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Moi dix Mois - Munich Concert & Autograph Session
Report by Mistoline


I have finally returned from Moi Dix Mois' concert in Munich, the very first in Europe, and Mana's autograph session for which I luckily won a ticket. How all the impressions are supposed to fit into one report is beyond me, but I will try my very best. Excuse rants and going off tangents, chaos and a lack of order. It's late, I want to type up my memories before they get more lost than they are already and I am typing away as things flow…

Mana's autograph session, Thursday

Lucky as I am, I won a ticket for the autograph session Mana was giving in the shop ‘Neotokyo' in Munich, Thursday before the performance. To begin this report it needs to be said that there were 100 tickets for this session on a short notice, they were put into a drawing contest for which you could sign up. Mana would sign the artbook “Magnifique” which contains pictures taken in France last summer, where I have seen him for the first time and gotten my first autograph from Mana-sama. There, I got to see him for all of thirty seconds and shake his hand. This should be slightly different….

In the end, more people won than came. I found that very sad. Some said they did enter the drawing contest even though they knew they could not make it to Munich on Thursday and others said they entered to win and boycott the signing session – because they were against having to buy the artbook for the autograph. My personal opinion doesn't really matter on this, but I think having to buy or possess the artbook is quite okay. And the artbook is worth it. I haven't heard anyone complain who was there and with all the mp3 business going on... ah well, that's just my opinion. However, in any case I find it very mean to steal the signing session tickets from people who'd have been able to go and possibly really wanted to go. Why do you take part in a drawing contest just to be an jerk or even though you can't really make use of the prize anyway. At least it was less signing work for Mana-sama that way. I hope he wasn't disappointed.

Unlucky as things sometimes are, we had to deal with the Neotokyo staff for the autograph session. I've had lots of trouble with this shop before and therefore my own reasons to dislike them, especially the chaos they tend to produce. This time, there were two emails on the autograph session, one saying it started at 5 pm, the other saying it started at 6 pm (which was correct).

I arrived at Neotokyo later than I thought, having miscalculated the distance from my hotel to the shop, but I had planned to go early anyway and was more than on time (4:30 pm). For the first time I met Yume, whom I had only known via the internet. It made me really happy to meet some crazy Mana-fans, when I am usually not around any at all. I also met new people and three Japanese girls who had come from Japan to see Mana and were the embodiment of ‘kawaii'. As was Amiyu (^_~) probably the only Japanese guy there in Moi-même-moitié clothes. He had to endure being photographed and stalked a whole lot.

Rumors and excited talking flew about anywhere and a close inspection of the chair Mana would be using on an upper-level-part of the shop. (^_^) I don't care much for rumors, but just to torture you until I really talk about Mana and for the fun of it, I heard Mana is 43 and has four children and a wife. It is utterly possible and I'd personally be very sad if Mana hadn't found anyone to spend his life with yet. Further, it leads to a lot of cute imaginations of Mana-daddy interacting with his children. (^_^) For those who even CAN imagine…. But they are unconfirmed rumors after all and actually not our business at all. As long as Mana is happy with whatever us happening in his life, everything's fine to me.

When we were there, we knew Mana was somewhere close in the back of the shop and probably heard how excited we were, given that we were squealing and screaming, hugging and the word ‘Mana' fell constantly (not only because some girls' internet-nickname was ‘Mana', hehehe).

Eventually, we were thrown out of the shop which luckily, LUCKILY had glass windows. Unlike in France last summer we'd be able to see Mana the entire autograph session long, even when we had to stand outside of the shop and press our faces against the glass. *leech*

Finally, Monsieur Mana came with a translator and a photographer, entering from a door at the upper level. Mana was wearing his pot-like (but beautiful!) hat with the bat on the side we already have seen in some Gothixc&Lolita bible. He also wore a black cincher and a white shirt and if I remember correctly (he sat down pretty quickly and I am not tall enough to see over people's heads!) a black skirt. His raven hair was down, as it is appropriate for that hat… all exclusively moi-même-moitié of course. Complete with a bunch of rings from his shop, his hands must have been incredibly heavy (^_~). No gloves (which is important, as you will see).

We were supposed to line up in front of the door which IS kinda difficult when you are able to see Mana idly playing with his fingers, waiting for the first people to come up to him, tell him where to sign their ‘Magnifique' copie and give him some presents (like letters, poems, flowers, cakes with easter eggs…).

Someone had written him a little letter and we could add a note. The girl who had started it went to give it to him, so everyone who was there on time added their part.

Mana's lips would twitch every now and then when someone spoke Japanese to him or he got some presents – well, as much of a smile as Mana could maybe manage … or not? … Wait and see….

People were let into the shop in groups of five and then could go up there alone or in pairs or even three people at once and get their books signed, shake Mana's hand and give him their presents. Mana's hand was warm, his grip light and gentle and very elegant. The contact lasted for mere seconds, but he let us touch him, just like he had done in France. His make up was perfect, yet not as perfect as I remember it from France. His skin, beneath the make up, had seemed clearer in France and in Munich he seemed to be wearing more make up than he had back then. Beneath his long fake eyelashes, blue contacts covered his natural eye color, yet didn't take the attentive intensity out if his expression. He looked at everyone, taking in their faces and actions.

