Kettei Haro Pro Award 2009 - Elder Club Sotsugyou Commemoration Special
Well since I don't know where to start performance wise I'll go by my overall impressions. I do plan to reference some songs and I have the song list posted elsewhere to do so.
First off let me say that I apparently have the best luck when it comes to fanclub tickets. When I registered for tickets for this concert, I at first only planned to go in the afternoon and since there were 2 other friends going with me I had to register for family seating, as floor is limited to 2 tickets. So I didn't expect my ticket to be excellent and was ok with the idea that I might not be able to stand and cheer depending on the people around me. But I got the tickets and was like A4, oh ok look at the set up... ooh pretty good. Though across the other side of the stadium (forgot that the arena's sometimes have the different sort of running paths around the whole area). So my friends and I, after spending way too much on goods and trading with some of my other wota friends, head down and are walking down the rows A6 A 5 A... holy fuck we are front row!!! Well that was basically all of our reactions, huge grins and high fiving of my awesome luck. Because the stage set up was the runners, and the 4 mini stages on the oval and in the center. And we were right there in the center of the largest stage. So I went out to go to the bathroom all giddy and ended up meeting up with my wota friends again and showed them what row I was in and got a huge round of clapping and congradulations and jealous but friendly glares.
For my one friend it was her first HP concert so she was excited but she's not as huge a fan as my other friend and I. The two of us were completely fangirling even before the concert knowing how awesome this was going to be.
Mano Erina seemed like she had a bit of a cold. No she doesn't have the best voice but she sounded really nasally and she didn't sound like that when we saw her as opening for the Morning Musume tour(Which she's not included on the DVD of X_x). The eggs are really cute but they didn't even get to sing at this one, just out and do a little cheerleading dance with ribbons, atleast last time they got to start Love Machine before the other members came out.
Just like last year before every set of acts was introduced an "award" was named for them. And boy were all the award names cheesy. But they served their point, in that by the time they announced the "award" name you knew the winner. I must say being at the closest only 5 or so feet away from the performers you notice a lot of things you wouldn't have before. Such as how adorable the 4 eggs of Shugo Chara Egg (especiall Kannon) are and how well they perform, yet how cheesy Su's cosplay costume is. The other 3 costumes are really nice and fit real humans just fine, but Su's... is just too poofy and the shade of green looks really awkward in reality.
Yossi was wearing a really strange hair extension bun that kinda reminded me of Beyonce or Ciera or any R&B female artist. But she looked hot so it was fine by me ^^. Also much of the Gatas performance was on the stage right in front of us so we got Yossi to wave back at us. I think she recognized my friend and I from the gatas concert. One actual good thing of being the noticeable foreigner.
It is actually hilarious to watch the girls as the camera is flowing past them on the line in front of us, as you see them pause in the dance moves and do a cute pose for the camera, the focus switching from the audience in perfect timing then switching right back. They really are brilliant performers.
Another surprise came during the Kirarin performance. The two little girls, Aiko and Francis, who were chosen for the special award during the Taiwanese Auditions because they were too young to be put in the group Tsunku must've been planning and ended up forming, danced as back up with Koharu. And they are both really good dancers at ages 6 and 8. Course I'm betting they're also huge Kirarin fans and clung to her backstage. They are adorable, even if Aiko still does this weird tongue thing that everyone thought was cute during the audition but when overdone is just odd.
Yukidon has a a beautiful voice that carries well live. And her new song really is growing on me, even if it is a ballad. It's such a beautiful love story set in Korea. And since it's set in Korea it sounds really odd to see many of the Kanji be pronounced unlike their Japanese way when referring to place names.
Uwaki na Honey Pie is a great song and Mai-chan performs it well, but it just feels a bit empty as a solo song. The eggs and Korenaga from Ongaku Gatas did backup dancing though which was really fun, though unfortunately a huge arena where you have to move and run around during part of your song to go in and out of different entrances doesn't serve the dance well as I always loved the weird leg movements and dance breakdown.
