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Today I’ll be looking at the Natsumatsuri Hibiyayaon concert.  It’s a favorite of mine, so I don’t have all that many bad things to say about it.

Click the pictures for the review, or you can read it all below!

MC

Today’s concert is actually done outside!  This is AKB’s first major outdoor concert, and the idea of a summer festival is present with the lanterns decorated by AKB48 members.  Also, this is AKB’s first actual concert using all three Teams.  Shibuya AX doesn’t count in my opinion.

To start off the show, Nacchinon comes on stage to talk about… whatever they’re talking about, and then they count down for the (live) overture!

Overture

This is the second time the vocalist of ‘Overture’ comes on stage for us.  The first being in AX08.  That time, I don’t think he had ever listened to the overture since he recorded it.  Luckily this time he was better: probably because he heard the overture only eight months ago.  Very little progress was made, despite his wearing of a rainbow purse and a towel over his head.  He even ended his own lyrics with “Are.”  I mean, at least finish the sentence if you decide to start it.  Oh well… On to the short skirts!

Dear My Teacher

Team A does their instructor-pleasing shuffle on stage non-nonchalantly and the concert begins!

My favorite parts of the song are the opening lines with Mai and Rina and then we they come back closer to the start of the chorus.

As you can see, it’s already raining!  I wonder if that’s the reason why there hasn’t been another large-scale concert outside…

What!?  Why are they moving?  Oh wait, does this mean what I think it means: they’re going to sing the second verse!?  Yes.  Yes, it does!

If you listen super closely, during and after the above three’s trio line, you can hear the Team K fans chant “1 + 2 = N-Nacchi.”  I love it.  Best chant ever.

Since so many girls have graduated and/or been added, the second verse has a few new additions like Mariko, Amina, and Fujie.

I definitely forgot that Acchan had lines in this song.  I need to watch A1 again, I think.

As you can see, it’s already raining!  I wonder if that’s the reason why there hasn’t been another large-scale concert outside…

Saishuu Beru ga Naru

Next up is Team K’s fourth Stage’s title song, which happens to be a new favorite in the time period of the concert.  Team K fist pumps out on stage, but with the now damp floor, it seems to be slippery as evidence of Sayaka tripping during the transition.

Natsuki’s back with an awesome hair-do!  Yay!

Please note the water on the camera lens.

I love when they get to perform all the verses of a song.  It gives the whole Team their original parts, and usually is the half of the song that my favorite member sings in.

I love how they had that whole ‘Amai Kokansetsu’ single and one of the reasons for it was the part of the stage that Ohori would often be in during songs due to her popularity.  They said that she was often in the back corner, all the while showing video of ‘Saishuu Beru ga Naru.’  What the viewer doesn’t see is that she mirrors Natsuki during the majority of the song and Natsuki is in the other corner, and that the duo get to be front and center in the first chorus and part of the bridge.

Shounichi

Team B’s most popular song gets presented for the first time here.  I used to dislike how they didn’t get to do their prayer, but in reality, that’s really not part of the song, but it’s more like it’s the intro to B3 and is just associated with the song because it’s similar in concept and immediately before the song when it was performed in the theater.

Just a little earlier that month Sasshi had been promoted, and only a little over a week before this concert, Ayarin was fired.  This kind of shows how Sasshi was given Team B front girl status immediately after she was given a full position.

Look!  A camera!

Aitakatta

Now the entire AKB gets to be on stage at the same time!  Who would have ever thought?

Natsuki gets the first real close-up.  That makes me happy inside.

Team K took off the removable raggedy parts of their costumes like in K4… if you care.

Moeno also was promoted a little while before the concert.  Since they probably only have sixteen ‘Shounichi’ costumes, she’s stuck with the ‘Boku no Sakura’ uniform that the RS wear here.  Also interesting to note: Inoue Naru has yet to graduate.

The current RS join in during the last chorus.  I find it funny that the first time I saw this concert, I had no clue who any of them were, yet now all I can think is about how I love a ton of them!

Nagisa no CHERRY

One of the perfect summer songs actually got a spot here.  I love when they perform seasonal songs in the right season.  Here, Mayuyu takes Acchan’s spot as she’s performed it the most recently.

Harugon, Haachan, and Rabutan get stuck with the back-dancing.  Nakagawa actually seems to out-dance her fellow Haruka despite her side position.

Namida no Shounen

Another fitting A2 song.  We even get a multi-Team cast!

CinDy takes Orii Ayumi’s lines as she does in B2.  It’s nice to see her with her old Team’s members.  She looks less old compared to them than she does with Team B!

Each time I watch this performance I always wonder about how Mai’s hair stays so styled dispite the humidity and rain that’s currently pouring.  I know that I should wonder this about all of the girls, but it’s only Mai’s hair that makes me wonder this.

Nage KISSU de Uchi Otose

Acchan’s unit for the night is her cowboy-costumed one from A3.  It seems like this is the wota fall-back favorite next to ‘Nagisa no CHERRY’ when it comes to Acchan.

Fujie has taken over Masuyama Kayano’s position… this is a very fitting selection.  It just sucks that I like both of them, so I never know which I’d prefer to see in this song at AX.

I love these costumes.  They’re so colorful.  And sparkly.

Gomen ne Jewel

I’ve always felt that these costumes looked a lot like ‘Nage KISSU de Uchi Otose’ and so having them right next to each other in a concert’s set list helps me confirm that they really do look similar and it may very well be on purpose.

The RS’s outfits look even more ‘Nage KISSU’-like…

I’ve heard many people complain about how they don’t like how Asuka and Yuka don’t get solos during the dance break.  While yes, that isn’t very great for them, we must remember that the other half of the unit at the time was the two most popular members of Team K and that Mocchi and Masuda got the same amount of solo lines (albeit in worse positions), so they had to loose something, which ended up being contrasting colors on their costumes and they share a dance part.  Good for them, regardless.

The stage seems to be getting even slicker.  Suzuki definitely took a tumble here.  Speaking of which, Nakanishi Yuka, Hatayama Arisa, Suzuki Nae, Oya Shizuka, Nakatsuka Tomomi, and Arima Yuka (I think) back dance here.  I might be wrong on the last two.

Glass no I LOVE YOU

I like how this song’s opening positions always tend to be sort of interesting.  Going back to the A2 roots, two girls appear on stage and the other two appear on speakers on the outside of the stage.  Very original and cute.

Why does Akimoto do this to me?  Rie, Moeno, and Sasshi are grouped so often.  I seem to always find them together.  It’s almost lucky that they will all be in different Teams soon.  But then I wonder if during a shuffle performance they’ll just take each other’s units.  Oh, and Myao’s here, too.  She gets to lead.

Junai no CRESCENDO

This is especially fitting in this concert.  I’m pretty sure the lyrics might mention rain.  And it’s raining.  Awesome.

I love how the setting matches their costumes so much.  I’m serious, this all works so well that I think it’s perfectly epic.  The blue, the pink, the rhinestones.  Sexy.

No3b looks like an actual music group here.

And again, suburb lighting.  Lovely.

Ame
no Doubutsuen

Ruining the mood like it always does comes the original song about rain.  And a zoo.

I love how dispite how unpopular Kana might be now, she still gets her part whenever Team K performs this song.  Oh, and that’s the lineless camel by Naruse in the background there.

Such coincidence.  Wonderful.

Ah!  The French revolutionaries are coming!  Quick, animals, go back to your cages!

Kagami no Naka no Jean de Arc

The choice to show this unit song so close to the time that its leader left AKB is a curious one.  They most likely had time to choose a different one or just cut it out since Ayarin had stopped regularly performing about three weeks previous to the concert, yet they decided to keep it in the set list.  Was it a diss at the original performer, or was it simply a push of it’s new one?  Maybe one day we’ll get to see Ayarin on stage with her flag.

I love Rumi’s spot in this song.  Everything about it.  She gets the same amount of lines as the center in the first verse (Ayarin/Sasshi get one solo in the second) and has the best outfit.  And she’s a perfect fit here, too.

CinDy gets to rev the audience up.

Despite the flag only really being used at the start and end of the performance, it’s so intense whenever the lead grabs it.

Blue Rose

‘Blue Rose’ half-shuffled version.  Here, Kashiwagi takes Yuka’s spot since she performed in ‘Gomen ne Jewel’ and Mika takes Ohori’s position because she’s about to have a unit song.  I love how they pushed Mikachi all of the time.

I think they chose the ‘Temodemo no Namida’ duo to substitute in just because they wanted to add in their unit, but they already filled the set list.  ‘Temodemo’ would look so amazing here, though.  I’m going to take a moment to imagine it… and yeah, it would be great.

Fog much?  I’m pretty sure that even Memolist mentioned there being a ton.  I guess that they don’t have very much practice with using it outside, let alone with rain there to contain it on stage.

Oshibe to Meshibe to Yoru no Chouchou

One of the more famous versions of this song is here.

It used to be that there were often costume changes for ‘Oshibe to Meshibe,’ but they kind of slowed down after this time.  Off-hand I remember that there were variations like teacher/student, office ladies, gangsters, Middle Eastern-wear, and a lingerie version.  On the second to last night of K4, they performed a version wearing the ‘Kinjirareta Futari’ costumes and an ‘Original Mix’ of the instrumental featuring a melody that sounded similar to a music box and like ‘Kinjirareta.’

I wonder how it feels for them to perform with bare feet.  I’ve heard that since everyone was slippery, Nacchan came up with a great idea to save them: pouring some sort of cola soft drink on the ground, placing a towel over it, and then stepping on it.  This made their shoes a bit stickier so they could hold on to the ground a bit better.  With these two rolling around on the wet, now sticky surface, I wonder if it was a bit uncomfortable.

Romance, Irane!

After an MC (shown on the second disc), comes
AKB’s most recent original single that was distributed traditionally.

Have I ever mentioned how much I love this song.  The costumes, the lyrics, the choreography, the epic-ness…

They get to do two verses again, and so we get to see Natsuki singing in the very middle of the stage.  Aren’t we lucky?

So gosh-darned cool.

RUN RUN RUN

Usually, ‘RUN RUN RUN’’s opening consists of the girls taking off their vests and running to put them on the sides of the stage before proceeding to sing.  Here, the girls who just performed get to dance about for a moment before going back.

The Team performing this song and ‘Romance’ are modified Himawari-gumi Teams.  ‘Romance, Irane!’ had H2 Team 1, minus Sae and Yuka and adding Fujie and Chikano, and ‘RUN RUN RUN’ has H1 Team 2, minus Kayano, Yukarin, and Deguchi and adding Rina, Sae, and Yuka.

It’s always interesting how they use new costumes.  Since K4 was the newest Stage at the time.  They were pimping-out the ‘Shamu Neko’ uniforms.  These girls get to wear them here, and in an important performance of Baby! Baby! Baby!, the participating girls (Team A, I think) got to wear them.  It’s a shame that I’m not really all to fond of them.

By the way, for consistency, both verses were sung here.  It seems like every Team (A, K, B, 1, and 2)gets to perform one song by themselves with two verses.

Wasshoi B!

Ah!  ‘Wasshoi B!’ and some of my favorite costumes!  Yay.

This is one of the only nearly-full-member ‘Wasshoi B!’’s I’ve seen.  I think that the 3D show that featured some B3 Team songs may have had the full Team, but I’m not sure.  At least Naru is here, though!

I found Natsuki’s lantern!  I had never seen it before, but I just caught a glimpse of something that looked like an ‘N,’ and sure enough: it was!  I had always figured that that’s what Natsuki would have done with hers, but I never had proof.  Now I do.  Of course, I technically have no clue if it’s actually hers or someone else’s, but ‘N’ is kind of her thing, so it would have to be Natsuki’s or Mikipomu’s, as she’s a Natsuki fan.

