The pain in my feet proves that it wasn't a dream...
ARASHI!
For the 3rd year in a row, I've gone to Kokuritsu to see them. And as usual, the concert high is going to get me through the week. Work tomorrow! Full schedule!!
First of all, everything was going wrong in the morning, but it all worked out in the end. The power of prayer. I made onigiri to eat, I forgot my onigiri... I was running 90 minutes late. I was on the train when I realized I forgot my binoculars... My penlight was running out of batteries and the combini had one batter for 200 yen (I need 4 to make the thing run).
I don't know how I stayed calm. I bought some food on the run, bought new binoculars at my transfer in Shinjuku and arrived at the Olympic stadium at 2:50. The scalpers this year looked like members of EXILE but in the yakuza... So many girls every where looking for tickets. 10 minute walk to the goods area and the staff were making everyone walk ALL around the park to get to the goods line. Screw that, I hopped the fence and walked through the ropes to the line. 10 minutes of waiting and boom! I was in the area to buy goods. Last year, I got to the place at 6AM to buy stuff. This year, I was in and out in about 30 minutes. AND NOTHING WAS SOLD OUT!! I thought I was dreaming.
So now it's not even 3:30 and there's two hours until the start of the concert. I walked around the entire stadium and took pictures. Then I found the perfect spot to wait. There's a small gymnasium related to the stadium near the main entrance. There you can find a small cafe, a bathroom with no line and free AC. I killed some time outside and decided to head to in around 4:30. By then the streets were packed with people. I managed to get in with no problem but it took a good 20 minutes to get to my gate. I decided to buy some kakikori (shaved ice) from a stand. Apparently this stand has been making kakikori for 110 years and they have their own special sauce. Best I've ever eaten. Seriously.
I finally make it to my seat at 5:10. I made friends with the girl next to me, Risa, which was really nice because sometimes you just want to not feel alone among 60,000 people. I made myself comfortable and was getting doki doki from just waiting. This was the closest I've ever gotten and I paid a lot of yen for this opportunity. 12th row in the front stands btw the side stage and back stage. The gate where the carts cross was right in front of me so while they were struggle to move this cart across the tracks, I got a direct view of Sho and Nino. The only downside was the stupid lamp pole which blocked part of the middle stage. EXACTLY at 5:30, the concert starts (I love how prompt JE is).
Here's the set list, copied from someone (My notes):
Intro: This year JE really invested on making CG art for the concert. There were some songs where I couldn't help but just stare at the screen. Here they made different "scenes" while introducing the members. Dolphins jumping and flowers blooming. It was ARASHI island...
1.movin'on - The giant screen on the main stage parts and there's a giant waterfall. Arashi comes out from a door in the middle of the waterfall. A scream rose from the crowd and at the moment the girls next to me arrived to their giants and had their first Arashi-gasm. The girl next to me proceeds to nearly whack me with the various objects in her hand the entire night.
2.Yurase ima wo
3.Troublemaker - They moved to the middle stage. Such a fun song (sweet sweet)!
4.Happiness
5.Attack it! - Do I know this song? This might have been when everyone introduced themselves and Aiba said something incoherent that Nino made fun of during the MC. Max? Max what?
6.Everything
7.1992*4##111(Nino solo) - A-dor-able!! Nino comes out dressed in this ridiculous yellow ensemble that Massu would wear. This was such a cute song and he just danced with juniors. In the end, the juniors in red formed this heart on the stage while dancing and held heart shaped balloons which they released into the sky. It floated away into the sunset like some balloon dragon.
8.ROCK YOU
9.Kitto daijoubou - Love this song in concert.
10.Hadashi no mirai - I wish I could remember this dance when it comes to the concert.
11.a day in our life - Sho made us sing the end parts forever! Another one of my favorite songs. They used the moving stage for the first time here. I was level with the stage so I waved like crazy!
12.Summer Splash! - What a nice way to end summer! Though not my favorite song in the new CD, it was cool that they BLASTED water jet into the air when we screamed YEAH! The jets reached so high and fell in such pretty patterns. The runway that ran around the stadium also had fountains all through them.
