Thoughts on the 2026 series of Dir en grey's YouTube setlist livestreams
Seeing as this time, the livestreams are scheduled every week rather than five days in a row, and that the archive disappears after six days, it doesn't make sense for me to wait until all of them have aired to post these thoughts, so I'll be updating this post as the weeks go.
Overall, it feels like there is much less suspense to know what the next song on the playlist will be when there's live footage playing. I remember being much more on the edge of my seat when the video was mainly black and that we had less clues about what was coming next, during the pandemic version of those livestreams. Kyo would abruptly alternate from studio recording to live audio recording unexpectedly. I don't know if it's just me, since I watched all those videos already so I'm familiar with everything that is being broadcast.
It also seems to me like this would have been more appropriate as one of the projects for the 30th anniversary, since they use clips from throughout their (recent) history. It does serve to hype up the fans who will be able to go to the shows at Tokyo Garden Theatre instead of leaving a huge gap between the last tour and those arena shows, but then it wastes the opportunity for a bit more nostalgia.
Interesting how the audio of the audience reaches the same tone from one show to the other, even between countries. It helps create seamless transitions.
Even more interesting that Kyo decided to keep the sounds of the audience from Berlin several seconds into the live footage of AMON (symphonic), which I'm quite sure had been silent for the most part as it was the Japanese crowd. Is it supposed to be a connection with the lyrics of AMON?
Member-specific livestream:
Kyo: As someone who has semi-chronic respiratory issues, it was rather painful to me that the MOBS PV cut to live footage from Downer Absolutely No One in which Kyo sounds the most out of breath that I've probably ever heard him be. I feel like the cut should have been a bit earlier, before the PV jumps to the end of the song, so that the live footage would have been longer and would have probably shown Kyo less out of breath at some point.
It's all very "atmospheric" songs dripping in something ominous in general. I mean, how many of Dir en grey's songs don't fit in that category... Anyway.
What I don't remember is the footage of RED SOIL from the European tour being so low-quality on the BluRay that I got...
Going from Keibetsu to Hajimari to the poppy slow-paced Rotting Root is a weird choice hah. It's much less expected than the transition from Reiketsu Nariseba to Kuukoku no Kyouon.
A lot of footage from the 2024 European tour and Tour25 Enen. Can't blame him, his looks were sick.
Die: Ruten no tou is a great song to start a playlist with, but ouch, Die chose the one filmed performance in which Kyo clearly forgot a ton of lyrics. It wasn't just a matter of asking the crowd to sing and that the fans didn't deliver, because the footage intentionally avoided showing Kyo during that minute.
Die's setlist was rather intense in energy until Aka, but even for a ballad, it is rather fast-paced. It does allow for a seamless transition into Phenomenon and Glass Skin, whose pace is definitely slower. I'm surprised that we even got such a long stretch of "calm" songs.
Most of the songs feature some cool sounds or obvious Die-leaning guitar, but Glass Skin actually has Kaoru doing the main guitar sounds.
There was literally no other sensible way to go into Downfall than right after the previous song. Die really seems to be a master in transition, if he had any say in the video editing.
un deux signals the ending of the setlist for sure. Surprised that they used what's supposed to be a knot-exclusive footage. Same with all the mode-of stuff, I guess...
Die's actual faking of an end and use of the encore call is genius hah. But he was also such a tease because, by using footage from the same show as the video of un deux, fans know exactly what was played first at that show's encore: Sangeki no Yoru. But then it merges into a completely different day, year and song hahah.
Him keeping all the MCs too, lovely. He was in the live chat but that was his way to engage with the audience, to pierce the screen.
Oh, I'm disappointed that he didn't commit to using footage exclusively from actual encores that they've played. They definitely performed songs like Child Prey at the end of shows that came out on DVD.
Ending with Ware, yami tote... is surprising, but its lyrics do ask for something, it's not just a statement of pain without engagement.
Die completely ignored the band's latest material in Mortal Downer, woah... I don't know, that seems like a hell of a message, even if it's an unconscious one. Is it just because there is no footage of it except the couple of songs that were in Tour25 Enen? But that didn't stop Kyo from using a still picture of the album while the song played.
Toshiya: It's really abrupt that we start with the solo angle of Kyo, as well as with Utafumi of all songs. So far, there really seems to be a theme that each weekly setlist starts with something that kinda pokes fun at Kyo for one reason or another, or at least that can't leave him indifferent. That might be a better way to word it.
The transition to Garbage is rather seamless: from one Adidas suit to another hah. Man, Toshiya really doesn't let up with the intensity from the start, with The IIID Empire afterward, followed by C etc. etc.
Of course Toshiya chooses a solo angle of himself in a show where he wore the most majestic outfit hah.
Lie Buried With A Vengeance is a bit slower-paced, but still rather intense.
It feels like Toshiya is the only one who selected footage from shows that were obviously silent. Kyo took the Phenomenon performance from the first Phalaris tour, but since Phenomenon doesn't demand vocal interaction from the audience, it wasn't nearly as obvious.
