Japan Expo PART 9 the concert

Dashing through the sun, jumping over the corpses of those who failed, we finally made it to the Live House line again. We had great conversations in broken Japanese and English I knew Dashuu-san might recognise from H!P songs. I don’t know what time it was but there were around six more people in the premium line when we got there. JUST SIX PEOPLE?! I was prepared to fight my way through a freaking crowd of desperate wotas. I just took my place like I wasn’t gone for an hour and a half for the handshake.

I’ve read many reports about being in a queue but the experience was nothing like I expected it to be.
EXPECTATION                            REALITY

1. Scorching sun                         1. My part of the line was in shade

2. Boredom                                   2. Time flew by so quickly

3. Lack of water                           3. I had plenty

4. Hunger                                       4. I ate a sandwich and was full

5. Bladder issues                         5. Was too stressed to think about peeing

6. One big wota family              6. Separate little groups of friends

7. Loud singing                           7. Some singing here and there

8. Orgy                                            8. Nobody came (BADUM TSS)

I thought it’s gonna by a gruesome ordeal but I actually enjoyed it a lot! I’ve talked a lot and had great discussions. It’s so refreshing to finally have ppl around you who know what you’re saying (now I’ve got Twitter so DUH).

I took off the pink wig because it was way too hot and uncomfortable. I deeply regretted the short skirt but it was too late to do anything about it.

            (notice the strategic placement of the towel :D)

After eating the sandwich, talking with people around me, lending my umbrella to those less privileged (in the part of the line that had no shade), we heard some music coming from the Live House. I ran to the glass wall and when I squeezed my face really hard into the surface I could see the stage with girls having the rehearsal! It was Berryz Koubou this time singing Cha Cha Sing. I noticed how Momo was prompting the imaginary crowd in front of her to follow her movements. It looked hilarious XD The song was interrupted a couple of times and I thought: “No! It was perfect. Just go on :D”. I bet the rehearsal wasn’t for the girls but for the sound and the light ppls. The girls knew exactly what to do.

The last hour before letting us in was spent in rushed voices and  anticipation. Listen, if I knew that after opening the door some nice JE staff member would take my hand and lead me to my reserved spot in the front row I wouldn’t have felt so stressed. As far as I knew the door would open and the crowd behind me would stampede in front of me.

Camera crew finally arrived and started making photos. It looked like that:

“Okay, people. When I count to three you’re gonna start acting like Barack Obama just arrived and promised to give out millions of dollars to you. Basically, shout and act excited. Got it? 1…2…3….”

And it happened many times ><‘ I felt like a trained animal at the zoo but what can you do. We did some chants for both groups, shouted our oshi’s names, did plenty of peace signs and hearts and everything for the camera crews. One moment was just too epic.

JE staff came with a “No photo, no video” sign and we started chanting “No photo, no video” wota style XD I want to say that I was the first person to get the idea but I’m not sure so let’s say it was a shared initiative. Just imagine the face of the poor JE person walking with the sign held above his head. EPIC. I really hope that Japanese television won’t use this particular footage for the Berikyuu Concert in Paris coverage 😀

Other fans around me acted so freaking calm! It was probably their (at least) second concert but still it felt strange to be the most giddy person around. It was sad that the line to the concert was so small. I honestly expected never ending crowds of crazy wotas.

When  they started to let ppl in, again I was surprised how people around me acted all cool. Of course we tried to run straight to the stage but there was this guy standing in the middle to make sure we wouldn’t die running. I don’t know  his role exactly. They let people in quite slowly. What would he have done if we’d run? Shoot us in the knee?!

I noticed the stage and of course other fans already stood in the very centre so I opted for the right side. It wasn’t that far from the centre so I always had two members right in front of me just like at the conference. Thinking about it now I regret not running to the centre because people from behind me still managed to squeeze in the centre and have  a really good view. But we can’t have everything so I guess that’s just the way the cookie crumbles. But on the bright side I got to stand next to another dedicated MaiMai fan on my left and Mico on the right (meeting ppl in the queue feels nice) 😀

The stage looked pretty simple. There was a huge sign in the middle and a screen on my right.

