T&T in Tottori -CON REPORT-
~ TACKEY & TSUBASA ~
| TOTTORI 10/28 |
Where is Tottori, you sheepishly ask?
Why, it's here, gentle reader!
and here!
and here!
It's that giant expanse of countryside that makes up Japan's least populated prefecture.
There, now don't you feel silly?
My friend and I met up early and set off by train for the magical realm of Tottori. The first leg of the train was by shinkansen, and the second leg by a totally separate train line that went up through the mountains and countryside to the very edge of Japan. We had with us a Golden Era Jr photobook that contained a personality test we were amused enough by to try. (We ended up getting the same personality type, so we decided it's slightly flawed. You answer a series of questions and then it puts you into one of categories A-F, and each category is a personality type. We found that the Johnny's actually listed in the personality type were spot on, though. Like Subaru and Tsubasa both being the "sullen and take things really fucking seriously" type. XD Which, back then? Yep. Both of them denied it, too, in their comments. XD)
While I took pictures of the rice paddies and rivers out the window, my friend tracked our progress on her iPhone map. Every now and then we'd watch the blue dot representing us bobbing steadily through absolutely No Population areas. Occasionally the train would shuffle through a valley in which we saw only two or three houses. No convenient stores, no vending machines, just you and your neighbors and some vegetables, and the train that comes by every few hours or so. ...That said, it was very beautiful, and the feeling of living there must be very calming. I just need my public transportation. XD
However! Despite the impression of the pictures above, the concert wasn't held in the trees. (...That would be awesome, though.) It was in Yonago, a very small, quiet city. According to silvertsubasa, Knower of Things to the West of Kansai, Yonago is the Happening Place of the area.
When my friend and I arrived, we met up with silvertsubasa and her friend J. They were amazing enough to pick me up a bracelet! I'd been on the train having tiny whining sessions at my friend about it, so having it in my hands was a huge relief and earned some jubilant dancing and also some high-pitched noises of joy. :D
My friend and I went to eat at an Indian place in a mall nearby and seriously, most of the patrons in the restaurant were Takitsuba fans. XD There was even this one family - mom, dad, aunt/friend? and two kids, all wearing some kind of T&T con good. The cutest thing: the son, maybe seven years old, was wearing the white con shirt, the silicone wristbands for Hiroshima and Tottori, and blue and pink lace around his shirt. So adorable. A teeny tiny fanboy! XD
We all went into the theater, had our tickets collected and our bags checked - and encountered a blond foreign staff member (?!) - and went over to the message board to leave love and encouragement for the married folks.
I think I just told Tsubasa I find his current hairstyle sexy, but silvertsubasa, my friend and J totally won with their messages:
silvertsubasa: "Bitchin' awesome tour."
J: "We love you as much as you love each other."
Friend: "Please kiss each other."
And then it was TIME. Our seats were pretty far back, but it was a small theater and we were right smack in the middle, so the view was still pretty good!
During 4U's opening comments, Matsu suddenly went, "Oh, shit," in English. I swear, I think that boy knows some actual English - he also made a joke in Nagoya using an English pun (I can't remember what it was now XD) but no one onstage or in the audience laughed (except me XD) until he translated it into Japanese and then everyone was like, "Ohhh! lol, Matsu."
○REAL DX
○夢物語
○VENUS
○山手線外回り-タキツバ10周年の旅-
○『愛してるぜ』
MC
Tsubasa said the night before they took a cab from Izumo (their 10/27 con) to Yonago. That trip, according to Google, takes about an hour by car.
Guys, what happened to taking buses? Company vans, cars?
Y'know, thinking about when T&T were on Recomen in September talking with Yoko and Hina about how the four of them still get scolded by Johnny himself, I'm just imagining this scenario now:
JOHNNY: YOU two, stop being so aggressively married to each other in public.
TAKKI: Er. About that-
TSUBASA: We physically can't.
JOHNNY: That's it, I'm cutting your funding.
TAKKI: Fine, we'll just take taxis to venues! That's what the fans do, right?
(It was probably just one of those reservation-only cab services, but I like the idea of Takki flagging down a taxi and politely asking him to drive to a totally different prefecture, please. :D)
Then Takki said they ate bento with 4U in the cab because they hadn't eaten yet.
