Lay Day
Date: April 22, 2005 (Fri) SOLD OUT!!!
Place: Hachiouji RIPS (八王子RIPS)
Start: 18:30
Name of the show: 関東集中汚染企画モノ単独公演 Lay企画 (translation: The contamination of the Kantou region project: solo performances. Lay plan)
By the time of Lay day we stopped guessing what other things we could expect from the guys. But there was no doubt we were in for many more pleasant surprises. Indeed, the live in Hachiouji RIPS was something we did not expect to see!! For the time being itfs the most stylish and memorable Fatima performance I have ever seen and I believe this impression can be surpassed by the Last Live only (which yet remains to be proved next week*).
Just like at previous lives of this mini-tour the place was totally new for me. Although equipped with a map and instructions from my friendfs husband we managed to choose the wrong way to the hall. After walking for quite a while, asking a policeman, returning to the station and finally finding the right way we were all late for the time when the doors opened to let everybody in. When we reached RIPS there was no one outside - not a single roriita >_<; Near the entrance there was an elevator and a board which said gRIPS ? 5 floorh. While we were waiting for the elevator to descend a small group of young guys carrying musical instruments lined behind us. Actually I didnft see them at first, I heard them, because they whispered loudly gsugoooooooooooi!!!h a few times, obviously thinking that we couldnft understand a word in Japanese ^^; We did our best not to burst out laughing. Usually Japanese young men are too shy to say this aloud ? they prefer to either giggle and whisper something like this if in a company or simply staaaaare when alone XDDD Therefore, upon hearing this gsugooooih I thought some old hentais were drooling behind us *lol*. It was such a pleasure to see young and way too prrretty boys when I finally turned around. Together with the boys we went up to the 5th floor and when the doors of the elevator opened we realized that something was seriously wrong. There was no live house upstairs, but most likely the rehearsal studios (where the guys were evidently heading) and RIPS backstage. So I stopped the prettiest one (haha!) and asked where we can find RIPS. He gave me a most thorough explanation in Japanese from which I could only understand that we had to go down again, turn round the corner and do something I didnft get ^^; When the elevator doors opened again there was some guy inside who, I thought, looked familiar to me, but oh well, many of them look familiar *lol*. So we went in, the same did the nice guy who explained the way and one of his friends. I gave a few quick peeks at the efamiliarf guy, but only before the concert while watching Fatimafs roadie making the final arrangements on stage I realized that it was him XDDD I am a slow thinker, yep ^^; Anyways the cute boy got me more interested so I was staring at his face which bore the signs of some heavy brainwork ? he was definitely thinking over some phrase *lol*. The phrase was finally gbornh in the street when he showed us the way to an iron staircase and uttered gNow you have to go upstairsh. Haha, the masterclass of cute English XDD Taken aback by the unexpected use of English instead of saying earigatouf I blurted out ethank youf and hurried up the stairs ^^.
I didnft like what I saw inside the hall ? I saw nothing but backs, backs, backsc This tiny place was FULLY packed and there was almost no chance to push through the crowd ;_; However, we thought we should try, otherwise there would be nothing to say about this live. After having a small argument the core of which was who would have to elbow our way through, I chose to go rather than just stand and exchange words. I worked through 3 or 4 rows of girls when the crowd suddenly shifted towards the stage and there was a lot of free space in front of us. We covered the distance in a split second and found ourselves somewhere in the 3rd row from the stage!!! Well done!!! (^.^)v
Before the live started we had some time to settle ourselves, listen to the music (they put on The Cure and David Bowie ? no wonder cos itfs Lay day!) and look around. I dare say it was the smallest live house among all 5 used for this tour. Although it was located on the 5th floor, it gave you the feeling of a cellar; maybe due to the very low ceiling (Kanoma could easily touch it with his hand). The girls around aroused no interest, but the guy in disguise was there! Poor fella! But we were really pleased to see him again ^_^
Finallyc. It was SHOWTIME! Our jaws dropped when the guys started to come out one by one! Evidently their look comprised a selection of styles taken from the 80fs, but my friend and I immediately decided they were all cosplaying Robert Smith from The Cure (doesnft matter if they were not :P). The clothes were black and white. 4ge and Towa had smooth hair:
The others had their hair backcombed:
Kanoma had a tiny, slightly ragged, white undershirt, black leather gloves, black shorts or a skirt and b/w striped stockings on:
The realm of monochrome was coloured by his blood-red lipstick.
They had been standing solemnly for a while to the tune of Michael Nymanfs Angelfish Decay. When the music faded they started right away!
And the first SHOCK/SURPRISE/whatever of the evening ? FORTUNE! One of my favourite Fatima songs heard live for the very first time! That was a good beginning for a special show.
There is really not so much to say about this live, because most of my feelings cannot be put into words. I was watching the whole show with bated breath, because conception-wise, setlist-wise, performance-wise the live was superb. The highlights of the show were:
- A fantastic slow version of Love Me ? something worth being recorded on a CD, but alasc;
- Two lovely covers of My Bloody Valentine and Supercar;
- All their ballads beautifully performed one by one with no time to recover senses after each of them;
- Shizumu taion sung by Kanoma with his gloved hands covering his eyes the whole song producing the illusion of the tears dripping from under them (was it just an illusion? I dunnoc)
It was the most silent show, because Kanoma only introduced songs a couple of times ? no blabbering, no jokes, no nothing. There was not a single smile from any of them, even from Towa. Only music.
They came out for an encore just once and played wild Candy $trippers during which Kanoma dived into the audience and was floating atop the girlsf heads touching the ceiling with his striped legs ^^;
In an interview given before these lives Lay had said that Hachiouji would raise the bar. Wellc it surely did!
Setlist:
SE Angelfish Decay (Michael Nyman)
1) Fortune
2) Sticky Flower
3) Peanut
4) Love Me (slow version)
5) When You Sleep (My Bloody Valentine cover)
6) Mr:Imbalance-44
7) Akai bara no suupu
8) Muchina inochi e
9) Tsumugi ito
10) Blue Velvet
11) Walk Slowly (Supercar cover)
12) Ajisai
13) Sakura meiro
14) Shizumu taion
15) Kesenai ame
EN
16) Candy $trippers
*the report was written a week before the Last Live
***The pictures (Shoxx vol 149) are scanned by Kuutamo.***
