SID TOUR 2009 Sakurasaku-The cherry Blossom- Live Report

Thursday, March 26^th, 2009. It was a bright morning. The sky is clear but it's so cold. I felt it was colder than as usual. The tour title was Sakurasaku. It means The Cherry Blossom but I thought it was ill-matched in Hokkaido. The weather report said there would be snow in the afternoon. Maybe the snow wants to welcome the artists from Tokyo. Tokyo is in the middle of spring. They would be happy to see the snow. If it is a wedding ceremony, the snowy day means good luck in Japan. How about to expect a romantic night?

The hall would be opened at 6 in the evening. The live would be starting at 7. All seats were reserved so I did not have to hurry to get it. But the Sapporo Citizen Hall was renovated last fall. I wanted to have time to check it out.

And to make matters, I went to there with my 8 year old daughter. There are so many things that I had to notice. She dressed up and looked forward to seeing her "favorite" Mao but the ending time would be past her bedtime. Would she be able to keep her energy? Would she be an obstacle to the rest of the audience? Of course it was my first experience to join a concert with my little daughter. I was really worried.

We left the hotel early, and arrived at the hall around 4:30. There were already so many girls who were dressed in Lolita. Lolita fashion is Mao's favorite. It is very famous among the fan girls. This tour title was Cherry Blossom, so many of them were "Pretty in Pink". They made some lines to buy SID goods. The most popular was a 'GachaGacha'. It is a kind of coin game. ((Capsule machines)) You put into some money and turn the dial. Then you will get something good or cheep. The GachaGacha was 500 yen. Usually it is only 100 yen or 200 yen. Yes. 500 yen is very expensive. BUT if you can hit, you can get the member's autograph!! I had heard about it but the fan club said we have only one chance to try it. However we could have chances to try as many times as we want. I interviewed some of the girls and one girl said she was going to try over 20 times! I hoped she could get the autograph even if she didn't hit it. I could not meet her after that but I was anxious for her.

...

I could take some girls photos. Of cause I told them it would be add my blog or Internet site. They said that they want to show their beautiful dresses. But also they wanted to come out with my daughter! I didn't want. But my daughter, Sunny, was smiling and nodded.

All of them were very cute and so kind to my daughter. They were elegant and refined. I was really moved by their behavior.

If they found we are inexperienced, they would talk to my daughter like this.

"You are such a cute lady." " Call Mao's name in big voice." "Mao will be able to find you." "If you will be able to get married with Mao, please invite me to your wedding." Their words made my daughter relax and happy. I could not believe that is was happening.

 "How about to take off your shoes? Don't you hurt?" "Can you see the stage? I can change mine to yours." "You can stand on the seat. But be careful." "However you can't dance well, you don't have to worry about it. Let's have fun together."

I have seen so many lives in my life. I have seen so many mothers with their children in the hall. But I can say absolutely, I was a happiest mother in the world at that time. It was the first live for my daughter. So I hope from deep in my heart she can learn from this experience.

Someday the ladies will have boyfriends. Someday they will get married maybe. I think the boys or men will be so lucky to get such wonderful ladies. Maybe the men will be members of SID. I guess I won't be surprised. They were so charming not only looks but also their hearts.

I bought some SID goods and then I had to go out of the hall because the space was too narrow to hold everyone. The snow was falling as the weather report said.

I was afraid that my daughter would catch a cold. We had to wait one last hour. So we decided to go down to the underground shopping arcade. We were lucky again because in front of the hall has an entrance of the arcade. There are about 20 coin lockers. We used one of them to store our things to be light to join the live. It was a good idea. We could enjoy the live with just a little purse.

The shopping arcade was just like a flower garden. There were animal costumes, animation characters, SID costumes. All of them know how to enjoy the live. I could see a few boys. Almost of them are band men. There were some boys with girls. I tried to interview them. And one of them answered me they are dating! I cried "How wonderful to have a date at SID live. I envy you!" So I became a problem of the young lovers I was sorry.

The walker of the arcade didn't understand what happened. They couldn't know how much we were looking forward to this live. So they looked at us curiously. Some of them asked me "What is the festival?" I answered we will have a concert. So one woman said, "Oh are you entertainers?" It made me laugh. I answered her "No, we just want to enjoy the concert with this costume."

 But now I think, my answer was not correct.

 SID's live is not to see them. Not to listen to them.

