live from hollywood! - nt2099

J!-ENT | AUGUST 06 Photography by KAZUHIKO TSUCHIDA

LIVE FROM HOLLYWOOD!FROM ANAHEIM AND NOW TO HOLLYWOOD, J!-ENT’S WYNNE IP WRITES

ABOUT HER HYDE CONCERT EXPERIENCE AT THE HOUSE OF BLUES IN HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA! BY WYNNE IP

[WHAT’S HOT IN MUSIC]

AUGUST 06 | J!-ENT

or three whole months, HYDE fans have been waiting patient-ly but enthusiastically for the first week of July.

Plane tickets were made, and hotels were booked, as fans flocked from all over the United States into California to be-come part of HYDE’s first ever US tour. With the capacity of each venue rang-ing from 450 to 1200 people, only fans who were fast mouse-clickers or speedy typists were able to get through the online ticketing systems the moment the tickets went on sale. “The tickets sold out in three minutes. They sold out just as I pressed ‘submit’. I didn’t get mine,” wrote a disappointed fan in a HYDE online community. For those who were lucky, it became a matter of how many shows to attend. “I don’t have the money, or else I would


have gone to more than one show,” said Anni, who drove from Seattle to see HYDE perform live. While some fans were pleased to be able to go to even just one show, those of us who were really fortunate, or should I say crazy, being there at all four lives was the only way to go. And that was exactly what I did. While I was still feeling the ex-citement from my first ever HYDE concert at House of Blues Anaheim from the night before, something told me that the best had yet to come. Prior to his first show, HYDE might not have guessed how his American audience would have re-acted to his performance. But surely he must have realized by now how much he was loved here in the States.

Around noon on July 3, 2006, the day of HYDE’s second concert, my friends and I started lining up at the line that required the addi-tional purchase of a meal, which then would allow us to get in at least 15 minutes before the regular ticket line. At that time, there were already about 30 people ahead of us who had upgraded their tickets the same way. The weather was hot in Hol-lywood, but it was no match for the passion of all the HYDE fans. A group of girls had created a huge rolled-up vinyl banner, with the text “HYDE FAITH TOUR 2006 in US” in calligraphy that matched the FAITH album and tour logo.

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HYDE performing at the sold-out concert in Hollywood, California at the House of Blues on July 3rd. The day before this concert, HYDE performed at another sold out concert at the House of Blues in Anaheim. After the Hollywood concert, HYDE performed for two more nights in San Francsico’s SLIMS and the Filmore. Photo by Kazuhiko Tsuchida.


J!-ENT | AUGUST 06 3

To the right of the logo was a listing of the four US tour dates and venues. As a present to HYDE, the girls were bringing it to all the tour loca-tions, and having everyone sign and write messages for HYDE on it. I, of course, had already signed it before the first concert. I asked the girls when they were planning to give it to HYDE, and they explained to me that seeing how this banner was already full from those going to the Southern Califor-nia concerts, they were going to give it to HYDE before tonight’s show. They had already made another one for the San Francisco area shows, which would be handed to him on the last day of his tour. Some fans had put a lot of effort in dressing up for the concert, as there were a few gothic Lolita costumes. A couple of fans were cosplaying HYDE, while a good number of people were wearing official HYDE US tour t-shirts and wristbands, which were

sold at all the concert venues and at Anime Expo. Some wore their pur-chased tour goods from Japan, such as t-shirts and towels. Quite a few people were members of HYDE’s official fan club, and so they put on their HYDEIST gear. It was obvious that the majority of the people in line were female, but there were a considerable number of male fans as well. Around 6pm or so, my friends and I were able to hear HYDE rehearsing his set from where we were waiting. I couldn’t help myself but sing along some of the songs. During this time, more people, myself included, were frequenting the restroom at the venue, because that way we could hear the songs better. Just before 7:30pm, security staff from House of Blues handed out wristbands for those of us over 21 years old. Fans were warned to put away in their cars or check with the venue

staff any photography or record-ing devices, as no form of recording was allowed inside the venue, and we were also advised not to use our camera phones. They searched every single one of us using handheld metal detectors, and made us show them the content of our pockets and bags. Finally, when I was allowed to walk through the entrance, I no-ticed a disclaimer on the side of the doors about tonight’s show being taped on video. Once inside, I headed straight to a spot directly in front of the center microphone. There was already a row of Japanese fans up against the stage front, but being in the second row in an all-standing show, I had no right to complain. I tried to secure myself at that position by standing firmly with my feet apart and arms crossed at my chest. I needed to make sure that as the music hall was slowly being

