This translation isn't mine!
Aaaaaand
here is the first translation from the LE-CIEL Extra Number!!!
As I said, I
thought it would be fit to translate this, because I used to translate all his
diary entries from London back in 1997. It means the world to me to be able to
read what he has to say, 15 years on.
Like the
other translations for the diary entries, I have tried to keep the writing
style as close as possible to hyde's Japanese text - which can sound a bit
funny sometimes!
Enjoy!
************************************
18th-19th
Feb: WORLD TOUR 2012 Rehearsal
This was
more like a rehearsal for the “LE-CIEL Members only Live” than for the actual
“WORLD TOUR 2012”. I think the members only live was a rare and special
opportunity for the fans, since we’d released our new album “BUTTERFLY” but
never went on an album tour for it.
23rd-24th
Feb: LE-CIEL Members only Live
We wanted
the setlist for the world tour to be the “Best of L’Arc~en~ciel” rather than
playing tracks from ‘BUTTERFLY’, but there was a part of me that wanted a
chance to play them somewhere. Personally, I think I managed to fulfill my wish
to do so at the Yokohama Arena live. I thought the audience would be happy to
enjoy something different from the world tour – something exclusive. Of course,
we did use it as an opportunity to check if the projection images and effects
for the World tour were working ok, but since it was exclusive for “LE-CIEL”
members, it felt very homely and comfortable. All our lives are like that, but
I feel it more strongly with our members-only lives.
1st-2nd
March: To Hong Kong
Promotion
overseas can be frustrating because of the language barrier. I always end up
thinking “it’s so difficult to enjoy this”. It’s difficult to create the
atmosphere that I want, especially at press conferences and stuff. It’s also
the case when we do them in Japan too, - whatever I say ends up sounding really
serious – it really isn’t one of my fortes and I never really enjoy them.
ken-chan is good at these things – he relaxes the atmosphere, which I really
appreciate.
Oh yes, at
night after the promotion, we went on those buses – the open-top ones. I
thought it was the thing to do in Hong Kong. It was fun. I kept on thinking
that we were going to hit the signs (laugh). After that we went to the night
market. Huh? I bought something? An iPhone case? Ah yes, one that looks like a
cat. No? It was a bear? Not a black cat? Huh? White? A white cat? Oh yes yes, I
remember! It was the smaller Rilakkuma, the Korilakkuma! Um, yes, I used it
just on that day (laugh).
3rd March:
“WORLD TOUR 2012” Asia World EXPO ARENA
I've
recently started to think that I’ve finally found my ‘position’ as the vocalist
of L’Arc~en~Ciel. I can now express myself much better. I started feeling that
since the Ajinomoto Stadium lives, and I think that really shone out during
this world tour. Hong Kong was the first step for that.
4th-5th
March: To Bangkok
I think the
spicy sauce that I ate on the first day in Hong Kong was a little too strong.
Since then I had a constant stomach ache. The spicy sauce was really tasty and
it went well with everything. It was so delicious that I thought “I’m going to
take this home” and even asked to take it home in a jar. When I got to Thailand
I went straight to hospital, but there were lots of fans amongst the nurses,
who were like “I’m going to your live tomorrow!” so I felt “Oh no but I have an
upset stomach…what should I do… this is so embarrassing…” (laugh). And during
the examination, the nurses were all blushing because they were also
embarrassed (laugh). It was a little humiliating (laugh).
The 2nd day
of Bangkok was promotion day, but the 3rd day we had off. So I visited many
temples and ruins, and ended the day with a full-course meal in a restaurant
overlooking the night view – I enjoyed it to the full. Recently I’ve been
really interested in Buddhism. It makes me excited just looking at things
related to it. Like “people have been worshipping these things from such a long
time ago”. I rode an elephant too. Hmm… it wasn’t very comfortable. I never
thought it was going to be THAT uncomfortable. How fast was it going? It felt
really slow, but I guess since one step is so large, we were going quite fast?
