Best in J-Pop ♫

Mari is everything she’s cracked up to be, and more. Take it from Erilaz, who got a little more than he bargained for during TsuShiMiMaRe’s explosive hurricane-force show in San Francisco over the weekend.

 

It wasn’t enough TSMMR got crazy and Erilaz practically ate Mari’s microphone during the day mini-concert at Peace Plaza in the middle of Japantown, which jumped with more intensity than ever with the grand opening of New People, a swank Tokyo-style art and fashion shop that attracted every Akihabara wannabe this side of the Mississippi – and beyond.

 

So, then Erilaz recovers from this first wave of heaven only to be confronted with one hell of a galactic paradox – up close and personal with the aforementioned Mari who wore net another flowered dress en route to be most astonishing acrobatic lede-singer show in the history of pop.

 

Check it out: Erilaz and Rad♂, up close and personal:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3WP_F3VvY8

 

CK♂ also showed up and had his well-planned dinner interrupted by the snarled pit in front of the stage that simply would not be denied. Yes, Erilaz and, yes, even Rad♂ himself got the first in-your-face shoves by Mari as she spent more time in (and on top of ) the crowd than on the postage-stamp-sized stage. Especially enjoyable were the day and night renditions of "Hyper Sweet Power" from TV's "Powder Puff Girls."

 

Bass player Yayoi went ballerina-nuts as always, high-kicking it in both day and night sessions while blistering that bass guitar with a machine-gun precision only known on other planets.

 

The drummers? Damn. Yes, Mizue of TSMMR was at her slugging best, but Red Bacteria Vacuum’s Akeming kept jack-stomping all day and night long and even Noodles’ low-key Ayumi kept pounding it out.

 

It all transpired in the compact but expensive-looking Yoshi’s, a “jazz club” that morphed into a banzai bombshell of a pressure-cooker concert venue, featuring TSMMR as the deserved headliner, but joined equitably by opening-act punkers RedBacVac and the laid-back retro Noodles.

 

Now get something straight right now. Noodles played the best set (at least they sound hellacious on CD) and it was superb retro pop, ‘60s style, but with a low-alto vocal line that just could not be heard through the din. Yoko’s pure but light voice just didn’t really have an honest chance. The tunes remained mellow, though, as Noodles was stuck in between the outrageously impolite RedBacVac and the hell-on-wheels TSMMR.

 

 

Fans got crazy day and night, and even the Akihabara wannabes got with it. Sheesh, New People’s handlers and even MTV Iggy (whose clueless staffers didn’t know the difference between Morning Musume and Elvis Presley) sponsored a Lolita makeover for five lucky American girls who blankly stared through the entire process until seeing their transmutation and glorifying in it.

 

That and some finishing touches by the lethal 6%DokiDoki and techno-wizard and Phantom-of-the-Opera lookalike Omodaka made the occasion complete.

 

Hail Japan. Hail Mari! And hail the entire music world, stood on its end for one precious moment.

 

This is Rad♂ signing off – for now.

Holy moly, Tokyo Benten finally got smart and just brought the girls along this year in a twisted version of Japan Nite 2009 that will explode this weekend at Japantown in San Francisco.

 

That’s when “New People,” a new Japan pop-culture center, stages its grand opening. What better way than to have sassy and spicy all-girl bands ripping the roof off Yoshi’s on Sunday starting at 8 p.m. – but giving everyone a bonus min-concert during the day Saturday, starting around noon, right in the middle of the grand opening. What spoilsports. The old fogies won't like this one bit!

 

TsuShiMaMiRe: This threesome will be handing out many musical treats.

Details are here:

 

http://www.newpeopleworld.com/upcoming-events/japan-nite-special-girls-rock-explosion-at-yoshi%e2%80%99s-sf/

 

Now, just who are these crazy bands? Well, Red Bacteria Vacuum has a screaming flavor all its own:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ceY03zuawI

 

Noodles: They look as hard-core as they sound, but are balladeers, too.

