I wasn't expecting much out of the free X-Japan show at Club Nokia, which at least means I wasn't disappointed.
I mean, I'm a huge fan. Let's get that out of the way. Like many anime fans of my generation, I got my introduction to them by way of "Forever Love", the ending theme for the X movie. I've heard every album, watched every concert video, memorized every song at one time or another. But there's another side to that. I've listened to them so much that I don't feel much need to listen to them anymore. I feel the same way about the Beatles -- why listen to songs whose every note you already know, no matter how good?
Also like the Beatles, X Japan had an amazing run and flamed out at the top of their career. I admire that about them -- they announced they were disbanding, and stayed disbanded. When Yoshiki announced a reunion, I was pretty skeptical. Sequels are rarely as interesting as original works. So I went in with low expectations.
And, even though I wasn't expecting much from a free show, I have to admit it was in fact not very interesting. I was a little annoyed that they played one -- just one song, and then spent a half-hour recording a music video, which naturally involved them pantomiming along to music several times in a row.
The embarrassing thing is that I actually felt more of the concert experience when "Endless Rain" came over the PA before X Japan came on stage. We were all singing along, and it's one of the great ballads, and it was great to just hear it in a group of people who felt the same way I did. Brings tears to one's eyes, especially in that quiet moment after the chorus, when everyone draws in their breath to start the next verse, almost with a whisper.
I have to give X Japan some credit, though -- they performed new work, they did it well, and it was a free show. The accoustic version of Kurenai was something that I'd never heard before and will likely never hear again. The time commitment, though, wasn't one I would make again. I spent an hour in line, an hour standing around inside, and a half-hour of talking followed by a half-hour of fashion show, and at the end of that I was fully prepared to feed myself a bullet. Time seemed to stretch without limit. In a word, it was boring. I don't care about fashion.
But that's enough about that. It was a bit disappointing, but I didn't let that stop me from seeing X Japan at the Wiltern a few months later, and that was a thoroughly worthwhile experience.