Hi all! I just got back from the first performance of Morning Musume’s PikaPika! concert tour!
One thing I want to mention right off the bat: The costumes were all so super cute! I go into a Morning Musume concert expecting at least one complete disaster, but every single outfit was great!
-First order of business after arriving at the concert hall was buying my copy of Momusu’s 10th album. Buying CDs or DVDs at concerts is great because you always get to pick a free poster. I got the poster of the album cover. It’s gorgeous!
-There were people all over the lobby with cameras taking pictures for S/Mileage. They seemed to be getting quite a few takers too. Go S/Mileage!
-From my seat in the front row of the balcony, dead center, I had a great view of the stage. Sure, it’s more fun to jump and dance around, but after 8 hours on my feet at work today, plus the commute to Tokyo, I’m not sure I would have survived the whole concert. I’ll be back in the standing section for the next one for sure though.
-The show starts with a picture of a wolf silhouetted against a moon. Okay… kind of cheesy, but I guess it makes sense since the first song is-
Moonlight Night- Continuing the animal cosplay tradition, the girls appear on stage wearing bunny ears with pink and white loli-style dresses complete with garters and pink heart shaped wands. It’s like the whole group decided to be Rainbow Pink! It doesn’t sound like it would go with the song, but it really did. They were hopping around a lot, and I sort of imagined magical bunnies fending off wolves in the moonlit night with their heart shaped wands? Lol. The singing was awesome. Especially Gaki (yeah I’m biased) and Eri.
Kimagure Princess- Continues to be one of those songs that’s much better live than not.
Renai Revolution 21- Next outfits are black and white, stomach revealing, and a little bit flamenco maybe? Also very cute and stylish. I’m not sure about the placement of this song. It doesn’t feel right.
Aishite Aishite Ato Ippun- My second favorite performance of the night! The dance was really sexy. There was one particularly striking part where they were all dancing on the floor in their own individual spotlights. I’m glad they chose this as their random B-side inclusion.
Nanchatte Renai/ Shouganai Yumeoibito- I still don’t think these songs should be back to back. They’re too similar. I do like them both a lot though.
Ano hi ni Modoretai- Gaki-san and Ai-chan were looking pretty in long sundresses and jean jackets. They used umbrellas as props! Very touching performance.
Osaka Umainen- Sort of funky “normal” clothes. LinLin was really hamming it up, and even though I’m a girl, I must say, she fills out a tight T-shirt quite well. The girls were trying their hardest, but you can tell that the crowd just wasn’t feeling this song, and neither was I.
Ooki Hitomi- Hmm. I don’t remember what they were wearing, but I remember it wasn’t very costumey and it was really stylish. Everyone went crazy for this song! To me, the song itself is sort of forgettable, but the performance was good.
Resonant Blue- NO! Not again!!!!!!!!!!!!! It’s almost getting to be funny, except instead of laughing, I’m just pissed off.
PV- Namida Tomaranai Houkago. All the girls leave the stage except for one. The lights go on, and we see that it’s Sayumi. Sudden tension fills the room. A surprise graduation announcement perhaps? Nah. Crisis averted. But seriously, showing a PV? If I wanted to watch PVs, I could have stayed home and gone on youtube. Worse, I don’t even like that song. I wonder if the PV shown will change every show. I get that the girls are changing costumes, but maybe they should take a page out of AKB’s book. Half the girls talk while the others change clothes, then switch places. It’s not that hard to figure out.
Medley- They had blue, short kimono-inspired costumes. Once again, really cute! I just wish the Kanashimi Twilight part of the medley wasn’t so short. I’ve really been wanting to hear that. Hey, here’s an idea. Put Resonant Blue in the medley and give me a full performance of Kanashimi Twilight! There was lots of audience interaction in the medley. They only did the call and response part of Koi no Dance site (Oh! Ha!), and they had the audience sing a chorus of the “Lonely boys and girls” part of Koko ni Iruzee by themselves. That was pretty fun. And Risa was totally bouncing off the walls and spazzing out during Koko ni Iruzee. I don’t even know what she was doing, but it’s sure fun to watch her dance. Overall though, this wasn’t one of their better medleys. The transitions between the songs were a little awkward.
Ame no Furanai- New costumes! White iridescent, very sparkly dresses over light blue with with floofy sleeves. Super pretty! Now, I love this song, but I love it a lot more in Japanese. I can’t sing along when it’s in Chinese *pouts*
Onna ga Mezatte Nande Ikenai- Okay I guess. I don’t like the song much.
3,2,1 Breakin Out- Always fun.
Mikan- I know some people won’t be happy about this, but I am pleased. I can’t say it enough: Mikan is a blast at a live show!
Genki Pika Pika- Lots of cute interactions between the girls and a simple dance that wota can easily follow along with.
Loving You Forever- This is just a really nice song. I know it’s not one of the standouts from the album, and we’re probably never going to hear it again, but I found it to be highly enjoyable tonight.
Encore
How do you Like Japan- The encore costumes are basically flannel shirts over T-shirts and Jeans, but with lots and lots of colorful accessories. Ai-chan in baggy overalls with a big bow in her hair looks like an overgrown toddler. She’s adorable! As for the song, I do feel like they’ve been overusing it lately, but this was probably their fiercest performance of “How do you Like Japan” ever. The use of stand mics took it to the next level.
During the closing MC, when Ai-chan stepped forward, she was crying. A silence fell across the crowd and those of us who were sitting simultaneously moved to the edge of our seats. The one thought on everyone’s mind, “Oh my god, oh my god, please don’t say the word “graduation” Ai-chan”. And she didn’t, and everyone started breathing again. Seems she was just emotional over it being the first performance, Koharu not being there, and the super enthusiastic crowd reaction.
Namidacchi- Hands down favorite performance of the night!!!! The part where they transition from the slow, arms around each other’s shoulders verses to the jumping and rocking out chorus is concert GOLD. The rap part is also excellent. I’m not really capable of describing how awesome this song was live. I predict that this will be one of those songs that keeps popping up in future concerts until everyone is sick of it.
So overall, great costumes, and some great performances, but the set list is a bit “meh”. Most of the songs that aren’t new album songs were performed on their last concert tour. During a MC, one of the girls said they didn’t have much rehearsal time for this concert. I think that with lack of time and needing to teach the album songs from scratch, they had to go with stuff that didn’t take much rehearsal time for the other songs AKA, songs they have performed recently.
Minna-san, goodnight!
~Celestia~