Dir en grey -The World of Mercy-

[i know everything]

The New, Informative Dir en grey thread.

OHP: www.direngrey.co.jp

Biography and Members

Kyo - Vocal
Kaoru - Guitar
Die - Guitar
Toshiya - Bass
Shinya - Drums

Formed from the core four members of the band La: Sadie's with the introduction of Toshiya in 1997. Early releases such as MISSA and their pre-Major singles show a heavy influence from Kuroyume, partly due to the role Kuroyume had in forming the sound and imagery of Visual Kei in the 1990s. After generating enough success with their indies antics, the band contacted Yoshiki of X-Japan fame to produce their first major label singles as well as the Gauze album in 1999. With a slick polished feel that glossed over the rough edges of Kuroyume, the band started to experiment more musically yet were still restrained in the confines of emulation. In the release of Macabre, the search for what they felt was their own "style" is apparent; the songs range from bittersweet pop, progressive rock to ballads. Yoshiki's hand was removed from the equation and they were like children experimenting for the first time in a freedom they never had yet experienced.

Upon the release of kisou, the last vestiges of their emulations were being destroyed--- at last, they had found their grove, though they were still fine tuning their craft. Six ugly and child prey further demonstrated their shift to the harder rock and raw vocals that are trademark to them today.

Vulgar's release was perhaps then the complete divorce from their past as they forged their own; this album is often attributed as the dividing point between fans of the "old" Dir en grey and fans of the "new". Often described as "Americanized", the style of their music reached a more internationally appealing level-- a hard rock that fans around the world could identify with. It was music filled with raw emotional power. The following singles and Withering to death continued in this vein, and with the style they currently possess, it is no small wonder that they are now garnering international attention worthy of their accomplishments.


Other resources
* Wikipedia: Article on Dir en grey
* Official YouTube

Have any other basic Dir en grey resources you think should be added to this list? PM me with details and I'll gladly update this post!

_______________________________________

PLEASE NOTE: This thread is intended to be a forum in which both fans and non-fans can engage each other in discussion relating to the music. The top priority of posting in a music forum should be discussing events relating to the career of the artist at hand, NOT spam. Please elaborate on your posts beyond "I like/hate [fill in the blank]" since that will help create discussion and enrich the knowledge that is generated by this thread.
This is not a appreciation, or "I love Diru" thread. This is a thread for all who want to discuss the artist, to be able to do so. This is a discussion thread.

Attacking those whose opinion differs from your own AS WELL AS blatant hate-mongering WILL NOT BE TOLERATED. IT WILL BE REPORTED.


5/30/2006: For large images or series of images (regardless of size), post links to them out of courtesy to Gaians who have dial-up connections.

[i know everything]

Discography

■NEW SINGLE "RINKAKU" To Be Released This Winter!

Albums
[1997.7.25] MISSA
[1999.7.28] GAUZE
[2000.9.20] MACABRE
[2001.8.22] 改 -KAI-
[2002.1.30] 鬼葬 (kisou)
[2002.7.31] six Ugly
[2003.9.10] VULGAR
[2005.3.9] Withering to death.
[2007.2.7] THE MARROW OF A BONE
[2007.12.19] DECADE 1997-2002
[2007.12.19] DECADE 2003-2007
[2008.11.12] UROBOROS
[2011.8.3] DUM SPIRO SPERO
[2012.1.11] UROBOROS [Remastered & Expanded]
[2013.4.3] THE UNRAVELING
[2014.12.10] ARCHE
[2018.1.2] VESTIGE OF SCRATCHES
[2018.9.26] The Insulated World

Singles
[1998.5.10] JEALOUS
[1998.8.12] -I'll-
[1999.1.20] アクロの丘 (akuro no oka)
[1999.1.20] ゆらめき (yurameki)
[1999.1.20] 残 -ZAN-
[1999.5.26] Cage
[1999.7.14] 予感 (yokan)
[2000.2.16] 脈 (myaku)
[2000.4.18] 【KR】cube
[2000.7.26] 太陽の碧 (taiyou no ao)
[2001.4.18] ain't afraid to die
[2001.9.12] FILTH
[2001.11.14] JESSICA
[2001.12.19] embryo
[2002.7.31] Child prey
[2003.1.22] DRAIN AWAY
[2003.4.23] かすみ (kasumi)
[2004.3.17] THE FINAL
[2004.7.14] 朔 -saku-
[2005.9.21] CLEVER SLEAZOID
[2006.7.26] 陵辱の雨　(ryoujoku no ame)
[2006.11.15] Agitated Screams of Maggots
[2007.10.24] DOZING GREEN
[2008.9.10] GLASS SKIN
[2009.12.2] 激しさと、この胸の中で絡み付いた灼熱の闇 (hageshisa to, kono mune no naka de karamitsusuita shakunetsu no yami)
[2011.1.26] LOTUS
[2011.6.22] DIFFERENT SENSE
[2012.12.29]輪郭 (RINKAKU)
[2014.1.22] SUSTAIN THE UNTRUTH
[2016.7.27] 詩踏み (UTAFUMI)
[2018.4.25] 人間を被る
[2019.9.18] The World of Mercy

DVD
[2000.4.19]GAUZE-62045-
[2000.4.19] 1999年12月18日大阪城ホール (1999.12.18 OSAKAJOU HALL)
[2001.8.22] TOUR 00>>01 MACABRE
[2002.3.20] 鬼門 (KIMON)
[2003.5.21] 列島激震行脚 FINAL 2003 5 Ugly KINGDOM (Rettou Gekishin Angya FINAL 2003 5 Ugly KINGDOM)
[2004.x.xx]｢a knot｣ BLITZ 5DAYS
[2004.10.06] TOUR04 THE CODE OF VULGAR[ism]
[2005.6.29] AVERAGE FURY
[2005.7.31] AVERAGE PSYCHO
[2006.2.xx] ｢a knot｣ TOUR 05: IT WITHERS AND WITHERS -Bootlegged-
[2006.5.03] TOUR05: IT WITHERS AND WITHERS
[2009.2.04] A KNOT OF
[2009.4.29] TOUR08 THE ROSE TRIMS AGAIN
[2009.10.28] AVERAGE BLASPHEMY
[2010.5.26] UROBOROS -with the proof in the name of living...- AT NIPPON BUDOKAN
[2012.01.11] UROBOROS -with the proof in the name of living...- AT NIPPON BUDOKAN [Blu-ray] Extended Cut
[2012.06.20] TOUR2011 AGE QUOD AGIS Vol.1 [Europe & Japan]
[2012.07.18] TOUR2011 AGE QUOD AGIS Vol.2 [U.S. & Japan]
[2013.09.25] TOUR12-13 IN SITU-TABULA RASA
[2014.04.23] TOUR13 GHOUL
[2014.07.16] DUM SPIRO SPERO AT NIPPON BUDOKAN
[2015.04.01] Average Sorrow
[2016.06.29] ARCHE AT NIPPON BUDOKAN
[2019.8.7] LIVE COLLECTION Blu-ray & DVD 『FROM DEPRESSION TO ________ [mode of 16-17]』