[WHAT’S HOT IN MUSIC]filled with more and more fans, I would not get pushed out of my current preferred spot. The opening band, Black List Club, came out to play for us at 8:30pm, and the au-dience gave them good response because we had enjoyed their punk rock music the night before. The lead singer made us cheer every time he said the word “HYDE”, even during the middle of a song, to get us in the groove. The crowd appreciated their 30-minute performance, but they, like the rest of us, knew who we all came here to see. At precisely 9:30pm, Beethoven’s Ode To Joy came roaring out the big speakers at House of Blues, and we all screamed as HYDE and his band members made their way onto the stage. I immediately noticed that HYDE was wearing only an olive colored jacket with no shirt inside. His pants seemed to be made of denim, and were of dark grey color, with studs dec-orating the pockets and the zipper areas. Everyone started pushing from behind even though we were already shoulder-to-shoulder. While I was squishing the Japanese girl directly in front of me, someone else’s body was already pressed right against my back. The majestic introduction of JESUS CHRIST officially started the show for the night, and fans, as if we had been rehearsing this whole time, sang along with HYDE right from the beginning. The refrain of this song had always given me chills when I listened to the CD, but being part of it and watching it live was a completely different experience. HYDE voice really seemed like it was reaching the sky, and I held my right hand up as if trying to do the same. When he sang the phrase, “Ah, God give me death,” he opened his arms dramatically to form a cross with the rest of his body, revealing his navel ring on his half-naked body. SWEET VANILLA was next, and it got the crowd into the rhythm. The third song was one of my favorites, and it was called MADE IN HEAVEN, which started out with a cool bass solo. So, as I was mesmerized by HIROKI’s

fingers dancing on the frets, the crowd started to bounce up and down, and my body simply moved with the beat involuntarily. Everyone held up at least one arm, and I was already feeling the soreness from doing the same the entire show the night before. I remembered thinking at some point that it wouldn’t matter if my arm had just fallen off during the concert, and I still had a long night to go. “I want your blood, give it to me… Come, drink my blood, lose

all reason...” sang HYDE and the audience. I felt that I was being or-dered. I felt that I was one of his devoted followers, currently being brainwashed by my cult leader. At the end of the song, HYDE talked to us for the first time this evening. “I’m not afraid of anything,” HYDE made sure he was saying this with accurate pronunciation, “be-cause I have love.” The crowd cheered, but he con-tinued: “The next song… is about love.”

HYDE singing at the House of Blues. Photography by Kazuhiko Tsuchida

AUGUST 06 | J!-ENT 4


As I found out later, a lot of fans were very touched by that moment. Melanie, my friend from Michigan, said that she got all starry-eyed when HYDE made that comment. The song he played following that monolog was SEASON’S CALL. His voice was powerful, and it con-vinced me how strongly he felt to-wards those who were important to him. Then came EVERGREEN, which started out with HYDE strumming the guitar and vocal solo portion by himself. As we all sang along and got to the point before the rest of the band’s play came in, HYDE slowed down to delay the moment where he was supposed to sing “ah-ha…” and listened to us sing it instead. He seemed pleased and smiled,

as he achieved the effect he wanted to hear. Then, after HYDE asked us to get crazy with him, the hard rock tunes of DOLLY and IT’S SAD were next. During both songs, HYDE, HIROKI, and lead guitarist, KAZ, were all standing at the front of the stage playing. Energy was high, and everyone was pushing forward. By this time, my arms were sweaty and they start-ed to stick to the hair of the people in front of me, though the same could be said about other peoples’ arms and my hair as well. My legs were already starting to get sore from trying to hold my posi-tion firmly. However, when adrenaline was flowing, the pain was not a concern to me.

Before the next song, the stage lights dimmed to a shimmering silver. HIROKI started an expressive bass solo, followed by HYDE’s semi-acous-tic guitar. KAZ’s guitar joined in a few mo-ments later, and together with the rest of the band, they enveloped our senses in several minutes of pure instrumental, which then eased in to the next song, PERFECT MOMENT. The song was slow and lyrical, as it described a moment so perfect that one would be happy to die in it. We all re-laxed to catch our breath and enjoy the performance. The pace picked up slightly when the title song of HYDE’s latest album, FAITH, came on. That night’s band introduction was done by KAZ. But before he in-troduced the band members, he took


