TegoMass no Mahou Live Fan report - 18 Dec/ 5pm
I have just attended TM’s Yokohama live on the 18th - their last show in Yokohama. It was my first Johnny’s concert experience and it was most, most fun and memorable. Here’s my fan report on the concert, the MC highlights and some trivia! It’s quite a long report so be warned!
Concert goods went on sale at 9.30 am so I reached Yokohama Arena at a quarter to 9, only to find the queue snaking around the arena; the queue was already 400m long! While most in line were female fans, there were some fathers, boyfriends and sons waiting in line too. I guessed TM appeal to quite a wide age range -from 9, 10 year olds to some 50,60 year olds! I joined the end of the queue and stood in front of two middle-aged ladies (40plus yrs old?) and learnt that Keii chan did not come to the concert on Friday and Saturday and that there was a good chance he might come for the last show. Anyway I bought my goods and realised there was the Air TegoMass (the airship they used in Mahou no Melody’s PV) was on display in front of the arena. So I took some pictures too! (Pictures will be uploaded on a later date) I bought as much as I could carry - pamphlet, clear file, thermos flask, parka, towel, TekuMassu strap, charity badges , bag, both their jumbo uchiwas and the penlight. The parka’s probably my favourite, along with the bag and towel. Tego’s drawings on the towel and bag are…. Well, let’s just say epic and amusing! (^^) I spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon in Yokohama and returned to the arena at 4plus pm.
My seat was in the first row of the stand (third level) and as the arena isn’t that big, the stage was rather close. The concert began promptly at 5pm, with the pre-concert announcements about no recording, no eating (Massu included) and no playing/running around (Tego included) The stage was in the stage of the cross with the band in the centre (imagine a plus sign (+) with the band in the centre) The ceiling was decorated with stars and crescent moons and it was in lovely blue, purple and pink. When the music started, the fans around me screamed and I saw Massu appeared from our side (he was about 30 metres away!) Both of them were wearning something similar to their costumes in the Mahou no Melody PV though not quite the same. Tego wasn’t wearing that much eyeliner too, to my relief. Tego’s hair was noticeably longer with bits of white feather-like thing stuck to it. Massu had slightly spiked red hair. They looked really good (duh!) The concert started with ‘Mahou no Melody’, followed by ‘Bokura no Sora’ and ’Ryokiteki Honey’. Then they sang ‘Tanabata Matsuri’, ‘Yuki Daruma’, ‘Ai ai gasa’ and ‘Mr Freedom’. Somewhere in between they did the introduction where Tego said his voice was slightly hoarse after continuing shows and asked Massu about his voice. Massu said his voice was fine. Then Tego also said that the presence of cameramen meant that there will be a concert DVD! After ‘Mr Freedom’ they decided to do some ballads and requested all fans to sit down and relax. The staff brought out chairs and they sat down to sing ‘Kushami’ and ‘Sotsugyou Album’. They are brilliant singers and are extremely good even during live performances. Their singing is top notch and if not for the fact that Massu’s slip ups, I would have thought that I was listening to a studio recording!
After the ballads, they did ‘Wasuremono’ and Tego took out his guitar and they sang ‘Hanabi’. The lights hanging from the ceiling transformed into fake fireworks and it was really pretty. Then they had a mini MC where Massu mentioned that TM has been around for five years and that they did a lot of songs before they debuted as TM. Hence as a tribute they decided on a medley of songs they did during their pre-TM debut days. In the medley there were ‘Yuuyake no uta’, ‘Ding Dong’, ‘Zutto’ and some other song. After the medley, Tego said that they would be doing another song which they haven’t done in a while so they started on ‘Arigatou ima’.
After ‘Arigatou Ima’, they sang ‘Miso soup’ and both of them got into the miso soup bowls. This time, Tego came to our side and his bowl was 30 metres away! He pretty much sat there and sang while looking dreamily at the fans (not dissimilar to his pose as ‘Snow White’ from a recent magazine shoot) On the other hand, Massu picked up one of the chopsticks and pretended that was a guitar; he was hilarious. In fact so hilarious that he forgot his lyrics/ did not sing part of the song. Lol. Following from ‘Miso Soup’, the boys got onto the crescent moons (which turned out to be swings disguised as lights) and they sang ‘Kiss… kaerimichi no love song’ on the moon swings. As part of the Christmas celebration, they had ‘Merry Christmas’ on top of the swings.
