2011/04/30 - GLORY HILL 「Teenage Revival Tour 2011」 FINAL ONE-MAN | 渋谷 CLUB QUATTRO
Going to get this out of my system first before I write my ONE OK ROCK piece. It's hard to be disciplined. Okay, also because I enjoyed this live A LOT more, so I want to get it out before I forget everything.
Shibuya CLUB QUATTRO today, the place where I got stupidly lost the last time I had to come here for a show. Incidentally, GLORY HILL (GH from now on) was also performing the last time I came to QUATTRO heh. Today's their tour final, although they're still considering substitute shows for the previous 3 they cancelled due to the earthquake.
Yes, I can has ticket number A3. Awesome, innit? Because I bought the pre-sale ticket at GH's break the deadRock event, also at QUATTRO in December last year. I made a beeline for the front and got a nice space in front of Junya. I was there for less than 5 minutes when a girl took up a space to my left and turned and asked if I was here alone. Ended up talking to her for nearly an hour (basically until the live started), and we were all "Yea, let's go for lives together in the future if we happen to be going to the same shows!" OMG CAN THIS BE TRUE? I HAVE MADE MY FIRST FRIEND AT A LIVE!!! \o/ This has reinforced my belief that GH brings me only good things :D (Tako-sensei: she's a fan of TEREFONES!) Well okay, whether or not the "going together" bit -really- happens is another thing altogether, but I would like to see this as levelling up of my non-existant social skills.
Recording died at some parts, but thankfully not for the majority. Text in italics are the ones where the recording died and I'm not too sure about the song order. Anyway, I think the length of the setlist is about there, since I did get to peek at the setlist that Junya had stuck to the floor.
Setlist
01) REVIVE
02) GROW UP
03) It's all over
04) I'll Be
05) ステアウェイ
06) Funny boys school
07) Everything
08) ハジマリノカゼ
09, 10) (about 2 songs here which I can't recall)
11) Endless Summer
12) イノセント
13) Cried Out
14) Can't Stop Hate It
15) (don't know the song title)
16) Without you
17, 18) (about 1 to 2 songs here?)
19) Next to you
20) Freedom Train
21) BRAVE DRIVE
22) ROUTE 26
ENCORE
EN01) Cosmic Fly
EN02) DAYBREAK
EN03) GET UP
EN04) Go for break!!
Perhaps it was because I was right in front that I really got to enjoy the show to the fullest. Or else it was because I simply loved GH more than I do OOR. Or perhaps it was because I love the intimate feeling a smaller venue gives you (the smaller QUATTRO versus a larger STUDIO COAST and Saitama Super Arena). Whatever it is, it made me feel that lives were worth going to after all (which was something I started questioning myself with after the previous one). Moving on before I get all long-winded.
The first song was kinda expected, because REVIVE makes for a really great opening song since it drives the energy level all the way up. The first 4 songs were in the exact same order as they were from the REVIVE album. I love how there's much potential for clapping/fist-pumping/other actions and snippets of audience karaoke in their choruses. I think it goes a long way in engaging the crowd. They took a short break after "It's all over", and even though it was only the third song of the night, you could already see sweat dripping down their faces. There's also something awesome about the band members muttering to themselves onstage or talking to the audience while they're going about their business of drinking water and wiping the sweat off their faces (i.e. they're nowhere near their microphone), and you're still able to hear them. Only in the intimacy of a small livehouse, I suppose.
I was really happy when I heard the opening bars of ハジマリノカゼ, because I absolutely love the song. But of course, going by Murphy's Law, my recording has to die there -_- I was the only one around my area that had my arm raised during the song though. Sigh, I don't know why people don't raise their arms for the slower songs. I mean, it doesn't mean that just because a song is not crowdsurfing-worthy doesn't make it any less than the rest. I actually really love their slow songs. It is my dream to one day hear "All night alone" live. I have a feeling that it will forever remain a dream, though T_T
"Endless Summer", as usual, got the audience jumping during the chorus. And イノセントis another song I was happy to hear live, largely because of the funky bass line in the intro. There was a song that I didn't manage to record that had the audience clapping to a rhythm similar to Northern19's "Smile for Peace".
