Hi all, I was directed to this board by a friend of mine. I recently went to the live Versailles performance in NYC. I wrote about it and wanted to share it with fellow fans. The story I wrote is sort of a play by play of the show and my experience there. Its a bit long but if you are a Versailles fan and would like to hear about how it went down that day for a big fan, please read on! Thanks!
The following is a little something I put together to share my Versailles experience with you. Its too long!! Sorry about that but I just couldn't leave any of it out. If you would honor me as to read it, I would greatly appreciate it. Hopefully, this story will help you recall the events of that night. If you weren't there, perhaps this can give a you a mental image of the event that happened on that graceful night
Trying to put this into words is the most difficult part, I’m afraid that what I’m about to describe will be nowhere near the experience that all of us went through that night. I’ve always had this feeling that Versailles was some how not real. That might sound strange but I guess I grew accustomed to only listening and watching them in videos and photos. The date of the live performance finally came and yet still I had this feeling of disbelief that it was really going to happen.
When we arrived at the venue the line was already stretched all the way down Leonard Street, and more and more people continued to arrive. Many were dressed in Lolita style outfits, which I thought was appropriate for the event. Once we were all allowed inside everyone headed to the stage as fast as they could. The Knitting factory is not known to be one of the biggest concert halls in NYC. Its very similar to where Hizaki grace project performed in the Monshou DVD except a bit smaller with an elevated stage. Some say this was too small, I say it was perfect. We were right up close and personal to the band and ready to rock out without having to worry about being too far. We were waiting for about an hour. There was a photographer on stage taking photos of the crowd. I had made a sign that said ‘ZOMBI’. I truly love this song and I wanted to show Versailles in hopes that they would play it. The photographer took pictures of us holding the sign and then left back stage. About 5 minutes later we see a face peek out. Long blond hair, dark sunglasses, a nice smile, and the V gesture greeting. I still don’t know who it was, but I’m pretty sure it was either husk or Yuki checking out the fans. People all screamed and he ran back. About 20 minutes wait after that, the MC finally come out and greets the crowd and gets us all pumped up! Then he said the magic words we’ve all been waiting to hear: Ladies and Gentlemen: “Versailles!!”
The sounds of ‘Prelude’ start. I still can’t believe this is happening!! The lights are going off crazy and the crowd is all shouting out the top of their lungs. Yuki suddenly appears looking badass as ever, Teru follows him. Teru looked amazing! He seemed so happy and joyful, smiling as if he was an old friend. Jasmine appears after Teru. Jasmine’s style is somewhat of a mysterious and engaging persona. As if somehow he will seduce you and force you to do as he commands. As ‘Prelude’ arrives to one of the climactic sections, Hizaki appears. Words cannot describe Hizaki. His aura pierces into you and forces a trance onto you. You must watch as he goes through his feminine postures and facial expressions. Seeing him in person was something of a dream come true. I’ve watched ‘Race wish’ more times than I can count and have always wanted to experience this live. At the moment, I was completely disappointed with females. How can this man have such a beauty that surpasses that of actual women I’ve seen in my life? It’s a sight I will never forget. As Hizaki arrives at his position on stage, Kamijo finally shows himself. The entire house was absolutely engulfed with cheers and shouts! Kamijo managed to arrive to NYC and take control of all of us! His confident smirk was forcing all the girls in attendance to instantly fall in love. I heard them next to me screaming out of the top of their lungs for his attention. This was only the introduction of the performance and we were all already hooked and instantly in love with them all. We all pause for a moment and stare in awe at how beautiful the stage has become. Their attire is something that makes you feel as if you are in some dream world that just feels too real to be a dream. Just like that, they were here. Versailles was in NYC and I’m loving life thanks to this night.
