Λucifer have finished their second show of 2012 and have thus entered their “frozen” status yet again. Before I say anything, let me get the bad news out of the way: Makoto has apparently stated on Twitter that the concert this time around will not be released on DVD and, indeed, video cameras were not present at the venue yesterday according to fan reports.
But, on to more positive things. Here are the songs they played last night at the Shibuya O-EAST:
1. LEGEND
2. Datenshi BLUE
3. PLASMAGIC
4. Sekai de Ichiban Kirei na Mono
5. C no Binetsu
6. Silent Melody
7. DUMMY
8. JUNK CITY
Kaikan Phrase screening + talk show (with Mayu Shinjo!)
9. ELEMENTS
10. Jealousy
11. CARNATION CRIME
12. TOKYO Illusion
13. TSUBASA
14. Kono Te no Naka ni
15. Shooting Star
16. Egovision
17. Poker Face
18. LUCY
19. Midnight Crow
20. Time Machine wa Iranai
Encore ①
21. CASTAWAYS
22. See You
Encore ②
23. Datenshi BLUE
The setlist to this three-hour show was largely similar to yesterday’s, although with a couple of changes: they replaced LOVE & PAIN and Regret with Kono Te no Naka ni and Shooting Star, respectively. Also in attendance was Kaikan Phrase creator Mayu Shinjo who took part in the mid-set “talk show”. Fans were also served some nostalgia through the screening of PV’s of select songs as they were playing them on stage (C no Binetsu, JUNK CITY, TOKYO Illusion, LUCY, Datenshi BLUE). The show ended with Λucifer’s (and the audience’s) usual jump with linked hands.
The general consensus among fans seems to be that it was a fantastic show and — seeing as how well they were received — it can’t be long until Λucifer un-freezes (melts?!) again.
Here’s some picspam. The first one is special as it features Santa, Yukinojo Mori, Makoto, Mayu Shinjo and Shinya from DIR EN GREY.
Some twitter comments from fans:
@yun221: I’m glad I got to know everyone in Λucifer! Thank you for creating such lovely songs. (>_<) Λucifer is the most loved and the most important band of my entire life. I’ll be looking forward to the next reunion!
@kayo224: Λucifer’s show was realllly fun. (*´∀｀*) Though I thought I wouldn’t remember anything but Datenshi BLUE (laughs), it all came back to me～. Good work on the show. Getting to hear again all the songs I liked in my junior high school days, it was a really happy two days for me. ♪ I have faith that there’s going to be a next time, so I’ll look forward to it!
@hisuiiro: Good work! Today’s show was the best. I was really happy to see the two guitarists playing twin guitar leads after such a long time. As I thought, I realized my love for Λucifer anew. vv
@jda0519totoro: Ah, I love Λucifer too much. I wonder what it is with them… I thought that maybe my feelings would’ve cooled down already, but like I thought, I still love them. I just love those five. That’s what I was thinking as I was watching their show. They will forever remain an important and loved band of mine. I’m glad I got to know Λucifer.
And finally, the post-show thoughts from the band:
Towa: Λucifer’s show is over! Thank you very much! It was fun! See you again!?
Yuki: The two days of Λucifer live have ended safely. ヾ(^▽^)ノ To everyone who came, thank you! Today we even got Shinjo-sensei to come as well, so it was more “Kaikan Phrase” than ever! See you later, Λucifer. (*^_^*)
Santa: Our shows yesterday and the day before… to those of you who came or watched us on the net! To those of you who unfortunately couldn’t make it! Thank you very much!
