PUZZLE Hiroshima 16.00 report ^_^
REPORT ON KANJANI 8 "PUZZLE TOUR" in Hiroshima Green Arena
Please Note: This is a fan report based on my own experience. I’ve included, for people on my friends list, additional content other than just the concert report (e.g.: about my trip to Hiroshima). It was my first ever K8 concert. I tried to keep the flailing and personal comments to a minimum, but I have also aimed to write this as my own personal record of the occasion. Because I’ve been studying Japanese for a few years now, I could generally understand the majority of the content, however obviously not 100%, so if there is something that I’ve translated or misinterpreted, don’t hesitate to let me know!! I’ve referenced Japanese blogs for the set list because I couldn’t remember it 100% correctly. Those who don’t want spoilers should avoid reading any further!! Anyway, I hope you all enjoy the report and that it gives you a sufficient idea of the concert and the awesomeness that is Kanjani 8.
PS: paaaaan has written a great report and I decided rather than overlapping what she's already posted, I'd just post things from my perspective. Therefore, I haven't written about the Eito Rangers skit because people probably don't wanna read that twice, but you should definitely check out her journal post for her report, its great!! ^_^ http://paaaaan.livejournal.com/106699.html and http://paaaaan.livejournal.com/106822.html
DATE: Sunday 10th May 2009
TIME: 16.00
VENUE: Hiroshima Green Arena
The Day Before:
My friend and I took a night bus on the 9th May, arriving in Hiroshima far too early.
The weather over the weekend was amazing though, so it didn’t matter. We stayed at K’s House Hiroshima, a relatively inexpensive hostel about 5-7 minutes from JR Hiroshima station. (I recommend it for anyone traveling to see a concert!). We visited the Peace Park, A-Bomb Building and Peace Museum. When we had lunch, we saw two girls dressed in green and purple, who had a bag decorated in K8 pictures. I asked them if they were going to the show the next day, and it turns out they were going to the same show as us!! And when we sat down in the arena, they were sitting only a few rows away from us and came to talk to us to see if we remembered them!! Anyway, after the museum, we took a ride on a really cute boat along the river, and from the boat we could see the Hiroshima Green Arena, which we also saw on the bus ride in. So we decided after the boat ride, to take a wander around the Arena…we weren’t the only people doing that either, there were quite a few fangirls there. We saw the staff unpacking trucks containing the goods, such as the pamphlets and magical bands. They didn’t care that we took photos of them! We also visited Miyajima, a beautiful island about 40 minutes by tram from the centre of Hiroshima. Definitely worth going to see. Hiroshima is a really small, peaceful, beautiful place so if you ever get the chance to go there, TAKE IT!
Getting There:
Transport to the Green Arena is pretty straightforward. There is a bus, however you can just take the tram (it’s like a train that runs on the roads) from Hiroshima JR station up. The tram runs pretty regularly. We got off in front of the Peace Park/ Atom bomb stop, and walked in past a big sports stadium and through a garden to the arena.
The Arena:
It is a beautiful location… the arena is surrounded by trees and flowers. The entrance to the stands seating is from the ground level, and you can enter the arena seats from the floor beneath that I think, which is also where the goods were sold. There were three goods tents, selling different items at each. The line for goods was very long, but moved pretty quickly. It was so, so, SO HOT waiting in line, directly beneath the sun. Hiroshima Green Arena is really small, so basically anywhere you sat gave you a great view. The main stage was on the side of the arena, with seats behind it, so all seating blocks were used. There were strands of fairy lights hanging between the stage and the seating. There was also a middle stage which had a circular platform that rose up. Along the walkway stage were puzzle pieces of different colors. They lit up from underneath during songs. There were also rising platforms at various places along the walkways on the edge, and carts running through the arena blocks, and the stands.
The Goods:
*Penlight (1,300 yen) Gold and sparkly, designed to look like the “Kan” 関character in “Kanjani 8”, only with an infinity sign in the middle. Can either be turned on the whole time, or can fade on and off.
* Posters (800 yen) Individual posters with black backgrounds, and two group posters: one with a white background, and one of the Eito Rangers (so many people bought this one, and when we saw it, it was basically like a sign that the rangers skit would be back!!)
* Uchiwa (500 yen) One for each member as always. Everyone looks fantastic. The back has each member’s first name in romaji with sparkles, and a big infinity sign behind it, all in each member’s respective colors.
