Back from Chicago + I LOVE HALCALI!
WHOOOO~~ I AM BACK FROM CHICAGO! It was a week, eh? I actually got back yesterday, but since I was all gross from riding on the bus for so long, I just stayed over at my sister's house. I think I've had enough bus for the rest of my life!! It's nice if the bus isn't too full, then I can have a 2-seater all to myself, and lie down, but when the bus is packed, it's very hard to sleep. Next time, I'm taking the plane!!
Anyways... I GOT TO SEE HALCALI!! Not only see them in concert, but also meet them, get their autograph, take a picture with them and give them a gift~~! I was and still am sooooo happy that I got to meet them~~ They were both so cute and shiny!!
LOVE BEAM~~!
I'm in this photo, but I cut myself out (there is a full photo later in this post)... I'm kind of sad this photo isn't of better quality... But there they are, holding my picture and reenacting it~! HOW AWESOME IS THAT?!!
Please excuse how horrible most of the pictures turned out:
Anyways, before I get too much further on this topic, lets start from the beginning, shall we? We boarded the bus at around 8:30am last Tuesday. We spend a total of 2 days and 19 hours on the bus... seriously, I can't believe I made it to Chicago~ We drove all the way through Canada till we got to Toronto, then we went across the border straight to Chicago. The people on our bus all the way through Canada were very entertaining, and they made the trip on the bus more enjoyable~
Bye bye Alberta~~ I'll miss your never ending fields and farms~
The bus... I believe we were at a stop here, and a lot of people were off getting some food or smoking...
This is somewhere in Ontario~ I've never traveled further than Manitoba, so the view here was AMAZING! There were trees, and rocky cliffs and bodies of water everywhere~~! Totally different from Alberta~~
And when you turned around, this is what you saw... Amazing~ I didn't edit this photo at all... I love the colors~ And you can see the moon too~
This was a random photo I snapped, and it was so bright, I didn't notice that I actually caught some of my bus-mates on it. The lady in this photo was very entertaining! She made friends with everyone on the bus and moved around alot! Her stuff was everywhere around the bus, and she always bought stuff everytime we had a longer stop. She even entertained the kid every once in a while, as he often got very fussy and threw fits. There were all sorts of interesting people on the bus, including an Amish family~
A bus in Toronto...
There were alot of flowers EVERYWHERE in Toronto~~ It was very beautiful~
Flowers everywhere~~
I don't know what this is... but very pretty~
RAAAAAAAAAAAAIN~~~~ *shakes fist* (see Stephen Colbert vs Rain on Youtube)
The buildings were very beautiful~ In the one area, they were all red brick with ivy (?) crawling everywhere~ So pretty~
The CN Tower~ Looks like the Calgary Tower...
So after we finally crossed the border (ahhhh, they were so scary~~) and a restless night on a full bus, we arrived in Chicago! It was about 5:30 in the morning.... and I was so happy to finally be there~! We hailed a cab, and got to our hotel. After taking a shower (after 3 days on the bus... gross) we headed over to the Stephen Covention Center~!! Annnnnnnd... there was a line already forming! The Convention was supposed to open at 10am, so we decided to go 2 hours earlier, but it was already way lined up outside the building. The line outside wasn't so bad, and we got in pretty quickly....
...but the line for registration.... haa.... We spent 10 hours altogether in line!! It was so horrible~! Mainly because no one was telling us what was wrong! I kept thinking we'd get our passes soon, but nope, we just waited and waited. We made friends with the people around us, and spent most of our time sitting, and taking pictures of some cosplayers in line. When we finally got our passes, we only had to pay $45 instead of $50, which I guess, was nice... but by then, most everything was over, and there was no chance to see HALCALI that evening. We did some last minute shopping, and then went back to the hotel. The next day was much better, as we got to go see HALCALI in concert, get their autograph, and spend a lot of money on some swag~!
