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clubgazette · 1 year

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Live manners & how-tos in Japan

Drawing some parallels from Kou’s post, I thought I’d write one that’s more gzt specific as many people travelling for them aren’t going to be attending small indie lives with more complicated social rule sets. Also to just make it easier for the newly opened gzt travel discord! 🎉

Keep in mind I’m in no way qualified to say this is an exhaustive list, it’s just stuff I’ve picked up over the years of attending gzt’s lives in Japan and things I would’ve found helpful back in the day.

1. General manners

No photographing or videoing during the lives. Most bands in Japan will not permit photographing, video or sound recording during their lives. This also includes the GazettE. It goes without saying it’s incredibly distracting for other concertgoers and disrespectful to the band. You will get thrown out of the venue, and might even be banned from the venue or the band’s lives in future.

Be mindful of your fellow concertgoers. This includes things such as apologising and making sure the other party is ok if you accidentally knock your heads together, helping out and/or alerting staff if someone is unwell, and taking care to not get too much into other people’s space (sometimes can’t be helped for standing lives, but don’t push to the point where people can’t breathe because of you).

Be quiet when the band talks to the crowd. It’s of course fine making noise in response to what they’re saying, but it’s considered very rude if you talk while they’re addressing the crowd.

Be quiet during ballads. Even though you might want to sing along and it’s common to do so in your home country, it’s considered respectful being quiet for this part of the live. Most fans will also not move much for these parts, though there are some exceptions (”half-ballads” like Chijou or THE MORTAL for example) where some people will move along to the beat. People also generally do not sing along to other songs either unless Ruki calls for it (e.g. parts of FitB, Gabriel, ATTITUDE, Hyena).

You may bring bottled water with you inside the venue, but please be careful so the bottle(s) do not get in the way for others by placing/throwing them on the floor. This can be extremely dangerous if someone trips or slips during the live! It goes without saying, but do not throw anything on stage or at other concertgoers either.

It is completely fine not following the furi (although if you’ve never done it, I highly recommend you try it out sometime - the GazettE’s furi is generally quite easy and straightforward once you’ve seen it a few songs. You can also check Reida’s youtube channel to get a general feel beforehand. Want to know a little bit more about furi terms? Read Kou’s post here). The main point of attending a live is to have fun! Be aware, though, that if you are not moving, people will be bumping into you and/or hitting you with their hair. This is not to be rude to you personally, it’s just what it’s like being at a live where the vast majority of the crowd moves along to the music. Likewise, if you are moving and someone in your vicinity isn’t, don’t feel bad about hitting them with your hair. It’s part of being at a live. Obviously do apologise if you hit them hard or it gets completely out of hand, but in general people know what they’re signing up for when they go to see the GazettE live.

Join in for the encore call if you are able. It’s fine going for a toilet break or have some water, talk to your friends etc during the break, but it’s considered good manners taking part in the encore call for at least some part of the break.

If you get in contact with the people around you before the live starts (this be eye contact for longer than just at random or actually conversing), you might want to gauge if it feels appropriate saying yoroshiku onegaishimasu (”please take care of me/hello we are attending this live together”) with a small bow of your head. Having this sort of small interaction with the other fans around you helps soften the atmosphere. Most gazegya are friendly and playful, but a little mindful of obvious foreigners :)

Likewise, if you were in contact with the people around you during the live and you look at eachother again after the show, a small “otsukaresama desu” (”thank you for the live”) accompanied with a small head bow/nod is a nice finish to the evening for all parties. Do not worry if it doesn’t happen, though, not everyone is out to connect with strangers.

Finally, take care of your health! Make sure you’re properly hydrated and have eaten during the day of the live so you won’t crash during the show. Wear earplugs to protect your hearing - once it’s gone, it’s not coming back. Japanese venues do generally not hand these out so you have to bring your own. I highly recommend investing in specialised ones if you attend live shows often.

2. Hall tours (seated lives)

Your ticket will have an assigned seat. You cannot sit anywhere else unless you have arranged a swap with someone else.

