Japanese Rockers L’Arc~en~Ciel Pack Madison Square Garden

See L’Arc~en~Ciel’s music video for “Good Luck My Way” here.

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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