Here's a quirky look back at the lives I managed to catch in japan in 2005..

Dressed to Kill in a Live - Performer Award
Close tie between Yuki & Hiro of Rice.
Flowery prints kill!!! XD XD XD

Dressed to Kill in a live - Audience Award
A pair of SuperMario Brothers spotted at Mucc Tour Finale at Yoyogi 8)

Best Livehouse Staff
Hiroshima Quattro staff win hands-down! \(^^)/
We were the last to leave.. still scribbling down our live feedback on the ankettos.. but the staff were still real friendly and when we were done, took our ankettos from us with a smile.. and haha...even though we lingered around the place after that (wondering if we'll once again bump into Kohshu!), they didn't chase us off.

Best Live Drink
Oronamin Beer at Hiroshima Quattro (Analog Fish & The Back Horn's Quattrock Live).
Tastes GGRRREEAAT! :P
Though, right now what I'd REALLY like to drink are TBH members' own cocktail concoctions!!!

Most Interesting Locker
Mucc's Live at Kochi on 5 Nov. We had to buy a transparent plastic bag from the staff for 300Yen, put our stuff into it, knot the flimsy bag, then pass it to the staff for safekeeping in a van parked outside the livehouse!

Most Fun Moments on Stage
Quite a few...
I love the MC during Mucc's live at Kochi, which was also Yukke's birthday. Tatsurou coming out with his hands behind his back, and Yukke looking expectantly on, but Tatsurou was just teasing him with something else.. then Tatsurou took over the mike and told the audience what the other members and muccrew were doing the night before.. something Yukke couldn't figure out earlier... turns out they were playing a game where they were watching something funny on the telly and how it goes is that anyone who laughed would be fined... then Tatsurou said "we were playing this game so that we gather sufficient money to go buy... this!" then the lights suddenly went off, and a staff brought in Yukke's b'day cake. Aww... :)

The session bands' moments on stage during the Danger Crue event on Xmas were also really fun. When Tatsurou's session band, I.T., was performing, at one point Aki went over to the side extension of the stage to 'hiao' with the audience. Tatsurou came over to join him, but the mike wire was too short, so Tatsurou simply put the mike down, walked over to Aki's side, then took Aki's face into his hands and squeezed Aki's cheeks. heehee... In the other session band involving Sakura, Yukke, Aki, Jack Danger and Hyde, it was obvious that the audience was mostly getting hyped up about Hyde, since most in the audience were Laruku fans. But I liked how Yukke took things in his stride.. in fact quite literally.. when the band members went round the stage thanking the audience towards the end of the number, Yukke took Aki's hands into his, and strided across the stage confidently.

Most Memorable Bassist
Naoki at Jinkaku Radio's 2-Man Live at Rock Maykan.
They should change the phrase "Graceful as a swan" to "Graceful as a Naoki".

Most Memorable Guitarist
Eijun of The Back Horn. It's not just the spasms. Neither is it the spitting saliva XD
It's how his guitars melt into and out of their music...Woa!

Most Memorable Drummer
It was the first time I saw Sakura-san's live drumming at the Danger Crue event on X'mas, and yeah, it was dem solid.

Most Memorable Vocalist
So many vocalists tie in this spot!!!
This year was a year where I had the privilege of seeing some really wonderful vocalists live, some for the first time, some not... heck, almost all the lives I saw were fronted by very outstanding vocalists... Yuki, Tatsurou, Yuuki, Masashi, Mao...
The way Tatsurou raised above his 'subjects' and drew everyone towards him on 7 Nov was unforgettable... Masashi's flawless rendition of TBH's pieces on 6 Nov was totally captivating... and I was really impressed by how Mao could hold his own fort in front of the entire Budokan audience on 25 Dec. Mao's definitely someone I will keep a lookout for in the coming year.

Most Memorable Live
Drumroll.....It has to be..... The Back Horn at Hiroshima Quattro on 5 Nov!
Nuff said!

Happy New Year everyone! :) :D

Watching the Devilish Years Muck 2006 clip again (the one that's on the mucc homepage), I find myself overwhelmed with the same emotions that swept through me when the clip was first shown to the audience on the big screen at Yoyogi on the 19th.

It's not uncommon to expect announcements on new releases during a band's tour finale live...but i guess i just didn't expect so much news to be released to us... I still remember...responding as part of the audience as each piece of news floats up onto the screen... everyone was sharing in the excitement and the expectation... both of my hands were cupped over my mouth... wondering what i would see on the screen next...

