#anyway in all seriousness that was an incredible show with an amazing setlist from front to back

[electranatchioslovebot]

anyway I went to starkid innit tonight and if I tell you the forgotten song graveyard medley was the funniest thing I've ever seen what would you do? hideous creatures, pays to be an animal, get in my mouth, land of the dicks, hermione can't draw, gotta find his dick all sung as incredibly sombre solos which were taken way too seriously is the only way to sing those songs ever again so sorry

[omg-imagine]

⊱ That Old Feeling ⊰

Summary: You're a lounge singer performing at the Continental for the first time in years, and you reconnect with your past love, John Wick.

Pairing: John Wick x Reader

Words: 2.5k

Warnings: Brief mentions of alcohol and a bit of drama.

A/N: I seriously can’t stop writing about John right now. I do have another fic in the works and hopefully, it’ll be up by next week. Anyways, I hope you enjoy and I wish you all good health especially at this time!

(Title and lyrics below are from the song by Chet Baker which inspired this fic)

With one last glance at your reflection in the mirror, you were ready to walk on stage. For a brief moment, you peeked through the red curtains and saw that the bar was teeming with patrons waiting for your performance. A small tap on your shoulder made you step back and look to the side.

“Darling,” Winston began with a wide grin before giving you a kiss on the cheek. “You look absolutely stunning.”

“Thank you, Winston,” you replied as you hugged the man in front of you. “And thank you for having me here.”

“Nonsense, dear. The guests have been eager to hear you sing ever since I announced that you were coming back. I can still remember the first time you sang on this very stage.”

You chuckled at the memory. Your father and Winston were good friends, and when Winston learned that you were gifted with an incredible voice, he hired you to perform live at the Continental’s bar every weekend. It was your first paid job as a singer, and you did it for years until you decided to take up an opportunity to work in Europe.

“That was such a long time ago,” you smiled, mindlessly toying with the microphone in your hand. “I can’t believe that I’m back here in New York. Everything feels the same yet different.”

“Well, I did some remodeling when you left— spiced up the place a bit after you complained it was getting a bit dreary,” Winston said teasingly.

“I was merely offering a suggestion, which turned out to be a great one considering how amazing it appears now.”

Winston laughed as you checked the audience once more. You recognized some of the faces in the room, and you couldn’t help but think if there was a possibility that he was here tonight.

“He’s checked-in for two days. I reminded him that you’re performing this evening,” Winston stated as if he had heard your thoughts.

You sighed deeply. “Is he coming?”

“He didn’t say,” Winston answered, and you heard the disappointment in his voice. “But that shouldn’t stop you from giving the crowd an outstanding performance. It’s been years, and I thought you had moved on?”

“I did,” you responded. It was a lie, and Winston could tell. Fortunately, he didn’t push any further.

“Okay, then. So, you know the drill— I’ll do a little spiel about you, and the curtains will go up. The band’s ready to play your songs for tonight. After an hour, you’re free to mingle around or return to your room.”

You smiled and nodded at Winston, who wished you good luck before he stepped on stage. As your nerves settled, you closed your eyes, and immediately, you were brought back to the last time you were here. You vividly recalled the sights and the sounds, the smell of cigarette smoke and expensive perfume, the standing ovation you received, and then…

John.

The last time you were here was the last time you saw John. You had met him at the end of one of your first shows, and after sharing a couple of drinks, you woke up in his bed the next morning.

Initially, you had thought it would only be a one-time thing, but you were surprised to see him sitting close by the stage, watching you perform the following night.

It became a regular occurrence between you and John— sleeping together whenever he was staying at the hotel. For three years, the two of you had a relationship that existed solely within the walls of the Continental. It wasn’t a secret that you yearned for something more, but the two of you had very different lives.

Despite being exposed to this world at a young age, your father made sure you were never a part of it. As a result, you had a fairly normal life. Meanwhile, John’s life was the only one he ever knew, and it would have been impossible for him to walk away from it.

So, when you told John about leaving for Europe, he didn’t hesitate to let you go.

Even though you had found success abroad, you knew that something in your heart was missing. You tried to find it through several relationships, and you had always wondered why they were all short-lived.

The reason for the emptiness didn’t dawn on you until much later on, and it has haunted you ever since.

The lights dimmed down, and slowly the curtains rose, revealing the crowd. You graced the stage as the bright spotlight focused on you, causing the many faces in the room to get lost in the background.

The piano started to play, and you lifted the microphone up to your mouth. Then, you began singing the lyrics…

I saw you last night and got that old feeling

When you came in sight I got that old feeling

The moment that you danced by I felt a thrill

And when you caught my eye my heart stood still...