I was in the second group of fight and went up there with Yume. Mana signed the front of my book first, before giving me his hand, I think as he got more routined, that order was switched around. I said “Konnichiwa” and bowed and also “arogatou gozaimasu” when he was finished and as he did to everyone who greeted him, Mana bowed back. I stayed on the side while Yume was getting her autograph and let my eyes quite shamelessly travel along his waist, seeing how thin he was, but so utterly beautiful. Unlike in France, this time I had not forgotten to take a look at his eyes. I missed the chance once to share a look with Mana, I wasn't going to do it again.

The signature, put wherever you wanted him to put it in the book, was made with a silver sharpie a girl had lent him (and claimed back rather happily after the session). The signature said “Moi dix Mois” in romaji and beneath it his name in Katakana. It looked exactly like the signature he had done in France, yet a bit different on every book, of course.

As I said (I think), Mana seemed a bit tired, but who'd blame him coming from Japan? Yet when I say Mana seemed tired… it's an impression I got. It's hard to read anything from Mana and easy to imagine things you'd expect him to do or feel like. Even his actions cannot be easily interpreted. Did he smile (really faintly!) because he was happy and couldn't keep it back? Did he want to smile or was he just too tired to realize his mouth was moving? Was he really tired, annoyed with something or relaxed? It's really hard to tell and I am sure everyone will give you a different opinion. Through the course of this report, I'll present you with my emotions, though and the impressions I got – maybe some things I picked up from talks with other people I've had who have been there with me.

The three Japanese girls who had also won a ticket had brought Mana presents as well, I believe. They stayed up there with him for a longer time than most of us, probably because they were actually able to tell him the things they wanted to say freely, while most of us had to remain with “Konnichiwa, Mana-sama”, “arigatou gozaimasu” or some more or less well-managed belated birthday wishes. How he really felt during all of that will be clearer when the fanclub-magazine “Madousho” contains a report from Mana's side – if it does (hopefully!).

Mana is incredibly thin, but whoever isn't aware of that? With the cincher around his waist, it was very visible. Rumors had it that he might or might not have talked back to the Japanese girls. Unfortunately, whenever someone was up there with Mana, they'd cover him in a way so that people outside could not really see him – they'd stand right in front of him. I asked the Japanese girls when they came out whether or not Mana had talked to him, but they confirmed to me that he really hadn't. So, if anyone tells you anything else, let me assure you, he didn't say a word. I got it right from the Japanese girls and I had asked them in Japanese, so I am sure they understood me (even though they cutely answered in English (^_~)).

Whenever another group of five people was let in (their names being checked – whether they had REALLY won the drawing contest!), Mana had a bit of idle free time, waiting for the next people to come up. He'd look at the crowd outside (in front of a big “NO PHOTOS” sign), seeming rather interested. He'd fold his hands or try to scratch his chin and then think better of it (because of the make up?). The table in front of Mana, slowly getting filled with the items that were his presents, had a white cloth, behind him was a big Moi-dix-Mois sign (white on black fabric) and two framed posters. One of the posters had “TO NEO TOKYO, Mana” written on there and another one “TO NEO TOKYO, Moi dix Mois”. A bunch of leftover fliers were piled up behind him. A little staircase of about six or seven stairs lead up to him but banister was made from glass mostly, so we had no troubles seeing him when nobody was standing in front of him – and likewise.

Climbing those steps was torture. I am sure we all felt like we'd stumble or fall, maybe we felt hot and were shivering at the same time and many people, when they came back down again, were not so sure whether they had said anything to him or what had happened. One girl to whom he had smiled that tad bit I mentioned earlier was close to tears. Everyone had their own interpretations to Mana's actions and were worried about the Japanese sentences they had said.

I think, even if the Japanese wasn't correct or the way it was spoken, Mana seems like someone who enjoys the effort and appreciates it. I don't think anyone needs to worry. (^_^)

When the session was over, Mana-sama got up from his chair and waved to the crowd waiting outside. It was rather cute, though unfortunately the way from the chair to the door wasn't really far and he was gone quickly. A minute or two later his lovely self appeared again, half-hidden by the open door – appearantly he was talking to the translator girl. We could see his hands gesture and then he vanished again and did not come back anymore.

Lot's of cell-phoning by the Neotokyo staff preceeded and followed Mana's appearance, giving us the impression that they were not quite sure what they were actually doing. It was dark when everything was finished and the shop was being closed. After a bit, the Japanese girls came back all excited and upset – one of them had lost their ticket for the concert!!! They knocked on the window and were let in by the staff, who said they had not found a ticket. Together they went searching and actually found it! The Japanese girls were overjoyed, bowed and thanked the staff and squealed and were relieved. How any human can be so utterly cute is beyond me, really. We wanted to kidnap them, really. <3

A few of Mana's fans stayed outside, hoping to see him when he'd come out. We couldn't see whether or not there was a back door to the shop, but we assumed there was none because everyone else had to use the front door. We hadn't seen Mana come in, though, but we assumed he had come in rather early that day. Also, the excited phoning and talking between Neotokyo and the Japanese people went on in the still illuminated shop.