I remember the first ‘Wasshoi B!’ I saw in that 3D show.  I couldn’t figure out why a couple of the girls didn’t have microphones for a moment and then were given some a little while later.  I think I kind of studied this for half an hour before seeing that they had given them up to lift another girl.  I was so impressed by myself for noticing it!

I love Team B.  The original, the new recruits, and the New Team B.

Gokimen Naname na Mermaid

I love this song.  Why on earth did it not get into AX09?  What is wrong with the world?  The rest of B3 got in!

In B3, the first verse and chorus is done by only half of Team B, as they left during ‘Hissatsu Teleport.’  Here, they give the other half of the girls choreography and present it as though everyone is usually on stage.  Also, they’ve added a few RS for no apparent reason.

Except, they do have at least three very good performers up there: Chiichan, Sara, and Chunchun!

Korogaru ishi ni Nare

Team K pops out for their anthem wearing the red Kouhaku fringe costumes.

Yay for Natsuki!

As you can see, some how my favorite lost her amazing costume from the last time she performed in it.  She used to have the best out of the three: the shorts.  Now, she’s stuck with the conservative one.  I’m guessing Sae is wearing hers, as Sae’s was white, and they put all of Team K in red for this.

Melos no Michi

Okay, the video of the very start of the song, the battle of Sae versus Nonti, is terrible.  You can’t see a thing.  I don’t know if they thought it’d be cool or what, but it just looks bad.

See, if Natsuki had her costume, she could look as awesome (even better, probably) than Sae.

The only reason I really like this song is because of N’s placement.  Her group has very, very similar voices, and you can hear hers pretty well.   It’s also nice that it’s one of the first two groups, which have the longer lines in the first verse.

At some point, some Kenkyuusei come in the back with the blue Stage-version ‘Skirt, Hirari’ costumes on.  I’ve never understood why there are so many versions of these costumes.  I’ve only seen the blue variations here in one (small) video and one picture.  They’re just not very attractive.

And they definitely don’t match.  They could have put the RS in the white Kouhaku outfits or something instead.  Those would match Team K and the Research Students’ costumes from the Team B Research Students’ costumes.

Only Today

This is another one of my favorite songs.  It’s so catchy and cute with a nice poppy instrumental.  And the girls get to wear the ‘Ato 1cm’ outfits!  I love these so much.  Almost as much as the ‘Romance, Irane!’ costumes.  The large amount of girls in Team A makes me wonder how many costumes they have per set for Himawari-gumi.  Since there are so many girls that have weird sizes, they must have more than sixteen and closer to twenty.

I found the lantern again!  I didn’t even have to try this time!

Normal-sized hair accessories on normal-sized girls…

And Takamina-sized hair accessories on Takamina-sized girls.

Skirt, Hirari

When I first read about this performance, I was super-excited because it was Team A-only, and I heard that it put the “SukaHira Seven” in their rightful places.

Too bad this is actually an encore version of the audio, as it has the single version with added Team A voices so you hear a lot of whoever is singing, but also everyone else simultaneously.

Who is that behind Amina?  Creepy.

Only a portion of the girls are actually wearing skirts.  And those skirts can’t flutter.  The irony.

Team A sang two songs without RS in the back?  It’s almost like they’re favored.  I guess they’re shuffling Teams for a good reason.

Sakura no Hanabiratachi 2008

For the last song of the night, they sing their first single.  Team A is in front for the first half.

Then Team K pops up to form a line dancing with a forward-backward motion.

And then they go into ‘Nounai Paradise’-mode and add in some of that choreography.

Team B’s turn means they bring in the thumbs up and jumping motions of ‘B! B! B! Wasshoi!’ from ‘Wasshoi B!’

Team A has no characteristics, so they just act as though they are all good buddies and rock side-to-side and then pose and wave ‘Aitakatta’-like.

Pretty…

And this is the cover of the DVD and the PB to go along with it for this concert.

(Kenkyuusei Dance)

Yay!  I love this one.  It’s short, meaningless, but a transition, and I count it as a song.  I want a studio version!

The RS get to wear Team A, K, and B t-shirts.  I wonder how many got onto the Team that their t-shirt said.  And oh look, Chiichan!

Takajo Aki gets to introduce the encore.  One would think that it would be Oya’s job since she was the un-official Kenkyuusei leader, but I guess not.

Virgin Love (Research Students ver.)

I always think that ‘Virgin Love’ is just an okay song, but since I love just about every single performance I see of it, I think I actually really do enjoy it.

Who is this?  I have no clue.  Please fill me in.

Takajo is all over in this performance.  They were pushing her before she even joined Team A.

Yuka gets to perform with SKE48 tonight, too!  She’s busy.

By the end of the song, Team A starts coming out and the ‘Virgin Love’’s start sounding better.

Baby! Baby! Baby! (Team A ver.)

For whatever reason, Team A gets to sing an extra single.  Again, they’re just that special.

All three Teams performed ‘Baby! Baby! Baby!’ as part of their Stages (A4R, K4, and B3) for a little while when it was first released, so I guess they didn’t have to stage a new version or anything.  I just wish they would have just used the selected members or something.  Maybe without Ayarin.I usually really like short over-alls, but the ones that Hiichan and Acchan are wearing aren’t very attractive.  I feel sorry for them.

And I totally love seeing Fujie and Rina on the same stage.  Yes, I’m aware that Fujie is not in this screen capture.

Also, more talk of the costumes: I usually don’t like encore costumes like these from AKB, but I really like them here.  I think that it’s because the tops are light and seem more effortless and since it’s outside, it seems more fun-friendly instead of how I always expect to be awed by concert hall performances.

The lighting during the bridge alternates side-to-side.  I’m not sure if I like it.

Kojiharu definitely just shot someone.

PARTY ga Hajimaru yo (SKE48 ver.)

SKE48 performs ‘PARTY.’  It’s of course super-interesting since I’m not that big of a fan of the song, and I can’t tell the difference between a bunch of them at this point.  They hadn’t gotten their makeovers yet.

But there’s my Rikako!

Boku no Taiyou

For the third all-AKB song of the night, we have a single that hadn’t been performed in a real concert yet, and one of their better selling due to a one-of-a-kind photo included with each CD.  Here, a double-Team Himawari-gumi performance is given with Team B in the back.

Yay!  My girls are together!

Seriously, I’m loving this hair.  If only she dyed it back…

Team A and Team B get to wear denim shorts/skirts/pants/overalls, while Team K gets to wear white bottoms, similar to the RS.

Natsuki!  You are my sun!

Ohori’s recently-published memoir mentions that her grandmother passed away shortly before this performance.  Meetan had never had much support from her parents but her grandmother was a big part of her life.  In the book, Megumi says that this is one of the songs that she really sang her heart out in remembrance of her.

AKB48

AKB48’s fight song!

Team K starts in the front row, so that means it’s an instant N attack!

And it’s still raining…

The RS jump on stage at some point.  Now, where is SKE?

BINGO!

Takamina announces this one as usual.  I don’t know if anyone other than her and Ohe have ever done so.

It’s another modified Himawari-gumi performance with the less popular girls and RS in the back.  Natsuki’s in front and she gets her usual lines.  It’s wonderful.

The audience get their little strands of metallic tape.  Soon they’ll be flashier than the AKB members!

Natsuki!

Guess who’s pretty much dead center for bows?  Yup, that’s right.  No need to ask where she for this one.

And that’s Natsumatsuri Hibiyayaon in just under five hours.  I made sure to be really quick with this one for whatever reason.  Next stop: Budokan!

In preparation for the next set of DVDs, I’ve decided to go through a few older concerts, this time it’s JCB Hall from December 21st, 2008.

Full-length text-only review below…

Overture

The concert begins with a completely blank stage that looks to be the same one used in the NHK Hall concert that same fall.  One interesting difference in the set here is that instead of having a screen in the middle of the backdrop, they have decided to leave that area blank and just put monitors on either side of the Stage.  I’m guessing that JCB Hall has slightly different proportions compared to a standard theater that allowed them to do this.

While I do like the idea of keeping monitors off the stage (and since I’m not watching the concert live, I really don’t ever need the monitors thanks to close-up shots on DVDs), I don’t like them here.  I feel like the lack of an on-stage screen gives the stage a really bland, warehouse-like, cheaper-than-Shibuya-AX-concerts look.

The good thing about having no monitors on stage is that it is (for me at the very least) a more visually-appealing and natural set.  Now, I really start to get irked when the girls come out.  I would prefer that they would just stand there…. but no.

The have to walk around casually and kill the possibility of epic-ness that couple possibly start the concert.  And there’s a fish-eye camera.  Who decided on that one?  Bad.

Oogoe Diamond

The first song performed is ‘Oogoe Diamond.’  I had previously not liked this placement (and you know, the fact that they still haven’t performed this school-themed single in school uniforms in a concert yet), but upon this viewing of the concert, I concur with it’s concept.

The most recent time AKB48 had all been together was at the NHK Hall 2009 concert in which they performed ‘Oogoe’ and wore these same encore party dresses.  This time, I feel like they’re echoing that last performance, but without the recent Team A graduates, SKE48, and the AKB48 Kenkyuusei.  Maybe it’s kind of a way to show solidarity and how the current AKB can totally stand on it’s own two feet?  I just wish that could be said of the King Records singles’ senbatsu…

Anyway, it’s a pretty similar performance to the NHK Hall one, just subtract the aforementioned parties.  In this one, I think Mika might actually get a solo line, or at least her voice is featured a little bit more since Jurina is gone.  I think it’s kind of nice how there are so many different versions of that can be performed of this song: Team A, Team K, Team B, RS, Team S, senbatsu members, and the AKB48 version.

Essentially, with the AKB48 version they take a bunch of girls that aren’t featured in the single like Saeki, Nonti, and Asuka, and throw them into the mix.  It adds much more of a concert-only feeling.  On the topic of Nonti, please notice how she’s not holding a microphone.  She had hurt her left hand during what I believe to be rehearsals for this concert.  I remember watching LODs near this time period and we were perplexed as to why she was wearing a headset.  I was thinking that maybe they wanted to try to have the girls do a few K4 songs without hand microphones and they were using Kayo to see which song(s) could be done with head sets, but alas, she had just hurt her hand.

Romance, Irane!

Okay, first off, besides one of my high school art teachers, I don’t think I’ve ever met someone who liked pictures using a fish-eye lens.  This being said, why would anyone want a video that uses it?  And on idols at that!  It’s just weird.

While I love these costumes being used to perform this song, I really dislike how they added all of the straps for all of the strapless dresses.  They looked better as tube tops.

They look to be using a modified Himawari-gumi set-up with Team B and the non-Team 1 girls in the back.  I’m pleased that while yes, they are not really included in the performance, they’re still at least near the action and not ostracized like they are so often when Himawari-gumi songs are performed..

Tonight’s ‘Romance, Irane!’ seems to be rather bland compared to others.  Nothing really caught my eye at all.  Except for Natsuki and the aforementioned proximity of the girls, of course.

They did a great job capturing this part of the bridge for the DVD.  It’s one of the spots where the view has to be pretty much dead-on.

For a while I was lost because I couldn’t figure out why Naruse was in the front so much.  Then I remembered that even though she shares a birthday with Sae and has a hair style, and body type similar to Sae’s, she’s Sayaka’s sub, not Sae’s.

AKB Sanjou!

Next up is the new AKB48 fight song!  It looks pretty flashy (get it, they’re sporting flashlights?) here in their fluorescent dresses, but it still gets the point across: AKB is powered up to the “max.”

I love how throughout the song they alternate the lighting between the usual stage lights and the girls’ flashlights.  They match with the audience’s glowsticks well.

Kana somehow secured Yuko’s position next to Acchan for the night since she’s gone, but she was fidgeting with her hat most of the time.  Poor Kana…

I love it when Natsuki gets lines (or just gets to be near) Chiichan.  I like when I can hear/see my favorites in the same line.

