hide birthday party!! 2011

Kawasaki CLUB CITTA' once again welcomed a menagerie of hide cosplayers, and young and elderly fans for the traditional birthday event with “hide birthday party!! 2011.”

The show began with a voice-over welcome followed by operatic birthday music. Then, the curtains opened on the Birthday Stage for the KISS cover band, MAKIN’ LOVE.

MAKIN’ LOVE
Hosshy Hoshinosuke as Paul Stanley,
Ace PrehlyDog as Ace Frehley,
Peater Pickles as Peter Criss
Co-Gene Simmons as Gene Simmons

Decked out in impeccable KISS cosplay from bat wings to axe-shaped guitar, MAKIN’ LOVE’s set consisted of the hits SHOUT IT OUT LOUD, DEUCE, I WAS MADE FOR LOVIN’ YOU and ROCK AND ROLL ALL NITE as well as ROCKET RIDE, which segued into hide’s own ROCKET DIVE. Throughout it all, they shouted out many happy birthday’s to hide, making sure that everyone in the venue from the floor to the VIP area put in a shout. It was a very surprising and entertaining opening to the wild night to come.

Set List

1.SHOUT IT OUT LOUD
2.DEUCE
3.ROCKET RIDE-ROCKET DIVE (hide cover)
4.I WAS MADE FOR LOVIN’ YOU
5.ROCK AND ROLL ALL NITE

CUTT electrick

Taking the stage with his new project featuring electric guitar and digital enhancement contrasted with his previous acoustic style, CUTT began with a tribute to hide, breaking out a fairly heavy rendition of POSE. His attitude was all edgy hide style for the number, and he rocked out as the crowd yelled “Pose!” over and over again. “Thank you so much, Kawasaki,” he said at the end.

Then it was time for CUTT to play some of his own music, beginning with the pretty melody of Thermal-bird’s eyes and beast’s paws, CUTT’s voice floating over the digital music. “This is CUTT electrick. We’ve just finished our first album, Not so far from Anywhere. I made this album thinking of hide,” he said. “Please get it. If you regret doing so, I’ll apologise fully on twitter. When I thought about the title, I found it holds the meaning of the place we’re in now, the places our friends and family are in, and the place where hide is.”

Under a spotlight, CUTT played an acoustic solo to open Marigold. Drums kicked in quite heavily but the tune remained poppy and sweet with a sharp key-change that left CUTT panting. “Actually, I wanted to play lots of hide’s songs,” he said. “But he would tell me ‘Now isn’t the time for that! You have to show off your own music!’ so that’s what I’ll do.” The groovy strains of Time Machine had the crowd clapping and jumping. In the middle of the instrumental, CUTT made up for his uncharacteristically short MCs by striking up a story. “When I arrived today, DIE said ‘What’s happened? You look really good today!’ Of course I was happy, but… what does he mean by ‘What’s happened’?” All talking aside, the number raised up a key after the bridge and came to a powerful finish, bringing CUTT electrick’s hide birthday party!! debut to an end.

Set List

1.POSE (hide cover)
2.Thermal–bird’s eyes and beast’s paws
3.Turn
4.Marigold
5.Time Machine

heidi.

With the whole venue glowing red to the entrance music, =, the crowd clapped in rhythm until drummer Kiri, bassist Kohsuke and guitarist Nao of heidi. took the stage at once, cheers resounding. Vocalist Yoshihiko wasted no time in firing up the crowd. “Let’s yell! Louder! I can’t hear you!” The cool opening guitar of Sixth Sense had the floor grooving along with a very bouncy Nao and Kohsuke, the bassist bending down to the ground in his enthusiasm. The awesome riffs came to an end with a “Thank you!” before Yoshihiko cried, “Citta! Let’s jump!” Utakata followed up nicely, the crowd jumping as Yoshihiko ground into the vocal line. Intense and packed with great sound, the number then gave way to heidi.’s infamous Pink Spider cover. “Today is our senpai hide’s birthday. Being able to appear here again this year, we’re very happy. There’s a lot of respected musicians here today but we’ll do our best to live up to them!” True to their word, heidi. put their all into the cover, Nao churning out the familiar guitar line with original heidi. flair that grabbed the audience in moments.

Then, the atmosphere shifted to a bright and cheerful momentum for Yokan. On a roll, Yoshihiko held out a passionate note over the instrumental, gesturing and mouthing at the crowd while the instruments tore away. “It was very short,” said Yoshihiko, “but this song will be our last for today so let’s go all out!” The entertaining Omaesan had the crowd dancing and moshing while Yoshihiko leapt to and from the extension of the hide stage on nimble feet. When the music paused, he took a breath and faced the crowd. “CLUB CITTA', thank you so much for today. I feel too good, what should I do? Next year we’ll release our ‘best album’ and start our national tour, so please come and have fun with us! Now, I’m going to infuse all of my feelings into this last one: Omaesan!” With a final spurt of exciting music for the crowd to mosh to, heidi. said a cheerful goodbye and wished the crowd a good time for the rest of the evening.

