Spinning Box
As a birthday gift, Jill took me to Spinning Box yesterday, a.k.a. The Really Silly Masa & Baba Show. How silly? Apart from the singing and the dancing, there were clowns, juggling, KNEE-SOCKS AND LITTLE RED BACKPACKS. And Baba on a tiny unicycle.
Spinning Box
The show was in two parts, with an intermission. It was at Yokohama Blitz, and the stage had a second level running along the back, with a staircase on either end. The band was set up at the back of the stage, under the second level. My seat was up on the balcony, which I prefer for dance shows, because you can see all the dancers, not just the ones in front.
(I may have written things up slightly out of order, but here's basically what went down.)
It started off with a video of Masa waking up, brushing his teeth, stretching, then running downstairs to wake Baba, who sleeps on an armchair. XD After arguing a bit, they finally go out to buy... toilet paper. Masa steals a kid's popsicle and Baba gives the the boy last week's issue of Shonen Jump or something. They run up to the roof, clapping in rhythm, then dance around on the rooftop.
That really energetic tap music with horns that I can never remember the name of -- and I've danced to it, too! -- started up, which basically served as an introduction for the other dancers. There were two girls and three guys doing the hip-hop/jazzy/modern, and one amazing tap dancer. I think this is where Baba did his best to whizz across the stage on the tiny unicycle and I seriously lost it and couldn't stop laughing for at least two minutes. That segued into "All That Jazz" (from Chicago) which included plenty of jazz hands! :D Also, girls in gold sequined hotpants! :D :D :D
Clowns! The three male dancers were dressed as weird carnival clowns and did a little comedy dance routine along with the juggler, who then followed up with a crystal ball routine.
Baba sang a slow, heartfelt song. He surprised me by actual having quite a set of pipes! Granted, I'd only ever heard him in tenimyu before, but I didn't remember his voice in particular, which means he was neither awfully bad nor terribly good, but he has a really nice, pleasant voice. It seemed even nicer compared to Masa's -- though I do like Masa's voice, I know it's not to everyone's taste. ^_^; Oh yeah, and one of the girls, dressed in a long red gown, did a little dance number up on the second level while Baba sang.
- Since Baba got to sing something full of FEELING and MEANING, next Masa got to do a dance number also full of FEELING and MEANING. The other girl was dressed in white and had a long white veil thing which they used to symbolise the yearning between them and what could never be. They should just have cut this bit out. Masa's a good dancer, but this lyrical stuff really isn't him, and he should definitely leave the arabesques to someone who can actually do them properly. Also, the girl's costume didn't fit her right and looked cheaply made.
After that came possibly the most impressive part of the show: the tap dancer came down to the front of the stage and was joined by the guitarist, where they proceeded to do a little jamming session, dancing and playing off each other like a conversation. It was incredible! It had humour, energy, and I was tapping my foot along the whole time. It really made me want to take tap lessons again!
Then I think it was the little play portion then. There was actually a lead-in to this in the form of the programme which is made to look like a tabloid newspaper, complete with staged pictures of Masa and Baba mid-fight and the headling "BREAKING UP!!" Inside is the further head line "SAD END!! CAN'T SEE ANY MORE......?" I haven't taken the time to read the actual "article" yet, but it's a pretty amusing prop.
Anyway, it's meant to be backstage, and Masa and Baba half undress in front of their dressing room mirrors. Then Baba starts noticing that Masa's filtched his water bottle, among other things.
Now, Masa's not really physically my type, plus he was wearing kind of silly checked black and white pants, but I did not remain unmoved by the sight of Baba in a tight black wifebeater (he has nice shoulders! :) ) being all angry and intimidating: "You took my foundation! And my sponge!" The "Bitch!" was very heavily implied. Anyway, they keep on arguing about how Masa doesn't listen to what Baba wants or something, then Baba drops a bomb and says he's quitting this because he's going to be in a movie!
Next up was some agressive show-down dancing between the two boys, to music that wasn't quite paso doble or tango but was all "whooo, testosterone is thick in the air!". Baba's definitely not as fluid a dancer as Masa, but he held his own pretty well, I thought, and it was more in keeping with his persona, anyway.
(Was there some sort of video montage at this point? I can't remember, and I just saw this yesterday! Sob.) Then the guys got a little bit of being introspective and miserable, as the two girls (who were dressed as angels, complete with wings) softly went from pose to pose around them.
