Dr. Shades's INCREDIBLE Perfume experiences, a 4-part saga

[_Lemmie]

You look a little like Jean Luc Picard in Margaritaville.

I have to ask: Is that a good thing, or a bad thing?

Not a bad thing...

Not a bad thing at all. And you look very happy in your picture with your fellow followers, Dr. Shades. I'm glad you had such a great experience.

[_Dr. Shades]

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The chronicles of Dr. Shades's incredible PERFUME experiences, Part II of IV:

THE CONCERT

Or, further revelations regarding Perfume's popularity

Once my ticket was scanned, I sprinted to the front of the stage, as did everyone else. Alas, there was a chest-high solid-metal fence in front of it so that technical crew could walk back and forth unimpeded, so it was impossible for anyone to be directly adjacent to the stage. The floor was true general admission--standing room only--and although I wasn't in the first row, I was fortunately in the second row, i.e. one person away from the fence.

For the first time ever, they had an opening act. Apparently a member of OK GO!, an American group with whom Perfume collaborated on a song, sponsors or created a side group called Xia Xia Technique and called in a favor, asking Perfume to give them some exposure. So they played from 7:15 to 7:45 or so. Perfume wasn't due to get on stage until 8:00 anyway, so it was okay. Xia Xia Technique's two members reminded me of the old band Devo and had a minimalistic, primarily bass style. I'll probably look them up and listen again.

Once they were done, I took a photo of the people behind me:



People here have complained that Perfume's music must only appeal to pre-teen girls, but as you can see from the photo there's not a minor in sight. It's a regular cross-section of humanity. Take that, haters! You can also clearly see that the venue is sold out (no suprise there).

I then started talking to the guy standing to my immediate left, a guy named James (now a Facebook friend) who'd flown in from Oklahoma, beginning by saying something like, "Oh man, my heart is beating out of my chest! I can hardly believe this!" He told me that he's seen multiple Perfume concerts, but even he still feels the adrenaline start flowing prior to each concert. Over the ensuing conversation he taught me two surprising things:

First, many Japanese fans consider the much, much smaller concerts overseas to be actually superior to the enormous productions inside Japan itself. This is (again) for two reasons: First, among those fans in Japan who win the fan club lottery, it's nearly impossible to get the best seats, no matter how much money one is willing to pony up. This is because the very second that tickets become available, tens of thousands of people are at their computers, clicking like mad to be among the first to buy them. So, by the time you finally get in--however many seconds later--all the best spots are already gone. In America, however, anyone can get a ticket--no fan club or lottery necessary--and if you're willing to get in line early enough you have a good chance of getting respectably close to the stage. Second, in Japan, with so many concert-goers to please there are typically three sub-stages branching out from the main stage--you can see this clearly in many of their YouTube videos--so each girl can get closer to more audience members, and they switch off at intervals. So even if you're lucky enough to be close to one of them, the other two are still way off in the distance. In the United States, on the other hand, since they play at far, far smaller venues, they must by necessity scale down quite a bit and therefore perform on a single stage. Thus you can conceivably be close to all three of them at once or otherwise have all of them in your field of vision at the same time.

The other thing James taught me is that most of the people in the front all know each other, if not by name, then at least by face. How is this possible? It's because many people buy tickets to literally EVERY NORTH AMERICAN SHOW and follow Perfume all around the country--and around the continent, if you count Canada--attending every single one. So they all get to know each other to some extent or other.

Now, referring back to the information contained two paragraphs before this one--that of smaller overseas concerts being superior to larger domestic ones--a good deal of Japanese people "put their money where their mouth is" by flying all the way in from Japan itself to attend the concerts here. Not only that, but plenty of people outside of Japan have also noticed this "smaller is better" phenomenon, and similarly fly in from all over the world. I was already aware that some people had come in from Mexico. James pointed out a guy in front of him and to the left and informed me that he had flown in all the way from Singapore to attend this concert. (That guy heard us talking and jokingly added, "And also to eat Chipotle!") Remember the guy to whom I referred in the original post who was giving out face cards so we could prove our places in line? He was a couple of people to the left of the dude from Singapore. James pointed him out and informed me that he had flown in from Switzerland and was attending every North American show.

So, yeah, you all may think I'm a Perfumaniac, but hopefully you can now see that among Perfume fans, I'm actually quite a lightweight, barely deserving of notice.

