I actually don’t think I’m going to any of that series.
The Madna Monthly show 09.26 @Shibuya Star Lounge
So I finally got the hell out of the apartment today. Going for a grocery run, picking up my Acme ticket for Saturday and took an excursion out to Yoyogi Park and Meiji Jingu before stopping at a Japanese Denny’s to kill some last minute time until I had to go to Shibuya Star Lounge.
So I’m about 75th in the room overall, taking my spot in the fifth row in between the bassist Tomo and vocalist Ryouta’s position.
The guys come out, and I can tell that today is a very hip hop chic day. Basketball jerseys, track suits, Ryouta with a bandana wrap underneath his hairline that kind of looks like a bow from a distance away.
With how he swaggered on stage, delivering hip hop-like vocals for the first song, Tokyo Bad Street King, I could tell he was trying to serve “gangsta”, but it really looked a lot more like Osare-kei Aaron Carter.
The second song starts, and its middle fingers in the air, headbanging to a B track off of a 2024 single, Fuckin’ Dearxx before heading straight into Emily.
A five or six minute MC later, and they play a couple more before going into a much longer MC.
It seemed to be back to normal with a few more high energy songs, including one that had us rushing the Saizen about seven times.
And then, just as soon as I thought we were really getting into it, it ends. That’s…it?
The entire show lasted 70 minutes, and about 20 of that was them telling us about Taiwan and commending us on how much exercise we’re getting. No encore, not even the teasing of one. It was fun, but far too short. Literally, wtf?
The show ends, and its trade city in here. I’ve never seen so many bangya wanting to offload their unwanted cheki. Groups in the venue and a lineup outside. I later find out that most of them are also waiting for 2-shot photo ops. It’s almost an hour after the show ended, and they’re still lined up outside of the building.
And Omfg, that blonde couple again. I swear, they’re everywhere. Maybe they should be writing these.
I grab three cheki and…you know what, I’m good with what I got. I have one of Osare-kei Aaron Carter to show you guys, and that’s worth all the 50 minute sets in the world.
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That’s indeed a pretty short set for a oneman live… weird, I hope the ticket wasn’t too expensive
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4500, which, I’ve definitely had more for that price in the past.
can’t imagine the effort that goes into planning and getting all the concert tickets, especially if its a hot commodity that might be sold out. Seems that you only need to venture into 2nd hand territory only for Dream Festival thus far?
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these were so fun to read!!
Half of the tickets were bought with at least some assistance from my proxy buyer, whether that was buying them through his own accounts, or him paying for them for me when I sent him the barcode info from my own Eplus account.
The remainder were bought once I arrived here, and could pay for them physically myself.
If something was sold out, I just made alternative plans (Laputa, Luna Sea tour, Shazna Halloween party, were the ones I just couldn’t swing)
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You managed to registered a Eplus account but was unable to pay for the tickets? I get the impression that registering for an account as a foreigner is impossible due to the need for a Japanese address and phone number. I leave everything to my proxy to settle; I transfer money to her and she sends me the barcodes/codes to print the tickets when I reach Japan.
I read the part about your experience with Eplus International; yikes! But they do guarantee you tickets instead of having to ballot so that’s that.
Have you tried looking into buying tickets via lawson’s platform? They have a special application form for foreigners to purchase tickets that are already on sale but no option to ballot for tickets 
I was there in May for Kansai Rock Summit, Deadman and Dezert so registered with my temporary phone number. But, since they don’t seem to allow international credit cards, sending my proxy money to go pay at Family Mart was basically my only option.
I also successfully used Lawson ticket for an international lottery process with my first time seeing Luna Sea last year. I finally managed to get my Lawson ticket account verified this time around and have made a few ticket purchases through them as well.
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I was wondering if Eplus will send OTPs to your temporary phone number for verifications and what not, which might render your account void since I assume that the number is no longer working. With increasingly more events moving away from physical tickets (especially the likes of Rock in Japan having their own dedicated app just to buy / sell tickets. Which also requires a Japanese address and phone number), I guess my concert going days are numbered heh.