Atsuro: I’m home～☆ I have to get up early for rehearsal tomorrow so I couldn’t attend the afterparty. (>_<) I wanted to drink with everyone… Nevertheless, it was a very happy two days. I won’t forget everyone’s smiles. Thank you!!! I’m so happy I decided to work as a newspaper boy in junior high school in order buy a guitar… and I’m so happy I met Λucifer. ☆
Makoto: The last day for Λucifer is over! Thank you for all the many wonderful memories. (^-^)/ We’ll still, still, still be back. ♪ Λucifer is the best. ♪ Thank you for the many letters and presents this time, too! ♥ Last night, Yukinojo Mori-san complimented me by saying I’d become a proper adult. ♪ He also complimented my singing. ♪ I’ll do my best. ♪ These two days passed by so suddenly, I feel a little sad. （ ; ; ） Λucifer’s reunion shows this time around, too, seemed well-received. ♪ But it was so fun, I even dreamt of it later! Us in Λucifer, we swear to reunite again as we set onto our differing journeys. After we’ve each respectively grown as artists, we’ll definitely be back again, so when the time comes, we’ll be asking for your support. (^_−)−☆ Off to new adventures… Λ
Λucifer has finished their first show since Bangkok on 2010/09/25! Here’s some bits and pieces of information from the first of their two-night reunion. First things first: here is the long-awaited setlist from Shibuya, February 28th of 2012!
1. LEGEND
2. Datenshi BLUE
3. PLASMAGIC
4. Sekai de Ichiban Kirei na Mono
5. C no Binetsu
6. Silent Melody
7. DUMMY
8. JUNK CITY
Kaikan Phrase screening + talk show
9. ELEMENTS
10. Jealousy
11. CARNATION CRIME
12. TOKYO Illusion
13. TSUBASA
14. LOVE & PAIN
15. Regret
16. Egovision
17. Poker Face
18. LUCY
19. Midnight Crow
20. Time Machine wa Iranai
Encore 1
21. Orange
22. See You
Encore 2
23. Datenshi BLUE
Before the show, Λucifer received a bunch of flowers.
From Mayu Shinjo, creator of Kaikan Phrase.
From Yukinojo Mori, who wrote lyrics to the majority of Λucifer’s songs.
From Acid Black Cherry.
From Hiroshi Tamaki, badass actor and friend of Makoto.
Some thoughts from the band:
Makoto: Before I knew it, today’s the last day for Λucifer! With the power I received from you all yesterday, I’ll give it all I’ve got today!! We’re hoping for your support!!!
Towa: Just like that, the first day of Λucifer’s live is over in the blink of an eye! Thanks to everyone who came! Thanks so much for all the presents, too! I’ll see you tomorrow!
Atsuro: Thanks for today, everyone! We had a really special time. ☆ I got in such high spirits, I forgot all about us having another show tomorrow. Λucifer will go on to become an even better band! Today was a really good day. ☆ Music is really wonderful! I have to work harder… With that, good night～☆ Oh, and Yukinojo Mori came to see us today as well. I was happy when he praised us after our performance. ☆ Also, the lyricist Aki Hata came to see us, too～!! Realizing that he was watching me not as the Daichan-me but the ATSURO-me made me really embarrassed. (>_<) As I’m thinking we have a show tomorrow, too, I’m having a hard time falling asleep…
Yuki: The first day ofΛucifer’s live is over. ヾ(^▽^)ノ With the nostalgic footage and all, it was fun! Thank you very much. I’m looking forward to tomorrow as well!
Santa: After doing my stretches and taking a bath, I’m just toasting here by myself. (laughs) Going “ah man, I really went for it today～” while taking off my clothes off my sweaty body… I noticed I’d come back wearing someone else’s T-shirt. (strained laugh) Who’s is this black T-shirt? (laughs) And as I was going “oh shit, it’s the earthquake alert～” and getting mentally prepared for it…… I realized I was wearing nothing but underwear. I’m glad the earthquake never came. (laughs)
Some fan reactions:
@sallieday: It was realllly fun～!! I’m so glad I went!! It was all songs I love and the MC’s were so funny, I just laughed and laughed. ♪ Thank you for an enjoyable time. ☆ Good work. ＼(*^-^*)／
@a1y2a1n8o: The show was really fun. ♪ I was really moved that I got to meet everyone from Λucifer again. ♪ Thank you very much! I bought all the goods, too. ♪ I can’t attend tomorrow because of work, so I’ll be looking forward to your next show. ♪
@mihox1127: Good work! It was so fun. I want you to do another reunion soon. (:_;) I got more friends at the last show, too, and it’s all thanks to Λucifer. (:_;)
@chiezou_63: Good work on the first day. I would’ve never thought I’d get to see you from front row, so I was happy. I’ll be acting riotous at the back tomorrow. (≧∇≦*) Λucifer ♥
@gorochan23: Good work on the first day! This was my first time seeing the five of you together, so I was already crying aloud during the first song. I’ll be attending on the second day, too!