This guy was in line with us~ I love his cosplay outfit~ And the whole time he stood, and most of the time, seemed not to be phased by the long wait~
Ryuk from Death Note~ I love how this person painted the eyelids, so that when the eyes were closed, it looked like Ryuk was looking at you~ Awesome~
AWESOME Mia cosplay from Phoenix Wright series~ I love the sign, and the pose and the outfit! PERFECT~~ Such a good shot too~
And later, we found Mia's younger sister, Maya~ She's so cute~~ Really awesome job too~
Yotsuba from Yotsuba&! I was really happy about this one, because I realllllly wanted to see a Yotsuba cosplay... although it's not perfect, I'm pretty happy~
There was alot of Reborn cosplay... these three are Chrome, Lambo and Hibari~ The Chrome one is really good~
Rikku from FFX-2~ There is always someone cosplaying her... she's so cute~
Yuki and Haruhi from The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya~ Soooo cute~! These two are so cute together~~
The Hitachiin Twins from Ouran Host Club~ They automatically did a Raburabu pose~~ URESHII~
Aww... an angel L from Death Note... there were alot of L cosplays, but I didn't want to take photos of them, because those cosplays are pretty lazy... And don't really look that good.
Haruhi and Kyon from The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya! I love how Kyon looks... I wish this photo turned out better~
Godot and Emma from Phoenix Wright series~! Awesome! Most people who cosplayed from PW did an awesome job!! I looooooove this Godot~
Pedo-bear~!
REALLY GOOD JACK SPARROW! Awesome! So hot! <3<3
Chrono from Chrono Trigger~~ Really good... I love the pose~!
Bad photo is bad! This is Zell from FF8!! We were eating, listening to the Spoony Bards, when suddenly, I was like "You're Zell, right?!" Instead of getting up, it was fine that he eat his hotdog, and look like he was choking! Awesome! I love it, but I wish the photo was better... TT__TT
Sweeny Todd~ Awesome awesome!! Love it!
Marcy from Katamari Damacy!!! CUUUTE~ <3
Yaranaika? (look up Yaranaika on youtube)
Someone cosplayed the vocaloids!! Miku and Len! Although not the best, I was really happy to see them~~!
THE BEST AXEL AND ROXAS EVER!! I love them~! SO AWESOME~ There were a few Axel's there, but this one was by far the best!
Love this~! Sweeny Todd with Captain Jack Sparrow and Davy Jones~ Looks like Jack is in a bit of a bind!
SO MANY GOOD COSPLAYS IN CHICAGO! Awesome Rei and Asuka cosplay... so professional looking!
Ashe and Vaan from FF12, right? I'm not entirely sure, but great anyways!
Pink and Red Power Rangers~~ Haha, I love their pose~
The old creepy pedophile guy from Family Guy~! He even spoke like him too~ HAHA~
Another Phoenix Wright series cosplay, Trucy~ So cute!
Eureka from Eureka Seven~ Really cute~
Awesome~! Young and old Sophie from Howl's Moving Castle~ I love this one~
Link from Zelda... the best Link at the con~!! Very good~
Some cute lolita girls~~ Soooo cute!
DANBOOOOOOO~~~ Danbo Danbo! DANNNNNBOOOOO~~ Thanks for cosplaying Danbo!! I love you forever!
The three Haruhi girls, Mikuru, Haruki and Yuki - cosplayed by guys!! Haha~~ Awesome!
A Nurse Joy from Pokemon~ How cute~~
Kairi and Sora from Kingdom Hearts 2~! I love this Kairi!! Her sword is so awesome~!!
Mikuru from The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya~ Mi-mi-mirakuru mikuru-run~
Demyx from Kingdom Hearts 2~!! Awesome, and I love the guitar!~~~
All hail the Queen~! Queen of the Cosmos from Katamari Damacy~~ How CUTE~~
I forgot the name of this character, and I'm too lazy to look it up... I know she's from Zelda though~~ Really nice shot~
I found them again~~ Axel and Roxas from KH2! I loved them so much, I asked if they could do some sort of a yaoi pose... then I told them, it didn't have to be too extreme... just slight~
...and they did~~!! Thank you~~ <3<3<3 AxelRoxas (AKA Akuroku) is probably the only yaoi pairing I really care about~~
Tidus and Yuna from FFX-2~ Really good too... and cute~
Awesome Rukia and Orihime from BLEACH~!! They are so awesome, and totally look like the characters they are portraying~!! Love them! Such a cute Rukia...
