NEWS Live Tour 2013 - Saturday Night Report
The concert was canceled halfway through due to heavy rain and lightning, but they announced we're going to do it again tomorrow.
So, I went over to the stadium a little early to buy goods. I made it through the goods line in under two hours, even though the line started inside Kokuritsu stadium. While I was waiting for 4:00 to roll around, the staff was making announcements about today's concert and one of the guys made all the girls laugh when he fumbled and thanked us for coming to "Arashi's" concert. He'd probably been delirious from the heat and repeating himself all afternoon.
The stadium stage was set up in a large X shape with Tegoshi's heart in front of us. There was a runway that went around the edge of the stand seats. The biggest stage was in the center.
The concert began just about on time, starting with an opening video of "Compass". The center stage rose up and the members appeared in red kimono-like outfits for "World Quest". In "Chankapana", the wind started blowing a bit harder right as Massu began to sing, making his hair fly back artistically. We couldn't help but laugh. A bunch of juniors appeared on the side runways to join in the cute dance. During the song, we screamed when each member said their part.
After "4+Fan", the members gave their greetings.
K: We wanted to meet you! How about you?!
Us: Yeah!
K: When will you have some fun?! (Itsu tanoshimu no?)
Us: Now!! (Ima desho!!)
For the people who don't know this already, this is taken from a recently popular commercial about charismatic tutors who ask when are we going to start studying and enforce that it's "now or never".
M: We're gonna send you some love from Chichibu stadium tonight! Are you ready for some fun?!
S: Do you love us?
Us: Yes!
S: Really?
Us: Yes!
S: We love you too!
T: Tegoshi Yuya, here! If I dive into the crowd to see you, I'm sorry. You all came here for a date, right? Let's be lovey-dovey then! Let's love each other more than any couple in the world!
He got us pumped up with a bunch of "yeah"s and asked for our help to make the concert a success. The other members had switched outfits into black and white costumes. Kei-chan waved to us as he walked past and Tegoshi blew us a kiss.
At the "back" stage, for lack of a better name, they sang "Nagisa no Onee Summer" and hopped on carts for "Beach Angel". The juniors came out in yellow costumes. Masu ducked down low on his cart to sing to the crowd. Shige came over to our section for "Koi Matsuri". This song was my personal favorite before the concert and now it's unforgettable. They had us ready our towels and swing them around as hard as we could in the air during the chorus. The guys got really into it too. Masu came over to us and was trying to sing cooly, but swung his towel around very enthusiastically when he got to. There were water cannons that shot off at the end of the song.
They went back to the center for "Full Swing", getting on to small individual moving stages that rolled them into the middle of the crowd. Shige sat down for a bit on his. When the stages joined two and two together, Shige and Massu leaned forward to whisper something to each other, but the one that really got our attentions was Kei and Tegoshi. Kei reached around Tegoshi's waist to hug him from behind and managed to throw Tegoshi off beat during his singing by switching the side he was looking at him from right to left several times and then kissed him on the cheek.
A marching band came out to give us a short performance until NEWS reappeared in bright colorful "pop" vests. The band stayed for the next several songs, "Good News", "NEWS Nippon", and "Kibou". There were brief segments in "NEWS Nippon" where the members danced with the marching band and again in "Kibou" when they did a cool marching "X" with everyone.
Kei told us to thank the band as they were marching out and next was "Taiyou no Namida". The juniors rejoined us on the sides for "Pekopon Pekorya" wearing these funny blinking hats and a few special ones wearing head pieces the shape of the members shapes for this tour. They all did the ridiculous cute dance moves that go with the song. Massu made us laugh with his silly voice to sing at the end.
Shige and Massu were next to us for "Endless Summer". There was a point when Massu was supposed to sing with Kei-chan and started, only to stop a second later, give us a funny exaggerated frown, and listen to see where Kei was at in the line.
On the other side of the stadium from us, they set up standing mics for "Greedier". I believe it was Kei and Massu who reached out their hands to each other in milady and milord fashion. One of them got down on one knee as he took the other's hand. They did a brief spin before going over to the mics. The video screens were colored like an old film in dusty brown.
A cart brought Massu over to the center stage where dancers waiting for him to start his solo. His dance number was very cool with a mix of erotic moves and hip thrust. He falls down to his knees as if his "illness" is getting to him for part of it.
