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Crabs, Dolphins,
Bananas, and Berserk Evas, Oh My!
A review of
L’Arc~en~ciel’s first American concert at Otakon 2004
by Alexeil
Prologue / Introduction
Once again I
find myself writing an article and supplying hand drawn images for
DeathCom Multimedia on a convention’s J-rock concert. As you may be able
to guess, once again it is because we were denied the privilege to take
photos of the event. The ability to understand the logical reasoning
behind this decision continues to elude me, but I won’t go into the
particulars again here. I will say it was an added disappoint because
for a few weeks before the con we were lead to believe that certain
members of the press were to be granted photo privileges based on their
level of camera equipment. But then the order was changed to ban all
cameras from the event besides those of the band’s own record company.
This inspired the rest of DCM to decide it was better worth their time
to continue covering other aspects of the con while I went by myself to
attempt to cover the concert as best I could.
Before I continue I
would like to offer a brief apology as the DCM J-rock correspondent that
we are not able to offer any coverage of the Angela concert. We hadn’t
expected them to allow photo coverage either. The Otakon press staff had
been unable to inform us one way or another so we assumed it was a
‘no’. We were too busy throughout the convention to return to the press
room multiple times to ask if they’d gotten the information. However
other sites did cover the concert with photos and video and we would
have been more than happy to as well. But the con was extremely busy so
none of our representatives could make it to that event without prior
knowledge of whether we had permission or not. I have heard that they
put on a wonderful performance and I do regret missing it. In the future
hopefully the press staff is able to be more ready with information for
its press members.
Getting back to the
L’arc~en~ciel report, I need to take the time to thank the various
Otakon press staff for being as helpful as possible with my questions
and concerns regarding the concert. And of course a huge thank you goes
out to L’arc~en~ciel themselves for coming to America to perform. As
well as to Otakon, Tofu Records, and Funimation for making it possible.
Pre-concert part one, Getting to the Show
As I imagine most of
you reading this know, the L’arc~en~ciel concert was not held at the
Baltimore convention center itself. Instead it was held at the First
Mariner Arena located roughly two blocks from the con. This was a
wonderful decision, as it held an immense amount more people and could
provide much better facilities for the concert than any of the event
rooms at the con center.
However, this added
the problem of how the approximately 11,000 people that were to attend
the concert were to line up before hand outside in the streets of
downtown Baltimore. Otakon made the decision that it would be best if no
one began forming a line until 3:30pm. The arena doors were slated to
open and seating begin at 4pm, the concert beginning at 5pm. Stickers
given to attendees within the con center would guarantee that no more
than those that could fit into the arena would line up.
Yet this was not
satisfactory to many people that had come to Otakon with only seeing the
concert in mind and were willing to brave much to get what they wanted.
I’ve heard that people began milling around the arena to wait for the
line to form as early as 9am. Despite the heat and several attempts by
con and arena security to dissuade them, these fans braved the heat and
boredom for many hours in hopes of getting the best possible seats.
I was not actually
present to see any of this. However Otakon staff relates that they
dispersed the line several times during the day in an attempt to stick
to their rules. They had planned to do this again around 3pm, but were
informed by the Baltimore police that that was a bad idea because of the
large number of people gathered. So in the interest of public safety the
line formed a good deal earlier than they had planned.
This development
frustrated and disappointed the fans that had followed the rules and
waited until 3:30 to go outside to get in line. To their dismay they
found themselves behind many hundreds of already waiting fans. They felt
they had been punished for adhering to the rules, while the others were
rewarded for disobeying them. But it was a moot point because by then
there was nothing that anyone could do.
I, being a member of
the press, was lucky enough to avoid this entire ordeal. Press members
met in the press room at the con around 4:15 and were lead over to the
arena as a group by press staff. We got a good look at the line as we
walked and I was amazed to note how long it was. It stretched pretty
much the entire length of the blocks between the con center and the
arena. It was extremely hot that day so I was further amazed by the
stamina and devotion of these fans to stand out in the sun for so very
long. Press was again lucky as we only waited a few minutes outside the
arena before we were let in and escorted to the seats reserved for us.
The location of
these seats are my only major complaint of the treatment of the press.
We were told that since we were not permitted photos that our seats
would not be especially close. It’s perfectly understandable that we not
get prime front seating; the fans waiting in the heat more than deserved
it. But the excuse that since we weren’t taking photos, that we in
essence really didn’t need to see, truly frustrated me. I had hoped to
be able to give a very detailed report despite the lack of photos. Being
close enough to see the band member’s expressions and movements would
have greatly helped this.
I am not asking for
being placed in the front rows; I am not even asking to be placed on the
ground floor. It makes sense that those directly in front of the band
should be their screaming fans. But I do believe that press should have
been placed closer to the stage on one of the raised sets of seats to
the side. From what I could tell, these were reserved for staff and
other VIPs, who I’m sure also deserve these seats. But I believe press
would have made better use of them since many of us would be using our
experience to report back in one way or another to the fans.
Furthermore, we only took up about 3-4 rows of seats so it would not
have been such a great inconvenience to let us sit closer. Yet press
ended up off to the side, over half way back the length of the audience
from the stage.
