Kaya at RAGE, Los Angeles

Mistress of the night and visual kei diva Kaya gave a dazzling performance at RAGE in Los Angeles on February 2nd. Every Friday at RAGE, Asian pop and dance music reigns supreme, and there couldn’t be a better place for Kaya to showcase his finely crafted performance style and delight his devoted fanbase while earning some new fans along the way.

Starting off his set with the dark-electro dance track Babylon, Kaya’s enchanting vocals and coquettish gestures entranced his devoted Los Angeles fans and curious club goers as more bodies filled the dance floor to watch. Kaya looked like a porcelain doll come to life, with long flowy bell sleeves, a lacy bodice with glittering purple flowers adorning the under bust, and an elegant black ruffle petticoat. The gothic lolita look was completed with long, cascading white-blond hair encased in a lace bonnet and quintessentially Victorian laced boots.

Hypnotic dance beats and melodic vocals took the audience on a dark descent into a decadent affair with his next track, SODOMY. Kaya has never shied away from exploring a variety of sounds or risqué subject matter. Pushing the artistic envelope is how Kaya’s performances over the decades have remained captivating.

Fans who’d never imagined a chance to see Kaya live jumped at the opportunity with a sold-out, presale VIP event. Crowds of fans worked their way up to the mezzanine second floor, where booking agency and event coordinator FAKE STAR had set up a small booth filled with merchandise, showcasing all facets of Kaya’s performative masculine and feminine beauty. Official card sets, photobooks, posters and CDs were laid out on the display table nestled at the top of the stairs’ entrance into the lounge area. Some fans whispered excitedly as they noticed Kaya barely a few feet away, sitting demurely on the plush white couches, awaiting his fans.

The meet-and-greet lines extended beyond the second floor into the main stage area, as more than 50 fans queued for the signing session. Kaya’s fandom is diverse in gender and ethnicity, with a wide variety of the fans’ fashion sense just as bold, decadent and daring as Kaya’s. Every form of gothic lolita and Victorian punk fashion was represented by the gathering upstairs. It was a testament to the various styles that Kaya has embodied during his promotions in his former group Schwarz Stein and his latest solos.

After the final fan gleefully walked away, a signed poster and polaroid with Kaya in hand, the FAKE STAR team whisked Kaya away for a quick rest before he started the next round of performances. Fans gathered around the second floor’s platform stage for Kaya’s second act. The next three songs, Moonlight Densetsu, Chocolat and Ai no sanka were upbeat pop tracks that invited the audience to celebrate the ‘joie de vivre’. Fans bounced in place for the intimate stage on the mezzanine and Kaya kept the crowd’s energy pumped. Despite audio issues with the microphone, Kaya continued to sing and shout happily above the music. Soon the songs became like chants, with the crowd’s voices acting in place of the microphone. Kaya and his fans fed off each other’s energy, and the high continued well on to the final performances back on the main stage.

Performing his final songs, Epicurean and Danse Macabre, Kaya aptly maneuvered from delicate and coquettish to more powerful and commanding strides as the beats crescendoed. Every flick of the wrist and twirl across the stage was deliberate and effortless. Kaya’s vocals followed the same pattern as he lured the audience with dulcet tones that easily transitioned into powerfully resonant and rich melodies. Everyone seemed to fall under Kaya's spell, but the highlight was not complete until he invited RAGE’s dancers to join in for the final song, Danse Macabre. Seductive body rolls, satin fingers waving delightedly and lilting vocals worked like magic to entice the audience into joining the final dance.

Kaya lived up to his stage name. Like a bird of paradise, he whisked the audience away on a dark and decadent musical journey. Filled with passion and a longing for love in all its degrees, Kaya enticed the audience into the dream of a freer world. Kaya gave the crowd at RAGE a taste of that dream and they left with a little extra ‘joie de vivre’.

Set list

Part One
01. Babylon
MC
02. SODOMY

Part Two
01. Moonlight Densetsu
MC
02. Chocolat
03. Ai no sanka

Part 3
01. Epicurean
02. Danse Macabre