Video
[1998.1.15] 「楓」～if trans･･･～ /通常限定版 ([Kaede] ~ if trans...~/Limited Edition)
[1998.7.08] 「楓」～if trans･･･～ /通常版 ([Kaede] ~if trans...~/Normal Edition)
[1998.10.07] 妄想統覚劇 (MOUSOU TOKAKU GEKI)
[1998.10.07] 妄想格外劇 (MOUSOU KAKUGAI GEKI)
[1999.11.17] GAUZE-62045-
[2000.02.16] 1999年12月18日大阪城ホール (1999.12.18 OSAKAJOU HALL)
[2000.xx.xx] ｢a knot｣ TOUR00>>01 MACABRE Deep[-], Deep[-], Deep[-], Deep[er]
[2001.7.25] TOUR 00>>01 MACABRE
[2002.3.20] 鬼門 (KIMON)
[2003.5.21] 列島激震行脚 FINAL 2003 5 Ugly KINGDOM (Rettou Gekishin Angya FINAL 2003 5 Ugly KINGDOM)
[2004.10.6] TOUR 04 THE CODE OF VULGAR[ism]
[2005.6.29] AVERAGE FURY
[2005.7.27] AVERAGE PSYCHO
[2006.5.3] TOUR 05 It Withers and Withers

[i know everything]

Live News

Keep up to date with tour information:
http://direngrey.co.jp/lang_en/tour/


All tour information taken from the Dir en grey OHP.

[i know everything]

Helpful Sites

Translations: Centigrade J has a wide variety of Dir en grey's songs translated, complete with translation notes deliniating what they as translators interpreted from the original Japanese. Many songs also include romanizations along with the translations, so it allows you to sing along with less work.

Tattered cloth is also another decent resource to look at for references to older songs; attached to many are copies of the original lyrics in Japanese. Other stand-out points to the site are the translations of the accompaning poetry for the macabre album and some translations for Kyo's first solo project.

Music: There are many locations online which can service your need to purchase Dir en grey merchandise. Stores such as CD Japan, HMV, and others will make your life locating the goods you want much easier. New goods from Japan just a little too expensive for you? Try checking out eBay for various deals on legitimate merchandise, though be on our guard for bootlegs.

Video: Purchasing the PV and Concert DVD/VHS items you want can indeed be an expensive task. In the interrim, enjoy what your fellow fans have put on YouTube for the benefit of all the fanbase. There generally are live performances from their various television performances as well which can be a little arduous to locate if you're not experienced at searching.

All links in this section except the Centigrade J translation one go directly to the pages pertaining to Dir en grey, for convenience.

Have any other sites you'd like to suggest as a good reference? Please PM me and I'll gladly update this list!

[i know everything]

Live Reports

turboisfast

Live Report... if we're still doing that...:

So the day I had predicted six Years ago... I went to the Wiltern Theatre live... We arrived after four hours of sitting in the car with my friend, traffic was bad and we were kind of getting lost, but to our surprise finding a parking spot was easy! The line was immensely huge. I'm sure it could have been bigger.

There was a fair number of freeky-deekys around us but for the most part we were all good. My friends picked a good spot. Their report was from their view the pit-was pretty calm, and Shinya- who was kind of pushed back- had a skunk do going on. I was pretty much in front of Kaoru and I like that ^_^. There was some big fat dude next to me and a bunch of skinny japanese people- someone said they're "the worse" well... they were nothing compared to the fat dude that was crushing everyone... they're nothing... I can take a mosh pit, however mosh ettiquitte says you aren't supposed to be pushing a large number of people, and a man of that size- like that of a pro football player (like my brother X_X)) easily forced the smaller people backwards thus making the show less enjoyable for those around him...

Not everyone was situated by the time OFM got finished, so obviously the line was quite long. I don't fancy OFM very much. Whilst they played I bothered an old friend I hadn't seen since last year. The lead of OFM had the nerve to mention Myspace. wtf?

GDS came on and the crowd became quite excited. After that Clever Sleazoid came on. I for some reason understood every word Kyo was saying. Of course I was singing along hoping he wouldn't be talking like there are marbles in his mouth. Did anyone else notice? Next came Saku. This is like... the theme of this live, I guess... as that was the password I used to get my ticket, and it was also on my ticket. I think that the fat dude was starting to bother me at that point. Somehow he found me and started to slam into me. Little did he know I mosh often, and even though I'm Kyo-size, I am quite strong... that two-hundred-something pounds of flabby flesh found himself outside of the pit and on his a** in the isle in no time flat, someone in the isle heloed him back up... but he shoved himself back in. Then came Garbage and the crowd was now fully energised though they aren't badass you can see their enthusiasm. By Jesus Christ RNR everyone was enthusiastic. Strangely enough I like Jesus Christ RNR. It was pretty nice.

Machiavellism came and the fun began- so... I'm not a big fan of Kyo's stage antics... As soon as the crowd said "hurry up hurry up wristcut show!" Kyo took out a razor and began to slash. It was all eyes on Kyo as he sliced and diced, shoved his hand in his throat, then clawed to cause himself to vomit blood. I just looked at Kaoru hoping that it would end. Kaoru appeared to give me a look like "This is Kyo... hello."

