Moring Musume Concert Tour 2010 Autumn: Rival Survival (10/23 – evening)

When the news of the triple graduation in Morning Musume was announced I went and bought the ticket right away. Never would I have thought my first concert in Japan was to see Morning Musume. Not to mention this would possibly be the last time to see Eri Kamei, JunJun and LinLin.

I attended the evening concert in Hiroshima because it was the closest to where I live. I would have loved to attend one in Osaka but to my surprise there was none set for this tour! I arrived at the concert hall an hour before the show. I should have got there earlier as some of the goods were already sold out. They had goods table set up outside and inside the venue. So next time I’ll know better and head to the venue early for limited edition goods like the daily concert photos.

Once inside they did check for cameras and such. It was just a quick look inside the bag since many people voluntarily turn over the camera if they have it. Samples of concert goods were set up right at the entrance. The solo microfiber towel was the highlight of this showcase as each were signed by the girls themselves. Aside from the long goods table, there were 2 smaller tables set up to the side. One was a donation table for the guide dogs which the girls promoted during the Shanghai Expo trip. The other table sold CDs, DVDs, and blue-rays. You can get a free poster if you spend more than 1,500 yen at this table.

Prior to the show, the stage glowed with blue and orange spot lights. Long white fabric hung from the ceiling completing the eerie look of the stage. The setup looked more like a stage for a Halloween event than a Morning Musume concert. There were a lot of empty seats around me, but that didn’t matter cause once the concert started you couldn’t tell with everyone dancing around. They began playing background music two minutes before the concert started and that was the cue that had everyone standing up.

The set list for the 10/23 evening show was as followed:

01) Souda! WE’RE ALIVE
02) Hand Made City
VTR
03) Appare Kaiten Zushi!
MC – All
04) Nakidasu Kamo Shirenai yo
05) Onna ga Medatte Naze Ikenai
06) Tsuyoki de Ikouze!
MC – Kamei, Michishige, Tanaka
07) Medley
- Watashi no Miryoku ni Kizukanai Donkan Hito (Mitsui, Backdancers: JunJun, LinLin)
- Kira Kira Fuyu no Shiny G (Tanaka)
- Take off is now! (Takahashi, Niigaki, Tanaka)
- Rairai! Shinfu (Junjun, Linlin)
- Hare Ame Nochi Suki (Kamei -> All)
- Ai Araba IT’S ALL RIGHT
MC – All
08) Aisaresugiru Koto wa nai no yo (New Song)
09) Nanchatte Renai
10) Okii Hitomi (Kamei, Sayu, Reina)
11) Yuugure Sakusen Kaigi (Niigaki)
MC – Takahashi, Mitsui, Junjun, Linlin
12) Seishun Collection
13) Shabondama
14) Ambitious! Yashinteki de ii Jan
15) Sono Bamen de Bibiccha Ikenai Jan!
16) Love & Peace! HERO ga Yattekita!!
MC – All
17) Tomo

Encore
18) Onna to Otoko no Lullaby Game
MC – All
19) Namidacchi

The girls started by doing a dance number, which was good but I’ve seen better dance moves from them. What really got me going was when Souda WE’RE ALIVE began and the crowd went wild. It took awhile for me to get into the concert as I wasn’t familiar with some of the songs and chants. But by the time the Rokki members said their goodbyes and ran off the stage together after the encore, I wished I had the time to go to the Fukuoka concerts so I can experience the whole thing again.

My biggest complain about this concert is the solos for the medley. The medley started off with Aika doing solo with JunJun and LinLin as backup dancers. I’m not complaining that Aika got the solo instead of the other two or that she can’t sing. What bother me is that after 2 years the two exchange girls are still treated as just backup dancers when compare to Aika. Yes technically Aika is their senpai but just once, it would had been nice to see the 3 of them performing together as 8th generation members. And no, giving JunJun and LinLin a duet about Chinese food does not make it better. It might had been fun to chant the lyrics out along with the girls, but it certain does not make the whole 8th generation situation any better. Especially since JunJun and LinLin will be graduating after this concert tour.
Next rant: Reina’s solo. This girl can sing no question about it. But does she really need more solo attention time, singing a song that does not show off her vocal but only her cute side? Regardless of the song choice, it would have been nice if Reina attempted more interaction with the crowd. With her years of experience in the idol world, I was expecting more than just a cute act from her.
What saved this medley were the last 2 songs. It was a challenge to switch from a cute up tempo song to a slower smoothing one, but Eri definitely nailed it. Ending the medley with Ai Araba IT’S ALL RIGHT was just plain awesome as it was a fun song for both the girls and the crowd.