Next, try and understand who the hell TsuShiMaMiRe is:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YTP9sBslqg&feature=related

 

Then, there’s Noodles, by any measure an excellent group. This song, “Skin,” rocks:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfaZUeAHlgk&feature=related

 

6%DokiDoki: Just what in the hell is this? Akihabara in the Bay Area?

Finally, in what looks like a twisted version of a Morning Musume concert, there’s 6%DokiDoki:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBR5FXuEhaA

 

Techno-pop at its tacky best.

 

Two days of craziness ahead in Japantown.Be there or be square.

 

This is Rad signing off – for now.

Tsunku♂ needs a graduation to keep Yokohama Arena a paying venue for January 2010. Just like when Yossie graduated from Morning Musume in May 2007 at gigantic Saitama Super Arena – and Miki left soon thereafter – the Japanese supergroup faces another pivotal point in its illustrious and colorful history.

 

No doubt Aichan and Risa are on a graduation track, judging from what at least one blogger has extrapolated and translated recently from Tsunku♂’s own blog. Further, Eri Kamei’s days might be numbered; it looks as if she will likely opt out of Morning Musume just as Umeda did from °C-ute recently.

 

And now that two more of the top Eggs are leaving the company, Nocchi and Yuri, the talent drain is simply accelerating.

The only issue is the order by which this would occur – and how the holes will be filled

 

One option would be to have Eri go out first, which would justify a Yokohama Arena date in January (or even Saitama for that matter) as graduations tend to draw much more fan interest.

 

But if Risa goes down, Aichan will almost have to go with her – a double graduation along the same lines as Konno and Mako did in summer 2006, only this one would be far more emotional as Risa and Aichan are the record-holders in Morning Musume member longetivity.

 

This would be appropriate since Aichan and Risa are what remain of the fifth generation, as Mako and Konno were also fifth gen.

 

Without the Elders, my guess is that Tsunku♂ needs graduations to sell out the big arenas in both winter and summer 2010. Note that this year’s Hello! Project summer tour had no large anchor arena – but, then again, here were no graduations.

 

So, if Eri is out in January, then Risa and Aichan will almost certainly retire in the summer. That leaves three big sets of dancing shoes to fill.

 

Enter °C-ute, decimated with more than one-fourth of its members out of action as of the fall – Kanna is already gone with a bad toe and possibly other entanglements, while Umeda has stepped aside as of late October with a formal graduation.

 

So, there's trouble everywhere. Let’s assume Eri, Aichan and Risa are all out as of fall 2010. With the current talent shortage what it is, here’s a possible solution:

 

Disband °C-ute. Suzuki is already a star in Buono! Put Maimi in Morning Musume. Move Risako from Berryz Kobo into Morning Musume. Both Maimi and Risako looked really good in “Mikan” when they joined Morning Musume for that one shuffle number in the January Wonderful Hearts tour.

 

But what about Berryz, the lone stable unit in the company? Move Saki-N, Chisato and Hagiwara over to Berryz. This also allows Momoko and Miyabi to leave Berryz and focus on Buono!, keeping Berryz at seven. With Maimi and Risako in Morning Musume, that makes eight there.

 

While °C-ute's Suzuki, center, 2007, is safe in Buono!, Hagiwara, left, and Chisato are not.

For good measure, go ahead and bump up super-Egg Saki Ogawa into the flagship, Morning Musume – making it nine strong again. She’s 12 now, and will turn 13 this fall; remember, Aibon and Nono were 12 when they first joined Morning Musume in 1999.

 

That gives the company two very strong units – three if Buono! Is counted – and with Tsunku♂ adding shuffle groups all the time, the company should stabilize.

 

Saki-O, with Manoeri, January 2009: Is the super-Egg headed for °C-ute or Momusu?

The only other option is to move Saki-O into °C-ute, keep that group stable at six, and hold serve on Berryz and Morning Musume for at least the next year.

 

But that would mean no graduations and no $9 million super-concert at Yokohama Arena in January, where three sellouts can gross $3 million per show. Not enough material with the Elders gone. And nothing for summer 2010, either. Saitama Super Arena or Yoyogi Hippodrome will remain empty for at least another year.

