Concert Report; Potato: May 2006
Translator's notes: Not as much effort in translating the articles in the next few as the SWITCH article, so there are possibly mistakes and definitely inconsistancies between them. But the words are kinda just there to justify the pictures, so yeah... A few links have been included for explanation purposes. Pictures are there for the taking.
Photos: Keigo Kokonoe
Text: Tomoko Bashomatsu
TOKIO 'Ashita wo Mezashite!' LIVE TOUR!! 2006
March 12th, 4pm. Nihon Budokan is the arena. The 1st and 2nd floors are packed. TOKIO appeared in front of the excited fans ready to party! We present you with a report of the tour of their 12th year!
I can't say "Thank you" enough!
The clapping in the hall joins the first notes of 'for you'. Penlight flowers sway in the dark seats. As they take their places by their instruments, the lights fall on each member in turn. Taichi plays his keyboard. Mabo starts playing his drums. Leader's cutting layers onto it, Tatsuya's song joins in, Tomoya sings as he plays his guitar. To the left, strings; to the right, brass. All the other concerts had opened with surprise and a dynamic set. This time with the intention of "Having everyone hear us as a band," it's very simple.
Leader is in all black and wearing sunglasses. His outfit's image is apparently "Choi waru oyaji." In the MC later on, Tomoya said, "'for you' is a refreshing song and you're wearing an outfit like a chainmail with rough boots." To this Leader replied happily, "I bought these boots myself. In Shibuya."
The second song is 'Boku no Renaijijo to Daidokorojijo' written by Leader. The third song is 'Ashita wo Mezashite!' written by Tomoya. Tatsuya's harmony is beautiful; Tomoya's voice as he yells out "Let's rock!" is husky. The rehearsal time for this tour was the shortest ever, and the producers, who heard from Tomoya "I don't know if my voice will hold," were a bit worried. The other members and Tomoya must have been worried as well. But hearing their sound blew all worries away. "This next song was written by our drummer, Matsuoka," said Tomoya. "It's a gamble song," Mabo said bashfully. "And after that is Gussan's song." And Tatsuya said, "It's a song about being so hungry you can't help it. If you don't jump, I'll get mad. Guests with children, throw your kids in the air." making everyone laugh. Mabo quickly responded, 'They're not Ei-chan's towels." Mabo's 'No More Bet' is just like him, a rock with moody lyrics and the sax goes great with it. 'Starving Man' is just like Tatsuya, upbeat rock. The mood relaxes with 'Hummingbird' and 'Save As...' With 'AMBITIOUS JAPAN', Nagase moves around the Budokan, getting everyone to sing along. Taichi plays his keyboard with a huge smile on his face. There are no magic tricks, no dancing. Just music, and they don't let us get bored one bit.
After the eighth song, it's time for their famous long MC. Mabo, wearing a leopard print jacket, greets everyone, "Welcome to the Budokan, Juliet." He went on, "My friends came to watch and told me 'Wow, you can play the drums.' We can actually play instruments, so we would like everyone to not forget that we are a real band." The day before, Tomoya, Taichi and Tatsuya's moms came to the concert. "Yamaguchi's mom is powerful. I thought she was Ito Midori."(Taichi) "Leader's mom calls her son Shigechanman."(Tatsuya) As the members talk about their moms, it sounds like their everyday conversations. I laughed so hard my stomach hurt. The subject changed to the food Mabo brings to the concert every year. Today was motsunikomi that he stewed for a week. He announced that next week he would bring curry.
Here Nagase said, "We'd like to present you with an acoustic song. It's a song we like. This will be the first time playing in front of you." It is 'Sunset, Sunrise'. Taichi stopped at the intro, "Sorry. Can we start again? It's our first time and I'm nervous." and they started again. Mabo on bongo drums, Tatsuya with a tambourine. The atmosphere was relaxed. Tatsuya even announced "We're doing an acoustic concert in the summer."
We were put into total shock by the tenth song. Tatsuya's Chopper, his low bass solo continues, the sound is intense. Before we could shake it off, 'Uwasa no Kiss' starts. Nagase has a guitar solo on the second stage.
Next is 'Symphonic.' Taichi's solo is heartfelt and careful. The green lasers wrap the hall with a spacey feel; Nagase was standing where the white light from the right and the white light from the left intersect. Taking his time, Tomoya sings a full chorus of 'Kimi wo Omou toki' a cappella. The beautiful harmony of the strings blends in. Goosebumps.