They end the performance by spelling out their Team names.  In this performance at least, it looks like Team B has the most girls present and Team A has the least.  As usual.

In the following MC which wasn’t included on the DVD, it was announced that Natsuki had gotten into Waseda University!  That is a huge accomplishment and worthy of this kind of recognition, as it is one of Japan’s top six colleges.

Skirt, Hirari

So, this performance is apparently the seven-girl version.  Now, I’ve never seen the seven-girl Stage version from the A1 days, as the DVD shows the five-girl version (A1 was shuffled mid-way through), but I’ve heard the seven-girl Stage version from the A1 CD, which features the shuffled units.  Now, interesting to point out: it’s the same line distribution as the single.  Also interesting to point out: whenever a seven-girl version of Skirt, Hirari appears on stage in concerts these days, they use the five-girl version’s line distribution, leaving two girls without solo lines.  Boo.

Takamina looses her lines and takes Mai’s.  I’m not sure if that’s a promotion here or a demotion, but it’s nice to hear her do something different.  Jurina takes Takamina’s old lines and pretends that she’s in AKB… again.

Oh, you Team K girls… Little do you know you’ll be lineless in this performance…  (For completion, Haruna keeps her lines (and takes Rina’s) in the choruses and Mayu takes Risa’s (and Itano’s).  Acchan keeps her own.  Except, now she sounds and looks much different than a puberty-stricken teenage boy.

Goodness!  How close can a camera get to Acchan’s head before she flinches?  At least she’s having a good hair day.

Nage KISSU de Uchi Otose

With Rie, Moeno, and Miho leading (and Koaru, Gussan, and Harugon) dancing, you can tell this is a unit thrown in to push the first three.

This unit just looks really weird to me since I’ve never been accustomed to seeing Rie as the center.  Here, I almost feel as if there isn’t a single front girl.

Why did they slide the scrunchies up past their elbows?  It looks fine, but is there a specific reason?  Is it the popular thing to do?  Are they trying to make fun of the original performers and non-verbally communicate that those girls’ wrists are too fat and they stretched them out or something.  I don’t know why, but this instance of a small change in the costume confused me greatly.

It’s the RS-to-Team side… who get solo lines…

And it’s the unpopular original member side… who don’t get solo lines.

See, this is what I don’t like about the background.  It’s so drab.  I would almost say that if they got rid of the lighting and metal poles back there, it would make it seem like they wanted a simple backdrop, but then it would look even more plain and cheaper.  At this point it looks like a warehouse…. and no one wants to see that.

Junai no CRESCENDO

The fan-favorite No3b unit has been shuffled for the the first time in this concert.  I used to be really confused as to who lead the unit, as Takamina’s part actually gets less lines than the other two.  But hey, she does get the dress that dips down the back instead of on either side, so Takamina had to be the center.

Kasai’s work here actually fits in well, even though I would have thought they’d have put her in Miichan’s place.  She sounds consistently… Kasai-like… the whole song and it gives a little extra dimension to the piece.  Sae seems like a really random replacement for Haruna, but they both have a similarly nasal voice and her great dancing really complement the unit.

What is up with the boots here?  Does no one have Takamina-sized feet or something?  I don’t like that they decided to still use the original ‘Junai’ shoes, and wish they would just use the ‘Renai Kinshi Jourei’/'Oogoe Diamond’ pairs.  It looks messy like this.

Kashiyuki’s last solo line was the best I’ve heard in that position.  It was truly magnificent.  Her other solo lines here were fine, I mean, it’s her, she’s always been a pretty good vocalist, but this one was spot on.

Fans must have really liked Kasai shuffled into this song because she took the same spot in the NHK09 concert series.  Well, either that or whoever was supposed to take that spot ended up being sick or hurt, as that tends to happen.

Seneka Kara Dakishimete

Seeing this on the set list was just pure joy for me.  It’s one of my favorite AKB songs, and putting some new girls in it is great.  I hope they shuffle this up again.  Maybe a Team K-only version, since that’s never been done before?

I love Mariko as the lead because she has such a deep voice.  It’s not necessarily a really good voice, but it gets the job done and has character.

Asuka fits Maeda’s part well, too.  She adds talent and performance energy, which the original lacks a bit of.

Yuka is pretty much amazing here.  She took what seems to be a cutesy part and suddenly amped up the epic-ness.  In the build-up of vocals repeating the first chorus, she is crazy strong and ten times better than I would imagine.  I’m impressed to say the least.

The second verse would have contained Nozofisu, Yukarin, Haachan, and Kobayashi if it were to be performed.

About the costumes: I’m not sure what I think of them.  They used the Team A ‘Seifuku ga Jama wo Suru’ senbatsu costumes for Team A and B and the Team K non-senbatsu costumes for Team K from the First Concert Aitakatta series and added the B2 accessories and then wings, feathers, bows, and pom-poms.  Maybe with-out the pom-poms?  They’re just odd here.

And it looks like Nozofisu grabbed Itano’s addition in the build-up.  Interesting… I would have thought it’d be Haachan.  Anyway, lovely shuffle.

7ji 12fun no Hatsukoi

And Acchan’s A4 unit is shuffled to the Acchan of Team B, Mayuyu.  One thing I love about this unit is that while it’s not a particularly wonderful nor memorable song, it has the prettiest, most addictive chorus.  Now, ever since I became an AKB fan, I’ve never been a big fan of Mayu, but once I saw B1, I understood her so much better.  She’s not an amazing singer, but she can dance pretty darn well.  The thing that really works for her is how genuine she is: you know this this what she wants to do.  One of my favorite AKB theories is my “Acchan Series,” which goes Acchan, Erena, Mayu, Fujie, Jurina, and I guess that KII girl that I’ve probably never watched perform.  These are the five/six girls that were the first to perform the first near-solo song, ‘Nagisa no CHERRY’ and have been pushed by AKS.  I’m not sure about the sixth girl, but I’ve been impressed with the generations starting at the third.

Now, if this were a true shuffle, I think a less popular girl would get Ohe’s spot… but I guess they had to put Sasshi somewhere!  I love her to pieces, and it is kind of fun to see her in a cute song instead of her usual kick-butt unit.  Maybe this side of her will be used on the new Team A?  That way she’d fit my assumed image of the new Team.  (At this point, I want Moeno and Sasshi to switch…)

See, Mayu knows what she’d doing!  I’m glad Nacchan got picked as one of the back-up dancers.  It’s kind of fitting since I bet that’s probably what position she would have gotten if she stayed in Team A past the third Stage.  And you can tell how much she is enjoying this almost-cheesy song about first love on a train.

Aika is in the back, too.  Quite frankly, this weirds me out as she is perfect for the song and in my mind might take Sasshi’s current spot.  Maybe Sasshi was a little more popular than Aika at this point or something?  Maybe they wanted to push Sasshi a bit more since she’d be getting her own unit three-or-so months later and Aika wouldn’t?  Lastly, Oku is an interesting choice in this unit.  She’s rather out of place as the rest of the girls are Team B.  For some reason I was thinking that she was wearing Kayano’s costume, but I think it must be Risa’s considering how it fits!

Nagisa no CHERRY

Oops, I guess I spoke to soon: This is where Jurina is an Acchan.  I guess this is what happens when you decide to review the concert so long after seeing it!  One thing that’s great about ‘Nagisa’ is that one doesn’t need good vocals to sing this one… at all.  Jurina isn’t really impaired there, but her dancing is top-notch, which is one thing that might help in this situation.

In blue are Gussan, Nakayan, and Kaorin.  Nakayan, another great dancer, gets the center for the bridge, naturally.  Please note, Gussan and Kaorin already performed a unit in this concert as back-dancers, but they’re here, too.  I don’t know whether that’s a good thing for them or a bad thing… but at least we get to see more of them.  There are a few girls who didn’t get units at JCB, that probably could have grabbed these spots, though….

It would suck when the pretty bubbles get more screen time than you do, wouldn’t it?

I wonder if she thinks it’s a little weird that she’s singing about being seventeen in past tense, yet at the time of this concert, she was definitely eleven.  I know that Acchan started singing this when she was turning fifteen, so it’s still odd, but it’s definitely not a six-year age gap.

MARIA

I think the majority of AKB’s fans were hoping for this: Takamina in ‘MARIA.’  And we all got it.  With any luck, we’ll see two more girls perform the song if it’s included in the new Musical Infinity script and it’s shown on DVD (let us pray…)

Takamina of course takes over the song.  With ‘Higurashi no Koi’ we learned that Team A’s low register leader’s voice is quite a bit higher than Team K’s, but now we see that they’re just different.  While Yuka has a huge range, as can be heard in any fun or cute song she’s in, Takamina has a pretty set selection of notes she can hit… but she can hit them darn well.

First off, I love the sparkly microphone holders.  They’re so blinged-out.  Now, Miichan also did a superb job here.  I love when she is put in more hardcore units because those work with her personality a bit more.  Here she even gets a better part than Itano which is pretty exciting.  Somehow she’s also able to put on a bit lower and gravely tone in her voice which echos Ohori’s version of her part well.  The one thing I don’t like is that she’s paired with Takamina again.  This is done too much.  I am glad that she’s with Itano, though.  I love that pair together.

Itano sings her usual way, which is so similar to Kasai’s voice but so different at the same time.  It’s lower and looses the innocence of Kasai’s vocals but retains the girlishness.

Fog… I love it.  It covers the stage nicely.  And I just thought of something: it must not be fun for the audience when the girls sing units from the back of the stage because they end up being pretty far back there.  At least on DVD it looks nice.

See!  Look at that ugly set!  It’s so plain!

Okay, so sometimes it can look nice… but most ugly things look better in the dark…

Faint

A performance of the Hana song so quickly after she left?  Wow.  Remembering back to when this concert just happened, I really liked the selection of girls for the song.  An unpopular one (Umeda/Nozofisu), a fairly popular one to lead (Miho/Itano), and one that is getting more popular quickly (Aki/Hana).  Here, Umeda puts out an incredible performance with her usual great dancing and singing and Miho uses her youth to put this unit in a different league than that of Itano’s.  I’m a little unsure of Aki in the song.  Yes, her voice is somewhat similar to the original’s, but it lacks the same drive that Hana’s did here.  I guess I’ll credit it to her new-ness to the AKB world, since she was new to Team A (I think she had just gotten in recently) and she wasn’t a research student all that long.  And you know, they’re pushing her a lot lately.

It looks like Miho must not have fit in Tomo-chin’s shorts, so she got a ruffly skirt made.  And she has that pretty garter.  That might be old, though.

I swear, that fish-eye lense needs to be smashed.

Glass no I LOVE YOU

‘Glass no I LOVE YOU’ seems to be in almost every concert.  I think the only DVD-friendly ones it hasn’t been in are NHK07 and the Budokan series.  Anyway, here it’s presented by my aforementioned Acchan 2, Acchan 3, Acchan 4, and Rabutan.  An excellent line-up, if I do say so myself.  Everyone sounds just like they usually do, so I can’t really say much about their vocal prowess.

Fujie is lovely.  I want you all to know that.

Are the pink frilly trunks new?  I seem to remember them wearing their usual black shorts under these costumes… maybe I’m thinking of the ‘Nageki no Figure’ ones, though.  They’re similarly pretty.

I’m not really sure who likes this more: the wota or the girls.  For the wota, it’s a quartet of cute girls in cute costumes singing a cute song cutely.  For the girls, it’s about pink, shiny, sparkly, ruffle-y, glorious costumes.  The girls win.

This walking section gets me everytime in any song it’s done in (examples include ‘Idol no Yobanaide’ and ‘Nage Kissu de Uchi Otose’.)

I love how Mayu gets to bask in her awesomeness.

Kimi wa Pegasus

Wow, Akimoto.  Do you work at a meat counter?  Because you just butchered this song.  I’m not impressed at all.  I don’t care that it’s a great song: putting front girls in a song that they’re not ready for won’t turn out well.  This Team A version didn’t go over very well with me.

