1 st one-man “Jijitsu wa shousetsu yori kinari”
glamscure at Higashikouenji Nimandenatsu
glamscure is a visual kei band with a dark aesthetic who has been active since 2015, consisting of members, vocalist Chaos, guitarist Harui, and bassist Inori. The band has been active in events, and held their first one-man on June 16.
In contrast to their band image, the atmosphere before the start of their live was homey as fans filled the time with laughter until the lights went down. Before long, the sounds of the instruments leaked from the stage that was veiled with a curtain, and from it, tension soon spread the floor as it signaled the start of the live.
2015年より活動しているglamscureは、ボーカルのケイオス、ギターのハルイ、ベースの祈~いのり~で構成されたダーク且つ耽美さを纏ったビジュアル系バンドだ。イベントなど中心に活躍してきた彼等が6月16日に初のワンマンライブを開催した。
バンドのイメージとは裏腹に、開演前の場内はアットホームな雰囲気で、ファン同士は談笑しつつ開演時間までの時間を潰していた。やがて、ステージとフロアを仕切ったカーテンから楽器の音が漏れて、開演まであともう少しと合図するこの時間から少しずつ会場から緊張が伝わってきた。
A few minutes past the starting time, the venue dimmed and the atmosphere changed in an instant. Silence pervaded the venue as the curtain was drawn back by hand to reveal the stage. With ivy, flowers, and birds surrounding the mic and music equipment, the stage was decorated flamboyantly for this special day. As the dark gothic SE resounded in the venue, support drummer Boogy, Inori, and Harui appeared on stage, welcomed with member calls from the fervent fans. As the SE volume gradually went up, Chaos appeared on stage at last attired in a black gothic dress as his words of welcome, “ Welcome! Dance with us!” started the first song, “Kakusei to Psyche”. With a crash of drums, the music set a fast pace from the start as fans thrashed their heads without a moment of hesitation, while Chaos’s voice sang out with a colorful and melodious tone. The next song, the heavy “s±n” was presented with Harui’s storming guitar and thundering drums. In midst of the head-banging number, Inori tilted his bass upward as his rhythmical bass line blended in and gave solid support to the song. As the red lights painted the stage, “…in the closet” followed, notable for its mysterious guitar sounds, before the stage dimmed as their first emcee started.開演時間の19時半を過ぎたところで、場内が暗転し、アットホームな雰囲気から一転。一気に場内は静かになり、手動のカーテンがゆっくり開きステージが露わになった。ツタや花、鳥かごがマイクスタンドや機材等にあしらわれており、ステージはこの日の為に綺麗に装飾されていた。彼等らしいステージの雰囲気に重みのあるゴシックなSEが流れ、サポートドラムのブギー、祈~いのり~、そしてハルイがステージに現れるとメンバーコールが沸き起こった。やがて、SEの音がボリュームを上げると最後にゴシックな真っ黒なドレスを纏ったケイオスがステージに現れ、「ようこそ。さぁ、踊りましょう!」と挨拶の言葉を皮切りに1曲目の「覚醒とプシュケ」が始まった。ドラムが弾け、始めから加速する音にフロアはためらいもなく頭を激しく振る。ケイオスの延びのあるボーカルは華やかでメロディアスな部分を紡ぎ出した。続いた、「s±n」もまたヘドバンを誘う激しく掻き鳴らすハルイのギターと力強いドラムが披露された。祈~いのり~はベースを少し縦に傾け、リズミカルなベースラインで曲を滑らかに繋いでいった。照明が真っ赤にステージを染め、妖しげなギターが響いた「…in the closet」がその後に続き、一旦暗転しこの日最初のMCが始まった。
Chaos started the emcee break using all the Japanese greeting phrases, “Konbanwa(Good evening)-. Tadaima(I’m back)-, Okaeri(Welcome back)-.” and changed the dark atmosphere to a more genial one as the emcee continued. Some visual kei fans may not know that Chaos was born in Italy, especially because of his fluency in speaking Japanese when sharing his feelings of the band’s first one-man. He also talked about the decorations he had done on the stage set, and showed a glimpse of his humorous side as he made the audience laugh as he repeatedly advertised that the second drink is 300yen! The fans, also at ease, seemed to enjoy the emcee.
