Bikkuri Project

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~

I haven’t been writing much about the recent happenings in the h!p world lately. Starting with the disappointing and working up to the fantastic.

CUTE-

Oh Cute. I used to like them so much. I still do, but lately I don’t like a single thing they’re putting out. “Bye Bye Bye” was okay for me. Not their best, and the PV sucked, but I enjoyed the early 90’s sound because it reminded me of the music I listened to growing up. Then came a cover song. Bleh. Then “Everyday Zekkouchou”, a total snooze fest. And then, “Shock” which officially surpasses “Lalala Shiawase no Uta” as my least favorite  C-ute song ever. It’s not the fact that it’s pretty much an Airi solo. It’s the weird and disjointed melodic lines. Not pleasing to the ear at all. And from the album previews so far, I’m hearing a bunch of boring mid tempo ballads. There’s nothing I like much except maybe Maimi’s solo.

If Cute keeps up with crappy song after crappy song, it’s going to be hard for me to like them anymore, no matter how adorable Airi is. And by the way, I hate Maimi’s haircut. Sorry, but it makes her look like she belongs in Johnny’s.

MORNING MUSUME-

Okay, first of all, I think “Onna ga Nande Mezatte Ikenai” is total fail on all levels. It’s not catchy, it’s not special, it’s not interesting. The costumes are dated, the PV involves my least favorite idol PV cliche (putting on makeup), and the B-side is totally forgettable. I kind of like the meaning of the lyrics, but that’s it. Frankly, I am not surprised that sales look weak so far. Morning Musume was on such a high with “Shougani” getting number 1 and “Nanchatte” achieving their best sales in years. Then there was “Kimagure”, which I personally liked, but I can understand why it wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea. At least it was different. At this point they could either hold off on a new single until Tsunku could come up with something fantastic, or they could quickly release a sub-par single and totally kill what was left of their momentum. Guess which they did? I just hope that the new album is good.

S/Mileage-

I’m totally behind this new group and their upcoming official debut. Recently I’ve been listening to “Suki-chan” all the time. If I hadn’t finished my countdown list before it came out, you can bet it’d be on there.

Berryz-

How is it that C-ute keeps getting such poor songs while Berryz is getting enough good material to put out a slew of double A sides? Not only that, but all of them have at least one really good song. ‘Rival’, ‘Watashi no Mirai no Danma-sama’, and now ‘Otakebi Boy WAO” all make my frequently played list, and the other songs aren’t bad either. No surprise that their sales are on the rise, while certain other groups are showing the opposite trend.

Also, I loved watching them do Special Generation dressed as fish, complete with flaily fish-like dancing.

Buono-

I am totally IN LOVE with Buono’s new album. There’s hardly a bad track on it. You know, I’ve heard people say that about their other albums, but somehow they never really clicked with me. This one though, I could listen to “Blue-sky-Blue” and “Koucha no Oishii mise” all day.

And that’s all for recent happenings.

!!!!!!!!!PLEASE SEND ME YOUR TOP 10 SONGS IF YOU HAVEN’T YET!!!!!!!

~Celestia~

You may be wondering why I haven’t written about the shuffle deeto concert. Well, I did write about it, quite a bit in fact, but then I had computer issues and I ended up losing the whole thing. Then, the next day I went to Kyoto for the weekend, and then I had to plan a semester’s worth of lessons for work, and well, here we are today.

I just can’t type up the whole review again, but suffice it to say that this was my favorite of the “Wonderful Hearts” style concerts I’ve been to so far, though I still prefer straight up Morning Musume concerts.

-I liked alot of the costumes for this concert. The shorts/T-shirts combo everyone wore was simple, but cute, and all the individual shuffle unit costumes really fit each group’s character. Zoku VUDen in particular wore pretty conservitive costumes last concert, but they really whipped out the sexy this time. Yowza.

-Favorite Performances:

Aa!: Both of their songs were great. Miya and Airi are total pros, my two favorite h!p kids. Then there’s Saho Akari, who didn’t stand out much to me when she was just one of the eggs, but has really proven herself as a member of new Aa!. Vocally, she holds her own with the other two, and that’s really saying something. She just still needs more confidence on stage and she’ll have the whole package.

Love Like Crazy: So here’s a song that I barely remembered existed. I’m definetly going to have to give it a second look.

-Least Favorite Performances:

Pen Pen Kyoudai: I love Shin Minimoni, but this song is  annoying. Mini Strawberry Pie was really cute though, so I forgive them.

Destiny Love: I guess there had to be at least one ballad. This one is so thoroughly “blah” though. I don’t even find it to be particularly pretty. On the upside, Yuuka’s vocals were better than I expected.