Over at the "front" stage, a few dancers began the next part. Tegoshi sprung out of the bottom of the stage and danced together with them until he raised his arms up, bringing Shige up to the stage next. Tegoshi dropped back down under the stage and after Shige's short dance, he pointed to the other side of the stage, signaling Kei's appearance. As far as I'm concerned, Kei-chan's dance was the coolest (and sexist) of all of them. Massu popped up last, then each of them reappeared at the end.
Their costumes were mostly blue, accented with yellow and white. "Shock Me" had fire shooting out of the stage. We screamed loudly for Kei's spoken "Shock Me" and Shige's too.
The lyrics on the screen for "Be Funky" looked very pop. The juniors were in red, which we could see especially well when Kei decided to pick one of them up from behind under the boy's arms and swing him around in a circle. They looked so sweet!
They gathered in the center and Massu ran to catch up, but in a funny way that looked like he was running "carefully". As the song ended, Massu collapsed on the stage, Kei following shortly after.
MC
Kei: Are you having fun?
Us: Yeah!
Kei: How's your energy level?
Us: Yeah!
He turned to the other exhausted members. "NEWS, are you guys okay? Shige, how are you doing?"
Shige gave us his best Antonio Inoki impression and we joined in for the "1, 2, 3, DA!" He promptly collapsed afterwards.
K: Massu? How are you?
Massu gave us a mystery arms-spread-wide move that we guessed meant he was doing fine.
M: Can I go home for a bit and take a bath?
K: No!
They managed to pull themselves off the floor and Koyama reintroduced themselves as "NEWS".
K: Are you sweaty?
Us: Yeah!
K: We're drenched too. Please sit down and make sure you drink some water.
Tegoshi walked over to Kei-chan with a drink thermos.
K: Look! Tegoshi is being nice to me today!
Then Massu came over with another drink bottle. Kei-chan looked down at the bottles and asked why they'd both given him one.
M: Because we both love you.
Us: Whoooooo~!
S: Since they each gave you one, now you have to drink both of them.
Kei joked, "Why do you sound like you're angry at me?"
The subject moved on to the rain. It had sprinkled a bit before the start of the concert.
Kei looked pointedly at Massu. "Are you really a 'hare otoko'?" (A person who brings sunny weather with them where ever they go.)
M: I am.
K: Is that just an occasional thing? It rained a little before we came out.
S: But it cleared up when NEWS came out.
Us: Whoooooo~!
T:........
K:???!!
Tegoshi was trying his best not to say anything, although his attention was completely focused on Koyama, who was staring at the drink bottle in his hand with a perplexed expression on his face.
K: Wait! What's supposed to be in here?
Tegoshi kept his silence.
K: Hey!! Just what is in here? That's why you passed it to me first! And is this even a drinkable substance?!!
He ganged up on Tegoshi, holding the bottle out toward him. Tegoshi was trying not to laugh as Kei went back to the other drink thermos.
Kei started to go off on a short rant about them making him drink something weird that was probably going to kill him later. He fell down on his knees and whined, "Tell me! It's gonna bother me the rest of the concert. What was in it?! It was sort of sticky! And I was trying my best to sing and dance, so why did I have to drink this gross thing?! And why are you guys so far away?!" It was hilarious how Kei-chan was crying on one corner of the square stage by himself and the other three were as far away as they could get in the opposite corner.
S: What does it taste like?
K: Sour... Like umeboshi. (Pickled plum) Did you put umeboshi in here?!
They laughed at his bitter expression, as did the crowd. But we were also yelling at how adorable Kei was being while he was freaking out.
K: Why are you laughing? I'm panicking here!
T: Who do you think did that to your drink?
K: It was DEFINITELY YOU!! What is it?! Tell me already!
Tegoshi and Massu started singing the melody for the "three minute cooking" corner they have on TV.
S: So Tegoshi-san, what are today's ingredients?
T: It was a very healthy mixture of the sports drink Pocari Sweat, lemon, and umeboshi.
We exclaimed at how gross it sounded.
S: See? It's healthy for you. And by the way, the one who pickled the plum was me.
K: You used too much salt!
T: You should say "thank you" for it.
Kei made the best "that's the last thing I want to do right now" face and muttered, "Thank you." He took one last sip and then turned on the others.
K: It's really gross. Did you try it?
T: No.
He was laughing as an excited Kei ran toward them with bottle outstretched. "You've got to try it. Just once."
Tegoshi took the bottle from him and gave it an experimental sip. He gagged and gave it back.
Kei passed it to Massu next. He'd barely gotten it in his mouth before he bent over at the waist and spit it out.