The cameraman was riding a different elephant, but the driver knew exactly what
he had to do so he managed to drive them in parallel. It was memorable – having
the elephants and ruins as the backdrop was great.
7th March:
“WORLD TOUR 2012” IMPACT ARENA
The crowd’s
voices were so overpowering that we had to change the ear-monitors. I didn’t
actually notice though (laugh). The audience’s excitement was top-class.
8th-9th March:
To Shanghai
When I go
abroad, I want to eat the local foods. But with places like the US, I’m not
interested in the local food, so I end up wanting to eat Japanese food. But in
Asia, everywhere you go the food’s good, so by the time I’ve been saying “I
want to eat this”, “next I want to eat that”, it’s already time to leave. I
think in Shanghai I had some dim-sum and stuff like that.
But you know
what, after the Hong Kong live, for some reason we had steak. It still makes me
angry thinking about it now (laugh)! I was like “WHAT!? But shouldn’t we have
dim-sum or something? Why not Chinese food?!”. It’s like going to Hakata for
Miso-ramen (NB Hakata is famous for another type of ramen, the tonkotsu ramen).
Unbelievable.
10th March:
“WORLD TOUR 2012” MERCEDEZ-BENZ ARENA
Like I’d
thought, the fans in Shanghai were very active. The fans in South Korea are
loud, but the Chinese fans move a lot – like they leave their own seats during
the show in excitement. It reflects the character of the people of each of the
different nations. Japanese fans are shy – not that that’s a bad thing, but
they’re very strictly behaved. Everybody does the same movements.
15th-16th
March: To Taipei
Ah yes, when
we reached Taipei, we saw lots of posters for Marilyn Manson’s live. So I
thought “Ooh, when is it?”, and it was actually on that day! So I went, but it
was terrible. He wasn’t motivated at all. And he’d gained weight, and was in
some random black T-shirt, dressed like a normal person. Well, he was throwing his
microphone around and it was in a way crazy, but I guess he knew what he was
doing coz it was one hit track after another. But nevertheless the audience
were excited – I guess they were happy to have him come and play. But compared
to the live I saw in London 10 years ago… it was a bit disappointing.
17th March:
“WORLD TOUR 2012” TWTC Nangang Exhibition Hall
Throughout
this tour, the main effects and staging was the projection imaging and movies,
so it was difficult to get it 100% right. It wasn’t possible to have something
perfect right from the beginning. It’s hard to get everything running in time,
especially since everything starts rolling only about a month before the
beginning of the tour when we start to feel the nerves and excitement. We try
our best, but there are always things that we have to fix during the tour.
There’s also things that we only realize after we’ve actually tried it.
Same thing
goes for the set list – it’s impossible to judge it until we actually try it
out. Before the tour we asked the fans from each country to vote for their
favourite songs, so we took those results into consideration. But I guess the
fans that did vote were the more hardcore fans, so we couldn’t rely on the
results 100%. But it was really informative.
21st-24th
March: To New York
All you can
do in a plane is sit there, so I tried to get some stuff done during the
flights. Checking stuff, planning, and thinking about stuff. Apart from that,
all you can do is sleep. If I think that I would be in better form if I sleep,
I’ll even sleep through the meals. But with New York, I was completely confused
with the time difference. It was completely opposite to Japan, so I had no clue
if I should be sleeping, or staying awake (laugh). So I watched some films instead.
I really enjoyed “Once in a Blue Moon” (NB Japanese movie by director Koki
Mitani). I was laughing like “HAHAHAHA” whilst crying my eyes out (laughs).
Once we’d
arrived in New York, I was most worried about the promotion. Because the
capacity of the venue was so large. It was the Madison Square Garden. When we
were being interviewed as part of the promotion, they almost always asked us
things like “You’re the first Japanese to play here” or “You’re the first Asian
to play here”. And then they’d go “So, how do you feel?”. At first I was
thinking, “We don’t feel any different from playing in the other countries”,
but after every interview that would ask us that, I gradually started to feel
“Oh, since we’re the first Japanese to play here, we better look cool and do a
good job. The way Japan is perceived might change because of us”. I felt,
“Actually, we have the flag of Japan on our backs – we’re representing Japan”.
