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26.01.2002 Tokyo International Forum, Hall A They had come, the two last days of the X Japan Film Gig. This time I dared to go to the Film Gig in full cosplay right from my home (laugh). It was quite a challenge to walk the streets to the closest train station and to be stared at by my neighbors, but it seems nobody recognized me (laugh). I arrived at the Tokyo International Forum at about 15:00 and already hundreds of fans were there and many, many of them in cosplay. A great feeling... almost like back in the good old times. I found my friend from Osaka again and we had a good time doing photo sessions. We managed to get some photos done with a group of 30 cosplayers or so and it was really nice, since the weather was fine also. A friend of mine from Saitama had booked all the tickets for me and today she was with me at the Film Gig. It was her first one and even though I had "warned" her about the contents it turned out to be quite a battle with tears again. But before that there is something else to report. The first "pre-band" was "beast" and after beast it was Ladies Room's turn and before Ladies Room started to play a special guest was coming on stage, Taiji! Of course the hall was screaming! Since Taiji had left the band in 1992 and I had become fan only in 1994 I had never seen Taiji live on stage. Unfortunately our seats were in about the 25th row of this maybe 4000 people hall and we couldn't really see much of Taiji, but nevertheless, it was great that he came. He stayed on stage not even five minutes, more or less only saying hello and introducing the next band: Ladies Room. After Ladies Room the Gig started and my friend from Saitama was very moved and cried a lot and of course that made me crying again as well. This time I even stayed for Forever Love and I really shouldn't have done that, I just cannot listen to that song anymore, especially not with scenes from The Last Live with hide chan crying himself and so on... so it was quite some emotional stress again... tears... Well, all in all it was great to have the film Gig in Tokyo and to be there with all the other fans and that Taiji had come, even if it was only for five minutes. Tokyo International Forum, Hall A, 27.01.2002 The last day of the film gig: Again I dressed up at home and went in full cosplay through half the town to be at the Forum at about 14:30 and the afternoon was very busy. It had been raining since the last night and everything was wet, however the rain had stopped, but in exchange it was damn windy and very cold and wind is really not good for cosplay, especially not for all the kids with elaborately standing hair! (laugh). But anyway we had lots of photo sessions and this time the biggest kiai I ever participated in with more than I bet 200 people. The kiai was veryyyy long and very good and somehow the time until 17:30 when they let you into the hall was going by like nothing. Today the seats for my Saitama friend and me were very far in the back, row 42 or so and the stage was pretty far away. I don't know if I mentioned that already, but@when you entered the hall and your tickets were controlled, you received a little package with 5 trading cards. So my friend and me opened our trading cards and complained that we always get only the same cards and the lady behind us must have heard us and got out all her trading cards and she had, oh gosh, all of them!!! (laugh)... She said she went 6 times or so and all the time together with her husband and thus they had gathered tons of trading cards. She was a Pata and Heath fan and asked us whether we could trade, but I had left the other cards at home and my friend as well and thus there was nothing much to trade. But then we made a deal. She had come in a group of four and her husband and some friend were sitting some place else and she offered us to give us the hide chan cards we were missing if we changed place with her husband so that they could sit together. Of course we agreed! (laugh). The new seats were not even that bad and we got all hide chan trading cards from her in exchange! (laugh). Thanxxxx! In total it seems that there are 25 cards, 5 for every member (X Japan, i.e. no Taiji cards). And both, my friend and me were missing two of the hide chan cards and now both of us have them all. Thanxxx. The cards are nothing special, no overwhelming new photos. But anyway, it's nice to have them. Then the gig started with the "pre-band" "pink 2 hands"... not really an overwhelming band, but not too bad either. Then Georgy from Ladies Room came on stage again and introduced Heath and Pata chan!!! who came for a little chat onto the stage. Next was a band from the US that Yoshiki seems to like, don't ask me for the name, I forgot it and before they played they showed a music video clip of that band where Yoshiki shows up for a few seconds since "he happened to show up during the shooting of that video and they asked him to appear in it". Of course the audience was screaming like hell and all Yoshiki fans will buy that clip whether they like the band or not. (laugh) Then the band came themselves and played 5 songs. A mixture of pop and rock, not bad, but not too overwhelming either. After that long prelude it was finally time for the Gig and the film started. Today my friend and me managed to keep our composure more or less, but the whole hall was under tension, since there was the rumor around that Yoshiki would show up as well. But so far there had been no sign of Yoshiki. I fled Florever Love this time and had a cigarette in the smoking corner outside the hall and I was not the only one who fled the song! There were some 5 or 6 more people chilling out, not very keen on listening to Forever Love. After Forever Love I went back into the hall and managed not to cry all the time until the last song which was of course Endless Rain. Hide chan at The Last Live crying again and of course that makes me crying as well, but then panic in the hall! Suddenly the sound of a real piano playing Endless Rain and they raised the screen and behind it on the stage was Yoshiki playing Endless Rain on the piano. Of course the hall was going completely nuts. There was not one person in the whole hall who was not crying. Me included. And even the boys cried. In the row in front of me there was a young fellow who was crying like all the girls. We sang Endless Rain together with Yoshiki on the piano as far as we could, but half of the song drowned in tears. After that Yoshiki took a mike and talked to the audience and he was quite overwhelmed himself and couldn't speak from time to time crying and the whole hall was in a collective weep out. I don't remember all the things that he said, but most of it was rather sad. For example: That he himself had cried all the time when he supervised the editing for the film gig material and that X had always said they would stand together and that they would overcome every wall, but that 4 years ago, when the band disbanded they had hit a wall they couldn't overcome anymore. And that he was moved that all the fans were still standing together and supporting and loving X and he asked us to keep up the faith and the spirit and to stand by X and all its members, Taiji, Toshi, Heath, Pata and of course hide chan... He said the names in this order if I remember correctly and I will never forget the way he said hide chan's name and even now while I'm writing this more than a week after the Gig I am crying again. Yoshiki promised to come back on stage within this year but he didn't specify how or with whom. Then he was gone and the gig was over and everybody tried desperately to calm down for the way home. The 27th was really hard... with Pata and Heath and in the end even Yoshiki on stage the loss becomes so terribly obvious again. Hide chan is not with us anymore. It's just awful, awful, awful... But we have no choice but to go on and keep the X spirit alive and I hope very much that there will be something like a film gig again one day! Because X is the fuxxing damn best band that ever played on this lousy planet!!!! Your humble reporter Forever hide chan Iguana |