The main set ended with the 3 songs they ended their Yokohama show with (2 months back). No accident this time around for TAKUYA , thankfully :) Although to the end, there was a bitch who tried to come and squeeze into the front row. Hell no was I letting her in, and I'm proud to say that she didn't succeed. It started with someone pushing up against me in the back, then gravitating to the left to try to wedge herself in between me and my new friend. During ROUTE 26, I even had her right elbow lodged in between my neck and left shoulder. Tolerated that for awhile and could take it anymore, so I mentally went "GAH FUCK THIS" and pushed her elbow backwards. It didn't take much push strength before she removed it, and I was pretty surprised at how easily it yielded. Whatever it was, she was still a bitch. Rage >:(
The main set ended, and people started clapping and shouting "Wasshoi!" for the encore. The moment the lights were turned on, everyone cheered and the shouts and clapping died down. However, the band members didn't come onto the stage, and you could see KO-01 standing at the side of the stage with his hands half-raised expectantly. Everyone laughed, and began the clapping and "wasshoi!" shouts again. There was an earlier part of the show during the MC where they were commenting about how they had worked up such a sweat that their underwear was all soaked, and this time around TAKUYA wrung a corner of his shirt and even then, sweat dripped from it. Anyway if there's one thing I'm a little ugh at, it's how they speak so fast. Everyone laughed and there I was not understanding WTF was going on except when was the appropriate time to go "YEAAAAAA" and clap. HATES SELF :( They mentioned something about wanted to go back and do the Sendai/Aomori/one other place shows, something about collecting donations, and something about Osaka and Seiji being a high hurdle to cross (I really have no idea about this. When I heard it, I was "Huh? You mean like Chihara Seiji? You got mistaken for him wut???" SIGH).
TAKUYA suddenly stopped singing during the chorus for "Cosmic Fly" for the audience to sing a long. It was pretty unexpected, and of course I wasn't able to properly join in because the only line I knew was "We're going back" (fail). TAKUYA announced the last song, "Go for break!!" and suddenly fin (vocals of stack44) and some other guy burst onto the stage. fin sang (of course), and the other dude grabbed TAKUYA's guitar. fin was jumping around, and came to the Junya's area, which meant that he was directly in front of me. Not sure if he saw me, but he did reply me on Twitter :o He tried to step into the crowd a little, but probably decided that it was too unstable and retreated. During the last part, TAKUYA jumped off the stage and crowdsurfed to the front. I suspected that the crowdsurfer whose butt I pushed was TAKUYA. He reached the front of the stage, and was hauled up to the stage by the shoulders by the GH staff. It was just like when you put your arms under a child's armpits and pull them up. Awww <3 Anyway needless to say, my brain died when fin appeared. All my favourite people on the same stage. Best. Surprise. Ever.
The live ended, and we turned to leave. Wanted to ask for the setlist, but I didn't have the balls to. There wasn't anyone around me doing so either, which made me even more humji to do so. I wasn't sure what to do, whether I was expected to wait around for my new friend or not, even though I had already said "お疲れ様でした！" to her. She had gone to collect her drink and disappeared. I then went downstairs, and found her waiting beside the goods booth D: Just as we were leaving, I saw someone walking very briskly out of the place. I didn't see his face, but I knew that it was fin. Was torn between my friend and running after fin. He disappeared down the stairs really quickly, so I guess he must have really been in a hurry. Sigh. The girl asked me whether I was going to donate. At first I didn't know what she was talking about, and was all "Oh no, you go ahead. I'm fine" because I thought she was going to buy goods. It was only when we went in again and saw the sign saying "募金" that it all finally clicked. By that time, I was feeling bad at my insistent "Oh no you go ahead" because I did donate in the end. Had a fail short conversation with KO-01 who was manning the donations (was nervous, Japanese died) and went on my way. By that time, the girl had disappeared. I figured that she had gone home already, because I knew that she had to rush home, and I did had to queue for some time before I finally got to put my money in. Not the best way to part, but ah well :S I'm actually quite surprised at the number of crowdsurfers today (or rather, the lack of them). They only appeared around the last couple of surf-able songs, and even then not in the usual force. The girl commented about how there seemed to be more girls in the audience today, so I was thinking that just maybe that might have been a factor. I don't miss having them land on my head though, that's for sure.
