Japan 0709 - Day 3
The day of the concert! I woke up bright and early to prepare myself, and also because I had to meet up with Ada and her friend at Tokyo Dome at 10 to pass them tickets and buy concert goods. But I was late because my brother had stayed up the night before to watch Wimbledon (Federer won!!) and refused to wake up.
Fortunately for me, Ada arrived at Tokyo Dome very early, around 9.30, and by the time I reached, she was already very near the booths where the goods were sold and beckoned me to join her in the queue. Although it was still very early, the queue was already so long that we couldn't see the end of it!
I told myself that I would only buy the t-shirt, strap and hair cubes, but ended up buying the light stick and eco bag as well because they didn't provide a bag to put your stuff. After getting the goods, Ada and her friend went off to Harajuku for the Tohoshinki showcase (they didn't manage to get tickets in the end but managed to go on Sunday), and my brother and I went to have a look around. I was asked by Ling and Jun to buy sets of unofficial photos, but I couldn't find any stalls selling. Instead, I saw the place to buy official photos and joined the queue as there weren't so many people yet.
The Dome area was flooded with Tohoshinki fans that day, and everywhere we went we saw fans wearing the concert tee or carrying bags containing concert goods. There was a baseball match held on the same day too, but I think Tohoshinki fans outnumbered Giants fans. Even the place where we had lunch at - Denny's - was full of their fans. I also got to witness the full extent of the vast amount of middle-aged fans that Tohoshinki has in Japan, and also of their booming popularity. I saw many mothers with daughters (both whom are fans), mothers who brought their young child/children along, girls with their boyfriends, and even a dad who brought his 2 young daughters to the concert. Kimiko was so not kidding when she sent me that email saying that Tohoshinki is suddenly becoming very popular in Japan.
We had many hours to kill before the concert, so we went to the batting centre. I didn't try batting even though I was tempted to. There were many people and I felt shy. Hahaha. My brother attempted and he said that although it is a fun sport, it's very tiring to swing the bat and so hard to hit the ball. There are 22 balls in one game, and he struck out 21 times on his first attempt. He chose an approaching speed of 110km/hr even though it was his first time batting. Very ambitious for a newbie.
I don't know how we managed to spend a few hours doing nothing, and finally, it was 4-ish and we could enter the dome!
We were seated on the second floor, in the middle of the dome, and second row from the front. I was pretty disappointed because the stage is very far away from where we were sitting, and it would be impossible to see the boys closely. My brother fell asleep while we waited for the concert to start, and at about 15 minutes before 6, after hearing from Ada (she was seated at another area) that there were binoculars sold outside, I went to buy myself one so that I could zoom in on the stage.
The show started late because alot of people were still coming in at 6, so I guess they wanted to wait till the seats were almost full before starting. When the lights were dimmed, you could see a sea of red as everybody switched on their lightsticks and waved it in the air. It was such a spectacular sight that even my brother was impressed by it.
I couldn't take any pictures or videos because I was seated at the aisle and there was a staff member just right in front of me keeping a watch on the audience. But at least I got to concentrate on the concert! It was so surreal, and I was completely blown away by Tohoshinki's performance. I've always known that they are great singers, but on that day, I fell in love again and again throughout the entire show. Even by brother who was only there to accompany me was in awe of their singing capabilities. It's a completely different experience to hear them sing live, because they sound so much better than in CDs. They sing with such passion and emotion that you can't help but be drawn into the songs.
Although my brother isn't a fan, he loves listening to their most popular ballad - Doushite Kimi Wo Suki Ni Natte Shimattandarou. It was the third song on the list, and when they started playing the song, my brother went, "Oh! This song is very nice!", and clapped heartily when Toho finished singing the song. I almost cried when they sang Wasurenaide - it's a song that all fans have to hear live at least once in their life. They sang so beautifully that I felt intensely touched. I also loved Begin, one of my favourite ballads. Yoochun played the piano for that song, and when it came to the last verse of the song - "...futari dake de....Begin....", the whole dome was silent as Jaejoong sang, ending it perfectly. I didn't even realise that I was holding my breath until he finished singing the last note.
