LIVE REPORT ~ LA FIN DE LA JOURNÉE: February 4 2009
echostream, GPKISM, DJ SiSeN, and BLOOD
Yakitori Boy, Philadelphia, PA
No Fatality Without BLOOD
BLOOD.... Despite an ever-changing lineup, BLOOD has continued without fail for eight years. It's somehow ironic that their first foray into Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, jrock's first foray, should be their last.
As a special promotion in Philadelphia, Tainted Reality offered a dinner with the band. The diners sat in a small room, tense with expectation as miso soup arrived and very strange Chinese karaoke videos played on a large screen facing the table. Roger Shackleford, Tainted Reality's manager and CEO, popped his head into the room to announce that we would be switching out artists and first up was GPKISM. Kiwamu and Gothique Prince Ken walked into the room, their dark and flowing clothing a startling contrast to Yakitori Boy's karaoke rooms.
Roger appeared once again, this time with the announcement that the artists would be eating Philadelphia's signature food, a Philly cheese steak. GPK looked askance at Roger as he was told to eat the messy sandwich with his hands, but he gallantly picked it up and bit into it. While eating, the diners proceeded to tease GPK gently, teaching him the proper way of accepting compliments (this apparently involves clasping your hands together dramatically and squeaking out "Oh, Thank you~" in a voice reminiscent of Minnie Mouse). They had just finished their sandwiches when "Change time!" was called out and GPK and Kiwamu left to a chorus of farewells and good luck wishes.
DJ SiSeN bounced in next, complete with a huge salad. The colorful man gleefully drank GPK's abandoned beer and entertained the diners with his cute antics. His salad remained largely forgotten as he picked choice bits from one of the TR staffer's plates. He playfully posed for photos, sticking bits of his bubble-wrap hair into his nose before snorting them out gleefully. "Snot!" he grinned. SiSeN never seemed to appear without his marimokkori, a Japanese plush... algae with an erection. And sure enough, marimokkori was brought out to dance around the table and pose for pictures as well.
Too soon, Roger poked his head into the room and motioned for DJ SiSeN. It was time for sound check. SiSeN shoveled some rice into his mouth and cast many longing looks at the remainder of his salad before gulping down his beer and heading out. The diners chilled in the dining room for a while, finishing up the last few crumbs of food on their plates before being led back down to the lobby to wait, thankfully, out of the cold.
Finally, it was time for the concert. With no stage, TR improvised and the stage was now defined by tape emblazoned boldly with the sharpied words "DO NOT CROSS". Giggling a little at the tape, the audience packed in; the small venue was a tight fit for everyone plus the bands.
First up was echostream. Their two drummers, C.J. and Jen, pounded away as Tony abused his keyboard. Contagious's notes floated earily through the venue, their power enrapturing the audience. Ryoko's voice was somehow simulataneously there and yet not-there, embodying the band's name: echostream; a never ending stream of the echos of emotions. A ball of energy, Tomo rocked his guitar, moving about crazily even when he wasn't playing.
Although a cover, CREEP is wildly different from the original. A haunting rendition, the song echoed strangely through Yakitori Boy, flitting down the spines of everyone in the audience as Ryoko sang of rejection. Echostream rounded out their set with a few more songs, making full use of their limited space.
After echostream disappeared from stage, breaking down their equipment with amazing speed, GPK and Kiwamu took the stage. Illuminatum's tripping notes graced the audience's ears as GPKISM began their set. The music soon took a darker turn and Gothique Prince Ken's rich voice filled the small venue, singing forlornly of love. Illuminatum flowed gorgeously into Sublimis.
Ken gazed at the audience longingly, his outstretched hands a silent plea as his voice soared above the crowd. Despite some technical malfunctions, the strange mixed mood of somber yet playful continued after the MC, Ken joking with the crowd before launching into the upbeat Metempsykhosis.
Their black Gothic clothing swirled dramatically as the techno opening of Infernum began. Ken seemed to embrace the microphone as Kiwamu angrily attacked his guitar. The final notes faded dramatically as Kiwamu breathed a heavy sigh.They ended on a solemnly happy note with Abaddon, quite possibly the only uplifting song about the end of the world. With this last song, GPKISM took took their leave, disappearing into the darkness surrounding the stage.
