J-House Rock

| Date : 2004/09/16 (thur) | Time : 7:00 pm ~ 9:00pm | Place : Osaka Muse Hall |

[BLOODY MARRY DAY]

click on the thumbnails below to view photographs of fans & cosplayers

[ Official website : http://www.despairsray.jp/ ]

I arrived at Osaka Muse around 6:00PM, and made my way up to the third floor of the building. There was already a queue of fans outside the door waiting for their ticket numbers to be called. There were a lot of cosplayers, especially Hizumi, and plenty of Gothic Lolitas and other fashionable fans. To my surprise, I was not the only guy there! In fact, I'd estimate 30-40% of the fans were guys, which is rare at Visual Kei concerts.

I made my way into the concert hall just as the live was about to start. There was a curtain covering the stage, and red lighting was cast over the audience. The room was packed from front to back, wall to wall; it was the first time I had ever been to a standing live where the room was filled to max. capacity. I was very impressed with the turnout.

At 7:00PM, the speakers began to rumble, and smoke became visible in the red lighting. Then the lights went down, fans started screaming with excitement, and the show was underway. The curtain slowly opened, revealing a smoke-filled stage, with deep blue lighting. As the haze began to clear, the sound of drums broke the silence, and a human figure became visible on the right side of the stage. There stood Karyu, with arms outstretched, and his guitar strapped over his shoulder. His hair was styled longer on the right, with left side braided, and styled into spikes in the back. He wore a long white top, reminiscent of Gothic Aristocratic fashion, with a collar that went up to his neck, a line of black buttons that went down his torso, and elongated sleeves that got bigger at the cuffs.

As the smoke continued to clear, another figure appeared on the left of the stage, and Zero made his presence known to the audience. He was wearing a black corset, with a crimson top that had a thin layer of black material over it that extended to the collar around his throat. His shoulders were exposed, but he also wore black arm warmers that covered his hands to his forearms.

The drumbeats could still be heard playing behind Zero and Karyu, and as the smoke continued to clear, the source was revealed as Tsukasa came into view behind his drum set. The banner behind them also came into view as a stained and tarnished image of a chapel ceiling, with "+DéspairsRay+" written on it in faded white text. There were also two black crosses, with webbing on them, and two tall white columns towering over either side of the stage. At center stage, there stood a single microphone stand, with a lot of gauze-like webbing on it and a small skull in the center of it, looking out at the audience.

With the three members on stage, the guitar and bass lines joined in with the drums, and the song they were playing became apparent: [?-bloodymarry-] the second track on the "MaVERiCK" maxi-single, which serves as an instrumental introduction piece to the following track, 'Marry of the blood.' Zero and Karyu both did the vocal screaming parts for this, while the fans continued to anticipate the vocalist.

A loud shriek then interrupted the music, echoing throughout the venue, and then a white floodlight illuminated the stage as Hizumi made his entrance. He came in thrashing and headbanging as he made his way to the microphone, then stretched his arm out over the crowd that was reaching for him at the front of the stage.

Naturally, [Marry of the blood] followed next. Hizumi's stage-presence was phenomenal, and it seemed as though he was possessed, with constant thrashing, and vocals that went from being soft and comforting to blood curdling screams of agony and torture. Hizumi has certainly mastered this art of vocals, and manages to compliment the music perfectly by changing his range at just the right points in the song. The screams never seemed out of place or overdone, and added a degree of emotion to the song that couldn’t have been expressed otherwise.

White light filled the stage again, and Hizumi stood up on his platform with his arms outstretched like a crucifix. He continued to sing as the fans all raised their hands, and did the para-para along with the softer part of the chorus. The lights then flashed to darkness, and pink and red lighting flashed on the stage as the vocals abruptly changed to harsh screaming, complimenting the sudden change in the music. Karyu and Zero were both hunched over their instruments, head banging in unison as they played the heavier part of the song. As the song came to an end, Hizumi reached his arm out over the crowd, and the lights faded down again.