TAKKI: But they usually do get bento! We don't want you to think we're starving them! They don't have to dance a certain amount to get fed or anything!
Then when they arrived in Yonago, Tsubasa and some of 4U went to this chain restaurant called Gusto (apparently it's popular with celebrities because it's open late and therefore fits their insane schedules). He was looking at the menu and on this page-
TSUBASA: I saw しらす spaghetti and I thought, Ah, Takizawa would like this.
The following day, the day of the concert, Takki went by himself to the same Gusto and ordered that same dish for lunch. XD
TAKKI: We were talking backstage before the show and I mentioned I'd gone to Gusto.
TSUBASA: So I was like, "Oh! We went there last night! Did you eat the しらす spaghetti?"
TAKKI: ピンポン!
And then both of them started giggling about how cute their Freaky Telepathy Thing is. XD
Also! While Takki was at that Gusto, he noticed some Jr High girls at a table nearby looking over at him.
TSUBASA: You helped them study, right?
TAKKI: No, no. XD Anyway, they were like, "Doesn't that look like...?" and "No, no, it can't be him." So I was preparing myself for them to come over and talk to me and then they were like, "Let's go to the drink bar!" I was like, "OI!" XD
TSUBASA: You should have offered to buy their food.
TAKKI: Ahh, that would have been nice, right?
TSUBASA: Yeah! They would have had a good impression of you. Ah, but that's the kind of story no one would believe.
TAKKI: True.
TSUBASA: "Takki bought us food!" "Don't lie~" That kind of thing.
After the con, my friend and I were stranded in Tottori overnight, so we went to Gusto for dinner because 1) nowhere else was open, and 2) ...the real reason. XD We were also not the only ones with that idea - nearly everyone in the restaurant was a T&T fan (Our Future scrunchies, tour shirts, Vamos Ala wristbands, Takki Ranger keychains, the works, everywhere you looked XD). I tried to order what Takki's spaghetti but it was sold out. XDDD I hadn't even finished saying the name of the thing when the waitress was like, "Nope, none of that."
So I ordered the thing next to it and it was amazing. GUSTO: GOOD FOOD, POSSIBLE JOHNNYS. :DDD/
They also talked about Burn the Floor a bit!
TSUBASA: I suppose for the fans up here it's easiest to go to the Osaka shows. You can all go by bus! Takizawa will be your guide and meet you at the station here.
TAKKI: I'll have a little sign with "BURN THE FLOOR" on it.
TSUBASA: And then he'll usher you to your seats.
I thiiiiiink those were all the highlights - silvertsubasa did I miss anything? XD
○パピプペヤッポAlright!
○小悪魔ジュリエット
○裸のMIND
○Nunber One! Only One!
Jr.時代の映像
○True Heart
○The world will never forget…
○空のスクリーン
○絆も奇跡もここにある
○ふぉーゆーのダンス
○Pride♂theEnd
○queen of R
○Get Down
○キ・セ・キ
○カミラ◆タマラ
This time, in the continuing adventures of Matsu and the Cymbal:
The staff put a string on the stand and when Matsu went to punch his cymbal, the staff dragged it incrementally offstage until it was gone, leaving Matsu making fits of frustration onstage. XD I LOVE THIS BIT, it's amazing. XD
○One Day, One Dream
○愛想曲
○仮面
○Ho!サマー
○×～ダメ～
○SAMURAI
○愛はタカラモノ
○epilogue
ENCORE 1
○土壇場ドリーマー
○Hey Now!○Journey Journey
ENCORE 2
○WonderlanDream
○Crazy Rainbow
Matsu was excellent during this number. XD
During Crazy Rainbow, they often do this thing where they run from one side of the stage to the other. When they ran to stage right the first time, Matsu ran offstage wearing the black con shirt, then ran onstage to stage left with everyone else wearing the white con shirt, then ran offstage and came back wearing the black shirt and then ran offstage once more and came back shirtless. XD I think it was Tatsumi who laughed and smacked him for it, which was adorable.
ENCORE 3
○Love Spiral
Thiiiis was my favorite part of the con. XD
Tsubasa pulled off his shirt and threw it into the crowd, then Takki did the same. They took a shirtless bow, holding hands, then turned around, clasped hands again, and skipped merrily together to the back of the stage, where they bowed once more and waved, then departed. XD
THE MARRIED END :D