Live at Namba Rockets 06-26-01

Bands in order: LADY, Paradise Alley, kahlua rosette, Rauya, KARAKURI

I went to this live with my Japanese friend Tatsu (fluent in English bwahaha), who only went with me because he was bored and I couldn't go alone. He wasn't interested in visual (or any Japanese music at all), so he spent most of the time huddled in a corner. We met at the station and took the trains to Namba. The livehouse was a bitch to find; located on "Namba Pier", which is actually just a strip of stores, most of them sports related. The sign in front displayed the bands and the price, which had been upped from 1500 yen to 2800 (ugh). We got there about 5 minutes after opening, and there wasn't much of a crowd. The place was above ground, but under the railroad tracks. It had a high ceiling, with coin lockers on a small second floor. Café tables took up most of the room, leaving about a 10-foot deep area in front of the stage. A video man taped the live on close-circuit television to display on a few TVs in the back. There was nothing to separate the fans from the stage, but it was higher than most, about 4 and a half feet, with a staircase for the techies to climb. The curtains were mangled, held together with duct-tape, and needed people to open them.

The first band was donuts record's LADY, who I had come to see. Kinda sucks when they're first and have the sucky start of the audience, who aren't worked up yet. I claimed a stage left spot, which wasn't very difficult considering the amount of people there. The 5 man group dressed more punk than visual; the guitarist (haruca) and bassist (KARy) both had on dress shirts with ties (although the bassist's was blood splattered and had some patches safety-pinned on), and the vocalist (Aki) wore something of a red dress with black shirt and pants under. They played very well, clear vocals and a nice mix of rock and punk. LADY had so-so audience interaction, but their energy was through the roof. They ran around the stage, constantly flipping the fans off. Their set was rather short, and afterwards, half the people in the house left.

The stage front had cleared fairly quickly, so I grabbed front and center. A scattering of punk girls barely filled the rest of the spots. From behind the curtain, a noise sounding like a dying duck resounded. One of the girls next to me started screaming back, and their "conversation" went on for another minute, complete with the giggling of her and her friend. The rest of the bands were a surprise to me, and when Paradise Alley took the stage, I was damn surprised. A trio of highly unattractive black PVC-clad rockers, the group looked like KISS rejects. The vocalist (also played guitar), had stringy curly hair and dead-white face paint. The bassist wore a black hat, huge goggles with one lens missing, and mismatched tights. The drummer had his hair sticking up like an anime character. The bassist took frequent breaks from playing to jerk around stage as if he were having a seizure, complete with beating his chest and making hideous faces. Music-wise, they were okay: a mix of electronica with painfully heavy metal, which drowned out the vocals. The few fans there did enjoy themselves, headbanging and fist throwing, which I joined in. After a few songs, the drummer destroyed his stick and chucked it at me. Using it as an excuse, I ran away to my bag and watched the rest of the set from the stairs. At one point, the vocalist went to the front of the stage, and stuck his ass out, inviting the girls to touch it. And they sure did. When they were over, I found the table where they were selling stuff, and bought a LADY photoset. That'll teach me for leaving stage front... a hoard of Lolitas started filling up the stage, 2 rows deep (as opposed to the 5 or so Paradise Alley fans, who had all left). I figured the next band would be good, so I crunched in the second row center, behind a Lolita with a huge white wedding veil to obscure my view. The girls proceeded to whine-screech names of the band members in the taunting way only Japanese girls can.

The next band, I learned, was KARUAROZETTO (written in katakana). What does the name mean? Well, the site address has "closet" in it, the old site said "Kahlua Losette", and the new site says "Kahla Losette"... so I guess it's up to you. [edit: the name means "kahlua rosette", kahlua as in the liqueur, rosette as in.. those medallion thingies?] The vocalist started out by cooing in this little child voice "Amai mono wa osuki desu ka?" (Do you like sweet things?) before the curtain raised. Leave it to the Lolitas, they were, in fact, very sweet, and very good. This young four-guy group was slightly visual, and served up a mix containing everything from jazz to hard rock. The vocalist (Haruhi) wore something of a patchwork skirt, a shirt split up the middle to show some skin, and a huge floppy hat. The bassist (Hitomichan) had spiked out bleach-blonde hair, and the guitarist (Keishi) looked like he was 15 and 80 lbs. (and I wouldn't be surprised if he really were!). He wore a tight black shirt with assorted silver phrases like "Live nude girls" written on it, tight leopard print jacket, and fluffed-out hair. The drummer (Yasumasa) wore a shirt and tie. They won the award for most musically talented of the night, with LADY following. Their music was very clear and well practiced, especially the bassist, who was amazing. Haruhi picked up the guitar for some songs, but he was mainly vocals. These guys knew how to tease; Hitomichan and Keishi continuously played close to each other, or sang backup into the same microphone. Haruhi put his arms around the other members. For one song, he stood at attention at the microphone; marching in place and doing a saluting hand dance (which the girls all tried to copy). This band was obviously a fan-favorite, and the Lolitas continued to screech names throughout the performance. Poor guys. At the table, they were selling several weird-looking photo sets, stickers, and their first demo tape. The tape box was made to look like a box of caramel, for the song "Kyarameru no Oka" (Hill of Caramel). All the songs on the tape have something to do with sweets, and it comes with a little sticker of a candy with "KARUAROZETTO" printed all over. I witnessed several girls drop over 10000 yen (about $90!!) on photo sets, enough so they ran out. Now THAT'S devotion.