*Pamphlet (2,000 yen) Has a cool cover, kind of like a stencil of the infinity sign. There are really gorgeous pictures of each member, and them altogether. There are interviews and things, also messages to each member and to the fans.
*Magical Band (500 yen) This year’s band is orange. It says “KANJANI 8” on one side, and has the kanji character 陽 “you” on the other side, from the word陽気 “youki”.
*Clearfile (500 yen) Individual clearfiles, plus a group clearfile (where each member is colored eg: Ryo is yellow, Subaru is red etc.)
*Eco Bag (800 yen) Grey, with little tiny infinity symbols in different colors
*Shu Shu (800 yen) In Australia, we call it a hair scrunchie. Basically it’s a silver thing with little infinity signs in different colors, and little sparkly diamantes, that you put in your hair, e.g.: around your ponytail or something. It was sold out when we got there. Must be the HOT item of the tour!!
*T-shirt (2,700 yen) White with grey “kanjani 8” text layered across the middle-bottom. Comes in a cute orange carry bag.
*Original Photo sets (600 yen) Individual members photos and a group set. Obviously there were no live photos on sale because it was the first day of the tour.
The Show:
Was amazing. Felt like fireworks the whole time. The 6-member Kansai Jr group “Veterans” was the only back dancers. I’ve never seen Eito live before so I can’t say what it was like in comparison to other shows, but I seriously really enjoyed it. The focus was obviously on the new album, so all the tracks were sung, and a few old favorites were thrown in too. The show opened with “Kanjani 8 Gorilla Theatre”, basically the boys (except Hina, who wasn’t in a costume) dressed as gorillas sitting in a theatre, telling us not to eat or speak on our phones and so on.
SET LIST (other people have written detailed entries about each song individually so I won't, except for the unit ones and PUZZLE)
無責任ヒーロー
イッツマイソウル
風ファイティング
一秒KISS
Glorious the boys were spread out on three different rising platforms (Subaru was almost directly infront of us) for most of the song, and later joined in the middle of the arena toward the end of the song. It was absolutely BEAUTIFUL, their voices were perfect and their English pronunciation amazing, especially Ryo's closing line of the song. They showed the PV during the performance, on big screens in the middle of the arena.
Kicyu Yasu was wearing a fluro green suit and Willy Wonka-style top hat, Yoko was in a pink jacket and 3/4 jeans (i think). They sang on the rising circular stage in the middle, and also rode on the carts through the arena seats. My own personal opinion- this song sounds WAYYYY better live, because it has so much more energy and cuteness to it than just watching the PV (although it is cute too). Everyone did the hand actions, and basically it was such a fun performance.
YOU CAN SEE Maru and Hina were on different rising platforms around the edge of the stage, wearing the same costumes as in the PV (Maru- furry collared jacket, Hina- white shirt and vest). They ended up on the main stage (which was located on the side of the arena, not the front or back ends) and when they were dancing at different times, they dissapeared beneath the stage. When they re-emerged, Hina was wearing Maru's jacket, and Maru had the white shirt and vest. It was really cool and a really funky song!
パズル While each member was singing their lines, they showed old pictures of them, and then more recent pictures. It was almost a little distracting because the song is so kinda, sad, but the pictures were so cute and adorable. It was a pretty emotional song, because I think everyone in the audience knows what (or should I say "who") it might be about. MOST SIGNIFICANTLY THOUGH WAS THIS...... PINK PUZZLE PIECES!!!!! Remember I said that there were puzzle pieces on the stage floor that lit up different colors? Well, during all the other songs, they were just the colors of the 7 members. HOWEVER, during PUZZLE, and ONLY during PUZZLE, some of them were lit up PINK!!!!!!! Unless my eyes were decieving me, but I wasn't the only one who noticed it. AAHHHHHHH It made me cry. So clever of Eito to include their missing puzzle piece in the show. I guess we'll have to wait and see if they do that at all the venues, but if they do, then thats so adorable.