And the news kept on coming... Feb... Mar... Apr... May... first thought that ran through my mind was... 那麼高生產率!... they're really coming on fast and furious next year... is that something to be happy or worried about, i wonder?...

Then as the ending strains of acoustic Saishu Reissha came on and Ni~Hon~Bu~Do~Kan appeared on the screen, I just became overwhelmed... overwhelmed with emotion. How should I say it.. I know it's something all bands aspire to do.. a one-man at Budokan. Mucc One-Man at Budokan.. it's no longer about whether such a live experience will be up close and personal anymore, but rather, it's about mucc's aspirations as a band..

And I could not help but hug the girl next to me.. a really sweet girl who sold one ticket to me and whom I only just met that evening.. I couldn't communicate smoothly with her as my Japanese is really not good.. but such news doesn't need any words, just a spontaneous hug is sufficient to express what we wanted to say..

***
Will I want to go watch their Spring tour? And on top of that, go watch the Budokan live?

Well, the more i'm worried about how mucc is changing, the more i yearn to see them... I want to be there at every possible opportunity to see for myself, how things are, how the members are. 我放心不下.

I can only say, i'll need to start saving up for next year's trips. And hope badly that there will be no clashes with my work or other schedules.

It's a bit late, but... A Very Merry Xmas to all my friends :)

I'm back. Can't sleep even though I'm going back to work tomorrow. Made the wrong move of watching "The Skeleton Key" on the plane, which scared the shit outta me... Good show, though...the plot had a few twists and turns and it's one of those shows where you think back and realize reasons for some things you saw earlier... only problem is, it lingers in your mind...ooh yes it sooo lingers...uurrggh....... Remind me not to watch any more horror thrillers on plane flights ever again please! Also watched "A Good Woman", which was based on Oscar Wilde's play: Lady Windermere's Fan. Excellent movie. Oscar Wilde's witty humour and plot twists simply can't be paralleled ^^

Why does it strangely feel like I've just lost a live-mate??

Anyway, tomorrow I'll be accompanying Mei to check out her potential apartment, seems like a headache trying to find a suitable one...

Back from Mucc Finale live at Yoyogi, will go straight into the details..
(more and better info from 2ch bbses, gomenasai in advance for any errors in reporting!)

Major announcements at the end of the live..
besides the new single in Feb,
there'll be a DVD (of this autumn tour) release on 29 Mar..
Album (cover album??) in Apr..
another single in May..
Spring tour in Apr & May.. it's a World Tour.. Shanghai (!) and Europe..
Final live for the tour will be at...yes, Budokan, on 6-6-6, i.e. 2006 June 6.

Too many announcements, I think I might have missed out something... ah yes, the album will be a joint release in both Japan and Europe.. then, thought there was news of another album, but can't quite remember now..

It looks like it's really gonna be a Devilish Year for them..fast and furious..

They played the coming Feb single title track at the live.. Miya was on keyboards!! (though it was a small one..) The song sounds good.

As for the new album songs...the feeling is the same from the nov lives...it's kinda strange cos I actually quite like the album.

For personal reference..
TBH's Spring Tour Schedule~
☆4月24日（月）LIQUIDROOM ebisu
☆4月25日（火）千葉LOOK
☆4月27日（木）水戸LIGHT HOUSE
☆4月28日（金）郡山HIP SHOT
☆5月1日（月）青森QUARTER
☆5月3日（水）帯広MEGA STONE
☆5月5日（金）札幌PENNY LANE24
☆5月9日（火）浜松FORCE
☆5月11日（木）安城夢希望Radio Club
☆5月12日（金）奈良NEVER LAND
☆5月14日（日）横浜BLITZ
☆5月16日（火）仙台CLUB JUNK BOX
☆5月18日（木）新潟CLUB JUNK BOX
☆5月19日（金）金沢AZ
☆5月21日（日）長野CLUB JUNK BOX
☆5月22日（月）HEAVEN'S ROCK 宇都宮
☆5月24日（水）高松DIME
☆5月25日（木）高知CARAVANSARY
☆5月27日（土）松山SALON KITTY
☆5月28日（日）広島ナミキジャンクション
☆5月30日（火）岡山MO:GLA
☆5月31日（水）京都磔磔
☆6月6日（火）OITA-T.O.P'S
☆6月8日（木）鹿児島CAPARVO HALL
☆6月10日（土）福岡DRUM LOGOS

