Japan Is Doomed

I nearly didn’t go to this gig. £16.50 is a lot to pay to see a band I’m not really sure about, and even now I wouldn’t say I’m a huge fan. Still, it would likely be my only chance to see these guys for a while, and having heard and enjoyed their new single DOZING GREEN, I took the plunge and went to a concert I had no idea about.

The Sheffield Corporation is, quite frankly, disgusting. It’s a dark, dank warehouse, with a cramped stage, dodgy drinks, and top it all every wall in the entire building is covered in some unknown substance that makes them incredibly sticky. It’s actually quite famous around these parts - the place is like a giant flytrap. Not only did they expect us to survive walking into this accursed pit, they also banned all cameras! People were searched upon entry, and if they couldn’t get rid of their camera to a friend, they were turned away from the concert without a refund. That’s £17.50 to be told to get out. They then went on to say that if anyone used a mobile phone to take photos or video, they would take the mobile phone and eject them from the premises. I’m not sure if it’s badly worded, but doesn’t that mean they are threatening to steal your phone and run away? Great customer relations there, guys.

So that’s why I have no photographs. Anyway, the concert started late, with everyone waiting on the street in a queue that winded around the entire building, whilst the bouncers searched everyone in the queue one by one for cameras. I’m aware the band have stated they don’t like people using flash photography, but for £17.50 they really should suck it up. Regardless, the support band, Raging Speedhorn, raged onto the stage about 40 minutes late. Without being too negative, I wish they’d raged into liquid concrete face first. It would have sounded better. The sound quality at the Corporation isn’t too bad, so there’s nobody to blame here except the band. Every song was a winding Drop-D “look how loud we can shout” affair, and frankly I would consider this one of the worst performances I’ve ever seen in my life. I would not be upset if this band were destroyed giant shrimp. Or something.

Finally it was time for Raging Speedhorn to get off the stage and back into their parent’s attics, and Dir En Grey took to the stage. As I’m not really a huge fan I can’t talk too much about the setlist as I’m not sure of it, but the best song of the night was The Final, which can be found on the band’s Myspace. Even though most of the set was from their newer albums, which are pretty dull in my opinion, the band themselves were so animated it totally made up for it. Front man Kyo was bouncing and shrieking all over the place, and I was amazed a man of his stature could go from a mind blowing growl into an incredibly clear high note. He’s a great vocalist, and the entire band were fantastic performers. His antics were concluded with him jumping on top of this red box he always stands on, pulling out a razor and slashing his stomach a few times. Showmanship aside, it was quite a spectacle.

So there we are. I didn’t really know most of the songs, and towards the end of the set I got an elbow in the stomach that really hurt, but I had a great time. This band really do know how to entertain, even if they’re not for the whole family. Oh, and if you do go and see them, there will be an awful lot of shrieking girls dressed up like rabid Barbie dolls who just love those cute Japanese boys.