Pierrot
- "A deformed Bud" (04/05/2005)

Secong "big" Pierrot concert, with someone who will be able to translate for me what was said during the musicians speeches: I felt little a less "lost" / "did I really get it?" + when you go to a concert with someone you know (even one person only), you always let yourself go far more easily (...and a concert is far more funny when you do!): Even though we were relatively far from the stage (which wasn't a big problem nyway thanks to the giant screens on both sides), I let myself go faaaaaaaaar more than the day before!

Yet the set-list was less "my thing": more mid-tempo songs, a lot of b-sides (on singles) songs (like the previous day was mainly centered on a-sides, following the best of albums of the same titles), but, this time again, the audience and the band were here so much "into the thing" that even songs that I usually don't like so much were here most great... quite a lot of fun in the end!
One big highlight of the evening was when they played Mother - Scene II. This song is so rare on their set-lists that on the first seconds I thought I "mixed" this introduction with the introduction of another song, it couldn't be Mother... after all... but as soon as Kirito begins to sing I realize that yes, I am really lucky enough to enjoy one of my most favourite Pierrot tracks + one of their rarest live songs. And it was played so well, Kirito was so much "into the thing" when he sang it that everyone around seemed to have tears in their eyes, some of them were even crying. Even I, while it's usually quite difficult to make me cry any tear (save "happiness tears"). All of the concerts I saw had different "highlights", but this is the one that stroke me the most, definitely, I really hope this song will appear on a possible future DCVII dvd... (I'm not even sure such a dvd will ever see the light of day, because of the film-gigd tour, but well! hope rules!) Everyone will need time to "come back" in the end, in the audience but also on stage: I felt like no one really got back into the concert itself before the half of the song that followed...

But I got a little scared at the end of the "main set": Everyone stays "----" (= no one moves even a little finger), so I already see myself leaving my very last Pierrot concert without having had even one "bis/encore" (at Pierrot concerts, even if an encore is planned on the set-list, the band won't come back if not a single sound can be heard from the crowd): here I say no! So I begin clapping my hands in a rather sounding way (...Japanese people have a totally "soundless" technic: even if they do a clapping-like move, you really barely hear them!), and a really expressive Chinese guy in front of me begins to get really loud (he did every hand-choregraphies! sang loudly on -every- song! for once that -a guy- doesn't stand playing the fish for all of the concert in Japan!): most glad I find some help, I follow him in the very second (a -guy- was with me here: no fear of shouting an octave below everyone around me!), and lungs go at work (lungs at work = vocal cords work faaar less = you can shout far longer + special bonus: your voice gets louder!). And this we will do between each other "encore"! Thank you M. Chinese guy! Especially as it "stimulated" people below us: I took a break sometimes, and oooh miracle some sound is coming from below! But not so much though, so we go again, carefullness rules...

The first "encore" was absolutely great, beginning with one of my favourite Pierrot songs: Last Cry in Hades (an atmosphere with this song my dears, but an atmosphere!). Heaven follows... on the introduction, Kirito opens his arms, like he does on the... Heaven (...) Landscape video I believe? An image I always loved anyway: I realize for a micron of second that: "hey! enjoy these very seconds, you're watching it with your very own eyes here, not a simple video, you may see it again before long!...": tears come to my eyes in this very second, I quickly force myself to think of something else because crying of something negative isn't really fun when you're still at a concert... A moment of satisfaction on the following song, Birthday, where Kirito sings -in tune- this so famous note he completely wastes 90% of the time / his tries!
No need to say the rest of the concert was excellent, I have a lot of fun asking for other "encore" with my new Chinese friend, as other people in the crowd keeping on being mute or nearly (maybe they hoped we would do the whole job for them! Rita will also tell me after the concert that Kirito, said, to sum up: "hey! it's rather unsual/weird! that side [ours: left... up too? doubt of it] is the loudest, while this side [front/middle] normally is the loudest!": indeed, they all were on strike darling! But I really doubt they heard -us- though, we were really too "up the venue" for that, but they probably heard people below us who we "stimulated"!)

