I need to stop falling in love with singers.
My heart is still pounding. I don't know where to start.
Guess the beginning is usually a good place, so I'll start there.
On the Sunday after the FLOW live, I went to Sagamihara to see an enka concert. Enka is essentially a traditional form of Japanese music that is accompanied by instruments such as the shamisen (Japanese guitar). However, modern enka often features electric guitar, drums and bass, but it is by no means "hard" music. If anything, it sounds pretty old-fashioned and does not typically appeal to the younger generations, although there are exceptions. The singing style is perhaps its most distinguishable point. It is often compared to genres such as blues and often includes narration, especially at the beginning.
I like to listen to enka, but not to the extent where I would have it handy on my smart phone or anything. But when I hear it somewhere, I enjoy it. A good friend of mine who is pretty well versed in J-Rock bands and news shared a video on Facebook about D'espairsRay's drummer Tsukasa debuting as an enka singer. Intrigued, I watched it and immediately decided to find out more about this event. All I had was a link at the end of the teaser, which lead me to a website that only had a flyer in image format. I did some research and managed to find the address though I couldn't read most of the kanji, and called the next day to book a ticket. There was no other way to buy it, though I usually get my tickets from websites or ticket-vending machines in convenience stores. It was a lot of trouble, but today, I am so glad I went to that extent for it.
The day of the performance finally came and I was a bit nervous. It seemed to be a small-scale event but I had no idea what to expect. I wasn't a big fan of Despa until a few weeks (days) before the show, when I listened to their songs because it seemed like the right thing to do. Finding the venue wasn't a problem. The line wasn't too long and I had no trouble getting to my seat (which ended up being a pretty damn good one!). There were goods on sale, but as for Tsukasa, no album has been released yet, so we could only buy light sticks with his name on it. I expected most of the audience to be made up of elderly people, and I was partly right, but there were also a lot of girls my age, and even a few other foreigners present. Most of the audience could be divided between fans of Tsukasa and fans of Handa Koji. (There were two other singers, but he was the 'main' guy, I suppose.)
The whole thing was pretty enjoyable. I actually liked Handa Koji and "Hama-chan"'s songs, though it isn't the kind of music I would usually like. They were pretty badass for their age. I can see how grandmas would like them. :-) Most of their outfits were quite fabulous. (Handa's first outfit was a pink, sparkly suit with a fitting (fitted) pink undershirt. It was so fitted he didn't have pockets to put the gifts his fans brought him to the age (inside joke).) Their talk was funny to listen to (what I understood of it at least). The only singer I didn't really like was the girl, Yuki Lee. She's actually an active singer in London from what I could gather, but she hasn't performed much yet in Japan, so she was among the newcomers that day. Anyway, she had a solid, beautiful voice, but she didn't sing enka at all. It was all ordinary, boring pop. Nothing overly impressive there. She is talented but I didn't like her songs at all.
Besides, I had come to see someone else.
On the Sunday after the FLOW live, I went to Sagamihara to see an enka concert. Enka is essentially a traditional form of Japanese music that is accompanied by instruments such as the shamisen (Japanese guitar). However, modern enka often features electric guitar, drums and bass, but it is by no means "hard" music. If anything, it sounds pretty old-fashioned and does not typically appeal to the younger generations, although there are exceptions. The singing style is perhaps its most distinguishable point. It is often compared to genres such as blues and often includes narration, especially at the beginning.
I like to listen to enka, but not to the extent where I would have it handy on my smart phone or anything. But when I hear it somewhere, I enjoy it. A good friend of mine who is pretty well versed in J-Rock bands and news shared a video on Facebook about D'espairsRay's drummer Tsukasa debuting as an enka singer. Intrigued, I watched it and immediately decided to find out more about this event. All I had was a link at the end of the teaser, which lead me to a website that only had a flyer in image format. I did some research and managed to find the address though I couldn't read most of the kanji, and called the next day to book a ticket. There was no other way to buy it, though I usually get my tickets from websites or ticket-vending machines in convenience stores. It was a lot of trouble, but today, I am so glad I went to that extent for it.
