Polysics - Live - Chicago 11/09/08

The true Polysics cannot be described, it can only be experienced. But Zac gives it a shot. This post sums up the pay-offs of fan obsession, overcoming old man/wallflower/nerd inertia, the greatness of the greatness of a great pop/rock show, and the attitude of a band that does everything right (except hitting every town every tour, but there’s always next time.) I would go so far as to say…recommended. Oh yes.

AKB48 Live at Shibuya AX, Nobody Told Me How Awesome This Would Be!

CK bought the massive Shibuya-AX DVD and goes over it. This entry really stands out because CK attended the 4th day of this show and mixes in anecdotes in with the actual review.

It bears repeating: the Shibuya-AX DVD is massive. Thus, this entry has a lot to cover. CK goes over each night and, to his credit, doesn’t get overwhelmed by the enormity of the material to review. CK is really a fan of AKB48 these days, even to the point where he is proclaiming that he enjoys it more than Hello! Project, so that probably made it easier to go over the entire concert. Not only does he do a good job of going over the performances, he has embedded media for you to watch it as well.

Yumi Yoshimura MC’s Girl Pop Factory 08

It’s a meeting of the new school girl idol rulers and the old school not-quite-idol, still-ruling-to-some-extent Yumi of PUFFY! I’d say the maturity level between the two is quite literal, gotta be a 10 year age difference there at least. PUFFY were just as cutesy in their own way, back when.

Anyway, there’s a short live clip of PERFUME and the interview is unsubbed, maybe it’ll get done later.

Oreskaband at Warped Tour 2008

Tokyograph…san…gets up close for Oreskaband’s appearance on the Warped Tour (somewhere). He even helped out the band a bit and gets some good shots in. They seem to be doing great!

Morning Musume Hawaii FC Concert
Berryz Kobo Concert Tour 2008 Autumn ~Berikore!~ Setlist

I love setlists!  It is so exciting to get a preview of what we will be seeing on future DVD releases, although Morning Musume’s FC Concert DVD is usually expensive and not easy to get a hold of.  Tricia is excited about the number of solos in the concert, and there are quite a few.  And Koharu is singing Himawari?  Gee, I wonder if it will be lip-synched?  Could this possibly be a preview of Momusu’s Fall tour?

Speaking of Fall tours, Tricia is very excited about Berryz’ set.  Well, except that Special Generation is part of it…again!  Tricia has also linked to the tour merchandise page from the official site.  Now this is a concert I will be getting the chance to see live.  And I am most excited to see Suhada Pichi Pichi on there.  Anyhow, both sets look pretty cool.

It’s funny how enthusiastic most of us are before the DVD’s come out.  Hopefully these two won’t disappoint.

~Wasuretakunai Natsu~ Tour Merchandise

Paul has the inventory of shirts, towels and DVD Mags from C-ute’s latest tour.  The shirts look pretty basic, except for the grey “group” shirt.  That one looks kinda cool.  But I’ve nver seen one of these towels before.  Are they beach towels?  Is the image really that clear?  So if anyone is interested in unloading a bunch of cash to Ohta and his EBay store, here’s a good opportunity.

Paul has a really nice H!P collection, and this is where he seems to get much of it.  Actually, I also use Ohta for hard to find stuff.  He is very professional.

“GAME Tour” live DVD!!

ekuseru shares the latest news coming from the technopop trio, Perfume. Their 2nd live DVD is due to release as soon as October! As a Perfume fan, I couldn’t be more excited!! I’ve gotta see if they’re accepting pre-orders…

Goto Maki is back on stage A-Nation 2008

Hello!Online has a bootleg of Gocchin’s brief appearance at A-Nation. She performed a cover of Diane King’s “Shy Guy”, a minor 90s R&B hit, and a song of her own. I think she sounds a little nervous and forgets her recent vocal re-training already, so I’d like to her the studio version of her song before deciding on that. But I like her choice of cover. I think this shows she will be keeping people guessing and she can make it at Avex. But…Recommended for your own rabid over-analysis!

Sakura no Hanabiratachi ga saku koro…

Cat gives us an update on recent happenings for a few AKB48 SEEDS, including one moving to the new Nagoya franchise unit SKE48.  We also get a glimpse at the first girls to join the new unit.  I’m guessing this is Team S and Team K?

Cat goes on to talk about the new Morning Musume and AKB48 concert DVD’s, which coincidentally (?) were released at the same time.  She also gives us a little insight on why she hasn’t liked Morning Musume as much as she used to.  But she ultimately enjoyed the quality of both shows. 

And YOU TOO can have your very own local J-pop group!  For franchising opportunities, please contact Akimoto Yasushi.

Why I like Inaba Atsuko

Recommended reading. Or at least I think so. But I could be biased.;)

Midori discovers the awesomeness of Atsuko Inaba, and reveals why she likes her. She shares some clips of past concerts where Inaba is MC, and looks forward to the summer concert where Inaba will be MC. Personally, I’m hoping Inaba wears the fro again. Inabafro is full of awesome.;)