I was being talked to about visual kei and then homosexuality by some weird stranger who passed by and wouldn't stop talking about how… oh well, that doesn't belong here, but let's say I don't get why he'd enjoy telling that to a lesbian so much. (~_~); Okay, I'd be straight for Mana at anytime (^_^). Or Juka… or Kazuno… or Tohru…K… uhm… excuse me. Call me pansexual. (^_^);;; I had a hard time getting rid of him, I REALLY wanted to talk to the other fans, but I didn't mean to push him onto anyone else. Any other time I'd probably have found the conversation remotely interesting, but at that very moment, Mana and his fans were more important to me. He disappeared at some point, though.

After a while of waiting, the group diminished, leaving only four (and a mother) behind. The four of us were staring at the shop hoping that Mana would come out, guessing that he won't just yet because he'd have to WALK to the car. There was no way a car could pull into the yard, for it was closed by bars. According to those who had already seen concerts in Japan, Mana would drive out in a car and maybe wave, but appearantly they'd never seen him walk out of a place and to the car… or at least that is how I understood what they were saying. I was very happy to meet them. They were from Austria and I knew one of them through livejournal. (^_^) Dressed all in Moi-même-moitié, they were simply amazing. I had not dared to put on cosplay or gothic lolita clothing (but I should have, because pretty much everyone else was dressed up). I was simply wearing black clothes and wristlets with spikes, a collar, the Moi-dix-mois pendant and a bit of dark make up, my long hair openly falling down in little waves because of the braid it had been in earlier.

Talking about hair – Mana's hair is not hip-length anymore, but waist length – well, the long part. We all know Mana's hair grows like crazy, anyway (^_^);;;

As we were waiting in front of the shop, some staff member told us Mana had left a while ago. After all, I think he was probably honest, but for us that was hard to tell, especially because that would make Mana the only one not having left through the front door. Itdidn't quite explain all the excited telephoning going on, either, if Mana was gone already. But then, why would Mana be scared to come outside to four shy little fans who just stood on the other side of the road and waited to just take a look at him, nothing else?

But then, whoever understands Mana?

We finally gave up when the entire staff had left and everything was dark. (^_^); Even if he was or had been still inside, we didn't want to get on his nerves or anything. We are nice groupies, really. We were really worried we could annoy him or give him any other unpleasant feeling.

I walked home in 10cm boots. (>_<) It was a long, painful way. Had I known my way around Munich that day already, I'd have easily taken the subway right in front of my hotel. Well, that way I at least got to know the place a little, so later on I'd find my way around more easily – also in my car.



Short notice on Friday

Friday was “free day” for the fans who'd stay in Munich for the concert. That day my friend koji__chan (Ko-chan) would arrive to share my hotel room with me, but in the morning I had some time on my own. I am sure Mana-sama and his fellow band mates were aware that their fans were now crowding (well, the few of them that were there) the city of Munich and possibly avoided it. Not making myself any illusions, I went and explored the city for my own benefit. I ended up in places I am sure Mana would have enjoyed – or has, if he had had the time. The gothic buildings and churches within the city are really nice, as is the castle of Nymphenburg. It looks very much like one of the places featured in “Magnifique”. Yet, if I were him, I'd not have visited such a place on Friday if I wanted to be left alone.

I doubt Moi dix Mois was doing sound checks or anything on Friday – the hall was booked that night, as far as I know. I hope one day, Mana will let us know what he did in Germany and how he enjoyed it. I wished I had a chance to ask.

When Ko-chan arrived we went to eat sushi (took us a while to find a place) and then searched for the hall to make sure we know where it is. To our vast surprise the street it was in was endlessly long and while our hotel was close to the street itself, it was not close to the hall on the street at all. We luckily found parking lots quite close, so we'd be able to go there by car the next day.

All in all, Friday was a wonderful day for me, especially because I got to go to a museum and a botanic garden I really enjoyed - and I played with butterflies. Ko-chan seemed very shy and quiet – I am also a remotely shy person, so we had a lot of silence. I enjoy silence and I enjoy being alone, so the day and the company were quite nice.



Before the concert, Saturday (yes, Mana is in this, too)

We drove by with the car on our way back from the city to see how crowded the front of the hall was around 10:30 am. A few lolitas were there already, so we decided to go back to the hotel quickly and change. I put on my almost perfect Beast of Blood live costume which only appears in one tiny little ShoXX video, but I love it to no end. I unfortunately don't have the right hair for it and couldn't resist wearing the Moi dix Mois pendant with it – so it was more or less a gothic creation with elements of Mana-cosplay.

When we arrived people we had met the day before were there already, so we sat down with them, sitting on my coat. *sweatdrop* I found out afterwards that they didn't quite remember me, but then, I did look a lot different from the last time we had met, considering I was in full costume now. We were quite an interesting bunch – there were people from all kinds of places like Sweden, Britain and Spain - and of course the cute little Japanese girls who were probably older than us, but sure didn't look like it. The Japanese girls were, just like the day before, dressed in pink and white. One Japanese girl was dressed in black Moi-même-moitié clothes and all of them were utterly pretty and sweet and acted just like you'd expect a sweet girl to act.

