Arashi Blast in Miyagi Concert Report for September 19th, Saturday
It's time for Blast in Miyagi!
We arrived in Sendai this morning by shinkansen! jun_yumemakura and boblemon are with me, but we met friends on the train and in the station. 5 of us are staying together in a little house close to the station. It's a really cute place.
Our shuttle bus was for noon. We walked over to the station and followed the long line of fans. They had signs and staff around to help.
We lined up from before noon and it took half an hour to get on a shuttle bus. In line, we randomly got interviewed by a newspaper guy. The seats were comfortable as long as you weren't in the middle aisle.
The ride was a little under the scheduled 50 minutes. We started to walk around the stadium in search of the food booths. There were long lines everywhere and it was hard to move around because of all the people. And it felt like the middle of summer!
Three of us stood in a shaved ice line for an hour while two of us went to try and find other friends. Getting in was also confusing because the lines were a nightmare. (Edit: I'm really glad they got better as the days went by. There were no real big problems by the last day.)
Our seats were upstairs. The stage was split into a 6 pointed star. There was a large silver ball in the shape of the Miyagi logo, complete with a crown. It was hanging directly over center stage, attached to wires from many sides.
The normal Arashi logo spun around on the screens and rocked back and forth. The concert started a little late. (About ten minutes.) Most likely because there were still many people trying to enter the stadium.
Here we go!
The logo, dressed in Hawaiian style, was on a beach. It welcomed us in English to Arashi's Blast. "Are you ready? Let the show begin!"
The images shifted to outer space, then into water where a fish was swimming. Ohno fished it out, smiling for us. It was interesting that all the images were in a watercolor painting style and only focused into real images for each member for their introduction for a few seconds. It shifted to a bird flying, right passed Aiba who was cooking with a Chinese wok. For some very random reason, Sho put something in his pocket and the words "zunda" were around, for zunda mochi. (Crushed soy bean sweets famous in Miyagi) Nino drove onto the screen in a cart, sort of like the ones from Mario cart. The cart changed to a car and there was Jun putting on sunglasses.
The "Arashi" members appeared at the top of the stage, looking down on us from above the screens. The screens showed prerecorded scenes of each member. I know because when they jumped off on to a lower ledge, they reappeared at the edges of each point of the stage within seconds.
They had blue very sparkly jackets on. The first number was "Wild At Heart". Aiba was out by us, waving enthusiastically. Fireworks shot out during "Pikanchi". They performed the whole dance and the screens were decorated with scratches.
The hanging crowned logo lowered down to where they were at center stage. The staff pulled off the outer sheet, leaving only the crown and a thin platform. Arashi hopped onto it, facing outwards and strapped themselves to it so they wouldn't fall off. For "Happiness" and "Troublemaker", they rose up and flew over the crowd. It wasn't only back and forward! The platform could move around freely, above the arena and part of the lower stands. They got quite close too!
They lowered back down for "Love Rainbow". Aiba was sweating buckets as he screamed out "Miyagi! Are you ready?!" As they walked to main stage, I noticed the live band, Mount Blast. Water was shot high up, all along the edge of the stage. After "Aozora no Shita, Kimi no Tanari", they did their greetings.
But they were rather different.
Each member imitated another members usual style!
Aiba did his in Jun's style.
A: Hey! Yeah! It's been a while since we've been here! Are you ready to have fun?! Are you ready to be happy?! Well, we're ready to make all 50,000 of you happy!
He ran off stage quickly to get ready.
S: Irasshaimase! x3 (Welcome! Welcome! Welcome!) (But while waving his hand like Ohno's "Hi! Hi! Hi!" from Digitalian) More! Louder!
N: Ne, ne, ne! He said it wasn't enough! More! More! You guys are awesome! (Giving a wink and running off)
Jun touched his tie and glanced almost nervously to his right. Perhaps mentally preparing himself?
J: Hi! Hi! Hi! (In a rather high voice) It's been a while but we've come back to Miyagi! Are you ready for the usual?! It's a Miyagi Festival-"
He held out his mic for us to yell "dei!".
J: Yoroshiku!
Ohno was smiling cutely as he stepped forward.
O: How are you doing, Miyagi?! Everybody at the top! Everybody down low! Are you ready?! Can you do it?! Shout it out!! Say Arashi! Arashi! Arashi! Okay. Let's get the party started!! Yoroshiku!
He did this funny rap style aloha sign.
Five logos appeared on the screen welcoming us again. The logos matched the members colors and bounced around when they talked.
O: It's been since 2007, our "Time" tour, almost 8 years ago that we were last in Miyagi.
S: We're so happy you came all the way out here.
A: This is the first time to perform in this place. It really gets us excited.
N: We want to show you Arashi, how we've progressed from the beginning until now.
J: We've picked solo songs from our past albums, 2007 and on.
