By: Brian Mah
Many of the audience members shouted “Encore! A-K-B-48! Encore!” The members finally arrived on stage wearing “I love NY” shirts on stage. The crowd loved the shirts and began to cheer. They sang two Encore songs, “Ju Nen (10 years) Sakura” and “Oge Diamond.” These were very well known among the hardcore supporters. The group left the stage and had a second Encore. This was much to the jubilation of their dedicated fans.
After the concert, many of the Japanese and NYAF press converged to the front of the hall. The group appeared and they took pictures of the group. AKB48 then turned to their fans where they waved. They then boarded their big white bus.
The concert was a once in a lifetime opportunity for AKB48 to venture outside Japan to meet their international fans. Maybe AKB48 will travel to other US cities and meet their ever-growing fan base.
Many sincere thanks to the people behind NYT for organizing this fantastic concert for the dedicated fans of AKB48. NYAF also did a fantastic job having an anime convention in the NYC area for 6 years. Afterwards NYAF will merge with NY Comic Con later in the year.
Showing posts with label AKB48. Show all posts
Showing posts with label AKB48. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
AKB48 in NYC (Part 3)
By: Brian Mah
After the introductions the group broke up in the separate units. Each set up varied between each group. There was the tropical wearing group singing “Cherry Boy.” They all danced together during the catchy dance song.
Various veteran members, lead by Sayaka Akimoto, wore leather short-skirts and other heavy metal accessories during the performance of the song "Blue rose." The mature sultry dancing and hard-core singing had a positive reaction with their followers. Incidentally, NYC is still a place where hard rock musicians like Blondie and Pat Benitar are still respected.
In contrast to the leather clad team K was a team dressing in animal clothes and dancing to the song, "Ame no Doubutsuen," much to the delight of their supporters. The next set had some other members dressing up as robotic ballerinas. No doubt the mixing of robots and idols has long been a staple in many anime series, such as Macross Plus' Sharon Apple to the newest virtual idol, Miku Hatsune.
The group then re-organized wearing black and white dresses. They asked all of the audience members to get out the red scarf they got before the event. When the group sang some of their most popular songs, such as Sakura Hanabi Okachi, they waved together with the group. At the end the group said, “We wish to come to NYC again,” which drew a huge response from the audience. The group left the stage. The crowd began to chant.
After the introductions the group broke up in the separate units. Each set up varied between each group. There was the tropical wearing group singing “Cherry Boy.” They all danced together during the catchy dance song.
Various veteran members, lead by Sayaka Akimoto, wore leather short-skirts and other heavy metal accessories during the performance of the song "Blue rose." The mature sultry dancing and hard-core singing had a positive reaction with their followers. Incidentally, NYC is still a place where hard rock musicians like Blondie and Pat Benitar are still respected.
In contrast to the leather clad team K was a team dressing in animal clothes and dancing to the song, "Ame no Doubutsuen," much to the delight of their supporters. The next set had some other members dressing up as robotic ballerinas. No doubt the mixing of robots and idols has long been a staple in many anime series, such as Macross Plus' Sharon Apple to the newest virtual idol, Miku Hatsune.
The group then re-organized wearing black and white dresses. They asked all of the audience members to get out the red scarf they got before the event. When the group sang some of their most popular songs, such as Sakura Hanabi Okachi, they waved together with the group. At the end the group said, “We wish to come to NYC again,” which drew a huge response from the audience. The group left the stage. The crowd began to chant.
AKB48 in NYC (Part 2)
By: Brian Mah
In the concert the audience was a mix of age groups and genders. The audience was enthusiastic and grateful that AKB48 had their first US concert in NYC. The audience was allowed to enter the concert area at about 5pm. The VIP guests were escorted to the upper level, while the general audiences were in the lower level in the pit.
They were cheering and had a lot of energy during the start of the concert. The concert started a little later than planned, but that didn’t bother them. Many of who were waiting patiently to view their favorite group.
The dancers and singers arrived on stage with the loud vocal approval of their admirers. The first number was the song, " Aitakatta!" The first costume change for the group had the members dressed up in Scottish-type school uniforms. The group sang and danced in unison like they would in their Akiba show.
