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Another Loop Ash show
As'Real, D'espairsRay, Sinkro, Porori, Garden, Gill'e cadith, Shulla, Merii, Aioria all played at this show, but I only managed to write about Shulla and Aioria before I got sidetracked and then forgot everything. Shulla Shulla kicked butt. They had more than enough fans to have played in the next-to-last or even last spot, but after seeing them... I know why Merii got the better time slot. It's because Michiru's smart enough to know that whoever comes directly after Shulla is going to look lame no matter what they do, so he's going to make sure it's not him. ^^ Shulla came out to a thundrous amount of crowd screaming, then did a ballad... it was really boring, because ballads are almost always boring, AND they were all sitting down so the stage appeared to be empty to anybody who wasn't right in the front or ridiculously tall. The next song was so-so. But when they went into the third song, the livehouse exploded. They kept the energy up for the rest of the set. Both Emmet and I were really impressed by Shulla. Aioria The oneman changed everything. An Aioria performance now is a totally different experience than previously. Something happened at that oneman between the band and the fans... it's hard to describe, but it's like... both the band and the fans were somehow reserved, and while the band always gave a good performance and the fans always had fun, it wasn't with a total all-out passion on either side. It wasn't like that at the oneman. The band played their hearts out and gave it everything they had, and the fans responded in kind. I didn't take note of it at the time because I just assumed that... well, that's the way it's supposed to be at a oneman, right? Everybody goes crazy. Of course. But the energy carried over tonight as well. There's no going back. Once the band members know that the fans will reach for them when they go to the front of the stage, they're going to do it. Once the fans know that the band members won't run away or be upset if they're grabbed, they're going to leap forward. And when both the band and the fans are letting themselves go that way, it creates a wonderful energy. Having said that, the place where I noticed the energy improved the most was in my usual spot -- Michiru's section. Sarino's fans have been like lemmings in heat for a while, and I have absolutely no clue what happens on Misa's side of the stage... they might be wearing lampshades on their heads and doing the "Walk Like an Egyptian" dance for all I know. (I love Misa's songwriting, but when it comes to lives, that spot in front of Michiru is my home.) When Michiru's on, he's ON. The world beyond him does not exist. It's kind of like seeing Kamijo live except worse, because Kamijo will do things like periodically go to the side of the stage and fix his hypnotic eyes on some other victims, releasing the paralysis so I can glance around at the other members to see what they're up to. Michiru doesn't go anywhere and never takes his eyes off the group of fans directly in front of him. It's impossible to ignore him even for a moment if you're in that spot. That is, when he's ON. Sometimes he hasn't been 100% on, and those are the times I've been able to write halfway decent reports on what the others were doing or looked like. Oh, but I did notice that there was a guy behind the curtain on the left side of the stage playing the keyboard. He would have been hidden to the rest of the audience, but you could see him if you were in the front on the far right. But tonight Michiru was ON. I don't know what the other members did. Misa was out of costume, in the usual suit jacket. Sarino had a Black Peace Now or Putumayo-ish jacket in black with something unusual about the sleeves. (I don't remember what) His hair was slicked back on one side and teased up on the rest of his head, and he had glitter on his face. Hiroki was wearing pants. (I know, you're thinking, "DUH! Of course he wore pants! -__-" I mean pants as opposed to the teeny-tiny shorts I've seen him in before.) Support bassist Kazutake (sp?) was in the same plaid jacket he wore at the oneman. Michiru had the schoolgirl-like uniform with the big white tie, which has what I think is a Baby the Stars Shine Bright crest embroidered on it. Instead of socks, he wears baggy black legwarmer-like thingys that are kind of like the things I've seen Kana modeling in the gothloli bible. Michiru, Michiru, Michiru. He tossed rose petals, picks, candy, and his lollipop. He pointed at people in the audience, winked at them, waved at them, smiled at them. He danced the old dances and taught us a few new ones. He did the rotating-Emiru move. (o_O;) He reached out and grabbed fans' hands over and over again, then leaned into the audience, then climbed onto the audience and leaned in. There were 6 songs in the regular set, and I think 2 in the encore. I know they did "Kousai", "Fantasia", "Kowaku na Kajitsu", "Itetsuku Sekai", "Matataki", and "Hana Kotoba". "Itetsuku Sekai" had some new moves. The "crazy" move has been there for a while, but the complicated verse moves are totally new. I think they did "Ibara no Mori" and "Sougetsu no Inei", but I'm not 100% sure of it. However, that makes 8 songs quite nicely, and those are the two that I'm least likely to remember as the first doesn't have distinctive para-para, and the latter has none at all. |