ミツル １１： NEWS White Tour concert report: Tokyo [2015.06.14, tour final]
I'd like to apologize about me taking a bit long to write this concert report because I've been weirdly tired these days - or maybe I just haven't experienced having a trip this big. About time, you might finally say, given that I NEVER travel and if I have to move from one place to another, it's mostly out of necessity and not out of leisure. Thank goodness Japan presented me with a reason to travel for leisure.
So yes, anyway, I made it to Tokyo! Booked accommodations and flights as early as January and April respectively, but in terms of travel and sightseeing plans, I never had any concrete thoughts. It was more like, "As long as I get to visit A and B and C and D, I don't care about my schedule or how to get there." The result was me panicking a week before the trip. I had printed out Tokyo's subway map but a friend told me that was still not enough to cover ALL of the lines and trains so I ended up all the more stressed, haha.
But let's skip my small Tokyo adventure (which involves clinics, hospitals, skyscrapers and One Piece madness) and go straight to what this post is supposed to be about - my first NEWS con in Tokyo Dome! Truth be told I was a bit nervous with the transport going there, mostly because I didn't know what station I would be coming from (no thank you, my inconsistent and ever-changing plans). Good thing there was Hyperdia to help. Ahh, the ever trusty Hyperdia.
Anyway, on Sunday morning I decided to wake up real early so that I could have time to go to Tokyo Tower, which I didn't manage to visit the day before. And it was a good decision, because I finished sometime around noon and I didn't want to leave. (Belle actually tweeted me "*waves NEWS ticket at you*" in reply to my "GUYS I DON'T WANT TO LEAVE TOKYO TOWER" tweet.) I rushed to Shibuya, took the obligatory Hachiko and Shibuya Scramble pictures, and dashed off in the direction of Tokyo Dome.
From Shibuya to Suidobashi station, I had to transfer at Jinbocho. So getting out of Suidobashi~
I was greeted by HORDES OF FANGIRLS EVERYWHERE. (Yeah, capslock, man. Because I can use it.)
In this mess of fangirls I was able to run into Tina and Josie while buying water for the concert, and took a picture together, as it was about a year since we had seen each other in my training days in Nagoya. We joked about needing a Koyama to complete the set, lol.
We proceeded to Tokyo Dome and WELL HOLY SHIT THERE IS A MASSIVE CROWD, FOR REAL. This picture doesn't even begin to capture the horror, haha.
Tina and Josie left a bit to get some goods, while I took some pictures of the NEWS stand and display.
Messaged Hazel and Socky about my location, and then... Finally met Socky! Gave her the V6 article I had gotten for her at the start of the year and took a picture together. Had to retake the picture at least three times because fans were very じゃま, but oh well.
She then left to meet her other friends, and I met up with Tina and Josie once more, and then finally Hazel and Naty (new paana I met) joined us. Group picture time!
We all decided to get inside early as there are really a lot of people outside and we figured it just might get more tedious if we stay outside. So we left for separate gates, me going to Gate 24. I already had an inkling as to where my seat was, and when I found it, I had mixed feelings. While I am grateful that I have a decent seat inside the Dome, a part of me was screaming about how Fukuoka and Hiroshima seemed to be even closer. I now understand why people like to go for arena or like smaller venues.
The call for NEWS I think started about 15-30 minutes early. I was busy fumbling with my things that I dropped my phone in the process, right in the tiny space between the seat and elevation in front of me. Seeing this, my seatmate nudged me and told me I had dropped my phone. I let out an audible groan and she chuckled, saying "will you be okay" in Japanese as I tried to retrieve my phone. Minutes later, we were chatting about stuff, mainly our respective histories as NEWS fans. It was a coincidence that she was from Hagi, Yamaguchi! She now lives in Kyoto though, and this was her first 4-nin concert. She said she couldn't choose who her favorite was among the four of them, so I thought she might have had either Yamapi or Ryo as her favorite back then.
And then it started.
The setlist was the same as the previous two cons except for some full versions and an extra song at the end, so I'll write about either some stuff that I had only noticed until now, or stuff that are new.
Mr. White
ONE -for the win-
Nyaro
I hope they retain this song in future cons. It's too fun. I love the heart gesture, and Massu's "look this way" line.