K: I don't even know why I'm going to forgive you for this.
S: That drink wasn't even just for this MC. You can drink it anytime.
That left Shige. He made an "AH!! face and froze like that.
T: "Shock Me!"
K: You weren't the one drinking it then!
Massu pointed to the stage, "What should we do about that? We could slip on it later."
Tegoshi bent down and used his towel to wipe the "spill" up. "There. It's all clean."
K: That towel's pretty useful.
S: You were all swinging them around really well for "Koi Matsuri".
T: Someone I know lined up for goods and said it took about 5, 6 hours to finish.
They asked the crowd how long it'd taken them.
S: It's like an auction. Going, 5, 5, 6, 6, 6.
Kei-chan came back on stage with a hair clip attached to his bangs, making him look adorable.
K: The towels are really useful. You could even use them as a pillow. Massu? What's wrong? Did the drink do you in?
Massu lifted his mic up, but didn't say anything and zoned out.
K: Massu! Talk to me! You can tell me without using your mic.
He leaned forward to tell him.
Shaking his head at Massu's answer, Kei told us that he said he was tired.
S: Do you need a chair? (Isu iru?)
M: I'm good. (Ii su.)
We "whoooo~"ed as his clever pun.
S: You know that Massu designed the outfits. They're amazing, aren't they? Do you remember those down vests? Well, they had a lot of stuff packed in them. So, Massu, what made you want to make something like that?
Massu launched into explanation in a toned down voice, "Well, I kept thinking why do down vests always have to be hot? Like when you wear it with a t-shirt..." He rambled on for a bit about the balls he'd stuffed inside.
S: There was even one the size of a baseball. Staff, can you bring us one of the vest?
T: Kei-chan, you should do a "ball" for us.
Kei reluctantly did his best impression of a ball, which was to put his arms together above his head. Then he ran at Tegoshi for making him do it.
K: Why is it always me who does these things? You know, I saw the DVD from last year and I'm always getting picked on by Tegoshi.
A helicopter went by overhead then, so Tegoshi cried, "Even the helicopter is trying to make fun of you!"
They couldn't let the chance to mess with him some more pass, so Shige casually mentioned that since they were at the Rugby Stadium, Kei should give them an impression of a rugby.
Kei tried to think of something to do, but couldn't and whined, "I'm sorry!"
T: So you can't even do something so simple as a rugby?
Kei pretended to get angry at Tegoshi's smart remark. "You!! I'm gonna take off your pants for that!" (A continuation from Friday night's strip show that Shige gave the crowd.) They reminisced about taking off pants during the rehearsal, even in front of the female staff.
The wind picked up again. Playing around, Massu started a dance into the wind to a T.M. Revolution song, impressing Tegoshi.
M: That's because that's supposed to be Takahisa Masuda Revolution.
Shige kept talking about Tegoshi being weird backstage earlier until he realized the staff still hadn't brought out the vests. "Where are they? So you won't even listen to NEWS now?"
To stall for more time, Massu began explaining about his other outfit ideas. "I thought they were very, how should I say in Japanese...."pop".
S: Except that that's English!
Massu kept talking in his "I'm an amazing designer who knows everything" voice, saying, "And for the outfits coming up soon, they made me think "Wow" when I first imagined them."
M: Reporter on the scene, Koyama-san!
Others: Sorajiro-! (The yellow weather bird mascot for News Every) Koyajiro-!
K: Sorajiro- doesn't talk!
T: But he can, right?
K: People from Every are here today, so knock it off!
T: Recently, there's a new mascot called "Potsuri" or something, right? The rain mascot.
K: You know a lot about that!
S: O-of course we do!
K: You do not!
Still stalling for time, Tegoshi told us another story. "All the people that watch "news every" will know the high-pitched "every" they use a lot. Well, the person that does the "every" voice.... is me.
Us: Eh?!?!
T: ...Which is all a big lie.
Us: Eh??!!
Kei was laughing at him, but also said, "So annoying!"
One of Massu's vests made its appearance. The outside layer was clear so that you could see all the different colored balls that he'd shoved inside. While everyone was busy admiring it, Kei-chan ducked away to get changed for his solo.
S: Why don't you get changed on the stage?
K: Because.... that's complicated...
S: Is it raining again? It looks nice.
It has begun to sprinkle so Koyama used that as an excuse to escape.
Holding the vest up, Massu excitedly said, "Look! Look! Look! There are toys inside of some of the balls! They were actually mine. I found a few and decided to put them into the vests."
