TOUR 2007「天使のリボルバー」
So those live reports I never wrote can be found over at sparklingai's: http://sparklingai.livejournal.com/119232.html
XD (You should read that first, then this incoherent brain spew second.)
I got home feeling tired yesterday, but got all genki again after reading the live report. ^^; I sat here giggling randomly to myself like an idiot. Anyway, I thought I'd just fill in spots with some of my random memories and some stuff from Japanese reports.
The day of the Yokosuka show was wonderful. I felt that just the events before the Yokosuka show were already great and the show hadn't even started. For one, I got to meet two lj friends in real life. And the location of the show was lovely. The venue was a real opera house, and I really liked it. You could probably see well from any seat. There was this rose garden/park that lined the harbor there. A curry festival was also going on. We just sat in the park watching the water and the people. There was a small submarine with a Japanese flag on it! I was also highly amused that there was this building that said "Gun Shop" or something on it, but everyone knows guns are illegal in Japan. I swear it was there. I should have taken a picture. We stayed in the park until we couldn't bear the cold anymore, then went to hide from the wind inside Daiso. At one point, I think white_boot saw cars (that we think contained the band) drive into the parking garage which had guards stationed at the entrances. I only saw the guards running in after them. ^^; sparklingai and I had been distracted by a kitten. haha The staff guy who helped us pick up the tickets was so nice. I had to laugh to myself because he kept repeating "Canada" into his radio when he was asking about the tickets for us. We came back at the time he told us Fish Tank would be there, but since we couldn't get inside to the FT table, we weren't sure what to do. Just when we were looking around for someone to help us again (all the staff looked busy), he appeared again, walking toward us with the envelope of tickets in his hand already. Great timing! I didn't expect such personal service. lol Then, of course, opening the envelope and finding out our seats for both shows was a bit mind-blowing. It must have been white_boot magic. ^_^
「よこすかベイベー！」said Sakurai. The show itself was as sparklingai described it. The girl in front of us was great. She was completely just rocking out, and probably louder than even the 3 of us. XD The whole feel of that show was wonderful. The audience was really responsive and the band seemed in a really good mood. I just read in one japanese fan's report that they felt there was this feeling of oneness in the audience and with the band. They thought perhaps it might have been due to the lovely venue. Even Sakurai kept saying "subarashii" to us. That's how all shows should be. *_*
Imai was much bouncier and funny at this show than at Chiba, but then maybe it's because we were closer to his side this time and couldn't help but watch him. When they came out for the first encore minus Sakurai, Imai said something like, "Ja, sawayaka na kyoku wo," and started playing sort of a calm, tropical lounge melody for a few seconds before launching into SID VICIOUS. ^^; (A couple reports noted that he also said, "hula dance odotte kudasai," but I don't remember.) Sakurai was more erotic throughout this live whereas I felt he was more crazy for the first half of the Chiba live. He seemed to have all these separate props prepared in Yokosuka. XD He had props in Chiba too but not as many. There was cane-riding at both lives. >.> He also had all these little dances for some of the songs, and would pose and act out some of the lyrics. During Tight Rope, when he sang "boku ha tsuna wo wataru" he pretended to balance and walk on a tight rope. During Rain, when he sang "waraenai pierrot", he did this pose and with just his hands and face he really conveyed a pierrot! There was also the Zekkai flamenco. heehee There were also a lot of other things that I unfortunately don't remember now.
Chiba. 4th row. This crazy noisy jazz was playing before the show and making us even more nervous and anxious than we already were. I feel lucky just to be able to see a band I love. I have no lofty goal of ever meeting them, and I never imagined I'd ever get to be that close. (Thank you L & C ♥) I saw 3rd row seats to the CC Lemon show in Shibuya go for a mind-boggling amount on Yahoo auctions. Sometimes you just get lucky. Gyaa~ I was so antsy and nervous. It's like a dream now, and I hardly believe it happened. We managed to get interesting fans in front of us at both shows. But let's ignore the dead fish fan for a moment and talk about the fan two seats over from her who was the exact opposite! This lady was hardcore! lol She even brought her young daughter who was dressed up as Alice and a rose for the band. Unlike the dancin' rockin' Yokosuka fan, this lady was older and very...devout. Watching her was like watching someone at a religious service or gospel hour. She'd conduct and gesture with fervor! She didn't care what anyone thought. It was cute and an interesting juxtaposition to the fish. In the East as in the West, BT fans cover a wide spectrum. ^^;;
I have to say that I was totally in love with Acchan's tieless black suit at this show. It reminded me a bit of his clothes for the Osaka show during the Somewhere Nowhere tour, except that he had a black vest rather than suspenders and a red kerchief in his front coat pocket. Sometimes I wonder if he really looks as good in real life as he does in photos that had good editing and camera work. I mean he is over 40. But no, he really is just aging well. He really is that good looking. Of course there have been photos and vids where he looked a bit sickly or you could start to see the age in his face, but I think in the past year or two, he looks particularly well and healthy. (I'd like to bow in thanks to the Missus!) Imai, I love you but please shave. XD I'm kidding. On one hand you realize he's just a man, but on the other, he really is larger than life. Now Hide looked really good close up too! Forgive me, I'm obsessed with Hide at the moment. The 3 of us really admired Hide's longish coat. He didn't seem to do much at the Yokosuka show, often just following Imai's lead. But this time, he was all over the place. Our seats were right at the far right edge next to the walkway along the wall. The first time Hide came by, (maybe I just imagined this but) our eyes met and I made myself not look away. I had this huge smile on my face. It seemed to last a long time. The thought kind of freaks me out now. o_o (how embarrassing) He was probably thinking, who is this crazy girl? Or rather, these 3 crazy smiley girls all in a row, hands in the air, goading him on. He came down the side pretty often, which we really appreciated. I hope he could tell. Despite being so close, we were well-behaved unlike some fans that would rush the side.
