exist†trace at Sakura-Con 2011

exist†trace performed for their first time in the US on the first evening of the popular annual Seattle convention, Sakura-Con 2011. Their appearance was connected to the release of their album, Twin Gate, which is available through JapanFiles’ music label and was also available for purchase at the convention.

Amongst wild cosplays, maddening fashion styles and a multitude of hobbies on the first day of Sakura-Con 2011, excited chatter filled the interior of the auditorium. Fans lined up and waited diligently next door to the main stage in Auditorium 4B, in the same area where autographs would be later given. As time passed and anticipation grew, some fans displayed their joy while others reserved their energy.

The moment the signal was given for fans to proceed into the main stage area, a series of loud cheers echoed in the large room, everyone jumping to their feet to calmly proceed through the partitioned doors into the main stage room. The main stage was of a large size and catered to an extremely large crowd. Directly in front of the stage was the mosh pit; behind that was an open space on which were several rows of chairs on either side. Behind the sound crew was the last seating area, at the very back. The mosh pit filled up first, some meandering off to the seating areas closer to the stage. It didn't matter where each person stood — the fans who were there to see exist†trace were uncontrollably excited.

While the audience was kept waiting for more than half an hour, many displayed their annoyance by shouting while others shuffled their weight from one foot to the other. Approximately every five minutes, a series of white lights that emulated the flash of a camera blinded those standing in the mosh pit the most, followed by a message of “no flash photography.” Paired with this were several attempts to cover the stage with artificial white smoke to conceal the band that would be the first appear on stage as well as to rouse the crowd. It was a novel idea, but since the audience was kept waiting for longer than needed and the smoke had gradually melted away, the process was repeated several times. The two events combined occurred many times and after the eight or ninth time, it angered the audience who was originally eager to see exist†trace.

Finally, when the lights dimmed from deep blue to black, the crowd immediately cheered as they knew the moment had come. Any anger felt during the long wait dissipated into thin air as it mattered no longer. exist†trace’s logo appeared across three projector screens on stage. The members sauntered onto stage and grabbed their instruments. With their backs faced to the audience, they ripped their bodies wildly around, almost as if they were dancing and slammed into a short intro before jumping straight into the first song, JUDEA.

White smoke billowed over the stage and across the mosh pit. Blue and red lights flashed in intervals over the stage and crowd; pink and yellow lights were introduced later in the first chorus. Live footage of the band members being filmed at that moment was transmitted and displayed on the outer two of the three projector screens behind them. Vocalist Jyou growled throughout the song but at some moments, her voice was hard to hear over the ecstatic manner of Mally’s drumming. At the end of the track, Jyou stopped to take a sip of water and chatted with the audience briefly. She asked if everyone was “genki?!” ("genki" means "fine" in Japanese) before starting the next song, VANGUARD, quickly.

Jyou introduced herself a second time, this time speaking more slowly. She continued to speak about the support of their fans and her excitement about being in the US for the first time. The wild music soon returned in New Song as two waves of white smoke and red lights washed over the mosh pit. Most of the lighting played out and could be seen towards the front of the stage, compared to the back of the auditorium which remained mostly in the dark.

The audience felt the heat in Requiem. The track had a slight 80's electro turned gothic undertone to it; the lighting added to the warm fire-like feeling. Jyou worked the microphone, thrashing her body around to match the beat of the drums and ecstatic head-bashing that would surely give a headache afterwards. The growl of Omi’s skillful guitar playing ran up through her fingers and arms as she grinned brightly at the crowd — she was having fun. Miko was a little less flamboyant in her stage presence but her bouncy curls swung back and forth as she lightly headbanged to the beat.

The haunting sound of English puzzled some at the beginning of the ballad, Cradle. Jyou held a hand across her heart as she sang momentarily in English, slowly dropping her hand to her side to match the slowness of the song. The audience swayed, almost as if they could feel each member’s emotions during the song. As soon as Cradle faded away, that slow, melancholy feeling slipped away into the silence as emotions shifted. Intentional distress wavered under each member’s skin and was imprinted on their faces throughout Orelans no Shoujo. This song took it to the extreme and the crowd reacted as such, headbanging and moshing with more energy than earlier in the night.

As soon as the tenth song finished, the members of exist†trace stepped off stage almost immediately. The crowd reacted quickly — begging for more and chanting “exist†trace, exist†trace” in return for an encore. Not more than five minutes had passed and Jyou led the the four members back on stage for an encore performance. However, when Jyou re-entered the stage, she carried two flags with her: a Japanese flag and an American flag. Both had the kanji for “kizuna” ("kizuna" means "bond" in Japanese) on it and illustrated the deep bond between the two countries. Before the encore performance began, Jyou gave a short speech in Japanese regarding the recent events of the Touhoku earthquake and the damage that had been done. She continued to say that the support given to Japan by the US was extremely appreciated and that bond between the two counties is deep, thus a more concrete reason for using “kizuna” to describe the relationship between the two countries.

As soon as the music started again with the well-known track RESONANCE, the audience sang along as they knew the words. Surprisingly, Jyou wrapped the American flag over and around her shoulders and continued to sing. Amercian musicians rarely do this at all; even those who do so don't do it with such passion, so it was a sight to see a Japanese musician on stage, proudly wearing another country’s flag other than her own.

This moment burnt into each member of the audience’s mind as they exited the packed auditorium and left. Some fans made a U-turn and entered the hall next door to line up for autographs while others raided the lobby outside the main stage and mingled with other fans, wanting to travel back in time and relive the whole hour and a half again.


Set list:
01. JUDEA
02. VANGUARD
-MC-
03. New Song
04. Ambivalence
05. Requiem
-MC-
06. Cradle
-MC-
07. Orleans no Shoujo
08. DECIDE
09. Liquid
-MC-
10. Owari no nai Sekai

Encore
01. RESONANCE