Woah, one MC! So far, up until Lie Buried With A Vengeance, the songs had succeeded each other without delay. And the metronome drumming from Shinya served as the perfect transition to Machiavellism because it was the same rhythm.
Of fuck yeah! I mean, I think that they always select songs in which Shinya shines for his solo angles, but Magayasou is definitely an A1 choice. So nice that Toshiya put the spotlight on his rhythm section mate in an Arche song.
The Pledge is the first real "break" in physical intensity that we get. Man, that paired with embryo, good thing that the sad stint stopped there.
Of course Die during Rinkaku!
Toshiya is overwhelmingly favouring Withering to death. for some reason. And from that, he chose footage mostly from the European show in 2024. But I guess that you'd be limited in which years those songs were played if you focus so much on the same album hah.
Hm, I can't believe that there wasn't a smoother way to transition into Vinushka, from those crowd cheers. They just cut them short.
Fuck, Kodou right after Vinushka?
Another really unnecessarily abrupt cut to the claps, silence for a couple of seconds, then a random encore call promptly interrupted by the last noise of an Inward Scream before And Zero? I'm glad And Zero gets some love, but I'm just still perturbed by that awful transition that came right before the song.
Agitated Screams of Maggots! Toshiya is the one who picked the most songs from The Marrow Of A Bone, and it's nice to see that mode-of more.
Eddie and Rasetsukoku for the end, Toshiya knows how to close a show!
Oh shit, footage from before 2016?! They were allowed hah?
Without a doubt, from the three of them, Toshiya's setlist is the least equitably distributed across the albums hah. And he completely ignored Mortal Downer too... Almost Phalaris even. At least he acknowledged that fact in his commentary, but that is so fucking weird.
Shinya: Those cheers before Yurameki were way too young, high-pitched/predominantly female to come from a recent release... That plus the surge in cheer right before the song. Definitely from the 1999 Osaka Jo Hall footage! Kept in the dark for so many seconds, what a tease Shinya was.
Yo Shinya, I don't even have a category for pre-Gauze songs in my graph, calm down hahah.
OK, it went from Shinya proving that old songs make for a really great show, to Demand – I never thought he would be the one to choose that song! And then The Perfume of Sins, he's really shocking me.
So far, Shinya's setlist is turning out to be rather my favourite hah. I had thought that Toshiya would select Ranunculus, but I'm glad Shinya did!
Is it me or there's a trend among Shinya's selection that most of the songs have either piano or violin tracks?
The dramatic silent pause after Inconvenient Ideal...
Rather funny that Shinya would choose Soshaku when I witnessed how be botched that song live, but yeah, it does demonstrate his great skills! He actually referenced his mistake in the live commentary, it seems: "Not the Soshaku from Sendai" hahahah
I focused on the multi-angles recently for some gifs. Glad to see Shinya pick from that kind of footage!
Overall, Shinya's setlist is very "calm", it's been mainly power ballads except at the beginning and a couple of exceptions here and there.
Oh, very agile transition to C! And this disproves my theory that they had agreed not to select the same songs in their setlists. Interesting.
Umbrella from six ugly! Shinya again disproving that he seemed to be spread out over the years of their career, but not equitably choosing from each album. Woah, and Clever Sleazoid then? It's the 2020 version, but I think I'll count it as an acknowledgement of The Marrow of a Bone, which Shinya historically hates!
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a final thought i want to share re: Louis (and the rest of 1D) singing 1D songs in their solo sets:
many of us had or have never been able to see 1D live, despite maybe even being in the fandom back then. and 10 - 15 years ago, it was simply not a thing/not technically possible to watch livestreams of people who were at the shows.
so many old & current fans have never had the experience of seeing any of them them play any 1D songs live live in a way people nowadays can; by either attending their shows or by watching their solo shows through a livestream.
for many 1D fans, the solo shows were/are the only chance to see a 1D member play a few of 1D's songs.
and that matters a great deal to a lot of fans. and Louis, Harry, Niall, Zayn know that. Liam knew that. ❤️🩹
obviously that is not the sole reason for them doing it -there are many-, but it's a valid one.
(there is also a conversation about the setlist here from the viewpoint of new fan acquisition that a few other blogs have already shone a light on very well!
as an artist manager, i would & will always encourage my artists to put their 'their old classics' on the setlist if they feel comfortable/happy with it, because oh boy (gender neutral), never ever underestimate the power of nostalgia. it has a huge pull in human psychology. and never underestimate the power of an artist who exudes an aura of loving their 'origin material' -as opposed to being 'sick and tired of it' (which happens, too); of loving to still play the songs that 'only the real fans still know', etc.
but as i said, that'd be an entire extra conversation)
Now that almost 2/3 of the tour have passed, I am too tired to do anything at home and I am bored again, I have some more random thoughts about the setlists so far:
616 songs have been played until Tampere 4.
