Misterwives with Panic! at the Disco at UCCU, Orem, Utah.

This is a couple of days after the concert, so I'm not going to remember much. Honestly I was only going to see Panic! because they were playing with Misterwives. Otherwise I might not have gone, though I went with a couple of coworkers.

The day started off fine, I hung out with my coworker before we were to leave. Orem is further than where I live, about an hour and a half drive. However, when we went to pick up my brothers-her car broke down in the church parking lot across the street from my house. We thought it was bad luck, but was also lucky that it didn't break down on our way down.

So I'm not going to talk about the day leading to the live, I'm just going to talk about the actual Venue and my experiences there before and during the show. The venue itself wasn't bad, it was a reasonable size even for a band like Panic! though my friends and I were surprised they didn't play the bigger arena which is Vivint arena. [Where the Utah Jazz play.]

They sold out too, so it was crowded as hell. And when we got in, we were confused as to where to go at first. So we found our seats and we could see the stage pretty well. They also had a screen so we could see the artists. They came with Saint Hotel, so before they played I told my friend I wanted to get merch.

That was a horrible idea.

The line was huge! And the merch table we saw? Wasn't even the table where our line was headed, it was on the other side of the event center. We still had another hour wait at the most, and we were already waiting like...forty minutes by the time we figured this out. We missed Saint Hotel's set because of this! And the staff members were SO rude.

[Also this girl was taking selfies in line and getting pissed that we were 'photobombing' it? like bitch, move the camera another way or stop taking selfies because you're in a crowded space....anyways.]

I told my brother, who wanted to stay in line, that I was leaving. I came for Misterwives, a measely shirt was not worth missing them for. I could always go online and buy something there. [My brother is the real MVP though, he stayed in line-got his shirt but he also got me a Misterwive shirt because he wanted me to go home with a memento.]

So we came just as Saint Motel was taking their stuff down.

Our view of the stage.

 So Misterwives set up, and then they started their set. They started playing Gene Wilder's song "Wild Imagination" [?] and I instantly knew the song they were going to start with. And sure enough, their song Imagination Infatuation started to play. When Mandy Lee Duffy came out, I admit it-I screamed a little.

Baby is so amazing live, she has this energy that I don't think I've seen any singer have. She was dancing the entire set, smiling a lot-and her voice is incredible live. She can really hit those high notes, and honestly I couldn't keep my eyes off her. She was wearing a black blouse, with this mesh material covering her chest area. She also had her hair up a little, in a little bun-though most of her hair was down.

The next song was definitely Reflections, but after that it gets a little messy. I know they played Vagabond, but they combined the song with their other song Same Drugs. Then they introduced their new song off their new album called Machines.

Mandy talked to the crowd a lot, but I could tell they were really just there to see Panic!. She talked about how music brought us all together, no matter your sexuality, race, gender, or religion. Then she introduced their last song, which was Our Own House. While I only recorded some parts of their other songs, I wished I had with this one.

They brought up three drums [?] and during the bridge Mandy, the guitarists and pianist [?] started to play the drums to the beat while dancing. It was an amazing experience, but I nearly died when they stopped and people clapped thinking they were over...and then Mandy starts singing again.

They really did put on a good show, I'm so happy to have seen them. I really wish I could meet them someday, I want to tell Mandy how insanely talented she is....

So onto Panic.....

So I didn't get a picture of it, but they put a counter on the screen as a ten minute warning. So people cheered whenever the clock changed.

When they did come out, I was actually in shock at the light show, and the screen. I haven't been to a big concert since Linkin Park, and even then they didn't do something quite like this. [Though Linkin Park had a pretty bad ass set up.] So because I'm lazy, I screenshot the setlist because quite honestly I'm not big into Panic! so I didn't know half the songs.

So just a couple of quick notes on Panic! Brendon really is talented, and they put on a pretty good show. I was impressed with the light show, the atmosphere, and honestly they got me dancing even if I didn't know the songs. So it was a fun concert overall. A few things I remember, but they're out of order and I don't remember some of the songs it happened during.

