*EDITED* My Super Long OOR NY Concert Recap with Equally Long Title. LOL!
Ok, so this will be a little different & long cuz it’s going to be more about the trip as a whole with an emphasis on the concert. There will be a LOT of fangirling, so I apologize in advance if it’s annoying. It will also NOT be in sequential order, because I’m just going with the flow here.
First, the bad. I was sick. Head-cold hell. orz Someone kept pulling my hair during the concert. I don’t know how that could have been an accident, but I sure hope it was! Also, if you’re going to put your arms up, put them UP! DO NOT rest them on my shoulders or dangle them in my face! I had to push someone’s arm off of me MULTIPLE TIMES!
Ok, here’s all the good, and there’s a LOT of it! So, I’ll put it under the break.
I stayed with my friend, Peggy, in New Jersey who went to the concert as well. We used to work together when she lived in my city. I turned her on to ONE OK ROCK back in 2011, but she’s not quite the same devoted fan as us. She’s says it’s cuz she has dated too many musicians. I can understand that, but I also know she really does enjoy and appreciate their music. At the end, she said she was impressed with their performance and energy.
So, I got in Sat. Saw snow for the first time, but not snowfall. It was also a day old so it was all icy. But weather called for more the day of the concert. After dropping my luggage off at her place we went to a town nearby that had a couple sort of famous spots. There was Jay & Silent Bob’s Secret Stash, the comic book store owned by Kevin Smith (Jay). And Carlo’s Bakery from Cake Boss. It isn’t the original shop, just an expansion location, but still cool. Same sign and you can see the bakers at work. I got a hazelnut linzer cookie. It was good.
After that we grabbed some food & headed into the city to meet up with Jenn (excellentweaklings) for dinner. It was an hour and a half train ride plus a 15 minute walk so yes we probably would be hungry again by the time we found somewhere to eat and actually got our food. Seeing Times Square for the first time was pretty cool, but I can tell it’s not a completely accurate representation of NYC as a whole. It seems more like a small world of its own within the city. It feels like a giant production stage. Like a movie set or something.
So, I finally got to meet Jenn! We instantly hugged. She’s just as awesome in person, of course! And I will admit I didn’t know what I expected her voice to sound like, so I was surprised. She has a really cute, feminine voice. Jenn, you HAVE TO START SINGING AGAIN!!
We tried to catch the boys pic on the marquee but the wine fest was going on at the time so that’s all they were showing. Boo. We just went to find a local diner and basically fangirled for an hour or so instead. Haha.
I’ve been sick all week, so we stopped at a drug store after so I could get some meds, and this was the beginning of my almost completely devastating run of forgetfulness/head-cold-induced haze that was making me misplace things.
Somehow, somewhere in this 2-story drugstore, I dropped the beanie I had borrowed from my friend. Thankfully she found it! And since we had a 1 1/2 hour train ride home, we said goodnight. Now, I was planning to get back early Sun. to queue but my body said no. We didn’t end up getting there til 2:30. Thankfully Jenn, Elsie (elsiechapman) & Nancy (just-a-stalker-desu) were all already there. My second unfortunate event was, as we were waiting for the train into the city, I realized that I couldn’t find my gloves. Luckily, Peggy was wearing two pair and let me wear a pair til I could buy more. Which I did. Turns out mine had just fallen on the floor in her car. Now I’m back in Florida with 70°F (21°C) weather and two pairs of gloves. Hahaha!
Since they were going to create a separate line for VIPs anyway, my friend & I just chilled in Jenn’s awesome spot in line even though the line was wrapped around two corners of an NYC block. (!?&$!) Elsie is so cute! She was just as excited, and fangirling just like any of us even though she’s an OOR concert vet. FYI, Elsie & Nancy sound exactly as I imagined. >_< Also, I had posted an article about the first Kit Kat store that opened in Tokyo and asked Elsie if she would bring me some since normally you can only get some flavors in their specific regions. She’s amazing and totally came thru! I might even do a review post about them. Don’t worry Mayet (miepanda), I’ll send your half.