Then the lights went down and the cheering erupted. To create a 3-D effect, there was a cloth screen at the front of the stage, and the prelude "movie" was played on it, while another set of accompanying graphics were played on the back wall behind the stage. Three mobile screens were placed mid-stage, and near the end of the prelude you could see, through the cloth screen, A-chan, Kashiyuka, and Nocchi walking in and taking their positions. I was in a state of near-disbelief, 'cause after discovering this band sometime in August 2016, and loving both them and their music so dearly and deeply throughout the intervening two-and-a-half-plus years, I was finally seeing them, in person, with my own two eyes!

Then the concert started in earnest. To get a very good idea of what it was like, click here and skip ahead to the 10:32 mark. Yes, it's the Coachella live feed recording, but that's the part at which they begin performing the same song that they opened with at my concert. The rest of it is quite similar to what we all experienced in San Jose.

Just as Res Ipsa described, the bass was PUMPIN'. One could easily feel it into one's chest and lungs. I guess I was close enough to the stage that it didn't drown out the music itself, so that was nice. I'm a fan of bass, and it doesn't really come across in YouTube videos, so this was an enormous bonus for me.

After a number of songs, they started talking to the audience, just like they do at every concert. When they reached the limits of their English ability, they asked for a volunteer to translate. If you've been following my updates, you'll know that I really, REALLY wanted to be the one chosen to translate for them, so much so that I bought that long-sleeved flourescent yellow shirt that you saw in the opening post specifically to stand out from the crowd and hopefully be noticed by them more easily. Kashiyuka and Nocchi did the choosing, and although they scanned over me a couple of times, I don't think they made eye contact with me. All the while I was screaming, in Japanese, things like "I can translate!" and "I can speak Japanese!" Others around me heard this and kindly started pointing me out.

Alas, however, I wasn't the one chosen. Although they try to pick native-born people, they went with an obviously Asian woman for whom English wasn't her native language. Remember the two guys flanking me in the photo opening post? Well, they were directly on either side of the woman translating.

Perfume talked about purposefully avoiding shopping on this tour up until then so that they wouldn't have so much stuff to haul home. But the day before, the dam burst and they couldn't restrain themselves anymore. A-chan was debating whether to buy a certain lipstick, but then Nocchi walked up with about six tubes of it. A-chan said, "Her lips aren't that big, are they? Why so much make-up for such a small face?"

After that fun segment, the concert continued in earnest. Most likely as a courtesy to the people behind us, we had all been heavily instructed/encouraged to not use our phones, especially not to record or live stream on pain of being ejected. Although most people complied, I knew I had to take at least a couple of photos surreptitiously for memory's sake or else I'd regret it forever. Here's the first one, taken from just over chest height so as not to be in the way of anyone behind me:



From left to right we have Kashiyuka, A-chan, and Nocchi. They're in the same order in this next photo, too:



So, which specific songs did they perform? Their setlist, in its proper order and along with the corresponding clickable music videos, is up at this website. I was very fortunate in that they performed "Secret Secret," probably my second favorite of theirs. They also performed "Butterfly," another one that's among my personal top five or thereabouts.

Knowing how much of a fan I am, you can probably imagine how much I enjoyed the whole show. Let me tell you, seeing them live is a very, very far cry from seeing them in a YouTube video. All the tightly-choreographed dance moves being performed with laser-like precision was far more impressive in person. From beginning to end, seeing them live, and not on YouTube, was more than just a dream come true, it was like being in a dream itself. Even though I was actively seeing it, I was only barely believing it.

After about an hour and a half, just like all other things it came to an end.

END OF PART II (What's this? A cherry on top is still on the way?)

[_Jersey Girl]

OMG! I am loving this! Your pics are freaking Ah-mazing!



I want to see and hear about the cherry on top! Omg you are killing me over here!

[_Jersey Girl]

I will never be able to get such pics of the Stones providing they are able to reschedule our concert. I'd have to drag out my old 35mm and long lens to get anything remotely like the pics you have taken and who wants to drag around a lens that size anyway? But still, I might try it.

You are so lucky that you could be so close to the stage! Our venue is a football stadium and at this point we'll be doing good if they still use the catwalk or if Jagger is even able to go out there now and do the alleged 12 miles he covers in a concert. Or if they can even fit us in to the revised schedule of which I am doubtful.

I'll just die if I can't see them. And yet I will wish them well.

Thanks for these reports so I can live vicariously through your exciting experience! It's pretty darn contagious.



[/envy] [/self pity]

[_Some Schmo]

People here have complained that Perfume's music must only appeal to pre-teen girls, but as you can see from the photo there's not a minor in sight. It's a regular cross-section of humanity. Take that, haters! You can also clearly see that the venue is sold out (no surprise there).