The few guys were quite an attraction to everyone. We were a rather mixed group - but everyone was nicely dressed up. As Ran said, it is rare that there is a concert with all prettily dressed up people. Ah, yes, Ran! I had met her Thursday already. On Saturday, we shared my jacket with Ko-chan to sit on. I was in short sleeves (as everyone knows who knows the costume I was wearing) and it started getting colder. We had arrived at 12:30 and by afternoon, I was shivering. Ran took me under her long jacket and cuddled me. (^_^) It helped a lot and we didn't have to move away from sitting on my jacket.

As it was getting later, more and more people arrived. Unfortunately they just placed themselves in front of all those who had already been waiting there for hours (some from really early in the morning on) - and on top of it, blocked the emergency entrance. Security got angry with us for blocking, people got angry at security for being sent away from the entrance and people got angry at people because they had put themselves in front, even though they had arrived only a few minutes ago. What used to be a sorted, civil line of people had turned into a big crowd without any order. It really sucked for those who had been there really, really early. It must have been frustrating for them.

As I am in the fanclub, we had special tickets – my friend and I – and a person who couldn't make it to the concert. In other words, we had one leftover ticket. I offered it (for money) to several people, knowing it was a fanclub-ticket and we'd possibly get in earlier than the rest of the people waiting there. I was surprised how many people didn't know about the fanclub being open internationally – considering it's all over Midi:Nettes', cdjapans' and Moi dix Mois' websites, on mailinglists, livejournal communities…

Anyway, people got actually angry at US for getting that privilege – that of being let in early. Each fanclub member could order five tickets if they wanted, altogether there were 50 people having such tickets – fanclub members and their friends. People also got angry at the Japanese people (some of them arriving a lot later than the first three girls). As far as I know, though I have no confirmation on it the deal with the Japanese people was the following: Because of coming to Europe from Japan for Moi dix Mois, they were allowed to take a special picture of themselves with Mana (something that Mana wouldn't have done with them in Japan). I don't know anything more than that, nor have I seen anything like that happening, but the Japanese had been separated from the others, just like we had been separated via the fanclub tickets from the people with normal tickets.

The Japanese people and the mon-amour members (or both, heheh) were allowed to wait on the yard in front of the hall while the others had to remain outside of the barrier on the sidewalk. Having already gotten our tickets from Neotokyo on Thursday, we didn't have to buy them there and could go right in front. The numbers of the tickets didn't matter, so even the fifty fanclub people would have to fight for their positions (with each other).

At that point we still had that ticket leftover nobody had wanted to buy from us. The fanclub ticket number 0007. It was Ko_chan's friends ticket, but it was about to get lost by just not being used so I, who had bought it for that person, decided to give it to Ran who had cuddled me in the afternoon when I was freezing – a little ‘thank you'.

Suddenly a lot of people would have bought the ticket… I think Ran deserved it, though, and I was also happy to have her close to me again. (^_^) She's nice.

Now I'd almost have kept Mana from you in this section of my report, didn't I?

Tohru arrived at the hall first, as far as I know (though we never saw Kazuno arrive). We weren't there yet, but people told us he was wearing a black shirt with orange writing on it, smiled and waved. Mana came two minutes before Ko-chan and I arrived. I heard he was in white car, in make up and his poofed-up head filled the entire space around him (^_^). It would explain why everyone suddenly jumped up. We could see it from far away as we were coming towards the hall.

We actually saw Juka-sama arrive with K-sama. Juka looked really short and his hair was still down. He waved at us. K hurried inside rather quickly and I didn't see him look over or anything (but he was also on the backside of the car). The two of them arrived in a silver van.

Anyway, mon-amour people were let in around 6:30 pm. The ticket numbers didn't matter in the end. There were two lines to wait. There was security to search you through for anything dangerous or anything to drink or eat (not allowed inside). I was second in the right line, but the girl before me appearantly waited for someone - so in fact, I was the first to enter the hall.

There were cameras which had already filmed the waiting fans (especially those of mon†amour( and they were also pointed at those entering. I saw two cameras during the show, of which one was almost constantly on Mana. There might have been more, I don't think I paid much attention to them, nor do I know what will happen to the material. Something that looked like a camcorder and not a professional camera was in the back of the stage, pointing at the audience.

When I entered the hall, I dropped off my jacket for 1.50 Euros and then I had an absolutely free choice as to where I'd stand – I was the very first there and wisely put myself on the right side of the stage where I knew Mana would be playing most of the time.

As for the stage set-up: There was a big Moi-dix-Mois logo in the back, white on black fabric. The hall wasn't really high enough for the piece, so that the words “moi dix mois” printed beneath the sign disappeared half behind the stage.

Huge boxes were hung up on the ceiling left and right of the stage. It wasn't a huge stage – just a plain square, lots of lights and boxes. I didn't see far to the left, but Mana had two monitor speakers (is that the correct English word? – The speakers pointed at the artists so they can hear themselves better?) as had Juka and K, but I don't know about Kazuno who stood somewhat in the back. Ohh… later, later more about that.

