(no subject)
So I had a bit of an early birthday celebration yesterday, starting with Miyavi's mini live at Tower Records and ending with dinner with my friends at Sweets Paradise!
Ticket pick-up started at noon at Tower Records Shibuya. First, we had to turn in the vouchers we got in the mail. Then, we got to draw a number to see which ticket number we would be given. There were more than 100 fans there (maybe closer to 200), but I got lucky and got number 39! There was still more than an hour before we'd be let down to the basement floor of the building to line up, so I went and grabbed lunch at McDonald's while I was waiting.
Around 1:30, they let us line up by number on the basement stairs. I saw a handful of other foreign fans there as I made my way into the line. While we were waiting, the Japanese girl next to me in line started chatting with me. She told me to call her Ryu. We talked a bit about Miyavi and the other bands that we like and now we're following each other on Twitter. :)
We didn't have long to wait before they let us inside the basement studio, which looked just like a small live house. I was surprised! Ryu and I hurried our way up to the stage and ended up two rows of people away from the front at the center of the stage. I definitely had a good view! There wasn't anywhere to store coats or bags, but luckily since I was close to the front of the stage the fans in the front row took my things and placed them in front of the barrier for safekeeping. (Only in Japan would I feel comfortable allowing that to happen.)
Soon it was time for Miyavi to take the stage! He appeared wearing white pants, a grey shirt, a black blazer, a black knit cap, and a little bit of eyeliner. This event was just MYV playing solo, no drummer or anything. He started off with "What's My Name", while we all clapped and shouted along. He then chatted with us a little. He said that he was surprised at the studio because it looked like a live house. He joked that he thought it was going to be the kind of event where we could sit and chat and drink tea. He also told us that it had been a while since he'd done a solo show.
The next song was "Strong". Myv performed Kreva's part, which was cool to hear! Afterwards he talked a bit about coming together with Kreva to create the song. He then started joking around about how his only lines in the song are "uh" and "yea" (since Kreva sings the song while Miyavi plays guitar). Myv had us and himself giggling as he joked about having a phone conversation and answering the phone by saying "uh". Then Myv told us that he was being stupid. XD
I think it was also around this point that Miyavi mentioned how hot it was. Surprisingly, a Japanese girl right in front of me yelled at Myv to take off his shirt. (脱いで!) Because the crowd was small and she was near the front, Myv immediately singled her out. He was like "I know you said it. I can see your face," and laughed. I didn't quite catch what he said next, but I think it was something about how fans always want him to take off his shirt. He jokingly asked us what we'd say if he was a women. The crowd replied that we'd still ask him to take it off. Hahaha! After this he actually did take off his jacket because he was hot, but he kept his shirt on.
The next song was "Silent Anger". On the CD version Hosomi Takeshi sings the song, while Miyavi plays guitar. For this live version, Myv sang the whole song! It was awesome to hear him singing the song. After the song, he talked a bit about the feelings that lead to him creating the song. This was a more complicated discussion though and I couldn't properly catch all of what he was saying, so I don't want to try and write it.
Myv then wanted to ask the audience where we were from. He had people who were from Tokyo raise their hands. When only a portion of the audience raised their hands, he wanted to know where the rest of us were from. There were people from all over the surrounding Tokyo area. A girl next to me was from Sapporo. Another girl near the front was from Indonesia. Myv heard her shout it and stopped to chat with her in English, asking her if she was staying in Japan now. When some of the Japanese fans starting going "何？" because they couldn't understand what was going on Myv started playing translator. He then noticed a really tall foreign guy at the front of the crowd and asked him where he was from. The guy said that he was from Canada and chatted a little bit with Myv about how he'd been to a bunch of his previous shows. Miyavi then made some comments about how Candian English sounded nice and it was kind of like Hokkaido Japanese. I'm sure he would've kept chatting with the audience, but then Myv's manager appeared on stage to whisper to him that he was running out of time. Myv then told us that he'd been talking too much recently. XD
Next, Miyavi performed "Pleasure". He didn't stop to chat after song like he'd been doing because of the short amount of time. He then finished his set with "Day 1", thanked us and left the stage.
It wasn't over quite yet though. It was time for the handshaking part of the event! (The part that I'd been internally freaking out over.) As we filed out of the studio, we got to shake Miyavi's hand. They were moving people through pretty fast, so I didn't even have time to get that nervous beforehand. I had debated before about whether I wanted to try to talk to Myv in English or Japanese, but because of the short amount of time I opted to just talk in English. It's one of those moments that's kind of a blur looking back on it. When it was my turn Miyavi said hello to me in English and shook my hand. I said hello and told him that my birthday was this week, so getting to see him was the best birthday present. He then wished me a 'happy birthday' and my turn was over. Eeeeee! It was a great moment though! I only wish that I could've talked to him longer. I have so much that I wish I could say to Miyavi because I've been a fan of his for a long time, and I really admire him and the effort that he makes to connect with his international fans.
On the way out of the event, I ended up walking with another foreign fan. Her name was Lisa. She and I started chatting about music and Miyavi and I also found out that she writes for Metropolis magazine. It turned out that we were both headed for Ikebukuro, so we took the train there together. It's always nice to talk with other down to earth foreign fans.
