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Sep 8, 2013

access 20th Anniversary MEGA Cluster 7/21 - 7/22 (2012) Live Report

I started writing this last year when unfortunately tumblr crashed and I lost a chunk of it (too much rainbow sparkling happy feelings text I guess), though I kept what was left floating around in a draft. I only just got back to tidying it up and felt like sharing it with those who'd like to read it (and also so that I can finally post it and keep better track of it for myself <3). Most of this is based off of very turbulent memories (though I looked up set lists for accuracy) so forgive me if in the end it turns out that some of my details are slightly off. Enjoy!!

Contents:

1) Set List 2) Stage setup 3) Song details and personal impressions/memories, arranged in order of set list 4) Post-concert happenings

access LIVE at Nakano Sunplaza - 7/21, 7/22 - 2012 MEGA Cluster Tour

Doors Open: 5pm Concert Start: 5:30pm (or at least it was supposed to...they were late both nights LOL)

1.1000年の誓い (video of Hiro + DA, audience singalong) 2.MOONSHINE DANCE 3.SWEET SILENCE 4.Catch the Rainbow (2011 Pray for Japan Ver.) -MC- 5.f☆R☆E☆e (new song from Secret Cluster) 6.TRY AGAIN 7.VIRGIN EMOTION 8.Shadow Over the World -MOVIE- Recording of "Bet" with Hiro, live rehearsal, Hiro's birthday :) <3 9.Wild Butterfly -MC- 10.(7/21) Stand By (new song from Secret Cluster) 10.(7/22) Star Tribal (new song from Secret Cluster) 11.Let Me Go 12.ChaOs GradAtioN 13.DA solo 14.Bet～追憶のRoulette～ 15.JEWELRY ANGEL 16.Life goes on 17.Share the Love -MC- 18.Beyond the Second-D.

First Encore -MC- 19.BE TOGETHER (TM NETWORK cover) 20.NIGHT WAVE 21.LYIN' EYES 22.AGAINST THE RULES

Second Encore 23.LOOK-A-HEAD -MC-

Stage setup: pretty traditional, with some flair - DA's "keyboard cage" up high on a platform towards the back of center stage in front of a huge LED video screen, with rectangular accessory screens above and around it (for overlapping and interweaving digital effects). Smaller platform above DA's (equipped with a section in the middle that rises up and down), with stairs leading down both sides to main stage. Lights, strobes, lasers, etc, interspersed around the entire layout. Guitar on stage left, drums stage right. Huge motherfucking speaker setups on the outside of the stage on both the right and left sides; the one on my right blasted my damn ear off pretty much the entire first night (our seats the next night had much better balance because we weren't directly in front of any speaker :D).

AXS Kiss count <3: 7/21: 3; 7/22: 2 (all Hiro giving DA a "chu~~~" on the head)

1. 1000年の誓い (Sennen no Chikai - The Promise of 1000 Years) This song was originally a DA solo track (before access) that featured Hiro as one of two guest vocalists. Hiro would sing one half of a verse, the female counterpart soloist would sing the other, and then they'd join in for the chorus. The song is pretty famous within the access fandom for being one of the tracks Hiro and DA did together before they were even officially access, and even more so because of its deeper meaning, especially post-breakup. The song essentially talks about the promise of seeing a loved one again someday, despite being separated in the middle of certain hardships. Over the years since like their 2nd tour the female part has been left out for the fans themselves to sing at lives, which was what happened again this time. DA and Hiro were not actually on stage - the huge video screen behind DA's keyboard platform played a video with them in it for us to sing along to when prompted. I couldn't remember all of the words exactly, but it was a really moving experience. I adore this song.

