[Concert Report] AraFes 9/21
Disclaimer: I wrote this from a very personal standpoint - it includes my entire concert experience from beginning to end, and possibly some opinions people might not agree with. But that's okay because that's how opinions work. I haven't written a proper report since 5x10, which is terrible, so I hope this one is good and not too boring. 
This year I didn't hit for tickets, but my friend T-san amazingly hit for four! She was very kind and gave me her extra. It was originally meant for someone else who couldn't go, and I'm very thankful to that friend and T-san for extending the offer to me.
Next year it must be all four of us!
T-san was also very kind and offered to pick up goods for me during one of the pre-sale days. It turns out I was very lucky she did that - things were selling out like crazy. I stood in line on Friday morning to get goods for two friends who couldn't make it and THAT was an experience. 5 hours in line, and just as we got up to the booths a wall of rain came over from the stadium and soaked us. By that time everything was sold out but the uchiwa, penlights, and posters. I've been going to Arashi concerts since 2007 and never seen that happen. I guess that's what happens when there are only 2 days of shows and a member designs the goods.
I hid from the rain in the train station for a bit and ran into an adorable pair of girls dressed as Ohmiya SK. I took a picture, but I forgot to ask their permission to share it.
It was like an Arashi refugee camp in there. Everyone was trying to dry off and protect their goods.
Once it stopped raining I went back to the stadium to get some food, people watch (so many cute cosplayers... no confidence to ask for pictures
), and eventually find our seats.
(This was really pretty all lit up at night, but I wasn't able to get a good picture because of the post-concert crowds.)
T-san was coming with her daughter S-chan and her daughter's friend right after they got out of school, so I went in a bit early to find our seats. We were in the stadium pretty far to the right of the stage (our right). The seats were in the higher section, but as usual Arashi does a really good job of making sure all of the fans get a good view, so our seats turned out to be pretty good.
Once T-san and the girls arrived we got all settled in and the show began!
~Opening~
There was a main stage, back stage, and center stage. The center stage was a small circle with several paths branching off of it kind of like a star, each path ending in a circular point. A cute animated movie started playing on the main screen, but unfortunately we couldn't see it well because of the angle we were at.
At the end of each branch was a crane platform with a big orange balloon on the end. The platforms started to raise up, tilting closer to us. Staff ran over and released colored balloons - I didn't make the connection until later, but ours were purple. xD The orange balloons burst open and out came Arashi! Jun was right in front of us, and as his platform started to swivel around he got so close we could see his face clearly. We were so busy freaking out about how close Jun was that we never noticed Aiba's "happening" xD More on that later.
Side note: For some reason every concert I go to I see a lot of Jun and not much Nino D:
The opening song was Happiness, followed by Gori Muchuu. They came down from the cranes and ran all around the paths to wave at everyone. This is such an awesome opening song, it should be at the beginning instead of the end more often.
Next was Carnival Night part 2. They changed the words to "Festival Night" and had us chant "F-E-S-T-I-V-A-L Night!" Nino also switched up some of his lines to say "Kokuritsu ni~"
They did their usual greetings and then went into Love Rainbow.
For Love Rainbow they went back towards the center stage and got up on the towers that rise up over the arena. The towers flashed with rainbow lights during the song, it was really pretty. They started using water effects here, having streams of water wave back and forth all around the edges of the arena.
Step and Go - I love this song! I was super happy to see it appear, it made me so nostalgic. They came back to center stage to dance. At one point Sho forgot to lipsync some of his rap.
I can't remember if this started with Step and Go or not, but the center stage and paths all had mini treadmills/conveyer belts built into them. Arashi would get on these in a line and dance while moving down the paths and hop on or off in sync. It was really cool - a subtle effect but really awesome once you realized what they were doing.
After Step and Go Arashi disappeared and Chibi Anime Arashi came up on the monitors. They explained to us what AraFes was and how it's different from a normal concert. Chibi Jun asked what songs Arashi liked. Chibi Ohno said Kansha Kangeki, Chibi Aiba picked Love so sweet. Then they asked Aiba to get things started and he did his goofy monomane line from Energy Song ("Yacchaimasu ka ne?"). Chibi Arashi made fun of him. :3 They introduced the next song as one of the most requested singles.
Wild at Heart - Woo, I requested this! They came out on the main stage in new costumes (the puffy vest jacket things, if you've seen pictures) and danced with standing microphones like in the PV.
Summer Splash - They went out onto the moving stages. Ohno and Jun came to our side, Aiba/Nino/Sho to the other. Lots more water effects.
Love Situation - Still on the moving stages. This song is full of fantastic dancing, I'm so glad so many fans remembered and voted for it. I didn't think to, but it's a great choice. Ohno/Jun in particular got lots of cheers for their dancing. For some reason I heard the two of them waay louder than everyone else. It might have been a sound issue.
Up through this point I noticed that Ohno sounded a bit more nasal than usual, almost like he had a cold. That went away as the concert went on. Jun and Aiba also sounded higher pitched than normal, but not in a bad way. It actually made Aiba sound adorable. Nino was really on this concert - he only got slightly pitchy during one or two songs in the middle of the first half. Sho was Sho. xD
Fight Song - Another of my top favorite concert songs. I have to admit though that this wasn't their best performance of it. They just kind of sang it straight through like the CD track. Not much of the usual silliness they put into it. I think that largely had to do with timing - the song was sandwiched between a sexy dance number and a ballad-ish solo. It's normally during an encore or with other high energy songs.
Friendship - Aiba came back out in a blue suit shiny suit with a black undershirt and a giant red Mickey Mouse hand. He sang this really well - super adorable and he hit all of the notes. It was definitely live, because you could hear a hint of breathiness. The other four members came out halfway through also wearing Mickey hands and dancing and waving adorably. Cutest thing ever.