I placed myself between Juka's and Mana's monitor speakers, a little more on Mana's side and right in front of the drumset. That way I got Juka, Mana and Tohru close to me. The stage was small, so when I say close, it WAS close. Yet there was a barrier to the stage and it was too big to actually reach out and touch anyone, even if Mana or Juka themselves had reached out to us (which they didn't).

Now waiting really began – the hard part. Not only was there no more way we could sit down, we were getting squeezed from behind a lot when the others came in – even the other fanclub members standing behind us were squeezing us from every side, people were trying to get in front or push us to the side. Security later on told us that the hall was so full, there was about a meter of space in the back and that was it. There was the red-cross on the left side of the hall for those people who got fished out of the concert after fainting… there were a lot who fainted in the crowd. Even before the show started, three people were pulled out from the front and taken to the doctors. During the show, six or seven more followed (well, in the front, I don't know about any other places).


It was hot and my feet hurt from the high heels, but I knew it was worth every bit of pain.

As we were waiting, the lights were being tested. Occasionally the shadow of the Jeune Fille could be seen on the back wall from where I stood - elegant and proud and very distinct, though I couldn't actually see her. Did I mention the drums weren't in the center? They were a bit to the right. Mana got the most part of the right stage for himself, then Tohru, then Juka in the middle, Kazuno somewhat in the back to Juka's right and K on the other side of the stage, all the way to the right. Jun wasn't there, though.

As I was waiting, I got more than reassured that I WAS on Mana's side of the stage! First of all, there was no microphone and secondly: some Japanese people from the Moi dix Mois' staff appeared on our side and tuned the custom black Moi dix Mois Jeune Fille and the polished white sister which is so nicely smeared with blood. It would serve as a replacement in case a string on the black Jeune Fille would break, but that didn't happen. K's guitar, Kazuno's bass and Juka's microphone were being tuned and tested as well. They also worked on Tohru's drums some.

Cheers from behind could be heard as la Jeune Fille presented her voice so nicely, though it wasn't Mana who was playing, but some person who actually got to touch Mana's guitar so freely. (^-^)

Drinks were brought out for the band (with straws) and some spray (against sweat? Sure didn't work for Juka!). Kazuno, Juka, Mana and K got their drinks onto the amps, Tohru on a little box next to the drumset that was disguised with a black piece of cloth. Tohru had two base drums, nine high-hats and two tom-toms. That is all I could really see from down there. The drumset was by ‘Pearl' and there was black cloth inside for the right sound. As far as decoration goes, the M10M sign in the back was the only item, if you don't count the white Jeune Fille lingering in the back and K's and Kazuno's replacement instruments.

Security was walking along the front, people were calling the security to tell people to stop squeezing, but the security couldn't do anything. Would anyone have LISTENED to the security saying anything? Anyone back there? The security got slightly annoyed with the requests, there was lots of fruitless yelling and more and more pushing and squeezing.

The two hours up there in the front, unable to do anything but stand and wait and hope the masses from behind don't break your ribcage were horrible and endless. I entertained myself by following the lines of the Moi dix Mois signs with the eyes and listen to Ran talk to the nice guy next to her who was in a Gothic Lolita dress! (^___^)

Faintly, music was playing in the background – dark music, calm music, often sounding like distant thunder – it was well chosen. No vocals, just sounds. Whatever Mana does, he's sure trying to make it as perfect as possible. I watched the security people and the guy who'd mix the sound… the photographers and the guys with the cameras… and the German security people.

Looking towards the part where you could drop off your bags and clothes was interesting. It was an endless lineup of black jackets. *g*



The Concert, really

Finally the lights went dark and the stage got illuminated in dark colors, like blue and purple. The excitement was palpable and audible in the excited cheering. My memory is slowly fading, I tried to be conscious of everything so I could tell people about it, but things fade quickly and I often spaced out, completely caught up in the concert and the artists, in Mana's movements and Juka's voice.

We heard the beginning of Nocturnal Opera (= Invite to Immorality), even before anyone came on stage. I have no idea in what order they did come in, though I think Mana made his entrance and went to the left of the stage, let people cheer for him, then went to the center for the same and then to his place on the right (from our point of view) before the others came in. He was wearing his long-sleeved outfit with the velvet black pants and over-knee boots, the skirt-like drape, a corset and his hair was poofed up endlessly and perfectly. It was shorter than on the cover of Nocturnal Opera, but not considerably. Maybe it just stood up more? The long strands in the back frequently fell over his shoulders during the concert and he let them.

Besides having the two pointy ‘teardrop' parts under his eyes (you know what I mean, don't you?) he also had painted his face with something like a black flash with many branches from the corner of his right eye down his cheek, which is something I don't remember seeing on him before. Do I have to mention he was beautiful? He was. People often think Mana's pictures are so heavily photoshopped that he can't be anywhere near this in real life. He DOES look different in real life, no doubt – but different doesn't mean less beautiful. He looked absolutely stunning and it was very difficult to keep yourself aware of the fact that this was real – it seemed so impossible.