*warning: rant time* The moment I was waiting for my *whole life* D: (yes I'm exaggerating), Acchan walking towards me, and they scared him away! lol No really, he attempted to walk down the right side only once but they wouldn't leave him be. He got within about 10 feet of us for about 3 seconds before he turned around to escape. Poor man! Just as he was trying to get past the narrow space in front of all the equipment, he stumbled from all the grabby hands and didn't finish the line he was singing. -_-; Did they really think they could take him home? Is it so worth it to just touch his pant leg that you'd interrupt his performance? Well, touching is one thing, but holding on? Please people, return to reality. *end ranting*
Anyway, he didn't try to come down the side again. Too dangerous. Actually, the front row was close enough to the stage that those people could touch the band, too. Left of center, Sakurai knelt down in front of the front row and touched people's hands. This was kind of lovely to watch until someone got too excited and wouldn't let go. He snatched his hand back and appeared to slap the offending hand! Whether in jest or not, I couldn't tell. XD Imai mostly stuck to his side and the left walkway, but he braved the walkway beside us twice, leg-shaking his way out of the grabbing hands. The fact that he came down our way for the last song (SPEED), and bounced in unison with all of us on that side, was an awesome way to end the show. He's so funny though, because through all this he kept that cool look on his face. haha U-Ta came by once to throw out picks but that's it. Ani didn't come our way but at the end he handed someone a signed drumhead. His low "Mata ssu" followed by U-Ta's higher "Mata ssu" was so cute. >.<;
One thing about being that close is that the ground starts to level out and it's harder to see if you're short. ^^; Another thing is the sound, even though it was so loud, I could really hear Sakurai's voice well, it's rawness. He might not have the greatest singing voice in the world but he hit all of his notes. Nary a bum note. Maybe once or twice it caught in his throat, but you wouldn't notice. And if you did, it just added to the character and emotion of his singing style. I think that's his real strength, though. The feeling and sincerity with which he sings. I think I felt this the most during snow white. At Yokosuka, snow white left an impression, too, but I remember mostly the wonderful lights and Sakurai's movements and actions. At Chiba, I really, really tried to just listen to his voice. I found myself overwhelmed and I had to look over at sparklingai to make sure I wasn't the only one. Thinking about it now still makes me feel doki doki. All the songs seemed memorable at the time, but somehow snow white is the one that stands out in my mind the most now.
I wish I could still remember all the little details that I wanted to write. But there was so much that I guess I had to wait until it all condensed in my brain before I could write something without it turning into a huge novel. Sorry this isn't as detailed and organized as the Fest report. I'd like to always give thorough reports like that, including all the info I find on the net. I enjoy doing it, but it's too much work. XD Maybe next time, if there's a next time. ^_^
When The Pixies did a reunion tour, they sold live cd-r's of that day's performance right after each show. So there's a professional document of each one, sold in a limited quantity to the fans that attended on that particular day. I wish Buck-Tick did something similar. I'd love a video DVD-R. XD Even if it was simple and the camera didn't move around and it was just one looong shot of the stage. (Not possible?) But even a sound-only recording on CD-R would be a great memento. ^_^ I suppose their label/management wouldn't be too happy about that sort of thing, though.
This person recalls the MCs pretty well from both shows:
http://diarynote.jp/d/48498/20071118.html
http://diarynote.jp/d/48498/20071128.html
Wow, I wrote a lot more than I intended. o_o
edit: I think this person has been writing about every show. o_o
Yokosuka: http://deracine.cocolog-wbs.com/blog/2007/11/post_e2a3.html
Chiba: http://deracine.cocolog-wbs.com/blog/2007/11/post_bf60.html
edit: sorry, I keep editing. ^^; so many run-on sentences...