They started arguing over who would go first. Aiba's green mark shoved everyone's out of the way and he said, "Okay, I'll go first!" We laughed when the logo face changed to the soap Bocchan logo. "Nandeyanen!"
A: I'm ready!
In the short opening video, he was getting dressed up in front of a mirror, wearing a white suit, then sunglasses, then wigs.
He performed "Janakute" (2011) in a blue shirt and ripped jeans, holding a bouquet of red roses. We cheered loudly when he stepped on the chairs lined up on the stage and tipped them over, one by one. Tossing the flowers aside, he danced cute moves. Acting as if he was waiting for a call from his girl, he was let down in the end, and left the stage.
Nino was next, reading a letter from his Mom who was surprised about hearing that song the first time, which lead to his 2013 solo, "20825 Nichi Me". He brought out a guitar and sang at the main stage. However, he messed up the lyrics. We laughed and Nino made a face. Once he finished, he announced to us, "I didn't get it wrong. (We laughed) You weren't cheering enough, so you just heard it wrong. Louder! Louder!"
From behind him came Jun, pointing at Nino and making an "unbelievable" face.
Nino quickly changed his jacket on stage and joined the others for "Oh Yeah".
The small round platforms raised up, Sho on our side.
S: Are you having fun?
There was a ton of water shooting up under the raised platforms too.
They switched from hand mics to ear mics for "Kotoba Yori".
In "Zero G", they warped the screens, but it was almost too much to be able to watch Arashi dance.
The next VTR was about what Arashi wanted to do to support Miyagi. They showed a few scenes of their rehearsals. Jun explained that they wanted to sing together with choirs from local high schools in Miyagi. They introduced two schools, one whose club members placed first in Japan. The schools had been damaged by the earthquake and one student told of her house being destroyed and not knowing if her family was okay.
Jun introduced the schools as they filed out. The members were wearing white outfits that had splashes of color. They zoomed in on the designs later.
J: It's not often that you get the chance to sing in front of this many people.
S: Yeah, but don't be nervous. You aren't nervous, are you, Aiba?
A: I'm not nervous at all!
J: "Kansha Kangeki Ame Arashi".
Sho directed the start of the song for the students. It was very pretty. Boblemon started crying at the VTR and into the song. Arashi turned around to watched the students during their solo part. Messages from people all over Miyagi played as we joined in singing.
S: Wow, that was very nice. Aren't high schools going into exams around now? And Aiba-san, did you actually sing?
A: Of course I did! I was just really touched too.
S: This is the second concert in the Blast series. Is it okay if I talk about it?
The members laughed at his uncertainty.
S: It kind of felt like it wasn't the time for that.
A: We've been really lucky to have good weather so far.
S: But wasn't it strange?
A: Yeah! During rehearsal, it poured!
S: What was worse, it was just directly above us. On either side, it was clear skies!
Remembering the solos from before, Sho turned to Nino.
S: Ninomiya-kun?
N: What? Did you see it on twitter already?
J: What happened?
N: They heard it wrong. (He tried desperately to keep a straight face and gave up.) Yeah, I knew it the moment it happened. But it's been a while since I sang it so... Oh, I guess not.
Since their talk had gone on for a while, the audience started to sit down, thinking it was time for the MC.
S: Should they be sitting? It's not the MC, right?
J: We still have some more to go before that. Can you keep going?
S: Yeah!
J: While it's still clear out, let's go!
As "Love So Sweet" began, Sho and Nino whispered to each other as they went to their cart. Aiba was also on their side. Ohno and Jun came over to us first and even stopped on the corner in front of us. Jun pointed up at us too.
The carts switched sides during "Kitto Daijoubu". In "Bittersweet", as they sang their duet, Ohno put his hand on Jun's back who was leaning over, which prompted Jun to lean in towards Ohno and at the right part, both looked at the camera and leaned away. The final pose was mostly normal, except that Jun held up both arms.
MC
S: Yeah! Yeah! Hitomebore Stadium! We are Arashi!
Nino said "yoroshiku" in a sweet voice.
S: It's been a while since we've been to Miyagi.
They did a repeat of their previous "not MC" part.
S: Since the "Time" tour.
J: It went by a different name back then.
S: We saw the World Cup here.
O: We did. And we lost, 0 to 1.
Aiba, Sho and Ohno had been to watch the match together. They pointed to the place they remembered sitting at. Except that they all pointed to slightly different directions.
S: I'm sure it was in the stands. The front row?
O: Yeah, maybe it was the first row.
A: And I forgot my umbrella.
O: We had Chinese on the way back.
S: Wasn't it gyutan?
O: No it-
J: Can you guys do this backstage?!
They paused briefly and then continued arguing for a short bit.
Deciding to change the topic, Jun asked the cameraman to zoom in on his outfit. There were many dots there. Artistic dots, but still dots. Since we weren't understanding what he was getting at, he had them switch to a spot on his leg.