And I think that’s all you get on that subject. I’m already making plans for the PikaPikaPikachuuu Morning Musume concerts! And I’m already feeling sad that it’ll be the last MM concert tour I can attend. They’d better make it a great one.

~Celestia~

Just got back! Wow! This really is the best Morning Musume concert I’ve been to! The setlist is the best, the goods are the best, the staging is the best, the costumes…. oh. Well, not the costumes, but everything else is awesome!

After a long trip via like 5 trains, I finally arrived at the concert. At the goods table I bought a Gaki-san T-shirt (the kind with all the smileys) and YES! they still had size small. I also got a couple boxes of gummies just for fun.  I ended up getting an Eri picture in one and a Mittsi picture in the other. The cutest mini-wota award for the day goes to the little girl in a Koharu T-shirt that was so big on her it reached her knees. The concert venue was interesting. There was the floor section and then 5 narrow balconies directly on top of each other and they kind of wrapped around the stage.

The stage setup was really cool. There’s a central stairway leading to the back raised area, and there are also two small revolving stages on either side with their own stairways.

I had a female Niigaki fan of the “knows the dance moves to every last song” variety on my right, and strangely, a guy in a suit on my left. He must have come straight from work because his briefcase was on the floor in front of him. I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone wear a suit to a concert before. He didn’t even take off his jacket until about halfway through. He spent most of the concert awkwardly nodding his head to the music with his arms behind his back. Eventually he got a little more into it, risking a little clapping and bouncing on his heels. I was dying to ask what was going on with him, but I figured that might be kind of rude.

And now to track-by-track mode.

3,2,1 Breakin Out- Cow costumes? Really? I mean, the leopard costumes were kind of cool, but cow costumes?! Ah well. This is a nice song, but I don’t feel like it has quite enough oomph to be the opening number for a concert. I think it would have been better if they’d switched positions with…

How do you like Japan?- Breakin’ Out got us smiling, but this song got us jumping and screaming. Love it. One thing that bothers me about this song though. The title is “How do you like Japan?” but the lyrics go “How do you like this Japan?”. So, are they asking us how we feel about Japan, or are the asking Japan how they feel about Morning Musume/that song? Hmmm?

Kimagure Princess- The dance is sure aggressive and athletic! There seem to be Russian cossack inspired moves in there. It’s really funny to watch the girls open their mouths to sing and hear this chipmunkified version come out. Only complaint is, once again, the costumes. Unless you are working at a ranch, chaps are never ever a good idea. They make their thighs look twice their size, and when they turn around it looks like they’ve ripped their pants.

Nanchatte Renai- Was good, but I don’t remember anything specific.

Genki+- That intro music was kind of creepy, but in a good way. Much better than the Sexy 8 Beat version, I think. They changed the dance. Oh, and if you were wondering, LinLin and Eri shared Miki’s big solo line at the bridge.

Ame no Furanai- I love this song, but not so much the way it was done here. First, I don’t know the Chinese lyrics. Second, it was so short, just verse chorus chorus, that by the time you start to get into it, it’s already over.

Sukiyaki- Oh. my. God. The costumes make last concert’s Guru Guru Jump costumes look subdued and tasteful. There were two hyper rainbow fluffballs with Gaki and Koharu’s heads sticking out of them running around the stage.

Haru Beautiful Everyday- Eri and Aika are so perfect for this song. Eri’s voice is very pure and sweet, and Aika is a lot more confident than she was back during the Sexy 8 Beat show.

Kioku no Meiro- Was cool, but again, nothing specific to share

Aruiteru- So… Sayumi sure is cute, isn’t she? Well, let’s just say I was glad when everybody else came out.

Aki Urara- I don’t like this song even a  little bit.  I wish they would have replaced it with just about anything else. Still, one boring song out of an entire concert isn’t too bad.

Shouganai Yumeoibito- And a good song swoops in to save the day!

Sakura Mankai- This song sort of puts me in a trance.  It’s so peaceful and calming. LinLin’s solo lines are amazing here, not that her solo lines aren’t all amazing. And looking at the crowd, she clearly has the fewest fans out there. Maybe if Risa graduates *knock on wood* I will become a LinLin supporter. It must be discouraging for her to look out there and see hardly anyone wearing her color.

Yuujou~ ect.- Any song that involves jumping around like crazy and lots of general flailing is a winner in my book.

Dekai Ucchu ni Ai ga Aru- Cutest performance of the night! The girls were all peaking out from behind their big smileys and playing around with each other. I liked it when they formed the 9 smile logo at the end. It doesn’t hurt that I like the song a lot too.

Coupling Medley- They did a really great job making the songs flow into each other. During some of the medley, they were showing photos of concert rehearsal on the screen. The best part was when Handmade City started, and they striped the music down to just a “we will rock you”- like beat. Then Ai and Eri came in with the “I love you” “wow wow city” parts, with everyone in the audience screaming the echo. Gradually they added more of the background music until we were back to the normal version of the song again. It was kick-ass! The medley in general was probably the highlight of the concert for me.

