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anystalker707 · 4 years

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Cardboard Boxes

Pairing: Gerard Way x Reader Genre: Angst/Comfort Word count: 1 814 Summary: Gerard and (y/n) are organizing their things when they find not just their things, but also memories

"I told you! I knew that we had more CDs than the ones in the shelves!" I grin pulling some CDs from a cardboard box and inspecting them. "KISS, Led Zeppelin, my Rolling Stones one..." I mutter, setting them back inside the box after checking at least half of them. "We gotta place them back with the others."

"How did they get in here?" Gerard asks and I shrug, placing the box away and grabbing a black folder that lays aside. I swear I've gone through five folders already and none of them have useful contents, all they've got inside are useless papers that I don't even remember why did we keep it.

This one, however, is different. My face lightens up as soon as I see what's inside. "Hey, look at that!" I say getting the papers in hands and foiling it. He shoots me a questioning look before walking over and sitting next to me on the floor. From the papers, I get a picture we took when we had just started the band; there stands Mikey with his bass; Ray, Frank and I with our guitars, Gerard with a mic in hands and Matt with his drumsticks.

When Gerard's eyes land over the picture, they widen and his lips curl open into a grin; he takes it from me. "I didn't even remember we had this!" He brings it closer to his face, analyzing it. "Plain 2002."

"Right?" I ask with a chuckle, moving my attention back to the papers. "A shame we didn't write the date in everything." I comment getting another photo in hands. "Nowadays, we take a step and write down the date and time." He laughs at my comment, handing me back the pic and I give him the one I got. "Look, this one is from when we presented in New York for the first time."

"Why are those here?" He asks, looking at the paper.

"No clue." I say and grab a what seems like to be a page ripped from a notebook or something. It's blank- wait, no, it's just the wrong side. Turning it around, it's seen one of Gerard's drawings. "January 6 2003." I read the date out loud, getting Gerard's attention.

"What? What's this?" He leans a bit towards me, placing his chin over my shoulder.

"Drawing of me." I turn it a bit towards his direction.

"Cringy." He comments, wrinkling his nose lightly.

"It isn't!" I raise my eyebrows at him. "It's precious! Gonna post in Instagram later." I return it to the folder and continue looking through its contents.

"Will you really?" He asks and, without looking up at him, I nod. He whines quietly, leaning his head against mine for a moment before moving away. "Look," He says, holding up a book. "this book Ray gave you in 2015."

"I was thinking about it some days ago!" I exclaim, immediately getting the object in hands and grinning as I foil it. In one of the first pages, there's a dedication Ray wrote. Really cute. Gerard chuckles quietly at my desperate manner, but I just shake my head lightly. "Do you think he remembers about this?" I ask, placing the book over the CDs box.

"Maybe." He tilts his head. "Take a photo of that later and ask him." In response, I raise my eyebrows lightly, nodding.

"Look here," I say handing him another picture. "I couldn't stop laughing while took that one." A chuckle leaves my lips at the memory. "2004 were wild times." I comment and he nods when seeing the picture, chuckling too. There's Frank with his face white because of purposely passing too much powder on his face as a way to mock Gerard in the Bullets tour. He sits with his legs crossed and his hands above his knee, shooting the camera a smug look.

"I can't even find it weird," Gerard comments, "that's basically Frank being himself."

"Yeah!" I agree and get another photo, smiling, "I also took this one that's Mikey trying to look like Doyle Wolfgang. And," My smile grins when I get a photo of Gerard, "you." In the image, he grins as having his hair all over his face. "We could barely see you under all that hair, but you never changed until The Black Parade."

His eyebrows furrow lightly and he pouts as looking at the picture then at me. "It was nice." Raising an eyebrow, I narrow my eyes at him. "At least I liked it." He justifies and I shrug, tilting my head. "Sometimes I kind of miss the white hair, but I then I remember why I hated it."

"Y'know, I can't choose a hairstyle I like the most," I smile, putting on a defeated look, "all of them are awesome and you're always cute." His cheeks redden lightly at my comment and I wink. He rolls his eyes in response. There's a moment of silence as I look through the folder's papers again and Gerard does something himself.

"Do you remember we always watched this?" Gerard hands me a VHS tape box. The Man Who Fell to Earth, it says. "Like, we watched it so frequently that it doesn't even play anymore. We didn't have anything to do? Okay, let's watch the movie again."

"True!" I comment, turning the object on my hands. "We should watch it again. Do you think we can find a DVD or maybe in the internet?" I raise an eyebrow, setting it next to the book Ray gave me.

"Maybe, but I bet it'll be difficult. Or not, nowadays you can find anything." He shoots me a wondering look.

"Not everything; I couldn't find The Anvil by Visage anymore, plus that movie is older than us." I say and he mutters an agreement.

"1998!" Gerard exclaims in a tone that makes me immediately look at him, confused.

"What?" I ask through a laugh.

"This!" He shows me a photo of us together. "When we were in arts college yet." He holds it in front of me and I narrow my eyes, analyzing it.

"Cute!" I smile, noticing we were clearly awkward when it was taken. "Why do we have so much important stuff kept here like this?" I ask as carefully grabbing the photo and placing it between the things I'm not placing back inside the cardboard boxes neither throwing away.

"You get it that we don't touch those boxes since 2013, right?" He asks quietly and I silently agree, getting what he means and not wanting to go further in the subject.

"Smol us in a Metallica concert." I say handing him a picture of Gerard and I in a concert I practically dragged him to. "Here, Frank and I." I give him yet another, where Frank and I stand next to each other and he still had those dreads. "Ray and you." The photo shows Gerard and Ray behind the glass of a studio, both with thumbs up; probably from summer of 2003.

"Do we have this many frames?" Gerard says through a hopeless laugh.

"Damn, I don't know!" Desperation present in my voice as I breathe a laugh too. "No way I'm keeping such important pictures hidden!" I put everything back inside the folder before setting it next to the CDs box. Standing up, I carefully step between all the books and objects thrown on the floor and the open cardboard boxes. One of the boxes has just books and folders inside it, I bend down to take it away from there.

"Look at what I found!" Gerard exclaims and I immediately approach, kneeling behind him and placing my hands on his shoulders. I ask what's it and he simply smiles as showing me a paper with some sloppy handwriting all over it and some small heart drawings here and there.

Furrowing my eyebrows, I take the paper in hands and bring it closer to read what's written, sitting back on my legs in the process. My eyes slowly widen as I understand what's it. "It still exists..." I groan playfully, hiding my face on Gerard's shoulder; I can feel it moving as he quietly laughs. "So cringy..." I sigh, smiling, as reading the paper again. It's a letter, one of the really cheesy ones I wrote Gerard when we were dating. It's not like we lived far from each other or couldn't speak frequently, we were just two idiots in love. Shit, we still are.

"I loved those. Love those." He comments and I smile even more, placing a kiss to the side of his neck and looking over his shoulder, seeing he has a folder in hands now. It's one from when I worked in a instruments store and used to keep the store registers in there plus that's also why it's full of instruments brands stickers. I kept it because of the rare stickers and emotional attachment.

"And yours? Are they there too?" I say in a slightly teasing voice, reaching for the folder. Gerard, however, is faster and moves it away.

"Nuh huh." He looks back at me, twisting his mouth lightly. "If yours are cringy, mine are ten times worse!" His tone is playfully.