The live ended around 8pm, and by the time I left QUATTRO, it was about 8.30pm. I knew that I would definitely be able to demachi because there was still a hell lot of time. Bummed around downstairs for quite some time, and told myself that I would consider leaving once it hit 10.15pm. While I was bumming around, some dude came up and was all "Hey, are you guys waiting for some famous person?" while gesturing to the building opposite us (the Yoshimoto theatre was also there). I replied with "Er no.. It's a band." and he apologised and left. Weirdness. Anyway, It was nearly 10.15pm when a couple of girls wearing windbreakers with the word "CREW" printed on the back walked out of the lift and opened the glass doors. Moments later, a couple of equipment boxes got carted out, and my brain went "来たぁぁぁぁぁ！！！" because I knew that it wouldn't be long before the band would appear.
It was still another good 15 to 30 minutes before any of the band members appeared though. The first to appear was Junya (I made sure to confirm their names in order to avoid a potentially embarrassing situation). He wasn't as sunshine-y as the other two, but was generally really nice. He kept doing a double thumbs up and going "Okay~~!!" in a way which I thought was pretty funny. As usual, Singapore = Merlion. You hear that Singapore Tourism Board? Your campaign has been a resounding success. Asked about their next live, and he said they didn't have anything in Tokyo lined up. I was a little disappointed because I had hoped that their website was just not updated. Really wanted to see them perform again :( I also asked if they were doing summer festivals, and he was like "Hmm maybe Rock In Japan might be a possibility?". Of course, I didn't have plans to go to RIJ, so I asked about SUMMER SONIC and he said that they hadn't been asked, and that he might possibly attend as a normal concert-goer. Let's hope I bump into him there hahaha. Halfway, my language skills died and I apologised for bad Japanese, to which he was really sweet about it and said that it was fine because "心を伝われるから" (or something to that effect). Something inside me melted. Ended up pulling out the gaijin card in desperation because I didn't want him to think that I was some speech-impaired Japanese girl, which was how the merlion thing came about. I felt bad holding him up, didn't want to miss the other members, and was getting very paiseh at my bad Japanese that I decided to stop the conversation before it deteriorated.
Next to come out was KO-01. As usual, the other group of Japanese fans got to him first like with Junya, so I had to bum around while waiting for them to finish. In the meantime, Kensaku came out but he disappeared. I had initially thought that it was going to be like last time when they all drove off in a van together, but it seems like this time around all the members went on their separate ways. So yes, I didn't manage to get a siggy+photo with Kensaku again. The group of Japanese fans were done with KO-01, and I went up to him. Got him to sign, and I got a shock when he went "Oh I signed for you the last time as well!" Told him that I didn't manage to catch all the members the last time around, and asked for a photo to which he was all "We can take the couple photo again!" But of course that didn't happen because there was another guy standing around to help us take the photo. I didn't introduce myself/play the gaijin card/do anything memorable at all, so I was really shocked that he had remembered me from their show all the way back in December last year D: He looked busy helping out the staff, so I didn't want to hold him up by chatting. After moving all the equipment though, he came up and gave me the heads up that TAKUYA would probably be coming down any moment now, and would probably be bumming around in Shibuya because he would be leaving for Sendai tonight and their meeting place was in Shibuya.
During the time between talking to KO-01 and TAKUYA's arrival, an old man came out and asked what band was this, and what kind of music they played. It would have been nice to chat with him, but I didn't want to be caught in the awkward situation of TAKUYA appearing midway during the conversation and having to dump the old man to run after TAKUYA. He wandered off to the other group of Japanese fans and started talking to them, which was I suppose partly why I had managed to catch TAKUYA before they did (they were stuck in conversation with him - which was totally a "I TOLD YOU SO" moment).