Shake It - And now for something completely different. xD They got rid of the gloves and everyone backdanced to the sexiest song ever. Everyone got really into it and kept going back and forth between grinning and making silly faces and making sex faces. When Jun paired with Aiba they put their arms around each other and did lots of hip rocking. Sho chickend out a bit, he didn't get as into it. Nino got COMPLETELY into it was grinding his ass up against Jun's crotch. As Jun wrapped his arm around Ohno, Ohno pretended to be scandalized and a victim. xD Jun of course ripped his shirt off at the climax, but sadly no one else did. Regardless the whole thing was magical. The audience (self included) was screaming and flipping out every 2 seconds. xD
Mini MC - Shake it was apparently so tiring everyone needed a break. Nino asked Ohno for a comment and Ohno just said "Yeah...we really danced a lot." xD Everyone agreed that Nino's shaking was intense. xD
Sho then explained that they were doing things like back dancing for each other because of fan requests. He said that even after 14 years in Arashi, they still have "Johnny's Juniorism" stuck in them.
Nino: You mean it makes us work hard!
Ohno: We were trying to make everyone excited about MatsuJun.
Sho said that he could just dance like this *mini unenthusiastic hip roll* but because they were backdancing, he ends up dancing like this *super sexy hip roll*. Everyone agreed and Ohno said that it makes you want to try and stand out. Jun replied by saying that's how they all got to where they are now.
They started talking again about the request system for AraFes and how surprised they were by some of the songs, like Love Situation which they haven't performed many times. Jun started to say that they were going to do the number one ranked b-side and we all got excited in the audience... but then he said "Not yet, later." -_- Sho made fun of Jun for acting like he was cutting away to a commercial.
Season - By now it was getting darker and you could see a crescent moon up in the sky ♥ Everyone stood center stage and it rose into three tiered platforms. They sang this really beautifully. It's not a b-side I would have thought to vote for, but it's actually one of my favorites.
Next was Natsu no Owari ni Omou Koto and then the number one requested b-side, Still... - For this song they got on the conveyer belts on the paths and walked in place while singing.
T.A.B.O.O - This was mostly Sho alone and almost an exact replica of how he did it during Scene. He had the same costume and they used a lot of the same opening video. Most of this wasn't live (only the rap break in the middle) but it's such a great song I don't even care xD The rest of Arashi came out to back dance with him near the end. Everyone falling down in unison was really cool. I think most of the audience was anticipating the police skirts, (T-san and I kept whispering about it), but alas xD
Pika**nchi Double - They moved to the back stage for this and stayed through Troublemaker. The stage seemed wider than last year - they had a whole big area to walk around and see the fans who had seats in the way back. At some point I caught Ohno turning and looking into Nino's eyes dramatically as he sang one of his lines. :3
Energy Song - They introduced this as the #1 most requested album song. Like Fight Song, I thought this was a bit lower energy than usual. For most of it they were riding a platform back down the back stage, so there wasn't much opportunity for them to jump around and be silly.
MC:
[I put this together based on my own memory and a compilation of Japanese fan reports that I looked at to fill in what I forgot xD These aren't exact quotes, but close to what was said.]
Sho: It rained during our rehearsal before the concert, didn't it?
Jun: Yeah, for about two hours.
Sho: We talked about how bad it would be if it rained like this during the show... I'm glad the sun came out. Is there anyone here who had a hard time in the rain or got wet?
[I raised my hand along with a ton of other fans x_x]
Jun: I mean, for the people standing in the goods line, there wasn't anything you could do right? You couldn't just be like "It's raining, run!"
Aiba: Couldn't they [the staff] put the sales on hold for a bit because of the rain?
Ohno: I wonder if everyone had umbrellas?
Nino: But you can't put them up in a place like that, right?
Sho: Did you all cover with your towels and make it through okay?
[Some people raised their hands]
Sho: So was there anyone who had nothing and just huddled up?
[More people raised their hands]
Sho: SERIOUSLY??
Nino: They went to buy your goods even though it was tough, Aiba-san.
[They talked about how even though Aiba thought so hard about goods that would protect us from the rain, people got rained on before they could buy the goods xD I thought it was sweet that they all seemed worried about us and totally understood the situation :< ]
Jun: Aiba-san, when I asked they said the pin badges sold out. [To the crowd] Were they being sold? Were they?
[Fans: Noooo]
Jun: I wanted some and when I asked the staff they were like "They're all gone." Uh, I'm a member!
Aiba: Sorry! Everyone, the members are just like you.
Jun: I guess I have to stand in line.
Aiba: Yup.
Ohno: In the pouring rain.
Sho: Aiba-san, which goods item did you like the best?
Aiba: (He talks about the hooded towel and how he came up with the idea for the grey from the grey hat he was wearing at the time. It was a color they'd never used before. He made a lame "grey zone" joke which Sho praised xD)
Jun: Isn't it cute though?
Ohno: The t-shirt is cute too. We've never had one like that before right?
[Everyone complimented the shirt. Then they moved into talking about AraFes voting.]
Sho: Songs you voted for could even be in here. Like did anyone vote for Love Situation?
[Lots of people raise their hands.]
Sho: Really? That many?
Ohno: Huh? What? What's so good about that song?
Nino: Cut it out. (teasing)
[They talked for a bit about how there might be people there who saw the song performed back in 2007, or who have only seen it on DVD and wanted to see it in person for the first time. Then they asked people to raise their hands if they voted for "Still..." and lots of people did.]
Sho: Doesn't it make you happy? Hearing the songs you requested? [YES] So... who voted for Energy Song?
[Not many people raised their hands, though I did xD]
Sho: We asked yesterday too and not many people raised their hands.
Nino: Even less people raised their hands yesterday.
Sho: It really did a good job of getting number 1!
Jun: Actually... did you all vote?
