ne dapet Live Report at Hongkong dari cielers Hongkong (reblog)
credit : kenryoku
LIVE REPORT: L’Arc~en~Ciel 20th L’Anniverary World Tour Live in Hong Kong (March 03, 2012)
FROM HOSPITAL TO HONG KONG: L’ADVENTURE DAY 1
Armed with my doctors’ clearance and sheer determination, I made it
to Hong Kong around 9:30 in the morning, a day before the concert. I
actually didn’t think I could make it considering that I just had a
major surgery more than 2 weeks ago but I’ve planning for this since
last year and everything has been laid out. Besides, this unique
opportunity to see one of my favorite bands live had fortified my will
to get better in the speediest time possible.
Upon arrival, I immediately set out to Asia World Expo to claim my
ticket. The box office had yet to open and there was already a really,
really long line. Apparently, pre-sale for Lady Gaga’s May live was on
the same day. I went to customer service instead but was told that even
though I’m just going to claim my already paid-for ticket, I still need
to line up. Staff at the end of the line then gave me my stub: No. 248.
Great.
Two hours later and I’m still far off from the box office. Lady
Gaga’s fans were also getting more irate as tickets were running out
fast. I asked a guard if there’s some other way to claim my ticket and
was more than ready to play the sick card. However, he promptly
instructed me to wait in a corner for the Lady Gaga pre-sale to be over.
While waiting, I bumped into other L’Arc fans: May and Ming from
Singapore and Kei and Liz from the Philippines. As we were chatting, a
girl wearing a big grey hoodie and carrying 2 cups of coffee passed by.
When her back was turned to us, her hoodie has “L’ArCrew” in it! It was
also around this time when we heard a collective groan from the long
line ahead of us. Lady Gaga tickets had sold out. Monster move over.
It’s now time for us Cielers to claim what’s rightfully ours.
After getting our tickets, Liz, Kei and I went downstairs to the
concert venue with hopes of finding out to whom those coffee cups end up
with. Three other girls were already there but the guard already had
her eye on them so we just moved on. I bid good-bye to Liz and Kei with
the invite to meet with them before the concert tomorrow.
I then checked in to my hotel which I purposely chose to keep up with the L’Arc spirit.
My doctors specifically said that I should stay put as much as
possible so I just spent the remainder of the day holed up in my room.
Then again with the view that I had, there’s no reason to complain. As I
gaze into the Hong Kong’s stunning skyline, I couldn’t help but feel
elated. But of course. I made it to Hong Kong. I’m gonna see
L’Arc~en~Ciel in a few hours. I survived a medical emergency. Life is
indeed good.
MERCHANDISE MADNESS AND THE CONCERT COUNTDOWN: L’ADVENTURE 2.1
I went to Asia World Expo by 11:30 am and was again greeted by a line
of people that extended to the streets already. And I thought I was
already early ORZ . It doesn’t help that Hong Kong was freezing! The fog
was thick and the wind was crazy. Between worrying if the goods would
be sold out before my turn and battling hypothermia, I amused myself by
people watching. As expected, many arrived in full cosplay regalia.
Variations of hyde roamed the venue. Most fans were in gothic Lolita.
What really drew my attention though was the parade of goods from
previous lives. There were all so tempting.
12NN arrived and finally some movement. Selling of the goods had
started! Everyone’s excitement had become more tangible in the air. I
reached the goods table past 1PM. My haul:
- World’s Best Selection + Shirt Premium Package
- Light stick
- Eco bag
- Tour grey tee
- Tour Book
Yes, I exceeded my budget. I am so doomed.
It’s impractical to go back to the hotel so I just loitered around
with Liz and Kei. The flurry of activity was very stimulating. There
were a lot of banners and everyone was welcome to put their messages to
the band. The line at the goods table continued to grow longer. We also
spotted a very suave-looking Oishi Masahiro taking pictures of the
crowd.
As night time came close, people began clustering into the entrance. I
positioned myself upfront. They started letting people in at exactly
7:10 and I’m one of the very first to enter. I settled into my seat:
Block B, Row G, Seat No.10 and contentedly wait for my dream to become
reality.
