The weather’s getting colder, the holidays are approaching, and somewhere in midtown there’s a line of young women with multicolored hair sleeping on cardboard boxes outside a concert hall. By now, every Jrock fan knows what that means: Dir en grey is back in town.

The metal monarchs’ 2009 American tour brings them to New York once again, this time for three consecutive shows at the Gramercy Theater. It’s the night before the first performance and this evening they’re gracing Japanese bookstore Kinokuniya with their presence, sitting down with Miz Diva Vélez of The Diva Review for an interview followed by an autograph session. The event is private and exclusive: only about sixty lucky fans — winners of an online contest — and their guests are able to attend.

The reason for the exclusivity is soon made clear. The “event space” at Kinokuniya is more accurately a corner of the bookstore with all the displays pushed off to the side. Press is herded into the adjacent café area, where photographers battle sandwich shelves for a decent view. The band sits at a table wedged into the corner; a few feet in front of them is stretched a black velvet rope, behind which approximately a hundred fans are packed into the spaces between the bookshelves. The environment is certainly cozy, and I can’t think of another instance of this infamously aloof band presenting themselves to their fans in such an informal, personal way.

The interview portion of the event lasts just under a half an hour. Like most interviews with Dir en grey, the discussion is pleasant but bland. Host Diva Vélez is personable and well-spoken, and to the delight of the excited crowd — some of whom have taken a break from waiting on line at the theater to come to this event — many of her questions focus on the upcoming concerts. Towards the end of the discussion she gives the fans the microphone, inviting them to tell the band how they feel about Dir en grey’s music and performances. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that a few brave fans jump at.
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