This is only related to AX with time frame, and that the people who went, mostly also went to AX.This was actually a second event that was going on called Club 2 the Max.
Club 2 the Max was an all day event, but for atleast a month leading up the July 1st, no one could really explain to me what it was….
Some of my friends said it was like AX only smaller, some of them only talked about the Animaid cafe.
Just a couple weeks before both AX an Club 2 the Max, a few J-music news page announced the band X Japan would be hosting a Benefit bash at Club Nokia.
My initial thought was that they were using the timing of AX and Club 2 the Max to take advantage of the number of people that were there and not related to either thing.
Morning of, as the first event of Club 2 the Max is beginning, I venture over in hopes of fliering for our music booth at AX. And run into a snag. It’s supposed to be a free event, but they were requiring tickets. So now I’m curious what exactly this event is. So I try asking… and accidentally asked one of their guests. Oops? They told me to ask the other people at the table. Who is Animaid Cafe. When I asked what the event Is exactly. All they knew was Animaid Cafe.
Well that’s helpful.
Then they told me to go on upstairs. Which I did and found out I needed a ticket. So through a process of being handed off more times that I care to think about I finally have someone sent to me that knows whats going on outside his own little section!
He told me that Erina (M)ano was debuting her new movie. And that before, and after Erina Mano was (A)nimaid Cafe events, and despite it being announced so late (X) Japan was performing a mini acoustic, had a benefit bash, an h.Naoto fashion show, and PV filming.
(M)ano, (A)nimaid, (X) Japan….. Oh hey! It makes sense now! It’s in fact all related! Wow…
Their promotion department sucks.
Since I can’t really relate our music releases (within reason…) to Erina Mano, I thanked them for their time, explained that I would be at the Yoshiki foundation party that evening, and got back to the mornings rounds of AX(Part 1).
Sound exhausting? It is. But after this, and after all of AX from the last post, My co-workers and I are finally outside the Yoshiki Foundation Bash, waiting.
See, we are in fact related in some obscure manor to the people behind the scenes for this. So we have to make a show, but we will get nifty passes. And after a wonderfully long wait, we finally do.
From a fan perspective I know this pass looks fancy, and seems powerful… but really it’s rather restricting. Especially for Japanese shows. It means you have to be on your best behavior.
I was okay with that… it meant free seating too!
After watching my boss network for awhile, I went down to the GA section to look for people I normally network with. And then the show finally started!
The first picture is my sad attempt at using a camera phone in a dark theater. The second is far more interesting! An X Japane themed Pachinko machine… I never thought I would see a pachinko machine in America, unfortunately they were only on display.
h.Naoto event was really interesting, I love the fashion even though none of it would ever fit me. After that there was a cosplay contest in which 2 people I knew won a chance to be in X Japans new video. Then there was the mini-acoustic performance. And I’m not a huge X Japan fan so I found my way into the VIP room, where I chitchatted with a Nokia staff member about the Japanese artists that seem to have discovered Club Nokia. I don’t think she believed me still that Miyavi was a guy…
After that was a PV filming, and then it finally was all finished! Mostly… forgot about the cosplay fan winners specially filming…
By now I had a couple people in the VIP room to chill with so we waited, talked to the production crew a bit, and then I noticed the cosplay fan winners had come into the room.
So we chitchatted with them some, they shot their PV, one of the 2 I knew offered me and friends a ride home, and we all piled into a car to finally go home. All in all it was an exhausting, hectic, but rather fun night.
And then I looked at the clock at being past 2am to remember that I had to be at AX exhibit hall by 8am for Day 2….
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