We still haven't got Kukkulang kuningas or Mun pitäis se jo tietää. Tbh, at this point I don't think we're getting them.
Most of the gigs have 27 songs. Sometimes they add one extra. Ruka had 22-23 and was a shorter setlist. Seems like Joensuu 1 was only 26 songs long, but I haven't found the setlist order so I can't say if it's 100% like that or if the person posting on Jodel forgot one.
Yellow album songs have been played 43 times. This means they play less than 2 songs per concert (1,86). They mostly play 2, but in Ruka with the shorter setlist (0 yellow songs), Oulu 2 and Tampere 2 (1 songs), and Levi 1, Seinäjoki 1 and Tampere 3 (3 songs)
Yellow album songs are quite random, but most of the played songs have been played 3 times, except SKMOS, because it is a fixed song (21 out of 23 concerts), Tuiki tuiki (2) and Kuumaa (5). Yesterday they asked the audience to choose between Uppoon suhun and Huuda lujempaa and it was great people choose Uppoon suhun, so now all the rest have been played 3 times.
Blue album has been played 173 times in 23 concerts (7,52 per concert) and it is the second most played album. It was tied with the White album before Tampere, but they played the White album a bit more there.
5 of the songs have a permanent position. Not only have been in 100% of the setlists, but also have a fixed position.
Both in Oulu 3 and Turku 1 they played Edelleen sua + Elokuva + Juna-asema. Those 3 are the less played songs in the blue album.
Without counting the 5 permanent songs, Eteisvalssi is the most played blue album song (14 times), followed by Hyvikset ja pahikset and Äijä (13). Hyvikset ja pahikset has been played 11 times in the last 16 gigs, while in the first 7 it was only played twice. Eteisvalssi is a bit more irregular: played a lot in the beggining, not much in the middle, now it's back to be a regular, it has only been missed once in Seinäjoki and once in Tampere.
Red album has been played 143 times (6,21 times per concert). It has 4 fixed songs (Tuhoaisti, Satama, Tässä on kaikki and Luotan tulevan).
Basically this album only gets 2 other songs per concert (sometimes 3, funny enough it has been the 4 times they played Valmiit lol, and one of the 28 songs concerts), so their numbers on the non-fixed songs are low. Pisara meressä is the most played (10 times), followed by Suuren päivän ilta and Täydellisin (9). The least played is Yks yö lainaa (2)
Only Turku 1 had both SPI and Täydellisin. Normally they don't go together.
Both Yks yö lainaa and Loppujen lopuks haven't been played since Turku 3.
White album is the most played album so far (176 songs, 7,65 times per concert).
It has 3 fixed songs, but I think we can add Aloittelijat to the group because it's been in all concerts since Ruka 2, and was only missing in both Ruka 2 and Oulu 3.
Probably the album with the mist differences, with songs played 16 and 18 times (Tuun viel himaan and Vaikeessa vaiheessa) and others only 3 and 4 times (Jos pääsen maalin, Sä voit soittaa mulle and Keinut)
Seems like Keinut and SVSM follow a pattern. Except the first time they were played, every time they play Keinut, SVSM comes the next day.
Vaikeessa vaiheessa has been played in all gigs since Turku 3. That makes a streak of 9 gigs straight.
Älä muutu follows (almost) regularly a patter of 1-2 gigs in, 1-2 gigs out.
VE songs have been played 44 times (1,91 per gig). Minä toivon is the only fixed song.
They seem to like Asfaltin pinta a bit more than the rest, it has been played 5 times already. Autiomaa, on the other hand, seems like the song they like the less as it has only been played twice.
Non-album songs have been played 34 times (1,47 per gig). There's no fixed songs.
Kolme toivetta is the most played one (6), followed by Rakastaja. All the songs have been played at least twice.
They've played 2 other covers: Sade tulee (twice, one with Jaakko Kulta) and Kakarat.
The feats have been Tuuli (Levi 2), Emma & Matilda (Turku 4), Ida Paul (Turku 5), Helmi marleena (Tampere 1), Jaakko Kulta (Tampere 3), Evelina (Tampere 3) and Sonia (Tampere 4). The 3 times the guest sang more than one song, they changed the pattern to fit the guest (Ihan kohta ohi and Elokuva right after HI, instead of a red song). They also changed it when Tuuli was a feat, again for Elokuva, to make the joke ("Oliko se tuuli vain, joka muistutti tuttuu melodiaa" after singing with Tuuli lol).
The song before Luotan tulevan is always the piano version ("Johannes' special, as they called it in a video lol). Sometimes it can be a couple of songs.
There are some fixed songs that ALWAYS go in the same place: Voiton puolella has been played always after SKMOS, same for Juna-asema, Tuiki tuiki and Valmiit. Haloo has always been played as a piano version, therefore it came always before Luotan tulevan (not going to count the rest of the yellow album songs because they mostly play one and it has a fixed position after Satama, so only time they added one of them in other positions is when they played 3 songs)
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