The thirteenth song. Leaders plays 'Amazing Grace' on his guitar like Jimmy Hendrix. A performance with just an electric guitar and a cello. Goosebumps again! The chocking sound sinks in. Who would have guessed this would lead into 'Joshima SONG 2006'. While we are overwhelmed, a change-up. They make us laugh with their unique member introductions.
Heading towards the end, they rouse up the crowd with 'Otokotachi no Melody' 'Transistor G Girl' and 'T2'. For 'Transistor G Girl' Taichi has a guitar solo on the substage. Tomoya yells "Undo one more screw in your heads for us!" as he runs around. Tomoya plays the blues harp. Leader's arms as he plays his solo are buff.
With a bit of time in between songs, Tomoya talks. "We've come back to the Budokan after about a year and we are surprised by your power..." "We really love the Nihon Budokan, and we really..."choked with emotion, his words stop. "The four days at the Budokan are really fantastic. We thank each and every one of you. When we got number one on the Oricon charts early this year, I felt I could see us 20 years from now"...Tomoya wrings out his voice. He repeats, "No matter how many times we thank you, it isn't enough." "Please listen to the song that became number one because of you." And then 'Mr. Traveling Man'. Mabo's drums were right on and it was a perfect final.
They answer the calls for an encore with two more songs. And finish with 'Ashita wo Mezashite' again.
Tatsuya "I think that the state of our concerts has gotten better over the ten years since our debut. It really is a lot of fun. We'll be doing an acoustic concert under my charge, so yoroshiku!" Taichi "It's been sooo much fun! I want this happiness to go for the rest of my life, so Nagase said he could see us 20 years from now, but 30 years and 40 years from now. I want to keep having the best concerts, so I hope you all stay with us!" Mabo "Our sound became one. And as I played the drums everyone's sound rang in my body. It's been great inspiration!" Shigeru "I would love it if TOKIO's concerts become everyone's Sunday in their hearts. Please let TOKIO continue to be by your side!"
Nagase "Amazing. This concert is one of the best we have ever done. It's a shame such a concert tour only happens once a year. Let's do it again with the same people!" The words "Thank you" weren't enough for Tomoya who went to shake the hand of fans on the first floor. While the fans sang along to ‘Ashita wo Mezashite!’ that flowed in the hall, the 5 of them took hands as Shigeru said "We're TOKIO!" 6:45pm, the calls for a double encore won't stop. They make us feel that this was the best concert ever, time after time. Everyone probably knows how hard it is to pull that off.
Photos: Keigo Kokonoe
Text: Tomoko Bashomatsu
TOKIO 'Ashita wo Mezashite!' LIVE TOUR!! 2006
March 12th, 4pm. Nihon Budokan is the arena. The 1st and 2nd floors are packed. TOKIO appeared in front of the excited fans ready to party! We present you with a report of the tour of their 12th year!
I can't say "Thank you" enough!
The clapping in the hall joins the first notes of 'for you'. Penlight flowers sway in the dark seats. As they take their places by their instruments, the lights fall on each member in turn. Taichi plays his keyboard. Mabo starts playing his drums. Leader's cutting layers onto it, Tatsuya's song joins in, Tomoya sings as he plays his guitar. To the left, strings; to the right, brass. All the other concerts had opened with surprise and a dynamic set. This time with the intention of "Having everyone hear us as a band," it's very simple.
Leader is in all black and wearing sunglasses. His outfit's image is apparently "Choi waru oyaji." In the MC later on, Tomoya said, "'for you' is a refreshing song and you're wearing an outfit like a chainmail with rough boots." To this Leader replied happily, "I bought these boots myself. In Shibuya."
The second song is 'Boku no Renaijijo to Daidokorojijo' written by Leader. The third song is 'Ashita wo Mezashite!' written by Tomoya. Tatsuya's harmony is beautiful; Tomoya's voice as he yells out "Let's rock!" is husky. The rehearsal time for this tour was the shortest ever, and the producers, who heard from Tomoya "I don't know if my voice will hold," were a bit worried. The other members and Tomoya must have been worried as well. But hearing their sound blew all worries away. "This next song was written by our drummer, Matsuoka," said Tomoya. "It's a gamble song," Mabo said bashfully. "And after that is Gussan's song." And Tatsuya said, "It's a song about being so hungry you can't help it. If you don't jump, I'll get mad. Guests with children, throw your kids in the air." making everyone laugh. Mabo quickly responded, 'They're not Ei-chan's towels." Mabo's 'No More Bet' is just like him, a rock with moody lyrics and the sax goes great with it. 'Starving Man' is just like Tatsuya, upbeat rock. The mood relaxes with 'Hummingbird' and 'Save As...' With 'AMBITIOUS JAPAN', Nagase moves around the Budokan, getting everyone to sing along. Taichi plays his keyboard with a huge smile on his face. There are no magic tricks, no dancing. Just music, and they don't let us get bored one bit.