The next song was [subliminal], the third track on "Gärnet," their last maxi-single from 2003. The guitar, bass, and drums kicked in again, and every fan in the room was instantly energized, bouncing up and down with one finger in the air, as Hizumi thrashed and bounced along with them on stage. There was a lot of energy generated for this song, and enough bouncing to make me wonder if the floor might give out, being that the venue was on the fourth floor of the building. The band members seemed to feed off the energetic vibes from the fans, and there was a strong sense of connection between the musicians and the audience. At one point, Karyu and Zero switched sides, giving the fans on either side a chance to focus on the other members’ playing. Karyu spun with his guitar as he crossed the stage, signaling to Zero to take his place for a while. Both were head banging insanely during the heavy drum solos played by Tsukasa. Toward the end of the song, Hizumi jumped up on the platform, enticing even more excitement from the audience as the song reached its climax. Karyu and Zero then switched back to their initial spots, as red, pink, and blue lighting flashed on the stage, signaling the transition into the next song: [??????], the first song on their latest maxi-single, ?-GEMINI-? that was released Sep. 01, 2004.

Hizumi got up on the platform again, and upon noticing some people were losing energy in the back, he signaled and gave a loud scream for them to join in the fun. At that point, they literally had the entire room hopping up and down for them. Tsukasa’s drums were racing with fury, keeping the fast-paced beat of the song. Zero and Karyu were bent all the way over their instruments, as if bowing to the audience while head banging and playing at inhuman speeds. Zero got so into it, he started bouncing along with the fans while playing his bass, and Karyu was wailing on his guitar so fast, his hands were literally a blur. The fans were caught up in the band’s passionate performance, chanting the lyrics and throwing their fists in the air as the band continued to rock the entire venue.

All of a sudden, blue and green lighting filled the stage, and all of the members paused. Tsukasa then broke the silence, as his booming drumbeats pulsated like a heartbeat through the darkness. Red and white lights then flashed as Hizumi made a blood-chilling scream that echoed through the live house, and with that the song was finished. Karyu then smiled playfully, and blew kisses out to the audience in thnks for giving their energetic participation from start to finish. The band seemed very appreciative for the audience’s support, and Zero even threw one of his picks out as a 'thank you.' The lights then faded down, and the band disappeared into the darkness, as the fans continued to scream the names of their favorite members until the break was over.

After a few minutes pass, the spotlights shine down on the stage again, and the band is ready to continue the show. Red and white lighting then spotlights Hizumi, as he softly sings the vocals to the opening of [???????] "Valentine." His angelic voice for this piece sharply contrasts with the demonic screams of the previous songs, showing off the full range of his vocal talent. Just as he lures you into the song, inviting you in with his soothing vocals, the lighting flashes to dark blue and blood red, and Hizumi spasms into his harsher vocal range, clapping his arms around his body as he screams into the microphone and drops to one knee on the floor. As the instrumental part of the song comes into play, Karyu is jumping with excitement and does a few spins as he plays his guitar. The song transitions back and forth between softer and heavier parts, almost always marked by a scream from Hizumi, promptly followed by everyone head banging.

Without even breaking, the band goes right into their next song, [?-gensyoku-?]. Hizumi kneels down, and leans over the audience with the mic-stand, reaching out to them with a terrifying look of desperation in his eyes. During the softer parts of the song, the fans raise their hands in the air as do the para-para. Karyu played a gorgeous guitar solo that transitioned into a bass solo by Zero, which was also incredible. Hizumi’s vocals ranged from calm and soothing to unexpected shrieks and screaming, accentuated by flashes of red lighting, creating an even more dramatic effect. Karyu seemed pumped with emotion for this song, and violently thrusted his hand down as he played his guitar. Toward the end, Zero, Hizumi, and Karyu were all lined up at the front of the stage, head banging in unison as Tsukasa brought the song to an end with an outrageous drum solo.