Joshi Kashi Mashi- Hilarious! Lots of playing around on stage. It makes me sad that this lineup is going to end soon though. They lit up the stage in each member’s color during her verse.

Naichau Kamo- Okay, but I’m getting a little tired of it.

Resonant Blue- Look, the song still rocks, but PLEASE give it a rest! It’s been in every concert since it came out, including the all h!p concerts. I must, however, note how fierce Gaki-san is in this.

Encore- So, the wota started chanting “Gaki-san!” during the encore chant. Huh? This is Risa’s “hometown” concert?! I guess there did seem to be an unusually large number of Gaki fans in the audience.

Songs- Must be easier to perform without four separate layers of costumes on. Well, except that Koharu’s hat kept almost falling off.

Love Machine- Much more spirited than the version in lasts year’s medley. The members were really having fun with it, playing around and teasing each other all over the place. At the very beginning, when they all freeze in a pose, Ai-chan’s pose involved her grabbing the top of Risa’s head. LoL.

So, clearly, I had a great time! I can’t wait to go again! For now though, I must be off to bed. Hope you enjoyed.

Smile!

~Celestia~

Tonight I attended the 5:30 Hello Project Champaloo show with fellow blogger Tsukiki. It was a great show! Much better than last winter’s h!p concert, in my opinion. I think that the new subgroups have really done something to revitalize Hello Project. Based on what I saw tonight, I have high expectations for many of them. I also appreciate that they’ve largely been faithful to the style and feel of the original groups.

The bad news was that I couldn’t find very good tickets at the last minute, so we ended up in the family section. The 2nd row of the family section, so we had a pretty good view, but these concerts really are less fun when you can’t stand up. Also, one of the hall employees was always standing almost right next to us, frowning and surveying the crowd for people in the family section standing up or raising their arms too high, I guess. I was scared that if I cheered too enthusiastically he would yell at me. And if I’m getting all my complaints out of the way at once, please add that Mai was not there tonight for some reason and there were way too many GIANT hair bows of doom sitting on the girl’s heads. Koharu’s during the last costume set was the worst, but Gaki’s during the ZYX song and Sayu’s during the VUDen song were pretty bad too, and I know there were others.

But other than that, it was a lot of fun. Here’s my track by track run down.

Guru Guru Jump- A very fun way to start things out. Bummer that I couldn’t actually jump though. Momoko was very into her “guru guru” ing. Lol.

Piriri to Yukou- Not my favorite Berryz song, but I like it better in concert. Pretty surprising choice, but I guess it worked.

Ama no Jaku- S/Mileage is sooo cute! They sang live too. I really hope they do well when they make their official debut.

Omakase Gaurdian- Meh. I just don’t like the song.

Minimoni Jankenpyon!- These girls will do the original Minimoni proud, you just watch. I was worried about Miyamoto Karin because she’s so young, but actually, she did an excellent job and she seems really comfortable on stage already.

Sekai wa Summer Party- Mano with no piano. I think I watched S/mileage (the backdancers) more… Her voice may be improving a tiny bit, slowly but surely.

Shochuu Omimai- I would have preferred “Bye Bye Bye”.

Seishun Bus Guide- I would have preferred “Rival”. It was pretty good I guess.

Nanchatte Renai- Yaaay Momusu! I love everything about this song, but Sayumi’s solo part tonight was kind of painful to listen to.

Shouganai Yumeoibito- Hearing these two songs back to back, SYO really is Nanchatte-lite, isn’t it?

Yume to Genjitsu- Aa!.. sort of. I know a lot of people are bemoaning that Saho Akari has taken Reina’s place, but I’ve got to hand it to the girl. She really holds her own in a group with Miyabi and Airi, and that says a lot about her talent. I didn’t know she could sing like that! The new song is great too. It’s plenty good enough to be a single, so I hope they do something with it.

Pira! Otome no Onegai- Out of all the songs tonight, this is the one that’s still stuck in my head. I LOVE this song! Please oh please make it a real single! Please? It’s better than a lot of what h!p has released in the last few years. Mai not being there tonight was too bad though, since she’s the best singer in Pucchimoni V. Pirapaparaparapipopa….

Heya to Y shirts- Cute, but solo ballads don’t tend to hold my interest very well.

Umbrella- What a very Tanpopo-like song. It’s my least favorite of the 3 brand new songs, but it’s still not bad.

My Boy- I was so wanting to head bang during this. I compromised by waving my glowstick like a maniac. One of the best performances of the night.

Jump- Aaaarg! I couldn’t jump during “jump”! Oh the irony. Awesome song that’s even better live.

