Location: Sun Palace (seats 2,500 or so I hear)
Time: 06:00ish -doors opened, 06:45ish - concert started.
Before we went to our seats, we checked out the merch tables and bought two beanies, a set of two wristbands designed by Ju-ken and a little purse-bag-thingie for Miki. Things kicked off fashionable late (it was suppose to start at 6:30) but not annoyingly late.
Opening Movie- Gackt plays the part of a cyborg soldier designated Zero. During the introductory movie he asks such hard hitting rhetorical questions as "Who am I?" and "Why am I alive?" and ponders whether he is going mad or whether the world is. This is kind of the story line that ran through out the concert. I'm guessing its going to be the story line of the next album. Next we have:
Jesus
Uncontrol
Suddenly
No Reason
In Flames
During this portion of the concert, the whole band is in matching military-esque uniforms. Gackt jerks around like a robot and occasionally bends in ways dudes just ain't suppose to bend. All the new songs (in other words, all of the songs played after Jesus) are similar in style, heaviness and awesomeness to Jesus.
They then play an audio track of gun fire, explosions in order to advance the cyborg soldier story and to mask the sounds of staff members dragging a Piano on stage. From here we get:
Piano Solo~Sayonara~Violin Duet
During the Piano Solo and Sayonara the band and some extras spend time lounging around the stage doing their best to look ragged/war-torn and fashionable/stylish at the same time. The effect was kind of comical but added greatly to Sayonara's atmosphere. The rest of the band/extras leave the stage as Gackt and You play their violin duet.
More sounds of war to cover the sounds of equipment getting wheeled off stage and then 4 dancers provided us with an interpretative dance while dressed up like demon/ghost thingies as techno played. The band returns, still in all black but no longer the military uniforms. Next:
Ghost
Blue Lagoon
Oblivious
Oblivious, another new song, was performed by Gackt alone on stage as prerecorded music played. It is a very beautiful acoustic guitar and strings piece. Here we get the next segment of film. It shows Gackt as Zero fighting in the trenches. He calls to higher headquarters as they are getting bombed. He talks to himself for a while as he gets more and more confused. The camera zooms out and he is surrounded by giant stuffed animals instead of other soldiers. Gackt and the band return wearing colorful clothing and show takes a turn for the less serious at this point:
My Father's Day (another new song)
Mirror
The longest MC in the history of the world. He talks about Fukuoka for a while, sexual innuendos fly all over the place, he tells chachamaru he has the hair style of an old lady and he claims he is going to kill You the day he dies.
U + K
koakuma Heaven
Papa Lapped A Pap Lopped
Faraway
Flower in the War
kimi no tame ni dekiru koto
After a brief wait the band and extras show back up on stage wearing military uniforms to play a new song called Lost Angel while posing to look dramatic.
We now get the ending movie. Zero is found by his superiors in a nearly destroyed shape, betrayed, and finished off by machine gun fire. Ending credits roll as Story plays.
I'll leave other comments and thoughts for the review of the Miyazaki concert.
Time: 06:00ish -doors opened, 06:45ish - concert started.
Before we went to our seats, we checked out the merch tables and bought two beanies, a set of two wristbands designed by Ju-ken and a little purse-bag-thingie for Miki. Things kicked off fashionable late (it was suppose to start at 6:30) but not annoyingly late.
Opening Movie- Gackt plays the part of a cyborg soldier designated Zero. During the introductory movie he asks such hard hitting rhetorical questions as "Who am I?" and "Why am I alive?" and ponders whether he is going mad or whether the world is. This is kind of the story line that ran through out the concert. I'm guessing its going to be the story line of the next album. Next we have:
Jesus
Uncontrol
Suddenly
No Reason
In Flames
During this portion of the concert, the whole band is in matching military-esque uniforms. Gackt jerks around like a robot and occasionally bends in ways dudes just ain't suppose to bend. All the new songs (in other words, all of the songs played after Jesus) are similar in style, heaviness and awesomeness to Jesus.
They then play an audio track of gun fire, explosions in order to advance the cyborg soldier story and to mask the sounds of staff members dragging a Piano on stage. From here we get:
Piano Solo~Sayonara~Violin Duet
During the Piano Solo and Sayonara the band and some extras spend time lounging around the stage doing their best to look ragged/war-torn and fashionable/stylish at the same time. The effect was kind of comical but added greatly to Sayonara's atmosphere. The rest of the band/extras leave the stage as Gackt and You play their violin duet.
More sounds of war to cover the sounds of equipment getting wheeled off stage and then 4 dancers provided us with an interpretative dance while dressed up like demon/ghost thingies as techno played. The band returns, still in all black but no longer the military uniforms. Next:
Ghost
Blue Lagoon
Oblivious
Oblivious, another new song, was performed by Gackt alone on stage as prerecorded music played. It is a very beautiful acoustic guitar and strings piece. Here we get the next segment of film. It shows Gackt as Zero fighting in the trenches. He calls to higher headquarters as they are getting bombed. He talks to himself for a while as he gets more and more confused. The camera zooms out and he is surrounded by giant stuffed animals instead of other soldiers. Gackt and the band return wearing colorful clothing and show takes a turn for the less serious at this point:
My Father's Day (another new song)
Mirror
The longest MC in the history of the world. He talks about Fukuoka for a while, sexual innuendos fly all over the place, he tells chachamaru he has the hair style of an old lady and he claims he is going to kill You the day he dies.
U + K
koakuma Heaven
Papa Lapped A Pap Lopped
Faraway
Flower in the War
kimi no tame ni dekiru koto
After a brief wait the band and extras show back up on stage wearing military uniforms to play a new song called Lost Angel while posing to look dramatic.
We now get the ending movie. Zero is found by his superiors in a nearly destroyed shape, betrayed, and finished off by machine gun fire. Ending credits roll as Story plays.
I'll leave other comments and thoughts for the review of the Miyazaki concert.