>>>COUNT DOWN LIVE EVENT ( NACK5 SUPER COUNTDOWN LIVE 2005 ~Challenge For Future~ ) (2005.12.31~2006.01.01 @ Omiya Sonic City)
Omiya is in northern Saitama, only half an hour from my house at the time, but thanks to the snow the Kawagoe Line was shut down, so we went with some slower moving, more transfers JR Lines. We is me and my friend Sarah - who is outspoken about disliking Daisuke, Access, and the whole deal. She came along to see Omiya, or so she claimed. In Omiya we'd meet Rachel, who traveled to Japan for this concert. It was her first time seeing everyone, my first time seeing The Seeker and Hiroyuki Takami. I've seen little Dai-chan!!
We got to Sonic City oooooh, three and a half hours early. There was a small gaggle of fans on benches, and we joined them. The three loud Americans. Note that Sarah the Daisuke-hater was still hanging out here. We were in a sort of lobby underneath the venue... and I heard music from above us. One of the bands was in rehearsal. I didn't recognize the song but... it seriously sounded like Daisuke's synthesizers. I got up and walked over as close as I could get to the grand staircase leading up. I could see the second, third, and fourth floors, and as I watched them and listened to the music I knew it couldn't be Access - it was a woman singing. Was it a woman? But that sounds like DA's keyboarding... It can't be... it is. Oh god, that woman. It's Hiroyuki Takami, and they are rehearsing the new song, aren't they!!! I knew it had to be, and as my mind sorted out how woman like Hiro's voice sounded in person, I tried to memorize how the song went. It was a pretty, pretty song. The song ended. I waited. Then, I heard a song I knew by heart... almost spoiled the show, except I don't let things spoil that way... I jumped up and down and squealed to my friends, EDGE! IT'S EDGE! It was indeed, and I listened for the first time to Access performing one of my favourite songs of all time. Then EDGE ended suddenly... and OMG... now I could hear Night Wave....FANGIRLY HAPPY SQUEAK! I couldn't wait to do the night wave dance I'd seen in the video so many times!! I listened and hear it was a new mix, with a short pause before Hiro sung the words "night wave"... in such a way I knew most of the audience would d the motion too early. So tricky, DA! I was disgustingly happy. I couldn't see them, but I felt the bass vibrations, hear the sounds drifting past... my heart was racing, and I sort of realized then - IT'S ACCESS! I've been in Japan long enough now that I've see DA - ho hum, seen Ken - yes yes, seen D.K - very nice, played Kuroda's tambourine - so sexy... but Access is a little different from Ken solo or "Ken's new band", or DA solo... Access is one of those bands, DA's first. He and Hiro were in it together from the start - with a few years of split-up in between, but whatever - and it would be my first time seeing one of THOSE BANDS everyone thought they'd never see again. I missed the extreme excitement of Hiro and Daisuke pairing back up - but I've heard the stories, of how the web servers at Darwin were completely crashed from the traffic, and people dancing through their houses in joy. I know how sad they felt, because I feel so sad over Iceman. And like Iceman, Access had no hope. Until DA went to see Hiro in a play, and they were re-introduced by a mutual friend backstage... who was that guy, that mutual friend? I owe him. Moving past corniness, is some interestingness - a scalper was about, and Sarah bought a ticket. The Daisuke hater, yes. To see Access and The Seeker. She claimed she was in it for D.K who she adored. It would end up different... When we'd settled into our seats and everything was starting, we watched Annoying!Lady and Stupid!Man talk in very fake actor voices about how much fun it would all be. We were made to cheer for The Babystars (think "the opening act"), D.K (hardly any cheer... i found out later Japanese fans hate him), and Access (the place EXPLODED!). Obviously AXS was where it's at. The Babystars were announced first and so I got up to go lounge on couches outside to save my energy for D.K, DA, and Hiro. Sarah and I doodled in my sketchbook until it was time to head back in... for D.K! We knew it would be D.K because... a dramatic couch was brought out and draped with dramatic curtains.
