L’Arc~en~Ciel 20 L’Anniversary: London, April 11 2012

Being in the UK for a few months I had the chance to hit L’Arc~en~ciel World Tour 20 L’Anniversary, so I headed off to London with my Jrock bunny Tshirt way too long after getting my shiny ticket:

I headed to London the day before the concert to have some peace of mind, since I had found a nice hotel nearby. The journey took surprisingly long between buses, plane, more buses, metro and in the end a taxi. I had been ready for the shops / restaurants being closed when I arrived, carrying along with me some instant noodles. Was a good idea.

The concert was to be held in the IndigO2 under a very changing weather. Since I was alone I had decided not to queue for long, and I spent the morning doing some tourism about Greenwhich, where I saw the Maritime Museum and the Army School next to the Thames, among other things. Around noon I headed off to the Arena to buy goods and eat nearby and went back to the hotel for some rest.

I went back to the arena to queue about 5pm. Gates opened at 7pm and the concert started at 8pm. I was very surprised when I found that I was only #326. Weather was nasty, and it started drizzling. By the time we managed to get in, I was shaking, but I knew that I would get warm inside rather fast.

The con started with a HQ video with lots of special effects, which told me that this was going to be a more Japan-like concert than Gackt’s had been, and I was not disappointed. I had made a resolution not to check the set list from previous lives, but part of the Merch that I got was the limited edition CD “World’s Best Selection”. Even if I tried not to look at the track list I was weak and I almost had a heart attack – my top three was there: Driver’s High, Ready Steady Go and Stay Away. There was also 虹　(Niji). Hitting two of them would be awesome, even if RSG was an almost sure thing, considering the Full Metal Alchemist boom in the UK. I got all four, and let me tell you, I almost died of happy.

I started the concert rather close, maybe fourth-fifth row, but then I understand why the Brits don’t queue. They launch themselves as beasts to the stage XD. I moved backwards after two songs and having caught a good look at Hyde to be able to breathe and bounce, but I would be sore for days due to the pushing and kicking.

We had a couple of MCs, one with Ken reading katakana in something that tried very hard to be English, but did not manage to. He gave Tetsu a pair of UK flag underwear. Hyde’s English is better than used to be, but considering how he spent almost a year in London… patpat Hyde. Tetsu’s words, as he played with a plastic banana will be forever imprinted in my cerebral cortex were “Would you like to eat my banana? Do you want to suck my lollipop?”.

Hyde’s energy is neverending. He bounces and jumps and he is gone and back and there again. His voice is everything as amazing as I have heard in records – a wonder considering he used to smoke like a chimney and is so short. I shall never forget his “London, are you fucking ready???” either.

From the back I saw him a little smaller, but I still had a clear view of all four of them most of the time, and the screen helped a lot. I was free to bounce and jump and I had a general blast, while I could take a few pictures ^^. I got my three absolute favourites, too, in a row, which almost killed me: Driver’s High + STAY AWAY + READY STEADY GO = me being the happiest person on earth.

We had a 15 minute break before the encore, and had あなた’s lyrics in romaji on screen for a bit to help us sing along when they came back. The end of the concert was 虹, when we had a feather cannon that did not work too well. I also managed to find a serpentine with the logo when I went to pick up some feathers after the concert was over.

I think that this has been the concert I have enjoyed the most of all the ones I have attended. There was something absolutely magical about it and I don’t regret chancing it one bit. The next day I was dead, and totally unable to make it up to the observatory as I had wanted, but damn it was worth it.

Setlist