I didn’t particularly want to make it into such a big thing, but in that
situation, there was no way of avoiding feeling like that. And that was a huge
pressure.
25th March:
“WORLD TOUR 2012” Madison Square Garden
Because of
that, after it was over it felt like we’d just finished an exam. An exam about
“rock”, in which we had to write down on the answer sheet everything we’d
learned in the last 20 years. Our score? I think we did ok. I wouldn't say it
was 100%. But judging from our capabilities, pretty close to perfect. I think
some parts were a bit stiff. But I managed the a cappella pieces without
feeling nervous. As L’Arc~en~Ciel, I think we achieved a really high score.
Before the
live, I thought it would feel more like we were playing an ‘away’ game. I
thought the audience was going to be full of people thinking “OK, let’s see what
they can do”. But in reality the atmosphere was really homely and friendly, so
I felt relieved. Every L’Arc~en~Ciel live we play is to an audience that like,
or are fond of us, so when we suddenly have to face an away crowd, I think the
atmosphere of the band changes. And that would mean not playing at our best. So
I was scared of that.
I can’t
exactly remember what sort of feeling I had, but during my a cappella pieces, I
did consciously think about feeling the air of the MSG as I sang. I embraced the
experience and sung whilst really feeling the atmosphere. I think it was a
great live.
9th-10th
April: To London
I stayed in
London over quite a long period whilst recording “ROENTGEN”, so I already had
my favourite restaurants there. This time I ended up trying rather hard to find
an Italian restaurant that I used to like. I couldn't remember the name. I
wasn’t really sure of the location either, apart from the shape of the roads
that I’d seen on a map. The alleyways were a distinct shape, so I thought I
could find the restaurant as long as I found the alleyways. But I couldn't find
it. So I drew a picture and said “I think it was like this” to my manager, who
found it immediately. The first time I went to that restaurant was back at the
time of “Niji”, and the pepperoncino they served was just delicious. So I went
there a lot during “ROENTGEN” as well, and because I was blonde at the time,
they used to call me “Golden Boy”. But……..when I went there this time round,
the management had changed, and they didn’t even have pepperoncino on the menu
(laugh)
11th April:
“WORLD TOUR 2012” indigO2
The venue
was very well-constructed. The balcony seats came out and down quite low, so I
think everyone had a great time even in the balcony seats. It might have been
because the venue was small, but the Londoners were really excited and going
wild. But I think the first time is easy. There were fans that had been waiting
for us, and lots of fans who came from around Europe. But from the second time,
it’ll start to get more difficult. If a band comes to Japan for the first time,
everyone goes to see them, but the next time they come, they won’t go again.
It’s the same as that. So of course the live went great and everyone seemed to
enjoy themselves, but we shouldn’t just be happy or satisfied with that. I felt
that next time, we have to do it more properly. Same thing goes for New York.
But yes, London was really great.
12th-13th
April: To Paris
We travelled
from London to Paris on the Eurostar. We don’t usually travel by train – maybe
just bullet trains? But it was completely different to the bullet train – the
scenery was great, we got served food… It was like a school trip – great fun.
14th April:
“WORLD TOUR 2012” Le Zenith
It was our
second time playing in Paris, so as I said, we thought the crowd wouldn't be so
excited compared to our previous live. But I was glad to see that everyone was
going wild even before the live started. I think France is a country that’s
willing to welcome and accept Japanese culture. Because of that, I think as
well as the fans that had come to see us previously, there were lots of new
fans too. And I think that created a good balance.
