exist†trace USA TOUR 2012: EVERYTHING [Maria edition]

WARNING: EXCESSIVE BANDWIDTH USE


I'm going to try to force myself to write about exist trace before I forget,

Firstly, Joe had been all over these chicks since missing the show they did at Sakuracon last year. I didn't really know their music then so i put it off and we didn't end up going. This was a double bad decision because the Japanese Sailor Moon voice actress was supposed to be there too. So yeah, I majorly regret not going to that one.

Anyways, so they come back to do a solo tour in Boston, NYC, Philly, and lastly Pittsburg. Pittsburg being the location for Tekkoshocon X.

I was mostly excited about going to the con. But we put it off, ya know this shit ain't cheap!

Then out of nowhere Dir en grey announces a tour, but it was not a solo venture.. Only solo dates were going to be in Seattle and St. Petersburg. So Joe was all over that since they were in the same week as exist trace. We had this crazy road trip planned for:

St Petersburg Dir show -Disney World- North Carolina - then Tekkoshocon X.

Unfortunately Dir en grey cancelled everything because Kyo got sick.

Since we were already in the ”road trip mood”, we went ahead and just did the exist trace tour NYC - Philly - DC - Pittsburg.

Turned out to be a blessing because personally this was like the 2nd most fun I have had on a trip!

So skip ahead, we picked up the rental after Joe got off work. We told ourselves we would not get insurance on the car. This would allow us to save like $200 because the credit card company informed us we didn't need it because the card covered rental accidents. When we told the guy there that, he did a lot of fast talking and somehow convinced us to get the insurance. He supposedly gave us a free upgrade with cruise control but he turned out to be a dirty liar because their was no cruise control!

We woke up around 5am the next morning to leave for NYC. This was going to be a 23 hour drive. I don't remember much since i did a lot of sleeping.

The next thing I remember was being in Pennsylvania, Just I few hours out of NY.



We made an unplanned stop at  a cheap Red  Roof Inn.

The next morning we were off to NY. We hit a shitload of tolls!

I had been terrified of ever going to New York because of all the stereotypes about crime, and crazy drivers. Well on first entering the “crazy drivers” were proved to be a fact. It was nuts out there!

The view we had of the city was nothing but half demolished graffiti covered buildings. It was a ghetto everywhere!




It might of been the area we stayed in, After all we did get the cheapest hotels possible.
The place we stayed at was a Best Western and right across the street was a really nice cemetery.


 The room had this ghetto ass jacuzzi and the toilet kept getting clogged up.

We made our way to a parking garage near the venue. Parking was insanely high and was valet parking. My first experience at that service.

Had a hard time figuring out where to line up. Venue was like a combination bar and hotel. The door was a huge sliding door with the rising sun painted on it. I didn't even know it was a door until later when it was time to go in.

The line wasn't very long so Joe and i decided to make a quick trip to a goodwill mainly because I wanted to buy a sweater. While we were walking we ran into a big flea market type place that held mostly overpriced antiques.
The goodwill also sucked i wanted to look at the toys section but there were no toys, pretty disappointing. I managed to just get a plain black sweater. Then we made our way back to the venue. I remember everywhere smelled like pee and there were trash bags everywhere. I was like when the fuck is trash day, why isn't anyone picking this up!
Well that was my first taste of NYC.

So eventually it was time to be let in. We had gotten VIP and we weren't even sure what the hell you got with VIP. All I knew was you get inside 15 minutes early. The inside of the venue was really impressive. A lot of Asian lanterns and decor. Also a giant dragon head above the stage that blew out smoke. As for the stage , it was probably the smallest stage i have ever seen, i knew I was in for a good show.
I think their were 2 opening bands one had a girl singer.


I don't really remember much of the first acts but I recall one band member commented on how low the stage was and that we were making “awkward eye contact”. He was right though because I was thinking the exact same thing.

As  for who we came to see, I made a compilation video of the set list and cool moments.
http://youtu.be/PQe6_5R7oKg

Well if this video didn't say enough. I had a fucking fun time! I didn't really know the music before very well but after this concert I fell in love! I think it was their energy. Tthey all seemed so happy on stage and they were very pleasant to look at. I fucking fell in love with Omi, she had this seriously sexy gaze.  I loved the interaction between the band members. Especially the dance between Omi and Miko during "Little Mary". At this show I caught Omi's pick and for Naoto's pick I jumped on stage to get it after they left the stage.

