えー。ボクなりにエクサイト！していると思いますが・・・
So! This past weekend I braved a typhoon? and went to Saitama for the first time.
Thanks to the wonderful 腹黒い？ Ella we got tickets to the excite! Music Festival '08 for Saturday.
For those of you who may not know - excite! is another search engine type site, kinda like yahoo or MSN. They do seem to be quite active in their music coverage too, and since three years ago they've been sponsoring the excite! Music Festival - basically a 2 day concert with a bunch of artists.
So my journey began Friday evening. Pretty much the whole day my superiors were terrifying me with comments about how bad the approaching Typhoon No.13 might be, and if I had any plans for the weekend I should probably cancel them. But me? Cancel my plans for the concert? I'd practically lived the whole week for the concert - it was a horrible, horrible week, and it had been my only light at the end of the road.
Unfortunately I had seen the news too, and at that time the forecast was saying the typhoon would be hitting our area exactly when I was supposed to be on the road. And I definitely didn't want to be there when the trains/buses stopped in the middle of nowhere, in the middle of a huge storm.
Instead, it was payday, and I was willing to blow a bit more money, and no matter what I was going, so I reserved a hotel near Saitama Super Arena (where the concert was!), and left almost right after I got off from work. It took me almost 4 hours to get there (by now I'm used to how inconveniently located my city is, but 4 HOURS? that's how long it takes from Narita to Manila. WTF).
The Hotel Brilliante Saitama!, where I stayed. I didn't take offense to it, but I do wonder why they have to take a copy of your passport just because you're a foreigner? (To be more precise, they took a copy of my alien card, but they tried to tell me to bring my passport and I was like WTF.) Over the phone, they had no idea I was a foreigner, because I reserved under my name and then they asked for "the name of the person calling." I wonder what would've happened if I just gave them some random Japanese name...?
My little single room. It was quite nice and clean, but it smelled slightly funny? Maybe a bit of a masculine smell (not that all guys smell funny!) - but from the location, it probably is meant as a business hotel.
Anyway, I slept quite soundly - I don't mind staying in manga kissa, but in the end you really can't get a good night's sleep there, because there are always people shuffling around and plus as a girl alone, I just feel paranoid in general. Apparently there was some heavy rain but I didn't hear a thing.
And when I woke up, this is what awaited me outside:
Perfectly clear skies. It wouldn't have been any issue for me to go in the morning, because the typhoon decided to skid off to the side. Which! is good, but 1) I kinda wasted my money at the hotel, and 2) I was all prepared to brave the storm, so I wore rather crappy clothes and I felt like a bum at the concert...T_T
Saitama Super Arena! Surprisingly? the concert wasn't sold out - but maybe that's more understandable, because there are people who might be like "I only like this one artist, so it'd be a waste to go." Maybe I'm also disillusioned, because all the other concerts I've been to have been sold out.
We were on the 400 level - it sounds far, but because the seats are arranged rather steeply? it was a pretty good view (except when stupid middle school girls STAND UP in front of you and you're old and you don't want to but if you don't you can't see!! /rant>)
But finally! The concert. I only have the set lists for Otsuka Ai and Ikimonogakari, because they're the only two that I knew well enough to figure out which songs they were performing.
1) FUNKY MONKEY BABYS. In general, I usually avoid J-rap, etc. just because most of it sounds exactly the same to me - and this group is no exception. Plus, the "BABYS" in their name is grammatically incorrect! BUT after the concert, I have a lot of respect for them because their lead man tried CRAZY HARD the entire time - he looked like he was about to pass out at the end, because he screamed/sprinted/jumped everywhere the whole time, and it was perfect for the opening act. Kinda sadly, none of the other artists brought that much energy (Ikimonogakari kinda did, but after FMB it didn't look like that much haha).
I don't think I could really become a fan, but I wouldn't mind watching them live again just because they're so determined to make it a good show.
(FUNKY MONKEY BABYS - ちっぽけな勇気) Here's the song I liked the most! It's very upbeat and never give up!-ish. And the video is amusingly cute.
2) Hata Motohiro. It was reaaaally sad when he was performing, because at first glance (especially right after FMB) it looks like he has NO ENERGY whatsoever, and so hordes of people were walking in and out the whole time he was performing. I didn't feel it that much at the time, but the more I think about it and listen to his stuff online, the more I REALLY REALLY like him. He was really amusing during his MCs because he acts like a total ditz - the type of person you'd expect to be like "...whaat..? I don't understand..." and talk reaaaaally slowly and what not.
And his voice!! Definitely one of the best in the J-industry right now. Other than Kobukuro, there aren't too many strong voices particularly for male artists. But he does it so good and SO PRETTY! PLEASE PLEASE give him a listen. I like all of these songs a LOT, so I can't rank them!
(秦基博 - キミ、メグル、ボク)
(秦基博 - シンクロ)
(秦基博 - 鱗)
P.S. To the Maryland people - isn't it a bit unnerving how he kinda looks EXACTLY like Su tho???