13. Shizuka na Yori ni (Ohno solo) - Ohno... no words. Maybe one: Flawless. The sunset turned the sky pink and orange. Accompanied with this ballad, I got chills. Ohno really put a lot of effort on this dance too. Chills!! His solo was my favorite in the new CD.
14. Mukae ni Iku yo - This song flowed really well after the solo. Another favorite. oh wait! This is one where the CG was like a movie and I wasn't paying attention to Arashi at all. It was something like 2 walking robots in different worlds that mirrored each other a bit. One world was a snowy country side and the other was a city. In the end they were able to meet.
15.season
16.Hero
17.TABOO(Sho solo) - Sho comes out in this glittery red miltary style suit. The CG was black and white grungy shirtless Sho. Amazing dance here too.
18.let me down
19.kagero
20.Oh yeah!
21.Lucky man - I only like this song in concert. When I say Lucky, you say Man! Lucky! (Man!) over and over and over...
22.One Love(Member intro) - Wedding CG. I've decided that this song needs to be played at my wedding, no matter what.
MC - Nino being mean. Ohno didn't watch even one episode of Jun's drama, Sho's new movie. Jun's drama, Aiba's voice is raspy and what did he mean by MAX??? To Be Continued...
23.Yukai Tsukai Kaibutsu-kun - Kaibutsu-kun being bullied.
MC by Aibachan ~ Arashi Super Intro Don - Kinki Kids, SMAP and Firefly.
24.Refrain
25.Gift
26.My Girl
27.come back to me (Jun solo)
28.Magical Song(Aiba solo)
29.PIKA★★NCHI Double
30.Love so sweet
31. Kotoba yori taisetsu na mono
32.Believe
≪ARASHI SHOW TIME≫ - Sho! ENGLISH!!
33. Circus
Accent Dance
-truth、Cool&Soul、Re(mark)able
34.Monster
35.To be free
36. Sora Takaku - BALLOONS
Encore 1
37.Still
38.Fight Song
39.Beautiful Days
40.Sakura Sake
41.Kansha Kangeki Ame Arashi
Encore 2
42.Love Rainbow
For the 3rd year in a row, I've gone to Kokuritsu to see them. And as usual, the concert high is going to get me through the week. Work tomorrow! Full schedule!!
First of all, everything was going wrong in the morning, but it all worked out in the end. The power of prayer. I made onigiri to eat, I forgot my onigiri... I was running 90 minutes late. I was on the train when I realized I forgot my binoculars... My penlight was running out of batteries and the combini had one batter for 200 yen (I need 4 to make the thing run).
I don't know how I stayed calm. I bought some food on the run, bought new binoculars at my transfer in Shinjuku and arrived at the Olympic stadium at 2:50. The scalpers this year looked like members of EXILE but in the yakuza... So many girls every where looking for tickets. 10 minute walk to the goods area and the staff were making everyone walk ALL around the park to get to the goods line. Screw that, I hopped the fence and walked through the ropes to the line. 10 minutes of waiting and boom! I was in the area to buy goods. Last year, I got to the place at 6AM to buy stuff. This year, I was in and out in about 30 minutes. AND NOTHING WAS SOLD OUT!! I thought I was dreaming.
So now it's not even 3:30 and there's two hours until the start of the concert. I walked around the entire stadium and took pictures. Then I found the perfect spot to wait. There's a small gymnasium related to the stadium near the main entrance. There you can find a small cafe, a bathroom with no line and free AC. I killed some time outside and decided to head to in around 4:30. By then the streets were packed with people. I managed to get in with no problem but it took a good 20 minutes to get to my gate. I decided to buy some kakikori (shaved ice) from a stand. Apparently this stand has been making kakikori for 110 years and they have their own special sauce. Best I've ever eaten. Seriously.
I finally make it to my seat at 5:10. I made friends with the girl next to me, Risa, which was really nice because sometimes you just want to not feel alone among 60,000 people. I made myself comfortable and was getting doki doki from just waiting. This was the closest I've ever gotten and I paid a lot of yen for this opportunity. 12th row in the front stands btw the side stage and back stage. The gate where the carts cross was right in front of me so while they were struggle to move this cart across the tracks, I got a direct view of Sho and Nino. The only downside was the stupid lamp pole which blocked part of the middle stage. EXACTLY at 5:30, the concert starts (I love how prompt JE is).