After ‘Kiss’ it was MC time. They spoke about ‘NEWS no sensei’ (Shige) who attended Friday’s concert with Nakamaru (Kattun) and then complained about that Keii-chan had not yet turned up, despite saying repeatedly on K-chan NEWS and jweb that he would love to attend TM’s concert. And then they were informed by someone that Keii chan's in the audience today! The spotlight came on and Keii-chan was seated in the VIP stand (same level as my seat) so I could see him. Keii-chan stood up to greet the fans but as he was not holding a mic he did not say anything and only waved his penlight around. The fans tried to get him to participate in the MC but they did not succeed. Nonetheless, Keii-chan came!!! (^0^) After that Massu started to talk about Yokohama. Tego mentioned that he was born in Yokohama and that performing in Yokohama is a homecoming of sorts and that he is so familiar with the streets, the city and the lights. Then he started to sing a few verses of 'Tadaima Okaeri'. Then he also asked whether we know anything about soccer. He said that Messi is in town and playing in Yokohama stadium and he would love to watch. Then one of them said, ‘Imagine an overseas fan coming to Yokohama to support Messi, got the venue wrong and came to Yokohama Arena instead of Yokohama stadium, and that she/he must be thinking ‘eh! What’s with the venue? Why is the match like this?’’ Tego asked Massu about his thoughts on Yokohama and Massu replied that Yokohama was the first venue he performed in a live concert ever, when he was still a Junior. So it was a homecoming to him too. Then he started to sing 'Tadaima Okaeri'. We tried to get them to continue with the song but failed. Anyway this time round Massu said he would be singing a song about Yokohama arena and its blue chairs. Tego played the guitar while he sang. The song was roughly about Yokohama arena, the different seniors’ lives he participated in as a Junior, the arena’s blue chairs and how he looked behind for Juniors who would be around him/them and realised that there wasn't any! The front bit was a rap and the chorus was more like a song. It was funny and we managed to get him to do it twice, the second time with the full support of TegoMass band so it was the ‘super version’. There was also a pun about ‘Fourth’ concert. Tego said the word ‘Fourth’ in English and then Massu said they could ride on horses again. Tego asked why and Massu said because ‘Fourth’ sounds similar to ‘Horse’ (the way Japanese pronounced them in English) and hence they could reuse the horses in their next concert. Massu also talked about an incident in Kobe. Apparently as they were pulling into the venue in Kobe, Tegoshi, who was seated in front next to the driver got all excited and said to Massu, ‘Look the queue’s already forming for the concert goods! I’m so touched by these fans!’ etc etc. Massu took a look outside and saw the queue. Then a staff member said, ‘Erm, actually this isn’t the place yet and these people are just lining up for a bargain sale…’ Tego went ‘Oh…..’ In fact the people in the queue were mainly middle aged housewives and Tego thought the age of the fans seemed a bit older than usual… and thought that perhaps they’ve got older and hence appeal to an older audience now. Tego fail.
After the MC, they sang ‘Kibou no hikari’ with Tego on a guitar (I love this song and to hear them sing it live was such a treat!) Then the lights dimmed and I wondered for a second about what the next song would be. There was no music and suddenly I heard their voices doing accapella live without mics and without the band. Just their voices and nothing else. It was soooo lovely and quite magical really. The arena went so quiet that you could hear a pin drop! They did the first intro verse of ‘Hanamuke’ in this manner and the band joined in later. After that the music came on for ‘Sakura girl’ and they sang a slightly more upbeat version of ‘Sakura girl’. It was a superb rendition and I would love to hear the new NEWS version of this song. ‘Yuuyake to koi to jitensha’ and ‘Overdrive’ came on next, followed by ‘Highway’. During the music intro for ‘Highway’, they did solo dance segments (veryJohnny-ish) and everyone’s tension got really high! After ‘Highway’ Tego announced that the next song would be their last song and they concluded with ‘Aoi Bench’.
