アンティック‐珈琲店ー復活ライブ - An Cafe Reunion Lives!

So, I have a TON of other things that I'm supposed to be writing about - namely, my three weeks with Guillaume here, which were fabulous and fun and wonderful! BUT for some reason I just keep putting it off and putting it off, and this past weekend I went to Tokyo for the two most amazing days of my time in Japan - An Cafe's reunion shows in Tokyo!!!! They were SO AMAZING that I get giddy all over again just thinking about them. I imagine myself an old woman of, like, 80 or 90 or so (if I make it that long) thinking back to these two concerts and still being overwhelmed with happiness.

DAY 1: 大航海時代
So the first day of the concert was called daikoukaijidai, which means the Age of Discovery.

Even though I was going to the first day alone, Rachael and Martin were so kind as to head over with me early to wait in line to buy goods.

The line looked something like this:

We must have waited for at least 2 1/2 hours, and as a result, I was over to talk myself out of and then retalk myself into (not just once, but SEVERAL in a continuous cycle) the majority of the goods that were sold - as I was buying the goods, I was in a "talk myself into" state, and I ended up spending FAR MORE money than I would have liked.

On a happy note, though, I am SUPER happy with my purchases, several of which I am wearing now.

While waiting, there was a girl across from us that had a HUGE sign thing that she was getting everyone to sign for An Cafe. Of course, I signed it (twice :-P).

When I went in later, the big sign was hanging for everyone to see as they walked in. So cool! I wonder if they received it.
The live itself was amazing, even if I was sitting directly behind the band. Still, I was so close I felt like I could practically touch them. :-) I felt like if I could just find a way to reach out my hand a little bit further, I would be touching Teruki.

A picture I stole without permission from the An Cafe facebook site

They started off with Smile Ichiban Ii Onna, and of course, the crowd went absolutely CRAZY. I think that may be their most popular song.

After playing quite a few AMAZING songs (of course they were amazing, all of their songs are amazing), they did a skit which was absolutely HILARIOUS. Apparently, according to Miku at least, Yuuki thought of it. I guess it was supposed to be like a video game, and Kanon and Teruki were hungry, and Yuuki was supposed to have made food, but he didn't because Takuya didn't give him any ingredients with which to make food.

This is what I was sitting in front of!

And then there was a sea monster that was going to eat all 4 of them, but there were 5 of them, so they were confused. Miku did lots of fun voices and Teruki and Kanon's faces were absolutely PRICELESS. I SO hope they make a DVD of the show so everyone can see it.

I imagined the monster looked like a super cute nyappy character like this

And of course they had an MC section in which Teruki mimicked someone, Ganon, maybe? - I don't actually remember the name because I didn't know who it was, but it was funny nonetheless. Teruki is always funny. He also had lots of funny stories to tell about Kanon (which prompted Miku to say - you guys get along really well, are you maybe doing it?).

Anyhow, at sometime in there, they played Amazing Blue, and everyone got out their An Cafe blue light stars, and the entire crowd was BLUE - it was beautiful to behold!
They also played Jibun Setsumeisho (Self Manual) sometime in there, which is my favorite song from the mini album. They also played quite a few other songs from the new mini album - for one of them, I think it was Saku, Yuuki led us in an absolutely fabulous choreography (according to Miku, he'd spent the last 2 1/2 years coming up with it) - because I'm completely lacking in coordination, it took me a while to get it - but even though I'm completely lacking in coordination, I did manage to eventually get it. Fun times!

They encored with YOU and ended with Bonds (towels flying!), and it was absolutely beyond amazing - no words to describe the perfection!

DAY 2: 原宿奪還
Day 2 was called Harajuku Dakkan, which means Harajuku Recovery (or rescue).

This time I went with Rachael, and we got there a little bit early to walk around Harajuku - there were SO many people dressed up in An Cafe cosplay - I was sort of jealous. I wish I were capable of something like that. I always think I want to cosplay a member of An Cafe, but unfortunately fail.

It was super super fun to look at them all, though.

Me ready for An Cafe!!

