LooP Ash Presents "Haru-yasumi da~!! Special Live!!"
Shibuya On Air West, 2002/03/15

D'espairs Ray, Sinkro, Hanoru, Phobia, Iroha, ElDorado, Aioria
(+ according to the enquete packet, Loz'a Veria, but I arrived late and didn't see them)
 

I had a great time at this show! I don't like Hanoru, and Sinkro didn't do as well as they had before, but all the other bands were excellent. Top picks -- Iroha, ElDorado, Aioria. ^_^

D'espairs Ray
They were NOT on the ticket or listed in any of the promotional stuff I saw, so it took me a little while to figure this out... "Whoa, this band has that D'espairs Ray thing going on!" "Hm, if that bass player was in a bustier, he'd look just like D'espairs Ray's bassist." "That singer REALLY looks like the guy from D'espairs Ray... wait a minute, let me check the ticket... -_-; D'espairs Ray is not listed. But that's them!"

Naturally, there weren't many fans who looked like they were there for them. While they didn't seem to manage to get the crowd into a killer frenzy, they did get just about the entire audience punching the air.

Sinkro
They're a fun and cute band, with pretty catchy songs, and they look like they're having fun onstage. I liked them a lot when I saw them before. But this wasn't such a great night for them. The vocals sounded pretty bad. I'm chalking this up to a combination of improper sound levels AND the vocalist just having a really bad night. They maintained a cheerful attitude though, and toward the end of the set each member tossed out candies from a bag for White Day. (White Day is March 14th, and it's the day when boys give stuff to girls in return for all the chocolate they got on Valentine's Day.)

Hanoru
I actually got so bored I pulled out a pen and paper and wrote some comments on the set while they were playing. Normally that's a big no-no, as I'd rather be jumping around than scribbling for y'all.

"Drummer looks like a construction worker, but he's good. High energy band. There's nothing really bad about their music, but there's not much good about it either. Singer looks like a Kyo wannabe in a sweatshirt and loose socks. They're very competent, but damn, they don't do anything for me. First song sounded like a cover of something, but I couldn't figure it out. Guitarist is the only one who looks even a little visual, but not that much. Another song that sounds like a cover. Guitarist did the solo with guitar on back of neck. Ooh, technical, with tapping and everything"...

Phobia
For them I wedged myself up into the 3rd row. So I didn't take any notes!

I got to notice a few things that I'd never seen before though. Kisui sweats! Holy cow! I've never seen anybody sweat as much as him! He was sweating at about the rate of one drop off his chin every 2 to 4 seconds. (Yes, I actually counted the seconds between sweatdrops!) Granted, stage lights are pretty hot and I haven't seen that many vocalists up close under the bright hot lights, but I know Kamijo doesn't sweat that much! (Kamijo-sama glistens, with sexy little rivulets running from his hair down the side of his neck and into his shirt, which if you're lucky happens to be a thin white one that becomes delightfully transparent when moist.) And Go's right -- the drummer is a baby-faced little fellow who does NOT look like he should be able to play like that!

As usual, they were absolutely polished and tight. They didn't do "Kamen Butokai", but they finished off the set with "Gabyou.kugi.hari", which is SO much better live I can't find words to convey it. Holy cow, that song rocks! I think they might have changed it quite a bit since it was recorded, because listening to the CD I keep expecting to hear parts that just aren't there.

Iroha
official Iroha HP
OMG, vocalist Shinnosuke is SO cute! (I mean cute-cute, not sexy-cute) Okay, you know how cute Izam ought to be, except he's 6 feet tall and way too big to bounce cutely because he'd break a hole through the stage floor, plus he's got inhibitions? Well, imagine Izam as a little guy no bigger than 5'6", in a ridiculous outfit composed of a patterned shirt and overalls with one shoulder hanging loose so it looks like something a punky Fred Flintstone would wear, hopped up on 15 canisters of laughing gas. I would have sworn he WAS on laughing gas from the way he bounced and giggled and stuck his tongue out and stuttered between songs at 45 rpm, except that he sang well. He's the band member you can't stop watching, as his antics don't quit and the other guys are fairly low-key in geek-chic style clothes.

