74 posts tagged “2006”
Wow, what the heck have I been up to lately to have neglected this blog for more than week? I really haven't felt like writing about J-Rock lately, though I more or less kept up with the recent developments in the fandom.
It looks like I will unlikely be going to the Deftones/Dir en grey live in NYC. The Saturday show's already sold out. Even though a Friday date has been added, I seriously doubt I can get out of work in time for a 6:45pm live since I'll probably work until around 8pm every day. Even if I get out in time though, what the heck am I going to do? Show up to a freaking rock concert in suits and heels? What a sight that'd be.
I've been listening to Deg's Withering to death for the past few days. Oddly, I found myself enjoying the album a lot more than I did before. Certain tracks, like "C", used to get skipped over. Yet now, I've begun to develop new appreciation for them. Sometimes, the little twists in the choruses or melodies catch my attention and make me go, "Heeeeeeey, interesting!"
I wish Vox can release more features so I can be motivated to blog more. Where's that unlimited link list they promised us?
Anyway, just so this post isn't completely pointless, here's a funny video I found on YouTube of Isshi and Nao of Kagrra,. These two love teasing each other and hilarity ensues.
My watchlist.
2007.03.07: LM.C / GLITTER LOUD BOX (album)
2007.03.14: D / Tafel Anatomie TOUR 2006 (DVD)
- The long awaited first-ever D live DVD
2007.03.14: girugamesh / volcano (DVD single) (thanks, Kairu!)
2007.03.14: D'espairsRay / Squall (single)
2007.03.21: alice nine. / JEWELS (single)
- Dreamy, melodious tunes make a return
2007.03.21: MUCC / Libra (single)
2007.03.28: Rentrer en Soi / THE ABYSS OF DESPAIR (single)
2007.04.04: SID / smile (single)
2007.04.11: D'espairsRay / Mirror (album)
- A new album after nearly 2 years, excellent!
2007.04.18: Rentrer en Soi / AMONGST FOOLISH ENEMIES (single)
2007.04.25: D / Dearest you (single)
Supposedly, L'Arc~en~Ciel will be releasing a single titled "SEVENTH HEAVEN" sometime this spring. Maybe in May?
2. Q.（クエスチョン） (Question) [watch]
3. RED CARPET GOING ON
4. H.A.N.A.B.I.
5. 檸檬 (Lemon)
6. 無限の花 (Mugen no Hana)
7. FANTASY
Drum Solo [watch]
8. ハイカラなる輪舞曲 (High Collar Naru Rondo) [watch]
9. DEAD SCHOOL SCREAMING
10. NUMBER SIX.
11. 平成十七年七月七日 (Heisei Juunananen Shichigatsu Nanoka)
ENCORE
12. 九龍-NINE HEADS RODEO SHOW- (Kowloon-NINE HEADS RODEO SHOW-) [watch]
13. ブループラネット (Blue Planet)
14. 春夏秋冬 (Shunkashuutou)
alice nine. had once again proven to me that I had not chosen wrong when I decided to follow their music. The HELLO, DEAR NUMBERS live at Shibuya Koukaido DVD is out! Given how much I have been looking forward to this release, I'm glad to say that I wasn't disappointed after finally watching the live.
What's great about following a band since its early career is you can see the growth the members undergo. The person who made the most visible (and audible) progress in alice nine. was of course Shou. Over time, I've gained the ability to interpret his little gestures and can detect exactly when he's struggling during a song. A year ago, he had to really push himself to sing satisfactorily. I imagine that he must have been dead exhausted after every live because he had to put so much stress on his voice.
Shou himself is very much aware of his limitations and has expressed many times that he wishes to improve constantly so that his bandmates won't be let down. He has shown amazing dedication to his vocal training and along with the rest of the band, has been regularly attending concerts given by other bands so he can learn from them. (Kagrra, is the senior band that everyone in PS Company looks up to. They seem to be a great inspiration especially for alice nine. and Gazette.) Shou's earnestness and commitment to honing his performance were one of the main factors that had endeared alice nine. to me and led me to follow the band. Now, a year later, I can finally see the fruits of his labor.