 

Bottom line is that Tsunku♂ is running out of bodies, and the existing Eggs just aren’t strong enough to move into the three primary groups, save for Saki-O. Outside recruiting has slowed. Time to send in more shock troops.

 

Something has to give.

 

This is Rad♂ signing off – for now.

Why is Umeda graduating from °C-ute so soon (in October) after Kanna's recent retirement? Enough already. What in hell is going on, and why is all this happening all at once?

 

The only thing I can imagine is that Tsunku♂ has a master plan afoot on which he has already briefed °C-ute’s remaining five members, and that the rest of us just have to ride this one out. In my view, only the immediate insertion of Egg superstar Saki Ogawa will stop the bleeding. Saki-O could full the shoes of both Kanna and Umeda at the same time, if given the chance, and finally give Maimi, Suzuki, Saki-N and Chisato something to shoot for.

 

Notice I left out Hagiwara’s name in this mix. I just don’t know about Mai Mai. I love this kid, but at the ripe old age of 13 she will now have to shoulder much more of the load without Kanna or Umeda as the normally reliable bookends to what had been, albeit briefly and until recently, one of the greatest young dance ensembles of all time.

 

Only in the fall of 2006 when Megumi went down has °C-ute been in such horrific shape. But Kanna had been added earlier that year, and the seven-member ensemble appeared balanced for an indefinite period.

 

Then came 2007, the first few singles, the Japan Music Award for Best New Artist, the astonishing tours, shows and climactic Wonderful Hearts and large-arena appearances that launched °C-ute into low-earth orbit – eclipsing even Berryz Kobo and the flagship, Morning Musume, in both intensity and energy.

 

Umeda was a big part of "Jump!," which exploded in February 2007 and put °C-ute on the map:

 

http://www.bloggerparty.com/c_ute_s_jump_greatest_pop_song_ever

 

Tsunku♂ had high praise for °C-ute when he was in Los Angeles with Morning Musume in early July, describing that ensemble as the most athletic of all the Hello! Project units. And, indeed, they showed it, and apparently tore it up once again during their most recent tour despite being down to six from Kanna’s retirement.

 

The more I think about it, the more I now honestly believe that Kanna’s main problem was physical. The toe thing was real, and it might have finished her. Fans weren’t too nice, either, continuously pointing out – falsely I might add – that Kanna was the weak link.

 

But Umeda? Damn, this is a painful pill to swallow. Umeda broke in like a Mack truck with ZYX, grew into a tall beauty unmatched by anyone in this company, and quietly meshed into °C-ute to make it the sensational group it was. To think they can carry on as five for any period of time is way over-the-top stupid. Dumb.

 

More on the short-lived but sensational ZYX experiment here:

 

http://www.bloggerparty.com/content/zyx-what-could-have-been-hp

 

There is an answer: Saki-O, and maybe another top Egg – or even parachute one of Tsunku♂’s Korean or Taiwanese starlets in to the mix. Whatever. Get it right and do it fast, before °C-ute dies an early and tortuous death.

 

This is Rad♂ signing off – for now.

Hello! Project’s summer concert season, now under way, has numerous dates and locations, an excellent setlist and the usual array of fine ensembles – Morning Musume, Berryz Kobo, °C-ute, the ever-improving Eggs and up-and-coming soloist Manoeri.

 

But something is missing, unless I've misread the schedule or are otherwise mistaken: A larger, non-theatrical anchor venue such as Yoyogi Hippodrome or Saitama Super Arena is not listed on this tour, as has been the custom in summers past. Neither was a major Saitama or Yokohama Arena show done this spring, to my knowledge; recall that the Berryz vs. °C-ute "Battle Concert" was at Yokohama Arena in April 2008, and Berryz sold out Saitama twice the previous spring, 2007. There is a logical, though sad, explanation for all this. 