Neku and Beat from The World Ends With You~~ Awesome~! I didn't think I'd see any cosplays from this game~~
Rinoa and Squall from FF8~ The world needs more Squall~!! These two are super cute together~
Lambo and Tsuna from Reborn~ More Lambo~~~
Those are most of the cosplay photos I got... at least, the ones that turned out. Every year, I kick myself for not taking more photos, and for taking such bad ones... I need to do better next year. Anyways, now for the main attractions, the reason I went to Chicago in the first place~~! HALCALI!!!! We went to see their concert on the second day in the afternoon~! Peelander-z was there, and they opened for HALCALI~ They were sooooo funny~!! I love them all! They didn't really perform music, but, more like, made a lot of noise, played with the audience, let them on the stage to play the instruments, and dived into the audience! They were so hilarious, and so energetic!! Never have I chanted "Mad Tiger, Mad Tiger" for 5 minutes straight!
After Peelander-z left the stage, the IRT people got some posts with ropes on them, and made everyone stand a couple of feet away from the stage. I was still near the front, so I didn't mind too much... I was very anxious!! Those couple of minutes while they were setting up were endless for me!!! Then, finally, Haruka and Yukari jumped onto the stage, and opened with IT'S PARTY TIME!!!!!!!! (as seen in a previous post http://super-donut.livejournal.com/3430.html) HOLY CARP, I NEARLY DIED!!!! I sang along with them (when I knew the words) and when I didn't, I jumped and waved my arms in the air, and clapped and tried to imitate their dance! Yukari was on my side most of the time, and when she looked in my direction, I waved my hands wildly~~! HOLY! I'm getting excited thinking about it again~!
From HALCALI's Blog I wanted to remember the outfits they wore on stage that day, so I could draw another picture of them, but since they actually have photos of that day on the blog, I can just reference from them~
From HALCALI's Blog A shot of the crowd... I'm pretty sure that's me alllll the way on the left... the people in that area look familiar, and the blob looks vaguely like me... Anyways, that's the area I was in, and that's how close I was to the stage!
They had an awesome line-up of songs, and they played all the great songs!! They also played a couple of their b-sides and some of the other tracks on the Cyborg no Oretachi album! It was awesome! This was the set list for that day:
1. It’s Party Time
2. Koi no Bububun
3. Marching March
4. Girl! Girl! Girl!
5. Zig Zag Saturday Night
6. Sister Ship
7. Check!! Check!! It!
8. Tip Taps Tip
9. Endless Lovers Rain
10. Giri Giri Surfrider
11. A One Two
12. Wakakusa Dance
13. Halcali Michi
Encore:
1. Twinkle Star
2. Tandem
3. Continue
(list from HALCALI day by day)
As well as playing the awesome songs, we got to hear a new song!! Yukari, I believe, started off by saying "Now we are going to perform a song, that we recorded 2 weeks ago" (something like that) HOLY~! I GET TO SEE HALCALI AND GET TO HEAR THEIR NEW SINGLE?!! *dies* It was a really cute song~ I couldn't remember much of it other than Zig Zag and Saturday Night....which is basically, the title. It was very cute and very upbeat~! I want it released now~~ BTW, I found that someone uploaded the live bootleg of the concert on the first night... HALCALI day by day has a link to it in the second post~! Now, I will listen to their new song on repeat!
After they ran off the stage, it was silent for a minute, then everyone got crazy again! We kept on cheering and shouting, and HALCALI came back for an encore~! Apparently, they didn't do an encore on Friday night, because there was a lack of passion in the audience that night. They performed Twinkle Star... and afterwards, they were talking a bit, and someone shouted "TANDEM!"!!! So I shouted too~! We were all shouting "TANDEM!" and they were like "What? Nani?"~ So cute!! I don't know if they were originally going to play it, but after we effectively communicated that we wanted them to play Tandem, they did, which was AWESOME! Haaa... so lovely..
