Quartet Night Live Future 2018 Report 11/04
Is this real? Is it just a fantasy? No, it’s real. A real true report of a live that, when I got into Uta no Prince Sama 3 and a half years ago, I never would have imagined attending. That, after the last Quartet Night Live, I dreamed of attending but never thought it would happen.
If you can’t tell already this report will probably be a little rambling and all over the place (not in the least because I was left emotionally broken by this live which has never happened before to me). I will do my best to share my experience here, so that others can see it, but more for myself to look back on in the future as well. I NEVER want to forget this live.
I suppose I could start with getting the ticket. I’m just going to state right out that I am the luckiest person alive and I don’t know how I won. My ticket came from the CD lottery. When the seats came out I found out I had an arena seat, A block. I pretty much died right then, two or so months before the live.
In terms of goods I didn’t end up with much this year through a mixture of choice and circumstance. I am terrible at remembering the deadlines for online orders so I missed those. The pre-sales were on the other side of the country so those were out. I also didn’t want to do my usual of spending the day in the goods line. Every time I’ve done that for Utapri I have a shitty experience. Thankfully they had a goods line during the live on Saturday and so I went then. The line was quite small and I got through in maybe no more than 15 minutes. I managed to pick up a few of the things I wanted, the pamphlet and the blanket were the main ones, so I was happy. Most things were sold out though, except lights this time because they were part of the tickets I suppose.
The next thing I want to mention is the amazing time I had with the people I met this weekend. I knew I was meeting with some friends from a LINE group but somehow over the weekend we stumbled across so many other foreigners and it was amazing to make new friends to share the crazy with.
I know I’ve posted the flower stand picture before but this stand that was from us foreign fans was a highlight of my weekend. It meant so much to me and the other people who contributed to it. Watching people take pictures of it (it was hella popular) and react to it was fantastic. Also during the live *spoilers* they talked about the flower stands and while the international stand was not mentioned then they did say that a video of all the stands had been recorded for them, so rest assured that it was seen by Quartet Night.
Eventually it was time to go in. I’d heard many things about the venue. That it seemed pretty small and had no real bad seats. I was not prepared for where I ended up. I was so close. There were still people closer of course but I’ve never been this close in an event before. Que the freaking out before it even started. They had some fun recordings of the QN boys for while you waited that would play every 15 minutes or so. Reiji and Ai and then Ranmaru and Camus. They were funny. Also people gave little squeals any time they came on.
Finally it was time. The lights went down, music started. This time the opening video was of all the previous milestones for Quartet Night, the games and the anime and the lives, all leading up to this event. Then everything went dark and there was the silhouette of a clock and the sound of it striking and they were there. It had begun.
• The first song was ‘THE WORLD IS MINE’. They appeared in beautiful golden outfits and I nearly died right then because for the first time they truly looked like people and not tiny figures far away. I don’t remember much else about this song except screaming along and basking in the fact that this was real.
• The second song was ‘Poison Kiss’ and if I wasn’t dead already this didn’t help. There’s not much to be said about the majesty of this song. It is and always will be perfect. They moved from the main stage to the centre during this song and I realized the downside to my seat was that I got to spend a lot of time staring at butts if they were on the centre stage. Still, this is the first live where I barely watched the screens. Even if it was the back of their head it was right there and I was staring.
• There was a brief introduction and welcome after the first song and then we were on to the first solo song, Rei-chan’s ‘オン・ユア・マーク!’ It was very reminiscent to the 6th stage performance with all the hips involved. It was mostly on the centre stage and a little strange to keep looking back over my shoulder at the screens to see his face.
• The next song was Ai’s ‘二人のモノグラム’. It was a really fun song and he had the sparkly white gloves from the last time he performed the song at a live! This one was mostly on the main stage and it was beautiful. So happy they included one of my favourite Ai songs!
• Saintly Territory was next. There was a cape involved. I really enjoyed Maeno’s interactions with the dancers. Like walked from the main to the centre stage he ‘pushed’ them out of the way, it was very Camus. There was also sceptre dancing on the centre stage.
