[Live Report] Sky's the Limit Tour Shibuya Final & After Party
Sky’s the Limit Tour 空の向こうへ
Shibuya Final and After Party, 28 December 2012
Shibuya WWW and café & dining ballo ballo
All I have to say is that I feel so, so, so blessed to attend this. Just. So, so, so blessed. My life's changed so much since coming to Japan and entering university here was the biggest and best decision of my life. Lots of photos all under the cut(s)....!
So Belle’s already posted her report and it’s pretty much the same since we spent the day/night together, with some small exceptions. The portion before the live is pretty much identical.
We’d arrived at Shibuya WWW at 2pm, and took photos with the signs outside, being silly and wondering if they were inside and could hear us talking and being fangirl-y upstairs.
On Belle’s mom’s idea, we decided to find ballo ballo beforehand so we’d know the way there after the live. Was about to google it but then a staff wearing the fade TEN tour shirt walked out so I asked him where it was. I think he was a bit taken aback but told us the directions and we found it! We had some cake/coffee/dessert there before heading to take Purikura.
We also met up with Yuuko, who I’d stood next to at Osaka, and we took Purikura again, all three of us.
And then it was back to WWW and queuing to enter! We met lots of people we knew online and said hello. It was nice seeing so many familiar faces. I was worried we couldn’t get good places cause we had LAWSON tickets and were entering after the FC ones (I’d originally not planned to come to the Final but Belle talked me into it and boy am I glad I listened to her), but we got great places in the end!! Yuuko had a spot next to her that no one was occupying so I stood there. The most right, in front of Kansei - the exact same spot as in Osaka. I wonder if the band recognized us or realized that.
Belle and I also discussed what to do about coordinating our shouts cause she didn’t want to stand in the front. In the end, she glowed and was really easy to spot to coordinating was a breeze. And I asked to take the Kansei Singapore flag to wave in hopes that he’d see it.
The screen was for a video, which started out with the tour merch, then fade family FC video - including international fan club and the Hawaii fc trip. Then fade came out!!! Jon last, as usual.
USTREAM cap from Karla
Jon: white long sleeved shirt with black blazer (with rhinestones at the collar/lapels), grey/dark jeans (slim/skinny cut IMO) and black sneakers (a bit worn out, ahaha)
Kansei: Black collared/button up shirt (rather loose), dark grey ribbed ¾ jeans, with black leggings underneath (somewhat shimmery) and boots.
Nori: blank tank top, military-print grunge pants, boots, knit cardigan over (dirty grey), two necklaces - one cross one and one dream catcher shape pendant. His hair was tied up with the fade hair tie (pink band)
Rui: Dark military-esque jacket (non-military print I think), shimmery black v-neck (like in Osaka), and pick pendant necklace (I think!)
Godo: black tank top, black pants, choker (which looks like a belt) and painted arms (on the right arm was the kanji “天”)
If you watched the Ustream, we’re pretty easy to spot - and during the breaks if you heard “rui-sama”, “Hentai Eskimo” and “Jon is sexy!” (Just as Jon was stripping off his blazer), yeah that was us. Also, you can totally see Belle’s glowing arms going “1, 2, 3” before we shout, ahaha!
Setlist:
1. Born Ready
2. Wake Up the World
3. From the Heart
4. Better Scarred
5. From the Inside Out
6. Under the Sun
7. It was you
8. Filter
9. In the end
10. One Reason
11. Break Away
12. Ever Free
13. Reimei
14. So Far Gone
15. コズミカリズム
Now just random bits and pieces I remember:
There was lots more Nori x Kansei interaction. They would play opposite each other and grin.
There was also one point where Jon put his arm around Nori. And he went to Godo’s side and also infront of rui.
They did the whole Welcome to the Snake Pit thing again, where Kansei would chug Jack Daniels. He joked that he wouldn't drink and save it for the After Party, to lot's of "EEEEEEEEHHHH??"s. This time he didn’t pour it into his tumbler and straight away drank it from the bottle, spilling quite a bit down his chest. Which then caused a little puddle on the floor…which Jon slipped on. Watching Jon slip makes you hold your breath and…phew, he didn’t fall. And in true frontman fashion the show went on as per normal and he asked a staff to clean it up.
Nori also came over to my side quite a bit and there was one time when he looked at me and grinned.