[Everyone laughed and raised their hands. Next they start talking about Aiba's "happening" at the beginning. Apparently Aiba's crane didn't raise up and he panicked and walked to center stage xD]
Nino: I really wanted to say something... Why were you trying to stand out? You're so crafty.
Jun: I know, right? When you looked around and realize everyone else had raised up, I get that you'd think "Ah~ I want to raise up too" but... why would you then walk to the center stage?
Nino: You should have held out a little more.
Sho: The way I saw it... The cranes spin around, so then I saw the screens.. And Aiba was below like... *makes fun of Aiba getting all into the dance*
Aiba: There wasn't anything I could do!
Nino: You tried to stand out right away!
Aiba: Nooo, hey, listen. Listen... look! Okay, Leader. Leader, will you listen??
[Apparently Aiba thought that he felt the movement of the crane so he didn't realize it hadn't moved. Then the balloon opens and just as he was going "yaay!" he realized he hadn't moved at all.]
Aiba: That made me panic!
Ohno: But you didn't realize at all??
Aiba: No, no!
Jun: I mean, you feel it moving.
Aiba: Well... I was so excited, it was wavering a little.
Jun: Aiba-san, just how excited are you inside that balloon?
Nino: Aiba-san came out and was like *imitates Aiba looking all around*. I was cracking up.
Aiba: You were! I really wanted it to be a dream.
Jun: And then you just walked to the center.
Aiba: Yup.
Ohno: You didn't notice... [Ohno is so late xD]
Jun: Aiba-san was in a panic.
Aiba: That's right, I was.
Sho: But... for everyone [the fans] you were close... it wasn't bad, right?
[The fans on Aiba's side of the stadium cheered.]
Aiba: Really? You guys are so nice. It's like "Team Aiba" over there.
[Next they moved on to talking about OreFes = Ore meaning "me". This is where each member chose a song they really wanted to do that didn't get voted for.]
Sho's Choice: Green. A song they originally did for Dream-A-Live and then used during Eco Week, but it never really made it onto an album and they haven't had other opportunities to sing it.
Ohno: Kiss Kara Hajimeyou. He pretty much just likes the title and the lyric "21seiki wa kiss kara hajimeyou" He kept going on about it until Nino cut him off. xD
Aiba: Hey Hey Lovin' You. He likes the tempo and how it goes "Do do do do do do SHABAA!!" Nino said they never know what that part actually is. Aiba did it over a bunch of different ways.
Nino: Sketch. The song Nino and Sho wrote for Arashi's 5th anniversary that was only mailed to 100 people who won a lottery. I never knew this, but apparently at the time Ohno and Aiba made a t-shirt. Jun said he took the picture of the jacket. Sho asks if anyone actually has a CD and one person in the arena actually did!
Sho: No way! Seriously!?... You're lyiiing.
Nino: No no, they wouldn't lie.
Ohno: She's DEFINITELY lying xD
Nino shushed him and then they left to continue with the concert.
To be continued!
Sketch - They kept this performance simple, which fit the song nicely. All five sat on chairs on stage while the main screen played images from throughout their history.
Kiss Kara Hajimeyou - They split up for this song and walked along the paths through the arena. This is a fun song to listen to, but I don't remember them doing anything particularly special in terms of the performance.
Gimmick Game - This was obviously a song the crowd really wanted to hear, the screaming when the intro started was intense.
This was my second time seeing Nino perform this live, and it was really interesting how different the mood was from the first time. During Dream-A-Live there was a lot more anger to his performance, which made it a bit more intense overall. This time I think he just went for straight sexy, which no one was complaining about.
But it was definitely different, so I'm still a little sad we don't have a Dream-A-Live DVD so that everyone else can see the two styles. Sadly this was the only solo the other members didn't participate in.
Unless it was by video and I missed it because I was too busy staring at Nino. The song doesn't have much of a dance though, so it would have been hard to include the others.
Rain - YEEESS. This is the solo I was most excited about. I've never seen this live before and I love the dance. I definitely think this is the best dance Ohno has ever choreographed. Just like the others, Ohno came out in his original costume for the song, which I'm actually really surprised was still sitting around somewhere since it's the least "costumey" of the solos in AraFes. [Random aside: I wish JE had a costume museum section in their stores like H!P does] Maybe it was re-created. Each of the members appeared briefly on the main screen doing the dance at different points in the song, and then at the end they all lined up on the screen behind Ohno so it seemed that all five were dancing together.
DJ x MJ - I think this was my favorite part of the entire concert. It was so unique and fun. While the whole AraFes show was designed to be for the fans, I think this part was the most "fan centric." I don't think that someone casually watching could appreciate this in quite the same way as Arashi fans can, with all the little references sprinkled throughout. Not to mention the fact that it was overflowing with member love.
Jun appeared on the main stage behind a huge DJ table with absurdly huge headphones on. He started out by remixing his way through his own solos, Come Back to Me into Yabai-Yabai-Yabai. Then the music blended into Arashi songs, A-RA-SHI, We Can Make It, Believe. Then Aiba appeared on the main screen saying "Masaki dot com!!!" and transformed into his Magical Song outfit. He came out on stage for real and performed a bit of the song, including the awesome dance with his outfit all lit up.
Next we heard a little bit of Monster and then... Ohmiya SK came out!! The last time I saw them was Dream-A-Live [I think?], and fittingly they did the same song from that tour, Ohmiya SKOSHI. Both of them were wearing absurd... puppets? that became their backup dancers and Nino was cracking up as Ohno whipped his around all over the place.
After they were done being silly the music transitioned again into Hip Hop Boogie for a brief moment, and then Sho came out with the line "toida tsume kakushi kiba wo muku" and Re(mark)able started. He got behind the DJ table with Jun and got lots of kyaaa-ing from the crowd. The DJ segment ended by coming full circle and playing "Itsudemo koko e come back."