As soon as ‘Prelude’ comes to a close, the energy from ‘Aristocrats Symphony’ suddenly hits us all. The entire band starts with a slow head banging motion back and forward. Then Hizaki comes forward and starts shredding his guitar as if it were the last time he would ever play. Teru is looking cute as ever but he’s banging his head so hard that he makes you forget about that cute side and realize that he’s got a lot more than meets the eye. Jasmine, is taking command of his massive base and making it seem so seamless and so sensual. We can barely see Yuki but we know he’s there because the knitting factory is vibrating from his intense and almost supernatural drumming. Kamijo comes forward as much as he can and waves his cape over all us. His voice sounded almost unreal. I felt as if I had my headphones on and was listening to him from the actual album. Even still, I couldn’t believe this was really happening!!! They are really here! They continued playing and all did many different things to keep us all entertained. They all turn together, Teru constantly looks up and smiles at us, Jasmine blows us kisses, Hizaki does his classic nod to the crowd as he makes his wonderful sounds, and Kamijo leads the crowd into doing fist pumps, rock gestures, and hand waves. At one point he even took the role of a vampire, he went over to Hizaki as he was playing and took a bite out his neck. The girls went absolutely crazy over this! The guys did too I must admit! Hizaki moved his head over and let Kamijo take a bite, haha what a sight that was!
We didn’t realize how much of a treat we were all in for on this night. Versailles was full of energy, the love from the crowd seemed to fuel them to come back harder and harder just to make us happy. After a few more wonderful songs, they turn around for a rest and a drink. Kamijo tries his best at English. You could tell that he was trying hard to connect with us. If only he knew that he already had us all in the palm of his hands. “I want to give you my heart” is what he said to us. Everyone shouted back positive vibes and love to the stage. They all turn around to face us again and prepare for the next song. At this point I took out my ‘ZOMBI’ sign and waved it in front of Teru for him to see. He didn’t notice it but Jasmine did! Jasmine tapped Teru and pointed at the sign. Teru and Jasmine both smiled at me and as I watched, the familiar sound from the beginning of ‘ZOMBI’ starts! I’m sure this was only coincidence but I felt something come over me that was out of this world! Kamijo gets the crowd to jump and clap wildly! This point was the most energetic we’ve been all night! This is it! We’re going to rock out and no turning back now!!! Teru hits center stage and does his solo, WOW!! Teru is amazing!! Another thing about him, his voice! I never knew it was him screaming out those demonic tones in the Versailles songs! It was almost scary hearing this come out of him. I knew there was so much more to him! The song ends and and Teru gives me a smile and a nod, I then start jumping and shouting while still holding up my sign. I put my hands together, looked at him, and yelled out of the top of my lungs, THANK YOU!!!
As the night went on we started getting into the songs that Versailles really excited to play for us. Between each song, we would hear some of the Victorian style sound effects Versailles is known for. The band would stand and put both hands together as if praying. Hizaki was most noticeable while this was happening. It seems everything Hizaki did had me in a trance watching him. After appearing so peaceful and free, they would go into one of the more aggressive songs. At one point we were all standing waiting…and out of nowhere we hear ‘The Red Carpet Day’. Watch out! This is where we start to get a little messy! Kamijo has us all fist pumping, Hizaki looks like he wants to destroy his guitar! Teru is banging so hard and screaming that demonic voice of his again! We’re all into it and ready to get aggressive and nasty with Versailles! We all start screaming and shouting the words. Most of us don’t know what the hell we’re saying, but we don’t care! We’re ready to go! Then, after our sudden burst of violence, we calm down for some nicer tone songs like ‘Windress’ and ’Sympathia’. During ‘Sympathia’ Kamijo shows us all how to kiss and make up after the fight we just had during ‘The Red Carpet Day’ and jointly wave our arms back and forth. It was a good time for this.
Suddenly, Versailles was saying thank you NYC! What!? I couldn’t believe it was over already. I was a bit sad that the night was progressing so fast. Kamijo said thank you and just like that they were all gone. This cant be happening! We shouted for them to come back! Some girls started chanting what sounded like “One more song” in Japanese. The rest of us were screaming and shouting Versailles over and over. I knew they had to come out again! I’ve been to quite a few shows, encores are usually expected by the audience. This time, I don’t know what it was, but I felt fear that they might not come out again. Some people were even pushing their way to the door. I thought uh oh, is it over? Then Yuki all of a sudden pops right back out. We scream for this guy so loud its ridiculous! I wonder what he felt from all that energy coming from us. The rest of Versailles appear again as if the show had started over…and it did! Teru waving, Jasmine kissing, Hizaki making men question their sexuality, and Kamijo letting us all know that Versailles is about to show us what they’re all about!