I could not place the third song when it began. I raced my mind through all The Seeker songs but, no, it was not in there. I suddenly realized my mistake - this song was not The Seeker, it was QMR! DA's Sheltering Sea! What's interesting is that Daisuke performed The Seeker music (Stigma) at his QMR tours months earlier. Interesting. D.K pulled it off quite nicely - who's got a better voice, nasally gasping man-wo-man, or chain smoking techno warp DA? I am... not... quite... sure. I'll admit now nothing that The Seeker did left me hanging. I knew and loved each song D.K sang for us. Yet, somehow, oh god... here comes the corny again.... Sleepless Beauty was next. Sleepless Beauty... it was the first song by DA I ever recognized, the first song I fell in love with. It was my first K.ITO, and my first D.K, and god... I'm writing this report a good six months after this live happened, but I remember it perfectly. And six months later, D.K and The Seeker are officially gone - although it was dead after Kenichi left February of 2004, D.K was still performing, there was just... only so much he could perform with no new music coming out. I assume he and DA were at a loss... is The Seeker that incredibly special without K.ITO guitar? D.K was always the eye candy, but Ken's guitar shaped a lot of the songs into what they were. Like, for example, Sleepless Beauty. Some of the D.K hating crowd were sitting through the performance so far - but the entire place came alive with these opening guitar strains. Everyone was on their feet. It was crazy and amazing, everyone jumping up at once. DA Fans love this song - but I bet I was the only one in there who could claim I was able to learn to love DA Family for the first time with it. "Now, where the light can't shine through, we'll paint a brilliant dancing dream; guided words will not fail, don't fear the times of change..." I screamed. I nearly cried. D.K sang it wonderfully. The pre-recorded sound of Ken's guitar was enough for me to paint my own brilliant dream that he was standing there too with his white guitar, kicking his long legs. In all honesty I had dreamed he might show up for a final Seeker performance, but alas. My happiness bubbled over regardless. D.K finished up with The Seeker's first song ever, my third Seeker song ever (Gather Roses was second): Heavenly Blue. How nostalgic. And finally, a song from the last Seeker album and single to ever come out (though we didn't know at the time), Stigma, which had a very powerful sound live. D.K finished and talked more about his cuteness - aw, he is pretty cute, guys - and walked off stage. Luckily I don't need to type here that "and I never will see him again"... although it did mark the end of my first and last Seeker performance. Good luck, pretty wo-man. Now we were all pumped. ACCESS TIME, BABY. Couch cleared. Preparations prepared. Synthesizers readied. Lights dimmed and smoke poured out. We were screaming like crazy banshees. Oh, god, the power of DA Fans' screams is unmatched in this world, to me, anyway. Daisuke and Hiroyuki walked out at the same time, and the screaming (somehow) got louder, even though they were in the dark... Hiro posing in front of the keyboards, Daisuke readying himself behind them. Lights on!!! Hung me for the Distance!! Aaaaah!!!! ACCESS!! EEEE!!! Okay. Hiroyuki, much to everyone's relief, sounded much less like a woman in person than he had sounded at rehearsal. But, he was wearing a cape... how silly, Hiro, take it off, take it all - oh, and he did, about 40 seconds into the song. He had on a regular white dress shirt, with a scarf looped around his neck and dangling down next to his arms. Daisuke... shocked me with his outfit. Right out of America's HOT TOPIC stores. Leather vest, buttons, leather strips dangling from the arms and legs, high heeled shiny boots, chains everywhere, and when he first appeared a lot of this was covered by a high collar very gothic looking coat, which was also stripped fairly quickly. One with the song - They performed together like it was what they were born to do, DA bouncing at his keys while Hiroyuki's hips went mad. Is this what happiness is...?
Next was a song I was never TOO familiar with until the live: White Lights, a slow, romantic sounding song with more soft rapping in Japanese than singing. We remained paused at our seats, listening and watching again to a song difficult to dance to, but easy to feel won over by. Of course... And after that was Ozone in the native, another song I was never familiar with, but very moved by. EDGE was next. And I was like this: GJHJUIGIHURHGUHREGUHERUTHUHEDGEDGEDGEDGEDGEDGEDGEDGEDGEDGEDGFSUHFSUGYFG EDGE EDGENEWRIFHEUHI EDGEfmskdfsgofd OMGGGGGGGGGG1111111111foursixelephant I can't really describe or write about my happiness. Go listen to EDGE, and you will understand. The "Final" song was another one I hadn't listened to much before, but recently I listen to it everyday, go jogging to it, and remember how....romantic it was to see Daisuke whip out his keytar, and grunt "You just somebody, nobody, somebody, I just somebody, nobody, love somebody, we just nobody, somebody, nobody, we just nobody, somebody, hate nobody..." into his microphone, an intense look in his face as he raps, Hiro standing close by at his side, his sorrowful sounding voice singing his own part, in Japanese I believe even Japanese people can not understand. This song is View of course. I think I love View very much. No - I know I love View very much. From the first time I saw View, I loved View... and now I can't stop listening to the sounds of View as I write my report, or walk through Tokyo. I love thinking of View. Which is the power of LIVE MUSIC - I didn't care for it until I had that memory of Access standing together, singing together. I also got the new memories, of Hiro draping his arms around Daisuke's shoulders, and an oddly funny moment the opposite of what most fans expect... Hiro was running towards Daisuke, who quickly skittered the opposite direction! Hiro caught him anyway.
