GROAN OF DIPLOSOMIA 01 @ OLIX

Good evening! This time I wanted to talk about the first of the two the GazettE OLIX (オリックス劇所) shows on 10/10, since it's the only one I went to, haha. So, after The Predators the day before, I went home, slept, and prepared for the show the next day. I have to say, this week gave me the most ridiculous shoulder pain for some reason.

Derpin' about and getting ready. This day I finally got to pull out my BIG T-shirt (haha, tour good names). This thing is huge and wears like a choir robe in more ways than one. I expect the tour final will just sells us full on priest cosplay. But anyway, I'm in love with this shirt and I would wear it every day of my life if I could. ♥

The pants I am obssessed with as well, from GAL STAR at Rakuten (that took forever to receive for some reason). I own two pairs of these and a solid wine-colored pair. The fit's a little strange, since the waist is far too big and I need to wear a belt, but the legs fit quite nicely. Guess I just have fat legs? Hahaha! 

This pair is great, though, and super versatile with all kinds of outfits. The solid colored back is supposed to give the illusion of thinner legs as well (guess I need that, ha)! 

Anyway, when I was ready, I left and headed to the park to wait in the goods line in another vain attempt to get the bear speaker that had been sold out at Yokosuka. I thought it would be ok, too, but when I got up to the counter, the girl in front of me got the last one, I kid you not. She stumbled off with it and I stepped up and asked and the lady just point blankly told me in was done. I was so upset! Especially since there was an open box with one sitting right on top behind her. DX

K grabbed it for me in Shiga, though, so now my life is complete! XD

But since I had nothing to do after that disappointment, I headed off to wait for hall opening in a Freshness Burger with this sexy hunk:

I think I just instagrammed for like two straight hours what.

Anyway, finally it was nearing hall open, so I wandered back over to wait in the park outside taking emo pictures and watching some Reita and Ruki cosplayers assaulting one another.

Even though I can't say Yokosuka was a bad show, this show was soooo much better. The mood was better, the crowd was better, and the music sounded a little more together, imho. Even though I was 3rd floor, I had a great view of the entire stage and all the people in our section were really excited and into the show (because there's nothing worse than being at a good show and surrounded by shitheads who wanna stand and gape motionlessly, sorry if that's you).

I also got seated beside the great girl from Tokushima who was there on her own too! It can be super lonely at concerts alone sometimes, so I was super excited to meet someone really nice and friendly like her. We chatted lulzily all the way to the station afterwards, too. ♥

The set list:

[Diplosomia]
[XI]
DERANGEMENT
GABRIEL ON THE GALLOWS
VENOMOUS SPIDER’S WEB
VORTEX
CLEVER MONKEY
THE SUICIDE CIRCUS
DRIPPING INSANITY
余韻
影踏み
籠の蛹
[Depth]
歪
ヘドロ
VERMIN
SLUDGY CULT
HEADACHE MAN
ATTITUDE
REQUIRED MALFUNCTION
[Melt]

{EN]
Ride with the rockers
TOMORROW NEVER DIES
SILLY GOD DISCO
SWALLOWTAIL ON THE DEATH VALLEY
COCKROACH
LINDA ～Candydive Pinky Heaven～

[WEN]
関東土下座組合

Now. If you run through the setlist of the Yokosuka live for a sec, you might notice something similar here. Namely, that they're the same damn setlet, even through the encore. That was a little bit of a let down, honestly, but as I said, this live was so much better that I can't even really complain since they legit seemed like different lives. I was so excited to hear SILLY GOD DISCO again too, so whatev. 8D

This time too I could actually see the video on the screen, which turns out to be mostly clips from the [Diplosomia] PV, but I feel kind of like they're finally put into context with the live happening around them. They were a bit still on the stage this time, but Uruha was working up a storm. Actually I feel like he was doing work over there, for some reason, kicking up dust and dancing. I notice that all of the big solos are his with this album, which makes me a little sad, since I would have liked to see some more Aoi (I worry about that guy).

Back to Uruha, when it came to his solo in SILLY GOD DISCO, he ran up for some attention from Ruki who ignored him and immediately went to get some water... So Uruha followed him back there, and Ruki just kinda looked over in Reita's direction until he finally gave up. It was so sad and hilarious I died a little. ♥

Oh yea, at this live jumping was not allowed. Apparently if we all jump, we disrupt the neighborhood around the hall, so we were supposed to not jump. I'm pretty sure we all did anyway, though. XD

As mentioned before, I didn't go to the second day of OLIX (didn't have the cash moneys, haha, the week before payday sucks). But Jiroko and I went out for dinner and dropped by the venue to grab the special wallpaper from psmobile. And as we wandered the back streets, what should roll up but THE GAZE BUS.

He was like parked on a side of the street for a nice while when we finally got to him, and then it was like as soon as we started trying to take a picture he kept driving off. We ran after and he kept stopped, letting us catch up, and then running off again. If he woulda' climbed out of that bus I woulda' fought him, haha.

Anyway, there was that adventure.

Tried this manicure style this week. I liked it, but I'm about the messiest nail artist you've ever seen.