"Who cares, Gerard?" I laugh, setting the paper I have in hands aside and reaching for the folder. His crossed legs position is of course a disadvantage to him and I'm able to successfully get the folder in hands, sitting down next to him when doing so. I notice it's kinda heavy when placing it over my lap. Gerard's gaze doesn't leave me the whole time as I grab the letters in hands. I hold up a specific one. "You say it's cringy," I shoot him a bored look, "but those are fucking awesome. Cheesy and cliche as fuck? Sometimes, obviously; but it's so deep and inspiring that they make me want to write too!" His face reddens as his lips curl up into a sheepish smile.

"I tried to write something to match your amazingness." He says flirty, winking.

Not answering at first, I stare at him and finally crack a grin, "Oh my God, now you were cringy!" I exclaim, laughing, "I don't think that exists!"

"I know!" He starts to laugh too and buries his face on his hands.

"God, so cute!" I say placing the folder on the floor and moving closer to him - Gerard's red face comes into view as I pull his hands away. He looks at me with a small smile and I internally melt at the sight. We just look at each other smiling in silence until he leans his forehead against mine and the both of us close our eyes, sharing a silent 'I love you'.

#x reader #gerard way #gerard way imagine #gerard way x reader #gerard x reader #mcr imagine #mcr #my chemical romance #imagine #angst #comfort #my post

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headoverhiddles · 5 years

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Universally Loathsome - Marilyn Manson x Reader

Synopsis: After his show at the Hard Rock in Orlando, you and your man put your complimentary Universal Studios park passes to good use.

Notes: I wrote this because Universal Florida is my happy place, and I need a pick me up right now lol. Also, this takes place right after this concert, so Heaven Upside Down era.

His lazy drawl fills the Hard Rock Cafe arena, as the strobes go crazy.

"I love you beautiful motherfuckers so much," he points to the crowd, to a response of deafening cheers, "Florida's where it all started for me, and... I almost got arrested for indecent exposure in Jacksonville, which is... pretty close to here." More cheering. "So if any willing gentlemen in the crowd would like to come up here... and let me put my dick in their mouth..." The cheers grow. "...History can repeat itself." He grins, stumbling around and leaning on the mic stand. "I wonder what would happen if I... oops," he pops the top button of his vest open. "Oh no, I can't believe I just showed you all my tits, ahh, I'm such a slut..."

The crowd is going absolutely insane, and he winks over to you suggestively. You watch your boyfriend, trying to hold in your giggles. He's in what he likes to call rascal mode tonight, you can tell. And good thing-- you two roped complimentary passes inside the theme park for the rest of the night to celebrate, so he can let out all this energy after the show. The regular park closes in a half an hour, horror nights too, with it being Halloween, but the extra hour is just for you two, paid for well no doubt.

After Mar's done and the strobes distract the audience enough for him to bound off stage, he runs into your open arms. After you hug your sweaty man, he picks you up, spinning you around and smiling like a big kid.

"Let's go play."

"Shower first," you give him a stern look. He nods, resigning himself to the fact that he's really gross and covered in sticky glitter makeup.

You hang out backstage as he gets cleaned up, saying goodnight to some of the roadies. You check social media and search for this concert, as you do sometimes just for fun, and see people already sharing photos they'd taken of Marilyn screaming or wading into the crowd.

You snort to yourself, and save one that looks right up his nostril. Beautiful angle, and perfect for blackmail when he's being a dick.

"Let's do this."

You turn, and see him dressed in a hoodie that reminds you of the full body zip from his High End Of Low days.

"I know what you're thinking, and no, this is not the depression hoodie," he sticks a finger in your face and wags it. "I burned that a long time ago." You pretend to bite his finger, and take his arm.

Your bodyguards, who warily agreed to leave the two of you alone once you get into the park, lead you down, out the back door of the hotel venue, and through a citywalk shortcut to the front gates of Universal Studios Orlando.

"I haven't been here since I was a teenager," you grin, listening to the entrance music and sighing from the nostalgia. "This has always been my happy place."

"I've literally never been here," he tells you, "We go to the one back home in LA, but I've never been to this one myself. I used to live here but I only ever wreaked havoc on Disney with Twiggy."

"Oh, Universal was spared?"

"Until now, yeah. So you'll have to be my tour guide here." He takes his sunglasses from his face, hands them off, and turns to his guards. "Okay, that's fine, we're fine."

"Sir, we really think--"

"We talked to the park operators, and there's like... nobody here right now, we're both fine," Marilyn insists, "Bye." So, you two are left alone as you walk toward the gates.

Your passes are scanned by an older woman who doesn't seem to recognize Marilyn, since his name on the pass is Brian. For the best. To your left, towers one of your favourite rides.

"The Rip Ride Rockit," Marilyn reads the sign, "Ooh. Ooh, I wanna do this. Fuckin cool looking."

"Bri, you get sick on roller coasters."

"I'm too drunk to be sick, the drunk sick makes me not motion sick."

"Well, glad to hear your body has a system," you sigh, and he takes your hand as you two run toward the lit up ride.

"You get to pick your song as you ride," he muses, "Motherfuckers should have my songs on here."

Because he likes to stir shit up and see what he can get away with, Marilyn uses a VIP lanyard with his face on it to get into the express lane.

"Uh..." the young employee hesitates, frowning, "Sir, this is a meet and greet for that concert, not for--" Marilyn puts his hood down, and the guy's eyes widen. He waves you both through, starstruck.

"Whoever said you shouldn't use your fame to get stuff... probably wasn't even famous," Marilyn says, pulling you up the steps.

"What's the hurry?" you laugh, trying to keep up, "You're just gonna throw up all over me anyway."

"It's a music ride, that's very exciting to me," he says. You can't deny you've missed this ride too, so you keep up.

You're the only two on the roller coaster train as you both pull the bar over from the side to strap yourselves in. The employee working comes over to check, and gives a thumbs up to the operator.

"Give me a handjob," he giggles.

"No! I'm gonna rip your dick off if we do that on this!"

"Nah, that'd happen like... on the Mummy." Apparently he remembers what the Mummy is like in the LA Universal park, and he's not wrong. "Uh. Uh," he starts to snap his fingers as the ride goes up, "Yeah. Hell yeah."

"What song?" you laugh.

"Stronger, by my boy Kanye."

"He's a dickhead, you know."

"So am I, doesn't make my music any less amazing."

You smirk. You'd picked Stronger as well, anyway.

After the ride, Marilyn hangs onto you, a little bit woozy. "That was a mistake."

"I told you."

"I don't listen, I'm a child, you know this. I don’t like the rides, but the rides like me."

You two walk through the park, past the San Francisco area of the water in the middle.

"This is nice. Just walking."

"Yeah," he says. "It's nice not to vomit." You rest your head on his shoulder, giggling.

You two do a few more rides-- he has way too much fun in Men in Black shooting at everything, and Simpsons becomes a favourite, even if the only part he could keep his eyes open for was the funny queue playing the episodes. He even takes some dark, creepy pictures with the employees in Diagon Alley, posing in his new Slytherin scarf he bought.

"Can this be used for sexy purposes?" he asks one of them, holding up a wand. The girls giggle, and you roll your eyes.

"Um. Wouldn't recommend it," one responds.