Love & Peace! HERO ga Yattekita!! is a redundant song but I am super glad they performed it. I’ve always love watching the girls’ interaction for this particular song and throughout this song I was glancing everywhere hoping to catch a cute moment from those who weren’t singing. Yes my eyes got tire of darting all over the place but it was definitely well worth it. Toward the end each girl got some solo time by taking turns and saying “Daisuki yo, chou daisuki yo”, each adding their own style to it.

I hope you guys like the upcoming single Onna to Otoko no Lullaby Game because we might be seeing it a lot more of it in upcoming concerts. Without giving too much away in case some of you still haven’t heard it yet, the song is set up so that Ai has 2 chances to control the flow of the performance and interact with the crowd. The second time it happened, she really played it up and made the crowd work for it. She refused to start singing again until everyone in the building was screaming their heads off.

The surprise song for the evening was definitely Namidacchi. The first time I heard it, I removed it from my playlist right away. Well surprise surprise, after seeing this live I’ve falling in love with it. Much like “Love & Peace” it’s another song that allowed the girls to freely interact with each other. I still don’t really like the album version, but it’s definitely one of those song where it’s better when it’s perform live.

As far the costumes are concern, I don’t think any of them were horrible. In fact, this time around it seems like they were playing it so safe that aside from some differences in the clothing colours all the girls’ costume look identical from afar. Like the red plaid dress, if it weren’t for the big screen or the difference hair styles I wouldn’t had been able to tell who was who on the stage.

The concert itself was great. I’m not completely satisfied with the set list, and I probably never will be 100% satisfy with it. If I were to rate this concert right now, I wouldn’t give it more than 4 stars. But this was more than just about the concert show. I walked in the concert hall with the simple thought of seeing the girls live. Midway through the show, I realize this was so much more than just that. The girls’ live performance along with the synchronized chants and dance moves, it was definitely something I could never had experience by watching a concert DVD at home alone or with a group of friends. With the 2 elements combined together, I got a concert experience that exceeded way beyond my expectations.

Many times when a song that I’m not familiar with started or even during MCs, my eyes naturally shifted towards the audience and something interesting was always happening. Whether that be a fan holding up a Tare Panda doll to show their support for JunJun or LinLin, or be it a small group of fans that stood out from the rest because they were doing their own dance moves.

The highlight of the evening was during the MC when Ai chatting with the 8th generation. While Ai was talking with JunJun, the group of girls that was sitting next to me decided to get Ai’s attention by shouting her name. The first time they did it, nothing happened so they regroup and tried again. This time Ai stopped mid sentence, turned her head in our direction and said in a loving way “Hai?” Naturally the girls began screaming hysterically in excitement. I was just plain shock that Ai even bother to respond at all.

All the small interactions between the girls and the fans throughout the evening made my first concert experience more enjoyable than it already was. I’m looking forward to the attending another concert, so hopefully another artist will announce plans for a tour soon!

JUMP mode in autumn (Hey! Say! JUMP translation) PART 2

JUMP mode in autumn (interview translation) PART 2

Q: What has changed or how have you grown over the last three years since your debut?

Yamada: I don’t really take notice of those things…but I’ve been able to talk to Inoo by myself recently (laughs).

Morimoto: I haven’t changed at all. I think I’m less of a person than what my fans think I am, but I do want to step things up.

Arioka: In the beginning I couldn’t talk in front of the camera. I think I got carried away when I did. I still get carried away now but I think I’ve gotten better compared to how I used to be.

Yabu: I don’t have to be nice to everyone anymore, in a good way. When we made our debut I realized I was surrounded by juniors who were looking up to me as their senior. But gradually that pressure just disappeared.

Takaki: Three years has gone by so fast. I’m going to make sure I keep learning new things. After all, we’re only three years old (laughs).

Yaotome: When we celebrated our first anniversary, I felt like Yabu and I had to push the others forward, but now some of them are becoming good rivals.

Q: What do you do, or what would you like to do to pass the time during these long, autumn nights?

Chinen: The other day, I got home from school and starting watching Kanjani8′s concert DVD “PUZZLE”. I love watching my senior’s concert DVDs. I also love going to concerts and hearing the crowd’s cheering.

Nakajima: I don’t really like long nights. I like long evenings. I wish I could go to a country where the sun doesn’t set.

Morimoto: What would I want to do? I have this image in my head that the moon looks really nice in autumn.

