YFC London 2011

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First of all, I apologise this has taken me a few days. It certainly hasn't been for lack of enthusiasm! I just needed a few days to recover physically (and need a few more still!) and to let my feelings settle to the point I could get it all into words. Anyway, here it is, my experience of YFC London 2011.


After all the recent dramas of can I, can’t I go, it was amazing to finally be sitting in the venue with Sildil. I felt the same pang as last year in that I would have absolutely loved to be at the front, but as it’s just not possible for me, I got over it and just enjoyed the pre concert atmosphere. I had been slightly apprehensive, wondering if anything could possibly be as amazing as last year and I wondered how the new lineup would work, not being familiar with them. So I was both curious and slightly nervous, but mostly, I was wildly excited.

It was great to see the venue fill up. I really wanted GACKT and the other guys to feel like we wanted them there and to enjoy being in London and by the time the band came on, there were a gratifying number of people there. What followed was quite simply a magical, mind blowing experience.

From the first song it was absolutely clear how well GACKT and Jon worked together and played off each other. I did wonder beforehand if Jon's role might be as primarily the mirror for our boy’s awesomeness, but not so (although why I'm not sure, because G never struck me as selfish like that at all). They were very clearly a co-ordinated team, complimenting each other so well and I did think that besides G’s English being better anyway, the addition of Jon’s voice strengthened it further so that it was easier to make out words when they were in English. Their voices also worked brilliantly well together I thought And the energy was incredible, unstoppable and I couldn’t stop the grin from getting wider and wider.

There was some gorgeous fanservice, one moment actually made me hoot out loud and screech and it didn’t occur to me to blush until later. It was as if G saw into my little yaoi fangirl’s heart and hit it full on with a move with just enough of the risqué about it to make me happy for months. Two gorgeous men, singing their hearts out and moving around each other with a sort of edgy, elegant sexiness which words just cannot convey.

Things which stood out for me, well, they are myriad, but I’ll try to list a few. In terms of songs, I absolutely loved the set list, I thought the mix of old(er) and new worked fantastically well. The addition of Vanilla after so many requests last year was brilliant and the new ballad type songs were a great change of pace when they came up, particularly the heartfelt penultimate song which was pure emotion and was about showing your heart and soul. And we did, showed it and shared it with the man we’d come to see and the best thing was, he shared his, openly and truthfully. It was an amazing performance from both guys and we lapped it up.

Another aspect which I loved was Chacha and how he is such a master at what he does. I’m a Chacha fangirl anyway, have been since I had no idea who he was at the 2010 London live and mistook him for a 25 year old girl. When I found he was a 50 year old, ridiculously beautiful man, well, that was even better. He’s not just a talented musician, he’s a true performer. He reads what GACKT wants in an almost arcane way and co-ordinates it, working the crowd perfectly, as has already been mentioned by other people. And I love that trademark hand flick and Chacha spin! In fact, it was so great to watch the bedrock of the band, GACKT, Cha and YOU, so used to each other, so perfectly in synch when they are performing and yet so individual. It just works.

Hmm, what else? Well, the shirts came off as we knew they would and yes, I loved that. I spent some time admiring that much pretty in one place, particularly as the sweat started to glisten. GACKT and Jon are both built beautifully, but their bodies are different in terms of muscle and shape and the contrast was nothing short of lovely. Yum. And they both know how to work what they have! Although I have to say, some of my favourite moments were when one would come up behind the other and just rest a forearm or hand on a shoulder, heads close together, both of them singing in easy harmony. It was real camaraderie, genuine friendship and it just enhanced an already fantastic performance.

I have to spend a little while on Jon now. I confess I knew very little about him and I deliberately didn’t do much research before the live because I just wanted to see him perform without any preconceived ideas or expectations. The guy has a hard job, sharing the stage with the force of nature that is GACKT and more, knowing that primarily, GACKT is the one people have come to see. I wondered how he’d handle that and if there’d be any awkwardness or worse, a clash of ego but there was none of it. GACKT gave Jon space to truly perform, and Jon in turn was both support and his own unique and distinct presence. Neither dominated the other and it didn’t seem a forced symbiosis either, they just...really worked together so damn well. I admire them both for that, GACKT for sharing what was really his limelight and Jon for being able to fill his role without being either subservient or struggling to assert himself. It was, in short, amazing to watch them together and I did notice that having Jon’s support seemed to mean that G was less exhausted at the end this time, which was great. I don’t know what the Jon hating was about before the tour, I didn’t pay much attention to it. In my opinion, he was a brilliant addition and I hope I get to see them perform together again. Yes, I’m greedy, I admit it.

And finally, but first and always, GACKT. The man is, as I said, a force of nature, energetic, beautiful and with the kind of attitude which would be arrogant if it wasn’t underpinned always with self knowledge and a touch of humour. The man knows he’s gorgeous, knows he's talented and he milks it and damn, he’s earned that right. Those of us there gave him (and Jon) our adoration and he accepted it as his due, as his link to us and it worked because we knew that’s what makes him tick, what drives him, that feedback and reaction. It’s who and what he is and we love him for it. (Well, I do, but I’m sure I’m not alone!) To be honest, what came to mind when I first saw him walk on stage was ‘samurai’. Because that’s what he is, a modern day warrior who never compromises, whose self belief is absolute and who does what he does without holding anything back until he has nothing more to give. He’s an amazing talent, a driven and single minded man and a stunning performer and I could never, ever get tired of watching and listening to him. I admire him for so much and seeing him live is the epitomy of that, I suppose. I think my favourite moments of the whole thing were watching him clearly enjoy himself, smiling and at one point even laughing and shaking his finger at us as we screamed and stomped and enthusiastically let him know just how much we loved him and the whole YFC experience. That laugh was real magic, boyish and happy and teasing as he told us, "No no, London". I'm so glad we could let him, and the others too, know how much they were wanted and appreciated and adored, how glad we were they'd come back as G promised he would and see him and them respond to that.

Oops, I appear to have written an emotional account rather than an objective gig review, but I’m going to leave it as is because other people have covered the specifics of songs and venue details and maybe reading it and my feelings about it will convey how powerful an experience it was. Better than 2010? Possibly. They were very different shows so I hesitate to use the word ‘better’, but it was amazing, wonderful, brilliant, magical and I don’t think my grin will go away for a long time to come. Arigato, GACKT and YFC, you are amazing.