ミツル １５： NEWS Quartetto Concert Report: Tokyo [2016.06.12, Tour Final]
Thank you.
This year's tour finale is special to me in a lot of ways. Aside from my best friend who flew in all the way from my hometown to see me, I also had the chance to finally go to a NEWS concert with Filipino fans who were also from my hometown, both first-time concert goers. The pain in participating for the final, however, was slightly reminiscent of my very first NEWS concert last year, because like back then, I had done sightseeing for the first half of the day and ended up limping quite a bit when I got to the dome. This tour also gave me the opportunity to meet other fans who I interact only on Twitter and/or Line, so it was quite moving to see them at the dome.
So anyway, here's my report! Pic-heavy as usual and some other stuff. :D
After a half day of going to Asakusa, Odaiba and Shiodome, I went back to the hostel with my best friend and rested a bit, only to wake up in horror around 3:30 remembering that I still haven't bought any binoculars for the finale. I had previously decided on getting a pair because our seats were really far away this time (Gate 40). Luckily, Akihabara was a station away from Asakusabashi (where we stayed) so I dropped by Yodobashi to get binoculars. And so lucky it was right within station premises too!
Yodobashi Akihabara branch as seen from JR Akihabara
And I was EVEN luckier that JR Suidobashi was two stations away from JR Akihabara (last year I had taken the Toei Subway Suidobashi station) and the train commute only took about 4 minutes or so. But unlike the subway, I had to walk a bit to get to Tokyo Dome.
Getting out from JR Suidobashi
The first people I looked for were the Cebuano NEWS fans who were to watch the concert with me. And finally, we did meet!
My Filipino fellow fans. We made a group message! (If you can't read Japanese, it says "We came from the Philippines!") Unfortunately, we were quite far (Gate 40) and we can only hope they saw our uchiwas.
I also met some of my other friends from Twitter and Line!
So we got inside, and to my astonishment, found that Gate 40 seats weren't too bad after all. (I'm going to really remind myself of that fact next time I hit...). We chatted a bit about the concert, adjusted our binoculars, and I warned them that I would be reaaaaaaally noisy, to which they replied "that's okay XD".
The setlist for the dome has changed to include Raifu from the Quartetto concert. They didn't perform this song during the arena cons. As always, my memory isn't perfect so I depended a lot from various tweet reactions and mini reports from other fans.
Opening Spiel
I thought that the dome's version of the Quartetto MV was slightly longer. And the moment it blacked out, the spotlights showed the members at each of the farthest ends of the stages. It took a bit of a while for them to reach the center stage as well.
By the way! I obviously forgot this MAJOR detail in my previous concert reports, but for this tour they had designed a penlight that they could control, pretty similar to Arashi's recent penlights. It was so cool how they utilized this function to make an even better live!
01 QUARTETTO
02 Anthem
03 Chankapaana
Around this time we had member short introductions as usual! And as always, Shige started off with "Okaeri!" to which we all replied "Tadaima!" And Tegoshi saying how he'll make this day's show the best date ever. XD (I guess that's where I got my usual NEWS concert hashtag #NEWSdateXofN.)
04 Kibou ~Yell~
05 Chumu Chumu
I've always loved Koyama's "CHUMU!" at the beginning of the song, but this time I couldn't tell if he said "Chumu!" or "Nyaa!" because he made a cat gesture instead of the normal pose!
06 KAGUYA
They performed KAGUYA on the back stage. IIRC they always performed this on the center stage, so it kind of surprised me a bit they ended up over there, since Chumu Chumu was performed at the main stage. I was like, "how the hell did they manage to get over there so fast?!"
07 Taiyou no Namida
08 Happy Birthday
09 Cherish
10 Hoshi no Ouji-sama
Shige being lifted up into the air by the juniors and walking will never fail to make me laugh. Ever.
11 LIS'N
12 Touch
The introduction to Touch has this quiet eerie feeling that I always mistake for another song.
13 NEWSKOOL
This one saw Massu trolling the juniors and going against the normal dancing sequence, lol. And as always, that final frozen shot.
Also, I might have been imagining it, but Tegoshi sang "Yu-Ya Yu-Ya" instead of the usual "U-Yeah U-Yeah" during his part here. :D
14 weeeek
15 Departure
We did the "Tiger! Fire! Cyber! Viber!" mix again! I really really hope they do Departure again in future cons! That, and Weather NEWS too, ugh.
And as usual, after the song has ended, Massu continued singing Departure in acapella until the other members had to remind him it was already MC time.
MC
Again as a disclaimer, my Japanese is not good and I'm only depending on other people's reports for confirmation to the stuff I had in my memory. Order is also messed up, so maybe I confused some moments for the MC even if they happened later.
Anyway, the part that I am VERY sure of happened in the beginning, where basically, the MC can be summed up in just one word: toilet.