@amaihachimi2: Today’s show was really, really fun. (*´ー｀*) Thank you very much for the happy time!! I’ll be taking the night bus back to Nara now, but I’ll be soaking in the reverberations of the show all the way back home. (*^^*)
Λucifer are doing another two live shows in February! Here’s the announcement from Towa:
The frozen Λucifer has decided to momentarily defrost to play live!
2012.2.28 and 29, two days at Shibuya O-EAST!
A special website will be set up on December 8th.
The advance ticket reservations will begin there from the 10th.
Details on the website will be announced here shortly!
We’re hoping for your support!
Also, here’s a tweet from Atsuro:
To respond to the many comments we received from people saying “I want to hear Time Machine wa Iranai played live!“, we’ve decided to do a 2-night comeback. Since it’s kind of sudden, we’ll have to work hard to make this two-night run happen, but it’s really a miracle we were able to book EAST for two days in a row. We’re looking forward to seeing everyone!
We’re another step closer to that new album… </wishful thinking>
Edit 12/8: Updated the post with a badass picture (above). Here’s the link to the special site: lucifer-timemachine.com
In case you didn’t realize, it’s been exactly 12 years today since Λucifer’s debut and their first release, “Datenshi BLUE.” Here’s Makoto’s post on it from his blog:
Λucifer’s 12th anniversary.
It’s been 12 years since Λucifer’s debut. It feels like all that time went by in a flash… Last year, we had our revival shows. This year, we have our new song to look forward to. We’re going to have the vocal recordings for that soon, so look forward to more pictures of that on Twitter and so! And to all the fans who have kept supporting Λucifer for these 12 years, I say this from the heart: thank you. (v^-ﾟ) We’re hoping for your continued support!!
In celebration of this festive day for all Λucifer fans alike, here’s something I promised I’d do ages ago: my top 5 favorite Λucifer guitar solos! Without further ado, let’s get started!
5. LUCY
Though it’s admittedly quite a basic guitar solo, it does sound delicious. A solo doesn’t always have to be flashy to be awesome, as this Atsuro-penned tune demonstrates.
4. Heavy Style
I’d actually forgotten how cool this solo was until I went listening through Aucifer’s discography, searching for their most badass solos. It’s weirdness combined with coolness. A lot of coolness.
3. See You
Aucifer’s one and only (?) acoustic guitar solo. And what a sweet one it is! Atsuro’s fingers are lovely.
2. Midnight Crow (Be-Trip Tour 2001 version)
While the recorded version of this song has an okay solo, Aucifer gave it a whole new look when playing it live. There’s a version of this song included on all three Aucifer live DVD’s, but my favorite is by far the one found on Be-Trip Tour 2001. The one on Last Tour 2002-2003 Energy, though more technically proficient, loses to the Be-Trip Tour 2001 one in… how should I put it… let’s call it the youthful energy. As for the one on the 10th Anniversary DVD, that one is of course again technically superior but to be completely honest with you, while the actual performance itself was great, I was disappointed in both the picture quality as well as the sound mix of this DVD. Thus, I think the best version of the song — and indeed, my favorite Aucifer DVD — is the Be-Trip Tour 2001 one.
Here’s a video of it to remind you:
1. Sekai de Ichiban Kirei na Mono
I know, I know, you probably think I’m crazy ranking this higher than that version of Midnight Crow. But I can’t lie to myself: I’ve always loved this solo the most. It’s really just perfection. Short and sweet perfection. Pure f’ing ear candy. That’s all I really have to say about it.