They chatted a little and interviewed a little: when asked what his number one "hustle" had been that year, DA replied "Hustle hustle?!" and thrust his hips towards Hiro, who leapt for them gleefully. We screeched. Soon it was 11:59 - TIME FOR THE COUNTDOWN PART OF NACK5 COUNTDOWN!!! 5, 4, 3, 2, 1... and I kept my eyes on DA who bounced so cutely, and streamers shot in the air like mad crazy and we were grabbing for them and celebrating two-thousand-and-five. Year of the cock! Everyone left but Access, who resumed their positions and suddenly were performing good old Moonshine Dance!! Old school AXS represent!!! \m/>_<\m/! We danced the Moonshine Dance with Hiro as he hopped from leg to leg - you thrust your arms a certain way, MOON! SHINE! DANCE!... it's a grand time. Was it over...? Noooo, please, I wanted one more song, I was certain they'd do it... ONE MORE SONG!! IS IT... YES!!! Look-A-Head, their signature song, began. We ecstatically sang and danced along with DA - shower (using the shower dance!), washing (wash your back with a towel dance!), drinking power (what's this mean? dunno, but do the flex your muscles dance!). At one point I was watching Hiroyuki's hips thrust to the audience - he was very close to us because he'd run up the stage along the wall. Rachel hit me and I almost was mad - until I turned and saw Daisuke bent over, shaking his little ass with vigor at us. Anger gone, happy feelings only!! DA, such a cute ass! Such a cute DA! JUST YOU, ACCESS!!! Give me Access. The end. They finished up with many bows, and were gone - and I knew I'd see Access again, but it WAS the last time I'd ever see D.K... yes, in his cotton balls. We gathered to head home. Sarah admitted to dancing the Moonshine Dance and screaming DAI-CHAN!!! Haha. Con-ve-ted. Heading home after midnight was supposed to be okay, since trains outta run all night long on midnight - except for the private line running to my town. I traveled for 2 hours by train what usually takes thirty minutes, found the trains stopped in Kawagoe, there were no taxis, and I ended up waiting in the cold from 2:00am until 5:00am when I could get on another train to go home. It was cold - it sucked... but ah, the memories kept
me warm on the inside. <3
Set List
(Access)
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Crazy
times in Omiya... we barely even made it to this live, because Japan decided
to unleash a blizzard upon Saitama the night before the big countdown.
I mean, a blizzard like Saitama has not seen in a long, long time. This
was a big damn blizzard. You can look at photos at the bottom of the report
and think "that's not so bad". It is here, where this amount of snow was
a big surprise!
We
arrived, got Rachel, and snow was still coming down, in those big, poofy,
pillow like flakes kinda way. We snacked an unhealthy lunch in KFC and
prepared to find Sonic City. On the way we stepped into... the NACK 5 record
company store!! And they had all the QMR's out at that time (all but red
I think it was), and Access, and I remember pausing to stare at the gigantic
Ayumi Hamasaki display, and also checking out the L'arc In America DVD.
Things I would never, ever buy.
Divina
Comedia began and D.K walked out very slowly and impressively.
It was obvious from his outline he had on something good. It was good when
the lights were fully on - a purple and golden kimono-like-thing, a golden
crown, and long golden fingernails to match the crown. He held two gigantic
red, feathery fans, that he waved around as he sang the sort of slow, haunting
song. It ended and burst into Kiss for SALOME,
and he did not say "Kiss for Salami". I was disappointed in his correct
pronunciation. Anyway, that song is even better live, with D.K waving his
fans around very creepily, his hips swaying back and forth, his tall, slim
body slithering like a snake whenever he laid down and squirmed on his
back all over the couch. Plus, this wo-man had to continuously stop to
announce that he was cute. He got cuter once he stripped off the kimono
top of his odd ensemble to show off a tight little body suit and his tummy.
THAT was cute! More sexy than cute... seriously, D.K, you fine, girl.
Happiness
is Gin, when the next song on the list was Kiss
my -a- soul, which was the THEME ON MY T-SHIRT I'D FROZEN
MY BOOBS OFF TO WEAR SPECIFICALLY TO THIS LIVE!! Yes, my shirt read "Kiss
my -a- soul", which is of course pronounced the best way possible. This
is a very fast song, and I was impressed to watch them pull it off live,
somehow. They did it! They did it! Then they did ...AAAH!! Night
Wave!! I completely screamed and bounced and did the arm
motion dance so hard that I ended up hurting my arm. The new mix was awesome.
And then Hiroyuki was at the mic - DA really did not say much, if I recall,
Hiroyuki did all of the talking. He told us it might still have some kinks,
but would we like to hear Access' new song, that wasn't due for release
until summertime? Of COURSE we want to hear it, Hiroyuki, what are you
thinking? So we sat back, unable to rock out properly in time with a song
we'd never heard before, a very long (about 7 minutes) song... Catch
the Rainbow, of course, but we didn't know what it was called.
I had a little secret behind my smile. I'd already heard the song, mehehehehehe!
As we listened, without previous knowledge of the tune, it seemed a general
agreement: this song fucking rocks, DA, you've done it again, my magical
angelic gay man.
They
"left", it was over, and... of course not. Everyone came back out, including
the Annoying!Lady and Stupid!Man who have been annoying me during each
break between bands with their fake radio voices. The four boyteen members
of The Babystars came out, with Access in the same outfits, and D.K dressed
like... a traditional New Year's Japanese mochi cake. His skirt was made
of cotton balls, and a red feathery boa was around his neck. His hair was
bobbed mochi - sweet rice balls. Crazy.
PHOTO
TIME!!! Snowy Mayhem! Pretty Venue!
