6月25日ラルクアンシエルライブ愛媛県 松山文化会館 ヘ(^_^ヘ)(ノ^_^)ノL'arc En Ciel Concert

Are You Ready?!?!
o(^^o)(o^^)o

Photo: Holding My Ticket, Concert Day, Morning, Matsuyama Starbucks...notice huge, dopey grin and slightly lightheaded gaze. Thanks to amake for tolerating said dopey grin all day, what a trooper!

After months of anticipation, I finally got to go to the L'arc En Ciel concert yesterday. Hurray!

I was 6th row, aisle seat, slightly left of center! Words cannot express how much fun it was. In fact, every time I try to articulate the experience I just get all smitten, giddy and fan-girly. Sigh!

It was a long day. I left Ikata early and headed out to the great "pine mountain" (I had to apply for my Japanese work visa extension and reentry permit). Amake came with me and we spent much of the day hanging out together. Later, I met up with K, Andy, Wen-wen, and a friend from work. And off to the concert we went!

Wow, just trying to string along a coherent summary of yesterday is proving to be difficult. I didn't sleep much. So instead of laboring on the details tonight, I want to share with you two memories. Click on the links below so you can experience the music for yourself!

First, the surprise of the evening for me: Turns out I absolutely loved the revised, P'unk En Ciel, version of their song "Honey" (this after listening to it in the car on Saturday and boldly declaring how much it sucked). For those of you who don't know, Punk En Ciel refers to the band's harder, edgier, alter-ego selves. To become Punk En Ciel they don different clothing (Hyde usually wears an eye patch and I think Yuki sometimes wears a gas mask), switch roles (Testu takes over vocals, Hyde on guitar, Ken on drums, and Yuki on bass) and reinterpret/reinvent classic L'arc songs . This metamorphosis occurred midway during the performance yesterday. Just take a look at the before and after and judge for yourself. I think we'll all have to agree that the P'unk version is hokey at best. But I assure you - you have to experience it live to get the humor involved. The best part? Yuki's "one-two-three-FOUR!"

Before: Honey, L'arc En Ciel Video, 1999 (look how cute they are)

After: Punk En Ciel, Honey 2007

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And the best part of the evening for me? The last encore was my FAVORITE L'arc song of all time - Jojoushi (叙情詩 - Love Poem ）. Can you believe it? I have been studying the Japanese lyrics and I can say unequivocally that the words are some of the most beautiful ever written. Please do listen and see if you agree!

Live Version: L'Anniversary, Tokyo Concert, 2006

Translation

Jojoushi, courtesy of http://www.megchan.com/lyrics2/artists/larc.html

No matter how many times the seasons go 'round and change colors
These feelings will flicker like a flower that never withers
I'm thinking of you

The words play together in a comfortable melody
I just want you to be by my side
So I don't lose your smiling eyes
Even on a night when you can't see the shining stars

I'll hold you like the sunlight shining through the trees
That's my unchanging vow
If this is a dream, I don't care if it stays a dream
The joy of heading towards tomorrow, overflowing with the sparkle of love
Is true

The love to you is alive in me. wo- every day for love
You are aside of me wo- every day

You quietly soften
Even the sad memories left behind
Blown about by the soft, playful wind
You're so vivid as you steal me away

No matter how many times the seasons go 'round and change colors
These feelings are like a flower that never withers
If this is a dream, I don't care if it stays a dream
My heart is dyed with the overflowing sparkle of love
I'm always thinking of you

The love to you is alive in me. wo- every day for love
You are aside of me wo- every day

K, you're gonna hate this post

I kind of feel like this rabbit today. I do believe I have the same crazed look in my eyes.

A bit of unnecessary drama in town (related to my visa extension) combined with a long, last-minute drive to/from Matsuyama, way too much caffeine consumption and 1.5 hrs of sleep have done me in. I'm shot!

And to prove it, I just realized I've been walking around all morning with one contact inside-out. I thought things appeared a little fuzzy but I assumed it was exhaustion. Yes indeed, I am not exactly the sharpest knife in the drawer today...