Like all good live concerts, the fans sat down and started chanting TegoMass and soon the pair came out and got on the moving stands in between 2nd and 3rd levels, meaning they would be coming around the stands and would be on the same level as my seat. Massu’s stand was the nearest and sure enough he came around! He was about half a metre away from me! He was really cute and I experienced the full force of Massu’s smile! Oh for some reason I noticed he has really muscular arms! And he’s real fine too! (o^^o) Both of them were wearing the bear parka and Tego’s parka was decorated with fur trim around the hood and sleeves. Lol. They sang ‘Cheetah, Gorilla and Orang Utan’ and Tego’s stand didn’t get round to our area. His was stopped in front of the VIP area and during the ‘la la la’ part of the song, he passed the mic to Keii-chan, who then shouted some phrases (ganbatte? Lalala?) They got off the stands and went to the centre stage when Tego asked the audience to vary the loudness of ‘la la la’ according to his hands (Hands up = loud/ hands down = soft) so that went on for a minute. Meanwhile Massu was seating on the stage with his back to Tego and Tego suddenly pounced on him so Massu sort of rolled off the stage. It was super funny. Massu then jumped on Tego’s back and stayed there for a good half minute as a form of revenge. At one point, Tego got on the floor, lay on his side and blew kisses and made smoochy/erotic faces to the camera/audience. The final song they did for the encore was ‘Ai no nake de’ where the audience sang part of the song. It was a sweet way to end a fabulous concert and then they had their ‘Thank you’ speeches. Massu failed during his turn cos’ his words got all jumbled up when he wanted to say ‘thank you for supporting and please continue to support us’ and he went ‘oh have a good year!’ (it’s going to be New Year in Japan which is a big holiday) They then left the stage after numerous ‘arigatous’.
I hung around for 5 mins and the announcer’s voice came on to announce the end of the live and to remind everyone to take their belongings. So I left and then I heard screams. I rushed back in only to find the boys reappearing for the second time, except that this time Tego was dressed in a pink cheerleader’s uniform, complete with a blonde high ponytail and knee high socks (it looked similar to what the cheerleaders wore in Buzzer Beat) Actually he was ridiculously pretty and he has an amazing figure! Lol. Anyway he said that the skirt’s too short and his underwear/’pants’ can be seen. So Massu lifted his skirt. Actually Tego offered his bum to Massu… Lol. They did not sing but went to each of the four ends (of the stage) to say their ‘thank yous’ once more. Cheerleader Yuuko seemed to have a problem with the socks; they kept slipping and he had to pull them up discreetly, mainly because he didn't want to lift his leg too high to reveal his pants. Lol.
Other titbits - Massu kept playing with his fringe. And at one point Tego licked his lips, winked and gave a 'nage chu/ flying kiss' to the audience/camera. Prince Ero Tego. He also did some different accents but I don't know enough about accents to recognise them except that he imitated a Westerner speaking Japanese (I think)
I’m still reeling from the post-concert adrenaline rush. I enjoyed every single minute of it! I attended the concert with my other half (yes he was part of the 1% male audience and he enjoyed the concert too! He doesn’t speak Japanese so he didn’t get the MC parts but he is a big fan of live singing and for what it’s worth, he thought TM are extremely brilliant singers. He was a little disappointed that they didn’t perform ‘Chu chu chu’ though, because he likes that song. Lol.
Thanks for taking the time to read this very long report. I’m off to Hokkaido and Kyoto for the next two weeks and would update if I make it to Ryuutaro (Keii-chan’s family ramen shop) before the new year.
Some trivial observation on the Japanese fans - The Japanese fans put in lots of effort to attend the concert. I saw a pair of snowmen (‘Yuki daruma’), countless Santarinas, girls in high school uniform (Tego’s fans), a leopard complete with a long tail (another Tego fan), a bear in Massu’s Mahou PV’s costume amongst others. Also Japanese fans are very well-behaved. They kept really quiet whenever the boys sang and there wasn’t too much screaming. In fact I was a little surprised! I attended the Glee Live in London this year and trust me, there was so much screaming before, during and after the concert and even during the songs. It was annoying as we actually could not hear Rachel/ Kurt/ Blaine sing.