Kudoko ni Shisu, Yue ni Kudoku and Dead Tree slowed things down. Then The Final moved the audience, and especially my friend, Robbie. He started crying.

If I keep going I'll probably be wasting space so I'll skip to the Encore. They played Mr. Newsman- my favorite Dir en Grey song. The crowd went absolutely wild. I think I felt the whole theatre shaking. Then came a new song they had done, it was lovely. I wish I could have heard it again. Then there was C, another favorite of mine... And Childs Prey to top it all off. It was all good to me.

By the end of the 2.5 hour concert my throat was raw and bleeding from singing and screaming, and I felt very deaf, but I do believe I had the best time of my life.

Yilei

Hrm, IKE went to one of the lives? XD

Erm, I guess I'll write about my experience:
I went to the LA one. Can't really say much since I'm not a huge fan, but I pretty much enjoyed myself. My friend from school, her sister, and myself all got there at around 8 in the morning and waited. My friend knew the people at the very front because they were her former bandmates in a band she was in before college and they'd apparently been there since 8 am the previous day (crazy!) We were at about the middle of the block near the corner that crossed to the Walgreens (I think it was a Walgreens) and outside the Denny's and just hung out there and napped and helped out the people in front of us who drove here from Minnesota. O_o We met some of our friends from school and chatted with them for awhile. When we got in, my friend and her sister opted to go down to the big mob of people and I opted to just go to my seat just because I didn't think I'd survive down there nor be able to see anything, so I was pretty satisfied being just up in the balcony. I enjoyed the performance and since I'm not a huge fan, admittedly I didn't recognize a lot of the songs because I tend to be more fond of older work, but it was fun nonetheless. My friend and her sister though were kind of disappointed since they were small and getting choked down in the big mob of people on the bottom floor, but for the actual performance they were really impressed. I was actually surprised by how much Kyo actually threw himself around. You hear things and you see things on video and stuff, but it's a totally different thing to see it in person.

Afterward, we went home because well, the concert was in the middle of finals week for us and my friend and I had a final at 8 am the next day. XD It was a nice study break though, for sure.

Octofag

Mkkie dokkie, I saw your post about featured stories on the Dir en Grey concerts, and I thought I'd give some pieces of info. on my experience with the one in Austin...

So of course, being a wristband kid, I was one of the first in and found a spot in the frist row, right between where Die and Kyo stand. There were no guardrails or bodyguards. Nothing was seperating Dir en Grey from the audience.
Luckily, considering I was in the frontrow (pretty much best seat in the house) , I could see exactly when Dir en Grey were coming out. The concert was outdoors and under a giant tent, and the bands would pop around this corner of a building. Suddenly, I see Die and scream "AHHH! Holy crap! It's Die!". The crowd goes wild with screams when they see him too and he just keeps walking. But instead of walking onto the stage as we had all expected, he puts his head down and turns into a port-potty that was next to the building. The reaction of the crowd was priceless... "AHHHHHHHHHhhhhhoohhhhhh...oh...". When he came out we all cheered and he kinda smiled and chuckled, then disappeared behind the corner.
I have to say that was one of the highlights of my night; realizing that, yes, even jrockers use the prota-potty...
Soon, the lights dimmed and the G.D.S. intro comes on, and everyone went mad.
Dir en Grey piled on (I noticed they were all wearing cowboy boots except for Kyo) and got into their positions. Like I said, I had the best seat in the house considering I was an arms-legnth away from both Kyo and Die. They all looked great, no creepy Alice Cooper Toshiya or Kyo with braces, just superb sexyness. Kyo did everything: stood and jumped off his plateform, cut the inside of his cheek (in which I cringed and had to look away), did his funny eye thing, stared people down (but pretty much looked right through them), and even took off his shirt and belly danced (which is the sexiest thing I have ever seen). It was funny. Kyo began to unbutton his shirt and everyone began to scream. As soon as he saw this he began to tease everyone by doing a little strip tease (probably making fun of us, but who the ******** cares. Kyo is undressing himself and I'm in the front row), and making all these sexy, sexy faces. At one point he came over to where everyone was able to touch him and rub his abs. My arm was a little bit away, and I did my best not to violate him (to be polite), but this girl's arm knocked my hand that was out stretched and I touched his arm. GASP. So I thought "Oh well, my hand is on him..." so I gave him a little rub... Kyo is suprisingly soft and sleek! 0.o Then I gave a bunch of attention towards Die (who was fabulous) and he smiled, took a sip of water and spritzed it all over my friend and I! We began to yell and laugh and he laughed back, smiled, and dumped his whole water bottle right on our heads! I mean... on us. WE WERE ACKNOWLEDGED AND DRENCHED BY DIE! I was lucky enough to grab the straw (in which Die put his lips on) that was poking out of the water bottle after he had poured his water on us and then tossed the bottle into the crowd. They all did a splendid preformance and at the end, Kyo pulled his plateform off the ground and tossed it into Shinya's drumset, in which Shinya than gave a "wtf" kind of look, but I'm sure he's used to it. Oh, and during Child Prey, Kyo kinda "looked" at me. If you've seen Dir en Grey perform, Kyo will stare down people and make his eys go wide while looking around the venue and do all sorts of weird stuff with them. Anyway, he was looking over at my side of the stage and his eyes did that wide thing when they got to me, and I was like "eeeee!". It was pretty great.
After they got off stage and the show was over, I hoped up on my bum, leaned over and knocked on where Die was standing for good luck. It was the best show EVER. They were only on for a little over an hour, but I had the best time of my life. I adore that night so much and will remember it for the rest of my life and after I'm dead.

So there ya go. Kinda long, yes, I know... but every bit of it is ture.
Even Die with the pota-potty...

nightwalkercat

Well now I can die happily
I got to see Dir en grey In Austin .... you don't know how ******** happy I am ...
*__________* Im still in shock that I got to see them so close that I got kyo blood all over me and drool....and In my eye.. I hope I don't get HIV from Kyo


My Adventure to Dir en Grey:

The morning of the day of the concert me and my firend Alina kittycow were getting ready to leave at 10:00 am so we can get in line to go see Dir en grey. We were thinking that there were going to be so much people in the afternoon for to go see Dir en Grey. So all morning we were heading up to Austin we, were so surpised that there was not that much traffic. As we got off the highway We saw the Festivle being held. As we were going down the ramp of the exit we saw parking.. we didn't even think it would be free so we head down below the highway and saw one parking. We were so happy that we got to have good FREE parking next to the festiavle. So after that long drive and parked we went to get cheap 99 cent wendys then head over to the place that the conscert was going to be held at.