I was blown away. Shou's vocal control improved by leaps and bounds. I could hardly believe it. He did it, he really did it. He was able to belt out the notes with tremendous confidence and had firm rein over the songs whereas before, I constantly worried about his passing out from desperately trying to hold on to a difficult note. He now sings with much more ease. It really makes a world of difference. In addition to the vocal improvement, Shou also has gained a nice boost of grace. He used to be rather ungainly and his movement on stage felt forced and not well-coordinated. Now, he seems really comfortable bouncing around the stage and leading the audience with hand choreography. His movements are much more fluid and natural. Everything just comes together and works out perfectly. It's amazing.
This live DVD has great point of view shots with lots of member closeups and well-timed long shots. The footages alternate between smooth panning of stationary cameras and violent jolts of hand-held ones to give viewers an excellent atmospheric feel of the concert. The video is incredibly dynamic and easily captures and retains the viewers' attention. When watching live DVDs, I often find myself gradually spacing out, but not once had this happened with this live. PS Company has pulled out all stops and the result is fantastic.
And now, here are some screencaps from the live DVD. If you haven't seen the concert yet and don't want to be spoiled, please stop reading right now.
As you can see, interaction with the audience and fellow bandmembers is one of alice nine.'s great strengths. I love the fact the members run all over the stage during power songs and rarely stand still. Everyone keeps the crowd engaged with lovely smiles, pointing fingers, and high-spirited yells. And I also appreciate how Nao is not left out of the fun. Even though drummers are always stuck in the back, unable to participate in the interactions, the rest of the members of alice nine. make an effort to include Nao by jumping onto the drum platform and performing right next to him. Everyone looks like they're enjoying themselves and having the time of their lives. This kind of enthusiastic energy is incredibly infectious and makes me grin throughout the concert.
alice nine. has really ascended another level in their evolution as a band. Their HELLO, NEW SUPER VIEW tour was sold out (of which this live DVD is the tour final). I wouldn't be surprised at all if they end up performing in the Budokan sometime this year.
Wonderful job, alice nine.! I'm so proud of you.
I've been talking about alice nine. a lot recently, haven't I?
First of all, the title of their upcoming single in March has been revealed on the official website. It's called "JEWELS". The title track is written by Saga.
Second, and this is the whole point of this post, I ran into a clip of alice nine.'s November performance at the Zy.無礼区 concert on YouTube. This concert was broadcasted live and unfortunately, one must live in Japan to see it. When a clip of their Shunkashuutou (春夏秋冬, the classic alice nine. song that must be played at every single live) performance at this live surfaced, of course I just had to check it out.
alice nine. just shot up another hundred points in my book. I swear, this is one of the band's best performances ever. The guys looked so relaxed and happy. They were overflowing with cheerfulness and genuine enjoyment of what they do. One can actually feel their happiness spilling over and infecting everyone around them. I'm dazzled by their brilliant smiles, bouncy steps, and lively disposition. Shou, especially, was glowing!
If this is any indication of how they've evolved as a band and what their lives are like these days, I cannot wait for that live DVD to come out. I'd like to experience that beautiful energy through a full concert myself.
I took notes of the results so you don't have to spend 33 minutes listening to the entire broadcast. (God damn, those applauses were so annoying.)
Album of the Year
Loki n Roll - Kozi
Mini-Album of the Year
Vengeance For BLOOD 3 - BLOOD
Artist of the Year
Dir en grey
Song of the Year
Ryojoku no ame - Dir en grey
The mini-album of the year was a complete WTF for me. Vengeance For BLOOD 3 was one of the most unmemorable albums of 2006 in my opinion. I think that BLOOD's mini-album released later in the year, SPLEEN~despair~, is so much better. Even if Tainted Reality just HAD to nominate BLOOD, they shouldn't have chosen Vengeance. Ehh....
For a list of nominees, see this post I wrote a month ago.
Unrelated:
Oh, I just listened to the "Disabled Complexes" sample from Dir en grey's upcoming album. Wow, what a pleasant surprise. I might have another favorite Deg song now.
And about that new Gazette PV for "Hyena", I'm going to hold off writing about it until I get my hands on the lyrics. Gazette has once again floored me with a a deeply poignant music video. I need to digest it somemore.