When you first went in, there was a stand of the brand that designed An Cafe's clothes this time around, and they had one of those "be a ~insert whatever~" things for An Cafe, so of course Rachael and I took a picture! :-)

On day 2, they started off with Maple Gunman, which is absolutely one of my favorite songs. They also played quite a few other of my favorite songs this day - Kakusei Heroism, Snow Scene, and their last song before the encore - Cherry Saku Yuuki. I was, of course, thrilled beyond belief. There were only a few repeats in the set.

The setup when you first walked into the venue

For Teruki's mimicking MC, he imitated a famous Japanese singer (again, I don't know the singer, and I'm really bad with names, so I don't remember it) - I thought it was funny, but no one was really laughing. So Miku decided that we didn't know how to laugh and conducted a laughing practice session with us, which was hilarious beyond belief.

Miku's laugh is so pure and clear - we all couldn't help but just laugh with him.

They also did the same sea monster skit as the day before - while the beginning was exactly the same, they changed the end up a bit, so it felt fresh and new.

After several minutes of all of the fans screaming Mou Ippai (One more cup of coffee - it's what An Cafe fans scream instead of Encore), they encored with Bonds, and we all waved our towels around like crazy.

Then they ended with Smile Ichiban Ii Onna, the song they had opened with the day before. Somehow, it just felt right.
When An Cafe does something, they do it right, and that is all.

I can't even believe how much I enjoyed myself. I was reminded of why An Cafe will forever and always be my favorite visual kei band. They are just awesome, that is all. More awesome than all of the others.

I took the bus home Monday morning, and I spent the entire bus ride listening to their discography, from first album to most recent.
I'm listening to Amazing Blue now.

So yeah, best two days of my 2 1/2 years in Japan.

An Cafe - THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR GETTING BACK TOGETHER BEFORE I HAVE TO GO HOME!!!!

Sakae Spring + LC5

I have another entry about non-musicy things coming soon, but for now, music awesomeness!

So, I finally decided that the fact that I had been living in Japan for over a year and yet had never been to a concert was just depressing. And that something should be done about it.

So, I bought tickets to see LC5. I didn't know them all that well, but the singer was the singer of An Cafe, pretty much my favorite Japanese band of all time, so I figured they were a good choice. Steven Cayco went with me, and I had a GREAT time!　　I'd say it was about 90% girls there, which was funny, since their sound is pretty hard. The band members also spent about an 10 minutes talking about what makeup they wear and what their favorite brands of makeup are, which was funny, since they're all dudes.



Anyhow, the music was wonderful, the talking wasn't too much, and the environment was fantastic. I had a super great time, and I totally have a new crush on the bassist, Sato. He's so goofy and dopey seeming that I couldn't help but think he was adorable. All the other girls, though, just kept screaming "Aki-sama, Aki-sama." That's the drummer, and he just seemed, well, broody.

Isn't he cute?

The most fun part was that there seemed to be line dances to every song that everyone just seemed to know, and it was hilarious trying to dance along in unison with everyone (and, of course, fail).

So then yesterday, a bunch of us went to Sakae Spring, a summer music fest in Nagoya. It was seriously the most fun I have had in I can't even remember how long.

I went a little bit earlier than everyone, because I wanted to see Namba Akihiro at 3:00.



Yummy Japanese punk rock! Unfortunately, the line to get in was 8 stories long and then out the door. I got there about 20 minutes early (with the help of some very nice Japanese people that showed me the way, because, you know, it's me, so I got lost) but still didn't manage to get in.

The next band I wanted to see though, was also in the same club, so I decided to just keep waiting. And I STILL almost didn't get in. That's how packed this place was. Like, 10 people behind me got in and then it was full.
Still, I got to see Pay Money to My Pain, and they were AWESOME!



They put on an AMAZING show, and I got to headbang and mosh and scream along, and I felt like I like nothing more than a good hardcore punk show.

And then I went to see Skull Candy, and I changed my mind. Ska punk shows are the most fun shows ever!!!!



The singer was just the cutest thing in the entire world, and she couldn't stop exclaiming how HAPPY she was to be in Nagoya. And everyone in the band was just so energetic and enthusiastic, and everyone in the crowd (which was 98% male, which I will admit was kind of weird) was super into the music and skanking and dancing around, and I was filled with extreme happiness. It was WONDERFUL! I'm going to go see them again when they come back to Nagoya in 3 weeks.