"On the other hand..." the second one shrugs, "It's magic. You could just make it into something that could be used for sexy times."

"I like the way this one thinks," Marilyn smirks. "(y/n), I'm gonna use this in you."

"Like hell you are.”

“Please?”

“You can use it to spank me.” You lean in to whisper. “It’s too thin to put it in.”

Marilyn buys the wand just to make up for the trouble he's causing the poor employees.

You head out of Harry Potter world, and circle back around to do ET.

"I wanna do the Mummy again. And what about those big ones across the citywalk thing? Spiderman, he's cool. I wanna do his ride."

"That's the other park. If you wanna deal with your manager having a meltdown by requesting another day here tomorrow, that's your call." He immediately takes out his phone, and you huff, feeling sorry for the guy, always having to rearrange flights last minute.

"Yeah, hey. It's me," Marilyn drawls into the phone, "I need another day here tomorrow. No, I'm just... I'm gonna be really hungover. Lots of vodka and drugs and stuff. Yeah. Amphetamines, got my face in a big... yeah, really bad, I won't be able to fly tomorrow." His eyes light up like a kid in a candy store as he sees the Halloween Horror Nights 2018 tribute store. "Gotta go, I'm snorting coke off (y/n)'s tits. Cancel my flight!"

You both run in, and get shirts from inside-- yours is a Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers one, and his is a Killer Klowns from Outer Space one, with a little clown in boxing gloves on it that says 'Shorty's Boxing Gym: Knocking Blocks Off Since '88." He poses for a picture of the new shirt in front of an old horror movie poster, hands in his jacket pockets and doing his signature sneer. He posts it on his Instagram, captioning it:

Next motherfucker's gonna get my metal. Pic📷: @(y/handle) #justustwoclowns #wannatussle #truelove #wehatelovewelovehate #happyhalloween #universalorlando #shooterjennings.

You head inside the Egyptian crypt that leads to the Mummy, listening to Brendan Fraser's fake interview about the strange things going on on set.

"I met him once," Marilyn tells you, "He was scared of me, he thought I was flirting with him."

"I can see how he would. You're just overly affectionate," you pat his arm.

"And high as fuck, but I wasn't flirting with him. He's too much of a pretty boy for me."

"Yet you still wanna fuck Johnny," you tease him, and he grins, unable to refute that.

You finally get to the loading area after Marilyn stumbles over four posts in the dark queue. The lady there squeals. She's a different one than the one working earlier, and she's obviously a fan.

"Sorry for her," her coworker says, "She's a huge fan of your stuff."

"Nah, it's cool," Marilyn offers a smile.

"I was at the concert, which is why I'm working late," she explains hyperactively, "God, you were soooo amazing!" Marilyn thanks her. She waves at you as well. "By the way, I see your pictures together on insta at shows and premieres and stuff, you two make a really cute couple. Goth icons!" You smile at the girl, and thank her and her coworker for working late for you two. An obligatory selfie later, you and Marilyn get into the ride, and start heading through the darkness. You get to the part where Imohtep's face appears and fire blows beside you.

"You say god," he mutters. "I say Say10."

You get off the ride, and you nearly lose your shit when you see the ride photo. You fall to the floor, and Marilyn looks up at the screen in inquiry.

"Oh my god."

"We're buying it!"

"Absolutely fucking not. Look at my chin!"

"I love your chins, baby."

"I only mentioned one, but thanks."

You dash over to the counter, ordering the picture in the biggest size. It's gold. In it, you've got one hand up happily, the other looped with Marilyn's, and you look generally normal, other than your hair blowing a little from the force of the acceleration. His eyes are glinting yellow from light reflection, so he looks legitimately possessed; he's got his chin pressed down into his neck folds, and his mouth is halfway open, like he just remembered something he wanted to say. It's the most awful picture of him you've ever seen, so naturally, it's getting framed at the house next to his lovely prosthetic limb collection.

"Mm, makes me wanna fuck you," you lick your lips, "Give it to me, baby, I wanna look into those sexy yellow eyes while you destroy my pussy."

"You're fucked up."

You nearly collapse in laughter again.

Despite the terribly candid ride picture, Marilyn decides he likes the Mummy a bit more than the Simpsons, and after riding it four more times without fail, he's nauseous as all hell (as are you) and done in for the night.

You hold hands, heading to the gates. "Hey. Want to stop at Ben and Jerry's on the way out?" you ask.

"Nah," he drawls, hand moving down to your ass and giving it a spank, "You're the only thing I wanna lick tonight." Even motion sick and half-way to hungover, he's still in rascal mode.

A car comes to pick you up, and some press follow you to the car for a bit, taking photos and asking Marilyn for comments on the park and the show until Marilyn wraps his Slytherin scarf around his face. He gets into the car with you, and rolls the window up. The paparazzi obviously saw the Instagram post.

That makes you think...

Messing around on your phone as you're driven back to the hotel, you giggle. Marilyn keeps looking over, but he's currently too nauseous still to speak. You giggle again, and send off what you'd just done.

"Happy Halloween," you grin, punching his shoulder playfully.

He looks at his buzzing phone, and snorts. His bad Mummy picture and stylish posing Instagram picture are side by side, with your accompanying text: "Get you a man who can do both."

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a-wandering-ghoulette · 5 years

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Ghost: Tobias finally revealed himself! From MyRock n°57; March/April issue; a FR->EN translation.

Enjoy a 2 page exclusiv interview fully translated from french to english; 3 full-page pics by Amanda Demme and a bitter live report of Zénith de Paris ritual (under the cut at the end of the post)! Note that I’m not perfectly bilingual so any of you who have a better english lvl than me are free to correct any mistake I could have done!

Tobias, master of the Forge

(Translation Note: Yes, we are french and we like dumb puns. So yass, he leads this band, thx)

Few hours before his appearance at Zénith de Paris, Tobias Forge has opened his lodge’s door to us. Decontracted and unmasked, the autoproclamed Ghost’s spokesperson frankly discuss about the band news and about his sudden notoriety.

Interview by Thomas Mafrouche; photos by Amanda Demme.

“In the colllective mind, doing metal is wearing black and shouting in a mic. People believe it’s easy when it’s a music requiring a lot of work and precision.” Tobias Forge

The last time we saw you at Zénith de Paris it was for Slayer and Mastodon’s opening. Tonight, you are the headline and your show is full. You must feel very proud! Tobias Forge: Oh I’m fulfilled! It’s fantastic! I’m very happy with what is happening. Not for the success, but because it allows me to finally have the means to do shows of the scope I always wanted. I always wished Ghost to be big, that our concerts dazzle! There’s nothing which annoyed me more than when you look small on a stage. It’s the case during some opening, or festivals prestations, when we have to play during day time... Ghost isn’t a band built for small stages. It’s a full experience, the spectator must imperatively get what’s coming! But, it’s a monstrous organisation, with a lot of logistical problems to solve beforehand. The more people there are involved in this adventure, the more risks there are for the machine to derailed. But, well, it’s the challenge to achieve when you bring a choir of 40 nuns on stage (laugh). In the end, what matter is that the spectator enjoy it, that they spend a good and phenomenous evening with us.

