Everyday Kei #3: Black Crystal at Whiskey A Go Go

On Sunday, September 22nd, I attended Black Crystal's second live. This performance took place at Hollywood's Whiskey A Go Go.

This venue was drastically different than the last live I attended for Black Crystal. The last performance took place at King King, which is also located in Hollywood. However, although the venues were only a couple minutes away from each other, the atmosphere was different. Whiskey A Go Go had two floors with both able to view the stage. Very few booths took up the floor and there was only one bar. A large dance floor, which stood before the raised stage, took up most of the space. Whiskey A Go Go is more musically established than a bar which makes the layout understandable.

Not only was the environment different but the audience as well. The people attending the event were there specifically for the music and performance. As opposed to the friends and family accompanying the debuting bands at King King. They were also more engaged; although the guitarist, Erik, had to ask us to approach closer to the stage in the beginning.

Although the audience was great, I wish they were slightly higher in energy. My friend and I wanted to seriously rock out but was reluctant to because no one else in the audience were. However, we were told that we should just let loose and "just do it next time"!

Perhaps it was due to the change in venue, but the performance had very much improved. There was an issue regarding the last performance that prevented us from hearing Izumi's vocals. Thankfully there wasn't such issue with this performance and the overall sound system was very clear.

Black Crystal's performance was amazing, as usual. Every song was high spirited and full of energy. Each piece was matched with dancing and headbanging. Izumi powered through every song without any stops or breaks. The guest appearances were also amazing. Mandy's, from Black Shinigami, vocals complimented well with Izumi's voice while Takuro gave the song a metal edge. I was informed after the show that there were some technical difficulties with the equipment but I didn't feel that it interfered with the performance at all.

Here was the set list for that night:

1) Mighty Blood -Reborn-

2) Last Bullet

3) Out of the Cage ft. Mandy Mefford

4) Vampire Banquet

5) Brink of Apocalypse ft. Takuro Shibata

Here are some pictures of their performance:

Izumi was cool with posing for another picture.

Again, same as the last, I made a piece of clothing specifically for this performance. This time instead of a jacket it was a tank vest top. In the front it has two slashes, one from the collar and the other from the hem. Within those slashes are two rows of strapping with eyelets. Finally they are corseted to finish the look. In the back there is a large zipper that runs vertically from the hem to the mid shoulder blades. This allows the tank vest to be worn conservatively or risky with just a bandeau under. Two rows of thin chains run around the armhole makes the tank less plain. Surprisingly, this top took more hours to make than the last jacket.

Materials:
1 yard white, knit fabric
2 yards vinyl strapping with eyelet row
Long, silver zipper
2 yards thin black chain

The rest of my outfit consisted of a pair of shorts, stripped garter leggings, and wedge heels with LED shoelaces. I have noticed lately that while black and white stripped have been in style for both visual kei and mainstream fashion but garter leggings are beginning to come into style.

Components of this outfit:

• Tank vest top (made by me)
• Shorts
• Striped garter leggings
• Wedge heels with LED shoelace
• Accessories to match!

 Black Crystal is having another performance on October 25th, again at Whiskey A Go Go, so come check the out. Also, their first album "Taste My Soul" will be available either through iTunes, Amazon or Bandcamp on October 20th!

(Source: Official Facebook)

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