3) Otsuka Ai. The whole arena was surprised when she came out because including myself, I think everyone expected her to be the closing act. She was a bit less energetic than I expected, and disappointing only because she only sang 5 songs while everyone else had 7. But she was still quite good (and uber cute!) - my favorites were CHU-LIP and クラゲ、流れ星 for sure!
a) 桃の花ビラ
b) 羽ありたまご
c) ネコに風船
d) CHU-LIP
e) クラゲ、流れ星
(大塚愛 - クラゲ、流れ星）Finally the PV is out! It's not that interesting even tho it's very pretty, just because it seems so similar to Planetarium, but I love it anyways. ^^;
4) Ikimonogakari. I don't think I have to say much about them. I rant/fangirl about them all the time - I think that's good enough. As usual, very happy, very good live! The Shibuya live was still waaaaay more awesome, but probably because it was so much personal. I think Ikimonogakari has much much more confidence than they used to tho, so it'll be fun to see where they go!
a) コイスルオトメ
b) うるわしき人
c) Good Morning
d) ちこくしちゃうよ
e) プラネタリウム
f) ブルーバード
g) 帰りたくなったよ
(いきものがかり - プラネタリウム）There's no official PV yet because the single isn't released for another month or so, but the song is being used as the theme for the drama "Cat Street" so here are the ending credits. Personally I'm not a big fan of this song - it sounds very mediocre to me, but it was okay live!
5) Kobukuro. Honestly, by this point I was so exhausted, I pretty much lost my interest in the live. The concert was overall almost 5 hours long. I enjoy Kobukuro, but they're another artist who aside from a handful of songs, everything else sounds the same to me. On top of that, the shorter guy (sorry, no idea what his name is!) is one of those people who seems to like hearing himself talk and so his MCs were reaaaally long and reaaaaally boring.
...I still like Kobukuro very much though! Nothing can deny their talent tho - of course, the best was when they performed "tsubomi." They pulled (what I call) a Kiyoe - they stepped away from the mics for the last chunk of the song and sang a capella. Of course, Saitama Super Arena is so huge so I think that they still had mic support, but it was the minimum.
(コブクロ - 蕾) I think pretty much everyone and their mother have seen this video x43857120 times, but since I posted a video for every other artist...XD
And of course, since I was in the city, I went off and blew probably 1/5 of my paycheck, and it's only been 2 days since payday. At some point I'm going to die of thirst in the desert. Someone stop me...
Anyway it was a very good weekend! I hope everyone is doing well!!
Thanks to the wonderful 腹黒い？ Ella we got tickets to the excite! Music Festival '08 for Saturday.
For those of you who may not know - excite! is another search engine type site, kinda like yahoo or MSN. They do seem to be quite active in their music coverage too, and since three years ago they've been sponsoring the excite! Music Festival - basically a 2 day concert with a bunch of artists.
So my journey began Friday evening. Pretty much the whole day my superiors were terrifying me with comments about how bad the approaching Typhoon No.13 might be, and if I had any plans for the weekend I should probably cancel them. But me? Cancel my plans for the concert? I'd practically lived the whole week for the concert - it was a horrible, horrible week, and it had been my only light at the end of the road.
Unfortunately I had seen the news too, and at that time the forecast was saying the typhoon would be hitting our area exactly when I was supposed to be on the road. And I definitely didn't want to be there when the trains/buses stopped in the middle of nowhere, in the middle of a huge storm.
Instead, it was payday, and I was willing to blow a bit more money, and no matter what I was going, so I reserved a hotel near Saitama Super Arena (where the concert was!), and left almost right after I got off from work. It took me almost 4 hours to get there (by now I'm used to how inconveniently located my city is, but 4 HOURS? that's how long it takes from Narita to Manila. WTF).
The Hotel Brilliante Saitama!, where I stayed. I didn't take offense to it, but I do wonder why they have to take a copy of your passport just because you're a foreigner? (To be more precise, they took a copy of my alien card, but they tried to tell me to bring my passport and I was like WTF.) Over the phone, they had no idea I was a foreigner, because I reserved under my name and then they asked for "the name of the person calling." I wonder what would've happened if I just gave them some random Japanese name...?
My little single room. It was quite nice and clean, but it smelled slightly funny? Maybe a bit of a masculine smell (not that all guys smell funny!) - but from the location, it probably is meant as a business hotel.
Anyway, I slept quite soundly - I don't mind staying in manga kissa, but in the end you really can't get a good night's sleep there, because there are always people shuffling around and plus as a girl alone, I just feel paranoid in general. Apparently there was some heavy rain but I didn't hear a thing.