 We become a part of SID. After all I realized about it.

 The snow fell harder than before. It was getting colder and colder. The staff of the live told us they were opening the doors around 5:30, because it was too cold to stand outside. We went to the hall again and found there was a line but the opening time was not changed. I told my daughter. Even we do not make a line, the seat was reserved so how about to go back to the underground. But she said, "No, I'd like to be here with the other ladies." I could understand her feelings. She wants to have every experience. So I decided to stay there. We were being blown by cold winter wind, but everyone smiled. We could be good friends because of SID. We had no songs that we didn't know. We had no songs that we couldn't sing. Last live was ... that hall was... Nobody could shut our mouths. We exchanged our information about SID. And practiced dance, talked about new songs...the live was started from that time.

We made 4 lines to enter the hall. The goods shop was moved to the inside of the hall entrance. There was a CD and DVD shop. It was not there before. But I thought the shop couldn't sell any CDs or DVDs. Because even I had every CD the shop had. I was a new fan. My time as a SID fan is only 7 months. I was surprised to find how much I love their songs.

The seat was decided by drawing. I am afraid that I used all my luck to get the seats of this 2 days live. My daughter and I sat on the 9^th line of the center part. It was in front of Mao. The seat was very close to the stage. In fact I was squirted by his drinking water. All members squirted to the audiences like a shower. So I drank his water. It was kind of mouth-to-mouth? I could see everything on the stage. The air-conditioning units were nice and we could smell the cherry blossom. But the end of the stage the hall became like a popcorn pan. I was dizzy.

I could meet other tender ladies. One lady fixed my daughter's hair and dress. Another lady tied a ribbon to my daughter. Always they smiled us. At last my daughter said "I'd like to be a lady like them when I grow up." I said thank you ladies in my heart.

Then the lights were turned off. We heard the beautiful instruments' sound. The number was "Sakurasaku" produced by Aki for this tour. It was so tender and soft. It was so different from my image of Aki. I was really surprised about his talent. He is still 20^th generation. It is only three one for his life. But He has so many music drawers in his mind. How much of his time he spent for music. How much he loves music! Honestly I was so moved that I got goose bumps.

In the dark blue stage they appeared.

It started so calm. I felt they stifled their passion. Yuya moved only and sat at the drum set. Soon Shinji and Aki appeared and the hall almost exploded. But members were so cool and calm. They were as cool as boxers before fighting. I felt they were saying "OK. Let's start as usual." Shinji stood on the right and Aki stood on the left. Only we could see was their back and Yuya closed his eyes.

A moment later, Mao appeared.

He's raising his right arm and in a clear white long coat. His red scarf was waving.

The first number was ｢Otegami-Letter-｣. Suddenly everybody stood up! From that moment, the hall was painted by SID color. Everybody resigned themselves to the sound.

From the beginning until the MC we were obliged to be caught up in the sound.

I felt I forgot breath. If there were someone who could stand against that sound storm, I'd like to see the person. I could not see my surroundings, I was caught up in the tornado. Even I lost myself. Also I forgot that I am a mother. When I realized myself and saw my daughter, she stunned and crying. She said, "Mao is moving!" and just cried.

Therefore I remember the days when I was a teenager. I had a hero. I had my precious album. Photographs. Brochures. I thought I could not give him any girls. I had so many nights that I couldn't sleep. Someday, I became a woman, not a girl anymore. I felt in love. I had a strange dream. I found my ugly emotions. I started walking to try to grow myself. I remember those days in a moment.

My daughter is standing at the entrance of the age. The kind ladies are in the middle of it. And I became a grown up to get over the memories. This yearning and burning time has been running over and over. If you have the experience of it, you must go back to that feeling and can't run away from it, I've found. It is just like a drug I think. In that moment and that space there's no age or sex. Just all of us became SID. We were painted SID color. We were intoxicated with SID sound. Each of us became a floating petal in the pond. We became cherry blossoms blowing in the wind. We left all our senses to them and waved to the left and to the right and went down to the music lake.

Presently, Mao started to talk about his dinner, or what they did at the hotel and so on.

I didn't know he likes dirty talk so much! At first he said he ate good Jingisukan ( the Hokkaido styles BBQ). He was glad to see the snow. Those were not dirty. But....