Speaking of entrances, because there was a circular run going around the ring of the arena, it meant that when people were being seated they had to let people cross over that to go down into the floor seats. (Which I'm actually glad I got family seating due to much better view, as floor means looking up at awkward angles to try and see over the raised platforms.) Well there were a few times that people that came in late were quickly let across by the staff between songs. Otherwise during it they pushed the barriers closed again with a staff member always kneeling holding them. Well during one song someone must've gotten by the staff and ran across and was pulled the rest of the way across only a few feet before the performers arrived. It was amusing to watch, though I feel bad for the guys that have to sit there with their backs to the girls passing the whole concert.
Yuko was already close to tears in the afternoon concert during her song Kuyashi Namida Porori, but she did break down crying while she was singing it at night. It wasn't full on sobbing but you could see the tears in her eyes on the big screen. Still it is a heartfelt song and she'd been on the break all day it seemed so it wasn't too unexpected.
One thing I noticed, Tsunku/costume designer have a distinct feather fetish. Almost all the girls costumes had a fur/feather-like attachment somewhere, be it just something hanging off or collar on their costume, or even the whole purple vest in Yuko's case.
This is Unmei by Melon Kinenbi got the crowd going just as it always does, though I still agree with my statement after the Elder Club concert that it just doesn't feel right to not be in a live house moshing to it. You can see the crowd's tension building and they want to mosh but they can't per rules. Still the shouting and fist pumping was just as strong as ever, even though neither my friends nor I stood at all during the concert, cuz' hey if you're first row there's no point. I think I caught Masae's attention once as I was cheering and waving and that made me happy. The girl is my size, and seeing an idol with a buit of a shape makes me so happy ^^ I didn't get her birthday shirt though, I got Junjun's.
Berryz new song Dakishimete Dakishimete is a really fun song, though the music pattern has some quirky points. I definitely like it and am considering buying it. Cute as always looked way too sexy for their ages in their ikemen style costumes for Forevier Love (minus jacket, which just made the ikemen look even more apparent). My favorite member in cute seems to change as time goes on, it used to be Umeda Erika until her Tenshion ageko act just got too annoying. Now it's Maimai because she's adorable and it's hard to believe she's still only 13. But lately I've been being more and more hooked in by Nakajima Saki, she's got a lot of charisma and has the best smile of all up close.
A few of the songs were the exact same members and costumes as the elder club concert, but they were all nostalgic songs and even during the afternoon concert brought me close to tears a few times. Tanpop being the main one. Baby Koi ni Knockout just had the sexiness factor of Yossi, and it's always been one of my favorite songs. It's an interesting mix of 2nd and 3rd gen Pucchimoni (Yossi, Yasuda, Makoto) but since they're the only remaining Pucchimoni members it makes sense.
Ayaya's foot seems to be healing well, she still didn't do the running whole laps of the stage like everyone else did, but she did move quite a lot and did the whole dance to Yeah Meccha Holiday that she couldn't do the foot movements to a couple of weeks ago. (They seriously should've called Haruna Ai for the grad concert, I've just gotten so used to her popping out whenever that song starts that it feels strange NOT to see her.) You can tell Ayaya isn't too comfortable with performing Chocolate Damashii yet as she was a bit off timing in coming into the chorus during the afternoon show but spot on at the night. The song is growing on me. It's so much more upbeat than most of hte songs on the album just released and the "Kimi Kimi" parts capture the cuteness that we've missed in her.
Both Sakuragumi and Otomegumi made an appearance with all the members that haven't left the company, aka most of them exluding Kago and Goto. This was another area where much of the performance was on the stage right in front of us (most of the songs had some part of it there, but it varied as to how much.) so there was much squeeling as we danced along to the song.
