips and exclusive events, VIP meet&greets or special merchandise – when I belonged to Gackt’s fanclub I hit for fanclub tickets for the Last Visual Live and his birthday dinner. People want to “hit” for these tickets, and somehow Minna Ataru no Inari became the shrine to go to pray for that. Fans go to the shrine to offer a prayer, then they write what they want in volition tablets called ema [絵馬], which are then hung in the shrine premises. Much nicer “hits” that the ones which kill people.

An offering wall with tons of votive wooden tablets

Close up of the votive offerings with names of bands on then

After visiting the shrine, we headed off to Odaiba [お台場] again, to meet with N***chan for lunch. We made a short visit to the Unicorn Gundam beforehand, but it was not moving.

Gundam robot statue. It is white and taller than the two-story shopping centre behind it. People can walk under its legs

Then we went to have lunch at an “Osaka delicatessen” restaurant at the Venus Fort. I ordered Takoyaki (buried in katsuomi (≧∇≦)) and kani koroke (octopus dumplings with bonito flakes, and crab dumplings). Yummy! Apparently other people’s orders were not as great though…

Dish of octopus dumplings that cannot be seen because there are a lot of bonito flakes on top

Afterwards, we headed to Zepp Tokyo for the second concert of HYDE’s Live 2018 concert, again with STARSET. Impressions were similar to the previous day. I really enjoyed STARSET, who played the same songs, and I again had mixed feelings about HYDE’s – not bad but… could have been better. I had not figured out my problem with the disconnected act yet.

Setlist:
1. Fake Divine
2. After light
4. Out
5. Set in Stone
6. Don’t hold back
7. Zipang
8. Who’s gonna save us
9. 監獄ロック [Kangoku Rock]
10. Rise or Die
11. Another Moment
12. Two Face
13. Devil’s side
14. Midnight Celebration II
(pause)
15. Kiss of Death
16. Ahead
17. Rise up
18. Ordinary World (Duran Duran cover)

Hyde's tour truck reading his name

After the concert we had tickets to visit the MORI Building DIGITAL ART MUSEUM EPSON teamLab ★ Borderless. This is a pretty much interactive museum that relies on technology and light to create art – or at least pretty things for you to play with. D****e, N***chan and I were very lucky that it was open late, so we could go after the concert. There were few people there and we could be silly around it. Part of the museum was closed because some TV station was there doing interviews though, and even then it was worth the visit.

Most of what you see in the Digital Art Museum are light projections. You’re encouraged to interact with them, even create some of them that they will project for you. We saw a butterfly and flower area, pink elephants, kangaroo, waves…

I enjoyed a couple of the exhibits particularly – one of them was a light water fall, in a room that had kanji shadows on the walls. If you touched them, they turned into what they represented. I also liked the whales made of light and how peacefully they moved and floated. There were some other interactive exhibits that were very fun, like the… egg-balloons thingies which you could prance through or make float.

Collage of Mori interactive and light art – a walking elephant made of projected lights, it's pink with white flowers. Many rays of white light coming from everywhere in the dark. Waves. Giant purple-pink balloons. Flowers projected on the walls – sunflowers, daisies in different colours

Dancing whale with flowers, projected with light

Afterwards we had some dinner and left for home.

1st September 2018: HYDE LIVE 2018 @ Odaiba, Strike 1 {Japan, summer 2018}

Posted on 4 October 2018 by JBinnacle

In the evening, the first concert of the HYDE LIVE 2018 tour took place in Odaiba [お台場]. Luckily, I was going to be able to attend three shows in a row. Since it was a Saturday, we decided to make “a day” out of the concert and headed towards the area. There was an offer going on, so buying ten Yurikamome tickets would be cheaper than going to the three concerts using the usual underground system, so we decided on those.

The concert was in Zepp Tokyo, next to Venus Fort. And what do you do before a concert? Queue. In Europe it is so you get in first, in Japan, since tickets are numbered, you do not do so. You queue to buy goods, because they sometimes run out – at least that’s how people justify it. Unfortunately, not all the announced goods were on sale yet, which was disappointing. At least we did not get a sunburn while waiting, as we were prepared for rain and thus carried an umbrella-turned-parasol against the merciless sun.

