Versailles' Last Indies Tour

Saturday, June 20th was the fourth and next to last live of Versailles’ Last Indies Tour. The live took place, like the three previous lives, in Meguro Rockmaykan. The tiny venue was sold out and jam packed, to the extent that the staff members had to ask fans to move forward as much as they could. The butterfly flag, an emblem of the band, was hung on the back wall, and roses were scattered all over the amps and drum set. Soon the SE was resonating throughout the hall, and as soon as the well known notes of Overture were heard, the fans started to yell: “Versailles! Versailles! Versailles!” Drummer YUKI was the first one to get on stage, and as he came to the center, the fans once again screamed the band name over and over. Then it was bassist Jasmine You’s turn, and the same scenario repeated. He was followed by guitarist TERU, who came to the edge of the stage in order to let the fans in the front row touch him. Guitarist HIZAKI was next and he stayed the longest; finally, vocalist KAMIJO appeared, getting the loudest screams.

The concert started immediately with their first single and crowd favorite The Revenant Choir. The venue was so packed that fans looked like agitated sardines in a tin can. On stage, the band played loud and well. KAMIJO introduced Jasmine You, who came to the middle of the stage. Then it was HIZAKI’s turn for his guitar solo. He was soon joined by TERU, and they both played at the center while KAMIJO was on the far right and Jasmine You on the far left. The fans often sang along, and the band members were headbanging or spinning. Finally, at the end of song, the members all came to the front of the stage and KAMIJO screamed, joined in the end by the fans: “Welcome to… Welcome to Versailles!” For Antique in the Future, the next song, KAMIJO invited the fans to headbang with continuous arm movements. He also introduced HIZAKI for his guitar solo, which was powerful as always.

This was followed by Second Fear, a super heavy song which had HIZAKI and Jasmine You headbanging. During the instrumental part, KAMIJO came very close to the fans and touched their outstretched hands. In the end, HIZAKI and Jasmine You were headbanging again and KAMIJO ended the song by saying “Thank you!” to the fans.

After a short short MC, the band got into zombie. Clapping immediately started to resonate throughout the small hall, and soon the members were changing positions. TERU, the composer of the song, came to the center of the stage for his solo. He then gave the microphone to HIZAKI, who smiled and screamed “hey, hey, hey!” until the fans started to do the same. At the end of the song, KAMIJO introduced Forbidden gate. The dark and tortured heavy metal ballad is definitely a genre in which Versailles excels, and KAMIJO’s voice resonated beautifully in the hall.

Then the sound of an organ was heard, marking the beginning of PRINCESS. On stage the two princesses HIZAKI and Jasmine You took on very feminine poses during the slow singing part, and TERU and Jasmine You mimed the lyrics. KAMIJO bowed at the end and they all left the stage, with the exception of YUKI who started his drum solo. He was accompanied by beautiful sound effects and played with impressive strength and power. He stood every time he finished a phrase, and each time the fans raised their hands and screamed his name.

Then a piano melody floated through the hall, signaling INTRO, and the members all returned to the stage. KAMIJO introduced the following song, saying, “It’s a new song, please listen to it.” With that they started Gakkakou, which appeared on the single ASCENDEAD MASTER that marked their major debut. The fans listened carefully without forgetting to enjoy the fast piece. The band then continued with Beast of Desire, during which KAMIJO demonstrated the hand movements to the fans. KAMIJO later took advantage of an instrumental moment to ask the fans to get even crazier. As for HIZAKI and TERU, they performed their synchronized spins a few times. Later during the song, KAMIJO went to see YUKI and screamed “YUKI!” into his mic, then did the same for Jasmine You and HIZAKI, who took the chance to go to the front of the stage.

Screaming the names of his band mates is something Versailles’ vocalist often does during lives; it was a good way to remind the fans to cheer everyone on. But Versailles fans never forgot to show their support, as they demonstrated during the next song, PRINCE. Their screams resonated loudly in the hall. On stage, during HIZAKI’s solo, all the members struck poses, eliciting even more cheers. Then, to mark the end of the song, KAMIJO fell dramatically to the ground, getting well-deserved applause from the audience.

For the next song, the ballad Sympathia, KAMIJO took out a luminous plastic rose, a Versailles good that almost everyone in the audience possessed. The fans got theirs out and shook them in the air along with KAMIJO, who threw his out to the audience in the end. He turned the microphone toward the fans, and they all obliged, singing the lyrics of the song.

The next song, Aristrocrat’s Symphony, would be the last song of the main act. The fans went completely mad, certainly helped by the extreme heat in the hall. On stage, KAMIJO invited them to headbang with all their might. He screamed HIZAKI and TERU’s names before their guitar solos, and they both came to the center of the stage to perform. At the back, YUKI stood up for a moment to hit the cymbals, generating well-deserved cheers for him too. But the song eventually came to an end, and KAMIJO thanked the fans and finished with the traditional “We are Versailles!” Then the band threw a few picks to the fans and lingered around to touch their outstretched hands.

They eventually left the stage, and immediately the fans started shouting for an encore. Their voices grew louder as the minutes passed, and finally, the band came back. They all saluted the fans before starting the first song of the encore, the famous Shout & Bites. The fans started to clap instantly, enjoying the song as much as possible. On their guitars, TERU and HIZAKI were amazing as usual, and Jasmine You even got on his knees to play at one point, an impressive feat given the dress he wore on stage! Later on, their trademark synchronized spins made their come back. But all too soon, the song ended, and only one more song would be played.

For the last song - and as a good way to end a Versailles live - the band decided to play The Revenant Choir once again. KAMIJO was 200% into it, despite a minor earplug problem. He screamed his band mates' names more than once, and towards the end he started all over again, from YUKI to HIZAKI, ending with “On vocals…” and letting the audience reply “KAMIJO!!!” As the song ended, the members started to fool around; Jasmine You pinched KAMIJO’s bottom and KAMIJO even dove into the crowd. In the end, he screamed “WE ARE…” and the fans answered in unison “VERSAILLES!!!" Then it was time to say good bye to the devoted fans, and the band took their time doing so. KAMIJO said a few words about the live and how much fun it had been. The two guitarists and the bassist threw a few picks into the crowd as well as water bottles, and they all shook many of the fans' hands. Finally, before leaving the stage for good, the charismatic vocalist dove once more into the audience, an act which was met by the amused expressions of YUKI, Jasmine You, TERU and HIZAKI. Then they all left the stage, with YUKI being last to exit.


Thus ended the fourth live of Versailles’ Last Indies Tour, a five consecutive nights marathon that proved the band’s strength and stamina as well as their own devotion to their fans. Having wisely played to a different audience each night, they managed to keep it strong and powerful, and to give the fans exactly what they had come for. They showed themselves to be a band undoubtedly ready to be a major band, and they will hopefully now get the chance to appeal to more and more people.



Set list:

SE
Overture
The Revenant Choir
Antique in the Future
Second Fear
SMC

zombie
Forbidden gate
PRINCESS
Drum SOLO
SE2 INTRO

Gekkakou
Beast of Desire
PRINCE
Sympathia
Aristrocrat’s Symphony

Encore 1-1

Shout & Bites

Encore 1-2

The Revenant Choir