Con Report: Arashi Anniversary Tour 5x10 - Kokuritsu 8/28 (Part 1)

[violomana.livejournal.com]

My first con/con report! Big thanks to the song set lists that have been floating around, they helped me remember more, lol.  I tried to be as detailed as possible. Sorry if it's long! That's why I'm only posting the first half and MC. I included all songs from the set list, whether I remembered anything important about them or not. Tell me what you guys think, skip parts I don't remember?

Non-Spoilers
First: As far as I saw, no one was asked for their FC ID. Check-in was pretty smooth.

And! I noticed the announcements (like no cell phone use, etc.) were made in several languages! Chinese, Korean (I think, it was really faint), and English. An acknowledgment of Japan-going international fans ? :D

The Other Fans: Dude, some girls were crazy awesome
While walking around the stadium I saw two girls in complete Uta no Oniichan cosplay. I asked to take their picture and they said ok, but only if they covered their faces with Ohno uchiwas lol.

And then by chance I saw another Uta no Oniichan cosplayer, but in an awesome!ballet skirt version, getting seated in the arena with my binoculars.

For future reference: There are a lot of interesting tactics to catch the members’ attention: giant hair bows, highlighter fluorescent giant hair bows, colorful hats, awesome homemade uchiwas, etc. I also saw a lot of girls that took a member color and dressed in head to toe in it. Including this one set of girls who even had matching carry-on suitcases for concert goods.

Pre-Concert: Inside
One thing I’d like to note: ALL of the bathrooms I saw were for women. The few guys I did see were with their girlfriends. They looked pretty disgruntled... probably because they couldn’t find a guy’s restroom. (I did see a pair of guys sitting alone with AAA merchandise, which was pretty awesome).

Seating
When I saw my seat I was rather disappointed. I was a row away from the very top. That’s when a couple of obasans came, looked at me, and then looked confused. They asked to see my ticket and I started panicking, thinking my seat had been given away by the FC. For a moment I thought I would be sent home. It turns out that I entered the right gate but then went over too far and spent the first half hour in the wrong section. That was fine with me because my real seat was closer to the center. :P

I wasn’t the only one though. Some girls made the same mistake in the row in front of me, lol.



*** CONCERT SPOILERS ***

(cell phone pics and video of the empty stadium included!)




Pictures from around the venue:



The Stage Set Up
… is basically the same as last year’s AAA con, minus the giant A arrows and in alternating red and blue with the 5x10 logo instead. xD




New Additions: A raised blue track with the 5x10 logo ran parallel below the moving hanamichi tracks (I don't know the right name, what are these called? They’re like moving stages but not the machine operated one that goes over the audience. It’s still pulled by staff?)




Also, there is a large red frame that is suspended above the Olympic torch by giant orange cranes that I saw when entering the stadium. I noticed 5 wires that were strung across the stadium from the top of the main stage to the red frame. The image of each member dangling from the wires crossed my mind, but because it was so ridiculously high up I thought, "Naaah, couldn't be...."

How it is anchored by the ridiculously tall cranes outside the entry gate:


How it looks from inside:


And a close up at night after the show (you can see the 5 wires in the light):


The big side screens showed VTR of Himitsu no Arashi-chan, Arashi no Shukudai-kun, VSArashi, Aiba’s upcoming drama, and the 5x10 Best! Album CM while we waited.

The Concert…!!!!
. . . started late, lol. It wasn’t until 5:40ish did a faint bass beat begin to pump through the stadium. People began to scurry to there seats. And then the music changed as ARASHI appeared in white block letters against the giant black screen. Of course there was a surge of screaming as the audience got to their feet.

The opening VTR started by showing each member’s name (in romanji) one at a time in a different color. Each time a name was shown, one letter stroke would stretch off the screen. In the end each of the 5 strokes would wind together and then a montage started. I don’t remember exactly what the montage was beyond that point anymore though. ^^;;;

The VTR ended, and everyone was looking back and forth for the boys. Someone screamed and the rest followed, pointing to the top of the giant screens above the main stage.

