NEWS Epcotia Encore 1/1/2019
Hello~
Sporadic journal update time, once again with a concert report. As usual, this will be less of a "what happened" and more "here are all my feels, plus random minutiae." I hope to someday reach the point where going to a Johnny's concert is a fun and exciting experience rather than a highly emotional life event, but we're not there yet. Maybe once I've seen each group once we'll get there.
I arrived in Osaka by bus a little after 11, and went first to my hotel to drop my stuff. However, when I got there at like 11:30, they told me I could check in at 12 if I waited! I was surprised as the time is supposed to be 3, but I guess they were almost done cleaning my room. I waited, sweating in the warm lobby (heat tech: great for making you sweat indoors in the winter!) and was let up to my room just before noon! I took the time to clean up a bit and make sure I wasn't taking more than I needed in my purse before heading over to the venue.
I was a bit worried that the goods line would be long, but there... was no goods line haha. At least for the downstairs goods area, which was the first one I saw and therefore the one I went to. I hovered back to look at the items and decide what to get, and then walked up to a register that had one person finishing up and another waiting behind them. The whole process was like 10 minutes, including decision making. I decided against the bag, as it was indeed ugly in person. I did however get a Tegoshi uchiwa, my first time getting an uchiwa. The uchiwa for this con were really cool with some gold lines forming a partial mask over half of the member's face. Also got the penlight (ldo) and a photo set of the group. The penlight just had three settings (on, flashing, and off) and only turned the one goldish color.
That accomplished, I made a circuit of the dome to get a feel for the size, where the gates were, and scout the location I'd been told to meet my seller at later. This spot was a good one as it turned out, on the far side of the dome a bit away from the gates. But anyway, after all that I was a bit cold so I went into the Aeon mall. First I did a small circuit to see if any chairs or benches were open, no ofc not. Restaurants and food courts full up too. I figured I'd just get McDonald's later, my traditional "seeing idols for the first time and too nervous to eat" food. I sat on the floor next to an escalator across from a Claire's of all things haha, which was actually a good spot and not very crowded at the time. Then I decided I wanted to shop (and buy something that would provide a big enough bag to put my uchiwa in lol) so I went to an area where I'd seen a bunch of sweaters earlier. After trying a few things on I ended up with a cute sweater dress and a place for my uchiwa. :) I went back to Claire's, a lot more people by then but I still managed to sit. The mall was packed with people.
With like an hour to go before meet up time I was going to go to the bathroom but the lines were completely Disneyland ride insane on both floors. Like that had to be at least a half hour wait. I figured the lines inside the dome had to be better, especially as we were going in like 1.5 hours before the concert, so I decided to wait. After that I went to the McDonald's. It was right next to the exit to the ramp connecting the train station and the dome so there were like a million people hovering nearby, but luckily the actual line was short. I got my chicken nuggets and lucked into a counter seat (the benefits of being only one person) where I ate.
Then I headed back out to the dome! The place I was going was on the far side so I could have gone either way, but I made the mistake of taking the shorter route that happened to go past the goods line. It was sooo congested with people I was stuck for a good 5 minutes! I eventually made it to the meetup spot with like 5 minutes to spare lol but I'd hoped to be there earlier. Luckily I wasn't the last person. There was a group of them selling tickets in various amount and once everyone was there we went inside.
They took awhile to deliberate about the tickets and who got what, but I was eventually given my ticket: upper stands, second row. So while I was high up I was at least near the front, and the dome in Osaka isn't nearly as tall as Tokyo Dome so I wasn't quite so mile-high as I was for KAT-TUN. I was also basically right in front: behind where home base would be and slightly to the first base side. About where the on deck batter would be on that side I'd guess. Before going to my seat I used a bathroom on the second floor, found a tiny one with a correspondingly short line and was in and out in ten minutes. Verdict: if you're in the dome over an hour before the concert starts bathrooms are no problem. Then I pretty much just went to my seat and parked there. There were two seats to my right between me and the aisle, the one to my right was filled a little while after I arrived but the aisle seat stayed empty. All the other seats around me were filled though. Anyway I had an hour to kill haha so I rearranged my stuff a few time, figured out how I would hold everything and bothered people on LINE. One of my coworkers went with friends of hers so we exchanged messages about how excited we were!