Concert goods went on sale at 9.30 am so I reached Yokohama Arena at a quarter to 9, only to find the queue snaking around the arena; the queue was already 400m long! While most in line were female fans, there were some fathers, boyfriends and sons waiting in line too. I guessed TM appeal to quite a wide age range -from 9, 10 year olds to some 50,60 year olds! I joined the end of the queue and stood in front of two middle-aged ladies (40plus yrs old?) and learnt that Keii chan did not come to the concert on Friday and Saturday and that there was a good chance he might come for the last show. Anyway I bought my goods and realised there was the Air TegoMass (the airship they used in Mahou no Melody’s PV) was on display in front of the arena. So I took some pictures too! (Pictures will be uploaded on a later date) I bought as much as I could carry - pamphlet, clear file, thermos flask, parka, towel, TekuMassu strap, charity badges , bag, both their jumbo uchiwas and the penlight. The parka’s probably my favourite, along with the bag and towel. Tego’s drawings on the towel and bag are…. Well, let’s just say epic and amusing! (^^) I spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon in Yokohama and returned to the arena at 4plus pm.
My seat was in the first row of the stand (third level) and as the arena isn’t that big, the stage was rather close. The concert began promptly at 5pm, with the pre-concert announcements about no recording, no eating (Massu included) and no playing/running around (Tego included) The stage was in the stage of the cross with the band in the centre (imagine a plus sign (+) with the band in the centre) The ceiling was decorated with stars and crescent moons and it was in lovely blue, purple and pink. When the music started, the fans around me screamed and I saw Massu appeared from our side (he was about 30 metres away!) Both of them were wearning something similar to their costumes in the Mahou no Melody PV though not quite the same. Tego wasn’t wearing that much eyeliner too, to my relief. Tego’s hair was noticeably longer with bits of white feather-like thing stuck to it. Massu had slightly spiked red hair. They looked really good (duh!) The concert started with ‘Mahou no Melody’, followed by ‘Bokura no Sora’ and ’Ryokiteki Honey’. Then they sang ‘Tanabata Matsuri’, ‘Yuki Daruma’, ‘Ai ai gasa’ and ‘Mr Freedom’. Somewhere in between they did the introduction where Tego said his voice was slightly hoarse after continuing shows and asked Massu about his voice. Massu said his voice was fine. Then Tego also said that the presence of cameramen meant that there will be a concert DVD! After ‘Mr Freedom’ they decided to do some ballads and requested all fans to sit down and relax. The staff brought out chairs and they sat down to sing ‘Kushami’ and ‘Sotsugyou Album’. They are brilliant singers and are extremely good even during live performances. Their singing is top notch and if not for the fact that Massu’s slip ups, I would have thought that I was listening to a studio recording!
After the ballads, they did ‘Wasuremono’ and Tego took out his guitar and they sang ‘Hanabi’. The lights hanging from the ceiling transformed into fake fireworks and it was really pretty. Then they had a mini MC where Massu mentioned that TM has been around for five years and that they did a lot of songs before they debuted as TM. Hence as a tribute they decided on a medley of songs they did during their pre-TM debut days. In the medley there were ‘Yuuyake no uta’, ‘Ding Dong’, ‘Zutto’ and some other song. After the medley, Tego said that they would be doing another song which they haven’t done in a while so they started on ‘Arigatou ima’.
After ‘Arigatou Ima’, they sang ‘Miso soup’ and both of them got into the miso soup bowls. This time, Tego came to our side and his bowl was 30 metres away! He pretty much sat there and sang while looking dreamily at the fans (not dissimilar to his pose as ‘Snow White’ from a recent magazine shoot) On the other hand, Massu picked up one of the chopsticks and pretended that was a guitar; he was hilarious. In fact so hilarious that he forgot his lyrics/ did not sing part of the song. Lol. Following from ‘Miso Soup’, the boys got onto the crescent moons (which turned out to be swings disguised as lights) and they sang ‘Kiss… kaerimichi no love song’ on the moon swings. As part of the Christmas celebration, they had ‘Merry Christmas’ on top of the swings.