Then it ended, and nothing could bring me down. I went to meet up with the others, who were seeing Ms. Ooja, so I got to see the end of her set.



It wasn't bad, but I was still on my high from Skull Candy, and it was hard to come down. Plus, the sound quality was really bad, and she was singing to a dj, which was weird and made it feel like karaoke.

Then, we headed over to see a band whose name I do not remember. They were all right, but they had that double guitar sound (I don't know how to describe it other than that) that I don't really like, so we'll just forget about them.

THEN, we went over to see Rookiez is Punk'd, a band I totally love.



They were SO MUCH FUN!!!! The music was wonderful, but more than that, they were super interactive with the audience, and so everyone was singing along and dancing and laughing, and the atmosphere was just WONDERFUL! The singer was so doofy and happy that I just had to go talk to him afterward. He was SO nice! There's something about doofy happiness that just does it for me everytime.

This songs not particularly pop punky, but some of their stuff is, which made the experience all the more wonderful! I will SO be there when they come back to Nagoya.

The we went to see the end of this dude playing the piano, and it was really pretty and quite good, but I don't know his name, and we only saw one song. I should try to remember his name.

So yeah, basically, yesterday was AWESOME, and I am SO in a concert mood now, and I can't wait to go to lots and lots and lots more! I'm so glad that I'm finally discovering a live music scene in Nagoya that I love! YAY!!!!

Bonne Fete Ste-Audrey!!!!

I am annoyed.
I have been sick for over a week now. And it's not like I feel bad. I don't have a headache or a stomachache or even a sore throat. But I have been using at least 2 12 kleenex packs a day. Normally when I am sick like this, I use about one kleenex a day. This means that I have been using about 23 more than average. It's ridiculous, and I am SO over it.
But really, that's not the real reason I am annoyed.


LM.C (aka Lovely Moco Chang), these boys right here, are the real reason that I am annoyed. Now, most of you know about my love of Japanese music, with emphasis on Visual and Oshare Kei. These would be one of those groups. And while they are no An Cafe, I do love love L<3VE them! And what I especially love is the new single that they have just recently put out: Punky Heart. I mean, how me does that sound? Punky Heart!
So anyway, when I say that Punky Heart came out recently, I mean that the CD version was released a good month ago - sometime a little bit before May 20. And I have been waiting and waiting and WAITING oh so very patiently for Konci to get a copy. Konci is the store right across the street from where I live that sells all sorts of Japanese things. But they STILL don't have a copy. I've even made my way over to all of the Japanese stores on Rue Keller. But no, NONE of them, not a single one, has received a copy of this coveted single. I don't know what to do. I am becoming impatient.


I mean, just look at these dudes - they practically scream AUDREY! I'm ready to be the owner of this CD. I guess I'm just going to have to order it soon.

In other news, today is la fete de Ste-Audrey. Basically, every day of the calendar year is the day of a specific Saint. And June 23 is Ste-Audrey's day. In France, they celebrate these things. The day of the Saint that has your name (if you are so lucky as to have the name of a saint - apparently, I am!) is considered your fete. So anyway, today is my fete. Wish me BONNE FETE! I was so happy that all of my students wished me Bonne Fete this morning. Before that, I thought it was just the older generation that thought about this kind of thing.

I guess this is supposed to be her.

Unfortunately, I have no idea whom Ste-Audrey actually is. I just looked it up, and this is really the only thing I can find about her: that she was an English princess whose real name was Etheldreda (or Aethelthryth - I prefer Audrey, although Etheldreda is pretty cool) and that she took a perpetual vow of virginity and thus had two unconsummated marriages. Oh, and also that she died of an ugly tumor on her neck (I hope that this is no indication of my future) and that the word "tawdry" came from Ste-Audrey and originated from the types of goods they would sell on her feast day.
Interesting.

Harajuku Dance Rock Night

Okay, so An Cafe is basically the greatest band ever to exist. As you all know, I saw them in concert last Wednesday, and it was AMAZING!!!!
First of all, I got there a little bit early, and so while waiting for the concert to begin, I got a great look at all of the outfits that people were wearing, and I really felt like I was at a cos-play festival. There were so many Lolita dresses and parasols and stripes, and I'm convinced that's what it must be like to walk the streets of the Harajuku district (minus most of the makeup). Check out some Harajuku fashion to get an idea. I fit in only because I was wearing lots of stripes and fingerless gloves, which I pretty much always do.