We then went straight into 2) MOONSHINE DANCE in which there was an intro for a little over a minute and a half or so during which Shi-chan (guitarist) and the drummer (I believe it was Shiba-chan?) came out. It then reached a spectacular climax at which point DA and Hiro came rising up onto the highest platform in front of the video screen (in the midst of all of us yelling ourselves hoarse). They were each wearing these fantastic outfits that seemed almost identical (in a pointed reference, I'm sure) to the famous red and blue suits they wore during their second tour in 1993 (outfits which also appeared with kids wearing them in the video for 夢を見たいから). I remember Daichan was also wearing this adorable black and white ribbon bowtie. They each came down a set of the stairs and proceeded to strut their stuff about together on stage, quite literally. Daichan's Scorpion streak was showing cause he had his fierce face on and was being quite the smirky rockstar. We all did the "Moonshine dance" with Hiro and they both made all of us squee as they kept up the tradition of turning sharply at each other from wherever they were onstage to make alluring eye contact for "Moonlight pray" <3 <3

Next was 3) SWEET SILENCE and unfortunately the thing I remember most from this was how badly I kept screwing up the dance. I kept my eyes glued to Hiro so I could watch him for reference. For 4) CATCH THE RAINBOW they played the 2011 "Pray For Japan" remix (as they have always done since the earthquake now). DA had by this point retreated back up to his keyboard cage where he led us in the usual hand motions and cued jumps when Hiro sang/shouted "Stand up!", "Get up!" etc. All of the lights had shifted into myriads of amazing colors to match the theme of the song. Our MEGA Cluster rainbow lights matched perfectly <3 I love this remix so it was glorious to hear (and jump!) to it live.

After that they took a short break to formally welcome us, remark about their 20th anniversary and their new singles, etc. It was during these intervals of musical silence (and when they weren't talking) in which we, the fangirls (and some boys!), took the opportunity to scream our lungs out calling their names ("DAAAIIIIICHAAAAANNNN!!!!" "HIROOOOOOO!!!!"). I had been waiting years especially for the chance to do just that. It's not like they ever responded, really, since they were always in the middle of switching gears and such, but just being able to be there and do that in those moments, to know that they could hear my voice now too, was incredible. Whenever they talked I could only understand certain parts of what they were saying, since 1) my Japanese is crap and 2) they speak crappy slang Japanese that makes me go all @__@. Throw all textbook comprehension out the window at this point. This first MC was short, sweet, and to the point though, part of which's purpose was to introduce the next song, a new one called 5) f☆R☆E☆e.

I will be honest, I don't remember much about f☆R☆E☆e, unfortunately, despite getting to hear it twice. I'm sure I'll recognize it when I get the new album next week. I remember that I liked it and that it was upbeat and pretty fast-paced. LOL sorry. It got lost in my limbic system somewhere.

Next was 6) TRY AGAIN. This was where the energy calmed down a bit, being a slower, more somber song. They played these rolling shots of clouds and the sky on the video screens during this one. Hiro had a mic stand to ground him in one place at center stage; DA was still up on his platform. For 7) VIRGIN EMOTION, they played the original PV on the LED screens behind them as they performed it which I found highly amusing. But at the same time, it was fun and rather nostalgic to see such their very first PV being played with them 20 years later (even though I'm haven't been an access fan for 20 years.... xD;; TECHNICALITIES, PEOPLE).

8) Shadow over the world. Well, I did not burst into completely into hysterical tears as I thought I might (I did get teary both nights though). This is one of my two very favorite access ballads. In case anyone isn't aware, access wrote this song (with lyrics by Mitsuko Komuro) in memory of the victims of the Virginia Tech massacre back in 2007. They debuted it on their binary engine tour with DA playing a grand piano on a stage surrounded by candles. This time around it wasn't as sentimentally set up, but the LED screens scrolled through shots of stars and the sky as they performed it. Hiro did really well with the vocals and I loved hearing Shi-chan's power guitar during the bridge. <3

After this we took a break. I remember both nights I was glad for a chance to sit down and comprehend matters for a moment, as well as drink some water (Aquarius FTW!). They didn't give us much of any chance to get distracted though because they played a video showing some live rehearsal footage, Hiro recording parts of "Bet", and then running through the master rendering of the instrumental track. Then it cut to this cute bit with the staff coming in to give Hiro a small birthday cake while DA and the rest serenaded him with "Happy Birthday" in English, which was adorable. It showed Hiro receiving a present from Daichan, which was an iPhone case (LOOOL). I'm pretty sure if anything Daichan made Hiro get an iPhone at some point, or this was a gift to compel Hiro in that direction if he had not done so already. Later Rachel and I joked about how Hiro could very well have gotten an Android (rendering the case useless) which would cause Daichan to be heartbroken, upon which Hiro would simply say "it's okay, Daichan, I can do this!" and cut the case to fit the droid. Because he's that nice (and that dense). xDD