Still not a huge fan of the new Buono song but it's growing on me. And after that came the Ice Creamusume song. They are so adorable. I hate that they are dressed alike but they performed really well and as goofy as the dance is it's fun to do. Then there was question an answer with them. In the afternoon Junjun was translator, at night it was Linlin. The first questions though were their prepared Introductions with answers to already prepared questions in Japanese memorized. The afternoon concert was an easy question, "What Japanese food are you most looking forward to eating?". Some of their answers weren't really Japanese (like ramen and yakiniku). The night question however was a much more difficult one "What thing in Japan has most surprised you so far?". The first 3 girls were fine and got their answers out. But then from Peipei on they were tonguetied and trying to think of the words. But after the one girl finally finished it Linlin asked and they said that some of the members had answered the same thing they had planned out so they had tried to change it.
There was an announcement during the concert that like the Taiwan New Star audition progam last year that Ice Creamusume was created from, there will be a similar show in Korea this year to be broadcast on Korean cable television. I'm sure this'll get a mixed reaction from wota, but as for me I'm psyched, more foreigners is always good to me. atleast as long as they aren't like Miss Amerikajin musume and her weeabooness.
Miki-sama performed the song with the greatest wotagei ever, and I danced it out with everyone else. Though i didn't do the spinny jumping when I was standing at night as I know how much I move when I jump and I probably would've hurt myself. When they were performing on the stage in front of us (Kacchoii ze! Japan: I love that song) Yui from former Biyuuden looked like her boobs would pop out of her lowcut costume. I mean damn I know ya need to showcase that the girl has boobs, but those huge things need to be kept in better.
More current songs from Morning Musume/Berryz/Cute were great to see performing their more current songs and basically show the power that is being left in the hands of the next generation of Hello Project. Some may hate the younger generation members but I'm a fan and hope this moves HP and 3 other three fanclubs in a new direction.
Now as posted other places already, here is my response to the "graduation" part of the second show.
***
It was actually a pretty lame graduation. Yes they did the letter reading and passing of responsibility (though I'm not sure how it'll work with Takahashi still being in Morning Musume, as Yuko wasn't called leader til after she graduated.
But besides the letter reading and everyone in the stands tearing up then, nothing. Fans during the letter reading were taking out and cracking their white glowsticks, and then there was no opportunity to use them. All for One and all the other numbers were exactly the same as the afternoon concert (which I had first row center seats to, my fanclub luck amazes even me) and there was no encore. Which at the large concerts there normally isn't, but there was when Mako and Konkon graduated Morning Musume. Although by the time the concert ended it was exactly 9pm (and hence the girls under 18 would HAVE to be off stage) to the calls of encore the graduating members did come out for a bow, but that was it.
Everyone was expecting atleast an extra ending performance of "Never Forget" but nothing. As far as graduations go it was just disappointing that it ended without the white glowstick waving.
***
Can't think of anything more at the moment as it's really late and have been typing this for way too long. Will add more if I think of it.
And things I forgot last night: I did the handshake with Ice Creamusume that you were able to do if you bought their debut cd at the venue. It's so quick you're just pushed along the line to shake their hands as they say thankyou to you. But they are all really adorable so I'm glad I went ^^. And I dropped my present for one of them in the present boxes.
Also being front row my one friend and I had a running count of how many people we could tell noticed us in some way.
The ones we are sure of, or atleast that I know of are
Yossi - waved, Nacchi - waved and smiled and kinda quirked her head, Yuko-waved laughed and quirked her head, Miki - seemed to give a weird glance to my friend, Mari - another strange glance of surprise as we were waving to her and calling out, All the kids (BK and Cute) - did double takes as they were doing the jogging by during different songs, Nakajima Saki did the most noticeable in almost turning allt he way around as she was running. Tsuji - did her peace sign as the camera was going by thenlooked up where we were right in frotn of her and had a surprised look before smilinga nd waving, Kaori- smile and wave, Eggs - a few did double takes as they were passing by waving at the end.