 

The company severely downsized when it retired 24 of its 72 singers – the so-called Elder Club – in a concert for the ages Jan. 31-Feb. 1 at the venerable Yokohama Arena, where the normal seating capacity of 17,000 was stretched to almost 20,000 when even the upper-level seats behind the stage were sold.

 

Attending one of these epic events is something to be neither missed nor forgotten:

 

http://www.bloggerparty.com/content/hp-japan-be-careful-what-you-wish

 

With the downsizing this summer, could that January bash have been the final hurrah for Hello! Project at Yokohama Arena?

 

If that is the case, it would mark a sad day in idol-music history. Hints that Yokohama Arena’s now-legendary main stage, three “launch pads,” circular walkway and crossover walkway might be a thing of the past crept into news of the summer lineup.

 

Last year, the summer season included yet another date at Yoyogi Hippodrome, a sizeable arena at Yoyogi Park, near Harajuku and the Shibuya club district of Tokyo. Now Yoyogi, and in some cases the much larger Saitama Super Arena as in 2007, has been to the summer shows what Yokohama Arena is to the winter season – a climactic ending to what is normally a sellout theatrical-venue tour, but in a much larger venue.

 

But last summer, the first major date after the Elder Club purge, which had started with the graduation of V-u-den and was all but official leading up to the January 2009 Elder Club graduation extravaganza,  it was clear that the remaining 46 singers in Hello! Project’s various ensembles rang a little hollow in Yoyogi. Something was missing, and that was the Elder Club.

 

V-u-den, for example, might have been an average trio, anchored by former Morning Musume member Rika, but they were excellent as a lede group for the larger concerts. The same goes for Melon Kinenbi, the Shibata-anchored quartet that injected all kinds of energy into the larger shows. Finally, soloists anchored by Ayaya were vital components to this larger display.

 

Granted, niot every V-u-den, Melon Kinenbi or Ayaya song was spectacular in and of itself, but the sheer number and variety of acts justified Yokohama Arena, Saitama, Yoyogi and the other larger-scale, epic productions.

 

And now, unless I’ve missed something, there is no Saitama and no Yoyogi this summer. Only the usual theaters, seating 2,300 give or take a few hundred and located in far-flung places like Nagoya and Osaka in addition to Tokyo.

 

And, unless I miss my guess on this one, no Yokohama Arena in 2010.

 

I hope I’m wrong.

 

UFA, Hello! Project and Tsunku♂: Please try and keep the famous Yokohama Arena shows going in January-February, even without the Elders. If you need more acts, just bump up some of the Eggs as Tsunku♂ is already doing, creating more units, adding more songs. Give Berryz Kobo and °C-ute three cuts each instead of two, and let those songs run full-length instead of chopping them off after a single verse.

 

As for Buono!, give that trio at least three songs – even a full album, a mini-concert within a concert. Same goes for Manoeri. Cut her loose on that stage, piano, backdancers and all. Make the most of what is left of Hello! Project, while there’s still time.

 

Save Yokohama Arena. The shows have been legendary since that venue was used starting with the 2004 Abe graduation, and it’s only gotten better.

 

Don’t let the Yokohama Arena legend die.

 

This is Rad♂ signing off – for now.

 

NHK, the Japanese entertainment conglomerate, has some smart people running the show. Not only has the company unleashed a global satellite/cable TV service, NHK World TV, it invited Morning Musume to be a guest on one of its premier programs, “NHK’s Latest Hits:”

 

http://www.omame.co.uk/2009/07/22/morning-musume-nhk-latest-hits-wednesday-j-pop/

 

This is huge. Finally, Morning Musume should get the international exposure it so richly deserves. Putting two and two together, it now makes perfect sense for Morning Musume to have flown over here on July 2-5 for its U.S. debut concert at Anime Expo 2009. More on that historic moment here:

 

http://www.bloggerparty.com/content/morning-musume%E2%80%99s-bolt-us-lightning

 

Note the appearance of Morning Musume on this latest NHK show. Conservative, dark dresses. They modestly introduced themselves individually as if nobody knew who they were. Note the studio audience – in all likelihood, mostly Japanese business executives, and probably the whole NHK staff.