A startling contrast, DJ SiSeN exploded onto the stage in a burst of colorful light. His backup dancers filtered on after him, their own wave of color. SiSeN's electronic beats pulled the audience into a frenzy, several people mirrored the dancers as they wove about on stage. They twirled and undulated, one dancer's hair glowing dramatically as she danced. Bouncing back and forth between his sound board and the dancers, SiSeN playfully stuck candy in his mouth, inviting audience members to take the other other end of the candy in their mouths. A whirlwind of energy, the crowd sighed when the dancers skipped off stage and the final band slowly appeared. BLOOD.
They began to LES LITANIES DE SATAN, the supplication, the prayers of satan. It seemed a fitting beginning as the music washed over the crowd. The beguilingly red light filtered down on BLOOD, seemingly drenching them in their namesake as they began CRIMSON.
The audience's emotion soared as Fu-Ki launched into the familiar strains of morphine. GPK played alongside BLOOD in haunting finality as Fu-Ki's sleepy voice carried over the crowd. The audience found themselves entranced again and for the last time. BLOOD soared through CHAIN and The Funeral for Humanity, everyone screaming along on the chorus as Fu-Ki's voice gave out. He recovered quickly, however; BLIND and I remember you were as haunting as ever. Kiwamu's fixed intensity on his guitar bestowed an almost creepy edge to the songs. Pausing a beat, BLOOD surveyed the crowd and then Fu-Ki was off and running again, hopping a tall speaker to demand that the crowd "Shake your hips!" to byakuya.
After a short MC, BLOOD's Lost Sky filled the venue. The deep beats of the music matched with the pounding of blood in everyone's ears. As Fu~ki's voice cracked a little, Ken leaned over to his mic and began singing. The two vocals mixed strangely well, for such dissimilar voices. The eerie harmony they made only seemed to accentuate the feeling of loss and the knowledge that this... after this, BLOOD is over. Even with that bittersweet realization, BLOOD continued their playful antics onstage. Fu-Ki snagged an impromptu piggy-back ride out of Roger, grinning as he rode around the stage before slipping off and hanging onto the mic.
BLOOD ended with the resounding screams of D.T.M.H., inviting everyone for one last trip down to BLOOD's own personal hell. The pull of the music drew the audience closer as they pressed forward to scream along with BLOOD. DOWN! TO! MY! HELL! Everything blurred as BLOOD swarmed on stage, grabbing every available mic to scream their souls out. Even Roger joined in, smiling ridiculously as Kiwamu pulled him to the mic.
And then, it was over. Kiwamu lingered over the microphones, shouting at people to buy stuff as Fu-Ki staggered around on stage, reaching blindly for water. The crowd slowly broke up, loathe to leave, the concert high still singing in their veins. They gave into the urgings of Roger and BLOOD and shambled over to the merchandise table before embarking out into the chilly night air.
BLOOD... was the beginning. My first Japanese rock concert, somehow I feel as if it should be my last. Their beats pounded throughout this past year. I may not have followed them closely or watched every release like a hawk, but they always were there. BLOOD's music was always there when I needed it, like the pulse pounding in my ears whenever I close my eyes. And yet this fatalistic feeling following the idea of BLOOD's disbandment doesn't fade, although I know there will be other bands, other concerts. Even their name seemed a play on fatality. Without BLOOD, there is death.
In reality, BLOOD isn't truly gone, I suppose. Every time I open a CD, hit play on iTunes, BLOOD lives again. I can still read Fu~ki's words and hear Kiwamu's music. It's just changing. At least, this is what I tell myself; BLOOD still lives. This is only the end of the day: La Fin de la Journée.
set list
GPKISM
Illuminatum
Sublimis
-MC-
Metempsykhosis
Infernum
Abaddon
BLOOD
SE. LES LITANIES DE SATAN (Brutal Autism Mix) remix by Rieu
CRIMSON
Morphine
CHAIN
oboro
-MC-
THE FUNERAL FOR HUMANITY
BLIND
I remember you
byakuya
-MC-
Lost Sky
WALL OF GRIEF
ESCAPE
SWEATEST DISEASE
ENCORE
LA FIN DE LA JOURNEE（Dreamscape Recollection Mix)
D.T.M.H. (session)
report by Kara; photos by Mistress Mu
thank you to Tainted Reality for making this possible; thanks to BLOOD for their contributions to the music world
links
GPKISM Official Website
GPKISM Official MySpace
SiSeN Official MySpace
BLOOD Official Website
BLOOD Official MySpace
Tainted Reality
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