Set List

1.Sixth sense
2.Utakata
3.Pink Spider (hide cover)
4.Yokan
5.Omaesan

defspiral

Electronic music welcomed the band with a hot opening atmosphere. “Let’s go, Kawasaki! SALVAGE!” cried TAKA right away, throwing the mic stand away as the number began, tight and tense with metal stylings. Immediately after the opening song, the vocalist muttered, “Usotsuki” (liar), and the crowd cheered as they recognized hide’s DOUBT. TAKA kept murmuring about lies through the music and then when the chorus came about, the whole floor began yelling “Doubt!” Following one cover with another, defspiral then presented their version of Pink Spider. With some alterations to the guitar line, theirs is a power-packed cover into which TAKA poured all of his vocal strength and high energy until a wildly contrasted synth and piano section where he gently sang into a deft cymbal roll from MASAKI. Then the band took off without him once more, RYO’s deep bass and MASATO’s guitar grinding out the almost-but-not-quite-traditional guitar riff that brought the number to an end.

“It’s an honor to be here for hide’s birthday right now. We just finished recording the single of those two covers you heard just now so please try it out. Now, we have a special guest! On keyboard, hide with Spread Beaver DIE!” TAKA cried, welcoming the renowned keyboardist to the stage. Alongside the rockstar, another guest, violinist misc was called out to add her sweet violin after the first, piano/vocal verse of the cover, FLAME. It was a beautiful way to start, but no less beautiful even when the rock band came in fully, MASATO digging in with relish. By the time the two guests took their leave and TAKA yelled “Kawasaki! Will you enjoy this last song with us?” the crowd were completely molded to defspiral’s wishes and the band’s first release, DIVE INTO THE MIRROR, completed the set for an exciting finish. “Happy birthday hide!” cried the vocalist while MASATO waved about the hide plushie that had spent the set grooving atop his amp.

Set List

1.SALVAGE
2.DOUBT (hide cover)
3.Pink Spider (hide cover)
4.FLAME (hide cover)
5.DIVE INTO THE MIRROR


MADBEAVERS

The rock tones of MORNING GLORY ground the crowd into MADBEAVERS gear, highlighting their personal flair to the following, laid back cover of Beauty & Stupid. Highly rhythmic with sharp vocals and guitar, the number suddenly dissolved into somber jazz, Kiyoshi breaking it down in his solo.

“This is the last MADBEAVERS live for the year,” said Kiyoshi. “You can watch from the floor if you want, but this is our new song, DEVILS.” The number had a recklessness to it reminiscent of Tenacious D, dark in the verses before traversing a 180 degree jump to the high metal tones of the chorus. Then, the speedy and highly rhythmic BENNY gave bassist EBI and drummer JOE a chance to shine. Finally, the rock ballad ANGELA finished things up on a romantic note with some great descending guitar lines and passionate yells amidst the riffs, Kiyoshi wrapping it up with some screaming guitar for lasting impact.

Set List

1.MORNING GLORY
2.Beauty & stupid (hide cover)
3.HISTERIA
4.DEVILS
5.BENNY
6.ANGELA

DJ-INA

Celebrating his own birthday, DJ-INA took the hall-side Party!! Stage where a genial Santa presented him with a fake Ipad and a real box of chocolates with customised hide and INA wrappers for the occasion. The dance party began with the very appropriate CELEBRATION and videos of hide played on the screen above, synced to the music and occasionally interspersed with live footage of INA. The DJ received a hide plushie complete with Santa hat from the crowd which he danced about with for the remainder of the number. Then, kids and cosplayers clambered up on the stage during SPACE MONKEY PUNKS FROM JAPAN. MISCAST brought out breakdancer Tom, who INA introduced as “The Pink Spider Guy from Rock Musical Pink Spider.” Winding up with MISERY and ROCKET DIVE, another wave of cosplayers took the stage along with an older lady who they kindly encouraged to the stage-front where INA held a kid in his arms. Then, adhering to the tight schedule, INA wrapped up the set, the reluctant crowd wishing him a warm farewell.

Set List

1.CELEBRATION
2.SPACE MONKEY PUNKS FROM JAPAN
3.Beauty & Stupid TOKYO SKA VERSION
4.BACTERIA
5.MISCAST
6.ever free
7.MISERY
8.ROCKET DIVE

Ra:IN

True to their nature, Ra:IN kept the crowd waiting with a marathon of dramatic opening music until they took the stage at last, all four together, receiving a warm welcome. The opening music continued as they tuned and tested their instruments, growing more and more dramatic. A moment after it concluded, michiaki gave a curt nod before gentle guitar, light cymbals and deep bass heralded Thrillin’ High, which soon raced off with some real guitar-work as PATA marched across the stage-front. He and michiaki kept the stage in motion as they rocked out until the final guitar solo brought PATA out of the number with a satisfied smile.

“Ok. Next song: WITHIN YOU,” announced michiaki. The airy vocals from bass and keyboard brought a Beatles/Brit-rock theme to the number but with more power to the music. The crowd waved along in that fashion, and even michiaki added a wave or two at his whim. Tetsu teased each member in turn and promised that next year they really would begin recording a new album (unlike the faded promises of days gone by). Then PATA joked about how “Matsumoto-kun” was now a year older than him once more while michiaki reminded everyone that Ra:IN would see its tenth anniversary in 2012.