LOL

OK, sir. I stand corrected. You were right and I was wrong. Check out that crowd. Perfume has fans.

Hey man, I'm completely jazzed you had such a good time seeing one of your favorite acts live.

Like Res, I guess I got a soft spot.

[_subgenius]

...


...It's a regular cross-section of humanity....

humanity=black hair male asians?

[_Dr. Shades]

humanity=black hair male asians?

You can't see any of the females or the non-Asians?

[_Res Ipsa]

People here have complained that Perfume's music must only appeal to pre-teen girls, but as you can see from the photo there's not a minor in sight. It's a regular cross-section of humanity. Take that, haters! You can also clearly see that the venue is sold out (no surprise there).

LOL

OK, sir. I stand corrected. You were right and I was wrong. Check out that crowd. Perfume has fans.

Hey man, I'm completely jazzed you had such a good time seeing one of your favorite acts live.

Like Res, I guess I got a soft spot.

That’s not such a bad thing.

Shades, I’m really glad you had such a good time at the concert. Love your pics.

But there are two more parts to your story. What’s coming up next?

[_Dr. Shades]

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The chronicles of Dr. Shades's incredible PERFUME experiences, Part III of IV:

THE ENVIABLE AFTERMATH

Or, a perfect way to cap off the evening

When the lights went back up, I meandered around and talked to more people. Two of the folks I met were female friends of each other, one of whom had "cosplayed" Perfume's "Spending All My Time" video. They were among those who had flown in all the way from Japan just for this concert.

I leisurely made my way over to the lost and found area to pick up my jacket, hat, and book that I'd ditched behind a door prior to the concert starting. There was an item of concert merchandise I wanted--they sell these square pins sealed inside opaque packaging, and the pin inside features one of 67 different album covers, single covers, or promotional photos, so which one you get is always a surprise--so I went over to the swag vendor. I then found out that taking my time walking around and talking to people after the concert was a BIG mistake. (I knew not to try to buy anything before the concert, since I'd need to claim the best possible place in front of the stage without a second's delay.)

The reason it was a mistake was because the line for official merchandise was ENORMOUS. I'd almost swear it was comparable to the line prior to concert itself. A mass of people snaked from the display case and cash registers all along the wall, around the corner, down the hall, and in front of the other stage in the venue. I saw the end up ahead, then upon closer inspection realized it was only a fire marshall-enforced break in front of an exit. After the exit, the line picked right back up and went all the way back along the wall, nearly to the original foyer itself. After some internal debate, I thought to myself, "What the Hell, you only live once" and walked to the end of the line, and there stood a woman wearing a jacket that identified her as a venue employee. She said that that was the end of the line and that she couldn't let anyone else in. "What?" I exclaimed, then asked her how much earlier she had taken up that post. She said I'd missed my chance by about 30 seconds. DANG!

So, let this be a lesson to you: The next time you go to a Perfume concert, if you wish to get any official swag, once the lights come up you must SPRINT to the merchandise case. No meandering, no hanging out on the floor. (This turned out to actually work to my advantage, believe it or not--read on.)

Oh well, lesson learned, I guess. I walked outside and was about to call for an Uber, then I got to thinking: "There's a YouTube video of people waving to and greeting Perfume as they entered the theater for their Cologne, Germany gig, so maybe people are planning to wave good-bye to them as they leave this theater. I came all the way here, and you only live once, so why not at least check?"

I walked around until I saw a loading-dock style area, and sure enough, from my angle I could see a tour bus and two full-sized tractor-trailers backed up to the building. There was an open metal gate with a guard sitting nearby, and a few other concert-goers were standing around. I walked up and talked to them; one was a guy who had similarly flown in from Japan, not just for this concert but to see some basketball games, too. Another guy was clearly Japanese but I didn't catch whether he'd flown in just for this (as opposed to being an exchange student or something). This latter guy had an enviable armful of official merchandise: Multiple T-shirts, a concert DVD, and of course a copy of the "Future Pop" album itself (the one for which Perfume was touring in support, of course).

There was no telling when they would depart, of course, but I reminded myself that I literally had nothing better to do. What else was I going to do; go back to the motel and sit around watching T.V.? That was going to happen sooner or later anyway. At least this way I wouldn't be tormented with curiosity over what might have happened had I stuck around.

So I stayed. Venue employees started filing out, headed to a close-by parking garage. Two of them stopped and talked, and one of them shared a few surprising things: First, he had been shoulder-to-shoulder with whom I concluded was Nocchi backstage at one point. After I did the obligatory Wayne's World-style "we're not worthy!" routine at him, he continued by telling us that Perfume's staff and stage crew were among the most polite and respectful with whom they'd ever dealt. It didn't stop there; he similarly said that Perfume's fans were also among the best they'd ever hosted: There was no shoving, no fighting, no arguing, no drunkenness, and no belligerence from anyone.