Edit: While we’re at it, here are the top 10 guitar solo picks from my trustworthy co-blogger here on Silent Melody, the good sir GN-0015:
10. DUMMY – A bit pain for ears at first to me, but it grew well inside me, and now I find the solo is quite cool.
9. HURRY – It is Towa’s bass that gave me multiple orgasms throughout the song, but the solo is awesome too!
8. CARNATION CRIME – Typical crazy Λucifer solo, but really really a perfect fit for the song.
7. Realize – The solo keeps the song’s upbeat tune, I like it so much.
6. TSUBASA – Double solo from two guitar gods is always cool!
5. Graduation – Really cool, can’t really explain but it’s just awesome.
4. C no Binetsu – Quick yet very relaxing to me. It’s my first Λucifer song, so it’s really nostalgic.
3. Desire – This one is just crazy in the most awesome way. The best song for me on the way to work.
2. LABYRINTH – Probably their quickest song, my blood always runs faster especially during the damn awesome solo. Perfect for listening while having sex.
1. Regret – My favourite solo from Yuki throughout his entire career. Perfect fit for the song, though having the thoughts of Yuki shaking his guitar in that manner in the PV quite ruins the mood XD
So what are your favorite Λucifer guitar solos? And again, happy 12th birthday to Λucifer!
Λucifer have now begun the recording work for their new song. Also, the title of their new song revealed…?! Here’s some translated studio reports from twitter and blogs, collected here in (approximately) the order they were posted.
Makoto:
Today’s our long-awaited day of recording!
Λucifer are recording their new song for that project today!! About to begin recording NOW (^O^)
The members, busy playing.
Cool!
Atsuro-sensei of Λucifer.
First self-shot in a while.
I have a feeling it’s going to be a well-liked song…
Towa (^O^)
Santa (^O^)
Atsuro (^O^)
YUKI (^O^)
(To Mayu Shinjo:) I think it’s going to be a good one～! (^O^)
Mayu: Ooooohh!!! I’m looking forward to it so much～～～!!
Please do. (^O^)
We’re just about to do the first take of Λucifer’s new song. Here’s to hoping it’ll be a good one (^_-)-☆ You guys wanna give it a go after a while? Datenshi～?!
Polishing it up some more.
Recording as Λucifer is a strange feeling… it’s like we got on a time machine or something…
Yuki: Λucifer’s recording today! The song’s going to be included on the “Kaikan Phrase” DVD! (sic) It’s been way too long since the 5 of us recorded together. (^o^) I’m lost for words (*^_^*) It’s fun!
Mayu: Thanks so much for everything! Mom’s in tears here! (ノ◇≦。)
Santa: We’re in studio with Λucifer, recording a new song that’s to be included on the first press limited edition “Kaikan Phrase” CD going on sale 10/26!
Makoto:
Our work continues…
We’re steadily nearing the end… Time for lunch in a minute…
Having katsudon with all of Λucifer.
Look delicious?
Towa’s blog entry:
Recording!
We’re recording Λucifer’s new song today!
This time around, we’re just recording one song for Mayu Shinjo’s first press limited edition “Kaikan Phrase” CD, going on sale 10/26. Everyone’s gathered here just to do that. It’s been a long time, but we’re proceeding nicely.
Mayu: ￣ｍ￣ Fufu. Me, I’m a fast typer so it’s fine… I am doing my work properly!!
Santa: Well that’s good to hear (￣∀￣) (lol) Fight!
Makoto:
Towa, keeping record.
So it’s been 9 years since Λucifer last recorded, huh…
YUKI’s doing his best with his guitar solo!
The title of Λucifer’s new song: “Uni” (Sea urchin) (lol)
Santa: Absolutely 1000% not (;_;) (lol)
The title of Λucifer’s new song: “Datenshi CRIME no Binetsu“
The title of Λucifer’s new song: “Midnight Illusion no Hoka ni Nani ga Dekirun darou?“
Next up, Atsuro’s doing his best!
Towa, Santa and YUKI are all done with their parts. Atsuro’s recording acoustic guitar next. Me? I’m just in charge of demo vocals and twitter today. (lol)
Good evening! This is Makoto of Λucifer (for a short while) (^_-)-☆
Yuki: Finished recording my guitar solo without incident. (*^_^*) Ah man～ I went and played a pretty cool one again. (lol) With this, my parts are all done. (^-^)v
Makoto: Good work (^O^)
Makoto: The Λucifer song is 90 percent done! Once we’ve laid down the acoustic guitar parts, it’s 99% done. Finally, once I’ve recorded my vocals, it’s 120% done!!
