Japanese band L’Arc~en~Ciel played New York on
Sunday evening. I met them ahead of their concert. Now, I don’t interview many
rock stars. I’m not really used to the circus that goes on around them.
We met in a giant hotel suite
where various photographers and stylists were milling about, shooting photos,
attending to details and sipping strawberry ice water. And there were lots of
sunglasses.
Big in Japan
Now, don’t get me wrong. This
wasn’t Spinal Tap: L’Arc~en~Ciel isn’t a joke band. They’re a huge deal in
Japan. And I know how that sounds: ‘big in Japan’ usually means ‘not big here’.
But the tickets for their show
in New York were selling fast and, as the bassist Tetsuya told me,
they were worried that their venue would be too small.
So they ‘decided to move to the
bigger stage’. That stage was, er, Madison Square Garden–one
of the most storied arenas in rock history.
L’Arc~en~Ciel’s been around
since 1991, in various configurations. Tetsuya was there at the start, along
with the singer, Hyde.
Over the years the band’s been through break-ups and scandals. One member quit
after being arrested for heroin possession. He was a drummer; they’re now on
their third.
Through it all they’ve built a
huge following, and not just in Japan. Tetsuya remembers that when
L’Arc~en~Ciel first performed in the US, back in 2004, about 10,000 people
showed up.
Amine soundtracks
The band was surprised at the
level of support. But maybe it was to be expected. That gig was at a Baltimore anime convention. Anime’s one of
those Japanese cultural exports that’s grown more and more popular here in
recent years.
The singer, Hyde, agreed:
“I think it has a lot to do with
the fact that our songs were featured as the themes to anime shows,” he said,
“and that really gave us exposure to those fans. But however they got to know
us, what matters is that they continue to appreciate our music in the future.”
L’Arc~en~Ciel doesn’t want to be
thought of as the ‘anime band’, and who can blame them? Their music isn’t all
about doing soundtracks for animation. In fact over the years they’ve run the
gamut of musical styles, so much so that asking them to pick a couple of songs
that capture the essence of the band didn’t get me very far. L’Arc~en~Ciel
means ‘rainbow’: lots of colors, lots of musical styles.
[It’s a French name. Why French?
Well, there was already an English rock band named ‘Rainbow’.]
Rock stars, in any
language
Hyde and Tetsuya are Japanese
rock stars, no doubt about it. But I got the feeling rock star rules are the
same everywhere. Tetsuya was wearing silk boxer shorts over a pair of leathery
skin-tight pants. He could: no-one batted an eyelid, not the hotel staff, not
the translator, no-one.
And, ahead of the concert at
Madison Square Garden, Hyde went shopping on Fifth Avenue. He bought a top hat,
not unlike the one that the guitarist Slash used to wear.
“It’s hard to find a hat like this
in Japan, so whenever I come to America I buy a couple of these,” Hyde
explained.
“‘Rock star’ is such a great
term”, added Tetsuya. “I have nothing bad to say about it.”
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