It is said that you are scrupulous about each detail, even the lights. Is that true? T.F.: Yes... I’m a “control freak”, I must admit it. (laughs) But this hunger for perfection, it’s also what brought me here tonight. This thirst for controling everything, it also came from the fact I’ve often been right by the past, but I was often dismissed... I have long tried to fight against this facet and to let people speak. And in these cases, it often narrowly avoided a catastrophe. So now I assume it. It pisses me off to have become a control maniac, but I’m used to it now, because it’s what’s best for Ghost, and thus, for the public...

Influenced by Candlemass & Metallica

To open your concerts for this tour, you have chosen your fellow countrymen from Candlemass. You’re fan, we guess? T.F.: I’ve been listening to them since I’m eight! They are my heroes! Their album Tales of Creation is one of my cult record! A decade ago, I had the chance to meet them and today we became very good friends. We are often seeing each others, our wifes and children are getting along pretty well too. Candlemass, it’s family! Their music had a direct impact on my way to compose. Plus, there’s all the imagery! I’m not talking about costumes, but the typography and the biblical visuals which always had greatly influenced me. I’ll even confess you something: The first album of Ghost, Opus Eponymous, was written for Messiah Marcolin’s voice [2nd singer of Candlemass, Redaction Note]. At the time, I didn’t wanted to be the singer of Ghost. Then I asked him to join us, but he had declined the invitation, saying he was busy with another project. So, when time has come to sing, I did it with his head voice. Last year, musicians from Candlemass also supported me on stage during Polar Music Prize’s ceremony [Swedish equivalent of Victoires de la Musique, but with guitars, RN (T.N: ouch, it’s a nice shot in our national music award ceremony face, since they never reward rock/metal artists... So yeah, national sized Grammy’s ceremony)]. We covered “Enter Sandman” by Metallica, in front of Sweden’s King and Queen. Robert Trujillo an Lars Ulrich were there as well. It’s an unforgatable memory! My wife and I, we even had dinner with one of Sweden’s princesses, after the ceremony.

Would the princess of Sweden be a metalhead?! T.F.: I won’t go this far, no (laughs). But she was very sociable, we even toasted. It was exquisite!

“Now, I will represent Ghost unmasked. Tobias Forge will be the official interlocutor, the same way George Lucas was the unique spokesman of Star Wars.” Tobias Forge

Speaking of Metallica, you’ll open for them at Stade de France, on May 12th. There, as well, it’s consecration! T.F.: It’s crazy! I’m going to tell you a funny anecdote. I’m not passionate about football, but it turns out that I was in Paris in 1998, during the World Cup. I wasn’t at Stade de France, but I saw pictures in the city, on big screens. And, at this moment, when I saw the final, that you amazingly won, I told myself that one day, I will play in Stade de France as well. It took me 21 years, but this day finally has come! this is proof that you have to believe in your dreams!

Metallica, it’s an institution for many people. For you as well? T.F.: There isn’t a superlativ strong enough to say how much I love these guys! Especially since they became friends. It’s an honour to have been chosen to support them on stage. Notably because they’re one of the reasons which pushed me to do music.

Which is your favorite album? T.F.: Ouch, that’s not easy! From a strictly personnal point of view, I would say Ride the Lightning and Master of Puppets. But from a professional one, as a composer, musician and producer, it’s clearly the Black Album. It’s their best record, the most complete. Reaching this level of perfection, it’s any musician’s dream. Everything is here, the writing is bold, with a lot of character, and the producing is impeccable. I know it’s a record which make polemic amongst purists, but objectively, it’s one of these albums which had contributed to forge the metal we know today. In the colllective mind, doing metal is wearing black and shouting in a mic. People believe it’s easy, when it’s a music requiring a lot of work and precision. The Black Album, it’s the result of a huge amount of work, it’s months and months of work!

Papa Emeritus vs Darth Vader

The Black Album is also the record of notoriety, the one which propulsed Metallica with the general/mainstream public. This exposure, it’s something you’re living since the release of Prequelle. Recently, your appearance in the TV show Quotidien created a conflict amongst fans. To have a guitar solo cut during a live stream, is it the price to pay when a metal band enter the great mediatical circus? T.F.: Of course, it’s a sacrifice to do. Let’s say that, with Ghost, our relations with medias hasn’t always been good. I long refused to play their game. For a long time, these mainstream televisions had asked for interviewing Papa Emeritus. I always opposed them a categorical no. You can’t interview Papa Emeritus, the same way you can’t interview Darth Vader. You can meet James Earl Jones, who borrow him his voice, or the actor David Prowse. But Darth Vader, nobody can speak to him. It’s the same for Papa Emeritus. Today, in order to reach the next level, it’s time to play the game, but in our way. Since I can’t relate on Papa Emeritus to do the job, I accepted to do this interview unmasked. The problem is that journalists hadn’t the necessary keys in hands to understand Ghost. Of course, I’m not talking about you, because rock press know very well what we are and who we are. You tell me about Candlemass, about Metallica... It’s something else. You, you know your subject. Mainstream medias, them, what’s interesting them is to make the buzz, it’s to have a bone to gnaw. Sometimes, I wonder why I accepted to do such mediatical things... It’s not like I needed them, moreover my concerts are full! But, well, I decided that now, I will represent Ghost unmasked. Tobias Forge will be the official interlocutor, the same way George Lucas was the unique spokesman of Star Wars. The person you have in front of you today, it’s kind of Ghost’s director.

Otherwise, what are the future projects for Ghost? T.F.: There will be a release before the end of the year, but it will not be an EP of covers like we often did so far. It will be something else, but it’s not done and I can’t tell you about it yet. But I recorded some things... The rest of the year, I will spend it on the road, it will be very long, with, notably, dates in South America. I scheduled to go in studio early next year, to realease an album in 2020. You have to strike while the iron is hot!

(Under the cut you’ll find a semi-bitter live report. Take this line as a trigger warning maybe...?)

Tobias Forge at Zénith?

It took 4 albums, 2 EP and a lawsuit before Tobias Forge, Ghost’s mastermind, offer to the french public an indoor show worthy of the name. The rendez vous is written down for early february, at Zénith de Paris.

Live report by: Roseline Artal.

6 000 persons

Concert: 3/5

Public: 3/5

We was told the show in the capital is full of capacity, but some stands are inaccessible and guarded by vigils. It’s certainly to allow everybody to be dazzled that the band decided to not fill the venue at its maximum capacity, but it’s a shame for those who would have liked to be part of the lucky ones. After a Cigale and an Olympia much comparable to festivals prestations, Ghost decided to put every efforts here. Finally! Candlemass, coming from Sweden, open the ball, remaining on the very front of the stage. Songs flow, some blunders can be heard, notably when the singer Johan Längqvist mix up “A Sorcerer’s Pledge” and “Solitude”, but the crowd seems to appreciate. They rise their fists up in the air when needed, some heads are banging here and there, and we notice a semblance of circle pit down in the front right. However, it’s hard to remain enthusiastic very long in front of the relatively flat performance. Musicians are playing the game and are having fun, which is something at least.

A cathedral stage It’s almost 9 p.m when lights turn off and the black curtains disappear, reaveling the magnificent stained glasses awning over imposing stairs. Such ornated, the Zénith stage is standing out! It’s with “Ashes”, perfect for an appetizer, Ghost offert themselves to their audience, but it’s “Ritual” which receive all suffrages on this show begining. As for “Devil Church”, it end on a duel between guitarists. When “Miasma” first notes resonnate, one question is on everybody lips: “Will Papa Nihil show himself?”. And the answer is yes, for our greatest pleasure. “Jigolo Har Megiddo” is beautifully interpreted acoustically, allowing us to rest down our ears for a short time. Indeed, the sound is unbearable, at least without appropriated protections. Fortunatelly, the view isn’t unpleasant, thanks to a Tobias Forge of many personnalities as funny as worrying.