Atsuro: Today’s Makocchan! Going to record the acoustic guitar parts now～☆
Makoto:
Atsuro’s acoustic guitar recordings have started!
It seems Towa’s gonna start up twitter as well… (lol) Oh, this is off-topic, but we were talking about suntans just now and Towa showed me his ass to demonstrate how white it is.
We’ll be done with the instrumental parts shortly! Thanks for the tweets of encouragement (o^-‘)b
Atsuro: I’m done. We’re now waiting for the rough mix. Here’s a precious picture of Yuki-chan playing my acoustic☆
Yuki: Thanks for letting me try it out! It has a good sound! Now I want one for myself (^-^)v
Makoto:
Λucifer instrumental parts now done!
And that’s it for today! On my way home now (^O^) Tomorrow it’s photography time for Λucifer!!
VISUAL goes JAPAN did an interview with Makoto a while back. Well, I say “a while back“, but I’ve been working on this on-and-off for a good four and a half months now. Holy hell. This one damn near killed me and my poor Japanese skill. In any case, I’ve translated it here. Enjoy!
This summer, Λucifer came back with a dramatic revival. What were their thoughts behind the reunion?
Λucifer’s vocalist as well as solo artist, musician and actor: MAKOTO. MAKOTO, busy with all these activities, talked to us about both the past and the future.
How did Λucifer’s revival come to be?
After our debut in 1999, reaching our 10th anniversary felt really significant.
There was lots of fan feedback asking if we wouldn’t do something for our 10th anniversary. After Λucifer’s break-up, too, us members would meet up for drinks and when we started saying “Wouldn’t it be nice if we could do something together for our 10th anniversary?“, that’s when it all started taking shape.
Did you go see the other members live, too?
I did. Like guitarist YUKI’s DUSTAR-3, drummer SANTA’s OLIVE SUNDAY, as well as lives of artists they were supporting. ATSURO’s the only one whose live I haven’t been to! ATSURO’s supporting a lot of artists, too, but a lot of them are voice actresses and going to those lives would’ve felt a little embarrassing. (lol) But I’ll have to go sometime. I mean, I haven’t seen him playing live aside from Λucifer! I have on TV though. Yeah, on Music Station, I did see him playing behind Shokotan, but his appearance was completely the same as when we were in Λucifer! A little visual kei-ish, that is. (lol) I was like “Huh? Is it alright to look like that?!” (lol)
He does the same playing stance too, eh (lol)
Yeah.
Everyone was also doing their individual activities at the time of the revival. Were there any difficulties because of that?
I think Λucifer has less rehearsals than bands normally do. We really drilled everything into our minds back then and so even after these 7 years have passed, it all came back to me really quickly without even looking at the lyrics. The others, too, were able to completely pull it off after basically just a little bit of fine tuning.
I see. So there weren’t that many problems?
Right. This time we had a different mindset. Back in the old days we were busy worrying about how we did on the charts and stuff. That was an important thing for us then. However, this time we did it simply for the fun of it all. Even now I think there’s lots of bands like that, ones that worry about that kind of stuff. However, doing music in an environment like that isn’t enjoyable. This time we distanced ourselves from all of that and it became fun.
It really looked that way!
Sorry if I looked worn out (lol) It’s my selling point (lol)
Not at all. It was fun that there were lots of MC’s, too.
After I became a solo artist it’s gotten bad. After the first 4 songs, I can go on talking for an hour! It’s already Chiharu Matsuyama-level. (lol) This time I held back though. (lol)
During the live, you made fun of your old character a number of times. Still, how was it like to become the fallen angel character again after all this time?