When you reached the second verse, your eyes caught a man entering the bar and sauntering towards the stage. He chose to sit by the wall across from you, the shadows obscuring the features on his face. As you continued the song, you could feel his intense gaze on you the entire time.

Once again I seemed to feel that old yearning

And I knew the spark of love was still burning

There’ll be no new romance for me, it’s foolish to start...

You didn’t want to think that it was John, but judging by his silhouette, it had to be him. There was a moment when you belted out a big note, and the lights on the stage lit up the audience watching you.

For a split-second, you swore that you caught a glimpse of John’s face just before it went dark again.

For that old feeling, is still in my heart

There’ll be no new romance for me, it’s foolish to start

For that old feeling, is still in my heart…

The song ended, and the guests stood on their feet, applauding. You smiled, taking a bow as the lights inside the room turned back on again, and almost immediately, your eyes darted to where you thought you had seen John.

Much to your disappointment, the table was empty, and you eventually chalked it off as your mind playing cruel tricks on you.

You finished your setlist in an hour. By the end of it, you were tired, and your throat was dry. Instead of reaching for a bottle of water, you headed to the bar area and requested your choice of poison. As you waited for your drink, people came up to compliment you on your vocals, but none of them were John.

The band played music in the background as the night continued to unfold. You were seated by the counter, absentmindedly stirring the watery drink in your hand as the buzz finally kicked in. You were just about to retreat back to your room when a man took the vacant seat beside yours, and you heard his voice.

“You were wonderful up there,” John spoke, his eyes glued to yours.

You couldn’t find the right words to express how you were feeling now. All that came out was the quiet whisper of John’s name and saying it out loud made you remember how long it truly has been since it left your lips.

John took a swig of his bourbon before calling the bartender over and having her refill your glass. You mumbled thanks as you downed nearly all of the drink in one go. You could feel your heart pounding wildly inside of your chest, and you didn’t know what to do.

“You look beautiful as always,” he added, his words filling up the silence that hung over the air. “I’m assuming Europe has treated you well.”

“Yeah,” you breathed out. “It was great, but I belong here in New York. It’s home.”

John smiled as you studied his face under the lowlights of the bar. The years of fighting had caught up to him, but he was even more handsome now than before. You didn’t mind the lines and the wrinkles that were new to you. What you loved most about him were his mahogany eyes. They used to be so alluring, so mysterious yet so warm and inviting.

And they still were, only this time, they were... weary.

“I know it’s been a while,” John began as he turned his body towards you. His hands carefully reached over to grasp yours, and you let him hold you. “I’ve missed you.”

“Me, too,” you responded as your eyes drifted down to your joined hands. “John, when I left all those years ago— I wanted to stay. Why did you let me go?”

John remained silent, but you could see that he was trying to come up with an explanation. The alcohol in your system unearthed the many questions you spent so long hoping you would get answers for. He knew how you felt about him, and when he didn’t even bother asking you to rethink your decision of leaving, it broke you.

“I love you,” you said softly. “I wanted to be with you, and you pushed me away.”

You saw him swallow thickly as his gaze locked with yours. “We just can’t be.”

“How do you know?” You questioned him. “We’ve only seen each other in this hotel for a couple nights a week, but those nights are something I could never compare with others. I thought taking up residency in Europe would help me get over you, but it only made it worse as time went on.”

“Why would you want to stay with me?” John asked you sincerely. “You’re able to live a normal life. You don’t deal with this world the way I do. The things that I have done are horrific and unforgivable. You deserved better.”

You suddenly stood up from your seat but couldn’t bring your feet to move. “I don’t care, John. Your job doesn’t change the fact that I still love you. I love you because you’re much more than the monster you think you are.”

“We can’t,” John uttered dejectedly.

Shutting your eyes, you tried to stop the tears from falling but failed. “I don’t understand your reason for being here right now. You come here only to push me away further because you think you don’t deserve happiness .”

“I didn’t mean to—”

“What? Get me upset? You have some nerve to show up and tell me what you think I deserve,” you notice John reaching out for you once again, but you slapped his hand away. The hurt on his face at that second was something you would never forget. “You shouldn’t have come. I thought you cared for me, but at least I now know that I was wrong.”

Before John could stop you, you had already stormed off and gone to the elevators. Once the doors shut, you began sobbing quietly. A part of you had hoped that he was there to ask if you two could pick up from where your relationship had left off. You now felt foolish for even thinking of it.

When the elevator reached your floor, you headed straight inside your room and informed Winston that you would be leaving tonight. You were supposed to stay for three more nights, but you couldn’t bear being in the hotel where everything reminded you of John.