After the show they were doing some autographs and photos so this time around I let Joseph take the photo with the band.

We didn't get autographs though because we knew we had more opportunities to get them. Also I found out VIP received autograph setlists and some pins.

So after the show we went to a nearby pizza place, to try out that NY Pizza. We ate it when we got back to the hotel and swear to god there was a piece of cotton string in my piece of pizza!! WTF! I thought it came off of an apron or towel or something.

This place is so ghetto....I bet the subway would have been a whole other dangerous experience.

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The next morning we had a reservation on the ferry to see the Statue of Liberty. On to Battery Park ! More parking fees, arrggggg!! It was quite a long walk to the dock so we were somewhat late because we got lost when our GPS kept losing connection due to all the tall buildings. When we got there, I swear we were about 30 minutes late and the security line was long as fuck but were were able to bypass the line and got on the ferry just in time. Buy online in advance. My first time on a ferry.

Joe's friend Orlando who came with us was scared to death of the ferry ride. I was a little scared because I don't know how to swim! So we made it to Liberty Island and took our time walking around the Statue of Liberty getting our photo ops going.

I personally thought it was kinda small. We picked up some souvenirs.
Check out this sweet ass spinning led torch.

and back to the ferry to Ellis Island.

That was a big snooze fest. We then made our way back to the mainland.
We saw a vendor feeding a squirrel so we bought a pop off him.

Then we made our way to times square.

Cool architecture
Dude, driving in Times Square was like Ice Road Truckers India. People just had a death wish jumping in front of cars with no regard to the rules of the road. It was mostly the cab drivers who were nuts. People honked at Joe because he didn't move fast enough when the light turned green once.
Joseph then started picking up the crazy driving habits from them. It was fucking nuts!
This was just driving to find the parking lot. This was the most expensive one.
Our first stop was Nintendo World


This was the only thing i really wanted to do here.
Well, I was disappointed by how plain it was. I expected maybe some vintage Mario statues or something but all they had was cardboard cutouts of Mario. They did have a giant pikachu statue.
The merchandise was mediocre also. No real exclusive merch, just some Nintendo World mugs and shirts. I also bought a big Bowser plush.
They had kinda a shitty mini museum.

The only unique thing was the Gameboy

Then we went to the Hershey store which kinda sucked but we got some free samples, then the M&M Store.


This place was pretty cool. It was huge and the music made it seem like a nightclub or something, I really liked the decor statues.

This is how Nintendo World should be doing it!




Like I said, this place was cool. I used the bathroom there and it was super ghetto, it was funny how it went from nice fancy store to ghetto worn down bathroom.
I got some socks and a NY tin filled with candy, not much NY merch here.
Then we like turned a corner and we are in the middle of Times Square. Weird to be standing in such an iconic place featured in movies and stuff.

It was actually really small. The giant billboards were cool though and all the flashy lighting jazz was nice.

So the next thing we went to was the Disney Store,
Just your average Disney Store really. I picked up a big Statue of Liberty Minnie and a (Ferret proof) I Love NY Mickey cup.

We skipped a lot of what we had planned because we were tired so the last thing we did was go to the McDonalds int Time Square.

it had some cool NY decor inside. We passed the Toys R Us with the ferris wheel inside and they had these ghetto ass bootleg Mickey Mouse Mascots in front of the store. People were lining up to take pictures with them. That was the last thing I remember before heading back to the hotel.
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Next stop was Philadelphia,
We didn't have much planned to do in this city. It was a short 3 hour drive there. This time we stayed at a Days Inn. We hit up Walmart first because I needed some comfy shoes. Once purchased, we made it to the venue.

This place was shady as fuck! Joe said there was a halfway house next door. People didn't start lining up till like maybe an hour before the doors opened. This guy I recognized from youtube was there doing interviews with people. Then before you know it, it was time to go in.

