VAMPS

So, it's the holiday break, and I'm dying of boredom. My friends don't go out as much as they used to, and I'm done with xmas shopping, and school doesn't start until January 10th, so I'm gonna kill some time showing off the things/people I love most (cheesy, no?), as My pretty baby cried she was a bird suggested.

Anyway, today's topic is my favorite band, Vamps. Like most of their fans (I would assume), I started following Hyde's solo career, which became Vamps, because I am a huge L'arc~en~Ciel fan. And thanks to my magnanimous brother, I have been able to see them live several times. We've flown across the country to see them in San Francisco in 2006 (2 shows), Seattle and Portland in 2009, and New York in 2010. Their shows are amazing! I have never been to any other concert where the fans are so involved. The fans pack so tight that it's hot & sweaty, it's hard to breathe, no one can move & everyone is pushing back and forth, and cheering until they lose their voices. It's quite cathartic. And K.a.z. is quite impressive with his guitar. 

First, let's look at some posters :)

 From Hyde's Faith 2006 tour.

 From VAMPS first album.

From VAMPS' 2010 concert for their album Beast. 

Last year, I was actually lucky enough to be able to meet them shortly before the concert in Seattle :D I was so nervous, I was afraid I'd throw up on Hyde! lol. I shook hands with both Hyde and K.a.z., got their autographs, and gave them a painting I made (I just wish it had been better...)

Now I think it's kinda crummy :( but I wanted to give them something. And I wrote a nice little note on the back :)

Here are their 2 albums, self-titled on the left, Beast on the right, and on the bottom is the single "Love Addict" lying open-faced showing their autographs.

This is an omamori from the New York concert. Supposedly it contains a small piece of guitar string, but it is bad luck to look in an omamori to check (or is that only true if it's from a temple?). There were a few other designs of omamori; I wish I could've bought all of them, but I didn't bring enough money with me to the concert :( But I'm being greedy; it was enough that all the merch wasn't sold out like the previous lives.

 This was an xmas present from my brother last year! It's a music box that plays the song "Sweet Dreams" from Vamps' first album. Inside the lid is a sort of 3D house interior that looks a bit like Hyde's website. Inside I keep the tickets from the San Francisco & Seattle lives. Several of the shows only had will-call, so no tickets.

 My brother also gave me this little Hyde kewpie. I want the K.a.z. kewpie, too; it really looks like him, lol. Kewpies seem to be quite popular in Japan.

Here's the wristband for the Faith tour on the left, the wristband from the Vamps' 2009 tour, and a Vamps bottle opener, lol. I loooove the Faith wristband, but I need to get another one to wear b/c I'm a bit protective of it.

I also have a Faith tour shirt, but it's not on hand right now.

 

Outside of The Showbox in Seattle after meeting Hyde & K.a.z.!

Outside of the Roseland Ballroom in New York City.

More pics from the NYC 2010 live and the Q&A beforehand at Comic Con. The band always asks that no one use flash photography, and I always respect that request. So I stole these pics from someone else! I haz manners ;)

Zo. Vamps are now taking a break while Hyde works with L'arc & K.a.z. reunites with Oblivion Dust, so no more concerts for a while :( Unless L'arc decides to come to the U.S., which seems very unlikely after their Otakon debacle several years ago. I guess maybe Hyde doesn't hate otaku as much as Tetsu (or myself, for that matter). Or he just really wants to be famous in America.

Tattoos

Lately I can't stop thinking about getting a new tattoo. It's true what people say; they really are addictive. My first one was a "virgin tear," a symbol designed by Hyde. Btw, I would not suggest doing a google search of the term "virgin tear." Just...ew.

I got my second tattoo...last year? It was much more complex.

(Ignore the shiny ointment.) It's part of the chorus from Hyde's song "Hello." It basically translates to "accelerating desires, my hope will show me the way." Basically. I'm still trying to decide if I want to get the next 2 lines too, to complete the chorus.

And my most recent tattoo:

"Vivre"

(The first 2 were done at Icon in Nashville; the third at Underground Art in Memphis.)

So, I have a couple ideas for what I might want next...but I don't really know where on my body they should be.

 This is one of Mika Nakashima's tattoos. I think the disembodied hands are kind of weird, but I really want to get a lotus tattoo, and I think the size & placement is great.

 

 I also love Vivienne Westwood's orb logo. She is...inspirational to me. I really like the stylized version on the left, but it would also be cool to have something really ornate like the one on the right.

I love xenomorphs from the Alien movies! They are so beautiful, while also grotesque. And I love how delicate this one looks.

I like how ornate this one is. It is from Dir en Grey's album "Vulgar." But...I like Diru, but not that much. Not enough to get a tattoo commemorating them. But visually, stylistically, I really like it.

 

I've also been contemplating something like this. Very simple and un-ornate, but this is basically my favorite place in the world. Well, not the actual subway stop, but what's outside. The Meiji temple, Takeshita Street, etc.

Last one (for now, anyway). Again, I like the intricacy. However...isn't a girl with a crown tattoo a bit...high maintenance?

A Word...

It took me a while to think of what I might want to name a blog. Something interesting without sounding too pretentious &/or emo. "In the Bed of the Nepenthes" is a reference to a L'arc~en~Ciel song called (of course) "The Nepenthes." I do love their heavier songs. When I first heard the song years ago, I didn't recognize the word "nepenthe," despite my rigorous academic and often SAT-centered training in high school and degree in anthropology (fat lot of good). I also do love a good $10 word. At first, I thought "nepenthe" must be a made-up Engrish nonsense word. But no; a nepenthe is an elixir of forgetfulness from Greek mythology. And couldn't we all use one once in a while.

Anyway, I'm not sure what to say in a blog, with no foreseeable purpose or direction; the cause is merely curiosity inspired by dear old Ilsa & her cute blog. I often have too many thoughts, and too few people to tell them too. Anecdotes go undocumented every day, the shame. It is just unfortunate that I am (hopefully) done with my substitute teaching days, which provide a never-ending source of anecdotes. Now I kinda wish I had been writing them down all along...