Oh yeah, the datenshi character itself was pretty questionable from the beginning. (lol) Back then I didn’t talk that much so conversely now I’m talking a lot like I usually would. There’s this thing the comedians Girin used to say. If you keep chewing on your food for a long time, at some point you’ll notice the taste will have eventually changed. They call that going “Beyond the Borderline of Flavor.” The same thing happens with your voice. If you keep talking, at some point you’ll suddenly notice you’ve crossed the line and you’ve been talking forever. I call it going “Beyond the Borderline of the Voice.” (lol)
I see, so MC’s were thanks to crossing over to the Other Side of The Voice. (lol)
Aside from the performances in Japan, Λucifer also went to play in Thailand. How was it?
In Thailand, the stage was really high up, around 2 meters or so. When I asked the security “Is it alright to stage dive from here?“, they said “No.” But then during the live there was an instant where I thought I absolutely had to. Like, an “I gotta do it now!” moment. So I did (lol)
Were you okay?
I braced myself and it was alright. The fans held me up and got all excited, too.
That’s good. After Λucifer’s dissolution, you also had solo activities in other parts of Asia. Are there any differences between Japanese and foreign fans?
If you want to make a good performance abroad, it’s important to take into consideration the culture and atmosphere of the country you’re performing in. As for the Thai performance… Thailand, a Buddhist country, has people who think very highly of unconditional love. As such, during the live rather than everyone screaming their heads off, it was more like everyone was thinking “Oooh, it’s the real thing～” while kind of holding back or more like, in the first half, they were just taking it all in, but when we got to the halfway point, the audience started getting more fired up. Therefore, compared to the 4 performances in Japan, being on stage was completely different. It was once again fun doing a show at a place with completely different culture. When it comes to the language, the members don’t speak Thai, so we crammed hard until the last minute so we could speak a little bit. Me, I like to use a marker to write what I need to remember on my hand, but if you write it on your palm, the sweat will wash it off and besides, it looks to the audience like you’re reading from your hand. So what I like to do is write on the outside of my hand. If you do that, place your hand up high and look at it that way, it doesn’t seem as if you’re reading something and you look like something out of a painting. (lol)
So you used that kind of a technique. (lol) So, if someone sees you abroad looking at your hand, there’s always the possibility you’re reading some memo you wrote to yourself.
Exactly. (lol)
How was it, seeing Λucifer come back to life again?
Though I’m 30 years old right now, both our debut and our break-up happened really early on, so I’m still thinking about how my life will turn out from now on. I have a friend who also has a band who made a limited time comeback and I went to have dinner with him after their live. At that time we hadn’t yet decided on Λucifer’s revival. So I asked him “How was your comeback?” and he replied “The audience doesn’t get fired up if you don’t have new songs.” That time, I just thought “Ah, I see.“
Bands are usually like, they release new songs, and they go “Alright, this time let’s go with these!” and then they tour, right? But for us, we decided to keep the focus on our old songs, and in doing so, I had to think about what my reasons were for getting up on stage for our anniversary. Sure, I could’ve just gone and done it without giving it a second thought, but I didn’t want it to be this lukewarm class reunion thing. Rather, I wanted to go and seize the energy to focus on my solo career and other activities from now on, and that’s how I had my feelings sorted prior to getting up there on stage.
Actually standing on stage, were you able to find that energy you were searching for?
Right now, my thoughts are that I strongly believe in myself, my fashion, my way of living, everything. Like, “Others can say what they like, but I’ll keep on going on the path I believe in!“
Λucifer announced during the live that it will again for the time being “freeze” its activities. Does it feel like the day that “ice” melts again is close by?
Standing on stage again after 7 years, seeing how Λucifer had continued to live in everyones’ memories made me really happy. Also, during the performances, it felt like the fans were smiling even more than they did before. If there’s this many people waiting for us, I think it’d be bad if we don’t get together to play once in a while! Although we’ll become “frozen” again, I believe we will play again and the others feel the same way, too.
We can’t end it here. It feels like we’re a band that’s still continuing to evolve.
From here on, we can expect your solo activities to pick up the pace again, and, compared to the MAKOTO of Λucifer, I think your fans are looking forward to seeing a completely different you again.
Though I’ve been a performer for 12 years now, my current status is that I’m still searching for myself, so I want to challenge lots of different things and I’m thinking I want to do work that improves me as a person. So, I’m thinking I want to do things like stage plays and sessions with other bands. For me, Λucifer is a thing of glory from my past, so before I return to do things with Λucifer again, I’m thinking it’d be good for me to see new worlds and learn new things from them to make myself grow as a person. So in that sense, too, I want to go on challenging various things.