La Tormenta 2004 - With Sho and Jun already on stage they went right into La Tormenta. They used the same lyrics and part splits from the CD. It was a really fun performance and brought up a lot of nostalgia, but I really wish they'd made a 2012 version. During the "heso piasu" [belly button piercing] line Sho showed off his stomach for us, but he obviously doesn't have a piercing anymore.
Lines like that just don't fit now. But it is kind of nice to see that some things never change. Aiba is still a crybaby, Nino is still an amazing actor, Ohno still looks sleepy all the time.
Tokei Jikake no Umbrella - I have to be honest. I've been dying to see this song performed ever since it came out, and finally seeing it was a little disappointing. Apparently Ohno choreographed this dance, but it really didn't seem like it. I was expecting a lot of sharp, precise movements, some of Ohno's trademark pop and lock. Instead we got... something much less impressive. Oh well, at least they sounded good.
One Love - This was the opposite kind of surprise! I wasn't really looking forward to One Love because we've seen it soo many times. What makes AraFes cool is that we get tons of rare performances, not the same old songs! BUT. This was amazing. The members came back on stage in all white outfits looking like princes and did this song and the two after with a live orchestra. It was absolutely beautiful and an amazing way to revitalize this song.
truth - This is one of my favorites that I could listen to and watch over and over again, and they made it even better with the haunting sounds of the orchestra.
5x10 - Cue tears from the whole audience. ;_;
Mini MC - Cartoon Arashi appeared again on the screen and announced the top 10 ranking of singles.
10 - Love so sweet
9 - Kansha Kangeki Ame Arashi (As Ohno tries to comment on this, Nino interrupts him with #8)
8 - Step & Go
7 - Monster
6 - Happiness
5 - A-RA-SHI
4 - PIKA★★NCHI DOUBLE
3 - truth
2 - Wild at Heart
1 ...
Face Down - Arashi appeared again center stage with lots of fire effects.
Meikyuu Love Song - Not one of my favorite songs, I don't remember much about it.
Oh! Yeah & Hadashi no Mirai - They went to the back stage for these so it was hard for me to see, but both songs have so much energy that it's fun just being part of the crowd. Even though I'm not sure I'll ever actually memorize the Hadashi no Mirai moves.
A-RA-SHI - They started coming back down the escalator during this, but Ohno took some time to do lots of fanservice for the Parent-and-child seats, which was really sweet of him.
Ending MC
Sho - He talked about this being their 5th time in Kokuritsu and how it's thanks to the fans that they've been able to come back so many times, he hopes the fans will continue to follow them.
Ohno - He also thanked the fans for helping them to perform at Kokuritsu so many times, and asked us to keep helping Arashi out (everyone laughed at the way he said it).
Aiba - Aiba said it was really fun making a concert together with the fans. He was sad that AraFes had just started the night before and was ending that night, and he hopes there will be another next year [and it turns out there will be!] Then he said "One last thing... All of you wearing the T-shirts... they look great on you. And those of you wearing the wrist band with your T-shirts get 120 points!!"
Nino - "Thank you everyone. I actually think you all look really good?" Everyone laughed and Aiba protested, saying Nino was making it sound like Aiba had said something insulting (as if the people not in T-shirts didn't look good). He then told Nino to say everyone wearing the hooded towel get 150 points, so Nino parroted that back to us.
Then after talking about how fun the concerts were, Nino proceeded to go ON and ON about Ohmiya SK.
"Those two are really happy too. It seems that they gained a lot of members somewhere along the way. Now there are 10 of them [He means the puppets that danced with them]. I think during every Arashi concert those two are always in the back somewhere." He kept going on, so Jun interrupted him and told him to quit talking about Ohmiya, but he ignored Jun and just kept going. But then he finally wrapped things up and said he'd like to do interesting things like the Fes again.
Jun - Jun talked about how AraFes came to be, how they wanted to do something for the fans, but then it started to rain pretty hard so Jun paused to tell everyone to put on our rain coats (which I of course forgot to bring -_-). He continued, talking about how the last five years performing at Kokuritsu had been like a dream and he hopes we'll continue to enjoy that dream with them. Then he teased us, saying "Well it's raining, what should we do?" and everyone screamed "KEEP GOING."
Kansha Kangeki Ame Arashi - The timing of the rain fit the title so perfectly Jun couldn't help laughing as he introduced it.
Encore: Akashi - Kotoba Yori Taisetsu na Mono - Love so sweet - I think by this point the rain calmed down, so we were able to get into the songs more and relax a little. During the chorus of Love so sweet the fireworks started. Because we were sitting to the right of the main stage and a bit higher up, we had a really amazing view of the fireworks. They were gorgeous, and it's probably the closest I've ever been to a professional display in my life.
Just before the double encore they showed a video preview of the Popcorn tour. There were short little behind the scenes clips of them rehearsing and some of the outfits, which of course everyone has seen by now.
Eyes with Delight - This was a really exciting surprise. It's one of those songs that's always looked like it would be fun to see live, but for whatever reason I always forget about it. After the song they talked a little bit about Popcorn again and Ohno teased everyone that they might not be able to keep up with his choreography.
And then...
voice - We got a bonus song! I'm pretty sure they didn't do this on the 20th? I don't remember seeing it on the set list. This isn't something I would have thought would make a great concert song because even though it's pretty, it's kind of slow and doesn't have much build. But it's a perfect encore song.
During one of Jun and Nino's duet lines, Jun came over and put his arm around Nino, snuggling up to him right as Nino went into his solo line. The crowd broke out in screams and Nino gave a mini bow and mouthed "thank you" as if we were cheering for him and not the fanservice.