The lights went down briefly, and then came back on again with Hizumi addressing the audience. He thanked the fans for their support today, and talked about the set list so far. He said that the band identifies with the term 'Gothic' (a very popular word in the Japanese visual-kei subculture), and that therefore, their next song would be [Gothic]. The lights faded down to a blue-green tinge, and Hizumi’s voice took on a new form that sounded like an eerie, prayer-like chant that seemed to put the audience under his spell. The musicians helped create this magical feeling, with heavy bass lines and breathtaking drum beats that you could feel vibrating through you. Karyu’s right arm was raised, twitching with anticipation for his parts to come in. He made swift strikes down at his guitar, violently stabbing at it, then returned his arm to the raised position as the chants continued. At one point, the music faded into silence, and all of the members froze on stage. A few seconds later, Tsukasa’s cymbals clashed like lightning, and re-animated the band, bringing them back to life again. Hizumi resumed singing the chant again, this time with his arms outstretched like he’d been crucified. His voice began to cackle and slur into inhuman noises that echoed over the audience as the lights went down, and the stage faded into darkness.

A moment later, white lights began to flash, creating a strobe effect, and Hizumi reached out over the audience. The music kicked in, this time a lot heavier than the last piece, and the fans threw their fists in the air as the band started playing [BORN], the first track on their latest mini-album from April, also titled "BORN." Karyu, Hizumi, and Zero were all bouncing together, right at the front of the stage, close enough for the fans to touch them. Karyu was curled over his guitar again, playing with such incredible speed that his hands were barely visible. Tsukasa was also rocking out on the drums, with beats that were enough to make you dizzy if you tryed to headbang to them. The audience was also doing para-para during the chorus, where they threw their fists in the air, twisted their wrists, then thrust their head down and repeated. Hizumi then leaped up on the platform, and looked out to the back and screamed "Ushiro!!" (“The back!!”) calling for those farthest away not feel left out, and to participate with the rest of the crowd, who were moshing and thrashing around with excitement.

Once the song came to an end, silence fell over the room again. Moments later, a blue-purple tinge flooded the stage, and a beam of light penetrated the darkness, shining down from the ceiling, revealing Hizumi. He was standing at the center of the stage, with his arms outstretched, and had an oval-shaped mirror with an antique frame in his hand. As the music began, he slowly brought his arms together over his head, and grasped the mirror with both hands, reflecting the spotlight onto the audience like a ray of moonlight. The song started out with a simple synth intro, and I immediately recognized it as one of my personal favorites: [??? - Oboro no Tsuki] "Hazy Moon," the second track on "Gärnet." He continued to hold the mirror over his head, and reflected the light over the crowd as he sang the lyrics. The reflected light from the mirror gave an awesome effect to the performance, allowing him to reach out and 'touch' the fans from the stage with the light of the mirror, even reaching those all the way in the back of the venue. The audience did interesting para-para for this one as well, holding their hands out with their palms facing the band members, and raising them like an offering. Karyu was full of passion while ripping into the guitar parts, dropping his shoulders back and hammering into his instrument, giving it his all. Zero was being very playful, and would get right up in the audience's faces, then tease them from a distance as he continued to rock out on his bass. White lights would fill the stage during the softer parts of the song, and the audience would wave their hands along to the music, until Hizumi screamed the lyric, "oboro no tsuki!!" which led to immediate moshing and head banging to the verse that followed. Zero and Karyu mirrored the audience's enthusiasm, and headbanged relentlessly. Hizumi froze in awe of the audience’s powerful reaction to the performance, then slowly took a few steps back as the song came to an end. Once the piece finished, Karyu had a look of triumph on his face, and he reached his arms out with confidence, as if challenging the crowd to bring it on for the next round.

Hizumi came back out for an MC session, and announced to the audience that "the next song will be [Reddish], so please dance for us!!" The lighting then dimmed to a deep red, and Hizumi got back up on his platform, leading the fans in the 'dancing.' Zero leaned down teasing the fans again, then threw his head back just as they were getting close enough to reach him. For a dramatic effect, blinding white lights, comparable to the intensity of a semi-truck, flashed from behind the stage as Hizumi screamed and the band played the heavier parts. Once the song finished, Hizumi took one last MC break to ask if "Anbody got hurt yet?" The audience laughed and gave a big "Daijobu!!" ("We're okay!!") Hizumi then talked about the recent promotional in-store events the band had been doing, and thanked the fans for supporting them. He then mentioned that today’s live was [Bloody marry day] in Osaka, and that tomorrow’s live was [????? Day] in Nagoya. He mentioned that doing all these lives in a row was a lot of work, and the audience started to clap for him, which prompted him to ask jokingly, "Why are you clapping about that?" He then smiled, and said that the band was very happy about doing the tour, and that he looked forward to the rest of tonight’s live, and seeing more fans at the live in Nagoya tomorrow night, and that he would miss everyone once the tour was over.