I reckon the Luna Sea lottery is an outlier cos they know they have an international audience and created a separate lottery just for foreigners, much like what HYDE is doing for his gigs. Speaking of which, I wonder why Petit Brabancon offers tickets in Eplus international but not Dir en grey; would have saved me a lot of grief and money hahaha
I know that TicketTown, the app that Dir en Grey/Pierrot used for Androgynous does have international credit card compatibility, so does live pocket.
The OTP code was only sent to me once I added or changed a phone number on Eplus. Smartphone tickets work just fine, even if I purchased them before I updated my number.
The only small snag was TixPlus for Luv Together, which detected the old phone number and required me to contact them over it (they gave me the “oh alright, we’ll release it just this once)
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Hi! Really cool to read your experiences at live houses seeing all these bands. I’m actually a regular Senketsu gya, so I’ve definitely been in the crowd with you at some of these shows (9/18 and 9/25).
Regarding Hiro self harming on stage, he does it frequently, so that’s just a heads up to anyone who might be sensitive around that type of thing. You were there to see it, but others who haven’t should just be fairly warned that if you’re gonna see Senketsu, there’s a high chance you’re about to see it and there will be a lot of blood. I have some friends who have gotten upset about it, so it’s best to be in the know.
Also I wouldn’t think too much about feeling awkward when you’re around another foreign gya without talking to them. A lot of us do know each other and are friends but I think most of us also lived through the last 10 or so years of other foreign bangyas often going online to say that they don’t want other foreign gyas to approach them and want to be left alone etc, so those of us who do like to talk to other foreign gyas just play it safe and steer clear of talking to anyone who isn’t showing clear welcoming signs tbh. It’ll happen a lot.
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Ms. Eva/Tzkwym 09/27 @Sugamo Lion King
Back to the good old Sugamo Lion King. Would have hit up near by Ikebukuro for their Book Off, but it was raining all day and I needed to catch up on laundry.
Number 12, this time. Enough to get a clear centre second row position, and even good enough to be offered Saizen for once. I turned it down though, explaining that I don’t really know the furi and wanted to stay centre.
The first act tonight was Tzkwym, which I learn is pronounced “Tsuzuki wo yomu”, is the latest side project from former Mejibray vocalist Tsuzuku who had to change his name back to “Genki” a few years back due to speculation that the old label still retained the legal rights to his stage name.
However, as the project name suggests, that old persona is not entirely gone.
He takes the stage, gesturing like a marionette for Eikyo and Secret No. 4, leading us in screams and headbands alike.
Most of the time alternating between whispering and screaming, with a few rare instances of full on singing, he never really loses the focus on his stage presence.
He then gestures to the crowd to split in half for a wall of death for Greed and Ideology. The first and second row girls trade Ay-ay-ay calls before crashing into one another, stopping for back and forth jumping and a small Saizen ramming session, which I leap onto to fill in the gaps. After a second wall of death, which earned me an eye contact and smile from Genki, we head into the last three songs.
He ends it off striking one of his iconic poses that you might find in his profile pictures, the screen lowering over him, Saizen fans barking his stage name. There is no “Genki” being cheered for. They came to see Tsuzuku.
After his set is done, I go to pick up my cheki order. With a special little add on.
I retain my spot for Ms Eva, prepared for much of the same as the last time I saw them.
And they sure delivered. With a slightly longer Setlist than when I saw them with Jigsaw, it was still very much the same enthusiastic crowd with a full three rows being fully engaged with the music as opposed to Tsuzuku’s row and a half. Standout tracks were Ahodura and Over Dose for getting the audience moving.
After an hour long set, they say their goodbyes without an encore, putting both acts on an equal footing tonight.
I decide to finish off the night with a trip to one of Japan’s popular Izakaya chains, Torikizoku. Might be pretty basic for yakitori, but it sure hit the spot.
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Good to know, I knew that he’s shown scars on his timeline before so I wasn’t 100% sure if they were just in private or if he incorporated it into his act sometimes.
I guess part of my awkwardness is me also not knowing which gya are okay to talk to. I’m not trying to start drama, especially if I might run into the same people multiple times.
Btw, if any local or tourist people see me around, feel free to approach.
Hitchcock 研修生ドラマー加入記念７夜連続ワンマン■ 『地獄の修行 七連夜』09/28 @Shinjuku Heist
I’ve got everything all planned today. I got my cheezies, my makeup bag, my hairbrush. My venue is just one train ride away. Back to Kabukicho’s seedy host district, where I’ll confidently walk down those steps as ticket holder #3, having bought my ticket in advance.