Then, finally, the concert! I was excited leading up to it, but sort of mutedly. I didn't really scream when others did, just sort of felt some excitement. I thought, maybe, that I was more chill. Then the intro video came on, and I was excited but still relatively calm. Then they appeared and the opening song "Epcotia" began and I started immediately crying. I cried through the first three songs basically, especially the first two (I was getting myself back together during the third). I was finally seeing NEWS in person! And not only that, but this album in particular was one I listened to a lot while preparing to leave on JET. I vividly remember driving around to pharmacies and doctor's appointments while listening to this album on repeat. So it was like a moment of all my stress and hard work finally seeing its culmination here. Luckily it was dark and I was crying quietly so I don't think anyone noticed.
The way the stage was set up was truly 360*. There was a round stage in the middle with walkways leading out in basically an X. After a few songs, they went to the ends of the X and got clipped onto these floating planets that had been near the ceiling. They then rotated around while strapped to these! And for the first song, they were at exactly eye height for where I was! So I could look directly ahead as they floated by, not so very far away! Tegoshi, my favorite, came by first and I was so excited. He waved to our section! And during this they were singing their debut song, so I was crying again a bit. Massu also came by. Then they went up a bit higher for the next song. Shige came by like that, and I waved up at him too haha. He seemed to love floating, he was flipping around a bit later. Koyama came by last, terrified of the height haha. He was clinging to the support with both hands, only briefly detaching one hand at a time to quickly wave before grabbing on again. Cute.
After that I don't remember the exact order of things. There was a section where they did a bunch of cool rock-ish songs included a random single b-side I really like. I don't think everyone around me knew that song so I got to feel less like an idiot foreigner haha. They annoyingly turned off our penlights for this section for some reason (they controlled them remotely to make them fade in and out sometimes or turn out sometimes). I wish they'd been on, but I was still using it haha. Then there was their solos, none of which I knew. My section mostly sat for this. Then they did their MC. They talked about Shige's recent drama, which I've recently been watching downloads of. All the members guested on it at various points so they were all involved, which was cool.
After all of that, they got onto a moving platform that went around the outside of the arena section outside the X's. Closer to us in the stands again! Though not as high. They actually had four individual platforms that could join together. They started off on the third base side, in the outfield. The platform stopped and they sang... "Koi Matsuri"!!!! That song is from their 2013 album NEWS, which was the first album of theirs I ever got (and possibly the first Johnny's album I ever got actually). I listened to it in my car all the time driving to and from my part time job in grad school! I had NO IDEA they would play that song, so I was really excited and, yes, cried a bit again.
Then they stage moved and came to home plate near me! The song they did here is one I'm actually indifferent to but it was still cool that they were so close. Then they went over to the other side. Somewhere in all of this they did a medley of old singles. One of those songs was "Hadashi no Cinderella Boy." That is one of my favorite songs, and it also has a bit of backstory. That song was on an old album of theirs I also ordered early on in my fandom and listened to a lot. On my first Japan trip in 2013, when I thought moving to Japan was impossible, I heard that song playing in a random store and was excited that I recognized it. I vividly remember being in some random store in an Osaka shopping arcade and being so excited when it came on. So as soon as the opening notes sounded here, I immediately started crying as hard as I did at the start. All I could think was, if only 2013 me could see this. If only she knew I'd be here, in Osaka!, seeing NEWS perform this song live. It was an emotional moment for me.
After all that they did a few final songs and then left. A bunch of girls hurried out at this point, presumably to catch trains. Then they came out for the encore! They did one song, the video screen seemed to be building towards another, and then suddenly stopped, the light came on, and a voice was telling us not to forget anything when we left. Most Johnny's concerts I've seen have 2-3 songs in the encore so I was surprised, and from the reactions around me I wasn't the only one. Then there was some confusion on my part over whether or not our section had been excused (because like 70% of the people left) so after half an hour I left even though I probably wasn't supposed to. I've since figured out that our section hadn't been excused yet, but oh well, next time I'll be more patient.
Anyway then I went back to my hotel! I tried to watch some Arashi on TV but was too tired haha so I crashed after Sho's segment. I did message some people afterwards, my coworker also loved the concert luckily! All in all it was fantastic, and I look forward to having groups I like touring more consistently so I can finally live that Johnny's concert lifestyle and see multiple shows in a tour! Heavenly.