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[WHAT’S HOT IN MUSIC]the time, and his cheat sheet out, to thank the American musicians who had helped record the album, namely, Danny Lohner, former bassist for Nine Inch Nails, and Scott Garrett, drummer from Th e Cult and Th e Mission UK. During his English speech, KAZ accidentally let a Japanese word “ne” slip, drawing cheers and laughs from fans and his band mates. He intro-duced drummer FURUTON, key-boardist JIN, bassist HIROKI, and most important of all, guitarist and vocalist HYDE. Th en came the highlight of the en-tire night. HYDE screamed into the microphone: “Come on, Lucy!!!” And the audience erupted. A hard rock cover of Th e Beatles’ clas-sic, Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, was displayed with so much energy on and off the stage. My right arm, which had pre-viously been resting on the shoulder

of the girl in front of me during the slower songs because I had no room to squeeze it back down, was once again held up in the air. I jumped up and down with ev-eryone else in this crowd, banging my head to the rhythm. HYDE con-tinued on with HELLO, which he guided us to sing about half the song for him. All the lyrics were in Japanese, but the crowd did not miss a single word. I was hoping that HYDE would be proud of us for being able to recite all that. PRAYER was the next song, which excited me quite a bit, because it was a song not played during the previous night. My friends and I were just talking about this song earlier during the day, like how it would be nice if he had played that song. Our wish was fulfi lled. Next, HYDE took us to another climax as

we all celebrated to the tune of MID-NIGHT CELEBRATION. Before the end of the song, he took off his guitar, handed it off to his staff , and grabbed the microphone instead. He stood atop the amplifi ers to sing the last verse. But as soon as the vocal portion has ended, HYDE dis-appeared into the backstage, and the rest of his band members fi nished playing the song. And then, we realized, the main portion of the concert was over. Fans immediately cheered for encore. When reality sank in, I discovered that I was having a hard time breath-ing. My heart was racing, partly be-cause I was excited at the whole expe-rience, but partly also because of the lack of air. Air was scarce and hot. I held up my head, trying to catch a bit of relatively fresher air instead of taking in other people’s breath and everyone’s body heat, but it didn’t

AUGUST 06 | J!-ENT


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help much. As chants of encore grew seem-ingly louder, I closed my eyes a bit to rest, trying to move as little as possible to conserve my energy and my voice. About ten to fifteen minutes later, the band came out, followed by a top-less HYDE. Seeing how HYDE has taken off his outer jacket, all I could hear were screams from all the girls in the audi-ence. He turned his back to us to pick up his guitar, and I could clearly see his angel wings tattoo on his back. “Let’s countdown from thirteen,” HYDE said, and it led to the heavy number, COUNTDOWN, which was the Japanese theme song of the movie “Stealth”. Next was HIDEAWAY, which was a fun one because the audience got to sing along certain parts for HYDE again. UNEXPECTED was the final piece of the night, and HYDE asked us to sing along with him, like we haven’t been already. During the slow and quiet portion of the song, people were swaying to the music. That normally would have been nice, but I was actually hoping the

swaying would stop, because I was losing my center of gravity every time I was forced to sway, and it got me rather dizzy, on top of the fact that I really needed some air. As I closed my eyes trying to enjoy the last song of the night, I held my head up again in an attempt to catch some fresher air, while my body was forced to move along by all the people around me. When it was all over, I couldn’t stand to stick around for the picks and drumsticks that were being tossed from the stage. I quickly went to the bar and bought a bottle of water to replenish my de-hydrated body. Thinking back, that second concert had the worst air circulation out of all four shows. Perhaps everyone was really into the music and there was a lot of pushing and bouncing up and down going on, but to be honest, the heat and lack of air were quite unbearable. I wish the venue could have turned up the A/C or send gushes of cooler air into the crowd. But strangely enough, of all four concerts that I have attended, this one was the most fun and exciting. Even though I had trouble breath-

ing, I was most into it, and it definitely was my favorite of the four. It was the first time I had ever been this close to the front of the stage, so close that I could even see the de-sign of HYDE’s spare picks that were placed at the end of the microphone stand. My body did take a beating, but the whole concert experience was amaz-ing. HYDE’s lyrics are spiritual, and his music is powerful, but his stage presence was the most memorable. If HYDE came back, as he had asked us during his MC and promised us during his last show, I would come see him again in a heartbeat.

WYNNE IP is an entertainment writer-at-large for J!-ENT and JaME (Japanese Music Europa).

HYDE - “FAITH” and many more HYDE related merchandise are available now through Tofu Records. Please visit: www.tofurecords.com.

Also, visit the “Last Quarter” Website for more information on the film starring HYDE and Kuriyama Chiaki. Please visit: http://www.geneonanimation.com/lastquarter/

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