Hey, this is my first post here, but I can't help myself from joining in on the fun and giving my own take on things:
Got there Saturday morning (10ish) and much to my chagrin there was probably a good 60 people already in line. If I knew it was going to be like that (which in retrospect, was a big duhhhhhh), I would have camped out, but I met some cool people anyway, so I can't complain. The Japanese media presence really surprised me. It seems like they pegged the New York location as the main one to use for the news reports back home, and it felt like everyone was getting interviewed or having a picture taken. From listening to some of the interviews and the banter from some people in line, there was also a good portion of people there who'd never even listened to X before and were going in blind. It was the whole "tagging along with a friend" kind of deal, but there's no doubt these are all now fully converted X fans.
Once inside, things took really long to set up. Was it the same for the other concerts? The Say Anything Orchestra version looped so many times I thought my brain was going to fry. As for Vampires Everywhere, I was expecting a massive fail with objects being thrown or people wishing bodily harm on them like in some if the other concerts, but they got a surprisingly good reaction in NY. Most everyone around me seemed to be bobbing their heads and enjoying it, while I felt like the awkward one just standing there still yawning. To Vampires Everywhere's credit, I think they finally understood their place in the universe, and that was to yell a lot, finish everything fast, and to suck up to X-Japan and to their fans as much as possible.
Okay, so then came the moment. When Yoshiki finally came out admist the clouds of smoke and just stood there, standing, staring us down for the entire S.E. Opening -- I think that was the most badass thing I've ever seen in my life. I'd seen him do it in clips of other concerts, but the combination of seeing it in person, after waiting so long, and with him in the middle and with all the epic music playing and the smoke surrounding him, it made you realize you were really at a X concert. Like no shit, this is the real thing. To think this is the same guy who wore a wedding dress in Taiwan, and yet he can still do this effortlessly and make us all feel like his willing minions. But that's what what Yoshiki's always been about, right? The piano and guitars mixed together. The ballads mixed with the thrash. The crowd surfing/crazy drum playing mixed with crying and tears. This is X.
Around that time, a Japanese girl passed out around me. That was a sign of things to come. I think most of us were feeling dehydrated and tired already from waiting in line all day and waiting inside for things to get set up, but man, mid-way through Jade, all hell broke loose. It went from jumping up and singing along to using every muscle in your body to stop from getting knocked over. It was especially bad for the small Japanese girls around me. There must have been a dozen I could see when the thing started it, but by the concert's end only a couple remained. There was also scary part where about a dozen people simultaneously fell, with some falling on top of others, but luckily it looked like no one got hurt. at least too bad.. btw, all this tugging, pushing and gymnastics made for some unintentionally awkward moments, like this girl in black in front of me who constantly gave me looks like I was a perverted tokyo subway groper. I plead innocent.. ~,~
Things finally got better during Drain because a lot of people had to leave the pit and watch from elsewhere. You could finally sorta jump without losing all balance or getting rear-ended, and for someone like me who likes to jump around and fist-pump like a lunatic, I could finally join in on the festivities. I'd also like to single out Born to Be free in particular -- people like to rag on that song sometimes, because they say it's too simple, or are just butt-hurt because it isn't the "old, good stuff", but man, does that song really set the mood and get the crowd going at a live show. Jade is still my favorite of their new songs, but Born to be Free is a very welcome addition to the X library. Also, Sugizo's solo, complete with his psychedelic noises and own rendition of the Spar spangled banner was very well done. It gives a different dimension to X then you're used to. Up to this point I feel Sugizo has been restraining himself and filling in the role simply as a "X guitarist", but here you can see his own unique musical inclinations finally seep up from the cracks. I'd love to see him and Yoshiki team up together for some crazy X psychadelic-ballad creation complete with all the guitars, violins, and pianos. Welcome to X, Sugizo.
As for Yoshiki's speech and the crying, nothing much more to say there. I echo everything everyone else has already said. again, by this time, things were less crowded in the pit, but a hundred x-jumps later, plus it being humid as hell, and I felt like I was starting to wind down a bit.. until here comes toshi, spraying the crowd with water and throwing a bunch of water bottles. One of them falls near me, and somehow I'm able to retrieve it from underneath a person's feet. So what do I do? I obviously refresh myself with water or something, since obviously this is a gift from the X gods, and then I can just hold on to my precious water bottle memorabilia. But no..... I take the bottle, spray the crowd in front of me, and then throw the water bottle back into the crowd. Yeah. No time for drinking here.
In the end, Art of life and Endless rain were.. Art of life and endless rain. Great as always. Things finished up, and supposedly Yoshiki crowd surfed, but somehow I didn't even see it. Fortunately, two dedicated female X-fans from the front row filled me in all on the details after the concert. Hopefully X-Japan can play in a bigger venue (MSG, anyone?) next time so some of the horror stories from the Pit don't repeat themselves. Still, it was one of the best experiences ever, and when I was leaving the concert area, I only had one reoccurring thought over and over:
"Dude. I just saw X Japan."
Yep.
