MEGAROMANIA (live report)

[Bunshinsaba]

Megaromania
First LIVE
Shinjuku Holiday June 1 2008​

When the word of UnderCode's new band Megaromania hit the VK fan forum world - about three days after the Metis Gretel last live - fans met the news with general anxiety and speculation. The big question? What would happen to Metis members Sui (vocal) and Misery (guitar) after a head-on clash with UnderCode producer, Kisaki?

Well, if you were one of those negative folks who thought that Megaromania would be little more than a hybrid of Metis Gretel and the typical by-the-numbers UnderCode glam band... well... you were absolutely right; that is exactly what they are. It's Metis-lomania or Mega-gretel. Take your pick.

And while Metis originals Sui and Misery seemingly escaped the UnderCode-ization process with image and integrity intact, there is no denying that new members Chikage, Hyoga, and Leda are nothing more than typical Kisaki foot soldiers. Their image and outifts look utterly recycled; styled like hand-me-downs from Nega, Clear Veil, or Dali. And their stage perfomance likewise - absolutely nothing new was brought to the table at all. Of course, if UnderCode is your brand of vodka, then Megaromania will surely leave you punch drunk with joy.

Taking the stage tonight at 6:00 pm, Megaromania pranced on one-by-one to loud applause from the surprisingly crowded Shinjuku Holiday livehouse (there was more people here tonight for this two-man than there was for the Metis Gretel last one man.) Not too surprisingly, vocalist Sui garnered a lion's share of the riotous calls from the crowd as he sashayed out in his Metis Gretel-looking white wedding gown that had been given the chop by the UnderCode designers. His hair was platinum blonde and his make-up done in glamour style, which just doesn't suit his face, IMO.

The Megaromania set started off with the boys ripping into a heavy riff progression and Sui leading the yelling crowd in a simple but effective round of para-para arm play to the metal. It was a great start and the crowd lapped it up as the music and vocal chomps had rather pronounced ear marks of Metis Gretel. Light gothic harpsichord music is noticeable throughout the music and Sui even added a little drama by nursing a gothic-looking three stick candle holder during one song. The band provided good assist - moving frequently - switching sides and taking the front for five-second solos when required.

For me, one of the highlights of the show was when guitarist Chikage and Misery did a short 20 second guitar duel exchange. In something you rarely see in visual kei, both balanced their guitars on their knees, and one after another, began soloing, using their left fingers to tap and pluck the keys high on the fret board. I was like... whoah.. this was unexpected. Alas.. this interesting and very welcome burst of self promoting guitar skill lasted barely 30 seconds before each of them twirled away from the front of the stage and fell back into standard issue VK guitarist mode for the remainder of the live. Still the formality of it all was enlivened by Sui, who would drape his arm about the guys at key points and pull them in close during their solos. Near the end, he even gave Chikage a kiss on the cheek.

Overall it was a decent first live for Megaromania. Nevertheless, there was no surprises whatsoever, aside from that one Misery/Chikage guitar duel. Megaromania, visually and musically is exactly what you imagined they would be. For Metis Gretel fans, this amounts to very good news as the band is clearly Metis-inspired. Crowd response was good (though there were no calls of "Encore desu!") and cash passed hands briskly at the Megaromania "goods" table where photo sets, stickers, and CDs were sold after the show. I was, however, extremely surprised that there was no "first-live" present given out. Even a specially signed & dated "first-live" photo would have been nice.

The band is currently off to dates around Japan - Osaka, Nagoya, and Sendai - before returning to Tokyo's Shinjuku Holiday for a double date on July 5th and 6th.​

 

[RevengeBabyYeah]

First of all, I really love reading your live reports.

I was sad about Metis breaking up, so I'll definitely check out this band. From what you say, the live was ok but I'm sure they'll improve as time goes on.

 

[Bunshinsaba]

First of all, I really love reading your live reports.
I was sad about Metis breaking up, so I'll definitely check out this band. From what you say, the live was ok but I'm sure they'll improve as time goes on.

Thanks; I quite enjoy writing reports.
As for Metis Gretel... I was sad too. But the coolest thing happened at the Megaromania concert. In the livehouse CD shop they were playing this kick *** - unreleased - promotional ONLY - Metis Gretel dvd... one of those clip videos - live footage - dubbed track overlay. It was great. When I asked the guy about it, he offered to make me a COPY!! I freaked out!! And yet another advantage of being a "male" on this scene.

I really want to post the MG dvd song clip but I don't want those Sherow Artist pr*cks to put one and one together and maybe get my (new) friend in trouble.... as my YouTube site always has boot footage of Metis and Versailles.

 

[hydest]

whoaaa...thank you so much for the report *0* i was like xDDDDDDD i wanna see their performance too lol in that solo part, i think of miyavi's strumming on his guitar (sorry abt that but it's all i can imgine) ><
good to hear they're still good ^_^