Kirito will have another speech where his voice will strike me, more because of its absolute sincerity than its sensivity this time. Rita will give me a quick summary of what he said after the concert, and if I "join" what she told me and what I understood, it gives something like: they/at least he will be their/his solo thing(s), but it doesn't mean Pierrot stops (I believe I understood Japanese fans really fear it), because Pierrot represents a lot for each of them. They will try to stay together as long as possible, although they can't promise that Pierrot will still exist for 10 other years. These may look like very usual words, but he repeated himself a lot (always proves emotion), had a VERY sincere/serious voice when he said it, and the long version longed for... 5mns maybe? probably even more... and everyone was very carefully listening to him, you really heard he was Sincere. And I prefer that to bands who promise in every interview that they will stay together until the end of times... and split two years after because Guy One walked over Guy Two feet while they were recording in the studios...

And after 2h40 of concert, it's time to come back on Earth, and find our way back to the subway... Still another "encore" would have been ok for me (...a 2h40 long concert is honourable... but for a "big" concert of Pierrot it's not exceptionnal at all!), but the rest of the audience don't seem to agree with me: there were lights over the "gradins" but not the pit, which I noticed usually is a sign of: "hey hey it's ok, you may ask for more!" + it's quite rare to leave when Mss. Microphone makes her very first announcement at Pierrot concerts, at least it never happened at any of the concerts where I went... so I was ready to ask for M. Chinese Guy's help once again, but I could see everyone packing their bags, so well... we were not going to force them, were we? And I had had my 3h of excellent concert the day before: I couldn't really complain myself! + Seeing even one concert of Pierrot was one these dreams I don't even seriously wish they could be true: after I saw 3 concerts of them within one small week, it surelly wasn't time for complaining!
In the subway station... as I say bye to Rita, a voice in my mind tells me: "...and I don't know if we'll meet again by the way" (there aren't many really kind people), immediatly followed by a: "...or even when I'll sehe this band on stage again, enjoy such a -Concert- again": paradoxically, it's because I was up there on my little cloud faaaaar up in the sky that coming back to Earth was kind of difficult: I spent the whole way in the subway trying not to burst into tears, didn't try anymore at the very second I entered my hotel room... warmth, coldness, clouds... and humans too!

Among the lot of things that stroke me, during the last two concerts for the most:

I will never understand how songs that sound so great live, like Followers (or a lot of their earlier songs, pre-Private Enemy to sum up) can be so "usual/empty" when you listen to a studio version... (or at least when I listen to a studio version)

Followers (Pierrot's fanclub) staff members themselves are lovely people, but the one who seemed to be in charge of the fan-club at least at these three concerts... let's say she should have a "Occidentals aren't welcome here, thank you for your understanding" sign somewhere around here / on the Followers stand, it would be more explicit!

In our countries we often believe that Jun would be one of the "abandonned" members of the band, most people in Japan would mainly love either Kirito or Aiji... So it was funny (except for him probably!) to see that Aiji would be one of the abandonned members actually, as Jun always got as much cheers as Kirito,maybe more sometimes! Although a good clue shows that Jun isn't so popular among occidentals: on Yahoo Japan auction site (also known as "the ticket-office for foreigners, usually not so appreciated by their bank-officers"): places on Aiji's side are sold for an EXPENSIVE price, sometimes even more expensive than on Kirito's side, while in front of Jun... not so many people auction for them, I even saw some correct tickets not being sold at all, while they would have cost a lot of money if they had been in front of Kirito or Aiji! Funny differences somehow...

Once again, Kirito abolutely and definitely doesn't try to make Pierrot -his-. As he's the singer (and leader) he runs to every corner of the stage, but never absolutely never tries to make other members "disappear" of him. You can feel it throughout a concert (a band where everyone tries to make the whole important, not a single memberr... you feel it, really), but even more when they come back at the beginning of each "encore", where everyone laughs, makes his little (and most of the time stupid) speech, jokes, laughing at each other (looks like a "national sport" inside Pierrot!), and so on and so on... Honestly, I can even say I rarely saw a band where every member really is at the same level than everyone else, at least from the other members' point of view. They obviously appreciate and respect each other a lot, I love such things.