2006 was over too quickly. It looks like everyone has been writing about the best 2006 albums, singles, PVs, etc., but rather than jumping on the bandwagon, this post will take a different turn and I'll have a roundup of my favorite live reports of J-Rock events from 2006. The great majority of these are from Livejournal, a few are community-locked so you need to join the LJ community to view the report.
Ahhh, a squirrel freaking jumped on my window on the second floor. The sudden clattering noise startled the heck out of me. The squirrel was crawling, spider-man style, all over my window while I stared, wide eyed.
Err, sorry. Back to our scheduled program.
アリス九號. (alice nine.)
Meet & Greet, May 2006 in Fukuoka by direngrey_
Highlights: Saga and Nao's antics during the Q&A
Live, May, 2006 in Fukuoka by direngrey_
Highlights: way too many to list
Live, August 2006 in Kyoto by blurberry
Highlights: dorky Shou messing up MC, the waddling dance, the hug
Live, August 2006 in Osaka by blurberry
Highlights: Shou's lame jokes, Shou teasing NAO
The band is going strong winning people's hearts left and right, isn't it? I foresee greater success for them in 2007.
D
Live, February 2006 in Tokyo by soulabyss
Highlights: prankster Hide-zou, Ruiza's birthday present
Live and Meet & Greet, March 2006 in Tokyo by soulabyss
Highlights: greeter Hide-zou, Hide-zou joking with Tsunehito, Final Fantasy drinks
Meet & Greet, November 2006 in Tokyo by lilhobbital
Highlights: Tsunehito interrupting Hide-zou, smilely ASAGI (yeah, apparently he's a really really nice guy!)
Live, November 2006 in Tokyo by lilhobbital
Highlights: cat-lover ASAGI
These reports are quite revealing about ASAGI's personality. I had always thought that he was too quiet and looked out of place in interview videos. Yet, the ASAGI in real life and on stage is very different. This man really intrigues me.
Dir en grey
Band Encounter, August 2006 in Toronto, Canada by zucci-zookeenee
Hightlights: a 30-minute conversation with Shinya himself, need I say more?
Given that Deg just toured in the US, I didn't think it's necessary to list those tons and tons of live reports here. Like I said in a previous post about what makes a good live report, I strongly believe that audience interaction is the heart and soul of any live. Deg barely interact with their fans during performances that I ended up only picking the report above because it gives a different, much welcomed insight on the band.
ガゼット (the GazettE)
Live, April 2006 in Fukuoka by shirann
Highlights: Reita and Ruki, dancing Aoi, Ruki's intensity, Reita sneaking peeks at the foreigners, Reita's bass unplugged
Live, May 2006 in Tokyo Budokan by blurberry
Highlights: ass-kicking, incoherent Ruki, the glomp
Live, May 2006 in Tokyo Budokan by Star Storm
Highlights: exercise!
Live and Band Encounter, July 2006 in Bonn, Germany by shou_nine
Highlights: wicked Aoi, running into Kai!
Live, Meet & Greet, Band Encounter, July 2006 in Bonn, Germany by sideshow_emma
Highlights: hand-shaking with Gazette, running into Gazette in the hotel
Live, July 2006 in Bonn, Germany by sleazoid
Highlights: Ruki attempting to speak English during MC
Live, December 2006 in Fukuoka by luniana
Highlights: Ruki losing himself in the song, Aoi's "look but don't touch", Ruki and Uruha interactions
(Okay, I lost the link to one more Bonn report. It's the one written by a girl who ran into Ruki and Aoi on the street. It'd be awesome if anyone can help me find it again.)
Gazette. Kicks. Ass. Ruki and Aoi now have an even more special place in my heart. This band will so conquer the world one day.
Kagrra,
Live, April 2006 in Tokyo by kuroniji
Highlights: seeing alice nine. (even though the author didn't like them ^^;;), acoustic guitar solos, Nao messing up, awkward Shin
Live, July 2006 in Mito by withinity
Highlights: "vomit lurch", dancing Isshi
Live, July 2006 in Shizuoka by withinity
Highlights: "headbanging" Shin, Izumi cutting Isshi's MC off
Live, July 2006 in Fukuoka by withinity
Highlights: Akiya's awful "sqwawk", Isshi teasing Nao, Isshi's "revenge" on Izumi, model Nao
Live (fanclub only), July 2006 in Osaka by withinity
Highlights: Kagrra, switching roles with each other, Izumi as the vocalist!
