Concert Recap
Eek, should have done this while the concert was still fresh in my memory, but work was pretty crazy during June. I'll do my best though!
"NIHIL" played as the GazettE walked onto a darkened stage with gloomy blue hues for lighting. Everybody was entranced for a few milliseconds, and then that's when we all lost our shit. Immediately after "NIHIL" ended, the band jump started the crowd again with atmospheric title track, "DOGMA". I love this song, but it seems as if the instrumentation drowned out Ruki's vocals. It's a shame because there are a lot of vocal calisthenics that Ruki displays in the song that I would have loved to listen to clearly. They proceeded onto "RAGE". One of my favorite parts about that song is when the piano comes into focus right after the chorus. Pianos aren't necessarily heavy instruments, but damn. They're so beautiful when combined with heavy music. They're beautiful instruments, period.
Next came "DERANGEMENT', one of my more played songs from their DIVISION album. My playlist even landed on that song as I was at the end of my previous post! :) Anywho, the chorus is insanely catchy and so very easy to sing, and it seems everybody felt the same way, because the entire crowd joined in on the chorus every single damn time it was sung. ♪♫♪ The energy from the crowd was great. It was about this point where I realized I would have to be on my toes the entire concert if I wanted to see anything. My feet were just a tad achy, but almost unnoticeable. It was also at this point that I stopped keeping such copious notes about their set list. It was for pretty much the same reason that they didn't allow any photography during the concert. I wanted to enjoy the moment and not have to whip out my mental pen and notepad every time they sang a new song. I used this website to help me out in remembering the specific order the songs were played. It seemed pretty accurate as far as I remember, but if there are any errors, please let me know!
The next few songs were from the TOXIC album. They played "VENOMOUS SPIDER'S WEB" and "SLUDGY CULT". Lots of people headbanging in the crowd. Not my favorite songs from the album, but many in the crowd seemed to enjoy them. Very classic, chaotic "GazettE" sound.
GazettE brought the crowd back down from that frenetic energy by playing more vocal heavy songs: "BIZARRE" and "DRIPPING INSANITY". They really slowed things down with "OMINOUS". Ruki brought out a lantern swinging on a chain for the song. Almost like the thurible (word of the day) from the "DOGMA" music video, but instead of censer full of incense, it was a lantern. Who knew there was a word for a censer that hangs on a chain... At some point in the song, he left it on the ground. I'm such a sucker for GazettE ballads. They do them so well. I was surprised at the fact that Uruha got the acoustic guitar this time around. Normally it's Aoi who handles that part during concerts.
"THE SUICIDE CIRCUS" brought the audience back from the enthrallment of "OMINOUS" and everyone was singing along. ♪ SUICIDE CIRCUSSSSSS...♪...which transitioned into "VORTEX". This was another great, engaging song. Easy to sing along to and rock out to. I'd love to have been a fly on the wall when discussing releasing "VORTEX" as a single. I'm sure sure their label / distribution company got a kick out of it. They brought back the heavier vibe as they played "UGLY" and "UNDYING", their newest single. At that point, "UNDYING" was still very new to me and I was still trying to digest the songs on the single. I think that was pretty much how everyone felt. We fist pumped to the heavy parts of the song, and listened intently during the vocal sections. Got a little whiplash trying to figure out the pace of the song. I absolutely love the introduction though. That first ~24 seconds before the scream to start the song? So great.
To complete the main part of the set, they played fan-favorite "FILTH IN THE BEAUTY". Everyone flipped their shit (again) and started headbanging, singing, and dancing along. I think the band definitely realizes how excited fans get over this song. After finishing the song, they all walked backstage. Almost immediately, calls for an encore started. There was a few different things going, but for the most part, everyone was doing them together. There was "encore, encore" and "ankoru, ankoru" (Japanese pronunciation of encore). There was a tri-clap to go along with the shouts as well. But my favorite is when we all did two claps and a stomp. It felt like we were going to bring the house down!! It would then progress to all stomping and then dying down. And we'd start all over with the encore cheers and the clap-stomp again. This went on for a few minutes until they all came out again, dressed in tour clothes. I think Ruki may still have been wearing his concert clothes. He walked out carrying a U.S. flag and wrapped it around himself. The first song of the encore set was "AGONY". Great throwback, and catchy as all hell. THEN THEY PLAYED "COCKROACH"!!!! T___T Such a wonderful, messy song. I so wish Ruki would have performed that in his red outfit with the big-ass top hat. The last song of the encore set was "TOMORROW NEVER DIES". After that, Aoi, Uruha, and Reita tossed picks while Kai threw his drumsticks farrrrrrrrrrrrr. So far. I was so very, very far from any of that. With that, they were on their way to Canada, for the next leg of their tour and we were on our way back home.