J: If you see this, you should get it.
It was Ohno's art designs! It had the "Satoshi" part on Jun's leg!
J: For Blast, we did a collaboration with Leader's pictures. And he let us wear it.
A: Sensei.
O: (While laughing) Stop calling me that.
S: For the dots used on the Samurai Boy, did you have a special image in mind?
O: The future. It's supposed to be the "light of hope".
N: And we're wearing that "light of hope". Except that Aiba's seems to be a little... special.
A: Does it look good?
He picked at his shirt.
N: Only Aiba's has something like a ribbon on it.
Aiba didn't mind how ruffly his shirt was.
S: Ohno-san, what did you think about singing with the choirs?
O: They seemed really nervous. You know how you want to help them relax somehow, so you'll say something to them. Like, "I'm really nervous too", but it only makes it worse for them.
S: Okay, here's a quiz. Please clap for the member that you think said that to the students.
Aiba got lots, Ohno next to none, Sho a few, Nino had a ton and that made him smile, Jun's was silence.
S: For the ones of you that thought it was Ohno from the flow of that story, the answer is... Nino.
N: And the students completely ignored me when I said "Oh, I'm nervous too."
A: Okay! Here's a new quiz! What blood type was Date Masamune?
S: I thought you would at least choose something member related, like member colors.
Sho and Nino abandoned the trio in favor of changing for the second half.
J: When he lived, was there even such a thing as blood types?
They debated about it and figured it must have been discovered later, because Aiba remembered hearing a story about it.
A type had a few claps, B type a few more, AB lots, O some.
J: And the ones who aren't particularly interested?
A lot of people clapped for that one and laughed.
J: Well, tell us the answer!
A: It's B.
Aiba didn't make a move to continue the conversation, so Jun asked, "is it over?".
A: Um, how about how tall was he?
J: Wasn't he pretty short? I saw a statue of him once.
A: He's shorter than Ohno.
Ohno wasn't sure that was possible. "I'm pretty short."
A: Okay, I'm done with the quiz.
J: Your quiz about local history.
Sho reappeared in a red happi. The three others asked if it was really alright that they leave him alone on the stage.
S: I'm sure Ninomiya Kazunari will come soon. Anyway, I want to have fun on my own. Hello, I'm Sakurai Sho. Since the next corner needs to be explained, I figured that'd be perfect for me. I'm good at explaining. What we'll do isn't exactly a bon dance, but a festival one. You can practice it sitting or standing.
Nino came out in his yellow festival jacket.
N: I'll do it standing. Hello, I'm Ninomiya Kazunari.
Sho started counting out the rhythm for the dance, but he kept counting it out for a long while, making us laugh.
S: That's one whole set. After that, it just repeats.
The two of them started to demonstrate the moves. Hands out down, then up, tapping the left arm with the right hand, throwing the arms out to either side, pushing up, pulling down, arms out to either side, then clapping. That's the general idea of it.
Nino was dancing very cutely as we repeated it to get the hang of it. Jun popped back out and joined in.
Jun quickly explained they would do the Arashi dance and then Miyagi's festival dance, Suzume Odori.
S: Let's start the second half!
We danced along with Arashi to the festival version of "Hadashi no Mirai". Dancers in festival outfits joined them. It was quite fun to do! This song flowed into "Carnival Night". Everyone used neon colored fans to do the Suzume Odori. It looked pretty impressive with all of them doing it. There were shouts of "sore sore" throughout the song.
The dancers stayed out for "Guts" too. The members went up on the raised stands and everyone did the moves together.
Nino thanked the dancers and "Fight Song" started. Ohno's mic was quiet for part of it and Sho almost forgot to sing one time. Ohno bowed and thanked us before hurrying off stage.
The lights went dark and "Come Back to Me" (2010) showed on the screens. Jun was singing in the VTR, but the most impressive part was that he floated out from center stage on the same wires as the crown platform. He was in a sparkly red and blue jacket. Jun flipped, ran in the air, spun around, and went upside down over the arena and stands. He went as close as he could safely go to the fans, much to their delight.
Sho's solo started with a rap part that seemed familiar, but he'd changed part of the lyrics to his previous solo, making it "Hip Pop Boogie Chapter II" (2008). I don't think I'll be able to get all the new ones because it goes too fast, unless they release it on DVD sometime. Sho had his hood up at the beginning only. The members popped up on the screen, attempting their cool rap moves, wearing the Miyagi t-shirts.
Ohno's solo started with a shadowy figure walking in the VTR. He came out on our side and walked toward the center as he sang "Two" (2012). In the instrumental breaks in the song, he danced lightly on his feet across the stage. Climbing the stairs gracefully, he held out his hand, spreading gold confetti into the air. It almost looked as if sparks were flying off his fingertips.