After the eighth song, it's time for their famous long MC. Mabo, wearing a leopard print jacket, greets everyone, "Welcome to the Budokan, Juliet." He went on, "My friends came to watch and told me 'Wow, you can play the drums.' We can actually play instruments, so we would like everyone to not forget that we are a real band." The day before, Tomoya, Taichi and Tatsuya's moms came to the concert. "Yamaguchi's mom is powerful. I thought she was Ito Midori."(Taichi) "Leader's mom calls her son Shigechanman."(Tatsuya) As the members talk about their moms, it sounds like their everyday conversations. I laughed so hard my stomach hurt. The subject changed to the food Mabo brings to the concert every year. Today was motsunikomi that he stewed for a week. He announced that next week he would bring curry.
Here Nagase said, "We'd like to present you with an acoustic song. It's a song we like. This will be the first time playing in front of you." It is 'Sunset, Sunrise'. Taichi stopped at the intro, "Sorry. Can we start again? It's our first time and I'm nervous." and they started again. Mabo on bongo drums, Tatsuya with a tambourine. The atmosphere was relaxed. Tatsuya even announced "We're doing an acoustic concert in the summer."
We were put into total shock by the tenth song. Tatsuya's Chopper, his low bass solo continues, the sound is intense. Before we could shake it off, 'Uwasa no Kiss' starts. Nagase has a guitar solo on the second stage.
Next is 'Symphonic.' Taichi's solo is heartfelt and careful. The green lasers wrap the hall with a spacey feel; Nagase was standing where the white light from the right and the white light from the left intersect. Taking his time, Tomoya sings a full chorus of 'Kimi wo Omou toki' a cappella. The beautiful harmony of the strings blends in. Goosebumps.
The thirteenth song. Leaders plays 'Amazing Grace' on his guitar like Jimmy Hendrix. A performance with just an electric guitar and a cello. Goosebumps again! The chocking sound sinks in. Who would have guessed this would lead into 'Joshima SONG 2006'. While we are overwhelmed, a change-up. They make us laugh with their unique member introductions.
Heading towards the end, they rouse up the crowd with 'Otokotachi no Melody' 'Transistor G Girl' and 'T2'. For 'Transistor G Girl' Taichi has a guitar solo on the substage. Tomoya yells "Undo one more screw in your heads for us!" as he runs around. Tomoya plays the blues harp. Leader's arms as he plays his solo are buff.
With a bit of time in between songs, Tomoya talks. "We've come back to the Budokan after about a year and we are surprised by your power..." "We really love the Nihon Budokan, and we really..."choked with emotion, his words stop. "The four days at the Budokan are really fantastic. We thank each and every one of you. When we got number one on the Oricon charts early this year, I felt I could see us 20 years from now"...Tomoya wrings out his voice. He repeats, "No matter how many times we thank you, it isn't enough." "Please listen to the song that became number one because of you." And then 'Mr. Traveling Man'. Mabo's drums were right on and it was a perfect final.
They answer the calls for an encore with two more songs. And finish with 'Ashita wo Mezashite' again.
Tatsuya "I think that the state of our concerts has gotten better over the ten years since our debut. It really is a lot of fun. We'll be doing an acoustic concert under my charge, so yoroshiku!" Taichi "It's been sooo much fun! I want this happiness to go for the rest of my life, so Nagase said he could see us 20 years from now, but 30 years and 40 years from now. I want to keep having the best concerts, so I hope you all stay with us!" Mabo "Our sound became one. And as I played the drums everyone's sound rang in my body. It's been great inspiration!" Shigeru "I would love it if TOKIO's concerts become everyone's Sunday in their hearts. Please let TOKIO continue to be by your side!"
Nagase "Amazing. This concert is one of the best we have ever done. It's a shame such a concert tour only happens once a year. Let's do it again with the same people!" The words "Thank you" weren't enough for Tomoya who went to shake the hand of fans on the first floor. While the fans sang along to ‘Ashita wo Mezashite!’ that flowed in the hall, the 5 of them took hands as Shigeru said "We're TOKIO!" 6:45pm, the calls for a double encore won't stop. They make us feel that this was the best concert ever, time after time. Everyone probably knows how hard it is to pull that off.