• During This is Gospel, he sang on a platform away from the stage and closer to us. I mean, right by where the sound tech is. He was playing it on the piano, and as he sang the platform [which was round by the way] rose up and petals/confetti fell from the ceiling.  After this, he ran into the crowd to get back to the stage while singing 'Death of a Bachelor'. 
• They played a segment on screen where Brendon is seemingly kidnapped and Pete Wentz popped up on screen saying "Brendon, you got to wake up!" or something like that. I don't remember. 
• He did a backflip off the third step on stage.
• He also talked about how he loved Journey, Billy Joel, and Phil Collins as a kid and that's when he started singing "Movin' Out". 
• During Nine in the Afternoon, the Piano slid out with him on it from under the drums.
• I think during Let's Kill Tonight, the other members left for a moment and he ran to play guitar, then to play the drums. 
• He talked about how the band has been together for 13 years, then joked about playing a new song from their new album only to play "I Write Sins Not Tragedies." 
• I remember him saying "I love you guys, so god damn much" before playing Victorous.
• During Girls/Girls/Boys they played pro-LGBQT stuff on screen while everyone held colored hearts to their phone's flashlights. [I didn't get to, I didn't know that was a thing :C]
• He hit a lot of high notes. To which the crowd tried to hit higher notes. 
• I know during Ballad of Mona Lisa, every single person was singing it. Even me.

 That's all I remember, and honestly after the concert I was so tired that I didn't think to write of a live report. The parking lot was horrible to get out of.

Overall the concert experience was great, the actual show I mean. It's just that staff seemed unorganized, and unwilling to help those who needed help. Plus those around me sort of annoyed me, but Panic! brings a lot of teenagers.

Anyway, I'd probably see them again. I give them a 10/10.

My favorite GazettE PV's part 1.

With the GazettE's 15th anniversary already come and gone, I would like to make a list of my personal favorite PV's from them. They certainly had their fair share of interesting ones, but these are just a few of my favorites.

Because of Youtube's ban, some of them I will have to lead you to their VEVO account.

Guren

Of course when I first saw Guren, I was a tiny bit confused....as I usually am when it comes to the GazettE PV's. But I still liked the music video, I sort of liked interpreting what the meaning was and why was this girl painting the room white? A fan explained it on a forum, but I can't find the post right now [well, I'm just too lazy right now] so I'll try to explain it to the best of my ability.

Now this is a fan's interpretation, but considering what Guren is supposedly about it makes sense.

So the tap, is sort of like...the penis. So it's obvious what the white stuff is, right? This is where it got a little confusing to me, but I'll try my best to explain. So the girl represents the fetus, when she is in her red dress and when the room is still red-she is moving. Meaning she is alive. However there are different parts of the video, particularly when the band members are playing-she is wearing a white dress and the walls are painted white.

So fan theory is, which again might not be a theory at all and what it means is that....well when she is red and moving...she [the fetus] is alive. However, when the room is white and she is wearing white-she isn't moving. Which might indicate that she is dead, that the mother who is pregnant either had an abortion or a miscarriage.

Considering that Guren is written in the mother's point of view, the first thing Ruki sings is "Gomen ne" so the mother feels regret of this baby dying. 

[Correction: The girl might be the embryo, though I'm not sure if there's a specific term they wanted to use for the girl.] 

Taion

So Taion is still an enigma to me, meaning that I don't really fully understand it. Which is why I find myself watching it over and over again to see if I can figure it out myself. If someone knows the meaning to the PV, I would love to hear it. But whenever I look it up, it comes up with the theory that the song was written specifically about Junko Furata.

However, it was later proven that Ruki did not write the song about her. It's just a rumor that flew around, and was stated as fact so much that fans take that it as just that. He stated that the song is just about something that shocked both him and Reita, and he did not specify exactly what it was. There could be a possibility he saw the story of Junko Furata, but as far as I know he never confirmed this.

Due to the nature of the music video, I am certain that it has to do with some sort of kidnapping or killing of a young child. [It might not even be a girl, but who knows?]

One thing that stuck out to me was the butterfly, and I don't know why. Could do something to do with innocence, and it being taken away from the victim. 

I really like this PV however, honestly it's one of my top favorites from them.