All of us got a pleasant surprise when it was revealed that Tohoshinki would be performing solos from their Mirotic concerts - Junsu's Xiahtic and Yunho's Checkmate, Japanese version. Changmin also performed his solo - Wild Soul (the fireworks scared me! but it was so awesome!), and Jaejoong and Yoochun sang a song that they wrote and composed together specially for the shows in Tokyo Dome - Colors ~ Melody and Harmony, which is also Hello Kitty's 35th Anniversary song. It's a very sweet and lovely song; Jae and Chun should compose more songs together, they make such a great team.
The talk segments were really light-hearted and funny. Changmin seemed to be really emotional that day and talked alot about his feelings. They made Junsu perform oyaji gags which all of us probably didn't get but still laughed anyway because it's Junsu, and Jae said that we're very kind people because we laughed at Su's lame jokes. Ha. I teared abit when they talked about how happy they are to finally be able to perform in Tokyo Dome. It had been their biggest dream when they first debuted in Japan 4 years ago, and now it has finally come true.
I made several call attempts to both Jessica and Mandy halfway through the concert because I wanted to let them hear it live. I couldn't get through to Jessica's phone at all, and Mandy didn't pick up. Dee finally called me back but it was only after they finished singing Forever Love and had started on O - Sei.Han.Go. I had wanted her to listen to Forever Love and for Jessica to listen to Taxi.
After O - Sei.Han.Go, they began to perform some of their older songs - old favourites like Choosey Lover, Sky, Somebody to Love, and Summer Dream. The audience went completely wild when they performed those songs! It was extremely fun and upbeat and although they do the same thing for the songs every single time - getting the audience to jump together with them during Somebody to Love, Su's angel pose during Summer Dream, etc, nobody ever seem to get sick of those moves; it's almost like a tradition. My brother liked their performance of Survivor the most; I loved it too! The whole dome was rocking with the song and everybody screamed very loudly.
They also introduced their dancers. I was pretty psyched to see Ryo and Gen from Baseheads! When they intoduced them both I cheered very loudly. I'm not very familiar with members from Prime Time but they can all dance very well.
They performed many songs for the encore, and during We Are!, they went on individual moving platforms and started throwing balls to the audience! I wanted one so badly but they could only throw the balls to the audience seated on the first floor. Bummer! The moving platforms eventually brought them to the mini-stage situated at the back of the arena, JUST RIGHT BELOW WHERE I WAS SEATED! I was extremely elated because finally I could see them up-close! Stand by U and Bolero both exceeded my expectations, especially Bolero. Yoochun's scream was so powerful and resounded in my heart. During Kiss the Baby Sky, the cameras zoomed in on the Zoom! In Super cast who acted in the song's PV. I was surprised and happy that they went for the concert.
After Bolero had ended, the guys started to return to backstage. Yoochun said "Bye, bye", and Yunho and Jae said, "Mata ne~", which garnered alot of screams. Just when I thought the concert was over and was feeling rather sad, the guys came back out and performed Love in the Ice! I had heard them sing the song in Korean during February's SM Town in Bangkok, but I never thought I'd get to hear it again. And in Japanese too! Everybody loves Liti and it's a well-known fact that the song is much better heard live. With that, the concert ended on a perfect note and I felt thoroughly satisfied.
We had a hard time getting out as there were close to 55,000 people in the dome. The whole Tokyo Dome area was congested and there was a major human traffic jam going on. When I got to ground floor, I was surprised to see a bevy of men in suits lined up in a semi-circle bowing to us and saying, "Arigatou Gozaimashita!". They remind me of the butlers in the drama Mei-chan no Shitsuji. Hahaha.
Some of the goods that I bought. I really like the Tokyo Dome version of the concert tee...because it's in pink! I'm a sucker for pink clothing.
The whole Tokyo Dome experience seems so surreal and I cannot believe that I was one of the approximately 55,000 fans to witness Tohoshinki's very first performance there. Hidden amidst the sea of red, I was there, me, waving my lightstick and cheering together with other fans. I read a fan account of a girl who was disappinted with the effects and stage planning of the concert, and complained about alot of things. Although I do agree with her that the effects could have been better, I wasn't there for any of those things at all, so I didn't feel a shred of disappointment. To me, being able to be present on their big day at Tokyo Dome, to be able to listen to them live, to be touched by their powerful vocals, that's what matters most. The 4th of July, 2009 is a day for them and us to remember forever, and is an experience that I will never forget.