First off, I'm so happy that I finally got to see this band in person. I legit thought I would have to cross this off of my bucket list when I eventually get to one day go to Tokyo. But instead, the Gazette came to my home away from home. <3 I love San Francisco as a city so it made me really happy that they not only got to perform there but experience the city for a short time as well. This was like a ten year old dream that I wanted to eventually fulfill. Ten years of loving this band and they finally went across the damn ocean before I could. <3 <3 <3
I was pretty satisfied with it. I wore a liquid lipstick from the NYX line. Embellishment was so pretty and it shows up differently depending on the light. My outfit was really complex. I had a blazer that was supposed to go with it but I am so glad I didn't bring it because it was nice weather out and incredibly hot in the live hall when the concert was.
I ended up wearing a d.i.a spaghetti strap top, my black skirt with the feather chains and the buckled slit was from a brand called Dig Deep, my killer heeled boots were from Christian Siriano, and my cardigan was from BPN. I was pretty satisfied with my look. I kind of feel like I looked a little frumpy. I've gained a little weight from some stuff at home. My body is literally clinging onto whatever food I can get and it's making me gain more weight than lose it. OTL ughhh. I want fruit and veggies... </3
I kept my hair straight knowing it would fuck up later. I just parted it a different way. I doused myself in Gucci Rush perfume because apparently it's Uruha's favorite. Swear it's out of coincidence. I've been wearing that shit since fifth grade because I had a bit of a Posh Spice fixation and Victoria Beckham liked Gucci. So I wore that perfume and kind of had a laugh about it since Uruha is my bias. Out the door I went.
Eventually Tiffiny came and we wandered around for a little bit waiting for Mai to arrive so we could eat. Surprisingly Len showed up first and then Mai. All four of us went to Mifune Don for lunch where we ate our fill in food knowing we wouldn't be having dinner or anything else until rather late.
I had a salad and Okonomiyaki because I was seriously starving from not having anything the day before in my stomach. Because of that, lunch was heavenly and I cleared everything I had. Though the girls were amused that I didn't like tomatoesss...
We went to the bathroom knowing it would be a pain to later on and then headed towards the concert venue around 12:30.
Surprisingly there was a line but not a crazy one. Mai and Tiffiny separated from me because they had VIP tickets. This left me with Len lining up surprisingly near the doors. We waited almost seven hours to get inside surprisingly. I made a lot of friends in the line and tried to use my phone sparingly noticing how my phone was losing a charge incredibly fast. ;______;
Something that amused me was people stunned me on how young they were even because I had gotten into them when I was 15 so it's hard for me to fathom others getting into them at an even younger age. Because this concert was like a ten year old dream of mine that I had to wait for. So I sat back innerly chuckling when peeps mention a newer era of the Gazette when you know damn well they used to be crazier and you feel sad these kids missed out on that bit. Back when they were kind of ero/guro. -cues to the Wife PV- Hell the old glory days of v-kei were amazing (and a bit horrible if you look at how people dressed lmao) but it's sometimes sad newer and younger fans didn't get to experience it.
Me: "Girl I AM Kat Von D." because I was wearing one of her huge ass eye shadow palettes on my eyes and her foundation. >;D b
Mei totally wasn't expecting me eye make up game to be that strong underneath those glasses. Clearly I had hid my power level. ahahaha It was probably the funniest moment I had in awhile.
So here we were in the crowd. I was Tiffiny and Mai a little further upfront since they got in first because of VIP privileges. And in terms of myself, I got up pretty close. As soon as my feet hit the wood floor however, I realized my feet were going to die. They were giving out fast. Originally I had planned to wear Forever21 ankle boots but I had obtained some designer Christian Siriano boots and thought since they were designer they'd be comfortable. Such a huge mistake. They weren't and were absolutely the fucking death of me throughout the concert. I had wanted to wear heels because I am literally 5 ft. Almost everyone towers over me but oh well...I tried to combat it.
And finally the lights dimmed and the concert started.
Holy. Shit.