20th April:
“One night only L’Arc~en~Ciel Premium Night” at LIQUIDROOM. Event to celebrate
the band’s record company’s 20th anniversary
We hadn’t
played a L’Arc~en~Ciel gig in a live house for a while, so it was an incredibly
rare and special live. It actually went ok. We adjusted the set list so it was
more suitable for a live house. It was good to do something different in
between our tour. As I said during the MC, we played the gig to express our
gratitude for our record company who’ve been putting up with such a selfish
band like us for so long. But I think it was a valuable experience for us too.
21st-24th
April: Snowboarding
Didn’t I go
snowboarding during this time? I think all the random days off in between was
spent going snowboarding (laughs). There was some trouble when I went this time
– the ski-lifts weren’t in operation because of the strong winds. But apart
from that, I spend the entire day snowboarding (laughs).
27th April:
To Singapore
You know, I
thought that we were going to stay at that new hotel. That high-rise hotel with
the swimming pool on the roof (The Marina Bay Sands Singapore). I was convinced
that we were going to be staying there, but I thought I’d ask “We are, of
course, staying there, right?” anyway. But I was told “No you’re not”. And from
that moment on I was moaning, moaning, moaning. Especially since it’s not often
that we go to Singapore. Because of that, I really wanted to stay there, but…….really?!
No?! (laugh) Really, it was literally like moan moan moan…
28th April:
“WORLD TOUR 2012” Singapore Indoor Stadium
It was the
first time we’d played at this venue too, so it felt like everyone had been
waiting and yearning for us. The crowd were really keen, and everyone was
really excited.
30th April –
1st May: To Jakarta
Press
conference
2nd May:
“WORLD TOUR 2012” Lapangan D Senayan
I never
thought we'd be going there to play a gig (laugh). The scenery and streets felt
really tropical. But the alcohol wasn't very good – there were many occasions
where I felt the wine hadn’t been stored properly – but I guess it's because
they aren’t used to serving it.
But the live
itself was great. It was outside, and lots of people were wearing turbans
because a lot of the fans were Muslims. It must have been really hot but they
weren’t showing any flesh – it looked different from any other country we’d
played in before. But when I saw their faces, they were excited, just like the
fans in any other country. Everyone was smiling, and singing along – it was
wonderful. I thought “ah, we’ve even crossed the boundaries of religion”. We’d
already felt like we’ve crossed the borders of countries, and nationalities,
but we never thought about religion. But this time, even from what we simply
saw, we felt like we’d crossed the borders of religion. It was a concert where
I really felt the true wonders of music.
3rd-4th May:
To Seoul
Interviews
with local media.
5th May:
“WORLD TOUR 2012” Jamsil Gymnasium
There were
lots of girls walking around in shorts, like Shojo Jidai (K-POP girl group) – I
guess it’s because K-POP is popular in Seoul at the moment. But even in that
situation, I was sure that we had the power to convince people with our own
music, in a different way to such popular dance groups. So we used that as our
strength. Having said that, we didn’t do anything particularly different from
usual, but we did bear that in mind.
9th-10th
May: “WORLD TOUR 2012 THE FINAL” Rehearsal
Because we’d
added the National Stadium gig, we found it hard to distinguish between each of
the lives back in Japan. In other words, because we were going to play two
large venues within the Kanto region, the fans wouldn’t be happy unless we made
the two sets of gigs different. So in the end, we decided to play the Nissan
Stadium and USJ gigs as if they were part of the world tour. I wanted it to be
the final legs of the world tour, but added some tracks from BUTTERFLY to add
some premium. Especially since we hadn’t played any of the songs from BUTTERFLY
since the LE-CIEL Members only live. So the gigs were like the grand finale of
the world tour.
12th-13th
May: “WORLD TOUR 2012 THE FINAL” Nissan Stadium
I was glad
it didn’t rain on the day. Although it was cold. It was the grand finale of the
past year – and I think we managed to show how the most up-to-date
L’Arc~en~Ciel was the best and coolest yet. We managed to express that even
after 20 years, the current L’Arc~en~Ciel was at the best that we’ve ever been.
