LAVERITE VISUAL KEI CONCERT: MEETING BASSIST AND BLOGGER JIMI BLUMER.
Do you remember the Boston Public and The Practice crossover episode, where characters from each show appeared on the other in the same plot? Well, the blog-o-sphere has pulled a David E. Kelly… and last night, Gothic Lolita met Visual Kei (with photographic proof above)! ‘Twas was the culmination of a series of fortunate events:
1. Jimi Blumer is the mastermind behind Rock Japan Elec-tric, an addictive blog with Visual Kei concert reports and updates on the journey of his own band, Laverite.
2. I run a Gothic Lolita blog with a small category for Visual Kei. We share many of the same readers.
3. When I wrote about Australian Goth Loli designer Lang Leav, I included a photo of her interpretor, who happened to be Jimi.
4. A reader of both blogs told Jimi that she did a double take when she saw his photo on my site.
5. Coincidentally – and on that very same day – Lang emailed us and said we should meet in Tokyo!
And so we did the right thing. On Friday, I trekked to Urawa (north of Tokyo) to watch Laverite perform. I’m practically a Visual Kei concert virgin, so I was delighted to experience five bands at a small but sound venue called Narciss. Laverite played third, and I snapped over a hundred photos of Jimi (bass), Yue (vocals), and Ryota (guitar).
I was amused by the Japanese teen girls in the audience, who came in their school uniforms and performed the same synchronized “rocking-out” hand movements. Some got into Exorcist-mode, dropping to the floor and shaking their heads as if possessed. Out of all the bands, Laverite had by far the most people pumping their fists over the railing.
I’ll let Jimi report on the music while I cover fashion – and you can cross-reference the posts! The first band, Cra-Mirror, could have stepped out of a Sex Pot Revenge ad; the singer wore several low-slung belts over a plaid skirt and drainpipe trousers, and the bassist had a leopard-print handkerchief tied over the mouth. Every member of Session Band was a flop; the singer looked Ziggy-esque until the lights went up, revealing his bare feet, white jogger shorts, and T-shirt under an aristocrat coat with cheap feather boa attached to one shoulder. As you can see from the photos, Laverite’s stage costumes created a pleasing aesthetic unity; I appreciated their (relatively) minimal use of colors and accessories. The fourth band stuck to black and was sartorially unremarkable. Christine OMeGa ended up being a solo performance by the singer, whose goofy antics matched his multicolored hair.
As a teen, I loved sneaking my camera into concerts and taking live pictures . I got to re-visit that thrill as I snapped away at Laverite.
The bridge between Visual Kei and Goth Loli Punk fashion has been forged, and I’m looking forward to further explorations. Cross over to Jimi’s blog for a unique insider’s look at VK life in Tokyo (you’ll find photos of Jimi with members of Versailles! )
Back home, I amused myself with some Visual Kei self-posturing in front of the mirror. These bands have got it down to an art form!
41 Comments
Thank you for this! Great review, and awesome to see a review of LAVERITE not by Jimi himself! The Photos are just amazing too! :]
Thank you for this! Great review, and awesome to see a review of LAVERITE not by Jimi himself! The Photos are just amazing too! :]
Hey! I wanted to drop by and give a shout-out to you in saying that I really appreciate what you do here on this blog, that is, providing actual great content both written and visual concerning gothic lolita, visual kei, street fashion, etc.! Keep up the great work! All of your commercial pursuits look promising too, so good luck to you!
Also, LAVERITE looks rocking! Fantastic photos!
Hey! I wanted to drop by and give a shout-out to you in saying that I really appreciate what you do here on this blog, that is, providing actual great content both written and visual concerning gothic lolita, visual kei, street fashion, etc.! Keep up the great work! All of your commercial pursuits look promising too, so good luck to you!
Also, LAVERITE looks rocking! Fantastic photos!
Thank you so much, Lemon. I really appreciate your words. :)
Thank you so much, Lemon. I really appreciate your words. :)
those are pretty good pictures Carmen, for a person who was sneaking a camera in.
and i must say that my fav picture is jimmy with the blurred head (3rd row)
heh, I had official permission for this show (for once!) I like that photo too.
LoL I like the bands style
those are pretty good pictures Carmen, for a person who was sneaking a camera in.
and i must say that my fav picture is jimmy with the blurred head (3rd row)
heh, I had official permission for this show (for once!) I like that photo too.
LoL I like the bands style
Hi~
I found your blog through your link in Jimi's shoutbox and WOW–!!
Your pictures are amazing!