• The lights went down and suddenly we looked up the the top of the stairs and there was Tattsun and he started singing ‘BE PROUD’. If I wasn’t already lost(I was) then my favourite Ranmaru song was what did it. He went down on his knees at a point and it was just…. shdhdkskdh. Oh and his ad-libing during the instrumentals was on point. That and the way he held that last note for so long. Like seriously long. Yabai.
• Next up was something special for this live: Acoustic Corner! I was really happy that they decided to do this because if the live had kept going the way it had started I don’t know if I’d have made it. This talk section was a necessary break.
• The first pair was Reiji and Camus. They came out onto the centre stage and had a talk portion while the band was setting up. There was a costume change to more casual looking clothes. They talked first about the live viewing audience. Morikubo is always really good at chatting to the live viewing audience. It was funny because every time they would pause to hear the cheers from the live viewing audience and so we would cheer and they’d always joke like ‘wow, the live viewing audiences voices are so strong you can hear them here’. Morikubo also talked about the lights and how cool it was that they could be controlled but that we could also choose our own color sometimes. Then he tried to get them to turn red but they were in our control at the time and it didn’t work(I was one of the few that turned mine red though). After a few minutes they managed to get them all red.
• They also talked about how all the members kind of have their own things and Maeno acted like Tattsun and it was hilarious. He then tried to act like Morikubo and it was even funnier because he said the line wrong and Morikubo was like ‘Eh? No it’s this! Not that!’
• Finally everything was set up and the song began, the acoustic version of KILLER KISS. The instrumentals were beautiful and I really loved the light effects they had over the center stage. They were super pretty. Character coloured dots could move up and down and into patterns. They were really cool. I kept having to glance behind me at the screens to see their faces every so often because they were seated facing away from my area.
• After the song the pair switched to Ai and Ranmaru. Another outfit change! These two were wearing these long flowy shirts, they looked super comfy. They chatted a bit about the outfits. Tattsun teased Shoutan about looking like a girl, as is usual for an Utapri Live. Shoutan even did this pose leaning forward with his butt out *que the screaming* and Tattsun was like ‘See?’ And then he tried the same pose but it didn’t work and it was hilarious. Shoutan retaliated by asked the audience if they’d want the shirt off of Tattsun’s back and the audience screamed again. I love the chemistry of these two.
• Tattsun brought up the flower stands! He talked about how there were so many and that the staff had taken pictures and video for them so that they could see all of them. I was hoping he might mention the international stand but he didn’t. He did mention one stand in particular. It was for Ranmaru and it had the silhouette of an instrument in red roses. Tattsun asked Shoutan what Ranmaru’s instrument was and Shoutan answered ‘Bass of course’. Then Tattsun pointed out that the silhouette was of a guitar and he was a little disappointed it was wrong(in a joking way).
• ハルハナ was their song. It was really nice. This song was a really nice choice for an acoustic song. I really liked their energy. The lights were also pretty again. I think they made the shape of a flower sometimes but it was hard to see from my angle.
• Once that song was finished Morikubo and Maeno came back out and there was a mini-talk with all of them. They made fun of each other a little more. They also talked about the LINE group and the picture of the four microphones that all of them posted a few days before the live. They joked about how it ended up that they all shared the picture and who started it. You could feel the KIZUNA. Oh, and the fact that after the first day of the live they all went out drinking together and came back to their hotel arms around each other. There is blurry picture proof on Morikubo’s twitter. Yes, that’s them drunk.
• They soon moved into the last acoustic corner song, マリアージュ. This song was really nice in acoustic.They also split the various english lines into different pairings of the group. I really liked that touch, to hear the different combinations of voices.
• After the acoustic corner it was time for the break video. I’m not going to lie, my Japanese skills were failing me this time and while I picked up a bit I don’t know if my understanding was good enough to get it right.
• Some highlights though. Shoutan: why doesn’t Ai sleep in a bed. Morikubo: what the heck does yoroshiku machocho mean? Maeno talked lots about Camus and sugar. I don’t remember much of what Tattsun said. Oh, and Shoutan said the thing he liked now about Ai is his voice, the precious boy. He has come so far from thinking he didn’t deserve to voice Ai.
