The Gazette Live at The Wiltern

On May 3rd, 2016 The Gazette played in California for the first time at the Wiltern Theater in Los Angeles and man did they put on a good show. The Energy was great, the music was fantastic, the band were great, and the audience were fantastic as well.  I remember my friend and I arriving there and seeing a long line wrapping around the building and only getting longer as we joined it.  I believe it was 7:30 when they opened door and people started making their way in. Once in we were very excited and could not wait for the show to begin as seen below.

We waited for a little over half an hour before the lights dimmed and the show began.   One by one the band members made their way to the stage before kicking things off with the song Dogma.The crowd was energized and wen't crazy once the song started.  I was excited from the beginning and even some songs that I were not the biggest fan of I enjoyed. 

Which brings me to my first highlight which is first and for most the music.  The band sounded great and really solid.  From beginning to end every song sounded great and was well executed.  My favorite songs were Derangement, Vortex, Filth In Beauty, Agony, Cockroach, and Tomorrow Never Dies.  One of my favorite features of The Gazette is how they can combine heavy intense riffs with great melodic solos.  One of the best examples is Uruha's solo during Tomorrow Never Dies.

Sorry about the quality, filmed it from my Iphone, but you still get the point.  Anyway, things like that I dig, I love it when melodic music and heavy riffs blend together.  

Another aspect that was great was the bands energy.  You could tell that they were into it and were having fun.  At first Aoi seemed a little stiff but he got past if really quickly and was enjoying the show like the rest of the band.  

Ruki did a combination of being mysterious and rockin out though out the show and executed it well. 

Reita was all over the place, sometimes he would be in his spot on stage, sometimes he would run to one of the 3 platforms, and even jumped on the drum riser and be playing next to Kai.

Uruha would often jump on his platform and look into the crowd while he would be playing the opening riff to the next song and the crowd would go crazy.

Kai may not be able to move around freely like the rest of the band does but  the intricacy and fast beats he plays on drums made him energetic in his own way.  

The audience were great through out the show.  Everybody was really into the music and showed it by throwing their hands in the air or headbanging to the music.  The audience were very mature, no one was drunk, or at least appeared drunk, and no instances broke out  which made the show a lot more enjoyable. 

One of my favorite moments of the show was when the band came out for their encore and Ruki came out with the American flag and wrapped it around himself and then asked the audience if they were ready and the audience went crazy and they kicked their encore off with Agony.

Another great part was when they took their bows and as they were walking off Aoi went up to Uruha's mic and said thank you to the audience.  It was unexpected and was a really nice addition to the show's ending as shown in The Gazette Ending link shown below. 

The Gazette Wiltern Ending

This show will be one for the book for me. I have been to a lot of concerts and this is with out a doubt one of the best I have seen.  I can't wait for them to come back to LA and if you are a metal head this is a band worth seeing live and checking out their music.