LIVE REPORT: CELL @ Anime Expo 2013

Friday, July 5^th was the night of the much awaited Visual Kei concert at Anime Expo. Three bands would be playing and so naturally, fans of Japanese rock and Visual Kei were extremely pumped to be seeing the show. The night’s lineup included CELL, composed of ex La’Mule, NightingeiL and XodiacK members, Moon Stream with Satsuki and Tomo Asaha, and solo artist, Kaya.

I made my way to the Main Events hall a little early and looked around a bit outside. Although the event had assigned seating, there were already impressively dressed fans lined up! Soon after saying hello to some friends, I went back inside to find my photographer, Doug, and we got to wait in the press line for a bit before they started letting people inside the live hall. After getting cleared to photograph all three acts, we were escorted to our seats by convention staff. By now the massive hoard of fans and convention attendees were starting to come in and fill in the seats. Not all the seats were filled, but there were a good number of people attending. Many excited fans were standing up, completely ignoring their seats until they were told to sit down by staff and security. There was no barrier to the stage, but a number of staff and photographers were crowded around the area, which prevented fans from getting too close.

I happened to have a front row seat to the left of the stage which allowed me a good view of what was happening: A large screen behind the stage was showing Visual Kei comment videos followed by PVs. The bands I remember seeing were ROYZ, Diaura, R-Shitei, Lin, and Lycaon. KAMIJO’s trailer for his solo project also came on the screen at some point. The screen then launches into a music video from Satsuki before darkening and the crowd quiets down, turning their full attention to the stage.

The screen slowly transitions into a comment video from CELL, where each member talks about how excited they are to be performing in the US for the first time. Afterwards, the music video for “危険な私” (Kiken na Watashi) starts playing. The video’s concept was a true representation of old school Visual Kei, lacing in elements of shock and eroguro. Murmurs of excitement soon fill the room as the video fades out and a loud intro starts to play. A drummer quietly enters the stage first, and although he was only the support member, he was dressed to fit right in. Fans rose from their seats and cheered as bassist YUKI appears, followed by guitarists SIN and NAO. As they are getting the crowd pumped, 紺 (KON) finally makes his appearance, holding a megaphone in his hand. 紺 greets the audience with an impressive growl of introduction. Finally, the members join their vocalist in the middle of the stage, all looking more intense than ever in white outfits, splattered with red to represent blood.

Without any further ado, they launched right into “背徳と決断の意思” (Haitoku to Ketsudan no Ishi), a heavy song that well represents the old school Visual Kei style of CELL. YUKI and NAO are headbanging like mad while 紺 flails around the stage in a dance and SIN just plays his guitar with an air of cool all around him. The music seems louder than the vocals at first, but that didn't slow down the band or the crowd. 紺 directs the audience into waving their hands, and we move along to mirror his motions as red and blue lights flash across the stage. Within these first few minutes, I can tell that there is a significant difference between hearing their songs on a CD and hearing it live. Their sound is much heavier in a concert setting which contributes to the overall atmosphere. The crowd is screaming for more by the time YUKI makes his way to the front of the stage for a bass solo, easily dancing along.

CELL continued by going straight into “危険な私” (Kiken na Watashi), a transition so smooth that I almost didn't notice until I heard 紺 growling the beginning English lyrics. This time the audience is able to experience the full song without any breaks as there were in the PV. The uninterrupted music was more enjoyable, too. 紺 got the crowd pumped by shouting at us as we jumped to the beat. Heavy guitar riffs and the steady bass line blend perfectly with the vocals, completely drawing in the excited audience to the world of CELL.