Mayet also sent me awesome snacks & chocolate from her city. Jenn sherpa’d (lol) them from the L.A. concert. Thank you, Mayet! I ate the granola in line. Delicious!
Nancy MADE me the sweetest, most thoughtful & awesome gift! She made this little origami book and wrote lyrics from songs by some of my favorite bands. She even made the origami box she gave it to me in. So cool and original, and I absolutely love thoughtful gifts. Thank you, Nancy!
Jenn gave me an awesome and thoughtful gift too. They are little metal… not sure what to call them… tags I guess. You lace them onto your shoes. One says, “You Can Keep It” the other “Till the End.” She said when I’m running I can look down and know she’s right there with me, cheering me on. TT^TT Can I say AGAIN, OORers are the best friends ever! I <3 you all so hard!
Ok, so they finally separate VIPs. First they verfied our tix and gave us our lanyards and a wristband. This was when I saw Taka’s friend, Jamil. I called his name & when he turned I waved and said hi. I think he was either surprised or thought it was weird. But he did wave back and said hey! Even thought it was with a funny look on his face…LOL. Then we were herded like cattle in a corral for probably more than half an hour. Seriously, there is no other way to describe it. Of course, this was when it started to snow. I could just barely see it from where I was & couldn’t get a pic. But i WAS glad to be sheltered from it!
When they finally let us in, Jenn decided to check her coat and I don’t even know what happened to Elsie. It seems she ended up on the RyoTaka side. Jealous! >_< Nancy stayed pretty close but didn’t make the front row, WHICH IS WHERE I WAS!! And despite the crowd and inconsiderate fans, I managed to stay there the entire show! Nancy is pretty tall, so I think she could still see everything. I was right in front of Toru. I really wanted to be on the RyoTaka side for reasons, but all the others wanted this side and I wanted to be with them, of course! Jenn miraculously found her way to us in the already packed crowd. Peggy was general admission but happy not to be in the pit anyway. She said she had a good view. Considering she’s my height, I was glad she could see.
Hey, House Yamashita, she said she was liking Toru, even though she doesn’t usually go for guitarists! Also, I know EVERYONE says Toru is even more handsome in person, but I’m already the type that notices facial features, so he was the same to me. Still beautiful! But didn’t sway me from House Morita. ^_~ Even WITH his crotch in full view. LOL! I will admit that I smiled thinking about telling you girls that part.
Taka…what is there to even say? Perfection. Gorgeous. Sex incarnate. The way he was sweeping his hair out of his face. The bobbing thing he does…I died! It’s like he’s seducing the crowd. Like a mating call or dance or whatever! But asdfghjk;l#@!$%$! The only clear pic I got was of Taka and I’m perfectly fine with that! >_<
Ryota is so strikingly gorgeous. His features are so exotic and beautiful to me! I honestly don’t know how he isn’t my fave sometimes. I. Just. Can’t! I also got a decent pic of him that will be perfect for the Pervy Monday hashtag. Haha!
Tomoya! There was a moment during one song where the song and crowd calmed down. I pointed at Tomoya and smiled and he smiled back! Seriously! His face went from straight to huge grin! With that perfect, killer smile of his! Seriously, these four together are FATAL!
Taka came out and said what’s up Los Angeles. Haha. Of course he was doing his mic tricks, but during one song the cord got too twisted and it didn’t come back to him like it normally would have. He missed the catch. Then when he went to pick it up, he dropped it again cuz the cord was just so tangled. He couldn’t help but smile about it. It was so cute! Jenn’s hot tech guy/roadie was on it though. He WAS hot, Jenn.
Toru with his jumping spin kicks was pretty hot too. He also swung his guitar around his body like always. What I didn’t see was his & Ryota’s synchronized spins. I actually spent way more time than I liked just pushing back against the crowd so I didn’t get crushed into the barricade. I also have a few bruises, but nothing terrible. Also, after using my legs to brace myself all night, I almost cramped up trying to catch our train later that night. Eeeek! Thankfully, I didn’t and my legs are barely sore. It seems all my exercising & jumping rope helped!
