[CON] Jin Akanishi @ Club Nokia 09/03/2012 20:00
Oh, guys, where do I start? This wasn't the best Jin concert I've been to; not by a long shot. But the evening had the best start and by far the best ending. After all, it's not every day a girl has Jin asking her for a hug.
Aya and I joined the queue about midday, at which point there were about 20 people in line ahead of us. By the time Jae arrived to join us, we'd already signed one of several cards going around to congratulate Jin and Meisa, as well as a lovely banner. It's a bit awkward for me to add photos in now, as I'm typing on a Bluetooth keyboard with my tablet and this is already taking forever. We were early enough to get pit wristbands, so after the usual scramble to get through the bag check we ended up second row from the front, on the right of the stage - best view I've ever had. Lovely lively girls behind us; very enthusiastic. Unfortunately some of the other girls around us got very pushy, and there were even accusations of sexual harrassment. Personally, the worst I got was a cellphone between the shoulderblades.
There were no goods, as I imagine everyone knows by now. Much easier on the wallet! We did, however, get a free SF poster while waiting in line. For a while in the early part of the afternoon some of Jin's songs played on the speakers outside, though they had to compete with a brass band, construction work, and sirens and they didn't function well to start with! That's What She Said was practically a karaoke version, as we could hear next to no vocals, and that improved the song drastically.
Opening for Jin was Joseph Vincent, who sang and played guitar for a while. He was adorable. Very unassuming and sweet. I don't have a clue about many of the songs he sang, but he covered Adele (Rolling in the Deep?), Bruno Mars, Jason Mraz and the Backstreet Boys (I Want It That Way) and the crowd loved him. He said he'd just met Jin today and found him super nice. Audience kept the beat for him several times and we had to repeat some sounds for him. We all just laughed when we had to repeat the pig sounds, though.
When drinking from his water bottle he was asked to chug, so he did, and regretted it. Threw a t-shirt into the crowd and asked the catcher to come up on the stage and be serenaded. The girl had a little trouble finding her way back off the stage; someone yelled at her to go find Jin. Joseph also threw the water bottle into the audience, upon request, though he was puzzled as to why anyone would want a used water bottle!
He played for twenty mins, and after that some stagehands came out to sort out wires. They were yelled at to do the hustle, which is the music that was playing. So reluctantly, one of the guys started dancing.
There were actually quite a few male fans there! The seats up top were pretty empty, as far as I could see, but we were squished down the front. They played an odd mix of music while we were waiting - the Bee Gees, Miley Cyrus, the Jackson Five. No more Black Eyed Peas?
After a break, Jin came out at about 8:50 with Sun Burns Down. His outfit was, quite frankly, bizarre, but largely because his pants had a crotch that started at the knee. How he could walk in those, I have no idea. Anyone remember MC Hammer? If so, you'll have some idea of how they fit. Trainers, white sunglasses, white scarf, black leather jacket, and a dead poodle on his head. I loved his t-shirt, though. White, with a skull wearing a top hat and a monocle. Very cool. I can't say much about his dancers because I still have no idea who they are! There were four girls and two guys, dressed kind of black and white.
Second song was my absolute favourite on Japonicana, Tell Me Where. I wish it hadn't been second, though, because it caught me by surprise! I wanted time to warm up. The setup was like INP, with male and female dancers on opposite sides of the stage. My notes say there was some hip action, but it's worth noting that there was nowhere near as much dancing in this concert. Gotta take what you can get.
We got a "What up, LA!" before Set Love Free, with lovely pink lighting and lovelier vampy girls. New dancers are anonymous but pretty. The girls danced together, very sultry. Jin was missing his giant watch, though he was wearing the Hoolum band.
Have written over notes here so cannot make out anything except "Jin hips!" and that Jin finally lost the shades. Crooned Body Talk into the mic while a male-female pair of dancers did the usual slow-mo balletic romance thing.
For Like You, he did the one and two finger actions to accompany the song. I thought he looked kind of tired, personally, but he does seem to have been flying back and forth a hell of a lot lately. Have reached the conclusion that my missing notes related to the dancers. One of the girls looked very hot in a bowler hat. Jin held his glasses with the mic as he sang.
For Pin Dom, the "hah" got applause and screams. It was a very screamy audience. Very big on the hand dances too. One of the female dancers did the dress bit. Jin did the macho, crotch-first strut to the front of the stage.