ケイオスが「こんばんはー。ただいまー。おかえりー。」とあらゆるあいさつ言葉を口にした瞬間、今までのダークな雰囲気が少し穏やかになり、MCは続いた。初めてのワンマンができた事への想いを彼なりの言葉で綴り、外国人とは思えない程の流暢な日本語で、ステージの装飾を手掛けた事やこの日のライブハウスのドリンクバーが2杯目なんと300円!と、ライブハウスの宣伝やエピソードを面白おかしく語るサービス精神旺盛な一面も。フロアもまたまったりとした雰囲気で耳を傾けていた。
As the live resumed with “the queen’s distress”, the atmosphere changed to a nostalgic one as the guitar refrains were reminiscent of those of good old visual kei songs. Chaos danced about the stage and led in the song’s corresponding choreography, the fans following in suit. From there, in “Yuutsusa no naka ni kakureta honnou”, the band presented a wistful song with a dismal vocal and melodious instruments blending together. The following “deus ex machine” featured howling sounds, as well as elements from old visual kei sound as the venue was enveloped in glamscure’s distinct world.
「the queen’s distress」でライブが再開されると、古き良きビジュアル系を彷彿とさせる様なギターの響きに懐古的な雰囲気が漂い、ケイオスの振りにフロアは追随し、折りたたみも展開された。そこから「憂鬱さの中に隠れた本能」では憂いのあるボーカルの歌声にメロディアスな音が楽器隊により編み出された、切なさ纏う一曲が披露され、続いた「deus ex machina」もまた唸る音たちがどこかビジュアル系の懐かしさを呼び起こすようだった。
気がつけば、場内はglamscureの独特な世界に染まっている様だった。
When the venue lit up, a brief emcee was held with a theme, “What was the happiest moment today.” During the emcee, Harui changed his voice in order to ‘speak on behalf of’ Inori, who usually doesn’t speak while on stage. But eventually Inori did add his own comments, creating a rare scene as the emcee turned out to be a fun one that gave the audience a glimpse of the members’ characters and had the venue erupting in laughter.
照明が明るくなり、「本日のワンマンについて嬉しかったこと」をお題に再びMCが始まった。しゃべらない設定の祈~いのり~はハルイが裏声でコメント代弁しようとして、結局本人が普通にコメントしたという珍しい場面もあり、それぞれのキャラクターが滲み出たMCに場内笑いが絶えなかった。
As Chaos closed the emcee with a message, “We will be playing the free distribution song in appreciation to all our fans.”, the live resumed with the melancholic “Kuchiru ga mamani”, the softer tunes continuing with the flowery “Hanabira.” Chaos sang along to the bass-heavy “mirror”, before switching over to the simple yet profound “subliminal”. There was a moment for a short emcee right after, before the live resumed with the band pumping up the venue with “Hai-iro no sora, Siren no koe”. Under the deep red lights, the sound of thunder rumbled, and from the guitar riff, the beat of the drum picked up its pace. Though with the atmospheric flamboyance of the song, under the flickering lights, the venue soon heated up into a storm of head-bangs. In the next, “ last scene genome falling on bed” Chaos fired up the audience, shouting “Jump! Jump!” as the fans followed suit. The stage and floor, both energized by the melodious and heavy song, soon worked themselves into a frenzy, the next song “new song 1” leaving no room for cooling down from the heat. The fans didn’t hesitate on thrashing their heads, alternating with carrying out the furitsuke (choreographic gestures) perfectly, the steaming hot atmosphere maintained until the main set ended “evil-minded”.
「みんなへの感謝という事で、本日配布の曲をやります。」とメランコリックな「朽ちるがままに」を披露し、艶やかさが花開く「花びら」からベースが効いた「mirror」、シンプルながら全体的に重みのある「subliminal」をケイオスが歌い上げた。再び、短いMCを挟み、フロアの煽りで始まった「灰色の空、サイレンの声」。深紅のライトの下、雷の音が鳴りギターのリフからドラムの鼓動がペースを上げ駆ける。華美な雰囲気が漂いつつも、場内は激しく明滅するライトの下ヘドバンの嵐が展開された。続いた「last scene genome falling on bed」ではイントロからケイオスが「飛べ!飛べ!」とフロアに煽り入れると、ファンはそれに追随した。メロディアス且つ重厚な音に活気付けられたステージとフロア。場内は熱気に包まれ、その熱は冷める事なく、追い打ちをかける様な激しい「新曲1」へと導かれた。ファンは迷う事なく、頭を激しく揺らし、振付けも完璧にこなし、次の「evil-minded」へと続き本編は熱を帯び終了した。
When the members appeared on stage in answer to the encore shout from the fans, Buggy came to the front and jumped down to the floor. While the move was surprising for the audience at first, it let the venue become lit up with his playful character. Chaos also took time in communicating with the fans as the first encore emcee had a different, more relaxed atmosphere than the emcees in the main set. In this encore, the band played the “ new song 2”, and the “ Haru ga owaru koro” as Harui’s guitar embedded in the mid-tempo and melodious phrase.
