Moi Dix Mois in Paris

As the final date of the European tour DIXANADU ~Fated"raison d'être", this concert of Moi dix Mois had to be exceptional. For one thing, the concert was being recorded for a DVD to be released by the group in the future, and for another, it needed to dispel the semi-disappointment left from the tour Beyond The Gate, which had been frustrating in more ways than one. The band therefore had to create something spectacular, something aimed for success and exceeding even the craziest of hopes.

After the doors opened at 6:30PM, about a thousand people filled l’Elysée Montmartre. Despite the lack of promotion and The GazettE’s concert the day before in Bataclan, it was a decent crowd.

Around 8PM, the lights died out and a gothic, almost religious ambiance was created, as the members of the group set themselves up one by one. The applause of the audience, which of course became louder and louder, reached its height when Mana made his appearance.

Seth emerged right at the start of Metaphysical, a song which began a setlist mainly centered around the group’s latest album, DIXANADU. It was a marvelous song which introduced the audience to the wonderous universe of the band.

From the start, the quality of the sound was surprisingly good. Even though the concert was being recorded for a DVD, every instrument was perfectly audible. From the two guitars to the bass, everything was clear, right down to the singer’s voice, which allowed itself to be heard without pulling focus from the instruments. In short, the first positive point of the evening could be credited to the sound engineer.

The second song of the concert was Exclud, introduced by the band’s guitarist, K, who acted as the mediator between the crowd and the band. With this song, the band proved that they actually sounded better live than on CD. Seth let loose his amazing talent as a vocalist. There were very few wrong notes, and the emotion permeating his singing really came through, unlike the songs recorded in the studio.

Once the song had ended, K went to excite the crowd, going as far as shouting "are you ready to scream???" and "go fuckers!!!" Sadly, the audience present that night showed a disappointing response. Many people were acting disrespectfully towards others, not hesitating to lash out with insults or fists just to gain a better position. Worse still was their behavior during the song; the crowd was lethargic and seemed satisfied to simply wave their hands. Thankfully though, when the group headbanged in time and K shouted for the crowd to join in later on, they reacted with a bit more enthusiasm by singing the choruses and joining in with the band’s gimmicks.

The next song was Night Breed, one of the band’s first compositions, taken from Shadows Temple. This was a brilliant song for making the crowd move, considering its few lyrics and exerting rhythm. It was during this song when the grandeur of the musicians which Mana has taken into his group really showed. Of course, Sugiya and Hayato, bassist and drummer respectively, were very much withdrawn compared to the others but played their parts perfectly. The powerful bass lines and the perfect control of the drum's double pedal played an essential part to the musical success of the show.

Of course, one can hardly gloss over the controversial departure of Juka and his replacement by Seth. But there was really no comparison between the former vocalist and Moi dix Mois’ new frontman: in terms of charisma, presence and even vocal ability, Seth was truly impressive. While listening to the songs on CD, one might believe that there is no difference between Juka and Seth, but on the stage, Seth's powerful presence gives him the edge. Last Temptation saw itself sublimated by his vocals, which gave the song a certain melancholic depth that had not been present in the previous version.

Seth was also not hesitant to use a death voice, which accompanied K’s marvelously. The world may never know what lengths Mana went to to find such a talent, but both the guitarist and the singer are now essential to the band's atmosphere.

Yet it was the diabolically charismatic K who was the grand showman of the evening, sometimes even eclipsing his two assistants. Throwing dark looks to the audience whenever he played, he communicated with everyone and even showed that he had learned some French phrases. The rapport was pushed to the extreme with Dispell Bound when the guitarist, showing off his new guitar, asked the audience dance along, namely to make the D, I, X and DIX.

And of course one cannot speak of Moi dix Mois without mentioning the brains behind the operation, Mana. Dressed all in white like his bandmates (though K wore a white sweater with black netting), Mana charmed the audience with his strangely enticing mysteriousness. He behaved distantly, unlike the other members of the band, and the difference was felt in his sober performance and attitude. His guitar playing was very good, even if it proved to be less spectacular than that of the other guitarist. He also took the time to exhibit to the crowd - who was becoming somewhat uncontrollable - his jeunes filles (the name for his guitars, which means "young girls" in English) by positioning himself at the front of the stage with everything lit up behind him.

Whether it was for the DVD or because of the crowd, the leader seemed happy to be there, and during Immortal Madness he took a camera to film the crowd. Everyone came alive and burst into noise, and that moment was definitely one of the concert's most excellent.

Mana has always been present in the group, but from the concert it became clear that with K and Seth, a strong trio with indisputable charm and grandeur would begin the next era of Moi dix Mois.

The concert ended with two choice pieces. First was Vizard, one of the only songs played from the first album. The audience didn’t hesitate to join in, singing the chorus' "Vice! In Vice!" with K and Seth, who weren’t afraid to scream. Lastly, with a half smile, the last song was announced for the second time, Forbidden. It would have been believable, as the singer made his voice so emotive in this song, that it really signaled the end to the concert.

But the lights did not come back on, even after Hayato had thrown his drumsticks into the crowd, and after five long minutes, during which the crowd chanted the name of the band, they returned with Xanadu. It was definitely the most touching song of the show, with its beautiful melody and extremely well-executed vocal variations by Seth.

Following was Lilac Of Damnation, and then came the final, totally apocalyptic Deus Ex Machina, a song truly made for live performance. K finished the song practically lying on the ground, and with microphone in hand he demanded "scream for us!" in French. The crowd responded immediately, even while trying to sing along.

The concert therefore ended as a success, and after the traditional throwing of picks by the guitarists, the lights came back on. For an hour and forty minutes, which felt like a wonderful eternity for the audience, Moi dix Mois had Paris in the palm of their hand.

The disappointing concert in 2006 became a forgotten thing of the past, and even though the a setlist was mostly taken from DIXANADU, it was nevertheless an overpowering concert. The band, with Mana, left a wonderful impression that evening. And best of all, it will be released on DVD, so everyone can re-experience the amazing night over and over.

Setlist:

1- Intro
2- Metaphysical
3- Exclud
4- Night Breed
5- Vain
6- A Lapis Night Dream
7- Lamentfull Miss
8- Last Temptation
9- Perish
10- Dispell Bound
11- Angelica
12- Immortal Madness
13- Unmoved
14- Neo Pessimist
15- Vizard
16- Forbidden
Encore
17- Xanadu
18- Lilac Of Damnation
19- Deus Ex Machina