TOKIO LIVE 2011 +PLUS+

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This is a tale of my adventure to see my favorite band ever in the entire world, TOKIO, play at the Budoukan on May 10th! <3 You probably won't understand much if you don't know the band, but it's really important to me so I figured I'd put my report entry up here too so you guys know more of what I've been doing (sorry about the lack of updates).

--Pre-con Adventures--
So the Budoukan is really close to my university, right? And since I have a student pass between Meidaimae Station and Ochanomizu Station, I decided to walk it rather than take the subway where I'd have to pay 340 yen each way. Dx I had Japanese classes until 12:10, then ate lunch with my friends, and then just took off from Liberty Tower. It was a really nice walk actually, especially since it was fairly nice out at the time. After I passed the entrance to Kudanshita subway station, it was just a bit further and then you take a left to walk into the National Park that the Budoukan is located in. It's so pretty! You walk across this bridge and through all these crazy old, intense gates.

I got there just a bit after 2:00, and the goods sales were supposed to start at 2:30. There were already about 40 or so people there waiting in line so I sidled in behind them to wait.
AND THEN CAME THE TIME TO BUY FUN STUFF.
I was only gonna buy the pamphlet and maybe the towel... but then I got up to where the signs were showing everything off and I was like NNNGH the "strap" that I thought was going to be like a lanyard was actually this adorable cellphone charm and then the bag was cute and hey, you know, it'd be handy to have a little bag like that, wouldn't it? So I ended up buying the pamphlet, the towel, the bag and the strap.

After that it was like... 2:45... so I sat down across the way and looked through all my crap. I had originally planned on heading back to my dorm afterwards and then just coming back around 5:30'ish, but... that didn't happen. XD;
While I was sitting there, the lady (I think she was in her mid-late twenties?) who'd been standing next to me in the goods line walked past and was all heeeeey, so she sat down and we talked for a good while about random TOKIO stuff (her favorites are Nagase and Taichi XD) and then they started having rehearsal inside and we could hear them like... clear as daaaaaay (*__*)! So obviously both of us got excited and started listening to figure out the songs.

ANYWAY. It also started raining. And of course, I didn't bring my umbrella given that I didn't KNOW it was going to rain. But my new friend let me share her umbrella for a while until she left to go find some friends that were coming to join her. So then I just used my towel to try and stay dry under the trees. XD;; Oh, and she also randomly bought me a thing of milk tea. What is it with all these people randomly buying me drinks?

A short while later, I ran into a TOKIO fan from Finland! Who... KNEW WHO I WAS. (this is clear evidence that I am far too involved in the TOKIO fandom 8D😉 It's a small world, huh? So we sat and talked for a while, and then previous Japanese girl came back with her friends, one of whom was also a Leader fan. And then it was more waiting, because the doors didn't open until 5:30. It also got kind of chilly. But it did eventually stop raining/slow down to a really light sprinkle. BUT FINALLY. kaekaa (the girl from Finland's penname on livejournal) and I went in, since both of our seats were on the second floor and so we took the outside stairs.

My seat wasn't exactly the best in comparison to the other seats... but actually it wasn't bad at all. The Budoukan was considerably smaller than I thought it would be. Er, maybe compact is more the word. So even on the second floor, I still felt really close and could see everything super easy. It was easy to find my seat too, and I'm sure the people I sat near were like wtf foreigner. AND THEN it was just a bit more waiting until...

THE CON
As soon as the lights went off I was like ooooooommmmmmGOOOOOOOOOOOODDDDDD (*____________*) And basically had a heart-attack. 8Db They started off just like... jamming out for about five minutes, which was probably a good thing because it gave me a chance to stop spazzing and actually pay attention, lol. BUT ANYWAY, said jamming finally segued into...

1) advance
This was like the perfect song to open with. It's so upbeat and loud and just took over the entire place with everybody still screaming and yelling from the fact that they'd started playing songs. All of them were totally rocking out and I slowly started to figure out the different rhythms and cheers that the audience was doing as well, though where I was in the stands only a few other people were actually following along with them, so I didn't involve myself much in them at first. I just sang along and staaaared for a while.