So that was definitely the best (slightly early) birthday present ever. I'm lucky that I got the chance to go! And now I can't wait to see Miyavi again at his show in Shibuya later this month!
Ticket pick-up started at noon at Tower Records Shibuya. First, we had to turn in the vouchers we got in the mail. Then, we got to draw a number to see which ticket number we would be given. There were more than 100 fans there (maybe closer to 200), but I got lucky and got number 39! There was still more than an hour before we'd be let down to the basement floor of the building to line up, so I went and grabbed lunch at McDonald's while I was waiting.
Around 1:30, they let us line up by number on the basement stairs. I saw a handful of other foreign fans there as I made my way into the line. While we were waiting, the Japanese girl next to me in line started chatting with me. She told me to call her Ryu. We talked a bit about Miyavi and the other bands that we like and now we're following each other on Twitter. :)
We didn't have long to wait before they let us inside the basement studio, which looked just like a small live house. I was surprised! Ryu and I hurried our way up to the stage and ended up two rows of people away from the front at the center of the stage. I definitely had a good view! There wasn't anywhere to store coats or bags, but luckily since I was close to the front of the stage the fans in the front row took my things and placed them in front of the barrier for safekeeping. (Only in Japan would I feel comfortable allowing that to happen.)
Soon it was time for Miyavi to take the stage! He appeared wearing white pants, a grey shirt, a black blazer, a black knit cap, and a little bit of eyeliner. This event was just MYV playing solo, no drummer or anything. He started off with "What's My Name", while we all clapped and shouted along. He then chatted with us a little. He said that he was surprised at the studio because it looked like a live house. He joked that he thought it was going to be the kind of event where we could sit and chat and drink tea. He also told us that it had been a while since he'd done a solo show.
The next song was "Strong". Myv performed Kreva's part, which was cool to hear! Afterwards he talked a bit about coming together with Kreva to create the song. He then started joking around about how his only lines in the song are "uh" and "yea" (since Kreva sings the song while Miyavi plays guitar). Myv had us and himself giggling as he joked about having a phone conversation and answering the phone by saying "uh". Then Myv told us that he was being stupid. XD
I think it was also around this point that Miyavi mentioned how hot it was. Surprisingly, a Japanese girl right in front of me yelled at Myv to take off his shirt. (脱いで!) Because the crowd was small and she was near the front, Myv immediately singled her out. He was like "I know you said it. I can see your face," and laughed. I didn't quite catch what he said next, but I think it was something about how fans always want him to take off his shirt. He jokingly asked us what we'd say if he was a women. The crowd replied that we'd still ask him to take it off. Hahaha! After this he actually did take off his jacket because he was hot, but he kept his shirt on.
The next song was "Silent Anger". On the CD version Hosomi Takeshi sings the song, while Miyavi plays guitar. For this live version, Myv sang the whole song! It was awesome to hear him singing the song. After the song, he talked a bit about the feelings that lead to him creating the song. This was a more complicated discussion though and I couldn't properly catch all of what he was saying, so I don't want to try and write it.
Myv then wanted to ask the audience where we were from. He had people who were from Tokyo raise their hands. When only a portion of the audience raised their hands, he wanted to know where the rest of us were from. There were people from all over the surrounding Tokyo area. A girl next to me was from Sapporo. Another girl near the front was from Indonesia. Myv heard her shout it and stopped to chat with her in English, asking her if she was staying in Japan now. When some of the Japanese fans starting going "何？" because they couldn't understand what was going on Myv started playing translator. He then noticed a really tall foreign guy at the front of the crowd and asked him where he was from. The guy said that he was from Canada and chatted a little bit with Myv about how he'd been to a bunch of his previous shows. Miyavi then made some comments about how Candian English sounded nice and it was kind of like Hokkaido Japanese. I'm sure he would've kept chatting with the audience, but then Myv's manager appeared on stage to whisper to him that he was running out of time. Myv then told us that he'd been talking too much recently. XD
Next, Miyavi performed "Pleasure". He didn't stop to chat after song like he'd been doing because of the short amount of time. He then finished his set with "Day 1", thanked us and left the stage.
It wasn't over quite yet though. It was time for the handshaking part of the event! (The part that I'd been internally freaking out over.) As we filed out of the studio, we got to shake Miyavi's hand. They were moving people through pretty fast, so I didn't even have time to get that nervous beforehand. I had debated before about whether I wanted to try to talk to Myv in English or Japanese, but because of the short amount of time I opted to just talk in English. It's one of those moments that's kind of a blur looking back on it. When it was my turn Miyavi said hello to me in English and shook my hand. I said hello and told him that my birthday was this week, so getting to see him was the best birthday present. He then wished me a 'happy birthday' and my turn was over. Eeeeee! It was a great moment though! I only wish that I could've talked to him longer. I have so much that I wish I could say to Miyavi because I've been a fan of his for a long time, and I really admire him and the effort that he makes to connect with his international fans.
On the way out of the event, I ended up walking with another foreign fan. Her name was Lisa. She and I started chatting about music and Miyavi and I also found out that she writes for Metropolis magazine. It turned out that we were both headed for Ikebukuro, so we took the train there together. It's always nice to talk with other down to earth foreign fans.
So that was definitely the best (slightly early) birthday present ever. I'm lucky that I got the chance to go! And now I can't wait to see Miyavi again at his show in Shibuya later this month!