I put my bag behind the barrier and tried to think of a clever way to use all my glowsticks. A guy standing not far away from me (Japanese of course XD) helped me to break them for me. Again I regretted the freaking skirt because I had no pockets to hold the blue glowstick for Maasa. I decided to just hold it under the belt. I looked around and waved at Ethan who I noticed not far away from me in the crowd. I had five pink glowsticks altogether. It’s a pity I couldn’t afford the Kingblade or any other light changing device. It’s really difficult to buy one in Poland. The shipping is stupidly expensive. Next time I’d ask my new friends from France to buy me one *puppy eyes* ;))

When the emotions cooled down a little (I had my spot) I realised another mistake. I was already dead tired from standing in the queue! >< I really should have eaten more than one sandwich. My muscles were already aching and the concert haven’t even started.  What if they sung JUMP? I had my towel prepared but me legs would buckle immediately D:

I talked a bit with Mico about the songs we would like Berikyuu to perform. Apart from Massara Blue Jeans and Special Generation I would appreciate any crowd song. I mentioned Dschinghis Khan because it’s such a fun song.

While doing reviews for my blog I always say that such crowd pleasing songs are a skip for me but I’d love to see them live. Writing the review I didn’t expect I’d actually see them perform live.

Let’s quote myself:

from THIS review

“A lot of YEYs and WOOs make wota happy. During a concert it must be fun to follow the movements and make all the shoutings but while watching it I just wanted to skip it. It got more annoying with time.”

from THIS review

“When you read the title Yuujou Junjou oh Seishun and see that the lyrics include a lot of OHs and some Engrish you can be sure that this is  a pure ‘wota song’ made for concerts specifically. It’s supposed to provide fun and it does. At least, when you attend a concert. But when you watch it…you can only focus on some body parts jumping and observe rivers of sweat. Only.”

They started playing Berryz Koubou / C-ute songs on the screen and tension suddenly sky-rocketed. I knew from the previous backstage footage that girls were probably listening to us at the moment so I tried my best to scream and do the chants with other people. Luckily the people in the very centre knew what to shout and when because without them we’d be lost 🙂

 1.Because Hapiness

 I really didn’t expect them to sing those songs separately. Why not Chou HAPPY SONG only? It seemed like such a waste of concert time to me.At least I had Momo in front of me so it suited my pink glowsticks 😀 She’s so entertaining to watch. She jumps so enthusiastically. I followed the dance (the flapping duck move) and sang the English words along with the crowd. What else to do? Risako’s voice got better over time.

2.Shiawase no Tochuu

UGH, really? I’d much preferred any other C-ute single. Why? Mostly because there weren’t many chants there. I had no idea what to do during the long pauses in the song. I wasn’t the only one. When the pauses occurred we simply screamed for the girls. Oh God, I screamed so loudly. And Airi’s voice is simply gorgeous. But she wasn’t singing in front of me ==’

3.Chou HAPPY SONG

I knew this song is a MUST with a Berikyuu concert. I never liked it though. However… AIRI EYE CONTACT maydaymayday brain malfunction D: With Berryz on stage C-ute had to spread out and I had Airi in front of me. And MaiMai but who cares XD C-ute had better outfits than Berryz 🙂

MC intro

I understood their Japanese more than I understood their French XD Momo again was in front of me along with Saki and her smokey body. It was funny how Momo said K OM -BA- WAAAA. Maybe she thought we were retarded and saying in slowly would make us understand it more somehow >< Oh, funny Momo. She spoke more than Captain. Such a crowd pleaser she is 🙂 Risako’s introduction: *smiley smiley* *girly girly*. Risako, pls give us more of that in fan-idol interactions. Yurina couldn’t finish hers because ppl started screaming so loudly me included. Well, I screamed for all of them. I tried to look at other members while they were waiting for their turn. Everybody kept their idol chara up besides Chinami. Her smile slacked and looked mighty confused at best. Miya’s introduction: what’s with the hair extensions? They really don’t look too flattering on her 😦 She tried some French. What about Polish? 😉 Next time, Miya. Don’t worry. Maasa was clearly sick that day. While she was introducing herself I prepared my hidden blue glowsticks. There was no surprise there I guess. You obviously expected the Happy Birthday :)Yet Maasa did look surprised. Maybe she thought we would sing it later. It felt sooo good to sing it to her. It was a true contact between the crowd and her. It was a small gift but still. She spoke something in Japanese that was longish and sounded prepared in advance but well 🙂 For Chinami I did the BARREL because obviously that’s her favourite move. I did it every time she was in front of me during the concert. Momo again? The helium voice is annoying quite quickly. Compared to her, Saki’s voice is very pretty.