Chizuru

I might be a little bias when it comes this, because Chizuru is one of my favorite songs from the GazettE And off STACKED RUBBISH. The music video doesn't seem to be hard to interpret, I really liked the feel of it and honestly if I can be so.....fangirly [? is that a word? idk] I really think that the boys really looked good in this music video.

It seems to be a song about losing someone, wanting to be together but knowing that you can't. "Two people can't be together." My friend once translated this for me, but I've long since lost the translation so I can't really say.

I don't know what else to say about this PV, so I'll just move on to the next.

UGLY

UGLY is one of my favorites out of their heavier songs, whenever I'm feeling in a bad mood I go and listen to this song to get all my anger out. And honestly out of their newer PV's, I do think that I like UGLY the best. 

It's sort of obvious what the people in the PV represent, though I could be wrong about a few of them. The girl in the beginning who is smoking is PRIDE, the nun looking lady and the shirtless guy are LUST, the two-headed people are SLOTH, the guy shoving his face in the bowl GLUTTONY, the lady with the mirror was obviously ENVY, then there was GREED, and the guy who throws Pride is WRATH. 

The seven deadly sins, which I found interesting. I was always waiting for Ruki to touch up on that subject, because I felt it was something he would do. And I'm glad he did it in this way.

--

That's it for part 1 of my favorite PV's, I'm sure I'll make a longer list but it's late and I need to go to bed.

So what are some of your favorite PV's of theirs?

Western music vs Japanese music.

I can understand why some music is important to people, whether or not I like that genre of music or not. I can also understand that some people just like to listen to music to have a good time, that it doesn't have to have a deep meaning behind it for them to enjoy it. It's just a means of entertainment that we all use after a long stressful day or week. 

We live in a culture where we all love to go to concerts with friends, and family. Whether it be big named musicians or even local artists, it doesn't matter. 

Which is why I never understood the J-rock fandom, and their need to criticize every little aspect of other genres of music out there. I'm sure that we have our fair share of those in other genres, even in the K-pop fandom [don't get me started there]-but since I'm not as active there I want to concentrate on what I'm familiar with.

I said before how long I've been a fan, so I don't want to delve into how long I've been in this fandom and how often I would see it. I admit it when I was in High School, I was a little obnoxious about it-but when you grow up you mature and I've certainly grew out of this phase. But I see it in youtube comments, sometimes on tumblr. 

J-rock fans love their bands, I can understand that. I certainly have my favorites, would love to see them all and adore what they can do. Despite some language barriers, I can enjoy the music because if I want to know what they're saying I can either look up translations or learn Japanese myself. [I'm a little lazy, so I do the former.] 

Yet I've never wanted to say I outright hated Western music either. Because they're not necessarily bad either. I mean I have my fair share of English-based bands that I love, have seen in concert and would see them again if I ever had a chance. [Case in point: Linkin Park]. I just recently discovered Disturbed's lead singer has a spectacular voice. 

It doesn't matter what nationality or where you're from, there are talented musicians out there if you're willing to search for them. Of course you're not going to like them all, by no means do I like any of Justin Beiber's music. But there's no denying that little snot has a little bit of talent, that some people do find hope in his music or simply enjoy it for what it is. 

That's fine with me, if that's their music preference than who am I to criticize them?

And that's where I get to my point.

It's not necessarily that some J-rock fans tend to put down the Western musicians, it's that they tend to act superior to those who listen to them. We talk about how we're all made fun of for listening to Japanese music, that we're all so bullied and hated and alone. But then some turn around and do the same thing to those who listen to Western music.

Listening to Japanese music, I'm going to sound rude-it doesn't make you special. It means you have a special interest in these things, and that's fine and dandy. But you're no better than the person sitting at home jamming out to Paramore or All Time Low. You're no better than the girl who just spent her entire paycheck on a ticket to see Justin Beiber or any other famous musician.

We all have our interests, we all have that one genre or band that we all love. Some of us just love about everything, and that is fine. That's what makes the world go round. If you're leaving comments like "Ugh, why can't every band be like this one?!" how boring would that be? If everyone made music like the GazettE, wouldn't you get sick of them?

Most of us had a favorite English based band before we discovered J-rock. Being a fan of music is not a contest of who has the best taste in music, because music is subjective in a way. We're not all going to love the same things.

And that's completely fine.