Mana surely looked more beautiful than on any picture I have seen - and quite genderless. I couldn't put a feeling of male or female to him, nor did I want to. A cross and the Moi dix Mois pendant were around his neck, too, and he was wearing completely finger-less gloves which I am sure you have seen on him before. Of course his nails were black and of course he walked most elegantly on his super-high boots.

Tohru disappeared behind the drumset rather quickly. His hair was light (not black) and very short. He looked a little chubby in his suit, but he really isn't. He's not muscular but because he wasn't wearing a shirt beneath, you could see a bit of his chest - which was well-defined and not chubby. What contributed to the impression of him being chubby was that he – as the drummer with two base drums – wasn't wearing high shoes like the rest of the band and seemed even shorter that way and not as long and stretched as the other band members.

Kazuno had good parts of his hair straight up in the air – it's beyond me how that hairdo can endure an entire show, but it can. He was wearing – like K – a white shirt with ‘moi même moitié' printed on it and a see-through black one on top of it. K, in the opposite of Kazuno - had a sleeveless one and ‘dix' written on his shoulder in black. I don't think it was a tattoo, but I don't know for sure. He was also wearing a collar, one of those big moi-même-moitié ones that ties up in the front and covers his entire neck. He was also wearing leather pants, but of course his moi-même-moitié clothes also contained a part that fell like an open skirt around them. His shoes weren't high boots but quite normal ones with a bit of a heel.

His hair was also poofy – but only to one side, given that he doesn't have any on the other. It elegantly poofed to the side (^_^). His white contacts were the most striking, giving him a staring, scary look. His muscles made him very manly, besides the hairdo. All-in-all, no matter what people say, I found him extremely sexy and his guitar play was utterly excellent, as were his screaming vocals and most of all – the energy he was spreading.

Juka was very prince-like in dresspant-like pants that were very tight in certain areas and a coat that buttoned up along his chest and then fell openly around his legs. The custom-made, blue moi-même-moitié lining on the inside was visible when he moved. His coat had long sleeves and his hair was only slightly poofy, giving him a slightly normal, elegant look. Just like Kazuno, he was a whole lot prettier than on any picture I have ever seen (and he's already really pretty there, isn't he?). He looked very young up there, too. Really, really darn beautiful…

If you're asking me which songs they played… listening to the CDs now I could swear they played each and every one of them, but of course they didn't. My memory gets faint that way, but about some songs I am sure and I'll try to somehow get things together in a way that makes sense – and if I only talk about what happened in the concert without saying during which song it was exactly.

At the beginning, Juka's voice was hardly audible – K and Mana were somewhat too loud, but somewhere in the second song the staff got things mixed correctly, though I personally found that the background sounds like harpsichords, chorus and organ were a bit too faint. Juka couldn't actually hear himself very well at the beginning, I think, and therefore missed some notes, but the rest of the concert he remained stunningly strong with his vocals and perfectly in key. When he talked to us, you'd realize he was a bit out of breath, but he singing remained absolutely powerful, not a bit of fatigue.

Juka would announce the songs beforehand, but sometimes it was hard to understand, due to cheering, the way he said things and the way I was paying too much attention to Mana (^_^). I can tell you for sure, though, that they were playing Ange somewhere in the beginning and that “Dialogue Symphony” was announced as “the song of Moi dix Mois' birthday” by Juka.

Other songs that were played from Dix Infernal were such as Front et Baiser, La Dix Croix, Pessimiste, Shadows Temple and I think Priere. There were more, but after listening to Dix Infernal and Nocturnal Opera in the car on a 4 ½ hours ride back, I am messing everything up.

A lot of songs from Nocturnal Opera were played. Monophobia came somewhere in the middle of the concert as did Mephisto Waltz, which is my absolute favorite. The Prophet was played as well which was very breathtaking because for a moment they'd just stand there and let the music play and looked really cool. Then K and Juka both did the screaming voices and Mana went wild. (^_^) For some song, Mana and Juka were playing together at the beginning without anything else playing… it was absolutely great. Of course Nocturnal Romance was played but I found it sounded a bit different due to massive guitar and faint chorus lines. The Jeune Fille has quite a voice! Kazuno did wonderful in Perish, apart from looking gorgeous playing it. It was either there or in Vizard where the strange noises Mana was coaxing out of the Jeune Fille and K out of his guitar were so scarily loud and high (but good). It took me a moment to realize that that was what they were doing.

Juka taught us an interesting movement during Night Breed, which I won't even try to repeat in words and at some point in the beginning. At some point, K had abandoned his guitar and just took a microphone and helped Juka with the screaming vocals. Before they started, they'd both just stand there with their hands lightly stretched out. K was wearing those tie-able arm thingies Mana sometimes wears. They went from his wrist to his elbow and standing there like a statue next to Juka they formed a breathtaking picture.

After the second song, everyone (except for Tohru) turned their back to us to have something to drink. Tohru flipped his sheet music so he could get to the next song and for a moment there was silence. The perfect moment to sing “Happy Birthday” for Mana, even though we were one week late. We were sure he'd understand. (^_^) It started somewhere in the back and I had the feeling some people on one side of the hall didn't pick up on it in time.

As we were singing, Kazuno was the first to turn around, I think he seemed a little confused. Mana followed and his face was twitching a bit. Mana seemed moved, but he was keeping control over himself and they launched into the next song.

