V-Rock, the world’s largest Visual Kei festival, shredded and head-banged in Chiba Makuhari Messe last weekend. And your humble blogger missed it big-time because she was promoting Cute Yummy Time in DC. I didn’t even get to catch the live stream, sad face! Thankfully, I have my Tokyo roving reporters to help me out. Here are Comte de Sang’s thoughts on V-Rock; tomorrow, Yukiro will talk about Versailles and more. (All photos courtesy of V-Rock. Above: La’cryma Christi.)

† What were your favorite acts? (Above: Alice Nine and Plastic Tree)
I attended V-Rock Festival 09 on Saturday, October 24th with the goal of seeing ALI PROJECT, Moi dix Mois, and Marilyn Manson. I would have to say that my favorite act was Marilyn Manson, as his stage persona was just brilliant (although I’m sure part of it was the fact that he was three sheets in the wind from the start of the performance). The song list was representative of his entire career, ranging from his newest album such as “We’re From America” and “Devour” to “Antichrist Superstar” classics like “Dried Up, Tied And Dead To The World,” “The Beautiful People,” and “Irresponsible Hate Anthem.” “The Dope Show,” “The Love Song,” “Disposable Teens,” and “Sweet Dreams” rounded out the rest of the performance quite nicely as he focused on the strong points in his repertoire. Overall, it was a fantastic show!

Moi dix Mois also gave a strong performance, involving the entire audience in the ritual song of “Dispell Bound,” and performing two unreleased songs along with a strong lineup of classics such as “The Prophet” and newer songs like “Exclude.” (We saw Moi dix Mois together in the summer; you can read our review here.)

† Did any performances surprise you? (Above: D)
While waiting for ALI PROJECT to begin I happened to walk in on a performance by Sohodolls, which was quite entertaining. Seeing bands like this represented at V-Rock Festival was certainly a pleasant surprise. D’espairs Ray actually gave a surprisingly good performance as well, although their V-kei style has descended to near Dir en Grey levels of casualness.

† How did people dress for the festival?
There was a strong Gothic & Lolita representation, encouraged by the presence of Gothic & Lolita Bible who had a photo booth available for a fashion contest and the possibility of appearing in the mag and/or on the V-Rock Festival website. There were also more standard Goths and regular concert-goers in street-wear, forming a rather nice balance, in my opinion.

† Were there any funny/exciting moments? (Above: the GazettE and Marilyn Manson)
Everything that comes out of Marilyn Manson’s mouth is funny/exciting. Or rather, everything that comes out of his mouth is chock full of obscenities and lewd double entendre, most of which must have sailed clear over most of the audiences’ heads, but was absolutely hilarious to me. His playful exchanges of “f*** you” with Twiggy garnered a reaction from the crowd though, and spitting alcohol all over the stage (and audience), constantly throwing his microphone, and breaking a guitar showed that the Antichrist rock star is still alive inside of him, even if he has put on a little weight ^_~

Domo arigato to Comte de Sang for his report! You can see Marilyn Manson’s V-Rock performance here. (There are other clips from the festival on YouTube; just search for V-Rock 2009.)

Check back tomorrow for Yukiro Dravarious’ evil thoughts. If you saw the show (in person or via the live stream), what did you think? Which band would you most like to see perform?

PS: my new CNNGo article about pampered pets in Asia! Dog cafes, nursing homes, acupuncture…