Question 9.
Can I hang around after the show
to wait for the band to leave the venue?

You can do this, but it’s generally frowned on and I don’t recommend it, not even if you see other foreign fans doing it. Also, don’t think you’ll be likely to meet the band this way. At a big show, if the venue staff don’t tell you to clear out, they’ll let you wait behind a barricade to watch the band leave the venue. Shriek at them if you must, but the band members are going to be tired and desperate for alcohol and they’re most likely going to ignore you, don’t take it personally. At a smaller show, there may or may not be venue staff with a barricade, but the band members are still most likely going to see you as a tiresome obstacle standing between them and booze. If the band is less popular, they might be touched that you stuck around for so long just to congratulate them, but if this happens, tell them you enjoyed the show and then say goodnight. Do not attempt to chase them down the street to the bar, it will quickly make them hate you.

A word on meeting the Buck-Tick members after shows: you can't. Don't try. Buck-Tick are one of the most private, well protected bands in the Japanese rock scene. Stalker tactics will not work. Give up on stalking them and go out for drinks with your friends instead.

Can I accidentally-on-purpose chase the band members to the pub and then start sobbing and wailing shrieking the name of my favorite band member until he takes pity on me and comes over to talk to me? Yes, of course you can do this, by all means. But bear in mind that if you do this, even years later, when the band members get drunk together, they'll still be likely to say, "remember that time when that girl wouldn't stop crying...?" And then they will all have a big huge chuckle at your expense (sadly, this was a true story.)

Can I chase my favorite band member to his hotel and then hide in the men's room and jump out and say 'Boo!" at him when he comes in to take a piss? Yes, of course. He'll surely be delighted. (Sadly, this was also a true story.)

What do you recommend I do after a show, Cayce? What does Cayce recommend you do after a show? Instead of chasing the band, why don’t you try going out to the pub with some other fans? You’ll probably have a lot more fun that way, and you also might learn some new things about Japanese culture and maybe even make some new friends.

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