DIR EN GREY @ KOKO Club 3rd August 2010

Review by - Metzli

Stepping into the KOKO club, the appearance is not that of a venue about to play host to one of the rawest Japanese Rock bands to grace the British shores. With its hanging curtains, theatrical masks and ornate gold-painted balconies, this looks more the home of the Royal Shakespeare Company than a tour spot for a band such as this, as far removed from Shakespeare as seemingly possible! But looking down from my standpoint on the first balcony the crowd that fills every orifice of this club tell a different story. They fill each balcony, dangling arms appearing from every alcove, heads packed so tightly down below that they seem to share shoulders. These are the fans, the fanatics, drawn from across the globe to congregate together under the same purpose, the same passion.
And as the filler music dies away with the lighting and Sa Bir begins to rumble through speakers, the responding scream that tears itself free from innumerable unseen vocal chords leaves no doubt in the mind about just how monumental this band is.

Sa Bir lost behind the din of hundreds of hungry fans, the band enter the stage to the usual uproar of admiration, anticipation and downright excitement. Shinya enters first, his white shirt almost glowing in the blue tinted stage lights. He is followed shortly by Die, Kaoru and Toshiya – all of whom throw their fists up to the audience, igniting their energy further, building it up to dangerous levels. The biggest scream, it seems, is reserved for the final and fifth member to saunter on to the stage. Kyo, unlike his band members, is characteristically stoic, seeming at first not to notice the waves of his own screamed name crashing against the stage. Instead, he walks over to where his travel companion, his trusty red crate, lays in wait at the front of the stage. As Sa Bir draws to a close, Kyo acknowledges the crowd for the first time, planting one foot upon it and punching a fist towards the upturned faces, his mouth opened in a soundless cry. Then Sa Bir ends, and all hell ensues.

The show starts as it means to go on. Heavy. As the characteristic chords of Red Soil echo across the crowd, the effect is instantaneous. The crowd roars and surges to the left, overbalancing and falling to the right. As the vocals kick in, it is easy to lose yourself in the music, beginning the self destruction that results from truly letting yourself go. At the end of the song, Kyo removes his shades in what will be the beginning of a provocative little strip tease for the pleasure of all those present. Wasting no time, the band leap into the punishing AGITATED SCREAMS OF MAGGOTS, allowing no time for rest for those in the pit – or for themselves. As the first scream rips free of Kyo, you can practically feel the pain raging in your own throat in a sort of sympathetic admiration. But what would leave most hacking, leave Kyo undeterred, as he rages on, Die head banging as furiously as any of the fans, Toshiya and Kaoru feeding off each other, jumping around stage.

The Leather Jacket is undone, Kyo stands on the crate as the Shinya strikes up, The Fatal Believer delivers another blow to the crowd, those in the pit held together by adrenaline and sheer passion.
With the next song, the jacket is fully removed, cast aside as if it no longer has any value. Back to basics as if to commemorate launching into their latest single. Just the very opening beats of Hageshisa to, Kono Mune no Naka de Karamitsuita Shakunetsu no Yami seem to cause a chain reaction within the fans that drives them crazy. Everyone, regardless of being in the pit or stretched out over balconies, begins to thrash, threatening to render the venue to the ground. The very song that embodies the long and emotional evolution of Dir En Grey as a band deserves no lesser reaction. The crowd roars along, the devout singing the words, others simply giving in to the power of the genuine ardour forced through the notes by the members themselves.

The following songs do not ease the pounding delivered to the crowd. Leaping fluidly from Stuck Man to the deceivingly soft introduction of Gaika, Chinmoku ga nemuru koro. It is only as this song draws to its end, and the entity filling the venue takes a united gasp for breath through weakened applause that we are offered some respite. The soothing tones of Inconvenient Ideal wash out across the sweaty crowd, influencing them in a profound way – turning their thrashing into a uniformed swaying. Arms, where free to move, are above head, waving along to the pulse that has consumed all. From above, the sight is quite mesmerising. Tension builds and the scream that sounds at 3:17 is so clear it seems to pierce the heat and influence the whole crowd to emulate it, copy cat screams echoing from every angle.

As this song draws to an end, the applause is cut short, as a low drone continues long after the music has died away. The stage darkened, Kyo knelt on his crate is bathed in an eerie red light, a low rumbling picks up deep in his throat. The crowd fall immediately silent as the vocalist begins one of his token ‘inward screams’ –a collection of acapella harmonies and surreal sounds plucked deep from whatever drives him. Through clever record and replay, Kyo’s utterances are layered, creating a thick weave of guttural growls, ethereal chords, chilling screams and stunted poem book-esque speech that is blasted at the audience from all angles by hidden speakers at unexpected intervals. The effect is seemingly to encase the crowd in a dome of sound, holding them together as one for this fleeting moment of their lives, all eyes trained to the same spot, a thousand breaths caught in a thousand throats and the same sense of sheer wonder as the skin crawls and the senses delight.

