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The Good, the Bad, and
the Bishounen
A review of SID at Anime Central 2004
by Alexeil Prologue /
Introduction
First off, I would
like to thank SID for coming to perform here in the United States, Anime
Central and Jpophouse for making it possible, the rest of the DeathCom
Multimedia crew for accompanying me to the convention and being the
usual gentlemen they are, Heidi for accompanying me to the Friday
concert and enjoying it, Hideko and her mother and friend for being nice
enough to talk to me in line at the Sunday concert, and Acen staffer Taz
for assuring me prime viewing placement at both of the concerts.
In depth written reviews are not something one usually sees
here at DCM. We tend to favor the more visual side of convention
coverage. However, as Japanese musical artists become more common at
cons, it also becomes more common that they do not allow photography or
video coverage of their concerts in any way, even to those of us with
press privileges. Just such an occurrence happened this year with SID at
Anime Central. Despite our numerous attempts to gain permission to
photograph and/or video tape SID in any respect during the convention,
including contacting Jpophouse directly, we were denied. The logistics
to such a decision are beyond me, as we want nothing more than to help
promote the band and please their fans and I fail to see what harm some
photographs could do. But of course we respect it is their decision to
make and the reasons their own to know. Therefore, I bring you this
report of the various events pertaining to SID at Anime Central that I
was able to attend. Also so as to not overload our viewers on text only
and try to somewhat make up for any disappointment in the lack of
pictures, I am including some drawings I did of the events as well. They
make it obvious that I’ve been going to art school for three years,
don’t they?
Day 1: Friday
Pre-concert
We arrived at the hotel late afternoon Friday, which left me little
time to recover from the eight hour car drive from home and ready myself
for SID’s first US concert. Entering the hall outside the room in which
the concert was to be held, it was easy to tell one of the con’s major
events was about to happen. This hall was jam packed with fans eagerly
awaiting the doors to open or any early glimpse of the band members.
There were two lines, one for those with wrist bands which signified
that they had spent money on the VIP seating tickets offered by
jpophouse, and another for general admission for regular con attendees.
After talking to several different staffers and much confusion, it was
confirmed that I would be permitted to enter the concert with the VIPs.
Once my place in line had been secured, I could take the time to
better observe the fast growing crowd. It was obvious that everyone
there was very excited and somewhat impatient for the event to begin.
Many were decked out in outfits fitting the visual kei genre of the
band, including several very pretty goth lolita dresses. Some of Acen’s
staff was considerate enough to bring cups of water around to the
waiting lines of fans. There were several announcements concerning how
the lines should form, where we were permitted to stand, and the no
photography rule. However the most amusing announcement came when a
staffer, I believe from jpophouse, came around to tell us something
about stage diving. In short, if a band member chose to stage dive into
the audience during the concert, we were instructed to be sure to catch
him and send him back toward the stage, not to move back and open a hole
in the crowd and let him fall to the ground. This was met with some
laughter and smirks from the female fans present as they could not
imagine passing up an opportunity to touch any of the band and the idea
that they’d let them fall seemed a bit absurd. However on further
thought, some concern was raised by several fans as to whether they’d be
strong enough to hold a member of the band up if he did indeed dive into
their direction.
The wait in line was a long one. The concert was scheduled to begin
at 5:30pm, however an hour later we were still waiting to be let into
the room. I heard afterward that this was because the band was unable to
do a proper sound check earlier due to faulty equipment, although I’m
not sure to the accuracy of that statement. But eventually the first
group of VIP ticket holders were allowed entry. These were the fans that
had purchased backstage passes. A few moments after that the rest of the
VIP ticket holders, myself included, were let in. We were directed to
find a place to stand in front of the stage, behind a line of yellow
tape on the floor and in front of the roped off section. Behind the rope
was where the general admission fans could stand, or they could choose
to go a little further back and take a seat. I managed to secure
standing room for myself in front of the middle of the stage, next to a
costumer in a white kimono and face mask that I exchanged comments with
during the rest of the wait before the concert began. We could see that
the VIP members with backstage passes were seated to the right side of
the stage, behind the curtain that closed off the side area to the rest
of the fans. After a few minutes these fans were lead thru a door into
the backstage area. In about fifteen minutes they returned and came out
to stand in front of us and the yellow tape; directly in front of the
stage.
This setup surprised me as I’m used to there being a roped off area
and several security personal between the fans and the stage at most
concerts, including those at cons I’ve been to before. But that was not
the case here. This arrangement had both an up and down side. It allowed
fans to be a good deal closer to the band and get an unobstructed view.
It also allowed the band to better be able to see the fans and their
reactions. However, it could prove dangerous if someone were to
accidentally get pushed too hard into the stage and get injured. In
addition, if a band member were to dive too far out into the crowd and a
fan got a little too friendly for too long, a security guard would have
a hard time getting to him to help him back on stage. However, neither
of these concerns proved to be a problem at this particular concert.
It wasn’t much longer before someone came on stage and instructed
us to clap and chant, “si-doe”. It took me a few seconds to realize that
was the Japanese pronunciation of SID. After hearing the response, no
one there could claim that the audience wasn’t extremely enthusiastic.
In fact, at several points during the show the fans’ screaming seemed to
be even more deafening than the music itself, and the music was
certainly not lacking in intensity either.
Concert
We did not need to chant long before SID responded by coming on
stage. I don’t recall in what order the members came out, but it was one
by one. Each of them got their fair share of applause and screaming from
the audience. Having only seen a few photos of them before the concert,
a lot of which were black and white, I was thankful to have a few
moments to focus on their costumes and appearance before the first song
began.