So, after seeing the concert, we kind of wander around a little, until we realized that it was nearly 4 o'clock, and HALCALI's autograph session was to take place soon~! I found the line, and waited with the other fans~ While waiting, Peelander-z entertained us~
Me and Peelander-Z~~!! They are soooo cool~!! (the fans in line held my spot while I got a photo with them) Oh, Peelander Red, how I love your dreads... ^____^ <3 I thought Peelander Green was a girl, but now I know that he's a guy... Anyways, Peelander Green is so cute~ I love posing with them ^^
A random photo of them while I was waiting in line... see! Peelander Green looks like a girl! I don't mind~ They are so cool! Yellow is soooo funny, and spoke alot of English... Red and Blue were both so cool, and Green was sooo cute~ I wish that the other girl (selling the merch) had dressed up as Peelander Pink and joined in the photos~
Another photo with me and Peelander Red and Blue, the two coolest ones~!! I don't look great in this photo. This was the last day at the con, and I was trying to get all their autographs, but sadly, I couldn't find Peelander Green anywhere.... tsk...
So after waiting in that line, finally, I get to meet HALCALI~!! I was really excited, so it was all a blur! They took my CD for them to sign, and their manager took my camera so he could take a photo, but I was very intent on giving my picture to them. I don't remember what I said... but I remember their reactions! They were very happy, and looked very surprised!!!! They asked me something, but I can't remember if it was in English or Japanese, but I just assumed that they said something like "Did you draw this?" so I just said "Yes~!" Yukari proceeded to sign my cd, while Haruka held onto the picture for a longer time looking at, and constantly saying "Sugoi~!", her eyes so wide~ It made me very happy ^__^ And then, Haruka also signed the cd, and I turned around to get my photo with them~! As I left, I said something like "I love you guys, I'm so happy!" and then took my cd and camera and walked off in a daze...
It was only after looking at my camera that I realized they posed the same way as they are in my picture~~ This made me sooo happy ^_____^ <3<3<3 I walked around with the cd in my hands for a while...
I wish I wasn't covering Yukari so much... and I wish the photo was of better quality... I will remember this forever~!!
They were doing autographs again the last day, and I was so happy to see them again~! I managed to grab this photo~~ I was about to take another photo when the manager turned around suddenly and said "No picture, please!" Whoops, sorry Mr. Manager~!! I felt a little bad, but I'm happy I got another shot of them ^__^ *dance* Now that I think about it, I wonder if I could've gotten another autograph from them....
From HALCALI's Blog HALCALI even posed with Peelander-Z~! Such a cute picture, I had to post it here~!
Anyways, the last day was filled with last minute shopping and picture taking, and around 3, we left to walk around Chicago a bit... I got some photos, but after a while, my camera died TT__TT
Some buildings...
On a bridge... they have sooo many trees everywhere, and lovely little spots of gardens and such...
Some trolley buses~ They were so cute~
The subway runs above ground sometimes, I guess? This was really neat~
The train going along...
They have alot of sculpture and art all around the place... this is just one example...
Some abstract art... I like this one because of the shocking color, and that it looked so different whichever angle you look at it from...
A famous popcorn store~ It was lined up inside, and then went out the doors~ Me, being a popcorn lover, wanted to try it, so the General bought me a bag. It was very cheesy~~
Water park we went to~ Lots of tourists were here! It was really cool, because the screen had a person's face on it, and when the mouth opened up, water would pour out~ It was creepy~
And everyone was walking along in the water~ It was very very shallow... a thin puddle! I walked in it too for a bit... too bad my camera died after this... TT__TT
From HALCALI's Blog Seems like the day after, HALCALI also went to visit this park~! Haha~~ Awesome! Looks like the area was cleared for them....
Anyways, that's all I was able to get a photo of .... I wish I took more time and took more (good) photos, but oh well. Overall, after the pain of sitting on the bus for three days without a shower, and waiting in line for 10 hours just for a stupid piece of paper, I had tons of fun!! I got to meet my idols, buy tons of stuff, see new places, and make new friends! I also got to leave Canada for the first time in my life~!! It was soooo fun~! But, I'm really glad to be back in Calgary~! I was so happy to step off that bus, and once again, breathe in Calgary's air~~
Next time I post, I'll put up photos of all the swag I got. Oh! Also, the signed CD~! Anyways, I'll be listening to Zig Zag Saturday Night on repeat for a while... thanks for taking the time to look at my photos, and read my ramblings ^__^ <3
Tomorrow, I need to start looking for a job... ^__^;
Anyways... I GOT TO SEE HALCALI!! Not only see them in concert, but also meet them, get their autograph, take a picture with them and give them a gift~~! I was and still am sooooo happy that I got to meet them~~ They were both so cute and shiny!!
