Where to begin? It was an amazing weekend filled with interesting tales. I tend to go into exact details and I know this will get extremely wordy if I include everything that happened. I'm still not sure what parts I want to keep to myself. I guess I'm just sick of reading these concert recaps that only tell of how the guys looked and brag about how many times they got to grope them.
When my sister and I arrived at Sugoi Con we saw Tiffany in line. We walked around a bit and then headed to the ballroom that D'espairsRay were going to perform in. On the way up to the convention a man in the elevator told us the band was setting up. We were peeking in the cracks of the doors. We heard Tsukasa playing drums and discovered the doors weren't even locked, so we took turns opening the door a little and sneaking a peek haha. Karyu was on stage as well. I looked in and saw Hizumi had come on stage. I'm sure Tiffany will agree it was the cutest thing ever. He was standing there, slouched over as usual, and looking all pouty. Eventually everyone was on stage and we got to hear their sound check. It sounded amazing and got me even more excited for their show.
They were behind schedule, by an hour or more. We just happened to be in the right place at the right time, because the people who ran the Convention didn't know what they were doing. They were setting up for the photograph session and told us we would be at the front of the line since we had been waiting there. We waited forever, but had fun even then. The girl standing behind us was with her mother and we talked to her mom the entire time and made fun of everyone else in line haha. They let 5 people in at a time. Tiffany went first, then my sister, and then me. Hizumi and Karyu were sitting in chairs with an empty chair between them, and Zero and Tsukasa were standing behind them. You sat down in the chair, got your photo(s), and left the room to get into another line for autographs. The whole process was really rushed, so you didn't have time to talk or anything. When it was my turn I said hello to the guys and they all said hi. I sat down, got 2 photos, and when I got up they said thanks. I turned around to face them and Zero gave me a toothless-closed-mouth smile and bowed, so I bowed back and walked away. I guess the skirt was a wise choice, because my sister said Zero watched me walk away haha. We all felt really uncomfortable, not because we were nervous, but because it was so fast and impersonal. There isn't really any other way it could have been, though, because there were so many people in line and they were pressed for time.
While we were in the next line we looked at our photos and came to the conclusion that D'espairsRay were robots. They were in almost the exact pose for every photo, and they would all answer with the same response at the same time. We were probably the oldest and most composed of the fans there. After looking at our photos we put them away, while other girls left the room jumping up and down, waving their pictures around. We began talking to two of the security guys at the door. It's funny that some of the best times we had were little things such as this. We couldn't stop laughing. I would enclose details of the conversations that took place, but then I'd never finish this! It took a long time for all of the fans to get photos, and then we had to wait for the band to take a cigarette break, and also for the people who ran the place to figure out how they were going to set this thing up.
It was finally time and we went into the room, 5 at a time. The guys were all sitting down at a table, not paying attention. Tsukasa was drumming on the table lol. They finally realized fans were in the room and all looked over. We went down the line having them sign the CD booklet for [Coll:set]. Hizumi said hi, and I said hi back. He signed it and said thanks, so I said thank you in return. Karyu wouldn't even look up at me. He didn't say hi, but he did say thank you after giving his autograph. I thanked him and moved on to Zero. Zero looked up and smiled, said hi, signed the booklet and said thank you. I thanked him and then had to wait upon Tsukasa (I'll let my sister tell you why the line was held up, it is an adorable little story). Tsukasa's mood had changed after my sister's turn with him and he was a bit more lively than the others. He was smiling and said hi and then thank you afterwards. They seriously don't know any English, so it was very difficult. They also seemed extremely nervous.
Now we had to kill time before the show. Tiffany hadn't ate anything all day, so we decided to go out to eat. We ate in the restaurant at the hotel that D'espairsRay and Trash Light Vision were staying at. Some of the members of TLV were eating a few tables away from us. When we were leaving the singer of the band walked by, so we asked him what time they were going on. They would be playing at 9PM, so that meant DR wouldn't be going on now until 10PM. There were two separate lines, one for general admission and one for the premium ticket holders. I wondered why they were already lining up so far in advance, because I thought the order you entered the venue was determined by the order of ticket purchase. Yet again nobody knew what was going on and we were told they weren't going by numbers and just having people line up. We were furious, since we bought our tickets as soon as they went on sale. They finally worked things out and when it was time to enter the ballroom they had you come in order. My sister and I were number 8 and 9. There was a small section in the middle blocked off for the 4 backstage pass winners, so my sister and I stood to the right of that. We couldn't believe how low the stage was to the ground and just how close we really were.
I talked to a woman standing next to me for a while. Discussing how we wished DR were the only band playing, so we didn't have to do more waiting, and how we hadn't heard of TLV before. A woman from Tokyo was standing next to me as well. My sister and I talked to her for a while. She was following them on their entire tour, she had even went to the show in Paris and Munich. Finally TLV went on and they were actually very entertaining to watch, even if I didn't care much for their music. A lot of interesting things happened during that show, but I will skip them and get to what you really want to hear about...D'espairsRay!