Video ends, we wait a bit and then everyone comes back onstage for 9) Wild Butterfly, in which Daichan is using his synth-guitar. It is literally a guitar that is, like the keytar, simply another wireless MIDI controller for the keyboard synthesizer. When I found out the specifics of this I was not surprised but literally said, "Daichan! That's cheating!" LOL /shot

This is not the most important matter at hand though, regarding the beginning of this set. What is involves the getup Daichan came out in. Let me give you a little background to this. Before we went in on the first night we met up with one of our friends from twitter, @lilysmallslope. She speaks great English so we were able to communicate well. She told us to expect Daichan to wear a "sexy" outfit that night, with parts of his legs showing. We were really surprised, saying that if anyone is sexy it's Hiro, of course! (I rarely find myself thinking DA is sexy in general..."cute", "cool", "awesome," etc, a lot, but "sexy"? that, not so much. It's not his job nor jurisdiction to be sexy xD) I had heard something about this a week prior on the net, as word travels down the grapevine and such. I hadn't given it a ton of thought but people were buzzing about it at Nakano so I was curious now.

So, out comes Daichan in this rumored outfit, and it is exactly as people were saying. "Sexy" is really the only appropriate word for it. He's donned knee-high black leather boots with blinged-out bone-shaped decals on the front, super short shiny silver shorts say that five times fast with fishnet-esque tights and leg garters, of all things. It is a outfit in which suddenly, stunningly, Daichan's thighs are out on proud display right in front of you. This setup below the waist was paired with a big black belt studded with bling and draped with the usual hip chains, and a frilly white shirt paired with black suspenders and a shiny silver overcoat with coattails to match the shorts. To be honest, with everything that DA's legs were suddenly putting on display I was not paying as much attention to his torso anymore. It was epically sexy and alluring; none of us could take our eyes off him as we were all lost in utter amazement. ^/////^;; It was one of most the flamboyant outfits I have ever seen him wear, but in the best kind of way.

I have a picture here to illustrate, straight from DA's twitter itself (post-live):

I love how in this picture he's got his hands on his hips and his legs jutted out proudly in a way that just screams "Yeah, bitches, I'm glamorous, and you wish you were this sexy" >:D It contradicts the DA that I know who when it comes to clothes is usually like a prissy little girl and never lets so much as his elbows show.

Going back to Wild Butterfly (^_^;), DA is rocking out on his "guitar" (he had a cape on for this song too, might I add) while Hiro is cruising through the soft rock vocals. Since I talked so much about DA's outfit (how could I not!) I feel compelled to mention Hiro's (though DA's was so goddamn distracting I hardly remember it). Hiro was wearing a relatively more conservative outfit (which is saying something....). He had on a nice white shirt with a purple overcoat and tight dark pants. It was one of those outfits in which I started having sudden realizations about how freaking skinny he is. Like damn, man. Your legs! Your ribs! Put some meat on them!

During Wild Butterfly Daichan works his way up to the high platform, on which he gets raised up and down on the moving part as an effect. The LED screen behind him flashes flapping butterfly wings in a way that frames his figure, making him look like a giant human butterfly in garters, flying up and down. It was pretty awesome despite how corny it may sound.

They take an MC to mainly introduce the next song, a new one from the album, but Hiro has to stop and point out Daichan's outfit for everyone (like no one has noticed...). DA is back at his keyboards at this point and Hiro motions up to him and goes something like "Daichan looks pretty cool huh" and DA lifts up his leg and waves it up and down for the crowd. We all go nuts, cheering and cooing at him in glee (I may have let out a cat-call or two the second night....xD).

The next song was different depending on the night. On 7/21 it was Stand By, which again I honestly don't remember all that well. 7/22 was Star Tribal, same thing. I do remember feeling some TMR-vibes with the latter though. I'm hoping for a memory jog next week when the album drops xD For both of these songs DA moved back up to his keyboard platform and ditched his cape (thank god - his shiny sexy shorts outfit was so much better without it).