LOVE BEAM~~!
I'm in this photo, but I cut myself out (there is a full photo later in this post)... I'm kind of sad this photo isn't of better quality... But there they are, holding my picture and reenacting it~! HOW AWESOME IS THAT?!!
Please excuse how horrible most of the pictures turned out:
Anyways, before I get too much further on this topic, lets start from the beginning, shall we? We boarded the bus at around 8:30am last Tuesday. We spend a total of 2 days and 19 hours on the bus... seriously, I can't believe I made it to Chicago~ We drove all the way through Canada till we got to Toronto, then we went across the border straight to Chicago. The people on our bus all the way through Canada were very entertaining, and they made the trip on the bus more enjoyable~
Bye bye Alberta~~ I'll miss your never ending fields and farms~
The bus... I believe we were at a stop here, and a lot of people were off getting some food or smoking...
This is somewhere in Ontario~ I've never traveled further than Manitoba, so the view here was AMAZING! There were trees, and rocky cliffs and bodies of water everywhere~~! Totally different from Alberta~~
And when you turned around, this is what you saw... Amazing~ I didn't edit this photo at all... I love the colors~ And you can see the moon too~
This was a random photo I snapped, and it was so bright, I didn't notice that I actually caught some of my bus-mates on it. The lady in this photo was very entertaining! She made friends with everyone on the bus and moved around alot! Her stuff was everywhere around the bus, and she always bought stuff everytime we had a longer stop. She even entertained the kid every once in a while, as he often got very fussy and threw fits. There were all sorts of interesting people on the bus, including an Amish family~
A bus in Toronto...
There were alot of flowers EVERYWHERE in Toronto~~ It was very beautiful~
Flowers everywhere~~
I don't know what this is... but very pretty~
RAAAAAAAAAAAAIN~~~~ *shakes fist* (see Stephen Colbert vs Rain on Youtube)
The buildings were very beautiful~ In the one area, they were all red brick with ivy (?) crawling everywhere~ So pretty~
The CN Tower~ Looks like the Calgary Tower...
So after we finally crossed the border (ahhhh, they were so scary~~) and a restless night on a full bus, we arrived in Chicago! It was about 5:30 in the morning.... and I was so happy to finally be there~! We hailed a cab, and got to our hotel. After taking a shower (after 3 days on the bus... gross) we headed over to the Stephen Covention Center~!! Annnnnnnd... there was a line already forming! The Convention was supposed to open at 10am, so we decided to go 2 hours earlier, but it was already way lined up outside the building. The line outside wasn't so bad, and we got in pretty quickly....
...but the line for registration.... haa.... We spent 10 hours altogether in line!! It was so horrible~! Mainly because no one was telling us what was wrong! I kept thinking we'd get our passes soon, but nope, we just waited and waited. We made friends with the people around us, and spent most of our time sitting, and taking pictures of some cosplayers in line. When we finally got our passes, we only had to pay $45 instead of $50, which I guess, was nice... but by then, most everything was over, and there was no chance to see HALCALI that evening. We did some last minute shopping, and then went back to the hotel. The next day was much better, as we got to go see HALCALI in concert, get their autograph, and spend a lot of money on some swag~!
