Farewell D'espairsRay

How much does this suck, considering I'm already working on a disbanding post for another band?

D'espairsRay were the first japanese band I saw live in London, and one of the very first I heard at all actually (I still shiver and smile when I hear genshoku). As I've mentioned before I've had a cruelly love/hate relationship with them, but they were still a major, MAJOR part of the music scene. As far as I see it, there are a tiny TINY handful of bands and artists that act as cornerstones in the industry, and D'espairsRay were one of them. A void not to be filled.

They meant a lot to a lot of people. To me, they brought me a group of friends I might never have had before, and gave me a great doorway into a fantastic avenue of visual kei. It sucks like hell to lose them, but my heartfelt gratitude is stronger than my sadness. I just wish the best for all of them after this.

PV preview - Born: Demons

The song sounds better than most but bear in mind that I don't like Born, so take that as you will :/

This was all better when I thought that the ridiculous demon horns were just photoshopped. They're not. Then he opened his mouth and also has fangs. Right now I'm not too sure how it could get worse, but I'd still rather watch three Sadie PVs in a row before chancing this one in full.

M to disband

I never knew much about these guys, but that was kind of deliberate. When you're used to over-obsessing over so many different bands, games, films, it's quite amazing finding something you really like and doing just that - liking it.

M have been around for a few years now but still have the freshness (not the amateur-ness) of a new band. Despite this they sound so grown up, and are so brilliantly reminiscent of MUCC in not only sound but lyrics, and particularly vocals (and what a vocalist he is!). I never gave them enough time to settle in my top team of favourite artists, but it's definitely your loss if you never hear them. It'll be a shame to say goodbye.

LIVE: girugamesh "Here we go!!" in London 2011

It was the kind of crowd I'm used to and love best, the kind of crowd that lacks the courtesy of smaller gigs and the restraint of other European shows I've seen in the past. We managed to find ourselves bundled together initially only four or five rows from the front and in front of Ni, and as the live progressed we found ourselves mysteriously further forward until I was just at the bar with two shorter girls on each side. Throughout the whole show I was surrounded with a whole troupe of some of my best friends, and with the exception of maybe two songs I remained hand-in-hand with someone we never thought we'd have the fortune to meet again, and all of this plus the amazing gig made the whole night outstanding for me.

Here we go!! 20110318 @ O2 Academy Islington, London
Setlist:
00. (NOW) intro
01. bit crash
02. NO MUSIC NO REASON
03. Endless wing
04. Vision
05. BEAST
06. driving time
07. 睡蓮 (suiren)
08. DIRTY STORY
09. BORDER
10. Dance Rock Night
11. I think I can fly
12. shining
13. destiny
14. MISSION CODE
15. Never ending story
Encore:
16. Break Down
17. evolution
18. イノチノキ (inochi no ki)

Everything was right from the word "Go" (excuse the pun), as the intro for NOW kicked in instead of the opening track on Go, and bit crash is an absolutely great track to keep the audience jumping and joining in. That's the thing with girugamesh gigs, they're so interactive; there's always lines to be singing, or rhythms to be clapping, there's always something to be doing in virtually every song, a point perfectly highlighted when they reeled into BEAST with the refrain "Alright everybody clap your hands, alright together right now, alright hey make a noise aloud". Make noise we did, clapping our hands against those of our friends, tied up in the crowd or above everyone's heads, singing back lyrics at the crazy boys onstage.

Speaking of our crazy boys, they really were boys to be proud of. Lit up onstage with such fire and energy, they were perfectly reminiscent of the DIRTY STORY PV, aggressively throwing their all against the crowd at every opportunity. Nii has come to life as of late, possibly leeching some life from Shuu who has become slightly more taciturn on the other side of the stage. Together however they still make a stupid duo, meeting and grinning in front of Ryo who never ever seems to stop grinning behind his drumkit. Finally, Satoshi never let us down, a ferocity and power that only ever seems to grow leading him to the very front of the stage, challenging us to sing for him and to jump for him. He really is a vocalist whose transformation you can see over time.

Saying that Dance Rock Night was welcomed would be a massive understatement, as they disappointingly didn't play it earlier in Munich. I swear I will never get bored of that bassline and that Break Time Sa-wa-ge!.
Now the amusing breakdown happened between I think I can fly (a welcomed angstier addition) and shining, when Shuu decided that it was time to have a natter with us. However, after the standard greetings and catching up, the nattering descended into a call-and-response! So with Ryo keeping a drum beat, and Satoshi and Nii clapping in time, Shuu led us with our replies!

"Woah-woah-oh!" sang Shuu,
"Woah-woah-oh!" we replied.

"Woah-woah-oh-oh!" sang Shuu,
"Woah-woah-oh-oh!" we replied.

"Fish-and-chips!" chanted Shuu,
and we mostly laughed.

But it continued. Together we went from woah-ohs to "Fish and chips!", and then to "Na-ri-ta-ke!" which had me delighting. And from Naritake we went to "Pray for Japan!", ending finally with the loudest and most resolute "Ganbare Nippon!". Music changes things, guys, and I won't forget those voices.

A member-call now happens in MISSION CODE, which is just as great live as I expected it to be. This led into Never ending story, which is a great high-energy song to finish a main set on.

Rather than shouts of en-co-re! the words fish-and-chips! filled the air until their return, and it is only during an encore I can really appreciate the joy of Break Down. evolution became even more joyful when Nii donned a pair of plastic flashing sunglasses, and proceeded to hover right beside Satoshi until he looked twice and laughed. Ryo stood and danced throughout behind him drumkit. Good times for all.

The set ended as it has throughout the tour with イノチノキ, but not before Satoshi stepped forward, Shh'd us all a couple of times, and read out his lines concerning the events in Japan. The band were already in Europe on tour when the earthquake struck on the 11th, and since the disaster they have been collecting donations on tour. The strength, pride and majesty of this band never fails me, and when a very good friend of mine told me after the show that I can't afford to give up on them, the words "You're right" just weren't enough. Despite my thoughts on their newer releases, these boys really are something special live, and I hope I never throw away another chance to see them again.



★★★★☆