The swarm of Lolitas left, and a few girls gathered around stage, one in a kimono. I didn't know what to expect, but I certainly wasn't expecting what was next. The band was a three kanji name from Nagoya, Rauya. It took forever to set up, but when the curtains opened, the stage was well done-up. On the mic stands were flowers, the middle one had a huge chain of paper cranes on it, and there was a screen with the kanji printed on it near the rear of the stage. Then I noticed a guy standing by the screen, in a kimono, fanning himself. And a guy behind one of the mic stands, holding an accordion. Another in medical gear at the right. Then I noticed they were all women. THAT was a surprise. Well, the music started, which was actually all pre-recorded. It was traditional, with kotos and drums and all. The accordion player didn't play much, but did backup vocals. The vocalist had this screeching 3 yr. old voice that sounded like my hostsister singing Sex Machineguns karaoke. The music was a tape that played continuously, including pauses and voice-overs between songs. It was rather cheesy. The medical chick played guitar a few songs, but I couldn't distinguish her playing from the tape's. After a while, the music began to grow on me, but I was impatient to see the last band, because I had to leave soon. The vocalist was all into umbrella twirling and fan waving, and she did these creepy miming things. When the tape stopped, the vocalist announced it was the last song, and the medical chick got on the drums. She started banging out this 4-note beat of someone who's never played the drums before, and the vocalist screeched something not to the tune. The group around the stage was about 10-15 max. The girl in the kimono was obviously a hard-core fan, mouthing some of the lyrics, and keeping her hands clasped at her chest. There were one or two guys in there too. Everyone was absolutely silent during the whole act, and at the end, everyone clapped, something I've never seen before at a live. Then, before leaving, the vocalist had to take things off the stage (like the paper crane chain) and give them to the fans.

The next band took so long to set up, or maybe it was taking the stuff down. Most of the crowd had left, only one girl stood at the stage, while others sat at the tables filling out comment sheets. I got up to the front of the stage and waited with the other girl, kicking baskets of French fries tossed on the floor. The curtain finally opened to reveal KARAKURI, all decked out in beautiful kimonos. There were three members: a female vocalist (Nagi), male guitarist (Satoi), and male drummer (Rei). Nagi pulled off the visual thing very well, she was pretty androgynous, even her voice. Satoi was gorgeous, his long purple hair tied in a bun with long bangs falling out. The dark lighting made it almost impossible to see Rei in the back. The band was very good, playing hard rock that sounded very much like Dir en grey, while the two did choreographed steps to the music. I took a ton of pictures, and after a while, the guitarist came to the amp in front of me and sat down on it. He pouted, then pulled out his hairpin and played the guitar with it. A doll sat on the stage, which Nagi picked up, dismembered, and posed making faces with it as she sang. Although I wished I could stay longer, I had to get home, and missed the rest of their set.

On the way out, I saw two vaguely familiar guys loitering at the exit, talking to some girls. It was two of the guys from Paradise Alley. Tatsu went to the restroom, so I stood around. The vocalist looked at me and nodded in greeting. I smiled, and he asked if I filled out their comment form. I shook my head no, and he asked if it was okay to speak in Japanese. The two girls started babbling stuff like "I'm sorry", and the guy asked me if I bought their CD. I thought it would be better to play ignorant gaijin than to tell them they scared me. But without the layers of white paint, they weren't too bad looking. Tatsu returned, and they started asking him questions like what band I came to see. I should have taken a picture with them, but it was rather awkward. Then we went home.

All in all, it was a great night, but could have been better. LADY should have played longer, Rauya not as long. But it was all worth it to see KARUAROZETTO. Guys, you've got yourself a new hard-core fan.

My money went to: LADY
My money should have gone to: KARUAROZETTO
Goods: LADY photo set, KARUAOZETTO demo tape
Souvenirs: mangled drumstick from Paradise Alley