Live: Alice Nine [Court of 9]

Ever since October, I had been trying to get Alice Nine tickets, in a joint effort with two of my friends. Even between the three of us, we lost out every time! The reason is, when you buy tickets for certain lives in Japan, sometimes you are placed into a lottery. So even if you reserve a ticket, you may still not win the coveted admission. 

The first two times, we lost the lottery to see Alice Nine. Finally on the third try, we managed to win tickets for their live here in Nagoya- and it was the last show of their "Court of Nine" tour.

Read more under the jump-cut!


The venue, "The Bottom Line" was incredibly easy to access. We just exited the subway station at Imaike and bam, there it was, smack in front of us. It was pouring rain, but the crowd was small so we were able to seek shelter by the box office. 

The merchandise vendors set up shop at around 5:30. I thought the keychain was too adorable to pass up. 

After hitting up the merch tables, it was still raining cats and dogs, and we had a few hours to kill. So my friend and I went to Starbucks to hang out and rest before our wild night.

To be honest, I wasn't expecting a lot from the venue or crowd- I looked up the floor plan, and it was a much smaller venue than Nagoya Zepp. I remembered the crowd from Dir en grey, and how they stood like zombies in the back, doing little more than fist pumping. Since Alice Nine isn't as, well, intense as Dir en grey, I thought for sure this would be a gentle live. 

Ohoh. I was wrong. 

The live was on the second floor, in a decently sized hall. The setup was annoying for the size of the crowd, because the hall was packed, and there were pillars in the way in the back rows. There were flat screen TVs mounted on them but it just wasn't the same as actually seeing the band. 

My ballsy friend grabbed my hand and said, "Let's push to the front!" and I happily obliged. But then again, she's tiny, cute, and British, I'm tall and red headed and tattooed and in other words, in everyone's freaking way. 

We weaved our way to the front rows, maybe four rows from the stage. I heard girls complaining behind us and I was feeling embarrassed...

But remember when I said this wasn't a gentle live? We got what we deserved. xD

Before the band came out, my friend and I were speculating what songs the band would play. I hoped they would play my favourite song, Velvet, but doubted it since it was old and the pace was weird. We both hoped they would play Rainbows, but thought "Nah, they never play Rainbows." 

So Alice Nine finally came out. And they opened. With. Velvet. 

I sang along at the top of my lungs, gripping my friend's hand and holding it in the air. The band was so involved, so steeped in the energy of the crowd and feeding off it. They reacted to us and we reacted to them. Shou was all smiles and all emotions the whole time. He wasn't distant for a second. Every member was animated in their own way, living there in the moment with us all. Even Nao was shaking his head and singing along as he put his all into the drums. 

The live was full of unexpected songs... Waterfall, Jellyfish, Q., Rainbows and Hello World to name a few. 

When it came time for heavier songs, the crowd head banged. By Nine Heads Rodeo all hell broke loose. On the beat, the crowd rammed forward to the stage like line backers. I grabbed my friend's hand laughing, as every person behind me crushed to the front like it was the only exit from a fire. Shou seemed sadistically satisfied with all this and would cry, "One more time!" and by the end of the night, I wanted to hurt him. xD

I didn't notice until after I left the mosh pit at the end of the show, but someone stepped on my foot and it was bleeding. I guess that's what I get for pushing my way to the front in a sundress and sandals.

At the end of the show, the band came out for an encore. They played a few songs, including a heart throbbing "Subete he". The whole band got the chance to talk to us, cracking jokes with each other and thanking us constantly for our time and attention.

Shou said that no matter how many lives he performs, the time never seems to be long enough. I agree, lives never seem to last that long, certainly not with Alice Nine's endless energy. 

The band threw things into the crowd when they left. My friend caught one of Hiroto's guitar picks, and I caught a treasure of my own...

NAO'S DRUM STICK!! It's all worn and beat up from the encore performance.

Until next time, 

Cherie