Takaki: I go for a drive. I love the sea so I go to the beach pretty much every day. I just stare at it, and I never get bored.

Inoo: The nights might be longer but it doesn’t mean I get to sleep longer…I go to school, then work, then come home at night and do my homework.

Yaotome: I watch movies or watch videos of when I went on holiday with my friends. I spend a lot of time just relaxing.

Yabu: I go for walks. I love listening to the sounds crickets make.



Q: Autumn is the season for reading. Could you recommend us a book.

Yamada: Tsuyoshi Kusanagi’s “Chonan Gang”. It’s really easy to understand. Watching Korean dramas has made me want to go there. It’s close by so I think I will get the chance to go there some day. I want to start learning enough Korean so I don’t have any problems.

Okamoto: Shakespeare’s “Macbeth”. It’s part of my homework for school, but I’ve also wanted to read it myself, so now I’m reading it. It’s amazing how Shakespeare could think up all of these dialogues for his characters. It’s hard to memorize them though (laughs).

Arioka: I’m really into a manga called “宇宙兄弟 (Uchu Kyodai)”. It’s got everything; it moves you and it can make you laugh. I’m recommending it to a lot of people.

Takaki: “ONEPIECE”. I’d never read it up to now but after hearing the others talk about it, it sounded cool so I bought all of the existing books.

Yaotome: I’m reading the book (comedian due) オードリ (Audrey) gave me, it’s funny.



Q: How do you feel having done “SUMMARY”?

Yamada: To put it into one word, “無 (nil, nothing)”. I was so absorbed in it I didn’t think of anything else, and it felt like there weren’t any limits to what I could do. On stage I felt like I could take things as far as I wanted. There were so many things I could do that I didn’t know where to start, but I ended up doing a lot of things.

Chinen: It was long! It was really hard to keep my energy levels up for 56 shows straight. I did things that I’d never do in concerts, like jumping in mid-air or bringing out dogs, so I had to take extra care in doing them.

Takaki: I was completely burnt out! I put everything into my dancing, but there were a few times around the middle where I found it really tough. Nevertheless, I managed to fight it and get through it all.

Yabu: I like working for long periods of time so when it all finished, I felt like I could’ve kept on going. During the season I remember watching Koichi-kun’s (Domoto) SHOCK documentary on TV and thinking that I had no right to be complaining about how hard I was finding work. I called Yamada straight afterwards and said, “did you watch it?”

“Yes.”

“Let’s take it up a notch!”



Q: Autumn is the season to study. Do you do anything that helps you study better?

Chinen: When I’m in class I’ll keep telling myself, “this is really fun”, and then studying the subject actually does become fun. Like when I finish calculating something, I’ll think, “I did it! I knew I had it in me” (laughs). I get really high afterwards.

Nakajima: Me and my friends take turns in asking each other questions like a quiz show. It makes it easier for whoever’s asking the question and whoever’s answering the question to remember stuff. The other thing I’ll also do is memorize everything the day before and on the day of the test. I find it easier to remember things if it’s close to the day. Then when one test is done, I’ll forget about everything to do with that subject and start studying for my next test.

Okamoto: When I really want to concentrate, I’ll get out of the house and study at a cafe.

Morimoto: I listen to music when I study. It helps me concentrate!

Inoo: University is so different from studying at junior or senior high school. University classes are really hard and it takes a lot of effort to get through it all. I don’t get a lot of time to study because of work so I’m trying to get into the habit of studying as much as I can during class.



Q: Now that all of you are more developed music artists, have you been writing any songs lately?

Nakajima: I’ll write something down as soon as I think of it, and I hope I can turn those into a song one day. Most of my lyrics are about life and what it is. It sounds quite intense (laughs). I want to try making music too but I don’t have the skills yet…

Okamoto: I’ll write songs from time to time. I don’t set myself deadlines, but I’ll write it as soon as I think of it. It’s like how I practice the guitar, I won’t do it every day but I’ll do it when I want to.

Arioka: There’s nothing I’ve written that could be made into an actual song. Actually, I’ve begun to learn the piano now. It’s not that I wanted to start a band, but I thought it was something I needed to learn if I wanted to write music. If you can play an instrument then you can read chords and music sheets. I’ve got no plans to play during a concert, I’ll leave that up to Ino-chan.

Inoo: I do want to (write songs), but I can never find the time. I do like using the piano to make new melodies. I also want to try writing lyrics, but nothing comes to mind. Maybe I’m still a kid inside (laughs).

Source/Translated by: MOMOEDGWOOD