And then there was this REALLY adorable part during TEN when Jon went right up to Kansei and whispered into his ear. I couldn’t tell what he said but it looked like “I love …..?” and he did it twice.
And if you’ve watched the USTREAM you’ll know that the guys work the stage a lot. What wasn’t apparent was that rui was much closer than usual because the stage wasn’t as deep in, so I could see him a lot better. He’s got this very fire-y and passionate look when he’s drumming. Kansei also makes great faces when he’s on stage (so does Jon) and he’s just so amazing on guitar.
Nori and Kansei headbang during songs and how is it possible for them to headbang and yet have their hair fall messily into place and still look like perfection…?
There was lots of singing along again, to So Far Gone, Under The Sun, Beautiful…
During Beautiful, the Japanese fans behind me had linked arms/were holding on to each other and swaying and Miyuki-san beckoned me to join them and I did!
Encore 1:
1. Close to You
There was this one part where Jon stretched his hand out and the fans in the center reached out to try and touch him but she was just barely out of reach and it was obvious Jon was totally playing around cause he just held his hand there and then right at the end of the song when she was still reaching out for his hand he pulled back with a mischievous grin. That was really funny. And very Jon.
2. Ten
3. Beautiful
Encore 2: Kings of Dawn
Belle and I both got out our flags and waved it. Belle’s mom told me later that she’d been waving them earlier and I’d randomly waved them around in the short MCs (Belle too), but the guys hadn’t shown any indication that they’d seen it.
Belle said that supposedly she saw rui turn at look at my direction but I couldn’t see rui much because Kansei and Jon always blocked my view.
I thought Jon saw it and pointed at me, and when I checked the USTREAM he did point in my direction! I must say that I was SO HAPPY they played this live. I remember thinking before that seeing Kings of Dawn, Ever Free and TEN live would make my day. And they played ALL THREE at the final so I can die happy. Or not, because I still want to continue going for fade lives…!
I just waved the flag in hopes they’d see it and then right at the end Kansei reached down for it so I passed it to him and he happily waved it while walking out. I think my heart stopped beating right there and then and I was just stunned and amazed and so so so, happy. (And of course the USTREAM stopped RIGHT before this happened. Damn.) And then after that happened, the Japanese fans around me all gave me a small round of applause and told me I did well. That was so nice of them.
I also made faces to Belle and we flailed for a bit before leaving the venue to go to ballo ballo for the After Party. On the way out, the goods table was decorated with the flags from various STs: Russia, Poland and Finland.
After Party:
When we headed to ballo ballo there was a confusion over what to do because we had tickets and numbers on them but the numbers in the end didn’t matter because there were no tables. Everyone just went in and grabbed a place to sit. There was a smoking corner, a corner near the VIP section and just a few corners in the venue. It was pretty small so it was cozy but also rather crowded.
ballo ballo interior/exterior taken earlier
We waited around for the guys to come, getting drinks and checking out the goods while there was an explanation of what was going to happen. There was a Nexus web corner, and the staff saw me poke my head out to look and smiled and nodded. He explained it to me: It was basically you take a polaroid with their camera and write a message to fade. The fade band members would then choose polaroids to, I assume, feature on the site. And there was also a feedback form.
Belle and I hung around for a while then went to take a polaroid before the guys came. We posed with the Singapore flags and my cat paw and we wrote a message to them on the polaroid. And then pretty soon the guys entered the venue and they talked a bit: thanked us for coming and stuff, and then we had a group “kanpaaaai~” before the After Party officially began.
I’m referencing most of Belle’s report too, because my memories are all jumbled.
We talked to Kansei first and I passed him the presents I’d prepared (wrapped in Christmas paper and my sappy letters) and he went “Thank you Bernie” and I was flabbergasted because I’d only met him/them 3 times and he remembered me. (;A;) I’m pretty sure I exclaimed “Omg you remember my name!” then repeated that in Japanese and he repeated my name wither once or a few times. I don’t remember. It was REALLY hard to talk to Kansei cause Japanese fans were really pushy and kind of grabbed him away from us. We posed for a group photo with Kansei and I passed him my cat paw to put on. He then kept it on for a while, told me it’s cute, and thinking it was also a present for him, kept my cat paw. He passed it to the staff to keep for him and I didn’t have the heart to say I wanted it back. Before he left I asked if he heard Belle and I shout Hentai Eskimo and he did!
