Momus - King Solomon's Song And Mine + Violets (Live)

Momus - The Mouth Organ (Live)

Un cielo plumbeo e carico d'elettricità non è certo il migliore dei presupposti per uno spettacolo all'aperto, tanto meno se nelle giornate anteriori all'evento si son registrate grandinate di notevole intensità. Ci si appropinqua ugualmente verso l'Arena Civica meneghina, pur con un leggero ritardo, dovuto al proverbiale guasto di natura ferroviaria.
Ritardo che mi impedisce di vedere la performance di Helgi Jonsson (faccio in tempo a seguire solo l'ultimo brano), giovane cantautore islandese armato di chitarra, voce e tanta buona volontà; visibilmente emozionato e prossimo alle lacrime ci lascia contentissimo e sponsorizzando il suo album, in vendita per pochi euro alle bancarelle vicine. Intanto la pioggia si fa sempre più leggera e incostante fino a smettere per diversi minuti.
Il tempo di un veloce e discreto soundcheck e le sagome dei quattro celeberrimi islandesi fanno capolino sul palco dell'Arena Civica con leggero anticipo (causa precarie condizioni metereologiche) scatenando l'applauso; attaccano senza alcun convenevole con Svefn-G-Englar, proseguono subitaneamente con l'altrettanto nota Glósóli e la simpaticissima Sé Lest, accompagnata come di consueto da un gruppo di ottoni, suonati da degli allegri ometti (per la maggior parte omoni) biancovestiti, che per l'occasione fanno il giro del palco facendo esplodere il pubblico bagnato e un po' infreddolito dell'Arena. Intanto il tempo sembra reggere, le nuvole basse tinte di rosso, i lampi e i fulmini donano un'atmosfera particolare all'evento, lo stesso Jonsi ammette che sembra di stare in Islanda; nel frattempo le Amiina si sono accomodate dietro ai Sigur Rós e li accompagneranno per il resto del concerto tra archi, percussioni e glockenspiel assieme al succitato gruppo di ottoni. La scaletta prosegue toccando più o meno tutti gli album del gruppo, lasciando ovviamente un po' più spazio ai brani dell'ultimo Með Suð Í Eyrum Við Spilum Endalaust, fino ad arrivare al più recente singolo Gobbledigook, utilissima per scaldare una serata fredda e bagnata come quella milanese, quindi stand up e tutti sotto al palco a batter le mani, lo spettacolo si trasforma in un turbinio di luci, fumo e coriandoli, il cielo è ancor più minaccioso e comincia nuovamente a piovere; c'è giusto il tempo di chiudere il concerto con Untitled 8 (Popplagið) eseguita con un'intensità devastante, quasi a voler contrastare la pioggia che cadeva ormai copiosamente.
Uno spettacolo completo, scenografia scarna ma perfettamente funzionale, interpreti ineccepibili, Sigur Rós, Amiina e ottoni, ottima resa sonora, un clima tutto sommato adeguato alla riuscita dello show, d'altronde con sole, pioggia o vento við spilum endalaust.

Setlist:
01. Svefn-G-Englar
02. Glósóli
03. Sé Lest
04. Við Spilum Endalaust
05. Hoppipolla
06. Festival
07. Hljómalind
08. Góðan Daginn
09. Saeglópur
10. Inní Mér Syngur Vitleysingur
11. Hafsól
12. Gobbledigook
13. Untitled 8 (Popplagið)

Guglielmo Cherchi

Negli anni ’80 un evento del genere non sarebbe potuto accadere, e non mi riferisco ovviamente alla sponsorizzazione di un festival da parte di una marca di zaini pensati apposta per i gggiovani d’oggi, ma al fatto che le band sponsorizzate suonino dei generi in cui il suffisso “core” è più o meno evidente. Mi viene da pensare alla diatriba Nike - Minor Threat; ma più in generale è difficile immaginare un festival come l’Eastpak Etnika Rock nella Washington dell’81. E non parliamo poi d’Italia, dove l’hardcore è stato, e in alcuni casi lo è ancora, il genere anti-sistema per eccellenza.

La mia non vuole essere una critica, ben vengano festival gratuiti (e ben organizzati) soprattutto in zone musicalmente depresse come il Basso Lazio, ma che prospettive ha la musica alternativa se è veicolata da un mercato che cerca continuamente spazi commerciali in cui infiltrarsi e prosperare? La risposta forse ce l’abbiamo già. Arrivato ai cancelli del campo da baseball di Ceccano per il primo giorno del festival in questione (il secondo giorno, non attinente con la linea baronale, non verrà trattato) mi ritrovo davanti alla “fiera del capello”. Finalmente mi posso rendere conto del devastante impatto di MTV sugli adolescenti che cominciano ad ascoltare il rock; orde di ragazzini con centinaia d’euro di lacca e coloranti sui capelli, bambine che sembrano uscite da un manga e maschietti androgini con l’eyeliner, le sopracciglia depilate e stelline ovunque. Come direbbe l’indimenticata Sora Lella: “Annamo bbene, proprio bbene!”

Il festival è a due palchi, uno più grande griffato “Eastpak Music Bomb” e l’altro più piccolo con la scritta “Etnika Rock”, l’alternanza sarà la costante della giornata. Iniziano i Sinful Breed, metalcore band locale che ha il merito di far iniziare il concertone col piede giusto; le influenze stilistiche sono assolutamente in linea con la giornata, con evidenti richiami a Killswitch Engage, Caliban e Bleeding Through. Nonostante un sole africano, volano i primi spintoni e le prime sberle grazie a canzoni ben costruite e coinvolgenti. Dopo una ventina di minuti gli applausi giungono meritati per una band che, nel poco tempo avuto a disposizione, non si è davvero risparmiata. I gruppi immediatamente dopo (The Beauty, Your Hero), seppur tecnicamente discreti, non mi hanno convinto affatto; sempre alla ricerca della melodia facilona e dello stacco piacione, ipnotizzano solo i ragazzini in prima fila.

Altra storia con gli At the Soundawn, band modenese influenzata da Neurosis e Isis, che ci propone sonorità che il pubblico dell’Etnika mastica decisamente poco. I post-corer sono già un gruppo maturo e si vede; mi fanno pensare a dei Burst più dilatati e polverosi con Scott Kelly alla voce. Purtroppo credo che un festival del genere non sia il posto più indicato per assistere a un loro concerto, spero di bissare in una location più racchiusa e meno luminosa.

E arrivò il tempo del metallo sul palco B; i friulani Slowmotion Apocalypse salgono belli tosti e ci sparano addosso un bel death-thrash col “core”. L’attitudine è quella giusta e coinvolge, riffoni svedesi e ritmiche serrate conducono più di qualcuno all’headbanging sfrenato, il tutto è condito da assoloni che sanno di Bay Area. Le canzoni, per lo più quelle di Obsidian, hanno molto più tiro dal vivo che su disco e sono la prova lampante che non bisogna per forza nascere in Scandinavia per fare del metallo con le palle. Complimenti ai The Haunted italiani!

I due gruppi dopo (gli inglesi Your Demise e i portoghesi Devil In Me) erano in evidente overdose di testosterone. Per carità, erano anche bravi a riproporre tutti, ma proprio tutti, i clichè resi famosi da Hatebred (i primi) e Sick of it All (i secondi), ma qui siamo nel campo delle cover-band; basta forse saltare come scimmioni sul palco e sbraitare aggressivamente per fare hardcore? Mah..

Coi Bring Me The Horizon, lo ammetto, mi trovo in seria difficoltà. Ero partito coi pregiudizi peggiori: la boy band del metalcore, un look studiato per acchiappare le bambine che guardano TRL, una creazione di quei modaioli di Kerrang e cose del genere. Non che tutti i miei pregiudizi fossero infondati, tutt’altro, ma i cinque inglesini dal vivo vanno proprio forte; il loro deathcore estremo, seppur non innovativo, è molto ben suonato e potente. La padronanza tecnica è certamente invidiabile, mai visto degli adolescenti suonare meglio, ma il solo guardarli mi fa venire voglia di sguinzagliare lo zombie di GG Allin ricoperto di sangue e merda tra le bimbe-fan piene di stelline e cuoricini. Possono migliorare tantissimo, però prima interniamoli per almeno un decennio sul Monte Athos a riflettere sul senso della vita, male che va torneranno con qualche pelo di barba.

I “romani de Roma” To Kill sono il penultimo gruppo ad esibirsi sul palco B; il loro hardcore straight-edge è, come al solito, una macchina da guerra. Chi li ha visti sa bene cosa sanno regalare al pubblico in termini di impatto e coinvolgimento; i nostri infiammano il palco con la solita performance furiosa e aggressiva che piace e convince. I “sermoni” animalisti del cantante Josh scontentano più di qualcuno, ma pazienza, l’hardcore è anche questo ed è giusto che sia così.

I Comeback Kid avrebbero dovuto essere gli headliner della prima giornata del festival, ma a causa di un ritardo aereo dei Caliban, la loro esibizione è stata anticipata. Confesso che conoscevo i canadesi solo di nome e non mi aspettavo chissà che; mi sono ricreduto velocemente. I ragazzotti di Winnipeg fanno un hardcore violento ma allo stesso tempo personale ed efficace, non obsoleto ma nemmeno sputtanato. Si percepisce chiaramente che sono loro i grandi attesi della serata, il pubblico va in visibilio per le note di Wake The Dead e Defeated, creando un bel polverone sotto il palco. Ottima band e ottima resa sonora, una miscela di passione e professionalità che conquista anche gli applausi di chi non era venuto per loro.

Sul palco B si conclude la serata con gli storici Shai Hulud, per chi scrive di gran lunga il miglior gruppo del lotto. Della formazione del seminale Hearts once Nourished with Hope and Compassion è rimasto il solo chitarrista Matt Fox, ma la passione è quella di sempre; il loro metalcore (quello vero) è sia muscoli che testa, passaggi intricati e cervellotici si alternano a sfuriate degne del miglior old school americano. Qui non c’è solo mera tecnica o violenza fine a sé stessa, qui ci sono i contenuti, quelli che rendono una band memorabile. Il singer si fionda innumerevoli volte sui fedelissimi e offre loro il microfono come nella migliore tradizione del genere, cementando l’unità di intenti tra chi sta sul palco e chi sotto. Canzoni come My Heart Bleeds the Darkest Blood e la più recente Venomspreader (dall’ultimo disco Misanthropy Pure) sono la prova che nonostante i molti cadaveri (Earth Crisis, Morning Again, Strongarm, Point of No Return ecc) la scena metalcore originaria abbia ancora uno dei suoi migliori alfieri in ottima forma. Molto bella la dedica finale di Matt Fox all’hardcore italiano di ieri e di oggi. Horns up!