You know what I said about Arashi dangling from the wires? Well, that's exactly what happened. xD

Kansha Kangeki Ame Arashi
All five glided across the stadium, meters and meters above our heads. They were lowered and raised from the suspended wire, creating a diving and swooping effect that made the boys look as if they were really flying. If you haven't seen the news clips from matsubunny, go check out her post now!

The boys were waving to the audience below and everyone screamed like crazy. I could see Ohno clearly since he was on the end closest to my side, doing his signature peace signs.

Their outfits had a glossy canary yellow, black and white color scheme. Parts of their long white trench coats swayed out behind them in the breeze like wings.

They landed by the Olympic torch and unwired themselves as Kansha ended. The members formed a circle and put their hands together before crying out "We're gonna-"

Step and Go!
And their platform went down the huge slope to the rear arena floor stage. There, they did the rest of the song and dance before the members split up and got onto the moving stages as

Lucky Man started.

[For future reference: the large center screens would always have a really creative ways of showing lyrics with PV/past performance clips plus the live concert footage. For Lucky Man, Sho’s beginning monologue was spelled out in Step and Good PV style (white letters on red background). Then the first verse rap lyrics would just fly off the screen, because you know how fast that one goes. I want that video roll. The editing and karaoke was really well done. You rock, concert VTR/karaoke maker.]

When Lucky Man ended, those distinctive opening chimes from

We can make it!
could be heard. And then water fountains spouted all around the arena from that blue raised track I mentioned before. The water spouts pulled a Bellagio and swayed to the music. There was a strong breeze and I'm pretty sure some of the arena people got wet, lol.

The center screen had an aquarium theme with fish, whales, and sharks swimming back and forth. Somehow, it fits the song!

Kaze no Mukou e
Crazy Moon
To be honest, I can’t remember what happened, I was too busy singing along and waving my pen light. One thing I do remember how they ended Kaze no Mukou e in a line so that they could dance straight into Crazy Moon. They did the entire dance routine on the central stage, which was cool but there wasn’t a lot of audience interaction.

Following Crazy Moon is a greeting/talk section, which I don’t remember much of. I think it was Sho saying, “Thanks for coming” and stuff like that? Basically it’s to give enough time for everyone to get off stage as the lights go dark. The sun has set and for the first time you can see everyone’s red pen light clearly. Blue lights dimly illuminate the stage. You can clearly see the contrast of the tour colors. Perhaps this is what they envisioned when planning the concert?

The sound of drums set a rhythm as Jrs. filed out from the main stage in a drum line. I checked with my binoculars, and they were just drumming randomly, lol. They were led by one of the baton-spinning Jrs. as flag-bearing Jrs. march out from the opposite direction.

From the main stage someone came sprinting into the arena, dressed in ripped jeans and a matching jacket, growling in a raspy voice.

PIKA*NCHI (Aiba-chan's solo)
Except it’s more military-like because of the drums than the original rock version. Aiba was his energetic self, hopping around the central stage on one leg. But it just didn’t... fit Aiba-chan’s image, y'know? lol

At this point I kept wondering why Aiba-chan was chosen to sing PIKA*NCHI, but then I realized it would fit with the 10th anniversary if each member does a song from a past main/solo activity, since Aiba was the lead/central role in the PIKA*NCHI movie.

The song ends and Aiba runs off to change, because the other members come out dressed in white and blue outfits (which for some reason reminds me of that ridiculous American-themed outfit set from SUPPIN) to sing a medley of oldies!

HORIZON
DANGAN-LINER
Had old old old performance footage of these songs playing in the background. You got to see young Sho with his long spiked hair next to today's Sho on the big screen singing the same lines, which made everyone in my section laugh.

[For the record: I REALLY liked Sho's new haircut. When e concert cameras did close-ups you can see each lock neatly styled. Also, Sho always gave the upper stands a lot of attention, so he was definitely getting a lot of + points with me that night, lol.]

Allergy
Kokorochirari
So this is waaaay before my time as a fan (I started in 2005). I thought I watched all the early concerts, but somehow a dance with giant plastic VEGETABLES escaped my attention. But apparently this is a classic from their 2001 tour. It was pretty cool to see the boys match up with VTR footage of the old vegetable dance.  After the dance ended they all threw their vegetables haphazardly behind them for the poor staff to catch, lol. The crazy VTR on the screen continues and shows the boys being… puppets? They seriously did this at concerts?