First off, I had stopped going to concerts at 18 years old. I am now almost 25. My last J-Rock concert was Miyavi back in 2010. I had seen An Cafe and LM.C previously. But absolutely fucking nothing compared to the Gazette. The anticipation for each member to arrive on stage was amazing.
I was really amazed too. From where I was standing I was able to see Ruki and Uruha the best and they happen to be my favorite members. Each member honestly was really fucking gorgeous. They've aged so gracefully.
They have this type of stage presence where they just...drown you.Like I had so much fun that I almost forgot that my feet were killing me. I managed to throw my hands up and just jump when Ruki screamed at us to 'fucking jump'. Ruki was super dominating and really tried his hardest to get the crowd hyped up. Which worked at first...but slowly dwindled. I'll get to my catty bitching about people in a moment however-
And then on the right side was Uruha who looked sooooo gorgeous. I've always had liked him even when I first was introduced to the band. He had this really cat-like smooth/cool aura about him. I could seriously watch him play guitar all day. He really has the style about him when he plays. I would just gawk/gush over this guitar solos during the live because they were beautifully played. Plus he's really gorgeous. I remember wanting to emulate Uruha's look back in high school because I had a huge ass crush on him out of everyone.
Aoi looked really comfortable playing the guitar. He was really chill. Where Uruha is like...totally smooth and cool to the point of untouchable almost because he's such a diva-Aoi is like the opposite spectrum of that. He's really cool in a different type of way. I really didn't get to see him much because he was back on the left side and I was towards the front right but when I did see Aoi he looked like he was just smirking chilling...
Reita was such a fucking derpy guy. I also didn't see him too much either but when I did see him he was really riling the crowd up. His eyes would roll back into his head as he made really goofy faces. It was kind of hilarious. He's such an interesting fellow. I think he has a rougher playing style as a bassist than chill and sleek Uruha and Aoi.
And then there was Kai in the back just smiling away. It was also super hard to see him but he's probably to most sweet/most genki of the members. I wish I could say more but it was really hard to fucking see him. </3
Highlights:
Song wise-my favorites were Ominous and Undying, which I know are newer songs but they sound so fucking beautiful live. They have beautiful transitions and their songs that I feel show case Ruki's vocals the most because you get a little bit of everything. Dogma was really well played too. Like I said Uruha had some AMAZING guitar solos. His hair would just fly around as he played as if he was some type of diva. He had sparkles and everything. LOL
Ruki has this thing where when he sings-it makes you feel like he's gazing in your direction or singing for you. That's all I know how to explain unless senpai truly fucking noticed me. ahaha He'd stand up at the podium/riser thingie above us and just look in our direction. At one point I felt like when I was reaching out and when he reached out at the same time- we connected hands even though I was far away and clearly didn't physically connect. Sounds cheesy but it's what I truly felt in that moment. It was like of 'dokidoki' type of experience where you were like 'uwa are we connected because we have the same emotions over this song?'
Hilarious moment was when people were motioning hearts with their hands. I was first to do it. I think. Hell I was even hesitant doing it because it wasn't so badass but it had to be done because I like them all so much and the cute side of me came out to want to show love. Ruki fondly responded back with a good ol' 'fuck you' finger which made me crack up laughing. He is quite the character hm?
Another highlight of course was the fanservice. There was a moment where Ruki had the mic chord stretched out and placed it in his mouth. Like god damn sir.... Could you be any sexier? The other thing that occurred I didn't get to see it because at one point there were tall people in front of me (;_______; </3) but Ruki also apparently licked up the lantern stand and such...he was being all naughty with it from what Tiffiny was telling me later on. I wanted to cry because I really wanted to see it LOL
Tiffiny and I then got into conversation as to what type of girlfriends each member would have and what shit they would be into considering the weird kinky shit they do on stage sometimes. LOL -amused shitless-
At the end of the show during the encore segment the boys (except for Kai because he had to play the drums) were in the front and Aoi and Uruha got really close to each other. At one point all the members were just smiling. They were happy to be there. I'm not exactly sure if the crowd made them happy but I think just them playing overseas together as a band family made them truly happy.