Quando i Caliban salgono sul palco le sette ore di festival si fanno sentire sul groppone ma quasi tutti resistono stoici. I tedeschi sono una delle band più prevedibili che abbia mai visto; metalcore standard coi soliti “stopponi” in ogni canzone, il riffetto svedese e il ritornellino melodico. La resa sonora è ovviamente ottima anche se il batterista ha un suono tanto triggerato da risultare eccessivamente finto. Dico la verità, non apprezzo questa band dai tempi del loro passaggio sotto Roadrunner; da quando insomma sono diventati la fiera del clichè. Fanno eseguire anche un bel wall of death al pubblico. Ecco, credo che questa sia l’unica cosa che mi ricorderò del loro concerto, per il resto mi hanno sorpreso come la vittoria del Dream Team di basket alle Olimpiadi del 1992. Scontati scontati scontati.

Tirando le somme penso che un festival del genere, seppur ben organizzato e a tratti davvero godibile, debba per forza di cose trovare una direzione artistica meno vincolata da label e sponsor; la strada è difficilmente percorribile ma non irrealizzabile. Agli organizzatori di Etnika Rock va comunque il merito storico di aver creato un evento in una provincia, quella di Frosinone, in cui per anni l’unico appuntamento musicale di rilievo è stato esclusivamente il vetusto Liri Blues. Dal canto suo il Barone del Male non può che dare il giusto supporto a iniziative del genere.

Andrea Zeppieri

]]> http://inthecrowd.wordpress.com/?p=375 Wed, 09 Jul 2008 16:06:39 +0000 henninkj http://inthecrowd.wordpress.com/?p=375 Radiohead also put on a great show yesterday, as they played for a sold-out Wuhlheide (20-25000 people). Great music, great lights, great aesthetics in general. Like always it's difficult to say something negative about Radiohead. High class all the way.

Here's a video of "Weird Fishes" from last night:

Quando, lo scorso 3 marzo, non riuscii ad assistere al concerto di Mike Patton con gli Zu a causa di un inatteso sold-out, lo scoramento si impadronì della mia essenza vitale rendendomi una specie di zombie per le settimane successive. Pensavo fosse un evento di quelli non replicabli; l’inatteso bis, ad appena tre mesi dal primo live, è stata un’autentica manna dal cielo.

Logico quindi che stavolta mi sia avventato sul biglietto con un tempismo degno del più drogato ciclista al Tour de France. Ottenuto il preziosissimo tagliando mi ritrovo al Circolo degli Artisti nel bel mezzo della gradevole lezione di calcio germanica ai leziosissimi e fastidiosi giocolieri lusitani; maxischermo all’aperto, birra fresca e atmosfera Erasmus. Nel frattempo, sul palco, dj Okapi apre le danze davanti a quanti si sono accalcati per avere la certezza di rimanere in prima fila per tutta la serata; poche teste ciondolano sotto i beat del dj, l’evento atteso è decisamente è un altro.

Mike e i tre jazzcorer “de noantri” si fanno attendere un tempo infinito ma l’entrata è già un pezzo di storia: si presenta infatti un omino basso e grasso interamente coperto da un velo rosso che non ne nasconde le mitiche fattezze. Quell’omino è Danny De Vito. Quello vero. Levatosi il velo e indossato lo stesso a mo' di toga, il gemello di Arnold Schwarzenegger arringa la folla alla maniera di quei ciarlatani che imperversavano nel Far West e ci promette un fantastico e incredibile show. Viste le premesse non possiamo che fidarci ciecamente. Mike intanto se la ride e approva dal retro della sua postazione.

Cessata la rumorosissima ovazione per Danny, veniamo investiti dal magma sonoro degli Zu; il trio è in formissima e ci va pesante, coaudivando ottimamente il Patton dei Fantomas più futuristi. Dal canto suo Michele cerca di stare al passo dei tre fenomeni romani; a volte arricchendo in maniera netta delle partiture pensate per essere strumentali, a volte arrancando dietro i micidiali colpi “zuisti”. Nei momenti migliori l’intesa è degna del John Zorn più feroce, con rimandi evidenti sia ai Naked City che agli ultimi progetti del jazzman newyorkese con lo stesso Patton alla voce (vedi Moonchild). Il tutto viene rivisitato e inspessito da una spiccata attidudine hardcore. I pezzi proposti sono i classici degli Zu, ma il tocco dell’ex Mr. Bungle è inconfondibile; versacci, lamenti, urla belluine, tonnellate di “yayayayayaya” ed effetti vari invadono il classico fraseggio del tridente Battaglia- Pupillo- Mai, che a sua volta ci regala rullate disumane, un basso degno dei Meshuggah e un sax che sembra suonato da Lucifero in persona. Logico che il pubblico, di spiccata fede pattoniana, sia in visibilio per un live che coinvolge e offre tutti i clichè e le follie che il patron della Ipecac ci ha fatto conoscere ed apprezzare nell’arco della sua ormai ventennale carriera.

Dopo una breve pausa i quattro si ripresentano sul palco per un bis da antologia: prima ci aggrediscono con una fantastica e tiratissima versione di “Tutti Pazzi” dei Negazione (a scuola chi non la conosce!), poi ci cullano con una incredibile “Come te Posso Amà” del progetto Ardecore, di cui gli stessi Zu sono la colonna pojustifyrtante. Mike che canta in romanesco è pura POESIA.

Serata magnifica, atmosfera stupenda. Forse Mike deve ancora migliorare il tiro dei suoi “interventi” nel contesto musicale degli Zu, ma la strada è senzaltro quella giusta; La speranza maggiore è quella di ritrovarci entro breve un disco inedito dei quattro, regolarizzando e migliorando un’intesa che sembra destinata a tanto. Speriamo solo che il buon Mike non si faccia sfuggire questa opportunità e tutto ciò non rimanga un puro e semplice divertissement. Alla prossima!

In other words, Los Peyotes had a lot to live up to. And they did not fail. As soon as the first tones strummed out of Victor "La Pantera"'s organ, followed by Pablo Bam bam's drums, it instantly ignited an one-and-half hour wild freak-out. On top of the dirty bass of Oscar Hechomierda and Rolando Bruno's crazy fuzz guitar, vocalist/wild-man David Peyote spat out great lyrics about zombies, aliens and putas constantly pushing the audience towards new and unknown heights of Ecstasy.

And just as we taught it wasn't possible to get any higher the Peyotes pulled garage rock royalty Rudi Protrudi (The Fuzztones) up from the crowd and together they ripped through The Sonics' The Witch in what must have been one of the greatest encores ever!

Hah!!

.

Non si vive di solo Barone purtroppo, impegni inderogabili mi consentono di arrivare all’INIT (ottima sede del Die By The Wolf Fest) solo dopo la prestazione dei grandissimi The Orange Man Theory (testimoni oculari mi raccontano di un live entusiasmante con tanto di guest appearance del loro mentore Steve Austin). Entro e mi ritrovo Troy Sanders dei Mastodon che coverizza i Meshuggah; strabuzzo gli occhi e mi rendo conto che trattasi in realtà del chitarrista di tali Four Question Marks, francesi di casa Trustkill dediti alla “coverizzazione senza copyright” dei gruppi predetti. Diciamo che mi hanno impressionato per i primi 2 minuti scarsi, poi la sterile e davvero poco personale scrittura dei pezzi mi ha fatto preferire la prima birra con gli amici della serata.

Rapido cambio palco ed ecco che si palesano i Complete Failure, pericolosissimo trio grindcore per l’occasione senza basso, la prima bella sorpresa dell’evento per chi scrive. Il cantante si è perso in un bosco da bambino per poi ritornare alla civiltà solo di recente, dato l’aspetto belluino e l’abbigliamento da serial killer de campagna, il batterista (Mike Rosswog dei TITD) è sinceramente una delle migliori drum machine in circolazione, mentre la chitarra è puro rumore di ferraglia arrugginita. Insomma è roba davvero estrema, senza alcun tipo di compromesso; una moto sega sporca di sangue che gira in tondo impazzita. Da antologia la reazione rabbiosa del singer alle ripetute avances sottopalco di un’attempata e appesantita mistress sadomaso.

Quando salgono i Jucifer siamo investiti da una tempesta di drones e watt, la roscia chitarrista cantante Amber Valentine comincia a martirizzare i nostri timpani usando il suo strumento e l’ampli come i poli opposti di una calamita. Il duo di marca Relapse è shockante: estremizza a tal punto le proprie composizioni da renderle qualcosa di assolutamente diverso da quello che si può ascoltare su disco. Il risultato è quanto di più violento e straniante si possa trovare in circolazione. Facciamo fatica a capire se il batterista “David Crockett” sia un genio o un demente quando lo vediamo prendere a calci, svitare e rimontare il ride. Ne viene fuori un malatissimo mix di grind, drone, stoner e indie rock (anche se quest’ ultima influenza viene quasi lasciata a casa dai nostri), con dei suoni e un’attitudine talmente marci che il pubblico, forse ancora ignaro di cosa sia realmente accaduto, rimane esterrefatto e allibito.

Finito il piccolo uragano targato Jucifer, l’attesa per Steve Austin e la sua creatura Today Is The Day si fa sempre maggiore e crea una certa “angoscia” tra quanti hanno già assistito alle prime terrificanti fasi del Die By The Wolf. Il Reverendo è un personaggio totale, si fonde con il resto della band fino a possederla, diventandone la bocca da fuoco e l’unico terminale comunicativo. L’avvio, come tutto il resto del soddisfacentissimo set, è per stomaci forti; la violenza di esecuzione, unita a una presenza scenica molto scarna ed efficace, spaventa ed affascina tutti. Il Reverendo Austin era tanto che volevo vederlo, colpa forse di quell’aura oscura che ha sempre contraddistinto le interviste e le composizioni del maniaco di Nashville; mi aspettavo un tipo ombroso e poco accondiscendente col pubblico, ma sorprendentemente mi trovo di fronte a una persona di quaranta anni che ha voglia di divertirsi, sfogarsi, e regalare alla gente accorsa uno show fatto di rabbia, energia e sudore (molto sudore a dirla tutta). Si susseguono senza tregua pezzi da In The Eyes of God (disco dal quale vengono estratti la maggioranza dei pezzi), Axis of Eden, Kiss The Pig, Temple of The Morningstar, Supernova e Today is The Day. Il trio si destreggia alla grande tra il violentissimo noise del periodo Amphetamine Reptile e il metal estremo dalle tinte death-grind dell’ultimo periodo; basso e batteria (Rosswog è un fenomeno di quelli veri) supportano il dialogo di Steve con il pubblico ormai soggiogato e invasato. Sul palco sale anche Gianni degli Orange Man e in sala volano colpi proibiti nell’euforia generale. Se non finisce a tarallucci e vino poco ci manca, i Today suonano filati e se ne vanno senza bis dopo averci picchiato per bene; speriamo solo di vivere un’altra serata così il prima possibile.