Then the concert started. They were wearing the clothes that they are wearing in oe of the pictures in the new album, and they all managed to look adorable and hardcore all at the same time. And boy, do they know how to rock. They played all of the songs from the new album (which I, of course, bought, and haven't stopped listening to since, with the small exception of when my family was here), plus tons of other old great favorites. Unfortunately, they didn't play Maple Gunman, which is my favorite song. They also didn't play Nyappy in the World 2, which is my other favorite song, but that was to be expected, since they are now at Nyappy in the World 4.

And speaking of Nyappy in the World 4, I fell a little bit in love with Yuki during this song. That's him rocking out on the left there. He was so cute in his little glasses and his polka dot pants. And when he came out from behind the keyboard and was all rapping with Miku (that's Miku to the right there), I don't know how everyone in the place didn't just fall a little bit in love with him. I've been trying to decide whom my favorite member of the group is, and I've been thinking maybe Teruki (the drummer - I unfortunately didn't manage to get any pictures of him) because he says in interviews that he hates cigarettes (like me!), but after the concert, I think it's official that it's Yuki. Even if he is a newbie.

Anyhow, so the concert was awesome, of course. They are such great performers, and I really hope that I will get to see them again soon. Perhaps in Japan next time!!!! I leave you with the above picture (of Kanon of the left, Miku in the middle, and Takuya on the right) and the below video (of Snow Scene - taken with my digital camera and thus of very poor quality. It's also cut off about 5 seconds before the end because my arm was killing me).

Falling Walls and the Wire

What, you may be asking yourself, are those two beautiful pictures of? Well, it's a very interesting story, actually, and some of you may have already heard it.
A very huge slab of concrete fell out of the wall of a building right onto me. Or perhaps I should say slid forwards out of a building down my leg.
I was just minding my own business, leaning my leg on part of what seemed to be a very sturdy building, when a huge hunk of it fell out onto me. And then smashed my foot, crushing into small pieces on the very edges.
The concrete won. Aside from the edges that had crushed off and the fact that it was no longer part of the wall, it seemed to be doing just fine at the end of it all. The one person that witnessed the event actually laughed at me.
These pictures don't really do justice to the size and discoloration of the bruises.

Anyhow, things in Audrey Land are going pretty well. I finished Smallville season 5, which ended amazingly, and I had promised Guillaume that I would start to watch the Wire, so I am now on the 5th episode of the first season.
Now, I have heard many magnificent things about this show from many trustworthy sources (namely, Meg Cabot's blog and Guillaume), and so I am sad and disappointed to say that - I'm just not loving it. Sure, there are funny lines and the characters are interesting and there is a TON of stuff going on. But I just, well, find it without any particular interest to ME. The episodes are just a little less than an hour long, and I can't sit through one without doing a million other things. Today I actually played a level of New Super Mario Brothers while watching. And I checked my e-mails. And I made my lunch.
Maybe that's the problem - despite everything that's going on in the show, I still feel like I can follow without actually paying attention.
Anyhow, I guess I'll just keep watching and maybe eventually it will intrigue me.

Other than that, I decided to read and finished "the Blind Assassin" by Margaret Atwood and was once again disappointed by the Man Booker Prize. At least it was better than the other two. I was mostly just bored with it. I would give it 2 1/2 stars, or 3 if I am being nice.

Now, though, I am reading "the Shack" by William P. Young, which is a book that Kristen gave us all for Christmas (I just accidentally typed that she gave it to us for Kristen), and I am LOVING it! It's very well written, and it raises quite a few interesting topics that really make you think.
One thing I have always wondered is why God, in general, is almost always portrayed as a man. I mean, he is supposed to be nurturing and forgiving and all-loving. These are attributes that are far more often given to a mother than a father. So why has God always been considered more of a father figure than a mother figure. The book gave me a very satisfying answer to this question: ". . .once creation was broken, true fathering would be much more lacking than mothering. Don't misunderstand me, both are needed - but an emphasis on fathering is necessary because of the enormity of its absence."
I would not call myself a Christian. I would not call myself a religious person. But I think I can safely say that, despite its overt Christian undertones, this book is for everyone who has ever been sad or afraid or confused. Which is everyone. And I would thus recommend it to everyone. But maybe I should finish it first.