Next was 11) Let me go. This song...oh god this song. This is what I interpret as the result of Hiro's apparent obsession with K-pop. I like this song a lot, but only because it has grown on me significantly and because of the dance Hiro did for it (which we ended up doing with him....). That dance.....we began calling it the "Heil access" dance after Rachel pointed out what it (I'm sure unintentionally) referenced....it literally is the "Heil Hitler" arm motion in dance form. The song is ridiculous enough but just having that tacked onto it took it into a whole new league.

12) ChaOs GradAtioN was next. Back to back B-sides. This song is different and has grown on me a lot since I first heard it. The live version had some trippy lighting effects that match whatever DA was tripping on when he wrote it....that's what it makes me think anyway (LOL). At one point during this Hiro sauntered up to DA at the keyboards, who immediately leaned on one of them, propping on his elbows with his chin in his hands towards Hiro in a rather provocative posture that to me clearly said "Sing to me, baby" xD Hiro was apparently thinking along similar lines in terms of chemistry because before heading back down he pulled Daichan in close for a kiss on the head <3

At the end of this Hiro then takes a break for 13) DA's keyboard solo.

Both nights he pretty much banged out the same SEQUENCE MEDITATION-esque sort of time sequence. No backing tracks aside from whatever backbeats he had probably set up beforehand. It was epic but there were times when I thought DA was simply trying to blow our ears out with crazy sounds and high-pitched siren noises. He got so into it on the second night one of his garters snapped off xD; He jumped all around the keyboard cage bashing into some of them with his hands so hard I thought he was going to break one. It was pretty crazy; I could only watch in amazement. Interspersed throughout some of the craziness he did move into a calmer, piano-centric theme.....which I somehow recognized but couldn't place. After looking it up later I realized he had played themes from "Mars, Bringer of War" from Holst's The Planets. It was pretty intense but still lovely; the Mars theme suits Daichan's nutty solo stylizations. I hope he'll play Jupiter's theme someday.

Next we went straight into 14) Bet～追憶のRoulette～. I LOVE this new song. The audience got really into it with the arm motions - not a dance, but a forward-swinging motion with our rainbow lights in time to the beat. This is the default audience motion for most of the songs that don't have a dance set to them. Not much else to say about this song except I got really into it and danced and sang along with all of my heart! I bet all of my heart~!

For 15) JEWELRY ANGEL Daichan came back down out of the keyboard cage and got out the keytar again. On the second night, as Hiro started in on the first verse I could tell he was rushing it a bit, and Daichan stood next to him trying to get him back in time with little nods of his head. When Hiro finished the first verse and they moved on Daichan made a nod with his head as if to say "ok, well done" LOL Hiro was fine for the rest of it as far as I could tell.

During 16) Life goes on Daichan brought out the guitar again and went into rockstar mode. This was when I could literally see up Daichan's shorts, as he on a couple of occasions put his leg up on a speaker and leaned into it right in front of us, putting his thigh on full display. I'm not sure if he forgot the exact nature of what he was wearing or if he simply thought "to hell with it!" and embraced the finer expository possibilities of his outfit :D I was torn between thinking "That is more of your leg than I ever wanted to see" and "AHHHH I JUST SAW UP DA'S LEG INTO HIS SHORTS THAT'S HIS ASS HA HA HA" xDD It was all just right there. Both Hiro and DA bounced around the edges of the stage, each moving to opposite sides to go pump up different parts of the audience. Hiro got into DA a bit during this song, getting all up behind him and wrapping his arm around him, ultimately giving him a kiss on the side of his face. <3 We all went nuts squeeing ourselves silly. <3 Towards the end of the song DA threw his guitar pick out into the crowd and (on the second night when I was closer) I saw it fly through the air and land in the row somewhere across the aisle from us. The girls in those seats were trying to find it for a good while cause it got lost in the darkness. I could only think "Damn! Only a little farther to your left, Daichan, and it would have been mine!"

