Dir en grey...OMG!

[Masako]

UWAAAAH!!! So lucky!!

Be sure to give us a FULL REPORT when you get back! Every little detail. Their clothing... hairstyles... any weird attempts at English... Oh, and I guess how good the performance was too.

That's so awesome, have fun!!

[tex-chan]

*also slinks in like a whipped dog*

I didn't reply, either, because I know nothing about J-rock (is that even the right term? ) bands, so I figured I couldn't possibly have anything to add to the discussion. Sorry, Uen-chan. I should have felt more confident about joining into the discussion. *hugs*

*in best Mom voice* Do you bite the heads off of chickens?
You know there's that avian flu thingamabobber.

Nah. No worries. The bird flu doesn't spread that way.

*looks around*

Wha-at? ... Oh ...

*ahem* so i've heard ...

*slinks back out again, to go find a good hiding place for her shameful self*

[cidsa]

Hmm, Steve from TDR went to a Dir En Grey concert in Tokyo. He usually goes to smaller shows and reports on them (usually punk shows too)..

Anyways, he reported on the DEG concert and he said it wasn't very good. He likes Dir en Grey's music, but he said their stage performance was really weak. He also said the bass player (Toshiya) was awful..Then again, Toshiya was never really a very good bassist.
Also apparently all the fangirls in the audience would try to get ontop of the crowd to get towards the band, which would result in a lot of injuries. A lot of people got too worked up and would pass out and have to be carried out.

I have heard similar things from people who go to the bigger DEG concerts. Apparently when they were indies they were really great, but their shows have suffered. These shows in the USA are pretty small, so they might be better than the big ones in Japan..I dunno.

You wouldn't believe the backlash Steve got for all that though. He wasn't insulting the band, he actually makes mention of the fact that he likes their music, he was just saying their stage show was poor. However, that didn't stop the tons of fangirls coming and shoving flames down his throat.

I actually was having a discussion with someone about DEG and how they've gone downhill as of late. I was actually talking about how I liked Kisou, but nothing really afterwards as it all sounded the same and the lyrics were weak. Kisou had weak lyrics, but not like Vulgar. :/
Anyways, as we were talking another person piped in and started telling us how retarded we were and how much DEG rocks and blah blah.

Anyways, I really like DEG's old stuff, they were definitely not all looks over music. A lot of the VK scene around that time was really excellent, of course after 2001 or so it was all mostly crap. Only now are some new bands slowly coming in, like SID or Luvie, up til now we were stuck with crap like Gazette. I actually enjoyed DEG's newest album "Withering to Death", was nice to see a bit a regression to their older style and songs that were longer than 2 minutes!

Tell us how the show was. I wanted to go to the one in New York but some issues prevented me from going. I could even put up with all the ridiculous fangirls if they played stuff from the GAUZE and Kisou albums. :3

[kaminari]

When I lived in Germany several years ago, I didnt have a tv or anything so I spent a lot of time exploring Jrock after discovering Hide at Anime Weekend Atlanta the year before I left.
Dir En Grey was the sort of band that caught my eye. Perverse music with incomprehensible singing, crazy music that even if not good was amusing to the ears, and appealing visuals.
I followed them quite a bit until their single after Drain Away was released. I forgot the main songs's title but it was released with the song Saku. Fukai-something, but anyways... That to me and a lot of their fans in the VK fandom signaled an end to what made them special to us.

Its kinda like, lets ditch all the makeup and become a generic mainstream rock band! I dont think it worked too well though cause I dont hear nearly as much about them as I did a few years ago. Maybe theyre regressing, lol.


I have a few of their songs on my SLVR itunes:
Cage
Drain Away
Keroido Milk
Mitsu to Tsuba
Raison Detre
Cube
Yokan
Yurameki

And I think thats all of them, lol... The rest of my songs are mostly Pierrot, Janne Da Arc, early Gackt/Malice Mizer, random VK indies, and anime themes.

[Cloud]

Thats okay I forget things all the time.

[Ashura]

Well, you must have lots of fun...I mean...come on, you're going to be handcuffed to Gabe & injured by obsessed fans trying to get to the stage.

As long as you enjoy yourself, I'd say that is the best thing anyone can get you. *Gabes such a sweety*

Don't forget to buy a T-Shirt!!!

[Baakay]

And as I timidly sneak back into the room, I go to click the "reply" button and see the words "Oldest First" written above it.

If not for the fact that I know Sensei outclasses me by a few years I might think it was a message...


Anyway I am now officially Humbled. As in, I just read cidsa and Kaminari's messages above and realized I have NO IDEA who any of these bands are.

So...I really do have a reason for posting that, and that's... How do you guys find these bands? I listen to the most progressive station we have around here and have never heard anything like them... although maybe I just answered my own question

Internet radio? something like that there?

Juuust wondering why I've been missing all this goodness.

[Cloud]

Oh. Perhaps. What is your licence class?

[Baakay]

Oh. Perhaps. What is your licence class?