They carried on with “壇場の棘” (Danjou no Toge). The song switches back and forth from fierce drumming paired with loud guitars to a prominent bass line and crisp vocals. It gets heavier about half-way in before SIN takes center stage and slides into a smooth guitar solo. The lights momentarily stop flashing and focus on him as we breathe in the music. The rest of the performance is filled with shouts from 紺 in between verses. The voice of the audience echo after him as they wave their hands in the air, matching it to the playful rhythm. YUKI and NAO are standing back to back, smiling widely at everyone. I was focused on jotting down quick notes onto the back of my printed ticket, and when I look back up, YUKI is pointing at me, probably wondering what the heck I was doing with pen and paper instead of rocking out. I laugh at him and put the pen and paper on the seat behind me which satisfied him enough to nod approvingly and go back to headbanging. Before I know it, the song is ending with an intense flourish of drums.

As the music fades out, 紺’s shouts of “Are you having fun?!” are met with screams. Then, “蝋の翼” (Rou no Tsubasa) begins with 紺’s voice and a slow, misleading melody. We are then surprised as the tempo suddenly quickens. NAO and SIN pace themselves perfectly with twin guitars before switching off as the vocalist starts singing again. The audience is full of vigor, pumping their fists in the air to the rapid beat of the drums. About mid-way, the instrumentals die down and for the first time, we are able to hear 紺’s voice alone, cutting through the silence. Those few breathtaking moments were just filled with his singing. He still sounds sharp, even after all the screaming and dancing around. The energy seems limitless as the heavy music returns and the instrumentalists trade places on stage to interact with the crowd once more. CELL’s live energy is amazing and they are super interactive with the fans, making the experience even more tangible.

Soon, the psychedelic lights slacken off to a light pulse around each member as they flow into “Prism”, a track from their days in La’Mule. Earlier in the day, an acoustic version was performed at the Crunchyroll booth, and fans present were lucky to be able to hear it twice. NAO starts off the song alone and eventually is joined by the rest of the band. Each member stands still in his place, solemnly playing his instrument. The audience immediately silences as a more melancholic atmosphere takes place. 紺, who is now using a microphone stand wrapped in bloody gauzes, puts his heart into singing. His voice is softer than before, which suits the lyrics and overall theme of the song, prompting the audience to wave their arms gently from side to side.

“Prism” was the perfect lead into “em思想”   (em Shisou), which begins with a slow drum rhythm. 紺 speaks to the audience, showing them a simple furitsuke (or "furi") movement that goes along with the lyrics. He places a hand over his face as if shielding his eyes from the lights as he says “mienakutemo”, and then extends his arm when he says “todokanakutemo”. The movements are repeated with the words several times until the crowd catches on to do the same. The distorted sounds of the guitars create an eerie effect and YUKI momentarily stops playing his bass to encourage the furi, smiling to the audience as they follow.

 The tempo starts up again with “鉄の靴～鏡よ鏡～” (Tetsu no Kutsu ~Kagami yo Kagami~). This one is a new song, from CELL’s upcoming single entitled 崩壊と制裁の意図 (Houkai to Seisai no Ito) which is scheduled to be released on August 28^th. The track is heavy and the crowd seems to be soaking up the energy radiating from the stage. Red hair is wildly flinging back and forth as all four members headbang like there’s no tomorrow. We all follow suit and I turn around momentarily to look at the crowd behind me. All I see is a sea of hair, and I’m suddenly glad that I’m in the front of the crowd with chairs behind me, where my long locks won’t get stuck to anyone’s fingers or clothing like it always does. Unfortunately, I also see that the first two rows in the center are still sitting. I wondered, why would they sit through such an energetic and fun act like this?! Perhaps they were there to see one of the other two acts, but they did seem to be enjoying themselves. Many of them were actively doing furi anyways.

As the song ends, the lights flicker to a deep red shade. All is quiet until an ominous static noise fills the room. It felt exactly like a scene in a horror movie in the moments before someone dies and the entire audience stands still, watching the stage closely. 紺 begins his Vocal Solo, which is exactly what it sounds like. SIN, NAO and YUKI do not move from their positions as he raises his microphone and speaks to the crowd, slowly lifting up what appears to be a severed head, wrapped in bloody bandages. At first, everyone is confused, not knowing what was in his hand and 紺 takes this as his cue to raise the head higher and higher. As realization kicks in, he places the bandaged head to his face, earning excited screeches from the fans. Louder screaming erupts from the crowd as he bites it on the mouth (actually it was the bandages around the mouth), suspending it in the air with just his teeth for a few moments before letting it fall dramatically to the floor. It was like old school fanservice with a side of grotesque, and it succeeded in the getting us riled up for “Sterilization”.