As we got there. We both Blankly stare at the place and saw that NO one was there.. and only people setting things up for the bands that were going to proform. As we talked to one og the man people that were helping around. I asked If anything is going to happen with tickets and such. He wasn't sure himself. But he welcome us in to walk around and to stay were bands were profroming. But Lina and I decited to stay FIRST in line.

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f274/nightwalkercat/Mar1868.jpg

And our Lovely sign that I personly Quote.

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f274/nightwalkercat/Mar1875.jpg

So we got into our line about 1:00pm. We talked about ramdom things. I heard cool bands that were proforming at the time. At around 2:00pm these nice 2 girls came and got in line. For there honor they are 2nd in line.

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f274/nightwalkercat/Mar1870.jpg

they were really nice we talked as time went by. As you see those people beind them in the picture they were dumb I hated them so..
They really wild and annoying. I just wanted to rip there heads off and throw them across the street.
As hours passed more and more people got into are Diru line Bitches.
As we finally realized .. We were the first people in line for Dir en Grey's first concert in the US. How about that Bitches~?
As we were waiting for more then 4-5 hours then. A guy from j-rock house or something came to interview us since we were the first people in line to see Dir en Grey and we were honored to have a picture with him next to my dir en grey poster.

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f274/nightwalkercat/Mar1897.jpg

As hours passed the Door was finally ready to be open at 7:00.. before. We had gotten our bad news. Only Wristbands and Badges we only allowed in. We were so upset that I took down that poster and took it for myself. Which I'm glad cause they were selling those for about 16 dollars.
So as we sadly watched people getting in. We were not to leave our spot ever. Who would ever lose such an awesome spot.
Around 9:00 they gave us awomse news that we were able to go in but only the first ten. We were so damn lucky they only asked for 15$ for to go in. @__________@ and that was amazingly cheap.
As we got in there were there was about 2 more bands to perform before Dir en Grey.
One of the bands that I really liked was "OPIATE FOR THE MASSES" The singer kept flirting with me and lina. XD but lina said that he flirted with me more. The way he flirted was grabbing as he was singing to me. Then after awhile he Then Blow kisses to me. ^__^ it was cute. I liked it.
As they finnsihed Dir en Grey was next.
People we getting excited and the crowd try to push there way in frount. HA and they thought crissy was weak I think not I had my way to the 3rd row . it was so awesome I had an awesome view . As we waited for about 30mins for them to set up. Shinya came out to set his drums. And everyone was getting to boisterous.
After awhile.. they finally came out and performed~!!! I WAS SOOO HAPPY
They only played 6 songs
The Iiid Empire, Merciless cult, C, Saku, Child prey, The Final
BTW Which are awesome songs. Especially Merciless cult. I was soooooooo grateful that he played that song "death freedom" I was about to cry. I was so happy that I finally felt that freedom that I always wanted to feel~

cAsTraTeD pUmPkIn

I arrived at the Avalon around 10am with my friend. There was about 50-60 kids in front of us, which kind of sucked, but it wasn't so bad. It was cold as ******** though, so people were curled up in blankets in the line. My mom eventually picked up a blanket for me and my friend, so that was nice. People were quite friendly, of the group that I met. Except for this forty-something year old chick made friends with the girls in front of us and cut. She annoyed the hell out of me, she was SO DAMN LOUD. Cutting got bad in the front though, fights were being started. I could here screaming and yelling around two-threeish. Eventually FREE-WILL had to put up some barricades in the front to prevent even MORE cutting. Didn't work. Rumors went around about the band arriving, so a large group of us stood crowded near the door where they were loading equipment in (my spot in line was very close to that door anyways). At one point a van pulled up and I told everyone to wave just in case it was the band. They all started waving and screaming. The van was full of boxes. I don't know why people listen to me. When it got later, it got colder, so I curled up in the blanket and fell asleep. Apparently, while I was asleep Dir en grey's manager came by and took a picture of me and pointed and said "very nice". Someone from FREE-WILL came by and told us that was their manager and my friends stared going "aww" and making cooing noises, then woke me up and told me what happened. I would take a picture of me too. I looked pretty ridiculous curled up on the NY city side walk asleep. Later on in the day, Dir en grey was practicing. We could hear them quite clearly from the side doors, and heard several songs like The Final, Child Prey and Umbrella. Well, until the bitchy bouncers came, snarled at us, and slammed the doors shut and locked them. b***h please. FINALLY the line started moving, and we got in. They didn't even check IDs. That made me laugh. I got in (I was on the floor) and in the...Fourth or fifth row? We were CRAMMED. I mean, I have never been that squished before. At one point I couldn't breath, literally, could not breath. People were leaning against each other, stepping on each other and PUSHING. Oh the pushing. Some girls behind me started b***h about my hat. Kept asking me to take it off, I really couldn't. I would have if I COULD, but I had no where to put it at all. Well, the opening band came out and people (sort of) screamed, but not many were paying attention. The barrier blocking us from the stage broke, and we got closer. I was still in the fifth or so row then. Right before Dir en grey came out, some guy started yelling at us too back up five steps or the show would not start. Well, people kind of/sort of backed up and I managed to maneuver myself into small gaps and make it to the second row. I did not push though. But everyone else did, and forced me to move ahead so I wouldn't get stepped on. They literally pushed me to the first row. The band came out, and everyone SCREAMED LIKE CRAZY APE s**t. It was amazing. By the middle of the first song, I was pressed flat against the barrier directly in front of Kaoru. That was pretty cool. Oh, and just to note, the barrier was about five feet away from the stage so no one got to touch anyone. I personally, was very happy about this. The crowd was actually quite calm (well from where I was). No scratching, hitting or kicking, only pushing and everyone was rather polite. The band played wonderfully. They played MR.NEWSMAN which I was surprised about. I didn't think they would go that far back. I personally started crying during The Final. At one point during one of the songs (I don't even remember which one) the band stopped playing and just let Kyo sing. It was beautiful. Well, except when some people near me started screaming out names. I vaguely remember turning and yelling at them to STFU. The band also interacted quite well with the crowd. Kaoru came over to the edge of the stage several times. He also kept trying to stare me down and gave me weird looks for part of the concert. I kept dashing my eyes back and forth between him and Kyo. I was way too nervous to actually make eye contact for longer then a few seconds. I think that's why he kept doing it, just to unnerve me. Toshiya was on my side as well, but not as close. At some point (which I didn't see when) him and Die switched places. That was pretty cool because I couldn�t see him very well before. I could not see Shinya almost at all. Only his hair. Toshiya came over to the edge of the stage a lot too, making weird hand signals and egging the crowd on with Kaoru. Kyo didn't come to the edge except towards the end and only on my side (at least what I saw of). He came over and leaned in and holly s**t the crowd went furious. They screamed like mad, and hands appeared over my shoulder out of nowhere. He swiped at the crowd like some drunken cat. I don't know if actually touched anyone, I couldn't SEE through the mass of arms over my head. They were all knocking me down, I was kind of ticked. At the end the band sprayed bottles of water on people. When Toshiya came over and sprayed us, it was just as bad as what happened with Kyo. Couldn't see s**t, but I know I got wet. At the end of the concert, Toshiya had left his empty bottle on the stage and there was this girl who was filming near by. The girls next to me started screaming at her to give them the bottle. Lots of shoving, and many arms. They sounded really pathetic, I'm sorry to say. I think the girl picked up the bottle and dangled it just out of reach. The girls went CRAZY. That was funny as ********, yet at the same time disgusting. Well, I thought the concert was damn good. It went by real fast, and I was very sad when it ended. I'm very tiered, but very happy.