The kind that requires you to wear corrective lenses when you drive

[Cloud]

Why the uncertain tone?

[kaminari]

I was posting some mp3s of songs I liked by some lesser known j-bands a while back in rubberslug, but I stopped after a few because of changes in my life. Now that Im settled, perhaps I should post music again, and this time on beta too

[Cloud]

Why now? "" Im settled perhaps I should post music again and this time on beta too ? Makes sense to me.

[Wendy]

[glow=red]WARNING[/glow]!! Long post ahead!!

Now, here's my question: While you're wading with your rubber duckie what's Gabe going to be doing ?

Right now, he’s busy practising his aim.
You see, he’s going to throw me on stage, right on top of Toshiya

My 16 year old daughter loves the band and after reading your blog on RS I was wondering if she really should be watching their videos...

I don’t know how old your daughter is Nikki, but I guess it all depends on how she can handle bloody images. I know it is not a good idea to let children watch stuff like that, a lot of their PVs are censored, but even after being censored they can be quite disturbing.
Luckily there are a lot of video’s of live performances too, but even those can be upsetting at times

One last thing; if you ever catch her downloading the uncensored PV of a song called Obscure….stop her!

that’s sounds pretty cool!
the song you have on your site by them is great
how did you find out about these guys?
do you have their CDs or did download songs?

Cage is (together with Raison Detre and Mazohyst of Decadence) one of my favourite older Dir en grey songs. I currently have all their CDs.
Dir en grey are pretty big in Japan I guess.
If you do a search for J-Rock sites on the internet, there’s no way you won’t come across their name.

I showed the video to the kid and she froze with a big smile on her face at the sight of the guitarist doing his solo part. I agree, he was awful pretty!

That would be (ever so much gorgeous skin revealing) Toshiya
And he’s the bass player, not guitar

Sorry for you Gabe!:roll I hope there is a great bar across the street from the venue for you to enjoy the time!
<-- thinks Gabe is going above the call for this!

Gabe likes Korn
…’nuff said

Dir En Grey have quite a Euro-metal sound so they'll go down well in Germany. Make sure you get there early so you can mosh down at the front

Lol! Omg!
I haven’t ‘moshed’ since I last saw Metallica (and Megadeth) in Rotterdam
It could be dangerous up there, but I’m handcuffed to a big bodyguard so maybe I’ll give it a try...lol
Oh, and the avatars I used were never Dir en grey, but Buck-Tick

One word : handcuffs.

Main reason for the handcuffs will of course be keeping Uende from ripping through the crowd towards the stage and demolishing the security team (all extras from the Fist Of The North Star series) before claiming Toshiya as her own and turning the city of Köln in a wasteland, solely to obtain a private DenG-concert.

The other reason is of a slightly more selfish nature as being handcuffed to a beautiful woman will make me look cool by association. (Unless of course the main reason fails and I will be remembered as the girlishly screaming ball of tears getting dragged and bouncing behind Uende as she rushes for the stage.)

Third reason is that not only we won’t get accidentally separated (unless Uende gnaws through her arm in order to rush for the stage) and chances are we will actually blend in with the other concert-goers, most of whom will think the handcuffs are pretty tame and “so last year”.

ROFLOL

This is by far the best post of the thread!
I just HAD to quote it again

Ah yes… *wipes tears of laughter from eyes* …the joys of an overactive, visualising imagination

UWAAAAH!!! So lucky!!
Be sure to give us a FULL REPORT when you get back! Every little detail. Their clothing... hairstyles... any weird attempts at English... Oh, and I guess how good the performance was too.

Do I detect another fan girl here? Hmm?
I was thinking of smuggling in my camera with 300mm lens for close-up pictures.
(I’ll hide the body of the camera, so if Gabe can hide that lens somewhere…we’ll be fine! *grins*)

Hmm, Steve from TDR went to a Dir En Grey concert in Tokyo. Anyways, he reported on the DEG concert and he said it wasn't very good. He likes Dir en Grey's music, but he said their stage performance was really weak.

With respect to this Steve (whoever he is), I think I’ll just be judging that on my own.
I never really value reviews much, because a concert is such a “spur of the moment” and personal thing.
I’ve heard of some really bad performances by other, well established bands too, but that doesn’t mean the band sucks.

He also said the bass player (Toshiya) was awful..Then again, Toshiya was never really a very good bassist.

Be careful how you say things, really.
I think a personal opinion should never be opted as the absolute truth.

I don’t think a person like Kyo would allow a ‘bad’ member in his band, and certainly not for over 9 years.
Toshiya’s performance in Cage (not only his solo) and for instance Mazohyst of Decadence isn’t bad at all. He also co-wrote Raison Detre and that alone makes him good in my book.
I heard him play before I knew anything of the band and to me ‘his sound’ stood out , so I think the boy has at least some talent.
Furthermore, he has some valuable commercial value to the band as well.