After a change of clothes, and packing up your belongings, you went down to the lobby. Just as you were about to step out of the building, you heard your name being called from behind. You turned around and saw John rushing towards you.

“Don’t leave,” John pleaded, slightly out of breath. “You’re right, I don’t know what you deserve. But what I do know is that I’m not making the same mistake of letting you go again.”

“John—”

He placed his hands on the sides of your face, causing you to drop your luggage on the ground. “Seeing you tonight, I was reminded of all those times we spent together. Those times with you are the best I’ve ever had, and I want to have more.”

John pressed his forehead to yours as you melted underneath his touch. A few tears escaped your eyes, and he instantly wiped them away using the edge of his thumb.

“I love you,” he confessed, catching you by surprise. “Throughout your performance, that was all I could ever think about. I promised myself that the next time I see you, I would just go ahead and say it. I never told you this before because I wanted to make parting from you easier.”

You looked up with a tearful gaze. “Did it? Did it make it any easier?”

“No,” John shook his head. “I regretted letting you go from the moment you walked out of my room. I didn’t mean to let you go, and for that I’m sorry. Earlier, I panicked when you said you loved me, and I started pushing you away. But I’m done running away from a chance at happiness. I can’t lose you, not again. Can we just please start over?”

Moments later, you had yet to give him an answer. You thought about it and came to the conclusion that despite the long years that had passed, you never stopped loving John. You knew for a while that he was it— your missing piece.

Instead of using your words, you leaned in and kissed John on his lips. His arms slowly dropped down to your waist, pulling your body closer as you deepened the kiss. Your hands wound around his neck, your fingers gently playing with the hair at his nape as he continued kissing you senselessly.

Eventually, John stepped backwards, smiling widely and lovingly at you. “Are you hungry? We could have a late dinner?”

Left breathless, you gave him a nod, but then you realized what time it was. “John, it’s way past midnight. Where are we going to eat?”

An idea popped into John’s head, and he reached down to carry your bags. “We can go to my place, and I can cook for you? Or we can check if room service is still available?”

You shook your head as you slipped your hand into John’s. “No offense to Winston and his staff, but I am tired of ordering room service from here. All this traveling has made me crave a home-cooked meal. Besides, I think it’s about time you and I spend a night outside of this hotel.”

“Agreed.”

Stealing another kiss from you, John then escorted you down the steps leading to the sidewalk before calling over a cab. After putting your luggage in the trunk, he held the door for you and climbed in once you were settled inside. He gave the driver his address, and the car soon pulled out onto the street.

You sat with John in the backseat in peaceful silence. Gazing up, you smiled at him before glancing at the world passing through the windows. For the first time, you two left the walls of the Continental together.

It felt so good to be with John again, and as he wrapped his arm around you, pressing his lips on top of your head, you realized that you were finally complete.

[buckin-love]

Review of the 3 Paris shows

Hello, it’s been a while since I’ve written something on my blog and just been on tumblr. Last time that I was really there, I wrote the review of my journey of 10 Coldplay shows in Europe. It’s been over a year and now, I feel like writing something again, about these last 3 Coldplay shows in Europe because those were incredible, full of happiness and tears, and because I just wanted to share my experience with any of you who would be interested to read it.

Night #1

So let’s start with night #1, it was a really special night for me because of two things: It was the first concert since my journey of 10 Coldplay shows last year and the first concert where I brought my best friends. They didn’t see Coldplay before, I was excited to share this night with them and just to see them react and discover a Coldplay concert in this era.

We arrived at the Stade de France at 9:30am, gate H and there was already a lot of people waiting, maybe 40 people. The wait was very long, as you can imagine, even with my experience of concerts, I will never get used to that, you always have to be ready, physically and mentally prepared for the day. Fortunately, the bar next to us, was playing a playlist full of Coldplay songs, from Viva to AHFOD so it was good to get us excited for the night.

At 5:15pm, they opened the gates, I grabbed my 2 xylobands and my love button but I had to wait for my best friends. The line for the girls was very long, I was waiting for like 2-3 minutes (which are very long minutes in these moments), my best friends finally went through the checking and we tried to run fast. There was a steward who kept yelling “Don’t run! It’s pointless, everybody has already taken your spot inside!” I was torn between frustration and just laughter (also wanted to punch him). Inside, there was indeed already a lot of people at the barriers, we chose the main stage, Guy’s side, we had a good view even if there was a lot of people in front of us.

At 7:15pm, Lyves came on stage. I listened to her a bit before and thought she was good, especially her song ‘Visions’. Unfortunately, the sound wasn’t really high, and the overall performance was perhaps too calm to get the audience excited. Tove Lo came on stage at 8pm, I listened to her too before, not my cup of tea at all, although I kinda like ‘True Disaster’. Overall it was good, I mean for her genre, sometimes it felt a bit indecent but anyway, at least the performance woke the audience up.

