LIVE REPORT ~ BLOOD: February 4 2008
The Subterranean, Chicago, IL
Chicago, IL—it’s a big city, maybe not in the same class as New York or Los Angeles, but it’s not far behind. Maybe there aren’t as many fans in the central United States as there are in those cities, or in Texas. But it’s still a big city, a world city, and there are still fans that want to see a good JRock band.
Yet Chicago, and the surrounding area, is, for the most part, unloved when it comes to JRock. Sure, we have ACen, but the musical guests that ACen gives us are generally pop or pop-rock. And while these are good bands, it leaves us midwesterners, the ones who crave a darker flavor of Japanese music, largely unsatisfied.
But finally, we were given a taste of that darker flavor. Japanese goth-rock band, BLOOD, added Chicago as a stop on their Darkest Labyrinth vol.7 US tour, and for those that braved the iffy winter weather, there was much satisfaction.
The Subterranean isn’t a giant venue, nor was it completely full, but if you closed your eyes, you might think otherwise: BLOOD’s audience made more noise than I had heard at convention concerts with audiences at least twice the size. I guess they just prefer the taste of BLOOD that much more to the sugary pop-rock we sometimes get.
They had appeared from the spiral staircase in the back corner of the stage—Fu-ki on vocals, Kiwamu on guitar, and the newest addition to BLOOD, Ryo, on keyboard. Kaede, we had been informed, was ill in Japan, but BLOOD had come on this tour with his blessing.
Without a backward glance, everyone threw themselves into BLOOD’s world. Darkest Labyrinth is the name of the tour, and Symphony of Chaos is BLOOD’s new concept. It’s sometimes difficult to understand these concepts through recorded music, but live…that’s a completely different story. BLOOD guided us through this intangible, but very real, world, from the entrance of CRIMSON, to Morphine, DEAD-HEARTED, and the obvious fan favorite, CHAIN, during which the audience’s reaction was at its peak.
Don’t think for a second that BLOOD’s world is frightening! Even darkness is fun, and it was certainly fun to see Fu-ki throw himself into the crowd, be caught, and then lovingly returned to stage. Or to see Kiwamu taunt the audience from just beyond their reach as he played his guitar, or as Ryo danced in an almost childlike way. Oh yes, that audience loved BLOOD.
There was a short break in the performance—an amusing break. Tainted Reality CEO, Roger, came on stage to make an announcement about merchandise—BLOOD was still onstage, and Fu-ki took it upon himself to play Ryo’s keyboard while Roger was speaking. No one likes to be interrupted! Fu-ki’s punishment: Roger threw him into the audience, much to their delight. It was difficult not to laugh, if anyone even tried not to. Somehow, Roger made it through his spiel, and gave the stage back to BLOOD.
As for the encore, it was everything an encore should be. DJ SiSeN was welcomed back onto the stage for a heart-pounding performance of D.T.M.H.. It was exciting and fun, and it brought the show to a very satisfying close. BLOOD, I hope you liked Chicago. After a live like that, I can guarantee we want more. Are we BLOODthirsty? Hell yes!
set list
SE. LES LITANIES DE SATAN (Brutal Autism Mix)
CRIMSON
THE REAPER BEHIND ME
Under The Sensual Moon...
FOLLOW
-MC-
BLOOD
Morphine
ESPACE
DEAD-HEARTED
-MC-
oboro
LA FIN DE LA JOURNEE
WALL OF GRIEF
CHAIN
-MC-
Sweetest Disease
LES LITANIES DE SATAN
-ENCORE-
D.T.M.H. (DJ SiSeNと一緒に)
report and photos by Melony
Thank you to Tainted Reality and Animefood, Inc for making this possible.
links
BLOOD Official Website
BLOOD Official MySpace
Tainted Reality
Animefood, Inc
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