The day of the performance finally came and I was a bit nervous. It seemed to be a small-scale event but I had no idea what to expect. I wasn't a big fan of Despa until a few weeks (days) before the show, when I listened to their songs because it seemed like the right thing to do. Finding the venue wasn't a problem. The line wasn't too long and I had no trouble getting to my seat (which ended up being a pretty damn good one!). There were goods on sale, but as for Tsukasa, no album has been released yet, so we could only buy light sticks with his name on it. I expected most of the audience to be made up of elderly people, and I was partly right, but there were also a lot of girls my age, and even a few other foreigners present. Most of the audience could be divided between fans of Tsukasa and fans of Handa Koji. (There were two other singers, but he was the 'main' guy, I suppose.)
The whole thing was pretty enjoyable. I actually liked Handa Koji and "Hama-chan"'s songs, though it isn't the kind of music I would usually like. They were pretty badass for their age. I can see how grandmas would like them. :-) Most of their outfits were quite fabulous. (Handa's first outfit was a pink, sparkly suit with a fitting (fitted) pink undershirt. It was so fitted he didn't have pockets to put the gifts his fans brought him to the age (inside joke).) Their talk was funny to listen to (what I understood of it at least). The only singer I didn't really like was the girl, Yuki Lee. She's actually an active singer in London from what I could gather, but she hasn't performed much yet in Japan, so she was among the newcomers that day. Anyway, she had a solid, beautiful voice, but she didn't sing enka at all. It was all ordinary, boring pop. Nothing overly impressive there. She is talented but I didn't like her songs at all.
Besides, I had come to see someone else.
When Tsukasa came out, he was greeted by, you guessed it, high-pitched voices screaming his name. I was one of them. (To my horror, when I listened to my recording, I recognized one of the voices as my own...) What can I do? It's in my nature. I have known about D'espairsRay for a long time, and I truly liked what I had heard, but I never, for some odd reason, sat down to really listen to them properly. What an idiot I have been. They are probably one of the best J-Rock acts I've ever listened to (at least in my taste). Among all tracks that I listened to recently, there wasn't one song I disliked. But moving on...
Tsukasa came out wearing a very long outfit (that might have been a kimono) with sleeves as big as thrice his body (he's really tiny though). It was mostly red with black accents here in there (like cuffs and collar, if I'm not mistaken) and black shoulder pieces that looked like they had studs (but they might just have been sparkles, t'was a glamorous show after all). His hair was flipped back with pins that kept it secured against his temple on one side, and he had blonde wavy extensions that fell down his shoulders on his chest. He looked absolutely stunning. Heaven-sent. There are no lesser words to describe him. My seat was in the eight row, and besides, the venue was pretty small, like an auditorium, so I could see him very well (and of course, he could see us just the same). His senpais talked a little about him and the warm welcome he had been given. We were told that we had been seated according to who we had come to watch, so all the Tsukasa fans were on one side. Not sure how I felt about that, but I'm not sure it was such a good idea... Anyway, the three men fooled around for a while, and then everyone left until only Tsukasa remained.
Tsukasa came out wearing a very long outfit (that might have been a kimono) with sleeves as big as thrice his body (he's really tiny though). It was mostly red with black accents here in there (like cuffs and collar, if I'm not mistaken) and black shoulder pieces that looked like they had studs (but they might just have been sparkles, t'was a glamorous show after all). His hair was flipped back with pins that kept it secured against his temple on one side, and he had blonde wavy extensions that fell down his shoulders on his chest. He looked absolutely stunning. Heaven-sent. There are no lesser words to describe him. My seat was in the eight row, and besides, the venue was pretty small, like an auditorium, so I could see him very well (and of course, he could see us just the same). His senpais talked a little about him and the warm welcome he had been given. We were told that we had been seated according to who we had come to watch, so all the Tsukasa fans were on one side. Not sure how I felt about that, but I'm not sure it was such a good idea... Anyway, the three men fooled around for a while, and then everyone left until only Tsukasa remained.
So I had heard his voice a little in the teaser video and it looked pretty good but I never expected him to be THAT great. I am so buying his album when it comes out! I don't listen to enka on a daily basis, but I guess you could say I like it still. I much prefer male voices, though. His was deeper than he "looks" (if that makes sense), but he also managed to hit pretty high notes and nailed those tremolos like a boss. All in all, he sang three songs. During the first one, which was a bit more fast-paced, he really got into the mood, imitating the older singers' swaying, one-two steps and wide sweeping arm movements, complete with the bright smile. Pretty old-fashioned stuff, but then again, enka isn't what you would call 'modern'. It was a little funny, but he looked absolutely adorable doing it. He was also so polite during the talk segments! ;A;
Like "TSUKASAでございます。" (Tsukasa de gozaimasu - I am Tsukasa... but pretty formal!)
