zilchtastic

It took us only a little over an hour to get to Arlington Heights, which is where Mitsuwa Marketplace, the Japanese market, is. The roads on the interstate really weren't bad, though when we got into the actual city the streets were piled with snow and turning was scary as hell. But we made it to the market, and when we got there it was understandably dead. This was actually quite nice, since we got to eat almost alone (I had soba, SO DELICIOUS~) and shop in peace. I bought over $100 worth of food, which I shouldn't have done, but man. Yakisoba! Dorayaki! POCARI SWEAT! I also picked up a ceramic teacup with the kanji for "love" on it. ^^

I had a WONDERFUL matcha frappaccino-thing, (which it would later turn out was a mistake), and then we left to head into Chicago itself to get to House of Blues.

I was worried about getting a stomachache because of the frapp. No worries there! Unfortunately, I didn't count on the horrors of traffic. After about an hour I began to fantasize about getting out of the car to pee on the roadside. Unfortunately, traffic was never QUITE slow enough for us to really stop, so I couldn't. It was awful. My eyeballs were floating in my head. Crossing my legs did no good. I HAD TO GO.

All I had was the cup from the matcha and two tissues. And by the gods, I climbed into that goddamn backseat and I MADE DO.

1. Most embarrassing thing I've yet done in my life. Only topped by the embarrassment of handing the cup to the boyfriend and going "Could you dump this?"

2. Holy SHIT, who knew a person could hold so much liquid? I filled that whole goddamn cup. It wasn't a small cup!

3. I hope to gods I didn't get any on the backseat floor. Not our car, remember?

The experience left me shaky and weirded out hardcore. By the time we made it to Chicago I was trembling with nerves and rather sick. But we persevered!

It should've taken 45 minutes at MOST, even with snow. But I forgot about Chicago rush hour traffic-- so all in all, it took over two hours to get there. The show was set to start at 6:45, and we didn't get there till nearly 7:30. Then we had to park and walk a few blocks in the slush and stinging snow to get to the music hall. Luckily we didn't miss DeG-- there were two opening acts, I believe, and we missed one but got there in time for the other, Fair to Midland.

Fair to Midland I actually rather liked, and would listen to again. But you're not here to listen about them. You're here for the DEG!

Let me start out by saying, the place was PACKED. In the pit down by the stage, people kept fainting because they were pressed so tight no one could breathe. At least eight people had to be carried out by security. I was over behind the railing, by the bar facing stage right (my right, that is), so I had a great view. The stage was probably less than twenty feet away, so for once I could see little details like PEOPLES' FACES. Score!

After Fair to Midland, it seemed to take ages for Deg's crew to set up. Lord, the screaming when they took the cover off Shinya's drums! (This never fails to amuse me.)

Anyway, FINALLY DeG's intro theme started up. SCREAMING CROWD! Everyone came out and took their places-- Shinya first, then Die, Toshiya, Kaoru, and Kyo last as always. Kyo immediately jumped up on his little platform, and the roar of the crowd doubled. SHOWTIME!

Kyo started out in a really hot leather jacket and t-shirt-- by the end of the first song, the jacket was off; the shirt was gone during the second. From then on out it was Hot Kyo Abs all the way. And man, can I just say that I don't think I'll ever see more perfect abs on a man as long as I live? Sorry, Gackt, maybe it's the compactness that is Kyo, but he's got you BEAT. I think I was mesmerized by the Kyo-tummy for most of the show.

I can't by any means provide a set list-- there were a couple of songs I didn't know, so I presume they were from the new album. The rest is kind of a blur, but mostly they did stuff from Withering to Death. But they also did OBSCURE, which made me INSANELY happy, with the scary XXXtreme uncensored PV playing on the screen behind them. D: FREAKY BLOODY GEISHAS FOR THE WIN.

This time around, other than Kyo, I'd say Toshiya was the one playing most to the crowd. He seemed really energetic, which was awesome to see (at Family Values it was Kaoru doing most of the playing up, with Toshiya kind of just doing his job). Die looked wonderful-- that man has such PRETTY hair, even though I miss the red. Maybe it's just me, but Kaoru looks like he's lost a bit of weight. He didn't look bad, he just looked in need of a hamburger and maybe some orange juice. Vitamins, man! You don't need cheekbones sharp enough to slice bread!

It was an EXCELLENT show. Kyo's voice was amazing as always, and the crowd was REALLY into it. People were even doing the "crowd sings part of the refrain" to parts that were in Japanese; wonder if that made the band happy?

Kyo even did the "Whee razorblade it's cuttin' time!" thing, slicing right across his ribs and making me wince like hell. But I must say, he also has a monopoly on "looking prettier when he bleeds". Damn, Kyo. D: One wonders if he does that at every show? You'd think not, as he'd need time to let the OLD cuts heal, unless he has mutant Wolverine-style healing powers that we don't know about.

In conclusion, I had a GREAT time, though I really could have done without the Peeing In A Cup and Crashing Into A Wall parts of the adventure. But I got to see one of my favorite bands, eat some of my favorite food, and have an all-around amazing time.