2) AMBITIOUS JAPAN
My friend Cindy will probably kill me because they played this song as it's her favorite song of theirs. XD This one's just so fun for everyone to sing along to, and I didn't have to follow the lyrics like I did with advance (clearly I need to listen to advance more?). And omg Gussan's beautiful, beautiful voice... I almost died~ nnngah, on his solo part just. (*___*) And Leader was so cute on his "I get a true love" parts <3

Opening Talk
After that they greeted everyone and introduced everybody and there was much cheering and clapping and "Tomoyaaaa~" calls from the crowd, ROFL.

3) Haruka
They went right from the intro talk into Haruka, which was pretty and nice and Taichi's piano parts were quite lovely~

4) Boku no Renai Jijou to Daidokoro Jijou
Haruka ended and then it was just Nagase playing some pretty guitar chords for a few minutes, which were hard to recognize at first until the rest of the band came in and he started singing and I was like OH YEAH THIS SONG, LOL. I love this song~<3 So cute. And they even left Leader's emoticons in on the lyrics up on the screens. X3

5) Sore shika Dekinai
This whole section here is like the softer, more ballady song section, 'cuz up next it got all dark except for Leader and he sang Sore shika Dekinai and I was like (*___________________________________*) LEADER WHY DO YOU DO THIS TO ME? It was so beautiful. (;A😉 Omg his voooooiiicccceeeee seriously it got me all mushy and teary-eyed. <3 I WANT TO HUG HIM AND NEVER LET GO.

6) Period
From one ballad to the next, now it was Gussan's turn. And nnnnngggah, it was equally as amazing and beautiful and he didn't make a single mistake and it was just guh. And after he was done singing and they were just finishing up the instrumentals of the song he got this seriously nnngufffff face and I might have swooned a little in my seat.

7) Roubou no Hana
One of their newer ones that I actually haven't listened to much since I like the other ones better, but now after hearing it here I'm all like wuaa, I like that song a lot~~ it started out really slow, but then when everyone came in it got all crazy and fun and more upbeat than I remember it being when I last listened to it, AHAHA. Though I wonder if that's just not how they played it this time. XD; But anyway, very nice~

8) Amagasa ~unplugged?~
OMG THIS VERSION. It was... so beautiful, I don't even. It started out with just the orchestra, and then Nagase came in and sang the first verse all slow and pretty, and then Taichi started playing a regular piano keyboard in the background, and then I think it wasn't until the chorus that the whole band came in and it was just like WHOOOSH back to the normal tempo of the song and all crazy and awesome and I loved it a lot. (*___*) On their next album, they definitely need to include this version of the song! Pretty, pretty, pretty~ ALTHOUGH NAGASE COMPLETED SCREWED A LINE UP. It was right before they went into the instrumental break, whereupon Taichi proceeded to completely biff the end of his piano solo up. XD;; I'm blaming it on him laughing at Nagase.

9) Hana Uta
Ok, I'm slightly fuzzy on the exact order around this point... My memory is failing me at having to remember so much stuff. XD; I went to check some earlier dates' set-lists to try and compare, but this time's was different because they added in the new song and switched some other ones around... BUT I KNOW HANA UTA CAME BEFORE THE MC BECAUSE THEY TALK ABOUT IT. So anyway, during this one Nagase was like "LET'S ALL SING TOGETHER" and there was much boisterous singing and clapping and waving of arms, and then everybody sang really loud on the 'la la la's at the end. ...and all the screens had tons of sakura all over them. XD Also Leader came down to the front on his guitar solo and was rocking out~

MC
I'll skip over my description of the MC 'cuz it's kinda long and I'm sure nobody here is that interested anyway. 8D;;