At the second song, he pulled a lightstick out of his outfit, if I remember correctly. We yelled "TSU-KA-SA!" to the beat in the beginning, and in the chorus, when he said "ポイポイポイ！" (Poi poi poi!), we were asked to do little gestures with our lightsticks. It was a pretty good song! I thought it to be more beautiful than the first one, but the third song was even more magnificent.
When the third song came up, he was brought a flute by a woman from the staff. A FLUTE! With that costume of his, he was like a moving work of art, or a hero from an epic folk tale. As if his performance wasn't mindblowingly sublime and elegant enough already... ;A; His movements were graceful and smooth as his voice, and made the crowd "ohh" and "aww" in wonder. My favourite part is the chorus, where his voice reaches impressive high notes. What a delightful debut he made on that day! I'll never forget this moment. I really think we should have high hopes and expectations for this rising enka heartthrob.
Finally, dring the very last song, "Matsuri, which all singers performed together, he kept fooling around, pretending to sing when it was not his turn and imitating his senpai, or making cutting gestures with his fan as if it were a katana. (Not the person, the accessory!) A very convincing samurai act, indeed. Of course, it was all to make his fans laugh, and it worked (not that he had to try very hard). We were all giggling like a bunch of crazy women. I felt sorry for the other singers who must have been wondering why we were laughing... XD
Like "TSUKASAでございます。" (Tsukasa de gozaimasu - I am Tsukasa... but pretty formal!)
At the second song, he pulled a lightstick out of his outfit, if I remember correctly. We yelled "TSU-KA-SA!" to the beat in the beginning, and in the chorus, when he said "ポイポイポイ！" (Poi poi poi!), we were asked to do little gestures with our lightsticks. It was a pretty good song! I thought it to be more beautiful than the first one, but the third song was even more magnificent.
When the third song came up, he was brought a flute by a woman from the staff. A FLUTE! With that costume of his, he was like a moving work of art, or a hero from an epic folk tale. As if his performance wasn't mindblowingly sublime and elegant enough already... ;A; His movements were graceful and smooth as his voice, and made the crowd "ohh" and "aww" in wonder. My favourite part is the chorus, where his voice reaches impressive high notes. What a delightful debut he made on that day! I'll never forget this moment. I really think we should have high hopes and expectations for this rising enka heartthrob.
Finally, dring the very last song, "Matsuri, which all singers performed together, he kept fooling around, pretending to sing when it was not his turn and imitating his senpai, or making cutting gestures with his fan as if it were a katana. (Not the person, the accessory!) A very convincing samurai act, indeed. Of course, it was all to make his fans laugh, and it worked (not that he had to try very hard). We were all giggling like a bunch of crazy women. I felt sorry for the other singers who must have been wondering why we were laughing... XD
Here is a recording of Tsukasa's songs:
At one point, I could swear Tsukasa looked at me (or around me - in any case, it was right in my direction) and smiled/bowed. He has such a beautiful smile... I melted in my chair and my heart skipped a beat. I might have started blushing, too. (>_<)
Fuck, I went full fangirl. Nah, seriously, I behaved myself, but...!!!
I shook Tsukasa's hand!
At the end, I hurried towards the goods booth because I had been told they would sell Polaroid pictures. I was like second in line. There was a signed plate and individual pictures. I bought the plate for myself as a souvenir. Then I completely messed up. There were five pictures but it was all random. I bought five but I think I only picked four and two are the same. So I'm keeping one and the three others are for my friend. The reason why I lost my brain is that Tsukasa suddenly appeared before my eyes. I said "Kyou wa otsukaresama deshita. Hontou ni yokatta desu. Kore kara mo ganbatte kudasai." (Great job today - you must be tired. It was really good! From now on, too, please do your best.) while bowing endlessly, and he bowed back and thanked me.
Then he stretched out his hand and shook mine. *__*
Then he stretched out his hand and shook mine. *__*
What an incredible guy. He looks absolutely flawless even from up front. He seemed like a very funny and friendly guy, too. Very humble and polite, with a lot of spirit. He's a truly promising singer and I cannot wait for his album to come out!
Please buy it and support him, give this talented man a chance!
Please buy it and support him, give this talented man a chance!
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