On social media, they said that Coldplay would come on stage at 9:15pm. Not surprising to say that they were late, they came at 9:25pm! The intro video changed a bit, I was wondering how they would change it after last year since they played so many dates now, and the result is really good now. All the intro videos of all the cities have been accelerated, shown in a circle with a countdown in the middle, starting at 45 sec. They showed the videos from Dublin and Cardiff and when the countdown finished, the video from our city appeared. I was shocked to see that the girl in the video is someone I knew. She was actually the girl who helped me in London to meet the band! So I will be forever grateful to her. The guy next to her is a guy that I will meet after for the Night #2 but let’s keep on with Night #1 for now.

The concert started and I felt like I never really left them. It’s been more than a year but the feeling, the emotions were still here, as if my journey was just yesterday. I knew exactly all the little things, didn’t forget a single thing. I rarely cry on ‘The Scientist’ (don’t ask me why) but this one was very emotional and I couldn’t hold back my tears. The same goes with ‘Fix You’, I mean the new version of ‘Fix You’. Since I don’t like this mix with ‘Midnight’, I rarely cry on ‘Fix You’ this tour. Why here, why now, that’s one mystery. And it doesn’t stop here, I usually cry on ‘Up&Up’, and this time I didn’t. Maybe because my best friends knew me and expected me to cry so I was like “NOT THIS TIME GIRLS, LOOK AT MY EYES, LOOK AT MY EYES, I HAVE NOTHING IN MY EYES!!”.

This night was probably one of the best of the tour, one of my favourites for sure because of my best friends, the great view, I just missed them so much and at the same time, felt like they never left me (doesn’t make any sense whatsover). Chris messed up as usual, making the ‘Everglow’ performance like a funny one, and I really thought he did it again on ‘Charlie Brown’. I haven’t seen any videos of it this year so I didn’t know that he would stop it on purpose. The whole idea of not having any phones and just enjoying the moment is perfect. I wish they could do that for the whole concert (ESPECIALLY ON NIGHT #3 BUT YOU WILL SEE LATER). That performance of ‘Charlie Brown’ was probably the most fun I’ve ever experienced. Funny how just a little thing like putting our phones down makes the performance memorable. One big family gathered and jumping to the stars together, that was a big thing. Speaking of phones, I decided for these 3 shows to take no photos / videos and just enjoy the concerts fully, and that was a great decision.

The big announcement of the new DVD filmed in Paris made me so excited but I was also so surprised. I really thought that they would film at Wembley or any of the South American tour and not here, because they already did in 2012. A part of me is grateful for them to choose one of my concerts in Paris again, and another part thinks it’s unfair for the others. Back to the concert, first time on this tour that I get to hear ‘God Put A Smile Upon Your Face’ live and that new version was so good! Love the interaction with the audience at the end, seemed like everybody had fun on this one.

It was also the first time I get to hear the new version of ‘Don’t Panic’. I didn’t see any videos of the duet Will - Jonny before so it was a total surprise for me. And what a great surprise, it works perfectly well, Will’s sweet voice combined with Jonny’s even more confident voice is one of the biggest highlights of the night. Unfortunately, the audience request thing became irrelevant, it seems that even the band doesn’t believe in this anymore and doesn’t want to take risks by just playing the same songs again and again. Even for us, it became a joke, people request ‘Us Against the World’ because they know there’s a high chance they would play it.

I’m still not over the fact that they removed ‘Amazing Day’ from the setlist, they replaced it by ‘Something Just Like This’. Not the biggest fan of putting it before ‘A Sky Full of Stars’, seems like they decided to make a mix of everything and put it on stage for this one, like the fireworks, the fire, the confetti, the xylobands all together. But I had a good time on this one, first time I see this song live and I must admit that it looks good overall.

I would always remember that moment on ‘Up&Up’ where I just felt like hugging my best friends for the whole ending. I didn’t want them to leave me, they were in my arms and it was just an amazing feeling. Friendship and love.

So overall I had a wonderful evening, although I’m still not a fan of some things on the setlist. I completely forget those things and forgive them when they put such uplifting perfomances as ‘A Head Full of Dreams’, ‘Charlie Brown’, ‘Hymn For the Weekend’, ‘Adventure Of a Lifetime’ or ‘A Sky Full of Stars’ and such emotional perfomances as ‘The Scientist’, ‘Fix You’, ‘Everglow’ or ‘Up&Up’.