Nishiki

I went to the concert in NY yes, spent the whole time with Tohma too. *Nods*
It was DEFFINETLY the best concert I've been to, and I was surprised that they didn't check ID, seeing how it was a 16+ show (Note: Ni-chan = Under 16. My mom called though, and as long as I was with her I could get in), but either way it was ABSOLUTELY the best day ever. I mean, I was sleep deprived for around 28 or so hours, but I didn't care all because I was just so happy I got to see them live. <3 ;D The fact that I almost cried at the beginning of the concert makes me also feel like a huge dork, but I choked back the tears and lost my voice singing/screaming along with Kyo.
I got their around 11:15 in the morning, and I SHOULD have went to wait outside the concert then, but my mom would've been a little irked and well, I wouldn't have met Tohma. D: That would not have been any fun without her either. <3
So I was in like around five-or-so, I got there and ended up hanging with Tohma and the girl in front of her, who we never learned the name of. x-x; Eventually, there were people going up and down the line asking and trying to sell tickets, and it truely made me sad at how lowly those people valued the concert even before it started. But anyways, we had a big predicament around a McDonald's sandwich, and eventually Danni came around. For the people who read Tohma's LJ post, YES, YOU COULD HEAR AND SEE TOTCHI PRACTICING UPSTAIRS. Eventually you could hear Die and Kaoru too, which was complete love. D: <3 (Eh..Sorry about sounding a little fangirl-ish. <_<; I just seem to get over excited whenever I talk about the show. ^-^;; It was so cool.)
So CONTINUING. We ended up on the balcony to the left of the stage, and slowly moved over the rope that was keeping us from where they had a camera set up and were the bad stood before going on stage. We tried getting their attention (Quote from Tohma's LJ "DIE!!! DAISUKE!!!! KYO!!! TOTCHI!!!!!" wink but it didn't seem to work to well, because they ended up walking away and off towards stage. <3
Yeah, I might fix this later seeing how I left out a lot. Especially about the glowstick plan and the BUCKET. THAT INFAMOUS BUCKET. I really do feel bad for hte girl who got hit in the face with the bucket though. She seemed estatic about it though, so I can't say anything. Yes, she was crying, but I pretty much think she was happy about the fact that she hit in the face by a bucket from KYO. So..yeah. ^-^;;