I think we went to Godo next, and we passed him the flag and chocs! Asked him if he remembered me from Ginan Rock Fest and he did! He even pointed out the exact moment when we’d met him ahaha. Then he saw the drawing in the choc bag and asked who drew it. Pointed to Belle and he said it’s nice/cute! Yay Belle!!
Then was Noriyuki…!! Passed him the flag and chocs and the picture from Akane. He said the Singapore flag was nostalgic! :D And he said it in Japanese too, ahaha. “懐かしいこれ。” We didn’t talk to Noriyuki much. I never know what to say to him and Godo…
AND THEN JON!!! Belle’s report was major adorable because she had been so so so nervous for the past few days about meeting Jon and we’d even ROLEPLAYED to try and prepare her to speak to him…!! So far all she’d managed was “Hi” and “I CAN’T!!!!” before bursting into a fit of giggles or burying her face in her hat. (She explains the whole situation so much better, though)
So Shannon came along as well and we all goaded her to talk to Jon. She’s really really shy!!! Jon was really nice and told her he’d seen her singing the whole night (she was really easy to spot and glowing, literally and figuratively!) and she plucked up the courage to ask for a hug!! And of course a huge moment like this cannot be missed so I called for the photographer… well, not exactly. I was kinda just calling out “SHASHIN SHASHIN! 写真！写真！” In Japanese for I don’t know what reason. Then she said she didn’t want to let go and Jon was such a sweetheart and said she didn’t have to. And encouraged her to grab onto his stomach really tight while taking the photo. He is so, so, so nice.
They got a really good photo together and Belle started telling him about his special gift, which he was a tad reluctant to promise to wear at first. But before he could receive it, he was asked to move on to the next group of fans. Which was understandable, so we went to find rui instead.
We passed him the flag and goodie bag with kit kats and explained the flag was so that Jon wouldn’t hoard all the flags presented to the group. To which rui agreed and said, to quote Belle’s report, “That guy keeps all the flags!!”
And to also just quote Belle’s report cause she words it well: Bernie then passed him his goodie bag and rui went, “Aw, man, with all the goodies you guys give us, I’m gonna grow fat!”
I (Belle) laughed and looked at his flat sweater-clad stomach. “No, dude, you look fine.”
Then at this point I realised I should GET THE GUYS TO SIGN THE FF LJ SIGN I’D PRINTED! I think I got Nori’s first, then Jon’s. I know I’d held up the sign to show him and he told me again great job on the LJ, and he gave me a high five!! He said he loved the site. Then when he signed it, he wrote my name but it wasn’t fair so I asked him to add Liz and Louise’s names. Then I got a hug with Jon too!
I think I got Godo’s next then Kansei’s. This time I asked Kansei for a hug and he said okay. Because he’s only a bit taller than me I think he leaned his head against mine but I can’t tell for sure. The photographer snapped a photo of it though. Then I told him my goal was to get a hug from him at every live I attend…. (oh gawd, why did I say that I sound like such a creeper now) and he said that’s great!
I got rui’s signature last and he’s much nicer that I expected. He has this scary DoS image and…well, I’m still intimidated by him. He signed it but the ink kinda splurted out so there was a blob of gold ink. I blotted it with tissue but it still smudged the hard A4 case. Then I got a photo with rui and the sign. He put his arm around he and cause he’s really huge and tall and stuff, he managed to envelope me and we posed for a photo with the sign. Then I asked for a hug because I’d seen him give other fans hugs. And he gave me a really nice one. I think he kind of pat my back. (His knit top was comfy.)
Somewhere or other I talked to Godo again, and asked him why he posts in all katakana. He mumbled something in Japanese and I said it’s so difficult! Then I asked if he was okay with English. He replied “Just a little.” in English. Then I asked him if he knew Lilith because she was always professing her love to him all over the internet and he said he does know her, with this happy tone in his voice and I told him to tweet more in English because she’d love it. He gave a chuckle. Ahhh, I wish my Japanese was better because it would be nice to talk to Godo more. He wasn’t as surrounded by fans as the others were, and sometimes he looked a litte…lonely, maybe?