After they cleared the stage, the other dancers came back out, dressed in hip-hoppish urban clothes and high-fived each other and just danced around in a "Look at what great friends we are, we're hanging out and having so much fun!" manner. Baba and Masa come out and after a long while spent staring at each other, as the others encourage them, they finally clasp hands, because of course they still love each other! And everyone danced around happily.
The last part of the first act was a dance to lovely 3/4 music; all the dancers were in white, and it was really pretty and should have been much longer than it was. Halfway through the number, a couple of bubble machines on either side of the balcony went crazy, and there were bubbles everywhere, making for a very pretty effect.
The second part was basically a mini-live which started off with a truly disturbing number: Masa, Baba and another guy dressed like elementary school students, complete with little shorts, knee socks and kiddy backpacks. The chorus was "WE'RE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL STUDENTS!" As you may well imagine, it was a very profound, challenging song.
After they'd changed costumes, Masa and Baba came back onstage, where they were joined by the third "elementary school student", who was now wearing swimming trunks, a life-saver around his waist, a snorkel and carrying two beach balls. The beach balls were gifts to throw out into the audience, and had stuff written on them. One said, "Let's go see fireworks together!" and I forget what the other messages were. There was a lot of talking and joking about the balls, the guy's outfit, etc., and finally they were made to throw the balls. Baba threw first, but he totally failed (I hope that was intentional!) and it didn't even clear the stage. Masa tried next, and he also failed, except the ball bounced off the stage and a girl in the first row got it. Baba tried again and got it near the centre of the first floor.
Finally it was the mini-live part, during which the boys joked around, then sang five songs: one from their "Best Actors" CD, some other song, Masa's "START", some other song, and finally something called "Summer Breeze". Baba doesn't have Masa's stage presence, but he was good, and as I said further up, his voice is really nice, though maybe a little ragged from having done the show four times in 48 hours. Masa commented on how it was a shame we were all seated, because the mood wasn't the same as at a regular concert.
It seems like I either laugh like crazy at what Masa's wearing (like the huge flower on his vest, or the feathers in his hair that one time), or I want to strip him just so I can have his clothes. This time, I really wanted his jeans! Someone else can have him. XDDD
Spinning Box
The show was in two parts, with an intermission. It was at Yokohama Blitz, and the stage had a second level running along the back, with a staircase on either end. The band was set up at the back of the stage, under the second level. My seat was up on the balcony, which I prefer for dance shows, because you can see all the dancers, not just the ones in front.
(I may have written things up slightly out of order, but here's basically what went down.)
It started off with a video of Masa waking up, brushing his teeth, stretching, then running downstairs to wake Baba, who sleeps on an armchair. XD After arguing a bit, they finally go out to buy... toilet paper. Masa steals a kid's popsicle and Baba gives the the boy last week's issue of Shonen Jump or something. They run up to the roof, clapping in rhythm, then dance around on the rooftop.
That really energetic tap music with horns that I can never remember the name of -- and I've danced to it, too! -- started up, which basically served as an introduction for the other dancers. There were two girls and three guys doing the hip-hop/jazzy/modern, and one amazing tap dancer. I think this is where Baba did his best to whizz across the stage on the tiny unicycle and I seriously lost it and couldn't stop laughing for at least two minutes. That segued into "All That Jazz" (from Chicago) which included plenty of jazz hands! :D Also, girls in gold sequined hotpants! :D :D :D
Clowns! The three male dancers were dressed as weird carnival clowns and did a little comedy dance routine along with the juggler, who then followed up with a crystal ball routine.
Baba sang a slow, heartfelt song. He surprised me by actual having quite a set of pipes! Granted, I'd only ever heard him in tenimyu before, but I didn't remember his voice in particular, which means he was neither awfully bad nor terribly good, but he has a really nice, pleasant voice. It seemed even nicer compared to Masa's -- though I do like Masa's voice, I know it's not to everyone's taste. ^_^; Oh yeah, and one of the girls, dressed in a long red gown, did a little dance number up on the second level while Baba sang.