This guy was in line with us~ I love his cosplay outfit~ And the whole time he stood, and most of the time, seemed not to be phased by the long wait~
Ryuk from Death Note~ I love how this person painted the eyelids, so that when the eyes were closed, it looked like Ryuk was looking at you~ Awesome~
AWESOME Mia cosplay from Phoenix Wright series~ I love the sign, and the pose and the outfit! PERFECT~~ Such a good shot too~
And later, we found Mia's younger sister, Maya~ She's so cute~~ Really awesome job too~
Yotsuba from Yotsuba&! I was really happy about this one, because I realllllly wanted to see a Yotsuba cosplay... although it's not perfect, I'm pretty happy~
There was alot of Reborn cosplay... these three are Chrome, Lambo and Hibari~ The Chrome one is really good~
Rikku from FFX-2~ There is always someone cosplaying her... she's so cute~
Yuki and Haruhi from The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya~ Soooo cute~! These two are so cute together~~
The Hitachiin Twins from Ouran Host Club~ They automatically did a Raburabu pose~~ URESHII~
Aww... an angel L from Death Note... there were alot of L cosplays, but I didn't want to take photos of them, because those cosplays are pretty lazy... And don't really look that good.
Haruhi and Kyon from The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya! I love how Kyon looks... I wish this photo turned out better~
Godot and Emma from Phoenix Wright series~! Awesome! Most people who cosplayed from PW did an awesome job!! I looooooove this Godot~
Pedo-bear~!
REALLY GOOD JACK SPARROW! Awesome! So hot! <3<3
Chrono from Chrono Trigger~~ Really good... I love the pose~!
Bad photo is bad! This is Zell from FF8!! We were eating, listening to the Spoony Bards, when suddenly, I was like "You're Zell, right?!" Instead of getting up, it was fine that he eat his hotdog, and look like he was choking! Awesome! I love it, but I wish the photo was better... TT__TT
Sweeny Todd~ Awesome awesome!! Love it!
Marcy from Katamari Damacy!!! CUUUTE~ <3
Yaranaika? (look up Yaranaika on youtube)
Someone cosplayed the vocaloids!! Miku and Len! Although not the best, I was really happy to see them~~!
THE BEST AXEL AND ROXAS EVER!! I love them~! SO AWESOME~ There were a few Axel's there, but this one was by far the best!
Love this~! Sweeny Todd with Captain Jack Sparrow and Davy Jones~ Looks like Jack is in a bit of a bind!
SO MANY GOOD COSPLAYS IN CHICAGO! Awesome Rei and Asuka cosplay... so professional looking!
Ashe and Vaan from FF12, right? I'm not entirely sure, but great anyways!
Pink and Red Power Rangers~~ Haha, I love their pose~
The old creepy pedophile guy from Family Guy~! He even spoke like him too~ HAHA~
Another Phoenix Wright series cosplay, Trucy~ So cute!
Eureka from Eureka Seven~ Really cute~
Awesome~! Young and old Sophie from Howl's Moving Castle~ I love this one~
Link from Zelda... the best Link at the con~!! Very good~
Some cute lolita girls~~ Soooo cute!
DANBOOOOOOO~~~ Danbo Danbo! DANNNNNBOOOOO~~ Thanks for cosplaying Danbo!! I love you forever!
The three Haruhi girls, Mikuru, Haruki and Yuki - cosplayed by guys!! Haha~~ Awesome!
A Nurse Joy from Pokemon~ How cute~~
Kairi and Sora from Kingdom Hearts 2~! I love this Kairi!! Her sword is so awesome~!!
Mikuru from The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya~ Mi-mi-mirakuru mikuru-run~
Demyx from Kingdom Hearts 2~!! Awesome, and I love the guitar!~~~
All hail the Queen~! Queen of the Cosmos from Katamari Damacy~~ How CUTE~~
I forgot the name of this character, and I'm too lazy to look it up... I know she's from Zelda though~~ Really nice shot~
I found them again~~ Axel and Roxas from KH2! I loved them so much, I asked if they could do some sort of a yaoi pose... then I told them, it didn't have to be too extreme... just slight~
...and they did~~!! Thank you~~ <3<3<3 AxelRoxas (AKA Akuroku) is probably the only yaoi pairing I really care about~~
Tidus and Yuna from FFX-2~ Really good too... and cute~
Awesome Rukia and Orihime from BLEACH~!! They are so awesome, and totally look like the characters they are portraying~!! Love them! Such a cute Rukia...