S: Should we put an umeboshi in Koyama's vest?
Shige and Massu kept joking around until the wind picked up once again, prompting Massu to start singing a song about wind again.
S: Massu, we need to think of a NEWS song to sing when the wind starts blowing.
Tegoshi belted out the line "Kaze ga fuiteiru" from Ikimonogakari's song.
All they could think of with wind in it were winter songs.
S: Let's make a song about the weather being cool.
Then he started singing "Snow Express".
S: You know, I noticed something at the event we did last year, the Intro Quiz game. You guys really know our songs.
M: Well, if we love our songs enough, we should know them. Right, Tegoshi-san?
S: You should try singing "Push On".
T: Ring Ring Ring..........
They laughed that that was as far as he got.
Then they started a contest to see who could sing a note the longest, using the last "Chankapana" from the song. Tegoshi went first, belting out the note for a long time. They started joking that their uvulas were gonna go flying out and that they'd have to send a staff member to go find it.
Shige was next. It was sort of off-key and rather short, so we all burst out laughing. None more than Massu and Tegoshi, of course.
S: We should stop this.
In the background, we could see lightning flashing in the sky and sometimes thunder sounded. A cool wind blew and a bunch of girls started to pull out their rain ponchos. The sprinkling was getting heavier.
M: We also have an announcement for you. To celebrate our 10th anniversary, we're holding a special event in September!
S: Where's it at?
M: In the Tokyo Dome... Masuda will..... come! (The phrase uses "_ ni.... _ ga.... kita~~~!!!" It's another old joke.)
S: Will you come?!
Us: Iitomo!! (Yes!)
Shige picked up a bug from the stage (a beetle) and tried to pass it to Massu, but Masuda didn't want to have anything to do with it and ran away from him. "Don't come any closer!" He whined to Shige until he tossed it off the stage somewhere else.
Tegoshi got us pumped up for the second half. "Next up is Kei-chan!"
A video played of Kei walking alone on a rainy street while couples went past. It was still sprinkling outside, so it made the lasers reflect prettily. There was a bit of lightning too. Kei came out in a white suit and sang his solo, quite literally in a "Beautiful Rain".
The stage rose up and Massu came out first, starting the ballad for "Ichioku Sanzenman Bun no Futari no Kiseki". The rain was heavier in "Summer Time" and all the guys sat down on the stage, then laid back to let in rain on them.
They'd just finished "Cherish" when the rain really let go, making Kei-chan yell out, "Ikkai, stop!" (Stop for a minute!) Shige and Tegoshi were backstage getting ready for their solos, so only Massu and Kei were on the stage to keep us company as it rained buckets on us. They hoped to wait it out and that the rain would go back to the sprinkling it was before.
The shower continued, making Massu try to fix his hair with the rain water.
Trying to swipe the water out of his eyes, Kei said, "This'll sure be in interesting memory for all of you."
Singing a short acapella, Massu and Kei kept us entertained. A few girls were taking out their umbrellas, because at that point, the ponchos weren't doing much. Some worried that they might cancel at this rate.
Kei-chan called out to us constantly, asking if we were really doing okay. He was worried about people catching colds.
The rain got stronger yet and the towel Massu had on his head wasn't helping that much anymore. He went back to singing and calling out for Tegoshi. Eventually, he figured he would go for a walk and waved to the crowd as he went by the stands.
Shige popped out in an orange/pink suit at center stage. Kei laughed that Shige was too eager to start because there was even a stand mic ready for him. Tegoshi came out too. They gathered together and then a staff member ran over to tell Koyama the news.
Kei told us that the rain forecast said that the rain wouldn't let up for about another hour and that the lightning was too dangerous for them to continue the concert. They announced the concert would be canceled for today around 7:45. Kei gave us the good news that they would do the concert again tomorrow, starting at the same time.
The members all apologized over and over again. They said that they were sad they couldn't continue and that they were looking forward to seeing us tomorrow. But they also knew that some people wouldn't be able to make it and they expressed their regret for those fans. Tegoshi even got down on his knees.
Most people stood around trying to decide their plans for tomorrow for a few minutes before everyone started to file out of the stadium. Tegoshi said that they wouldn't leave until every person had gone and they hoped we would be careful getting home.
I was fine with their decision as this isn't the first concert I've been to when I've been drenched from the rain. The lightning was what probably was the deciding factor. Anyway, I'll be going again tomorrow and I'm sure it'll be a blast. Like the boys said, this will become a very memorable concert for me.