10) Miageta Ryuusei (ie. new single that comes out in two weeks!)
So pretty! It got all dark and there were stars everywhere and during the last bit they shot up tons and tons of sparkly pretties into the air. I like the song a lot~ I kinda wish it would have been a faster song, since the last couple of singles we've had have been kinda similar in not-quite-downish tempos but not really upbeat crazy songs like some of the ones I really like, but I still like this one, so I'm looking forward to the new single and to see what the PV will be like. :3 Also both Leader and Gussan have solos in it, yaaaaay~<333

11) Subekikoto
Yay, homukuru song! <33 I love this song~ :DDD And crimanistie, this one was fun to listen to live. There were these awesome back and forth stereo effects and Taichi's keyboard was turned up super loud and awesome. And for some reason the screens had all these numbers and stuff flying past as the background. ...not really sure why. Maybe 'cuz the lyrics in the song have things like 7th and 9th? Who knows. But it was cool and gave it this strange digital effect to go with the synth stuff.

12) GREEN
I'll admit I'm not the biggest fan of this song. I like it, it's just not one of my favorites. But heavens to Betsy, it was beautiful tonight. (*____*) Nagase was rocking all the high notes, he even went into falsetto a few times, AHAHA, but... it was just really pretty. I enjoyed it muchly.

13) Symphonic
HNNNNNGH I LIKE THIS SONG. As soon as GREEN ended and the really minor, dark chord of this song started it was like fdjas;lkfasj;d with the full orchestra and everything and the lone snare drum and they had these purple, low lights going. And then a short ways into the song I noticed that the choir had suddenly appeared, and at first I wasn't sure if it was actually there or if it was on the screen, but no, it was actually there up behind/on top of the stage, and they started singing during the chorus and unf it was ~amazing~ and loud and the part where all the music stops and Nagase just yells into the microphone was WICKED.

14) Sora Fune
The choir stayed for this song too! In fact, they were the intro to the song, singing the chorus all by themselves and WAHHHH IT WAS BEAUTIFUL. And then BAM the band came in and it was crazy and loud and fast (even more than normal, I think XD).

15) Dream & Breeze
OMG YESSSSSSS~~~~~ I LOVE THIS SONG SO MUCH! Though ROFL GUSSAN WHAT WHAT WHAT WHAT. He totally flubbed the first line. Like, almost completely. And then the second time through the chorus when he's the lead singer again he kept biffing up. Clearly he didn't remember the lyrics very well on this one. XD;; But oh Mabo, it makes me laugh and be so impressed that you're able to turn your head like that and sing into the microphone even while you're still playing the drums~ I don't even care that you kept going way flat during your solo lines. XDDD Taichi was so flipping adorable in this one too. Every time it was one of his solo lines he would grab the mic with both hands and just get this huge grin and sing all excitedly~<3

16) HEY! Mr. SAMPLING MAN
YESSSSSS AGAIN I WANTED TO SEE THIS LIVE SO BADLY IT HURT. It was the same version they played at the 2006 Gigs with the crazy awesome intro and then omg they were rocking out so much and seriously Leader I did not think you were that flexible/could move that much and why half the time do you look like you're doing the naughty with your guitar? I DON'T KNOW BUT I LIKED IT. Nagase, Gussan and Leader came up to the front part of the stage and it got all red with this smoke rising up during the bridge part of the song and it was pretty much awesome.

17) Joushou Shikou
When SAMPLING MAN ended, Taichi somehow got up to the stand in the middle where Mabo's drumset was and starting yelling that all of us needed to make peace-signs with him, did a dorky little move, the intro to Joushou Shikou started and he proceeded to leap off of the platform, half-trip and fall down when he landed thus almost killing himself (Gussan was next to him and laughed at him), and then he shot back up and went to the center. Omg guys he was so crazy. He was running around and jumping and dancing and every time the chorus came around everyone was supposed to do peace-signs at him.
And then there was this adorable Taishige moment where Leader hopped up to the center with Taichi and Taichi moved the mic over to him and he yelled... something. LOL I don't know what it was. XD But it was cute.