The place was empty when the show started.
Man, people don't know what they were missing  These ladies were the shit! There was two opening bands that night.
One of the openers from NYC was there and the other band was exist trace’s opening act in Boston. Even with the tiny turn out the openers really went crazy. Well anyways. When exist trace finally came on they had this look on their faces of shock because of the turn out. But that did not hinder their performance. They put on another amazing show!
http://youtu.be/Tks5sMyHs0A
Naoto was in the back most of the time because she was having some technical problems. At the show it was Omi's birthday so everyone sang Happy Birthday when they came out for their encore. At Some point Miko kneeled in front of me and patted my head, which was funny because Jyou patted Joes head the show before. Also Miko kissed Omi on the cheek. You can kinda see it in the video.

At this show I got Mikos pick and Joe caught the drum stick! So we got a whole set! This was the first drum stick we have ever gotten! I was so excited I jumped in the air and hurt my back.

After the show I had my turn getting a picture with the band and we got autographs too.
It was late and we planned to drive to get “Philly” cheesesteaks at some famous rival places, Pat’s and Geno’s.

They were right across the street from each other. The website was specific about ordering a certain way by saying "wit onions".  We picked up both and Joseph and I had the exact same opinion on them. We thought Pat’s gave more meat but it was dry and had no flavor, Geno’s had less meat but had a good flavor.
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The next day we heading for DC. I always regretted not going to the Natural History Museum when we went there when Kaya appeared at AnimeUsa. So that was on our list of things to do.
But the first day we were hitting up the National Zoo.

So we woke up early and a few hours later we were in DC. This place is much nicer than New York. All the neighborhoods look nice and have plenty of trees. I think at one point Joseph drove too far into a crosswalk at a stop light and this lady looked at the New jersey license plate and gave this look like "No wonder he drives like a idiot". Joe and I thought that was funny.
So we made it to the Zoo and there was no where to park. This place was packed! Luckily someone was leaving as we came into the last parking lot.

This place was awesome! I saw an anaconda!! Never seen one of those before. That or giant tortoises. Here are some cool photos I took.
He looked like a giant tire



This asshole was teasing the toucan with a piece of popcorn
Brightly colored
This guy puked and was eating it! This was a really cool enclosure!
This guy was meowing really loud! He was pacing, ready to go inside.


Anyway, the main thing I wanted to see was the pandas! I was worried they wouldn't be there but it turns out there was only one out there. There were all sorts of places to stand to view the Panda but the best place was inside. I waited in the area for like 30 minutes to see the panda. Joe kept trying to make me leave but I held my ground! This was a rare opportunity and I was going to have my moment....and finally it happened!

Video

Yeah Panda!!
After that I purchased my Panda propaganda.

Viewed more animals and stayed till closing.
It was still early but we stayed at the hotel to get rested up for the big walk the next day
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The next day we took a shuttle to the train station because this is the only way to get to the National Mall. It was a 40 minute ride. We arrived right when the Natural History Museum was opening. So many awesome things inside. Mostly taxidermy and bones. I was there for the Dinosaurs!!!


Oh NO! *cry*
This thing fucking scares me... YIKES!!
EEK!! Sloth!!
Ha! This reminded me of animal crossing.


The names of the rocks reminded me of Sailor Moon.
The main attraction.
Hope Diamond.

This place had like every animal’s bones.


We spent a lot of time in there trying to see everything.
We left and got ripped off by a vendor outside. $10  for a pop and an ice cream! Ridiculus!!

After this we headed to the White House. This time nothing was blocking it Photo op!


Then to the Lincoln Memorial,
funny how the reflecting pool was still dried up!

It's been like 4 years since I was last there and it was still under construction!

Then we took a rest at the World War II memorial fountain. That was nice.



After all this i needed a rest so we went inside The Ronald Reagan Building because a Subway was located inside. It was high security, First time I ever had to show my ID and go through metal detectors to get a sandwich.
Then we saw an ad for some sort of video game exhibit. So being the video game connoisseurs we are, we make the hike to the American Art museum. Located in a downtown area.
Occupy Wall Street!


We passed Ford's Theatre too

Inside we first looked at the folk art area,



Then in the center was a really cool outdoor lobby area with this even cooler water fountain . It made the floor look like it was moving. It was weird.

Then I notice the souvenir shop that advertised the Art of Video games exhibit so we went straight there. Dude, this exhibit was lame! How can they even call it an exhibit! The best part was this gigantic screen that would flash all these crazy images and play this loud music.
http://youtu.be/JRG03lyQbho

Other than that they just had some giant tv's where you can play like Myst and Mario Bros.