Andrea Zeppieri

Keren, menggunakan flash...

Il live dei Melt Banana ci voleva, è proprio il caso di dirlo. I giapponesi sono da più di un quindicennio una delle realtà musicali più folli e divertenti del globo, spesso complici di pericolosissimi personaggi come Michael Allan Patton e John Zorn. Un loro show è quindi uno di quegli eventi a cui sembra davvero impossibile rinunciare, soprattutto se, come in questo caso, i partners in crime si chiamano Inferno. E non intendo gli Inferno polacchi.

La serata del Circolo comincia con i The Real Swinger, punk band romana d’adozione (i pesci fuor d’acqua della situazione), che hanno l’arduo compito di aprire le danze davanti a un pubblico che preferisce ancora cercare un po’ di fresco nei giardinetti del locale. L’esibizione scivola giù veloce come le bevande fresche al bancone.

Quando entrano gli Inferno (la miglior postcore band di casa nostra?) si inizia a fare sul serio. Il grind’n’roll fantascientifico dei cinque romani è, come al solito, devastante. Schizoidi come sempre, si ritrovano rinchiusi su un palco vero che per loro è una prigione, li vedi che vorrebbero saltarti addosso, arrampicarsi sul bancone e aggredire le tue orecchie il più vicino possibile come fanno nei piccoli e piccolissimi live club (chi li ha visti in azione lo scorso aprile a Frosinone sa bene di cosa sto parlando), non lo fanno ma folleggiano ugualmente. La musica non ne risente, i pezzi del primo album e quelli dello split con Ovo e Psychofagist, dei piccoli-grandi capolavori di rock estremo e paranoide, escono fuori come scariche di AK47. Il tutto viene valorizzato da una tastiera assolutamente fuori dal comune, da una batteria animalesca e da una presenza scenica degna di un reparto psichiatrico. The Sorrows of young Moroboshi e una stravoltissima cover di Folson Prison Blues di Johnny Cash accendono un pubblico che ha voglia di muoversi e urlare. Il set finisce in men che non si dica e le horns up si sprecano, l’unico rammarico rimane il soundcheck vocale davvero scarso, si fatica a sentire la voce di Gio persino quando parla. Tirando le somme un’ottima prova, c’è grande sicurezza nei propri mezzi e voglia di stupire da vendere.

L’avvio dei Melt Banana si può riassumere in tre parole: Tora! Tora! Tora! Immediatamente si scatena un pogo selvaggio che durerà per tutto lo show. La band capitanata dal folletto Yasuko è uno spettacolo della natura, unisce noise, punk hardcore, grind e motivetti per bambini con una semplicità disarmante, scardinando le regole dell’ovvio. I blast beat à la Napalm Death non stridono affatto con le anomalie chitarristiche del mascherato Agata o con la vocina da cartone animato della tenerissima e divertita cantante. Le canzoni, riprese perlopiù dal capolavoro Cell Scape e dall’ultimo Bambi’s Dilemma, coinvolgono il pubblico in maniera totale; c’è chi si inventa dei balli improbabili, chi si riempie di botte sotto il palco, chi ride a crepapelle e chi, invece, rimane incredulo con un’espressione da baccalà sotto sale. Yasuko nel frattempo si prende la briga di annunciare i pezzi in un perfetto italiano, cercando poi di zittire le risate della gente con un fare da scolaretta in divisa; ci proponiamo di segnalarla al Guinness dei primati per la categoria “Stereotipo nazionale meglio interpretato”. Da antologia sono anche gli 8 pezzi interpretati in meno di un minuto, non siamo ai livelli di You Suffer ma ci avviciniamo pericolosamente. Dopo un bis al fulmicotone finisce uno dei concerti migliori dell’anno fin qui trascorso; la gente, arrivata numerosa, sfolla sudata e alle grotta. Si torna alla vita di tutti i giorni purtroppo. Ma con ancora Cracked Plaster Cast che tiene in ostaggio il cervello. Alla prossima.

]]> http://inthecrowd.wordpress.com/?p=290 Thu, 22 May 2008 12:58:07 +0000 henninkj http://inthecrowd.wordpress.com/?p=290 Pure Genius!

Today's Lesson

Wanted Man

Con le orecchie che ancora fischiano l’entourage baronale si sveglia e si attiva per raggiungere l’INIT e la seconda parte dello Stoned Hand of Doom vol.4. Arriviamo nei pressi del locale ben consapevoli di trovarci di fronte a una line up ricca ed eccezionalmente variegata, con i grandissimi Witchcraft come punta di diamante.

Purtroppo ci perdiamo le esibizioni di Black Rainbows e Winter of Souls, mentre possiamo cogliere solo le ultimissime note del set targato Ira del Baccano. La prima band che apprezziamo in pieno sono i lombardi Midryasi, alla terza apparizione in casa SHOD, autori di una prestazione al fulmicotone tra Pentagram e Black Sabbath ma con un’attitudine quasi à la Stooges. Stupisce soprattutto la grandissima presenza scenica del cantante bassista Convulsion, raro animale da palco, capace di ipnotizzare il pubblico con uno sguardo da reparto neuropsichiatrico. Canzoni potenti e ottima risposta dei presenti, che non possono che essere soddisfatti di una furia ai limiti dell’hardcore; Divertente siparietto alla fine del set, quando i Doomraiser tutti vengono chiamati sul palco a cementare un’amicizia di vecchia data. Applausi e pazze risate.

Il tempo di un pasto frugale ed ecco la pietanza che ci voleva, gli Stoner Kebab, che alzano il volume e sparano lapilli di fango bollente in sala, ustionando una folla che comincia ad essere consistente. C’è molto sludge di “vecchia” generazione nel DNA dei toscani, Bongzilla, Eyehategod e Iron Monkey sono stati metabolizzati a dovere e riadattati al classico Palm Desert sound, gli ampli danno l’impressione di essere bollenti come griglie tanta è la “pompa” che sprigionano, la ferocia vocale, poi, rende il tutto ancora più dannatamente marcio. Alla fine risulteranno essere la miglior band italiana del lotto per quanto ci riguarda.

Gli El Thule erano certamente molto attesi, come non considerare infatti la loro ultima fatica Green Magic uno dei migliori dischi stoner usciti in Italia? Peccato che nel caso dei bergamaschi il soundcheck non sia stato dei migliori; ed è un vero peccato perché il rock’n’roll desertico dei nostri avrebbe meritato senza dubbio una resa più adeguata. Tirando le somme non si può non lodare comunque pezzi del calibro di Adam Bomb e Black Mamba, che sono stati tra i più movimentati dell’intero festival; agli El Thule va sicuramente il merito di aver reso più “ballabile” e “scapocciante” la seconda giornata dello SHOD con una grande presenza scenica e un’attitudine quasi punk. Alla prossima!

Atmosfera totalmente opposta con la band seguente, i misteriosi The Foreshadowing, combo gothic doom di cui fanno parte vari personaggi della scena metal romana, freschi autori di un disco targato addirittura Candlelight. I sei “goticoni”, ad essere sinceri, ci sono sembrati dei pesci fuor d’acqua; troppo il divario tra la loro proposta, figlia essenzialmente di My Dying Bride, Paradise Lost e Katatonia, e l’accento marcatamente stoner-doom del festival. Le canzoni, per quanto ben suonate, ci sono sembrate eccessivamente derivative e poco incisive, di certo non aiutate da una generale immobilità sul palco che non ha coinvolto più di tanto i presenti. Vedremo cosa ci sapranno proporre in futuro, il contratto con Candlelight è comunque sia un trampolino di lancio privilegiato e un’occasione da non perdere.

Quanti di noi si erano chiesti chi fossero questi fantomatici Ira de Dios? Credo la stragrande maggioranza, visto che l’attacco dei peruviani (!) ha spiazzato praticamente tutti. Una miscela di stoner violentissimo e rock’n’roll sanguinolento con inserti psych da manuale, testi in spagnolo e un batterista ercolino che picchia come se fosse idrofobo. Non conosciamo i pezzi, non conosciamo i dischi, possiamo anche obiettare che fondamentalmente questi tre inca non siano affatto degli innovatori, ma gente che si fa l’”iradiddio” di chilometri per suonare sotto casa tua, ci mette l’anima e spacca come se il giorno seguente fosse il giorno del giudizio è minimo minimo da monumento. Hasta luego hombres!

Passano i consueti venti minuti di pausa e Chylde of Fire ci scaraventa a 40 anni fa. I Witchcraft inondano di classe l’INIT con una semplicità che colpisce; fare confronti con i pur ottimi gruppi precedenti è assolutamente improponibile, i quattro svedesi incantano e convincono tutti grazie al loro stile totalmente vintage. I brani sono tutti memorabili, in particolar modo quelli di Firewood, forse il capolavoro della band, ma anche la stupenda Alchemist (che il simpatico Magnus annuncia in un buon italiano) fa sgranare occhi e orecchie a un pubblico ormai arrivato allo zenit dell’entusiasmo. Noi, che per motivi anagrafici non abbiamo mai visto i Blue Cheer nel ’69, I Sabbath nel ‘70 e i Pentagram nel ’72, abbiamo finalmente la nostra piccola rivincita. Una rivincita che assaporiamo col sorriso sulle labbra, contenti che esista un gruppo capace di comporre una Queen of Bees o una Wooden Cross, fregandosene di mode e trend, suonando semplicemente il bel rock di una volta.

A fine serata barcolliamo un po’ tutti, siamo sudati, allegri e un po’ alticci. Qualcuno ha sete e qualcun altro piscia per strada, c’è chi vomita e chi ride in compagna, alcuni addirittura maledicono i fighetti fuori dal vicinissimo Circolo degli Artisti accorsi a vedere quelle checche degli Yuppie Flu. Il Barone torna a casa con la testa ancora ciondolante e un fischio perenne nelle orecchie. Ci sarà anche l’anno prossimo. Eccome se ci sarà.

Andrea Zeppieri

Poteva il Barone perdersi il più affidabile tester sulla salute della scena stoner doom di casa nostra? Ovviamente no: ed eccoci bellicosi e ansiosi alle soglie del Sinister Noise per l’"andata" dello Stoned Hand of Doom 4; ospiti d’eccezione i ciociari Godwatt Redemption, già autori di un ottimo demo, e i pescaresi Zippo, quelli di Ode to Maximum; a chiudere i sempre più iconici Doomraiser, non solo padroni di casa ma anima e cuore della scena romana.