Sorry the second half of the report came out so late and wasn't quite as detailed... at this point I think most people have seen the DVD or will be seeing it soon, but I still wanted to finish it for myself. I haven't seen the DVD yet (it should be in my mailbox today!), so I'm interested to see how much of what I saw makes it in.
This year I didn't hit for tickets, but my friend T-san amazingly hit for four! She was very kind and gave me her extra. It was originally meant for someone else who couldn't go, and I'm very thankful to that friend and T-san for extending the offer to me.
Next year it must be all four of us!
T-san was also very kind and offered to pick up goods for me during one of the pre-sale days. It turns out I was very lucky she did that - things were selling out like crazy. I stood in line on Friday morning to get goods for two friends who couldn't make it and THAT was an experience. 5 hours in line, and just as we got up to the booths a wall of rain came over from the stadium and soaked us. By that time everything was sold out but the uchiwa, penlights, and posters. I've been going to Arashi concerts since 2007 and never seen that happen. I guess that's what happens when there are only 2 days of shows and a member designs the goods.
I hid from the rain in the train station for a bit and ran into an adorable pair of girls dressed as Ohmiya SK. I took a picture, but I forgot to ask their permission to share it.
It was like an Arashi refugee camp in there. Everyone was trying to dry off and protect their goods.
Once it stopped raining I went back to the stadium to get some food, people watch (so many cute cosplayers... no confidence to ask for pictures
), and eventually find our seats.
(This was really pretty all lit up at night, but I wasn't able to get a good picture because of the post-concert crowds.)
T-san was coming with her daughter S-chan and her daughter's friend right after they got out of school, so I went in a bit early to find our seats. We were in the stadium pretty far to the right of the stage (our right). The seats were in the higher section, but as usual Arashi does a really good job of making sure all of the fans get a good view, so our seats turned out to be pretty good.
Once T-san and the girls arrived we got all settled in and the show began!
~Opening~
There was a main stage, back stage, and center stage. The center stage was a small circle with several paths branching off of it kind of like a star, each path ending in a circular point. A cute animated movie started playing on the main screen, but unfortunately we couldn't see it well because of the angle we were at.
At the end of each branch was a crane platform with a big orange balloon on the end. The platforms started to raise up, tilting closer to us. Staff ran over and released colored balloons - I didn't make the connection until later, but ours were purple. xD The orange balloons burst open and out came Arashi! Jun was right in front of us, and as his platform started to swivel around he got so close we could see his face clearly. We were so busy freaking out about how close Jun was that we never noticed Aiba's "happening" xD More on that later.
Side note: For some reason every concert I go to I see a lot of Jun and not much Nino D:
The opening song was Happiness, followed by Gori Muchuu. They came down from the cranes and ran all around the paths to wave at everyone. This is such an awesome opening song, it should be at the beginning instead of the end more often.
Next was Carnival Night part 2. They changed the words to "Festival Night" and had us chant "F-E-S-T-I-V-A-L Night!" Nino also switched up some of his lines to say "Kokuritsu ni~"
They did their usual greetings and then went into Love Rainbow.
For Love Rainbow they went back towards the center stage and got up on the towers that rise up over the arena. The towers flashed with rainbow lights during the song, it was really pretty. They started using water effects here, having streams of water wave back and forth all around the edges of the arena.
Step and Go - I love this song! I was super happy to see it appear, it made me so nostalgic. They came back to center stage to dance. At one point Sho forgot to lipsync some of his rap.
I can't remember if this started with Step and Go or not, but the center stage and paths all had mini treadmills/conveyer belts built into them. Arashi would get on these in a line and dance while moving down the paths and hop on or off in sync. It was really cool - a subtle effect but really awesome once you realized what they were doing.
After Step and Go Arashi disappeared and Chibi Anime Arashi came up on the monitors. They explained to us what AraFes was and how it's different from a normal concert. Chibi Jun asked what songs Arashi liked. Chibi Ohno said Kansha Kangeki, Chibi Aiba picked Love so sweet. Then they asked Aiba to get things started and he did his goofy monomane line from Energy Song ("Yacchaimasu ka ne?"). Chibi Arashi made fun of him. :3 They introduced the next song as one of the most requested singles.
Wild at Heart - Woo, I requested this! They came out on the main stage in new costumes (the puffy vest jacket things, if you've seen pictures) and danced with standing microphones like in the PV.
Summer Splash - They went out onto the moving stages. Ohno and Jun came to our side, Aiba/Nino/Sho to the other. Lots more water effects.
Love Situation - Still on the moving stages. This song is full of fantastic dancing, I'm so glad so many fans remembered and voted for it. I didn't think to, but it's a great choice. Ohno/Jun in particular got lots of cheers for their dancing. For some reason I heard the two of them waay louder than everyone else. It might have been a sound issue.
Up through this point I noticed that Ohno sounded a bit more nasal than usual, almost like he had a cold. That went away as the concert went on. Jun and Aiba also sounded higher pitched than normal, but not in a bad way. It actually made Aiba sound adorable. Nino was really on this concert - he only got slightly pitchy during one or two songs in the middle of the first half. Sho was Sho. xD
Fight Song - Another of my top favorite concert songs. I have to admit though that this wasn't their best performance of it. They just kind of sang it straight through like the CD track. Not much of the usual silliness they put into it. I think that largely had to do with timing - the song was sandwiched between a sexy dance number and a ballad-ish solo. It's normally during an encore or with other high energy songs.
Friendship - Aiba came back out in a blue suit shiny suit with a black undershirt and a giant red Mickey Mouse hand. He sang this really well - super adorable and he hit all of the notes. It was definitely live, because you could hear a hint of breathiness. The other four members came out halfway through also wearing Mickey hands and dancing and waving adorably. Cutest thing ever.