Once more the crowd surges forward in a massive headbanging session with the band, before SIN, NAO and YUKI crowd around the support drummer. Their backs are turned to the audience as they jam together. 紺 is totally getting into the song and taking advantage of having the front stage to himself by balancing on one of the speakers, reaching down towards the sea of photographers who had swarmed to the front, madly snapping pictures of him. In the heat of the moment, he falls off the stage, partially rolling towards the center front row. Fans and staff alike are concerned but 紺 nonchalantly plays it off, standing up and jumping back on the stage as if nothing could faze him. We’re all cheering again as he returns to the stage and the rest of the instrumentalists turn back towards us. YUKI takes over NAO’s regular spot on the left side of the stage, encouraging us to rock out with him. The guitar section are giving the center and right side of the audience the time of their lives when 紺 energetically runs across the stage, past YUKI and jumps onto the huge speaker. He looks down at us with a mischievous glint in his eye and motions for us to shout along with him before hopping down and running to do the same thing on the other speaker.

As “Sterilization” ends, the band stops for a short MC. All the MCs were rather quick, as CELL probably preferred to let their music speak for itself than give long speeches. I couldn’t catch much of what 紺 was saying. Either he was more quiet when speaking or it was a problem with the sound, but I did hear him say “we love you all” at the end, which admittedly made me, along with some others melt. Coming from a bunch of hardcore guys wearing bloodied costumes made it especially heartwarming. You can tell how much they enjoyed being there through the sincerity of 紺’s voice and everyone’s smiling faces. I think I heard someone behind me shout, “We love you too”, but it was lost among the cheers. As our voices die down, CELL begins “ナイフ” (Knife), another song from La’Mule and their last for the night. SIN is dominating his part of the stage while NAO, YUKI and 紺 run around the stage. The blue lights clashes beautifully with their red theme. CELL pours all of their energy into this last song, encouraging the audience to join them in crazy dancing.

The fans certainly didn't want to let the performance end, straining their hands to reach forward as each member steps closer to the edge of the stage. SIN is leaning dangerously over the platform as he stretches out the last notes of “ナイフ”. NAO joins 紺 in the center and throws his guitar pick into the crowd and Yuki pumps his fist into the air, wanting to hear more of the audience. Still not satisfied with the response, he walks over to NAO’s microphone stand, asking everyone to cheer with him for the last time. At the count of three, he was met with thunderous cheering and applause, which seemed to please all of the members. SIN and YUKI also throw their picks to the crowd before the band exits the stage, waving enthusiastically to the fans.

Concert goers are still abuzz with adrenaline from CELL’s powerful performance, cheering on even after the entire band was out of sight.  Whether or not they had followed the members from La’Mule, were casual listeners, new fans or had no idea who CELL was before the live, everyone had a great time. The band possessed energy and personalities brighter than their hair color. Combined with great tunes and heavy interaction, their stage presence impressed and excited fans, preparing them for the second act of the night. Once more, the room is engulfed in darkness as the lights dim and staffs make way across the stage to prepare for Moon Stream….

Setlist:

1.背徳と決断の意思　(Haitoku to Ketsudan no Ishi)2.危険な私　(Kiken na Watashi)3.壇場の棘　(Danjou no Toge)
4.蝋の翼　(Rou no Tsubasa)
5.Prism
6.em思想　(em Shisou)
7.鉄の靴～鏡よ鏡～　(Tetsu no Kutsu 〜Kagami yo Kagami〜)
8.Vocal solo
9.Sterilization
10.ナイフ　(Knife)

VKH would like to thank Doug Cheung for photographing the show and the staff of Cure Magazine and CELL for allowing us to make this report possible. For more photos of the show, please visit the photo album on our facebook page here.

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