A visual kei gig a day keeps a doctor away

[zaa_zaa]

Twelfth Day – 17.09
RED CARPET / Mizukami CLINIC / NA.NA / Machina / TORIKABUTO / Shingeki no Awake / SINGULARITY @ Ikebukuro EDGE

Met my friend at the airport in the morning – so from now on, I won’t be alone at concerts. After settling into a new hotel and grabbing some food, we headed to Ikebukuro Edge.

TORIKABUTO – as crazy as you’d expect. I miss Kebyo, so this is the closest thing I can get to that chaotic energy, and I’m glad I did.

Session band (Nameless, Garakuta, and others) – we got to hear Dezert - Satsui, which was nice, but overall it was a pretty rough session vocally. Then again, bad vocals are a bit of a VK tradition.

RED CARPET – had high hopes, but they’re a strange band. Jin (ex-Screw) writes drums that scream metal, but his projects over the last decade lean toward light rock – and the mix doesn’t work for me. The bassist, however, completely stole the show. His crowd-hyping felt genuine, not forced – the same energy I saw from him at the Articlear live.

SINGULARITY – one of the highlights of the night. Their recordings feel too light, but live, they hit much harder – and it works.

Machina – I still don’t get them.

NA.NA – basically bar rock-kei. They don’t feel VK musically, but the audience loved them. I seriously don’t get this band or the setlist they chose. Then again, never heard them before, so I base my opinion solely on this live.

Shingeki no Awake – as beautiful as ever. Their lives feel like a Zumba class with how intense the furitsuke gets. Since I wasn’t the only non-Japanese in the crowd, Erunyan at the end of the setlist thanked everyone in Japanese first, and then he looked at our gaijin corner in the back and thanked all of us in English and made a heart sign. That felt nice to be recognized

Mizukami CLINIC – we lasted one song, got bored, and left.

Overall, a solid festival — much better compared to the previous day’s event.

[CervaCannibale]

@zaa_zaa

Session band (Nameless, Garakuta, and others) – we got to hear Dezert - Satsui, which was nice, but overall it was a pretty rough session vocally. Then again, bad vocals are a bit of a VK tradition.

Who was on vocals?

[Bunny-Usagii]

Bahaha I was there too yesterday! You were the in the back with me and my friend I think! I was the one in black/white ouji lolita xD
NA.NA was also a bit unexpected for us, but I can’t complain about their sound, it was nice to have something else after so many high energy bands

[Bunny-Usagii]

Here’s his socials! https://x.com/neko_n_i_c_o

[zaa_zaa]

Given that I am a pretty much the only European-looking male in the VK crowd, it’s easy to recognize me there

[blossomingRuin]

do you by chance have a set of one mans with also Brockenz in it?
I am kinda interested in the group because the vocalist is ex marblehead, yet I haven’t seen any videos of their live performances any songs or even an opinion on them
(I don’t expect that you get a live just for that though)

[zaa_zaa]

Unfortunately, no.

[zaa_zaa]

Thirteenth Day – 18.09
Sick² / Misui / Mathilda @ Ikebukuro BlackHole

Before the concert, we stopped by MAGNET by SHIBUYA 109 – highly recommend visiting. I picked up an amazing Tomie t-shirt and an Evangelion one with silk embroidery (similar to a sukajan, using kimono fabric). My friend scored a Nana jacket (yes, the 2006 anime!) and some goth merch. Seeing so much Nana gear in one shop was a nice surprise – it’s not exactly mainstream right now (was it ever mainstream after 2006? like it feels like a cult niche anime), so this felt special.

Then we headed to Ikebukuro BlackHole.

Misui opened the night. I’d seen them before and was excited to catch them again – and they didn’t disappoint. Tight setlist, tight instrumentals, Ryu’s vocals as flawless as always. After the show, I grabbed their t-shirt… and realized I was literally the only person buying anything from them. Everyone else went straight to Mathilda’s merch line.

Mathilda came next. I don’t usually care for their material, though a few songs are fun, but I have to admit they were better than the last time I saw them. Solid performance, with about half the songs I recognized, and (as always) a massive line for checki right after.

Finally, Sick². I’ve followed them since CRAZY TOKYO and even went to their one-man last year. But my impression hasn’t really changed: “Sick² walked so that bands like Mathilda could run.” Their live set felt unnecessarily intense – too much of everything, all at once.

And that’s when it clicked for me: this is exactly why Machina don’t work for me live, even though they seem to have all the right elements. It’s about space.

Think of it like UI/UX design: you can’t just cram every element together on a screen. You need whitespace so the eye can rest and process what it’s seeing. Music is the same – there has to be breathing room. Of course, “has” is a loud word – deathcore has enough of its audience, and many other genres where the breathing room is not even remotely a concept. Yet, this breathing room is important to me personally.

Misui get this right – their songs have space to let intensity build and land. Machina are just relentless – all intensity, all the time – like a poppier deathcore/grindcore band with no room to breathe.

Sick² gave me the same feeling: a constant wall of sound with no pause for the brain to catch up. Mathilda and Shingeki no Awake are so much better at this breathing room concept.

Still, it was a worthwhile show, and it helped me finally put into words why some bands don’t click for me live.

[VKloner]

@zaa_zaa

Tomie t-shirt and an Evangelion one

convenient to share photos of these 2 shirts? I couldnt find any on MAGNET’s website. Thanks!