We hear the new song ‘Prince’, the meaty ‘Suzerain’ as well as ‘Antique in the Future’. I can’t believe they’re still playing at this rate! These songs are no easy feat! Actually, I was so worried about Hizaki. He seemed to be going through guitar problems. His strap kept falling off and it seemed something else was going wrong. The sound guy kept coming out to help him adjust it. Hizaki would have to kneel down to correct the problem. This is where I found new respect for Hizaki. Despite all his troubles, he kept on playing for us no matter what! Even if he was on the floor or if the sound guy was working on the guitar, Hizaki pushed through it and played for us! Hizaki is the absolute best! Not only did I find new admiration for Hizaki, but for Versailles as well. Jasmine, Teru, and Kamijo were all there with Hizaki when he was dealing with the malfunctions. Jasmine would come down to Hizaki as he was on the floor and play next to him. Teru would keep pushing himself and play those notes along with Hizaki even through his troubles. Kamijo would kneel and hug Hizaki, he would also sing along side him as if nothing was wrong at all. They all came through for their man, the bond that Versailles shares just made this experience even more spectacular.
During the performance, Kamijo mentions the names of some of the songs they are about to perform. There are two Versailles songs that I feel are truly epic masterpieces. The first is ‘After Cloudia’. The way this symphony was composed is just wonderful. It makes you feel as if you can do anything and survive any hardships that you are going through or have went through in your life. Once Kamijo mentioned this song, I was instantly overflowing with happiness. Watching it being performed in front of my own very eyes made it all the more better. Yuki has a part in this song that is so unique. I’ve never heard a segment of drumming in a song played so masterfully. The best part is that while on stage, all of the band members stepped aside and there was a spot light on Yuki. It was his time to shine! And he did! Kamijo pointed at him and yelled out his name. It was a great moment because for most of the night we could barely see him!. Right after that drum solo is another duel guitar solo from the beautiful masters Hizaki and Teru. Kamijo took center stage again and pointed at point of them with his arms wide open. Wow writing this story has given me goose bumps all over again! Many, myself included even had tears in their eyes from this performance. I could not believe that Versailles come and have such control of our emotions like this. The feeling was surreal yet wonderful. “History of the Other Side”. Now this song, this song is what I feel is the true masterpiece of Versailles. This song is Versailles! All of the elements and talent of each band member combine here and create something that almost seems otherworldly. It’s really difficult for me to put this into words. I feel so sorry for those who do not know ‘History of the Other Side’. The classic organ synths, demonic screams/shouts, amazing base/guitar solos/duos, intricate drumming, and flawless vocals make up what I believe to be one of the best songs in rock history. Now imagine all of this live! No more than five feet away from you! Words cannot describe. I can only hope you were one of the lucky ones to experience this.
Times has passed, Versailles has already proven themselves to us more than they ever needed to. The last song ends, we are all sad to see them go but happy that they worked hard for us by traveling here and showing us so much love. They are all saying goodbye, somehow Hizaki seemed to be unhappy. You could see his facial expression, somehow disappointed. I thought, the earlier guitar problems must’ve have gotten to him. I wished he didn’t feel so bad, the performance was amazing, he didn’t have anything to worry about! As he walked over to exit the stage, suddenly he turned around and jumped into the crowd!!!! WHAT?! Hizaki!! His persona is such of beauty and refinement, yet all of a sudden he jumped on all of us!! This was amazing! I couldn’t believe it! I actually worried about his dress getting damaged or his hairpiece falling out. I’m sure lots of us wanted to kidnap him and take him home! We had to behave and help him back up on stage, but we almost had him! Haha! He’s truly a rock star in every way. I’m so glad that he did that. It really shows that he wanted to be with us, the fans. If it weren’t for him, there probably wouldn’t be a Versailles today. Thank you Hizaki!