The next song begins with a soft piano and pan-flute intro, and is recognized as the last track on the MaVERiCK maxi-single, [??????] (yami ni furu kiseki), "Miracle Falling in the Darkness." The fans are frozen in awe as the band performs this mellow but captivating piece. Hizumi's hand is held to his heart as he beautifully delivers the somber lyrics to the song. During this piece, Zero and Karyu play with utmost concentration to express the sincere emotion of the ballad. The song comes to an end with Hizumi standing center-stage with his head down and arms outstretched as the darkness slowly devours him. The fans then let out screams of concern, calling out for their beloved “Hizumi!!” with no response.

Moments later, red lights flash, and trumpets are heard that renew the excitement and playful mood of the audience again, this time playing the more energetic and lively song, [?????] "Fascism." The band is full of energy again, and the fans are right there with them, throwing their fists in the air with support. At one point, Karyu leans over and plays a guitar solo right in the faces of the congregation of fans before him. The band then throws an unexpected twist in the mix. The lights come on, and the band stops playing in the middle of the song! Hizumi then takes over and tells everyone in the room to sit down on the floor. Hesitant at first, it’s only a matter of time before everyone in the room is off their feet and on the ground, waiting for Hizumi’s next instructions. He then asks everyone if they’re having fun down there, and they all scream that they are. He then plays the part of the dictator and yells “Uso!!” accusing them of being liars. They all raise their fists and yell back at him in resistance, then the lights go back down and the music kicks in again as all of the fans hop to their feet and resume the bouncing, moshing, and head banging with renewed energy.

Next on the list in [muder freaks], and the band just goes completely insane at this point. The crowd is going wild, and Hizumi literally leaps into the audience to go crowd surfing! Zero then takes center stage and continues playing his bass. Karyu then runs over to Zero and plays his guitar behind him, as Zero kneels down to play his bass on his knees front of him. Karyu then switches places with Zero and they play on opposite sides of the stage. By this time, security is trying relentlessly to pull Hizumi back on stage, but neither he nor the fans are willing to let that happen. Once security finally succeeds at pulling him back on stage, Hizumi ducks down then hurls himself upward, going into fits of demonic screaming. As the song finally reaches its climax, Zero raises his head and smiles, and then Karyu slicks his hair back and blows kisses out to the audience. The two then return to their initial positions, and go right into the last song on the set list, [????????...?...???...?] " 'TATOEBA' KIMI... GA... SHINDA... RA", “ ‘FOR EXAMPLE’ IF… YOU… DIE”.

Once the set was over, each of the band members threw their picks and water bottles out to the fans. At one point, Karyu even walked out into the audience, giving them high-fives in appreciation for their support. Zero went up to the edge of the stage and started spitting water on the crowd. While he was distracted, Hizumi would sneak up on him and play with hair while he was chugging the water and spraying it over the fans. Once the other members had gone backstage, Tsukasa was the last to leave, and threw both his drumsticks and his water bottle out, then blew everyone kisses and walked off stage.

There was a moment of silence, and then the fans started clapping their hands together, and chanting "AN-KO-RE! AN-KO-RE!" (EN-CORE! EN-CORE!) It seems each live differs in small ways in its chants for the encore, and this one was no exception. In homage to Hizumi, many of the girls interrupt the organized 'encore' chants with screams of bloody murder, shouting "Enkoreeeeeeee!" at the top of their lungs, as if they were literally dying with anticipation for the band to come back out again.

Within a few minutes, the band came back out again to the delight of the fans. This time, Hizumi showed up wearing one of the red and black bath towel tour goods over his shoulders like a cape. He took the mic and acknowledged the audience’s screaming, then pointed out the new white "Mania Muke" wristbands they had made for the tour, modeled by Zero, who was showing them off proudly. Hizumi then held up his 'cape' and drew attention to the writing on it, attempting to read what it said, but was unable to pronounce it properly, which in turn made everyone giggle at his attempt. He then thanked those who had already picked up tour goods, and encouraged everyone else to pick something up if they found something they liked. He then asked, "Well... shall we do more?" The fans gave screams approval, and the encore began.