I think it
all changed from the Ajinomoto Stadium gigs. We became more 'cool' and
impressive. I myself had a revelation. From the moment that I started to
genuinely enjoy singing, I felt that my ability to express myself as a performer
went under a drastic transition.
19th-20th
May: “WORLD TOUR 2012 THE FINAL” Universal Studios Japan
I think the
fans must have enjoyed themselves because the tickets included entry into the
park. They could enjoy themselves all day, from morning to evening. The live?
Well we had some special guests, which I think was a success.
23rd May:
“WORLD TOUR 2012 THE FINAL” Rehearsal
So it felt
like we had to switch gears again (laugh). Next, it was the National Stadium.
We took the ideas we already had and tried to re-build and re-check them.
Although we’d decided the setlist and some other things already. But we had to
switch gears inside our heads. And at the same time, we also had to think about
Hawaii (laugh).
26th-27th
May: “WORLD TOUR 2012 THE FINAL” National Stadium
Actually, I
didn’t even know where the National Stadium was, but tecchan had been saying
for ages that he really wanted to play there. Since he felt so strongly about
it, I thought we should play there too. So in that sense, one of our dreams
came true.
As for the
structure of the live, it had to be different. We wanted to make it the
ultimate finale of our 20th anniversary. So we didn’t want to do any more
tracks from ‘BUTTERFLY’ either. We wanted it to be like a festival, once again.
So I think the special stagings, like the welcome-back parade that ken-chan
suggested, and using the Olympic cauldron which signified the venue that
tecchan had felt so strongly about, was brilliant. I think it brought
everything together.
31st May:
“WORLD TOUR 2012” Live in Hawaii Waikiki Shell
1st June:
“LE-CIEL Presents Hawaii~en~Ciel Special Live” Waikiki Shell
We'd started
by talking about having our ‘after-party’ in Hawaii. And since we were
painfully aware that our previous “Hawaii~en~Ciel” wasn’t very well received,
we wanted to satisfy everyone this time. But since our schedule was so tight,
it was difficult to do anything extra, so when we thought about what we could
do that everyone would enjoy, we came up with the idea of doing two shows. The
first day was going to be like the world tour since we had some local fans too.
And on the second day, we were going to play the more rare songs for the
‘LE-CIEL members only’ live. We thought the fans would hopefully be satisfied.
But in the
meantime, one of the very close members of our crew passed away in Hawaii. It
was in the early morning of the day of our first live. He used to be the editor
of a music magazine, and I liked the magazine so much that I had a series in it
at one point. He had been in charge of us at the time. Since then the magazine
is no longer in press, but more recently he was involved in things like the
production of the VAMPS pamphlets. So our most recent VAMPS pamphlet became his
last creation. So it felt very strange, and it was difficult to play those
Hawaii shows. Apparently, the night before, he’d told some of the staff that he
liked “Bye Bye” whilst they were drinking, so we decided to play it as a
tribute. We performed it at the end of our first gig, and throughout it I was
thinking “It’s so cruel that I have to sing this song, at such a timing”.
He himself
was a really thoughtful and warm-hearted man, so I thought that he would have
hated to see us all grieving him together. So we didn't want to cancel our
after party. I believed that each of us should mourn him in our own way, within
our hearts.
AND SOME
FINAL WORDS...
It’s not
really our 20th anniversary anymore – it’s our 21st (laugh). If anyone reads
this and becomes interested in L’Arc~en~Ciel, please rent the DVD of these
lives (laugh). Even if it’s rental, I think then you’ll understand what I mean
by “the current L’Arc~en~Ciel being the best yet”. I’d love it if they could
watch it. And look forward to what L’Arc~en~Ciel has to offer in the future.
************************************
So that was
hyde's rendition of the world tour in a nutshell!!!
Interviews
from the magazine coming up! (at one point)
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