Koi no ABO
Weeeek
Massu sang the same line about hitting your bottoms, lol.
Same with the introductions, and Massu backstage (evilly) sucking on a Happy Turn biscuit. :D
Koi Matsuri
Butterfly
Massu was directly right in front of me! He did the silly stuff with the penlight waving althroughout the song again (though they weren't as fast as the ones in Hiroshima), and at the end he held his arm gingerly and made an いたい face as if he had injured it with his antics. XD
Full Swing
Romeo 2015
Escort
I think Koyashige's solos have grown on me the most because of this tour. I love them both.
Junior dance interlude
Kaguya
I have started loving the thin umbrella men dancing on the screen at the beginning of the song.
OH, AND THEY HAD FLAMES SHOOTING UP NEAR THE STAGE. IT WAS AWESOME. ILU SPECIAL EFFECTS.
Chankapaana
World Quest Remix
Sakura Girl
They got on the round stage in the middle and sang the song, and there was a really strong storm of cherry blossom petals flying everywhere, I thought it was very pretty (at the same time I was wondering how they'd clean that up, lol). Massu wrote ありがとう on his palm at the end of the song.
Weather NEWS
I love this song too, I hope they keep performing it with every future live but I don't think it will happen. :(
MC
I think I understood about 30% of the MC but mostly it was because of the way they had acted instead of the stuff they were saying.
Some points though:
Wasurenagusa
Anata
Sky Beautiful
Black Jack -inter-
Byakuya
Supersonic
I CANNOT WITH SHIGE'S HAIR. WHY IS HE SO BEAUTIFUL?! ;A; And all the effects for Supersonic, coupled with the flames used in Kaguya earlier, were fascinating.
Snow Express
Winter Moon
For Snow Express, Koyama began pulling up the hoods of each member over their heads. The rap was really well-done. And Winter Moon is growing on me. I look forward to watching it again on the DVD.
NEWS Nippon
Kibou Yell
Sayaendou
Since it was the Dome, they couldn't go up in the stands again, so they got on the really big carts and went around the circumference of the arena. And nope, they didn't see me at all. Sigh. Oh well.
One of the songs had its second stanza sung - can't remember which one - but they needed the extension to be able to go around the arena.
Pokoponpekorya
4+Fan
Seven Colors
Last three songs of the main concert, all the adorable fluffy moments, especially with the camera at the end, with the boys goofing off at the camera with weird and kissy faces. I love those dorks.
At the end of Seven Colors, balloons began raining down on us (all in seven colors). I didn't expect to catch one as it seemed I was too far, I was groaning - then an orange balloon began bouncing its way towards me. Tried to catch it but it slipped out of my hands. A red balloon came next, and luckily (or unluckily, depending on your perception, haha), I was able to get it.
Encore:
White Love Story
Nagisa no Oneesama
Ai Kotoba
I expected Shige to be in front of me for Ai Kotoba, but there was a shuffle so I got Koyama instead. I thought it was a bummer, until I looked up at Koyama and remembered all the times he had cried for NEWS, all his efforts to fight to glue them back together, his response to me on my MenAi question, and I cried - out of gratitude, out of pride, out of love.
I had to break my serious spell as Koyama tried to let go of the safety handrails over and over again, shuddering each and every time, to our worried yet warm laughter.
Double Encore:
Chumu Chumu
From my Fukuoka and Hiroshima concerts, at this point there would be a message on the screen saying "mission complete: [place]", signaling the end of the concert. But not Tokyo. After the message, we saw a map of Japan, zooming in to each of the places of the tour and stamping them with "mission complete". When the screen finally zoomed in to Tokyo, the White Tour character mascot (yup, it just appeared now) jumped in and tried its best to push the stamp away, succeeding in the end. It then tried to make us call for NEWS, and appeared dissatisfied and bored as if we weren't trying hard enough. The screen finally revealed they were performing for us their next single, Chumu Chumu.
I kind of liked the dancing sequence but the song still has to grow on me.
Shige's hair was back to its usual form so that part left me "d'aaaaaaw"-ing a bit.
I don't know which came first - the speech or the extra encore - but all I can remember was Tegoshi talking for so long, Koyama had to stop him with a very blunt "なげー！” At the end, they made us say "NEWS" and then streamers burst out.