The very first thing that TAKUYA did was to stick out his hand to shake mine, which was totally unexpected. I got his siggy (which I missed out on the last time around), and he commented on the plane ticket stubs I had stuffed in the side pocket by going "おお！Ｅｃｏｎｏｍｙ！". Let me just say that I didn't specially bring my plane ticket stubs out today - they're always stuffed at the pocket in my notebook. However, their placement in the pocket beside where I got the boys to sign was intentional. So since he had noticed (and was the only one out of three to do so), I told him that I had just returned to Japan. He asked if I went on holiday, and I told him that no, I'm a Singaporean. I got a photo with him (taken by the same guy who took the photo of me and KO-01 - not my fault if he keeps standing there). It was amusing because the cameraman asked me to check the photo, I thought it was blurry but didn't know how to tell him that in Japanese, and so in desperation hoping that the dude understood some English said "It's blurry", to which TAKUYA immediately went "カッケェ！！". I love it how he just blurts all this stuff out, just like how they are onstage. Asked about their next show, and he said (as Junya told me earlier) that maybe it'll be when they next release a CD. Chatted a little about him going to Sendai tonight and fin's appearance (I can't remember what he said about that - sadness), and he shook my hand again (if I remember correctly) before leaving. I can't remember if I had shaken Junya's hand (possibly?), but I remember that both TAKUYA's and KO-01's handshakes were really strong and warm. I love it when people give warm, earnest handshakes, so plus 10 points to GH!
I turned to leave and saw the old man keeping his bunch of CDs, and there was an X Japan CD among them. It was about 10:45pm by then, and so I left for the train station.
I think GLORY HILL is going to be my next ELLEGARDEN. They have (in my opinion) awesome songs, and all the members are really, really warm and friendly, and full of sunshine (not that I've had the opportunity to meet anyone from ELLEGARDEN). Their show tonight wasn't sold out, and I found it pretty strange why it hadn't. I guess it's probably because it's a one-man, and the earthquake might have had an effect of those who were due to travel from the Tohoku area. If they do go major in the future though, it's going to be reaaaaallyyy lonely even though I think they totally deserve it. Sigh. Whatever it is, it was an awesome show, lots of positive energy, and I hadn't smiled so much in awhile. I'm really glad I got to see them again.
Next live: 2011/05/04 - COMIN'KOBE'11 | 神戸ポートアイランド
Shibuya CLUB QUATTRO today, the place where I got stupidly lost the last time I had to come here for a show. Incidentally, GLORY HILL (GH from now on) was also performing the last time I came to QUATTRO heh. Today's their tour final, although they're still considering substitute shows for the previous 3 they cancelled due to the earthquake.
Yes, I can has ticket number A3. Awesome, innit? Because I bought the pre-sale ticket at GH's break the deadRock event, also at QUATTRO in December last year. I made a beeline for the front and got a nice space in front of Junya. I was there for less than 5 minutes when a girl took up a space to my left and turned and asked if I was here alone. Ended up talking to her for nearly an hour (basically until the live started), and we were all "Yea, let's go for lives together in the future if we happen to be going to the same shows!" OMG CAN THIS BE TRUE? I HAVE MADE MY FIRST FRIEND AT A LIVE!!! \o/ This has reinforced my belief that GH brings me only good things :D (Tako-sensei: she's a fan of TEREFONES!) Well okay, whether or not the "going together" bit -really- happens is another thing altogether, but I would like to see this as levelling up of my non-existant social skills.
Recording died at some parts, but thankfully not for the majority. Text in italics are the ones where the recording died and I'm not too sure about the song order. Anyway, I think the length of the setlist is about there, since I did get to peek at the setlist that Junya had stuck to the floor.
Setlist
01) REVIVE
02) GROW UP
03) It's all over
04) I'll Be
05) ステアウェイ
06) Funny boys school
07) Everything
08) ハジマリノカゼ
09, 10) (about 2 songs here which I can't recall)
11) Endless Summer
12) イノセント
13) Cried Out
14) Can't Stop Hate It
15) (don't know the song title)
16) Without you
17, 18) (about 1 to 2 songs here?)
19) Next to you
20) Freedom Train
21) BRAVE DRIVE
22) ROUTE 26
ENCORE
EN01) Cosmic Fly
EN02) DAYBREAK
EN03) GET UP
EN04) Go for break!!