CARNIVAL NIGHT Part2
This song is just so much fun. Lots of audience interaction and pen light waving. While the other members were running around, giving the audience cues to shout and jump, Aiba-chan stayed in the middle and danced full-out with the Jrs. He was prancing around and swinging his hips. I think Aiba really enjoys the choreography that Ohno came up with for this song. ^_^

The center screen had bright carnival images like pink tents and rides flashing across the yellow background.

The main stage darkens and the guitarists from the band stepped out into the dim light. From the center door on stage came a silhouette wearing a guitar in one hand and a mic stand in the other. He set down the mic stand and strums a few bars that become

Kotoba Yori Taisetsu na Mono (Nino's solo, from his drama Stand Up!!)
An awesome guitar ensemble version of it. Nino was very kakkoii as he rocked out and sang up close to the mic. I can’t remember what he wore. I think some slacks and a suit jacket all done up with more buttons and pins than necessary?

After this everyone came back out to introduce the band, which is comprised of drums, bass, guitar, a string ensemble, a horn ensemble, two backup singers and…Imai Tsubasa on keyboard (Did I hear this correctly? Nothing else is said about this for the rest of the concert) who is NOT Imai Tsubasa from Tackey & Tsubasa, lol.

All the members climbed the staircases to the stage area above the band, directly in front of the center screen. The band starts up, and at first no one recognizes what the song is because it’s a slower, more orchestral version of

Everything
Behind Arashi, the center screen flashing images of red and green traffic lights, the silhouette of a man and woman facing each other, a city landscape, a child holding a flower – the montage blended in well with the music. The boys sung much more passionately than usual, almost like a ballad, and the song became much more bittersweet.

Each member wandered off to a different section of the stage as the center screen changes to a starry night sky. A single shooting star passes by and soft bongo drums lead into a semi-acoustic version of

Hitomi no Naka no Galaxy
There is a cute Ohmiya moment where Nino and Ohno sing the second verse with one arm around the other, swaying slowly back and forth. Ohno grinned sheepishly as the audience went “Kya~!” and Nino looked, as always, like he’s enjoying himself.

They slowly descend back down the staircases and head out to the center stage.

Aozora Pedal
The last orchestral remix. The center screen showed a low cement wall under a bright blue sky. The wall was scrawled with brightly colored chalk graffiti. Except when you look closer it’s actually the lyrics to the song, written in traditional columns top to bottom, right to left style. The camera panned across the wall slowly to reveal the next line of lyrics.

Typhoon Generation
You know how Nino’s beginning monologue sounds like it’s from an old cassette tape or record? The lyrics on the screen reflected this in cursive sepia print that faded in and out. However, Nino started smirking and laughing halfway through his monologue because everyone was screaming and it kinda ruined the effect, lol.

Because I always kept an eye on Ohno I saw him disappear below the rear arena stage towards the end of the song, but I didn’t think much of it. The stadium lights went black and a single spotlight shone on that rear arena stage. Suddenly you hear “DAN DAN DAN” and Ohno walked out completely dressed in his Uta no Oniisan costume as Yano Kenta, singing

Kumori Nochi Kaisei (Oh-chan's solo, theme from his drama Uta no Oniisan)
At first the only thing I could think was, “Damn he’s changes fast!” Then I appropriately proceeded to scream. He had his troop of backup dancers in white behind him as they danced their way to the main stage. He was very genki and light on his feet the whole time, smiling and waving.

a Day in Our Life
Oh Yeah!
Not much I can say about these because I was enjoying myself way too much. Both songs have a lot of audience interaction so the boys were on the moving stages or in the arena getting everyone pumped up with call and response.

Towards the end of Oh Yeah! everyone gathered in the center stage and were handed mic stands from the staff. That could only mean one thing!!!

Hadashi no Mirai
Each member was raised on those individual telescopic platforms (some higher than others) and everyone around me danced along.