Shake It - And now for something completely different. xD They got rid of the gloves and everyone backdanced to the sexiest song ever. Everyone got really into it and kept going back and forth between grinning and making silly faces and making sex faces. When Jun paired with Aiba they put their arms around each other and did lots of hip rocking. Sho chickend out a bit, he didn't get as into it. Nino got COMPLETELY into it was grinding his ass up against Jun's crotch. As Jun wrapped his arm around Ohno, Ohno pretended to be scandalized and a victim. xD Jun of course ripped his shirt off at the climax, but sadly no one else did. Regardless the whole thing was magical. The audience (self included) was screaming and flipping out every 2 seconds. xD
Mini MC - Shake it was apparently so tiring everyone needed a break. Nino asked Ohno for a comment and Ohno just said "Yeah...we really danced a lot." xD Everyone agreed that Nino's shaking was intense. xD
Sho then explained that they were doing things like back dancing for each other because of fan requests. He said that even after 14 years in Arashi, they still have "Johnny's Juniorism" stuck in them.
Nino: You mean it makes us work hard!
Ohno: We were trying to make everyone excited about MatsuJun.
Sho said that he could just dance like this *mini unenthusiastic hip roll* but because they were backdancing, he ends up dancing like this *super sexy hip roll*. Everyone agreed and Ohno said that it makes you want to try and stand out. Jun replied by saying that's how they all got to where they are now.
They started talking again about the request system for AraFes and how surprised they were by some of the songs, like Love Situation which they haven't performed many times. Jun started to say that they were going to do the number one ranked b-side and we all got excited in the audience... but then he said "Not yet, later." -_- Sho made fun of Jun for acting like he was cutting away to a commercial.
Season - By now it was getting darker and you could see a crescent moon up in the sky ♥ Everyone stood center stage and it rose into three tiered platforms. They sang this really beautifully. It's not a b-side I would have thought to vote for, but it's actually one of my favorites.
Next was Natsu no Owari ni Omou Koto and then the number one requested b-side, Still... - For this song they got on the conveyer belts on the paths and walked in place while singing.
T.A.B.O.O - This was mostly Sho alone and almost an exact replica of how he did it during Scene. He had the same costume and they used a lot of the same opening video. Most of this wasn't live (only the rap break in the middle) but it's such a great song I don't even care xD The rest of Arashi came out to back dance with him near the end. Everyone falling down in unison was really cool. I think most of the audience was anticipating the police skirts, (T-san and I kept whispering about it), but alas xD
Pika**nchi Double - They moved to the back stage for this and stayed through Troublemaker. The stage seemed wider than last year - they had a whole big area to walk around and see the fans who had seats in the way back. At some point I caught Ohno turning and looking into Nino's eyes dramatically as he sang one of his lines. :3
Energy Song - They introduced this as the #1 most requested album song. Like Fight Song, I thought this was a bit lower energy than usual. For most of it they were riding a platform back down the back stage, so there wasn't much opportunity for them to jump around and be silly.
MC:
[I put this together based on my own memory and a compilation of Japanese fan reports that I looked at to fill in what I forgot xD These aren't exact quotes, but close to what was said.]
Sho: It rained during our rehearsal before the concert, didn't it?
Jun: Yeah, for about two hours.
Sho: We talked about how bad it would be if it rained like this during the show... I'm glad the sun came out. Is there anyone here who had a hard time in the rain or got wet?
[I raised my hand along with a ton of other fans x_x]
Jun: I mean, for the people standing in the goods line, there wasn't anything you could do right? You couldn't just be like "It's raining, run!"
Aiba: Couldn't they [the staff] put the sales on hold for a bit because of the rain?
Ohno: I wonder if everyone had umbrellas?
Nino: But you can't put them up in a place like that, right?
Sho: Did you all cover with your towels and make it through okay?
[Some people raised their hands]
Sho: So was there anyone who had nothing and just huddled up?
[More people raised their hands]
Sho: SERIOUSLY??
Nino: They went to buy your goods even though it was tough, Aiba-san.
[They talked about how even though Aiba thought so hard about goods that would protect us from the rain, people got rained on before they could buy the goods xD I thought it was sweet that they all seemed worried about us and totally understood the situation :< ]
Jun: Aiba-san, when I asked they said the pin badges sold out. [To the crowd] Were they being sold? Were they?
[Fans: Noooo]
Jun: I wanted some and when I asked the staff they were like "They're all gone." Uh, I'm a member!
Aiba: Sorry! Everyone, the members are just like you.
Jun: I guess I have to stand in line.
Aiba: Yup.
Ohno: In the pouring rain.
Sho: Aiba-san, which goods item did you like the best?
Aiba: (He talks about the hooded towel and how he came up with the idea for the grey from the grey hat he was wearing at the time. It was a color they'd never used before. He made a lame "grey zone" joke which Sho praised xD)
Jun: Isn't it cute though?
Ohno: The t-shirt is cute too. We've never had one like that before right?
[Everyone complimented the shirt. Then they moved into talking about AraFes voting.]
Sho: Songs you voted for could even be in here. Like did anyone vote for Love Situation?
[Lots of people raise their hands.]
Sho: Really? That many?
Ohno: Huh? What? What's so good about that song?
Nino: Cut it out. (teasing)
[They talked for a bit about how there might be people there who saw the song performed back in 2007, or who have only seen it on DVD and wanted to see it in person for the first time. Then they asked people to raise their hands if they voted for "Still..." and lots of people did.]
Sho: Doesn't it make you happy? Hearing the songs you requested? [YES] So... who voted for Energy Song?
[Not many people raised their hands, though I did xD]
Sho: We asked yesterday too and not many people raised their hands.
Nino: Even less people raised their hands yesterday.
Sho: It really did a good job of getting number 1!
Jun: Actually... did you all vote?
[Everyone laughed and raised their hands. Next they start talking about Aiba's "happening" at the beginning. Apparently Aiba's crane didn't raise up and he panicked and walked to center stage xD]
Nino: I really wanted to say something... Why were you trying to stand out? You're so crafty.