Acchan subs for Sayaka.  Yup.  That happened.  Not saying anything else.

Rie (who for the longest time I thought was Sasshi), doesn’t fit well here.  She has a perfectly okay voice, but it’s just way too high for this kind of song… or something.  It just doesn’t fit.

Haruna was the only one who improved the vocals in this song.  Sae lacks a bit in her voice, but as mentioned earlier, makes up for it in her dancing.  Haruna’s dancing isn’t quite as good, but it does get the job done.  I’d recommend her for Natsuki’s position, as they often shared lines in Himawari-gumi.  It’s kind of cute how Haruna and Sae switched parts in this shuffle concert, though.

Noro Kayo’s spot was taken by Miichan and rightfully so.  Miichan is getting better and better lately and what better way to show it off than in Nonti’s lines in this unit?  This was a successful casting.

And then we hear the choruses again and it goes down hill.  Acchan doesn’t have a very loud or powrful voice from what I’ve heard, yet you can hear it a ton in the group lines, which suggests they turned up her vocals from the recording.  Anyway, as a unit, this doesn’t work.  If Haruna switched to blue and Rie and Acchan left, this might turn out well.  From Team A, I’d suggest… Mai for Sayaka… and… Chiichan for Sae?  I think that might work better.

Junjou Shugi

Awesome shuffle right here.  Just awesome.  Maybe I just love the song, though.  Regardless, I’m happy.

Tomo-chin is Team A’s sexy member.  With ‘FAINT,’ ‘Itoshisa no defense,’ ‘Confession,’ and her everyday assortment of clothing to be scantily-clad, Tomochin ranks up there with Ohori in the sex appeal department.  Haachan is Team B’s closest thing, and she’s also kind of an amazing singer, too.  In this performance, we have the strong vocals replaced by Itano’s sultry ones, and it gives it a nice flavor overall.  Somewhat off-topic, but whoever designed that dress needs a raise… and needs to make more AKB costumes.

Amina and Sae work well here, too.  Amina’s usually bouncy voice sounds so amazing with the vocoder atop it.  I would love a techno-inspired song with that sound from her.  Sae matches a bit too much with Amina, but that’s fine.  I think I’m just too used to the difference between Matsuyuki and Inoue/Nakayan/Moeno.  Oh, and the RS back there are dancing their butts off, so great job to them, too.  Yay.  I love good shuffles… especially if they use the NHK07-like Mr Kissman glitter-y strands in the background.

Namida no Shounen

Finally.  A shuffle song with Natsuki solo lines.  I’ve been waiting and I’m very glad it’s finally happening.  The line-up is pretty good, too.

Yuko, who has recently became my new favorite front girl, takes Ayumi’s lines and of course does a great job with them.  What I love about her is that even though she’s an experienced idol, she’s really trained her voice and she’s ready for anything, be it a youthful song, or a more mature unit like this one.  And I love how short she is in comparision to the other girls, especially being right next to Natsuki.

And then my oshimen executes Mariko’s lines perfectly.  When it was first posted that Natsuki was in this unit, I only knew that Saeki got to lead, and the list of performers, so I went through every show I could find with this song in it (A2, B2, AX08, and Natsumatsuri Hibiyayaon) trying to figure out which spot she’d get.  I knew Yuko would get the other lead, so I ranked the order of the other spots, and Mariko’s was the lowest in my rank.  Oh well.  I’m just glad she got something in this concert!

Natsumi’s next and I am impressed by her work here.  I expected a higher voice like we heard in the previous concert’s ‘Kagami no Jean de Arc,’ but she went quite a bit lower and it sounded much, much better.

Mikachi grabs Mai’s part, the unit’s center.  I’ve always wondered if Akimoto wanted Mika to become a popular girl in Team B, as he always seemed to push her.  She has that certain quality about her that is really likable and she’s superb at singing.  There’s reason she was put in a duet with Kashiyuki.  Just watching her here makes me smile.

Another yay, Chiichan is in this unit!  My top two are right here!  I love it.  And she’s perfect.  We all know that, though.  I can’t wait to see the Budokan Team A concert DVD in Nagoya.  She’s leading two units and partially leading a third.  It’s going to be epic.

One great thing about the positions my girls got is that they get duet lines in the chorus against the other three.  They sound impeccable together.  I could gush, but I’m not going to.  In conclusion: I’m happy again.  (Oh, and notice the decorated mic stands?)

Blue Rose

When I began working on this review, I noticed something interesting: the three true unit songs in K2/B1 are included in the same order as they would be in the original Stages.  I’m assuming they did it on purpose, but I think it’s rather interesting.  This means that next up is ‘Blue Rose.’

The two most popular girls outside of the AKB fandom Mariko and Mai lead the song’s vocals.  Mariko is a natural choice here and I think she performed it in the shuffle version of the Aitakatta concert, but that might have been Mai.  One of them at least.

Next to Mariko’s deeper voice, Mai seems even more feminine and, with the help of her charm with a mic stand, sensual.  Any performance that includes Mai and a stick-like object in front of her tend to be great, and this one is no exception.

On the sides we have Kasai and Kohara, both rather unlikely choices for this type of song.  We’re used to seeing them in high-pitched songs thanks to their own characteristics, but I guess they really wanted to mix it up.  Considering they share a duet line, we can’t really hear them all that accurately, so I’m not going to really note their work here.

In the bridge is a very famous kicking-of-the-mic-stand.  This is done by the girl grabbing the cord attached to it and kicking it so it looks like it’ll fall into the audience, but then pulling the cord back so the girl gets it back.  Usually this works out fine, but it looks like Tomomi-chan kicked too low and the bottom nearly fell into the audience, which really wasn’t supposed to happen at all.  With a little bit of pulling and the help of a backstage guy, she ends up getting it’s legs back on stage and she’s back to her usual self.  That was a cute blooper, though.

Kinjirareta Futari

I think it’s safe to assume that Yuko’s spot in this song was supposed to go to Sayaka.  Sayaka’s the only front girl who didn’t get a unit, and Kashiyuki already performed this song for all of B1.  I think I’d prefer it if that would have happened as it’d be a compete Team K shuffle.  And it would possibly have a completely different dynamic.

Erena does a great job in Kasai’s place.  Not much to say there.  She must say something funny during the MC portion, but I’m clueless as to what it was.

I guess that they shortened the skirt for her, and in AX09, they forgot to lengthen it back to Kasai’s size, so she wore a super mini-dress for the Top 100.

Ame no Doubutsuen

The famous animal song pops up next with Jurina and Rena leading and Rumi, Nakayan, Miku, Kumi, Nakatsuka, and Naruse being the rest of the zoo.  It’s weird to have an SKE48-led unit in an AKB48 concert, but I guess we’ll have to get used to it.  I’m glad that in this show they used all eight animals, as I hate it when they use less and some girls don’t get a single part in the concert.  Now, I know there are a few who didn’t get spots in this one, but at least they’re using up all availible costumes for the units they do end up doing.

Tonari no Banana

Great shuffle.  Awesome choice of girls.  Simply wonderful.  In the last concert, this unit was done by Mayu and Aika, so this is a welcome change.  And considering their experience in AKB, this is a great boost in for their popularity.

Ohori gets the first lines and sings just like a little girl, which could be argued is the complete opposite of herself.  I love it.  Now, Megumi’s gotten funnier as time has progressed, especially with Nonti in the area.

I’m not sure what the flower-ing branch is doing, but I saw it poke up for a moment in Blue Rose, so they must be singing about it or something and it’s not a random fan’s.

On the topic of Kayo, she goes another route.  She begins her lines with her apparently booming deep voice and finishes it with the squeaky grace of the original unit.  This versitality is wonderful.  Long live the Nonti!

Oshibe to Meshibe to Yoru no Chouchou

The crown jewel of the JCB concert is the front-girl version of ‘Oshibe Meshibe’ with two leads of Team A.  I’m not a fan of this personally, as it’s another unit of them just grabbing popular girls and putting them into positions that don’t fit well.  Neither have the natural sexiness or innocence of the original duo.

One thing about the costumes: they do not fit.  Kojiharu is a bit too large for Ohori’s outfit and Acchan is too small for Kasai’s.  I would usually say to just switch them, but then I think this performance might get worse as that’d be even farther from their personalities.

Okay, that just looks like an awkward hug.

Anata to Christmas Eve
‘
Considering the proximity of this concert’s date to Christmas, this was a very nice, unexpected touch.  I like how they saved two of the front girls who can actually sing this song to perform it.  It makes me feel like AKS does have some standards.

And there’s snow!  I love getting excited about little things like this.

And pretty lights.  Yay.

Overture (SKE48 ver.)

And SKE48 infiltrates the stage!  I just wish they would keep to themselves a bit more.  I mean, they have their own concerts and a single, so what’s the need to take over AKB set lists, too?  At least I love this ‘Overture.’  The music is almost the same as the AKB48 ‘Overture,’ but the “lyrics” are about SKE’s location in Nagoya.  The cool part of this one is that they have an actual dance to go along with it.  I think SKE might focus a bit more on dancing, as they’re audition to become a member vs. an RS concentrates on dancing.  And I like how they make the letters that go into making their name.

Doku Ringo wo Tabesasete

This is an odd song to be performed in concert like this.  It’s not very popular and it’s very old, but I guess this i a way to sort of prove that they are in fact performing A1/K1/S1 in their theater.  It certainly doesn’t stand out here, but the girls do a good job in its performance.  And I like the red and green colors used for lighting, as they match the image of an apple like in the song.

SKE48

I like how Jurina gets to lead the MC immediately before this.  It’s almost as though she’s being thrust at us.

They get to sing both verses of this song, too… why is it that SKE gets to sing the entirety of some of their (old) songs, while the Teams can’t in these sorts of concerts?  We miss out on hearing/seeing so many girls’ lines in this format.  Bleh.

And what’s with these uniforms?  Are they from something?  Are they the S2 ballad costumes?  They just seem out of place.

Tanjoubi no Yoru

I don’t see why this song is so popular… it’s about birthdays and it’s not really all that interesting.  Oh well.

This version is with Team A including it’s new members and a Kenkyuusei or two to fill up the remaining positions.  They get to wear the amazing ‘109′ (‘Marukyu’) costumes.  I love those.  We need more similar to them.

I’ve always thought that the concept within AKB that the RS-to-Team girls get to take graduated members’ spots is weird.  I mean, shouldn’t the remaining Team memembers pick those up if they’re more popular.  It ends up being that whenever a Stage is made, the girls keep their spots for all eternity, regardless of their shift in popularity.  RS-to-Team members featured in these songs always get a boost.  Lucky them.  I understand that it’s easier for the girls to learn if they already know their position in the song from past performances, but it’s all kind of off to me.  At least Chiichan and Fujie are near the front quite a bit.

Mirai no Kajitsu

Team A seems to have gotten possession of all of the Himawari-gumi songs.  Here they get what was an image song for a water campaign or something when it first came out.  (Let me add that Natsuki was one of the selected members for this.)  I honestly think the song is kind of bland, and so I think it’s a poor choice for the show.  I guess it fits with the previous song, so I’ll let it slide a little.  Just this once, though.  Team A has so many great songs in its repertory, so why choose a boring one?  Especially in those costumes, why don’t they ‘Switch’ it up a bit?

Two Years Later

For some reason, I’ve never really cared for ‘Two Years Later.’  It’s kind of monotonous and seems as though its concept was a darker-toned filler song.  I love how there are so many great solo parts in the verses, but the chorus seems to just go on and on.  Maybe it’s too slow for me or something?  Also, the costumes don’t really help the performance here.  I love those A5 opener dresses, but they just don’t belong.

Shounichi

I really dislike how everytime Team B gets to perform a song, it’s always ‘Shounichi.’  I mean, it’s a great song and it matches Team B in general so well, but it’s just over-done now.  Why not just save it for Shibuya AX?