<3
So, I went over to the stadium a little early to buy goods. I made it through the goods line in under two hours, even though the line started inside Kokuritsu stadium. While I was waiting for 4:00 to roll around, the staff was making announcements about today's concert and one of the guys made all the girls laugh when he fumbled and thanked us for coming to "Arashi's" concert. He'd probably been delirious from the heat and repeating himself all afternoon.
The stadium stage was set up in a large X shape with Tegoshi's heart in front of us. There was a runway that went around the edge of the stand seats. The biggest stage was in the center.
The concert began just about on time, starting with an opening video of "Compass". The center stage rose up and the members appeared in red kimono-like outfits for "World Quest". In "Chankapana", the wind started blowing a bit harder right as Massu began to sing, making his hair fly back artistically. We couldn't help but laugh. A bunch of juniors appeared on the side runways to join in the cute dance. During the song, we screamed when each member said their part.
After "4+Fan", the members gave their greetings.
K: We wanted to meet you! How about you?!
Us: Yeah!
K: When will you have some fun?! (Itsu tanoshimu no?)
Us: Now!! (Ima desho!!)
For the people who don't know this already, this is taken from a recently popular commercial about charismatic tutors who ask when are we going to start studying and enforce that it's "now or never".
M: We're gonna send you some love from Chichibu stadium tonight! Are you ready for some fun?!
S: Do you love us?
Us: Yes!
S: Really?
Us: Yes!
S: We love you too!
T: Tegoshi Yuya, here! If I dive into the crowd to see you, I'm sorry. You all came here for a date, right? Let's be lovey-dovey then! Let's love each other more than any couple in the world!
He got us pumped up with a bunch of "yeah"s and asked for our help to make the concert a success. The other members had switched outfits into black and white costumes. Kei-chan waved to us as he walked past and Tegoshi blew us a kiss.
At the "back" stage, for lack of a better name, they sang "Nagisa no Onee Summer" and hopped on carts for "Beach Angel". The juniors came out in yellow costumes. Masu ducked down low on his cart to sing to the crowd. Shige came over to our section for "Koi Matsuri". This song was my personal favorite before the concert and now it's unforgettable. They had us ready our towels and swing them around as hard as we could in the air during the chorus. The guys got really into it too. Masu came over to us and was trying to sing cooly, but swung his towel around very enthusiastically when he got to. There were water cannons that shot off at the end of the song.
They went back to the center for "Full Swing", getting on to small individual moving stages that rolled them into the middle of the crowd. Shige sat down for a bit on his. When the stages joined two and two together, Shige and Massu leaned forward to whisper something to each other, but the one that really got our attentions was Kei and Tegoshi. Kei reached around Tegoshi's waist to hug him from behind and managed to throw Tegoshi off beat during his singing by switching the side he was looking at him from right to left several times and then kissed him on the cheek.
A marching band came out to give us a short performance until NEWS reappeared in bright colorful "pop" vests. The band stayed for the next several songs, "Good News", "NEWS Nippon", and "Kibou". There were brief segments in "NEWS Nippon" where the members danced with the marching band and again in "Kibou" when they did a cool marching "X" with everyone.
Kei told us to thank the band as they were marching out and next was "Taiyou no Namida". The juniors rejoined us on the sides for "Pekopon Pekorya" wearing these funny blinking hats and a few special ones wearing head pieces the shape of the members shapes for this tour. They all did the ridiculous cute dance moves that go with the song. Massu made us laugh with his silly voice to sing at the end.
Shige and Massu were next to us for "Endless Summer". There was a point when Massu was supposed to sing with Kei-chan and started, only to stop a second later, give us a funny exaggerated frown, and listen to see where Kei was at in the line.
On the other side of the stadium from us, they set up standing mics for "Greedier". I believe it was Kei and Massu who reached out their hands to each other in milady and milord fashion. One of them got down on one knee as he took the other's hand. They did a brief spin before going over to the mics. The video screens were colored like an old film in dusty brown.
A cart brought Massu over to the center stage where dancers waiting for him to start his solo. His dance number was very cool with a mix of erotic moves and hip thrust. He falls down to his knees as if his "illness" is getting to him for part of it.
