Ventura would be my last concert this tour, and I was already feeling sad before it even started. My friend and I got to the venue just after 12 and there was already a small line. The band’s tour bus was parked right in front of the venue. There was a Taco & Tequila Music Festival going on nearby, and I honestly half expected Taka and the boys to grab a few tacos before the show.
Taka and Ryota were spotted coming out of the bus a few times. Ryota actually walked in front of where we were lined up and it was cute because he couldn’t figure out how to get into the venue because they had set up stuff in front of the entrance so people couldn’t get in. A few minutes later he was seen across the street, which was really weird because we didn’t see him come out. He must’ve gone out the back way.
Another friend was studying inside the Starbucks across the street when she had the surprise of her life as Ryota walked in, haha. She got to chat with him a little bit as he waited for his drink. It turns out a couple Japanese fans followed Ryota into the Starbucks, and things got a bit awkward when they tried to talk to him. Dude, people, give the guys their space. They’re humans too. If you happen to be there already then lucky you, but don’t follow them around. The guy next to me in line was yelling at Ryota to get his attention when he was across the street, and even turned to me to asking if he should follow him. Uh, no. Don’t do that.
My other two friends joined us later and I spent most of my time chatting with them and the new friends I made on this Even though the VIP email we received had told us to get there by 4:30, it wasn’t until after 5 or so that they checked us in and let us into the venue. We were lined up in the lobby and up the stairs. There were some flyers on the wall outside of the venue to promote the concert and I asked one of the nearby staff if I could have one after the show. The staff asked who I assume was the venue owner and later they came out of the back room with a stack of extra flyers. They gave one to me and my friends, and continued to pass out the rest to some of the other people in line. (So if you got one of these flyers, you can thank me for it! ^_~)
Finally at around 5:30 they let us into the hall. Nat was our M&G host once again and she explained the rules. I asked her if it was all going to be very quick again and she said that it probably will be. Boo… There were lots of murmurs as we waited for the band to come out. There were a few false alarms with staff coming out, but finally the boys stepped out and we all cheered.
At least this time around I knew we wouldn’t have much time so I kept what I wanted to say short and sweet. I said hi to each of the members before giving them a hug. I’m short and Toru is tall so I accidentally bumped my chin on his shoulder when giving him a hug. He said “sorry,” LoL. I thought that was kind of cute and funny. And is it just me or does Toru sound really good speaking English, even if it’s just one word? I told them that they were great at Warped Tour yesterday. They smiled and Taka thanked me. I then asked him if his foot was okay. He seemed a little confused at first but then told me that he was fine. I’m not sure if he meant it or was just saying that though. When it was time to take our photo, I asked them to come in closer. Only Taka and Toru did, maybe because the other didn’t hear me. I put my arms around their waists for the photo. Ryota actually looked pretty decent in my photos this time, which was nice. After my meet and greet, I went over to the barricade where my new friend had saved me a spot up front a little right of center. The M&G ended after 6 and it was only a few minutes before doors would open for GA.
Weathers took the stage once 7:30 rolled around and the first thing I noticed was how horrible the sound system was. I still had fun watching them but the entire time I was also hoping that ONE OK ROCK wasn’t going to sound like this too.
Unfortunately my prayers weren’t answered as the sound was pretty bad for ONE OK ROCK too. For the most part you couldn’t hear Taka clearly when he was singing because the instruments drowned out his voice, and we especially couldn’t make out a thing he said during the MC before Change. We all just nodded and cheered at whatever he was saying. I was on Toru’s side a bit so with the guitar amp there, I heard the guitar notes very well. Pretty cool, actually, though I would still like to be able to hear Taka sing. Also, I don’t know what happened but Taka had some taping under his left knee. You could clearly see it through the hole in his pants. That wasn’t there the day before so I wonder if he injured himself a bit during rehearsal or something. It didn’t seem to hamper his movements however so I guess it wasn’t a big deal, but I was definitely curious about it throughout the entire concert.
The set was the same as Ventura, so you can read my report on that here. I’ll just talk about a few notable things.
During the interlude of Push Back, Taka was dancing around holding the mic on the mic stand. As he went to step up on his little platform to start singing again, the base of the stand came loose. It was pretty hilarious and I immediately thought of Freddie Mercury. Clearly Taka had the same idea. He kind of had a ?? face when he realized the base was no longer attached and you could see him laughing a bit as he was singing. He totally made the best of the situation though and danced around with the baseless mic stand, even kicking the base away at one point.
Before Head High, just as Taka was about to start singing, a guy in the audience bellowed out, “Have my babies!” This caused Taka to pause for a moment and then laugh when he realized what was just said to him. So cute. He really does have an adorable smile.
Toru gave me a little gift during Jaded when he once again squirted water out of a bottle into the audience. The lower part of my shirt received a big splash. Thanks. After, Taka wanted us to make some noise before going to the next song and pretended he couldn’t hear us. He shrugged to Tomoya and finally when we were loud enough, Mighty Long Fall began. As usual, the crowd went wild and Taka called for a WOD. Near the end, I could see my friend next to me head banging like crazy which was surprising, but it turned out she had no choice because the person behind her had put their hands on her shoulders and was practically forcing her to head bang with them, LoL.
PCD immediately set in as soon as the concert was over. I really regretted not being able to go to Anaheim. It was an amazing three days though. I was able to hang out with my good friends, made some new ones, and the concert experience was something I’ll never forget. One of these days I will have to force myself to not touch my phone to record or take any photos and give the boys my undivided attention. In this regard, I kind of wish they would also prohibit photography overseas like they do in Japan so we wouldn’t be distracted. The urge to take photos and video is just too strong otherwise.
Anyway, three down, and my tour had ended. Though I’m still a relatively new fan, I’m so proud at how far the boys have come. I sincerely can’t wait to see them again in January at Yokohama Arena, and hope they’ll be back to the States soon. Until then, the upcoming releases of the Japan Dome Tour and with Orchestra Japan Tour will have to tide me over.
Setlist
- Push Back
- We Are
- Taking Off
- Unforgettable
- Clock Strikes
- Head High
- Take What You Want
- Stand Out Fit In
- Instrumental
- Giants
- I Was King
- Change (Japanese ver.)
- The Beginning
- Jaded
- Mighty Long Fall
Encore