Cosmos- Ai-chan had a lovely dress. Other than that, just another beautifully sung yet boring solo ballad for Ai-chan.

Only You- One of my personal favorite performances of the night. I know, I was surprised too. Lots of audience participation helped. All three girls sang very well… for being those particular three girls. About Risako’s voice. I can’t stand her in ballads, but in songs like this where the lyrics are belted out at maximum volume, she really shines. And JunJun rocking out of the air guitar while on her knees was 100% certified awesome.  Oh and by the way, Sayumi was center, so I guess she’s officially Rika.

Iku ZYX- ZYX alpha feels like it has too many girls to really be a subunit. I guess there will be one less soon though… Gaki was great as usual, but I wish she was in a subunit where she had less competition for the spotlight.

Diamonds- Was okay, but nothing compared to…

Cinderella Complex- Do you have any idea how excited I was when I saw this on the set list?!? I never thought we’d be hearing this one in concert again, but BAM here it is, and it is FIERCE. This subunit beats all the other new ones in terms of pure on-stage charisma. Also, Maimi dancing in skin tight glittery black pants. Two words: Smokin’ Hot. I couldn’t stop watching her. My other favorite performance of the night.

Special Generation- And my dream of yelling, “Su-pe- su-pe-sha-ru-generation!” in a concert has come true! You know, there’s a reason that certain songs like “Mikan”, “Jump”, and yes, “Special Generation” keep popping up again and again in concert set-lists. It’s because they are a ton of fun live! People watching the DVD at home can’t really appreciate that, but you might want to think about it the next time you groan “(song that gets done a lot) again?”

Tokaikko Junjou- Someone, I don’t know who, forgot to sing Mai’s line for her. Now that was an awkward pause. They recovered well though. I’m happy I got to see my favorite C-ute song, even if it was only being performed by 5 people.

Resonant Blue- This however, is one that I can join in on the groans of “again?!” It’s not that it’s bad in concert, but it’s not sufficiently great to merit being in every single concert set list since it has come out. Enough already! Give it a rest and then bring it back.

Sono Bamen de Bibbachi Ikenai Jan- Prime example of a song that is “meh” on CD but awesome live. Fun to see the mass rendition of the “omg she touched my ass” move.

Koko ni Iruze- The big problem here is that there is so much going on on stage that I don’t know where to look! This song is always a blast. Ai-chan absolutely killed her line at the end (in a good way).

Aozora ga blah blah blah- Okay I guess. I don’t know what all the fuss is about this song, but I suppose it’s a nice enough way to end a concert.

Gaki-san was the last one off the stage at the end. Love you Risa!!!

I noticed that they did more with the lighting and staging than usual, kind of like they did with Platinum 9 Disco. Maybe h!p has a new stage manager? If so, keep up the good work!

And now I’m going to bed. Night night everyone!

~Celestia~

EDIT: I almost forgot. Ice Cream musume sang their song (well, some of them), and Jang Dayun showed up to introduce herself. She looked cute, and the ices have gotten better at Japanese. Rei Rei sat down during their performance. I guess she’s injured or something, though she didn’t seem to be having any trouble walking, so hopefully it’s not that bad.

I can`t believe that Platinum 9 Disco tour is over! I`ve been going to see that show for 3 weekends straight. What am I supposed to do with myself now?

My night certainly got off to a bumpy start. First, the guy next to me on the train kept falling asleep on my shoulder. I had to elbow him on 3 separate occasions. Then, partially due to my being dumb and partially due to the Shinjuku station being a hellish maze (raaaaaawr! I hate that place. They couldn`t have made it harder to navigate if they`d tried), I had some trouble meeting up with CK. We found eachother eventually though, so it turned out okay. Oh, and our seats kinda sucked, but what can ya do? It was a very full house, as expected, right up to the corners of the balcony. There was even some poor guy outside holding a sign that said, “Please sell me a ticket”.

From what I could tell from my high vantage point, the final show of Platinum 9 Disco was very much awesome. I`ve never seen the wota crowd so pumped before. More and more people were bringing 9 different colors of glowsticks (well, 8 probably since blue is both Reina and JunJun), in order to properly support each girl during her solo. I was especially surprised with how many people found teal glowsticks for LinLin`s “Aozora” part. The really special light-up displays came out during the encore call though. The best was a group of 9 guys who had lanterns with each girl`s name in her color. I like that they were supporting the whole troupe.

A bit on the MCs. Reina did the rotating solo one. She talked about how she meant to send Eri a text message at midnight on her birthday, but she accidentally fell asleep. However, she ended up sending the message at 12:23, and since Eri`s birthday is 12/23, she pretended that she did it on purpose. Lol.