I get on my train with confidence, yielding my seat to a mother with three kids. Six minutes later, I casually look up at the display.
Aww shit, I’m going the wrong way. By three stops, exactly. So now I have to backtrack, which will put my arrival time at exactly…11:00 am. 15 minutes late for doors. I’ll be lucky if I squeeze past a few free people at this point.
So I race there, and run down to the B2 level that Shinjuku Heist is, just underneath Club Science where I was for Jigsaw/Ms Eva.
I pay my 700¥ drink charge, and come to find that…virtually every spot is taken. The air in the venue is a bit heavy, it smells and feels like people smoke down here. I’m leaning up against the wall next to Wig Ojisan.
It’s a purple wig today. He even brought his makeup out for the occasion and dressed up. And I almost forgot, but he had a light up headband underneath the wig. Magic. Never change, Wig Ojisan.
So much for paying in advance.
Today was Tsuki’s day to be featured, so it’s natural that they come out to Koi no Chance with it’s chorus of “Tsuki, Tsuki, Tsuki, Tsu~ki”, and then next song Akuma featured the first of three solos that Tsuki got today, people holding up their light sticks in a “prayer” pose whenever he got a chance to show off.
The guys are definitely dressed in a lighter style than normal today. Almost look like they mugged The Madna’s Ryouta for his SkyBlue tracksuits. Kou stood out with his Angel costume, and Karasu and Tsuki completed the look with Maid cafe style bonnets. Tsuki said afterwards that he was definitely going for a “cute” look.
They play for 45 minutes plus encore, which to be honest, because they gave a heads up about this on the event listing and because people didn’t technically have to pay, I don’t mind.
I was one of the first in line for cheki tickets, and it was a straight forward 1,000 for phone photo, 3,000 for standard cheki, 4,000 if you want it autographed. I splurged and got the regular cheki. Also managed to situate myself to be first in line for Tsuki, which is a bonus. Guess that’s good karma…maybe?
I told him about the first time I saw them, he talked about his cute outfit, and I said that I’d be back tomorrow.
This time, be early and get in for free like a sane person.
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Most of them he does in private. He used to do it occasionally during lives but it has become more frequent as of late. I’m guessing his lack of meds has something to do with it. Still I’d like the warning to be up because I have a friend who saw them for the first time recently and was super not okay with it.
As for talking to other foreigners, The best advice I can give is to be observant. I like to joke that those of us who like talking to other foreigners travel in groups, so if you see a group of us talking to each other, chances are we’re open to making new friends. Some girls you’ll notice always go alone or some of them will always be strictly in pairs. I think these are the girls who are more closed off to meeting new people (and that’s completely okay).
Maybe I’ll catch you at a future Senketsu show?
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If so, it’ll be Halloween. I’m still up in the air as to whether I should see Vivarush then, or move them up to October 8th to give up seeing Kakumay for free. Or just…not see Vivarush. That Lyrica Taiban looks sick, my only asterisk here is that there’s nothing really new about it, and there are already a ton of Halloween options.
The fear is real - I recall when I started going to concerts I would see foreigners and instantly think “yay! time to make new friends!” The first one I reached out to had a friend group and I tried to be friendly and add on twitter and she told me she wasn’t gonna follow me back 
then acted like I was a creep for talking to her.
I almost reached out when I saw another group but one of the girls was just trasshhh talking all the other foreigners to a friend so I just didn’t let it be known I speak English.
I also have run into weird ones that claim to be a bandman’s personal translator (they’re fan translating for free) Nothing wrong with fan translating but the girl introduced herself as that bandman’s translator.
So I got so scared off I don’t talk to anyone even if I’ve seen more that seem…normal 
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I had to go alone to all but one live where I dragged my dad in may 
(which was the only occasion where I could have met @GreatNorthernVK because we both went 
) Pleaseeee approach me if you see me. I am not alone on purpose!
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I feel that so much! No one ever talks to me bc i just look like any other regular non-foreign fan. But i see people talking in english and i’m like, hmmmmmgh i wanna talk to them so bad!
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