Confession. After seeing legendary Visual Kei bands in Tokyo — Versailles, Moi dix Mois, Gackt — I doubted that an American J-rock concert could send shivers up my spine. But I went to the J-Summit at NYC’s Webster Hall with what they call a “positive attitude,” and was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed the live. (All photos by Shichi.)

I was expecting a full Visual Kei roster, but the first act was on the completely opposite spectrum. As in an Okinawa folk band in traditional costumes… hey, I still rocked out. The second group, Happy Fun Smile, was equally amusing: the lead singer belted hyper retro J-pop and forced the audience to dance in a circle. All together now: push-push, shovel-shovel!

Then Lilac took over and put on a classic feedback-blitzing rock show. Singer/guitarist Hitoshi lit up the room with his stage presence (and literally, too, with his glowing devil horns). Lilac has been together less than a year, yet the trio has found a tight, hard rock sound that Shichi compares to Vamps.

The head-banging continued with the US debut of Japanese VK group Gurigula. In his review, Shichi writes: “This band had a retro sound with a modern aesthetic. That distinctive early 90s Visual Kei sound was alive and well here. Perhaps evolved, and slightly more tuned to modern tastes but you could definitely hear roots in bands like Luna Sea and Die in Cries.”

We left before Uzuhi, but managed to catch the fashion show. Dorian Hellfire’s male J-rock clothes rocked and her teen models were too cute for words; I wanted to pack them in my bento box! I had a grand time at J-Summit, I truly did — and it seemed everyone around me did too.

I couldn’t agree more with Shichi’s sum-up: “People who don’t go to Japanese-American J-rock shows really are missing out [...] It’s usually cheaper, and these groups really do care about the local scene and spend a great deal of time before and after sets interacting with fans. Some of these bands are really good too; I guarantee you won’t feel you’ve wasted your time and money if you went to say a Lilac or a [geist] or a Uzuhi show. I personally feel they are a lot better then some of the obscure Japanese bands the VK scene likes. If anything, these shows also end up being great social events. Support your scene! Come meet people!”

On that note, I’m always looking for new ways to open discussion and interact on this blog. What do you think of a new feature: daily musings and quotes? Below is the first installment; if it hits a nerve with you, please let me know your thoughts.

(PS: To comment, simply click on the Comments link on the bottom right of each post. You can comment as a Guest if you don’t want to sign up with Disqus. If you’re having trouble, shoot me an email or Tweet me.)

Musing of the Day #1: “Libertine” can be a positive word. Instead of “morally dissolute and depraved,” it can refer to someone who’s not bound by social morals, free to think and act for himself. Part of why I am drawn to the Gothic aesthetic/lifestyle is that it finds beauty in what’s feared: death, darkness. It turns norms on their heads; shows them to be paper tigers.