Envelion's VK honeymoon concert lineup

[Envelion]

Hi everyone!
I’m going on my honeymoon to Japan next week, and while we’re there, my wife and I scored tickets to a bunch of shows we’re super stoked to go to. Many of these bands have artists we’ve listened to for at least a decade or more. Someone in the discord encouraged me to make a post to track my travels and review the shows! So I’ll try to update here when I have some down time.

3-20 Fukuro（taiban with Kaijin Nijuu Mensou, The Benjamin, MATSUTAKE WORKS, Jin-Machine, Leetspeak monsters)
3-21 Sakashimana Haguruma wo Kamen ga Warau. (aka More.)（taiban with Kaihouku, ORSEAS, M4GNET3R, THE NOSTRADAMNZ, Shingeki no Awake, NETH PRIERE CAIN, HONMONO）
3-22 emmurée（one man）
3-26 the god and death stars（two man with MUNIMUNI）
3-27 Petit Brabancon（one man）
3-29 deadman（one man）
3-30 HOLLOWGRAM (three man with Heidi. & Hide & Seek Dorothy)

Return to America on the 4-2

America shows:
4-8 Dir En Grey
4-9 Dir En Grey (VIP)
6-1 Kamijo

It’s gonna be a crazy time.

[lilliecharlotte]

WOW, this is so exciting!! my best wishes for you and your wife, you guys are gonna have an amazing time :–) i can’t wait for updates, as well as seeing y’all at some of these~

[Love-in-DEF]

That sounds so exciting! Do you know where the America tours are? I wish the best for both of you!!

[shigai]

looking forward to these reports! also love the fact that your honeymoon is something different!

[badymaru]

Sounds like a ton of fun, I look forward to your reports!

[zeetabyte]

my goddd More <3 please let me know how that goes!!! have a stellar time!!!

[Envelion]

We made it!
My first review is for this show!

1. Jin Machine
   What a silly band, they were so much fun. Despite not having a guitarist there (it was backing tracks instead) they put on a great set.One of their last songs was Maguro, which was of course about Tuna. They had a bunch of plush tuna on stage and two members from Leetspeak Monsters came out and started throwing them to the crowd. I caught one and rocketed it back to them. Like I said, fun show.

2. Fukuro
   So full disclosure. I am a super fan, and Fukuro is the band I came to see at the taiban. Their set was short and sweet and we’ll performed as expected. The most memorable aspect to me was the interaction with the band. When I met them in America, my wife and I made a real impression so they remembered us. Daisuke the pianist uses a bubble blower in some songs, and it broke in America. I bought him a replacement in San Diego and he gave me the old one. I repaired the old one and returned it to him in Japan. He was soooo happy. Also, Yoshiatsu was so grateful that we made the trip and supported them so he let us interact with the performance. My wife got to hold his spot light while he was singing, and he even stole my glasses and wore them while he was singing.

3. 怪人二十面奏
   I missed the first song of theirs, but caught the rest. This may have been my second favorite of the night. Mostly just because they carry that older VK sound that I just really love. Only two members are officially in the group, so they had 3 supports. Even still, the support members were killing it. Very polished sound and the vocalist was so cool.

4. Leetspeak monsters
   Ok. I need to admit. I’ve been a hater on L33tsp3aK for a while. I just never fully vibed with rapping Halloween skeleton man. But seeing them live, they were undeniably good. I mean, what to expect from guys who have been polishing their aesthetic and sound for so long? The front man had the whole crowd moving and I was even doing the para para moves against my will!!! They’re fun. I can only listen to them on Halloween, but they’re a lot of fun.

5. The Benjamin
   I still don’t know what to think of this band. They’re an older band, at least the front man is. I can tell maybe his voice isn’t what it used to be. And the bassist sang two of the songs with auto tune. That said, they know how to rock. Their bass was nice and loud, guitarist was super skilled and fun, and the compositions reallying made me wanna dance. I’m interested to learn more about them.

6. マツタケワークス
   So. It seems that this show was mostly put on by this band, 怪人二十面奏, and the Benjamins. So they had the whole crowd excited. And maybe I’m just getting old, or maybe I was exhausted from jetlag and the first 5 bands, but this one just wasn’t for me. Their sound made me think they’re definitely for a younger demo. Their vocalist was inaudible most of the time. (To be fair, it he sounded a little like he was either under the weather or maybe has done too many shows.)
   But they were silly and fun, and they had some catchy choruses. All in all, not bad.