Papa Emeritus as a mafiosi (well, it’s obviously a confusion between Papa and Cardinal from the reporter here, I’ll correct it for the rest of this paragraphe, T.N) It’s well and truly the last album which is highlighted tonight, which is appreciated by fans. They are indeed ready to sing in unison and turn on there phone on “Life Eternal”, while Cardinal Copia play the romantic mafiosi, all in white dressed, thus marking an end to the first act. 15 minutes of break are offered, without a reason being given. Indeed, when the entract ends, the setting hadn’t change and musicians are wearing the same costumes. What if Tobias Forge became the new Axl Rose with his manic to leave the stage for ages with no valid reason? We’re picky, but these minutes could have been used to play other titles, such as the amazing “Elizabeth” which has disapeared from the setlist for years now... Nothing better than “Year Zero” sing by everyone and the cover of Rocky Erikson’s “If You Have Ghost” in order to put us in a good mood. However, the band found a way to ruin it all by dragging the members presentation out for long minutes. What a shame. “Dance Macabre” and “Square Hammer”, which we all keep loving during live, reconcil us with the swedes, then, without surprise, we’re leaving on “Monstrance Clock”, an ode to femal pleasure. When the lights turn back on, we can’t help but thinking this show was both a success and a disappointment notably due to useless dead calm.

#the band ghost #tobias forge #interview #cardinal copia #Nameless Ghouls #a pale tour named death #prequelle #MyRock #translation #scan

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racingtoaredlight · 4 years

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Marshall Amps

This is Slayer’s backdrop for some recent tour of theirs.

If you’ve followed rock music at all, the “wall of Marshalls” is so iconic, it’s hard to separate the subject of the imagery from the backdrop of Marshall speakers. Jimmy Page, Slash, Zakk Wylde, Eric Clapton...to name a few...but the man who made Marshalls the “greatest amps of all time” is none other than you know who...

So what is it with Marshalls? Why did they become the “greatest amps of all time” yet seemingly don’t have a place in today’s guitar world?

***

What defines Marshall amps?

They have “Marshall” written on them.

Kidding aside, you will never hear about Marshall amps being called “versatile.” “Clean” is something they do out of necessity, not design. They are stupidly heavy. They are a pain in the ass to maintain. They only sound good at volumes that would peel the enamel off your teeth...and that’s just the 50w models, let alone the big boys.

Marshall amps really do one thing well...overdrive. If you’re in a band that plays loud, plays dirty and plays aggressive, then Marshalls are likely right in your wheelhouse. Bonus points if someone else is carrying your gear.

Any level of dirt...from bluesy hair on the note to full out metal grind...a Marshall is right at home. When you overdrive the tubes in a Marshall and they start to produce those beautiful overtones and harmonics, it’s truly a sound of beauty that prickles the hair on the back of your neck.

***

Historical Context Part 1

To define Marshall amps, we need to start with their history.

Remember how when I used to actually write, I’d talk about putting things in historical context? Lets go back to the early 60′s. There is ONE amp company doing business on both sides of the Atlantic, Fender. And, despite being primitive and archaic, those early Tweed Fender amps are still today some of the best sounding amps money can buy, which is even more impressive considering that a 10 year old who can use a soldering iron could build one.

But in America, it’s easy to source parts for an American company’s amp like Fender. It’s right there in the country, stupid. But for a company...shit, that’s not even accurate given they weren’t a company yet...for a Brit like Jim Marshall, you had to get creative.

Marshalls, at their very, foundational core, are almost a direct plagiarism of the Fender Bassman amp. I mean, it’s exactly the same amplifier except for one key difference...the tubes. The Atlantic Ocean thing mentioned earlier is a big deal...the 6v6 and 6L6 power tubes that Leo Fender used, nothing more than run of the mill military-spec electrical tubes, weren’t available. Tubes might not be the lifeblood of an amp (the circuit is), but different tubes have a hugely variable presence in practical settings.

Given that most tube amps are powered by tubes that came from either the US, UK or Russian military industrial complexes...and there not being the internet or a secondary market for any of this shit...Marshall used, first, KT66 Russian tubes, and later British EL34 (big bottles) and EL84 (little bottles), depending on use.

As Marshall’s blew up (and it happened quickly), and musicians started playing bigger and bigger halls, Marshall took that Bassman ripoff and housed it in larger cabinets allowing him to add more tubes, and therefore, more power. It was the perfect storm...

***

Historical Context Part II...the important stuff

So I linked to a bunch of pics above...famous dudes standing in front of walls of Marshalls. The one I really want to hit on is the Eric Clapton one...

I just mentioned this a couple paragraphs above, but it bears repeating...there was no secondary market for things like tubes, caps, speakers, etc. That pic of Clapton? In each of those cabinets housing four speakers, maybe one was fully operational with half of another adding a bunch of fizz. During Cream’s final show at Royal Albert Hall, he had only one speaker installed in the entire cabinet...the rest were just empty.

Now, that’s not to say there wasn’t any sonic benefit from having cabinets project sound waves with four speakers. Rather, if one went down, at least you could still play.

Which leads us to the important stuff...

Primitive PA systems were not only garbage to begin with, but they were typically operated by burnouts who didn’t have the first clue of how to properly EQ a room. This was true as late as the mid 80′s. As shitty as those PA systems were though, guess what? That’s still how Cream’s sound got shot through Royal Albert Hall.

Given the choice though, guitarists would rather have a slew of speakers doing the work rather than mic’ing up smaller amps. Even with this option though, there’s a long history of...behind those walls of Marshall speaker cabs...there being a single half stack with just one speaker being mic’d.

Here’s a dirty little secret...Eddie Van Halen has not just endorsed multiple amps from multiple companies, but been heavily involved in the design of a lot of those as well. BUT, when you hear him in the studio or live, you’re not hearing any of those amps...you’re hearing this.

Despite all the noise and propaganda regarding Van Halen’s wizardry with guitar and amp parts, the sound he’s most famous for and has relied on his entire career is produced by a relatively stock Marshall 1959SLP, known as the Super Lead. The “Brown Tone” he’s famous for isn’t due to anything special in the amp itself, rather using something called the Variax to run the 100w amp at 90w, thereby making it warmer and more efficient (Marshall’s imported to the US still made to run at 110 volts despite most American outlets being 120 volts...the Variax reduced the electrical load to the amp, while also being an accidental signal buffer, allowing him to use time-based effects like flangers and delays, where running them into the front of a Marshall would cancel out those signals).

Jesus Christ that was a long aside...there was a point here though.

***

What was that point?

When PA systems and quality mic’s and sound guys became the norm, the necessity for stacks of Marshalls really started to go to shit. Even before the internet boom, the jokes about wannabes hauling Marshall half stacks to tiny bars with no audience were already essentially canon.