Unichi

Oh okies, heheh it was sooo cool. (well duh). Well, first off I left to go to the Diru concert at 4pm...and got there at about 6:40 and the line was sooo long. I thought we weren't going to get in, but we did. So that was cool. It curled around but it actually moved pretty fast. We were talking to these girls in front of us who came all the way from Phoenix Arizona, and they were nice. And we were talking to another girl who was behind us who brought her boyfriend along eventhough he didn't know what Dir en grey was. We were like, "Le gasp!!!" and then we reassured him that after the concert, he would become addicted. biggrin The people there were wearing awesome outfits and I couldn't help but gawk. There was an opening band, so that gave us more time. Because we were still in line at 8:00...but when we got in, there were soo many people and there were like 5 or 6 merchandise booths. anywho, I got up to my seat, and the opening band was playing their last couple of songs and we listened then they turned the lights back on and then they were setting up Shinya's drums and testing them out. My friend freaked out. And then they were testing out Kaoru's and Die's guitars as well as Toshiya's bass. Then, me and my friend were talking, and then I looked at the stage, and this giant poster billboard came flying down with "Dir en grey" written on it and I pointed and started screaming. Then my friend saw it, and she started screaming, and then my other friends heard us and yeah..haha And then we waited for about 10 more minutes and then the G.D.S song came on and everyone was shouting and screaming "Dir en grey, Dir en grey!" and then Kaoru, Toshiya, Shinya, and Die came out. And then everyone went nuts. Kaoru went over to his guitar, and before he put it on, he gave his signature fists to the audience, and everyone gave it back to him. Die was holding his arms up in the air, and Toshiya was getting his bass ready. Shinya waved, (I think) and went over to his guitar. Then, Kyo came out. Everyone was screaming. The minute I saw him, I was jumping up and down like a crazy person screaming, "Kyooooo!!!!!!!!" He didn't say anything. He justs nodded and let the audience scream. He knew what we were screaming for and he just let us. He was wearing a black jacket with a white undershirt and black pants. Then, Clever Sleazoid came on. I sang to every song and didn't sit down once. When they started playing THE FINAL, I started crying. That is my favorite song.Whenever the lights would go on so Diru could see us, I would wave my hands as high as I could, and kept screaming out to Kyo. Then, he looked in the general direction of where we were sitting, and I guess he noticed all the white that I was wearing and the fact that I was the only one around literally jumping up and down and waving my hands like a mad ape, and he lightly waved back. I died. And screamed some more. And whenever there would be a silence before another song started, I would scream, "Kyoooo!" so he'd hear me. Kyo is such a teaser. He kept playing with himself and he started scratching himself and fake blood came out all over his face. And he rubbed it all over. Then, he ripped his shirt off and was putting it on his head and then took off the undershirt and his bare chest showed. When Kaoru would come up, he would give the fist or start playing like mad and I screamed "Kaoru!!!!!" and jumped up and down. I didn't get to see much of Shinya or Die though. My friend would scream "Shinya!!!" And Toshiya often played with his back towards us. But, he was headbanging. Everyone would give the horns, or put one hand in the air when Kyo would. Then, And at the encore point, the stage people kept teasing the audience by turning the lights on, so we would think that they were coming out, and then we would start screaming, then they would turn the lights off again, and everytime they turned the lights off, we started screaming, "Dir en grey, Dir en grey, Dir en grey!!!" Then everyone was clapping their hands and stomping their feet, and when they finally came out, we screamed again. Kyo was wearing this orange-ish color jacket with a number printed on the side and another white undershirt, but those were soon gone. When Mr. Newsman came on, Kyo would sing, "1,2..." then point the microphone at us and we would scream, "3, 4, 5!!!" And he would look up to the the people in the Loge and Mezz and point the microphone towards us. Then at Child Prey, Kyo screamed, "LAST SONG!!!!" and I gave every last ounce of breath and energy to sing that song. It was soo much fun. I was sweating so much, but I didn't care. It was amazing. And after Child Prey, Kyo gave 3 kisses to everyone and again, pointed in our direction and gave it. heart It was so awesome. Then after, Kyo picked up his little stage thingy were he often jumps off of and chucked it almost into Shinya's drumset. And he took the black speaker I think it was and chucked that too. Then he started rolling on the floor. Then, he had two giant white buckets of water and he picked up one of them, and dumped it on himself. Everyone was screaming happiness. Then, he took the empty bucket and put it on his head and everyone was laughing. That was priceless. And then he took the otehr bucket of water, and chucked it into the audience. Toshiya chucked his water bottle into the Loge section, and Die and Kaoru squirted the audience with water and waved as they left and Shinya gave his drumsticks and left and then Kyo left with the audience still screaming. There were two guys sitting behind us and they were dressed up as Kyo Macabre and Die Drain Away and they were soo cool. There was also a guy dressed up as Toshiya Macabre. Then, afterwards, me and my friends made a mad dash to the merchandise booth and I got two shirts, one for me and one for my sister who couldn't go because she is only 9. (She's a huge Toshiya fan) and I got the Code of Vulgar[ism] DVD, the Macabre tour DVD, and the Kai remix album. heart 3nodding And when we were at the booth, some guy screamed and then I screamed and then everyone started screaming. And there, I dropped off my sister's present that she made for Toshiya, the scarf and drawing I made for Kyo and my friend's card for Shinya.=^-^= It was simply perfect. I don't know how many times I screamed, "KYOO!" or "I LOVE YOU GUYS!" heart And when we were walking back to the car, we were shouting "Dir en grey, Dir en grey, Dir en grey!!" and there were a few drunk people.My throat and ears were hurting so bad..haha But, it was my first concert and I'm glad it was with my very first J-rock band. 3nodding And I will always remember it and I can't wait for more. heart We love you Diru.

i know everything

So I got pumped for the live. I put my negative thoughts behind me when I entered the door. I remembered how much fun I had a Dir en grey lives in Japan, and was looking forward to it.
So all of you, don't think that I was looking for this to be a bad time.

I had gotten to the line earlier in the day, sat with my friends who had been there since 3am, but I had a hotel room right up the way, so when it became time for check in, I did so... My friend showered I watched tv and relaxed. Walked back down and offered to get friends food, and sat and chatted with them. We were fairly far up front in the line... as we got pushed back a good 70 people because of all those that were cutting in this huge group in front of us.
Chatted with my friends until the doors opened. To which my friend got a camera in his face -- I blame the skull t-shirt and that he's about 6'4".
Walked in, got our spots in the pit on DIE's side, knowing that it would be the least fangirl populated.

OFTM came on and played, everyone started to situate themselves. One guy managed to push his girlfriend from the back, to the front. Pissing everyone off, including me because he kept his leg at a 45degree angle. That makes it very hard to stand without almost tripping. This angle also ended up hurting my knee very badly.

Some girls were getting so crushed I let them ahead of me, away from the asshat. However, I would like to state something here and now.

You Americans are pussys.
You would not last 5 minutes at a Dir en grey concert in Japan.
I have never heard so much bitching about being "squished." and mind you, this was before the live started, so there was barely any squishing happening.
The live started, and it pushed.... so small... and I was severly dissapointed.

So the live started. They got Saku and Clever sleazoid out of the way almost immediately, thank God.
After those songs, I came to the realization.
Majority of WTD songs are slow, and very unfit for lives.
Not only because the crowd had no clue how to act, but because the music was just so insanely slow for a supposed fast paced song.
The most throughout the entire live that I got was a head bob.

The music for the night was subpar as well. I wasn't impressed, and by the end of the live before the encore, I eventually let people push in front of me.
For those of you who know me.
This never happens.
I was so bored, I didn't care. My back hurt, my knees ached, and I was yawning. After the break between the encore, I let about four people in front of me, and there was my friend behind me. I even had the room to kneel down on the ground comfortably.
The only song played that I really tried to get into for a total of 20 seconds was Child prey.
I flung myself 2 times into the crowd, and recieved immediate glares.
(IKN.... this was a rush. And I was half assing it. Cry for me. razz )

Now before you all start bitching at me, thinking I am crazy, and wtf am I think because the live was "so incredible."
I have been to 3 Dir en grey lives in Japan. A lot of people will not know the difference between a good live and not, because they have no comparison. No, this is not rubbing it in your face that "zomg I've been to more than you." This is simply stating that I do not have biased "virgin" view.