I love days off. ♥

"Jin" @ The Takarazuka Grand Theater

A week ago Kate, K, a fellow coworker and I went to see the Takarazuka performance of Jin at the Grand Theater. Jin was semi-famous as a drama, a story about a Tokyo doctor who goes back in time to meet Sakamoto Ryoma (a famous figure in Japanese history) and change the course of history whilst shacking up with his hot girlfriend who looks like his dead fiance from the future.

As you can image, it was crazy. There was a song about cholera, people danced, and penicillin was discovered again. :D

Also this happened...

Oh lol.

Takarazuka itself actually turned out to be a really beautiful area. It was my first time there and the view from our path kind of reminded me of part of Paris when I was there last year. We also had perfect sunny weather, so everything was wonderful.

The building along our walk were done in this very pretty European style. Lots of bridges and stairs.

Our coworker and Kate awaiting on the stairs. I loved this, seeing all the little bridges and paths beneath.

While we waited to grab lunch at a small sandwich shop, we had this lovely view of the area.

Lunch time! Very good sandwiches and possibly the most decent coffee I've had outside of Starbucks since I moved here. ♥

Here we are chatting and waiting for the hall to open. This mirror made me look hella pale.

Finally it was time to head toward the theater, this massive thing here.

It was a very pretty hall. The inside too was super classy with these crazy chandeliers that looked like glass ginko leaves. I would have put a picture up, but the ones I took didn't turn out amazing and this post was already rather image heavy.

We wandered through the shop a bit and collected flier and headed into find our seats. Next time we want to find a way to get nice picturey ticket stubs, haha.

A display of Otozuki Kei, top otokoyaku star of Snow Troupe, in the Quatre Reves shop window. Jin is to be her last show before retiring, apparently, which was super incentive for us to see this show! (Personally, she is the only Takarazuka actress whose name I know, haha. And I only know her because of Kate's Romeo and Juliet DVD, lol).

The stage starters for the play (top) and the review, Gold Spark (bottom). The review seemed to over-compensate for the lack of sparkle in the play by blinding us with a stage full of gold suits and dresses. It was fucking amazing. I've never wanted to raid a party-supplies store and change my entire life like that before seeing this.

The play was really good, even if the story was a bit contrived imho, and the imagery, the setting and the music was great. They had several scenes involving all these prostitutes and one who died, and the imagery with the elabourate kimonos with the obi in front, and the huge ornate headdresses was incredible. There were also these dancers who twirled around with glowing green balls like fireflies in the background throughout, which was really nice imagery; you could really sense old Edo, Japan.

It was definitely worth the experience, and I am deadset on seeing The Rose of Versailles in January. I don't think it could ever be a hardcore hobby of mine, but I would certainly follow the little old ladies out to Takarazuka again in the future. ♥

Afterwards we headed back to Umeda for karaoke and okonomiyaki in true Osaka style before our coworker headed back to England. It was a good way to part ways and a perfect day.

THE PREDATORS @ Namba Hatch (10/9)

Good morning, buttercups! And by that I mean, it's about 6:30 PM right now.

It's been a long day, particularly because it's a weekend. I hate weekends. I work from 8 AM both Saturday and Sunday and mornings can suck it.

Anyway, today during some down time at work I made a little bloglist of things to update about, since usually I can never think of anything worth writing about, and then suddenly in one week, all the things happen and there's too much to write about. But this time, I want to talk about The Predators at Namba Hatch!

Recall meeee ♪

So, on October 9th, Jiroko and I were off to see The Predators at the Hatch. This was an interesting show, because I'm so accustomed to visual lives that it was actually completely disconcerting to be at a non-visual show for once. The atmosphere was a lot more relaxed there, people seemed to just bob there heads and hands as they felt like it rather than pulling hairs and nail biting over fucking up the furi. That was kind of really nice, I'm not gonna' lie. ♥

Actually we might have been a little too relaxed for this live because we mosey'd up to the door like 800 numbers after our tickets had been called or smth. Hahaha!

Ticket pictures and cute up-front T-print.

The show was really nice, and the set up was interesting, since it was just the three of them, Jiro on the left, drummer in the back middle, and the Pillows guy on the right. They took up like no space at all on the stage, but they also didn't move around much, though they did kind of "session" themselves off for a song onto each other's intsruments, which was fun. :D

The back banner on the stage looked like an old school Sailor Moon villain, no?

There isn't too much else to add aside from Jiro's cute story about looking for the perfect pair of jeans and finally finding them on a homeless man and the drummer told a lulzy story about his first time meeting Jiro (during GLAY) and thinking he was way younger (T:"Jiro-kun, yoroshiku ne!" J:"Yoroshiku~").  So lastly, a setlist I stole from 2ch.

God Game 

BRAIN CALLY 

ROCK'N'ROLL LAY DOWN 

Desperate Donor 

TRIP ROCK 

THIS WORLD 

Crazy Babar 

Monster in my head 

SHOOT THE MOON 

Mission 

新曲Trade 

Dizzy Life 

Risky Revolution 

Sleepy Dragon 

Hurry up! Jerry! 

LIVE DRIVE 

爆音ドロップ 

WILD TIGER 

Country Roads 

Monkeyshine 

Tyrant 

Breed 

Our matching Jiro-designed T-shirts. And I love that you can see the massive

rip in my tights on this purikura. Sexy.