Live report of Dir en grey at the Avalon, New York City, USA.
Live Report Dir en grey at the Avalon, New York City
Having taken the subway to go line up at 4:30 pm, there was already a line with about 200 people in it. Some of them had been there since 8 am that morning and were wrapped up in blankets due to the cold. It was a very unpleasant wait outside, but the Avalon itself was lovely. Avalon was quite a good place for Dir en grey to perform, as it resembles a gothic-style church. Unfortunately, the show was supposed to be 16+ and a good quarter to a third of the attendees were not 16. My rough estimates of the ratios and other numbers are: 80% female 20% male, 10% Asian 90% other (mostly Caucasian), 50% costumed 50% street clothes and the average age would be between 16 and 17. This made me feel really old because I could remember when the band started and I could remember it well. These people were too young to remember. There were lots of costumes from when Dir en grey was visual kei; I haven't made up my mind as to the appropriateness of that or not. I think it's kind of bad to reference that period when it's been over for 4 years.
Once we got inside, there were people rushing to buy things. I chose to go up to the room and get as good a place as possible. The room was set up so there was a floor and a balcony. The room itself was also very small, but I can't hazard a good guess as to the dimensions. Unfortunately the fans were a bit overeager and during the warm-up band, Still Life Decay, the barrier that had been put up got pushed all the way to the stage. The crush was unbelievable, and there was NO space between bodies. The man in charge got up after the warm-up band was done and told everyone to move back, it wasn't safe. I personally had no problem with this as it was sort of dangerous. At this point I was about 10 feet from the stage. Once he made everyone take 10 steps back, the barrier could be fixed. Then he told everyone that if it happened again the band would stop playing and there would be more delays as they tried to fix the barrier. Also, anyone pushing would be thrown out. This caused a lot of angry people and more than one person shouted, "It's a ROCK CONCERT! YOU'VE BEEN IN JAPAN TOO LONG!!" and things to that effect. Once we'd all moved back, I was about 25 feet from the stage, which is still fairly close and is extremely good seating when you consider the size of their other concerts. In my opinion, since I was able to see everyone's facial features then I was in a good area. The set list was as follows:
Clever Sleazoid
Saku
Garbage
Jesus Christ R'NR
Machiavellism
Itoshisa ha Fuhai ni Tsuki
Kodoku no Shisu Yue ni Kodoku
Dead Tree
The Final
Beautiful Dirt
Higeki ha Mabuta wo Oroshita Yasashiki Utsu
Kodou
Merciless Cult
The IIID Empire
Spilled Milk
And the encore was:
Mr. Newsman
(New Song)
C
Child Prey
children
Initially the band was calm and simply played. Kyo was the most energetic out of the group, immediately dancing and jerking around. Everyone also immediately started singing all the lyrics to the songs and waving their hands in the air. By the third song, each member (with the exception of Shinya, who maintained his characteristic composure throughout the performance) was bouncing around and becoming more involved; Kyo had begun to claw his chest and beat it with the microphone. Later, he spit blood over his face and into the air. By 'dead tree', Kaoru was once again making his famous facial expressions and looking with approval at the fans, and making his hand gestures that have been missing from recent performances, Die was jumping around and becoming more involved in his playing, much like in the Final 5Ugly Kingdom, and Toshiya was dancing in the way that makes fans say, "Oh how cute, he's trying so hard!" Throughout the concert, Die and Kaoru threw guitar picks. Also, they all moved about the stage, ensuring that even if you couldn't see the whole stage, you would eventually see them all. For the duration of the concert, the fans never stopped singing the lyrics or gesturing with their hands. During some songs, they jumped in time with their hands.
At the end of the set, picks, water bottles and 2 drumsticks were thrown into the audience. As soon as Dir en grey was off the stage, fans began screaming even louder and clapping for an encore. After a few minutes, the chant of "Dir en grey, Dir en grey" began and continued unabated for several minutes.
Once the band made their reappearance, the crowd went crazy with joy and sang the songs even more enthusiastically than before. The encore was enjoyable as well because some of their older songs were played. After the encore, more picks, water bottles, an ice bucket and 4 drumsticks were thrown into the audience. Unfortunately, a fan was struck in the face with the ice bucket and did not even get to keep it. Security went to her afterwards to make certain she was all right.
As people left, there was a crowding at the tables for merchandise where T-shirts, posters, stickers, CDs and DVDs were all being sold. When I left, 2 of the 3 designs of T-shirts had already been sold out and the concert had been over for 10 minutes.
Most fans left after this, but I stayed behind to wait for the band to leave. Once they did, around midnight, there were 8-10 people there. No barriers were put up. A security guard came out and warned us twice that "When they come, be kind. Be very gentle with them, they're tired and hungry." The fans all conferred with each other and it was agreed no cheering or anything of the sort would happen. We all decided that we would clap quietly and say thank you, not harass them for autographs or try to push our way towards them. They exited with Kyo leading, his distinctive gait surprisingly energetic given how much he had done in the performance, followed by Die and Toshiya, who bowed their way to the van and seemed genuinely surprised that people waited for them. Last came Kaoru and Shinya who did not look at the fans, bow or acknowledge them. I personally can't blame them because if I were tired and hungry, I'd want to leave as soon as possible as well.
Now for my personal musings, some of which I alluded to earlier. I really think they should have carded this venue; if they had, the crowd would have been considerably smaller. I was thrilled beyond words that the energy and excitement of the crowd seemed to motivate the band; the more we had, the more they gave, and it was an upward spiral. This performance was, in my opinion, the best they've given in 2 years. I think it was due in part to the size of the venue (the person farthest from the stage was about 50 feet) and in part to the crowd. Reading their interviews recently, they have seemed tired and disappointed in their crowds and have, subsequently, become less involved, merely playing because the fans paid to see it. At this performance, there was the feeling that they really wanted to be there, wanted to play and they did it spectacularly. Kyo is an astonishing performer and his abilities do not carry over well onto DVD - when he sings, when they all play, there is a great deal of emotion that is lost as well as a large amount of magnetism. While they are performing, if they are doing well, you cannot look away. They draw your eye to them, and it makes you become that much more involved with the message they are sending. For me, I felt nothing so much as happiness to see them enjoying performing. I have not felt they truly enjoyed performing lately because their facial expressions and gestures were lackluster at best. I have no doubt in my mind they enjoyed the Avalon; nor could anyone doubt this, who happened to see Kaoru's face momentarily light up when fans began giving him the rock and roll hand gesture and his approving nods to the fans that were singing and jumping. I was surprised to see them from 5 feet away after the concert and how they are when they don't have their instruments. You keep thinking of these talented musicians and build them up in your mind until it emanates from them, but in real life, the first thing I was reminded of when they left was their humanity, and how like me and everyone else they are. They aren't overly tall, or muscular (in the sense that it makes them stand out). They're rather slender and in Shinya's case very slender (although I was delighted to note that his clothing is about the size of mine - I've been working towards that for years.) and unprepossessing. The only thing that really stands out about any of them is their long hair. Other than that, they're just people, who happen to be talented at something I appreciate. Considering like that, I think our quiet applause and 50 degree bows were the most appropriate things we could have done.