Beautiful Days
I think the center screen had stage coach or something on wheels rolling across it? Obviously that center screen kept distracting me from the boys because I could see it so much better than them xD


The MC
[Disclaimer: I remember the MC in bits and pieces, and probably out of order too. Also, I only have intermediate Japanese skills, so I just got the gist of what they were saying (how do translators do it?). All dialogue is just my rough guess of what was said. ^^;;;]

MC opened with a shot of the quarter moon on the big screens. Everyone sits down and Arashi greets everyone, asking if we’re genki, etc.

Nino starts out by talking about the vegetable dance. Everyone lists off what they had.
Aiba: Corn
MatsuJun: Bell Pepper
Nino: Onion
Ohno: Carrot
Sho: ???

I couldn’t understand what Sho had, but whatever it was, it was gone. MatsuJun kept saying, “Who? Who has it?”

Nino abruptly changes the topic (probably because he got tired of it) and asked Leader about how tonight is. Ohno commented on how nice the breeze was (another rehash of the AAA MC? xD).

Nino: That’s not interesting at all!
Ohno: But the wind is really nice….

Some more talk, and Aiba directs the MC to Sho.
Aiba: Y'know, during rehearsal Sho's platform wouldn't go up
Audience: Eeehhh～
(Some more talk, I think someone said it was probably because Sho was afraid.)
Sho (keeps repeating): I'm not scared. I’m not scared yo.

So they set Sho back on the rising platform with a mic stand and sent him to the highest setting, demanding he sing Hadashi no Mirai by himself. Poor Sho. His eyes were squeezed shut and he barely let go of the safety rail. The end result was minimal hand motions because his arms glued to his ribs, plus very mumbled singing lol. By the time Sho opened his eyes again the other members had returned to the main stage, leaving Sho alone in the arena.

Sho (angry): Oi! What are you guys doing over there?
Nino (reprimanding): Sho-kun, just what are you doing?

LOLZ
It's in this news clip at 2:03. Thanks nccgal89!

Sho then turns the tables on Aiba and asks about his upcoming drama. Everyone congratulates him. Someone asked when he gets up and he answered 5 in the morning. Then they ask whether he’s the type who is super genki in the morning with a big “OHAYO~~!” or the cool type that just nods and says, “Ohayo gozaimasu.” To find out, they make Aiba go off stage and act it out. Aiba walks in, falters, and gives a half-polite, half-unsure “Ohayo gozaimasu.”

FAIL.

[End of Con report (Part 1)]

For anyone who is going later this weekend (and for future reference):
Be sure to hit a conbini before coming. All the vending machines outside where sold out of cold drinks (unless you like cold canned coffee). Since it’s a sports arena food and drink is also sold inside. The prices were actually pretty reasonable by Japan standards (I got shaved ice for 300 yen). But I wouldn’t count on it since supply might run out (like onigiri).

Avoid Yoyogi Gate and the area for Concert Goods if you want to go straight home. It’s really slow because of the narrow sidewalk and you’ll get redirected anyways and have to walk around the Concert Goods line.

But if you want to buy more goodies and can make the last train, getting stuff post-concert is a breeze. No sun and the wait was about 15 minutes, but you run the risk of items running out and might end up trying to buy a sold out bath towel like me.


Hope you enjoyed the first report! I'll be working on the second after I fly home~!

Comments

[redeemtheyears.livejournal.com]

thank you for the report! it's so detailed. makes me feel like i'm there or something. thank you!

[violomana.livejournal.com]

That was my goal - Yay! ^^

[(Anonymous)]

Thanks for the report!!

fyi though, Imai Tsubasa was the keyboardist for them from AAA2008 too, he has the same name as the one you're thinking but they're two different people :)))

Oh and lol the plastic vegetables are from their 2001 concert tour, they love to bring it up all the time because it's too epic haha xD

[violomana.livejournal.com]

Thanks! You answered a lot of my questions so I'll add your info. ^^
And I'm going to look up this Vegetable thingy right now. xD

[astrangerenters.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the wonderful, detailed report!! Can't wait for the next part :)

[violomana.livejournal.com]

Your welcome! I'll work hard on the next part!

THanks!!!