Over at the "front" stage, a few dancers began the next part. Tegoshi sprung out of the bottom of the stage and danced together with them until he raised his arms up, bringing Shige up to the stage next. Tegoshi dropped back down under the stage and after Shige's short dance, he pointed to the other side of the stage, signaling Kei's appearance. As far as I'm concerned, Kei-chan's dance was the coolest (and sexist) of all of them. Massu popped up last, then each of them reappeared at the end.
Their costumes were mostly blue, accented with yellow and white. "Shock Me" had fire shooting out of the stage. We screamed loudly for Kei's spoken "Shock Me" and Shige's too.
The lyrics on the screen for "Be Funky" looked very pop. The juniors were in red, which we could see especially well when Kei decided to pick one of them up from behind under the boy's arms and swing him around in a circle. They looked so sweet!
They gathered in the center and Massu ran to catch up, but in a funny way that looked like he was running "carefully". As the song ended, Massu collapsed on the stage, Kei following shortly after.
MC
Kei: Are you having fun?
Us: Yeah!
Kei: How's your energy level?
Us: Yeah!
He turned to the other exhausted members. "NEWS, are you guys okay? Shige, how are you doing?"
Shige gave us his best Antonio Inoki impression and we joined in for the "1, 2, 3, DA!" He promptly collapsed afterwards.
K: Massu? How are you?
Massu gave us a mystery arms-spread-wide move that we guessed meant he was doing fine.
M: Can I go home for a bit and take a bath?
K: No!
They managed to pull themselves off the floor and Koyama reintroduced themselves as "NEWS".
K: Are you sweaty?
Us: Yeah!
K: We're drenched too. Please sit down and make sure you drink some water.
Tegoshi walked over to Kei-chan with a drink thermos.
K: Look! Tegoshi is being nice to me today!
Then Massu came over with another drink bottle. Kei-chan looked down at the bottles and asked why they'd both given him one.
M: Because we both love you.
Us: Whoooooo~!
S: Since they each gave you one, now you have to drink both of them.
Kei joked, "Why do you sound like you're angry at me?"
The subject moved on to the rain. It had sprinkled a bit before the start of the concert.
Kei looked pointedly at Massu. "Are you really a 'hare otoko'?" (A person who brings sunny weather with them where ever they go.)
M: I am.
K: Is that just an occasional thing? It rained a little before we came out.
S: But it cleared up when NEWS came out.
Us: Whoooooo~!
T:........
K:???!!
Tegoshi was trying his best not to say anything, although his attention was completely focused on Koyama, who was staring at the drink bottle in his hand with a perplexed expression on his face.
K: Wait! What's supposed to be in here?
Tegoshi kept his silence.
K: Hey!! Just what is in here? That's why you passed it to me first! And is this even a drinkable substance?!!
He ganged up on Tegoshi, holding the bottle out toward him. Tegoshi was trying not to laugh as Kei went back to the other drink thermos.
Kei started to go off on a short rant about them making him drink something weird that was probably going to kill him later. He fell down on his knees and whined, "Tell me! It's gonna bother me the rest of the concert. What was in it?! It was sort of sticky! And I was trying my best to sing and dance, so why did I have to drink this gross thing?! And why are you guys so far away?!" It was hilarious how Kei-chan was crying on one corner of the square stage by himself and the other three were as far away as they could get in the opposite corner.
S: What does it taste like?
K: Sour... Like umeboshi. (Pickled plum) Did you put umeboshi in here?!
They laughed at his bitter expression, as did the crowd. But we were also yelling at how adorable Kei was being while he was freaking out.
K: Why are you laughing? I'm panicking here!
T: Who do you think did that to your drink?
K: It was DEFINITELY YOU!! What is it?! Tell me already!
Tegoshi and Massu started singing the melody for the "three minute cooking" corner they have on TV.
S: So Tegoshi-san, what are today's ingredients?
T: It was a very healthy mixture of the sports drink Pocari Sweat, lemon, and umeboshi.
We exclaimed at how gross it sounded.
S: See? It's healthy for you. And by the way, the one who pickled the plum was me.
K: You used too much salt!
T: You should say "thank you" for it.
Kei made the best "that's the last thing I want to do right now" face and muttered, "Thank you." He took one last sip and then turned on the others.
K: It's really gross. Did you try it?
T: No.
He was laughing as an excited Kei ran toward them with bottle outstretched. "You've got to try it. Just once."
Tegoshi took the bottle from him and gave it an experimental sip. He gagged and gave it back.
Kei passed it to Massu next. He'd barely gotten it in his mouth before he bent over at the waist and spit it out.
K: I don't even know why I'm going to forgive you for this.