This was my friend's first Japanese band live as well.
We walked out, and his first comment was, "Oh, my god. They look so bored. Die looked like he was bored out of his mind. Now I know why he has his hair so long... so no one can see his face of how bored he was."
By the way, this only strengthens my argument that Dir en grey is bored, and they are playing the music because it's their job.
I did not see a band that was into it. Kyo is just performing... and quite subpar from what I have seen. The rest of them looked like they wanted to just be playing in their sleep.

I stood in line for good for 2 minutes, walked up to the front and asked what they had left. Nothing I wanted, so we left and crashed at the hotel.
-Fin-

iMtohmaAndiLikehats

I arrived at Club Avalon around 4:30 PM ((my plans to arrive in the city around 10 AM, do some shopping, then hop on line at about 3 didn't work out, obviously)), and I was shocked at how long the line had already became. It was already around the corner and about half way down the street. As people walked by, they would ask everyone "what is this for >> ?", and we'd always get odd looks once we explained to them ((at least I did :B)). Standing in line wasn't as bad as I had originally thought it would of been. I quickly made friends with the girls infront of me ((Danni and the other girl, who's name I do not know)), as well as the girl behind me ((Ni-chan <3!!)). We actually had fun waiting, holding very fun conversations, trying to get rid of a Mc Donalds sandwich my mother bought for me ((I had no appitie, I ate a few fries and drank some soda, and I was full)), BABOO, and trying to find out exactly WHAT was behind the door we stood next to ((turns out it was emptyness...just a hall with another door, and then some stairs...but it WAS connected to Avalon >>'!)). Everyone on the line was actualy very nice ((except the two who stood behind us, acting as if they were much better than everyone on line...they even had the nerve to tell my father "yes, we have V.I.P passes, but we still have to stand in line with all these poor people". Granted, I was pissed...)). Probably at about 5 or so, if you went up the line far enough, you could hear Totchi playing his bass, and I think if you got further up, you could even hear the whole band ((? correct me if I'm wrong, I didn't get to hear it for myself)). By this time, there were rumours about being allowed in at 6, but that never happened. We heard girls screaming and were all "o.O wtf?!", turns out it was just some van with stuff in it...no band members. But about 6:30 or so, people were walking up and down the line with cameras. We asked a girl exactly why and she said "I don't know...it's for a video or dvd or something...think you guys could scream for us?" and so we screamed like the little fangirls we are. By 7, the line started moving. Ever now and then we'd advance about 10 feet or so ~.~ ... but we got there, eventually! The two girls infront of us asked us where we were going. Both Ni-chan and I decided to stay together and replied "FLOOR!", and the other two told us they were going to the balcony. So, we got in. They didnt even take my ticket, just scanned it and pushed me through. There was a bag check that Ni-chan got stuck at, so I stood to the side to wait for her. We lost Danni and her friend though...didn't see them the rest of the night... We walked past the merch. line. I'd rather get a good spot than wait to buy something, anyway. Once we got in, we looked at out spot on the floor and neither of us could see all so well, so we agreed on the balcony. We went up on the left side, and could only obtain some crappy spots. Then I pointed to the other side, right over Die's head was an empty spot! So we went over there. We scooted the rope over, and the photographer came and moved it all the way for us, which was grand <3. We made friends with the two people next to us during this time as well.
From our spot, we could see exactly where the bands would be standing before going on stage, and after a bit, we saw some boots and pants and were like "O_O!!!...no wait...they wouldn't be caught dead wearing that stuff anymore xD...". So we waited.The Opening band, Still Life Decay, came on. While they were on, the lady who was running the whole thing got pissy at how close to the photographer we were, so she had the bouncers move was way back. Ni-chan and I were not standing behind the other two, just staring at the stage, BARLEY able to see anything. Obviously, we were upset. There's no way we would stay like this the whole night and miss out on seeing the boys! So anyway, this opening band... They were ok, not exactly my favourite, but still pretty good. Not good enough to have me standing there the whole time though... Ni-chan and I sat down for a bit, going back to out spot after. The girl who was next to us was working on moving the rope over more and more, so her friend got to lean against the railing, but both Ni-chan and I were behind him. A few times, we thought we saw the members of Diru watching from one of the 3rd floor balconys, but it ended up just being people in the VIP boxes, though people did say they saw them watching everyone from their spot ((the box right above us ><+)).
So, the band got off, yay, and so, we wait for Diru. It wasn't long untill I looked to the right and spotted their feet. WOOHOO~. I pointed it out and we were like " omgomgomg o-o". The opening to G.D.S came on, the lights dimmed, and everyone went MAD. One by one, they came out on stage, and went right into Clever Sleazoid. By this time, I was so happy, I lost track of everything happening. As I said earlier, there was no way Ni-chan and I would stay in our positions, and so I was correct. Ni-chan sat on the floor, infront of the boy's feet and I was right next to him and ontop of her, we could see perfectly <3. I don't remember everysong they had preformed, but I DO remember Dead Tree, that one song which Kyo had cried in, and Child Prey. But yes, as many of you know, the plan for this concert was to have everybody break out Blue glowsticks during the Final. It seems everyone decided to take them out during Dead Tree instead ((I admit to taking it out somewhat early in the song...)). I really should of paid more attention to the playlist. I could see Die's perfectly, but I couldn't make it out 100%, so I just said 'screw it' and didn't bother with it. It seemed like they weren't on for very long, when they got off stage. We saw them run up the stairs and everyone started chanting for them "Dir en grey, Dire en grey, Dir en grey!", and they didn't stop untill they came out. Before they came back out, we could see their feet again, and started calling out for them. They probably couldn;t even hear us, but we tried! They came back on for their encore, and everyone went mad. During that one song Kyo cried in ((the name slips my mind)), everyone get exceptionally quite once the music stopped and Kyo just kept singing, except for the one girl who screamed out 'KYO~', but that was it, really. It was so surreal, that it was actually happening right there infront of us. I'm sure tons of us never even dreamed we would be seeing Kyo cutting into his chest and spitting out blood right infront of us...and so, we fangirled. The final song came on, and I lost it. Child Prey was my first song ever, and they were performing it here infront of me. I was shocked, I had figured they would only sing their newer songs, but they had even done Umbrella and Mr.Newsman. So, they finished playing and began to throw objects out to the crowd. I figured we'd get neglected seeing as were in the balcony, but I was wrong! After much screaming, Die looked up at as and took a handful of picks. He started to throw them, and one bounced off the girl's we were with eye xD. That was the one I was right infront of my that I lunged for, but missed. It landed next to him, and I was screeching for him to throw it back ((at this point, my voice was so shot, I couldn't scream so I had to resort to highpitched screeching-ness of sorts)), but it was not use. Then, as I looked up, I see Toshiya looking at us ((I made eye contact~~~! *take a minute to stop self from fangirling too much*)) with a smile on his face, and he threw water at us. Ahh, it was GREAT. Refreshing water with my favourite member's germs on it all over my left arm...best night ever <3. Sadly though, we were neglected by Shinya and Kaoru. And ahh, the most famous part of the night happens now! Kyo, after taking all of his water and pouring it into a buckets, pours all of it on his head, then throws it out into the crowd, pretty hard. It ended up smaking some girl in the face, which obviously hurt, seeing as she started crying and once she took her hands down, her face was cherry-red ((I don't think she even got to keep the bucket >>'...))
The four of us stayed on the balcony as long as we could. It was pointless going down stairs anyway, the crowd was mobbed around the door so we couldn't get anywhere. We did make plans to go run for the stairs Diru had taken to get to their box above us once the bouncer left...but when he was gone, we decided against it and stayed in our spot. Eventually, we go kicked to the floor, and we walked around in high hopes of finding somehting someone dropped, but of course, nothing good was on the floor at all xD'. We got out and went to the merch table where I bought myself a Zombie T-shirt, a poster, and a sticker. I got my sis a poster too, she was pissed that she couldn't come xD'. Eventually, we escaped the massive crowd in there, Ni-chan and I parted ways, and we went home.
[/long and crappy report]