Sporadic journal update time, once again with a concert report. As usual, this will be less of a "what happened" and more "here are all my feels, plus random minutiae." I hope to someday reach the point where going to a Johnny's concert is a fun and exciting experience rather than a highly emotional life event, but we're not there yet. Maybe once I've seen each group once we'll get there.
I arrived in Osaka by bus a little after 11, and went first to my hotel to drop my stuff. However, when I got there at like 11:30, they told me I could check in at 12 if I waited! I was surprised as the time is supposed to be 3, but I guess they were almost done cleaning my room. I waited, sweating in the warm lobby (heat tech: great for making you sweat indoors in the winter!) and was let up to my room just before noon! I took the time to clean up a bit and make sure I wasn't taking more than I needed in my purse before heading over to the venue.
I was a bit worried that the goods line would be long, but there... was no goods line haha. At least for the downstairs goods area, which was the first one I saw and therefore the one I went to. I hovered back to look at the items and decide what to get, and then walked up to a register that had one person finishing up and another waiting behind them. The whole process was like 10 minutes, including decision making. I decided against the bag, as it was indeed ugly in person. I did however get a Tegoshi uchiwa, my first time getting an uchiwa. The uchiwa for this con were really cool with some gold lines forming a partial mask over half of the member's face. Also got the penlight (ldo) and a photo set of the group. The penlight just had three settings (on, flashing, and off) and only turned the one goldish color.
That accomplished, I made a circuit of the dome to get a feel for the size, where the gates were, and scout the location I'd been told to meet my seller at later. This spot was a good one as it turned out, on the far side of the dome a bit away from the gates. But anyway, after all that I was a bit cold so I went into the Aeon mall. First I did a small circuit to see if any chairs or benches were open, no ofc not. Restaurants and food courts full up too. I figured I'd just get McDonald's later, my traditional "seeing idols for the first time and too nervous to eat" food. I sat on the floor next to an escalator across from a Claire's of all things haha, which was actually a good spot and not very crowded at the time. Then I decided I wanted to shop (and buy something that would provide a big enough bag to put my uchiwa in lol) so I went to an area where I'd seen a bunch of sweaters earlier. After trying a few things on I ended up with a cute sweater dress and a place for my uchiwa. :) I went back to Claire's, a lot more people by then but I still managed to sit. The mall was packed with people.
With like an hour to go before meet up time I was going to go to the bathroom but the lines were completely Disneyland ride insane on both floors. Like that had to be at least a half hour wait. I figured the lines inside the dome had to be better, especially as we were going in like 1.5 hours before the concert, so I decided to wait. After that I went to the McDonald's. It was right next to the exit to the ramp connecting the train station and the dome so there were like a million people hovering nearby, but luckily the actual line was short. I got my chicken nuggets and lucked into a counter seat (the benefits of being only one person) where I ate.
Then I headed back out to the dome! The place I was going was on the far side so I could have gone either way, but I made the mistake of taking the shorter route that happened to go past the goods line. It was sooo congested with people I was stuck for a good 5 minutes! I eventually made it to the meetup spot with like 5 minutes to spare lol but I'd hoped to be there earlier. Luckily I wasn't the last person. There was a group of them selling tickets in various amount and once everyone was there we went inside.
They took awhile to deliberate about the tickets and who got what, but I was eventually given my ticket: upper stands, second row. So while I was high up I was at least near the front, and the dome in Osaka isn't nearly as tall as Tokyo Dome so I wasn't quite so mile-high as I was for KAT-TUN. I was also basically right in front: behind where home base would be and slightly to the first base side. About where the on deck batter would be on that side I'd guess. Before going to my seat I used a bathroom on the second floor, found a tiny one with a correspondingly short line and was in and out in ten minutes. Verdict: if you're in the dome over an hour before the concert starts bathrooms are no problem. Then I pretty much just went to my seat and parked there. There were two seats to my right between me and the aisle, the one to my right was filled a little while after I arrived but the aisle seat stayed empty. All the other seats around me were filled though. Anyway I had an hour to kill haha so I rearranged my stuff a few time, figured out how I would hold everything and bothered people on LINE. One of my coworkers went with friends of hers so we exchanged messages about how excited we were!