Night #2

My best friends left me because they had to work so here I was, alone for Night #2. Well, not really, I knew 2 people from tumblr, Anniina and Andreea, both with early entries. My gate was gate A, I arrived by noon and there was like 50 people there. It was a really sunny day but I was lucky because the gate A was the only gate protected by trees and shadows! The wait was shorter than the others and they opened the gates on time.

I grabbed my xyloband (only 1 this time), my love button, ran as fast I could, chose Jonny’s side and then I saw Anniina. She was at the barrier, very close to the main stage. She helped me getting through the crowd and getting a better view so I will always be grateful to her. While waiting for the opening acts, I met the guy from the intro video (some crazy guy who bought 3 early entries) and a woman, crazier than me, she did 16 Coldplay shows! We talked a lot about our Coldplay experiences, about our meetings with them because she also met them and all that in english, which is funny considering that we are both french. There was a lot of foreigners around us, which was great, and a lot of hardcore fans, which was even greater. It really felt like one big family and I already knew that this part of the crowd, at least, would be amazing.

Nothing really to add about the opening acts, unless that Tove Lo showed her breasts during one song (not gonna to say anything about that). 9:15pm and Coldplay came on time, they took me by surprise, I expected them to be late again!

The nice and unexpected surprise came from R42. We saw him before the concert, he stopped in front of us, saw the beautiful sign of Anniina and just decided to take her in picture here. I was right next to her so here I am with the group on all social media and I was seriously freaking out to see my face, it all happened so quickly, I was in shock and I think Anniina was even more!

I expected a few changes on the setlist, but they didn’t really change anything. Except some new improvised song in French by Chris, and ‘Trouble’. I had one great and close view of Chris when he was on the floor singing ‘Fix You’ so I had so much feelings about this. I didn’t even cry this night, maybe because I was just too happy to be surrounded by such crazy and happy fans so I was so happy with them.

They filmed our group of people a lot. During ‘The Scientist’, ‘Paradise’, ‘Viva La Vida’... I think the cameraman liked our group. The craziest thing was on ‘Up&Up’ when the cameraman just asked us to be even closer to each other and just sing to the camera. So just like this, a big group full of passionate people, hugging, jumping and singing together on ‘Up&Up’, pretty perfect picture right? If they put those moments on the DVD, my life would be complete.

We had one scary moment though, Chris stopped ‘A Sky Full of Stars’ nearly at the end of the song because he saw something in the crowd. We all stopped, we saw a stretcher and Chris just went on the B-stage, asking if everything was ok, seemed like a person fainted. More fear than harm though, they restarted the song so we basically had ‘A Sky Full of Stars’ twice, it was hard to keep the same level of energy but it was so amazing.

Overall it was as good as the first night, so it was also one of the best of this tour, thanks to the crowd around me, thanks to Anniina who gave me a great spot and the chance of being on the photo of R42 and to the band who gave its best as usual.

Night #3

I had one day off before that night so I had time to restore my energy and just rest (well not really because I became the personal guide of Anniina to visit Paris :3). This time, I had gate D, the steward was nice (first time a steward is nice so that’s something to say), I arrived at 9:30am and there was 10 people before me. I was aiming for the barrier of the B-Stage, I was waiting for Andreea to arrive at 2pm but didn’t know if I could keep a spot on the line for her. It was already very sunny and hot (35°) and fortunately, the people around me had the good idea to buy survival blankets to protect all the line from the sun. So we had little shelters, I even had time to sleep a little.

Andreea arrived at 2pm as I said, and she could go with me because the steward was kind. I was already feeling exhausted by the day because of the heat but this was the last night so I wanted to give my full energy even though it was hard. The gates opened on time, I grabbed my xyloband and... not my love button because they didn’t give any to anyone? I don’t know what happened, but then I was waiting for Andreea for like a minute and we tried to reach the barrier of the B-Stage.

We weren’t at the barrier but on the second row, which is good but a big guy was right in front of us (petition for not putting tall people at the barriers) and the lights of the B-Stage hide us the view of the main stage. But it was good, because we would have a pretty great view of their set on the B-Stage and we would have a chance to see them even closer when they would go to the C-Stage.

It was so hot inside, there was already a lot of people fainting or just feeling sick because of the heat. I couldn’t even stand too long because of that, it was just unbearable, probably one of the hardest waits on concerts in my life. You have to be really patient in those moments. The opening acts came and I was already tired to wait for 2 more hours. The band came almost on time and suddenly I realized that it was the very last time I see them this tour and had to enjoy each second of this concert (well i knew that before but it suddenly became real you know?).

A funny story is that an elephant guy and his wife came right next to us before the concert. The cameraman wanted to film them for the screens but I guess also for the DVD. So basically I danced and sang the whole night with an elephant next to me. That’s not something common to say. There was also a lot of latinas around me, that part of the crowd was good but the other... That was the negative point of the night.

