seeing DIR EN GREY in london: 26/03/24!

On the 26th I travelled up to London to see one of my all-time favourite bands perform live, for the first time, at Islington Assembly Hall; with my friend, who had no idea what she was in for. Hehe! (thank u josie, for coming along. my concert and gig buddy.)

 The 4 hr coach was a smooth one. As soon as we got to London we went to the Hard Rock cafe, which I never visited before! I knew it would be expensive, but £30 for a burger and lemonade...it was crazy. But very good, besides from the fact said burger was burnt. Alas. We looked around and took some pics, fangirl-ed over seeing Steve Nicks' dress, saw Bob Dylan's guitar (<3) on the wall and talked about how it is child-sized, etc. Overall, a good experience, but not worth going again, LOL. 

the aforementioned child-sized guitar, love you Bob Dylan!

 Then we made our way to the hotel- which was supposed to be pretty sketchy, according to reviews, but was decent just for the night. However, the noise of the water pouring down through the pipes whenever someone in the building used the toilet was something I had not wished for. 

 We lounged for a bit, changed our clothes, touched up our makeup and hair and went to the nearest Tesco Express for alcohol, of course! It was raining for the majority of that afternoon, but it was bearable with an umbrella until said umbrella broke, but not for good until after the show (thank GOD).

 Now the show itself; it was incredible. I've been to a variety of shows (I see The Smyths tribute band whenever I can, and I saw Elton John at some point, I mean variety!) but Dir En Grey may be the best I have seen so far. It was so much fun. I'm easy to please with these things, I think any show can be enjoyable as long as the energy of the crowd and artists are pleasant, just out for a good time. But this was something else entirely, and I'm not just biased! 

It was such a great night. After Kyo opened up the pit (my friend, god bless, was so confused) we ended up closer! I could say I wish I got better videos and pictures, but I was so lost in the moment. Everyone seemed comfortable and respectful without caring too much so the energy was so good! I only hope to see them again <3