Once again I thought that I wouldn't be able to catch one, but one was flying in our direction and my seatmate and I caught it at the same time. She decided to let it go and give it to me, saying that it would be better if I had it, as it was my first time in Dome. She was so kind. ;A;
Extra Encore:
Nyaro
Had fun with the cat song for the last time before the curtains finally closed on this tour. They shouted out their thanks with all their might without the microphones, and finally exited for good (but not without goofing around for the last time).
RANDOM:
And I cannot remember which part of the tour this was, but at some point Koyama was doing peekaboo with the towel in front of the camera. All the silly faces, ugh.
They used rubik cube-like stages (I actually thought they were lovely), and the middle was a revolving round stage. At one point (must have been White Love Story second half), they sat on the edge and I could see Koyama leaning further back to secure himself as the stage rose even higher. I actually pity him. :(
The concert ended around 9:00.
While waiting for the people to file out of the Dome, I tried to tell my seatmates we could cut up the streamer we had caught since it was really long. They looked very grateful but we didn't have a pair of scissors. T_T They asked if they could take a picture of me instead (foreign fan, hahaha. I don't really look that foreign though...), and we all took one of ourselves together.
After the concert I met up with Belle at an izakaya in Ikebukuro and some other fans (Em and Carissa included). Great NEWS conversations and flailing. :D
From Jweb, we found out that Maruyama (from Kanjani8), Nakamaru (from KAT-TUN), and Sho (from Arashi) went to the concert, but I couldn't be really sure if they went for the Saturday or the Sunday cons. Sho's words especially touched me!
Pretty sure I have missed a great chunk of stuff but for now, some sleep! I'll add more (and cheesy stuff) when I remember them. Or better yet, please wait for the DVD. LMAO. I can't wait for the next live!
So yes, anyway, I made it to Tokyo! Booked accommodations and flights as early as January and April respectively, but in terms of travel and sightseeing plans, I never had any concrete thoughts. It was more like, "As long as I get to visit A and B and C and D, I don't care about my schedule or how to get there." The result was me panicking a week before the trip. I had printed out Tokyo's subway map but a friend told me that was still not enough to cover ALL of the lines and trains so I ended up all the more stressed, haha.
But let's skip my small Tokyo adventure (which involves clinics, hospitals, skyscrapers and One Piece madness) and go straight to what this post is supposed to be about - my first NEWS con in Tokyo Dome! Truth be told I was a bit nervous with the transport going there, mostly because I didn't know what station I would be coming from (no thank you, my inconsistent and ever-changing plans). Good thing there was Hyperdia to help. Ahh, the ever trusty Hyperdia.
Anyway, on Sunday morning I decided to wake up real early so that I could have time to go to Tokyo Tower, which I didn't manage to visit the day before. And it was a good decision, because I finished sometime around noon and I didn't want to leave. (Belle actually tweeted me "*waves NEWS ticket at you*" in reply to my "GUYS I DON'T WANT TO LEAVE TOKYO TOWER" tweet.) I rushed to Shibuya, took the obligatory Hachiko and Shibuya Scramble pictures, and dashed off in the direction of Tokyo Dome.
From Shibuya to Suidobashi station, I had to transfer at Jinbocho. So getting out of Suidobashi~
I was greeted by HORDES OF FANGIRLS EVERYWHERE. (Yeah, capslock, man. Because I can use it.)
In this mess of fangirls I was able to run into Tina and Josie while buying water for the concert, and took a picture together, as it was about a year since we had seen each other in my training days in Nagoya. We joked about needing a Koyama to complete the set, lol.
We proceeded to Tokyo Dome and WELL HOLY SHIT THERE IS A MASSIVE CROWD, FOR REAL. This picture doesn't even begin to capture the horror, haha.
Tina and Josie left a bit to get some goods, while I took some pictures of the NEWS stand and display.
Messaged Hazel and Socky about my location, and then... Finally met Socky! Gave her the V6 article I had gotten for her at the start of the year and took a picture together. Had to retake the picture at least three times because fans were very じゃま, but oh well.
She then left to meet her other friends, and I met up with Tina and Josie once more, and then finally Hazel and Naty (new paana I met) joined us. Group picture time!