I said this above...unless you are a touring artist in a hard rock band with logistical support and no front of house...Marshalls are completely impractical. We’re not even going to touch on declines in quality (new Marshalls built on PCB have more in common with your phone than a 1987x, even if you buy a “reissue” of a 1987x), questionable marketing and oversaturating their own market...the fact of the matter is extremely simple. Big iron is obsolete, no matter who makes it.

Marshall themselves know this, and released the “studio” line...which might as well be called the “shit we better make smaller stuff because our sales are getting FUCKED” line. If you’ve ever had to pack a car full of gear yourself, it takes one gig before you’re looking for smaller, lighter amps. Those 100w Marshalls? They sound AMAZING cranked.

But unless you play them cranked, they sound like shit. Think about it like driving a Ferrari at 25mph all the time...

For regular working musicians like myself, a great sounding tube combo can be found under 50 lbs. Or I could ditch all that and go with a modeler, go straight into the PA and never need an amp again (PREDICTION...you will not see amplifiers on stage outside of Nashville and niche acts in 10 years). That’s for a working musician.

For a touring musician, you can save tens of thousands of dollars per year by not having to hire logistical staff. You might have scoffed at my prediction above...but these days, the majority of guitar sounds you hear are made digitally by a session guitarist sitting either at home or in the control room of a studio. That 1987x is a digital patch rather than two trips to the car and ringing ears.

Point being...amps are already obsolete. And if your amp weighs more than 50 lbs. and has more power than say 40w, it’s remarkably obsolete, no matter how cool it is.

***

Competition

I don’t have to tell you that Marshalls’ legacy was formed in the harder forms of rock. Take one look at those monsters and you can tell they roar. “Roar” is an interesting concept though...

youtube

Marshalls were made before hard rock really existed. Guitarists almost ubiquitously came from a “clean” learning point, and even what we consider small amounts of dirt like this (and during the instrumental part of Ramblin’ Man) back then were FULL-THROATED.

Personally, that’s my ideal of the Marshall sound. That Tweedy breakup that puts a shaggy head of hair on each note. But to just about 90% of the music-enjoying public, this is the sound that immediately comes to mind when you think of Marshalls.

youtube

Definitely more dirty than Duane Allman’s version no doubt, but if you really listen to the guitar, the edge is more due to phrasing and Slash’s ballsy attitude than the guitar tone itself. It’s still something I’d describe as more crunchy than full on distorted.

Which brings us to the clones. Now, what better product to copy than a style that’s been obsolete for like two decades now!

We talked about Van Halen’s supposedly modded (but really quite stock) Marshall above...well, here comes one of his amp tech buddies Michael Soldano bringing a hot-rodded Marshall to the masses. Then Bogner follows right behind.

Slash’s tone might not be that distorted, but plenty of metal guys absolutely were, and Marshall JCM’s were their weapon of choice. But the time the calendar turned to 1990 though, Mesa Boogie’s rectifiers were already kings of the metal scene. Almost as much as the Telecaster dominates country music, the Mesa Boogie Rectifiers own metal.

What was the common denominator in the competition? MORE, sure. More dirt, more quality, blah blah blah. The biggest reason was Marshall, the company. Unlike Fender, Marshall never got bought by bigger companies. While that might keep them more “genuine” you have to realize that this guy was making amps in a tiny drum shop still when he was making stuff for Hendrix and Pete Townshend.

***

While Fender’s soul got twisted in a series of corporate takeovers, what it also eventually received was outside guidance from people with business AND music knowledge. Fender was always forward thinking, from the day Leo Fender started the company. Jim Marshall didn’t have that same type of vision. The idea of a Fender amp being built on PCB is something Leo Fender would have embraced. But to Marshall, it’s killing the amp’s soul. Fenders never were BIG IRON...i.e. huge transformers fed by big bottle tubes...they never got into the size game.

To begin with, Marshalls were a stolen design. That might sound harsh, but it’s not being unfair either. They were never known for quality, rather known for quirks and unreliability. They weren’t even that unique of a sound...you can get a very similar sound from a Fender Tweed cranked...you just cant take a Tweed to a huge hall and project the sound.

We can do that today. Easily. Like an $80 mic and a mic cable easy. And now you have a true, pretty much genuine Marshall roar in a 30 lb. package.

Back in the day you couldn’t demand flawless point-to-point wiring, proper voltage and ohm specs, and wide-sweeping EQ bands. Soldano and Mesa Boogie offered these as stock parts of their offerings at the same price points. If you were a lead guy, Soldano was your choice...if you were a metal guy, it was Mesa...and in the two niches of the guitar world Marshall absolutely dominated, they were now second class citizens.

Or maybe even worse...new poor.

***

“Marshall” is a descriptor these days. It’s describing the sound of a tube amp with a good-sized transformer being fed by British tubes, typically EL34′s.

If you want a “Marshall,” Marshall is probably the fourth or fifth company I’d recommend. There’s a lot of debate about this, but I do not believe amps built on PCB are worth more than $1k...shit, that’s generous because I would not personally buy an amplifier using PCB.

This is the power amp section for a new Marshall JCM.

For all you IT guys out there, you probably know that PCB ain’t exactly the most receptive thing to changes in temperature. Hey! I got a great idea! Lets put power and preamp tubes, that heat the fuck up, straight on some cheap ass PCB with janky copper wiring and automated solders!

Literally the only people who will tell you PCB is fine are people who build amps for a living. Now, I don’t know about you, but I don’t give a shit about making your job easier when you’re still charging me full price and plus some. The only people saying that there’s no reason to do a point-to-point amp are those who are too lazy to, because there’s a big boutique market for this very thing.

Lets do a real apples to apples comparison here...

The top pic is a restored 1972 Marshall 1987x. You can buy these used for under $2k...but let’s use $2k...plus $200 restoration (just the guts, who cares about how an amp looks). We’re at $2,200. And this electric shit is so simple a vacuum repair shop could do it.

The bottom pic is a brand spakin’ new Marshall 1987x reissue, modeled after...you guessed it...the 1972 Marshall 1987x. That’s some clean wiring on that particle board! But...wait...why am I paying MORE for a less desirable model, that took exponentially less work on Marshall’s end? Why would I subsidize their profit margins for an inferior product with less resale value?

Furthermore...the 1987x is a one-channel, stupid simple amp. Why do you need PCB to begin with? I get it for a Soldano or Rectifier that’s multi-channel, with huge sweeping EQ sections, reverb, etc...but this is a plug-n-play.

Marshall...the company...has been doing that to their customer base for decades. Back in the day, you knew what you were getting...a thunderous machine that likely would fail at some point, necessitating multiple amp purchases. Literally the instant better, higher quality alternatives hit the market, it ripped into Marshall’s market share.

Today, if I were recommending a Marshall, the first place I’d recommend is George Metropoluos. Second would be Friedman. I’m currently deeply in love with a Friedman amp that’s a single-channel, point-to-point 40w amp that’s essentially a Tweed Bassman with EL84′s and a switchable gain stage...adorably named the Dirty Shirley.

***

Conclusion

Despite all that, I have a romantic love of Marshalls that overrides anything to do with quality or practicality. It’s kind of like my love for the Gibson Les Paul grotesquely compounded...

You might think that I have a negative opinion of Marshalls based on everything I’ve just written. Not true. All of that stuff, it’s nothing in comparison to just how fucking incredible these things sound in person. Again, neither of these instruments are in my wheelhouse, but if you asked me what the platonic ideal sound an electric guitar makes, it’d be a Les Paul through a cranked Marshall 1987x.