I really wish I could have just absorbed every detail of the performance, but it was awesome nonetheless. As my medication wore off, my head-cold induced haze returned and the concert is really just a haze to me. I remember things, but it’s all fuzzy like a dream. It really sucks because I feel like I didn’t really experience ANYTHING.
When Taka had the crowd squat down (I love the way he says squat. So freaking cute!) the video guy pointed the camera right at me. I waved like a dork. LOL! I also got showered by Toru’s water. And the reason I wanted to be on the RyoTaka side: Taka came down from the stage!#!%$! I know he doesn’t always do it, but if he does he always seems to do it on that side. TT^TT But I still had the meet & greet to look forward to, so…
I was pissed however, because out of all the stops in Europe, Asia & LA, NY was the only one that did NOTHING for Be the Light! And you could TOTALLY tell that Taka was waiting to see what we had planned. I’M SO SORRY, TAKA!! So, I just waved my cellphone with the screen lit up. I was the only one but I didn’t care. He saw it and technically I WAS being the light. Haha.
The plan for the encore was to blow up balloons and still manage to actually chant for the encore. But whatever. And no surprise when balloons were blocking everyone’s view! Smh… The fan planning for this concert was kind of a fail. I don’t like to be mean, but if it’s the truth what can I say? We did, however, get the acoustic version of Wherever You Are! I had noticed them tuning the acoustic during sound check, but I thought it was probably just as back-up. Like, if a technical issue or something interrupted the show and they needed to fill time. I didn’t even think about getting the acoustic encore. It was amazing! Taka is such an amazing vocalist to be that good live period, but that good after a whole set, screams included? Yeah, he’s perfect.
Then all of a sudden Taka asks if we want more!?! My initial thought was, are we getting a sneak peek at something new?! But it seems they just missed No Scared during the regular set. Haha! It was awesome of them to make sure we got to hear it. They totally didn’t have to and we probably never would have even realized it. Just another reason our boys are so wonderful. ^_^
At one point Taka asked, “What time is it?!” And the crowd answered, “One O’clock!” Then Taka said, “I’ve always wanted to do that!” He’s so freaking adorable! Peggy said that from where she was she could see some people were confused. Newbies, probably. Hehe.
Of course they did their intros in the middle. I personally think they have learned a good amount of English because there wasn’t the same spiel as in LA. So for them not to say the exact same thing, I think they were talking more from knowledge than memorization. Taka even joked about not speaking English, saying they normally just memorize lines. But you can tell it was a joke. Tomoya introduced himself and then did this awesome improvised drum solo. It. Was. SICK! He is so amazing on the drums and makes me want to learn even more now.
*EDITED* The musical interlude was so electrifying, ethereal… OORgasmic! Toru had his sex face on in full force! I tried to record it, but that was when my SD card reached capacity. I got just the beginning of it. TT^TT *END EDIT* Oh, yeah. There were some people crowd surfing and when they got over the barricade Taka gave them high fives. I was a little jealous! hehe. At the end they tossed their picks and drumsticks as usual. Toru, always being the last to leave the stage, stopped at Ryota’s mic and said the usual. “Omaera saikou desu! Arigatou!”
And finally it was meet and greet time! We lined up to go into a small side room where the boys were waiting. They kind of just shuffled us through with just enough time to say something quickly and get a hug. Then the staff would hand you your poster and you’re done.