The stage was empty and the lights were still very low. I instantly felt something was missing. Wait wait wait this cannot be right. I did not hear ‘The Revonant Choir’!! This cant be right! What happened?! I feared the worst, Hizaki’s guitar is done for. They might’ve saved the song for the end but under the circumstances they are not able to. Yet, we started chanting again. Versailles! Versailles! Versailles! I even started my own chant Hizaki! Hizaki! Hizaki! We tried over and over….is that Yuki!?!?!? YES!!! They’re back again! I thought “Yuki is Superman!!” How can he drum so much like this?! He’s amazing! They all come out and get really close to all of us on in front of the stage. They reach out for us and smile as if they are so happy to be back for us. We are all pushing on top of each other just to get close to them! You could really tell that they were overcome with happiness because of the response they were getting from us. Kamijo, mic in hand, starts speaking in Japanese. As far as I can translate he said something a long the lines of “This was a first time in NYC, this has been the best! Thank you so much” “This is our last song ‘The Revonant Choir’” . This is it! This is what made me love Versailles! This is our last chance to let it all go! This is what we’ve been waiting for!!! The voice prefacing the song begins and we’re all ready! Versailles all got into their positions and were completely overcome by excitement! Then it starts! The beautiful Hizaki is back in action! His guitar is in full working order and he’s showing us why He and Kamijo created Versailles!!! Kamijo comes forward and hits us with the classic English vocals that we can all sing along to! Teru is smiling at all of us rocking out and singing along with us! The piano portion kicks in and Kamijo announces Jasmine Yuu!! He comes up front and shows us what he’s all about and we scream and reach up to him like madness!! Then Kamijo shouts Hizaki!! The real guitar hero is doing it for us again! Then comes Teru!! Shows us again that he is also a force on the guitar!! Then its time for the best part of the night, the duel guitar solo!!!! Hizaki and Teru back to back center stage!! Teru smiling and Hizaki doing his awesome nod to the crowd while they both play has hard as they can! Then, Kamijo returns to the center to finish it all up and we all sing along as loud as we can. You can see that they are so happy as we are! Hizaki actually smiled on stage! I’ve never seen a smile on his face while he’s performing. This was the Climax to end all climaxes!! As the song comes to a close we’re all jumping and shouting. The narrator in the song returns to close out the performance. Kamijo takes center stage and begins to announce the names of Versailles. On bass, Jasmine Yuu! He throws roses into the crowd. On guitar, Teru! He comes to us and reaches out to grab our hands. Drums, Yuki! He was still trying to get out from back there, poor guy. He really is Superman on drums. Finally, On Guitar Hizaki!! This was the loudest ovation, as most of us know Hizaki form before Versailles. Here we could see his happiness. He did as Teru and approached us all, reached out and gave his thanks as we did to him. Then Kamijo went and announced the MC of the knitting factory. He didn’t say his own name!! I wanted to cheer for him too! I was amazed at the character this man showed us here tonight. He mentioned everyone else except for himself! After all he had done for us as well his band members on this phenomenal night, he did not take the opportunity to shine in the spotlight for a moment. I continued to gain respect and admiration for Versailles even at this moment. The MC gave us one last chance to cheer! “Give it up for Versailles!!!” And we did, we shouted as loud as we could! Then Teru walked up to the mic and shouted to us “I love you!”.
Versailles then bowed to us and left the stage.
The lights went back on and I tried to collect myself. I could barely walk, I was sweaty, couldn’t hear a thing, hurt my knee, had sore arms, and had lost my voice. Yet, I felt that I had just experienced the best night of my life! I can’t even count how many live performances I’ve been to in my life. I’ve seen everyone from MUSE to Digitalism and more. Not ever have I been to a live performance where I thought, “This was one of the best nights of my life”, that is, until Versailles. With Versailles I felt it’s not just the music, it’s the entire experience that they bring for their fans. I feel they want us to believe in them as they do their best for us. The music they create is not about catchy tunes and one-liners. Every note is so intricately placed in way that make each song sound like symphonic masterpieces. Even just watching them as they stand on stage. Their exquisitely designed ensemble, with so many details, I could stand and admire for hours. Experiencing this music as well as the presence of Versailles live is something I’d recommend to anyone who is looking for something amazing and unique to experience.
After the performance, I tried to talk with my friends but I couldn’t say anything. I was speechless. I had to let it all soak in and realize what had just happened. I drank a couple cups of water and ran right over to buy the autographed photo book. On the days following, I could not stop the feeling of happiness. I smiled and laughed everywhere I went. I told so many people about the experience; yet, they could never understand what this night meant to me. It was truly an exciting and inspiring night that I will never forget.
Thank you Versailles.