For some reason JunJun did her MC with Reina instead of Koharu. I wonder if there was something wrong with Koharu or something, because it`s rather odd that Reina would do two MCs in a row. Koha didn`t seem to be singing any worse than usual… but I guess that`s not saying much.

Gaki`s MC was the most terrifying thing I`ve ever experienced at a concert. First, she wasn`t doing the MC GAKI thing, which she had done for every other MC this tour. Then, she started talking about the upcoming h!p`s summer concert, and I swear you could feel everyone in the hall hold their breath. The tension was palpable, because you know everyone was thinking, “Oh my God….is she announcing plans to graduate this summer?!?”. But then she started talking about her nails or something, and everything was okay. Geez Risa. Don`t do that to me!

LinLin`s Chinese MC skit had Eri being a nervous new reporter and failing at it. It was pretty cute.

The final goodbyes were rather long and heartfelt. The girls even came back for a sort of second encore, though it was just for Ai-chan to make a little speech and everyone to wave again.

Look forward to one great concert DVD!

~Celestia~

Hi all! Just got back from my first viewing of Morning Musume’s spring concert tour!! Wai! I love these shows so much. <3

So, it was RAINY today. Not drizzling, not occasional storminess, but hard non-stop rain all day. Good thing it’s not an outdoor concert. Well, I can check off Omiya Sonic City as a great, easy-to-find concert venue. A straight shot, just a couple of blocks from the station. Of the three h!p concert venues I’ve been to, I’d say this is my favorite so far. An interesting feature is that usually there’s a bit of a buffer zone between the stage and the audience, but here the front row was standing right up against the stage. They could have grabbed the ankles of any girl who wandered too close to the edge! (No, no one did that). Anyway, I made my way to the goods table and requested a Gaki-san shirt. The girl at the counter told me that they only had size large left (and I am not a large person), but she radioed over to the upstairs goods table for me, and it turns out that they had one size small left. Hooray! I l finally have a Gaki-san Tshirt! I didn’t buy one of the Resonant Live shirts because I hated the design, but this tour’s are really cute.

Before I go any further, allow me to remind you once again that girls do in fact go to Morning Musume concerts. I tried counting them while I was milling around in the hall, but I got bored and went inside after about 10 minutes. I got to 30-something before I stopped though. There’s this one girl who I swear has been at every h!p concert I’ve been to. She always wears an Aika shirt and a big purple hairbow to match. I also saw a pair of really cute little girls joyfully receiving Gaki-san T-shirts from their mother. Yay for the kidde-wota! They made a good choice of favorite too. Usually, the kids seem to go for Koharu.

So, I got inside and found my seat. Pretty central, and a little over halfway back on the first floor. Not bad at all. I think that maybe I did manage to jinx myself a bit though. There was this really tall guy standing not right in front of me, but in front and to the side in such a way that he perfectly blocked my view of the center of the stage. Annoying, but what can ya do? It was a pretty full house. I could hardly see any empty seats on the first floor (couldn’t see the balcony). The stage set-up is a bit more elaborate than it was for Resonant Live. There was a sort of walkway around the back with a set of stairs that lit up leading up to it. Okay. From here on out I’ll break it down by song.

Songs- Was good, but I don’t remember anything specific.

Naichau Kamo- Eep. I need to learn more of the dance to this. The wota totally have it down.

VTR- Surprisingly funny. They showed pictures of each girl with a different flower, but one of them was always a goofy pose.

Mikan- Still very much a crowd favorite. The audience’s energy level just goes through the roof. Tension up, as the Japanese would say. Also, those blue and pink dresses have got to be one of the best costumes that h!p has every come up with. Vibrant, cute, flattering to the girls, they’re just perfect!

Egao yes Nude- Aw. I was hoping they would replace this with Shouganai Yume Oibito. Maybe they’ll debut it in Tokyo next week? They performed most of this on the rear walkway, and their jigging looked a little cautious. I think they were worried about falling off.

Jonetsu no Kiss- Really sultry. They used a chair as a prop, and the girls were all like, caressing it. One big difference between this show and Resonant Live is that it’s much sexier, at least the first half or so. Ai-chan’s vocalizations toward the end were amazing. She really sang well tonight.

Katamoi no Owari- Sorry, but this Eri solo bores me. Much like Eri herself often does. My apologies to her fans, because I know she has a lot of them, but sometimes I just don’t understand her appeal.

MC- The girls seem to be rotating who does this solo MC. Tonight it was Ai-chan. She talked about Takarazuku and their extreme stage make-up techniques.

Fine Emotion- Panda power! It was short, but fun.

Aika solo- JunLin were doing the robot! LOL. You know, when I heard Aika sing this on their last tour there were some questionable notes in there, but I didn’t hear any mistakes tonight. Also, for some odd reason, the wota has stopped calling Aika “Mittsi” and have switched to “Aika”. Last concert they definitely said “Mittsi”. I wonder why the switch? Also, is there a head wota who sends out mandate about these things? How do they all know???