But I'm determined to make it through the day. To help, I've smuggled in outrageous loud music (Miyavi, of course!) which I'm trying (unsuccessfully?) to pass off as Japanese study cd's playing through my earphones and real coffee brought from home (thanks to Andy, not the usual crap).

There is also my sheer will-power and unwillingness to admit that, after last week's b-day, I am just getting older and can't keep up any more. Ugh, what a depressing thought.

Well, wish me luck!

Its the rainy season now. I snapped this photo on my way to an eikaiwa class.

Misaki High School Undokai

I went to the Misaki High School Sports Festival yesterday. It was a great festival and the weather was surprisingly cooperative.

As you can see from the photos below, the boys upheld the fine Misaki tradition of cross-dressing. I'm not kidding...EVERY festival in that town...

Musings

Going Stir-Crazy

Recently I haven't spent any meaningful time outdoors. So last night I left the apartment around 11:30pm, ipod in hand, and took an easy jog around Minatoura to clear my head and decompress. I did this despite the fact that I seem to have dislocated my toe a while back and have been limping like an obachan for several weeks. Come to think of it, something is pinched in my right arm and its lost some mobility (I can raise my arm forward and laterally, but if I try to move it in a circular motion it just KILLS). Actually, things kind of overall ache and hurt, probably because my other muscles have been working overtime to compensate for injuries. My knees, which have always been problematic, aren't doing too well either. These days, each morning begins with an absurd series of acrobatic maneuvers and disjointed ambulations as I try to limp my way out of bed and get body parts moving again. I suspect I would benefit from some combination of the following: a strong massage, a hot onsen, a few drinks, and a good night's sleep.

I fear that if I don't get out of Ikata soon, I may return to Chicago as only a tattered remnant of my former self! (^ _ ^)

Surprisingly, my foot doesn't hurt any worse after jogging then it did before, but my mind feels much clearer this morning.

OSAKA On My Mind...★☆

I had a fantastic time in Osaka. Andy and I arrived there Thursday morning at 6:00am. After an exploratory jaunt around Osaka eki we parked ourselves on curb located near the bus stop and contemplated how it is indeed a sorry state of affairs when coffee shops located near bus stations can not be bothered to open until their doors until 7:30am (positively criminal). I mean, I just don't get it - how does life sustain itself before then?

Our 3 days in Osaka proved to be a whirlwind of activity. I did some of that and realized some of this:

(1) Sometimes you've just got to shake up your routine or else things can become stagnant. As always, travel is the best way for me to do that.

(2) Trent Reznor is sublime.

(3) This, my 7th trip to Osaka, has convinced me that Osaka is a place I need to be in for a while. Maybe after I finish my contract in Ikata?

(4) My experience in Japan wouldn't be as rich without such good friends to share it with...thanks for a fabulous trip, guys!

(5) Whoa, I look completely different with straightened hair. Kind of rock-n-roll in a retro, early '80s, Blondie sort of way. Wierd.

(6) 簡単でいえば: in addition to the usual exploits of shopping and eating our journey took us to the alternative side of Osaka night life as we explored rock concerts, tattoo parlors, and one incredibly cool body-piercing proprietor - er, I mean shop.

(7) After 12 months of fidelity I am ashamed to admit that I cheated while in Osaka. Terrible, I know. Its just that he was so good looking. I loved the feeling of his hands as he stroked my hair and the way he made me feel so beautiful. So PLEASE don't tell Aki - my hairstylist in Ikata - that I am seeing someone else.

日本語を頑張ります

Everyday I make an attempt to learn something - anything - new in Japanese. Progress feels slow and after almost three years in Japan I am bewildered by how there are times when I can communicate effectively and others when I totally lose it. Funny...I can't read a newspaper, understand more than 40% of a movie or sustain extended/abstract conversations. But with my current proficiency I can acquire "adventurous" piercings (I'm not saying anything further), convince the grave-yard shift manager at Lawson's convenience store to give me the L'arc En Ciel concert poster from his window, and hop in a car 25 minutes after taking an overnight highway bus and find a Kendo tournament 5-6 towns away with no previous information AT ALL about where it was going to be held (including even the name of the town!). Effective Japanese deshou?