 

Hmm. Wonder what’s causing all this change? Why has mainstream Japanese business suddenly started paying attention to Japanese idol music? Why the global push? I’ll spell it out for you: R-E-C-E-S-S-I-O-N.

 

There are reasons for the years-long delay in recognizing the true artistry and excellence of a group like Morning Musume and a company like Hello! Project:

 

http://www.bloggerparty.com/content/wake-sony-tv-tokyo-hp-and-ufa

 

Maybe Morning Musume, Berryz Kobo and °C-ute can bail out the Western business world with their stunning idol shows. After years and years of being treated like a bad neighborhood, UFA is finally getting the credit it deserves.

 

Now it’s our turn. Hey, DirecTV folks! Wake up! NHK World TV has been available since March. Why is it not yet available on DirecTV? Comcast has it in the Washington D.C. and Minneapolis areas. What in hell is the holdup, people? My subscription cancellation notice might soon be in the mail.

 

Said a DirecTV sales rep today: “Uh … It [NHK World TV] is on our list, just not … yet available.” Why not?

 

Come on. Tsunku♂ said it best in L.A.: “It’s up to you guys [fans].” Morning Musume did its part. Berryz and °C-ute might also make U.S. trips. The whole Hello! Project universe might be at our satellite-TV fingertips, and NHK might be the white knight that delivers the goods.

 

Time for the global invasion of Morning Musume to continue – forever and unabated.

 

This is Rad♂ signing off – for now.

The decision by Tsunku♂ to pull Manoeri out of the ultimately doomed ensemble Ongaku Gatas took people by surprise in early 2008. Nobody is surprised now, and Manoeri has established her own genre of music.

 

Call it “Manomusic,” for lack of a better term. The latest installment is a breezy Broadway-style tune called, roughly, “The World Is a Summer Party,” and it is an addicting, killer hit:

 

http://www.dohhhup.com/movie/PDLIYFbsvvxANnrhfZhtp5YyqJXI1sgk/view.php

 

This just in: A splendid live performance of "Party" is here:

 

http://www.dohhhup.com/movie/1bSVtY6austYzxLzFWZKbZHvELZhg5y4/view.php

 

This comes on the heels of another simpler, but even more sensational, song called "The First Experience" (you can read into that what you will):

 

http://www.dohhhup.com/movie/xY4pD8XG1RTr7PKpv4a75ahLgA8W5GGY/view.php

 

Fans laughed when Manoeri’s “Manopiano” came out in late 2008 as her first single, a simplistic kids’ song, it appeared, with Mano playing her own piano part. OK, so that’s fine. Then  came “Lucky Aura” and “La La La, So, So, So,” again with Mano’s piano and delicate vocals.

 

Hmm. Then two killer songs, mentioned above, right in a row this year: “The First Experience,” and then “The World Is a Summer Party.” Holy moly. These are catchy, powder-keg tunes with the backdancing Eggs amplifying Manoeri’s modest dancing skills in the high-fashion, well-done PVs. Mano’s mesmerizing smile is painted throughout. The songs have a big-time, polished feel, unlike "Manopiano" and "La-La So-So."

 

This is a unique style of music. Childlike, yet snazzy. Innocent, yet sophisticated. It’s hard to nail down, but this concept’s appeal is spreading like a prairie fire throughout the music world. It has wide appeal, and spans all ages and demographics.

 

But that appears to be part and parcel of the Tsunku♂ universe:

 

http://www.bloggerparty.com/content/hello-project-akb48-and-j-pops-explosion

 

Mano’s merchandising has to be going through the roof. She is among the most photographed people in all of Japan. And, at 18, she’s legal, but age has little to do with the way she’s being marketed at Hello! Project and UFA.

 

Say whatever you want about this, but Mano is different, and successful. Manomusic is here to stay.

 

Manoeri is a dazzler. That she performs with Hello! Project at all the big concerts – and has done very well with the shuffle songs, such as the memorable “Shiroi Tokyo” during 2009’s Wonderful Hearts tour back in January – just makes her more of a solo force.