L’attacco dei Godwatt non lascia niente al caso; sound massiccio, basso corposo, groove settantiano e un’attitudine a metà strada tra i Kyuss di Blues for the Red Sun e i Motorhead di Overkill. L’avvio è di quelli spartani e senza particolari smancerie; uno schiaffo di hard rock polveroso che fa muovere testa e piedi, supportato da un basso assolutamente sabbathiano, un drumming trascinante e una serie di riff da ricordare; insomma, i nostri non hanno avuto alcun problema nello scaldare un pubblico molto in linea con lo stile della band. Fanno inoltre ben sperare i pezzi che andranno a far parte del disco in preparazione, materiale che agiterà più di qualche testolina. Appena passato il rammarico per l’estrema brevità del set dei Godwatt , ecco presentarsi sul palco i cinque Zippo, sicuramente una delle migliori realtà italiane in ambito stoner. Crazy Forest è il primo tassello di un’esibizione molto variegata e multiforme, segno di come questi giovani rocker siano ormai dei musicisti capaci non solo di suonare ma anche di plasmare il rock, muovendosi in direzioni sempre diverse e imprevedibili. Ci vengono proposti alcuni pezzi nuovi dal disco in uscita ad ottobre, canzoni imperniate su un’ evidente influenza di matrice prog, sicuramente complesse e per certi versi spiazzanti, anche se purtroppo non aiutate dall’acustica “a due colonne” del locale; le tante sfumature che pur si intuiscono infatti non “escono” come dovrebbero. Nessun problema, sia chiaro, ma tanta curiosità per la svolta. Nel frattempo gli “accendini” pescaresi continuano a macinare note, Kid in the Desert, Tsunami Dust e la mastodontica The Elephant March infiammano un pubblico sempre più sudato ed euforico, segno di come Ode to Maximum, seppur autoprodotto, abbia lasciato il segno e sia stato un vero tormentone per la scena. Non possiamo che applaudire e fare un in bocca al lupo generale.

A questo punto sguinzagliano gli animali. Entrano i Doomraiser col loro carico di borchie, cuoio, puzzo di birra e watt; i volumi sono paurosi, così come l’immagine complessiva di questi cinque loschi figuri sul palco. Gli amplificatori tracimano autentico doom; lento, oppressivo e tribale. Qualche pezzo nuovo fa da contorno a quelli presenti su Lords of Mercy, vero manifesto di un sound ignorante e senza compromessi; The Age of Christ semina il panico in sala e gli effetti dell’alcol già segnano più di qualche “malcapitato”; la potenza, a tratti autoreferenziale, in certi frangenti diventa quasi insostenibile, trascinando il pubblico in un girone dantesco con tanto di zolfo e forconi. La cover ultra slow di Children of the Grave dei Sabbath, vera lapide della serata, va a chiudere la prima parte di un festival fin qui massacrante; ce ne andiamo con i timpani rotti ma già pronti per la sera dopo.

Andrea Zeppieri

PS. pictures are all property of Ida.

20080417 The night before the departure.

I met up with Ida (Niceey - same person ^^) in Plaza Semanggi, Jakarta before I crashed at her house so we could go together to the airport in the morning. After we meet up we decided to buy to buy last minute supplies to make a HUGE HUGE BANNER for the concert. So we went on buying a big duplex paper and some florescent paper (pink and orange) to cut up letters. I also bought 2 miniDV tapes. After we eat, my mom+bro took us to Ida's house.

At the house we start to make preparations. We were planning to show up at Yuanshen Stadium with an Indonesian national costume called the kebaya because we wanted to really POP OUT amongst the crowd. And then inside the venue we planned to change in to shirts that have been spray painted with BRIGHT NEON GREEN AND YELLOW PAINT. On the front we drew x_x and on the back we wrote "L'7". It was utterly eye-catching. It was for the love of L'Arc~en~Ciel.

We continued to make the banner. Like everything else we really wanted it to REALLY POP OUT! SO we spray paint the duplex paper with the same NEON GREEN COLOR and cut out the words "INDONESIA" and a big "ラルク" with a PINK HEART, three green "x_x" and added "gold reflective round thingies" Then to keep it real safe we sorta laminated it with clear tape.

We were so very proud of this banner! We made this while listening to Gackt songs. I haven't listened to Mars album in a long time ^^. We try to STAY AWAY from L'Arc songs because we know we would be nervous ^^.

~x_x~

20080418 The day of departure.

We have to wake up very early in the morning. 4AM!!! The night before, we stayed up until 12 preparing for everything. Before we left we checked every bags and had some breakfast. It was still dark when we got out the house and the road was pretty much empty. Ida's mom accompanied us to the airport. When we arrive at Terminal (1/2), after taking the wrong turn and were laughed at (we imagined) by statues of Soekarno & Hatta, we say goodbye to Ida's mom and continue to check-in. We have no bags to check in; we carry all of our stuff in the cabin. My suitcase was only half full anyways ^^. The check-in lady at the Cathay Pacific counter was kinda rude to us, is it because we could only afford economy tickets? XD I have to tell you that the system in Soekarno-Hatta Airport, Jakarta is pretty confusing. There are no clear information about where to pay the fiscal fee and stuff. There were 2 bank outlets there (BCA and Mandiri), on their billboard they said "We accept fiscal payments", but we thought they only accepted payments if we have an account there, how should we know that they accept cash as well.

So we proceed to go to the Gate. Even though, we have brought novels with us, we stopped at a bookstore to buy National Geographic that highlights about China (Ida) and BLACK BELT (me XD). In normal conditions I would never buy an imported SUDOKU book. But hey, we're on a trip to see L'Arc~en~Ciel in Shanghai, so I was feeling kinda impulsive XD We wait around at the waiting lounge. I texted my family and some of my friends that we are about to leave. They replied back with words of encouragement. I felt very HAPPY! Thanx, you guys!

My seat was 38K and Ida's were 38H. We thought we have been given separate seats by the rude check-in lady, but it turns out we get to seat side by side. I GOT WINDOW SEATS!!! I love window seats XD My boss was kinda surprised when I told him that I like window seats. He said being seated nowhere near the aisle is a hassle because we have to bug 2 people when we want to go to the toilet. But I don't pee that much so that's okay XD The take off was smooth and I saw from the window that WE ARE LEAVING JAKARTA *squeals*. I could hardly believe. WE! ARE LEAVING JAKARTA! TO SEE L'Arc~en~Ciel!!! I had butterflies in my stomach more than the days before. I was like, THIS IS REALLY HAPPENING!!! OH MY GOD!!!

The in-flight service was superb, they even have an in-flight bi nán (it's a term me and my friends use) named Brian XD They have choice of meals Beef Rice and Prawn Noodles. Ida went for the Beef I went for the Prawn. I was good ^^. The in-flight entertainment was hilarious! We were laughing hard when we see Japanese dubbed version of PS. I Love You and Korean dubbed version of I Am Legend. I didn't really watch anything, I just flipped between the channels until I found Always: Zoku San-chome no Yuuhi (the sequel of Always: San-chome no Yuuhi!!!). But when I got to the channel it was already in the middle part so, I just changed to the Japanese radio station and do my sudoku puzzle. We also looked at the DISCOVER the shop catalog for duty free items they sell on board the plane. Some really catch our interest like this Dior make up kit, this Pierre Cardin jewelry set (of course for my mom not for me), this Swarovski padlock USB memory chain, and THIS MICKEY MOUSE MP3 PLAYER!!! But we didn't buy anything because basically... we don't have money to burn XD

20080418 Arrival in Hong Kong.

We arrive in Hong Kong at (time) to catch a connecting flight to Shanghai. Just when we got out of the plane Ida met her from college. What are the odds XD The Hong Kong airport was very nice but we don't really have time to go sightseeing because we have to catch the Dragon Air flight. We really like the logo of the airline because it's so yankii XD The plane was smaller than the first. Well, it's a connecting flight; it's less than two hours I can't complain. This is a holy mission to see our boys XD BUTTERFLIES!!! XD We are that much closer to Shanghai XD In the flight they serve us with more food XD This time the choice is Chicken Rice (Ida) and Beef Lasagna (me) with chocolate Haagen Dazs XD Nice! But despite the good food my nerves won't settle down because I thought this day would never came XD

20080418 Arrival in Shanghai.

We arrive in Pudong Airport at (time), the wind was pretty cold, but our hearts went DOKKYUU~N because WE ARE IN THE SAME LAND AS L'Arc~en~Ciel. Then we realized that we didn't bring clothes that were suitable for such weather. Of course we have our jackets, but we _ARE_ wearing a pink see-through kebaya to the concert. But, we didn't really fuss about it because we would endure the cold to see L'Arc XD So anyway, we found our way through the crowd, pass immigration and went on to look for the Maglev Train, the world's fastest. From the start we plan not to take the taxi unless we really need too, because we really want to experience Shanghai. before we reached the train we pass 3 people (a guy and two girls) I gasp and tug Ida's arm because this boy looked like hyde, especially his eyebrows XD So I taped him with my camera for our friend back home (Shakina) to see *freaks*. The Maglev ticket cost RMB 50 but because we have boarding passes for that day we could buy the tickets for only RMB 40 XD Lucky~~ XD Have I mentioned that all the way we see stuff that is related to L'Arc? Like before I saw Evergreen Airlines and when we were waiting around for the Maglev we saw a box that said Tierra. Like I said we are freaks XD

So finally the Maglev arrived and we sat down on the first available seats we saw. The inside was really comfortable they have a speedometer next to the digital clock that tells us how fast we are going. They say we can go up to 500 km/h or more on the test run and 431 km/h on normal speed, but at the time the train only reached 300 km/h. Not that there was anything to complain about. It was fast and cheap XD

From the Maglev we proceeded to walk to Longyang Road Station. Inside on the automatic ticketing machine was CHAOS! Most of the machines weren't working and I can see people screaming (but now come to think of it they do speak that way if they want to make something clear). We were really confused. But we finally worked our way out to buy the tickets on the automatic ticket. As you can see on the Metro Map here, we took the train from Longyang Road line 2 (green line) to Century Avenue then transfer there to line 6 (pink line) to Lin Yi Xin Cun just 3 minutes away from our hotel, Ying Feng Hotel. The metro is really clean and fast and CHEAP it cost us only RMB 3 to 4 for one trip since we only took short trips. It's very convenient to get around Shanghai with the metro. The only problem is that it closes very early, like 9 pm.

We arrive at the hotel around 8 o'clock. We were in room 512, a twin room. After that we changed and went straight downstairs, ask the front desk about a good taxi to take us to The Bund. He recommended the green and yellow taxi and he warned us about the red one. So we took the green taxi to The Bund. Most of the Chinese people we meet cannot speak English. For shop owner it's fine because we could always bargain with typing the price we want on their calculators. For taxi drivers this is... hell. We wasted 5 minutes trying to figure out how to pronounce "The Bund" like a Chinese person. Alas, we showed him the map. So, here's a tip, when you want to go somewhere ask the hotel's front desk employee to write out the name of the place you want to visit in Chinese on a piece of paper. This will make it very easy for you and the driver. You can just show him the paper and he will take you there. From our experience the cabbies are really fast and well, not so safe driver. They take sharp turns and sometimes stop abrasively, so wear your seatbelts. The driver's seat is surrounded with fiberglass, maybe in the pass there have been incidents where the taxi driver got mugged or something -___-" *I hate violence*. Some of the taxis have one of those touch screen LCDs when we saw L'Arc's picture pop out on the screen we couldn't help squealing and reaching our camera's XD At some point I think we scared the driver ^^.