And even if you’re not into this kinda shit, trust me you’ve heard more than your fair share of Marshalls in the past. They’re that great. So great, it doesn’t matter how shitty they may or may not be.

PS...I wrote this in 3 different sessions, didn’t edit or re-read, and just posted away because something is better than nothing.

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storytellerxxxx · 7 years

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ONE OK ROCK NYC 2 DAYS EXPERIENCE

Here’s me avoiding all responsibilities and totally ignoring that it’s almost been 2 months :D

As (many?) of you may know I went to both NYC shows, general admission for the first day and VIP for the second day!! I was going to do a write up in the following days after but I was still pretty overwhelmed then and have pushed it back till now, whoops. Warning, long post ahead as I gotta fit 2 days in somehow HAHA

So keep reading if you wanna know how I kissed Toru’s cheek, ran into them and got selfie + sign with Toru :D

All photos are mine/taken by me.

Since it was middle of summer this time, I could actually wait out in line and not die of freezing like back in January so I arrived at the venue around 9:20. Surprise, there was already a short line (that totally didn’t change much for the next few hours tbh lol) VIP and general admission lines were separated much later in the day like a few hours before opening time so everyone was just chilling till then.

This was a banner someone had made and everyone in the line in the morning had signed! It was gigantic and pretty fucking cool, they gave it to them during M&G.

Around 10-11 their bright orange bus arrived in the front of the venue but none of the members came with it. Around noon Ryota was the first to make his appearance and walked in alone. I went to get lunch and during the time I was gone, Ryota and Michelle walked past the line :)) At some point after that a camera crew came out to record the line, they had us all stand up and they filmed everyone cheering lol Ryota walked in again later with Toru at around 3 and Taka did as well soon after I think (I missed the record button on my phone for Taka, good job me). By then the line for VIP and general admission had been split. I was at the very front of the GA line. I’ll complain talk about the line splitting and staff when I get to day 2. But anyway, camera man followed them inside. Michelle and Jamil walked in a bit after them with giant bags of food I think, Michelle is so beautiful :’)

So yeah, then we got in and I got a spot in what I guess was like the third row between Taka and Toru. Palisades was the first opener, I didn’t listen to any of their stuff beforehand bc I wanted to experience them live first and let me just say, I totally fell in love with them. They played songs off their self titled album that was released earlier this year along with an Unsteady by X Ambassadors cover (which was amazing and I really want a studio version). Fun fact, Brandon (the second vocalist and bass player) held onto my friend’s hand for a moment during that :’) The lighting for their set was really dark so barely any nice pics :((

Here’s Lou, the lead vocalist! Super nice and chill guy btw

After Palisades was Set It Off...not much to say about them from me tbh I don’t really like them but their song Hypnotized is fun and catchy. Cody (I think that’s the singer’s name?) went into the crowd and disappeared at the end, I got to touch his hand from all the shoving.

AND THEN, what everyone had been waiting for, ONE OK ROCK! I won’t say much about the songs as I really don’t have as much to say as the January show bc this isn’t the first time hearing them live. I remember pointing out that Taka did seem to struggle a bit with I was King but he was on point for that this time. I had hoped that they’d have Listen and owt on the setlist but sadly they didn’t.

Toru was on fire. His arms are so nice.

So beautiful.

After Chester’s passing, I had already imagined oor doing some sort of tribute for him and they met my expectations that day with the One More Light cover. It was a moment that can’t be described easily, the first performance they did of it. There was sense that everyone was either holding their breath or singing along softly, paying full attention to Taka’s raw voice.

One More Light replaced Hard to Love and led into Take What You Want, which had (around) a minute of silence. Toru looked quite emotional at the beginning, I remember the people around me asking if he was crying (which he wasn’t). I wish I could say it was totally quiet but it wasn’t someone yelled the next few lines of the song like 3 times even though everyone was shushing him ://

The Osaka bros rocked it out together for a moment during a song that I totally forgot, oops. (hello pics from my phone and someone else’s hand right in front of me LOL) Again, was not on Ryota’s side of the stage and didn’t see him much being how short I am :’)) same with Tomo, but he was rocking it back there.

For the encore, Taka actually came down to Toru’s side to crowd surf, and I ended up touching his arm/shoulder LOL so. much. pushing. Everyone wanted a piece of Taka haha

No picture at the end this time but when they were waving goodbye and stuff, Tomo was the last one to leave the stage and he knocked into Toru’s mic stand, knocking off all the remaining picks...Security gave them out but I was too far away cries

After the show, we met Palisades by their merch! Was still so hyped from the concert and probably a mess but everyone was so nice. Told them we would be seeing them again tomorrow and they were excited. Lou called me sweetie HAHA Brandon is adorable

What is this?, you may ask. Well, it’s Toru’s feet LOL

So long story short, our group was still outside then and everyone else had left already. We were about to walk past the doors of the venue when Ryota and Michelle just came out. I was so shocked, I did some small wave and like quietly squeaked out Ryota I think. His hair was in a ponytail! Not was it only him, Toru, Tomoya and Jeff came out right after them. They told us they were going to get food and we didn’t stop them for pics or signs, just waved and said hi. And that’s how we ran into oor minus Taka, amazing.

DAY 2

Got there at around 10-11 bc I was dead from the day before. Same deal with waiting in line and stuff but none of oor walked by that day. Lou (of Palisades) did walk by the line at like noon or something and then walked back past us again bc he went the wrong way, that was hilarious.

Soo I had VIP second day and when they split the lines, the person let the VIP from the front of the line move to the VIP section (which was like around the corner) BUT they cut us off and then had the VIP from the back of the line go. It was so bullshit, thankfully most of my group had made it into the first cut. The asshole guy also yelled at everyone basically that they need to stop complaining bc “everyone will get the equal time and treatment.” He told this to those, like us, who had been waiting hella early that were now next to people who had just joined the line. They also had two security scanners but the guy only used one on the other side of our group + the other really early group.

(pic from day one, on day two we were on the outer side but the guy only used the right side. smh)

VIP was the same as always, show ID, get laminate. The laminates were a lot nicer this time :)

Went in and lined up for M&G, we were like the second group in the line lol Jeff explained how it would work, did a demo in which he had us pretend he was about a foot shorter to be Taka and had us cheer as he walked in, I think I was more laughing than cheering at that LOL but apparently we were ahead of schedule so they started really soon after that, like oor just randomly walked in right after.

Meet and greet experience, many thanks to my friend for recording my turn for me :’)

Hugged Ryota and said hi, moved onto Taka, hugged him and then we just kinda held each other’s arms and then he held my hand bc I spontaneously decided to thank them for the Chester tribute and that it was beautiful and that I would have seen them the next week in NJ. Yeah.

I did not notice at the time but Toru was intensely staring me down the whole time, amazing.

Then I hugged Toru and Tomo, I did not bump my head against Tomo’s shoulder like last time :)) Tomo is so happy and smiley, he’s so precious.