Your stage play “Urizun no Kaze” is starting, too.
Yes. It’s a play about a tight-knit family that gets into a major crisis which nearly collapses their lives, and how with each others’ support they try to overcome that adversity.
It’s something completely different again from being in a band, so your preparations for it must be difficult.
Right. In my case, for that character who’ll stand on the stage in that play, I’m thinking about things like, what kind of a life does he lead? What does he eat? How much does he sleep? What kind of characteristics does he have? I’m thinking about all of these things one by one. When you think about things like this, the character you’re portraying on stage is going to gain depth. From now on, I’m going to practice and enter into that kind of simulation work.
When I was doing a period drama, for example, I was even wearing kimono at home. If I just put in the work during rehearsals and on stage, I can’t properly get into character. Until now, I’ve only done roles like bisexual sadist dentists or sword-wielding master fencers, just roles that are kind of strange. But this time it’s just an ordinary person, so that’s something I was looking forward to. It’s normally those strange roles that seem to be hard for actors as they need to be in high spirits. But in my case, it’s oddly enough the opposite — for me, it’s the normal salaryman or convenience store clerk I’m worried about doing. So this time it’s a challenge for me.
So people going can look forward to seeing another side of you?
That’s right. This’ll look like I’m trying to sound cool, but it feels like I myself am going to find a new side of me as well, so I’m looking forward to that. I want to put my soul in it and really make it a play that will move you.
As for your new band Trick, there’s still lots of things being kept a secret about it. Could you tell us what you can about it?
It’s a session band we formed with close friends of mine and we took part in a Seikima II tribute album. I don’t know about its future activities yet. It’ll be a band enshrouded in mystery.
But, when it comes to music, I have a clear fashion style I want to go for. When Λucifer debuted, my outfits were flashy and my makeup was light. Then, a bit later during our activities, my style got relatively natural. Now, I’ve steadily started moving towards both flashier clothes and darker makeup.
What I think I’m leaning towards now is the metal style or, I mean, using more ornaments and going for a flashier look, in kind of like a sadistic flavor.
Kind of like a cross between visual kei and metal styles?
Right. I like that kind of thing. Though I do think about how long it’s okay for me to continue using eyeliner. (lol)
They also posted a short video message from Makoto. Notice his John Lennon/Yoko Ono shirt!
As you know, ordering Aucifer’s new DVD through their online store can be troublesome if you’re not a resident of Japan. So here’s two alternatives for those of you who still haven’t bought their copy due to that difficulty. First off, one especially suitable for Thais… jayvee passed on this alternative to me. Thanks for the heads up!
Note that I’m not affiliated with Makoto-Thailand.com (who are behind this offer) and I can’t take any responsibility if you decide to order through them. Also, a point of inconvenience for some might be that they seem to only accept Western Union as form of payment. I have to add that the price for non-Thais, too, at 6000THB (~US$200) could be a bit much for some…
This could be an alright way for Thais to order the set, but note that there might be better alternatives out there (with other payment options, too, such as Paypal) for fans in other countries. One service I know of, for example, is Tenso.com. Read more about their service on Tofugu. If you want to calculate approximately how much it’d cost to order the set to your country with Tenso, you can do a rough calculation here. Again, I’ve personally not used Tenso and with Googling, there’s a chance you might find a service even cheaper than them that will do the job. However, Tenso does seem pretty trustworthy to me.
And as for when we can actually expect that DVD of this performance? Still no release date unfortunately, but it’s getting closer as you can read from these translations of Towa’s blog and Atsuro’s twitter:
We’re working at a studio witht his kind of a scenery.
We’re doing the sound mixing for Λucifer’s live DVD.