On The Bund, we went to the first boat ride ticket counter we could see and bought 2 tickets for RMB 140. The guy told us to get on the bus. We totally hear "pus" so we thought "pass" as in pass the pier, but what he went was bus, a mini bus. At first it was kinda scary when you having to arrive in another country you've never been in, and buying a ticket for a boat ride and they told you to get in a mini bus with a driver who is smoking all the time. But I convinced myself that it was fine, and it was. He was just taking us to the other pier. Seeing that we can't speak a word of Chinese except for "Ni hao, wo she HAIDO, wo ai TAIWAN, next song SHALLOW SLEEP~~" (Hello, I'm HYDE, I love TAIWAN) XD well, that and maybe "Xie Xie ni" (thank you), we have a hard time adjusting ourselves to our surrounding where people talk really loud XD It was confusing at first but after a while I got a hang of it.

At the pier, the line was very long. When we took pictures of ourselves an old Korean guy offered to take a picture of us. After a while we chatted and his friends said that he is a famous comedian in KBS. So, if any of you is familiar with Korean entertainment please tell me if this guy really is famous or not XD

After the long queue we were able to go on the ferry. It was tall and has 2 floors, with Chinese carvings. We went around The Bund to see the man made electrical marvel ^^. It was really nice the lights are really beautiful and the architecture was awesome XD But if you are looking for something more Chinese, I would recommend something else. The thing is I really don't know what to recommend other than the recommendation of a French girl named Chloe, who was on her second trip to Shanghai. Seeing that there's a gaijin there, I came up to her and ask her to recommend good places in Shanghai for first time travelers with very limited amount of time in their hands. She recommended the Old Town because it is very Chinese then Nanjing Road for shopping and then the French Concession to look at the architecture (she doesn't recommend the last one so much, I think that's because she was French and can see that sort of architecture all the time ^^.

After Chloe's recommendation we figured out a route and time table to see all of those places in very limited time the next day. So referring to the metro map, we would start our journey from our hotel (Lin Yi Xin Cun station, pink line 6) to Yuanshen Stadium (Yuanshen Stadium station, pink line 6) to have a look at the venue, just for a while in case the members are there. Then we planned to continue our journey from Yuanshen Stadium to Jing An Temple (Jing An Temple station, green line 2 ) and then proceed to walk to the temple and see the part of Nanjing before going to the Old Town by taxi (in the map I think it's around Da Shi Jie station, blue line 8, if my calculations are right) then to the French Concession also by taxi (around Shang Shu Road or South Xan Shi Road stations on the map, red line 1, I'm not really sure). Sure, we could plan but we could never know what will happen tomorrow XD

After we got off the boat, we went to some shops near the pier to buy some souvenirs for people back home. I bought pearl and jade necklaces for my mom and grandmother and some clover accessories (2 phone straps and a bracelet - similar to these). I spend RMB 225 in total. That was pretty cheap compared to the price in Indonesia. The clover accessories alone could cost around RMB 50 to 90... EACH! I find that communicating with the shop owners/sellers is very pleasant even if they don't speak English very well. They could always use the calculator ^^. After the trip to The Bund, we wanted to get back to the hotel but we couldn't find any taxi >_< it was kinda late around 11.00 PM. But somehow we feel pretty safe. The city was still alive at that time XD In Jakarta walking with a friend at 11.00 PM is not something I wouldn't do unless I'm really really sure if the area is safe ^^. After a while we decided to walk a few blocks to find a taxi. Because we have a hard time stopping a taxi we asked a police officer to help. At first he was confused like his face was saying, "This is not really my job," but then he smiled and said "okay" and help us hail a taxi.

Before we got back to the hotel, we went across the street to a 24-hour chain store called Q to buy instant noodles, snacks and drinks. When I was browsing the magazine counter I saw Sakai Ayana on one of the cover. I gasped and took the magazine right away. It was a Chinese version of Ray. With no second thought, I went ahead and buy it along with U.F.O prawn flavor instant noodles, Melty Kiss matcha flavor (of course), Pocky Mousse matcha flavor and KIRIN FIRE XD It was only RMB 20 for this thick magazine so in total I spent like RMB 35. It was not bad, not bad at all XD

When I sat down and do nothing in the hotel room I almost had an anxiety attack. Every time I think about the concert the next day I was a wreck. Throughout the journey, I try to think about something else, because if my mind is blank, I will get very nervous about the concert XD So that was that, after that we went to sleep. Looking forward to see L'Arc the next day ^^.

~x_x~

20080419 THE DAY OF THE CONCERT

The night before we already decided that we would go to the Yuanshen Stadium first to see the preparations of the concert and maybe if we are lucky we could see THE BOYS XD We had breakfast on the hotel's restaurant and ate sushi, apples and salad. From the window we could see 2 groups of people were having their morning exercises. One group was middle aged lady and one was a group of old folks. After we finished eating we went to upstairs and get ready for today.We walked at Dong Fang Road to take the metro at the next station Shanghai Children's Medical Center station (pink line 6 - see map here) to Yuan Shen Stadium Station. We walked a bit because we wanted to see more of Shanghai. In the metro a very friendly Chinese man started to talk to us and asked where did we come from and such. He gave us his name card. His name is William Hu and he was just finished visiting his nephew in the Shanghai Children's Medical Center. It's very nice to talk to local people. After this I thought that actually people in Shanghai is very friendly and pleasant, maybe it's just because the are shy about their ability in English so they sorta hesitate to initiate a conversation.

After we say goodbye to William who got of at Century Ave. station we continue our journey to Yuanshen Stadium. When we went out from the subway we saw THIS HUGE WHITE STADIUM. I really felt weak in the knees >_< butterflies in my stomach and I could feel cold sweats on my forehead. Ida and I were squealing like crazy XD The stadium itself is surrounded by a sport center/complex. There's like a skate park, tennis park, and other sport courts surrounding the stadium. After we went it we rushed to the doors, on the way, I noticed that 3 girls are looking and pointing at us. So I said hi to them and asked whether they are going to watch the show tonight or not. They said yes and asked where we from. When we said Indonesia, they were really surprised and said "REALLY!? REALLY!? You come here just for the concert?” We nodded and I showed them my yellow nails with x_x XD They were like "WOW! We came from Beijing," like us they were visiting Shanghai just to see L'Arc XD LONG LIVE L'Arc XD

So we say goodbye to them because we wanted to see the venue. We went berserk when we see posters of them on the wall (of course we took pictures XD) and went around the stadium looking for an opening to see the inside. After finding many closed and guarded gates we manage to find a gate that is opened and unguarded. We turn on our video camera (me) and digital camera (Ida) to film what was happening inside XD We could see the seats are being lined up and the crews are paving the grass field with some sort of rubber pads. Because we felt that we haven't seen enough we went upstairs to the podiums but the doors were all closed >_< so we rushed down again and found a HOTEL(!!!) right above and surrounding the stadium!!! When we saw this our hearts went KYUNDOOOO~~~~ (the opposite of DOKKYUN. Whereas dokkyuun expresses a more excited and DOKI DOKI feeling, kyundoo expresses a more disappointed feel). Because when I first arrange the trip, I asked the travel agent to give us the nearest hotel to the venue. This hotel is _ON TOP_OF THE VENUE. We went inside and find the way to the elevator. We went straight to the highest floor which was the 5th. And TO OUR SURPRISE!!! THERE ARE WINDOWS!!! HUGE GLASS WINDOWS LOOKING OUT TO INSIDE OF THE STADIUM!!! I felt DOKKYUN AND KYUNDOO at the same time. Dokkyun: because we can see the preparation of the stage, and Kyundoo because we weren't able to stay at that hotel and watch the boys rehearse and play soccer like the staff diary at L'Arc~en~Ciel's official myspace said.

But we put our Kyundoos aside and start filming the preparation. I zoom up on every crews' face to see if I recognize any of them (I think I should know XD seeing that I watched too many DVDs). After we were quite content with what we got on tape and on film, we remembered that we have to see more of Shanghai. In my heart I know this was not very ME, because I would have stick there till I see hyde, tetsu, ken or yukihiro. But I have to get my family especially my mom seeing that she helped me a lot preparing for THIS TRIP, and besides the 21st is her birthday so I gotta get here something real nice ^^.

On our way out of the stadium we saw some youngster with a bicycle cart (like this but bigger) selling unofficial goods like fans, poster and mouse pads of L'Arc~en~Ciel and other Chinese artists. One of the girls talked to us and asked where we come from and if we will watch the show tonight and also which member do we like best (to this question of course we answer all of them XD). She was apparently there to sell goods with her friends and she will not watch the concert. I took 2 mouse pads, one with the MEN'S 109 KISS promo and one with this (link) picture. Ida also took the same ones ^^. We spent a total of RMB 80 for 4 mouse pads ^^. Not long after that a security officer came and shoo them off. They argued a bit with the officer but then they went out of the stadium complex. We also went out of the stadium and said goodbye to then and then went to the metro to go to Jing An Temple ^^.

