Fans banned from taking uchiwa to Tackey concerts?
Fans have been left shocked by a move to ban uchiwas from Hideaki Takizawa’s summer concerts, reports Cyzowoman.
A must-have item at Johnny’s concerts is an uchiwa. Fans can use uchiwa bought from a merchandise shop to show Johnny’s talents who they are a fan of, while homemade uchiwa give fans the chance to put in private messages such as “blow me a kiss” or “give me the peace sign”.
It has been reported fans going to Tackey’s SUMMER LOVE CONCERT 2012 show in Tokyo on July 26 got an email a week before, asking them to support Tackey with “only pompoms and penlights, please”. Some fans had called the ticket office to ask whether it meant uchiwa were banned, and were told an “uchiwa ban” had not been stated. But one fan painted a different picture.
“When I got to the concert venue, they were checking bags, and they asked anyone with an uchiwa to store it away. Some fans managed to get through the checkpoint with their uchiwa, but when they took them out inside the hall, a staff member told them off. There were arguments going on here and there, it was awkward at one point,” said one fan at the concert.
There are some Johnny’s groups who ask fans to keep uchiwas at a minimum, like TOKIO, because the group is considered to be more a band than a pop star group. Another Johnny’s talent who asks fans to refrain from bringing uchiwa and penlights is Tsuyoshi Domoto, whose concerts are less like a typical pop star’s concerts. But why would Tackey concerts, which fit into neither category, suddenly ban uchiwas?
“Apparently a lot of Johnny’s Jr. fans go to Tackey’s solo concerts or stage shows because he has talents like Snow Man dancing behind him. Some junior fans are really dedicated so sometimes it looks like the number of uchiwas for junior talents outnumbers those for Tackey… Maybe they’re banning uchiwa to avoid this kind of sad situation.
“There’s also talk that maybe the ban is a strategic move to get ready for Tackey’s 10th anniversary concert tour with Tsubasa Imai, which starts in September. The duo are going to perform in Tokyo Dome, but I don’t think the two have enough fans to fill up that huge venue. Other fan club fans have apparently been sent information on this concert because it’ll have guests like KAT-TUN and Hey! Say! JUMP. Unless they do something now, there’s risk the dome will be full of uchiwas for other talents,” one Johnny’s reporter said.
It has been reported a number of fans had published angry comments online, saying the reason was childish, and that fans had nothing if they were not allowed uchiwas.
However, others have become more creative. There have been ideas going back and forth about printing messages on pompoms, on bandanas, and even on T-shirts.
Source: momoedgewood