After we had bought our goods, D****e and I went to have lunch at the Venus Fort. We surveyed the places and ended up in a yakiniku place which was almost empty, and still had a long line of people waiting to get in. Things I’ll never understand. Food was good, though.

Yakiniku lunch – a dish of uncooked meat, the grill to cook it, rice, broth, and pickled vegetables

The concert was HYDE’s new solo project. After VAMPS disbanded a few months back, this was my first concert watching him. It was a strange situation, because the feelings were very bittersweet. It seems that HYDE has been trying hard to do damage control on the band break-up and has put a couple of singles out this summer, along a bit of a haphazardly-organised tour. He could probably not afford a show-less summer.

This time there was an opening act, progressive-rock band STARSET, who have a very distinctive style that I liked pretty much. The band itself is composed by four men: Dustin Bates (lead vocalist), Ron DeChant (bass), Brock Richards (lead guitar) and Adam Gilbert (drums). They were touring with two back-up members: Mariko M (cello) and Siobhán Cronin (violin). DeChant, Richards and Gilbert played their whole set wearing full-astronaut suits, and I have no idea how they did not die of heatstroke.

STARSET’s opening act took around 45 minutes. They were opening for HYDE as part of their promo in Japan – they actually collaborated with him for a re-recording of one of the band’s hits, Monster. At first, the audience had no clue about when and what to chorus, but it caught up quite quickly. When lead singer Bates managed to get the interaction he wanted, he visibly brightened up, which was cute.

Setlist:
1. Frequency
2. Carnivore
3. Gravity Of You
4. Telescope
5. Monster feat. HYDE
6. Ricochet
7. Bringing It Down
8. My Demons

After the STARSET show, there was a short intermission, and then not a countdown to zero but a “countup” to 666, which may have lasted about five minutes. In total, maybe about 20 minutes.

Setlist:
1. Fake Divine
2. After light
4. Out
5. Set in Stone
6. Don’t hold back
7. Zipang
8. Who’s gonna save us
9. 監獄ロック [Kangoku Rock]
10. Rise or Die
11. Lion
12. Two Face
13. Devil’s side
14. Midnight Celebration II
(pause)
15. Kiss of Death
16. Ahead
17. Rise up
18. Ordinary World (Duran Duran cover)

There was something weird in the show, something amiss that I was not able to put my finger on until later. It felt… incomplete. Disconnected. Zipang was like a power-ballad lacking power, there was something strange about Devil’s side, HYDE’s guitar was the most powerful one in Ahead. It took a while to put my thoughts in order to understand. On the one hand, it felt that HYDE had half an album ready, and filled the rest of the concert up with other songs that he owned the rights to. On the other hand, it felt that what was played was either not completely arranged or not rehearsed enough. It was not that the musicians were bad, they just felt… out of synch. Like… there was “noise” where there should be music, and each of them was playing a different tempo.

In contrast to the music, someone had put a lot of thought on the visuals. The stage was decorated with a cyberpunk background, with a lot of neon and LED lights. HYDE was also going with a mask theme. He used one when he came out to echo STARSET’s Monster, and he kept the mask on for the fist couple of his own songs, and all his supporting musicians wear them too, they don’t take them away. He also brought in a retractile throne that went to the centre of the stage and back, so he could appear from behind it, or sing sitting (or flopped) down. This show is about HYDE and HYDE alone – he wants to feel like “the only one” and have exchangeable musicians, it feels.

Among the new songs, my favourite was Out – the lyrics read something akin to “I’m not afraid of standing out. A hundred devils messing with my head again. I won’t pretend, I won’t back down, I’m not afraid of standing out”, and they resonated in a way usually only Yoshiki’s songs vibrate with me. I think I could have done without the VAMPS songs though, but I guess that without a whole ready album, HYDE sang whatever he owned rights to.

Also, I think I bought too many goods: a python necklace, gummies and gaccha.

Hyde's tour truck