[LIVE REPORT] 17 - 18 Jan, fade weekend in Kobe
fade x FUZZY CONTROL 2-man at MUSIC ZOO KOBE 太陽と虎
&
Acoustic In-store event at MINT KOBE Tower Records
***
Sorry for the late live report! I'm keeping things simple this time so they're much shorter than usual. Enjoy!
17 Jan 2014: fade x FUZZY CONTROL 2-man
Opening talk:
So one representative from each band was on stage and for fade it was Jon, of course. They were told to write their 'wish'/'hope' for the year on a paper in ink. Jon wrote (ロ)オリコン#1 (#1 on Oricon charts) on his, and explained cause their major debut album was coming out on 26 Feb. Then Teppei (the MC) pointed out there was a "ro" in front so... Lolicon (ロリコン)!?
So Jon started explaining that he had written Oricon at first because of their major debut etc but then thought it was much too serious and not interesting so he added the "ro" and then added: うちのカンセイってさぁ、ロリコンだよ。アイドルが好きから (Well, kansei's a lolicon!! He likes idols!)
Which was of course met with lots of laughs. Earlier, when introducing Jon, Teppei had this mini English back and forth exchange with Jon which I suspect was song lyrics, though I don't remember what they are. It was really cute.
The opening act iNtElogiQ was adorable! They're a fun band and the band members are all in their early-mid twenties!
FUZZY CONTROL was next and they're a really really cool and upbeat band. Their beats are infectious and it's really easy to get pulled in and jump along. They were in last year's Kohaku Uta Gassen, which is a pretty damn huge feat. My favourite song of their set was "Mona Lisa".
And next up was of course fade.
Setlist (from fadebook):
1. Born Ready
2. Better Scarred
3. ユレノナカ
4. Ever Free
5. She
6. From the Heart
7. Glory
8. Cross Road
9. So Far Gone
10. Close to you
11. コズミカリズム
-encore-
12. Beautiful
Jon was wearing the same shirt he wore at the Damage Liver final (white with sunglasses graphic printed on, that has a woman reflected on the lenses; pictured below) and a black blazer he received from a fan that had embellishments on the left lapel. Jon had black high top sneakers on which had black 'dots/spikes' on them.
Kansei was wearing a dark burgundy (I think) shirt with two black leather panels in a 'V' shape next to the collar/on the shoulder. He wore laced high boots (like Doc Martens) but with the front more like Creepers (later he changed into pointy leather shoes - I call those 'Suit Shoes').
Most probably taken during the Encore, because Nori and Jon took their outerwear off
Which was also when Louise & I asked Jon to take his shirt off. "You take your shirt off" was his reply, pffft. We did manage to keep the encore cry going on all by ourselves which wasn't an easy feat. The Japanese fans aren't really the type to shout encore, and supposedly this is also true at bigger concerts as well.
For their first show in 2014 it was pretty damn electric. It was a shame that there was a gap in between the first and second rows. Jon made sure to shout to the crowd in both English and Japanese :) When Jon was doing the introduction for 'She', he talked about how it was a really old song and it was on the Demo CD rui had sent him. I thought it was going to be 'Face' but it turned out to be 'She' instead! Godo did the backing vocals for that song. They played some songs that they haven't played in a looooong time, one of them being 'She', and the other being 'From The Heart'.
The chorus of 'Glory' has a very prominent first line: "I would die for you". Sadly I don't remember much about it except it's kind of similar to 'My Way'.
The encore song was supposed to be 'Ten' (printed on the set list) but was 'Beautiful' instead, which of course included the sing a long.
After the show:
Only Jon came out to the merch table to talk to fans so we made our way over to say hi.
Me: Hey you look like you had a great time in Brazil!
Louise: Yeah you've got a really healthy glow on you!
Jon: Thanks!
Me: While we are all here freezing in Japan, boo!
Jon: Well I tried to send everyone as much sun as I could, whenever I got wifi...
Me: Hey heard you went to Gakuen this year!! Belle was super bummed she couldn't find you. I mean, a tall American walking about...
Jon: Well I was a ninja! ...I was wearing a hat, this black...mmm, Chinese communist like...I can't describe it any other way, hat. It was actually part of a BDSM costume at Halloween
Me & Louise: Ooooooooh~
Jon: It wasn't mine!! This lady was wearing it in a BDSM outfit and I don't remember how but I got wasted and then somehow when I woke up I was wearing it. It had a police badge on it but I took it off and thought, hey this is a nice hat!
Me: *ruffles Jon's hair*
Jon: Hey!!
Me: *ruffles Jon's hair again, while he's hugging Louise*
Jon: Oy, oy, oy!! *pokes & pushes me*
Jon: I threw in some bromance with Kansei today~ I thought you'd like it~
出待ち/Waiting for the guys to leave:
There weren't very many people waiting around for the guys, in fact there was only 3 of us, so we were able to chat with all 5 of them.