渇いた花
∞レンジャーSince LJ user paaaaan has already typed this up, I don’t have anything else to add, so please check out their LJ instead ^_^ http://paaaaan.livejournal.com/106822.html
どんなに離れてたって傍にいるから
ギガマジメ我ファイト
MC *Maru did paaaaan. *K8's tour starting again, after an unusually long break. *K8's 5th year since debut! They mentioned something about doing massive celebrations for their 8th year, as opposed to 10th. Although they said it will probably be a normal year, just like how their 8th single was just another normal single release. *Talk about how all the
members have been doing different individual activities this year- Yasu Kagotsurube, Hina’s solo show, J-rock, Ryusei no Kizuna, the Quiz Show etc. *Talk about how far they've come.... story about how, when they wanted to have a barbecue, they didn't have enough money to all buy a barbeque set together. *This led to more talk about time passing, and audience members suddenly called out "Happy Birthday Yoko!!", which led to everyone yelling this, and members wishing him a Happy Birthday.... Yoko told a story about how in rehearsals, the members surprised him and played a Happy Birthday message on the screens after ギガマジメ我ファイト, but he thought it was an accident (like, that it was supposed to happen during the concert instead and someone had accidentally played the video during the rehearsal and screwed the surprise up) so he was confused, until the members all started wishing him a happy birthday. Talk about age, and if the members were feeling older. They made fun of Hina being an old man, especially the way he walks. Yoko said he still feels 18, despite being 28. Tacchon said he's only 23, so it’s the most powerful time in his life. Ryo-chan said his eyes are getting worse. Funnily, in the arena was a huge sponsor's sign that said Momiji Manjuu Nishiki Dou もみじ饅頭にしき堂(にしきnishiki in hiragana, and the kanji "堂dou (like in Domoto, or Shokudou)... so they asked him to try and read the sign, and it was funny because it was similar to his surname!!
Then, the Happy Birthday song played in the arena and a message came on the screen, and we all sung!! A cake with a message "Happy 28th Birthday, Yokoyama You" (or something like that) was brought out, as well as presents. They talked about how these days, thanks to their senpai’s still being active, there are more idols over the age of 30. Yoko said he will keep being in Eito even when he is 50 and balding! All the lights in the arena went out so Yoko could blow out his candles, which were a 2 and 8. He was laughing and almost blew them out while doing this. He seemed really amazingly happy and grateful to everyone. His presents were a pillow, some random stuff Maru bought in a specialty store in Kyoto, and some DBZ merchandise like puzzles and frames to put them in. Yoko said he would put pictures of the members in the frames instead!! He also said he wouldn't be able to sleep that night, but then someone said "but we gave you a pillow!!" so he should be able to. Apparently the juniors (Veteran) also gave Yoko presents. Eito made Yoko sing a song by himself. It was random and funny and I don’t remember what it was about at all. They then left the stage to get changed while Veterans performed.
Explosion (by Veterans)
アカイシンキロウ
ブリュレ
My Last Train
大阪レイニーブルース
ズッコケ男道
Band- drums, guitar and bass (Okura, Yasu and Maru)
Do you agree?
ゴリゴリ
情熱PARTY
ローリング・コースター
Encore
無限大
咲いて生きよ
ワッハッハー
OTHER NOTES:
*During Glorious, when Subaru was on the rising platform, he was facing our block and looking through the crowd when he wasn’t singing. We had eye contact for an extremely brief moment. I was mostly just amazed at his voice. I guess for people who’ve seen him perform a lot, they are probably used to it already but for me it was mesmerizing. I can’t believe someone that small can have such a powerful voice inside!!
*We mostly had Subaru, Hina and Yoko down our end. Ryo wasn’t there very much at all.
*During the second half of the show, maybe it was during an encore, the boys came through the stands on the moving carts. It might have been Yasu and Hina who came past us?? I don’t remember, sorry. Or maybe it was Okura?? Lol.
* the Birthday Boy STARED at me and my friend. He was on the platform during Osaka Rainy Blues. We were sitting 10 rows from the edge, so I didn't think he'd really see us. But he was looking at the crowd beneath us for a while, and I kept thinking "Look up, look up..." but I gave up hope because he continued to look down at the people closer to him. His gaze kept moving. However, then he started looking up. My friend and I were singing, and I was holding his uchiwa and suddenly he saw us and stopped looking around and just stared with this really surprised look, for about 4 or 5 seconds. I guess because we continued singing, and I had his uchiwa, and we weren't expecting him to see us so we just kept looking back at him.... he had this real "wow, foreign fans holding my uchiwa!!" face. It was amazing. Haha Yokocho, thats our present to you... foreign fans at your concert the day after your birthday!! Otanjoubi Omedetou!! And this is just on a separate note, Ryo is my fave and Yoko is probably my 2nd fave, but I bought that uchiwa because my Mum really likes him and I said I would buy her one. It was a last minute decision to get it at that show, because I'm going to other shows so I could have gotten it later. Of course I waved it while he was in our area, but I thought I'd give it to my Mum... now, I'm not so sure I wanna part with it lol.