The magic cuts out to the instantly recognisable opening of Dozing Green. The spell of serenity is broken – revitalised the crowd begin to scream and jump with renewed vitality. This same energy lasts straight into the next song. The stage cast into darkness, light is first cast upon Shinya, then to Kaoru and Toshiya, then Die, finally to the crate – Kyo standing just behind, cast in shadow. The vocals beginning, he chooses to sing the softer start whilst still immersed in gloom. Only when the harsher growls kick in does he choose to step forth – and here he remains for the rest of the song – Die throwing up encouraging fists to the crowd, Toshiya and Kaoru likewise.

Next begins a back to back blast from the past. Though they chose to play the updated version of Shokubeni, it still whisks the hardened fan back to the days when they first got their grubby mitts on a copy of VULGAR. With its prolonged, softer chorus and tendency to speed up elsewhere, this version of Shokubeni has its strict differences from the original, leaving the jury out on which of the two is better. The first signs of wear and tear begin to show here, Kyo slumping over the crate at a number of different points, pausing to recapture his breath, the signs of strain etched into his face at reaching the long notes. Half draped across the crate, he raises the mic to his lips and rattles out the command to ‘jump’. Though the call is singular and nearly lost amongst the guitars, the crowd respond in kind – becoming a mass of mismatched peaks, like the heart monitor of a particularly fucked patient. Keeping in the VULGAR swing of things, the next track brings out the howls of recognition as people become airborne. OBSCURE roars out across the venue, rocking the foundations to the point that I swear I can feel the balcony shake.

Battered, and hanging by the very sinews, the crowd are afforded another ‘inward scream’ falling into practiced silence for a long period, whilst the other members of the band compose themselves in the shadows. This inward scream seems to rely more heavily on record and replay tool than the previous – but after such a punishing set thus far, it can hardly be criticised.
The next track, Bugaboo, sees Kyo interacting with the crowd intimately for the first time. Crouched down low atop the crate, he points to his eyes and stares intently into the crowd, his face the very picture of judgment. Staring blankly into the crowd, he seems to focus on nothing. Slowly he lifts out a single hand, letting it weave through the air before him, over the stage – ‘ I get A-D-D-I-C-T-E-D’ – that one hand seeming to have a lunar effect on the tide of fans, surging towards the middle, reaching imploringly outwards in hopes of chancing their fingertips against his.

Reiketsu Nariseba bursts into action next. During the interview Kyo stands on the crate, back to the audience. With his arms spread out wide, head tilted back and his head cast upwards towards the heavens, it is almost Christlike. His new tattoo on display, carved into his back, almost adds to this idea of rebirth. The rebirth the band go through every time they grace a stage. The last song of the set is Vinushka. Meaning ‘deceiver’ in Hindi and lasting a considerable 9 minutes 37 seconds, it does not seem the most likely choice for a final song, especially given the physical exhaustion that plaguing the crowd and, judging by the amount of sweat, the band. But the song is played perfectly, all exhaustion well masked. Kyo writhes and dances on the crate, as Toshiya and Kaoru stalk the stage, Die stood for the most part in his own area of the stage, bouncing to the music. The song ends, the band leaves, no ceremony. The crowd begins to scream for an encore.

When the band returns, the hoarse screams turn frantic as The Final starts. The venue fills with a hundred voices as Kyo breaks free of the vocals, holding the mic out so that the crowd may fill in for him – I can’t live, so I can’t live – drawing out the final word to near impossible lengths considering the battering his voice box has taken over the evening. Then, turning to the crowd he repeats, ‘rasht song’ several times, the scream that answers him getting louder each time. Followed by the re vamped version of Rasetsukoku it seems that the band show no sign of tiring.
To close the evening Dir En Grey explode into a particularly vigorous –ZAN-. The song finishes, Kyo tosses the mic to the ground and stalks off stage – not to be seen again. Meanwhile, the other members stay on the stage, pandering to the crowd, tossing pics and drum sticks respectively, dousing the ecstatic faces from bottles of water. It seems strange to me that the one member of the band that does not cater to the crowd, but seeming arrogantly dismisses them, should get the loudest cheer. But perhaps this cold indifference is what draws us in. In any case, as the rest of the band leave the stage and people begin to mill out into the refreshing chill of the dark London street – this was surely an explosive gig which will stay with all those present for the rest of their lives.