Hello everyone!
As promised, here is my post about the Femme Fatale concert
at PMX this year, the main reason I ended up going this year!
It’s been a long time since I’ve been so deeply hooked on a
“traditional” vkei band. I think the last band I was really into
was Versailles .
Either way, Femme Fatale is the first band that has caught and kept my
attention in a long time and not just for Kaya. I had previously been aware of
Tana and Iori from past bands they were a part of and Toshi in particular was
the bassist of another of my favorite jrock bands, A (ACE). Sadly they
disbanded/went on hiatus some time ago.
Since Femme Fatale only formed last year, I did not expect
to see them stateside so soon. Their announcement at PMX came as a very happy
surprise to me and I must say, they are really awesome and fun to see live!
Kaya’s amazing vocals and graceful stage presence mixed with everyone else’s equally
incredible instrumental skills and lively personalities made for a show that
was so wonderful that I’m taking a whole post on this blog to write about it! XD
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Right before the concert! <3
The air
of excitement in the room was strong long before Femme Fatale took the stage
and when the lights dimmed announcing the start of the concert, it jumped sky
high! The members entered the stage one by one first was Fumiya the support
drummer, and then Toshi, from the moment Toshi appeared I could feel his
enthusiasm and it was rather exhilarating, to say the least. Iori was next,
followed by Tana. When Tana took his spot on the stage I closed my eyes for a
second but they bolted open when I collective of intense shrieks from the
audience announced Kaya’s appearance, my heart jumped. He was dressed in his
“Freya” dress, a gorgeous black strapless gown trimmed with black feathers
along the neckline and black and gold lace down the full skirt. In many ways he
reminded me a lot of the goddess Freya in his appearance so I guess it makes
sense that that was the first song performed.
Kaya commanded the stage with
his signature mix of grace and sensuality, when it came time for the Freya
chant mid-song; he replaced it with some amazing operatic vocals that seemed to
echo throughout the room. After “Freya” was “Jester”, an awesomely fun track.
Kaya’s voice was absolutely on point and the bassline of this song in
particular is awesome and really showed off Toshi’s skills.
I can not put into words how much I enjoyed the concert! I
loved watching each and every member but I must say, Toshi stood out to me the
most! He had a lot of energy as I said before and seemed to be really enjoying
himself, his smile was very infectious! Many times he would look in the
direction of my friends and me making faces as if to pump us up with more
excitement, it’s hard to describe but it was really awesome and helped me from
surrendering to fatigue all throughout the show. It was so intense. And it goes
without saying that Toshi had my attention a lot of the time because I have a
thing for bassists’ and he is just so damn sexy he was already a part of a band
I really liked. LMAO!
Iori was also
awesome, he and Toshi were the members closest to us and I spent a lot of the
concert watching him as well. At one point Kaya left the stage for a moment and
Iori treated us to a rock version of the “Star Spangled Banner” on his guitar!
It was beautifully done and drove everyone wild! He told us that how much he loved the US and
it made my heart very warm. Such a sweet guy! >w<
During one of the MC’s Kaya thanked us all for coming to
Femme Fatale’s debut show in the US . He talked about his solo
project for a bit, and how Femme Fatale is very different from that, a lot more
rock! XD It’s true and in a lot of ways Femme Fatale is also very different
from Schwarz Stein. Another one of the reasons I really like Kaya and
respect him as an artist, the versatility of his voice knows no limits. ^.^
There was a certain song I was really, really REALLY hoping to hear that night
though I worried I probably would not hear it since it’s a very intense song
and probably too intense for a convention concert. But I held onto the hope of
hearing it throughout the show.
Even though I was waiting/hoping for a certain song to be
performed, I still enjoyed every song of the concert and all of my favorites
were included. During another MC, Kaya
mentioned a certain song called “Kodou”, it’s technically a new song even
though the single was only released for a limited time at lives in Japan this
summer. I was quite surprised to see it on sale at PMX and of course, I bought
it. Kaya announced that they would be performing that song next and
said for all of us to think about someone we really love while listening. At
once a bunch of people called out Kaya’s name and he giggled in his cute
distinct way, hugging himself and pretending to act shy/embarrassed. I
personally WAS embarrassed by this, but for another reason and in a good way.
