Sleeping Butterfly

Today, September 29th 2012, Choucho performed her first live concert. And I was there.

I got up pretty early to get ready. I went with my snazzy red chinos and a plain black t-shirt, with my ring-pendant for accessory. I triple checked to make sure I had my tickets, and then left for the station. After a couple transfers and a long ride, I found myself at Umeda. But no matter how much I looked, I couldn't find Esaka on the train map. When I asked, I found out why - I had to take a different train line to get there.

I never know how complex Umeda is before today. I traveled up, down, and around the maze that is Umeda Station, until I finally found the line I was looking for. Even then, things didn't go smoothly - the train I was riding stopped service at a station, and some dude had to explain to me that I had to get off and take the next train. But I wound up in Esaka some five hours before the concert.

My first mission was to find the concert hall, Esaka Muse. That wasn't easy. I asked at a Lawson for directions, but I wasn't able to figure out what the guy was talking about, turning left on some street and then looking right. There was some sort of Esaka Music Festival going on, so the street was filled with shop stalls and live music. I asked a cop where Esaka Muse was - bad idea. He told me it was in some building 5 minutes walk away. When I went, I realized he had no idea what I was looking for - he sent me to a music university. So I went into another Lawson, and got more instructions. Find the street with Mos Burger, and then it's across the street. So I wandered around for a while, putting the instructions from the two Lawsons together. And it worked! Turns out Esaka Muse is on the 5th floor of a pachinko parlor. I went up and asked about lining up and whether or not photography was permitted - it wasn't.

But then I had another four hours to kill. So I wandered around the music festival, tried to find JoJo at a local Book-Off (and failed), went to some department stores. Still, too much time. I went back to Esaka Muse and bought some merch - a fancy Choucho t-shirt. Just take my money, all of it. I chilled on a bench, and ran into another foreigner, this time from Romania. Apparently, she's interning in Osaka, but she knows virtually no Japanese. I was kind of interested in her story, until she started saying how people here do things "wrong". I acted nice, and tried to suggest that different doesn't mean bad, but she was pretty set in her opinion. I was kind of relieved when she left.

I grabbed a bite to eat at Mos Burger - it was tasty, but a little on the small side. After walking around a bit more, I popped into Baskin Robins to kill the last half hour before the show. I was set on being first in the door - after hanging around for five hours, it was the least I deserved. But there were a few other people hanging around, and when they opened doors, I was second in line. Luckily, the guy in front of me was somewhat rotund, and I beat him up the five flights of stairs. First one in, the gaijin in the fancy pants...

...is how it SHOULD have gone. But little did I know, they let you in by your ticket number. Even though its standing room only. So I dropped from first to maybe 50th or 60th. Lame! I bet if I pretended I couldn't speak Japanese, I could have gotten in earlier!

So after more waiting, I entered the club,  along with a guy who had helped me understand the whole numbering system. We were talking about Choucho - it turns out, a lot of people, including him, only found out about her after she did her first Anisong. I've been a fan for over 2 years now, ever since I heard her version of Black Rock Shooter. I have the right to be all hipster about this, don't I?

The club itself was pretty small. I was able to get close to the stage, but not close as I wanted to be. I was kind of surprised by their musical selection: something by Avril Lavigne, Fly for a White Guy, then Sk8ter Boy by Avril Lavigne. Also, the crowd was mostly otaku...of the showers-once-a-month sort. It wasn't ideal, especially for a stylish foreign dude, but I made due.

And then it began. The lights dimmed, the music stopped (thank God), and the band came onstage. The tension rose. Choucho, in a sparkly pink dress with butterflies, came out on stage and belted out "flyleaf". She would generally sing two songs, then talk for a bit. She even broke out a new song - it has my complete support. I was in a good mood, jumping up and down and cheering. I know for a fact she saw me - we made eye contact. I couldn't help but break into a smile - my favorite singer was less than 20 feet away from me, looking at me from the stage. She gave a little smile back. Let me say, not only is her voice crystal clear and powerful, she's really cute. And has really pretty eyes.

Part way through, Choucho announces that her next song would be a cover of a Western song. Her parents had listened to the Beatles and The Carpenters when she was a child - her dad apparently sang to her. What happened next surprised me. She belted out a cover of The Carpenters' "I Need to Be in Love"...in perfect English. I knew she had studied in Canada, but I hadn't expected her English to be that good! I was extremely impressed and moved by her performance.

She changed outfits halfway through the show. Her first dress was cute, but the second was stunning. White sequined dress with a floral headpiece. She looked like a princess when she came out on stage. My jaw might have actually dropped.

The show ended with a bang, but we all wanted more. We called for an encore...and nothing. And then nothing. We shouted for maybe 3 or 4 minutes. The band members came out on stage, but no Choucho. We got louder. The speakers kick in. The room fills with the sound of a subway train. I immediately know what's coming. Out comes Choucho in one of the pink shirts they were selling at merch, and goes right into singing "Hajimete no Koi ga Owaru Toki". It was amazing. Why does this matter? This song is one of her earliest covers, and it's the second or third of her songs I had ever heard. I was moved close to tears; someone in the audience actually started to cry. She follows this up with Sleeping Butterfly, one of the songs she wrote for flyleaf. When she finished, Choucho thanked us all again, and left the stage.

At which point we called for second encore. I was actually leading the chant this time - shouting with all my voice "もう一回” (one more time). She comes out on stage, thanks us all for coming, and tells us this REALLY is the last song. Telling us that this song will change our futures, she sings "Kawaru Mirai". Despite my exhaustion from cheering for two hours and standing for many more than that, I gave this last song my all, jumping up and down cheering. Choucho took a bow, called the band over, and took one more. I was trying to take it all in - with the no photos policy, I have to remember everything on my own. But this was a night I will never forget.

After the show, I was going to buy one of her CDs (even though I already own them, haha) so I could get one of these little cards with her autograph. But unfortunately, they were all sold out! Still, nothing could take away me overwhelming happiness that I got to see my favorite singer live, and the pride I felt as a fan for how far she has come in the last year. I just know her future will be bright.

Although I bought a ticket a while ago for next week's Tokyo show, I won't be able to go, since KCJS is going to Okayama. It's a shame, and a waste of money, but seeing Choucho once made it all worth while. No matter where I am, whether it be Japan or America, as Choucho's #1 foreign fan, I will be cheering her on.