Seriously I don’t understand them. How can you enjoy a concert when all you’re doing is just taking videos? Not even singing or dancing or jumping, just staying still? How can you? I was mad at them, angry because it could have been a perfect night without them, and they were at the barriers! I tried to stay calm but it was difficult, they were all like that even during the beginning of ‘Charlie Brown’, fortunately there was this thing where Chris stopped the song and asked everybody to put their phones down, at least they did that.

But the biggest highlight of this concert was the moment when they came down and went to the C-Stage. During ‘Adventure of a Lifetime’, the stewards prepared the line, and the big space to the C-Stage. Me and Andreea were already prepared, we were just in front of the stewards. When ‘Amazing Grace’ was played, Jonny came first, we touched his shoulder and Andreea was already fainting. Then Will, Guy and Chris but they were rushing. When they came back on the main stage before ‘Hypnotised’, we tried again. Will and Guy were still rushing, Jonny... DID AN HANDSHAKE TO US! Yes he did! And to both of us, like a real gentleman, suddenly we were both the craziest fans of the crowd and everybody looked at us awkwardly. Jonny already did an handshake to me last year so that’s awesome that he did it again, the sweetest member like Chris said.

I had one goal on this concert too, to make a special phone call to my friend Nikol, she’s a big fan of Jonny so I wanted to make her a gift and call her during ‘Don’t Panic’, all worked perfectly well and then... CHRIS PLAYED ‘HYPNOTISED’, I  was like “I HAVE TO CALL HER AGAIN”. So basically I was the only one with my phone up with the call, I saw nobody turning the app on, just listening and enjoying this acoustic version.

And that was it. The concert was amazing as usual, I cried like never before on ‘Fix You’, it was simply magnificent, the lights just in front of me, the crowd singing and the fireworks, I couldn’t hold back my tears, I was saying goodbye to my favourite song. Same for ‘Up&Up’, it was hard to see all these fireworks and xylobands and say goodbye to my favourite band for at least 2 years. A last feeling with tears all over my face, my hands to the sky, trying to reach the fireworks, a last feeling to remember for years.

Overall, I truly enjoyed these 13 concerts this tour, it wasn’t always perfect, like Chris said: “going through weather issues, ticket prices, traffic, security and all that stuff” but at the end of the day, it was just us and Coldplay and you forget everything that went wrong. One big family gathered, it was one hell of a journey, I’m happy I was able to do that, I don’t know if I will able to do that again. I met a lot of great people, I saw a lot of beautiful cities, could touch at least one of them (Jonny, you’re the best), Chris noticed me and my sign, I met Pilar Zeta, I cried maybe more than 20 times, I had so much fun on these crazy night, just enjoyed the moment every time. Those were the best times of my life, thank you Coldplay, thank you for everything.

And thank you to everybody who read my review of last year, watched my video and read this one too, it was indeed an adventure of a lifetime.

[aoimori]

02.26.2017 MERRY Morning Live @ Holiday Shinjuku

So Merry had a morning show in Shinjuku. Doors at 7:30am, show at 8:00am. (They also had a fanclub only show that night too, report is over here)   As you can probably imagine, it was incredible and just such a Merry thing to experience. Here is my report including VIDEO EVIDENCE of a little something called radio calisthenics with Gara.

PLEASE ENJOY 👏👏👏👏👏

PRE SHOW

I’m amazed that this even happened. But I guess if anyone is going to do a show at 8am, it’s Merry. They actually started a little late but I had a feeling they would lol. It was an interesting feeling standing outside of this tiny tiny venue so early in the morning, in Kabukicho, with a bunch of other fans. I loved it 

Before the show started they were playing rain sounds with their own rain-themed songs mixed in. Reminded me of Shinjuku Blues! 

I was in front of Yuu for this show, started about 5 rows back and ended up in 3rd.

MORNING EXERCISES !?!?

While we were waiting there was suddenly an announcement over the speakers. Small venues like this generally don’t play that generic pre-performance announcement (honjitsu wa) that lists the rules of the venue etc. So it wasn’t that. It was Gara. 

He very politely told us that we were going to do rajio taisou (radio calisthenics - the kind that old people do in the park in the morning lol). He asked if we had a little bit of space to move around in, with mixed responses, so he said even if you don’t have space it’s okay lol. Today’s calisthenics will be led by… Super Merrys’ MAMURASAKI (aka Gara)

So Gara/Mamurasaku comes out wearing his Tenga shirt and rabbit head mask, the music/instructions come on, and we all followed his lead and did calisthenics together at like 8am in a tiny livehouse in Kabukicho…

There’s actually video of all of this (looks like it was livestreamed) so I HIGHLY RECOMMEND you all watch it and have this experience. It was wild. I laughed so much lol. We actually tried our best to follow him!!