Yowamushi- It’s not the best song ever, but I love Risa too much to care!

It’s You- Sexy! Ai and Eri were great as back-up dancers. There was one cool part where Sayumi stood in front of the screen, and it lit up in pink so you could only see her dancing silhouette. Then, she walked down the stairs and they lit up as she stepped on them.

MC- Koharu and JunJun fighting about something to do with JunJun taking pictures of LinLin’s lunch. They were talking pretty fast, so I didn’t quite catch it. They were playing the sound effect of a bell like they use in boxing in the background. Also, for some odd reason Koha and JunJun had costumes that they only wore for this MC and not for any of the songs. Odd.

Special Medley

Love Machine- Was surprisingly dull… Maybe it’s because they did it at the beginning, or maybe it’s because they only did a tiny bit of it. I dunno. I was expecting more from Momusu’s theme song.

Renai Revolution- Started to pick up the energy, but again, they only did a tiny bit of it.

Sexy Boy- Now we’re talking! Thanks to the para-para dance, this is one that the crowd can get into.

The Manpower- Great! I just wish they had done a bit more of it. This medley is killing me. It’s like a series of teasers.

Aozora ga Itsumademo- LinLin rocks my socks! Damn that girl can sing. I noticed that a few of the wota even managed to find teal glowsticks for her solo part. Not green or blue, but actual teal, which they don’t sell at the concerts. As a side note, it seemed like quite a few people brought glowsticks in multiple colors so they could wave the right color during member’s solo or small group songs.

MC- Eri, Sayu, and LinLin. Lin taught some Chinese, and then they went into a hilarious little skit where Eri was trying to kidnap Sayu, and “Super LinLin” saved the day.

Kousui- Surprisingly, both Koharu and JunJun did a really good job with this. I didn’t even once feel the urge to chuck something at Koha, and JunJun nailed those high notes at the end.

The Bigaku- Lots of Reina ass-slapping and air humping. Reina fans will not be disappointed.

MC- They set up a little radio booth for MC G.A.K.I on the stairs. At one point in the MC she accidentally referred herself as “Risa… oh wait no!” instead of MC G.A.K.I, and she started laughing so much she had to stop for a bit. The crowd was all laughing too, and calling “Risa!” at her.

Yume Kara Samete- Ai-chan was lovely as always. Pretty slow song, but it’s better than the one she sang at the last concert.

Take off is Now- Sexy, but pretty much the same as it’s been for the last two concert tours. It was interesting watching the audience changing color yellow to blue to green and so on, as each girl’s fans waved their glowsticks during her solo lines.

Guru Guru Jump- Quickly becoming a crowd favorite. Childish, yeah, but lots of fun!

How Do You Like Japan- I love it! They performed this in those leopard-print costumes with the cat ear hoods. They were like prowling animals out there. Rawr!

Resonant Blue- The performances of this are always getting better, much like Onna ni Sachi Are, though I still think they’ve done the song too often lately.

MC- Member bye-byes. You know, there never were any member intros. How odd. Anyway, the winner today is Eri who tried to make a mnemonic out of Omiya, which turned out completely ridiculous. Sayumi went next saying, “Boy, Eri sure tried hard with that one. I wouldn’t have the courage to say something that lame.”

Love and Peace- Probably my favorite song of the whole show! I love all the funny interaction that goes on between the members, and this song is just so high energy and HAPPY. Also, I can’t be sure, but I really think that Risa waved at me!! She was standing on my side, and then she looked directly at me and waved. I kind of pointed at myself and did a “who me?” face, and she nodded a bunch and waved some more. I could be mistaken… she might have been looking at someone else near me, but I don’t think so. I mean, I was wearing a green shirt and waving a green glowstick, and I am both female and  a foreigner, which I think makes me stand out.

Encore

Sono Bamen de- Koharu was wearing a HUGE sombrero. Unfortunately, everyone seemed kind of preoccupied with making sure their hats stayed on their heads.

Ame wo Furanai- Got rid of the hats. It probably would have set the wrong tone if they had left them on. Beautiful beautiful song. The new version is a bit slower that before, and the harmonies are very nice.

Whew. I’m exhausted now, but I have a bit of news before I wrap this up. You see, I made a side trip to a ticket reseller before going to the concert, and I decided to treat myself to a good seat for one of the Tokyo concerts next week. So, I’ll be sitting on ground level 11th row at the first show next Saturday!!! The lady at the store asked me if I was really sure like 3 times when I told her that I wanted to buy such an expensive ticket. But, I’m sure I’ll be able to see them really well, and they’ll probably be able to see me well too, so it’ll be worth it. Soooo excited!!