 

It is reminiscent of when Koharu Kusumi broke into H!P in 2005, up from the anime-voiceover and title-music ranks to record a few hit singles, then quickly bumped up into the penthouse, Morning Musume.

 

But Manoeri is a much different phenomenon, a lamb among the wolves in Japanese idol music. Just how many more inroads Manoeri will make will be limited only by Tsunku♂’s musical imagination.

 

Here’s to Manoeri. May she live long and prosper.

 

This is Rad♂ signing off – for now.

You have to hand it to the guy. Madara wasn’t pulling any of our legs, and it’s easy to see why he stayed completely silent about the whole thing until it actually happened. He didn't want to screw up his big chance. And he didn't.

 

The photo up top is from the Anime Expo 2009 press "junket" on  July 1 in Los Angeles. Wow. Aichan with jet-black hair? Kusumi resembling a character out of a Jane Austen novel? Risa thin as a rail and almost unrecognizable? Sayu a little pale? LinLin, JunJun, Eri and Aika looking pretty much normal? Reina stunning as usual? Other photo offerings (not quite as hot, I’m afraid) are here:

 

http://madara-blog.livejournal.com/39641.html

 

In turn, that begs the question: Why J-pop to begin with? What's the attraction?

 

http://www.bloggerparty.com/why_japanese_idol_music_and_why_here

 

And, finally, meeting favorite idols in person might not be such a good idea:

 

http://www.helloblog.co.uk/comment.php?commentID=482

 

Nonetheless, Madara is the only American to have ever been photographed, at least publicly, with Morning Musume, to my knowledge. If anyone else has ever had a fan photo with the Japanese supergroup, I’d love to see it. In any event, Madara's bold achievement gives the rest of us hope.

 

Hey, Momusu and Tsunku♂: If you’re giving Madara the nod now, how about me (or anyone else for that matter) getting to interview you in Japan come January? Name the time and place and I’ll be there. You don’t have to go back to the U.S. for this one.

 

But, kudos to Madara for this astonishing breakthrough. What are the ramifications? Well, be advised of this: Japan favors the young. It’s a country in a tailspin, vis-à-vis population decline. Enrollment in schools is dropping. Teachers lurk outside testing sites snapping up all the schoolkids who don’t pass their public-school entrance tests so they can beef up their own quickly declining numbers in private-school classrooms.

 

Most Japanese visiting-professional programs will not accept any foreign applicants who are 40 years of age and above. Age discrimination in Japan is rampant. And, frankly, I don’t blame the Japanese. Right now they’re trying to survive as a culture, intact, but it’s easy to see that low birth rate is strangling the nation. Vibrant youth, not teetering geezers, need to be emphasized and nutured. Hence, blood-boiling idols like Morning Musume, Berryz Kobo and °C-ute.

 

So, what does all this have to do with Morning Musume and the enterprising, if not downright sneaky, Madara? He does look a little more statesmanlike than I envisioned, and somehow I thought he was Asian (doesn't Madara sound Japanese?), but he doesn’t seem to be (Australian? ... maybe).

 

But to be seen with an old white guy in any kind of photo has to be an anathema to Japanese idol music, especially to image-conscious Hello! Project and its corporate parent, UFA. As the “Madara miracle” shows, it can be done, but at what cost?

 

Madara has proven to be an enlightening blogger. He knew nothing about Morning Musume until very recently, and, like many of us, has become enthralled with the concept of idol music and how it can be so exceptional, artistic and simply a blast. Minor quibble: He needs to post more often. Here it is, July 17, two weeks after the historic U.S. debut of Morning Musume at Anime Expo 2009, and Madara is only now posting this photo (and the intro blog earlier). That’s it. At this rate, we’ll probably get the whole concert story in the next six to eight months.