He went to a Spa last night and practice the song 『Mitsuyubi -honey fingers-』. Its lyrics are so sexy and dirty in Japanese. At first he thought he was only one in the bath. But he found a guy who is so muscular. And the guy threw him a fierce look. He was afraid that he was misunderstood by the guy. But he had no way to explain it to the guy.

The next story was about Shinji's nipples. Mao said Shinji has big nipples. The sizes are about 8 cm and the color is just like ((the white of)) green onions!! Mao's nipples are very small. We need to use electron microscope to see them. But the color is rainbow and they are filled with dream and hopes, he said. Yuya's nipples are salmon pink. So he needs more experiences until next summer, Mao said. I was wondering what my daughter thought and looked at her face. She was laughing and laughing! Could she understand the story? I became a little afraid for her. But I know her father so it could be.

We sang together the song『yell』. I love this song. It says, "You are not alone. You are not lonely~." We danced, jumped sang and laugh together. They felt happiness and thankful to have such a wonderful time they said. Also all of audiences were same feelings I think.

When they played a slow ballad, some people were crying, others closed their eyes and Mao's soft and sweet voice was soaking into our hearts. I felt very warm that we could have same emotions.

Some of Mao's poems are very close to our real life. And other poems are very romantic love stories. I hope someday I will translate them, but also I know it is difficult to translate his feeling. We do not need any explanations.

Mao said Sapporo is the hottest place. That was true. The temperature was higher and higher. There was too much fever. They threw many guitar picks; bass picks, water and water bottles, also a lot of thanks. Then they disappeared from the stage.

From that time, offense and defense were changed.

It was one-way game from SID to audiences but every person in the hall kept standing and calling their names and said "More! More! More! More!" There were only instruments on the stage but nobody stopped clapping their hands, shouting and stomping, even my little daughter. Nobody thought about keeping their energy for tomorrow's live.

It took so long time I felt, but they came back to the stage. Aki took off his shirt. He was shining of his sweat and his pierced nipple was so sexy. Other members wore the tour T-shirts. Only Aki was called "Aki-sam" from his fans. "Sama" means dear or esquire in Japanese. I know Saga; the bassist of Alice Nine is also called with "sama" by his fans. Both of them are the sexiest musicians in Japan, perhaps.

They prepared many of 500ml water pet bottles on the stage but they didn't drink them all. They took a sip of water and them sprayed to the audiences like a shower or sprinkled it on the audience. Then at last they threw the bottle into the audience with the straws. So the lucky fans could get many treasures from them. I could not count how many picks they threw. Just they tried to pass them far as possible they could. Just they tried to give them as much as they could.

They gave many eye contacts to fans. They showed the fans they could see their faces. They pointed. They smiled. They winked. They looked like they wanted to get together with all the fans. It was an amazing night. We were covered with lots of big love from SID. I felt full. But I dreamed to stay there forever. But it is impossible.

They played 4 songs and one by one they went backstage. Aki has an image so sexy and dirty, but last he bent his body and bowed, saying 'Arigatougozaimashita'. At that moment, he was such a pure gentleman. I thought that was his real self.

Shinji was so cool when he plays the guitar. He is a real rock'n roller. But at the end, he looked like a broken toy doll. It was so funny and he turned back to a little kid. He threw many, many picks and smiled so cute.

Yuya wanted to throw the drumsticks but it was a little dangerous. He decided to give them the winner of the rock-paper-scissors. Two lucky girls could get them. One of the girls talked to me, maybe Yuya lost on purpose, He is famous for being strong at that game.

The all last was Mao.

He stood on the box on the stage. He closed his eyes and put his hands to his ears. He wanted to listen to the voices of fans. It was such a long time that he listened. Then he shed tears. He touched his right hand index finger on his mouth. Every audience member stopped crying. The hall became like a calm lake at once. He waited for the perfect timing.

Suddenly he put his microphone on the box. He put his hands on his cheeks and shouted.

"I LOVE YOU MY SWEET HEARTS!!"

He opened his arms as wide as he can. Then he hugged himself. It looked like the boy who loves a girl so much, holding her in his arms. I can say, absolutely at that moment all the audience were held in his arms.

So we became one.

We did not go there to see SID.

We did not go there to listen to SID.

We became SID.

I cannot explain to you only by my cheep words. The words are so empty. If I can say the word just to get the point across.

I say THE NEXT IS YOU.

Thank you very much for reading this.