Live, August 2006 in Tokyo by mushinoko
Highlights: Kagrra,'s musical, lyrical, and visual direction
The last report echos my thoughts on Kagrra,'s state as a band in the year 2006. It seems that the band spent the year doing a lot of experimentation. The scarcity of releases for 2006 may also reflect this. The guys were trying to explore the next step in their evolution and in my opinion, might have gone a bit too far in terms of those little performance changes. I had been worried after reading the August report, but was much reassured once the new single, "Utakata", finally came out. Despite the odd little changes with their lives, Kagrra, still remains strong musically. See this interview summary for more insight on what the band members think.
Karma-shenjing
Live, August 2006 in Osaka by withinity
Highlights: Ikuto's singing, Rairin's sword dance
L'Arc~en~Ciel
Live, November 2006 in Tokyo Dome by doihachan
Highlights: way too many to list
シド (SID)
Live, August 2006 in Tokyo Budokan by shinibun
Highlights: SID's audience, Mao's solo, Mao making fun of fangirls, Shinji's "emo" song
Live, December 2006 in Tokyo Budokan (DANGER V) by shinibun
Highlights: SID' attention to the back balcony, Aki and Miya of MUCC, Yuuya and Tatsurou of MUCC, Mao and Sakura of SOAP's greeting ritual, Mao-sempai, dancing Santa Yuuya
This is it, SID is officially the dorkiest band ever.
ヴィドール (VIDOLL)
Live, August 2006 in Tokyo by blurberry
Highlights: the strip!
Meet & Greet, November 2006 in Tokyo by aurorajasmine
Highlights: Rame gets help from Giru
Just
from the number of live reports, can you tell who my top 2 favorite
bands are? :D And oh, if you know of any other good reports from 2006
not listed here, please tell me!
The sympathizer who shared a dream... (Umm... what does "sympathizer" have to do with "hyena"?)
Hyena by the GazettE PV preview
*flails arms*
Why can't February 7 arrive sooner?
Oh yeah, this PV just confirmed what I already suspected since the REGRET PV, Ruki failed to quit smoking. -_-
By the way, when is Kagrra,'s "shizuku" PV preview coming out? Next week? Since the album release is exactly one week after Gazette's single.
While browsing the net for Kagrra, live reports, I stumbled upon someone's livejournal and interestingly enough, she took great offense at the review I wrote for Ken's "Speed" single on YesAsia (it's the same one posted in this blog).
This is her venting in her LJ, copy and pasted word-for-word:
...GREAT POTENTIAL!? Fuuuuuck you, bitch! >O I'm so effing SICK of L'arc~en~ciel and HYDE fans being like "Everyone else's solo work sucks in comparison to Laruku and Haidoooo~!!" CHOKE ON A COCK AND DIE, FUCKING WHORE. Don't buy Ken's shit and then trash it if you don't like it! Jeeeesus. Ken is NOT going to mirror his own fucking band/bandmates. He's got his own damn style. HELLOOOOO Sons Of All Pussys! If it means something to him to record it and put it out there for the fans who appreciate and support him, so fucking be it. But he most certainly didn't put it out there for people to compare their lukewarm sentiments for him against their dimwitted fangirl ravings over HYDE. Ken isn't as good... PAH!
If I ever see that chick I will gleefully kick her repeatedly in the vagina.
Can I say: wow, damn! I'm too busy being amazed at the sheer amount of venom and rage in her rant to be offended. And note how many times and the extent to which she threatened physical harm on my person. So according to her, I committed the cardinal sin by 1) comparing an artist's solo project to his band members', 2) expressing my view that the said artist's vocals needs more work, and 3) not completely liking the artist's release. Oh my god, I must be a horrible person!
What's even more ironic is this line:
But he most certainly didn't put it out there for people to compare their lukewarm sentiments for him against their dimwitted fangirl ravings over HYDE.
Oh, really? Who exactly is the one raving and exhibiting classic symptoms of fangirlism here?
