Both shows took place in the Ishikawa Prefecture Sports Center's fairly large arena (probably 5-6 thousand people, by comparing to the size of RIT's 7-8 thousand person Field House), which was a pretty decent venue. About half an hour from our place by car, free parking, new-feeling, and clean on the inside even for Japan. We ate dinner with another concert-going colleague at a gyodza (fried dumplings) place near school before catching a ride over with same, both times, and for the Clapton/Winwood concert a visiting friend from RIT also came along.
There isn't a whole ton of cultural content here to discuss, but as one piece of cultural information we did come up with is that they do not search you when you enter the venue, we have pictures from both concerts. Obviously I couldn't bring the DSLR and telephoto lens, but our tiny pocket camera easily passed the unwary guards. It was so pleasant to just go into a concert without getting checked for contraband, and this being Japan everybody kept the contraband mild and the band and venue safe. Everybody wins. Add concerts to the list of things that are actually better in Japan, totally removing the sense of having to go through airline security and/or being perceived by the staff as a potential threat before enjoying your show.
Gate for the first show - Aerosmith
We were very, very close to the stage. The security at the stage was very light - small men and women in suits every 8-10 feet. Would not stop a moshing American crowd, but they didn't even seem to be necessary at all in Japan.
They definitely sold out, also the seats were wooden and comfortable, though everybody stood up the second the band appeared and stayed that way the whole time
The entire crowd stood exactly where their seat was the whole time - to the point where the rows and columns of seats were clearly visible in the crowd through the concert. This was a bit strange to actually see, but another win-win, you can dance in place without bothering anyone or anyone bothering you.
Aerosmith may not be exactly a new band, but they came on stage and starting cranking out their best-known songs (most of which I knew but did not know were theirs) with plenty of passion and showmanship. They were not here just for the money, by the look and sound of it. The band was on stage for the better part of two and a half hours, and they had camera people all around putting high-definition close-ups of the band playing on large overhead screens, so we could for instance get close ups of the guitarist shredding during solos. In this picture, the drummer and Steven Tyler are doing a two-person drum solo. At one point, the drummer threw his sticks into the audience and began drumming with his hands and face, for the honor of rock and roll.
My feeling is you don't bring a reinforced piano and stairs to Japan unless you intend to rock.
The line for merchandise was enormous, and we thought we were going to be there for hours. Nope. We hit the front of the line less than fifteen minutes after the concert ended. Japan again for the win. T-shirts were still $50, but it was a good show.
Ana's new shirt.
For the second concert Ana found wine juice boxes in the grocery store and brought some. She reports it would be better if you didn't have to drink them through the straw, as that means you can't just down it and stop tasting the "flavor". So there you have it: Japanese wine juice boxes - not recommended. There are plenty of flask-sized and shaped bottles of cheap whiskey and shochu ready-made for this kind of work available.
Their setup was not quite as flamboyant as Aerosmith's, and we were not as close despite paying more for tickets - not a cheap concert. Totally worth it, at least for me, the blues fan, though.
I didn't know who Steve Winwood was when we got the tickets, but after I looked up the stuff he's done my excitement rose - he's played with absolutely everybody in blues and played both guitar and organ for this show with aplomb. Clapton would solo on the guitar and Winwood would solo on the organ, and they also had a great keyboard player as well, so they would all just jam in a blues-soaked wave of awesomeness.
Clapton did some acoustic work in the middle of the concert and I guess I didn't know you could do some of the things he did. His control of the volume of each note was very impressive - he can change the volume on each note while still going a mile a minute. This show was about being really, really good at playing your instrument rather than dancing on top of a piano. Also had several classic blues tunes originally by other bands thrown in, executed well. I wish I could find a live version of Crossroads as good as the one I heard at this concert.
Did a ~15 minute cover of Voodoo Child before breaking for the encore, then ended with Cocaine. Again, was definitely a solid 2+ hours of playing time. Clapton had the volume down a bit lower, which was easier on the ears and made the sound clearer, plus our seats were in front of the speakers rather than to the side.
These concerts were not cheap, but for the fun that was had and the experience of going to them in Japan we were not disappointed. I would recommend live shows by either of these acts to anyone who may be interested. I also recommend concert-going in Japan for enhanced civility and a nicer experience - may require some travel for those not already here.
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