At the beginning of the MC, Tegoshi spoke up about wanting to go to the toilet. Koyashige shot back, saying that it was not the time to go to the toilet ("have you ever seen an MC where the members sneak away to use the toilet?!"). But Tegoshi was adamant and even blamed Koyama's banana juice. XD Funnily enough, Massu admitted he wanted to go to the toilet too and said he had to "powder his nose"! Left with no choice, Koyashige let Tegomasu go to the toilet.
"So what do we do now?" asked Koyama in bewilderment, all the while complaining about how this was an unusual MC where half the group made its toilet debut. So Koyashige decided to walk the entire length of the hanamichi to the back stage, and Shige complained how NEWS was a free group that does what it pleases, how there isn't any group like this (to the extent of using the toilet during the MC), and how normally, 24hr group personalities don't leave MCs to use the toilet. XD
When they got to the back stage, they asked again "Now what?"
"Well let's go back then!" was the answer, to the amusement of the fans inside the dome.
Tegomasu returned just as they were about to reach the main stage, and Massu even pretended to chide Koyama by saying "what are you doing there? Hurry up!". Koyama had to react with "I normally don't say this, but can I say this once? I'll beat you up, you."
And then guess who broke into a run? Shige.
Running straight for the exit towards - you guessed it - the toilet.
Koyama was left with no choice but to go after him as well, leaving Tegomasu on the stage.
So what did TM do the moment KS were gone? Hijacked the entire concert and turned it into a TM concert by saying "Welcome to Tegomasu live! Hmm, so it's just the two of us, what should we do? Shall we sing...?"
And we were gifted with Aoi Bench in acapella! We cheered, and then Massu said, "this song is this tour's last song" and we all laughed. Tegoshi also commented how he was so nervous singing it because it had been a while since they sang the song yes now please do a 10th anni Tegomasu concert this year plzktnx.
But then from the back of the stage we heard two voices going "Iitai dake, iitai dake" gradually getting louder! We all screamed again, especially when Koyashige walked up the stairs from behind the stage and moved on to do a little bit of Chirarizumu!
Obviously pee was a taboo enough topic that Koyama begged the recording WSs to leave out the toilet part for the NEWS concert coverages for the next day Sorry Koyama, they DID include the toilet bit. Shige added "I definitely don't want to hear (Kokubun) Taichi's comment on this!"
Once again they introduced themselves with the usual rollcalling of names, and Koyama once again referred to Tegoshi as "Kinpatsu Tegoshi".
Oh, they also did some kind of batsu game and Massu lost, so he had to do some sort of embarrassing confession to the audience. And he went all "thank you, as always. Normally, I don't usually say this kind of thing so easily, but... I love you."
We all died as he said the last sudden "suki". And so did he, slumping and collapsing to the floor in embarassment. XD Thanks Masuda, you lovely creature, you.
They also talked about the cameras scattered throughout the dome, so no doubt we're getting a DVD too! :D It was funny how they went like this:
Shige: I wonder why there are a lot of cameras around? (looks at Massu)
Massu: Why, you say? (looks at Tegoshi)
Tegoshi: Why, I wonder? (looks at Koyama)
Koyama: O_O (looks to his side but there was no one there)
Once again they mentioned 24hr TV and how they're the main personalities for this year, and pointed out how some fans were already quick enough to order the tshirts and wear them to the concert. Shige exclaimed dondake (can't quite get the relation, sorry), and instead of saying "Ikko" (the TV personality who popularized the catchphrase), Tegoshi said "Shikko" instead (pee, lmao).
They also mentioned Shige's upcoming drama, and his teacher role. Massu suddenly butt in, saying he will also be having a cameo in the drama, only to say that his role was going to be "lunch". XD
Towards the end of the MC, they started to pick up their penlights to get ready for Aikotoba, and Massu frantically looked for his until Koyama handed it to him (forever the loving mother). And then... Tegoshi march-led the group to the center stage, going "aruke, aruke, aruke susume!" the entire way (oh, and he did this as a gag during the MC too). These dorks. :D
16 Aikotoba
The penlight wave in the Dome was even prettier. ;A; They had to speed things up a little bit, but it was still beautiful.
17 Theme of "QUARTETTO"
18 Yonjuushi
In the arena cons, NEWS always retreats back to the main stage after Theme of "QUARTETTO" with its drapes down, rolling them up again to reveal NEWS on the elevated part. But this time, as the curtains rolled up, a single spotlight revealed the surprise guest of this tour finale: Nishimoto Tomomi. She bowed to us, and then faced the still-dark background, and as she raised her hand and did the first conductor swing, the stage fully lit up to reveal the IlluminArt Philharmonic Orchestra!
19 Hoshi wo Mezashite
The orchestra continued on to perform Hoshi wo Mezashite as well! I personally loved how the camera showed Massu in the foreground, Nishimoto-san in the midground and Tegoshi in the background.
After the song NEWS properly re-introduced both Nishimoto-san and the orchestra and thanked them profusely. We did so, too.