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[i know everything]

Album/Single Reviews

Like the live reports, this is a location where you can have your thoughts and feelings easily showcased for everyone. Feel particularly strongly about a single album? Write up a review and it will be posted for everyone to see.

Just PM me, and I'll gladly link or quote it here!

[i know everything]

Reserved for Future Content

[i know everything]

Please note.
Every time this topic gets "too spammed" up, it will be removed, and a new topic will take its place.
I have, with permission from IKN., taken her information and updated. She has also asked me to take over since she is not on the internet as often, and doesn't have the time to update as needed.

This topic is for the discussion of the artist's music and music related topics. This is not open for discussion on "If they were animals, what animals do you think they would be?" That does not have anything to do with the music of the artists or anything the artist produces.

OLD Dir en grey thread
http://www.gaiaonline.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=12475773

[Pink Floating Balloon]

LOL.

Third thread FTW. heart

[Kitsune Soba]

Even though it was amusing to watch the trainwrecks that were the previous two threads, I feel bad that you guys have to keep remaking this thing.

...I was also about to make a joke-topic to "start out" on, but I then realized if I did that someone would take me seriously and the spam would start right back up again. : (

[Rukilicious]

Welcome back thread! rofl

So um. Has everyone heard that they've been playing a few songs as old as Macabre at their concerts lately in Japan? Jealous -Reverse- is on the list too. And Ain't Afraid to Die.

Do you think the people attending the Deftones shows have any shot at these?

I think they'll stick to the new album, especially as they'll only be doing a 30 minute opening set. neutral

[Pink Floating Balloon]

I heard about that. Even though it'd be ******** nice as hell to hear some of their older music, like ain't afraid to die, at the concert I'm attending, I doubt they will. As you said, it's a short set. They'll probably try and keep with their newest music first.


I wonder why they're doing this, though? I kind of thought it might have been just like, a treat for Japan, because they've been touring away from the country a lot lately.

[Xiahko]

nekonekonya

Welcome back thread! rofl

So um. Has everyone heard that they've been playing a few songs as old as Macabre at their concerts lately in Japan? Jealous -Reverse- is on the list too. And Ain't Afraid to Die.

Do you think the people attending the Deftones shows have any shot at these?

I think they'll stick to the new album, especially as they'll only be doing a 30 minute opening set. neutral

That would be awesome since unfortunatly, the 30 min is all I'm going to get.It'll be my first diru concert, and I only get to see them as an opening act. Oh well, better then nothing.
Have you guys seen the japanese coverage of the American tour? I watched it lastnight. I didn't realize that during a few shows shinya was playing with an injured shoulder.Poor guy.
Anyway it's pretty interesting to watch.
ON an noob note,I have kinda a retarded question(mock me all youlikeXD) But what do you consider spam? I just want to make sure so I don't cause any. sweatdrop

[i know everything]

Not to be offensive, but you were one of its biggest advocates.
Spam is considered extensive off topic conversation. Bumping. Making comments completely unrelated - to the conversation mainly.
Most of the threads are filled with that now, but the Dir en grey thread tends to be the worst.

A lot of people in the Int'l forum have gotten a lot better at it lately with the spam threads that are created by not even responding to them, and just letting them die off.

[Xiahko]

i know everything

Not to be offensive, but you were one of its biggest advocates.
Spam is considered extensive off topic conversation. Bumping. Making comments completely unrelated - to the conversation mainly.
Most of the threads are filled with that now, but the Dir en grey thread tends to be the worst.

A lot of people in the Int'l forum have gotten a lot better at it lately with the spam threads that are created by not even responding to them, and just letting them die off.

You mean with the pokemon thing? I was just doing that since it had allready gone down hill I should have been more mature about it and just stayed on topic. >.< I promise not to spam!*crosses heart*

So back on topic. Since it's actually a deaftones(?) concert where I am seeing dir en grey, you think Diru won't put as much effort into their performance? Since they're only an opening act?