And your blog is really cool too. I'm definitely gonna keep coming back :) I've started reading your older posts about GothLoli fashion and ahh its making me wanna go back to Tokyo like now xD
YAY LAVERITE
Hi~
I found your blog through your link in Jimi’s shoutbox and WOW–!!
Your pictures are amazing!
And your blog is really cool too. I’m definitely gonna keep coming back :) I’ve started reading your older posts about GothLoli fashion and ahh its making me wanna go back to Tokyo like now xD
YAY LAVERITE
Arigato gozaimasu, Rubab! It’s a pleasure to meet you. Jimi and I are having a blast in Tokyo! :)
Arigato gozaimasu, Rubab! It's a pleasure to meet you. Jimi and I are having a blast in Tokyo! :)
Amazing pictures! I love live photography and Laverite really look like they're having a good time! ^_^
^___^ Awwww~ I want to be at Tokyo, too! You took great photos! <3
Amazing pictures! I love live photography and Laverite really look like they’re having a good time! ^_^
^___^ Awwww~ I want to be at Tokyo, too! You took great photos! <3
I found your blog by a total accident (a really good accident), my computer flipped out and I was just thrown between different websites (I don't know what happend) but finally I succeeded in putting an end to it and ended up with you blog in front of me. Since then I have read through your entire archives and I think you have done an amazing job; it's funny to read, I love all the pictures and you seem to be a wonderful person. So I hope you keep writing this blog for a long, long time.
I really just wanted to tell you that.
Hope you have a wonderful weekend,
I found your blog by a total accident (a really good accident), my computer flipped out and I was just thrown between different websites (I don’t know what happend) but finally I succeeded in putting an end to it and ended up with you blog in front of me. Since then I have read through your entire archives and I think you have done an amazing job; it’s funny to read, I love all the pictures and you seem to be a wonderful person. So I hope you keep writing this blog for a long, long time.
I really just wanted to tell you that.
Hope you have a wonderful weekend,
Dear Desideria,
Wow – it means so much to me to hear that! Thank you for your words – I’ve taken them to heart.
With my OCD nature and work in writing/photography, I have no doubt that this blog will be going on ad infinitum! Hugs,
–Carmina
Dear Desideria,
Wow – it means so much to me to hear that! Thank you for your words – I've taken them to heart.
With my OCD nature and work in writing/photography, I have no doubt that this blog will be going on ad infinitum! Hugs,
–Carmina
YESSSSSSS.
thanks! I've been waiting for live pictures of Laverite for ages hahah
and your entries about vk are how I found your blog in the first place so its great that there's morrrrrreeee :D
YESSSSSSS.
thanks! I’ve been waiting for live pictures of Laverite for ages hahah
and your entries about vk are how I found your blog in the first place so its great that there’s morrrrrreeee :D
There will indeed be mooorrrreeee… I just hung out with Jimi tonight. I’ll try to take more live photos soon. :)
There will indeed be mooorrrreeee… I just hung out with Jimi tonight. I'll try to take more live photos soon. :)
UPDATE – more concert photos posted here: http://tinyurl.com/3l8xwp
UPDATE – more concert photos posted here: http://tinyurl.com/3l8xwp
great photos! I found your blog via Jimi's at Rock Japan Elec-tric, and I'm very glad I did too! I've learned so much from it Carmina-sensei :)
Liath
great photos! I found your blog via Jimi’s at Rock Japan Elec-tric, and I’m very glad I did too! I’ve learned so much from it Carmina-sensei :)
Liath
Thank you, Liath! Lovely to make your acquaintance. :)
Thank you, Liath! Lovely to make your acquaintance. :)
Your review is amazing!!!
grr…your so lucky to watch laverite and other VK bands!!!
very envous!
your photographs are amazing too!!!
and I think you can sooo pull off a VK look!! :3
<3
Your review is amazing!!!
grr…your so lucky to watch laverite and other VK bands!!!
very envous!
your photographs are amazing too!!!
and I think you can sooo pull off a VK look!! :3
<3
You’re so sweet! More photos coming right up!
You're so sweet! More photos coming right up!
For other LIVE Laverite photos, search “Laverite” on this blog!
For other LIVE Laverite photos, search “Laverite” on this blog!
For other LIVE Laverite photos, search “Laverite” on this blog!
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[…] October 2008) † Black and white: Laverite (Narciss Urawa, Japan: October 2008) † Color photos: Laverite (Narciss Urawa, Japan: October 2008) † First show: Laverite (Narciss Urawa, Japan: October 2008) […]