20080419 Jing An Temple & Nanjing Road

We transfer at Century Ave station (pink line 6) to get to Jing An station (green line 2). When we reach the station we stopped to buy a SIM Card that can be used for international SMS, mineral water and one cup of custard pudding that looks really good (RMB 6). When we went out of the station we can see crowded streets! People everywhere XD Not far from exit 2 we can see the Jing An Temple. The entry ticket cost RMB 10. I guess they sell it cheap because most people come there to pray. After we pass the gate there's this BIG grey pagoda in the middle of the courtyard with bells chiming because of the wind people were throwing coins to the pagoda trying to get it into on of the windows of it. I don't quite understand what is it for but I think it has something to do with getting your wish XD We see people young and old praying and burning incense around the temple. There are 3 big rooms, on at the front under the huge flight of stairs and 2 to the right and left, the rooms one the left and right have one statue of the Buddha in each and in the big room under the stairs there were many statues of many different deities. On these rooms, they have knee stools for people to kneel down and pray. It's a very spiritual experience; I was surprised to see that even young people with fashionable outfits came to pray. WOW! After we looked around we wanted to have a shot on throwing the coins. Ida got hers in first and I took me about 10-15 minutes to get a coin in. Of course I wish for the best at the concert and I wish that I could meet L'Arc~en~Ciel XD

Next we strolled down Nanjing Road, which is kinda similar to Orchard Road in Singapore. There are many malls but we see a lot of branded fashion malls. I really wanted to find a CD store, so we went in the first mall we see. We were distracted to take pictures in front of the very cool architecture before we went in. When we went inside the first thing we saw was... a Vivienne Westwood outlet! I want the rings so bad. But they're all expensive! >_< a pair of socks was around RMB 130 >_<. We only spent little time on the store because things was so unbelievably EXPENSIVE there so we walk to the back road and take pictures in an alley. There's this small La mien shop in the alley. It was made by the people that leave in the house. It looked really tasty. After taking photos we found a market XD SO we decided that this is where we should shop XD We found a LOT of stuff here. The prices are very VERY reasonable and the best part is you can haggle for it XD

Total damage: RMB 1500 *SMACKS SELF IN THE HEAD* Well, it's not all my money DUH!! A couple of friends had gave me some money to buy stuff for them so some of these stuff is not mine anyways XD

After that shopping madness we felt really hungry and it started to rain >_< but we passed a La mien vendor on the street that was still full with queues, I wonder how delicious the food must have been XD So we found a bakery on a street corner, not very far away from the market. The view from the bakery was really nice; we can see lots of different people, mostly with better fashion sense than the last. The street style is mainly influenced by Japanese style like the ones you see in KERA or egg or pichi lemon magazines. We ordered 2 tuna sandwiched with French toast bread XD It was good, but it lacks chili sauce. I'M INDONESIAN, I NEED MY CHILI SAUCE! All the food on the plane doesn't have chili sauce either ^^; We also ate the custard pudding we bought earlier. IT WAS REALLY GOOD!!! SO CREAMY and it had canned fruit in it. In the shop we organize all of our things that we just bought. I put all the stuff in the red duffel bag. We decided to wear the rubber boots we just bought because our bags are getting HEAVY HEAVY HEAVY!

Next we decided to go back to the hotel because we need to rest before the concert, my feet and the weigh of my bag is killing me! But before we hailed a taxi we finally found a CD store. On the front of the store I saw a L'Arc X-banner (of course we took pictures XD) and I went on a buy 4 CDS+DVDS of Ayumi Hamasaki: A BEST 2 BLACK and WHITE (each with 2 bonus DVD), SECRET (with bonus DVD) and MY STORY LIVE DVD (3 DVD) (so a total of 11 pieces of CDs) for a total of RMB 273!!! That's like less than $4 for 1CD/DVD. THAT'S A BARGAIN! It's a Chinese version CD but they are original, not bootlegs. When I was trying to find Japanese CDs in the store I realized that Chinese IS REALLY DIFFICULT XD One of the few Chinese words I know is the word for Japan which is "Rupén". When I said this to the clerk, she didn't understand, until a younger clerk pretty much said the same thing and she understands it. It's hard hard hard XD

20080419 Pre-Concert Nerves

We went back to the hotel to get some rest after we stopped by at Q (24 hour store) to buy some chocolates and instant noodles, I need to re-wash my hair to get it back to its bouncy-self for L'Arc to see *GETS BRICKED* XD But we couldn't rest! We were so anxious and nervous and happy and excited. It was too much to handle. So before we go we made a little prayer circle and prayed that everything will go smoothly XD We dressed in Kebayas with a tank top under it and we wore jeans and tie Bali Sarongs on our waist ^^. We looked very Indonesian and traditional and different and WEIRD XD But of course we put on jackets before we went there because it was drizzling a bit and it was cold. We walked to the nearest metro station Lin Yi Xin Cun station (pink line 6) to catch a subway to Yuanshen Stadium (same line). On the subway I was a wreck XD We tried to get rid of our nerves by singing one of Mulan Jameela's famous song. To tell you the truth I don't like her and her songs but at times like these a silly annoying tacky song can actually do you good XD

Before entering the stadium we bought binoculars for RMB 10 each (a bargain?), magically all of my nerves are gone XD then when we went inside the stadium we took our jackets of and people started looking at us XD We find our way through the crowds to find buy the official tour goods. We asked some fans there but they misunderstood us. They think we are asking about the gate. But the information was useful since we don't know either ^^. When they looked at our tickets one of them said "WOW! WOW!" and continue to explain that our gate was gate 1 and what way we should take. And like everybody else they asked us where we are from ^^. Every time we answer Indonesia they looked very surprised and touched at the same time. This got more intense after we answer "yes" if they asked us "You come to Shanghai just to see L'Arc~en~Ciel?" ^^.

We finally found the goods stand. Like I said before, there are only 6 goods being sold in this tour. You can find the price list here. I went on and buy one of each and so did Ida. They cost RMB 970. WOW! I didn't think the price would be this expensive. I thought the price would be adjusted to the countries. So the prices are about the same of Japanese Tour goods prices. Here's something stupid... I DIDN'T BRING ENOUGH MONEY!!! I was lacking about RMB 200 *because of the shopping and all >_<* So, I had to borrow RMB 200 from Ida. THANK YOU XD After that we wait around for Liyan (she is the one that sell her tickets to us... with the original price. WE ARE SO THANKFUL!!!) because I still owe her about RMB 100 for the ticket shipping charge ^^. While waiting for Liyan we opened our banner and people looked kinda surprised and they asked us if they can take pictures of the banner (of course we said yes). Finally Liyan (in the Lolita dress) came with her friend, Lena, who looks like MIKA NAKASHIMA. We take pictures with them chatted for a while and went to our entrance gate 1. Before we went inside I put my camcorder in by bag because there are officers on the entrance. I wouldn't want then to stop me from getting inside. After we went in we can see a SEA OF PEOPLE trying to get to they seats. The stadium is HUGE!!! At the tribune I can see a lot of people being seated. The arena was almost full. WHY THE GATE HAS JUST OPENED XD I think people are as ENTHUSIASTIC as us XD We make way to our seats Row 9 seats 14 (Ida) and 16 (me). We have to excuse ourselves because there were a lot of people to get through before we reach out seats. They were located at almost the very corner of the block.

After settling our stuff so it wouldn't get wet because of the rain (yes, it was still raining). We were worried about our posters because it stuck out and it didn't have any plastic covering on it. Thank god the lady at the goods stand gave me 2 plastic bags ^^ so we could wrap our posters with it. Then we took off our Kebayas and wore our hand made NEON GREEN FLUORESCENT T-SHIRTS!!! YEAH! But we had to wear raincoats that we bought before (RMB 3).

After really settling in I looked around. THE STAGE WAS HUGE AND VERY CLOSE TO WHERE WE WERE SEATING!!! They have a thin fabric to block our view from the lower stage (where the staff is preparing the instruments and stuff) I squealed when I saw tetsu's BASS BEING CARRIED AROUND BY ONE OF THE STAFF!!! THE WHOLE ATMOSPHERE WAS VERY OVERWHELMING AND I WAS OVERTLY EXCITED!!! It's like we're here! WE'RE ACTUALLY HERE!!! I almost couldn't believe it.

Then people from our left and right chatted with us. They were thrilled to know that we came from Indonesia. We are also thrilled to know that most of them are not from Shanghai but from other regions of China as well XD A girl next to me was standing on the chair taking pictures of the stage. She gave us "tetsuism" flags XD They were SO SO SO FRIENDLY. Some of the people in front of us took pictures of our banner when we rolled it out ^^. We also took pictures of the stage XD When we saw some crew on the stage we decided we should yell "HATANO-SAN!!!" Thinking that one of them would be Takeyuki Hatano the keyboardist ^^. At some point before the show a white guy showed up on stage and climb the intricate railings of the stage to fix the L'7 flag that had been rolled up on its flag pole due to the strong wind. At some point before the show started we also yelled "AKU PADAMU!!!" which means "I'M WITH YOU" or "I FOR YOU" in Indonesian. We are deluded, mind you ^^.

Then some of the people at Ida's right jumped to empty seats 2 rows in front of us. We were like "Where are they going? Is that allowed?” They called us and told us to move 1 row to the front too because there was nobody on those seats. They said, "If they come here we move back." So I thought, upgrading one row to the front is a great chance, even if we already had good seats ^^. So we jumped to the seats in front of us. Not long from then, there were these bunch of socialite-club goers type of people that came along they don't excited or interested on the concert what-so-ever. They asked one of the police officers to move open one of the fences on the corner so they could come in. Is this not preferential treatment? We have to say excuse me to tens of people to get to our seats >_<. It was still raining so of course people still had their umbrellas open because the show has not started but these socialites have started a frenzy and chanted the Chinese word for an umbrella so that the people in the front would close their umbrella. This is a kyundoo moment. But no kyundoo moment last long in this situation XD The voice on the announcement tape played repeatedly saying in Japanese and Chinese that "The concert will start in 90 minutes. We are sorry for the delay. Taking pictures with flash is forbidden." and so on and so forth. The music they played before the concert started was somewhere in the lines of top 40 emo-punk music from bands like Blink 182, Simple Plan and the like. WHAT? WHAT? The person in charge of this was certainly not a member of the L'Arc's JP entourage. We were hoping that they would play yukihiro's mixes or something related.

In the middle of it all we were imagining how bummed the boys be because it was raining. It wasn't because that they were worried about their clothes getting wet but because they were concerned about the fans waiting in the rain. Now the thing was that we became very worried if they think this way because a little rain won't bring our spirits down! LOOK AT USE HERE BEING ALL MORIAGARE!!! Warning: this is only a scenario in our head. Yes, we are two delusional girls from Indonesia ^^. But who knows if it was true ^^.

20080419 THE CONCERT!!!

The girl's voice on the announcement tape in Chinese and Japanese said that the concert is starting please turn off your cell phone and any other recording devices. Of course I already put my camcorder aside but I see that people in front of us had theirs recording the show! I was like, "IS THIS EVEN ALLOWED? I WANT TO GET MY CAMCORDER OUT BUT THERE'S AN OFFICER BEHIND US! I DON'T WANT TO BE DRAGGED OUT OF THE CONCERT! THE FIRST L'Arc CONCERT IN MY 10 YEARS OF FANDOM!” But as I was thinking about this, more people lift up their cameras. And I thought, "HEY! IT IS ALLOWED! None of them are being dragged out!" So I took my camcorder out of my bag and reattached the lanyard connector and let it hang securely around my neck just before the song starts! The lights were turned of and there was a very familiar sound it was...