S: That drink wasn't even just for this MC. You can drink it anytime.
That left Shige. He made an "AH!! face and froze like that.
T: "Shock Me!"
K: You weren't the one drinking it then!
Massu pointed to the stage, "What should we do about that? We could slip on it later."
Tegoshi bent down and used his towel to wipe the "spill" up. "There. It's all clean."
K: That towel's pretty useful.
S: You were all swinging them around really well for "Koi Matsuri".
T: Someone I know lined up for goods and said it took about 5, 6 hours to finish.
They asked the crowd how long it'd taken them.
S: It's like an auction. Going, 5, 5, 6, 6, 6.
Kei-chan came back on stage with a hair clip attached to his bangs, making him look adorable.
K: The towels are really useful. You could even use them as a pillow. Massu? What's wrong? Did the drink do you in?
Massu lifted his mic up, but didn't say anything and zoned out.
K: Massu! Talk to me! You can tell me without using your mic.
He leaned forward to tell him.
Shaking his head at Massu's answer, Kei told us that he said he was tired.
S: Do you need a chair? (Isu iru?)
M: I'm good. (Ii su.)
We "whoooo~"ed as his clever pun.
S: You know that Massu designed the outfits. They're amazing, aren't they? Do you remember those down vests? Well, they had a lot of stuff packed in them. So, Massu, what made you want to make something like that?
Massu launched into explanation in a toned down voice, "Well, I kept thinking why do down vests always have to be hot? Like when you wear it with a t-shirt..." He rambled on for a bit about the balls he'd stuffed inside.
S: There was even one the size of a baseball. Staff, can you bring us one of the vest?
T: Kei-chan, you should do a "ball" for us.
Kei reluctantly did his best impression of a ball, which was to put his arms together above his head. Then he ran at Tegoshi for making him do it.
K: Why is it always me who does these things? You know, I saw the DVD from last year and I'm always getting picked on by Tegoshi.
A helicopter went by overhead then, so Tegoshi cried, "Even the helicopter is trying to make fun of you!"
They couldn't let the chance to mess with him some more pass, so Shige casually mentioned that since they were at the Rugby Stadium, Kei should give them an impression of a rugby.
Kei tried to think of something to do, but couldn't and whined, "I'm sorry!"
T: So you can't even do something so simple as a rugby?
Kei pretended to get angry at Tegoshi's smart remark. "You!! I'm gonna take off your pants for that!" (A continuation from Friday night's strip show that Shige gave the crowd.) They reminisced about taking off pants during the rehearsal, even in front of the female staff.
The wind picked up again. Playing around, Massu started a dance into the wind to a T.M. Revolution song, impressing Tegoshi.
M: That's because that's supposed to be Takahisa Masuda Revolution.
Shige kept talking about Tegoshi being weird backstage earlier until he realized the staff still hadn't brought out the vests. "Where are they? So you won't even listen to NEWS now?"
To stall for more time, Massu began explaining about his other outfit ideas. "I thought they were very, how should I say in Japanese...."pop".
S: Except that that's English!
Massu kept talking in his "I'm an amazing designer who knows everything" voice, saying, "And for the outfits coming up soon, they made me think "Wow" when I first imagined them."
M: Reporter on the scene, Koyama-san!
Others: Sorajiro-! (The yellow weather bird mascot for News Every) Koyajiro-!
K: Sorajiro- doesn't talk!
T: But he can, right?
K: People from Every are here today, so knock it off!
T: Recently, there's a new mascot called "Potsuri" or something, right? The rain mascot.
K: You know a lot about that!
S: O-of course we do!
K: You do not!
Still stalling for time, Tegoshi told us another story. "All the people that watch "news every" will know the high-pitched "every" they use a lot. Well, the person that does the "every" voice.... is me.
Us: Eh?!?!
T: ...Which is all a big lie.
Us: Eh??!!
Kei was laughing at him, but also said, "So annoying!"
One of Massu's vests made its appearance. The outside layer was clear so that you could see all the different colored balls that he'd shoved inside. While everyone was busy admiring it, Kei-chan ducked away to get changed for his solo.
S: Why don't you get changed on the stage?
K: Because.... that's complicated...
S: Is it raining again? It looks nice.
It has begun to sprinkle so Koyama used that as an excuse to escape.
Holding the vest up, Massu excitedly said, "Look! Look! Look! There are toys inside of some of the balls! They were actually mine. I found a few and decided to put them into the vests."
S: Should we put an umeboshi in Koyama's vest?