*Maru has really nice arms! I don’t usually pay much attention to that, but I certainly noticed in the rangers VTR when he was flexing them!! So nice!!
*Ryo’s hair was kinda floppy and in his eyes a lot. On the uchiwa, it’s more styled, which is nice. He still did look great though, especially the times when he would stare into the camera or pull that super cute face of his. On the puzzle that features the members (used in the Eito Ranger skit), he is doing the cute smile where he puts his fingers to the sides of his mouth on his cheeks and tilts his head… so adorable!!
*Yasu’s hair is still long and dark.
*Okura has more freckles on his face than I thought he did.
*Subaru seems a lot more genki and kinda at peace. He was just glistening, in my opinion. I felt so overjoyed to see him smile like that.
*Yoko is paler in person than I thought. He was sweating a lot. His dark hair is soooo attractive. I just really admire him and it was so special to share his birthday with him… he seemed so grateful and appreciative of his bandmates and everyone in the audience. In the pamphlet messages to the members, several of them say that Yoko is the member who thinks of how to make the show better and more fun for the audience… so I really have to say THANKYOU to him for creating such an enjoyable show.
*I saw so many Hina fans. Hina really is great live too, and has a damn fine body, even when fully dressed. K8 is so lucky to have a guy like him in their group. I love how they teased him about being an ossan and having a funny way of walking. BTW his clearfile is HAWT!!!
*Bun-chan looked really nice, and he was dancing up our end a lot!! ^_^
* I pretty much enjoyed all the costumes. There weren’t any that were too radical or over-the-top (excluding Yasu’s Kicyu one, but its Yasu so that’s normal, right!?) and I think it shows in yet another way how Eito have kinda matured a bit. They aren’t so gimmicky any more, even if they do still sing “Zukkoke” haha. Actually the overall show had a slightly more mature feel. I mean, there was still so much K8 power and energy, but the focus was on more than them just being funny or wacky.
*The stage set-up was really simple. They didn’t have any huge big elaborate main stage, just the small main stage on the side, with fairy lights strung behind it. I think they may have said that more important than some fancy set was the atmosphere created with the audience (don’t quote me on that one, I can’t remember exactly. Maybe I just imagined it??)
*If I could ask for anything more, I would have loved to see more of my favorite songs performed, or at least Naniwa. However, being a concert tour for the new album, it’s natural that PUZZLE was the focus, and not their old hits. I think generally the show covered all bases in terms of crowd favorites, the band, the Eito Rangers, a great MC, songs that showed off their dancing skills with great choreography, slow songs to showcase their voices, and a mix of songs with fun choreography and hand movements that the audience could do.
*Member to member fanservice… there were moments here and there when they’d sing to each other or gaze at each other and it would be shown on the big screen. I wasn’t always paying attention though, and I don’t know if this was more or less than what they usually do. But yeah, no Baru X Ryo kissing this time haha.
*Audience fanservice…again, hard to compare but I thought they did a pretty good job. They certainly all paid attention and waved to people. I liked how there were enough rising platforms around the stage so that the members could all stand somewhere and look up into the stands, instead of just running around the stage edges and waving. There were plenty of peace signs and waves thrown around, and people like Maru were doing funny actions or interacting with the crowd. The people sitting directly behind the main stage got touched a lot, and got to touch a lot too. When the boys came through on the moving carts through the stands, it was a mix of waving and touching, facing the stands or the main arena. A girl near us totally grabbed Hina’s butt when he went passed. Apparently he didn’t seem to mind!! Haha. My impression was that Yasu, Yoko and Maru were the most attentive to the crowd, but obviously I can only say this based on what I was paying attention to at the time.
*Crowd behavior seemed to be really good. I think everyone was just so excited to be there at the start of the tour in such a small place. Seemed like there were plenty of Yoko fans, or at least EVERYONE was happy to celebrate his birthday with him!!! ^_^ I didn’t see any fighting over signboards or balls, which was a relief.
OVERALL, I still can’t believe the day finally came when I could see K8. It feels like I’ve finally achieved some kind of milestone haha. I’m definitely looking forward to seeing how the tour progresses, and the potential changes that will occur, e.g.: in the set list. Definitely, I’d love the solos to be performed, but it’s understandable that with the unit songs, and the 8 rangers skit, its A LOT to pack in to one show. I’m glad I saw the boys in such a small venue, because the other shows I’m seeing will all be in domes and who knows where my seats will be?