• The interview ended with the question of what one kanji represented their character. These come up on screen and then the next song started.
• ‘The Dice are Cast’! With new outfits! I really liked these outfits. They were my favourite for this live! And this song was on the trucks! And holy crap that was close. Morikubo and Tattsun were on my side and they were like right there. I tried not to die while cheering them on.
• The trucks stopped at the far end of the stadium (right in front of where a friend of mine was sitting, pretty sure her night was made with that). They started the next song which was ‘Starlight Memory’. Like the first Quartet Night live they did this one with mic stands but it was from the trucks, facing back in towards the main stage.
• Apparently those two songs were also the short versions of them from some of the Japanese reports I’ve seen. I can’t say that I noticed either way, I was completely lost in the experience.
• The next song was ‘エボリューション・イヴ’. It was around this point that I started to tear up more than I had before. They were the burning stinging sort too, meaning that I was watching this song through one eye trying to fight off the burning in the other. It was an amazing song though, one of my favourites which is probably why I got so emotional.
• We were back to solo songs for the next little bit. The next one was Camus’ ‘Double face’. I have to say that this is probably my favourite Camus song and it’s all because of how Maeno performs it. The way he is able to switch so effortlessly between the personas and the voices, just by changing which hand is on the mic stand. Like the first live the dancers were in white and black for this song. The lights alternated between blue and yellow and the coordination was on point.
• The sounds of ‘シンクロニズム’ started up. We could see a silhouette and Shoutan was wearing the hood of his shirt up. His outfit this time was a short sleeved shirt(hoodie) with a large hood that was edged with purple fur and it had purple fur cat ears. He also had a purple sash that was very iridescent. (If you can’t tell I loved this outfit and I seriously want it for myself.) Anyway, the hood was up and he even reached up and played with the ears. The cuteness of it all really matched with the cuteness of the song. He went from the main stage to the centre and back with this song. You may have heard of the butt wiggle from when he performed this song at 6th stage, those were back this time too. They were always in the direction of my area too. Bless you Ai-chan. There were also bubbles at the end. You could die from the cute of it all.
• ‘Not bad’ was the other Ranmaru song of the night. There was lots of fire involved and because of the closed venue you could really feel the heat of it.
• The last of the solo songs was ‘Never…’ It was really well done. Morikubo threw his hat off at one point, along with the other dancers. Near the end of the song he climbed the stairs of the main stage and on the screen then had the image of a Ferris wheel. It was very much like the anime. The end of the song had the first shiny tape cannons of the night with plain green tape for the song. It was literally raining down on me! I managed to grab a lot of them but I kind of messed them up by shoving them into my tiny bag. If I ever get area again I’ll remember to bring a bigger bag for the tape so I don’t crunch it up before there is time to roll it up nice.
• There wasn’t really time after ‘Never…’ to roll the tape up nice because ‘Non-Fiction’ was starting. Tattsun and Maeno rolled out on a black couch looking terribly cool. I have to say that while I like both the new songs ‘Non-Fiction’ is a definite jam. It was awesome to do the calls for this song and to watch them dance to it. Yes, there was an epic dance in that instrumental break of the song. It was definitely one of my favourite performances of the night.
• The next song was predictably ‘Fiction’. While this one didn’t hold the coolness of the previous song the physical acting by Morikubo and Shoutan was on point. Their movements and expressions captured the emotional nuances of the song, especially if you know anything about the history between the characters. They were apart until almost the end of the song and then they finally clasped hands but then Shoutan pulled away and walked away and then Morikubo walked away and there was just a white spotlight on stage with feathers falling. It was very moving.
• The next song was ‘KIZUNA’! They played the video from the anime on the background screen and like the first live they all sat on the stairs and acted it out. This is such a fun song to do the call and response to. They were all being really cute together too. I believe for this song they came close to the side of the main stage during parts of the song.