Akkun’s twitter has a picture so definitely check that out too～
Atsuro’s twitter:
We’ve been doing Λucifer’s DVD’s TD with TOWA since noon♪ My physical condition has finally improved with only a little bit of cough remaining, so there’s no need to worry～☆ — Oct 16 (Note: as you might remember from my Thailand translations, Atsuro got so sick he had to be hospitalized for a while)
Returning home now. We worked on the sound for Λucifer’s DVD for over 12 hours without giving in. I’m thankful to all the staff!!!! Also many thanks to TOWA who did his best with me～☆ — Oct 16th
The final check for Λucifer’s live DVD is done!
We were able to finish it nicely!
Thanks to everyone who took part!
Those of you haven’t yet, definitely do think about pre-ordering!
Those of you who came to see the live, and also those of you who didn’t, definitely do check out the the Λucifer of today!
Well, though I say it’s done, there’s actually still the packaging and so on to be done before it’s finished, so it’ll take a while more…
Look forward to it!
I went! Λucifer’s comeback live in Akasaka BLITZ!!!
They started off with Datenshi BLUE!!
From the very start my excitement level was at its peak!
Although I thought I might be moved to tears from the nostalgia,
something surprising happened!! I didn’t feel nostalgic at all! (lol)
It felt like we’d jumped 10 years back in time,
Like “Hmm, I wonder around how many months is it since the last tour?”
I was watching the live with that kind of mindset! It was really strange.
Later, TOWA said in an MC that he felt the same way.
There’s just one thing that was different: the members’ skill levels respectively had all gone up!
At any rate, thanks to playing music in all kinds of styles, the members were already very skillful 10 years ago, but this time they’d gotten so much better, I was actually surprised!
They all played freely and enjoyed the show.
I think they were able to convey that to the fans, too.
Also, the MC’s were funny!!
In those days, Λucifer had an image to keep up with,
and they couldn’t hurt that image back then.
Now they don’t have that kind of an obligation anymore, so
YUKI was speaking in Kansai-ben, Akkun was an airhead,
MAKOTO-kun was making dirty jokes, TOWA was speaking like a bank employee (lol)
And San-chan was… yeah, San-chan’s MC’s hadn’t changed. (lol)
The selection of songs, too, was just filled with ones I love.
When they played the song I absolutely wanted them to play no matter what, Midnight Crow,
I got goosebumps!!
I love that guitar solo in the latter part.
Though I was in the 2nd floor center, wh-wh-what!!!
Somehow a pick from the famous Akkun flew to me.
This is the one.
What are the odds!! I was surprised～
They did Egovision, and they did DUMMY, and they did CARNATION CRIME
And C no Binetsu and LUCY and TOKYO Illusion and all my other most loved songs, I probably got to hear them all.
I was really glad!!
As we were watching the encore,
“They’ll definitely do ‘Dakishimeru Hoka ni Nani ga Dekirun darou?’“… is what some fans were thinking
Those fans knew their stuff quite well.
They did play it.
That song was the first one Sakuya sang in the anime.
It’s one that I really love.
There were 3 encores.
They finished with Datenshi BLUE.
The last one they played the time they broke up was Datenshi BLUE then, too～
As I thought, that song is the best.
Mori Yukinojo’s ingenius lyrics that have impact, and
TAKUYA’s catchy composition that you can’t forget once you hear it once.
It’s seriously amazing.
And then, this part of everyone’s youth, this band that I love
The fact that it was born from a manga that I created,
Every time I realize that, I feel I’m the luckiest mangaka in the world.
At the end, TOWA said “We used the word ‘re-formation’ and it won’t end here.
Just, until the next time we meet, Λucifer will be freezing its activites.”
I agree with that.
I’m really looking forward to being able to go to Λucifer’s live again.
I wasn’t able to attend the wrap-up party, but as they were practicing at the venue,
I got to talk to the members a lot.
San-chan… please stop calling me “mama“… (lol)
All these musicians who are still working hard at their craft,
we were able to have a fine reunion and talk a lot!!
It was fun～
Since I couldn’t go to the wrap-up,
It’s too bad I couldn’t meet the staff who have been supporting Λucifer since the beginning…
But, I’ll see them at the next live!
I’m already looking forward to it now!!
Thanks to all of you who greeted me at the venue!
Truly, it was really an awesome live!
Let’s meet again!