Anyway, hope this report was interesting enough. Seriously, please check out paaaaan's journal for the Eito Rangers skit, the Gorilla theatre and so on!
Please Note: This is a fan report based on my own experience. I’ve included, for people on my friends list, additional content other than just the concert report (e.g.: about my trip to Hiroshima). It was my first ever K8 concert. I tried to keep the flailing and personal comments to a minimum, but I have also aimed to write this as my own personal record of the occasion. Because I’ve been studying Japanese for a few years now, I could generally understand the majority of the content, however obviously not 100%, so if there is something that I’ve translated or misinterpreted, don’t hesitate to let me know!! I’ve referenced Japanese blogs for the set list because I couldn’t remember it 100% correctly. Those who don’t want spoilers should avoid reading any further!! Anyway, I hope you all enjoy the report and that it gives you a sufficient idea of the concert and the awesomeness that is Kanjani 8.
PS: paaaaan has written a great report and I decided rather than overlapping what she's already posted, I'd just post things from my perspective. Therefore, I haven't written about the Eito Rangers skit because people probably don't wanna read that twice, but you should definitely check out her journal post for her report, its great!! ^_^ http://paaaaan.livejournal.com/106699.html and http://paaaaan.livejournal.com/106822.html
DATE: Sunday 10th May 2009
TIME: 16.00
VENUE: Hiroshima Green Arena
The Day Before:
My friend and I took a night bus on the 9th May, arriving in Hiroshima far too early.
The weather over the weekend was amazing though, so it didn’t matter. We stayed at K’s House Hiroshima, a relatively inexpensive hostel about 5-7 minutes from JR Hiroshima station. (I recommend it for anyone traveling to see a concert!). We visited the Peace Park, A-Bomb Building and Peace Museum. When we had lunch, we saw two girls dressed in green and purple, who had a bag decorated in K8 pictures. I asked them if they were going to the show the next day, and it turns out they were going to the same show as us!! And when we sat down in the arena, they were sitting only a few rows away from us and came to talk to us to see if we remembered them!! Anyway, after the museum, we took a ride on a really cute boat along the river, and from the boat we could see the Hiroshima Green Arena, which we also saw on the bus ride in. So we decided after the boat ride, to take a wander around the Arena…we weren’t the only people doing that either, there were quite a few fangirls there. We saw the staff unpacking trucks containing the goods, such as the pamphlets and magical bands. They didn’t care that we took photos of them! We also visited Miyajima, a beautiful island about 40 minutes by tram from the centre of Hiroshima. Definitely worth going to see. Hiroshima is a really small, peaceful, beautiful place so if you ever get the chance to go there, TAKE IT!
Getting There:
Transport to the Green Arena is pretty straightforward. There is a bus, however you can just take the tram (it’s like a train that runs on the roads) from Hiroshima JR station up. The tram runs pretty regularly. We got off in front of the Peace Park/ Atom bomb stop, and walked in past a big sports stadium and through a garden to the arena.
The Arena:
It is a beautiful location… the arena is surrounded by trees and flowers. The entrance to the stands seating is from the ground level, and you can enter the arena seats from the floor beneath that I think, which is also where the goods were sold. There were three goods tents, selling different items at each. The line for goods was very long, but moved pretty quickly. It was so, so, SO HOT waiting in line, directly beneath the sun. Hiroshima Green Arena is really small, so basically anywhere you sat gave you a great view. The main stage was on the side of the arena, with seats behind it, so all seating blocks were used. There were strands of fairy lights hanging between the stage and the seating. There was also a middle stage which had a circular platform that rose up. Along the walkway stage were puzzle pieces of different colors. They lit up from underneath during songs. There were also rising platforms at various places along the walkways on the edge, and carts running through the arena blocks, and the stands.
The Goods:
*Penlight (1,300 yen) Gold and sparkly, designed to look like the “Kan” 関character in “Kanjani 8”, only with an infinity sign in the middle. Can either be turned on the whole time, or can fade on and off.
* Posters (800 yen) Individual posters with black backgrounds, and two group posters: one with a white background, and one of the Eito Rangers (so many people bought this one, and when we saw it, it was basically like a sign that the rangers skit would be back!!)
* Uchiwa (500 yen) One for each member as always. Everyone looks fantastic. The back has each member’s first name in romaji with sparkles, and a big infinity sign behind it, all in each member’s respective colors.
*Pamphlet (2,000 yen) Has a cool cover, kind of like a stencil of the infinity sign. There are really gorgeous pictures of each member, and them altogether. There are interviews and things, also messages to each member and to the fans.