- Since Baba got to sing something full of FEELING and MEANING, next Masa got to do a dance number also full of FEELING and MEANING. The other girl was dressed in white and had a long white veil thing which they used to symbolise the yearning between them and what could never be. They should just have cut this bit out. Masa's a good dancer, but this lyrical stuff really isn't him, and he should definitely leave the arabesques to someone who can actually do them properly. Also, the girl's costume didn't fit her right and looked cheaply made.
After that came possibly the most impressive part of the show: the tap dancer came down to the front of the stage and was joined by the guitarist, where they proceeded to do a little jamming session, dancing and playing off each other like a conversation. It was incredible! It had humour, energy, and I was tapping my foot along the whole time. It really made me want to take tap lessons again!
Then I think it was the little play portion then. There was actually a lead-in to this in the form of the programme which is made to look like a tabloid newspaper, complete with staged pictures of Masa and Baba mid-fight and the headling "BREAKING UP!!" Inside is the further head line "SAD END!! CAN'T SEE ANY MORE......?" I haven't taken the time to read the actual "article" yet, but it's a pretty amusing prop.
Anyway, it's meant to be backstage, and Masa and Baba half undress in front of their dressing room mirrors. Then Baba starts noticing that Masa's filtched his water bottle, among other things.
Now, Masa's not really physically my type, plus he was wearing kind of silly checked black and white pants, but I did not remain unmoved by the sight of Baba in a tight black wifebeater (he has nice shoulders! :) ) being all angry and intimidating: "You took my foundation! And my sponge!" The "Bitch!" was very heavily implied. Anyway, they keep on arguing about how Masa doesn't listen to what Baba wants or something, then Baba drops a bomb and says he's quitting this because he's going to be in a movie!
Next up was some agressive show-down dancing between the two boys, to music that wasn't quite paso doble or tango but was all "whooo, testosterone is thick in the air!". Baba's definitely not as fluid a dancer as Masa, but he held his own pretty well, I thought, and it was more in keeping with his persona, anyway.
(Was there some sort of video montage at this point? I can't remember, and I just saw this yesterday! Sob.) Then the guys got a little bit of being introspective and miserable, as the two girls (who were dressed as angels, complete with wings) softly went from pose to pose around them.
After they cleared the stage, the other dancers came back out, dressed in hip-hoppish urban clothes and high-fived each other and just danced around in a "Look at what great friends we are, we're hanging out and having so much fun!" manner. Baba and Masa come out and after a long while spent staring at each other, as the others encourage them, they finally clasp hands, because of course they still love each other! And everyone danced around happily.
The last part of the first act was a dance to lovely 3/4 music; all the dancers were in white, and it was really pretty and should have been much longer than it was. Halfway through the number, a couple of bubble machines on either side of the balcony went crazy, and there were bubbles everywhere, making for a very pretty effect.
The second part was basically a mini-live which started off with a truly disturbing number: Masa, Baba and another guy dressed like elementary school students, complete with little shorts, knee socks and kiddy backpacks. The chorus was "WE'RE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL STUDENTS!" As you may well imagine, it was a very profound, challenging song.
After they'd changed costumes, Masa and Baba came back onstage, where they were joined by the third "elementary school student", who was now wearing swimming trunks, a life-saver around his waist, a snorkel and carrying two beach balls. The beach balls were gifts to throw out into the audience, and had stuff written on them. One said, "Let's go see fireworks together!" and I forget what the other messages were. There was a lot of talking and joking about the balls, the guy's outfit, etc., and finally they were made to throw the balls. Baba threw first, but he totally failed (I hope that was intentional!) and it didn't even clear the stage. Masa tried next, and he also failed, except the ball bounced off the stage and a girl in the first row got it. Baba tried again and got it near the centre of the first floor.
Finally it was the mini-live part, during which the boys joked around, then sang five songs: one from their "Best Actors" CD, some other song, Masa's "START", some other song, and finally something called "Summer Breeze". Baba doesn't have Masa's stage presence, but he was good, and as I said further up, his voice is really nice, though maybe a little ragged from having done the show four times in 48 hours. Masa commented on how it was a shame we were all seated, because the mood wasn't the same as at a regular concert.
It seems like I either laugh like crazy at what Masa's wearing (like the huge flower on his vest, or the feathers in his hair that one time), or I want to strip him just so I can have his clothes. This time, I really wanted his jeans! Someone else can have him. XDDD