And when I woke up, this is what awaited me outside:
Perfectly clear skies. It wouldn't have been any issue for me to go in the morning, because the typhoon decided to skid off to the side. Which! is good, but 1) I kinda wasted my money at the hotel, and 2) I was all prepared to brave the storm, so I wore rather crappy clothes and I felt like a bum at the concert...T_T
Saitama Super Arena! Surprisingly? the concert wasn't sold out - but maybe that's more understandable, because there are people who might be like "I only like this one artist, so it'd be a waste to go." Maybe I'm also disillusioned, because all the other concerts I've been to have been sold out.
We were on the 400 level - it sounds far, but because the seats are arranged rather steeply? it was a pretty good view (except when stupid middle school girls STAND UP in front of you and you're old and you don't want to but if you don't you can't see!! /rant>)
But finally! The concert. I only have the set lists for Otsuka Ai and Ikimonogakari, because they're the only two that I knew well enough to figure out which songs they were performing.
1) FUNKY MONKEY BABYS. In general, I usually avoid J-rap, etc. just because most of it sounds exactly the same to me - and this group is no exception. Plus, the "BABYS" in their name is grammatically incorrect! BUT after the concert, I have a lot of respect for them because their lead man tried CRAZY HARD the entire time - he looked like he was about to pass out at the end, because he screamed/sprinted/jumped everywhere the whole time, and it was perfect for the opening act. Kinda sadly, none of the other artists brought that much energy (Ikimonogakari kinda did, but after FMB it didn't look like that much haha).
I don't think I could really become a fan, but I wouldn't mind watching them live again just because they're so determined to make it a good show.
Click to view(FUNKY MONKEY BABYS - ちっぽけな勇気) Here's the song I liked the most! It's very upbeat and never give up!-ish. And the video is amusingly cute.
2) Hata Motohiro. It was reaaaally sad when he was performing, because at first glance (especially right after FMB) it looks like he has NO ENERGY whatsoever, and so hordes of people were walking in and out the whole time he was performing. I didn't feel it that much at the time, but the more I think about it and listen to his stuff online, the more I REALLY REALLY like him. He was really amusing during his MCs because he acts like a total ditz - the type of person you'd expect to be like "...whaat..? I don't understand..." and talk reaaaaally slowly and what not.
And his voice!! Definitely one of the best in the J-industry right now. Other than Kobukuro, there aren't too many strong voices particularly for male artists. But he does it so good and SO PRETTY! PLEASE PLEASE give him a listen. I like all of these songs a LOT, so I can't rank them!
(秦基博 - キミ、メグル、ボク)
(秦基博 - シンクロ)
(秦基博 - 鱗)
P.S. To the Maryland people - isn't it a bit unnerving how he kinda looks EXACTLY like Su tho???
3) Otsuka Ai. The whole arena was surprised when she came out because including myself, I think everyone expected her to be the closing act. She was a bit less energetic than I expected, and disappointing only because she only sang 5 songs while everyone else had 7. But she was still quite good (and uber cute!) - my favorites were CHU-LIP and クラゲ、流れ星 for sure!
a) 桃の花ビラ
b) 羽ありたまご
c) ネコに風船
d) CHU-LIP
e) クラゲ、流れ星
(大塚愛 - クラゲ、流れ星）Finally the PV is out! It's not that interesting even tho it's very pretty, just because it seems so similar to Planetarium, but I love it anyways. ^^;
4) Ikimonogakari. I don't think I have to say much about them. I rant/fangirl about them all the time - I think that's good enough. As usual, very happy, very good live! The Shibuya live was still waaaaay more awesome, but probably because it was so much personal. I think Ikimonogakari has much much more confidence than they used to tho, so it'll be fun to see where they go!
a) コイスルオトメ
b) うるわしき人
c) Good Morning
d) ちこくしちゃうよ
e) プラネタリウム
f) ブルーバード
g) 帰りたくなったよ
(いきものがかり - プラネタリウム）There's no official PV yet because the single isn't released for another month or so, but the song is being used as the theme for the drama "Cat Street" so here are the ending credits. Personally I'm not a big fan of this song - it sounds very mediocre to me, but it was okay live!
5) Kobukuro. Honestly, by this point I was so exhausted, I pretty much lost my interest in the live. The concert was overall almost 5 hours long. I enjoy Kobukuro, but they're another artist who aside from a handful of songs, everything else sounds the same to me. On top of that, the shorter guy (sorry, no idea what his name is!) is one of those people who seems to like hearing himself talk and so his MCs were reaaaally long and reaaaaally boring.
...I still like Kobukuro very much though! Nothing can deny their talent tho - of course, the best was when they performed "tsubomi." They pulled (what I call) a Kiyoe - they stepped away from the mics for the last chunk of the song and sang a capella. Of course, Saitama Super Arena is so huge so I think that they still had mic support, but it was the minimum.
(コブクロ - 蕾) I think pretty much everyone and their mother have seen this video x43857120 times, but since I posted a video for every other artist...XD
And of course, since I was in the city, I went off and blew probably 1/5 of my paycheck, and it's only been 2 days since payday. At some point I'm going to die of thirst in the desert. Someone stop me...
Anyway it was a very good weekend! I hope everyone is doing well!!