Momusu 4 Life,

~Celestia~

The tour started today, and here’s the set list! Since I’m fully planning on attending at least a couple of these shows, it’s of special interest to me. My thoughts in purple.

Morning Musume Concert Tour 2009 Spring ~ Platinum 9 DISCO ~ Setlist

01. SONGS- So, absolutely no surprise that they opened with this. I like the intro, and it should be just about right to set the mood.
02. Naichau Kamo- No surprise here either.  Seems like we’re getting the concert off to a bit of a melancholy start, doesn’t it?
VTR
03. Mikan- The emotional polar opposite of Naichau Kamo! I suspect that some people will be bemoaning the inclusion of Mikan in yet another concert set list. If I wasn’t planning on attending the concert, I probably would be too but, as I’ve said before, Mikan is a kick-ass song to see live. It gets a great crowd response, so I fully understand why they keep putting it in.
MC
04. Egao YES Nude- Okay, single I haven’t seen live yet, but not one that’s very high on my list (See list at end of post). So “yay!” but not “YAY!!!”
05. Jounetsu no Kiss o Hitotsu (Takhashi Ai, Niigaki Risa & Tanaka Reina)- It’s a nice song, but I can’t imagine it will be very exciting live. Here’s hoping they prove me wrong.
06. Kataomoi no Owari ni (Kamei Eri)- Sorry, but I’m afraid this is my least favorite song from the new album. It’s nothing against Eri’s singing. I just think the song’s boring.
MC (Tanaka Reina)- Solo MC? I wonder what she’ll talk about.
07. Fine Emotion (Junjun & Linlin)- Now here’s a “YAY!!”. Looking forward to this one for sure. Panda power!
08. Watashi no Miryoku ni Kizukanai Donkan na Hito (Mitsui Aika solo, Junjun & Linlin as backup dancers)- I like the song, and more JunLin is always good. I just hope Mittsi has gotten a bit better at singing it.
09. Yowamushi (Niigaki Risa)- Lord knows Gaki-san could be singing my despised “Hyokkori Hontonjima” or whatever it’s called, and it would still be a high point of the concert for me.
10. It’s You (Michishige Sayumi solo, Takahashi Ai & Kamei Eri as backup dancers)- Now this interests me. Eri and Ai, perhaps MM’s best dancers, doing backup for a rather sexy song. I’m afraid they’re going to steal the show from Sayumi. Another one to look forward to.
MC (Kusumi Koharu & Junjun)
~ Special Medley ~
11. Love Machine- Not retired? Huh? Well, haven’t seen it yet, I guess. Maybe it’s just the intro though.
12. Renai Revolution 21- Good, good. Certainly wouldn’t mind watching this again.
13. SEXY BOY ~Soyokaze ni Yorisotte~- !!! I’ve got to go figure out the rest of the hand dance!
14. THE Manpower!!!- Yes!! This was on my list of singles I really want to see live in concert.
15. Aozora ga Itsumade mo Tsuzuku You na Mirai de Are! (Linlin solo, then the rest of the members joined in)- Lin solo? Sweet!
~ End of Special Medley ~
MC (Kamei Eri, Michishige Sayumi & Linlin)
16. Kousui (Kusumi Koharu & Junjun)- JunJun=awesome. Kusumi= DOES NOT WANT. So, I guess this song breaks even??
17. The Bigaku (Tanaka Reina)- Ayaya song? How did you get into a Momusu concert? Well, it’s a pretty good song, and Reina is a good performer, so I’ll give it a thumbs up.
MC GAKI (Niigaki Risa)
18. Yume Kara Samete (Takahashi Ai)- Another slow ballad solo for Ai-chan. Sigh.
19. Take off is now! (Takahashi Ai, Niigaki Risa & Tanaka Reina)- They’ve performed this at the last two concerts now. Wonder how they’ll change it up.
20. Guru Guru JUMP (Kusumi Koharu, Junjun & Linlin)- Total fun, and they seem to be getting more and more into it with each rendition.
21. HOW DO YOU LIKE JAPAN? ~Nihon wa Donna Kanji Dekka?~- Hell yeah! I didn’t expect this to pop up again when I was still in Japan. Soooo very excited to see this live.
22. Resonant Blue- Don’t get me wrong, I really like this song, but I think it may be time to give it a rest for a bit. Kinda getting sick of it, to be honest.
MC
23. Love & Peace! Hero ga Yattekita- I love songs that give the girls a chance to be silly and interact with each other. I’m sure this will be a new and different performance at each and every show.
ENCORE

24. Sono Bamen de Bibiccha Ikenai jan!- Well there’s a surprise. Not that I object, mind you. It’s a really fun song.

MC
25. Ame no Furanai Hoshi de wa Aisenai Darou?- I suppose they’ll be doing the album version with harmonies and everything? Well, it’s certainly a beautiful song, though maybe getting a bit overused already. Since it’s on the album it kinda had to be here though.