Aside from books, tomorrow I am going to see AN CAFE!!!!


I am so so so so SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO psyched! Even if I have to go alone. And then on Thursday a mega cleaning frenzy must take place. And then Alex comes!!!! And then Mom and Grandma come!!!! And then Kristen comes!!!! And then we go to Annecy!!!!
Did I mention that I am PSYCHED?!?
Now, I am off to Japanese class.

Happy Valentine's Day!!!!

Okay, so it's a day late, but Happy Valentine's Day, anyway!

Before I write about mine, I'm going to try to update really quickly about everything else that has been happening. I feel like it's sort of all old news now, so it will be "tres vite fait."

Also, before anything, my photo program seems to be bugging. I've managed to add some pictures, but no albums for time being. Eventually, I will be adding a link to an album of New Kids on the Block pictures, at the very least. :-)

Our Stockings!

Guillaume and I had a GREAT (if very late) Christmas together - I got lots of fun presents, including a Nintendo DS with New Super Mario Brothers and a special thing for me to download games on. Guillaume is now wondering if it was a bad decision to offer me said DS, given that I haven't stopped playing since. I have finished Mystery Detective and recently become obsessed with Zelda, and I have decided that I absolutely MUST obtain Zelda for the Wii.
>
I gave Guillaume, amoung other things, a deep fryer that uses only one tablespoon of oil, because he had been talking about it for ages. It's a weird gift, I know, but I hope he liked it nonetheless.


Neil and I at Sacre Coeur
Somehow, this is the only picture I have of the two of us together

Then, a couple weekends ago, Neil came for a visit - he had been working with some guy in Rome, so he decided to come hang out here for the weekend. YAY! It was so good to get to hang out with him. We did lots of touristy things. We actually walked up the Eiffel Tower - it was the first time I had done that, and I enjoyed my experience at the top MUCH more than I did the other time I went up, when it was FREEZING! We also walked around EVERYWHERE - to City Hall, Notre Dame, St-Michel, l'Arc de Triomphe, les Champs Elysees. With Guillaume, we went to Sacre Coeur and then walked around Montmartre, where we had lunch in an adorable little vegetarian restaurant. Everything is so cutesy there. We also went over to Place de la Concorde and walked around Les Tuileries.

On Sunday, Margaret re arrived in France (she will be here on and off pretty much until July - I am super psyched!), while Neil was still here, so we made some delicious African peanut soup and a chocolate chip cake (to celebrate Neil's birthday, which had been just a couple of days before) and had a delicious dinner! YUM!



Getting ready for the New Kids on the Block!

Then the Wednesday after, Marybeth, Guillaume, and I went to see the New Kids on the Block!!!! YAY!!!! It was sooooo much fun! The show was a little bit different than the one I saw in NYC. They played mostly the same songs, but some of them were different, and it was set up a bit differently. I just don't know what I will do if I never get to see them again. Die of sadness, perhaps. I brought a New Kids on the Block shirt for Marybeth, and I wore my super old (and way too small for me) New Kids on the Block sweatshirt. I was interviewd by Les 20 Minutes, and they took lots of pictures of me. From what I gather, though, I didn't actually make it into the magazine. :-( I guess I didn't have the right stuff (credit to Guillaume).

Since the New Kids on the Block, things have been good. I actually got interviewed by another video show thing, Cap 24, the other day about the book I was reading on the metro ("Plum Wine" by Angela Davis-Gardner - my grandmother gave it to me as part of my Christmas gift, and I am loving it!) - once again, I didn't make the cut, and I'm sure it had something to do with how completely inarticulate I was because I was so nervous.

My mother, sister, and grandmother are also going to be visiting me at the end of March/beginning of April, and I am SUPER psyched about that!!!! We are probably going to go to Annecy to spend some time in the north of Provence for the first few days of their visit. YAY!!!!


An Cafe
Oh, and also, AN CAFE, my absolute favorite visual kei band from Japan is going to be playing here in Paris the week before they come. I am more than beyond psyched about this, because I love love LOVE them.

Okay, that's all for now, folks. Be tuned next time for pictures and Valentine's Day with Guillaume!