XD (You should read that first, then this incoherent brain spew second.)
I got home feeling tired yesterday, but got all genki again after reading the live report. ^^; I sat here giggling randomly to myself like an idiot. Anyway, I thought I'd just fill in spots with some of my random memories and some stuff from Japanese reports.
The day of the Yokosuka show was wonderful. I felt that just the events before the Yokosuka show were already great and the show hadn't even started. For one, I got to meet two lj friends in real life. And the location of the show was lovely. The venue was a real opera house, and I really liked it. You could probably see well from any seat. There was this rose garden/park that lined the harbor there. A curry festival was also going on. We just sat in the park watching the water and the people. There was a small submarine with a Japanese flag on it! I was also highly amused that there was this building that said "Gun Shop" or something on it, but everyone knows guns are illegal in Japan. I swear it was there. I should have taken a picture. We stayed in the park until we couldn't bear the cold anymore, then went to hide from the wind inside Daiso. At one point, I think white_boot saw cars (that we think contained the band) drive into the parking garage which had guards stationed at the entrances. I only saw the guards running in after them. ^^; sparklingai and I had been distracted by a kitten. haha The staff guy who helped us pick up the tickets was so nice. I had to laugh to myself because he kept repeating "Canada" into his radio when he was asking about the tickets for us. We came back at the time he told us Fish Tank would be there, but since we couldn't get inside to the FT table, we weren't sure what to do. Just when we were looking around for someone to help us again (all the staff looked busy), he appeared again, walking toward us with the envelope of tickets in his hand already. Great timing! I didn't expect such personal service. lol Then, of course, opening the envelope and finding out our seats for both shows was a bit mind-blowing. It must have been white_boot magic. ^_^
「よこすかベイベー！」said Sakurai. The show itself was as sparklingai described it. The girl in front of us was great. She was completely just rocking out, and probably louder than even the 3 of us. XD The whole feel of that show was wonderful. The audience was really responsive and the band seemed in a really good mood. I just read in one japanese fan's report that they felt there was this feeling of oneness in the audience and with the band. They thought perhaps it might have been due to the lovely venue. Even Sakurai kept saying "subarashii" to us. That's how all shows should be. *_*
Imai was much bouncier and funny at this show than at Chiba, but then maybe it's because we were closer to his side this time and couldn't help but watch him. When they came out for the first encore minus Sakurai, Imai said something like, "Ja, sawayaka na kyoku wo," and started playing sort of a calm, tropical lounge melody for a few seconds before launching into SID VICIOUS. ^^; (A couple reports noted that he also said, "hula dance odotte kudasai," but I don't remember.) Sakurai was more erotic throughout this live whereas I felt he was more crazy for the first half of the Chiba live. He seemed to have all these separate props prepared in Yokosuka. XD He had props in Chiba too but not as many. There was cane-riding at both lives. >.> He also had all these little dances for some of the songs, and would pose and act out some of the lyrics. During Tight Rope, when he sang "boku ha tsuna wo wataru" he pretended to balance and walk on a tight rope. During Rain, when he sang "waraenai pierrot", he did this pose and with just his hands and face he really conveyed a pierrot! There was also the Zekkai flamenco. heehee There were also a lot of other things that I unfortunately don't remember now.
Chiba. 4th row. This crazy noisy jazz was playing before the show and making us even more nervous and anxious than we already were. I feel lucky just to be able to see a band I love. I have no lofty goal of ever meeting them, and I never imagined I'd ever get to be that close. (Thank you L & C ♥) I saw 3rd row seats to the CC Lemon show in Shibuya go for a mind-boggling amount on Yahoo auctions. Sometimes you just get lucky. Gyaa~ I was so antsy and nervous. It's like a dream now, and I hardly believe it happened. We managed to get interesting fans in front of us at both shows. But let's ignore the dead fish fan for a moment and talk about the fan two seats over from her who was the exact opposite! This lady was hardcore! lol She even brought her young daughter who was dressed up as Alice and a rose for the band. Unlike the dancin' rockin' Yokosuka fan, this lady was older and very...devout. Watching her was like watching someone at a religious service or gospel hour. She'd conduct and gesture with fervor! She didn't care what anyone thought. It was cute and an interesting juxtaposition to the fish. In the East as in the West, BT fans cover a wide spectrum. ^^;;
I have to say that I was totally in love with Acchan's tieless black suit at this show. It reminded me a bit of his clothes for the Osaka show during the Somewhere Nowhere tour, except that he had a black vest rather than suspenders and a red kerchief in his front coat pocket. Sometimes I wonder if he really looks as good in real life as he does in photos that had good editing and camera work. I mean he is over 40. But no, he really is just aging well. He really is that good looking. Of course there have been photos and vids where he looked a bit sickly or you could start to see the age in his face, but I think in the past year or two, he looks particularly well and healthy. (I'd like to bow in thanks to the Missus!) Imai, I love you but please shave. XD I'm kidding. On one hand you realize he's just a man, but on the other, he really is larger than life. Now Hide looked really good close up too! Forgive me, I'm obsessed with Hide at the moment. The 3 of us really admired Hide's longish coat. He didn't seem to do much at the Yokosuka show, often just following Imai's lead. But this time, he was all over the place. Our seats were right at the far right edge next to the walkway along the wall. The first time Hide came by, (maybe I just imagined this but) our eyes met and I made myself not look away. I had this huge smile on my face. It seemed to last a long time. The thought kind of freaks me out now. o_o (how embarrassing) He was probably thinking, who is this crazy girl? Or rather, these 3 crazy smiley girls all in a row, hands in the air, goading him on. He came down the side pretty often, which we really appreciated. I hope he could tell. Despite being so close, we were well-behaved unlike some fans that would rush the side.
