X Japan at Club Nokia

Club 2 the MAX Event

Thursday (July 1st) evening we arrived at Club Nokia to attend an Animaid Cafe dinner followed by the Yoshiki Foundation America kick-off party with h. Naoto fashion show, acoustic performance by X Japan and finally an X Japan music video shoot. Cindy wore her infamous neon green vinyl hide cosplay and was instantly stopped for a short interview. We went up to the club, checked in for the Animaid Cafe dinner and were seated. We played a fish catching game and whack-a-mole with our maid while watching a few dances on stage. Dinner was catered by the Wolfgang Puck restaurant next door and it was delicious although we had to hurry to finish. They needed to quickly vacate the club to prepare for the Yoshiki/X Japan event.

With our paid Animaid Cafe dinner we were guaranteed premier seating for the X Japan event and were led to a special waiting area outside. We made conversation with another hide cosplayer we had met last year. The show was to begin at 8pm but the doors didn't reopen until nearly 9pm. We were lucky enough to be some of the first in line back inside and were astonished when we were able to walk right up to the bars at the edge of the stage. We could literally reach out and touch the stage. Unbelieveably awesome.

It was about another hour before anything actually got started but we were entertained by Ginger Fish of Marilyn Manson DJ-ing some music for us to listen to. Did I mention we were right near a very large speaker? Yeeaahh... luckily we had napkins which we used to plug our ears. That saved our hearing. Finally, we met our host who quickly learned the correct pronunciation of "Yoshiki" from the crowd. (Never say "Yo Shiki" in front of a horde of X Japan fans) The night finally got underway with a video explaining the purpose of the Yoshiki Foundation and Yoshiki himself coming out to say a few words. It being a fundraising event, large checks were given to St. Vincent Meals on Wheels, the Grammy Foundation and the Make a Wish Foundation.

After another break, we were treated to the premiere of X Japan's new music video for "I.V." they had shot in Hollywood back in January. Curiously, that was shot while Anime Los Angeles was going on not too far away. Following the music video was the h.Naoto fashion show which was interesting although a bit long. Finally, we came to the main events. Yoshiki, Toshi and Sugizo came out to perform a rare acoustic version of "I.V." Yoshiki on piano, Sugizo on violin and of course, Toshi on vocals. Unfortunately, we have no pictures or video of events up to this point due to one of the very large security people standing nearby stopping several other people from taking pictures/video.

However, after the acoustic performance, the entire band walked out on stage to shoot the music video for their brand new song, "Born to be Free." This we were able to get pictures and video of. The music was pre-recorded so the band members weren't actually playing but it didn't make the experience any less amazing. Japan's biggest rock band was only a few feet from us rocking out with all the enthusiasm as if they were playing live. Check out all of our pictures from the event on our flickr here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/catnapcaps/sets/72157624438373202/

Our video from the second take of "Born to be Free." (Best viewed full screen in HD)

As you can see in the video and pictures, we were right near one of the flamethrowers on the stage. We overheard one of the security guards being told to keep their distance and you can see at the start of the video above one of the photographers being yanked away because they were too close to the fire. Those fire blasts were really cool but a little scary being so close to it. Between takes, Yoshiki briefly stopped to chat with the audience which was entertaining.

After four takes, the band walked off stage for the last time and security immediately began to disperse the crowd. We hung out near the bar area for a few minutes checking out the X Japan pachinko machines and Cindy posed for a few pictures. The event ended a little after midnight and we hung around outside for a while with many other X Japan fans and cosplayers. It was a truly memorable experience that we won't soon forget.


Highlight of the show: Pata's amazing golden pants. XD no, seriously. Pata is awesome ♥