THIS VIDEO: https://twitter.com/merry_official/status/835628885647597568

Please enjoy his antics

After he walked off stage he got back on the announcements and asked us to wait a liiittle while longer

THE SICKEST SETLIST

SE: Merry March Oriental BL Circus Charlie TOP

Lost generation Atama ga zakuro Zetsubou Jiishiki kajougata deku ningen Tick tack Heijitsu no onna Kasa to ame stupidxcupid Carnival Japanese modernist Chiyodasen democracy

Encore Touzasareta rakuen Happy life Violet harenchi Kasa to ame (acoustic)

THIS SHOW !!!!!!

I thought that since this was a morning show that they would either A) do calmer songs/acoustics or B) go abnormally hard.  

After the SE they immediately came on stage and exploded into Oriental BL Circus. Clearly B was the correct prediction lol

Yuu looked REALLY CUTE. He had his hair styled all crazy to look like bedhead and had heavy black makeup under his eyes to look like he had extreme dark circles from not sleeping. He walked out with this big grin like he was proud of his look

(from his twitter)

Oriental BL Circus is always really fun and I love the call and response parts in the beginning (I finally learned all the words HA) But it was also a REALLY EXTREME way to start a show in the morning – Gara and Yuu yelling, all of us yelling back lol

I GOT TO HEAR CHARLIE LIVE!!! AAA!!! It’s so so so so so fun and super high energy from start to finish. And so is TOP!! Seriously this show was HYPEEE from the very beginning.

Thennnn atama ga zakuro is actually the first Merry song I ever heard and TO THINK I GOT TO HEAR IT LIVE!?

Also lord help me all I did was watch Gara perform this song and I feel full of sin. Actually during this entire show he was a little nastier than usual lol. Putting his mic between his legs multiple times and enjoying himself, having REAL QUALITY MOMENTS up against his mic stand… he is committed to realism tbqh. IS THIS HOW YOU ARE IN THE MORNING ? ? ? 

ANYWAY. I also got to hear Tick Tack for the first time!! What an old song!! It’s so nice live, everyone was swaying back and forth. And I’m going to love Heijitsu no onna until the day I die, so. You can probably guess what I have to say about that. Gara putting on lipstick and rubbing it off with the back of his hand with the saddest smile…

I just wanna say right now that I LOVE KASA TO AME. If for some reason you haven’t listened to it, please go do it right now. Both versions are great. I own 5 copies of this single. Listen to it. Buy it. LOVE IT.

I forgot my towel for the morning show so I had to participate in Carnival without one for the first time!! Carnival, Japanese modernist and Chiyodasen are ALWAYS fun though. They just kept hitting us with JAMS.

During one song (don’t remember which) when Yuu had a speaking part he ended up just making comments about the show instead of following the lyrics, it was pretty funny lol

I love Touzasareta rakuen live. The vibe is just so good? Gara said something about this being an older song but it has the kind of energy they want to have as they work toward Hibiya Yaon

And then Happy life gets me EVERY TIME. Gara sang the last line without his mic. I’m always really impressed by how he expresses such raw emotion. He just puts it ALL out there as strongly as he physically can, every time. He had the biggest smile right after this song. Like really genuine. Have I mentioned... that I love this band...??

During Violet harenchi Gara and Yuu were back to back in the center of the stage!!! Yuu was in the center and Gara saw him and immediately rushed over. Yuu also likes to go sit on Gara’s desk lol. Later Tetsu was standing in front of me on a monitor and Yuu came over and was standing against his leg and it was REALLY CUTE. Tetsu is an actual mountain btw

(from gara’s blog)

MC CONTENT BECAUSE MERRY ALWAYS DELIVERS 

Gara and Yuu both said good morning to us a few times (and said wow, saying good morning at a live house feels good huh…)

Gara asked each member what they did the night before...

Nero: so worried that he’d oversleep and get a call from the band on stage asking where he was that he could barely sleep at all

Tetsu: eating meat (this is all he said lol, at first Gara didn’t understand him)

Kenichi: Hesitant to answer, but… said he went to Mankitsu (a manga café?) Gara asked what he was reading and Kenichi was just silent… so Gara asked AGAIN and Kenichi still said nothing LOL

Yuu: Nothing out of the ordinary. He went home, then took the first train in the morning to the venue. Gara said he was sorry he asked

Gara: Didn’t sleep at all because if he slept and then woke up in the morning before the show his voice wouldn’t be in good condition.  He said he actually went home the night before just… never slept lol . ((He posted on his blog about eating mcdonalds actually... but are any of us really surprised by this??))