[junnosuket.livejournal.com]

Gosh.
Your Re-post of the Con is realli detailed and I simply love it!!!
Its realli hard work cuz I uds dat the Con is 3 hrs long w/2 Encores.
Amazing dat u actually remembered so much of it.
Keep up the good work and I love the DETAILS (if its not too tiring for u)!!!

Re: THanks!!!

[violomana.livejournal.com]

Ok, I'll keep up the same style! I'm straining to remember everything, which is why my report turned out this way lol.

[sironimo.livejournal.com]

Wow what a HUGe and nice live report!!!! Thanks A LOT!!
I was at the live today so that was almost the same...What a nice memorie that wiil be.

Thanks again I'll read it again soon ^^

[violomana.livejournal.com]

How was today? Anything different? I'm glad that we can share the same memories though! ^o^

[matchalie.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much m(_ _)m
I LOVE YOUR REPORT!
the way you write it according to the event, with the song and the detail of what happened!!
really really thank you!!
I can't help but to scream or squeal and wanders off in my imagination after every line that you wrote..

omg.. the concert seemed to be super amazing ne?
then the MC part.. the way they bullied Sho-chan!
then i was super happy as well when you said that he got + points because he took notice of those sitting at the higher seats.. he's always been so attentive ♥

can't wait for the part 2!
have a good flight back home =)

p.s: lol.. there is a person in the band with the same name as Imai Tsubasa.. but it's a completely different person XD

[violomana.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you could enjoy it so much, since that was my goal!
Hehe, Sho will always have + points with me now <3
I'll be thinking of what to write next for the ride home. :)

[geeperz.livejournal.com]

thanks for sharing..i can imagine everything you have written..it's as if im in the concert too..lol <3

[violomana.livejournal.com]

Yay~ I'm glad! ~~<3

[nccgal89.livejournal.com]

thanks for sharing..


sure Sho face must be super baka and kawaii when he was on top of that platform [cos i actualli saw the vid on YT]..haha

it sure must be a lot alot of fun ne~

i wish i was there

[violomana.livejournal.com]

It's on YT already? Wow! (Can you point me where? lol)

[hyperactivemuse.livejournal.com]

thanks so much for the con report~! so detailed ^w^ it sounded very epic, hehe =) thanks again!

[violomana.livejournal.com]

No problem! It WAS epic. o_o

[rukia1314.livejournal.com]

uwa thanks so much for sharing!
did they talk about toma being there? cuz some fans said he was there.

[violomana.livejournal.com]

I didn't hear anything about other JE people being there from Arashi, but before the con started the rear arena seats were screaming over something that I couldn't see. I assume they might have saw someone?

[gilsy.livejournal.com]

thanks for the detailed report !
it was so exciting reading it, wish i was there !

[violomana.livejournal.com]

Your welcome! lol I wish I was back at the con right now too xD

[a-mbry0.livejournal.com]

uwaaa thank you so much! hahah it was fun to read, felt like i had been there too lol XDD
oh how i hope i had..
can't wait rest of the report and thank you again! :D

[violomana.livejournal.com]

No problem! I'm glad it was fun to read!~

[cassyclim8.livejournal.com]

wow so detailed! and this is just part 1?!?! thanks for sharing!!!! i'll be looking forward !!!!

[violomana.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I'll work hard~~ ^^

[dory8.livejournal.com]

thank u for the report
it so in details..thank u

[violomana.livejournal.com]

Your welcome!

[tippyrose.livejournal.com]

Thanks so much for reporting this.
Also feel the fun and happiness after reading your report.

[violomana.livejournal.com]

No problem! I'm glad you got to feel the fun ^^
Sorry for the wait - Part 2 (http://community.livejournal.com/arashi_on/2115344.html) is finally done!

[5um1r3.livejournal.com]

thanks for this super detailed con report.. i really have fun reading it, lolz at sho kun and his fear of heights.. :)

looking for the part 2.. a very big thank you again..

[violomana.livejournal.com]

Haha Sho's fear of heights is going to come back and get him again xD
Sorry for the wait! Part 2 (http://community.livejournal.com/arashi_on/2115344.html) is finally done!