The other members also came out in gold jackets to match Ohno's. They started a dance remix, but as the music played in reverse, they did the moves backwards too. They sang part of "Endless Game", but the music changed quickly to "Believe". Once again, they only sang a portion, only Sho's rap. Ohno sang the beginning of "Monster", Aiba a line or two of "Your Eyes", Jun "One Love", Nino "Breathless", and then the music settled in to "Sakura". I was rather impressed by the puffs of fire within the spouts of water. It was a very nice remix and highlighted with interesting dance sequences.
They switched to long white jackets in "Pikanchi Double". They were in various spots for "Meikyu Love Song", so Sho pulled us in to him twice when the camera closed in on him.
Strapping themselves in on the floating platform, they sang "Sakura Sake". But as they were goofing around, they bounced and jumped up and down when it got to Sho's rap. They did it again in "Arashi", probably terrifying Sho.
Speeches
S: Thank you. Was our second Blast fun? We were hoping that with our coming to Miyagi, we might be able to bring some energy back to everyone. But just wishing for that isn't enough. We have to have your support to make it happen. We were really happy to see the news during rehearsals that people had come from all over Japan, all over the world, to Miyagi. Thank you so much. Not only the five of us, but all the Arashi fans are hoping for the same thing. We'd like to go to the future with all of our fans.
O: It's been since the World Cup that I'd come to Hitomebore Stadium. At that time, I never thought I'd be coming back here to perform someday. Now that the years have passed, it feels strange to stand here. But with your support, we can make this kind of atmosphere together. There's nothing more important to me than that. So more than anything, I hope that you'll continue to follow us.
A: It's been fun. So much fun! Your smiles make us so happy. After our 15th anniversary and Blast in Hawaii, it's about time for my usual tradition. It's something that just I do. I set a new goal for myself. I always try my best not to lose to myself from yesterday, but with your help, I think today, I did it. Thank you. I won't give up. Thank you!
N: I'm not sure what exactly the person before me was trying to say. "I won't rush forward."
A: I said, "I won't give up".
N: "Won't give up."
A: "It's all about living your life to its fullest when you are young."
N: You did NOT say anything like that.
Getting back on topic, he continued.
N: I don't understand difficult things. But I know that rather than working hard alone, working hard together is much better.
J: In Miyagi, did we manage to make 50,000 of you happy? 2011, we were not here yet. But even so, we can see the same things living under this same sky together. We were able to have fun under that sky. There are no words for it. Thinking positively is always good. We want to spend more time with you, so will you spend time together with us? After our 15th anniversary in Hawaii, it was great that we could have Arashi's birthday in Miyagi. And it's only because of you that we have made it this far. We hope to receive the feelings you send to us and give back to you. Thank you.
Connecting with Jun's speech, they sang "Hatenai Sora". It was completely dark at first, only the pen lights shining. They added back lighting and slowly shifted the stage lights to a dark purple, eventually turning on the screens again and lighting up the stage with a bright white. I got a little teary-eyed at that. The image of rebuilding from nothing, slowly but surely.
They thanked us and left the stage at 7:15. The encore started with a VTR of the boys putting on dress shirts and pastel jackets, decorated with large flowers. At the bottom, they put subtitles as Arashi acted as if they couldn't hear us. "What? What was that? We can't hear you. More! Say "Arashi!"
They came out and sang "Ai wo Sakebe" in those cheesy flowery outfits. We danced along the best we could.
O: Can you keep going? Okay! Everyone, put your hands up!
They changed the lyrics in "Energy Song" to "Miyagi ni~". Lots of jumping and cheering.
J: This is the last song.
With water effects, they sang "Yume ni Kakeru". The stage lights were mostly blue, but once the fireworks got started overhead, Jun leaned his head back pretty far to watch them.
Jun thanked the band and us, lastly doing the "Arashi" call. Shouting their goodbyes, they lowered down into the stage. The concert ended at 7:30.
It took about 30 minutes for us to get out of the stadium and to the shuttle bus area. We didn't have to wait and got out quickly enough that we reached Sendai before 9:00. It was very smooth for us, but we heard from other friends that they had to wait for buses to come back and it took a long time, overall. (Edit: The first day, there were fans who had to wait over 2 hours for the buses to come back and take them to the station. The staff fixed the problem by the next day and by the last, it was going very smoothly.)
We'll see how it goes tomorrow. Our shuttle bus time is earlier and we'll be more ready for all the crowds.
Pics:
Sendai station
Mr. Donuts
They kind of got squished.
Shuttle bus line
Shuttle buses kept coming in one after the other.
7-11 Arashi Blast collaboration. Collecting all the stickers was a pain!
Food booths in Arashi Land
Lining up to enter the stadium
Our seats upstairs
Blurry pic of the shuttle buses waiting in the parking lot for the fans to come out after the concert.
