Tamaki Koji "GRAND LOVE" Concert Tour 1998


[Nov. 24 - Kurashiki] [Nov. 26 - Nagoya] [Nov. 27 - Nagoya]

Nov. 26 - Nagoya

  • OK, guys...here's the second concert I went to this year. This concert, held in Nagoya on Nov 26, is the first concert after the Kurashiki concert.

  • My seat was in the fourth row, all the way to the left, right in front of speakers. Oh well... In the last concert tour, my seat was on the 11th row, all the way to the right. Geez, I seem to get these extreme ends of the seats.

  • Before the concert, I browse through the foyer, looking for things to buy. They were selling CDs, necklaces (chokers), shirts, T-shirts, guitar picks and stickers, along with concert booklets. Concert booklet contains great info and interviews. I hope I'll have some time to translate and post them up here.

  • The concert starts pretty much on time, at about 6:33pm. Musicians walk to their position, but I'm not seeing a wild response I experienced in Kurashiki two nights ago. That's a bummer.

    # Songs#Songs
    1
    		 DANCE with MOON
    10
    		GRAND LOVE
    2
    		 BELL
    11
    		Ai Dattan'dayo
    3
    		 Sayonara ni GOOD BYE
    12
    		Danbouru to Mikanbako
    4
    		 Come On
    13
    		Karinto Kouba no Entotsu no Ueni
    5
    		 To me
    14
    		Flag
    6
    		 HAPPY BIRTHDAY - Ai ga Umareta -
    15
    		Rookie
    7
    		 Yami wo Romance ni Shite
    16
    		Den'en
    8
    		 RELAX
    17
    		MR.LONELY
    9
    		 CAFE JAPAN
    18
    		Negai (Encore)

    Program Details

  • 1. DANCE with MOON
    Not everybody stood up. My section stood up (I think, 'cuz there were only two seats in front of me), but there were some people even right at the center who didn't stand up. I'm not saying that everybody should stand up and dance, because there are people who cannot for one reason or another, but I was hoping to see a better response from the crowd, to be honest. Koji plays his guitar with Capo 2.

  • 2. BELL
    His melody sways...a lot of ornamental notes inserted in his songs today. At this time, I didn't know whether that meant he was in a good mood, or his voice wasn't coming out as usual.

  • 3. Sayonara ni GOODBYE
    His voice doesn't sound too good today....is it a microphone? He sounds like his nose is stuffed. This really worries me. He yells "NagoyaNagoyaNagoya Nagoya!!!"

    He switches his guitar to a blue gut guitar and....

  • 4. Come On
    He yells "Nagoya" several times and every time, crowd responds.

    Without saying anything, Koji continues...

  • 5. To me
    A lot slower, a lot mellower, but a lot sweeter than the original version we know from [Anzenchitai V]. Piano solo section has been newly added in this concert tour version. I wish I remembered how the piano solo goes, but I just remember that it was very very beautiful. He pauses, he raises his right hand, stops, and lowers the hand as Satoko resumes playing the piano.

  • 6. HAPPY BIRTHDAY - Ai ga Umareta -
    He still hasn't spoken to us yet. He nonetheless kissed the microphone like he's been doing in this tour. Girls go wild.

  • 7. Yami wo Romance ni Shite
    No dance with Kakehi-san. Too bad. Everything is just going all right, but nothing special has happened so far. His voice is still different. It's nothing like I've heard before. At first, I thought he was doing it on purpose, just for the fun of it, but he can't be doing this for this long time!

  • 8. RELAX
    Satoko plays the solo section first, and then Koji moves to the left, Wataru to the right, and they play the solo parts in unison.

  • 9. CAFE JAPAN

  • All musicians leave the stage.

    (Intermission)

  • 10. GRAND LOVE
    Koji starts to sing at left microphone. He jumps and skips over to the right side in the middle of the song. Toward the end, he comes back to the left side. After the song, Koji raises his hand toward his musicians as if to give them credits and to show his appreciation.
    "How have you been doing?!" one girls shouts. Koji just bows, without saying a word. What does that supposed to mean?

  • 11. Ai Dattan'dayo
    Satoko's electric piano accompanies Koji. Toward the end, Haruyoshi fills in the strings section by playing the synthesizer.
    "Thank you very much," Koji quietly speaks.

  • 12. Danbouru to Mikanbako
    Stage becomes a little brighter, and behind the musicians, we see a prop of an apartment building, just like how Koji envisioned his "Karinto Kouba no Entotsu no Ue ni" album, reflecting back on his home town. This stage prop was not available in Kurashiki. Koji plays the acoustic guitar, and Wataru plays the Gibson electric guitar.

  • 13. Karinto Kouba no Entotsu no Ueni
    Wataru uses a bottleneck technique at the middle of the song.

  • 14. Flag
    Wataru changes his guitar to Les Paul.

  • 15. Rookie
    Finally most people stand up, as the lights shine the seats. But there still are people not standing....even in the center section.

  • 16. Den'en

  • 17. MR.LONELY
    Well, his voice is definitely not coming out as well as usual. He can't really get his voices up to those high notes.
    After the song, musicians leave the stage, and crowd immediately starts to applaud in unison, hoping to get an encore performance.
    Musicians return to the stage to the delight of the fans. Someone throws a stuffed animal onto the stage. Smiling, Koji places the stuffed animal onto one of the speakers surrounding Koji.

    "May all your happiness continue...forever."

  • 18. Negai (Encore)
    In songs like this, where it's a lot more quiet and you can't just yell your voice out, his problem with his voice became really apparent. But it was obvious that he was trying to overcome that with his sincerity and seriousness toward his performance. That's why he didn't even mention his difficulty with his voice as an excuse. Crowd is absolutely quiet as Koji sings his last song for the night.
    Musicians leave the stage again, never to return that evening. I was hoping Koji would come out, but at the same time, since he was going to be performing the next day, I also didn't want him to come out and overuse his voice. I nonetheless walked up to the front aisle, but we were soon asked by staff to leave the concert hall.

  • After the concert, I had a dinner with one of the Japanese ML member and her friend. We were a little worried about Koji and his voice.
    "We'll see what happens tomorrow," was the conclusion we came to that night.

    Written by Teruyuki Mihashi
    Organized by Kelvin Tsang
    Last update: January 16,1999
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