Perhaps it was because I was right in front that I really got to enjoy the show to the fullest. Or else it was because I simply loved GH more than I do OOR. Or perhaps it was because I love the intimate feeling a smaller venue gives you (the smaller QUATTRO versus a larger STUDIO COAST and Saitama Super Arena). Whatever it is, it made me feel that lives were worth going to after all (which was something I started questioning myself with after the previous one). Moving on before I get all long-winded.
The first song was kinda expected, because REVIVE makes for a really great opening song since it drives the energy level all the way up. The first 4 songs were in the exact same order as they were from the REVIVE album. I love how there's much potential for clapping/fist-pumping/other actions and snippets of audience karaoke in their choruses. I think it goes a long way in engaging the crowd. They took a short break after "It's all over", and even though it was only the third song of the night, you could already see sweat dripping down their faces. There's also something awesome about the band members muttering to themselves onstage or talking to the audience while they're going about their business of drinking water and wiping the sweat off their faces (i.e. they're nowhere near their microphone), and you're still able to hear them. Only in the intimacy of a small livehouse, I suppose.
I was really happy when I heard the opening bars of ハジマリノカゼ, because I absolutely love the song. But of course, going by Murphy's Law, my recording has to die there -_- I was the only one around my area that had my arm raised during the song though. Sigh, I don't know why people don't raise their arms for the slower songs. I mean, it doesn't mean that just because a song is not crowdsurfing-worthy doesn't make it any less than the rest. I actually really love their slow songs. It is my dream to one day hear "All night alone" live. I have a feeling that it will forever remain a dream, though T_T
"Endless Summer", as usual, got the audience jumping during the chorus. And イノセントis another song I was happy to hear live, largely because of the funky bass line in the intro. There was a song that I didn't manage to record that had the audience clapping to a rhythm similar to Northern19's "Smile for Peace".
The main set ended with the 3 songs they ended their Yokohama show with (2 months back). No accident this time around for TAKUYA , thankfully :) Although to the end, there was a bitch who tried to come and squeeze into the front row. Hell no was I letting her in, and I'm proud to say that she didn't succeed. It started with someone pushing up against me in the back, then gravitating to the left to try to wedge herself in between me and my new friend. During ROUTE 26, I even had her right elbow lodged in between my neck and left shoulder. Tolerated that for awhile and could take it anymore, so I mentally went "GAH FUCK THIS" and pushed her elbow backwards. It didn't take much push strength before she removed it, and I was pretty surprised at how easily it yielded. Whatever it was, she was still a bitch. Rage >:(
The main set ended, and people started clapping and shouting "Wasshoi!" for the encore. The moment the lights were turned on, everyone cheered and the shouts and clapping died down. However, the band members didn't come onto the stage, and you could see KO-01 standing at the side of the stage with his hands half-raised expectantly. Everyone laughed, and began the clapping and "wasshoi!" shouts again. There was an earlier part of the show during the MC where they were commenting about how they had worked up such a sweat that their underwear was all soaked, and this time around TAKUYA wrung a corner of his shirt and even then, sweat dripped from it. Anyway if there's one thing I'm a little ugh at, it's how they speak so fast. Everyone laughed and there I was not understanding WTF was going on except when was the appropriate time to go "YEAAAAAA" and clap. HATES SELF :( They mentioned something about wanted to go back and do the Sendai/Aomori/one other place shows, something about collecting donations, and something about Osaka and Seiji being a high hurdle to cross (I really have no idea about this. When I heard it, I was "Huh? You mean like Chihara Seiji? You got mistaken for him wut???" SIGH).