[ofs1992.livejournal.com]

its amazing that you can be so detailed about the con. and its such a 'gift' for us who cannot attend their concerts.
just a question? in the first part you mentioned obasans. i was wondering about the demography of concert go-ers based on what you saw. like teens-30's, obasans and their counterparts, families, males (do they look happy to be there because of arm-twisting), non-japanese looking fans? hehe i'm curious how far the tentacles of arashi has reached japan and beyond.

thanks again! XD

[violomana.livejournal.com]

I would say about 96% were female con go-ers. There were more guys than I expected, but not that many. As I said, some of them seemed to be fans (I saw a 40-something year old ojisan actually wearing the con T-shirt) but majority looked like boyfriends who probably didn't have a choice in the matter. xD
Or maybe they were just trying to look cool but are secretly fanboys...

I didn't see any non-Asians, but I did hear quite a bit of Korean and Chinese floating around. I also saw one girl with a uchiwa that said "USA" on it.

Age-wise, I would say 70% were under 30 years old. However, it's hard to tell a woman's age in Japan... xD

Sorry for the late reply! Part 2 (http://community.livejournal.com/arashi_on/2115344.html) is finally done!

[c-alen.livejournal.com]

omg! such a detailed report.
thank you so much!

[chan4yasu.livejournal.com]

oh my god.. thank you for the report.. it's so detail.. i'll be waiting for your 2nd report.. otsukaresama deshita ^^

[violomana.livejournal.com]

Thank you~ ^^
Sorry for the wait! Part 2 (http://community.livejournal.com/arashi_on/2115344.html) is finally done!

[meeohchan.livejournal.com]

Sho's vegetable is hakusai. It's like... a lettuce-type vegetable. They talked about how he had to just kind of dance with an "air hakusai" (instead of air-guitar, of course. :P).

It actually makes me wonder where it was because I just went today too and he had it. Haha.

Also I thought I'd like to add that the cocnert started at 5:40 (you have 4:40 written down ><) and Nino messed up his solo. A lot. lyrics-wise. Haha.
He kept saying "kotoba yori mo taisetsu dakara anata ni todoketa" in mostly all the parts when he's supposed to alternate with "kotoba yori mo taisetsu na mono koko ni wa arukara." So toward the end he played it off by saying "zen zen machigaete nee kara na!!" aka "I didn't make any mistakes at all!!" With that usual joking grin he has. How cute. :P

Thank you for posting this, though. It helps/ed me remember a lot of the concert! :]

[fecundeety.livejournal.com]

oooh sorry to butt in, I'd just read your comment and am happy about you explaining Nino's fail because all I've got is Nino messing his lyrics up and then saying he didn't make any mistakes. xD

I wonder how he fit that exclaim in, did he scream this after the song was over or..? I'm just sooo amused 8D

[fecundeety.livejournal.com]

loved your concert report, can't wait for the next part 8D~!

I liked how you described what you saw (eg what the screens had etc etc) it contributes to my imagination kind of sounds like we're in disney where all these magical things pop up LOL

I read about Nino's fail in his solo, which you didn't write about. Thought that one was epic!! Heh.

thanks so much for sharing love <3

[violomana.livejournal.com]

lol when I heard about Nino's fail I thought, "Wow, the random screaming makes sense now" xD

I correct myself in Part 2 (http://community.livejournal.com/arashi_on/2115344.html), which is finally done!

[hikko-hikko.livejournal.com]

Awesome awesome report!! It's amazing how much you can remember XD
Will be waiting for part 2~ :D

Thanks for sharing!

[violomana.livejournal.com]

I wished I remembered more lol! Sorry for the wait! Part 2 (http://community.livejournal.com/arashi_on/2115344.html) is finally done!

[inay91.livejournal.com]

Thanx a lot 4 sharing it!
Luv ya!

[faeez.livejournal.com]

i love you for doing this!

i love ARASHI and ARASHI's fandom!!!

saikodayo!!!!

looking forward to part 2! otsukare!! :)

[violomana.livejournal.com]

Arigatou! Here's Part 2 (http://community.livejournal.com/arashi_on/2115344.html)!

[violomana.livejournal.com]

I'm glad! ^^
Sho is such a good sport, he's a trooper even when he's like the official fail of the group. XD

Here's Part 2 (http://community.livejournal.com/arashi_on/2115344.html)!