The band played a non-stop set of [Garnet], [MaVERiCK], and [???????] "Animal Mania" for the encore performance. A draining sound effect cues the synth and drum intro at the beginning of "Garnet," followed by guitar rifts that lead into the bass lines, which shake the entire venue. Hizumi then holds up his fist and thrusts it downward as the encore begins. At one point, Karyu actually went into the crowd during "MaVERiCK" and played his guitar right in the middle of the fans that surrounded him. Hizumi beat the microphone against his chest, and called out to the fans before "Animal Mania" that they weren’t 'genki' (energetic) enough in the back, which of course got the whole room fired up with energy. Karyu then flicked his tongue at the fans in front of him, filled his mouth with water and sprayed mist all over them as Animal Mania started. Hizumi then made strange animal-noises that sounded like a bird chirping mixed with predatory screams and noises, making him sound as if he were possessed by something inhuman. As the song came to an end, the lights came on, Karyu walked up to the fans and stuck his tongue out, then went back into the audience again. All of the fans were patting and hugging him for all of the dedication he'd put into the performance. I'd never seen such intimacy between a band and their fans before, so I was glad to see just how much DéspairsRay appreciates their fans, and vice versa.

Karyu then climed back on stage, only to take his guitar off and dive back onto the fans for some crowd surfing! The security then rushed on the stage to try pulling him back on, but with no luck. Hizumi then took center stage and sprayed water over the audience, giving high fives to those who were reaching out for him. Zero then made an attempt to spit water on the fans, but ended up 'squirting' it on them instead, since he couldn’t quite spray it as well as Hizumi. After a while, security finally managed to pull Karyu back on stage. Defying authority, he then went back out into the crowd, this time spitting water on them and giving high fives to everyone he could. He then climbed back on stage, took one last bow, and blew kisses to everyone. Zero threw his tour towel out to the fans, then took his wristband off and tossed that in as well. Once Hizumi, Karyu, and Zero had left the stage, Tsukasa was the last to approach the audience. He smiled while drinking from his water bottle, then tossed the bottle cap out. He then threw out the bottle itself, followed by both of the drumsticks he’d used to play the live. With nothing left, he teasingly pointed to his new wristband, then waved good-bye and walked off stage.

Green lights then came on, illuminating the towering columns on either side of the stage. Once again, the "AN-KO-RE" chants and deafening cries for the band resumed. A few minutes later, Tsukasa came back out on stage, then held up both his fists and winked, showing off that he had two new wristbands now. Zero came out and smiled, then Karyu waved and made his way across the stage, followed by Hizumi who rolled his eyes and gestured at the audience to make even more noise if they wanted another encore. Karyu then stuck his tongue out at the fans, flickering his tongue teasingly at them. The lights then faded down to black with blinding white lights behind the band members. The final encore was [quarter void], and everyone in the live house was bouncing and moshing to the point that it felt like an earthquake had hit the venue. When it was finally over, the lights came back on, and Hizumi stood frozen with his arms outstretched, then gave a loud "ARIGATOU!", thanking the fans for their enthusiasm.

The band members set down their instruments, then Hizumi and Karyu both dived into the crowd again. Zero looked out and laughed in disbelief at how crazy they were, and continued to give high-fives to the fans. After a few minutes of crowd-surfing, security finally managed to pull the two 'trouble-makers' back on stage. Hizumi then playfully grabbed at Karyu as he tried once more to jump into the crowd again. The band then tossed out their picks and water bottles, and said their final good-byes to the fans. Tsukasa was the last member left to approach the audience. He threw out another bottle and pair of drumsticks, then showed off his wristbands again with a mischievous grin on his face and made his way off stage. The lights then came on, and the live was officially over at 9:00PM. The fans then raced to the merchandise tables to buy up the latest CDs and tour goods the band had to offer as a memoir of the unforgettable experience that was "Bloody marry day."

-richard (richard@jhouserock.com)