A little later, K talked to us in German. I am not sure anyone really understood him, but it's so great that he tried! He said something like “Do you want #§+$&% ?!” in German and we all screamed back at him, regardless of what he said, anyway. He was quite an entertainer with a strong voice and a lot of energy to spread.

While Mana mostly remained on his side of the stage, he switched with K a few times and K would stare into the audience with his white contacts and asymmetric make up (one eye has something drawn around it). At some point, he and Kazuno were on our side and stood facing each other, playing at each other. It looked like Kazuno asked K ‘do you want to?' in silent language and then was utterly excited when they managed to pose together like that.

Another time, everyone (except for Tohru, naturally) went to the front – K to the left, Kazuno next to him, then Juka and Mana on the right, standing in a row, facing sideways and played. You could tell it was planned that way and choreographed, but not as tightly as things had been choreographed in Malice Mizer. As they were standing there, Juka and Kazuno smiled at each other for a moment before the group broke apart to their usual places.

Kazuno's place was unfortunately in the back between K and Juka and he barely got out of there. Once, when Kazuno went to the center (he was being introduced to us by Juka), he seemed really happy and made the dix-hand sign (which we did constantly, anyway – Mana was the first who ‘requested' it of us in the beginning of the show). Kazuno smiled and tried to get us to cheer even louder than we did already. You could tell he was enjoying the concert immensely.

I think Mana did, too. I can't say it was as obvious, though. For one thing, I saw he was sighing rather faintly at some point (at the beginning somewhere). His eyebrows and shoulders raised a bit as he took a deep breath and released it again. Another time his lips twitched as if he was about to smile – it was hard to recognize as the beginning of a smile and there was no obvious reason for it, unless things went on in Mana's head that we couldn't possibly follow. Looking at him, I get the feeling he's constantly thinking and contemplating things.

His eyes darted from one person to the next – I am sure he looked several times at everyone in the front row and he even watched as a security person pulled someone out of the crowd on his side before turning his attention back to his guitar. He also was very aware of the positions of the other members. K would not make a move to Mana's side unless Mana initiated switching, Kazuno once played back to back with Mana, but only after Mana had set himself there first (and with some space in between them). Mana had a scary lot of control there.

Mana would often stand in front of his monitor speakers or kneel down right in front of Ko-chan and me (and consequently the people behind us) and play his Jeune Fille. I swear he did all of his bazillion different ways of head banging, all in the ever-present, elegant Mana-style. For us, head banging was rather difficult, we had very little room, even in the front – it must have been worse inside of the crowd.

Our hands were up constantly, giving and returning the hand-sign and swaying with the music. I think a lot of people actually sang along with the Japanese lyrics and I wonder whether Moi dix Mois was surprised by it. (^_^) I heard someone said about the Japanese concerts that - without doing the screaming vocals - Juka seemed quite prince-like. He did seem prince-like, but he often shared those screaming vocals with K, he didn't stop doing them completely.

Ah, yes, Mana threw picks, of course. Often at the end of a song he'd finish his phrase and then throw the pick with the last beat of the phrase or the song with quite some energy – it was like ‘last stroke – throw' in one movement but abruptly finished by the rhythm. The picks must have flown quite quickly because my eyes couldn't even follow one of them. He'd then go back to his amp and pick up a new one.

Now we were also really surprised to be presented with a new song!!! Juka announced it and then it began with K and Mana playing the same phrase in turns, then joining together. The spots would switch between them, depending on who was playing. Such a song would logically strengthen K's position in the band because the sense of it is having two alternating guitars… but most of all… it was a good song!

As to whether the other songs sounded different with the two guitars… well, many of them were written for two guitars and you can hear both on the CDs, so there actually wasn't much of a difference, but for some songs you could tell they had a slightly different arrangement. I cannot say whether or not the ‘harder' sound of Moi dix Mois is due to the two guitars, the fact that this was a live or the mixture of the different instruments and voices. On stage and live, everything is a bit different than on CD, naturally.

Of course there were always some little things to notice here and there. Mana was tickled by his own hair and tried to get it away when his hand was free, a few times he shifted his guitar strap, he'd often hold up his Jeune Fille - and of course he spun around once. Juka did the same – spinning – at a different time and his lovely coat flew around really nicely. He also almost went to his knees singing at us – he was fully there, fully enjoying himself – and really sweaty. (^_^) Poor Juka started dripping when he was hardly on stage, he must have been hot in those heavy clothes.

Mana, as always, hardly showed any sweat, but there were a few droplets here and there. We were quite relieved to notice, that even Juka's make up got a little smeared on the lips, though Mana's remained stunningly perfect as always. Well, almost. Between songs he'd sometimes breathe through slightly parted lips and you could see his teeth shimmer through. (^_~)

Ah… I could type on endlessly, but I am getting tired. There was so much to take in and I should slowly come to the end.

The last song was “Pageant”. When it started I could have sworn this is ‘half-time', not the end! The concert seemed so short, but now when I am counting up the songs, I begin to think that it must have been endless, actually!