20 Ai no Elegy
21 Encore
Before the spotlight for Tegoshi came on, there were a bunch of girls who shouted "Yuya!" from the left side. I admit I was a bit annoyed by them, until a group of GUYS shouted "YUYA!" as well from somewhere near the main stage on the right side of the dome. Everyone in the dome laughed, but Tegoshi was srs business as usual. XD
22 I・ZA・NA・I・ZU・KI
Whoever allowed Shige to do "kuchizuke wo" made the best decision EVER.
23 Wonder
For the other concerts I was mostly near ground-level so I couldn't appreciate this song a lot before, but now that I was looking down at the venue from a high place, I was amazed at all the light effects they had done for this song. I stand corrected: Wonder is not the Byakuya of this tour, but the Supersonic of this live!
At the end of the song Shige made a really interesting face with his tongue stuck out. I want that moment to end up on the DVD!
24 Sirius
25 NEWS Nippon
I love the part of Sirius where they put their hands together in the center and circling around with their hands still linked.
They showed off their usual tricks with the hoverboards, and Shige amazed us all by spinning on his with one leg raised behind and one arm holding the other end of the hoverboard to maintain his balance. And there's Koyama trail-clinging behind Massu. XD
26 Raifu (Life)
The start of their dome circumference (where they would normally go up to the stands in the arena venues) began with Raifu! Pretty amazed that they haven't forgotten this song after all, and I could see why - they needed at least four songs to be able to go around the entire area.
27 Sayaendou
28 Koi no ABO
Massu did "Massu oshiri no BAAAAAN!" again XD
29 TEPPEN
30 NYARO
31 Hikari no Shizuku
They sang it in full! So happy :)
Encore
32 ONE -for the win-
Koyama wearing those eyeglasses is GENIUS.
33 Sakura Girl
I wasn't able to catch Massu's usual message on his palm at the end of the song, but luckily my friends saw it. It said "また東京ドームに連れてきて (please take us again to Tokyo Dome)". ;_;
34 Koi Matsuri
Massu started to jump off the stage and ran through the arena seats! Forever envious of the lucky fangirls who got to touch him, lmao.
Few speeches (not sure if here or in the double encore, and not too sure with my own translations too):
Tegoshi: From now on please stay with us, our honeys, our pride and our joy!
Massu: It is very embarrassing, and I do not say this very often, but, I LOVE YOU!
Shige: Definitely don't you cheat on us!
Koyama: Let's go again! Let's meet again next year!
They exited, and the tour logo with the 4-lined music staff plus the word Fine appeared, but then....
Double Encore
35 weeeek
For all this time, we had been wondering if we would be getting a double encore for Quartetto. It had seemed that for the first Tokyo show they didn't do one as well. Honestly, the announcement of the single they were going to release for next month had given me a bit of hope, plus the fact that they didn't usually do their usual shout of thanks without the mics during the encore. So I briefly panicked when the tour logo with the "Fine" appeared and didn't go away for some time, but then it faded away and I cheered a bit.
They came out again as we were incessantly chanting for a double encore (I refused to return without a double encore, myself), and they all ended up quite confused as to what they should be doing, because they really DIDN'T plan a double encore (I mean COME ON, NEWS, you've been doing double encores at tour finals ALL THIS TIME and now you DON'T want to do one for this tour? UNBELIEVABLE.).
So they did a mini meeting - huddled in the middle of the main stage and mostly talking without microphones, and every now and then a member would say to the audience "ちょっと待ってね" (Please wait a bit), and then this one happened:
GODDAMN, TEGOSHI IN GLASSES.
If I remember correctly, it was Massu who went backstage to get permission from the staff to do one last song for the double encore, and they picked weeeek. :) They took this opportunity to run around the arena giving high touches to the audience. I envy them. :(
I'm not sure if it was this part or in the first encore, but Shige once again asked if we loved NEWS, and when we said we do, replied how we were idiots and that he loves us more. XD
And at the end, they shouted out their thanks to us without the microphones. At least I was right about them not wanting to end a tour without doing this! Streamers burst out, and we almost managed to get one, but I was honestly relieved that we weren't able to snag one because I had brought some along with me. And sure enough, I gave my companions the streamers I got from Hiroshima after the concert.
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OH! I can't remember which of the songs now, but Shige waved in our direction when they got on one of those colorful moving stages that went around the dome. I'd like to believe he saw our uchiwas. XD
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The concert finally ended, and I managed to steal a picture of the dome from our side.
Gate 40, Aisle 6.
I found my last group of friends outside as well as soon as we got out of the concert venue.
We all went our separate ways afterwards, drunk and contented with the live.
And there you have it, my I-planned-this-to-be-short-but-it-ended-up-REALLY-long concert report! I'm pretty lucky I got to attend four out of its 18-or-so shows, even if I burned like most of my savings and now I'm pretty much back to zero, lmao. Will start saving again to be able to see my most favorite group in the entire world for their next live!