And...the curtains closed. He'd been on stage for about 20mins, and we had a 15 min interval. Somehow this concert felt raather disorganised!
When Jin came back, he had his one and only costume change. Jeans that didn't fit too badly...and a denim shirt. Seriously, Jin, don't do the double denim thing. First song after the break was That's What She Said, which I loathe. However, you couldn't hear the lines much at all, and the performance was...riveting. The girls wore leather leotards and fancy tights, headbands to look like blindfolds, and carried red sashes. I've written all over my notes for this -- it's tough to keep straight in a very squishy crowd, okay? I do apologise. Um, what I can remember is three of the girls dancing around the fourth, tying her up lightly with the sashes. Not bad, not bad, but far more interesting to me was when all four of them started tying Jin up instead.
Aphrodisiac had Jin on a chair - and yes, there was some chair dancing involved. The girls hovered around him, and one mopped off some of his sweat with her red sash. One gave him a hat, and he sat and sang into a standing mic for a bit before gettting up and taking it with him. He threw the hat into the crowd. He was so hyped up during this song, it was fantastic. Best performance of the con, I think. This might be the new Paparats, for me.
Test Drive started out with the two male dancers waving checkered flags on the stage, and Jin finally appeared for the chorus. Some bras got thrown on the stage, and he acccidentally stepped on one. Didn't trip, thank goodness. A staff member picked them up when the lights went pout.
The dancers looked like futuristic but very dark robots during Yellow Gold, in black and silver. As with Aphrodisiac, Jin played with the notes a little here.
In Oowah, the robots became playful kids. Jin took the shades off again. Very lively and sweet. He gave a very cute little wave to the dancers as they left the stage.
Then Prophet came out, rapped for a bit, and told us to make some noise if we wanted Jin to come out and freestyle with him. This was hilarious. Jin kept making aggressive gestures and falling back, claiming not yet, he's not ready. They postured for a while, came to the front of the stage, got ready...and Jin fell silent, then collapsed in a heap of adorable fail, saying he couldn't rap. He was on the ground, guys. It was great!
So Prophet said they'd do California Rock. He had his arm around Jin at one point, and Jin smiled so warmly when Prophet was talking about him. The dancers were wearing incredibly bright costumes. Think '80s exercise outfits. Stripy neon leggings and stuff. Plus warpaint. Prophet told us it was okay to dance. They all started jumping on the stage, and some of the crowd followed suit.
Jin said it was the last song, and apologised. He thanked us and said he wanted to introduce his dancers, but never did, so I still don't know them. He left the stage, we called for an encore, and actually got one!
Jin came out again to do Seasons, and said he hoped we'd like it. Just him on the stage, crooning into the mic, so sweet and soulful. The curtains closed on him at the end, though not before a glowstick landed up on the stage, which he looked askance at. He said he loved us all twice, and sayonara.
Not sure what was going on but there was a T-shirt placed on the front of the stage, from tbe fans, reading "Please take care of our beloved Meisa". Our or your, not sure which.
So, that was the show. Short, because of the meet and greet, maybe? Those of us who had VIP passes for it had to wait till everyone else had gone, in a line by the side of the stage, and they checked us in order so our photos got emailed to the corect person. Jin came out and sat at a table to sign posters for us and pose for pictures. At one point he counted the number of people in line - apparently it was 30? Aya reckoned he looked like Harry Potter (glasses, the dead poodle) and I thought he looked like a student studying for his exams. It was kind of a warm, relaxed, comfortable look.
While we were waiting, the dancers and Sky Hoffman walked past us and left.
One of the staff members gave a us a post-it note to write our names on, so Jin could copy it for the posters. Aya went up first, and made him laugh cutely when she said her handwriting was atrocious. I completely forgot to say anything relevant, thanked him and said something nice about the show, posed for my pic (and did not feel like a midget, because he is so tiny in person!) and walked off, forgetting about my hug. I don't generally hug men who aren't relatives, okay? Not my thing. He said plaintively, "Gimme a hug?", and, laughing, I went back for one. I'm sorry, I squeezed, because when I do hug I squeeze for all I'm worth. I'm sorry, Meisa! Your husband is very cuddly and squishy and just such a sweetie.
I'm really sorry this isn't up to my usual calibre. Writing notes in such cramped conditions is not the easiest! And then my keyboard... Still, had a lovely evening, albeit tiring, and chatted to some wonderful people! Could've done without the aggressive fans on the right, but whatever. Can't wait to do it again!