Jun: I know, right? When you looked around and realize everyone else had raised up, I get that you'd think "Ah~ I want to raise up too" but... why would you then walk to the center stage?
Nino: You should have held out a little more.
Sho: The way I saw it... The cranes spin around, so then I saw the screens.. And Aiba was below like... *makes fun of Aiba getting all into the dance*
Aiba: There wasn't anything I could do!
Nino: You tried to stand out right away!
Aiba: Nooo, hey, listen. Listen... look! Okay, Leader. Leader, will you listen??
[Apparently Aiba thought that he felt the movement of the crane so he didn't realize it hadn't moved. Then the balloon opens and just as he was going "yaay!" he realized he hadn't moved at all.]
Aiba: That made me panic!
Ohno: But you didn't realize at all??
Aiba: No, no!
Jun: I mean, you feel it moving.
Aiba: Well... I was so excited, it was wavering a little.
Jun: Aiba-san, just how excited are you inside that balloon?
Nino: Aiba-san came out and was like *imitates Aiba looking all around*. I was cracking up.
Aiba: You were! I really wanted it to be a dream.
Jun: And then you just walked to the center.
Aiba: Yup.
Ohno: You didn't notice... [Ohno is so late xD]
Jun: Aiba-san was in a panic.
Aiba: That's right, I was.
Sho: But... for everyone [the fans] you were close... it wasn't bad, right?
[The fans on Aiba's side of the stadium cheered.]
Aiba: Really? You guys are so nice. It's like "Team Aiba" over there.
[Next they moved on to talking about OreFes = Ore meaning "me". This is where each member chose a song they really wanted to do that didn't get voted for.]
Sho's Choice: Green. A song they originally did for Dream-A-Live and then used during Eco Week, but it never really made it onto an album and they haven't had other opportunities to sing it.
Ohno: Kiss Kara Hajimeyou. He pretty much just likes the title and the lyric "21seiki wa kiss kara hajimeyou" He kept going on about it until Nino cut him off. xD
Aiba: Hey Hey Lovin' You. He likes the tempo and how it goes "Do do do do do do SHABAA!!" Nino said they never know what that part actually is. Aiba did it over a bunch of different ways.
Nino: Sketch. The song Nino and Sho wrote for Arashi's 5th anniversary that was only mailed to 100 people who won a lottery. I never knew this, but apparently at the time Ohno and Aiba made a t-shirt. Jun said he took the picture of the jacket. Sho asks if anyone actually has a CD and one person in the arena actually did!
Sho: No way! Seriously!?... You're lyiiing.
Nino: No no, they wouldn't lie.
Ohno: She's DEFINITELY lying xD
Nino shushed him and then they left to continue with the concert.
To be continued!
Sketch - They kept this performance simple, which fit the song nicely. All five sat on chairs on stage while the main screen played images from throughout their history.
Kiss Kara Hajimeyou - They split up for this song and walked along the paths through the arena. This is a fun song to listen to, but I don't remember them doing anything particularly special in terms of the performance.
Gimmick Game - This was obviously a song the crowd really wanted to hear, the screaming when the intro started was intense.
This was my second time seeing Nino perform this live, and it was really interesting how different the mood was from the first time. During Dream-A-Live there was a lot more anger to his performance, which made it a bit more intense overall. This time I think he just went for straight sexy, which no one was complaining about.
But it was definitely different, so I'm still a little sad we don't have a Dream-A-Live DVD so that everyone else can see the two styles. Sadly this was the only solo the other members didn't participate in.
Unless it was by video and I missed it because I was too busy staring at Nino. The song doesn't have much of a dance though, so it would have been hard to include the others.
Rain - YEEESS. This is the solo I was most excited about. I've never seen this live before and I love the dance. I definitely think this is the best dance Ohno has ever choreographed. Just like the others, Ohno came out in his original costume for the song, which I'm actually really surprised was still sitting around somewhere since it's the least "costumey" of the solos in AraFes. [Random aside: I wish JE had a costume museum section in their stores like H!P does] Maybe it was re-created. Each of the members appeared briefly on the main screen doing the dance at different points in the song, and then at the end they all lined up on the screen behind Ohno so it seemed that all five were dancing together.
DJ x MJ - I think this was my favorite part of the entire concert. It was so unique and fun. While the whole AraFes show was designed to be for the fans, I think this part was the most "fan centric." I don't think that someone casually watching could appreciate this in quite the same way as Arashi fans can, with all the little references sprinkled throughout. Not to mention the fact that it was overflowing with member love.
Jun appeared on the main stage behind a huge DJ table with absurdly huge headphones on. He started out by remixing his way through his own solos, Come Back to Me into Yabai-Yabai-Yabai. Then the music blended into Arashi songs, A-RA-SHI, We Can Make It, Believe. Then Aiba appeared on the main screen saying "Masaki dot com!!!" and transformed into his Magical Song outfit. He came out on stage for real and performed a bit of the song, including the awesome dance with his outfit all lit up.
Next we heard a little bit of Monster and then... Ohmiya SK came out!! The last time I saw them was Dream-A-Live [I think?], and fittingly they did the same song from that tour, Ohmiya SKOSHI. Both of them were wearing absurd... puppets? that became their backup dancers and Nino was cracking up as Ohno whipped his around all over the place.
After they were done being silly the music transitioned again into Hip Hop Boogie for a brief moment, and then Sho came out with the line "toida tsume kakushi kiba wo muku" and Re(mark)able started. He got behind the DJ table with Jun and got lots of kyaaa-ing from the crowd. The DJ segment ended by coming full circle and playing "Itsudemo koko e come back."