Musically they remind me a lot of indies Shazna. Catchy songs, good melody, melodic bouncy rock. I'm sorry I didn't get something by them, but I didn't have much money left after buying tickets to Aioria's upcoming oneman.

ElDorado
First, let me state for the record that I did NOT intend to grope Kaede's thigh! Not that it isn't a nice sexy thigh ('cause it is), but I was reaching for his hand and it was too high so I wound up unintentionally grabbing his thigh instead, totally accidentally, and anyway a lot of other fans were fondling his thigh too. Sometimes it just happens, you know? good-looking singer comes over, everybody sticks out their arms and he climbs into them, and you just wave your hand around until it comes in contact with something. Right? Yeah. So we're clear on that.

They opened with "Suna no Oukoku", which is such a pretty song. Um, and hm... After that, I didn't see much of the set, because even though I was in the 2nd/3rd row and theoretically should have had a good view, they were playing the fast songs. That means headbanging and lunging! One thing about the lunges -- when you go forward, make sure you pick that back foot up off the ground!! If you don't get it off the floor, it WILL get crushed by whoever's coming at you from behind. I only got a chance to observe two members -- the black-haired guitarist in front of me whose name is in kanji, and Kaede.

(Did I make it clear that Kaede's a babe? For some reason he doesn't appear that fabulous in photos, but he's certainly a pleasure to look at in person. He's got the same long slender small-boned frame as Kamijo and is very elegant looking. That chestnut colored hair sets off his smooth golden skin quite nicely. I wish he lived next door. Say, was I paying attention to that guitarist at all? x_x;)

Oh, and I think they're going to Paris for some kind of shoot. And what are they going to do without all their fans...? They're going to be so lonely... (yes, that's what Kaede said)

Aioria
How does Misa decide whether he's going to wear hair and a costume or not? Does he flip a coin? Of the four times I've seen them now, Misa's had the costume (with hair and makeup) twice, and the other two times was bald and makeupless in a baggy suit jacket. I'm baffled. He was bald and in the baggy suit thing tonight, AND had a little bit of scruff on his chin. Michiru was in the same black gothic madam dress he's worn at all the shows, Sarino was in the black masculine visual-kei style take on the suit that he's been wearing, and Hiroki had his hair and makeup all done... Misa is just surreal when he gets onstage bald and without a costume. It doesn't match.

Sometimes it's tricky figuring out whether you're supposed to try to reach for somebody or not. As usual, I was right in front of Michiru, and some sixth sense tells me that no matter how close to the audience Michiru might get, you don't leap at him. It seems somehow weird to leap at Misa too. But Sarino... Early in the set he came over and with an expectant look on his face planted himself close enough to get groped. This seemed like pretty standard "come jump at me!" behavior, but since I couldn't imagine doing that for any other member of the band, I figured it was probably off-limits for Aioria in general. We all raised our hands and waved at him, but he looked distinctly unsatisfied. Later on in the show, Sarino moved close to his fans in the center, who promptly leaped over the railing to pet and fondle him. He purred and leaned into them even more, looking very contented.

Lesson for the day: Pet Sarino. He likes it. I'll be sure to reach for him next time. Poor Sarino gets NO loving from Michiru's side of the audience.

On the other hand... I never paid much attention before, but there's a big cluster of fans who like to clamber over each other lemming-like in front of Sarino. They pack themselves together, wave their arms in the air, and as they don't do much in the way of para-para (unless Sarino's doing it), they're probably not paying much attention to Michiru.

Michiru doesn't pay much attention to them either. Michiru has his own fans, who don't pack themselves so closely together that they can't mimic his para-para exactly. He watches us, encourages us, and tosses stuff specially at us. Not only did I get a piece of candy (finally! and it's Milky, just as I thought), I got a PICK too! ^__^ Yay!

Set list:
1. Kousai no Chinden
2. Ibara no Mori
3. Fantasia
4. Itetsuku Sekai
5. Sadame
6. Matataki
7. Hana Kotoba


 

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