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Aya and I joined the queue about midday, at which point there were about 20 people in line ahead of us. By the time Jae arrived to join us, we'd already signed one of several cards going around to congratulate Jin and Meisa, as well as a lovely banner. It's a bit awkward for me to add photos in now, as I'm typing on a Bluetooth keyboard with my tablet and this is already taking forever. We were early enough to get pit wristbands, so after the usual scramble to get through the bag check we ended up second row from the front, on the right of the stage - best view I've ever had. Lovely lively girls behind us; very enthusiastic. Unfortunately some of the other girls around us got very pushy, and there were even accusations of sexual harrassment. Personally, the worst I got was a cellphone between the shoulderblades.
There were no goods, as I imagine everyone knows by now. Much easier on the wallet! We did, however, get a free SF poster while waiting in line. For a while in the early part of the afternoon some of Jin's songs played on the speakers outside, though they had to compete with a brass band, construction work, and sirens and they didn't function well to start with! That's What She Said was practically a karaoke version, as we could hear next to no vocals, and that improved the song drastically.
Opening for Jin was Joseph Vincent, who sang and played guitar for a while. He was adorable. Very unassuming and sweet. I don't have a clue about many of the songs he sang, but he covered Adele (Rolling in the Deep?), Bruno Mars, Jason Mraz and the Backstreet Boys (I Want It That Way) and the crowd loved him. He said he'd just met Jin today and found him super nice. Audience kept the beat for him several times and we had to repeat some sounds for him. We all just laughed when we had to repeat the pig sounds, though.
When drinking from his water bottle he was asked to chug, so he did, and regretted it. Threw a t-shirt into the crowd and asked the catcher to come up on the stage and be serenaded. The girl had a little trouble finding her way back off the stage; someone yelled at her to go find Jin. Joseph also threw the water bottle into the audience, upon request, though he was puzzled as to why anyone would want a used water bottle!
He played for twenty mins, and after that some stagehands came out to sort out wires. They were yelled at to do the hustle, which is the music that was playing. So reluctantly, one of the guys started dancing.
There were actually quite a few male fans there! The seats up top were pretty empty, as far as I could see, but we were squished down the front. They played an odd mix of music while we were waiting - the Bee Gees, Miley Cyrus, the Jackson Five. No more Black Eyed Peas?
After a break, Jin came out at about 8:50 with Sun Burns Down. His outfit was, quite frankly, bizarre, but largely because his pants had a crotch that started at the knee. How he could walk in those, I have no idea. Anyone remember MC Hammer? If so, you'll have some idea of how they fit. Trainers, white sunglasses, white scarf, black leather jacket, and a dead poodle on his head. I loved his t-shirt, though. White, with a skull wearing a top hat and a monocle. Very cool. I can't say much about his dancers because I still have no idea who they are! There were four girls and two guys, dressed kind of black and white.
Second song was my absolute favourite on Japonicana, Tell Me Where. I wish it hadn't been second, though, because it caught me by surprise! I wanted time to warm up. The setup was like INP, with male and female dancers on opposite sides of the stage. My notes say there was some hip action, but it's worth noting that there was nowhere near as much dancing in this concert. Gotta take what you can get.
We got a "What up, LA!" before Set Love Free, with lovely pink lighting and lovelier vampy girls. New dancers are anonymous but pretty. The girls danced together, very sultry. Jin was missing his giant watch, though he was wearing the Hoolum band.
Have written over notes here so cannot make out anything except "Jin hips!" and that Jin finally lost the shades. Crooned Body Talk into the mic while a male-female pair of dancers did the usual slow-mo balletic romance thing.
For Like You, he did the one and two finger actions to accompany the song. I thought he looked kind of tired, personally, but he does seem to have been flying back and forth a hell of a lot lately. Have reached the conclusion that my missing notes related to the dancers. One of the girls looked very hot in a bowler hat. Jin held his glasses with the mic as he sang.
For Pin Dom, the "hah" got applause and screams. It was a very screamy audience. Very big on the hand dances too. One of the female dancers did the dress bit. Jin did the macho, crotch-first strut to the front of the stage.
And...the curtains closed. He'd been on stage for about 20mins, and we had a 15 min interval. Somehow this concert felt raather disorganised!