TLV got me even more excited, because I realized I was crotch level haha. They put the set lists on the stage and I read it, so it kinda sucked not being surprised during the show, but I couldn't help it. Tsukasa came out, then Zero, Karyu, and Hizumi. Karyu was directly in front of me. I will skip what they were wearing and all of that since you can see in Tiffany's photos. They started off with Born and sounded incredible. My only complaint is since I was so close to the stage I could barely hear Hizumi. Those further in the back said you could hear him perfectly, though. Everything else sounded great. I was impressed at how well they did. It's not often that you see a band and they sound exactly like they do on CD. They didn't make any mistakes, although at one point Karyu dropped his guitar pick and couldn't play for a moment.
I shouldn't have said my only complaint, I had one more. Besides Hizumi, Zero and Karyu barely moved on stage. TLV were crazy and working the stage, so DR looked very tame. I think many girls have exaggerated about their lives, unless they toned this one down due to the younger age group. There was no fanservice (except for Hizumi's self-service and microphone service haha). Hizumi was the only one who came right up to the front, and he kept coming over to the side of the stage I was on. He got groped constantly, the entire show. The first time he came over a wave of hands went over me and felt anything they could get their hands on. I'm not usually one to touch a band. In fact, I don't think I ever have unless it was my friend's band and I touched their leg as a joke. I realized I was the only girl in the direct vicinity that didn't have her hands on him, so I touched his stomach, next to his bellybutton, and gently scraped my fingernails against him.
The next time he came over I nearly got crushed. His crotch was right in front of my face and girls were pushing behind me, so my head kept moving closer. Two thoughts crossed my mind, either I was going to fall over, or my face was going to be smashed against him. I was literally inches away, and did some Manliest Jrocker research haha. The entire show I was thinking, "Darn, why couldn't those pants be tighter." But, when Hizumi was in front of me, he arched his back a bit and there it was, in perfectly outlined detail haha. I was surprised that all of the girls grabbing him weren't even really grabbing his goods. Most were on the wrong side, or touching the zipper of his pants. I considered showing them a lesson in anatomy, but Hizumi was looking directly at me, again the only one with her hands down, and I just couldn't do it. I felt I needed to be the mature, respectful fan lol, at least at that moment...
Finally Zero and Karyu switched sides. Zero came up to the edge of the stage and was right in front of me. I went through the same ordeal as with Hizumi, but less violent, and of course he had the protection of his bass. Hands were all over his legs and he looked down at me, and I felt bad for a moment for not touching him. When all of the girls put their hands down, I put mine on his calf and moved it as far up as I could until his bass stopped me and I moved my hand away, then he went back over to his side of the stage. You would not believe how stupid I felt every time I did something like that. I couldn't help, but laugh, because I couldn't take it seriously. Karyu still hadn't come up to the edge of the stage. I was beginning to wonder if he was intimidated. He did stare a lot, though, directly into your eyes. And then of course you can't forget God's gift to women, Karyu's tongue lol. That was pleasant to watch.
You've noticed that I haven't included the set list. I'm having a hard enough time writing this as it is (I am extremely sick right now). I know the songs they played, but can't remember the exact order. I don't know if people want me to spoil it for them either (if they are planning on seeing them). If you want me to I will compile a setlist (or perhaps Breanne or Tiffany will). Anyway, back to the show...in between songs Hizumi spoke in Japanese, so I had no idea what was being said. He could have been speaking Engrish for all I know since I could barely hear him. They left the stage after their "last" song, but I already knew what they were doing for an encore haha. People started screaming "D'espairsRay, Encore."
The band came back on stage and did Garnet and Quarter Void. When they were done with the show Zero came back over to my side and his body was turned to the left. I thought it would be funny to smack his butt, so I did (after all, he is the only member who actually has somewhat of a butt) lol. He then spit water into the mouths of a couple girls standing next to me. Finally Karyu came up to the edge (it was about freakin' time). First in the middle, where he was grabbing hands, and licking. Then to my side, he was turned to the left, handing picks out, so I grabbed his butt. I figured neither of them were looking at me, so I was safe to make a fool out of myself. Tsukasa was the last to leave the stage. He threw out his drumsticks and one landed on the stage in front of me, but the girl next to me went for it and there was no way I was going to fight over it, I am so tiny, and she wasn't! It was sad, though, I wanted to give it to my sister. She deserved it.
After the show we went over to their merch booth. I bought the Murder Day DVD for my sis. The singer of TLV had a shirt that said Acey on it, and we had known an Acey from another band, so we started talking to him. It turns out we met him 6 years ago and he remembered some of the shows we were talking about. He's also friends with a friend of ours, so we chatted for a bit. Small world. We asked him some questions about D'espairsRay since we had heard about what happened at their show the night before. He told us what happened and also told us how the guys are really nice, but it's hard to talk to them since they don't know English. We told him how we thought they were shy. He said they were just having a rough time on tour adjusting to certain things, and because of the incident the night before. He thought they were probably intimidated by us and nervous about the meet and greet since they don't usually do that sort of thing in Japan.
Well, I guess I included most of the "personal" things after all. I figure you guys should know me enough by now to know that I'm not rubbing any of this in your face, I just thought you would like to know what happened. I probably left a lot out, I can't think at all right now, and I almost didn't even want to post a report. If anyone has any questions I'd be more than happy to answer anything I can. All in all it was a spectacular weekend (even aside from the concert there were a lot of strange occurrences and fun to be had). I had a wonderful time hanging out with Tiffany. We were all grateful that we could meet up at the Con and hangout while we were in town. I will also add that this live was so loud that my ears rang for days. The only other band to match that was Skinny Puppy.