With a dark feel to it cheered up by the guitar line, Circle kept up a musical high from start to finish, michiaki and PATA propping each other up, shoulder to shoulder for a deep, drum-fed riff. Then Wish began with some improvisation on bass, michiaki dragging out his spotlight by pausing and wandering over to PATA with a “Gimme,” the guitarist holding a water bottle to his lips. Soon enough, the number took off and DIE joined the strings out front on a portable keyboard while michiaki threw in some lax vocals at random. As the number escalated, the bassist disappeared from the stage, only his bass visible as he leaned back into the crowd from the pit, his bass almost carried off by eager hands. After some final destruction of both his own bass and TETSU’s drums, michiaki reminded CLUB CITTA' what rock is all about before he left and took his band with him. PATA had the final word with a comical, “Ojamashimashita.” (Sorry for the intrusion.)

Set List

1.Thrillin’ High
2.WITHIN YOU
3.Circle
4.Wish

Kimura Seizi & YANA

Starting in with some jazzy entrance music and a “Hello!” the pair of musicians soon transformed the mood of the venue with their opening number FLAKE. Light on vocals, the number left behind a peaceful sensation, adding a special touch to Kimura Seizi’s simple “Happy birthday!” Then, a little heavier, THE GAME held a very positive sound, not so far from that of Green Day. YANA’s drumming transformed Kimura Seizi’s past acoustic melancholy into a friendlier style. “Congratulations!” the vocalist cried, when the number ended.

“Many of you are probably seeing us for the first time. Did you know that drummer YANA is half?” Kimura explained. “Our sound is very thin after Ra:IN but this next song is one hide loved. motto motto.” Another positive tune, the song then gave way to some inane chatter between the two musicians before Kimura announced that the next number was from the charity album by ZEPPET STORE. It took off with some speedy drums and enlivened the set to the fans' delight. Then Kimura announced that he was going to call out the busiest man of the night. “Piano: DIE!”

The gorgeous cover of GOOD BYE was unexpectedly enhanced by the addition of MASATO and RYO of defspiral on tambourine. The bassist added a bit of shimmer to the sound while MASATO tapped along with the beat. On one hand, it was obvious that no rehearsal had gone into the session as DIE had forewarned, the staging involving a lot of aimless wandering, but musically the quintet worked together fantastically. However, while Kimura, YANA and DIE kept it together, RYO stole the keyboardist’s mic to amplify the tambourines, the mic then stolen from him as TAKA breezed onstage to join the vocal line. The guest appearances ended the live music with a relaxed party atmosphere but the crowd’s excitement only mounted as Kimura said, “Please enjoy the leading man of the evening. hide FILM ALIVE!!”

Set List

1.FLAKE
2.THE GAME
3.motto motto
4.IF YOU WANT ME
5.GOOD BYE (hide cover)

hide FILM ALIVE!!

Surrounded on all sides by video screens, the fans greeted hide as if he were really standing before them. In fact, the video editing was so deft that only the instant costume changes and varying scenery gave the film reel away. On the main screen, the footage ran constantly but the side screens often added views of music videos played with black and white or split-screen effects. The experience was wholly unique as lights flared to emulate the onscreen explosion during SCANNER or strobed as they did in the videos.

DOUBT sent the audience reeling back in time to the days of long red hair and black robes, while the best shot during SCANNER featured hide dancing around with white lilies. Then D.O.D. mixed in some shots of alcohol bottles with the live footage as the crowd went thumbs up to thumbs down for the chanted “Drink or die” before hide ruthlessly broke a bottle over bassist Chirolyn’s head and opened cans of beer over the crowd, causing chaos all around. There was even a brief interlude of Santa hide, which the crowd loved, already well into the Christmas spirit. DICE gave the crowd some downtime to enjoy the nostalgic footage and then streamers burst in time with the video for TELL ME, and the crowd waved the multi-colored tinsel under a mirror ball. As the crowd sang, the footage switched suddenly to an acoustic, studio scene which had the fans hushing in awe before blasting back to a full-sound finale.

The set concluded with the credits scrolling to an electric guitar rendition of Happy Birthday which then cut out – hide and his stripper girls falling down in a playful parody of sexy.

Set List

1.DOUBT
2.SCANNER
3.D.O.D.
4.DICE
5.TELL ME

“We haven’t played enough! Let me play more!” came the voice of hide inciting screams all around and cuing the announcement of the 2011 year end party: CLUB PSYENCE to be held the following day. Also on the plate were the usual FILM ALIVE!!and Birthday Party for 2012 as well as an h.Naoto collaboration and then the 2014 hide Renaissance, fiftieth birthday announcement with details to come in 2012. Last but not least, the crowd were treated to intriguing clips of a comic book hide × comic YOKOSUKA DOC. After a final message from Hiroshi, the event came to an end at last and with 2011’s final CLUB PSYENCE pending, the crowd made their way home from CLUB CITTA' with plenty to look forward to between 2012 and 2014.