TAKUYA suddenly stopped singing during the chorus for "Cosmic Fly" for the audience to sing a long. It was pretty unexpected, and of course I wasn't able to properly join in because the only line I knew was "We're going back" (fail). TAKUYA announced the last song, "Go for break!!" and suddenly fin (vocals of stack44) and some other guy burst onto the stage. fin sang (of course), and the other dude grabbed TAKUYA's guitar. fin was jumping around, and came to the Junya's area, which meant that he was directly in front of me. Not sure if he saw me, but he did reply me on Twitter :o He tried to step into the crowd a little, but probably decided that it was too unstable and retreated. During the last part, TAKUYA jumped off the stage and crowdsurfed to the front. I suspected that the crowdsurfer whose butt I pushed was TAKUYA. He reached the front of the stage, and was hauled up to the stage by the shoulders by the GH staff. It was just like when you put your arms under a child's armpits and pull them up. Awww <3 Anyway needless to say, my brain died when fin appeared. All my favourite people on the same stage. Best. Surprise. Ever.
The live ended, and we turned to leave. Wanted to ask for the setlist, but I didn't have the balls to. There wasn't anyone around me doing so either, which made me even more humji to do so. I wasn't sure what to do, whether I was expected to wait around for my new friend or not, even though I had already said "お疲れ様でした！" to her. She had gone to collect her drink and disappeared. I then went downstairs, and found her waiting beside the goods booth D: Just as we were leaving, I saw someone walking very briskly out of the place. I didn't see his face, but I knew that it was fin. Was torn between my friend and running after fin. He disappeared down the stairs really quickly, so I guess he must have really been in a hurry. Sigh. The girl asked me whether I was going to donate. At first I didn't know what she was talking about, and was all "Oh no, you go ahead. I'm fine" because I thought she was going to buy goods. It was only when we went in again and saw the sign saying "募金" that it all finally clicked. By that time, I was feeling bad at my insistent "Oh no you go ahead" because I did donate in the end. Had a fail short conversation with KO-01 who was manning the donations (was nervous, Japanese died) and went on my way. By that time, the girl had disappeared. I figured that she had gone home already, because I knew that she had to rush home, and I did had to queue for some time before I finally got to put my money in. Not the best way to part, but ah well :S I'm actually quite surprised at the number of crowdsurfers today (or rather, the lack of them). They only appeared around the last couple of surf-able songs, and even then not in the usual force. The girl commented about how there seemed to be more girls in the audience today, so I was thinking that just maybe that might have been a factor. I don't miss having them land on my head though, that's for sure.
The live ended around 8pm, and by the time I left QUATTRO, it was about 8.30pm. I knew that I would definitely be able to demachi because there was still a hell lot of time. Bummed around downstairs for quite some time, and told myself that I would consider leaving once it hit 10.15pm. While I was bumming around, some dude came up and was all "Hey, are you guys waiting for some famous person?" while gesturing to the building opposite us (the Yoshimoto theatre was also there). I replied with "Er no.. It's a band." and he apologised and left. Weirdness. Anyway, It was nearly 10.15pm when a couple of girls wearing windbreakers with the word "CREW" printed on the back walked out of the lift and opened the glass doors. Moments later, a couple of equipment boxes got carted out, and my brain went "来たぁぁぁぁぁ！！！" because I knew that it wouldn't be long before the band would appear.
It was still another good 15 to 30 minutes before any of the band members appeared though. The first to appear was Junya (I made sure to confirm their names in order to avoid a potentially embarrassing situation). He wasn't as sunshine-y as the other two, but was generally really nice. He kept doing a double thumbs up and going "Okay~~!!" in a way which I thought was pretty funny. As usual, Singapore = Merlion. You hear that Singapore Tourism Board? Your campaign has been a resounding success. Asked about their next live, and he said they didn't have anything in Tokyo lined up. I was a little disappointed because I had hoped that their website was just not updated. Really wanted to see them perform again :( I also asked if they were doing summer festivals, and he was like "Hmm maybe Rock In Japan might be a possibility?". Of course, I didn't have plans to go to RIJ, so I asked about SUMMER SONIC and he said that they hadn't been asked, and that he might possibly attend as a normal concert-goer. Let's hope I bump into him there hahaha. Halfway, my language skills died and I apologised for bad Japanese, to which he was really sweet about it and said that it was fine because "心を伝われるから" (or something to that effect). Something inside me melted. Ended up pulling out the gaijin card in desperation because I didn't want him to think that I was some speech-impaired Japanese girl, which was how the merlion thing came about. I felt bad holding him up, didn't want to miss the other members, and was getting very paiseh at my bad Japanese that I decided to stop the conversation before it deteriorated.