<3
We arrived in Sendai this morning by shinkansen! jun_yumemakura and boblemon are with me, but we met friends on the train and in the station. 5 of us are staying together in a little house close to the station. It's a really cute place.
Our shuttle bus was for noon. We walked over to the station and followed the long line of fans. They had signs and staff around to help.
We lined up from before noon and it took half an hour to get on a shuttle bus. In line, we randomly got interviewed by a newspaper guy. The seats were comfortable as long as you weren't in the middle aisle.
The ride was a little under the scheduled 50 minutes. We started to walk around the stadium in search of the food booths. There were long lines everywhere and it was hard to move around because of all the people. And it felt like the middle of summer!
Three of us stood in a shaved ice line for an hour while two of us went to try and find other friends. Getting in was also confusing because the lines were a nightmare. (Edit: I'm really glad they got better as the days went by. There were no real big problems by the last day.)
Our seats were upstairs. The stage was split into a 6 pointed star. There was a large silver ball in the shape of the Miyagi logo, complete with a crown. It was hanging directly over center stage, attached to wires from many sides.
The normal Arashi logo spun around on the screens and rocked back and forth. The concert started a little late. (About ten minutes.) Most likely because there were still many people trying to enter the stadium.
Here we go!
The logo, dressed in Hawaiian style, was on a beach. It welcomed us in English to Arashi's Blast. "Are you ready? Let the show begin!"
The images shifted to outer space, then into water where a fish was swimming. Ohno fished it out, smiling for us. It was interesting that all the images were in a watercolor painting style and only focused into real images for each member for their introduction for a few seconds. It shifted to a bird flying, right passed Aiba who was cooking with a Chinese wok. For some very random reason, Sho put something in his pocket and the words "zunda" were around, for zunda mochi. (Crushed soy bean sweets famous in Miyagi) Nino drove onto the screen in a cart, sort of like the ones from Mario cart. The cart changed to a car and there was Jun putting on sunglasses.
The "Arashi" members appeared at the top of the stage, looking down on us from above the screens. The screens showed prerecorded scenes of each member. I know because when they jumped off on to a lower ledge, they reappeared at the edges of each point of the stage within seconds.
They had blue very sparkly jackets on. The first number was "Wild At Heart". Aiba was out by us, waving enthusiastically. Fireworks shot out during "Pikanchi". They performed the whole dance and the screens were decorated with scratches.
The hanging crowned logo lowered down to where they were at center stage. The staff pulled off the outer sheet, leaving only the crown and a thin platform. Arashi hopped onto it, facing outwards and strapped themselves to it so they wouldn't fall off. For "Happiness" and "Troublemaker", they rose up and flew over the crowd. It wasn't only back and forward! The platform could move around freely, above the arena and part of the lower stands. They got quite close too!
They lowered back down for "Love Rainbow". Aiba was sweating buckets as he screamed out "Miyagi! Are you ready?!" As they walked to main stage, I noticed the live band, Mount Blast. Water was shot high up, all along the edge of the stage. After "Aozora no Shita, Kimi no Tanari", they did their greetings.
But they were rather different.
Each member imitated another members usual style!
Aiba did his in Jun's style.
A: Hey! Yeah! It's been a while since we've been here! Are you ready to have fun?! Are you ready to be happy?! Well, we're ready to make all 50,000 of you happy!
He ran off stage quickly to get ready.
S: Irasshaimase! x3 (Welcome! Welcome! Welcome!) (But while waving his hand like Ohno's "Hi! Hi! Hi!" from Digitalian) More! Louder!
N: Ne, ne, ne! He said it wasn't enough! More! More! You guys are awesome! (Giving a wink and running off)
Jun touched his tie and glanced almost nervously to his right. Perhaps mentally preparing himself?
J: Hi! Hi! Hi! (In a rather high voice) It's been a while but we've come back to Miyagi! Are you ready for the usual?! It's a Miyagi Festival-"
He held out his mic for us to yell "dei!".
J: Yoroshiku!
Ohno was smiling cutely as he stepped forward.
O: How are you doing, Miyagi?! Everybody at the top! Everybody down low! Are you ready?! Can you do it?! Shout it out!! Say Arashi! Arashi! Arashi! Okay. Let's get the party started!! Yoroshiku!
He did this funny rap style aloha sign.
Five logos appeared on the screen welcoming us again. The logos matched the members colors and bounced around when they talked.
O: It's been since 2007, our "Time" tour, almost 8 years ago that we were last in Miyagi.
S: We're so happy you came all the way out here.
A: This is the first time to perform in this place. It really gets us excited.
N: We want to show you Arashi, how we've progressed from the beginning until now.
J: We've picked solo songs from our past albums, 2007 and on.
