Hello ~
A year has passed since the GazettE's domestic tour has ended. It was the first tour in Japan that I attended as well as my first time going to multiple lives in a short period of time. The tour was announced sometime in late October and so I applied for three lives through the lottery and won tickets for all three.
The first live I attended on this tour was held on March 11th at Osaka BIGCAT, one day after the GazettE's 17th anniversary.
This was my first time travelling to Osaka and so I arrived a day before so that I could go exploring and figure out how to get to the venue. It had been raining that first day, a good omen. I was able to walk from my hostel to BIGCAT and I took some photos in the excitement.
The day of the live I had gone to the venue after 10 AM or so to line up for goods. I was quite early, one of the first people there, and as there wasn't yet a line I left to get breakfast but shortly returned. We lined up along the stairs going into the entrance and after 1PM we were given our wristbands and able to buy goods.
I bought the Ferocity tee which has the band's logo on the back, Uruha's produced tee, Reita's produced scarf which has all the members' birthdays on it, and Kai's produced anchovy oil.
After buying goods I met up with another Sixth Gun who was also attending their first tour in Japan. We went for lunch and had ramen before heading back to the venue.
It was my my first time hearing the songs from the NINTH album live and I was not disappointed in the slightest. I was already a fan of the album but, just like preceding albums, hearing the songs in person was an even better experience.
The live house was packed, so there was not a whole lot of room to headbang. The fans had already figured out their own furi and style of headbanging for each song, which was different from my own, so sometimes I had to go along with it for fear of bumping into someone badly. I thought it was strange that everyone stood still during THE MORTAL but I defintely went all out during that song, and so did Uruha who also headbanged and showed his passion along with the rhythm. THE MORTAL was definitely one of my favourite songs live. Reita's bass was so loud and powerful, overall it really is a strong song. Of course I loved hearing その声は脆く live as well, as ballads tend to be my favourite on any album.
Because of the crowding and pushing I fell down a couple times but I also had a great view. I found that was one major point about having the tour in smaller venues, no matter where you were, you had a great view. In addition the acoustics were great, you could feel the vibrations of both the drums and bass in your body.
During the MC they spoke about their anniversary and such. I can hardly remember what was said now, though I remember seeing how Reita had the roman numerals for 17, XVII, written on his neck. They had played every song on the album as well as some others, some of which I hadn't heard live before, so it was really great.
After the live we went to an izakaya and chatted about the live and how great it was.
As I had some time before the next live I was attending, which was in Nagoya on the 14th, I had more time to explore Osaka. So the next day I went to Osaka Castle which was really cool.
It was also my first time traveling to Nagoya, so I left a day early as well and arrived on the 13th. Once I arrived I settled in my hostel then explored the neighborhood.
This time the live was held at THE BOTTOM LINE in Nagoya, which has a capacity of about 700. After going to get my wristband I went and had lunch before returning for the live itself. After the ID check I went and stuffed my jacket and other items into one of the coin lockers there. Inside there was a bar to the far right and stairs leading up to a balcony which oversaw the floor and stage. I could see quite a few people hurrying up to the balcony but I preferred to stay on the floor.
The number on my ticket was 162, so for the most part there were only 3 or 4 rows of people in front of me. I had a really good view of the stage! Originally I was at shiimote, or statge left, but because during some songs the crowd really moves around, I practically ended up on all sides of the stage at some point. I think in the end I tried to stay at the center so I could have a good view of everyone.
Everyone was playing very passionately especially with Uruha playing down on his knees, Kai mouthing the words to Ruki screaming as Uruha began his solo for that song. Uruha and Aoi played back to back at some point and they teased each other.
After the live I went for drinks once again with my tour friend. The day after I returned to Tokyo for the final leg of the tour.
The last live I attended on this tour was also the final show. A fanclub only show, held at Tsutaya O-East in Shibuya, which has a standing capacity of about 1,300. Unsurprisingly it was another sold out show.
I'd already known generally how to get to the venue as I'd been in the neighborhood before, but I still left as early as I could from my airbnb. After visiting the venue quickly we went for lunch and drinks. There was a lot of crowding along the streets by the time we'd got back. Fans everywhere in the merch were going up and down the streets meeting with their friends and trying to find a coin locker to put their things just as I was. There were plenty of coin lockers around though it took a little while to find one that was free. After putting my jacket and things inside I went up to the front of the venue and waited for my number to be called.
This time my number was 708, a bit high, but because the venue was still fairly small I still had a good view of the stage. I think I remained around the center, again able to see everyone.
It's hard to recall every single moment being on the floor, in front of the final stage, but it was a really fun live.
I do remember some things that happened during the show, like during one song while Aoi and Reita played face to face, Aoi leaned in as if he was about to kiss Reita. Reita backed up at first but then took the joke even farther and leaned in more serious to Aoi who laughed after. During Ruki's MC, Reita clumsily backed up into his standing amp and we all laughed.The MC was longer as expected with this being the last show of the tour. When they returned on stage for the encore, I noticed Reita seemed to have spilled some coke on the white tour hoodie he was wearing, which all makes sense now, having watched the world tour dvd where Reita is seen drinking coke while the others were drinking beer. And finally, during その声は脆く a disco ball had come out, reflecting beams of light everywhere.
As usual, they played all the songs from the new album but what made this live special was that they played 春雪の頃 as the final song.
Just as the live was ending they made their end of the tour announcement with a trailer. Beethoven's 9th symphony played over footage from this and previous tours and at the end, the tour final was announced which would be held on September 23 in Yokohama Arena, entitled 「第九」.
And that's the end of my experience of the GazettE's domestic tour in 2019. It was a really fun time and of course I spent my other days in Japan exploring and having fun. It was a ton of fun and I won't forget it.
Until next time!