Personally, I jumped around as much as I could. Screamed until my voice was shot. I sweated because it was so hot in the live hall to the point where I was gross and my hair was soaked like I had taken a shower or some shit. I tried to mouth the lyrics to Filth in Beauty and Undying because I have listening to Undying and Dogma way too many fucking times to count. I know Ruki would try to have us sing along but some of the crowd really sucked at interacting back. Tiffiny said that Ruki was laughing a little and I'm sure it's because some of the lyrics are in English and there was barely a response back...that bit made me sad because I was belted what I knew as loud as I could when he would cease singing to hear us <3 ;_;
In terms of their sound. It's so hard to listen to the Gazette's songs in studio version now. I tried in the car and it sounds so flat in comparison to when you hear them live. I've watched live recordings before and I thought those were amazing but hearing the real deal in front of you does something to you. I've never had the experience of loving a band's live work over their studio work but I just have. Of course their studio songs are amazing but they really out-do/compete with themselves in terms of their music and doing it live. It's an entirely different experience and it's one I would suffer for all over again because it was just that great.
So here's the cons and worries about the San Francisco live now that I have almost all of the great stuff out of the way:
The crowd was really challenging. People were super pushy and I kept having to place a hand in front of my face in order to ensure I wouldn't get hit by someone. I understand that it's a rock concert. My hands were literally in some girl's hair at one point. It's bound to happen but there's cultural different between American and Japanese lives. There were a couple of GORGEOUSLY dressed Japanese fans who I saw in line and in the balcony area. They do in sync headbanging and it was really quite the spectacle because I've never ever got to witness it in person. The problem with American fans is were are never as one as a unit like the Japanese fans are and it becomes slightly disappointing in terms of Japanese bands coming over....
Which brings me to the disheartening Encore chant. I don't know if it was because we were exhausted from screaming our heads off but it wasn't as great as I wished it had been. A lot of us were torn on what to chant which caused confusion I am sure. We went between 'en-co-re' and 'Ga-ze-tto'. But it would never last long and fade. Sometimes I wondered if it was out of exhaustion because I know I would until my voice was shot completely. But then we just died a little and couldn't get in sync the way we needed to. We tried some clapping and stomping but I'm not sure if it was over being tired or over the crowd not being able to agree on a chant. I feel like it might have also disheartened the band/maybe had the impression that we weren't as hyped about them being there. :( which isn't true. Just...there clearly were issues with the crowd.
Another pet peeve of mine which shouldn't be a pet peeve but is-is the people who clearly aren't a part of this scene being here and wanting to be up front with their siblings or girlfriends. That or as Tiffiny and Mai agreed on-the younger fans are here for the Kuroshitsuji opening but not for the actual Gazette/J-Rock experience. We kind of just suspected that along with people tagging along but not knowing what they're in for truly as an experience.... That or just not knowing how J-Rock concerts work.
Also while I understand wanting people to tag along-if you're not jumping and just staying there without movement you are annoying and are fucking up the flow. There were clearly people there who I honestly thought were bandwagoning along because this was a big deal for the people they knew and they didn't know what they were getting themselves into. Maybe that is bitchy of me to say but it really did mess up the chants, interactions that the band was hopeful for, and all. I could tell who really live this life or even previously did by the way they dressed and did their make up. I don't mean to throw shade but I felt like some people were bound to get fucking trampled over. ALSO what didn't help about this situation was the fact that people who usually don't go to these types of lives (we all know what I'm talking about if you're familiar with lives and such) if that they seriously don't know concert etiquette AT ALL... Which gets into why concert/live etiquette is so very important.
While we had that end of people being stale about the live on the other end we had the COMPLETE opposite situation. There were a couple people who were clearly drunk and over did it. Tiffiny told me of being punched in the face by the one guy who eventually got escorted out. While moshing might be normal for American rock concerts- they don't occur these and people were so sardined together that it would truly make it dangerous. So we had the non-violent people who didn't look like they belonged there and then the people who were stupid violent beyond comprehension. Two totally different extremes.