The hypocrisy aside, I wonder how someone can harbor so much hatred for little old me just because of a music review. How is it that one can get so worked up over something as trivial as this and wish descriptive, graphic violence on a person she never even met?
Ah, the wonderful world of J-Rock fandom.
Sorry, girl whom I've never met, I don't plan to stop expressing my honest thoughts anytime soon.
I wrote about YOSHIKI's announcement of forming a band with Gackt way back in August. By now, everyone should know that yes, SUGIZO (ex. LUNA SEA) has signed up for this project too (article translation here). In certain J-Rock fandom circles, tongues are wagging and excitement is building.
Now, there are two more spots left in this super J-Rock band of the century. Who will be the bassist and the second guitarist?
I, along with many others, have been thinking that whoever YOSHIKI end up inviting to the project, they must be of the older era J-Rocker crowd. Since YOSHIKI's X Japan, SUGIZO's LUNA SEA, Gackt's Malice Mizer were all bands that reached their prominence in that late 80's to 2000 time span.
But, something that happened just yesterday made me reconsider.
Enter miyavi.
Here, I will quote the wonderful LJ community masakarasu's translation of miyavi's video message from his blog entry yesterday (December 30). He had just returned to Japan from Los Angeles.
He said that he has something he wants to tell everyone, but not in a text, rather in a comment, in person, right there as he's tired, as he's wanting to tell everyone.
He said it's been four years since his old band broke up, and he debuted as a soloist in 2002. Being in a band was amazing, as it was said in magazines as well, but it didn't work out and he had to go solo. And now it's been four years, and it's all thanks to everyone. He said he's really feels that from his heart.
He said he thought that soccer and being in a band were over for him, but that next year, he's thinking of being in a band, playing guitar. He found an amazing guy (older than him), and he thought he'd like to try screaming in the background once again (laugh), so he hopes we look forward to it.
He can't say who's going to be in the band yet, but he hopes that they can in the new year. He's sorry for making everyone, especially Comiyavi, wait for so long this year, so that's why he decided to make a comment.
But of course, he still wants to continue his solo act as a solo artist, so he wants everyone to look forward to it.
He said he'll be working on pre-productions and he's thinking about going back to Los Angeles again, and he knows everyone's going to miss him but he's still going to play guitar, doing neo-visualism.
Los Angeles? An older musician? 2007? Right after the announcement of SUGIZO's involvement in the YOSHIKI+Gackt project? This is too much of a coincidence to be coincidental. Meeves, you're up to something!
Before you think, "has YOSHIKI lost his marbles?", consider this further. Yes, miyavi would be like a pipsqueak next to J-Rock legends YOSHIKI and SUGIZO. But the man is damn talented on the guitar. And let's not forget YOSHIKI's shrewd business sense. With the project's current lineup, the band will draw a huge audience from the mainstream pop world because of Gackt. YOSHIKI and SUGIZO will attract the fans of the older era J-Rock bands nostalgic to experience the magic once again. And if miyavi joins the fun, he will bring to the table the younger, visual kei-following crowd. The project won't just be a "let's resurrect the J-Rock dinosaurs", but "let's create a band that will encompass and appeal to all tastes and ages". It'll be the supreme band of the century.
Of course, many also worry that by having so many prominent musicians on board, the entire world is not enough for their egos combined. It'll be like a powder keg, ready to self-destruct at the smallest spark. Yet, I'm comforted by the fact that the band members themselves are aware of this and will work to overcome such obstacles. I remain optimistic about the collaboration and look forward to the final product.
In SUGIZO's words, “Look out for high-impact, explosive rock music." (tsukinoshita)
1. Ultimate Lover [listen]
1. Ultimate Lover / Despite the funny title, this is a suprisingly gorgeous, moving song. It reaches out and tugs at one's heartstrings with the tender, loving chorus. I was rooted to the spot, entranced as ASAGI poured his soul into the moment while the rest of the band echoed back his words. It's stunning how this created such a strong emotional connection with me. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful.
This single was distributed at D's Shibuya Koukaidou concert on December 6. I can only hope this song was performed so that I'll be able to experience it live once the DVD is released.