They sang their most popular songs, "I love you baby" and their rendition of "Happy Birthday." Each set drew louder and louder cheers. In the end of the second song, each member introduced themselves in their best English. The youngest member, Misaki “Wasami” Iwasa (14), Research Student, said,” I will put all of my energy in the concert.” That drew a loud roar from the crowd. One of the veteran members, Sayaka Akimoto (21), team K, said to the crowd, “I will do my best. Enjoy the show!” She also said the mission of AKB48 in English, which is “Idols you can meet everyday around.” Many other members were in awe of coming to NYC. “NY is very exciting,” sums up the words from another team K member, Sae Miyazawa (19). Tomomi "Tomochi" Nakatsuka, team B, admired the NYC skyline. “I love beautiful night in NY,” she said in English. One of the more humorous moments in the introductions came from Reina Fujie (15). She said, “I am very surprised with how big the drinks are.” That drew a few snickers from the older audience member. She was probably referring to the huge size of soft drinks are in the US compared with the size of soft drinks in Japan.
In the concert the audience was a mix of age groups and genders. The audience was enthusiastic and grateful that AKB48 had their first US concert in NYC. The audience was allowed to enter the concert area at about 5pm. The VIP guests were escorted to the upper level, while the general audiences were in the lower level in the pit.
They were cheering and had a lot of energy during the start of the concert. The concert started a little later than planned, but that didn’t bother them. Many of who were waiting patiently to view their favorite group.
The dancers and singers arrived on stage with the loud vocal approval of their admirers. The first number was the song, " Aitakatta!" The first costume change for the group had the members dressed up in Scottish-type school uniforms. The group sang and danced in unison like they would in their Akiba show.
They sang their most popular songs, "I love you baby" and their rendition of "Happy Birthday." Each set drew louder and louder cheers. In the end of the second song, each member introduced themselves in their best English. The youngest member, Misaki “Wasami” Iwasa (14), Research Student, said,” I will put all of my energy in the concert.” That drew a loud roar from the crowd. One of the veteran members, Sayaka Akimoto (21), team K, said to the crowd, “I will do my best. Enjoy the show!” She also said the mission of AKB48 in English, which is “Idols you can meet everyday around.” Many other members were in awe of coming to NYC. “NY is very exciting,” sums up the words from another team K member, Sae Miyazawa (19). Tomomi "Tomochi" Nakatsuka, team B, admired the NYC skyline. “I love beautiful night in NY,” she said in English. One of the more humorous moments in the introductions came from Reina Fujie (15). She said, “I am very surprised with how big the drinks are.” That drew a few snickers from the older audience member. She was probably referring to the huge size of soft drinks are in the US compared with the size of soft drinks in Japan.
AKB48 in NYC (Part 1)
By: Brian Mah
(Outside the famed Webster Hall in Lower Manhattan, NYC)
On Sunday, September 27th was the American debut of the hit Japanese Idol group known as AKB48, which was sponsored by the Japanese satellite company, Sky PerfecTV. AKB48 had a private concert located in NYC’s famous Webster Hall, where many noted musicians played. New York Anime Festival VIP and New York Tokyo guests attended the exclusive concert. The concert had over 500 fans from the New York metro area, other locations in the US, and fans from Japan. Many fans waited for several hours before the doors open at 4 pm. Several members of teams A, B, K, and Students got the opportunity to travel to NYC.
AKB48's home theater base is located on the 8th floor at Akihabara’s Don Quijote building. AKB48 always draws large numbers of fans. To buy tickets for their Japanese concert, the tickets have to be made in advance through the troop’s web site.
In addition to the fans, there were a number of Japanese press people. A number of the well know TV stations in Japan, such as MTV and NHK, were on hand to film the concert. In addition to Japanese press, there was also a reporter from South America. A few South American countries, such as Argentina, have a large dedicated fan. Several small US press agencies, such as Project Nippon, were on hand to record the concert.
(Outside the famed Webster Hall in Lower Manhattan, NYC)On Sunday, September 27th was the American debut of the hit Japanese Idol group known as AKB48, which was sponsored by the Japanese satellite company, Sky PerfecTV. AKB48 had a private concert located in NYC’s famous Webster Hall, where many noted musicians played. New York Anime Festival VIP and New York Tokyo guests attended the exclusive concert. The concert had over 500 fans from the New York metro area, other locations in the US, and fans from Japan. Many fans waited for several hours before the doors open at 4 pm. Several members of teams A, B, K, and Students got the opportunity to travel to NYC.
AKB48's home theater base is located on the 8th floor at Akihabara’s Don Quijote building. AKB48 always draws large numbers of fans. To buy tickets for their Japanese concert, the tickets have to be made in advance through the troop’s web site.
In addition to the fans, there were a number of Japanese press people. A number of the well know TV stations in Japan, such as MTV and NHK, were on hand to film the concert. In addition to Japanese press, there was also a reporter from South America. A few South American countries, such as Argentina, have a large dedicated fan. Several small US press agencies, such as Project Nippon, were on hand to record the concert.
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