They started arguing over who would go first. Aiba's green mark shoved everyone's out of the way and he said, "Okay, I'll go first!" We laughed when the logo face changed to the soap Bocchan logo. "Nandeyanen!"
A: I'm ready!
In the short opening video, he was getting dressed up in front of a mirror, wearing a white suit, then sunglasses, then wigs.
He performed "Janakute" (2011) in a blue shirt and ripped jeans, holding a bouquet of red roses. We cheered loudly when he stepped on the chairs lined up on the stage and tipped them over, one by one. Tossing the flowers aside, he danced cute moves. Acting as if he was waiting for a call from his girl, he was let down in the end, and left the stage.
Nino was next, reading a letter from his Mom who was surprised about hearing that song the first time, which lead to his 2013 solo, "20825 Nichi Me". He brought out a guitar and sang at the main stage. However, he messed up the lyrics. We laughed and Nino made a face. Once he finished, he announced to us, "I didn't get it wrong. (We laughed) You weren't cheering enough, so you just heard it wrong. Louder! Louder!"
From behind him came Jun, pointing at Nino and making an "unbelievable" face.
Nino quickly changed his jacket on stage and joined the others for "Oh Yeah".
The small round platforms raised up, Sho on our side.
S: Are you having fun?
There was a ton of water shooting up under the raised platforms too.
They switched from hand mics to ear mics for "Kotoba Yori".
In "Zero G", they warped the screens, but it was almost too much to be able to watch Arashi dance.
The next VTR was about what Arashi wanted to do to support Miyagi. They showed a few scenes of their rehearsals. Jun explained that they wanted to sing together with choirs from local high schools in Miyagi. They introduced two schools, one whose club members placed first in Japan. The schools had been damaged by the earthquake and one student told of her house being destroyed and not knowing if her family was okay.
Jun introduced the schools as they filed out. The members were wearing white outfits that had splashes of color. They zoomed in on the designs later.
J: It's not often that you get the chance to sing in front of this many people.
S: Yeah, but don't be nervous. You aren't nervous, are you, Aiba?
A: I'm not nervous at all!
J: "Kansha Kangeki Ame Arashi".
Sho directed the start of the song for the students. It was very pretty. Boblemon started crying at the VTR and into the song. Arashi turned around to watched the students during their solo part. Messages from people all over Miyagi played as we joined in singing.
S: Wow, that was very nice. Aren't high schools going into exams around now? And Aiba-san, did you actually sing?
A: Of course I did! I was just really touched too.
S: This is the second concert in the Blast series. Is it okay if I talk about it?
The members laughed at his uncertainty.
S: It kind of felt like it wasn't the time for that.
A: We've been really lucky to have good weather so far.
S: But wasn't it strange?
A: Yeah! During rehearsal, it poured!
S: What was worse, it was just directly above us. On either side, it was clear skies!
Remembering the solos from before, Sho turned to Nino.
S: Ninomiya-kun?
N: What? Did you see it on twitter already?
J: What happened?
N: They heard it wrong. (He tried desperately to keep a straight face and gave up.) Yeah, I knew it the moment it happened. But it's been a while since I sang it so... Oh, I guess not.
Since their talk had gone on for a while, the audience started to sit down, thinking it was time for the MC.
S: Should they be sitting? It's not the MC, right?
J: We still have some more to go before that. Can you keep going?
S: Yeah!
J: While it's still clear out, let's go!
As "Love So Sweet" began, Sho and Nino whispered to each other as they went to their cart. Aiba was also on their side. Ohno and Jun came over to us first and even stopped on the corner in front of us. Jun pointed up at us too.
The carts switched sides during "Kitto Daijoubu". In "Bittersweet", as they sang their duet, Ohno put his hand on Jun's back who was leaning over, which prompted Jun to lean in towards Ohno and at the right part, both looked at the camera and leaned away. The final pose was mostly normal, except that Jun held up both arms.
MC
S: Yeah! Yeah! Hitomebore Stadium! We are Arashi!
Nino said "yoroshiku" in a sweet voice.
S: It's been a while since we've been to Miyagi.
They did a repeat of their previous "not MC" part.
S: Since the "Time" tour.
J: It went by a different name back then.
S: We saw the World Cup here.
O: We did. And we lost, 0 to 1.
Aiba, Sho and Ohno had been to watch the match together. They pointed to the place they remembered sitting at. Except that they all pointed to slightly different directions.
S: I'm sure it was in the stands. The front row?
O: Yeah, maybe it was the first row.
A: And I forgot my umbrella.
O: We had Chinese on the way back.
S: Wasn't it gyutan?
O: No it-
J: Can you guys do this backstage?!
They paused briefly and then continued arguing for a short bit.
Deciding to change the topic, Jun asked the cameraman to zoom in on his outfit. There were many dots there. Artistic dots, but still dots. Since we weren't understanding what he was getting at, he had them switch to a spot on his leg.