Also apparently all the fangirls in the audience would try to get ontop of the crowd to get towards the band, which would result in a lot of injuries. A lot of people got too worked up and would pass out and have to be carried out.

Well, if you can’t handle the pit, you shouldn’t be in there.
Being a fan of metal bands as Metallica, Slayer etc. I'm not unfamiliar with these kind of scenes at all.
Besides, I’ve seen this during many other concerts too.
I’ve been to a Michael Jackson concert where the girls were dropping like flies. It happens.

You wouldn't believe the backlash Steve got for all that though. He wasn't insulting the band, he actually makes mention of the fact that he likes their music, he was just saying their stage show was poor. However, that didn't stop the tons of fangirls coming and shoving flames down his throat.

Again, with all due respect, but this is what happens when you review things honestly.
There will always be people who can’t handle the truth, who will disagree and know no other way of getting their point across than by lashing out at people in a most immature way.
I think, as a reviewer, you ought to be prepared for that.

Anyways, I really like DEG's old stuff, they were definitely not all looks over music. A lot of the VK scene around that time was really excellent. I actually enjoyed DEG's newest album "Withering to Death", was nice to see a bit a regression to their older style

I agree with you full heartedly here. I LOVE their album Gauze (there’s only one song on there I do not like that much), and I don’t care much for a few of the songs on Vulgar either, so compared to their more recent songs, I guess I’m more a fan of their old work too.

Tell us how the show was. I wanted to go to the one in New York but some issues prevented me from going. I could even put up with all the ridiculous fangirls if they played stuff from the GAUZE and Kisou albums. :3

I will.
If their show is going to be similar to their European shows from last year they will most probably, aside from Withering to Death of course, play more songs from Vulgar than any other CD (just my luck).
But maybe they’ll be kind and play some stuff from Gauze as well.
I’m just excited to see those guys irl, and I’m curious about their performance.

Like Shellie said: it’ll be “interesting”

Dir En Grey was the sort of band that caught my eye. -> Its kinda like, lets ditch all the makeup and become a generic mainstream rock band!

Personally, I’m glad they “ditched” their extreme girlish make-up and “Striper” outfits.
To me, they sometimes looked like they were stuck in the 80-ies.
I love the way Kyo looks in the clip I posted here, but don’t get me wrong; I adore his cute weird attempts of shocking everyone with his appearance too.

Yeah, I turned into a Dir en grey nutcase too

So...I really do have a reason for posting that, and that's... How do you guys find these bands? Juuust wondering why I've been missing all this goodness.

The wonderful world of anime and internet Kay
I got interested in J-pop, and mostly J-Rock after hearing the Japanese themes of anime.

Weiss Kreuz was my first I believe; getting totally hooked on Velvet Underworld (that song still rocks) and Asian Kung Fu Generation with their OPs for Fullmetal Alchemist (Rewrite) and Naruto (Haruka Kanata). From there on it’s just a small step actually.

But!! my favourite J-Rock band is, and will always be Buck-Tick.
I’m hoping the use of their 1993 song Dress for the OP of Trinity Blood will expand their international fan base more. Maybe, now that they celebrate their 20 year anniversary, they will follow in Dir en grey’s footsteps and visit Europe (if only!)

They are SO amazing live. I even like them better live than on their ‘regular’ albums.
*fan girl squeal*
I could kick myself in the head for not having tried to see them live while I was visiting Japan in October last year.
They even were on their 13th floor with Diana Tour to promote their 13kai wa Gekkou CD.

*slaps forehead*



phew
(longest post EVER!)

[vapalla]

Uende wrote:

That would be (ever so much gorgeous skin revealing) Toshiya
And he’s the bass player, not guitar

Sorry! Bass or lead, they all look like guitars to me. I'm hopeless!
After seeing him in action, I'm not surprised that Toshiya is your man!

As for Buck-Tick, that is one of our favorite bands, but believe it or not, we never thought to download any clips of them playing! Anything you would recommend or that I should steer clear of (since you have parental warnings on Dir en Grey)?

[Baakay]

So...I really do have a reason for posting that, and that's... How do you guys find these bands? Juuust wondering why I've been missing all this goodness.

The wonderful world of anime and internet Kay
I got interested in J-pop, and mostly J-Rock after hearing the Japanese themes of anime.

Wiseguy Just try keeping up with the Internet world when you spend about 6 years with infants attached to you and/or chasing around after toddlers! Ya goober, ya.

I will do just that, btw. I barely listen to anything but anime music any more anyway Me like.

Weiss Kreuz was my first I believe; getting totally hooked on Velvet Underworld (that song still rocks) and Asian Kung Fu Generation with their OPs for Fullmetal Alchemist (Rewrite) and Naruto (Haruka Kanata). From there on it’s just a small step actually.

"Haruka Kanata.... what a wonderful phrase.
Haruka Kanata... ain't no passing phase.... "

oops. wrong audience

(suffering a bit of stress overload this week, everything is funny!)