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- Oct 17, 2008
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I knew quite a few had planned to go to the UK one but the timing was really bad so none of them (myself included) could attend, really wish I could have made it somehow though :/.Geisha wrote:Yes, it's a pity they don't come to the UK again but attendance was really poor last year, so I don't blame them.
That's so true. Plus, I get the impression that the only VK music that sells in the west nowadays is cute boybands or non-cute alternative rock. People got used to thinking that's how VK should be, so anything that fits that bill gets applauded and anything that doesn't fit gets ignored. The only exception to that I can think of are Versailles, but they basically play western style metal and their concept is simple and easy to understand, even if you don't understand Japanese, so once you get past the costumes it all feels familiar.shazzer wrote:Many fans scream "come to this place" and then they go there and hardly anyone shows up.
I remember someone recently asking on a Jrock forum who Luna Sea are. I don't actually like them but you should have at least heard of them. ::kisaki::I sometimes wonder about the "fame" of VK bands. My Japanese friends do not know Penicillin and one of my friends asked me who the old bloke was whose article I was reading (it was Sugizo from Luna Sea).
Quite a few of the new dates are on weekends, so perhaps you're more lucky this year?Jareth Drakul wrote:I knew quite a few had planned to go to the UK one but the timing was really bad so none of them (myself included) could attend, really wish I could have made it somehow though :/.
Yeah, there are idiots who will run to any concert as long as the band is Japanese, even though they don't know a single song, but in terms of looks my experience has been quite different. Most of the bands that are popular in the west now, e.g. Dir en grey, D'espairsRay, Girugamesh, Lynch, LM.C, Gazette, An Cafe, Alice Nine, are quite plain looking compared to the 90s and I've noticed a lot of prejudice against old-fashioned dressy bands. Often people won't even try to listen to their music, they write them off as talentless just based on their looks. That includes Versailles, who had very few fans when they first went abroad a couple of years ago, and Moi dix Mois, who are one of the best live bands I've ever seen. And I keep hearing people wanting D to dress down so they're taken more seriously. At the other end of the spectrum you have bands like Golden Bomber, who aren't dressy and are very popular, but who don't even play their own instruments.shazzer wrote:@ Geisha True. I sometimes wonder whether some fans actually know the songs of the bands they are actually a fan of or whether they just like them because of the looks. I think there are a lot of bands which got /are ignored because of their looks (too normal, not cute). I sometimes get the impression that new Visual Kei bands know that they can make more money because of their looks than their music.
Experimenting has its good and bad sides. Yes, it can be exciting, but on the downside you don't always like the outcome. I was never that much of a D'espairsRay fan, but sadly I haven't liked anything they did after Murder Day. Same with Dir en grey, I hate everything post Vulgar. D was the opposite. They became interesting for me again in 2007/2008 and I love pretty much everything they've done since. I think they've been really courageous with the stuff they've tackled (foreign cultures that must be outside their comfort zone, e.g. medieval and Eastern Europe) and I think they've done really well, but I worry a bit that their next experiment may be something I don't like.I have to say that I like it when bands are experimenting. I also liked the change of D'espairsRay and most people hated it. If they are still singing (not only scream like a monkey) and make listenable music, why not? D was always a band who developed themselves and I quite enjoyed this.
Torpedo just confirmed the dates:I hope D will confirm their tour dates soon and write down the exact location because I have to ask my company to give me a day off (I work in two companies and teach English to an elderly, so I have to know it a bit in advance). Besides that I want to buy the train ticket and book the room for the concert.
Yeah, I never understood that prejudice of dressy = no talent. Perhaps some western fans just don't get the concept of VK? ::kisaki:: Though TBH, some VK bands don't seem to get it either.shazzer wrote:Hm D should dress down? I think they are actually not that visual at all. I like that they dress the way they want to dress. (Even if Tsunehito looks odd most of the time). It is sad that looks sometimes count more than music. If you do not like the way a musician is dressing, do not look at the pictures of the bands and enjoy the music.
Some hardcore fans will freak out at any kind of criticism; whatever Deg do is perfect and if you question it you don't understand their genius. I was never that much into Deg, so I'm certainly not a whiny old fan. I just enjoyed some of their old stuff and I don't like their new stuff because I hate nu metal/metalcore/grindcore/whatever it is they play now, that's all.I actually also wanted to name Dir en grey as a bad example but I once did that and some Deg hardcore fans freaked out because of it. Now I wait and see what others say (There are a lot of people saying that fans of old Deg are whiny and annoying) I used to like them a lot but then Kyo decided to scream like a moron instead of using his vocals. I do like some metal but there should be a melody in it.