The vocalist, Mao, stood out the most since he was directly in
front of me. His diminutive stature and blonde hair immediately brought
comparisons to Kyo of Dir en grey to mind. Adding to this effect was the
bit of black make-up smudged on his face. However, whereas Kyo usually
seems to try to frighten or shock through his animated facial
expressions, Mao retained a blank look on his face throughout a great
deal of this concert. He occasionally cracked a smile or made eye
contact with some of the fans. But most of the time he stared straight
ahead, seemingly in a daze and unaware of his surroundings. This was an
interesting act and served to make him seem disconcerting and odd. Which
I imagine is what he was going for.
Mao’s clothes included a cute shirt and shorts, ripped stripped
knee socks, and a little hat to the one side of his head. All of the
band members seemed to favor showing off their bare legs, which I’m sure
a great deal of the fans there appreciated. Each of these men easily
fell into what most J-rock fans would consider very attractive looking.
I personally was privileged sufficiently to be close enough to see that
they had taken the time to shave their legs.
Aki, the bassist, was also wearing very short shorts that showed
off his long legs. He had on some interesting leg warmers/ long socks
that drew my attention. I believe that particular article of clothing is
becoming popular in Japanese fashion now, on the heels (no pun intended)
of slouched socks. In addition he wore several pearl necklaces, one of
which a lucky fan would come in possession of later.
The guitarist, Shinji, was sporting an outfit that closely
resembled a Japanese kimono. He, like the other band members, neglected
to wear the large platform boots that are so popular among visual kei
artists. Instead, they all wore comfortable looking sneakers. This
served to give them a more fresh, punk, young look, rather than an
elegant refined one.
Unfortunately in many bands, the drummer is somewhat lost behind
his drum set and doesn’t leave as strong an image in one’s memory as his
band mates up front. Yuya however, definitely made his presence known.
He wore smudged black make-up as well, most notably on the corners of
his mouth. His enthusiasm for the performance was obvious and he was
often seen giving rock hand symbols and encouraging the audience.
There was little talking before the first song began and everyone
started getting into the music. The only samples of SID’s music that I
had gotten an opportunity to hear before the concert were those 30
second clips posted on the band’s and Anime Central’s websites. So I
can’t accurately made any kind of comparison between their pre-recorded
stuff versus their live performance. But I do know their live
performance sounded very impressive to me. From their screaming
responses during every moment between singing or intense music, I think
the majority of the audience agreed with me. There was never a moment of
silence in that room except when one of the band members put his finger
to his mouth to signify everyone should be quiet for them to talk.
There music seemed to most resemble straight hard rock, but there
were certainly some techno influence thrown in as well. Each of the
members performed amazingly. Looking from one to the other, it was
impossible to tell whose hands were flying more quickly or skillfully
over their instrument. And the powerful notes coming from Mao’s mouth
easily belayed any thoughts that his slight form was a sign of weak
vocals. His range was impressive, as was the obvious emotion he took in
expressing the lyrics to their songs. It was easy to feel the power
behind those words even without understanding the meaning of the
language.
However accurate communication between the band and the audience
was not a problem either, as the band had a translator come on stage for
them at several points. This was a refreshing change from hearing other
Japanese artists struggle admirably through attempting English
themselves, or merely letting the music speak for itself. I don’t
remember much being said beyond the usual thanks for having us, member
introductions, and asking for the audience’s excitement. They did talk
more extensively during the acoustic concert Sunday afternoon though.
The Friday concert was certainly never boring. Everyone there, the
audience and band included, seemed to be overflowing with positive
energy. Mao stood on the amp in the front center of the stage fairly
often so fans got a better view of him. He also reached out into the
audience and I was one of the people lucky enough to grab his hand.
While no actual full dives off the stage happened, both Mao and Aki
leaned out into the audience a few times to the delight of the fans.
Being right up front, I felt the push and pull of the audience as they
tried to get closer to the members. A lot of them were very insistence,
but none of them seemed to have any ill will toward their fellow fans.
Aki seemed to get groped a bit more violently than Mao and it looked
like he had to struggle to get back on to the stage and retain all of
his clothing at one point.
Their concert lasted a little over an hour all together, I believe.
They did one encore and as is customary threw various items into the
audience at the end. In addition the lucky audience members near the
front, myself included, got to get cooled down thanks to Mao spraying
water from his mouth.
After-concert thoughts
As the Friday concert ended and the fans filed out, I felt it was a
thoroughly enjoyable experience. The band was talented and put on a
great show and I felt lucky to have been able to participate in it. The
complaint that stuck most in my head was a bit of a personal one due to
working for this site and not anything regarding the band themselves.
When we were denied photo or video privileges for the concert, the only
reason we were given specifically was that the band had their own press
to cover it. Now when I heard that, I assumed they meant a professional
camera or TV crew from Japan. However, the ones doing the filming were
various US fans. Now I want to stress that I have nothing against these
people that did the filming. I in fact met some of them later and
they’re wonderful girls. They have a real love of J-rock and I’m sure
they did their very best job filming the events. And I have not seen any
of the footage either and it may very well look wonderful. However,
looking at the camera equipment used and watching a little of how it was
used, it was obvious it wasn’t professional or done by people with a
great deal of experience using it.
This was disheartening since I know that my friends here at DCM
have professional grade cameras, several years of experience filming
various events, and would have been more than happy to film this or any
of the band’s events. Now it’s true that besides myself none of them are
actually avid J-rock fans. But I don’t believe this should have been
much of an issue since that wasn’t required for the filming. It may have
even helped as they wouldn’t have been distracted from filming by
wanting to actually watch the concert. Now again, I don’t want anyone to
infer that I’m saying the people that did do the filming didn’t do an
excellent job. I’m thrilled there was someone there to film it and
there’s a chance jpophouse may release this footage to US fans in some
form or another. I was merely hurt that we at DCM had volunteered our
services with the best intentions and we saw next to no consideration of
utilizing them.
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