SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA GOTH STEAMPUNK CLOTHING SHOPS & INDUSTRIAL NIGHTCLUBS. TOKYO, JAPAN HALLOWEEN PARTIES.
Time for a “moriawase” or “meli-melo” post of odds and ends! My new Global Gothic column for Lip Service Webzine is up. This month, we go down under to Sydney, Australia — and explore its darkest and most fashionable spots. You can read it here.
Not long ago, Team Spooky took over an Ikebukuro izakaya. From left to right: Tatsu (of legendary hardcore punk band Gastunk, who plays in The Killing Red Addiction with ex-X Japan’s Taiji). Mistress Maya (of Goth/Industrial party Midnight Mess and Alanis Morissette karaoke fame). Cotton Bale (in gorgeous gold Dr. Martens). And Kana (the absinthe jelly genius). She’s dressed for a “Roman Funeral” Japanese TV show event!
We went to see our friends 101A perform at Ikebukuro Black Hole. The serial killer / cute bunny mascot is brilliant, don’t you think?
Japanese steampunk style icon, Kenny Creation, showed us his new cage necklace. On the left: my skull and gem rings from Closet Child. (I’m trying desperately to organize my jewelry… do you have any suggestions? Maybe I can arrange them in elegant teak boxes, like the ones at jewelryboxes123.com?)
“Voice is sheer and whimsical. Sound waves are like sucking in air. Various pieces remind you of shoegazer, grunge, industrial, Bristol sound.” An excellent performance by the rising band 101A.
Who’s excited for Halloween? Undead fashion model Yukiro Dravarious rises from the grave to inform you about Tokyo’s best Halloween parties this year. If you are in Japan, you should definitely check them out. Watch the video above, and check out my Tokyo Goth Nightlife guide for URLs, maps, photos and directions.
Drumroll please… announcing the winners of the Gloomth contest! Via random selection, the lucky pirates are HagumiW ($250), RoseBud ($100), and Pamela Quevedo ($50). Congratulations! I’m announcing another huge new giveaway next week, so please don’t despair… there are plenty more opportunities ahead.
Finally, shout-outs to RaSh Ro for the fan art above (I love seeing your artwork; email me and I’ll post it). Thank you also to Dominion Magazine for interviewing me about Harajuku Goth fashion and nightlife.
Anyone have exciting weekend plans? My list: X Japan concert, Takashi Miike film screening, photoshoot for a magazine cover, nightcrawling at a Goth EBM club, lavender lattes. And most importantly, squishing my cat.
Japanese Word of the Day: Gura gura = Wobbly
Song of the Day: Diamanda Galas – Gloomy Sunday (the Hungarian suicide song)
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D'ESPAIRSRAY CONCERT REVIEW & LIVE PHOTOS! TICKETS FOR JROCK VISUAL KEI CONCERTS IN USA, AMERICA.
As you know by now, Visual Kei band D’espairsRay will be taking a hiatus after their world tour, to allow Hizumi’s throat to recover. Rose and I now realize how fortunate we were to have seen the J-rockers perform on August 6th, and to have received a photo pass. At long last, here are exclusive images from the D’espairsRay Seattle concert, along with our review.
La Carmina: Rose and I loaded up the Goth-mobile and drove from Vancouver to Seattle. No drama along the way. Before the show, we wandered in Pike Place Market; I fell in love with the healthy Cinnamon Works bakery, especially the spicy soy chai with sugarfree vanilla! Back at the hotel, we ripped, pinned and pasted our outfits together. Here are photos that we took in front of the gum wall.
Rose: We arrived at the Showbox around 6pm and talked to some people in line. Then we headed over to The CanCan Cabaret and I had my first taste of absinthe — and loved it!
La Carmina: Isn’t it funny how all my buds — myself included — are obsessed with the green fairy? Here are photos from the burlesque absinthe bar. (Seattle friends, you must visit CanCan.)
Rose: We returned to the Showbox, and I started to realize how small the crowd was. I was surprised; I was expecting a huge turnout. We chatted with more fans inside, many who recognized Carmina, and I bought a Human-Clad Monsters tour poster at the merchandise table.
La Carmina: The opening band, I’m afraid, did not go over well with the audience. Beat-boxy rock, with awkward singing and dancing… it was as far from Jrock as one could imagine.
Rose: And then, it was time for D’espairsRay! We scurried in front of the barrier where La Carmina was going to be taking pictures, and I was privileged enough to be able to join her. The crowd went insane when they came on stage. If I didn’t know, I would have thought there were ten times as many fans there: so much excitement.
Rose: They opened with the song Death Point, followed by Dope, and Love is Dead. I was impressed with their energy, which they maintained for the entire live. I was so happy when they played some of my favorite songs: Redeemer, Mirror, Garnet. Everyone went crazy for the encores Reddish and Born (two of my very favorites).
I wrote down the full set list in my little notebook: 1. Death Point, 2. dope, 3. Love is Dead, 4. Going On!, 5. Redeemer, 6. 13 -Thirteen-, 7. Abel to Cain, 8. Human-clad Monster, 9. Angeldust, 10. Infection, 11. Crossed Arrows, 12. abyss, 13. SIXty NINe, 14. Devil’s Parade, 15. Mirror, 16. Hollow, 17. Garnet, 18. Reddish -DIVA version-, 19. Born
La Carmina: D’espairsRay appeared in stripped-down, deconstructed black. This isn’t a studio-only group, or one that relies on theatricality. The dark, grungy music hits harder than any gimmick in the Visual Kei repertoire. The terse guitars, thunderous drums, intense singing and headbanging: it draws you in, and holds you captive.
Rose: Throughout the whole show, Hizumi performed with much charm and his voice resounded. Karyu had his hair in little hair ties, and kept lunging and growling at the crowd, very fierce: you couldn’t help watching him. Zero is one of my favorite bassists, and he was very energetic as well, jumping around and smiling constantly at the fans — it was so cute.
Even though the crowd was smaller than I anticipated, you couldn’t tell once everyone was cheering and headbanging. The band played with so much energy and heart, it felt like they were playing to a full house.
La Carmina: After a roaring encore, the musicians left the stage. But they were soon back, and sat down at a table to sign posters. Rose put her poster down to be signed; we said “arigato” and shook hands with each member. It was very funny because she was wearing her taxidermy rat hair band, and as she approached, each J-rocker looked at her head with surprise!
Rose: All the D’espairsRay members were very sweet, and I really appreciated them doing the signing after the concert. Especially after all the energy they just put into the show… I admire when bands make gestures like this to make fans feel special.
Arigato to Sword Records for letting us review the concert. To D’espairsRay, for putting 100% into the Seattle concert. And thanks to all of you who came and cheered your hearts out in support!
Have you ever seen D’espairsRay perform live? What did you think? Tomorrow, I’ll random-select the Gloomth winners, I promise! And I’ll soon announce a scintillating pirate jewelry giveaway and my latest venture…
Japanese Word of the Day: Jishuu = Self-study (Japanese learners can do just that at Smart.fm)
Song of the Day: D’espairsRay – Reddish
LA CARMINA