[Xayide]

@zaa_zaa

My friend scored a Nana jacket

And I would love to see that jacket

[zaa_zaa]

I will post those today or tomorrow

[zaa_zaa]

Fourteenth Day – 19.09
Nega @ Shibuya REX

This was the main goal of the trip – for both my friend and me. If this live hadn’t happened, I wouldn’t even have come to Japan this time. I already fulfilled my dream of attending VK concerts last year, so this was the one thing that could top it.

And what can I say about the live? Everything you could possibly imagine about a perfect Nega performance – it happened.

Sometimes, less is more.

[zaa_zaa]

So, a little something fun around this concert: I happened to get an extra flyer from the live with Nega’s signatures on it.

So here’s a simple activity: like this post, and once I’m back in Europe, I’ll randomly choose one person from the likes. We’ll figure out how to get the flyer to you. (Shipping is on you, of course.)

But please – only like this post if you genuinely love Nega. For some people, this flyer might be insanely meaningful, and I’d love for it to go to someone who truly cares.

Obviously, I am not farming likes – I already get a steady supply of them from this thread

[zaa_zaa]

Tomie is from the Reflem brand. They also have a similar t-shirt, but with an Intersection Bishounen. Evangelion is from the Oriental Brand Nishiki.

I don’t remember the names of the stores where I found them, except that they were on either 2nd, 3rd, or 4th floor.

[zaa_zaa]

We don’t want to unpack it yet, but the brand is DONSMOKE. The jacket is very similar to this one – DONSMOKE × NANA Detachable Leopard Collar PU Jacket

[Xayide]

Looks cool, but not what I expected I thought it would be more like a Biker Jacket

[zaa_zaa]

Fifteenth Day – 20.09
Sakisai 2025 – Saki Birthday @ Holiday Shinjuku

Yes, it’s the Saki – the president of Bloom Records, ex. Kar†te=zyAnose, ex. Cuartet, ex. Ivys, etc.

So I went to an early festival (it started at 11 am) since I was meeting my family in the second half of the day. So no evening visual kei for me – while my friend went to see Hollowgram, Heroine, Heidi, and Yoru (ex. Amber Gris).

My whole goal was to see Ivys (yes, the 2006 band!) and Dokubari, but Dokubari were too late for me. So I stayed only until Ivys – they were sixth.

The review will be short, because this whole thing was mid to me personally. Like, even two sentences about each band, except Ivys, is too much.

Deathpair opened. Not a fan – they sounded fine, just not my thing. There were about 25 of us total – half actual fans, half standing quietly in the back.

Then came a session band. Half of the Deathpair fans left, so there were maybe 10 of us left. I had a feeling I wouldn’t enjoy them, so I just hid in the corner and did my thing.

Another session band – same deal.

I had some hopes for Liza, but they were boring live and honestly not that tight. The crowd grew to maybe 30 people.

Then came ORSEAS with L’Arc-en-Ciel covers. Objectively good, but I don’t like L’Arc – feels like generic grandpa rock to me – so yep, more quiet suffering in the back.

Lastly (for me), Ivys. I’m not a huge fan, but this revival live felt like catching a rare Pokémon. Saki is a legend (especially thanks to Cuartet, which I sometimes enjoy), and he delivered – raw, dirty, exactly as you’d imagine if you are familiar with his material before 2010. It was intense in a good way. ~30 people, plus the staff and seemingly guys from his label or his fellow bandmen at the back. Can’t say I am surprised about the audience number, to be fair.

So yes, I sat through five bands just to see one. And in hindsight? Totally worth it. I know for a fact that the VK nerd part of me wouldn’t forgive me if I didn’t attend Ivys when I had a chance.

[VKloner]

The tomie shirt looks like a chore to wash with those chains

[zaa_zaa]

Sixteenth Day – 21.09
HOLLOWGRAM / HEROINE / Umiyuri / Sakashimana Haguruma wo Kamen ga Warau. @ Kashiwa ThumbUP

First half of the day was spent with family, but by the evening me and my friend were on a train an hour out of Tokyo to see a festival hosted by Ryo (HOLLOWGRAM, ex-9GOATS BLACK OUT, etc.).

Let me just say this: if you ever get a chance to attend an art-kei festival – go. Simple as that.

HEROINE – really enjoyable material, and with Wataru (ex-Liphlich) supporting, it was a double win.

Umiyuri – half the crowd was clearly there for them. I get it – Hitomi is a legend with a loyal following of 25+ years. His solo work isn’t really my thing, but seeing Ivy (ex-Moran, Dio) on bass was a treat.

Sakashimana Haguruma wo Kamen ga Warau – this was the band I came for, and they absolutely delivered. Catchy, interesting, and hearing Loki live was pure joy. I’ve liked them since their first release Hypno, and they didn’t disappoint.

HOLLOWGRAM closed the night.

• Ryo’s vocal control? Flawless.

• His voice? Angelic.

• And yes, our boy can scream and growl.

You can tell he’s been in this game for 30 years – his stage presence is amazing. For the final song, he brought Loki on stage and they performed “butterfly in her dreams” together. Huge and very welcome surprise.

After the concert, I took full advantage of my gaijin privileges, went up to Wataru, exchanged a few words, and shook his hand. Mission accomplished.

Overall – a wonderful, atmospheric festival, absolutely worth the trip out of Tokyo.

[Leo]

Damn, I was already jealous of the NEGA revival, but this?

Was lucky enough to see HOLLOWGRAM in 2017, and like you said, ryo’s owns the stage like no other. It was incredible.