I
realize this didn’t hamper our ability to hear and experience the
concert on several other levels. But I do site this as the reason for my
lack of detailed descriptions of the members’ actions, expressions,
clothes, and movements. I would have been more than happy to write about
all of those things had I been better able to see them.
Pre-concert part two, Waiting for the Show
Once we had gotten
settled in our seats, I began to better look around the arena. Fans were
still pilling in from several entrances. The seats on the ground floor
were nearly completely full and the others following fast. Looking at
the amounts of fans filling the seats made me realize more than anything
else how massive Otakon has become. It’s easy to forget when walking the
con halls just how many people you pass. But seeing them set out like
this really made the numbers sink in.
As we waited for it
to be time for the show to begin we were treated with the first episode
of Fullmetal Alchemist being shown on the arena’s two big
screens. L’arc~en~ciel did the opening song to this anime. It was
courtesy Funimation and dubbed in English by them. Having never seen it
before, I was entertained, the first time. But we were shown the same
episode twice and that was, of course, somewhat boring. It also had some
fans shouting for the subtitled Japanese language version. There was a
notice that the series would be airing on Cartoon Network beginning this
November. There was also a little commercial for L’arc~en~ciel’s album
Smile being released by Tofu Records.
I had forgotten up
to that point that anyone besides Otakon and Tofu had played a role in
bringing L’arc~en~ciel over for this performance. But I was reminded of
how large a part Funimation most likely played as well. I, as all the
fans, am very thankful they managed it.
As we continued
waiting for everyone to pile in and get situated several announcements
were made over the arena’s speakers. They reminded us of the prohibition
of cameras and other recording devices and advertised that Smile
was for sale at the arena’s concession stand. After hearing this, one
gentleman behind me responded with, “Wow, it’s like a real fucking
concert!”
That
sentiment mirrored something of what I, and I imagine many others there,
felt. After having gone to many concerts at conventions and seeing what
they offered, it was amazingly different to experience a concert in a
real arena used to housing such events. Arena employees walked around
selling food and drink as they did for the arena’s usual events. This
point was further drawn home by the impressive lighting effects and
pyrotechnics used during the show. There was really no way this show
could have been the same had it been held anywhere other than an arena.
One complaint I did hear was that there were no t-shirts for sale as
there would have been at a normal concert.
Despite feeling like we had been waiting for awhile, the concert started
practically on time at 5pm. A feet very rarely attainted at any con’s
events. A representative of Otakon came out to introduce the band. He
mentioned how lucky all of us were, not only because it was
L’arc~en~ciel’s first ever American concert, but because it came just
after their first tour in Japan in nearly four years. Therefore having
the opportunity to see this band perform live is a rare thing indeed.
The Concert part 1, Hello America!
As
L’arc~en~ciel entered on stage the majority of their fans greeted them
by standing up and an immense amount of screams and cheers. Some
attendees have complained that most of the audience remained standing
throughout the entire concert preventing those that felt the need to sit
from seeing. Others claim it was rude of anyone to sit at all during the
concert and standing was necessary to show the band their support. I
chose to stand throughout the entire performance but do not begrudge
those that were too tired to also do so. Although where I was situated
most people were indeed standing.
I was
very surprised by the level of enthusiasm amongst my fellow members of
the press. Usually the press section of any con event is very subdued
compared to the rest of the audience. This was the case at
T.M.Revolution’s concert at Otakon last year. While most of the audience
got very into it, the press showed little response. But not so with
L’arc~en~ciel this year. The press, myself included, where mostly
standing, screaming, and waving their arms along with the rest of the
fans.
L’arc~en~ciel’s performance started out strong and continued strong
throughout the entire concert. Several impressive displays of
pyrotechnics awed the audience during the performance including shooting
columns of fire and fireworks. The lighting itself was also impressive
ranging from simple spotlights to flowery designs of light that danced
on the stage in time with the music.
Another touch familiar to many fans came about halfway through the first
section of the concert when the banner baring the Smile logo face and
L’arc~en~ciel’s name was unveiled behind the performing band.
One
complaint was the lack of use of the video screens throughout the
concert. They were only used to show the Fullmetal Alchemist clips, but
not used to show close ups of the band members at any point. There were
cameras there filming the concert that perhaps could have easily
supplied at least some images. But Otakon staff claims doing such would
had added too much to the already hefty price being spent to present the
concert.
The
band members themselves were extremely enthusiastic and wonderful
performers. Hyde’s voice lost none of its range, depth, or feeling
hearing it live. For a few of the songs he not only sang but played
guitar as well. He often did what I consider a trademark of his,
swinging his hips back and forth to the music. At several points he
positioned himself on some of the equipment on stage and put his head in
his arms and stared intently into the audience. I can only image how
thrilling seeing that up close must have been for his devoted fans.
After
the first few songs were finished, Hyde made his first attempt to speak
to the audience. His English was heavily accented and somewhat difficult
to understand over the speakers, but nevertheless impressive. In fact,
all of the band members that spoke seemed to have a greater grasp of
English than any of the other Japanese bands that I’ve been lucky enough
to see perform here.
