2004.12.31 Part 2
Meguro Rock MayKan "All Night Metal Party"

Bands in order: Takeiri Band, The Piass, Cuartet, PANIC*ch, Sulfuric Acid

Recap! I had gone to the countdown live at Area and was planning to hang out with Emma afterwards. However, Emma was super jetlagged and mailed me right after saying that she was going home and going to sleep. Then her phone died, so she didn't get my mails of "Oh no, I have nowhere to go!". But thankfully (and I owe my first born to Arashi), they were all going to MayKan and she lent me enough money to cover what I didn't have for train fare to Meguro. It was quite bizarre taking the train at 12:30. New Year's Eve is the only day all year the JR trains in Tokyo run all night.

I'm soooo glad I went; I should have thought of it anyway, what kinda Panic fan am I? Area had left me feeling angry and unsatisfied after the elbow to the nose and the short set, and the night just felt weird. I was stressing over the money issue, even after it was over, and extremely hungry to boot. We got to MayKan as a band called Takeiri Band was playing. Most of the bands who played before we arrived had been of the metal, classic rock type older bands. Takeiri was one of them. They were just a bunch of old guys in regular clothes rocking out. They were so good though! The music was very calming; especially for me being an angry stressed basket case. I stood around in the back and chilled out a bit.

MayKan was pretty empty, and once they were done, a bunch of people cleared out and we managed to get some seats. Unfortunately though, the two worst bands that were at Area came to MayKan right after! Oh no!

The Piass was next, but they weren't quite as painful the second time around. They had a longer set so they had more room to be silly. They started off with the drummer playing guitar and Takayuki on the drums. Then they made the bassist chug a beer for some reason. The same two fans in the red jumpsuits were in the front, and Takayuki gave them special recognition by saying they were at the front for every live, and had people applaud them. Lots of MCing and joking around, but they still sounded like one giant thrashing noise song with short breaks.

Something weird happened with their scheduling and there was about an hour break between sets. Everyone just flopped around and I was miserably hungry. And then, cringe, Cuartet. Once again, somehow because of the longer set and I think the more relaxed atmosphere, they weren't quite as bad. Ok, they're still really bad, but not quite as bad. The vocalist actually tried to sing, but did bark and yell an awful lot. I spent most of the set staring up the bassist's shorts, because he kept putting his leg up on the amp and was asking for it.

I think while Cuartet was on, all the dedicated Panic fans filed in, because MayKan was suddenly more populated. It still wasn't crowded, but more people were there than before. We zoomed up front as soon as Cuartet was over... Although there was a long break between sets, everyone was possessively guarding the front anyway (unlike Cuartet's fans who didn't stand anywhere near the front during the whole break). We were standing in the second row, which is perfect in MayKan.

It was also a perfect set. They played as PANIC*ch, however it was kind of a half-breed here. Because Saburo could only learn so many songs in such a short time, they played a mix of both *ch and Panikku's songs. It was really cool! Meguru was still wearing his white-out contacts but had glasses on too, blackish lipstick, but with a Sexy Dynamite t-shirt and white Super Lovers track jacket. The rest of them were just casual, Kana in overalls and Takumi in what looked like a sweatshirt and baggy pants.

They played six songs. I was afraid of seeing what they'd do for the member introduction part of 829, but Meguru handled it all very well. He introduced Saburo, and everyone sakued for him nonetheless. It wasn't the same without seeing Tara smiling on stage, but they really made the best of it and Saburo is really such a cutie pie! For the MCs, usually the fans all yell who they want to hear. Tonight, Meguru let everyone yell for Kana and Tsubasa, but then turned the mic to Saburo so it wouldn't be leaving him last. For Saburo's MC, Meguru asked him to tell Gift's live schedule and he started answering quietly, staring at the floor and towards Meguru, so Meguru turned him around by his shoulders so he faced the stage. Shy boys are just the cutest! And Meguru is too!

They were surprisingly energetic for it being 5 in the morning, except Takumi who looked like he was going to fall asleep behind the drums. He had no makeup on and his eyes just looked like they were closing. He didn't MC at all, so they made fun of him. Tsubasa MCed about not shaving so those who saw him without makeup at the end of Area could tell he had a "beard". They all talked for a long time.

But the best part was... possibly the best of any Panic live I've seen so far! During Iyagarase, Meguru ran back to the drumset and picked up extra sticks. He started hitting the drums while Takumi was playing, eventually pushing him off the seat and took over, giving Takumi the mic. So Takumi had to go to the front of the stage and scream "iyagarase", which he did in the girliest hysterical voice ever, while Meguru rocked out on the drums. Meguru was a drummer in his previous bands, and he's quite an awesome drummer too! Takumi kept trying to go back but Meguru just kept playing and wouldn't let him! It was so great.

They dragged out Iyagarase for really long, even longer than usual with Meguru on the drums and all. We moshed but not too violently... It was perfect! Really such an awesome set, I was so happy at the end. It was about 5:30 when they ended.

1) 829 service
2) Rouge
3) Zassou
4) Kako wasure
5) Kataomoi
6) Iyagarase

Apparently Sulfuric Acid were the ones causing trouble in the schedule, so while they were slotted to play around 2:00, the whole thing got completely screwed up and Sulfuric Acid ended up playing at 5:30 after Panic. The live was supposed to end at 4:30 with Panic last! I watched them come out on stage, and recognized their costumes from seeing their flyer so much. But I had had enough of random bands and was too happy after Panic anyway, so I said goodbye to everyone and went home to sleep.

Spending New Years with Panic is possibly the best way to spend it!