We all decided to get inside early as there are really a lot of people outside and we figured it just might get more tedious if we stay outside. So we left for separate gates, me going to Gate 24. I already had an inkling as to where my seat was, and when I found it, I had mixed feelings. While I am grateful that I have a decent seat inside the Dome, a part of me was screaming about how Fukuoka and Hiroshima seemed to be even closer. I now understand why people like to go for arena or like smaller venues.
The call for NEWS I think started about 15-30 minutes early. I was busy fumbling with my things that I dropped my phone in the process, right in the tiny space between the seat and elevation in front of me. Seeing this, my seatmate nudged me and told me I had dropped my phone. I let out an audible groan and she chuckled, saying "will you be okay" in Japanese as I tried to retrieve my phone. Minutes later, we were chatting about stuff, mainly our respective histories as NEWS fans. It was a coincidence that she was from Hagi, Yamaguchi! She now lives in Kyoto though, and this was her first 4-nin concert. She said she couldn't choose who her favorite was among the four of them, so I thought she might have had either Yamapi or Ryo as her favorite back then.
And then it started.
The setlist was the same as the previous two cons except for some full versions and an extra song at the end, so I'll write about either some stuff that I had only noticed until now, or stuff that are new.
Mr. White
ONE -for the win-
Nyaro
I hope they retain this song in future cons. It's too fun. I love the heart gesture, and Massu's "look this way" line.
Koi no ABO
Weeeek
Massu sang the same line about hitting your bottoms, lol.
Same with the introductions, and Massu backstage (evilly) sucking on a Happy Turn biscuit. :D
Koi Matsuri
Butterfly
Massu was directly right in front of me! He did the silly stuff with the penlight waving althroughout the song again (though they weren't as fast as the ones in Hiroshima), and at the end he held his arm gingerly and made an いたい face as if he had injured it with his antics. XD
Full Swing
Romeo 2015
Escort
I think Koyashige's solos have grown on me the most because of this tour. I love them both.
Junior dance interlude
Kaguya
I have started loving the thin umbrella men dancing on the screen at the beginning of the song.
OH, AND THEY HAD FLAMES SHOOTING UP NEAR THE STAGE. IT WAS AWESOME. ILU SPECIAL EFFECTS.
Chankapaana
World Quest Remix
Sakura Girl
They got on the round stage in the middle and sang the song, and there was a really strong storm of cherry blossom petals flying everywhere, I thought it was very pretty (at the same time I was wondering how they'd clean that up, lol). Massu wrote ありがとう on his palm at the end of the song.
Weather NEWS
I love this song too, I hope they keep performing it with every future live but I don't think it will happen. :(
MC
I think I understood about 30% of the MC but mostly it was because of the way they had acted instead of the stuff they were saying.
Some points though:
- Massu did the 起立、きをつけ、れい again. Very cute.
- They mentioned how there were a lot of cameras today (two crane ones, one up on the air zooming on a line back and forth, and cameramen running all over the arena and stands) and mentioned they might be filming for the DVD. And picking from "camera", they (especially Massu) kind of alluded to the recent Tegoshi scandal of him being photographed with an AKB girl, and told him to be careful.
- They did this "I'll do it, I'll do it" gag with Tegoshi as the very last volunteer, and 3-nin NEWS saying "doumo doumo". They did that twice, except for the second time the entire Dome was together in volunteering, and we all got to say "doumo doumo" when Tegoshi finally raised his hand. Not sure if it was for the kiss challenge, but perhaps it was.
- They re-enacted out stuff, but the one that stayed in my memory was the one of Koyama being a cat, Shige being a sofa, and Tegomasu being all lovey-dovey. I think everyone has seen the papapic and heard about it - Massu tried to kiss Tegoshi and while it looked real because of the blocking, I'm sure it was a bluff. XD
- I think they were discussing their segments on あっどうも はじめまして旅, not sure but I think I remember Koyama saying something about his fear of heights, and how he was so scared even with the balloons used during Live Live Live.
Wasurenagusa
Anata
Sky Beautiful
Black Jack -inter-
Byakuya
Supersonic
I CANNOT WITH SHIGE'S HAIR. WHY IS HE SO BEAUTIFUL?! ;A; And all the effects for Supersonic, coupled with the flames used in Kaguya earlier, were fascinating.