And C-ute’s introductions. Mai’s -Kyuuto was really C-ute 🙂 Chisato did the HEIL which was dodgy but I focused more on the way she accented her own name. Chisato OOOkai XD I’m too used to them saying their surname first. Airi again did some French I didn’t understand but screamed all the same for her. When Nakky spoke there was a huge scream from female fans. Woah, I wondered how nobody reacted to that. Maimi did a funny mistake mixing French and Japanese which got a HUGE reaction from Nakky, I don’t know why. It was sweet 🙂

4.Massara Blue Jeans

HOLY MOSES YES GOD YES >< Of course they would sing it, right? I dreamt of chanting to this song! It’s such a perfect song for chanting! And the dance is so fierce with the LOVE ME pumping being the best example. My throat hurt but my face was split with an enormous grin. Oh the pumping. And I had two great dancers in front of that was Maimi and Nakky. They certainly know how to pump it 😀 God, another dream come true.

5.Forever Love

Now this one surprised me a lot. It’s on the SUPPECIAL (not special, mind you but SUPPECIAL) CUTIE BEST ALBUM but during the concert I forgot about it. I was really happy for this choice because it’s an oldie with Erika and Kanna still in it. C-ute doesn’t play this song too often these days so although I’m not a huge fan of this song I enjoyed it a lot. And Airi was often in front of me so HELL YEAH!

6.Love take it all

I actually do like this song. And C-ute can sing live and, boy, they can dance. Chisato’s voice is so strong and I love it! She sounded pissed 😀 Not much crowd interaction but we could chant the girl’s names in this one which is always rewarding.

7.crazy Kanzen na Otona

I wouldn’t pick this song. Not much chanting and not their best dance. But it’s C-ute *shrugs*

8.ROCK Erotic

Say what?! *runs around* Never in million years would I expect to see Berryz Koubou perform ROCK erotic. It was their groundbreaking single in so many ways. Great costumes, gender swap and sexual innuendo galore. Unfortunately, watching it live was disappointing.  Compared to C-ute, Berryz are not great dancers. I had Chinami in front of me and she danced like a stickman. She looked awkward and probably felt awkward. There was no feeling, no energy to their dance. It looked like a rehearsal really. And the costumes didn’t suit the song. But the chanting again was fun.

9.Dschinghis Khan

When the song started I looked at Mico and screamed because this was the song I wan waiting for! (thinking about it now I don’t know why I was so surprised. The whole setlist was basically the SUPPECIAL CUTIE BEST ALBUM ==) Oh the chants, the pure joy. When was the last time I could simply goof around like that? Nobody judged me. Listening to this song was always a guilty pleasure of mine. HEY BRAAZA HO BRAZA NAIS BRAZA GO BRAZA – I was shouting it with wild satisfaction like it meant anything. I did the WAHAHAHA like the world depended on it.

Risako was at one moment right in front of me and she did one move so differently than other girls. She bent her knees more and thrust her hips like a pro she really is XD I might laugh but it was the only moment I thought that she might actually have bits of personality and put some effort at last. (I’m aware that this statement is probably deeply unfair. I’m talking about the feeling she gave away. If she doesn’t want to send this energy, somebody should tell her)

10.Loving you Too much

I tried to follow the moves and I swear to God that Chinami laughed at my effort 😀 I appreciate the English in the song. We could sing together YEY Momo and Maasa were in front of me so I put pink glowsticks in one hand and blue ones in the other. It was so hard to get any reaction from Maasa. Is she always like this or was it because she was sick that day?

11. Piriri to Ikou!

I did NOT expect this song at all! This was the greatest surprise of the whole concert. (yeah, I know. Read the album…) The old songs made me so nostalgic. I was super happy about this one because they rarely sing it.

MC (C-ute questions)

SKIP SKIP SKIP

12.Hatsukoi Cider – Buono!

BUONOOO DAISUKII  \(>o<)/ We knew it’s gonna happen. Girls mentioned that on the radio so the gossip was true after all. I bet that seeing Buono! felt even better for people who saw them during their previous appearance in France. Again Airi kicked ass in the intro.

13.Gachinko de Ikou – Buono!

Another song by Buono! And this one wasn’t on the SUPPECIAL ALBUM! I adore this song so much and was happy to see it live. Who would have thought? They are a really good unit. Watching them interact is a treat.

14.Honto no Jibun – Buono!

An oldie! They changed since their debut song, right? All early Buono songs are very catchy so I basically know this one by heart. You just have to love the “Ganbare” and “Wakaru” parts. This song never gets old. If I could choose a setlist for this concert I’d swap Hatsukoi Cider with Buono no Theme because it’s so energetic and fun.