Then cases with old video game consoles. Fucking lame!



They could have done so much more with it! I was expecting at least some original art storyboards or something.

Anyways we checked out some amazing portraits I just took pictures of everything.




Then the last thing we saw was some modern art by a japanese artist
Then that was it.

We headed back to the train station and had this dramatic and hilarious moment when Joseph jumped on the train right when the doors closed and left me and Orlando behind! He got his hand stuck in the door and kept telling me to "jump on"  Haha!! How the hell was I supposed to jump on with the door closed? Well I just waited and he made it back around a few minutes later.
Another 40 minute ride and shuttle back to the hotel. Fun day!

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The next day we made our way to the last stop Pittsburg Tekkoshocon X. Here we stayed at Knights Inn. We made our way downtown to the convention to pick up our badges.
This convention was tiny and crowded. Everyone was trying to squeeze onto the elevators. We asked an employee if we could take the stairs and that asshole said there were no stairs ! Lying asshole! We found them later.
The first thing I did was hit up the dealers room hoping to score some Sailor Moon stuff but the dealers room was fucking tiny. I was able to find some Eternal Sailor Moon figure puppets for $1 each. A pink fuzzy backpack for $10 ,Some neat shiny cards and some GE merch. That was it.

The thing happening this day was the Exist Trace Q&A So we just hung out there.
I saw some cute totoro cosplay


There was actually a little girl in the small one. Orlando asked her for a photo but she got scared and didn't want to take a picture. Also Orlando had gotten roses for the band members because he too had fallen in love with them like I had.

Miko later posted the flowers on her twitter
http://twitter.com/#!/existxtrace_19/status/183375407909838848
I briefly talked to some neat Sailor moon cosplayers who were really into the band. I tried talking to them about Sailor moon but they didn't seem to know much. I was kinda mad because they cut us. Well that was ok because we still got a good seat inside.

The q&a  was really cool and the translator was really good at translating.  I was impressed. Jyou had said something about wanting people to introduce her to American Music.
Spot us in the photo?

So I told Joe we should give her some CD's.

The next day the first thing we did was go to a nearby cd store. It was pretty cool. It had toys in it too. It was kinda spur of the moment and I couldn't decide what to get her. In the end we got The Golden Age of Grotesque, Year Zero and Slipknot(album). I kinda regretted Year Zero after I re-listened to it. We should of went with "The Slip" Also thinking back I really wish I gave her "Clear Hearts , Grey Flowers" since it has a female singer and I love that album!

We waited in line early but were in the wrong place the whole time and a really long line had formed in the right place, but luckily we had premium badges So we got to be in a separate line and was like the first ones in line. I ran into the Sailor moon Cosplayers again and talked to them a little, but I suck at socializing so the conversation was short.

Also I have to mention exist trace was playing a secret show the next day but we couldn't make it since we had to be back in KC that day and it was 23 hours back. It was for "Rock Star badges" and was like $150 each. I would have made more of an effort to go to that one if i had known how awesome they would be.

Anyways, they let "rockstars" and volunteers in first. Then we made our way in. We still got a good spot. No video of this, it was not allowed. This show started different with Little Mary first, which threw me off. I wanted it to start with some rocking shit first then ease into that slow stuff then back to rock. The stage was kinda far too so the band interaction with the crowd was minimal.
Also when she did her costume change during “Kiss in the Dark", this time she wore like a red and white Cheongsam. Also Joseph managed to get a Miko Pick. The set list was basically the same.

Band took another picture after the show. Spot us again?
So afterwards was autographs, I went ahead and purchased a poster for the opening band "Sound Witch" and got it signed. I thought their performance was entertaining enough.

Then right after was the last exist trace autograph session.
We ran into some dude Orlando was talking to earlier that day and he seemed genuinely a big fan, so I went ahead and gave him our extra Miko pick. That’s him in the picture above.


I gave Jyou the CD's and she seemed really surprised. Like she didn't think anyone would actually give her American music. Mally was next to her and looked over and was like  "OHHH Slipknot-to, MINE!" That was pretty funny. So then we got our autographs and left. I wish I had seen them off and waved goodbye :(

Not much else to say, just drove home, got the car back a little early and save some money.
THE END

The next week we flew to seattle to see MOI DIX -FUCKING -MOIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!