To find seat maps for each venue, you can google the name of the venue + 座席 (zaseki, seat). The only exception to this is some larger halls where the arena setup might be a bit different from time to time if the band decides to have a different stage setup than standard (for example Tokyo Dome, Yoyogi national gymnasium (15th anniv) or Nippon Budoukan).

Seat swapping can be arranged with other fans online, typically on twitter, or in person. Seat swapping is not arranged by the venue or ticket distributor. The most normal seat swapping is in the same row range, but from one side of the hall to another (e.g. you’re an Aoi fan but got seated in front of Uruha). Typical manners is not giving up your exact seat location when posting for a seat swap, but rather specify a small range in the area you’re in. If you find someone who’s interested in swapping with you, you will arrange it in DMs and swap seats once you’re both inside the hall day of the live.

It’s not the norm to sit during the live. You can if you want to, of course, but do not expect others to sit, even during ballads. Rather, the seat is treated as your personal space, and you can keep your bag, jacket etc with you instead of storing it in a coin locker or similar. Be aware people will be moving around you, so take care to not bring so many items with you inside so they get in the way for others (e.g. very large bags, several shopping bags or similar).

3. Standing tours

Your ticket will be numbered. As such, sleeping outside the venue or queueing a whole day is not allowed and will not grant you a better spot inside the venue. You may of course queue earlier for goods, but people generally do not queue crazy early for goods either except for “one offs” like finals and anniversaries. Goods sales typically open around 14-15, queueing from around 11-12 should be enough to be almost first in line for a normal tour live.

Wear suitable shoes, i.e. nothing that will put you or others in harm’s way during the live. Steer clear of high heels or very tall platforms.

Standing venues in Japan have a compulsory drink fee. This was recently raised to 600¥ at most places, but a handful of venues are 700¥. Please check beforehand so you’re prepared. As the drink fee is paid either right before or after they check your ticket, make sure have the exact amount at hand so you can enter the venue smoothly. You do not want to get caught up waiting for change while others go past you and inside the venue! They will give you a token in exchange for the drink fee. You’re free to keep this as a memento if you like, or you can trade it at the bar for a drink of your choice before, during or after the live. You may, however, not use the token another time in lieu of the drink fee at the door.

If your ticket number is <200, it’s a good idea to be at the venue a little before doors open. Staff will start organising the queue according to people’s ticket numbers 10-15-20 min before the doors open (depending on the size of the venue). Typically there will also be signs stating which general number group should be waiting where (1~100, 101~250, 251~400 etc), but for smaller venues the staff will just be calling out who goes where.

It’s a good idea learning how to say your number in Japanese, and to recognise what the general number block you’re in sounds like in Japanese to make sure you’ll be able to enter in time for your ticket. For larger venues there might be signs by the entrance saying which numbers they are currently calling, but for smaller venues you will have to rely on your ears. If you for example have ticket number 132, you might want to know what 100, 110, 120, 130 sounds like so you know when to prepare to go forward. Numbers will be called reasonably fast and once they get past 100 they tend to be called in blocks of 5, 10, 15 and 20 at a time. If this stresses you out or you are very uncertain, ask others for help! As long as their number is a little higher than yours (so they don’t have to rush in first or right after you), most people are friendly and helpful.

Once inside the venue, respect other people’s space. Stand close enough that you brush shoulders, but do not push up against people so they cannot move or breathe properly. Adjust your position along with how other people around you are moving as the venue fills up. Although gzt lives typically won’t be quite as spacious as indie lives, you should be able to comfortably headbang and do furi without immediately knocking your head or arm into someone. There typically is a bit of a push towards the front at the start of the live, you’re of course welcome to follow the push if you want to get closer, but keep in mind that everyone is there to have fun and nobody has fun if they’re constantly at the verge of passing out because they’re being pushed too hard.

It’s generally accepted for you to leave your spot and come back to it during the live if you need to go to the bathroom, feel dizzy, or get a drink. It’s easier if you are with a friend who can “hold” your spot, but even if you are alone fans will expect you to come back as long as you don’t take too long. *This obviously does not go if you have saizen.

#the gazette #text: tips

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