There were probably others but those are the ones I'm remembering right now. Yossi's black eyeliner with her hairpiece were a bit too much close up, made her look like her eyes were always open really wide.
First off let me say that I apparently have the best luck when it comes to fanclub tickets. When I registered for tickets for this concert, I at first only planned to go in the afternoon and since there were 2 other friends going with me I had to register for family seating, as floor is limited to 2 tickets. So I didn't expect my ticket to be excellent and was ok with the idea that I might not be able to stand and cheer depending on the people around me. But I got the tickets and was like A4, oh ok look at the set up... ooh pretty good. Though across the other side of the stadium (forgot that the arena's sometimes have the different sort of running paths around the whole area). So my friends and I, after spending way too much on goods and trading with some of my other wota friends, head down and are walking down the rows A6 A 5 A... holy fuck we are front row!!! Well that was basically all of our reactions, huge grins and high fiving of my awesome luck. Because the stage set up was the runners, and the 4 mini stages on the oval and in the center. And we were right there in the center of the largest stage. So I went out to go to the bathroom all giddy and ended up meeting up with my wota friends again and showed them what row I was in and got a huge round of clapping and congradulations and jealous but friendly glares.
For my one friend it was her first HP concert so she was excited but she's not as huge a fan as my other friend and I. The two of us were completely fangirling even before the concert knowing how awesome this was going to be.
Mano Erina seemed like she had a bit of a cold. No she doesn't have the best voice but she sounded really nasally and she didn't sound like that when we saw her as opening for the Morning Musume tour(Which she's not included on the DVD of X_x). The eggs are really cute but they didn't even get to sing at this one, just out and do a little cheerleading dance with ribbons, atleast last time they got to start Love Machine before the other members came out.
Just like last year before every set of acts was introduced an "award" was named for them. And boy were all the award names cheesy. But they served their point, in that by the time they announced the "award" name you knew the winner. I must say being at the closest only 5 or so feet away from the performers you notice a lot of things you wouldn't have before. Such as how adorable the 4 eggs of Shugo Chara Egg (especiall Kannon) are and how well they perform, yet how cheesy Su's cosplay costume is. The other 3 costumes are really nice and fit real humans just fine, but Su's... is just too poofy and the shade of green looks really awkward in reality.
Yossi was wearing a really strange hair extension bun that kinda reminded me of Beyonce or Ciera or any R&B female artist. But she looked hot so it was fine by me ^^. Also much of the Gatas performance was on the stage right in front of us so we got Yossi to wave back at us. I think she recognized my friend and I from the gatas concert. One actual good thing of being the noticeable foreigner.
It is actually hilarious to watch the girls as the camera is flowing past them on the line in front of us, as you see them pause in the dance moves and do a cute pose for the camera, the focus switching from the audience in perfect timing then switching right back. They really are brilliant performers.
Another surprise came during the Kirarin performance. The two little girls, Aiko and Francis, who were chosen for the special award during the Taiwanese Auditions because they were too young to be put in the group Tsunku must've been planning and ended up forming, danced as back up with Koharu. And they are both really good dancers at ages 6 and 8. Course I'm betting they're also huge Kirarin fans and clung to her backstage. They are adorable, even if Aiko still does this weird tongue thing that everyone thought was cute during the audition but when overdone is just odd.
Yukidon has a a beautiful voice that carries well live. And her new song really is growing on me, even if it is a ballad. It's such a beautiful love story set in Korea. And since it's set in Korea it sounds really odd to see many of the Kanji be pronounced unlike their Japanese way when referring to place names.
Uwaki na Honey Pie is a great song and Mai-chan performs it well, but it just feels a bit empty as a solo song. The eggs and Korenaga from Ongaku Gatas did backup dancing though which was really fun, though unfortunately a huge arena where you have to move and run around during part of your song to go in and out of different entrances doesn't serve the dance well as I always loved the weird leg movements and dance breakdown.