DA goes back up to his synth booth for 17) Share the Love, which is probably my favorite single they've released in the past year (though right now I'm very into Bet <3). When the keyboard intro starts and I realize what song has just come on I lose myself to my excitement and the music (on the first night my mind broke for a split second and thought it was Doubt & Trust xDDD). IT'S SHAZARAA---!!!!!! We all do the hand motions/dance with Hiro ("DOREMIDAAANNNN"), arm-thrusting the air and all such ridiculous nonsense. DA flubbed his keyboards a little bit but I was too happy to be hearing one of my favorite access songs ever to care. It was LOVE! <3 <3

Short MC break before 18) Beyond the Second-D. Hiro shouts, "Let's go, last song!" DA's back on keytar for this one. Since this isn't Shinnosuke-san's remix we don't do the dance but DA does join in with Hiro on the chorus, planting himself in front of a stand mic next to Hiro. During parts of the chorus Hiro would sometimes stop singing and cue us to instead by holding out his mic. DA would usually keep singing, however, which was adorable and gave us our own backup! I was thrilled to think that I was actually singing along with Daichan himself, live! Hiro got really into DA again for this one, snuggling up behind him and throwing his arm around him, and of course giving him another kiss on top of his head! <3 <3 <3 <3 It was ADORABLE. This time he sort of wound up to it more with him and Daichan moving across the stage in more interactive intervals. This song really lit a spark between the two of them <3

Then the official set ends and they go backstage for a costume change. A section of people on the first floor start up the traditional "encore" chant, which leads into the entire audience clapping in time until DA and Hiro come traipsing back out in new outfits. Hiro donned the sexier outfit this time, though it was less of a surprise - he wore tight zebra-patterned pants with a translucent black shirt and a fuzzy black cardigan with silvery glitter over his shoulders. It was really yummy to look at, especially on the second night when I was up close and could see his torso really well <3 (but again, Hiro, WHY YOU SO SKINNY?!). Daichan wore these baggy dark pants with boots and a loose-fitting sleeveless blue/black parker that had black fuzz lining the edges of the hood over a white t-shirt. Stark contrast to his previous ensemble. When he would get into badass DJ mode and put up his hood, his entire head would almost disappear behind it, it was so huge.

So they break for a bit to introduce the next song, which is a cover - Hiro remarks it's his first time singing this song. And so begins TM NETWORK's 19) BE TOGETHER, a song I didn't recognize because I'm not that familiar with TMN. But hell, it was awesome!!! I could tell it was well known to the audience because people flipped shit when they realized what song it was. I really loved access' version of it - Hiro's voice is different than Utsu's but he pulled it off really well! And Daichan's mix wasn't too far off the original (I looked it up later). Since I anticipated that it was coming on Sunday I got more into it that night. Out of the songs they played that I hadn't heard before (i.e. this and the new album songs) this was the one I ended up remembering the best (just cause it was so good, and such fun to hear live!!!). xD;;

Next comes 20) NIGHT WAVE and oh man I'd been waiting for this one. :D One of my favorite "oldcess" songs with some of the best remixes, and boy this one did not disappoint. It was reminiscent of the epic 2002 remix that was performed during Crossbridge (and has sadly never been put on an album). We do the "NIGHT WAVE!" dance (or rather, jerking-of-the-arm motion) with Hiro and DA. Hiro runs all around the stage during this one pumping us up during the instrumental intervals.

For 21) LYIN' EYES Hiro breaks out all the sexy he can muster, doing the amazing kick-and-spin dance that dates back to 1993. He and Daichan lead us in the famous hand motions, a favorite of mine. :D The English rap is just as unintelligible as ever but lacks the usual bleeps for some reason (or at least, I never heard them). Hiro also shouted it more than he rapped it....LOL. Hiro's hips have lots of fun during this song, especially at the part where he shouts "Oh I'm coming now, oooh" where he thrusts his hips out mesmerizingly. I seriously have a thing for just his hips alone. <3

22) AGAINST THE RULES was actually different both nights (as in, they did two different arrangements of it). Both nights were kickass remixes but for one of them they definitely did the 2002 AA Trance version that I love. Complete with enough strobe lighting to set any epileptic off into the seizure of their life, I'm not kidding o.o;. Hiro traipsed back up to DA's synth booth for a bit and sang to him again :D During this song Hiro also led us in an old dance that I hadn't seen before except in clips from old '90s lives, which was really fun! I messed it up a couple of times but Hiro was a very alluring visual to get dance guidance from, so I was never lost for a reference. xD <3

