I know there's a number of threads regarding their tour, but I thought, this being an actual FIRST HAND report of the concert, it deserves its own thread... so you can all flame me, i don't care
So, I arrived at the venue about an hour early, and was surprised by its humbleness, it was just a large tent out in the open, no chairs, no baricades in front of the stage... and there was no seperate area for the bands; I just looked through the gate (we weren't allowed in until 5pm) and sitting at a table was Sawao and Manabe, just chilling. Later Suzuki and Sato joined them. Noodles were on stage doing a sound test. And I was all "omg, there's Sawao RIGHT THERE NOT MORE THAN 30 FEET AWAY!" I was trying my best NOT to lose my f**king mind! There were only 5 people ahead of us in line, and we (David and I [THANK YOU DAVID FOR GETTING THOSE TICKETS
]) talked to them and became friends, they're big pillows fans as well.
Then they let us in. To avoid looking like obsessive stalkers (heh), we made a point to stay a bit away from them. We grabbed a bit to eat (free BBQ), and ran up to the stage when noodles started playing (Hush Bell). We made a beeline to the front. I pulled out my phone and started taking pictures (I'll get them to you later). Their show rocked, from Hush Bell to She, Her... can't remember what else they played... but it was great. When noodles went off stage, we decided to go over to the pillows and have them sign our invitations.
I now have the autographs of all 4 of them
And not only that, I got to hold Sawao's drink while he did it
After much "domo arigatos," We headed back to the stage, in shock. Me going "OMG I HELD HIS DRINK!!!11one" and enjoying the Titan Go Kings. Then... the pillows. David and I went as FAR FORWARD AS POSSIBLE. This means our feet were against the damn stage! I could reach out and touch Sawao or Manabe if i wanted. We were front and center, really close and personal... I was about to die and they hadn't even come on stage yet. Then, they came up and started setting up.
OMFG it rocked! Even tho Sawao's mic was too quiet, we were so close we could here him without it! Plus, I was singing along at the top of my lungs. Sawao constantly looked at me in my moment of pure ecstacy and grinned at me
Most die-hard fans wouldn't say their set was the best, but it rocked anyways. Sawao said "Good evening Austin! Do you know us?" at which point the whole crowd screamed at the top of their lungs. "We are the pillows!" and went into their first song, Dead Stock Paradise, which rocked. Then they played Freebee Honey, which is one of my favorite songs, which rocked. Then Sawao said "Do you know FLCL?" again, huge crowd cheers. "This song is called... RIDE ON SHOOTING STAR!" which rocked
Then they went into Walkin' On the Spiral, which rocked. Then they said "This song, is last song." To which the whole crowed was going "NOOOOOO!" And they went into the JAZZ VERSION of Rookie Jet. BUT, after the first bit (yes feeeeeeeeel so good and i sing with YOU!) they went right into the rock version! So, THAT kicked ass. During the non singing parts Sawao jumped on the monitor and rocked out! At one point, the monitor tipped forward and David caught him, essentially saving his life When it was all over, they left... but not before
SAWAO GAVE ME HIS GUITAR PICK! ITS ALL BROWN AND HAS BUSTER-KUN ON IT AND SAYS 'SAWAO' ON THE BOTTOM!
So, that was awesome. We waited about 10 minutes after their set before approaching them again, at which point David and I got a picture with Sawao (you'll get it SOON, i PROMISE
) And we chilled with Sawao for a good while, after which he said "I'm hungry, do you want to go eat with us?" I nearly died.
SAWAO YAMANAKA JUST INVITED ME TO EAT DINNER WITH HIM!!
So, we went to Sullivan's. Just the pillows, noodles, and about 5 other fans. In our own private room. Talking for HOURS on end (thank god one of the fans we met in line was with us and could speak Japanese). So much awesome stuff happend at that table, I was sitting right across from Manabe and almost right next to Sawao... OMG, it was just so... O_O
I F**KING ATE DINNER WITH THE PILLOWS
It's all overwhelming to say the least...