He made an extended bandoman joke that continued into the next show... something about introducing himself as “bandoman A” from a tabloid story about a celebrity having an affair. But then said instead of having an affair he actually wants to be served by blonde foreign women... and if the tabloids come to him for an interview, he’ll tell everything.

I feel like I missed something here lol but he said he’d better stop talking about this because there were foreigners in the audience (me?? the most blonde foreigner of all?? lol) 

The singing MC was set to the beginning of Kasa to ame (it used to be heijitsu no onna). So each member would start playing as Gara introduced them and did a really short mini solo. Merry has the best MCs.

Gara said that this morning live felt really good so if we liked it, please tweet them, and they’ll show the tweets to their company, and then maybe they can do more events like this. They are always trying to get us to promo them to someone lol

He also wants to do a 24 hour show. The rest of the band did not seem into this idea. He said everyone could have their own little space where they could sit or stand, bring a TV or something, leave and come back whenever they pleased, etc. The band would work in shifts sometimes so someone could sleep. Or go to the onsen. But Nero couldn’t come with them (tattoos) so he’d just have to watch while they rest of them relax. POOR NERO.

They were talking about where they’d be in 20 years? Gara said he’ll still be singing but he might need to sit down… and need someone to help hold him steady as he walked… and to whisper the lyrics in his ear, and tap him on the shoulder when a new song started lol. Yuu just called him an ojiichan

Gara turned the page of his setlist with his foot and it was cute

Between songs Gara said all of us that came to a show this early in the morning must be ACTUALLY crazy. TRUE. During an MC he also told us that we all must be a little atama ga okashii nee… crazy/touched in the head lol. ALSO TRUE.

(@merry_official)

DOKUDOKU TIME!!!!!!!! SPECIAL EVENT FEAT GARA

The band had a dokudoku campaign for this tour. The idea was to create more Merry chuudokusha (addicts) so at each show a certain member was tasked with doing something fun. Giving things away, taking pictures with fans, etc. Gara was in charge of this show.

He gave away his tenga shirt (signed) which he had also worn during the radio taisou spectacle. He was giving it away on behalf of Mamurasaki, of course.

So before the encore he came on stage and said it was dokudoku time, but then found out that the staff still hadn’t collected all the ticket stubs for him to choose one winner from. So he stalled for a while and just talked about random stuff, asked us if we had any questions, and then would occasionally look back to the staff and be like STILL??? STILL NOTHING? Awkward and angry and adorable lol

One of his topics of conversation was his tenga shirt. He read it out loud and explained it lol. He also said that he received an egg type one from a fan for Valentines day, but he still hasn’t used it. He’s thinking about using it in March for White Day…

Eventually staff brought an envelope to him and he chose a winner. While he was looking at the stubs he said these aren’t all Core tickets… they’re not Core tickets~ in this cute irritated singsong voice lol. Anyway he picked one stub and gave away the shirt. Then he gave away the paper Mamurasaki signed (he said it looked like Mamurasaki had written “iwai/celebrate” wrong and crossed it out and wrote it again… and now it looks like it says “Nero”).

Since he didn’t have a photo to give away too, he decided to do something special. So he turned around and went to find his lipstick that he uses during Heijitsu no onna, came back to the front and put some on. And then kissed the paper. And then chose someone to give it to. He understands a fan’s heart so well…

(@merry_official) 

AFTER THE SET

After the show I was watching all the members throwing things to the crowd. I think I was watching Gara in the center of the stage when I decided to turn around and face forward again and SUDDEN TETSU RIGHT BEFORE MY EYES!! He was standing up on one of the monitors looking down at us. HE IS HUGE. SUCH A TOWERING MOUNTAIN!! But so kind lol

Gara was standing on a monitor and then jumped up to his desk and did the LONGEST HEADSTAND + FOOT CLAPPING COMBO I HAVE EVER SEEN. He was up there FOREVER. We were all watching and clapping but then gradually starting to think like… Gara… Gara are you okay… GET DOWN FROM THERE GARA!!!

He was SO INTO this entire show lol. The mood was SO good. Maybe the band + the fans were kind of overcompensating for the fact that it was such a strange hour, but we all went REAL HARD.

I then left the show not knowing what time it was, went to Starbucks for breakfast (apparently Gara handed out sandwiches!! But I didn’t know / didn’t see anything even though I waited in the venue for a long time), then went to Shimokita where I spent the rest of the day until the CORE SHOW. Which was really fun, but then turned emotional...

I will never forget this show though 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