Gerard Way Japan Tour
Akasaka Blitz, Tokyo
(@postmcrjapan)
It's an 8 hour bus ride from Osaka to Tokyo. Thank god there's a power outlet to charge my phone that died just when I needed it to tell me directions to the Umeda Motor Pool. 8 hours in a bus later (which is just about as much fun as you'd think) I arrived in Ikebukuro, just in time for the infamous morning commute. Stuffed into an already packed train with an equally overly-packed backpack is pretty much a nightmare scenario and as I apologized to everyone I was unconsciously bumping into, I sorta of paused to take into account a few things.
1) I'm still in my "Millions" make-up from last night + bright red hair, which means I'm likely alarming at least a few passengers
2) I'm still in my Hesitant Alien blue suit too
Now I'd like to think I'm pretty used to sticking out no matter where I go -- I'm not Japanese, don't look anything close to Asian so pretty much getting stared at is sort of standard fare -- but add in the fact that I can speak/read/write Japanese and things get even more interesting. But I don't usually have bright red hair (that actually matches my bright red coat!) so I'm getting looks like it's my job this morning.
Oh.
And I have...10 hours to kill before G's show.
It's also snowing.
Fast forward 8 hours.
The good news is it's not snowing.
The bad news is it's raining.
When I get to Akasaka Blitz, there's a handful of people huddled under the very limited space under an awning outside the venue. Yeah, it's also really cold. I got to meet some more Twitter followers that weren't in Osaka yesterday, as well as catch up with some who were. Once they start lining us up in numerical order (in the rain -- umbrellas aren't permitted inside the venue either so we're all just getting rained on, yay) I think I've lost feeling in my toes. Today's game plan is the same as yesterday -- ignore the merch and dash to the stage. By the time I get there, I'm met with the same crowd as yesterday, plus this time I've got a spot in the very first row, dead center! This is going to be awesome.
We're all waiting for the opening act, Knock Out Monkey, to start when one of the guys in the crowd from yesterday shoves his phone at all of us. Instagram?
The cellphone reception at Blitz is AWFUL by the way, which is why we're all late on noticing G's post.
...no, no way.
Is that...
Mikey?!
What?? Here?? TONIGHT??
Panic ensues.
Like I said in my previous post, I never had the chance to see My Chem live, so just the prospect of being about to see G and Mikey on the same stage is overwhelming. We're all still freaking out when Knock Out Monkey takes the stage. There's no crush like Osaka (which is a relief) and they end their set precisely 30 minutes later. I should mention that Blitz is like super regimented about their stuff -- things seem a lot stricter than Osaka and the stage is cleared with remarkable speed as we all wait for G.
The second G hits the stage, you can feel this kind of electric tension in the air. It's a very different feel than the Osaka show, not to say that he wasn't magic af at the show, it's just tonight he's fucking ON and the crowd's loving it. He's knocking the mic stand over and flailing the mic cord around -- just really going all out.
But it's not hard to see why -- from where I'm standing I can just barely see off to the wings of the stage.
Mikey.
Mikey's watching G from wings --- he even waved back when I waved my hand at him! Mikey!!
G's setlist was the same as yesterday's and he talked about all the same topics too. I was way too worked up in Osaka to take pictures, but this time, I was (more or less) ready and kept snapping away when I could.
I was kind of hoping Mikey would come out for "Brother" but no such luck. After "Brother" ended, the house lights went up a little bit and G was scanning the crowd before he went into another little speech, or so I thought, until I realized he was looking at me...?
Like I wrote in the beginning of this, I was wearing a blue suit like the one of the cover of Hesitant Alien, and I dyed my hair a really vivid red. It would seem that it wasn't for naught.
"I like your outfit!" says G into the mic. My mind goes blank -- wait, is G talking to me? IN FRONT OF EVERYONE?? What follows is what he said to the best of my memory (I'll check later when vids get posted, bear with me).
"I saw it yesterday too -- y'know the best part is the pink shirt--"
Thank god I picked a pink shirt!
"--I don't have a pink shirt with me this time so I'm kinda jealous!"
Me: (O_O) TH-TH-THANK YOU...!!!
"I haven't been rocking the blue suit lately so--"
Me: I know right!
"And your hair is such a great color, I love that red! It looks better than mine did!"
Me: (OMGOMGOMGOMG) *flails*
"Love that red!"
Me: oiwehfduonfpuiqwhbrubciuqbwpiufcbqwoeucbpqowuncpowqunc THANK YOUUUUUUU
Everyone around me was buzzing and I couldn't have been happier. G! Noticed me! G!!
He then goes on to ask who was going to be at Budokan for Vampark tomorrow -- "You all know who VAMPS are, rig...? (gives an adorable embarrassed laugh like "duh") Yeah, right -- anyway!" Then moves into the next song. By the time he finishes "Snakedriver" and the band leaves the stage, we all know what's coming next. There's a painfully long wait for the encore and I notice that the bass is missing from the stage --- you all know what this means.
When the Hormones take the stage again, there is a noticeable lack of bassist. G stands in front of the mic with a HUGE smile on his face.
(YouTube User: livelife784)
"So there's a special guest here tonight...and uh, uhm he flew all the way to Tokyo...Mikey (cue screams and G waits for things to settle, still grinning from ear to ear) you wanna come out here? Mikey's gonna play a song with us, it's called 'Don't Try'"
MIKEY FUCKIN' WAY!!! IN FRONT OF ME!!! WITH A BASS!!!
Mikey steps out on the stage full of confidence and a look like "I'm back!" on his face. I'm already crying. Actually this is probably the most I've cried out of both shows. I never expected to have the chance to see Mikey and G on the same stage together, let alone playing together and I really can't keep myself together for it. The way G looks at Mikey with this overwhelming pride and love, the way Mikey's playing bass like a god, and how much Mikey has recovered and how far he's come and everything just hits me at once and I'm crying like an idiot in the front fucking row. They end the song with a long, beautiful hug that makes me want to call up my own brother just to say I love you, and as they leave the stage, G puts his arm around Mikey's shoulder and I'm dying.
(Twitter User: @sum_ns41)
(Found on Twitter but not sure who took it💦)
The show ended with this magical air full of love and kindess --- that's about all I can say about G's shows, they were just magic.
The same staff guy from yesterday starts to clear the setlists. I look up at him and shout, "Could I have one? I fell over trying to get one yesterday --- c'mon, please?" and he gives me this look like oh, alright, here -- and hands me the list that was in front of G! Definitely worth falling over for yesterday.
I didn't get the chance to meet G this time -- no hugs, no autographs, no pictures together. But you know what? That's fine -- because all I really wanted to do was sing with him. Over the past two nights I was able to look him in the eye and just sing with all my heart. And that's enough for me. I was also able to meet so many of my amazing Twitter friends, plus meet more Twitter friends there, not to mention having the honour of watching Mikey perform live, right in fucking front of me. I definitely can't complain.
G said he's be releasing a new album in the fall and that he's be back soon. All I can say is I can't wait to see him again.