Neku and Beat from The World Ends With You~~ Awesome~! I didn't think I'd see any cosplays from this game~~
Rinoa and Squall from FF8~ The world needs more Squall~!! These two are super cute together~
Lambo and Tsuna from Reborn~ More Lambo~~~
Those are most of the cosplay photos I got... at least, the ones that turned out. Every year, I kick myself for not taking more photos, and for taking such bad ones... I need to do better next year. Anyways, now for the main attractions, the reason I went to Chicago in the first place~~! HALCALI!!!! We went to see their concert on the second day in the afternoon~! Peelander-z was there, and they opened for HALCALI~ They were sooooo funny~!! I love them all! They didn't really perform music, but, more like, made a lot of noise, played with the audience, let them on the stage to play the instruments, and dived into the audience! They were so hilarious, and so energetic!! Never have I chanted "Mad Tiger, Mad Tiger" for 5 minutes straight!
After Peelander-z left the stage, the IRT people got some posts with ropes on them, and made everyone stand a couple of feet away from the stage. I was still near the front, so I didn't mind too much... I was very anxious!! Those couple of minutes while they were setting up were endless for me!!! Then, finally, Haruka and Yukari jumped onto the stage, and opened with IT'S PARTY TIME!!!!!!!! (as seen in a previous post http://super-donut.livejournal.com/3430.html) HOLY CARP, I NEARLY DIED!!!! I sang along with them (when I knew the words) and when I didn't, I jumped and waved my arms in the air, and clapped and tried to imitate their dance! Yukari was on my side most of the time, and when she looked in my direction, I waved my hands wildly~~! HOLY! I'm getting excited thinking about it again~!
From HALCALI's Blog I wanted to remember the outfits they wore on stage that day, so I could draw another picture of them, but since they actually have photos of that day on the blog, I can just reference from them~
From HALCALI's Blog A shot of the crowd... I'm pretty sure that's me alllll the way on the left... the people in that area look familiar, and the blob looks vaguely like me... Anyways, that's the area I was in, and that's how close I was to the stage!
They had an awesome line-up of songs, and they played all the great songs!! They also played a couple of their b-sides and some of the other tracks on the Cyborg no Oretachi album! It was awesome! This was the set list for that day:
1. It’s Party Time
2. Koi no Bububun
3. Marching March
4. Girl! Girl! Girl!
5. Zig Zag Saturday Night
6. Sister Ship
7. Check!! Check!! It!
8. Tip Taps Tip
9. Endless Lovers Rain
10. Giri Giri Surfrider
11. A One Two
12. Wakakusa Dance
13. Halcali Michi
Encore:
1. Twinkle Star
2. Tandem
3. Continue
(list from HALCALI day by day)
As well as playing the awesome songs, we got to hear a new song!! Yukari, I believe, started off by saying "Now we are going to perform a song, that we recorded 2 weeks ago" (something like that) HOLY~! I GET TO SEE HALCALI AND GET TO HEAR THEIR NEW SINGLE?!! *dies* It was a really cute song~ I couldn't remember much of it other than Zig Zag and Saturday Night....which is basically, the title. It was very cute and very upbeat~! I want it released now~~ BTW, I found that someone uploaded the live bootleg of the concert on the first night... HALCALI day by day has a link to it in the second post~! Now, I will listen to their new song on repeat!
After they ran off the stage, it was silent for a minute, then everyone got crazy again! We kept on cheering and shouting, and HALCALI came back for an encore~! Apparently, they didn't do an encore on Friday night, because there was a lack of passion in the audience that night. They performed Twinkle Star... and afterwards, they were talking a bit, and someone shouted "TANDEM!"!!! So I shouted too~! We were all shouting "TANDEM!" and they were like "What? Nani?"~ So cute!! I don't know if they were originally going to play it, but after we effectively communicated that we wanted them to play Tandem, they did, which was AWESOME! Haaa... so lovely..