For a moment I was all confused when I saw Chikano as I didn’t know who was missing, then I realized that I hadn’t seen CinDy in a while and (since I’m too lazy to look it up) I’ve decided that she must have not been at this concert.  I love how I’ve started to refuse to research (and spell-check) my concert reviews…

Yay for Tanamin.  She looks particularly gorgeous in green.

Again, bad costume choice.  It works better here, but still.  They should have just gone with the JK school uniforms that go overtop of these.  They’d have matched both songs much better.

I was definitely anticipating ‘Hissatsu Teleport’ to be next.  That’s how used to the B3 order I am!

Shamu Neko

I remember this performance.  I was super excited when I saw the girls pounce on stage in the white fringe outfits from their ‘Nante Tatte Idol’ performance with Nakagawa Shoko and Leah Dizon.  I happen to love them, and the fact that they’re all wearing white instead of the red from Natsumatsuri Hibiyayaon is even better.

As this is a bigger concert, they only perform the first verse, which means no Natsuki solo lines.  We do however get Nonti and a special appearance by Umeda!  I seem to always treat Umechan in these concerts as a guest because she’s missed so many over the years for various reasons.

The first time I watched the chorus from this DVD I let out the biggest wide-eyed gasp ever.  Suddenly I saw Natsuki.  And not just any Natsuki: instead of putting her in one of the empire-waisted dresses like she’s been put in ever since Kouhaku ended, she got one of the slinkiest out of the two-piece variations.  And she looks phenomenal.  She just blew my mind.

See, she’s just phenomenal.

Where’s my PB?

I’m running out of things to say…

But I just have to post these caps.

Korogaru Ishi ni Nare

And we’re back to Team anthems.  Similar to ‘Shounichi,’ I’m done with this one.  I’m hoping that since the Teams are being shuffled, I’ll only have to hear this one at Shibuya AX.

Natsuki slid up to the front line during the chorus…. I believe that’s different from usual, but I may be wrong.

See, look at that boring background.  Yes, I’m still angry about it.

Natsuki!  Be a rolling rock!

Nonti totally wins with best ending pose.

Baby! Baby! Baby!

All of a sudden the entirety of AKB comes on stage to perform their digital single.  To me, this looks ridiculous to have all of the girls crammed on such a small area.  They could have used the steps in the back at the very least!

Mayu looks a bit out of place with her colors.  You’d think they could have put Team B in the ‘JESUS’ costumes or something equally gold to match the other two Teams, but of course they needed to be randomly colorful.  Right behind Mayu and Mai is Natsuki!

She even gets to sing her usual set of lines.  I wonder if this is because of the Team K absences?  That’d make the most sense to me.  The set-up of the girls seems to be the most popular girls in the center doing the singing, while the less popular girls surround them on the sides dancing.

Dear My Teacher

Yay!  I’ve been waiting for an all-Team version of this for a while now!  The girls move into their Teams and basically do three performances at the same time.  It’s neat to see the different line-ups of girls.  Here I made the realization that anyone in AKB who has originally gotten Nakanishi Rina’s lines has had a break during their AKB career.  Rina was out for something like six months during H1 and H2, Kikuchi had her boyfriend scandal for B3 and B4, and Umeda was injured for K3, H1, and H2.  I wonder who got those lines in S1.  I have yet to see the DVD.  And does Team KII perform the song in KII1?

Nonti fidgets with her microphone.  Those headsets seem to be a lot of trouble.  Everyone seems to have to mess with them whenever they (rarely) wear them.

Have I ever mentioned that this is Natsuki’s favorite song?

BINGO!

The last song of the non-encore section of the concert is ‘BINGO!’  This one seems to be a heavily-modified Himawari-gumi format with mostly Team 1 and the more popular members of Team B taking part in the actual singing.  The rest are on the sides or risers, with the RS in the back.

Natsuki gets her usual lines with Sae, as I’ll bet that Sayaka’s absence gave her a spot.  Good for her!  She tends to fill in often.

The steps moved during the bridge.  It was quite cool.  I wish that there was a better camera angle for it, though.

(Kenkyuusei Dance)

The new RS make a special appearance in the ‘PARTY ga Hajimaru yo’ uniforms.  Takamina talks over the music and sort of introduces them.  Notably, Kikuchi is in there, but I couldn’t really spot her.

Hikouki Gumo

And a newer concert song (and now part of the ‘RIVER’ single) starts off the encore!  Team B keeps getting shoved to the back…

Midway through this performance I noticed that there was a lot of screen time for Yuko… and then I realized that she wasn’t in the rest of it, and understood what was going on.  Glad to have her back on stage.

The start of the chorus brings in the more experienced Kenkyuusei.  I hate how I actually had to work to figure out if they were either SKE48 members, old RS, or new RS.

Aitakatta

Gasp!  I would have never thought they would perform this song!  Just kidding.  It’s over-done, too, but I’m fine with it.  As long it’s all of AKB performing.  And the stage is moving again.  It’s these little things that make me excited.

This angle makes the stage look like it was made in a video game for some reason…

Natsuki!  Yay.  She got to sing in the second verse… as usual.

I love these three in the same shot.  They’re all very similar in my book.

Yuuhi wo Miteiru ka?

Finally, the seemingly long lost single makes its way into a concert!  ‘Yuuhi’ has been released for over a year, but it’s just now getting it’s large-scale debut.  I feel like this performance wasn’t as heart-warming as I would have liked.  I think they needed to make a big line across the front of the stage like they do in the H1 version.

It ends with SKE48 and all of the RS getting on stage in positions for ‘Oogoe Diamond’ with pretty lighting that evokes the image of the title’s setting sun.

Oogoe Diamond

And the gimmick of the night: a 89(-ish)-girl version of ‘Oogoe Diamond.’  I know what you’re thinking: They already performed this in this concert!  You’re wrong.  They just almost doubled the girls.  That means it’s a totally different song.  Duh.

The dynamic triangular formation is lost when so many girls are on stage…

Oh, and look!  Natsuki… stuck on the side again.  Oh well.

Yup, Ayarin’s back in town.

Go get her, Mikachi!  I believe in you!  Don’t let a child steal your spot light!

And more Natsuki!

See, just look at how many girls are on stage.  It’s getting to be a bit much, right?

And it’s over.  Yay.  Okay concert.  I’m still not a huge fan of it, but now after finally reviewing it, I feel like it was at least a little bit better put together than I originally did.

Modernicus: Seattle Modern: Mid-Century Furniture and Accessories Road:
M A P of the most exquisite places where to shop for or just enjoy fine modern or mid-century furniture in the city of Seattle, WA.

Most of these stores carry classics like: Eames, Bertoia, Saarinen, Aalto, Nelson, Noguchi or Florence Knoll and new modern pieces by the likes of Bensen, Didier Gomez or Patricia Urquiola, just to mention a few.

It is a must to visit stores like Egbert’s to enjoy a showroom that combines classic, timeless Mid-Century pieces with more exotic accessories with a tribal flair. It is a very pleasant combination that makes a home feel home.

Other stores to go to are Velocity Art and Design and of course the more established chains like Inform Interiors, Ligne Roset, Current or Diva.

A few more places to shop in Seattle:

Chartreuse International (2609 1st Ave, Seattle, WA 98121)
A mix of new and used furniture and accessories (Vitra, Alessi, Marimekko). Good place for accessories but for furniture its hit and miss.

Area 51 (401 E Pine St, Seattle, WA 98122)
New furniture. Reproductions of classics and mid-century modern inspired contemporary pieces. Prices are good but without getting into an authorized versus non-authorized reproduction debate the quality does not compare to what you will find at the stores called out above (Inform, Ligne Roset, Diva etc.) that carry either thier own lines or Herman Miller, Knoll etc.. Dwell bedding.

TUULI of Finland (1407 1st Ave, Seattle WA, 98101)
Products from Finland. Even though the only thing mid-century here are the Marimekko fabrics I really like the store. The owner (I assume) is really great and will not only sell you the fabric but will frame it for you for a reasonable rate if you are intereseted in mid-century fabric wall hangings.

DWR (Seattle and Kirkland)
Shouldn’t need any further description. Anyway unless you are buying one of the small number of pieces exlusive to DWR you are better off shopping online at highbrowfurniture.com (no tax or shipping) or Inform were you will get a lot more color and fabric choices and help sifting through them. Historically DWR has gouged on delivery/shipping charges and thier is no pick up option (shiping prices are getting a little bit better). The Seattle showroom is bigger but I’ve found the Kirkland staff friendlier and more knowledgeable.

Alchemy Collections (2029 Second Ave, Seattle, WA 98121)
Reproductions and furniture ‘inspired by’ modern classics made in China I think as the rest of the store has an Asian modern feel. Mostly reproductions of the classics but also surprisingly some knock offs of contemporary pieces (B&B Italia for example). Quality of reproductions seemed really low to me. The pieces that I didn’t recognized seemed better quality. I think they have opened up another store on Western Ave just down from Inform. I’d recommend Area 51 or Velocity art and Design over Alchemy in terms of quality reproductions.

Urchin (1922 1st Ave, Seattle, WA)
Mostly modern accessories but also a small amount of furniture and clothing. Call it a euro-’boutique’ of modernism. Cute little store but selection is very limited.

Retrofit Home (1419 12th Ave, Seattle, WA 98122)
Another mostly accessories store although they have some furniture (Blu Dot and the like). Has more of a pop 60s feel. I prefer “Velocity Art and Design” and Chartreuse.

Collective (5323 Ballard Ave NW, Seattle, WA 98107)
Vintage (used) mid century furniture. You generally won’t find the iconic Herman Miller and Knoll pieces here but what you will find is unique, well above average in terms of design quality, and in very good to excellent condition. You will also pay top dollar for it. In their defence if you’ve tried hunting down interesting vintage pieces at garage sales, goodwill, etc. you’ll know how time consuming it can be. If time is money its probably cheaper to have the folks at Collective hunt it down for you. If Collective’s prices make you choke the next easiest alternative is craigslist.

Antika (8421 Greenwood Ave. N, Seattle, WA 98103)
Antique store with a Danish modern room in the back. I’ve been here a couple of times but haven’t been impressed with the stock. Prices and condition are reasonable but none of the pieces stood out as representing exceptional design. It’s Danish modern but you won’t find Wegner, Fritz Hansen, Jacobsen, Ib Kofod Larsen, etc. here.

Crate and Barrel (University District and Bellevue)
Might not come to mind for mid-century or modernism but quality is light light years beyond Ikea (or Pottery Barn or Restoration Hardware etc.). Prices are reasonable for the quality. They have a mid-century inspired furniture line, re-issues of Eva Zeisal dinnerware, etc.. I prefer the architetcure at the University district store otherwise they are the same.

Tottini (259 Yale Avenue North, Seattle, WA 98109)
Modern furniture, accesories, and toys for kids. Build that inspiring environment for your ‘future architect’. Just down the street from Velocity Art and Design so take one trip and check them both out.

Artemide (310 Occidental Ave S, Seattle, WA)
Full line of Artemide lighting located in the pioneer square area. Love the products but they’re not cheap. There is a another very cool lighting store on Western near Inform which I like to but can’t remember the name of (either Highlights or Lightform).

The preview for the October 6, 2009 auction at Wright is now online (here) and is definitely worth reviewing, for those of you interested in mid-century modern interior furniture by a an acceptable array of some of the agreed upon masters of the genre.