At the end of this they run offstage again and we once more begin the encore chant and clapping ritual until they come running back out, this time in their own tour t-shirts. DA was wearing an orange hat and Hiro had one of the AXS shu shus (scrunchie) on his wrist; it was the green and blue one just like the one I had gotten :)

They start talking, remarking about how it's really hot (which it was!). Again, I couldn't understand a lot of what they said (they speak shit Japanese and mine even in formal is terrible) and if I did I can't say I even remember it all, but I remember both nights they pointed out some girls in the audience who were wearing yukata and were like "hey there are people wearing yukata here" and complimented them (on the second night there were two such yukata-wearing girls in the front row who jumped all around when they mentioned this xD it was cute!). Daichan also marveled at how there were male fans in the audience (for once?) and thanked them for coming. xD; You would like having male fans, wouldn't you DA? He also asked about the apparent festival going on in front of Nakano Sunplaza (there were a bunch of booths and food-sellers in front of the hall both days we were there), asking what it was about and what people were selling. Someone in the audience shouted back an answer that included something about beef being sold and DA got all excited (he loves beef and steak and such LOL). He and Hiro then start off on this long conversation involving meat because Daichan is obsessed and Hiro says "eh I like it but I don't eat it much" and Daichan was all "WHY?? WHY?????" xDD. Somewhere in there they also talked about how cool the LED screens were and Hiro was like "they're spacey" xDD (I swear that's his new favorite word ^^;;)

We somehow find an end to this convoluted conversation and go into the final encore selection of the night, 23) LOOK-A-HEAD. This is access' traditional ending song (at one live a few years ago in like 2008 they weren't going to end with it and the support band literally staged a coup to make them do it! xD). I was so happy when it came on; I consider this song to be the "AXS party song" because it is a song that is so much fun for the audience and celebrates access in all their ridiculous glory! Daichan's back on keytar and both of them roam around every part of the stage, as close to us as they can get :D. During the chorus, the house lights come on so that the entire audience isn't in the dark anymore. We shout the (very random) English lyrics when Hiro cues us ("MORNING!"; "DREAM"; "MAKE LOVE!" and so on xD), and Daichan does little charade motions to match (such as a heart with his hands for "make love", etc). For the "JUST YOU, ACCESS!" and "GIVE ME, ACCESS!" parts we do the crossed-arm motions which I learned/was reminded of from watching the audience the first night. I literally have the biggest grin on my face the entire freaking time. Randomly, Daichan does not run back up to his keyboard cage for his solo; he instead opts to play over a backing track of it on the KX5. This threw me slightly, especially as leading up to his cue I was confused as to why he wasn't running up there as he's always done, but hey, the guy likes to change things up. And it's not like he hasn't been playing that segment over a backing track for the last two decades anyway, synth booth or no. xDD

On the second night, for whatever reason, the two girls directly in front of us leave before the encore, giving us an even better vantage point. As fate would have it, this gives Daichan a direct gazing point in my direction, which (I think) better allows him to spot me pointing at him (as I did often that night in my devoted excitement!). Upon spotting me, he points directly back at me with his left hand (!!!!!!!!!), grins and gives me a thumbs up (aljfhgbj[pELKjgjdn!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) to which I somehow conjure the physical reflex of returning (as my mind went completely blank xD). I knew it was me he was pointing at and not someone else or just the crowd in general because we made eye contact (<3 <3 <3 he was THAT close) and because there was no one right front of me anymore in that direction!!!!!! It was the most amazing moment of my life, and is now one of my most precious memories. I'm so grateful to him for doing just that one little thing to absolutely make me the happiest person ever, in that moment. I got chills again just writing about it! <3 <3

After essentially frying my brain Daichan bounces back over to Hiro's side and they go into the LOOK-A-HEAD wind down sequence. This basically involves lots of repeats of "GIVE ME, ACCESS!" and "JUST YOU, ACCESS" while Daichan goes hogwild on the keytar and Hiro at some point gets down on his knees and thrusts the air while shouting "HEY!" in time to his hips (:Q <3). Somewhere in this on the first night Daichan actually breaks his keytar somehow and has to quickly get a replacement from a staffer (LOOOL). The second night, his hat goes flying off and we see his already terrible hat hair LOL.