And now you should read Alisa’s report because boy did she make the After Party super fun. A Japanese fan after that copied her idea and got Jon to sign her chest too. I hooted along as they signed different parts of her xD
And then the Acoustic live started! Small mishap before that - there was some clamouring and pushing because everyone was getting seated/finding a spot to watch the live and in that chaos, someone was trying to pass through behind us and I’d stepped on the person’s foot. …..and that person was rui. Qoueyq398ye08qhsihdjkbsjakfb and then after Belle told me she heard rui go “aaaaah” or like “gaaah” or like some exclamation that his foot hurt and I felt SO BAD.
(update: thanks to twitter, rui said he doesn’t even remember me stepping on his foot. “No worries!” and then I’m all “Good. Now I can stop worrying you have a secret vendetta against me…” yeah, he still intimidates me.)
Belle, her mom and I hung out at the side with Yuuko next to me on the other side. We swayed and sang along. Kansei had this pieces of paper stuck to his mic but they wouldn’t stay in place due to the air conditioning blowing on it. He mentioned that too.
I love Acoustic lives. I would pay good money for a fade Acoustic Album.
Set list (short, but good): Always and Forever, TEN, Face
TEN: everyone sang the “Can you feel it?” and “Can you see it?” bits.
At one point they talked about Hawaii so Belle and I did hula moves and Kansei saw and did it too, very briefly (which was really cute).
Jon’s voice kind of broke so he couldn’t reach the right key/note for the chorus of Always and Forever and when he transitioned it was quite funny cause he dropped to the lower note and it was really obvious so he kind of chuckled/laughed and some fans did too. After, he said he was tired from the set earlier. Which was very understandable. 20 songs…!! (He did sound a bit nasal earlier during the live though - but he was still as awesome as ever. Jon’s a great frontman.)
Then before Face, rui took over to play the guitar and Godo went into the VIP area to relax. There was this drunk guy who stood up and got us to clap along and kept saying “I love you!” or “I love Jon!” and Jon would laugh and repeat “I love you too”. Before Face started Jon explained how he was about to leave Japan, and how the other four had been a band with a different vocalist but then their vocalist left and they needed a new one. And Jon wasn’t really thinking of joining them but he gave the demo tape that rui made and passed him a listen…and the first song on that tape was “Face”.
He’d said before that Face has special meaning to him and the band, so the acoustic live was very special. Especially since it was on the 11th anniversary of their first solo tour. It was breath taking.
Then after, we took a group photo and then the band left. We waved bye to the guys as they left. Most of them just walked out the door with a wave, but Kansei came up to the fans right at the side/next to the cash register and shook/touched our hands. I managed to touch his hand then he saw me and gave me a pat on the shoulder/arm. That was really sweet of him. And he blew a kiss to us right before leaving.
Then I took pictures, and we were shoo-ed out of the venue. As we left, the old drunk guy was still there shouting stuff like “I LOVE YOU!” and other drunk guys were there saying random stuff too. It was funny, and I think I said random stuff back, at least to the guy in dreadlocks that was right next to me. Ahaha!
That night Belle and I just kept talking about fade over and over, and we were so drunk on everything (even though we didn’t drink at all!) and….just kind of sad it was all over.
with: Shannon, Alisa, Emiko-san, natu, Canna, Remy-san, Ayaka, Yuuko, Akane-san, Miyuki-san, sonrisa-san, Belle & her mom
Pretty much all people I've met on twitter/at lives thanks to fade
I’m not exaggerating when I say fade can take your breath away with just their music. They are that amazing. It’s like all I can think of to say is “amazing amazing amazing” over and over… I just really don’t know how to describe how it feels to be at a fade live.
And with the International FC and Major Debut next year, I hope more fans all over the world will get to experience what I have - the amazing energy and atmosphere and how their music just touches you inside and out and… I don’t know how to describe it. Their lyrics all have special sentimental reason and their songs are just testament of what fade is, and how far they have come…it’s like a transcription of their musical journey. You feel like they give so much and ask so little in return and you want to give and give and give till you can’t give anymore because you’ve given them your all.
“I can’t promise you the world but I will give you everything that I’ve got.”
“The day that fate brought us together, something in us started to breathe. Cause I could breathe, I could breathe, only you.”
***
Nothing is Impossible
Nothing is out of reach
Thank you for reading