*Magical Band (500 yen) This year’s band is orange. It says “KANJANI 8” on one side, and has the kanji character 陽 “you” on the other side, from the word陽気 “youki”.
*Clearfile (500 yen) Individual clearfiles, plus a group clearfile (where each member is colored eg: Ryo is yellow, Subaru is red etc.)
*Eco Bag (800 yen) Grey, with little tiny infinity symbols in different colors
*Shu Shu (800 yen) In Australia, we call it a hair scrunchie. Basically it’s a silver thing with little infinity signs in different colors, and little sparkly diamantes, that you put in your hair, e.g.: around your ponytail or something. It was sold out when we got there. Must be the HOT item of the tour!!
*T-shirt (2,700 yen) White with grey “kanjani 8” text layered across the middle-bottom. Comes in a cute orange carry bag.
*Original Photo sets (600 yen) Individual members photos and a group set. Obviously there were no live photos on sale because it was the first day of the tour.
The Show:
Was amazing. Felt like fireworks the whole time. The 6-member Kansai Jr group “Veterans” was the only back dancers. I’ve never seen Eito live before so I can’t say what it was like in comparison to other shows, but I seriously really enjoyed it. The focus was obviously on the new album, so all the tracks were sung, and a few old favorites were thrown in too. The show opened with “Kanjani 8 Gorilla Theatre”, basically the boys (except Hina, who wasn’t in a costume) dressed as gorillas sitting in a theatre, telling us not to eat or speak on our phones and so on.
SET LIST (other people have written detailed entries about each song individually so I won't, except for the unit ones and PUZZLE)
無責任ヒーロー
イッツマイソウル
風ファイティング
一秒KISS
Glorious the boys were spread out on three different rising platforms (Subaru was almost directly infront of us) for most of the song, and later joined in the middle of the arena toward the end of the song. It was absolutely BEAUTIFUL, their voices were perfect and their English pronunciation amazing, especially Ryo's closing line of the song. They showed the PV during the performance, on big screens in the middle of the arena.
Kicyu Yasu was wearing a fluro green suit and Willy Wonka-style top hat, Yoko was in a pink jacket and 3/4 jeans (i think). They sang on the rising circular stage in the middle, and also rode on the carts through the arena seats. My own personal opinion- this song sounds WAYYYY better live, because it has so much more energy and cuteness to it than just watching the PV (although it is cute too). Everyone did the hand actions, and basically it was such a fun performance.
YOU CAN SEE Maru and Hina were on different rising platforms around the edge of the stage, wearing the same costumes as in the PV (Maru- furry collared jacket, Hina- white shirt and vest). They ended up on the main stage (which was located on the side of the arena, not the front or back ends) and when they were dancing at different times, they dissapeared beneath the stage. When they re-emerged, Hina was wearing Maru's jacket, and Maru had the white shirt and vest. It was really cool and a really funky song!
パズル While each member was singing their lines, they showed old pictures of them, and then more recent pictures. It was almost a little distracting because the song is so kinda, sad, but the pictures were so cute and adorable. It was a pretty emotional song, because I think everyone in the audience knows what (or should I say "who") it might be about. MOST SIGNIFICANTLY THOUGH WAS THIS...... PINK PUZZLE PIECES!!!!! Remember I said that there were puzzle pieces on the stage floor that lit up different colors? Well, during all the other songs, they were just the colors of the 7 members. HOWEVER, during PUZZLE, and ONLY during PUZZLE, some of them were lit up PINK!!!!!!! Unless my eyes were decieving me, but I wasn't the only one who noticed it. AAHHHHHHH It made me cry. So clever of Eito to include their missing puzzle piece in the show. I guess we'll have to wait and see if they do that at all the venues, but if they do, then thats so adorable.