When Jin came back, he had his one and only costume change. Jeans that didn't fit too badly...and a denim shirt. Seriously, Jin, don't do the double denim thing. First song after the break was That's What She Said, which I loathe. However, you couldn't hear the lines much at all, and the performance was...riveting. The girls wore leather leotards and fancy tights, headbands to look like blindfolds, and carried red sashes. I've written all over my notes for this -- it's tough to keep straight in a very squishy crowd, okay? I do apologise. Um, what I can remember is three of the girls dancing around the fourth, tying her up lightly with the sashes. Not bad, not bad, but far more interesting to me was when all four of them started tying Jin up instead.
Aphrodisiac had Jin on a chair - and yes, there was some chair dancing involved. The girls hovered around him, and one mopped off some of his sweat with her red sash. One gave him a hat, and he sat and sang into a standing mic for a bit before gettting up and taking it with him. He threw the hat into the crowd. He was so hyped up during this song, it was fantastic. Best performance of the con, I think. This might be the new Paparats, for me.
Test Drive started out with the two male dancers waving checkered flags on the stage, and Jin finally appeared for the chorus. Some bras got thrown on the stage, and he acccidentally stepped on one. Didn't trip, thank goodness. A staff member picked them up when the lights went pout.
The dancers looked like futuristic but very dark robots during Yellow Gold, in black and silver. As with Aphrodisiac, Jin played with the notes a little here.
In Oowah, the robots became playful kids. Jin took the shades off again. Very lively and sweet. He gave a very cute little wave to the dancers as they left the stage.
Then Prophet came out, rapped for a bit, and told us to make some noise if we wanted Jin to come out and freestyle with him. This was hilarious. Jin kept making aggressive gestures and falling back, claiming not yet, he's not ready. They postured for a while, came to the front of the stage, got ready...and Jin fell silent, then collapsed in a heap of adorable fail, saying he couldn't rap. He was on the ground, guys. It was great!
So Prophet said they'd do California Rock. He had his arm around Jin at one point, and Jin smiled so warmly when Prophet was talking about him. The dancers were wearing incredibly bright costumes. Think '80s exercise outfits. Stripy neon leggings and stuff. Plus warpaint. Prophet told us it was okay to dance. They all started jumping on the stage, and some of the crowd followed suit.
Jin said it was the last song, and apologised. He thanked us and said he wanted to introduce his dancers, but never did, so I still don't know them. He left the stage, we called for an encore, and actually got one!
Jin came out again to do Seasons, and said he hoped we'd like it. Just him on the stage, crooning into the mic, so sweet and soulful. The curtains closed on him at the end, though not before a glowstick landed up on the stage, which he looked askance at. He said he loved us all twice, and sayonara.
Not sure what was going on but there was a T-shirt placed on the front of the stage, from tbe fans, reading "Please take care of our beloved Meisa". Our or your, not sure which.
So, that was the show. Short, because of the meet and greet, maybe? Those of us who had VIP passes for it had to wait till everyone else had gone, in a line by the side of the stage, and they checked us in order so our photos got emailed to the corect person. Jin came out and sat at a table to sign posters for us and pose for pictures. At one point he counted the number of people in line - apparently it was 30? Aya reckoned he looked like Harry Potter (glasses, the dead poodle) and I thought he looked like a student studying for his exams. It was kind of a warm, relaxed, comfortable look.
While we were waiting, the dancers and Sky Hoffman walked past us and left.
One of the staff members gave a us a post-it note to write our names on, so Jin could copy it for the posters. Aya went up first, and made him laugh cutely when she said her handwriting was atrocious. I completely forgot to say anything relevant, thanked him and said something nice about the show, posed for my pic (and did not feel like a midget, because he is so tiny in person!) and walked off, forgetting about my hug. I don't generally hug men who aren't relatives, okay? Not my thing. He said plaintively, "Gimme a hug?", and, laughing, I went back for one. I'm sorry, I squeezed, because when I do hug I squeeze for all I'm worth. I'm sorry, Meisa! Your husband is very cuddly and squishy and just such a sweetie.
I'm really sorry this isn't up to my usual calibre. Writing notes in such cramped conditions is not the easiest! And then my keyboard... Still, had a lovely evening, albeit tiring, and chatted to some wonderful people! Could've done without the aggressive fans on the right, but whatever. Can't wait to do it again!
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comment(s) on the Dreamwidth version of this post. | post a comment @ Dreamwidth