J: If you see this, you should get it.
It was Ohno's art designs! It had the "Satoshi" part on Jun's leg!
J: For Blast, we did a collaboration with Leader's pictures. And he let us wear it.
A: Sensei.
O: (While laughing) Stop calling me that.
S: For the dots used on the Samurai Boy, did you have a special image in mind?
O: The future. It's supposed to be the "light of hope".
N: And we're wearing that "light of hope". Except that Aiba's seems to be a little... special.
A: Does it look good?
He picked at his shirt.
N: Only Aiba's has something like a ribbon on it.
Aiba didn't mind how ruffly his shirt was.
S: Ohno-san, what did you think about singing with the choirs?
O: They seemed really nervous. You know how you want to help them relax somehow, so you'll say something to them. Like, "I'm really nervous too", but it only makes it worse for them.
S: Okay, here's a quiz. Please clap for the member that you think said that to the students.
Aiba got lots, Ohno next to none, Sho a few, Nino had a ton and that made him smile, Jun's was silence.
S: For the ones of you that thought it was Ohno from the flow of that story, the answer is... Nino.
N: And the students completely ignored me when I said "Oh, I'm nervous too."
A: Okay! Here's a new quiz! What blood type was Date Masamune?
S: I thought you would at least choose something member related, like member colors.
Sho and Nino abandoned the trio in favor of changing for the second half.
J: When he lived, was there even such a thing as blood types?
They debated about it and figured it must have been discovered later, because Aiba remembered hearing a story about it.
A type had a few claps, B type a few more, AB lots, O some.
J: And the ones who aren't particularly interested?
A lot of people clapped for that one and laughed.
J: Well, tell us the answer!
A: It's B.
Aiba didn't make a move to continue the conversation, so Jun asked, "is it over?".
A: Um, how about how tall was he?
J: Wasn't he pretty short? I saw a statue of him once.
A: He's shorter than Ohno.
Ohno wasn't sure that was possible. "I'm pretty short."
A: Okay, I'm done with the quiz.
J: Your quiz about local history.
Sho reappeared in a red happi. The three others asked if it was really alright that they leave him alone on the stage.
S: I'm sure Ninomiya Kazunari will come soon. Anyway, I want to have fun on my own. Hello, I'm Sakurai Sho. Since the next corner needs to be explained, I figured that'd be perfect for me. I'm good at explaining. What we'll do isn't exactly a bon dance, but a festival one. You can practice it sitting or standing.
Nino came out in his yellow festival jacket.
N: I'll do it standing. Hello, I'm Ninomiya Kazunari.
Sho started counting out the rhythm for the dance, but he kept counting it out for a long while, making us laugh.
S: That's one whole set. After that, it just repeats.
The two of them started to demonstrate the moves. Hands out down, then up, tapping the left arm with the right hand, throwing the arms out to either side, pushing up, pulling down, arms out to either side, then clapping. That's the general idea of it.
Nino was dancing very cutely as we repeated it to get the hang of it. Jun popped back out and joined in.
Jun quickly explained they would do the Arashi dance and then Miyagi's festival dance, Suzume Odori.
S: Let's start the second half!
We danced along with Arashi to the festival version of "Hadashi no Mirai". Dancers in festival outfits joined them. It was quite fun to do! This song flowed into "Carnival Night". Everyone used neon colored fans to do the Suzume Odori. It looked pretty impressive with all of them doing it. There were shouts of "sore sore" throughout the song.
The dancers stayed out for "Guts" too. The members went up on the raised stands and everyone did the moves together.
Nino thanked the dancers and "Fight Song" started. Ohno's mic was quiet for part of it and Sho almost forgot to sing one time. Ohno bowed and thanked us before hurrying off stage.
The lights went dark and "Come Back to Me" (2010) showed on the screens. Jun was singing in the VTR, but the most impressive part was that he floated out from center stage on the same wires as the crown platform. He was in a sparkly red and blue jacket. Jun flipped, ran in the air, spun around, and went upside down over the arena and stands. He went as close as he could safely go to the fans, much to their delight.
Sho's solo started with a rap part that seemed familiar, but he'd changed part of the lyrics to his previous solo, making it "Hip Pop Boogie Chapter II" (2008). I don't think I'll be able to get all the new ones because it goes too fast, unless they release it on DVD sometime. Sho had his hood up at the beginning only. The members popped up on the screen, attempting their cool rap moves, wearing the Miyagi t-shirts.
Ohno's solo started with a shadowy figure walking in the VTR. He came out on our side and walked toward the center as he sang "Two" (2012). In the instrumental breaks in the song, he danced lightly on his feet across the stage. Climbing the stairs gracefully, he held out his hand, spreading gold confetti into the air. It almost looked as if sparks were flying off his fingertips.