Here's the set list, copied from someone (My notes):
Intro: This year JE really invested on making CG art for the concert. There were some songs where I couldn't help but just stare at the screen. Here they made different "scenes" while introducing the members. Dolphins jumping and flowers blooming. It was ARASHI island...
1.movin'on - The giant screen on the main stage parts and there's a giant waterfall. Arashi comes out from a door in the middle of the waterfall. A scream rose from the crowd and at the moment the girls next to me arrived to their giants and had their first Arashi-gasm. The girl next to me proceeds to nearly whack me with the various objects in her hand the entire night.
2.Yurase ima wo
3.Troublemaker - They moved to the middle stage. Such a fun song (sweet sweet)!
4.Happiness
5.Attack it! - Do I know this song? This might have been when everyone introduced themselves and Aiba said something incoherent that Nino made fun of during the MC. Max? Max what?
6.Everything
7.1992*4##111(Nino solo) - A-dor-able!! Nino comes out dressed in this ridiculous yellow ensemble that Massu would wear. This was such a cute song and he just danced with juniors. In the end, the juniors in red formed this heart on the stage while dancing and held heart shaped balloons which they released into the sky. It floated away into the sunset like some balloon dragon.
8.ROCK YOU
9.Kitto daijoubou - Love this song in concert.
10.Hadashi no mirai - I wish I could remember this dance when it comes to the concert.
11.a day in our life - Sho made us sing the end parts forever! Another one of my favorite songs. They used the moving stage for the first time here. I was level with the stage so I waved like crazy!
12.Summer Splash! - What a nice way to end summer! Though not my favorite song in the new CD, it was cool that they BLASTED water jet into the air when we screamed YEAH! The jets reached so high and fell in such pretty patterns. The runway that ran around the stadium also had fountains all through them.
13. Shizuka na Yori ni (Ohno solo) - Ohno... no words. Maybe one: Flawless. The sunset turned the sky pink and orange. Accompanied with this ballad, I got chills. Ohno really put a lot of effort on this dance too. Chills!! His solo was my favorite in the new CD.
14. Mukae ni Iku yo - This song flowed really well after the solo. Another favorite. oh wait! This is one where the CG was like a movie and I wasn't paying attention to Arashi at all. It was something like 2 walking robots in different worlds that mirrored each other a bit. One world was a snowy country side and the other was a city. In the end they were able to meet.
15.season
16.Hero
17.TABOO(Sho solo) - Sho comes out in this glittery red miltary style suit. The CG was black and white grungy shirtless Sho. Amazing dance here too.
18.let me down
19.kagero
20.Oh yeah!
21.Lucky man - I only like this song in concert. When I say Lucky, you say Man! Lucky! (Man!) over and over and over...
22.One Love(Member intro) - Wedding CG. I've decided that this song needs to be played at my wedding, no matter what.
MC - Nino being mean. Ohno didn't watch even one episode of Jun's drama, Sho's new movie. Jun's drama, Aiba's voice is raspy and what did he mean by MAX??? To Be Continued...
23.Yukai Tsukai Kaibutsu-kun - Kaibutsu-kun being bullied.
MC by Aibachan ~ Arashi Super Intro Don - Kinki Kids, SMAP and Firefly.
24.Refrain
25.Gift
26.My Girl
27.come back to me (Jun solo)
28.Magical Song(Aiba solo)
29.PIKA★★NCHI Double
30.Love so sweet
31. Kotoba yori taisetsu na mono
32.Believe
≪ARASHI SHOW TIME≫ - Sho! ENGLISH!!
33. Circus
Accent Dance
-truth、Cool&Soul、Re(mark)able
34.Monster
35.To be free
36. Sora Takaku - BALLOONS
Encore 1
37.Still
38.Fight Song
39.Beautiful Days
40.Sakura Sake
41.Kansha Kangeki Ame Arashi
Encore 2
42.Love Rainbow