Then, finally, the concert! I was excited leading up to it, but sort of mutedly. I didn't really scream when others did, just sort of felt some excitement. I thought, maybe, that I was more chill. Then the intro video came on, and I was excited but still relatively calm. Then they appeared and the opening song "Epcotia" began and I started immediately crying. I cried through the first three songs basically, especially the first two (I was getting myself back together during the third). I was finally seeing NEWS in person! And not only that, but this album in particular was one I listened to a lot while preparing to leave on JET. I vividly remember driving around to pharmacies and doctor's appointments while listening to this album on repeat. So it was like a moment of all my stress and hard work finally seeing its culmination here. Luckily it was dark and I was crying quietly so I don't think anyone noticed.
The way the stage was set up was truly 360*. There was a round stage in the middle with walkways leading out in basically an X. After a few songs, they went to the ends of the X and got clipped onto these floating planets that had been near the ceiling. They then rotated around while strapped to these! And for the first song, they were at exactly eye height for where I was! So I could look directly ahead as they floated by, not so very far away! Tegoshi, my favorite, came by first and I was so excited. He waved to our section! And during this they were singing their debut song, so I was crying again a bit. Massu also came by. Then they went up a bit higher for the next song. Shige came by like that, and I waved up at him too haha. He seemed to love floating, he was flipping around a bit later. Koyama came by last, terrified of the height haha. He was clinging to the support with both hands, only briefly detaching one hand at a time to quickly wave before grabbing on again. Cute.
After that I don't remember the exact order of things. There was a section where they did a bunch of cool rock-ish songs included a random single b-side I really like. I don't think everyone around me knew that song so I got to feel less like an idiot foreigner haha. They annoyingly turned off our penlights for this section for some reason (they controlled them remotely to make them fade in and out sometimes or turn out sometimes). I wish they'd been on, but I was still using it haha. Then there was their solos, none of which I knew. My section mostly sat for this. Then they did their MC. They talked about Shige's recent drama, which I've recently been watching downloads of. All the members guested on it at various points so they were all involved, which was cool.
After all of that, they got onto a moving platform that went around the outside of the arena section outside the X's. Closer to us in the stands again! Though not as high. They actually had four individual platforms that could join together. They started off on the third base side, in the outfield. The platform stopped and they sang... "Koi Matsuri"!!!! That song is from their 2013 album NEWS, which was the first album of theirs I ever got (and possibly the first Johnny's album I ever got actually). I listened to it in my car all the time driving to and from my part time job in grad school! I had NO IDEA they would play that song, so I was really excited and, yes, cried a bit again.
Then they stage moved and came to home plate near me! The song they did here is one I'm actually indifferent to but it was still cool that they were so close. Then they went over to the other side. Somewhere in all of this they did a medley of old singles. One of those songs was "Hadashi no Cinderella Boy." That is one of my favorite songs, and it also has a bit of backstory. That song was on an old album of theirs I also ordered early on in my fandom and listened to a lot. On my first Japan trip in 2013, when I thought moving to Japan was impossible, I heard that song playing in a random store and was excited that I recognized it. I vividly remember being in some random store in an Osaka shopping arcade and being so excited when it came on. So as soon as the opening notes sounded here, I immediately started crying as hard as I did at the start. All I could think was, if only 2013 me could see this. If only she knew I'd be here, in Osaka!, seeing NEWS perform this song live. It was an emotional moment for me.
After all that they did a few final songs and then left. A bunch of girls hurried out at this point, presumably to catch trains. Then they came out for the encore! They did one song, the video screen seemed to be building towards another, and then suddenly stopped, the light came on, and a voice was telling us not to forget anything when we left. Most Johnny's concerts I've seen have 2-3 songs in the encore so I was surprised, and from the reactions around me I wasn't the only one. Then there was some confusion on my part over whether or not our section had been excused (because like 70% of the people left) so after half an hour I left even though I probably wasn't supposed to. I've since figured out that our section hadn't been excused yet, but oh well, next time I'll be more patient.
Anyway then I went back to my hotel! I tried to watch some Arashi on TV but was too tired haha so I crashed after Sho's segment. I did message some people afterwards, my coworker also loved the concert luckily! All in all it was fantastic, and I look forward to having groups I like touring more consistently so I can finally live that Johnny's concert lifestyle and see multiple shows in a tour! Heavenly.