To top it off, he revealed an interesting tidbit: On an almost nightly basis they deal with musical acts of which they've never heard and whom they don't know from Adam. He and the other employees have a litmus test by which they discern which groups are popular and which ones aren't: The speed at which the fans move from the front doors to the stage. As soon as they saw all of Perfume's fans literally SPRINT to the front of the stage, they knew that they had a very popular group on their hands.

After this, I got to chatting with the guard by the gate, and he talked about seeing the three members of Perfume when they arrived at the venue earlier in the day, sometime around 3:00 p.m. They showed up in a scaled-down limousine, and he had to have the driver roll the tinted windows down so he could verify whether the occupants were authorized to enter the premises. Ergo, he got to see the three of them up close and rather personal. Pretty cool, I thought, but wasted on him because he doesn't know the magic that is Perfume!

At about 11:00 p.m. a smaller-sized SUV-type vehicle pulled in with darkened but not entirely tinted windows. Could this be their transport to the hotel? It pulled around a wall and out of sight. The guard helpfully walked several steps inside the gate to observe the goings-on, then when the headlights swung back around he walked back toward us giving an affirmative signal of sorts. This was it!

The vehicle pulled out, and the four of us stood to the side shouting "Thank you!!" while waving exuberantly. Like I said, the windows were darkened, but adjacent to one window, clearly visible, sat A-chan, who smiled and waved at us as she passed in front of us!

AWESOME!!

We were all HEAVILY stoked. The other two went off in different directions, but the guy who'd flown in from Japan and I walked back around to the front of the venue. We were both tripping on Cloud Nine. We unanimously agreed that the experience of being acknowleged and waved at by A-chan was pretty much equivalent to the entire experience of the concert itself.

Back at the front of the theater, I was curious and took a look back inside. Sure enough, the line for merchandise was still in full force. You can probably guess where I'm going with this, but remember how I said a earlier that not getting a spot in line ended up working in my favor? Yes: Had I still been in line, I would've missed out on A-chan smiling and waving at me. Maybe not me personally--I couldn't see whether she made eye contact with me in specific--but she smiled and waved at us four collectively. Hey, when it comes to Perfume, I'll definitely take what I can get!

So, that was an utterly fantastic "cherry on top" of the concert. Definitely a finale to remember.

END OF PART III (It can't possibly get any better, of course. . . or can it??)

[_Dr. Shades]

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The chronicles of Dr. Shades's incredible PERFUME experiences, Part IV of IV:

THE UNTHINKABLE

Or, as if I hadn't gotten my money's worth already

(Preamble: Did you notice that the title of this thread uses the word "experiencES," plural?)

The poor Uber driver had his ear talked off by me on the way to the motel, which I'm sure surprises none of you. It was clear that he was becoming more and more intrigued as the ride progressed; not so much by the concept of a Japanese electro-pop group but by the fact that they could be so popular in their native country and, I wager, that they could inspire such exuberance and devotion in a fan like me. He told me he'd have to look them up.

Other than the single bowl of cereal before leaving home, I hadn't eaten or drank anything all day. It was nearly midnight, and fortunately there was a Denny's restaurant across the parking lot. Murphy's law struck again, though, and it was closed for remodeling. The only other place in sight was a gas station next to it, so I spent over $9.00 on gas station food.

The next day it was back to the same gas station for a $2.00 pack of gum since I didn't have my toothbrush or toothpaste with me, then a leisurely walk to the airport. I got lost and walked to the wrong terminal, but two helpful employees directed me back in the right, uh, direction. After going through the T.S.A. checkpoint and finding my gate, I sat around for a while, playing on my phone (big surprise).

I don't know about you, but I *hate* having to use the restroom on a plane, because by the time you have to go badly enough to stand up and actually do it, Murphy's law kicks in and the pilot turns on the "Fasten Seat Belt" sign.

So for that purpose I'd adopted the same strategy as the day before, that of not drinking anything all day. I decided to get up, find the nearest restroom, and use it a half hour prior to my flight. I then took a seat across from it and waited a while.

As I was sitting there, minding my own business, three people suddenly entered my field of vision, walking left to right, roughly four feet in front of me.

Any guesses on who they might have been?

Seriously? Any guesses at all?

Go ahead. Give it a shot.

I'll wait.