The whole event ended in chaos as they got as many band members from the night on stage together and they all took turns doing jokes, half singing an encore song, and forcing different members to jump off the little front man stand.

For my first taiban I had an awesome time. My advice to you and my future self. Wear more comfortable shoes if you’re going to a show that long. My feet hurt.

–
My next taiban is today, and it’s 8 bands. There’s no way I can survive them all.

[thetortavendor]

Oh, Yoshiatsu posted about yall on his story

[Envelion]

Yes you’re right! It warms my heart that we helped him have a memorable show.

[rukarukaruka]

oh hey I’m the deadman fan from the discord! Nice to see you’re here in Japan!

Good luck with the shoe thing, I have yet to find a good shoe that will last me through a 5 hour taiban without crippling me, especially if I’m just standing on the spot.

[Envelion]

Aaah hi there! Let’s say hi to each other at the show!

[rukarukaruka]

Yes definitely!

[Envelion]

My next show was this one:

I have heard of ikebukuro edge for years, and with all the cool bands that have passed through there, I was excited to go. Only to find out it was just a basement in a bust part of town. A very cool basement. But still haha

Ok so the first band was M4GNET3R. I would love to tell you they were amazing, but I honestly showed up late so I will never know!

Kaihouku was second, and I liked them pretty well. Their guitarist was fun and their front man was definitely energetic. it’s hard to remember much about their sound, but I would definitely give them another listen.

ORSEAS was 3rd out. Their intros onto the stage were great, like a mini fashion show, and they had amazing costumes. The lead singers outfit was just a Kamijo cosplay. I say that lovingly, but it was exactly kamijo.
Their sound was fun! As expected, a slight Versailles sounds, but their compositions reminded me of emo music at times. A cool blend. Their last song Eclipse was especially good. The lead singer flirted with my wife multiple times during the set, and then again when we were leaving, which made her giggle and I thought was really funny. (vampire wanna fight me for my wife?! Let’s go!)

After that was THE NOSTRADAMNZ, and man. They were good. I couldn’t find any of their music prior to the show, so I went in blind. Heavy rock’n’roll influence. Hints of really early Gazette, Dir En Grey, The Studs, and other bands of that flavor. Loud and proud. Their vocalist was also the bassist, and ge kicked ass. The drummer had a clown nose and played barefoot. And the guitarist wore a mask that obscured his face. He didn’t have nearly as much personality as I was expecting, but the sound was great. Their last track was a sad one and man. I wanna hear it again asap.

Next up is the band I came to see, Sakashimana Haguruma wo Kamen ga Warau. A group that I will never be able to remember the name of without it written on my arm or something. It’s Loki! From Sugar, More, and his solo work. Right in front of me! Ah I almost died. Smiled the whole time. I got to hear two new tracks, and buy a digital download of the new music. In fact, I only noticed the merch table 1 minute before they came on, so I had to buy my merch and run back to my spot as they walked out.
Loki sounded great. There were moments where his voice wasn’t as strong as it could be, but I don’t care. He was amazing. The whole band was great too. Chaotic, jazzy, queer. I loved it. Definitely didn’t have many fans in the crowd, but I’m glad I was there to cheer them on.

We weren’t feeling 100%, so we didn’t stay to see the last three performers: Shingeki no Awake, NETH PRIERE CAIN, HONMONO
I assume Neth was good because there were a lot of people in the crowd for them, and lots of posters. I’ll have to check them out later.

Now on to the next show before my body turns to dust- emmurée

[Envelion]

Today was Emmurée and I couldn’t wait to make my little review.

Holy shit. Wow. Fuck. What an honor to be at that show.
Takasaki was a long trip by regular train, and was definitely regretting missing the shinkansin. But once we arrived I’m so glad I went.
So far, Emmurée wins the award of sounding just like their album recording. Sou was amazing. I was a fan of the band before, but after this show I have a new found appreciation. There’s something to be said about having the sound of controlled chaos. Halka just let’s the guitar make the sounds it’s going to make and he guides it as the songs for along. Sou’s wailing voice and cried are done with such vocal control too, it’s really impressive.
Ya know, lots of vocalists will maybe pull the mic away when they can’t quite hit a note, or adjust themselves when they can’t hit the same note they originally recorded. But Sou didn’t have to do that even once.
The mood. The flavor. It was just right. And I was really honored to be there to celebrate their 26th anniversary. Even got a cool tshirt to remember it by.
Also, yes. Lotto drumming was phenomenal too, as was Nobuhiko on Bass. My brain is melting now. But yes. Good show.