I went back to the middle for the pic and I said “Toru?” and he looked down (hello I am smol) and I asked if I could give him a kiss on his cheek (This was Anna (@shajichan)’s idea okay) and there was like an awkward second of just us staring at each other before he was like “sure.” He bent his knees so that I could reach him :’)) I was still on the tips of my toes :’))

Ryota was off in his own world the whole time so idk what he was thinking when he saw us tbh LOL and Taka’s hand had actually been around my waist from the moment I went back to the middle :’))) Being that close to Toru was an experience.

ANYWAY, I bought merch while we were waiting after the M&G. The merch for Ambitions is so...lol but I had to get something at least

The signed album from VIP as well. Not included in pic is the wristband bc I forgot I was still wearing it, smart me.

Since we were basically at the front of the VIP, I got a spot on barricade right in front of Toru. Let me just say this spot was magical or something bc I was not pushed once, had room to step back if I wanted to and I was cold. Magical I say.

Show was like the same except 250x better bc I was front row this time. There’s vids of like Toru being rude throughout the whole show on my ig if you want to see what went down.

Maybe it was being so close and being able to see them so much clearer but I was way more emotional during One More Light than on the first day. I’m pretty sure Julen has pics of me trying to cover my face with my phone during it :)) The silence in TWYW was completely silent this time, it was so perfect. Taka was also doing some mic tricks during MLF, like throwing it up and catching it, twirling it..etc really nice to see that again after so long since his wired mic tricks :((

Taka came out with a beer for the encore, surprising everyone I think LOL no crowd surfing this time sadly.

We went to Palisades merch table again afterwards, actually buying stuff this time. I got their album and shirt and gave their merch guy a $10 tip LOL

Album was signed later outside by Lou and Brandon!! We were waiting for them bc they had to clear the venue so we couldn’t take pics or have time to talk to them inside. While waiting outside, we met Palisades photographer/Brandon’s friend, Geremy, who was only doing photography for Palisades but oor was so amazing that he borrowed an AAA pass to shoot them the whole time :D

So sweet.

Ryota and Michelle actually came out and walked right behind me when I was talking to Geremy and my friends... but I caught Toru when he came out! Totally missed Taka even though he was like right next to me as well at some point

My signed phone case :’)

And that’s about it for the two days. Writing these reports are fun lol I am broke but those 2 days were fucking awesome and I hanged out with the best people, really want to do it again soon :D

#one ok rock #oor #it's been over a month #whoops #toru #taka #tomoya #ryota #this was so fun #i miss everyone #take me back #or take my to germany so I can meet Anna #either way #toru killed me multiple times #is anyone gonna read all of this #pls tell me if you do #LOL

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randybowen815 · 6 years

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Date: September 15, 2018 8pm

Location: Ford Theatres, Los Angeles, CA

If you’ve known me for longer than a day, you know my favorite TV show is Lost. And while the networks have tried for years to copy the best show of all time, most of their efforts have crashed and burned (no pun intended). There just hasn’t been a show that captures my imagination the way Lost did, and I would take any opportunity to go back and visit the Island once again.

Destiny came calling in the form of “We Have To Go Back: The LOST Concert 2018.” They had an event like this two years ago, but I decided not to go for money reasons. After seeing pics and articles, I regretted not being there. How could a major Lost fan like me not attend such an event? It’s tailor-made for me. Thank God they decided to get the band back together again!

As I walked through the gate, sporting my new Lost t-shirts, I heard the Smoke Monster roaring in the trees. I had a quick snack, checked out the merch table, then headed inside. My girl knows me well, so she surprised me by getting us two perfect seats months ahead of the show. The icing on the cake: I was sitting in Seat #108. If you’ve seen the show, you’ll understand the significance of that number.

We were sure to get there early for the Q&A with composer Michael Giacchino and showrunners Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, or as Losties call them, Darlton. These guys are basically my writing heroes. As I try to make the transition from post production to writing, I soak up all the knowledge I can from the people who wrote my favorite things. I’m pretty sure I’ve listened to or watched every interview that Damon and Carlton have given.

I debated if I should ask them a question as a line formed at the mic. I had a question in mind, so my girl convinced me to go up (I had already tested this question at a Comic-Con fan panel a couple months earlier). Unfortunately, the last question they took was from the person right in front of me, so that will teach me not to hesitate again. People were asking a lot of dumb questions, either stuff I already knew the answers to, or just hogging the mic. Still, I had the advantage of watching the whole Q&A very close to the stage. And when special guests started coming out, I was able to get some great shots.

One by one, cast members entered and took a seat: Josh Holloway (Sawyer, one of my favorites on the show), Daniel Dae Kim (Jin), Rebecca Mader (Charlotte), Andrea Gabriel (Nadia), and Emile de Ravin (Claire, actually pregnant like her character in the pilot). This was a completely different crew from the PaleyFest panel I witnessed four years ago. You never know who’s gonna show up to these things!

After a brief break, the Hollywood Studio Symphony Orchestra took the stage, their instruments swelling together in that familiar tone. Then Michael Giacchino came back out, and the show began. At the very beginning. Suddenly, we flashed back in time, fourteen years ago. The opening scene of Lost was projected on the screens, while Michael conducted the orchestra through the music of the pilot.

Over the next three hours, the orchestra played many of the most recognizable pieces from the show. Themes of love and loss, adventure and mystery, action and suspense. The absolute highlight for me was “Parting Words” which was played along with the Raft Launch scene from the end of Season One. I’m not an outwardly emotional guy, but I always tear up during that scene. I’ve always told people, if I can just write one scene as good as that, my writing career will be a success.

Of course, that scene has almost no dialogue, so the scripting wasn’t even the most important part. It was the music that made it something truly special. Damon and Carlton both cried when they heard that piece for the first time. They also talked about the advantages of having Michael compose for Lost. His music was so iconic eventually they would just write his name into the script.

To explain, Emile de Ravin read us a scene from the Season Three Finale “Through The Looking Glass.” An explosion goes off in the underwater hatch, which is now filling with water. Charlie is about to die a hero’s death. “…And Giacchino starts to play…” The other cast members read excerpts from the show as well, a nice supplement to the orchestral score.

The concert wrapped up with music from the emotional final scene of Lost. We watched all our favorite characters embrace each other in the church. The plane took off from the Island successfully. Jack closed his eye for the last time, and it was over. Except for a couple bonuses: a track that was almost cut for time, and a never-before-heard piece from Michael’s brand new movie Bad Times at the El Royale.

After the applause, we rushed the stage to get a good position for pictures and autographs. I was able to score autographs from several of the cast members, as well as Michael and Damon. I nervously told Damon what an inspiration he’s been to me over the years. He was very gracious with his time and made sure we got a decent photo. Here’s proof:

Unfortunately the crowd was too thick, so I didn’t make it to Carlton in time. Oh well, I’ll get him at the next concert. Here we are with Michael. Just look at those smiles!

I can definitely say this night is one of my top ten favorite experiences. It made me want to go home and binge all my Lost DVDs for the millionth time. It also sparked my creative imagination, and I’ve been on a roll with my writing. How can we ever top this concert? I guess we’ll just have to fly to Hawaii and put our feet in the sand where this all started!

I leave you with the beautiful Raft Launch…

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We have to go back! I recap one of my top ten favorite experiences of all time... Date: September 15, 2018 8pm Location: Ford Theatres, Los Angeles, CA If you've known me for longer than a day, you know my favorite TV show is Lost.

#abc #carlton cuse #concert #damon lindelof #darlton #Lost #michael giacchino #we have to go back

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