1. get out from the shell -asian version-

When the lights were out apparently they raised the thin fabric so we couldn't see the whole stage. When hyde start singing there were 3 HUGE silhouettes reflected on the fabric. From left to right it was tetsu, hyde and ken. THEY WERE ABSOLUTELY GOD-LIKE!!! AND THE GESTURE HYDE MADE DOESN'T HELP TO LESSEN THAT FACT EITHER!!! THEY WERE DELIVERING A MESSAGE FROM GOD!!! After they reached the part of "Yume ha yume no mama de..." The veil is opened and we could see them LIVE IN FRONT OF US!!! From my seat I have a very clear view of tetsu. Just look straight on and there he stood out oh so shiny in his BRIGHT PINK COAT, A BLACK PLEATED SKIRT and GLITTERY GREEN BASS STRAP. His hair was styled like the that of L'Anniversary live. hyde was on the center of the stage. I had to tilt my head about 25-30 degrees to the right see him in his gloriousness. His hair is being made up like that of DAYBREAK'S BELL PV! and he was wearing a thin black coat with a long white thin shirt inside, black pants (couldn't see if they were leather pants or not) and pirate boots (similar to these). To see ken, I had to tilt my head around 45-50 degrees to the right, even at that I couldn't see him clearly because my view is being blocked by a sea of hands waving around in the air. For yukihiro, I can see him easily because he was behind hyde and his drum set was put up pretty high. He was wearing a red body-fitting tracksuit (is that what they are called?).

I was pretty sure I couldn't get a clear shot of the live because I was holding my camera and covered the top it with the front side of my raincoat while JUMPING IN ECSTASY and cheered them on and yell on the growling part of the song (you know which part I meant right XD). Then they went straight to the next song. We could hear roaring sounds of an engine XD It was...

2. Driver's High

It started with literally a BANG!!! FIRE EFFECTS!!! On this song hyde and ken were running from one part of the stage to another XD At one point hyde went to ken's side and way way to the edge so I couldn't see him because his outfit blends perfectly to the background XD But when ken ran to tetsu's side and beyond, I could see him sometimes XD They don't have roofing for the sides of the stage so it was almost certain that they were rained upon if they went there. I felt really touched that they would do that after (maybe) a long time of hair styling backstage T-T. It was like they were trying to say, "If you are wet because of the rain, I want to feel that rain also." T_T After Driver's High they went straight to...

3. Killing Me

I remembered hyde was shouting "JUMP! JUMP!" in Chinese. Of course without knowing what that means I was already jumping from the beginning XD I think it was in this song where he went up to ken and put his arms around ken's shoulder on ken's side of the stage XD There were a lot of running around in this song. tetsu twirled a few times and his pleated skirt really gave good effect if you see it in person. HE STICKS OUT MORE THAN THE OTHER MEMBERS! He's SHINY XD The lights were so bright in this song, so because my glasses had raindrops on them I couldn't see very clearly every time the lights bright up or was pointed toward the arena >_< so I had to take them off >_< after this song it was time for...

hyde's MC

Seriously I really don't understand a word of Chinese and all of his MC was in Chinese but I think I can understand just a little bit of what he is saying. He was so cute when he forgot his Chinese words XD Me and Ida screamed out "LUCUUU!!! LUCUUU BANGET!!! IMUUUUT" (cute! so cute! KYOOOT!!!). When he got it right he introduced the next song, their new single...

4. DRINK IT DOWN

The lights were dimmed and the dark and mysterious intro played. When they play this song my heart went GAKKYUUN GAKKYUUN GAKKYUUN!!! All the members didn't move far away from their initial position. I remembered hyde swayed a lot in this song, though ^^. yukihiro is the god of drummers! XD The lights were red and blue, pretty much deep colors. After this they went straight to...

05. Daybreak's Bell

I remembered that after all the running in the rain hyde's clothes were wet and his all too glorious hair was drenched. In the middle of the song he pulled his hair back I SCREAMED INSTANTLY!!! The wind was blowing hard and I can see his clothes sorta flowing *revisits the moment*. tetsu sorta hid in the darkness all the time but I can still see him even without his glitter bass strap (he already changed his bass at this time)

06. winter fall

Beautiful surprise number one!!!! The timing COULD NOT HAVE BEEN ANY BETTER!!! It was still in the middle of a light drizzle. The rain drops still looked like snow drops and the intro of winter fall came along XD talk about good timing XD The light shined very soft and bright. The atmosphere was just very ethereal T-T I wanna cry every time I remember about this song being played. hyde's voice was very soft similar to the CD and in my head I could picture the PV very clearly. It was like 10 years ago when I first heard this song T-T KANDOUSHIMASHITA XD

07. 花葬

The stage was pitch black and of course in moments of silence we screamed out HYDE!!!! TETSU!!! KENCHAN!!! YUKKIE!!! and then a piano intro like the one in Shibuya Seven Days. So we were in hysterics because I thought, "forbidden lover is coming up! forbidden lover is coming up!!!” We were screaming a lot *hysteria* and then the screen showed red petals and the song was Kasou!!! AHHHH!!!!! Surprise number 2!!! I didn't think this would make the set list T-T hyde was swaying around in a trance *nosebleed* and ken was in trance especially at the guitar solo.

08. My Dear

The intro alone made me tingle. I felt like peeing in my pants when I heard the intro XD This was surprise number 3!!! The atmosphere was mystical XD no one hardly moved. ken was switching between the keyboard and the guitar in the first half. hyde was in front of his mic stand all the time and he looked oh-so-gorgeous in the green light. tetsu didn't move that much, but I was VERY HAPPY to hear his voice in the chorus and ken's voice also joined the chorus ARGH SO MAGICAL!!! After the song was over I said to Ida, "If they played Eien after this I WILL DIE!!! I will bite my tongue." Because the mood was on the right track for THESE TYPES OF SONGS. And then there was a drum roll anyone would know, and even though it wasn't Eien I still felt like dying T-T. It was...

09. forbidden lover

*breaks into Shakespearean theatrics* OH, L'Arc~en~Ciel, thou foul souls, how could thee tortureth my heart with thy set list. *bricked* MY HEART FELT LIKE IT HAS SIMMERED IN ACID. In the beginning of the song I said to Ida that the bass didn't sound right because the sound was very rough and distorted. But after a while it went back to normal. DRAMATIC! That's all that I have to say about this performance, the light poured on the stage. hyde made an improv at the end. At the end of the song I was tearing up T-T. The next song, to me, was more of a "it will be okay, deary" song. The song is...

10. MY HEART DRAWS A DREAM

and somehow magically (!) the rain stops. IT WAS SO FITTING XD I sunk into the lyrics, I really feel the song was very appropriate for our condition. The line "mada akirametari ha shinai" really meant something to me that night. I never gave up on being a fan although there were tough times, I never gave up on always trying to see L'Arc~en~Ciel live, even it was raining I didn't complain or feel down because of it. For me it was really like a moment of enlightenment. Maybe not just for me but for the 15.000 people in the stadium that night! The atmosphere was so serene and peaceful. Everyone was swaying their hands in the air. IT WAS MAGICALLY GLORIOUS!!!

11. Caress of Venus

I swayed around... LIKE CRAZY in this performance XD Everyone was very high in this performance; they were jumping here and there. The members did lots of running around on the stage XD hyde was swaying a lot and yelled "JUMP! JUMP!" and of course with that adrenaline flew even more throughout my body and I jumped even higher than before regardless of how out of shape I was XD

I think starting around this time I had a... catch this... finger cramp. I think because I was holding my cam at all times right before MY HEART DRAWS A DREAM started and because the weather was very cold. 天罰 だ~~~ >_< My finger was stuck like the Buddha picture there. Same right hand, but it was my index finger that cramped. It was quite a distraction from the live T-T but I put my hand under my shirt against my belly where it was warn and dry and it healed in the middle of the next song...

12. REVELATION

This song has never sounded EVEN MORE of a "let's-go-underground-let's-make-a-revolution" song until that night! IT REALLY BROUGHT TH WHOLE STADIUM TO CULT FOLLOWER MODE XD Everybody was singing in sync from the top of their lungs! And everybody held up their hand in sync! This song was MADE for a live performance XD

ken's MC

As I told you before... I don't understand Chinese but here's the trick... make loud noises when anybody on stage finish speaking XD He was very cheerful XD Lots of smile and then he referred us to look on the screen. There we can see him with a huge plate of food of food, him in front of the stage in Yuanshen, him in Nanjing Road and in the subway. OH MAYBE WE TOOK THE SAME ONE *BRICKED*. On to the next song...

13. SEVENTH HEAVEN

I can see hyde flamboyantly swaying his hips around XD tetsu also jumped around and I can see his skirt flowing XD I swayed my hand like hyde did on the PV XD AT THIS TIME! There was confetti being fired from the stage AND SOME OF IT REACHED US!!! Of course we had to hog it and snatch it from the person next to us and tucked it in my bra (yes you heard me, tucked it in my bra) *did I just revealed that to the world?* XD I had like 30 cm of it but when there was a short recess in between songs I peeked underneath the seats and found 2 WHOLE STRINGS OF CONFETTI XD YAYYY!!!! VICTORY IS MINE XD We thank thee Lord, that in thy mercy... *gets kick since this is no time for a Monty Python quoting session*. Next song was...

14. Pretty girl

Naughty, naughty, naughty XD after lots of running around on stage singing and swaying PROVOCATIVELY, hyde came up from behind tetsu and KISSED HIM ON THE CHEEKS! I FELT LIKE DYING AT THAT VERY MOMENT XD The improv of sigh and moan-like singing is like adding fuel to an already HUGE FIRE!!! OH MY GOD!!! I shook Ida's shoulder oblivious to the fact that she was trying to capture still picture XD A rare fan service in front of my very eyes. hyde, thou foul soul... *bricked*. Well, anyway, ken was running around everywhere XD I know this is evil but I sorta hoped he would fall like in heavenly XD but he didn't *good for him* XD adult male have better upper body stability XD

15. STAY AWAY

tetsu had a solo bass section which was OH-SO-COOL!!! He stepped up to one of the speakers and played like crazy XD ALL HAIL BASSIST BANANA-SAN XD They took up the mic and sang one by one XD First was of course tetsu and then ken and then... yukihiro!!!! GYAAAAAAAA!!!! FINALLY XD I can see yukihiro in the middle of the stage XD Oh my heart melts when I see his figure XD Then of course the mic went back to hyde XD The solo bass kicked ASS!!!

16. READY STEADY GO

Of course like in every live, hyde yelled, "ARE YOU FUCKING READY!?" And of course I acted all crazy and screamed "YEAAAAHHHH!!!" XD In this song also there are a lot of jumping around and spinning around coming from our leader XD After the "let's get started READY STEADY GO!" part, the crowd SQUEALED XD The guitar solo from ken was so awesome!!!

yukihiro's MC

Ladies and Gentlemen, the moment that we have been waiting for... HEARING YUKKIE'S VOICE XD XD XD XD He walked from behind the drum set with a sheet of paper with big katakana character. I can see from the screen because it was written with a black thick marker that bleed through the back of the paper. Everyone (incl. moi of course) was chanting "YUKI!YUKI!YUKI!YUKI!YUKI!" He opened his mouth and try to read from his paper but he was drowned by the chant of the whole stadium he waited a while and when he was about to read again people were "YUKIYUKI"-ing even more XD So he waved his right hand in a gesture "umm.. guys... let me do my MC... I wanna get back at drumming...” HE IS SO PUCUUUUULLLL!!!!!! (means CUTE) and then he went on and did his MC. His Chinese was not very good because I can hear people sorta laugh >_< I screamed out "YUKI GAMBARE!!!” And then he went on finishing the MC and goes back to his beloved drum set, on the way hyde who was leaning near the drum set had this wide smile on his face when yuki (who looked exhausted) looked at him. Leave the kid alone, hyde XD After yukkie was settled on drums, they started the next song...