THE BRAIDS ARE BACK AND THE BIRDS ARE ANGRY: L’ADVENTURE 2.2
It’s already 8PM and people were still filing in. The live was not
sold out but I swear there were only a handful of seats at the very back
that are vacant.
8:20PM. The lights dimmed out and everyone screamed. Well everyone
except me. My doctors only allowed me to go on the condition that I
cannot jump and shout. They also said that I cannot stand for so long
but I’ve been on my two feet for practically the whole day already so
what the heck.
The stage was actually quite sparse but when the LED screen light up,
oh WOW. I was immediately reminded of the CHASE PV. The screen
dissolved into pixels then it showed butterflies flying around a
futuristic city. Then they fluttered around the globe. Alternately, the
names of the countries included in the tour were flashed. The
butterflies reached outer space. Afterwards, the screen turned into four
copper plate panels bearing the names of each member. It transitioned
into 4 galactic beings seemingly sleeping in their alien pods. They were
wearing a metallic suit with a helmet and they were all in a semi-fetal
position. A butterfly landed on alien hyde’s hand. We knew it was hyde
because of his braids. The tubes on his back actually complimented those
darn braids. A hissing sound signaled the helmet being taken off and
there we have it: a larger than life close up of hyde’s eyes opening up.
The camera moved back to show his full face and by jove, he was
breathtaking! hyde raised his right fist and in slow motion, he punched
the screen. The glass shatters. The band appeared. The 20th L’Anniversary World Tour has commenced.
L’Arc~en~Ciel kicked off the evening with Ibara no Namida – a
personal favorite of mine. The crowd was so livid. Everyone around me
was absolutely losing it. As for me, I just settled with swaying my
right hand as the other clutched my abdominal binder. I too was so
ecstatic but was also wary that giving in might land me another trip to
the hospital. Anyway, INN gave way to CHASE and GOOD LUCK MY WAY.
The band had obviously found their bearing and was now in full form.
hyde and tetsu roamed both sides of the stage while ken was just
stationary on the right. As for yuki, he was high and mighty on his
throne at the center. Some random visuals similar to that on CHASE PV
were projected into the screen.
After GLMW, hyde made an acceptable attempt of speaking in
Chinese. He looked so adorable saying the lines as if confirming with
the audience first if he was saying it right. Then he would glance at
his cheat sheet on the floor and say it again. The screen turned light
orange with a huge butterfly in the middle and hyde segued into honey. He
was barely into the second verse when a technical glitch happened. hyde
had this goofy “wait, this can’t be happening” look. Screen turned
black. Mere seconds later, the huge butterfly reappeared and the band
started the song again.
Drink it Down followed and all throughout the screen showed a
bevy of naked girls dancing. Good thing they were all in silhouette.
It’s like one of those James Bond opening credits. Then it was time for
more active audience participation. revelation was playing and we all had a superb time pumping our firsts to chants of “yeah!”.
The stage dimmed only to reveal tetsu, hyde and ken sitting on the platform marking yuki’s dominion. The melodious intro of Hitomi no Juunin was
heard and the whole venue was swathed in sentimental calm. hyde was
sitting down the whole time yet he never missed a note. Amazing,
especially considering that HNJ has a ridiculously high chorus. XXX followed. While hyde was already doing his infamous penguin dance even during INN,
he was now using it to full effect. hyde was shaking his booty like
there was no tomorrow and the movement was emphasized by his long
braids.
Then came hands down, my favorite part of the evening: the back to back perfection of forbidden lover and MY HEART DRAWS A DREAM. For forbidden lover,
the stage was bathed in warm red light. hyde was obviously tearing up
during the chorus. As the song draws to the end he closed his eyes, held
his arms wide as if in surrender while a soft breeze blows his hair. It
was an ethereal moment. The entire performance was so moving it hurt.
The stage went black as if to allow everyone to compose themselves.
After a short while, the spotlight turned to ken and he began bluesy
guitar solo that introduced MY HEART DRAWS A DREAM. MHDAD is no
doubt a great song but when heard live, it takes on a life of its own.
It was a very emotionally driven performance made more inspiring as the
audience became one in singing “yume wo egaku yo”. Goosebumps.