After ‘Kiss’ it was MC time. They spoke about ‘NEWS no sensei’ (Shige) who attended Friday’s concert with Nakamaru (Kattun) and then complained about that Keii-chan had not yet turned up, despite saying repeatedly on K-chan NEWS and jweb that he would love to attend TM’s concert. And then they were informed by someone that Keii chan's in the audience today! The spotlight came on and Keii-chan was seated in the VIP stand (same level as my seat) so I could see him. Keii-chan stood up to greet the fans but as he was not holding a mic he did not say anything and only waved his penlight around. The fans tried to get him to participate in the MC but they did not succeed. Nonetheless, Keii-chan came!!! (^0^) After that Massu started to talk about Yokohama. Tego mentioned that he was born in Yokohama and that performing in Yokohama is a homecoming of sorts and that he is so familiar with the streets, the city and the lights. Then he started to sing a few verses of 'Tadaima Okaeri'. Then he also asked whether we know anything about soccer. He said that Messi is in town and playing in Yokohama stadium and he would love to watch. Then one of them said, ‘Imagine an overseas fan coming to Yokohama to support Messi, got the venue wrong and came to Yokohama Arena instead of Yokohama stadium, and that she/he must be thinking ‘eh! What’s with the venue? Why is the match like this?’’ Tego asked Massu about his thoughts on Yokohama and Massu replied that Yokohama was the first venue he performed in a live concert ever, when he was still a Junior. So it was a homecoming to him too. Then he started to sing 'Tadaima Okaeri'. We tried to get them to continue with the song but failed. Anyway this time round Massu said he would be singing a song about Yokohama arena and its blue chairs. Tego played the guitar while he sang. The song was roughly about Yokohama arena, the different seniors’ lives he participated in as a Junior, the arena’s blue chairs and how he looked behind for Juniors who would be around him/them and realised that there wasn't any! The front bit was a rap and the chorus was more like a song. It was funny and we managed to get him to do it twice, the second time with the full support of TegoMass band so it was the ‘super version’. There was also a pun about ‘Fourth’ concert. Tego said the word ‘Fourth’ in English and then Massu said they could ride on horses again. Tego asked why and Massu said because ‘Fourth’ sounds similar to ‘Horse’ (the way Japanese pronounced them in English) and hence they could reuse the horses in their next concert. Massu also talked about an incident in Kobe. Apparently as they were pulling into the venue in Kobe, Tegoshi, who was seated in front next to the driver got all excited and said to Massu, ‘Look the queue’s already forming for the concert goods! I’m so touched by these fans!’ etc etc. Massu took a look outside and saw the queue. Then a staff member said, ‘Erm, actually this isn’t the place yet and these people are just lining up for a bargain sale…’ Tego went ‘Oh…..’ In fact the people in the queue were mainly middle aged housewives and Tego thought the age of the fans seemed a bit older than usual… and thought that perhaps they’ve got older and hence appeal to an older audience now. Tego fail.
After the MC, they sang ‘Kibou no hikari’ with Tego on a guitar (I love this song and to hear them sing it live was such a treat!) Then the lights dimmed and I wondered for a second about what the next song would be. There was no music and suddenly I heard their voices doing accapella live without mics and without the band. Just their voices and nothing else. It was soooo lovely and quite magical really. The arena went so quiet that you could hear a pin drop! They did the first intro verse of ‘Hanamuke’ in this manner and the band joined in later. After that the music came on for ‘Sakura girl’ and they sang a slightly more upbeat version of ‘Sakura girl’. It was a superb rendition and I would love to hear the new NEWS version of this song. ‘Yuuyake to koi to jitensha’ and ‘Overdrive’ came on next, followed by ‘Highway’. During the music intro for ‘Highway’, they did solo dance segments (veryJohnny-ish) and everyone’s tension got really high! After ‘Highway’ Tego announced that the next song would be their last song and they concluded with ‘Aoi Bench’.
