I was up very early (because I did all my sleeping the day before… ah, jet lag…) so I got everything done that I needed to for the day trip to Nagoya, and even started to re-pack my suitcase for the return trip to Canada.
Not that I’m in any way eager to go back.
After having arrived at the first two lives just in the nick of time, I learned my lesson and bought my Shinkansen tickets well in advance for the last two, just in case a lot of others ended up travelling during the same time slots as me.
The train was southbound from Tokyo this time, so the scenery I got to see along the way was quite different from what I’d seen on the prior northbound routes.
Most notably, I got to see 富士山!
I kind of just stared in awe and disbelief. I’ve travelled down to Nagoya and Osaka before, but for whatever reason (maybe I was sitting on the wrong side of the train), I’d never spotted Mount Fuji before. The only other time I’d spotted the legendary mountain was on a hill in a residential neighbourhood outside Yokohama, squinting at the peak far in the distance. The sight of Mount Fuji during the trip to Nagoya definitely set an awesome tone for the live I was about to attend.
And it turns out it was a very good thing that I set out extra early this time, because I got pretty lost in Nagoya station (accidentally entering through a local train fare gate instead of the subway station gate I had been trying to find). Still, I made it to the venue with plenty of time to spare, for once there early enough to line up in order and go into the livehouse in sequence according to the number printed on my ticket. That is something that’s quite interesting about the standing-room-only livehouse experience in Japan, because over here, everyone just needs to line up (or camp out lol) outside the venue and it’s first-come first-served once the doors open.
I was so excited to get into the venue, that I forgot to switch from my warm, Groovy Chiko hoodie to stained glass robe when I was tossing my purse into a coin locker… the robe would have been lighter to dance in, but no harm done.
I really liked the layout and feel of tonight’s venue, and something about the acoustics made their sound seem extra powerful (or maybe that was just me being really excited). Overhead there was a cool, contemporary-style chandelier as well as a disco ball, while off to the right the bar was tucked away in an alcove where anyone could leave to get a drink if they felt like it.
Each night’s live has had wilder energy than the last.
Absolutely breathtaking.
After we had clapped them on during the SE, the curtains were lit a murky blue or green from behind and then raised dramatically, as ALICE NINE. began playing Living Dead. That was extremely cool. Next came Answer followed by WHITE PRAYER to get everyone in the room hyped up (I will never get tired of the live arrangement of that one) and from there they dove into the badassery that is the song RUMWOLF, to which I thought, hell yeah!
Because I had so much space to move around in this venue (I had decided to stand further back again, but still had an excellent view of Saga playing), this time I got into dancing the Moondance with even more wild abandon than before. To keep the decadence and debauchery going, they played 造花の代償 next, and the bass line was so cool… instead of each member throwing flowers (like I’d seen them do for ALICE IN CASTLE in 2018), it was just Show teasing the crowd with the fake flower while Saga kept the bassline going, everyone else’s instruments building the scene around it.
While everyone else did 振り付け (choreographed dances), I stayed still during the お経 in 界, palms clasped together beneath my chin, head tilting in the overpowering light to watch Saga’s shadowed figure mesmerize us from the stage.
Welcome to the temple of ALICE NINE.
Feel the might of their music, their sound, their tone, their performance.
With a quick switch from bass to acoustic guitar, Envy then began, and I’m not sure if he did it in previous lives (he probably did), but Saga’s rapping on the acoustic guitar with his ring sounded extra loud and sharp tonight. It was another beautiful rendition of the song with Shou singing in lower tones, the rest of the instruments building slowly, steadily, powerfully until the end of the song.
I truly didn’t expect 十六夜 to be played for whatever reason, and so it was such a surprise — a wonderful one at that. It was beautiful and powerful live. While the tender complexity of the song wafted and dissipated in the air, piano song began playing on the speakers in the dim lighting, and all the members except for Nao left the stage.
Thus began the Drum Solo, with Nao leading us both from the front podium and from behind his drum set in the beats he’d be performing for us that evening. Once again we all clapped and called out in time and unison, more than eager to keep the energy up and carry it through the rest of the live. With that, the other four members returned to the stage, took up their positions, and began playing Roar. On the tail-end of that powerhouse of a performance, they began Heart of Gold, everyone jumping and dancing in the stage lights while the members filled the room with the upbeat sound of that classic.
RAINBOWS came next, and it is SO much fun each time, it really is. We A-jumped, we cheered on all the solos, members ran around the stage, Saga took the front podium briefly to make sure we were all jumping and having fun (as we should be) and then Show gave the song a proper close with a high note!
Funeral‘s cool complexity melting into Exodus: was awesome. After which, they didn’t let us lose steam, and so started playing 開戦前夜. Because there was a bit of extra elbow room in the back where I was, a group of four 九組 next to me actually started dancing and moshing in a circle together at certain points in the song, and I almost wanted to join in (I never would have actually forced myself into their friend group though lol). It was so obvious, that even Saga took notice, looking over and grinning at their enthusiasm.
Lives are slowly starting to regain their footing 🙂
When the song ended, I felt elated, trying to catch my breath, and they then began to play Farewell Flowers. Each time I’ve heard this at a live, it’s become more soothing, like sitting in a canoe or a kayak on a calm lake at sundown, feeling the wind and the water gently rock you.
Shortly after they put down their instruments, waved, and left the stage, we collectively took up the call for an Encore, clapping and calling them back to the stage. We cheered when the lights went up again, and they returned, regaling us with a performance of the breezy, breath of fresh air that is 透明の翼. Next up was ブループラネット, and the song had such huge, playful energy tonight.
Finally, last but in no way least, Grace was soulful and exquisite.
It was another truly wonderful night.
I was so sleepy, so satisfied, I nearly fell asleep on the shinkansen back to Tokyo… and then it was a mad dash once I did get back to the station to make sure I caught the subway back to where I was staying before the trains stopped for the night. Thankfully, by that point I knew my way around the station quite well by memory.
I had a good soak in the bath before bed, and then finally drifted off to sleep, replaying all the best moments of the live over in my mind… ♡♪