Speaking of entrances, because there was a circular run going around the ring of the arena, it meant that when people were being seated they had to let people cross over that to go down into the floor seats. (Which I'm actually glad I got family seating due to much better view, as floor means looking up at awkward angles to try and see over the raised platforms.) Well there were a few times that people that came in late were quickly let across by the staff between songs. Otherwise during it they pushed the barriers closed again with a staff member always kneeling holding them. Well during one song someone must've gotten by the staff and ran across and was pulled the rest of the way across only a few feet before the performers arrived. It was amusing to watch, though I feel bad for the guys that have to sit there with their backs to the girls passing the whole concert.
Yuko was already close to tears in the afternoon concert during her song Kuyashi Namida Porori, but she did break down crying while she was singing it at night. It wasn't full on sobbing but you could see the tears in her eyes on the big screen. Still it is a heartfelt song and she'd been on the break all day it seemed so it wasn't too unexpected.
One thing I noticed, Tsunku/costume designer have a distinct feather fetish. Almost all the girls costumes had a fur/feather-like attachment somewhere, be it just something hanging off or collar on their costume, or even the whole purple vest in Yuko's case.
This is Unmei by Melon Kinenbi got the crowd going just as it always does, though I still agree with my statement after the Elder Club concert that it just doesn't feel right to not be in a live house moshing to it. You can see the crowd's tension building and they want to mosh but they can't per rules. Still the shouting and fist pumping was just as strong as ever, even though neither my friends nor I stood at all during the concert, cuz' hey if you're first row there's no point. I think I caught Masae's attention once as I was cheering and waving and that made me happy. The girl is my size, and seeing an idol with a buit of a shape makes me so happy ^^ I didn't get her birthday shirt though, I got Junjun's.
Berryz new song Dakishimete Dakishimete is a really fun song, though the music pattern has some quirky points. I definitely like it and am considering buying it. Cute as always looked way too sexy for their ages in their ikemen style costumes for Forevier Love (minus jacket, which just made the ikemen look even more apparent). My favorite member in cute seems to change as time goes on, it used to be Umeda Erika until her Tenshion ageko act just got too annoying. Now it's Maimai because she's adorable and it's hard to believe she's still only 13. But lately I've been being more and more hooked in by Nakajima Saki, she's got a lot of charisma and has the best smile of all up close.
A few of the songs were the exact same members and costumes as the elder club concert, but they were all nostalgic songs and even during the afternoon concert brought me close to tears a few times. Tanpop being the main one. Baby Koi ni Knockout just had the sexiness factor of Yossi, and it's always been one of my favorite songs. It's an interesting mix of 2nd and 3rd gen Pucchimoni (Yossi, Yasuda, Makoto) but since they're the only remaining Pucchimoni members it makes sense.
Ayaya's foot seems to be healing well, she still didn't do the running whole laps of the stage like everyone else did, but she did move quite a lot and did the whole dance to Yeah Meccha Holiday that she couldn't do the foot movements to a couple of weeks ago. (They seriously should've called Haruna Ai for the grad concert, I've just gotten so used to her popping out whenever that song starts that it feels strange NOT to see her.) You can tell Ayaya isn't too comfortable with performing Chocolate Damashii yet as she was a bit off timing in coming into the chorus during the afternoon show but spot on at the night. The song is growing on me. It's so much more upbeat than most of hte songs on the album just released and the "Kimi Kimi" parts capture the cuteness that we've missed in her.
Both Sakuragumi and Otomegumi made an appearance with all the members that haven't left the company, aka most of them exluding Kago and Goto. This was another area where much of the performance was on the stage right in front of us (most of the songs had some part of it there, but it varied as to how much.) so there was much squeeling as we danced along to the song.