Me: Hey Nori, your glasses are so moe~ (萌え or the otaku-like term for 'cute')
Nori: *chuckles*
Me: 5° your jacket is really stylish!!
5°: Eh, really? *smiles shyly* I get told I look like a wrestler, though!
Me: *ruffles kansei's hair*
Kansei: Eh? Is something wrong??? Is something there?? (ironically, I'd messed up his hair so it was sticking up weirdly)
Louise: No, no, she just wanted to ruffle your hair!
Kansei: *still looks confused as I continue laughing*
Kansei: *looks at the postcard I gave him* Is this me? It's so cute!!
Kansei: *looks at the Mayuyu coffee* Hey! It's the same as the one (you gave me) before!
Me: No, that's type two!
Kansei: Oh yeah the first one she was wearing the red uniform outfit (he's wrong actually).... *trails off*
Kansei: Oh yeah, a lot of fans gave me Mayuyu curry, it was really good!
rui: I don't know how to do fanservice
18 Jan: Acoustic In Store Event @ MINT KOBE Tower Records
The event was from 14:00 onwards, but fade only came on at 15:30 as the last band. Everyone except rui was in attendance. He had left for Tokyo due to work he had to do. It was nice that MINT KOBE and TaiTora are practically within less than 5 minutes of each other! Super convenient and easy to find!
We were early so while wandering around the store we spotted Ricky with Nori, and then later Miyagawa-san. Miyagawa-san was walking around a lot and his jangling key chains really gave it away. During the first and second bands, some of the band members returned into the store and could be seen walking over to the backroom.
It was a very intimate setting, Louise and I were in the first row on the right hand side. Two chairs were set up and a mic stand. There was only 2 mics so Kansei didn't have one. When he found out, he went to the back behind the screen to tell Jon, informing him in English.
"Jon, hey Jon, I don't have a mic so Godo will have to do the chorus...*trails into Japanese*"
Jon was drinking coffee, looked like Starbucks but I'm not too sure, and he chilled behind the yellow Tower Records screen while they were setting up. The screen accidentally went up and Jon, surprised by that, looked like a deer caught it headlights. Oops. Nori was fiddling around with the PA equipment a bit but other than that he didn't have much to do and went to the back to watch with Ricky and Miyagawa-san.
Set up (left to right): Godo, Jon (standing), Kansei
Setlist:
Close To You (Jpn)
My Way (Eng)
You
Cross Road (Jpn)
Ten
Jon was constantly getting the crowd to come closer, calling out to specific people in the store. It was really cute but the people were usually really really shy and embarrassed when he did that. The crowd was mainly fade fans who filled the first two rows and then curious onlookers who preferred to hide closer to the back.
Jon couldn't announce their CD reservation info properly so kansei had to help him. Kansei said that the CD+Tour Ticket version was also available for reservation.
Jon: I think we also have a version with the ticket for our live tour...I guess?
Kansei: No there IS one!
Jon: Okay so I think you can reserve that as well today *Kansei tries to correct him again but gives up and we laugh*
Kansei: that was a mess!
Jon: it's all good.
All backing vocals were done by Godo, which is a lovely refreshing change. Jon messed up the lyrics for 'My Way (Eng)', more like he sang the lyrics for the 2nd verse in the 1st verse and other similar mix ups. Also for 'Cross Road (Jpn)' during the second verse or prechorus he sang the English lyrics instead of the Japanese ones.
At the end, Jon thanked everyone and came to shake the hands of and thank the people in the first row. I was last, and when he came over he went "Thanks Bernz!" before grinning and waving goodbye. I was kind of in disbelief and ended up asking Louise twice if he really did call me that.
Afterward, the guys came out to say hi and hang out for a really short time before they left again.
Louise & I: Good job today you were great!
Kansei: Really? I was very nervous because I can't speak English!!
Louise & I: But you're speaking English now!!
Kansei: Oh I brought my Jacks along and just now I went to drink
Didn't manage to catch Jon but as we were standing around and watching what was going on, I noticed he was kind of staring off and just focusing on one spot so I mentioned that it was kind of creepy. Jon heard me and turned to stare at us instead. And then we made silly faces at each other.
The band waved bye pretty fast, about 10minutes later, and returned to the back room. About another 10 minutes after that, they came back out with all their equipment and exited the store so we waved bye to them a second time.
Acoustic sets always have such a wonderfully mellow feel to them which allows you to relax and appreciate the music in yet another different way. It's lovely because we sang along lots and clapped along which made it feel just as interactive even if you weren't jumping or fist pumping. Very sawayaka indeed!
It was a great weekend spent with fade and I believe a good start to their 2014. 2013 was a tough year for them so hopefully this year treats them better :) Just 22 days to go till the album release!