Like all good live concerts, the fans sat down and started chanting TegoMass and soon the pair came out and got on the moving stands in between 2nd and 3rd levels, meaning they would be coming around the stands and would be on the same level as my seat. Massu’s stand was the nearest and sure enough he came around! He was about half a metre away from me! He was really cute and I experienced the full force of Massu’s smile! Oh for some reason I noticed he has really muscular arms! And he’s real fine too! (o^^o) Both of them were wearing the bear parka and Tego’s parka was decorated with fur trim around the hood and sleeves. Lol. They sang ‘Cheetah, Gorilla and Orang Utan’ and Tego’s stand didn’t get round to our area. His was stopped in front of the VIP area and during the ‘la la la’ part of the song, he passed the mic to Keii-chan, who then shouted some phrases (ganbatte? Lalala?) They got off the stands and went to the centre stage when Tego asked the audience to vary the loudness of ‘la la la’ according to his hands (Hands up = loud/ hands down = soft) so that went on for a minute. Meanwhile Massu was seating on the stage with his back to Tego and Tego suddenly pounced on him so Massu sort of rolled off the stage. It was super funny. Massu then jumped on Tego’s back and stayed there for a good half minute as a form of revenge. At one point, Tego got on the floor, lay on his side and blew kisses and made smoochy/erotic faces to the camera/audience. The final song they did for the encore was ‘Ai no nake de’ where the audience sang part of the song. It was a sweet way to end a fabulous concert and then they had their ‘Thank you’ speeches. Massu failed during his turn cos’ his words got all jumbled up when he wanted to say ‘thank you for supporting and please continue to support us’ and he went ‘oh have a good year!’ (it’s going to be New Year in Japan which is a big holiday) They then left the stage after numerous ‘arigatous’.
I hung around for 5 mins and the announcer’s voice came on to announce the end of the live and to remind everyone to take their belongings. So I left and then I heard screams. I rushed back in only to find the boys reappearing for the second time, except that this time Tego was dressed in a pink cheerleader’s uniform, complete with a blonde high ponytail and knee high socks (it looked similar to what the cheerleaders wore in Buzzer Beat) Actually he was ridiculously pretty and he has an amazing figure! Lol. Anyway he said that the skirt’s too short and his underwear/’pants’ can be seen. So Massu lifted his skirt. Actually Tego offered his bum to Massu… Lol. They did not sing but went to each of the four ends (of the stage) to say their ‘thank yous’ once more. Cheerleader Yuuko seemed to have a problem with the socks; they kept slipping and he had to pull them up discreetly, mainly because he didn't want to lift his leg too high to reveal his pants. Lol.
Other titbits - Massu kept playing with his fringe. And at one point Tego licked his lips, winked and gave a 'nage chu/ flying kiss' to the audience/camera. Prince Ero Tego. He also did some different accents but I don't know enough about accents to recognise them except that he imitated a Westerner speaking Japanese (I think)
I’m still reeling from the post-concert adrenaline rush. I enjoyed every single minute of it! I attended the concert with my other half (yes he was part of the 1% male audience and he enjoyed the concert too! He doesn’t speak Japanese so he didn’t get the MC parts but he is a big fan of live singing and for what it’s worth, he thought TM are extremely brilliant singers. He was a little disappointed that they didn’t perform ‘Chu chu chu’ though, because he likes that song. Lol.
Thanks for taking the time to read this very long report. I’m off to Hokkaido and Kyoto for the next two weeks and would update if I make it to Ryuutaro (Keii-chan’s family ramen shop) before the new year.
Some trivial observation on the Japanese fans - The Japanese fans put in lots of effort to attend the concert. I saw a pair of snowmen (‘Yuki daruma’), countless Santarinas, girls in high school uniform (Tego’s fans), a leopard complete with a long tail (another Tego fan), a bear in Massu’s Mahou PV’s costume amongst others. Also Japanese fans are very well-behaved. They kept really quiet whenever the boys sang and there wasn’t too much screaming. In fact I was a little surprised! I attended the Glee Live in London this year and trust me, there was so much screaming before, during and after the concert and even during the songs. It was annoying as we actually could not hear Rachel/ Kurt/ Blaine sing.