So, after seeing the concert, we kind of wander around a little, until we realized that it was nearly 4 o'clock, and HALCALI's autograph session was to take place soon~! I found the line, and waited with the other fans~ While waiting, Peelander-z entertained us~
Me and Peelander-Z~~!! They are soooo cool~!! (the fans in line held my spot while I got a photo with them) Oh, Peelander Red, how I love your dreads... ^____^ <3 I thought Peelander Green was a girl, but now I know that he's a guy... Anyways, Peelander Green is so cute~ I love posing with them ^^
A random photo of them while I was waiting in line... see! Peelander Green looks like a girl! I don't mind~ They are so cool! Yellow is soooo funny, and spoke alot of English... Red and Blue were both so cool, and Green was sooo cute~ I wish that the other girl (selling the merch) had dressed up as Peelander Pink and joined in the photos~
Another photo with me and Peelander Red and Blue, the two coolest ones~!! I don't look great in this photo. This was the last day at the con, and I was trying to get all their autographs, but sadly, I couldn't find Peelander Green anywhere.... tsk...
So after waiting in that line, finally, I get to meet HALCALI~!! I was really excited, so it was all a blur! They took my CD for them to sign, and their manager took my camera so he could take a photo, but I was very intent on giving my picture to them. I don't remember what I said... but I remember their reactions! They were very happy, and looked very surprised!!!! They asked me something, but I can't remember if it was in English or Japanese, but I just assumed that they said something like "Did you draw this?" so I just said "Yes~!" Yukari proceeded to sign my cd, while Haruka held onto the picture for a longer time looking at, and constantly saying "Sugoi~!", her eyes so wide~ It made me very happy ^__^ And then, Haruka also signed the cd, and I turned around to get my photo with them~! As I left, I said something like "I love you guys, I'm so happy!" and then took my cd and camera and walked off in a daze...
It was only after looking at my camera that I realized they posed the same way as they are in my picture~~ This made me sooo happy ^_____^ <3<3<3 I walked around with the cd in my hands for a while...
I wish I wasn't covering Yukari so much... and I wish the photo was of better quality... I will remember this forever~!!
They were doing autographs again the last day, and I was so happy to see them again~! I managed to grab this photo~~ I was about to take another photo when the manager turned around suddenly and said "No picture, please!" Whoops, sorry Mr. Manager~!! I felt a little bad, but I'm happy I got another shot of them ^__^ *dance* Now that I think about it, I wonder if I could've gotten another autograph from them....
From HALCALI's Blog HALCALI even posed with Peelander-Z~! Such a cute picture, I had to post it here~!
Anyways, the last day was filled with last minute shopping and picture taking, and around 3, we left to walk around Chicago a bit... I got some photos, but after a while, my camera died TT__TT
Some buildings...
On a bridge... they have sooo many trees everywhere, and lovely little spots of gardens and such...
Some trolley buses~ They were so cute~
The subway runs above ground sometimes, I guess? This was really neat~
The train going along...
They have alot of sculpture and art all around the place... this is just one example...
Some abstract art... I like this one because of the shocking color, and that it looked so different whichever angle you look at it from...
A famous popcorn store~ It was lined up inside, and then went out the doors~ Me, being a popcorn lover, wanted to try it, so the General bought me a bag. It was very cheesy~~
Water park we went to~ Lots of tourists were here! It was really cool, because the screen had a person's face on it, and when the mouth opened up, water would pour out~ It was creepy~
And everyone was walking along in the water~ It was very very shallow... a thin puddle! I walked in it too for a bit... too bad my camera died after this... TT__TT
From HALCALI's Blog Seems like the day after, HALCALI also went to visit this park~! Haha~~ Awesome! Looks like the area was cleared for them....
Anyways, that's all I was able to get a photo of .... I wish I took more time and took more (good) photos, but oh well. Overall, after the pain of sitting on the bus for three days without a shower, and waiting in line for 10 hours just for a stupid piece of paper, I had tons of fun!! I got to meet my idols, buy tons of stuff, see new places, and make new friends! I also got to leave Canada for the first time in my life~!! It was soooo fun~! But, I'm really glad to be back in Calgary~! I was so happy to step off that bus, and once again, breathe in Calgary's air~~
Next time I post, I'll put up photos of all the swag I got. Oh! Also, the signed CD~! Anyways, I'll be listening to Zig Zag Saturday Night on repeat for a while... thanks for taking the time to look at my photos, and read my ramblings ^__^ <3
Tomorrow, I need to start looking for a job... ^__^;