ALSO I had a serious problem with people who thought they could push up front. Why? I had been waiting there since 12:30 to have a decent spot. If you have only been waiting there since 6:30 you ARE NOT entitled to the front. Understand people wanting to be with friends and that's somewhat fine I suppose but there were some people who would shove me out of the way to be in front and I would literally invade their space to kind of politely passive aggressively say 'you absolutely can not do that to me'. I'm not the type of girl to push up front either. It's rude as fuck. If you haven't been waiting in line early you shouldn't be entitled to that privilege. Point said and done. My friends also had this problem and peeve too. Manage your fucking time wisely if you want up there so badly.
....Speaking of entitlement. Let's talk about the assholes who had their cellphones out. Now first off, I really do wish the Gazette had sold and permitted people who had professional DSLRs with press passes. That would have been a beautiful way display the show to the fans and also give people an idea of what it was like at it if they had no idea what this whole J-Rock/V-Kei thing was about. That I am a bit sad about. Press passes would have been lovely and I think people would have truly enjoyed that. HOWEVER people taking cell phone pics and video really pissed me off. First off, you're not entitled to that shit. Second off, it's rude as fuck. There was this one guy just blatantly there with his phone out and Ruki stared at him noticing. I could tell he was a bit disappointed even though the show had to go on. I seriously wanted to grab people's cell phones and chuck them across the fucking live hall. It's disrespectful fuck. I understand some people who attended were bandwagoning or didn't get the memo but they clearly stated not to take pics or record before the show even started.
AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST THE BIGGEST PET PEEVE EVER... The people who bitched about VIP. I have a lot to say about this and I hope some of you learn from this and realize it's not me being bitchy but me trying to educate you. A lot of people online and IN LINE out loud and loudly were complaining about what VIP consisted of. The only issue people should have had/been worried about was the Meet and Greet being after the show. That I can understand because were all really gross and sweaty afterwards. Other than that? No. You guys should have known what you were signing up for. Especially those of you who say you're such a huge fan of the Gazette or have been listening to them for years. Since when have you ever seen Japanese fans be allowed the privilege of taking photos with their fans? Have they ever been easily given autographs? What makes you think they'd suddenly change this for their overseas fans when they haven't even given their Japanese fans that honor? That would be incredibly unfair to those fans. We were privileged enough not to be in an arena but a small live hall up close and personal with them. Because if any of you have seen their newer lives-they're almost always in huge arenas filled with tons of people. I've also been told general admission tickets are not only a bitch to get but incredibly expensive on top of the challenge to score them. 50-60.00 for a GA ticket is VERY reasonable if you keep that in mind. If you have paid 225.00 for a VIP pass you are getting up close before anyone else and you are getting goods before anyone else. As well as the meet and greet for a very limited/short time. Like literally hi and bye. This should have been expected. I know many people are confused about this because they've went to XJapan or Dir en Grey have gotten pictures and what not or spotted people in public and took pictures with them. But these other bands are extremely well traveled. There is obviously going to be a huge cultural difference with the Gazette considering they've done a limited number of overseas lives. I will agree VIP should have been separated off since so many people who didn't wait or pay nearly as long or enough felt entitled to the front. I get that pet peeve. I get the meet and greet deal. But to expect autographs and pictures is pushing that. For people to complain loudly outloud just came off as bratty and entitled. Sit your ass down and have several seats. I can understand the confusion if you're haven't been a long time fan but don't you dare fucking brag about being one and then bitch about VIP as if you didn't expect it to be that way. Because if you were along time fan you'd know how this band rolls. If you're truly a fan of the Gazette you pay for VIP not for the perks but for the love of the band and to support them. It's the experience that counts-not grabbing all you can get.