Even though Saitama Arena is big, they managed to give every concert a quite intimist atmosphere. Maybe thanks to the speeches before the "encore", but even before that. That's another clue that shows that a band gives itself to its audience, has fun on stage, and more than everything tries to please its audience. I rarely like concerts that take place in big venues because there's no real contact/interaction with the band, but it definitely isn't so at a Pierrot concert. Using lights over the audience while we were doing the hand-choregraphies, so that the band could easily see us, probably helped that feeling, but whatever the reason the result is here: They're one of these bands that make you want to get into the thing, and not only watch the show, even where you're somewhere there far from the stage... and not every band achieves it, trust me.

You may have noticed I didn't speak of fan-service... well, it simply is because I didn't see any! Although I have to admit my brain is rather gifted at self-censorship, so it may be because I didn't see it... but even after the concerts I didn't hear anyone mention enything of it, so I guess there was none at all... Which I don't regret at all, as my only reaction when I see fan-service is a giant laugh... (especially in Pierrot: Kirito always is -very- far from the other guy anyway... still everyone reacts as if something really daughty/dirty was happening on stage... hey hey hey girls, it's a show, wake up!
(although... maybe at the fanclub only concert there was a little, but really very little... something that made me laugh more than anything anyway!)

I also wanted to speak of -ze- goodies they sold at the "...Bud" concerts: A probably false metal/real plastic box, with a surprise gift inside... excep that you only had to go out of the giant merchandising area what it was about: a pair of "Pierrot labelled" socks (black, red around the finger-feet, red Pierrot logo around the ankle, and maybe a thin red stripe at the top) + a "paper-box" (Pierrot labelled again) where you could find... a condom... -the- thing for sex with -the- anti-sex thing... or that allows to sleep everynight with Pierrot, depending on how you see things! Outside, everyone who opened these boxes made some "Kirito-san...", with a kind of ""...you're really hopeless" implied inside their voices... and everyone around was laughing, of course!

And of course I had to end with Kirito: This guy really has what you can call charism and sex-appeal, at least when he's into "Kirito-mode"... You already see it a little when you watch videos, but when you face him it .....times stronger. I don't know, he really has very fluid moves, whatever his move might be, that makes you go... -gasp-. I actually tried several times to look at the others a little more often... but my eyes always came back to Kirito, on their own! And so many emotions go through his voice, even when he only speaks... It may betray him when he's angry (cf.: fan-club only concert), but as I always give a lot of attention to people's voice, having my ears go "eeeek!" everytime I hear someone definitely doesn't "master his voice" + enjoying everytime I hear someone able to make a least a minimum of emotions go through his voice, my ears left rather happy on this point of view!

Oh yes, one last detail about Aiji: After the concerts, I regretted I didn't try to cheer him a little, especially at the first concert as I was relatively in the front: he always loves having stupid games with the audience, poser-attitude rules to sum up. But here, at the three concerts, I found he always stayed... rather in the back... well I mean "rather", he's Aiji after all!, but still... "relatively", in everything it may imply. I also have to say that at the first "... Bud" concert, he made some "hey! time for fan-service!" faces/moves to Kirito... who always went away / pretended he didn's see him: who knows, maybe poor Aiji was pouting after that! Poor sweety...
(In French, that's what we call "un vent" / "a wind": someone expects a reaction (move, like here, or an answer, such), but... doesn't get a single move as an answer...: he's kindly allowed to hear the sound of the wind as an answer!)

And that's the end, they will have managed to make me go out of these concerts even more fan of Pierrot than I was when I entered... and you probably know it means a lot. Conclusion: SHOULD YOU EVER HAVE AN OCCASION TO SEE THEM LIVE, RUN SEE THEM, DAMN IT! I always say that a band really proves its worth on stage and only on stage, so if you forget about the fan-club only concert bad episode (never easy to play a great concert facing a bad audience!), they definitely proved their worth! LONG LIVE PIERROT!!!!!

(Special absolutely unimportant bonus, in case you would be interested in seeing my face for once: before the concert / after the concert.
(Rita appears on both, but as I just thought of adding these photos, I couldn't ask for her permission before they went online: I made her some "sunglasses" (ok, grey... but it looked better than black!)... I wanted these photos to be online, because you can see I'm not really unhappy to be where I am there!) )

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