MC  Happy Birthday Maasa

When Kumamon came on stage it really caught me by surprise. Not the good type of a surprise. It’s nice they did something extra beside the cake but a mascot? I know nothing about the regional mascots  and I don’t want to. When I told my friend about Kumamon appearing on stage for Maasa she said that it was probably more of an honour for her because he’s more popular XD Srsly?! Either way she was truly surprised and happy. She had some problems with blowing the candles since she was so out of breath at that time (singing/dancing/being sick). They made a commemoration photo with the crowd and for that one moment I was happy with my position to the side so I fitted the photo. Another dream come true.

Okay, so I look like a pink dot but it’s the equivalent of Airi having my full-body photo hanging on her bathroom door. Well, as far as my imagination goes that it.

15.Tokkaiko Junjou

Spasms again. I was just Wakkyanai (Z) away from having my fav C-ute songs collection complete. The song has everything I love about them. The dramatic intro, the English, the fierce dance and easy to follow chants. When the very first notes of this song started I was already head deep in idol heaven.

16.kiss me Aishiteru

Dear C-ute members. I don’t need any cues like “C’mon” to repeat he “nee” parts after you. I did that with most pleasure and it’s the highlight of this song both live and in the music video. You just can’t get enough of that. Around this song I calmed down a bit (late, I know) and tried my best to grasp with my eyes the whole stage, to keep all the details in my mind. I looked for things you could only notice in the first row. Underskirt shots? Check. Fairly long underpants and girl’s weren’t scared to show them off. Yeah, I’m a perv. Any close-up imperfections? Chisato’s complexion seems to be problematic that day. Poor girl. I focused on the legs but really all of them looked perfect and flawless. Comparing their dance expressions? Of course, Airi and Maimi were the best. Chisato seemed distanced and focused on the technique. MaiMai was soo stressed I wanted to shout at her: You’re doing great, girl!

17.Dance de Bakoon!

Those two songs cannot really exist without each other, can they? Cloud pleasers to the core. Air guitaring never been cooler. I waited for the booty shaking because when will I ever be this close to Airi’s butt and was disappointed to see that those weren’t the heavy shakes I know the girls could clearly do. They were, excuse the pun, half-assed. I need to complain to JE staff about this 😉

I had Airi and Mai in front of me and I’m sorry MaiMai but the comparison made you look weak as a performer.  Not many idols can stand a chance when singing/dancing next to Airi. This song made it clear that Mai is NOT the best dancer in the group.

18.Dakishimete Dakishimete

I simply love this song. It was the fierce Berryz that I could actually show to my friends with pride (not a good idea). Again I was happy that they performed a song they don’t perform so often these days. It’s a pity I wasn’t too good with the chanting on this one. I hope the girls didn’t feel offended and neglected. I watched them perform with pleasure but I had Maasa in front of me and she’s not very “interactive”. Maybe it was because the choreography for the song didn’t leave too much room for prancing around and waving to the crowd.

19.Special Generation

This was the song during which I cried the most. I thought Massara Blue Jeans would crack me more. I cried a lot during Massara, believe me, but somehow Special Generation seems to me as one of the staple songs of H!P. How many times have you seen it performed by other groups? How many times have you seen Massara performed by other groups? This was the song I wanted to chant to the most. Hell, even the intro itself would be enough. It’s like Renai Revolution/Love Machine but not annoying, overused and that cheesy 😀 It was a milestone for me. After the Berryz Koubou hiatus announcement (just a month after the Japan Expo concert, I feel so happy that I had the opportunity to see them sing this song live.

20.cha cha SING (with C-ute)

I would have never expected to enjoy this song so much! Momo was on my right and this girl just waved off her energy on me and I couldn’t stop. And C-ute to dance with Berryz and it was a pefect idea. Yurina was right in front of me and I felt a bit strange shaking my boobs at her but hell, that her basically in her job description, amrite? 😀

Encore

They would give us encore? They would, right? RIGHT?! My throat was almost giving up on me but I screamed the encore shout until I croaked it. It wasn’t going to strong because some people were chanting  different chants and we weren’t too organised. I was honestly scared they wouldn’t come back.

21.Amazuppai Haru ni Sakurasaku

 But they did and it was quite fast 😀 But why this song? I forgot about it. I really hoped for some towel song with lots of chanting and idol-fan interaction. Instead I got a mildly entertaining song with lots of waving. Ugh. Okay, stop complaining. It was at least one more song to look at all the girls and cry some more waving them goodbye and making plenty of eye-contact.

I could list the number of complaints:

– not all of the songs were a good choice

– some of the girls acted distanced and seemed cold

– dances looked sloppy when compared to previous concerts abroad

and so on.

But the truth is I enjoyed every single second of it and will keep it in my heart forever.

nyuchandesu