Ah yes, of course Mana made us move for Pageant just like he did in the DVD – as did the other members. Juka's voice sounded so incredibly cheerful singing that song and we shared the fun with the band. As far as I am concerned, this was the best part of this perfect show and the song should have lasted for so much longer.

Unfortunately, Moi dix Mois left the stage quite quickly and without letting themselves be cheered for one by one for an appropriate amount of time. Juka had announced the members' names at the very beginning of the show somewhere, last but not least “Mana-sama” who – of course – got cheered for the most. However, in the end, they just kind of left the stage and were gone. Tohru came up front briefly before he left, but then just walked off the stage. Mana left last, of course. He was also very far away from the entrance because the stage entrance was to the left.

We called and screamed and yelled “Moi dix Mois, Moi dix Mois, Moi dix Mois,…” for five minutes, we switched to “Zugabe” (= encore) and “en-co-re”, some people were calling for “Mana-sama, Mana-sama”. After five endless minutes, the lights in the hall were on ‘dim' and the security looked confused, some Japanese guy stood on the stage and made a weird hand-sign which I am not sure those who were supposed to understand it really understood. Eventually the hall got dark again and the stage light came on.

Mana-sama came out, his face freshly powdered (or so it seemed), bowed and let himself be cheered for on the left side of the stage, the center and the right. Then, he disappeared again.

Any more calling and cheering was fruitless. The lights went on, people began taking things off the stage, packing cables and taking the barriers away – the concert was over.

We – who had neither drunken nor eaten (so we wouldn't have to use the bathroom) went and bought something fluid before going outside, finding people we had met earlier, taking pictures, talking to them…

Buying beverages and merchandise first was possibly a mistake because by the time we got out, Mana was gone already. He had apparently left right after the show, before anyone could really come out and see him leave. Maybe standing in the very front, though, would have made it impossible either way to get out in time to see him.

The camera-people (Japanese) who were inside of the hall were filming the ‘aftermath' commotion and the people who left. Passing the camera I told Mana in Japanese to come back again and the camera guy laughed. (^_^)

The few of us who stayed outside for as long as we could got to see Juka leave (and he waved at us) in the silver van and Kazuno was possibly with him. It was then that we heard Mana was gone already and we had missed him again.

Well, those going to France have maybe another chance to catch a glimpse of him after the concert.

As far as I am concerned, there are a few things that need to be said. First of all, the concert was beyond any description I could give. The playing, in it's style and technique was near absolute perfection as was the show and the energy spread there. I could not have been happier in any other concert and I can't express in words how exciting and wonderful it was. To be able to see Mana – THE Mana – do all the things you know from DVDs – presenting the Jeune Fille, striking it so elegantly, spin and head bang, to see Juka – pretty Juka – in real life, to watch Tohru work so hard on the drums and be utterly good at it, to see Kazuno's happy (and beautiful!) face and the unique chance to be one of the people who get to see K in action so early in his career in Moi dix Mois… the facts alone are remarkable, the feeling was and is incredible.

Mana's blue-made eyes, the looks, the typical movements, his slim body and perfect make up, Juka's stable, strong and yet melodic voice being sung to us live, the feeling of many people just enjoying themselves in the crowd, seeing K's efforts to actually communicate with us and see how he is completely part of the band - the joy on Kazuno's and Tohru's faces who must love their instruments to death….

The perfect playing of Moi dix Mois, the fine clothes, the lights, the sound and the loss of our own voices due to screaming… And to be allowed to see such things as Mana fighting (and unfortunately winning) against the urge to smile, to be there with him and – in a way – communicate and see the band perform this unique kind of music… unless you went there, you cannot possibly imagine.

Moi dix Mois sure made up for hours of waiting, painfully long standing and a hot, tight crowd (^_^). It was really them – not only Mana, even though that is already something incredible, it was all of them and they were playing for us and hopefully enjoying this performance as much as we did.

My personal feeling is that they did enjoy themselves, that we were a good and cheerful audience and that everyone left the stage with satisfaction and a positive feeling. And I hope they'll have just as much fun in France and maybe recognize a face or two because a handful of people travelled on, following them for the next concert.

I hope I won't forget those little moments so quickly – the moment Kazuno lifted his hand with the devilish ‘dix' sign and tried to look so serious but had to smile, the moment Tohru went up front and lifted his hands to say goodbye, K's scary white eyes and the dramatic stances Mana can bring forth right before the end of a song.

I don't doubt that feelings will last – standing before Mana & Co is quite unique and exciting in a strange, new way. It will take a while to grasp that this was really them and that I've heard all those beautiful songs being performed live and that I now have my own personal memories of such a performance.

I also hope Moi dix Mois knows that they brought people together who have only known each other through distant connections and that they helped form new friendships where they performed. I really hope they weren't bothered by us waiting for their cars to pass by to wave, because we really didn't mean to bother them at all. None of us would have lifted a camera or tried to take pictures – we respect the artists way too much.

There had been a warning about taking pictures at the beginning of the show (German, English and Japanese) – the same as when Mana came to France the first time: Moi dix Mois might leave the stage if pictures are taken. That threat really works (^_^);.

I hope everyone in the band was happy enough to return some day.