Still not a huge fan of the new Buono song but it's growing on me. And after that came the Ice Creamusume song. They are so adorable. I hate that they are dressed alike but they performed really well and as goofy as the dance is it's fun to do. Then there was question an answer with them. In the afternoon Junjun was translator, at night it was Linlin. The first questions though were their prepared Introductions with answers to already prepared questions in Japanese memorized. The afternoon concert was an easy question, "What Japanese food are you most looking forward to eating?". Some of their answers weren't really Japanese (like ramen and yakiniku). The night question however was a much more difficult one "What thing in Japan has most surprised you so far?". The first 3 girls were fine and got their answers out. But then from Peipei on they were tonguetied and trying to think of the words. But after the one girl finally finished it Linlin asked and they said that some of the members had answered the same thing they had planned out so they had tried to change it.
There was an announcement during the concert that like the Taiwan New Star audition progam last year that Ice Creamusume was created from, there will be a similar show in Korea this year to be broadcast on Korean cable television. I'm sure this'll get a mixed reaction from wota, but as for me I'm psyched, more foreigners is always good to me. atleast as long as they aren't like Miss Amerikajin musume and her weeabooness.
Miki-sama performed the song with the greatest wotagei ever, and I danced it out with everyone else. Though i didn't do the spinny jumping when I was standing at night as I know how much I move when I jump and I probably would've hurt myself. When they were performing on the stage in front of us (Kacchoii ze! Japan: I love that song) Yui from former Biyuuden looked like her boobs would pop out of her lowcut costume. I mean damn I know ya need to showcase that the girl has boobs, but those huge things need to be kept in better.
More current songs from Morning Musume/Berryz/Cute were great to see performing their more current songs and basically show the power that is being left in the hands of the next generation of Hello Project. Some may hate the younger generation members but I'm a fan and hope this moves HP and 3 other three fanclubs in a new direction.
Now as posted other places already, here is my response to the "graduation" part of the second show.
***
It was actually a pretty lame graduation. Yes they did the letter reading and passing of responsibility (though I'm not sure how it'll work with Takahashi still being in Morning Musume, as Yuko wasn't called leader til after she graduated.
But besides the letter reading and everyone in the stands tearing up then, nothing. Fans during the letter reading were taking out and cracking their white glowsticks, and then there was no opportunity to use them. All for One and all the other numbers were exactly the same as the afternoon concert (which I had first row center seats to, my fanclub luck amazes even me) and there was no encore. Which at the large concerts there normally isn't, but there was when Mako and Konkon graduated Morning Musume. Although by the time the concert ended it was exactly 9pm (and hence the girls under 18 would HAVE to be off stage) to the calls of encore the graduating members did come out for a bow, but that was it.
Everyone was expecting atleast an extra ending performance of "Never Forget" but nothing. As far as graduations go it was just disappointing that it ended without the white glowstick waving.
***
Can't think of anything more at the moment as it's really late and have been typing this for way too long. Will add more if I think of it.
And things I forgot last night: I did the handshake with Ice Creamusume that you were able to do if you bought their debut cd at the venue. It's so quick you're just pushed along the line to shake their hands as they say thankyou to you. But they are all really adorable so I'm glad I went ^^. And I dropped my present for one of them in the present boxes.
Also being front row my one friend and I had a running count of how many people we could tell noticed us in some way.
The ones we are sure of, or atleast that I know of are
Yossi - waved, Nacchi - waved and smiled and kinda quirked her head, Yuko-waved laughed and quirked her head, Miki - seemed to give a weird glance to my friend, Mari - another strange glance of surprise as we were waving to her and calling out, All the kids (BK and Cute) - did double takes as they were doing the jogging by during different songs, Nakajima Saki did the most noticeable in almost turning allt he way around as she was running. Tsuji - did her peace sign as the camera was going by thenlooked up where we were right in frotn of her and had a surprised look before smilinga nd waving, Kaori- smile and wave, Eggs - a few did double takes as they were passing by waving at the end.
There were probably others but those are the ones I'm remembering right now. Yossi's black eyeliner with her hairpiece were a bit too much close up, made her look like her eyes were always open really wide.