Overall, this concert has a darker and more mature feel than Resonant Live. I mean, there’s some fun stuff, but right from the get-go the serious songs seem to far outnumber the silly ones. There’s a lot to look forward to here…but I really prefer the Resonant Live set list for a few reasons. 1: Not so many solos. I really prefer group songs. 2: Being a girl, I’m not as attracted to “sexy” songs as some guys might be. 3: Resonant Live had “Koko ni Iruzee” AND “Souda! We’re Alive”. That’s a combo that would be really tough for any concert to beat, as far as I’m concerned.

There are quite a few songs that I’m really wanting to hear Momusu sing in concert that haven’t come up yet. “I Wish”, “Do it Now”, “Shabondama”, “Kanashimi Twilight” and “As for One Day” to name a few. Ah well, guess there’s always the next concert.

I don’t want to end on a bad note. I’m super duper excited that concert time is drawing near! I can’t wait to get a hold of an audio rip!

~Celestia~

EDIT: One more thing. Morning Musume is due to have a new single released toward the end of this concert tour. Should we expect it to be added to the set list later on (or replace one of the existing songs?). I believe they added Mikan in the middle of a concert tour when it first came out.

Before I get to the review, can I just say that the lack of announcement of Morning Musume’s 9th album is absolutely driving me nuts?!!!!. We’ve got the title (Platinum 9 Disco), we’ve heard most of the new tracks already in concert (Ame Furanai, Guru Guru Jump, Take off is Now, and that Mittsi solo), in fact, we’ve heard several of them in two different concert tours. All we’re missing is a Sayu/Eri duet (by process of elimination. I’d bet money on it), and another group song and we’re set. We have everything…except for an official announcement. Why? I can only imagine that they are waiting because they’re going to announce something big at the same time (graduations? auditions? both? who knows??), which makes the suspense even worse. If they dare to start the concert tour named after the album without admitting to the existence of the album though… I just don’t know anymore. The clock is ticking.

Sorry, just needed to get that off my chest. Anyway, I’m only reviewing the new songs from C-ute’s album here, not the singles.

Akogare My Star- The title track has a very catchy hook…that gets old very fast. Still, not a bad song, and the high energy feel should make for a good concert number. Reminds me somehow of the music I used to listen to when I was a kid in the early 90’s. 4/5

One’s Life (Chisato/Mai/Erika)- What a surprisingly creative song! I’m more than a little miffed that Chisato (and Erika) don’t get any singing solo lines, but I really enjoy listening to this song. It makes me feel like chillin’ in a park somewhere on a summer day, maybe throwing a ball around or flying a kite or something. It’s like Tanpopo’s “Be Happy Koi no Yajirobee”, but better! 4.5/5

Yes! All my Family (Airi)- Hmm. Pretty darn generic, even for H!p. It doesn’t start off too badly, but the chorus is a letdown. Nothing against Airi or her voice, which I both love, but this song just does nothing for me. 2/5

Aishiteru Aishiteru (Nakki/Kanna)- Using that old fashioned “Waracchau Boyfriend”/”Shining Itoshiki Anata” sound again. It’s a nice sound, very soothing,  Maybe a little too soothing, getting into “boring” and “man, is this ever going to end?” territory in fact. Also, while Kanna sounds nice, I’m not sure how well Nakki’s voice matches the song. 2.5/5

Seishun Song (Maimi)- Man, Maimi always gets the best solos! First Natsu Doki Lipstick, then this, which has a very different feel but is still totally awesome! It’s a fist pumping, cutey idol anthem! I predict this to be a major crowd favorite when it’s concert performed. 5/5

Big Dreams- By far, my least favorite of the new full group songs. Total filler, and more generic than the discount cereal my mom used to make me eat even though I wanted real Frosted Flakes. And now, to top it all off, the song is pissing me off by making me relive bad childhood memories! Next please. 1/5

Shines- Woo! Immediately followed by my favorite of the new full group songs! Genki, but also pretty,  nice build up to the chorus, lines for everyone, and the whole thing makes me feel kind of warm and fuzzy inside. 5/5

Yakusoku wa Toku ni Shinai wa- A genuine ballad for C-ute. I love Chisato’s voice so much! The song isn’t bad. I’ve heard better h!p ballads, but I’ve heard much much worse too.  Seem like it could use just a bit more interest. Maybe a key change toward the end would have been good? 3/5

Overall, this album is way WAY better than C-ute’s 3rd which was mostly just disappointing and forgettable. The cover art is nice too. I think I’ll buy it!

~Celestia~