“Kodou” is indeed a very sexy song and Kaya moved in a way
that was quite provocative. I later learned from one of my roommates that Kodou
I another word for “lovers” in Japanese. After “Kodou” was another one of my
favorite songs, a lovely and bittersweet song about parting called “Voyage”.
Another of my favorite songs performed was “Stardust”, it’s also my favorite
track off of their first album Arcana. Upbeat and fun, one of my roomates mentioned that she liked this song
because the sound reminded her a lot of Kaya’s solo work and honestly I am
inclined to agree with her. <3
Toward the end of the song we sang along with
Kaya in what was a very wonderful moment. And then, the moment I was hoping for
finally happened. The room when near completely dark for a moment and Kaya
performed what I thought was maybe a poem or monologue; either way I could not
understand it but I didn’t have to, I knew it was the beginning of the song
“Crimson Nail”!!!
Based on his posts on twitter, I know whenever Kaya comes
overseas he is concerned about playing the more overtly dark songs (and before PMX he posted about the possibility
of doing this particular song. I’m very glad that he did. Thoroughly dark and
intense, hearing the recorded track is NOTHING compared to seeing this song
performed live. For the first time during the whole show, I turned my attention
completely toward Kaya and was in awe at the amount of power and rawness he put
into his performance. Screaming out and pleading in a way that could make me
feel the agony in his voice. I thought maybe he would hold back only a bit
since this was a convention but absolutely not, Kaya held back nothing! After
his lament he collapsed fully onto the stage, his skirt of his beautiful costume
pooled around him as the rest of the band continued playing. When the song was
over and Kaya finished off with another pained shriek that bounced off the
walls of the room, I could actually feel my entire body shaking. As everyone
clapped and screamed in applause, I actually blurted out “Holy shit!” It was a
magnificent performance and, in my opinion, the highlight of the show. The
shaking in my body remained with me until the end of the concert.
After “Crimson Nail” the remaining songs were all the very
dark and intense songs; “BABEL ”,
“Medeia”, “SALOME” and “JUDGEMENT –the die has been cast-“ “Medeia” was one of
the few songs in which Tana came over to our side and actually stayed there for
longer than half a minute. So I took in as much of him as I possibly could. I’m
not sure if it was “Medeia” or “SALOME” but at one point Kaya went over to Iori
in a teasingly seductive manner, putting his arm around the guitarist and at
the very last second, kissing him! It was soooooooo cute! Of course, I
absolutely enjoyed “SALOME”! I still want to do a Kaya cosplay based on his
Salome costume. This has become one of my favorite Kaya songs of all time.
Toward the end of the song, Tana Iori and Toshi all went toward the back by the
Fumiya, waving their heads in unison while Kaya enchanted us all with his fabulous
dancing.
“JUDGEMENT –the die has been cast-“ was the last song of the
main set. A gorgeous song about fate, it was the perfect song to wrap up the
main set of the show! Kaya, Tana, Iori and Toshi all came very close to the
stage, standing together and seeming to never stop smiling. It was wonderful. Kaya
thanked us wholeheartedly, waving and smiling widely as the rest of the band
reached out to all. I reached out for Tana’s hand since he was closest to me at
the moment but instead grabbed Toshi’s with success. XD I did manage to grab
Tana’s hand for a second, and then Iori’s before the whole band left the stage.
It didn’t take too long before everyone was calling for an
encore; and it didn’t take much longer after than for Femme Fatale to return to
the stage, greeted with thunderous applause from the audience. Kaya teasingly
responded that they “had” planned to end the concert at the last concert but
because we all seemed to still have a lot of energy they would continue! The
band members all introduced themselves and spoke a little, and honestly and
sadly, I cannot remember what any of them said because of what Toshi had to
say. He took the mic from Kaya and began to say in English “My number is…”
and at once Kaya snatched the mic from him while manager-san rushed to shush
him up. It’s sad how much I was rolling at that. ANYWAY! The last song of
the night was announced: “Grim Reaper”!