They're incredibly private as much as they are personable. They interact with their fans (come off as personable) enough on their SMS to show that they do acknowledge their fans and want to show us a peek into their lives or be able to share their thoughts/experiences with us at a distance. That gap should be respected. They're just as human as we are and I personally wouldn't appreciate my every move being filmed or photographed. It would make me a very self conscious person. People are seriously given a inch and they take a fucking mile. Jesus christ. -rant done-
SO back to the good things. I'm so glad and happy for Tiffiny because she caught a pick. She totally deserved to after getting punched the face like that. She caught Uruha's pick that lucky girl! I told her to check if it was a used one. I looked closely at the front and told her to turn it over to see if I could see nail marks on the back. There was so it was heavily used one. <3 <3 Tina was in tears over being able to snag a drumstick. I was really happy for her and gave her a hug because it was so adorable how emotional she was over that moment. It was really sweet. I'm very happy for them both.
After the show I chucked off my shoes in shock that I had just took part and witnessed such an amazing live. I haven't attended a concert like that in years and it was such an amazing experience. I was so exhausted from the adrenaline rush. I sank to the floor and I was just dying. The pain in my feet and body was killing me. Tiffiny had my merch in her bag and I needed to hand over some cash because my keychain ended up being more than I had expected. Security shooed us off of the sidewalk even tho there were people still on it which slightly annoyed me because clearly I was waiting for friends and was bare foot sitting to myself. VIP was still going on and I thought it was dumb off them to shoo people away when there were clearly people waiting for people they knew to get out of the meet and greet. Any time after the meet and greet was over would have been fine but it was really stupid of them to do that. I asked the guy 'how far do you need us to be because we're waiting for friends and I don't want to get told off by you again.' in which he never even disclosed to me an answer. I was super annoyed and walked across the street to wait. Which was honestly quite dangerous because there were shady characters across the street. Honestly, the band was going to leave outside on the side or back so I don't know why they were being unreasonable about the front when the event wasn't technically even over yet. Eventually we did walk back over because there were some really shady characters cursing at us or just people saying some un-necessary shit at us that made me feel unsafe about being in that area across the street. I met up with Tiffiny and Mai-got my beautiful merch and bid goodbye to the girls.
Len escorted me back to Japan Town as I hobbled my ass back. Which I super appreciated. There I waited for Miguel who didn't attend the live like planned but at least wanted to have dinner with me. We ended up gong to the Korean place on Fillmore that stays open til 2 am since it was one of the few places open on a Sunday night. I had a bulgogi bento and Miguel had udon. Ran into some people who were having dinner also and say hi and bye...
And then finally went home to take a half assed shower and die on my floor because I was so sore and exhausted.
Despite the hindrances and peeves from the concert it was still an amazing concert to go to. It's been such a huge bucket list item since I grew to love them. I forgot exactly how I discovered the Gazette but I remember seeing 'Zetsu' and being hit in the heart. <3 It was such a fast paced song and usually it was really appealing. The band has grown up so much from those days. Their sound is stronger and heavier. I adored the Dogma album because it brought in the old with the new and it's exactly what I wanted. The previous albums had a lot of electronics in them that I didn't care for because Ruki has a voice and should use it without the effects. The melodies and screams in the Dogma and Undying single are beautiful.
They're even more beautiful in person. Going to see them again really brought together the theme of bringing the old back with the new and combining them. This went for my personal style as well. I have kind of retired from doing rock/darker fashions for a while now but for the concert I made an exception. I don't know if you can call my look from Sunday, gyaru but it was a combination of everything dark I loved about my old school J-Rock days and the sexy style of gyaru that I loved and adored.
Along with that let me say-this concert brought people together for a night who used to live this life even if they retired or we had differences among each other personally. For one night we were all brought back to the same area and had one thing in common and it was the love for this band. And that truly means something no? It's like all of us had one heart for a slight second as cheesy as that sounds. Funny how music and things for old times sake can do that...
Anyway, if you had went I hope you enjoyed your time there. I loved it and it was an amazing experience. I'm glad I got to share with friends both old and new. I'll never forget that night. I didn't need pictures or videos because it's etched in my memory. <3