Next to come out was KO-01. As usual, the other group of Japanese fans got to him first like with Junya, so I had to bum around while waiting for them to finish. In the meantime, Kensaku came out but he disappeared. I had initially thought that it was going to be like last time when they all drove off in a van together, but it seems like this time around all the members went on their separate ways. So yes, I didn't manage to get a siggy+photo with Kensaku again. The group of Japanese fans were done with KO-01, and I went up to him. Got him to sign, and I got a shock when he went "Oh I signed for you the last time as well!" Told him that I didn't manage to catch all the members the last time around, and asked for a photo to which he was all "We can take the couple photo again!" But of course that didn't happen because there was another guy standing around to help us take the photo. I didn't introduce myself/play the gaijin card/do anything memorable at all, so I was really shocked that he had remembered me from their show all the way back in December last year D: He looked busy helping out the staff, so I didn't want to hold him up by chatting. After moving all the equipment though, he came up and gave me the heads up that TAKUYA would probably be coming down any moment now, and would probably be bumming around in Shibuya because he would be leaving for Sendai tonight and their meeting place was in Shibuya.
During the time between talking to KO-01 and TAKUYA's arrival, an old man came out and asked what band was this, and what kind of music they played. It would have been nice to chat with him, but I didn't want to be caught in the awkward situation of TAKUYA appearing midway during the conversation and having to dump the old man to run after TAKUYA. He wandered off to the other group of Japanese fans and started talking to them, which was I suppose partly why I had managed to catch TAKUYA before they did (they were stuck in conversation with him - which was totally a "I TOLD YOU SO" moment).
The very first thing that TAKUYA did was to stick out his hand to shake mine, which was totally unexpected. I got his siggy (which I missed out on the last time around), and he commented on the plane ticket stubs I had stuffed in the side pocket by going "おお！Ｅｃｏｎｏｍｙ！". Let me just say that I didn't specially bring my plane ticket stubs out today - they're always stuffed at the pocket in my notebook. However, their placement in the pocket beside where I got the boys to sign was intentional. So since he had noticed (and was the only one out of three to do so), I told him that I had just returned to Japan. He asked if I went on holiday, and I told him that no, I'm a Singaporean. I got a photo with him (taken by the same guy who took the photo of me and KO-01 - not my fault if he keeps standing there). It was amusing because the cameraman asked me to check the photo, I thought it was blurry but didn't know how to tell him that in Japanese, and so in desperation hoping that the dude understood some English said "It's blurry", to which TAKUYA immediately went "カッケェ！！". I love it how he just blurts all this stuff out, just like how they are onstage. Asked about their next show, and he said (as Junya told me earlier) that maybe it'll be when they next release a CD. Chatted a little about him going to Sendai tonight and fin's appearance (I can't remember what he said about that - sadness), and he shook my hand again (if I remember correctly) before leaving. I can't remember if I had shaken Junya's hand (possibly?), but I remember that both TAKUYA's and KO-01's handshakes were really strong and warm. I love it when people give warm, earnest handshakes, so plus 10 points to GH!
I turned to leave and saw the old man keeping his bunch of CDs, and there was an X Japan CD among them. It was about 10:45pm by then, and so I left for the train station.
I think GLORY HILL is going to be my next ELLEGARDEN. They have (in my opinion) awesome songs, and all the members are really, really warm and friendly, and full of sunshine (not that I've had the opportunity to meet anyone from ELLEGARDEN). Their show tonight wasn't sold out, and I found it pretty strange why it hadn't. I guess it's probably because it's a one-man, and the earthquake might have had an effect of those who were due to travel from the Tohoku area. If they do go major in the future though, it's going to be reaaaaallyyy lonely even though I think they totally deserve it. Sigh. Whatever it is, it was an awesome show, lots of positive energy, and I hadn't smiled so much in awhile. I'm really glad I got to see them again.
Next live: 2011/05/04 - COMIN'KOBE'11 | 神戸ポートアイランド