Let us know if you pick up anything interesting!

designalog@live.fr

เรื่องของ ดร. โนงูจิ ฉบับการ์ตูน จัดจำหน่ายในไทยโดยสำนักพิมพ์วิบูลย์กิจ

วันนี้ไปค้นกองหนังสือเก่า พบการ์ตูนอยู่เล่มหนึ่งสภาพโทรมสุดๆ ชื่อ ดร.โนงูจิ ด้วยใจนักสู้ เขียนโดย อ. โตชิยูกิ มุสึ ผลิตโดยสำนักพิมพ์วิบูลย์กิจ จำได้ว่าเคยอ่านเมื่อนานมาแล้ว เป็นการ์ตูนเรื่องเยี่ยมที่ยังอยู่ในดวงใจ อยากจะให้ใครๆ ได้ลองอ่านบ้างแล้วจะรู้เลยว่า ความสุขในชีวิตนี้มันอยู่ไม่ไกลเกินมือเอื้อมเลย

ดร. โนงูจิ ด้วยใจนักสู้ เป็นการ์ตูนที่สร้างจากเรื่องจริง เมื่อตอนที่อ่านครั้งแรกนั้นจำได้ว่าเช่ามาจากร้านแค่ ๓ เล่ม อ่านจบอย่างรวดเร็วแล้วรีบไปยืมมาอีกจนครบ ๑๗ เล่ม อ่านรวดเดียวจบเช่นเคย เป็นการ์ตูนอีกเรื่องหนึ่งที่ซึ้งกินใจมากๆ ตอนนั้นยังไม่แน่ใจว่าเขียนจากเรื่องจริงหรือไม่ จนเมื่อทราบในเวลาต่อมาว่าเป็นเรื่องจริงก็ยิ่งซาบซึ้งมากขึ้นไปอีกเป็นเท่าทวี

การ์ตูนเรื่องนี้เล่าเรื่องราวชีวิตของบุคคลสำคัญคนหนึ่งในประวัติศาสตร์ของประเทศญี่ปุ่น สำคัญถึงขนาดที่มีรูปท่านผู้นี้ปรากฎในธนบัตรฉบับละ ๑,๐๐๐ เยน เพื่อเป็นที่ระลึกถึงคุณงามความดีของท่าน ดร. โนงูจิ เดิมชื่อ โนงูจิ เซซากุ ต่อมาได้เปลี่ยนชื่อเป็น โนงูจิ ฮิเดโยะ (แปลว่าดวงอาทิตย์หรือในความหมายที่ว่าผู้ส่องแสง ผู้มีความเจิดจ้า) ท่านเกิดในครอบครัวชาวนาที่ยากจนในหมู่บ้านเล็กๆ แห่งหนึ่งที่จังหวัดฟุคุชิมะ กำพร้าบิดาแต่เล็ก มีคุณแม่ชิกะเป็นผู้เลี้ยงดูมาตลอด เมื่อท่านยังเด็กได้ประสบอุบัติเหตุตกลงไปในเตาหลุม (เตาไฟสำหรับหุงหาอาหารและสร้างความอบอุ่น มักตั้งอยู่บริเวณกลางบ้าน พบในบ้านแบบโบราณของชาวญี่ปุ่น) เหตุการณ์ครั้งนั้นทำให้มือซ้ายของท่านโดนไฟลวกจนพุพองและไม่สามารถใช้งานได้ ซึ่งทำให้คุณแม่ชิกะโทษตัวเองอยู่ตลอดเวลาที่เป็นต้นเหตุทำให้ลูกชายต้องพิการแต่เล็ก คุณแม่ชิกะจึงตั้งปณิธานแน่วแน่ว่าจะเลี้ยงดูท่านอย่างดีที่สุดเท่าที่จะสามารถทำได้

ธนบัตรฉบับละ ๑,๐๐๐ เยน ที่มีภาพของ ดร. โนงูจิ

ครอบครัวของท่านอาจเรียกได้ว่าเป็นครอบครัวที่ยากจนที่สุดในหมู่บ้าน โชคดีที่สังคมในยุคเก่ายังคงมีการเจือจานแบ่งปันกันตามประสังคมชนบท ตัวท่านเองแม้จะพิการแต่น้อยแต่ก็เป็นเด็กเฉลียวฉลาด มีแววเก่งตั้งแต่เด็ก ท่านมักจะช่วยเหลืองานคุณแม่ชิกะอยู่เสมอ แต่คุณแม่มักจะปรามด้วยเหตุผลที่ว่า “ลูกทำงานหนักแบบชาวนาไม่ไหวดอก ดังนั้นลูกต้องตั้งใจเรียนให้มากๆ” คุณแม่ชิกะทำงานหนักอย่างไม่ยอมพักเพื่อชดเชยความรู้สึกผิดที่ทำให้ท่านต้องเสียมือซ้ายไป แต่กระนั้นก็ห้ามมิให้ท่านแสดงความกตัญญูด้วยการแบ่งเบาภาระไม่ได้อยู่ดี

ท่านโนงูจิเข้าเรียนที่โรงเรียนประจำหมู่บ้าน เมื่อเริ่มโตขึ้น ความพิการก็เริ่มส่งผล ท่านมักจะถูกเพื่อนๆ ล้อเลียนอยู่เสมอและมันก็ยังเป็นอุปสรรคต่อการเรียนด้วย ความลำบากทางกายนั้นพอทนได้ แต่ความลำบากใจนั้นยากเกินจะทน ท่านถูกเพื่อนๆ กลั่นแกล้งจนทนไม่ไหว จึงหนีโรงเรียนแต่แสร้งว่าไปโรงเรียนทุกๆ เช้า จนเมื่อคุณชิกะรู้ความจริง แทนที่จะโกรธ กลับรู้สึกเห็นใจลูกชายและยังคงโทษตัวเองว่าเป็นคนผิดเอง เหตุการณ์ครั้งนี้ทำให้ท่านรู้สึกผิดและสัญญาว่าจะไม่หนีเรียนอีกไม่ว่าจะถูกกลั่นแกล้งสักเพียงใดก็ตาม จากวันนั้นเป็นต้นมาผลการเรียนของท่านก็ดีขึ้นและไม่เคยสอบได้ต่ำกว่าที่ ๑ เลยสักครั้ง

แม้จะยากจนและลำบากมากเพียงใด แต่ท่านก็ยังโชคดีที่ได้พบแต่คนดีๆ เมื่อผ่านชั้นประถมปลาย ท่านได้พบกับคุณครูโคบายาชิ ซึ่งต่อมากลายเป็นผู้มีพระคุณต่อท่านมากที่สุดคนหนึ่ง คุณครูโคบายาชิทึ่งในความสามารถด้านการเรียนของท่านและรู้สึกเห็นใจในชะตาชีวิตของครอบครัวโนงูจิ จึงอาสาเป็นผู้อุปการะส่งเสียให้เรียนจนถึงชั้นมัธยม ต่อมาคุณครูโคบายาชิได้ร่วมมือกับเพื่อนๆ เรี่ยไรเงินเพื่อใช้เป็นค่ารักษาในการผ่าตัดมือซ้ายของท่านจนหายดีเป็นปรกติ นับเป็นจุดเริ่มต้นในการอุทิศตนเพื่อเป็นแพทย์ผู้คอยช่วยเหลือผู้ยากไร้ตลอดจนวาระสุดท้ายในชีวิตของท่าน

หลังจากจบมัธยมปลายด้วยผลการเรียนดีเยี่ยม ท่านขอร้อง ดร. คานาเอะ วาตานาเบ แพทย์ผู้ทำการผ่าตัดมือของท่านให้รับท่านเข้าทำงานที่โรงพยาบาลไคโยะในตำแหน่งนักการภารโรง แลกกับการได้ศึกษาวิชาแพทย์ไปด้วย เพราะคงเป็นไปไม่ได้ที่เด็กยากจนอย่างท่านจะได้รับการศึกษาในระดับสูงตามโรงเรียนทั่วไป ท่านได้ทุ่มเทชีวิตให้การศึกษาวิชาแพทย์อย่างหนัก แต่ก็ยังคงทำงานในฐานะภารโรงอย่างไม่ขาดตกบกพร่อง และยังศึกษาภาษาอังกฤษ ฝรั่งเศส และเยอรมันด้วยตนเองอีกด้วย!

ต่อมาเมื่อญี่ปุ่นทำสงครามกับจีน ดร. วาตานาเบ จึงต้องทิ้งโรงพยาบาลไคโยะเพื่อไปประจำการที่ประเทศจีน ท่านได้รับความไว้วางใจให้ทำหน้าที่ดูแลโรงพยาบาลแทนทั้งที่อายุยังไม่ครบ ๒๐ ปีด้วยซ้ำ ระหว่างนี้เองที่ท่านได้มีโอกาสพบปะกับนายแพทย์เก่งๆ ที่ล้วนแต่ชื่นชมในความกระตือรือร้นของท่าน และได้ถ่ายทอดความรู้ทางการแพทย์ให้อย่างต่อเนื่อง ซึ่งนับเป็นความโชคดีอย่างที่สุด

ท่านได้รับโอกาสดีอีกครั้งเมื่อติดตาม ดร.ชิวากิ มายังโตเกียวเพื่อเตรียมสอบคัดเลือกเป็นแพทย์ (ในสมัยนั้นยังไม่มีสถาบันการศึกษาวิชาแพทย์อย่างเช่นมหาวิทยาลัยต่างๆ เหมือนปัจจุบัน แต่มีการทดสอบความรู้สำหรับวิชาแพทย์จากคณะกรรมการผู้ทรงคุณวุฒิ) ระหว่างที่รอการสอบท่านได้ทำงานที่โรงเรียนทันตแพทย์ทาคายามะ โดยทำหน้าที่เป็นภารโรงและร่ำเรียนเพิ่มเติม ในช่วงนั้นท่านต้องอาศัยอยู่ในโรงเรียนเนื่องจากไม่มีเงินพอที่จะหาที่อยู่ข้างนอกได้

ความยากจนยังคงเป็นอุปสรรคสำคัญในชีวิตของท่าน ท่านยังคงสวมเสื้อผ้าเก่าซอมซ่อเพราะมีอยู่ชุดเดียว แม้กระทั่งวันสอบ ท่านไม่มีแม้กระทั่งชุดหูฟัง (Stethoscope) ซึ่งถือเป็นเครื่องมือจำเป็นสำหรับแพทย์ จนต้องยืมเอาจากผู้คุมสอบ ผลการสอบนั้น จากจำนวนผู้เข้าสอบ ๘๐ คน มีผู้ผ่านเพียง ๔ คน และท่านก็เป็นหนึ่งในนั้น หมายความว่าท่านเป็นแพทย์อย่างเต็มตัวเมื่ออายุเพียง ๒๐ เศษเท่านั้น

เมื่อกลับมายังโรงเรียนทันตแพทย์ทาคายามะ ท่านได้รับการเลื่อนชั้นเป็นอาจารย์ผู้สอนท่ามกลางความงงงวยของบรรดานักเรียน ที่จู่ๆ ภารโรงก็กลายมาเป็นอาจารย์ แต่ท่านก็แสดงความสามารถจนเป็นที่ยอมรับของนักเรียนทุกคน

คุณแม่ชิกะ แม่ผู้ทุ่มเททุกอย่างให้ลูก แม้กระมั่งวาระสุดท้ายของตัวเอง

ท่านยังคงศึกษาวิชาแพทย์เพิ่มเติมอยู่ตลอดเวลาควบคู่ไปกับความก้าวหน้าในอาชีพ แม้ว่าท่านก็ยังได้รับการดูถูกเหยียดหยามเหมือนเมื่อครั้งวัยเยาว์อยู่เสมอ แต่ท่านก็หนักแน่นพอที่จะพิสูจน์คุณค่าของตัวเองด้วยการกระทำจนเป็นที่ยอมรับของคนในสังคม ท่านเริ่มสนใจสาขาวิชาระบาดวิทยาและทำการวิจัยอย่างจริงจัง และได้รับโอกาสให้เดินทางไปยังสหรัฐอเมริกาเพื่อทำวิจัย

