Fan Account: #AFTERSCHOOL – PlayGirlz Encore Concert 120617 [2nd]

Jacked this fan account from chuujitsunashinmin

Well, I finally saw After School in concert.  Yes, I did get to see them at the Shibuya 109 Girls’ Festival, but that was only three songs.  This time it was just my girls, and it was delightful.
The highlights, for those short on time or whatever:
- I was sick and may have had to run to the bathroom at any moment.  This made all the standing especially difficult.
- The creepy uncle fans were back, but we didn’t have to be near them this time.
- THERE WAS THIS HOT GIRL IN FRONT OF US IN LINE OMG
- Meetspo staff has no idea how to seat people
- E-Young may or may not be used to having fans
- Broken Heart, Miss Futuristic, and E-Young’s guitar solo did not happen
- Kahi did several things and there was a LOT of crying
- I met Kahi’s mom
- I got a poster signed by E-Young

Now for more concrete details (concretails?) that do not necessarily pertain to the concert, as I feel they are necessary to establish the background of my current deathly fatigue.

I got up around seven in order to do all my shaving and hair and stuff, but my stomach felt really weird.  It was this vaguely uneasy feeling that I might have to throw up.  I was NOT happy about this, because After School is not something I can miss, ever.  At ten I had to go buy more tickets, this time for Yousei Teikoku in July, and I was so nervous that they’d be sold out that my heart rate seriously went up by a lot.  I was really worried that something was wrong with me, which didn’t help my stomach.

Anyway, I got those tickets, and before long it was time to head down to Tokyo Dome City Hall/Meetspo.  From here, I had to go to Ikebukuro, then Shinjuku, then Suidobashi by train, which was more than a little difficult considering how messed up I still was internally. I even brought a sick bag with me in case of an emergency.  This was not making me feel any better, but when I got to the venue I was able to buy some bread and a melon drink and I felt a bit better.

My brother and I were constantly greeted by people that had seen us at the Shibuya 109 thing, whether we actually spoke to them or not.  Those creepy uncle fans were back, but this time around they didn’t seem to be bothering anyone.  It was probably too crowded to get away with being creepy the way they were last time.

Waiting outside was horrific, because not only was there not a good place to sit, but it was very, very hot.  On top of that, Arashi had just finished a show at Tokyo Dome, so the street was crowded with girls leaving that.  Combine all these things I’ve said so far and try to imagine how I felt for most of the day.

As for the good things, there were many.  Though the way you got them was kind of a rip-off (buy about $30 worth of Lady Luck and get a poster signed by a random member), someone we met ended up with a poster signed by E-Young.  There was also a pair that we’d apparently met before that just carries around duplicates of the photo cards you find in After School’s albums, and they gave me E-Young’s from both Lady Luck and Diva (pictured above).  Guess what’s I’m keeping in my wallet from now on.  Also, there was an enormous banner for Kahi that everyone could sing, so I wrote a short message in English next to her picture’s shoulder.

The goods on sale were the same as they’d sold at the other Japan tour concerts — towels, light sticks, that kind of thing.  I bought a hair tie which actually broke but can still be used (pictured) and a towel, because I’ve always wanted a towel with an idol group’s name on it.  I didn’t get anything else out of concern for my return train fare, and I felt like the fan I made for E-Young was all I really needed anyway.

So when it was seating time, we were all corralled into groups and then seated INDIVIDUALLY.  There were probably 3,000 people at this thing.  Also, once you’re inside at a Japanese concert, the section number on your ticket flies out the window and you can pretty much stand anywhere.  That’s why, Meetspo staff, you don’t seat different sections of equal value one after the other.  I understand letting the fan club in first, but to let the normal seats in at separate times could’ve really  ruined it for someone who thought they had good seats, i.e. me.

It wasn’t ruined, however, because I was still able to get relatively close.  Plus, it was After School, so just being there felt like a privilege.  When the concert started (with Rip-Off), my E-young fanboy mode was fully activated, and screaming ensued.  Much, much screaming ensued.  Luckily for me, E-Young spent a lot  of her time on my side of the stage, so I got to see her very well.  She even noticed me a few times, though the waving this time was less frequent.  I don’t think she’s used to having fans yet, because any kind of enthusiasm directed at her gets shy waves in return.  Either that, or she just tries to avoid looking.  Anyway, she’s shy.

The set list was a little different than the other stops on the tour.  They skipped both the performances I was most looking forward to seeing (Broken Heart and E-Young’s guitar solo), but there was a good reason that I’ll get to later.  Orange Caramel performed, however, which was absolutely hilarious, and they announced their Japanese debut. After seeing the three songs they did, I now love them even more.  As for other songs, Dilly Dally is actually considerably better live, even though the studio version is in no way bad.  I’ve also gained a new appreciation for the choreography of Just in Time, because everyone looks adorable when they do the part in the chorus.

I really need to get to bed so I can start feeling better, but my brother Akashi gave most of the other details.  One thing he didn’t write, though, was that I got Raina to do rock fingers by accident.  At one point the dance called for everyone to point upward, but Raina had just seen me doing rock fingers an accidentally did that instead.  Pretty funny stuff.

Kahi’s graduation was the reason they skipped a few songs.  She did three songs to commemorate the occasion: Into the Night Sky, Come Back You Bad Person, and Gift.  She has REALLY leveled up her singing ability since the group’s debut, and at her best she’s probably on par with Raina in terms of vocal quality.  No one works harder than Kahi.  Also, when she finally said her goodbyes, everyone cried, but Nana, Jung Ah, and E-Young did so to the point that they couldn’t talk very well.  It was all very moving.  They closed with the world’s groupiest hug.

After the thing was over, we met the people we knew outside and the girl that got the E-Young poster sold it to me.  There it is.  SCORE.

Also on the way out, we ran into Kahi’s mother, who had been present on the first floor balcony during the concert.  She looks exactly like Kahi.  I told her that “America loves Kahi!” and she thanked me in Japanese for some reason.  What a nice lady.

Also Kaeun wasn’t there for some reason. [chuujitsunashinmin]

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