So, the details: I was really hush hush about what I had planned, because even though I know the OORers I interact with would never do anything, I also know things get shared with way more people than I talk to. I didn’t want my ideas to get stolen like so many people’s pics & gifs do on here. It’s sad I even have to think that way, really. Anyway, I knitted a grey, slouch beanie for Taka. If you follow me on ig or fb you’ve seen it. I did a regular beanie in two colors for Toru, bought Ryota a New York teddy bear, and bought Tomoya an Animal plush from the Muppets. He was even holding drumsticks! And how ironic was it that I made and brought more than one hat/beanie to NY but had to borrow my friend's? LOL
Taka was first. I held out my hand to shake his because I didn’t want to just go in for a hug. He took my hand, but pulled me in for a hug anyway saying nice to meet you. Then I had to calm myself. I held out the beanie and sang, “Kimi ni purezento suru yo!” He smiled so big and chuckled a little before HE SANG BACK IN RESPONSE!!! He said, Oh yeah! (sang) BOKU ni purezento suru yo?” I just DIED! I had actually planned to sing in the same goofy voice he uses in the song, but I didn’t have a voice at all! Then, when I told him I made it myself, he said, “Wow! It’s so nice!” and he hugged me AGAIN!!! My heart is racing just thinking about it again! Recap: I touched his perfect, sexy hands, got 2 hugs, made him laugh, AND he sang to me!!! !#$&%$! The ONLY thing that could have made this better is if I could have gotten a pic with them. But since they were filming, if I end up on the next dvd, that would be totally amazing too. OR if he wears my hat on camera or in photos! Omg, I’d die all over again! But I still want them both to happen! Hahah!
Ryota was next. I gave him the bear, apologized for not know what to say, but said Arigatou and got a hug.
Toru was next. I didn’t even actually get to really look at his face. He kind of surprised me by stepping up to me. I hadn’t realized it, but I was actually standing kind of far from them. I gave him his beanie and he asked, “For me?” I said yes and that I had made it. He thanked me and gave me a hug. My mind had just kind of blanked after Taka, but by the time I got to Tomoya, my brain had regained functionality. I also realized how far I was standing this time. As soon as I turned to him, he smiled, pointed at Animal and said, “Is that for me?” I said, “Yes. Do you know who he is?” He said yes. I said, “When you play drums your hair is the same.” I kind of demonstrated with the plush to make sure he understood since I had no voice. He gave a little laugh and said, “It’s so cute. Thank you very much!” and gave me a hug.
And just like that it was over. I got my poster and Elsie & I ried to wait for Jenn & Nancy. I saw Jenn get her hug from Tomoya and squealed in joy for her. We girls took one more pic together before parting. I still hate that I ran out of space on my SD card. What a total planning fail on my part. TT^TT Peggy & I headed to the train station. I made sure to feel some fresh snow. It’s so soft and pretty! I tried to write ONE OK ROCK in it, but I couldn’t get a pic. orz
So,the third and almost devastating cold-induced haze memory lapse: On my trip home, in the airport I stopped to get coffee & a scone. I had my poster in an empty wrapping paper roll that Peggy had. I leaned it against the counter to pay and get my order. But with my hands full I didn’t even realize that I didn’t pick the poster back up! I sat, ate, and was halfway down the corridor to board the plane before I even realized it!?!?! Thankfully, I was able to go back and actually found it. It had been swept behind the counter at the coffee bar. Seriously, I cannot do this while sick EVER AGAIN! I would have cried every day for the rest of my life! Ok, that’s an exaggeration, but you know that’s what I would feel! After that, I didn’t let the thing out of my sight!
Also, just for my memories of the trip as a whole, at the airport where I had a connecting flight, as soon as I turned my phone back on I had a text from a friend who I haven’t talked to in a while. She was asking about the beanies I had made. She wanted to buy one. Then at the gate for my connecting flight, I see a friend of hers! Hundreds of miles from home! We were on the same flight back to our city and were both coming from a trip to New York! How crazy is that. My friend and I don’t talk much, so for her to happen to text me that morning?! Pretty cool.
So, that’s everything… I hope. This has been the longest post EVER! If you read the whole thing, you’re awesome. I love you. heheh ^_^ I guess I just love details. I haven’t been able to read many other fan accounts yet, but I’m sure if I missed anything, someone out there probably recapped it.
Summary: Best Weekend of My Life!!! In the words of our boys a la No Scared, “Give Me MOOOOOOOORRRRE!!!” >_< Of course Taka promised they’d be back, and I. Can’t. Wait!
I will try to give a full recap tomorrow. I'm dead tired, my head feels like it's gonna explode from this cold & sinus pressure, but I have my own personal story from the meet & greet. So stay tuned!