Shige and Massu kept joking around until the wind picked up once again, prompting Massu to start singing a song about wind again.
S: Massu, we need to think of a NEWS song to sing when the wind starts blowing.
Tegoshi belted out the line "Kaze ga fuiteiru" from Ikimonogakari's song.
All they could think of with wind in it were winter songs.
S: Let's make a song about the weather being cool.
Then he started singing "Snow Express".
S: You know, I noticed something at the event we did last year, the Intro Quiz game. You guys really know our songs.
M: Well, if we love our songs enough, we should know them. Right, Tegoshi-san?
S: You should try singing "Push On".
T: Ring Ring Ring..........
They laughed that that was as far as he got.
Then they started a contest to see who could sing a note the longest, using the last "Chankapana" from the song. Tegoshi went first, belting out the note for a long time. They started joking that their uvulas were gonna go flying out and that they'd have to send a staff member to go find it.
Shige was next. It was sort of off-key and rather short, so we all burst out laughing. None more than Massu and Tegoshi, of course.
S: We should stop this.
In the background, we could see lightning flashing in the sky and sometimes thunder sounded. A cool wind blew and a bunch of girls started to pull out their rain ponchos. The sprinkling was getting heavier.
M: We also have an announcement for you. To celebrate our 10th anniversary, we're holding a special event in September!
S: Where's it at?
M: In the Tokyo Dome... Masuda will..... come! (The phrase uses "_ ni.... _ ga.... kita~~~!!!" It's another old joke.)
S: Will you come?!
Us: Iitomo!! (Yes!)
Shige picked up a bug from the stage (a beetle) and tried to pass it to Massu, but Masuda didn't want to have anything to do with it and ran away from him. "Don't come any closer!" He whined to Shige until he tossed it off the stage somewhere else.
Tegoshi got us pumped up for the second half. "Next up is Kei-chan!"
A video played of Kei walking alone on a rainy street while couples went past. It was still sprinkling outside, so it made the lasers reflect prettily. There was a bit of lightning too. Kei came out in a white suit and sang his solo, quite literally in a "Beautiful Rain".
The stage rose up and Massu came out first, starting the ballad for "Ichioku Sanzenman Bun no Futari no Kiseki". The rain was heavier in "Summer Time" and all the guys sat down on the stage, then laid back to let in rain on them.
They'd just finished "Cherish" when the rain really let go, making Kei-chan yell out, "Ikkai, stop!" (Stop for a minute!) Shige and Tegoshi were backstage getting ready for their solos, so only Massu and Kei were on the stage to keep us company as it rained buckets on us. They hoped to wait it out and that the rain would go back to the sprinkling it was before.
The shower continued, making Massu try to fix his hair with the rain water.
Trying to swipe the water out of his eyes, Kei said, "This'll sure be in interesting memory for all of you."
Singing a short acapella, Massu and Kei kept us entertained. A few girls were taking out their umbrellas, because at that point, the ponchos weren't doing much. Some worried that they might cancel at this rate.
Kei-chan called out to us constantly, asking if we were really doing okay. He was worried about people catching colds.
The rain got stronger yet and the towel Massu had on his head wasn't helping that much anymore. He went back to singing and calling out for Tegoshi. Eventually, he figured he would go for a walk and waved to the crowd as he went by the stands.
Shige popped out in an orange/pink suit at center stage. Kei laughed that Shige was too eager to start because there was even a stand mic ready for him. Tegoshi came out too. They gathered together and then a staff member ran over to tell Koyama the news.
Kei told us that the rain forecast said that the rain wouldn't let up for about another hour and that the lightning was too dangerous for them to continue the concert. They announced the concert would be canceled for today around 7:45. Kei gave us the good news that they would do the concert again tomorrow, starting at the same time.
The members all apologized over and over again. They said that they were sad they couldn't continue and that they were looking forward to seeing us tomorrow. But they also knew that some people wouldn't be able to make it and they expressed their regret for those fans. Tegoshi even got down on his knees.
Most people stood around trying to decide their plans for tomorrow for a few minutes before everyone started to file out of the stadium. Tegoshi said that they wouldn't leave until every person had gone and they hoped we would be careful getting home.
I was fine with their decision as this isn't the first concert I've been to when I've been drenched from the rain. The lightning was what probably was the deciding factor. Anyway, I'll be going again tomorrow and I'm sure it'll be a blast. Like the boys said, this will become a very memorable concert for me.
<3