Waiting for mucc's schedule...then there would be two good enough reasons for me to make a next trip XD XD XD

*噴飯*~~ 兩個半月沒洗澡!!??!! XD XD XD

昨晚跟BH去看了五月天的live.
我上次看他們的live﹐是好幾年前的事了...兩年前Indoor Stadium的live, 我剛好在澳洲讀碩士學位﹐無法參與﹐所以回想起來﹐好像最後一次看他們的live, 是在2001年...(有那麼久了嗎!!?)

他們現在非常人氣呢﹐聽說票賣到得多加位子﹐最後也幾乎滿席.
這次演出還是一樣能夠帶動現場氣氛到最high﹐算是非常成功的一場演出吧.

Their recent releases haven't quite struck the same chord in me as their previous albums, although technically they have certainly improved (and they weren't shy to display that in last night's live...there were quite a number of guitar solos & guitar changes..including a double-neck and a zither-like instrument..wonder if they were just trying to prove a point here..). They were also supported by a good & gregarious guitarist, Zhang Guoxi, as well as a bunch of cute roadies ;D XD

That said, I still love many of their works.. I like how they made new arrangements to their earlier songs for the live performance.. it's been a good many years of growing up with their music playing in the air, and yeah, I'm still very much appreciative of that. :)

Are you someone who is ruled primarily by your own likes and dislikes? Or are you someone who needs to know that the people around you are comfortable with the role or perceived role that you are playing?

Are you someone who wants to be liked, or someone who prefers to be respected?

Are you naturally a sociable person? Or does it take a lot of effort for you to mingle with others? When you mingle with others, do you find yourself behaving in drastically different ways depending on what company you're with? Does the person's reaction to you determine how you treat the person? If it takes a lot of effort for you to mingle, do you think to yourself whether that makes you a good person?

Please don't answer any of the questions - they are, of course, rhetorical.

12.9 透明瞬間與MUCCing around 連動update! ^^

Autumn Tour の シャッター スピード ~yuj vers.

Autumn Tour の シャッター スピード ~scenic vers.

Watched the newly-opened Crazy Horse show tonight, and I can't figure out what the hoo-ha is all about.. the show has 12 acts, based on the 12 zodiac signs.. most of the dances are quite artistic, really.. the most provocative one would be the "Chain Gang" one, I suppose, but it's still not as tantalising as the papers make it out to be.. (all the 'ah-pehs' will be disappointed if they go see the show expecting something more!.. or, should I say, less! XD)

I was a little bit disappointed at the venue, though.. expected it to be a bit higher on the glam factor.. seems quite small, too, so I was quite surprised when they touted themselves as being the largest Crazy Horse performance venue in the world..

On an entirely separate note, realized that the song during the 7 Nov live where the members played really tightly, is [鳶]. It left the deepest impression on me that night.

auction這個玩意兒...心臟弱的人千萬不要碰!!! ^_^;;;
最後幾分鐘總是心驚膽跳...我可承受不了這種壓力!!

(不過贏了auction又會得意得要死... ... 這種東西會上癮的﹐可要小心啊﹐scenic!!)

Now considering whether I should switch Japanese language schools... the current one is expensive, but I appreciate the small class size, better location and yeah the teacher's quite nice. My classmates are quite a fun-loving bunch too! The main reason for considering the other school, though, is simply $$ ($491 a year...half the price!). And I guess in terms of grounding, it's probably better too.

Decisions, decisions!!... gotta make up my mind before Sat. Well, one possibility is to sign up for the coming term at the current school first..then when the results of the placement test for the other school comes out (i went to sit for the placement test today..), I'll see whether I wanna join them..

At the placement test today, to my horror, the guy sitting next to me started scratching his balls in the middle of the test... yes, you read right, his balls, b.a.l.l.s!!! Fine, fine... so i attributed that to his nervousness... then after a few minutes he actually reached into his bag, pulled out a textbook and started flipping it! Cheater! So I glared at him until he stopped... (wasting my precious time...grr) Then towards the end of the test, guess what he did? He actually turned to me and asked me to share my answers with him! 8O!!!

(Now thinking back, perhaps I should have shared my answers with him...since my answers are sure to be wrong, ha!)