This past weekend I went to see VAMPS in NYC! This was really exciting for me because I missed their 2010 concert so I hadn't seen them since '09! And they're one of my top 3 favorite bands. I took some photos; sorry they're not the best quality, I used my iphone4 and there was a lot of movement lol.
It was a fantastic concert - great lighting and sound, and everyone was extremely energetic and active (even K.A.Z. who is usually a bit more withdrawn). Two things really made the concert for me especially. Hyde was wearing his glowy contacts. I think they reflect light to UV rays or something like that and they're so freakin awesome. This was the first time I've seen him wear them in person; I've seen them in tons of videos of Japan lives and thought they were so awesome so it was great to finally see them in person. They look so evil! XD
Also something that really personalized the concert for me is that K.A.Z. looked over and made eye contact with me and noticed I had my vampire teeth in! He smiled and nodded so that was a lot of fun. And during "Devil Side", he did the same to my girlfriend who was wearing her devil horns XD
This is my favorite photo from the concert (above). I love the composition and feeling of it!
There were also 2 opening acts, one called KILLCODE which was a lot better than I expected. They looked kinda funny though. One of the guitarists looked like Santa Claus. And then the DJ from Slipknot which I thought was kind of an interesting choice. I really liked his stuff but I felt it was a little out of place for this concert. Unfortunately he didn't really get the crowd moving like KILLCODE did. If he had used more of Hyde's voice in some of the tracks or sections of VAMPS songs like he did in the first song he did, I think it might have been a little better. But despite that, he attempted a crowd surf and dove straight into the short asian girls in the front. Needless to say, he didn't make it very far...
Also, it was Arimatsu's birthday (the drummer)! So they rolled out a birthday cake for him which he blew out the candles of and said a thank you to everyone on the mic.
Followed by a sweet drum solo!
I also appreciated that Hyde thanked everyone for standing in line in the cold. And it was! My girlfriend and I stood in line for close to 7 hours in below freezing weather, part of which was windy, snowing, or freezing rain. We only got through with take-out ramen and heat packs we stored in our shoes and gloves!
Love this photo of Ju-Ken lol
Took a quick picture of the set afterward; I love that backdrop.
Looks like Gotham!
On the following day we went to Rockefeller Plaza to do some Christmas shopping at Nintendo World and the surrounding area. First time I've seen the Christmas tree there in person.
And here's the concert swag. They only had 2 items which was both a little disappointing and a bit of a relief. While I would really have liked to have a few more things (having missed the 2010 concert and all the merch that came with it), the quality is great and I love that graphic, and it didn't break the bank. Still, I was a little surprised they didn't have the new best of album there.
I bought a large for the shirt since they're often made in Asia and run too small on me, but this was printed in Mexico! So I'll wash it and wear it a bit and if it's still too large after a while I can take it in a little using all those cosplay sewing techniques!
Amazing concert, really hope they come back soon.
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