Single Review: HALLOWEEN PARTY

October 25th, 2012 | 0 comments

HALLOWEEN PARTY
Artist: HALLOWEEN JUNKY ORCHESTRA
Price: [Limited Edition] ¥1,800; ¥1,890 (tax included)
         [Regular Edition] ¥1,143; ¥1,200 (tax included)
Catalog no.: [Limited Edition] XNVP-32
                   [Regular Editon] XNVP-33
JAN: [Limited Edition] 4538539005877
       [Regular Edition] 4538539005884
Release date: October 17, 2012
Format: CD & DVD (Region 2)
Running time: 8 minutes, 40 seconds (CD); 8 minutes, 30 seconds (DVD)
Purchase: [Limited Edition] [CDJapan], [HMV], [Amazon], [YA]
                [Regular Edition] [CDJapan], [HMV], [Amazon], [YA]

I’m not a big candy eater, but I do love the imaginative aspect of Halloween. It’s the only day in America where I can get away with wearing an awesome costume and people will just accept it as normal. I have always enjoyed Halloween music, so when I heard that HYDE was getting a group of musicians together to produce a single for the occasion and his annual HALLOWEEN PARTY, I knew I had to check it out.
» Read the rest of this entry «

Concert Report: GLAY Stadium Live 2012 Screening in NYC

October 24th, 2012 | 0 comments

OCTOBER 12: I ran up the stairs of the 59th St Subway station. Holding onto my handmade HISASHI-replica ROCK’N'ROLL SWINDLE Tour hat, I ran down 59th St towards BIG Cinemas Manhattan. By the time I made it to the theater, four fans had already arrived before me. (After speaking with them, I learned that they had been waiting in the lobby for hours!) We talked while waiting for the theater doors to open. One of the four people in line arrived with her husband. It turned out that it was her anniversary. The other two fans had attended the Stadium Live in Osaka, which was pretty cool. A small crowd arrived over the hour I waited in line.

Around 8PM, the single screening room at the venue opened for us. The Live Viewing Japan representative took part of our ticket and handed each of us a GLAY notepad and a poster. We entered the screening room and sat in the large, leather reclining chairs. 30 minutes seemed like forever to me. People filtered into the theater slowly, with a majority of them appearing very close to the 8:30 showtime. At 8:30 sharp, the lights in the theater went dark and the concert began.
» Read the rest of this entry «

DVD Review: LIVE TWENITY

July 3rd, 2012 | 3 comments

L’Arc~en~Ciel completed their 20th L’Anniversary World Tour a few weeks ago. What a tour it was! I am a bit sad that the tour has ended and my wallet is fine with this, but I’m also excited to hear about L’Arc’s future plans. (This includes solo projects.) Luckily for me, I have something to tide me over for a little while: LIVE TWENITY.

LIVE TWENITY
Artist: L’Arc~en~Ciel
Price: ¥3,733; ¥3,920 (tax included)
Catalog no.: KSBL-6020
JAN: 4562292975221
Release date: June 13, 2012
Format: DVD (Region 2)
Running time: 110 minutes
Purchase: [CDJapan], [HMV], [Amazon], [YA]

LIVE TWENITY is a compilation DVD of L’Arc~en~Ciel’s performances over the years. The DVD menu is polished and easy to navigate. The main menu uses the same image found on the DVD cover. From there is the ability to select “ALL PLAY” or “SONG LIST,” for another menu that shows six song titles on the first two screens and four titles on the third and fourth. I recommend selecting “ALL PLAY,” at least upon the initial view. A great video collage of L’Arc’s performances over the years plays as an introduction to the first performance on the DVD, 虹 (niji). » Read the rest of this entry «

Concert Report: L’Arc~en~Ciel at Madison Square Garden

June 4th, 2012 | 0 comments

L'Arc~en~Ciel Billboard above Red Lobster, Times Square.

I wrote this before the end of the tour, but did not have time to post it before now due to other commitments. I took pretty extensive notes, so it is quite detailed. It’s a bit late, but here it goes!

My quest to see L’Arc~en~Ciel in concert has been long and arduous. I have been a fan of theirs since 1999, discovering them in middle school. I had the opportunity to see them in concert at Otakon 2004 and I convinced my parents to plan our summer vacation around the convention dates. (I was living in Seattle at the time, but I’m from Maryland, where most of my family resides.) While I was at the convention that day, the planets did not align and I had to leave before the concert started. I was devastated. After that, I promised myself that I would see them in concert one day and I dreamed of seeing them in Japan. I was still in secondary school at the time, so saving up to see them was a difficult task. Near impossible, in fact. So, over the years I saw new releases come out, information about L’Arc performing in Paris, more Japanese concerts, etc. I never stopped believing that I would see them one day, but I never imagined them ever venturing back to the United States for a concert.

So when L’Arc~en~Ciel finally announced their world tour with a NYC stop, I knew I had to go. They were originally scheduled to perform on March 23, 2012 at The Theatre at Madison Square Garden, but L’Arc was able to score the main stage, Madison Square Garden! So, the show was rescheduled for March 25, 2012 at Madison Square Garden. (I heard something about how L’Arc sold a lot of tickets for the original venue, but no tickets were sold. Who came up with that story? I think they were talking about the fan interest in this concert.)

I was really lucky with the tickets. I was able to get into the first presale, which scored me a Section A ticket, 9th row! I never imagined that I would be that close to one of my favorite bands. Not to mention, tetsuya (bassist) is my favorite member, so I was excited to be on his side of the stage. » Read the rest of this entry «