渇いた花
∞レンジャーSince LJ user paaaaan has already typed this up, I don’t have anything else to add, so please check out their LJ instead ^_^ http://paaaaan.livejournal.com/106822.html
どんなに離れてたって傍にいるから
ギガマジメ我ファイト
MC *Maru did paaaaan. *K8's tour starting again, after an unusually long break. *K8's 5th year since debut! They mentioned something about doing massive celebrations for their 8th year, as opposed to 10th. Although they said it will probably be a normal year, just like how their 8th single was just another normal single release. *Talk about how all the
members have been doing different individual activities this year- Yasu Kagotsurube, Hina’s solo show, J-rock, Ryusei no Kizuna, the Quiz Show etc. *Talk about how far they've come.... story about how, when they wanted to have a barbecue, they didn't have enough money to all buy a barbeque set together. *This led to more talk about time passing, and audience members suddenly called out "Happy Birthday Yoko!!", which led to everyone yelling this, and members wishing him a Happy Birthday.... Yoko told a story about how in rehearsals, the members surprised him and played a Happy Birthday message on the screens after ギガマジメ我ファイト, but he thought it was an accident (like, that it was supposed to happen during the concert instead and someone had accidentally played the video during the rehearsal and screwed the surprise up) so he was confused, until the members all started wishing him a happy birthday. Talk about age, and if the members were feeling older. They made fun of Hina being an old man, especially the way he walks. Yoko said he still feels 18, despite being 28. Tacchon said he's only 23, so it’s the most powerful time in his life. Ryo-chan said his eyes are getting worse. Funnily, in the arena was a huge sponsor's sign that said Momiji Manjuu Nishiki Dou もみじ饅頭にしき堂(にしきnishiki in hiragana, and the kanji "堂dou (like in Domoto, or Shokudou)... so they asked him to try and read the sign, and it was funny because it was similar to his surname!!
Then, the Happy Birthday song played in the arena and a message came on the screen, and we all sung!! A cake with a message "Happy 28th Birthday, Yokoyama You" (or something like that) was brought out, as well as presents. They talked about how these days, thanks to their senpai’s still being active, there are more idols over the age of 30. Yoko said he will keep being in Eito even when he is 50 and balding! All the lights in the arena went out so Yoko could blow out his candles, which were a 2 and 8. He was laughing and almost blew them out while doing this. He seemed really amazingly happy and grateful to everyone. His presents were a pillow, some random stuff Maru bought in a specialty store in Kyoto, and some DBZ merchandise like puzzles and frames to put them in. Yoko said he would put pictures of the members in the frames instead!! He also said he wouldn't be able to sleep that night, but then someone said "but we gave you a pillow!!" so he should be able to. Apparently the juniors (Veteran) also gave Yoko presents. Eito made Yoko sing a song by himself. It was random and funny and I don’t remember what it was about at all. They then left the stage to get changed while Veterans performed.
Explosion (by Veterans)
アカイシンキロウ
ブリュレ
My Last Train
大阪レイニーブルース
ズッコケ男道
Band- drums, guitar and bass (Okura, Yasu and Maru)
Do you agree?
ゴリゴリ
情熱PARTY
ローリング・コースター
Encore
無限大
咲いて生きよ
ワッハッハー
OTHER NOTES:
*During Glorious, when Subaru was on the rising platform, he was facing our block and looking through the crowd when he wasn’t singing. We had eye contact for an extremely brief moment. I was mostly just amazed at his voice. I guess for people who’ve seen him perform a lot, they are probably used to it already but for me it was mesmerizing. I can’t believe someone that small can have such a powerful voice inside!!
*We mostly had Subaru, Hina and Yoko down our end. Ryo wasn’t there very much at all.
*During the second half of the show, maybe it was during an encore, the boys came through the stands on the moving carts. It might have been Yasu and Hina who came past us?? I don’t remember, sorry. Or maybe it was Okura?? Lol.
* the Birthday Boy STARED at me and my friend. He was on the platform during Osaka Rainy Blues. We were sitting 10 rows from the edge, so I didn't think he'd really see us. But he was looking at the crowd beneath us for a while, and I kept thinking "Look up, look up..." but I gave up hope because he continued to look down at the people closer to him. His gaze kept moving. However, then he started looking up. My friend and I were singing, and I was holding his uchiwa and suddenly he saw us and stopped looking around and just stared with this really surprised look, for about 4 or 5 seconds. I guess because we continued singing, and I had his uchiwa, and we weren't expecting him to see us so we just kept looking back at him.... he had this real "wow, foreign fans holding my uchiwa!!" face. It was amazing. Haha Yokocho, thats our present to you... foreign fans at your concert the day after your birthday!! Otanjoubi Omedetou!! And this is just on a separate note, Ryo is my fave and Yoko is probably my 2nd fave, but I bought that uchiwa because my Mum really likes him and I said I would buy her one. It was a last minute decision to get it at that show, because I'm going to other shows so I could have gotten it later. Of course I waved it while he was in our area, but I thought I'd give it to my Mum... now, I'm not so sure I wanna part with it lol.
*Maru has really nice arms! I don’t usually pay much attention to that, but I certainly noticed in the rangers VTR when he was flexing them!! So nice!!