แม้ว่าที่ญี่ปุ่น ท่านจะได้รับการยอมรับในฐานะแพทย์ผู้มีเกียรติ แต่ที่อเมริกา ท่านกลับได้รับแต่การดูแคลน เนื่องด้วยความรังเกียจของชาวอเมริกันที่มีต่อชาวเอเชียว่าเป็นชนชาติที่ต่ำต้อย ไร้วัฒนธรรม ท่านก็ยังคงใช้วิธีเดิม คือนิ่งเฉยและตอบโต้ด้วยผลงานจนเป็นที่ยอมรับในระดับนานาชาติ

ท่านได้รับเลือกจาก ดร. เฟลกซ์เนอร์ ผู้อำนวยการสถาบันวิจัยการแพทย์คนแรกของมูลริธิร็อกกี้เฟลเลอร์ (Rockefeller Foundation) ให้เป็นผู้ช่วย โดยขณะนั้นท่านมีอายุเพียง ๒๘ ปี ท่านได้กลายเป็นบุคคลที่มีชื่อเสียงในระดับโลกไปเสียแล้ว

จากเด็กพิการยากจนในชนบทที่บ้านเกิด บัดนี้ท่านได้กลายเป็นนายแพทย์ผู้มีผลงานวิจัยในระดับโลก แต่ท่านก็ไม่เคยลืมเลือนอดีต ในปี ๒๔๕๘ เป็นเวลากว่า ๑๕ ปีที่ท่านจากประเทศญี่ปุ่น ท่านได้เดินทางกลับแผ่นดินเกิดอีกครั้งในฐานะผู้มีชื่อเสียงระดับโลก ที่แรกที่ท่านเดินทางไปคือที่บ้านโกโรโกโสหลังเดิม ที่มีคุณแม่ชิกะเฝ้ารอในชุดเก่าซอมซ่อเหมือนเดิม แม้ว่าในระหว่างที่ท่านประสบความสำเร็จยังต่างประเทศ แต่คุณแม่ชิกะก็ยังคงทำงานหนักเหมือนเช่นเดิม ท่านให้เหตุผลว่า ตอนนี้ เซซากุ กำลังทุ่มเททำงานอย่างลำบาก ตัวฉันเองก็ต้องทุ่มเททำงานเท่าที่ฉันจะทำได้เหมือนกัน

คุณแม่ชิกะเสียชีวิตด้วยโรคไข้หวัดใหญ่ ขณะที่ ดร. โนงูจิ กำลังทำงานวิจัยอยู่ที่ปานามา ก่อนจะสิ้นลมท่านยังเพ้อถึง ดร. โนงูจิ ให้พยายามต่อสู้ต่อไป ห้ามสิ้นหวังอย่างเด็ดขาด นับเป็นการปลดปล่อยตัวเองจากความผิดที่ท่านโทษตัวเองมาตลอดชีวิตที่ทำให้ลูกชายต้องผจญกับความยากลำบาก

ที่ทวีปแอฟริกาเกิดการระบาดของโรคไข้เหลือง ดร. โนงูจิ ได้เดินทางไปเพื่อทำการวิจัยและผลิตวัคซีน ท่ามกลางเสียงทัดทานจากหลายฝ่าย เพราะนอกจากจะยังไม่มีวัคซีนป้องกันแล้วยังมีโอกาสติดเชื้อสูง ซึ่งนั่นหมายถึงชีวิต แต่ท่านก็ยืนยันที่จะเดินทางไป จนที่สุดแล้วท่านก็เสียชีวิตที่แอฟริกานั่นเอง ด้วยวัย ๕๒ ปี

รูปปั้นของ ดร. โนงูจิ ตั้งเป็นอนุสรณ์อยู่ที่ประเทศกาน่า
ภาพถัดมาเป็นบรรยากาศในสถาบันวิจัยในกาน่าที่ก่อตั้งขึ้นเพื่อเป็นเกียรติแก่ท่าน
ทั้งสองภาพมาจาก http://semaru.web.infoseek.co.jp/gana.htm

ปัจจุบันชื่อของ ดร. โนงูจิ กลายเป็นชื่อที่คนญี่ปุ่นรู้จักกันดี เป็นชื่อที่สร้างแรงบันดาลใจให้กับใครก็ตามที่คิดว่าตนเองสิ้นหวัง ไม่เพียงแต่ชาวญี่ปุ่นเท่านั้น บนแผ่นดินแอฟริกา ชื่อของท่านก็เป็นที่รู้จักและให้ความเคารพมาจนถึงทุกวันนี้ เพราะท่านคือผู้ที่สามารถพิชิตโรคร้าย อาทิ กาฬโรค ไข้เหลือง ซิฟิลิส ที่ระบาดอย่างรุนแรงไปทั่วทวีป

หมายเหตุ
ไข้เหลือง เป็นโรคติดเชื้อไวรัสที่ทำให้เกิดการระบาดใหญ่ในทวีปอัฟริกา  และอเมริกา     มาตั้งแต่ ๔๐๐ ปีก่อน  อาการของโรคมีได้ตั้งแต่อาการเล็กน้อยจนถึงรุนแรงและเสียชีวิต  คำว่า “เหลือง” มาจากอการตัวเหลืองหรือดีซ่าน (Jaundice) ที่มักพบในผู้ป่วย  ถึงแม้จะมีวัคซีนที่ปลอดภัยและมีประสิทธิผลดีใช้มานาน ๖๐ ปี  แต่จำนวนของผู้ติดเชื้อในช่วงสองทศวรรษที่ผ่านมาก็ยังเพิ่มขึ้น  ทำให้โรคไข้เหลืองกลับมาเป็นปัญหาสาธารณสุขที่สำคัญในปัจจุบัน ติดตามรายละเอียดได้จาก สำนักโรคติดต่อทั่วไป กระทรวงสาธารณสุข

MIMOA is an amazing website that documents thousands of architecture masterpieces across Europe.  When I was in Europe I used this as a guide to see art, landscapes, but mainly architecture.  Now if only there was a website like that for landscape architecture.  Hmmmmm?

“Gibraltar Furniture (800 416 3635) is furniture nirvana for wholesale classics”- Yahoo News!

CORO Italia came into being at the end of 2002 with the aim of making a place for itself in the still little-developed modern furniture, especially modern outdoor furniture design market. The first collection, designed by Stefano Gallizioli, is a complete concept, ranging from chairs and tables to BBQ Grills, aimed at a demanding and refined clientele. The materials used are the result of systematic research of prime elements having those characteristics of quality and solidity capable of guaranteeing the durability of each item in the CORO collection.

The impact of CORO’s presentation to the press was immediately positive, the quality of the imaging and the expression of the company philosophy receiving universal applause.

Over the past three years the collections have been expanded and enriched with new products proposed by young designers and by others of more established fame like James Irvine. Currently, we are present in 80 showrooms in Italy and 260 around the world and among them we can count some of the foremost opinion leaders of the market. CORO sales points are selected, differentiated and all respond to that professionalism which is fundamental in creating a relationship of trust between customer and retailer. Commercial competition is hinged upon ‘made in Italy’ values which are based on advanced technologies and the careful selection of raw materials.

Today CORO lives indoors as well. Although it originates as an outdoor collection, CORO has developed a vast and varied range which has immediately been perceived by the public for use in every living area of the house. CORO can cater for the practical and organisational necessities of the furnishing market and custom-made sector with contract solutions and tailor-made proposals. CORO has all the necessary qualities: resources, energy and market awareness. A small company, with professional management and staff, structured to answer to the needs of their customers’ new life styles. This is CORO’s objective.

Gibraltar is based in Beverly Hills California and can be found on the web at www.gibraltarfurniture.com. This firm has been in operation for five decades, and is an insider secret weapon for blue chip merchandise at warehouse prices. Yahoo reports that Gibraltar Furniture has “The best prices, models, and service of any site on the internet. This store is nirvana for people who want Bauhaus, art deco, modern, mid century, or designer furniture at wholesale prices.”

All purchases are fully covered by Lloyds of London and the Yahoo buyer’s protection plan. The Yahoo! Buyer Protection Program covers any item legitimately purchased through Yahoo! This protection covers purchases of up to $1000 for material defects and other issues.

Gibraltar Furniture is a good resource for design addicts looking for top-rated  originals at popular prices. All of the materials, design lines, and specs for all of the Gibraltar releases are the same as the European manufacturers. Gibraltar out-sources the production of these design classics to our overseas factories in order to cut labor costs. We use the same high quality  leather and stainless steel frames that Knoll uses.

Gibraltar offers the entire line of products from Compar, David Edward, Davis Furniture, Fabulux, Firefarm, Girari, Gordon International, Grey, Havaseat Chairs, Innovation, IQMatics, Janke, Jet Age, Kenshoma, Litto Kids, Lunar Lounge, Malik, Ooba, Oeuf, Offi, OFM, Ogus Design, The Phillips Collection, Serralunga, Studio4LA, Touch Design/Lighting, Trevi Outdoor, the Vessel Architectural Pottery collection, Zuo Modern, and 100 Times Better, among others.

For additional information on the news that is the subject of this release, please contact Bradley Friedman, Director of Pubic Relations, via email.

Images for all products can be obtained at www.gibraltarfurniture.com.

Contact:
Bradley Friedman
Director of Public Relations
310.276.8889
sales@gibraltarfurniture.com

We love the new FREE iphone application, ColorSnap which we have been using on our latest projects to match our retro, deco, modern,  mid century, and post modern pieces with great decor ideas.

And we are hooked on the  Coloarcapture free application for design use too.

Upload either the Sherwin-Williams ColorSnap or Benjamin Moore Color Capture application for your iphone, whichever you prefer.

Then take a photo of your favorite room or color with your i-phone to start.

i-phone

Or  your can use a photo from your existing photo library. The application will give you a spectrum of colors that match the image. And it will save your favorite colors, recommend coordinating palettes, and map the nearest retailer from the GPS on your phone. Did we mention its free?
Double snap!

For the designer in all of us!

Gibraltar Furniture is proud to be a #1 wholesaler for Ameico, modern classics, Barcelona, and huge selection in modern furnitures such as modern outdoor furniture, modern lighting, modern office furnitures, and much more. Browse our huge selection of modern furniture below. We have everything from premium designer executive chairs to green sustainable furniture. Gibraltar Furniture has been in business for 50 years. Yahoo News reports that Gibraltar Furniture has “The best prices, models, and service of any site on the Internet.” Yahoo News, click here.
This Beverly Hills 90210 store is nirvana for people who want Bauhaus, art deco, modern, mid century, or designer furniture at wholesale prices.”

Having taken an Asian gardens class after the fact, looking back I have a deeper appreciation for a garden that is so well hidden and unknown to the public.  At UNESCO’s HQ in Paris, the Noguchi Garden is relatively unknown to its own neighbors.  Here are some photos documenting the space:

 Fishermen and their spots!  Heron on the sculpture rocks, the ones that look Noguchi. Meet up with Candelario. Inscribed 247 for me. Sticky out, sticky notes. →→→

                         heron high and heron low skimming the water in midsection

                          →→→

   Face drawings in screenings. Lines drawn across, some tree to tree. WASH between the lines. Pathlings. ing. Ten marker. Ton of emoticons. Smiley faces. Heron giving boulder impression.

   Blinking lights at upper lot. Police. Ten vehicles, including massive green truck of Jay’s Metal and Railings, Bethel, PA. Count 11 and 12 for the police and the pulled over one. 

   A view from the bridge. Fish catches man. He’s hooked. He holds, I’m railbird, big fish flash, fleeting glimpse of The Old Man and the Sea. Big fish bowing line like big horse on track bows neck. Cellular time 8:08. Fisherman’s friend lends net. Fisherman patient, reeling. Fish pulls.

 ”We saw that big head” overheard on the Tulpehocken creek.

 Fisherman hooked, walking major yardage.

  “Where are you going with my net?” says the friend, who has gotten a six inch trout to latch on.

 Fisherman three chimes in to ask what #1 caught.