The mood made a 360 degree turn when ken began his MC. Like hyde, he
also spoke in Chinese all the while holding a package. I couldn’t
understand a thing back then but it turned out he brought a present for
hyde (for his birthday perhaps?). When hyde opened the package, we all
burst out laughing. It was a set of Angry Birds action figures! Ken
turned his attention back to us as he shouted “So many angry” and
“ANGRY!?” The whole exchange was like this:
ken: Angry?
Audience: Yeah!
ken: Angry?
Audience: Yeah!
ken: Angry?
Audience: Yeah!
ken: SEVENTH?
Audience: HEAVEN!!!
Seventh Heaven was followed by other L’Arc staples Driver’s High, STAY AWAY and READY STEADY GO.
STAY AWAY was introduced by tetsu’s bass solo. He did his thing in
front of three enormous speakers that weren’t there a moment ago. As the
song started, the screen showed an army of androids doing the robot
dance in synchronized form. It was quite amusing actually. READY STEADY GO then
made everyone all fired up. We were so into the moment I guess that not
everyone noticed that hyde and ken already left the stage. tetsu got
engaged with an intense bass versus drums battle with yuki but the focus
was more on tetsu. He swaggered a bit then left his bass on top of his
giant speakers and exited the stage with flourish. yuki had the stage to
himself and boy did he milk it for all it’s worth. He performed a jaw
dropping drum solo that left everyone on the edge. Thump, thump thump he
went until the spotlight faded out and the stage reverted to what it
was 2 hours ago: empty.
The sounds of airplanes taking off were then heard. I’m not really
sure if this was part of the show or just an effect of the venue being
near the airport after all. Everyone was looking around as if expecting
the boys to appear on another part of the venue. When it became apparent
that hyde’s not gonna come floating down from the ceiling with
butterfly wings, some began chanting “ENCORE!” 5 minutes later and still
an empty stage. All the while I’m thinking that that can’t be it. They
haven’t even played the new songs yet! No one was budging out of their
seats anyway. Suddenly, the whole right section of the venue erupted
into a human wave. Everyone then followed suit. It went on and on and
every time a cycle was complete, we would dissolve into fits of
laughter. The wave eventually died down only to be replaced with more
chants of “ENCORE!”.
After about 15 minutes or so, the stage glowed in white and the orchestra version of Anata was
heard. The band members were not yet visible so we the audience sang
the song instead. It was again another goosebump inducing moment. The
band then showed themselves and hyde claimed his song. He however
allowed us to sing whole chorus. winter fall, The Fourth Avenue Café and Link came
next. It was during these performances wherein we’ve seen some
pyrotechnic action on the stage. At one point, fire even engulfed the
stage. As the notes of Link faded, hyde began his MC. Majority was still
in Chinese but he did say this in English: “It’s the start of the world
tour. Thank you Hong Kong!” Then the band launched into a heart
wrenching performance of Niji. Feathers came shooting out of the stage.
And soon after, tetsu was hurling bananas into the audience. Before
throwing out the last banana, he even bit into it. Next thing we knew he
was firing at us with his banana shaped water gun. He walked into the
right side of the stage and he was gone. So were hyde, ken and yuki.
The concert was apparently over. No Bye Bye Bye, Mirai Sekai, wild
flower and Shade of Season. Everyone was already leaving so I likewise
exited the venue. When I met up with Liz and Kei, I couldn’t help but
tell them that I was a bit disappointed. I was really looking forward
hearing the new songs live. However, when I already had time to reflect,
I realized it was more of a feeling of something missing rather than
disappointment over songs that were not played. And it was definitely
not L’Arc~en~Ciel’s fault. It was due to the simple fact that it was
just really difficult to wholly immense oneself into the whole live
experience when you also have an incision to be careful about. Well,
this could only mean one thing right? I need to see them live once more!
Someday, somehow. Until then, who’s up for a game of Angry Birds?
woooow.... great time, ntar mo buat juga ah, live report yg di Jakarta... huhuhuhu... can't wait till May, 2nd 2012...
L'Arc~en~Ciel, i'm comiiiiiiing....... !!!!!!! ^0^//
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