• The next song was the one bearing their name ‘QUARTET☆NIGHT’! I feel bad for not having more memory of this song but my excuse is the live was most definitely coming to an end, I was already crying and it was good. That’s all I can really say. Dreams came true.
• Next was the dancer introduction! They each took turns introducing a number of the dancers. Sadly the one dancer I’ve grown to like from Shoutan and other utapri lives wasn’t there but I recognized some of the names.
• There was another brief talk after this, I think more towards the live viewing audience again as well. I don’t remember much of what was said besides the last song was coming up.
• ‘FLY TO THE FUTURE’ was the last song. It was fitting and perfect for this live. I literally had tears running down my face at this point. I didn’t want it to end. The highlight of the song was of course the line ‘ありがとう、そしてこれからも’. Before this line everything just stopped and fell quiet. No music, no cheering, just silence. It was tense, you could feel it in the air of the hall. I was terrified I would make some sound to break it. Finally they said the line and the song finished.
• Encore time! Everyone just cheered ‘quartet night’ the whole time. Unlike the movie theatre where you feel a little strange chanting it when you are part of the audience the energy just carries you along. I tried to organize the tape a little during this time but as I said earlier it turns out I didn’t do a very good job.
• The encore finished pretty fast and they were back with ‘FORCE LIVE’. What a cool song! And they played the music video in the background while they did the actual dances on the stage. Morikubo even tried the high kick like Reiji in the video. It was awesome and after ages of playing Shining Live it was cool to hear it in person (kinda sad Starish didn’t get their back at the fanmeet).
• After the song was a bit more talking and they did the few announcements. Basically that there would be a DVD/blueray and that the official movie site opens in December.
• I don’t remember many details of the final words (I’m writing this a few days after and it’s been a busy week at work @.@) but I do remember screaming arigatou a lot. Like a lot. For most of this last little bit.
• The next song was ‘God’s STAR’! This was the only song I knew of ahead of time for sure because I’d heard it when taking pictures of the flower stands on the Saturday night. Still, one of my favourite songs to see live because the call and response is just so much fun!
• Another encore! More cheering for a while. When they came back out they were in a white version t-shirt with the logo. Most of them had been modified a little bit. Morikubo’s was the most plain, just the shirt. Tattsun’s had some see through black material on the sleeves and at the bottom. Shoutan had a few zipper like cuts in his shirt (very much like his encore shirts from his own lives). Maeno was wearing the Camus prince parka.
• They did a few more thank you’s and then they announced the last song which was of course ‘You’re my life’. I can’t think of a more perfect last song honestly. They came out on the trucks again for this song. Tattsun and Maeno were on my side. They went around and when they passed the other trucks they would high five. Sadly the other ones didn’t come too close because they veered off to the centre stage instead. There was still more of the song and they were always standing at the edge of the stage waving out at all of us. I also love the call and response of this song. ‘La, la, la, la, la-la, la, la.’
• They said thank you again after and then the instrumental version of ‘FLY TO THE FUTURE’ started to play as they waved goodbye. We did the best thing though and the whole audience just decided to sing the song to them, the biggest karaoke ever. I’ll admit I didn’t sing it perfectly but I tried because how could you not. And this was probably one of my favourite moments of the live because you could see how moved Quartet Night was by it. I remember seeing Tattsun’s face as they headed back down the aisle to the main stage and he was floored by it. I’m glad that they could see our love for them all.
• Even when it was done the audience was singing along with the instrumentals of the songs. I was probably the last one of the people I had been with to head out because I just didn’t want it to end. I would do it again if I could. I will buy the shit out of the DVD just to be part of that again.
There you have it. Quartet Night Live Future 2018. I already feel like I have forgotten a lot. Especially about the talks and things. I should have taken notes when I was on my way home but I was tired and still in a bit of a ‘did that actually happen?’ That matched with a busy week means that this isn’t as great as it could be. I hope you enjoyed it anyways. It was still the best weekend of my life.
Thank you to Broccoli for making these games and these characters. Thank you for the music. Thank you to all of the friends I met this weekend, old and new. Thank you to all of the people who donated to the flower stand.