アンコールを叫ぶファンに応え、メンバーが再登場すると、ブギーが客席乱入。フロアが驚きつつも彼の持ち前の明るいキャラで場内は笑いに包まれた。ケイオスも負けじとファンとコミュニケーションを取り、本編とは違う砕けた雰囲気を漂わせていた。本アンコールでは、もう一つの「新曲2」と「春が終わる頃」とハルイのギターが刻まれたミッドテンポでメロディアスな2曲が披露された。
The members besides Inori reappeared in their band’s T-shirt for a double encore. In the emcee, Harui and Inori joined in the conversation as the venue was filled with laughter once more as the band brought out their official band goods and shared a story regarding the naming of one of their goods. From the cozy emcee, the band began the second encore with “fruitless” which started with Inori’s bass, and as the guitar gradually blended in, the fans swayed their hands to the music with thrashing head-bangs in between. Then, for the very last song, glamscure played their song that best represents the band, “Kakusei to Psyche” as the stage and floor became pumped up for this last moment.
再びの退場からダブルアンコールでは、祈~いのり~以外バンドTシャツで登場した。MCはハルイと祈~いのり~を加え、物販など実際の商品を持参し宣伝やグッズのネーミングの笑いを誘うプチエピソードなどで会場を沸かせた。そんな和気藹々としたMCから、「fruitless」で祈~いのり~のベースから始まり、ギターが織り込まれて行き、曲にのせて最後までファンは手を休める事なく振りをするなど、ヘドバンを交え、最後の最後に今のglamscureを一番表すであろう曲、「覚醒とプシュケ」が演奏されステージもフロアも最後を惜しむ様に全力で挑んだ。
As the band ended the live, Chaos shouted “Thanks!”, as the other members also showed their appreciation toward the fans. From the floor, member calls and applause resounded throughout the venue as glamscure’s first one-man came to an end. Due to the photo shoot with the fans after the live this day, the band left the stage saying, “ See you at the photo shoot!”
Live schedules are up, and glamscure is going to continue to be active in performing at lives.
Their visuals and sound are reminiscent of the good old Visual kei style, so if you have time and want to see a band that brings back some of the older Visual kei sound and aesthetics, drop by their live. A different Visual kei world may await you.
「ありがとう!」とケイオスがライブ後開口一番叫ぶと、他メンバーもそれに続き感謝の言葉をフロアに向けた。そんなフロアからメンバーコール、拍手が鳴り響き、glamscure初のワンマンが終わりを告げた。この後に同会場で撮影会を控えていたメンバーは、「また撮影会で!」と、ステージを去った。
今後もライブが続々と決まっており、glamscureはこれから精力的に活動する模様。彼等のビジュアルとサウンドは正に古き良きビジュアル系を思い出させてくれる。そんな彼等のライブに是非足を運んでほしい。いつもと一味違うビジュアル系の世界が見えてくるかもしれない。
SE
1. 覚醒とプシュケ (Kakusei to Psyche)
2. s±n
3. …in the closet
4. the queen’s distress
5. 憂鬱さの中に隠れた本能 (Yuutsusa no naka ni kakureta honnou)
6. deus ex machina
7. 朽ちるがままに (Kuchiru ga mamani)
8. 花びら (Hanabira)
9. mirror
10. subliminal
11. 灰色の空、サイレンの声 (Hai-iro no sora, Siren no koe)
12. last scene genome falling on bed
13. 新曲1(New song 1/ no title)
14. evil-minded
アンコール1 (encore 1)
15.新曲2 (New song 2/ no title)
16.春が終わる頃 ( Haru ga owaru koro )
アンコール2 (encore 2)
17. fruitless
18. 覚醒とプシュケ (Kakusei to Psyche)
END SE(春が終わる頃ピアノver) (Haru ga owaru koro Piano ver)
Text and translation by : M.Kawaguchi (VG)