   ”It’s a carp. We saw it feeding. We thought it was a brown [trout.]… got it with a little tricot.”

  Is 8:13 when fish lands in net. Big ‘un. Man careful kind of tender about the release, big mouth on thing.

Camera phone photo opportunity. Nice long fish. Lucky in some parts of the world.

Lets go.

   “I can’t believe you held onto it this long!” net-owner said.

  “That’s more pressure on the line than I’ve ever had.”

We picked up a few goodies in the last couple months (and you thought blogs were supposed to provide up-to-the-minute information) and I thought I’d share.

Coffee Table

It’s an imitation of a Noguchi Coffee Table that we found at one of our favorite stores on the Saint Paul Retro Loop, Up Six Vintage.

I actually like the shape of the table better than the Noguchi table.  Best guess is our table is a one-of-a-kind homemade table from decades ago. 

Shag Rug

The rug was a craigslist find from a year or so ago.  However, Mary just brought it to the super-rug-cleaner-people and now it’s super clean and I’m super grateful.   

TV Stand

In the background of the coffee table picture, you can see our new TV stand.  Mary found it on craigslist for a whopping $10.  This was a steal as it’s a very well constructed, solid-wood, danish table. 

I proceeded to cut down the legs and made a couple alterations in order to make it work for our TV stand.  I kind of felt bad doing so as it was a really nice table to begin.  However, it definitely beats the Circuit-City special that formerly held up the TV. 

Here’s the coffee table from the other side.  I think it works in the room.  We like it.

Fan cover repurposed into a Noguchi-style lamp.

In the article below from TimeOut , Rodney Trice of T.O.M.T. explains how to repurpose a fan cover into a Noguchi lamp. This project is très Brooklyn in that a lot of local designers are working in this vein.  However, Trice is actualy teaching the how to salvage objects at Brooklyn workshop. His website has a list of classes and features a variety his work. Contact him at rodney@tomtinc.com.

The item: Old, broken fan cover
Found: St. Johns Place and Washington Avenue, Prospect Heights, Brooklyn

The process: “As with all of my projects, a good degreasing was necessary,” says T.O.M.T. designer Rodney Trice (who was just named one of Time’s Green Design 100). “Next was to make sure it dried out well, and then I moved on to the removal of unnecessary parts. There was a handle that needed to be sawed off and the center ring with the logo was also removed.

“I was inspired by the very famous and beautiful Noguchi paper lanterns, so I decided to create a hanging lamp with a fabric cover stretched over the fan cage. This particular cage separated into two pieces, making the job of fitting the fabric a lot easier. I chose a stretch wool because it offered the kind of flexibility I needed without looking cheap. The fabric was measured, cut and then sewn to fit the shape—and then was pulled tight with a simple drawstring inside so as to give it a nice, taut appearance.

“I wired the lamp with three candelabra bulb sockets and screwed in small soft fluorescent bulbs with a candelabra attachment.

“The two halves of the lamp were put back together, and voilà! My tribute to Noguchi!

“Now that I made this, I’m on the lookout for more of these fan cages, because I am going to do more and hang them in groups of three in different shapes.”

The materials: Stretch wool ($14 per yard) at Mood Fabric (225 W 37th St between Seventh and Eighth Aves, 212-730-5003), and lamp parts: gold fabric wire ($5), brass chandelier canopy ($10), candelabra sockets ($3), threaded tube ($1) and bulbs ($5) all at grandbrass.com.

The venerable Isamo Noguchi

The inspiration: Trice riffed on legendary sculptor Isamu Noguchi’s Akari Light Sculptures, and New Yorkers can see the Japanese-American artist’s work all year long at the Noguchi Museum in Queens, where thirteen indoor galleries showcase his organic, undulating works in granite, marble, bronze and wood. Adjoining gardens offer a natural setting for some of Noguchi’s granite and basalt sculptures. But nothing impresses so much as the room dedicated to Noguchi’s illuminated Akari sculptures—in situ, the lamps take on the appearance of spectral moths. And, if you hurry, you can catch “What Is Sculpture? Akari from the 1986 Venice Biennale,” a special exhibit dedicated to the light sculptures (on view until May 31). Want one of your own? The museum shop sells Akari table lanterns for as little as $75. The Noguchi Museum, 9-01 33rd Rd at Vernon Blvd, Long Island City, Queens (718-204-7088)

For 15% off all the Design Classics, visit www.conranshop.co.uk before May 10th.

Click the link below to download the PDF of the Design Classics – would make a great poster!

theconranshop_design-classic

Barbara Hepworth's "Family of Man" at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park

It was a nice day today and after 3 hard weeks grafting I decided it would be a good idea to take a day off.  I dusted off my passport, sorted out the visa and took the risk of crossing over the border into Yorkshire to visit the Yorkshire Sculpture Park near Wakefield.  Its somewhere I’ve been intending to visit for quite a while and it was well worth the trip.

There are loads of high quality sculptures set out in a fantastic setting in a country park. There was a whole field full of Henry Moore’s (a local lad from Castleford) plus work by Barbara Hepworth (also born just down the road, in Wakefield) and Elizabeth Frink.

During our visit we managed to see an exhibition by the American artist Isamu Noguchi with work exhibited indoors, in the Underground gallery, and outside. This was something of a revelation for me. I’ve never heard of Noguchi but I found his work fascinating. Texture, shape and colour. I particularly liked the works where he brought out the natural colour and texture of the stone he was working.

Two works by Isamu Noguchi

Works by Isamu Noguchi outside the Underground Gallery

Other works I particularly liked included:

• Elizabeth Frink’s three Riace bronzes inspired by the ancient Greek warrior statues discovered off the coast of Riace, Italy. These three menacing figures suddenly appear out the trees as you walk through the park.

Elizabeth Frink's three Riace bronze warriors

• Various pieces by Sophie Ryder which were an amalgam of human bodies with the heads of hares or rabbits

Piece by Sophie Ryder

• The coloured wire cylinders by Helen Escobedo placed in a field like weird, ghostly hay bales

Helen Escobedo's ghostly hay bales

The park also features a Skyspae installation by James Turrell based around a deer shelter, which was an exiting feature of the  park in its former guise as a deer park.  You enter through the old structure into a room with a rectangular hole in the ceiling. There are benches around the side of the room, the interior surfaces of which have a pale grey colour, and you can sit down and stare up at the sky through the hole. This induced a feeling of calm and it was fascinating to watch the sky change as the clouds passed over. It was really wierd in that because you were looking at only a small area of the sky, you could perceive  changes you would not have noticed looking at the “big” sky outside. I could have spent hours staring through the hole!

James Turrell's "Deer Shelter" at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park

Looking at the Sky from inside the Deer Shelter

There were many other works I really liked – too many to talk about here. If you’re reading this and are intrigued then its well worth a visit – even if it is in Yorkshire!

Made from lacquered metal, this sculptural clock is one of a series created by modernist designer George Nelson between 1948 and 1954. His work epitomises the exuberant, forward-looking designs that emerged in post-war America when, as Design Director for furniture manufacturer Herman Miller, he collaborated closely with, among others, Charles and Ray Eames, Harry Bertoia and Isamu Noguchi.

Available from The Conran Shop:

http://www.conranshop.co.uk/ProductDetails.aspx?pid=307505&cid=Clocks&language=en-GB

The Furniture Loft is having a sale.  I love their products – in fact, they  turned me on to modern design.  I love the clean lines of the sofas.

Check them out.  These are really great people  – I’ve worked with them before.

Isamu Noguchi was a prominent Japanese American design and sculpture artist who worked steadily for six decades. Some of his work is has been mass produced and can be seen in design stores like Room&Board but he also did stage design work for Martha Graham productions and other sculpture works.

The Noguchi Museum was opened in 1985 by the artist to display his work. He was very much opposed in his life to being displayed in traditional museums like MOMA where he work might have been shown. In order to get around his quarrels with these institutions he decided to create his own to his standards – he could thus display his work in any way he chose. The museum is the first to be opened purely for the purpose of displaying a single artist’s work.

The museum is currently located in Long Island City, Queens and housed in 13 galleries in a converted factory building and included a beautiful garden with sculptures within it.

This museum is unusual in a city with so much great art but very little focus on this intersection between art and design. Noguchi was a singular artist in this sense and is appreciated as such. I would highly recommend that anyone who comes to New York City see this museum. It is well worth the trek out to Queens (it’s not really a trek – Long Island City is the first stop over the bridge, but we are Manhattanites, afterall, and many people are too lethargic to get to all the exciting places outside of Manhattan).

Yone Noguchi was an influential writer of poetry, fiction, essays and literary criticism in both English and Japanese.

“I have heard so much about ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, whom people call an idealist, but I should like to call Him a realist, because no idealism, when it is strong and true, exists without the endorsement of realism. There is nothing more real than His words on truth. His words are as simple as the sunlight; again like the sunlight, they are universal…. No Teacher, I think, is more important today than ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.”

“Gibraltar Furniture (800 416 3635) is furniture nirvana for wholesale classics”- Yahoo News! Bartoli Studios is the originator of the new Sushi line of tables.

Sushi, outdoor,Bartoli Studio

The Sushi Table Series is available in fixed or expendable configurations, Sushi tables offer a wide range of solutions,fop surfaces are available in wood, glass or laminate. Glass surfaces – always tempered – come with either green, white or anthracite varnish undercoating for an opaque finish.Custom color matching is also available.

The laminate version of Sushi utilizes Aucompact Layered Laminates to create a rich and resilient surface. Alucompact layering is comprised of two layers of sheet aluminum sandwiched within three layers of plastic laminate. This creates a highly durable surface with a wonderful profile.

Extensions on either glass or laminate Sushi tables are always made of Alucompact Layered Laminates. Sushi tables can be specified with either two or three extension segments.

Sushi Table

Laminate color oions are white, gray, anthracite and black. Wood top oions are either natural oak, wenge stained oak or gray stained oak veneer over a high sirength aluminum honeycomb substrate, Leas for wood tops can be anodized aluminum, or finished to match wenge or gray stain top color.

Base frame is square tube aluminum, and is available either anodized or with a white, anthracite or black lacquer finish.

Gibraltar is based in Beverly Hills California and can be found on the web at www.gibraltarfurniture.com. This firm has been in operation for five decades, and is an insider secret weapon for blue chip merchandise at warehouse prices. Yahoo reports that Gibraltar Furniture has “The best prices, models, and service of any site on the internet. This store is nirvana for people who want Bauhaus, art deco, modern, mid century, or designer furniture at wholesale prices.”

All purchases are fully covered by Lloyds of London and the Yahoo buyer’s protection plan. The Yahoo! Buyer Protection Program covers any item legitimately purchased through Yahoo! This protection covers purchases of up to $1000 for material defects and other issues.

Gibraltar Furniture is a good resource for design addicts looking for top-rated  originals at popular prices. All of the materials, design lines, and specs for all of the Gibraltar releases are the same as the European manufacturers. Gibraltar out-sources the production of these design classics to our overseas factories in order to cut labor costs. We use the same high quality  leather and stainless steel frames that Knoll uses.

Gibraltar offers the entire line of products from Compar, David Edward, Davis Furniture, Fabulux, Firefarm, Girari, Gordon International, Grey, Havaseat Chairs, Innovation, IQMatics, Janke, Jet Age, Kenshoma, Litto Kids, Lunar Lounge, Malik, Ooba, Oeuf, Offi, OFM, Ogus Design, The Phillips Collection, Serralunga, Studio4LA, Touch Design/Lighting, Trevi Outdoor, the Vessel Architectural Pottery collection, Zuo Modern, and 100 Times Better, among others.

For additional information on the news that is the subject of this release, please contact Bradley Friedman, Director of Pubic Relations, via email.

Images for all products can be obtained at www.gibraltarfurniture.com.

Contact:
Bradley Friedman
Director of Public Relations
310.276.8889
sales@gibraltarfurniture.com