Versailles' May live event was an elegant affair.
On May 19th, Versailles held the third edition of their Tokyo Metropolis - Versailles Fes -. The event took place at STUDIO COAST in Shin-Kiba and featured the bands Merry and Kinniku Shoujotai along with the main act Versailles. The first band to play was Merry. In their 40 minutes of allotted time, they managed to deliver a loud, powerful and riot-like performance in the purest punk spirit; nothing less could have been expected from them. The second band was Kinniku Shoujotai, a popular rock band from the 80’s and 90’s that re-formed in 2006 after having been disbanded for seven years. The two bands paved the way for Versailles, increasing the audience’s energy all along. When it was finally time for the hosting band, each and every fan was ready to rock.
It took about twenty minutes after Kinniku Shoujotai had left to set the stage for the very theatrical Versailles. Then the SE finally kicked in and the curtain raised. The stage looked beautiful, with a butterfly flag hung against the back wall and roses scattered on the drum set and amplifiers. When the SE changed into overture, it was time to welcome the band. The members took the stage one by one, starting with YUKI on drums. They all came to the middle of the stage and stepped on the podium to salute the crowd and pose before taking their respective positions. HIZAKI and Jasmine You, in their gorgeous dresses, were very graceful and feminine in their poses, as usual. KAMIJO was the last one to come up on stage. After his salute, an explosion noise resonated in the hall, and the audience got showered by silver confetti falling from the ceiling.
The band started with Aristocrat’s Symphony, during which HIZAKI showed his impressive guitar skills. He and Jasmine You were often posing with gracious hand gestures, never out of character. They continued with Shout & Bites; everyone was headbanging when KAMIJO sang “Shout & Bites." As he sang “karamitsuita bara,” the band members spun in synchronicity. Aristocrat’s Symphony was followed by a short MC from KAMIJO, during which he said it was time to have fun and asked everyone in the audience to raise their hands, referring to the fans as “ojouchan” and “obocchan” (young ladies and young masters). Then they played zombie, a powerful song with lots of skillful instrumental parts. KAMIJO was swinging his hips in a sexy way at the beginning of the song, and later on during the song, the members also started to change places. TERU came to the center. Jasmine You moved forward to take the vacant spot, leaving his place available for KAMIJO, who then quickly regained the middle to be with TERU before everyone went back to their original positions. KAMIJO finished the song and asked the fans if they were able to have fun.
After another MC, during which KAMIJO sounded like a very eccentric lord, a disco ball lit the hall for a few seconds as they started PRINCE. It was quite impressive to watch the elegant and striking poses Jasmine You took when he was not playing. Amongst the audience, fans kept moving around, raising their hands in the air and enjoying the hard-rock ballad. Then, KAMIJO introduced the follower to PRINCE: PRINCESS. Smoke machines blasted smoke at the front of the stage when the song started. With its baroque atmosphere and KAMIJO’s very dramatic voice, the song was quite impressive, as was the guitar paying, for which HIZAKI came to the center of the stage. The performance was gaining in strength every second.
The last song to be played was The Red Carpet Day. As soon as the song kicked off, fans in the audience started to headbang. On stage, HIZAKI was spinning around in his beautiful red dress. On the left, Jasmine You and TERU were doing the same. Then, they all spun together with KAMIJO, perfectly synchronized. The members also switched positions a lot during the song. First, HIZAKI came to the middle, and TERU and Jasmine You moved to the right while KAMIJO was on the left side. Then they switched again, making sure each member had assumed all the different positions on stage. Afterward, they went back to their original places to finish the song. As it was time to say good-bye, they all raised their hands and waved good-bye. Jasmine You blew a few kisses to the fans and they left.
As soon as the band had left the stage, voices in the audience raised, calling for an encore. Except that instead of shouting the traditional "encore, encore, encore," the fans were shouting "Versailles, Versailles, Versailles." With such cheers, the band naturally came back. KAMIJO was first, followed by the others. He spoke a little into the microphone before the band started the encore song, their first single, The Revenant Choir. Once again, smoke machines blasted smoke at the front of the stage when the song started, adding even more strength to the already very powerful piece. The members switched positions a few times again, and toward the end of the song KAMIJO started to introduce the band members. First was Jasmine You, then HIZAKI, who performed a short guitar solo for the occasion, and finally TERU, who did the same. At last, when the four standing members were at the center, KAMIJO introduced YUKI following the same pattern as for the others: “On drums - YUKI!” Then he introduced Jasmine You again, who took advantage of the situation to blow kisses at the fans. Both TERU and HIZAKI got second introductions as well.
The song ended with a “thank you” from KAMIJO, followed by a bow and a salute. However, the show wasn't over yet as KAMIJO promoted their major debut to be released on June 24th, which would come with their new single and music video. Then, the five members gathered at the center, hands held in the air, bowed and jumped, like stage actors but with a touch of rock’n’roll attitude. Applause from the fans resonated loudly in the audience as KAMIJO said, “Thank you, bye-bye." They all left the stage but for TERU, who insisted on touching the hands of absolutely everyone in the first couple of rows before leaving.
Thus ended Versailles’s event, for which they delivered a powerful and impressive performance. Add to it their elegant, dramatic looks and their contrasting heavy music, and you get a lot more than just another rock band. Versailles possesses all the important qualities to be a great live act; they have the talent, the strength, the experience and an excellent, artistic sense of staging, which transpired in every aspect of their show.
Set list:
-se-
overture
Aristocrat’s Symphony
Shout & Bites
-smc-
zombie
-mc-
PRINCE
PRINCESS
The Red Carpet Day
encore:
The Revenant Choir