Concert Review and Final Thoughts
I wish I had a better view of the stage / the members. I could only
really see the members clearly if they stepped on top of the box
platform on the stage. Which was not often. I know their antics on
stage with each other is legendary amongst fans, and I wish I could have
seen that fan service.^^; So if you were wondering why my review lacks
the interactions between the members and their showmanship on stage,
this is why. OTL
The concert was over much faster than I wanted it to
be. I'm sure
everyone felt the same way. That's a good sign I suppose! I felt like
the band just wanted to hammer out the set and be done, but this
impression I have may have been because I didn't see any of the
interactions the band had with the crowd or each other.
There wasn't too much verbal communication between Ruki and the crowd. That's to be expected since he doesn't really speak English fluently. He did his best to pump up the crowd with a bunch of "JUMP THE F--K UP!" and "YOU GUYS ARE F---ING CRAZY!", which we all appreciated and laughed at. My sister said that it was so cute. It really was. He was. They are. T__T
In terms of the performance itself, I must say, the GazettE are great at visualizing how a song sounds when it is played live. There are, for
sure, some songs they come out with which make me scratch the top of my
head a little, but when performed live, they give off a completely different vibe. Such was the case with "SLUDGY CULT". The live version definitely brought out aspects of the song the studio version did not. There was a sense of urgency to the energy of the song that the studio version did not capture.
However, I will say that the balancing of the sound system needs a little bit of work. I felt like the instruments drowned out Ruki's voice. This was especially apparent in songs that had both heavy and soft vocal sections, i.e. "DOGMA". During the heavy portions, the vocals were easy to suss out since Ruki was either growling or there were no vocals, just bass / guitar / drums. However, during the melodic portions of a song, Ruki would be singing, but you wouldn't hear a thing because of how loud the instruments were. Which is a darn shame. His live singing has improved so much over the years and I would have loved to listen to his voice working in conjunction with the instruments, and not one fighting for dominance over the other.
The set list was impressively diversified, which was great. They had songs from nearly every studio album release, except for NIL, DIM, and BEAUTIFUL DEFORMITY. Not going to lie though, I'm jealous of the people who got to see "千鶴, (CHIZURU)" and I would have LOVED to see "UNTITLED", "紅蓮, (GUREN)", "13STAIRS[-]1", etc...but of course, you got to leave 'em wanting more right? ;)
A few times during the concert, there were people who shoved across / past me in a very rude manner. Literally, I was physically removed from where my feet were planted on the ground and ended up a step or two away because people physically pushed past. I don't have a problem with you moving past me. Just do it in a polite manner. Say excuse me or sorry and don't be a violent jerk about it. Most of the time, people will be more than happy to let you go through, especially if you got separated from your friends. You'll find that the people around you will be much nicer to you and step aside rather than being stone walls that you have to boulder through to. D'oh!
In the vein of rude concert attendees, my sister and I also got shoved hard from behind multiple times. There was a circle pit that was behind us, with people running around in a circle. I don't understand it at all, but I respect (read: tolerate) it. As long as you don't hurt people who don't want to be involved. Take it to a place where people aren't trying to watch the stage and focus on the band. Pro tip: general admissions right behind the pit? Probably not the place for that. Like I said in my previous post. I get it. It's a rock concert. People are going to be physical. But on the flip side, be cognizant and respectful of the people who are not into moshing. They exist at rock concerts too.
My feet. My feeeeeeeeeeet. I was so incredibly sore and achy after the concert. I had spent the majority of the concert on my toes. I am happy I decided to wear sensible sneakers because boy, at the end of the concert, I certainly needed them. Boys and girls, wear comfy shoes!
I am so happy that I finally got to see the GazettE perform live. I think I've said all that can be said regarding my feelings of seeing them live. With that, I will leave it here:
Thanks to everyone who showed their interest in an expansive world tour. Without your dedication, love, and support, it may have taken them longer to come to (North) America, if ever. You all deserve a HUGE pat on the back and a hug. :) I have no doubt in my mind that the GazettE will be back to perform once again in our corner of the world. ;) Thanks for your hard work and dedication GazettE! I hope you all continue to make great music and continue to share it with us, in person or otherwise!