Snow Express
Winter Moon
For Snow Express, Koyama began pulling up the hoods of each member over their heads. The rap was really well-done. And Winter Moon is growing on me. I look forward to watching it again on the DVD.
NEWS Nippon
Kibou Yell
Sayaendou
Since it was the Dome, they couldn't go up in the stands again, so they got on the really big carts and went around the circumference of the arena. And nope, they didn't see me at all. Sigh. Oh well.
One of the songs had its second stanza sung - can't remember which one - but they needed the extension to be able to go around the arena.
Pokoponpekorya
4+Fan
Seven Colors
Last three songs of the main concert, all the adorable fluffy moments, especially with the camera at the end, with the boys goofing off at the camera with weird and kissy faces. I love those dorks.
At the end of Seven Colors, balloons began raining down on us (all in seven colors). I didn't expect to catch one as it seemed I was too far, I was groaning - then an orange balloon began bouncing its way towards me. Tried to catch it but it slipped out of my hands. A red balloon came next, and luckily (or unluckily, depending on your perception, haha), I was able to get it.
Encore:
White Love Story
Nagisa no Oneesama
Ai Kotoba
I expected Shige to be in front of me for Ai Kotoba, but there was a shuffle so I got Koyama instead. I thought it was a bummer, until I looked up at Koyama and remembered all the times he had cried for NEWS, all his efforts to fight to glue them back together, his response to me on my MenAi question, and I cried - out of gratitude, out of pride, out of love.
I had to break my serious spell as Koyama tried to let go of the safety handrails over and over again, shuddering each and every time, to our worried yet warm laughter.
Double Encore:
Chumu Chumu
From my Fukuoka and Hiroshima concerts, at this point there would be a message on the screen saying "mission complete: [place]", signaling the end of the concert. But not Tokyo. After the message, we saw a map of Japan, zooming in to each of the places of the tour and stamping them with "mission complete". When the screen finally zoomed in to Tokyo, the White Tour character mascot (yup, it just appeared now) jumped in and tried its best to push the stamp away, succeeding in the end. It then tried to make us call for NEWS, and appeared dissatisfied and bored as if we weren't trying hard enough. The screen finally revealed they were performing for us their next single, Chumu Chumu.
I kind of liked the dancing sequence but the song still has to grow on me.
Shige's hair was back to its usual form so that part left me "d'aaaaaaw"-ing a bit.
I don't know which came first - the speech or the extra encore - but all I can remember was Tegoshi talking for so long, Koyama had to stop him with a very blunt "なげー！” At the end, they made us say "NEWS" and then streamers burst out.
Once again I thought that I wouldn't be able to catch one, but one was flying in our direction and my seatmate and I caught it at the same time. She decided to let it go and give it to me, saying that it would be better if I had it, as it was my first time in Dome. She was so kind. ;A;
Extra Encore:
Nyaro
Had fun with the cat song for the last time before the curtains finally closed on this tour. They shouted out their thanks with all their might without the microphones, and finally exited for good (but not without goofing around for the last time).
RANDOM:
And I cannot remember which part of the tour this was, but at some point Koyama was doing peekaboo with the towel in front of the camera. All the silly faces, ugh.
They used rubik cube-like stages (I actually thought they were lovely), and the middle was a revolving round stage. At one point (must have been White Love Story second half), they sat on the edge and I could see Koyama leaning further back to secure himself as the stage rose even higher. I actually pity him. :(
The concert ended around 9:00.
While waiting for the people to file out of the Dome, I tried to tell my seatmates we could cut up the streamer we had caught since it was really long. They looked very grateful but we didn't have a pair of scissors. T_T They asked if they could take a picture of me instead (foreign fan, hahaha. I don't really look that foreign though...), and we all took one of ourselves together.
After the concert I met up with Belle at an izakaya in Ikebukuro and some other fans (Em and Carissa included). Great NEWS conversations and flailing. :D
From Jweb, we found out that Maruyama (from Kanjani8), Nakamaru (from KAT-TUN), and Sho (from Arashi) went to the concert, but I couldn't be really sure if they went for the Saturday or the Sunday cons. Sho's words especially touched me!
Pretty sure I have missed a great chunk of stuff but for now, some sleep! I'll add more (and cheesy stuff) when I remember them. Or better yet, please wait for the DVD. LMAO. I can't wait for the next live!