17. NEO UNIVERSE

The lighting during this song was really beautiful and bright and was reflected to a disco ball above the stage XD Prettiest lighting took place in this song XD I can hear tetsu's perfect bass lines here XD hyde's voice WAS SUPERB!!! hyde was swaying lightly. I was almost moved to tears when hyde sang "higeki da toshitemo anata ni meguriaete yokatta" T-T Great moment. The song ended nicely and a staff handed over hyde's guitar for the next song...

18. HONEY

The performance was really fierce XD I was hoping that they would play their guitars/bass one on one with the other but they didn't do so. A lot of jumping came from our beloved LEADER XD

19. Link

hyde yelled "JUMP! JUMP!” The song was very light and energetic XD I can see tetsu twirling a lot XD every time he does this his skirt lifts up XD JYAAAAAAAAAA~~~~ XD at one time hyde was on tetsu's left putting his hand on his shoulder and starting to jump lightly XD tetsu did the same also and they jumped in sync for a while XD I WAS HAPPY! XD I was hoping that Ciel-chan would appear in the middle of the performance since they went into a break where you can only hear yuki's drum and tetsu's bass but it turns out it was...

tetsu's MC

Like I said I know squat about the Chinese language but when a very bright bassist is holding up a banana on stage while trying really hard to read the katakana-ized phrase on his right side of the mic stand, you can figure this out in any language. "DO YOU WANT TO EAT MY BANANA!?” Then he threw his banana to the front seats XD I wished he had thrown in a bit further XD I was only 10 rows away from it XD and then the song starts again ^^.

hyde's MC

Before hyde was standing behind his mic and SUDDENLY he whispered "wo ai ni" (another Chinese phrase I know XD means I love you *DIES*) and then whips up a very wide smile XD I can hear all the girls in the stadium SQUEAAAAAAAAALING!!! (that would include me and Ida XD).I did not understand his MC and I hadn't expected that this would be the last MC T-T. hyde was very cute when he was having difficulty reading the Chinese MC he had prepared XD He said something about "one" because he had his index finger up. But I realized that this was going to be the last song because people started letting out sounds of disappointment like "eeeehhhhh~~~". I was like, OMG OMG OMG!!! This can't be the end T-T but it was and they performed the perfect song to end the show...

20. あなた

The light was magnificent. The performance was flawless. Every one was singing the chorus part together. It was very moving T-T It almost brought me to tears. Near the end of the song there were feather being flown out from the back. Because the wind was not very cooperative and blew to the direction of tetsu's part of the stage the feathers went that way and only reached the front portion >_< When I see a single feather flown in our direction I pay no regards to anyone near me. I jumped up, even if that means bumping to the person next to me (sorry >_<), and snatch the feather! HAHAH!!!I CAUGHT IT!!!! And like I kept it in the same place I kept the confetti XD When the song ends hyde said "XIE XIE" and "DOUMO ARIGATO~~!” I was saying stuff like "IKANAI DE~~~" when I hear Enya's Book of Days being played T-T and I can hear the whole stadium chanting "ENCORE! ENCORE!" in Japanese fashion, of course XD They take their last bow and went backstage.

After that Ida and I looked at each other and we hug it out. This has been our dream ever since we started liking them 10 years ago when we didn't even know each other. My eyes were tearing up but I was smiling very wide. I looked around if there is another confetti or feather near me. Before Ida had asked the help of a police officer to pick a feather that was sitting near him. He was very kind and gave it to her, even though afterwards he smiled and shook his head when we looked so happy that Ida got another feather XD I also detect a feather near him and asked him to get it for me. That was so nice of him T-T Thank you T-T After that I sat on the nearest chair leaned my back and looked up the sky. The rain drops reflected the stadium lights, it looked like snow and little blessings from above (I know, I'm being melodramatic but I really felt like that then). I sometimes close my eyes and feel the rain drops on my cheeks. I felt HAPPY and RELIEVED T-T

Even with the rain they pulled out an awesome performance. Maybe it was because of the rain INDEED, because they don't want to let us down. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE INCREDIBLE PERFORMANCE GUYS XD

But I realized that we had to go and collect (if any) more feathers and confetti and maybe try to snuck in to the front block to collect them. When we collected our stuff and get ready to leave I saw a guy that looks Japanese holding a camera and... he had wore a lanyard attached to a PASS (!!!) around his neck. My gut told me to call him. "ANOU~~ Indonesia kara desu keredo mo~" (Ummm we are from Indonesia) with that I caught his attention and he pointed his video camera at us. (I'll translate our conversation)

Guy: Indonesia? Really?
Me: Really. We've been fans for 10 years. Actually we have a banner prepared. (I told Ida to take out our crumpled up banner. We fold it like on the third song in because it was already wet and heavy and we were to busy jumping around so we decide to fold it. It already has experienced severe battle wounds XD)
We unfold the banner and showed it to him. And he pointed the camera at it.
Guy: How come you can speak Japanese so well?
Me: I learn by myself through L'Arc songs. (Ida nodded in approval)
Guy: Really? SUGOI!
Me: I also work in a Japanese company (totally unrelated but I didn't know what else to say. Seeing that he still had his camera pointed at us...) The live was MAGNIFICENT. It was like a DREAM. (Ida was saying similar things too. And then we said...) LARUKU SAIKOU!!! ARIGATOU GOZAIMASU!!!

Then we said goodbye to him. But before we go too far I scream out, "O-NAMAE HA?” He said, "Shikano desu." "Ah Shikano san, Rini desu. Yoroshiku onegaishimasu. Laruku ni tsutaete kudasai nee." "Ida desu. Yoroshiku onegaishimasu." He smiled and we waved goodbye.

ALERT! I turned out that Shikano-san was actually Shikano Atsushi, a reporter of MUSICA Magazine and most importantly THE CO-AUTHOR OF L'Arc~en~Ciel's WORDS!!! I really do hope he showed our message to L'Arc. When I knew about this from a friend in Shanghai, me and Ida almost died of happiness. Apparently he also said something about us in his blog entry here.

We left to find more scraps in the front row. But we can't get in >_< DAMN! So, I took a couple strands of grass from the stadium (HAHAHA LIKE THIS WAS KOSHIEN XD). We went out and waited for the bus that will transport L'Arc back to the hotel. We waited and waited but they didn't come out so we decided to leave for our hotel.

20080419 post-concert.

We went to look for a taxi but we couldn't find any. It was near 11.00 pm, it was still raining and very cold. We decided to walk a couple of blocks to find a taxi but there were only a few passed us by, so either they had a passenger or the driver didn't wanna take us because it was very late. So after no luck we walked back to in front of the stadium and there we found one taxi that would take us to our hotel.

When we got to the hotel, we were still very high but pooped out and COLD. So still with our costumes, we dipped in the tub filled with hot water XD After that we also turned on the heater and get ready to pack because tomorrow we have to go home. While packing we talk little exciting bits of the concert. I put "treasures" I picked up from the concert save in one place. But I was sad to see that both of our posters and my pamphlet were wet because of the rain >_< But I guess it was fine, because they were "battle wounds" and plus it was wet from the rain that blessed the stadium so it's okay *freaks*. After that I went to sleep. I was really tired and I didn't even wanna think that tomorrow we would return to Jakarta and leave Shanghai T-T.

~x_x~

20080420 the (supposed) day of departure.

In the morning, like the day before we had our breakfast in the hotel. We had the same menu as yesterday ^^ and we outside we can still see old people doing their Tai Chi and middle aged ladies doing some exercise. Looking out the window, I know that I would miss Shanghai VERY MUCH. After shower we checked out of the hotel and hailed a taxi to get to Pudong Airport. We decided to not take the MagLev because our bags were very heavy.

We got to the airport at 9 am. Liyan, our friend, told us that L'Arc's flight would be at noon, just like ours. So, yes we went there early in hopes of seeing them before they depart. We went to Cathay Pacific counter to check-in but it wasn't open yet. So we thought we should put away our bags in a deposit counter near the Cathay Pacific counter so we can chase L'Arc without any hassle. I forgot how much it cost >_<. When we get back there we met a girl that we had met before the concert. She was waiting around for L'Arc also. But we haven't seen anyone that might look like a fan around.

When I was coming back from the toilet, I saw a group of Caucasian men. One of them really looked familiar. When I recognize him I hissed to Ida, "Enti~ Enti! JAMES BLUNT!” It really was him XD And of course, I dug my bag for a notepad to ask for his autograph XD When I asked him for his autograph he smiled and said jokingly, "You should want his autograph more. He's more famous," referring to his friend. And the friend said no and they were laughing and he finally signed the notepad XD Ida asked for his autograph too XD We also took a couple of pictures of him XD I was glad to have met him because I thought if we didn't get to see any members of L'Arc at least we have a consolation "gift" by meeting James Blunt and asking for his autograph.

After that was over, we waited outside, it was windy and cold, I had no jacket on because mine was wet the night before. Around 10.30 we went into the JAL gate was starting to get crowded by fans. We saw Liyan's friend too. She said that L'Arc's flight would depart on 2 pm. We were shocked because there was a big possibility that we won't get to see them because our flight was on 12.25 >_<. We huddled up a plan that we should check in now, go back to the JAL gate and get on our flight at the very last call even though it means running our asses off. We take our bags from the deposit center and went to the Cathay Pacific gate to check-in for our flight. The queue was already very long >_<. SO we waited and we waited before we went in the front line we could hear a man complaining on why his flight has been canceled. We were surprised, that could be our flight TOO!!! So I went to where he was, he was talking to an employee of Cathay Pacific and she said that all flight to Hong Kong had been canceled due to a typhoon that happened on the Thursday before. THAT FLIGHT WAS OUR FLIGHT!!! I was a bit panicked but she told us that we could get another flight tomorrow and Cathay would provide rooms at the airport hotel MOTEL 168 (just across the airport, but it was pretty far) for us. I was okay with that but Ida would have her last exam the next day!!! But not long after that she received a text message that said her exam would be delayed XD When I sent a text message to my mom to inform her that my flight was canceled and we had to stay another day in Shanghai, she replied, "Oh good for you, you can have one more day of free sightseeing. Take care," XD I'm glad she wasn't panic about the whole ordeal because then I wouldn't be panicked because of her panicking. *GEDDIT?*

20080420 the mission.

So we left the check in counter and decided that we should continue our holy mission to chase L'Arc XD So we figured that we should check our bags in th