*Ryo’s hair was kinda floppy and in his eyes a lot. On the uchiwa, it’s more styled, which is nice. He still did look great though, especially the times when he would stare into the camera or pull that super cute face of his. On the puzzle that features the members (used in the Eito Ranger skit), he is doing the cute smile where he puts his fingers to the sides of his mouth on his cheeks and tilts his head… so adorable!!
*Yasu’s hair is still long and dark.
*Okura has more freckles on his face than I thought he did.
*Subaru seems a lot more genki and kinda at peace. He was just glistening, in my opinion. I felt so overjoyed to see him smile like that.
*Yoko is paler in person than I thought. He was sweating a lot. His dark hair is soooo attractive. I just really admire him and it was so special to share his birthday with him… he seemed so grateful and appreciative of his bandmates and everyone in the audience. In the pamphlet messages to the members, several of them say that Yoko is the member who thinks of how to make the show better and more fun for the audience… so I really have to say THANKYOU to him for creating such an enjoyable show.
*I saw so many Hina fans. Hina really is great live too, and has a damn fine body, even when fully dressed. K8 is so lucky to have a guy like him in their group. I love how they teased him about being an ossan and having a funny way of walking. BTW his clearfile is HAWT!!!
*Bun-chan looked really nice, and he was dancing up our end a lot!! ^_^
* I pretty much enjoyed all the costumes. There weren’t any that were too radical or over-the-top (excluding Yasu’s Kicyu one, but its Yasu so that’s normal, right!?) and I think it shows in yet another way how Eito have kinda matured a bit. They aren’t so gimmicky any more, even if they do still sing “Zukkoke” haha. Actually the overall show had a slightly more mature feel. I mean, there was still so much K8 power and energy, but the focus was on more than them just being funny or wacky.
*The stage set-up was really simple. They didn’t have any huge big elaborate main stage, just the small main stage on the side, with fairy lights strung behind it. I think they may have said that more important than some fancy set was the atmosphere created with the audience (don’t quote me on that one, I can’t remember exactly. Maybe I just imagined it??)
*If I could ask for anything more, I would have loved to see more of my favorite songs performed, or at least Naniwa. However, being a concert tour for the new album, it’s natural that PUZZLE was the focus, and not their old hits. I think generally the show covered all bases in terms of crowd favorites, the band, the Eito Rangers, a great MC, songs that showed off their dancing skills with great choreography, slow songs to showcase their voices, and a mix of songs with fun choreography and hand movements that the audience could do.
*Member to member fanservice… there were moments here and there when they’d sing to each other or gaze at each other and it would be shown on the big screen. I wasn’t always paying attention though, and I don’t know if this was more or less than what they usually do. But yeah, no Baru X Ryo kissing this time haha.
*Audience fanservice…again, hard to compare but I thought they did a pretty good job. They certainly all paid attention and waved to people. I liked how there were enough rising platforms around the stage so that the members could all stand somewhere and look up into the stands, instead of just running around the stage edges and waving. There were plenty of peace signs and waves thrown around, and people like Maru were doing funny actions or interacting with the crowd. The people sitting directly behind the main stage got touched a lot, and got to touch a lot too. When the boys came through on the moving carts through the stands, it was a mix of waving and touching, facing the stands or the main arena. A girl near us totally grabbed Hina’s butt when he went passed. Apparently he didn’t seem to mind!! Haha. My impression was that Yasu, Yoko and Maru were the most attentive to the crowd, but obviously I can only say this based on what I was paying attention to at the time.
*Crowd behavior seemed to be really good. I think everyone was just so excited to be there at the start of the tour in such a small place. Seemed like there were plenty of Yoko fans, or at least EVERYONE was happy to celebrate his birthday with him!!! ^_^ I didn’t see any fighting over signboards or balls, which was a relief.
OVERALL, I still can’t believe the day finally came when I could see K8. It feels like I’ve finally achieved some kind of milestone haha. I’m definitely looking forward to seeing how the tour progresses, and the potential changes that will occur, e.g.: in the set list. Definitely, I’d love the solos to be performed, but it’s understandable that with the unit songs, and the 8 rangers skit, its A LOT to pack in to one show. I’m glad I saw the boys in such a small venue, because the other shows I’m seeing will all be in domes and who knows where my seats will be?
Anyway, hope this report was interesting enough. Seriously, please check out paaaaan's journal for the Eito Rangers skit, the Gorilla theatre and so on!