18) SONIC DRIVE!
This song was great fun! Everybody waved their towels around in the air to different rhythms while it was going on, and everybody kept running around on stage during it. 'Sa good song~ I hadn't listened to it in a while. 😊

19) LOVE YOU ONLY
LOL THIS SONG. Firstly, it was tons of fun because the audience has certain parts they sing along or sing back at them while they're playing it, and I was like afjd;akfj;asdkaf I FEEL LIKE I'M SUCH A PART OF THE FANBASE NOW (;A😉. But secondly, Nagase skipped ahead and did a line from the second verse when it was still the first verse, and it was a line that was echoed by Leader and Gussan, and Leader just got this look as he and Gussan sang the right lyrics and he looked over at Nagase and was trying really hard not to laugh, and then the other three started laughing too and I'm just like... oh Nagase. You screwed up on your debut song. XD;;; It was kind of adorable though. And then on the second verse, Leader got this little face and looked over at Nagase when the line came back like he was seeing if he was gonna get it right this time. XDDD

20) PLUS
After all the craziness of the last song, they all sat down, Leader put on this random but cute little blue jacket thingie, and then talked for like five minutes about PLUS and about how it's a present for all of us and then a random story about how in the beginning someone thought it was 'Last' and that this was going to be his last song? Or something like that? LOL I'm not sure. But it was something like that 'cuz then Leader was all AHH NO NOTHING LIKE THAT I'M NOT THAT OLD! XD; But yeah, then they sang it and it was so cute and perfect and Leader's voice was adorbs and it just totally reinforced my love for the song. When it was done, they all took turns bowing and left the stage.

...which was followed by everyone in the audience clapping for like... 5... 10 minutes. It seemed like a really long time. But then I understood why because all of them had changed clothes, ahaha. They all put on PLUS tour t-shirts, and Leader even wore overalls with his with one of the towels around his head like on the DASH Village and it was way cute <3

Encore:
21) Joushima Song
TALK ABOUT CRAZINESS. Leader was past being sane and all crazy when he announced the song and I was seriously guffawing with laughter at some of the lyrics and pictures. They had pictures of Nagase's hot pants, Gussan got down and did push-ups in the middle of the stage, Leader became the "Leader of the World" and they superimposed him in front of the White House as Barack Obama, and then the repeated cheer for when he did his solo part was "KAMI KAMI KAMI" ("GOD GOD GOD") LOL WHAT? Just, seriously, what, this is so much crack, IDE. And then they just flashed all kinds of really old embarrassing photos of them across the screens.

22) NaNaNa (Taiyou Nante Iranee)
FINAL ENCORE! During the middle of it, they had each of the different parts play to the NaNaNa part, like... first the orchestra played, then the band instruments, then the university(?) choir that sang earlier came out on stage and sang, and then all of us in the audience sang, and then finally everyone sang the last bit together and omg it was so much fun and by this point everyone was just jumping around and all hyped up.

After the song, the orchestra and staff and everyone left until it was just TOKIO and they said their final words. Each of them talked a little bit and we all clapped, and then they randomly walked around from one side of the stage to the next to wave at everyone and again I really really wanted to be on the 1st floor stand area because they all walked up on those side wings which are RIGHT NEXT TO THOSE SEATS and adkjaf;sdkafsd lol. Also cute Gusshige moment where Gussan put his arm around Leader's shoulders and led him a short ways down the stage as they waved~<3 But then finally they left and omg I didn't want it to end it was so amazing and fun and awesome and I didn't think I could possibly love them anymore but it has somehow happened. (;A😉

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Comments

[Katy]

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY
YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY OMG I AM SO HAPPY THAT YOU GOT TO SEE THEM AND IT WAS SO AMAZING AND AWESOME!!!!!!!! JUST REMEMBER THAT GUSSAN RAEPS EVERYONE AND IT'S A LOVE STORY!!!! <3333333333333333333333333333333 okay bye~