The other members also came out in gold jackets to match Ohno's. They started a dance remix, but as the music played in reverse, they did the moves backwards too. They sang part of "Endless Game", but the music changed quickly to "Believe". Once again, they only sang a portion, only Sho's rap. Ohno sang the beginning of "Monster", Aiba a line or two of "Your Eyes", Jun "One Love", Nino "Breathless", and then the music settled in to "Sakura". I was rather impressed by the puffs of fire within the spouts of water. It was a very nice remix and highlighted with interesting dance sequences.
They switched to long white jackets in "Pikanchi Double". They were in various spots for "Meikyu Love Song", so Sho pulled us in to him twice when the camera closed in on him.
Strapping themselves in on the floating platform, they sang "Sakura Sake". But as they were goofing around, they bounced and jumped up and down when it got to Sho's rap. They did it again in "Arashi", probably terrifying Sho.
Speeches
S: Thank you. Was our second Blast fun? We were hoping that with our coming to Miyagi, we might be able to bring some energy back to everyone. But just wishing for that isn't enough. We have to have your support to make it happen. We were really happy to see the news during rehearsals that people had come from all over Japan, all over the world, to Miyagi. Thank you so much. Not only the five of us, but all the Arashi fans are hoping for the same thing. We'd like to go to the future with all of our fans.
O: It's been since the World Cup that I'd come to Hitomebore Stadium. At that time, I never thought I'd be coming back here to perform someday. Now that the years have passed, it feels strange to stand here. But with your support, we can make this kind of atmosphere together. There's nothing more important to me than that. So more than anything, I hope that you'll continue to follow us.
A: It's been fun. So much fun! Your smiles make us so happy. After our 15th anniversary and Blast in Hawaii, it's about time for my usual tradition. It's something that just I do. I set a new goal for myself. I always try my best not to lose to myself from yesterday, but with your help, I think today, I did it. Thank you. I won't give up. Thank you!
N: I'm not sure what exactly the person before me was trying to say. "I won't rush forward."
A: I said, "I won't give up".
N: "Won't give up."
A: "It's all about living your life to its fullest when you are young."
N: You did NOT say anything like that.
Getting back on topic, he continued.
N: I don't understand difficult things. But I know that rather than working hard alone, working hard together is much better.
J: In Miyagi, did we manage to make 50,000 of you happy? 2011, we were not here yet. But even so, we can see the same things living under this same sky together. We were able to have fun under that sky. There are no words for it. Thinking positively is always good. We want to spend more time with you, so will you spend time together with us? After our 15th anniversary in Hawaii, it was great that we could have Arashi's birthday in Miyagi. And it's only because of you that we have made it this far. We hope to receive the feelings you send to us and give back to you. Thank you.
Connecting with Jun's speech, they sang "Hatenai Sora". It was completely dark at first, only the pen lights shining. They added back lighting and slowly shifted the stage lights to a dark purple, eventually turning on the screens again and lighting up the stage with a bright white. I got a little teary-eyed at that. The image of rebuilding from nothing, slowly but surely.
They thanked us and left the stage at 7:15. The encore started with a VTR of the boys putting on dress shirts and pastel jackets, decorated with large flowers. At the bottom, they put subtitles as Arashi acted as if they couldn't hear us. "What? What was that? We can't hear you. More! Say "Arashi!"
They came out and sang "Ai wo Sakebe" in those cheesy flowery outfits. We danced along the best we could.
O: Can you keep going? Okay! Everyone, put your hands up!
They changed the lyrics in "Energy Song" to "Miyagi ni~". Lots of jumping and cheering.
J: This is the last song.
With water effects, they sang "Yume ni Kakeru". The stage lights were mostly blue, but once the fireworks got started overhead, Jun leaned his head back pretty far to watch them.
Jun thanked the band and us, lastly doing the "Arashi" call. Shouting their goodbyes, they lowered down into the stage. The concert ended at 7:30.
It took about 30 minutes for us to get out of the stadium and to the shuttle bus area. We didn't have to wait and got out quickly enough that we reached Sendai before 9:00. It was very smooth for us, but we heard from other friends that they had to wait for buses to come back and it took a long time, overall. (Edit: The first day, there were fans who had to wait over 2 hours for the buses to come back and take them to the station. The staff fixed the problem by the next day and by the last, it was going very smoothly.)
We'll see how it goes tomorrow. Our shuttle bus time is earlier and we'll be more ready for all the crowds.
Pics:
Sendai station
Mr. Donuts
They kind of got squished.
Shuttle bus line
Shuttle buses kept coming in one after the other.
7-11 Arashi Blast collaboration. Collecting all the stickers was a pain!
Food booths in Arashi Land
Lining up to enter the stadium
Our seats upstairs
Blurry pic of the shuttle buses waiting in the parking lot for the fans to come out after the concert.
<3