Hyde
started out by introducing the band and saying something close to,
“Hello America! Are you having fun!? Me too!!”
Writing down and reading his words seems to be an impossible way to
convey how they sounded live. His tone was very distinctively his and it
seemed to carry much excitement and a definite tone of seductive
confidence to it.
He
went on to ask, “Did you eat crabs? I ate two!”
Many
people had trouble hearing and understanding this statement. But it
makes sense in that it was most likely his first trip to Baltimore and
the city is famous for its sea food.
The
group went through several of their songs, some older but mostly from
their new album Smile. They all played their instruments masterfully as
is befitting of one of the most popular bands in Japan. The only mishap
occurred when something apparently went wrong with Ken’s guitar causing
him to become frustrated and smash it off one of the nearby speakers.
The audience ate it up and screamed and cheered for the display of
violence.
Just
before they performed the opening to GTO, Drivers High,
Hyde mentioned what I attribute to his realizing they were playing for a
crowd of people attending an anime convention. He mentioned Evangelion
and a berserk Evangelion, referring to a particular part of the anime.
He then said that they were Evangelion going berserk, further exciting
the crowd.
Later
Hyde spoke briefly again before the band performed Ready, Steady, Go!
Which was perhaps their most well know song amongst the audience
since it is the opening to Fullmetal Alchemist. He asked, “Are
you fucking ready?” and told the audience to jump.
Being
mildly surprised at his swearing quickly pasted as I felt the floors
shake with all the people jumping to the popular song. Again I was
reminded just how massive and enthusiastic the crowd was.
After
this song was over Hyde mentioned loving the audience and then the band
left the stage as the fans continued screaming.
The Concert part 2, An Encore by Dolphin
Many people left at
this point, despite the arena’s house lights not coming back on, which
was a sure indication that there would be an encore. Otakon staff also
noted later that they were at the doors telling people that were leaving
that there would indeed be an encore. But apparently some fans were just
too eager to get back to the con to wait for it.
It was
a bit of a long wait. But the fans barely settled down through any of
it. They chanted, stomped their feet, and cheered until L’arc~en~ciel
reappeared.
Ken
came out sporting a dolphin mask and proceeded to do an amusing little
bit with it while Hyde leaned on the stand supporting Yukihiro’s drum
set and watched. What Ken said went something like this, “Who am I?”
The
crowd roared, “Ken!”
He
responded with, “No, never! I am Dolphin! I come from the Baltimore
Aquarium where they make me jump. I come to hear about Otakon concert
with number one band from Japan, L’arc~en~ciel! Be more excited!”
The
rest of the band came out and they went into their encore performance of
several more songs, including one more from an anime, DNA2’s
Blurry Eyes. Their encore performance was no less spectacular than
the main part of their concert.
When
it was nearing time for them to actually go Hyde again said he loved
their fans and threw several water bottles into the audience. Both Tetsu
and Ken also threw their picks into the audience, I believe. However
nothing outdid Tetsu’s throwing of bananas into the audience after
having said, “Do you want to eat my bananas?!”
In the
end Yukihiro, hiding behind his drum set, was the only member not to
make an attempt to say at least one line of English to the crowd. But
his drum playing was excellent throughout the performance.
I
remember hearing Hyde mention that they’d be back, but that may just be
wishful thinking on my part. As the lights came back up in the arena and
the concert was really over, I imagine many people in the audience were
already eagerly awaiting any news about L’arc~en~ciel coming back to
America for another concert someday.
Post Concert
Getting out of the arena itself took awhile and it was easy to see how
happy all the fans were as they filed out. I didn’t hear any complaints
at this point, only praise and declarations of new fans of the band. The
walk back to the con center was interesting in itself to see so many
people walking the streets at the same time in the same direction. I
heard later that the police had to shut down some streets to allow the
masses to walk safely back to the con.
Besides the minor complaints I mentioned in the beginning of this
report, I really do not think the concert could have gone better.
L’arc~en~ciel put on an amazing performance, impressed new fans and
pleased old ones alike.
The
concert let out in plenty of time for me to stop and take a few notes
for this article before it was time to go watch the masquerade. Kudos to
Otakon for scheduling so that most people could attend both. I have
heard some complaints that the cosplay judging was negatively affected
by the concert. But I believe that is certainly not the band or their
management’s fault. Perhaps it would be better to have scheduled them on
different days, but I think Otakon did the best they could to please
everyone.
I
thoroughly enjoyed L’arc~en~ciel’s concert and am glad I had the
opportunity to write this article on it, even be it lacking in some
details. I sincerely hope Otakon manages to entice a Japanese band to
perform again next year and that L’arc~en~ciel themselves come back to
do another concert in America again as well.
Visit L’arc~en~ciel’s official site for photos from
the event and the official set list:
http://www.larc-en-ciel.com/
Visit Tofu Records to purchase their cds and support
the band in America:
http://www.tofurecords.com/index.php
If you have any questions or comments on this article
e-mail me at
alexeil@verizon.net
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