La Tormenta 2004 - With Sho and Jun already on stage they went right into La Tormenta. They used the same lyrics and part splits from the CD. It was a really fun performance and brought up a lot of nostalgia, but I really wish they'd made a 2012 version. During the "heso piasu" [belly button piercing] line Sho showed off his stomach for us, but he obviously doesn't have a piercing anymore.
Lines like that just don't fit now. But it is kind of nice to see that some things never change. Aiba is still a crybaby, Nino is still an amazing actor, Ohno still looks sleepy all the time.
Tokei Jikake no Umbrella - I have to be honest. I've been dying to see this song performed ever since it came out, and finally seeing it was a little disappointing. Apparently Ohno choreographed this dance, but it really didn't seem like it. I was expecting a lot of sharp, precise movements, some of Ohno's trademark pop and lock. Instead we got... something much less impressive. Oh well, at least they sounded good.
One Love - This was the opposite kind of surprise! I wasn't really looking forward to One Love because we've seen it soo many times. What makes AraFes cool is that we get tons of rare performances, not the same old songs! BUT. This was amazing. The members came back on stage in all white outfits looking like princes and did this song and the two after with a live orchestra. It was absolutely beautiful and an amazing way to revitalize this song.
truth - This is one of my favorites that I could listen to and watch over and over again, and they made it even better with the haunting sounds of the orchestra.
5x10 - Cue tears from the whole audience. ;_;
Mini MC - Cartoon Arashi appeared again on the screen and announced the top 10 ranking of singles.
10 - Love so sweet
9 - Kansha Kangeki Ame Arashi (As Ohno tries to comment on this, Nino interrupts him with #8)
8 - Step & Go
7 - Monster
6 - Happiness
5 - A-RA-SHI
4 - PIKA★★NCHI DOUBLE
3 - truth
2 - Wild at Heart
1 ...
Face Down - Arashi appeared again center stage with lots of fire effects.
Meikyuu Love Song - Not one of my favorite songs, I don't remember much about it.
Oh! Yeah & Hadashi no Mirai - They went to the back stage for these so it was hard for me to see, but both songs have so much energy that it's fun just being part of the crowd. Even though I'm not sure I'll ever actually memorize the Hadashi no Mirai moves.
A-RA-SHI - They started coming back down the escalator during this, but Ohno took some time to do lots of fanservice for the Parent-and-child seats, which was really sweet of him.
Ending MC
Sho - He talked about this being their 5th time in Kokuritsu and how it's thanks to the fans that they've been able to come back so many times, he hopes the fans will continue to follow them.
Ohno - He also thanked the fans for helping them to perform at Kokuritsu so many times, and asked us to keep helping Arashi out (everyone laughed at the way he said it).
Aiba - Aiba said it was really fun making a concert together with the fans. He was sad that AraFes had just started the night before and was ending that night, and he hopes there will be another next year [and it turns out there will be!] Then he said "One last thing... All of you wearing the T-shirts... they look great on you. And those of you wearing the wrist band with your T-shirts get 120 points!!"
Nino - "Thank you everyone. I actually think you all look really good?" Everyone laughed and Aiba protested, saying Nino was making it sound like Aiba had said something insulting (as if the people not in T-shirts didn't look good). He then told Nino to say everyone wearing the hooded towel get 150 points, so Nino parroted that back to us.
Then after talking about how fun the concerts were, Nino proceeded to go ON and ON about Ohmiya SK.
"Those two are really happy too. It seems that they gained a lot of members somewhere along the way. Now there are 10 of them [He means the puppets that danced with them]. I think during every Arashi concert those two are always in the back somewhere." He kept going on, so Jun interrupted him and told him to quit talking about Ohmiya, but he ignored Jun and just kept going. But then he finally wrapped things up and said he'd like to do interesting things like the Fes again.
Jun - Jun talked about how AraFes came to be, how they wanted to do something for the fans, but then it started to rain pretty hard so Jun paused to tell everyone to put on our rain coats (which I of course forgot to bring -_-). He continued, talking about how the last five years performing at Kokuritsu had been like a dream and he hopes we'll continue to enjoy that dream with them. Then he teased us, saying "Well it's raining, what should we do?" and everyone screamed "KEEP GOING."
Kansha Kangeki Ame Arashi - The timing of the rain fit the title so perfectly Jun couldn't help laughing as he introduced it.
Encore: Akashi - Kotoba Yori Taisetsu na Mono - Love so sweet - I think by this point the rain calmed down, so we were able to get into the songs more and relax a little. During the chorus of Love so sweet the fireworks started. Because we were sitting to the right of the main stage and a bit higher up, we had a really amazing view of the fireworks. They were gorgeous, and it's probably the closest I've ever been to a professional display in my life.
Just before the double encore they showed a video preview of the Popcorn tour. There were short little behind the scenes clips of them rehearsing and some of the outfits, which of course everyone has seen by now.
Eyes with Delight - This was a really exciting surprise. It's one of those songs that's always looked like it would be fun to see live, but for whatever reason I always forget about it. After the song they talked a little bit about Popcorn again and Ohno teased everyone that they might not be able to keep up with his choreography.
And then...
voice - We got a bonus song! I'm pretty sure they didn't do this on the 20th? I don't remember seeing it on the set list. This isn't something I would have thought would make a great concert song because even though it's pretty, it's kind of slow and doesn't have much build. But it's a perfect encore song.
During one of Jun and Nino's duet lines, Jun came over and put his arm around Nino, snuggling up to him right as Nino went into his solo line. The crowd broke out in screams and Nino gave a mini bow and mouthed "thank you" as if we were cheering for him and not the fanservice.
Sorry the second half of the report came out so late and wasn't quite as detailed... at this point I think most people have seen the DVD or will be seeing it soon, but I still wanted to finish it for myself. I haven't seen the DVD yet (it should be in my mailbox today!), so I'm interested to see how much of what I saw makes it in.