If anyone had lost any energy by this point, it was fully
recovered for this powerful encore! The headbanging seemed to never end and the
band treated us all to a good dose of fan service. At one point
Tana, Iori and Toshi were all together on our side of the stage, bending down
at times and allowing the fans to touch them. I held back though because I was
trying to catch Kaya’s attention; he was grabbing the hands of fans,
kissing/biting them and at one point touching one lucky fan’s lips! It was so
thrilling!
Such an incredible concert!!! When the band left the stage
for the final time, I immediately collapsed into the first chair I could find.
I had to take a few minutes to compose myself and take in all of the
amazingness of what I had just experienced. My body was still shaking too.
Soon I met up with my
roommates, we all mused about how great the show had been and soon there would
be an autograph session with the band! I watched as people began to line up but
I was still quite overwhelmed and remained sitting as I watched all my friends
get things signed. Soon enough though I got in line, I decided to get my Voyage
poster and Arcana photobook signed. I bookmarked each page of the book I wanted
signed with the little gift boxes I had prepared for Femme Fatale: pieces of
handmade jewelry using colors and stones I felt suited each member’s respective
personality. Finally, it was my turn, my heart was racing but I managed to stay
calm and collected through the experience. I first met Fumiya, he was very nice
but I felt somewhat guilty that I had not bought a gift for him as well. I do
believe that in time he will become an official member of the band.
Toshi was next; next to Kaya and Tana I was most nervous
about meeting him! I could feel my hands shaking as I handed him his gift after
he had signed my photobook. He accepted my gift with great enthusiasm, thanking
me and shaking my hand heartily. <3
My shyness fully disappeared by the time I got to meet Iori.
He is so sweet and has a very warm essence about him. I think the drawing he
made is supposed to be a seal, he likes seals! <3
I was quite nervous about meeting Tana though! He’s so very
gorgeous and my second favorite member of the band. This going to sound very
odd, but something about him reminded me a lot of Kyoya from Ouran Host Club,
does that even make any sense?! >o<
And of course, I was most excited/nervous about meeting
Kaya. However, I don’t know if it’s because I’ve met him many times, or because
by this point I had met the entire band without any moments of embarrassment or
fail; but when I first went up to him and he said hello to me with a very sweet
smile on his face, my heart felt strangely calm with a sense of warmth. He
really is such a lovely, beautiful person and seems to really care deeply for
his fans and music. At the right moment, I presented my gift for Kaya with both
my hands, all the while thanking him for coming back to the US again and
telling him how much I enjoyed the concert as best as I could; I could hear the
high pitch in my voice but I still kept it together. He took it with both of
his hands and thanked me graciously, shaking my hand afterward. Only then did
my heart become fluttery again and I nodded my head quickly and went back to my
friends. I was so, so happy. *___*
Afterward, everyone had to leave the room, I watched through a crack in the door when Crystal
presented Femme Fatale with the US
flag covered with all of the many signatures of fans that had come out for this
wonderful show. The band looked very happy and took pictures together with the
flag that can be found now on Kaya’s blog and Iori’s twitter. It makes my heart
so warm thinking about how much effort all of the fans put into the flag
project and seeing the band appreciate it. I can only imagine how happy Crystal felt too!
After the concert! Can you see the exhaustion on our faces??
XD
Despite still being overwhelmed from the show none of us
were sleepy just yet. So we decided to go out and eat and muse and fangirl even
more. So much fun we had, so many inside jokes made! The last thing of note to
mention was that as we were waiting for Crystal
in another part of the host hotel, we saw the band, sans Kaya, pass by us to
get to the elevators. That was slightly thrilling! LOL!
Yours Jasmine