*warning: rant time* The moment I was waiting for my *whole life* D: (yes I'm exaggerating), Acchan walking towards me, and they scared him away! lol No really, he attempted to walk down the right side only once but they wouldn't leave him be. He got within about 10 feet of us for about 3 seconds before he turned around to escape. Poor man! Just as he was trying to get past the narrow space in front of all the equipment, he stumbled from all the grabby hands and didn't finish the line he was singing. -_-; Did they really think they could take him home? Is it so worth it to just touch his pant leg that you'd interrupt his performance? Well, touching is one thing, but holding on? Please people, return to reality. *end ranting*
Anyway, he didn't try to come down the side again. Too dangerous. Actually, the front row was close enough to the stage that those people could touch the band, too. Left of center, Sakurai knelt down in front of the front row and touched people's hands. This was kind of lovely to watch until someone got too excited and wouldn't let go. He snatched his hand back and appeared to slap the offending hand! Whether in jest or not, I couldn't tell. XD Imai mostly stuck to his side and the left walkway, but he braved the walkway beside us twice, leg-shaking his way out of the grabbing hands. The fact that he came down our way for the last song (SPEED), and bounced in unison with all of us on that side, was an awesome way to end the show. He's so funny though, because through all this he kept that cool look on his face. haha U-Ta came by once to throw out picks but that's it. Ani didn't come our way but at the end he handed someone a signed drumhead. His low "Mata ssu" followed by U-Ta's higher "Mata ssu" was so cute. >.<;
One thing about being that close is that the ground starts to level out and it's harder to see if you're short. ^^; Another thing is the sound, even though it was so loud, I could really hear Sakurai's voice well, it's rawness. He might not have the greatest singing voice in the world but he hit all of his notes. Nary a bum note. Maybe once or twice it caught in his throat, but you wouldn't notice. And if you did, it just added to the character and emotion of his singing style. I think that's his real strength, though. The feeling and sincerity with which he sings. I think I felt this the most during snow white. At Yokosuka, snow white left an impression, too, but I remember mostly the wonderful lights and Sakurai's movements and actions. At Chiba, I really, really tried to just listen to his voice. I found myself overwhelmed and I had to look over at sparklingai to make sure I wasn't the only one. Thinking about it now still makes me feel doki doki. All the songs seemed memorable at the time, but somehow snow white is the one that stands out in my mind the most now.
I wish I could still remember all the little details that I wanted to write. But there was so much that I guess I had to wait until it all condensed in my brain before I could write something without it turning into a huge novel. Sorry this isn't as detailed and organized as the Fest report. I'd like to always give thorough reports like that, including all the info I find on the net. I enjoy doing it, but it's too much work. XD Maybe next time, if there's a next time. ^_^
When The Pixies did a reunion tour, they sold live cd-r's of that day's performance right after each show. So there's a professional document of each one, sold in a limited quantity to the fans that attended on that particular day. I wish Buck-Tick did something similar. I'd love a video DVD-R. XD Even if it was simple and the camera didn't move around and it was just one looong shot of the stage. (Not possible?) But even a sound-only recording on CD-R would be a great memento. ^_^ I suppose their label/management wouldn't be too happy about that sort of thing, though.
This person recalls the MCs pretty well from both shows:
http://diarynote.jp/d/48498/20071118.html
http://diarynote.jp/d/48498/20071128.html
Wow, I wrote a lot more than I intended. o_o
edit: I think this person has been writing about every show. o_o
Yokosuka: http://deracine.cocolog-wbs.com/blog/2007/11/post_e2a3.html
Chiba: http://deracine.cocolog-wbs.com/blog/2007/11/post_bf60.html
edit: sorry, I keep editing. ^^; so many run-on sentences...