The song ends and we're all screaming and going nuts (I am still slightly shell-shocked thanks to DA but cheering and laughing all the same). We all calm down and DA and Hiro grab mics to start talking again for a little bit. They're like "well that was fun huh" LOL and start to wind things down. (((EDIT: this is where I had to pick back up after tumblr crashed; my memories aren't as clear at this point!))) Hiro shouts to us that we are the best and they say thank you and wish us safe travels while bidding us goodbye (we all screamed our goodbyes and love at them in return). The first night all I could think was "I get to see them again tomorrow!!!!" but the second night was harder. As soon as I saw them disappear offstage I collapsed to my knees and burst into tears. I was just completely overwhelmed by my feelings; mostly my sheer happiness at my dream coming true (twice over in one weekend, even!), the feeling of coming down from my adrenaline high, and a tinge of sadness at having to say goodbye (for now!).

On the first night we met up with some other fans outside and hung out for a bit; some of Rachel and Shelly's friends chatted with us and took some pictures - one girl named Takami-chan (yes that is her real name!) was cosplaying as DA and we took a photo with her and a Hiro cosplayer :D We then went for a late dinner across the street as we were starved lol. Then when Shelly, Rachel and I got back to the hotel we got drinks and had a toast (kanpai!!!!) to Shelly and I's first real access live.

On the second night, after I had collected my emotions enough to hobble out of the hall, we met up with Shelly's friend (now my friend as well <3) Chikako-san. She asks us if we wanted to go around the building to see DA and Hiro's cars. I was like "sure, I'd enjoy that, why not?" We meet up with Laura and Peter and head to the back parking lot where we can see DA's white Porsche and Hiro's big van thing (A Nissan something I think). The staff won't let us get any closer than just looking from the sidewalk but I manage to take a couple of pictures xD I confirm for my own eyes DA's silly "1104" license plate (seriously, Daichan, that sort of thing is like asking for people to stalk you -__-;).

What I hadn't realized was that when Chikako-san led us around to see their cars, this gave us the chance to see DA and Hiro one last time as they left. One last chance to see them in person!!! We had to wait around for a while and it started to rain, but Chikako-san kindly shared her umbrella with us. A small group of us gathered and the staff had to keep us back (not that anyone was really being rowdy, but more to just control the space). They warn us not to take any pictures of DA and Hiro themselves but I don't care; just seeing them again would be enough! Finally Daichan comes out having changed into "street clothes"; a familiar pink and white Union Jack shirt and jeans. And who else would be with him but John-kun!! I was so excited to see one of the famous Asakura dogs in person. There was also a woman with DA who looked vaguely familiar, so I asked Chikako-san....

Me: "Chikako-san, is that person over there...Abe-san?"

Chikako-san: "Yes, it is!"

Me: "OMG"

The infamous Abe-san (or rather, Shimbori-san as her name changed when she got married), DA's manager in his early years and now an executive producer for Darwin. Someone who has literally been with and supported DA throughout his entire career (she actually met her husband through her work with him!). It was incredible to see her in person for the first time. The things she has seen...xD;

Meanwhile DA is loading John-kun into the car while Abe-san is talking to him; we can't hear what they are saying as they are too far away. This doesn't stop some of us fans from calling out to DA; though he largely does not respond aside from having waved when he came out. But in a glorious moment Shelly calls out "I love you!" to him and he actually looks up over in our direction and waves again, looking slightly surprised but smiling. It was only one of the greatest moments ever and we were thrilled. He finally gets into the car and veers out into the street; I get one last look at him sitting at the traffic light until he speeds off.

We gather back around to continue waiting for Hiro; a staff member gets into his car and pulls it up closer to the door. He comes out within about ten minutes, waving vigorously at us all. He gets in the back seat rather quickly (someone else is driving) and they proceed to leave; when they pull up near us to turn into the street Hiro rolls down his window and waves at all of us and bids us safe travels and good night (such a sweetie, really <3). They then drive off in the opposite direction as Daichan went.

And that just about wraps up the greatest two nights of my life! If you took the time to read this then I hope you enjoyed it; I loved writing it! I hope that I can see access with my friends again soon :D Thank you Shelly, Laura, Chikako-san, Yuri-san, Rachel and all of our friends who made this even more of an amazing experience. access サイコー！