 

But Madara is … simplistic. He gets by posting on MM-BBS, one of the most mean-spirited, biased and negative forums in music history, by being treated as a clown, a joke. I tried posting on MM-BBS and was run off very quickly by that spineless, vindictive organization. As far as I’m concerned, MM-BBS and Madara are made for each other, a match made in heaven or hell, depending on your perspective. It seems that MM-BBS's sole purpose is to burn down Morning Musume as much as it can. Madara offers a refreshing break from all that and is tolerated by MM-BBS because of his comic relief.

 

The photo at the top will remain a mystery – for quite some time. But I do applaud Madara, and especially Morning Musume for giving old white men at least a fighting chance to become simply fans like everyone else, including the swirling wota with their ubiquitous glowsticks. You have climbed the mountaintop, and we are all better for it.

 

This is Rad♂ signing off – for now.

AKB48 continues is headline-grabbing series of theatrics, and remains a major force in J-pop and idol music despite the self-destructive tendencies of creator Yasushi Akimoto.

 

The recent so-called “Massacre” in which fans were permitted to vote in the top 20 performers who would sing on the next single and/or tour is case in point. The whole sordid story is here in the ourtstanding AKB48 blog “Aitakatta!”:

 

http://www.intlwota.com/aitakatta/2009/07/12/the-akb-massacre-results/

 

In this blog’s own words:

“Oh, and Togasaki is my hero for his wise words, which were along the lines of ‘The election was based on the number of votes, but remember, for each person who voted for you, you’re that persons number one.’ I love that guy.”

Yes, Toga is the man that makes AKB48 tick, and I felt very privileged to meet this guy in January 2008 as he ran the show at the Don Quijote Theater in the Akihabara district of Tokyo. It’s good to see he’s still with the company. Toga’s voice is strikingly similar to the introductory announcer at each AKB48 event. Methinks it’s the same guy.

And it was Toga who must have nursed all the girls through this horrific ordeal. It must be the recession, these cheap promotions. Idol singing is already a tough enough business without having to be publicly outed as the most unpopular of your colleagues. Wow, what a disaster.

Yet, AKB48 is still the act to see in Japan. The girls went to Paris this year, were guests at a Star Trek movie promotion in Japan, and have plans to go to New York this fall.

Interesting that all this activity coincides with Morning Musume’s historic and hugely well-accepted debut concert July 3 at Anime Expo 2009 in Los Angeles. It's as if one company is trying to one-up the other. Tit for tat. But is AKB48 really in any kind of competition with either Morning Musume or Hello! Project in general?

The short answer is: “No.” But there is no doubt that both companies are at the forefront of the global music revoluton:

http://www.bloggerparty.com/content/hello-project-akb48-and-j-pops-explosion

In any event, comparing ABK48 to Hello! Project is like comparing football to baseball. AKB48 is overly physical and not based on style. Morning Musume is just the opposite, physical but with a sense of grace and style not seen with AKB48, whose choreography is based on mostly cheerleading-style moves.

Costuming? AKB48 can’t past the schoolgirl motif and, though they certainly milk that motif, do not have the stunning diversity and flash that Morning Musume, Berryz Kobo and °C-ute have going for them.

AKB48 has a bittersweet advantage in the performance department: You can get very, very up close and personal. Bu the stuffy, crackerbox Don Quijote is hard as hell to get into; the ticket system is outrageously complicated, and AKB48 does not get into the clubs and theaters as often. As far as I know, AKB48 has never done a major venue like Yokohama Arena, Saitama Super Arena or the Yoyogi Hippodrome, but it would be great to see that.

I would certainly make plans to see AKB48 in a large-scale show just as I’ve had the great honor of seeing Hello! Project shows in Yokohama Arena and Chukyo Hall.

But AKB48 in the Don Quijote is as smoking hot as any concert out there. Just 200 people can get in, but there are shows every night involving one of the three units: Team A, Team B and Team K. They’re all great. Team A is primarily the odl guard who have been with the grouo sicne its origin in 2007. Team B seems to be the hot unit now, and Team K has my favorites, Ono and Oku.

It’s a fabulous show. Too bad the girls of AKB48 are so tethered to schoolgirl outfits and meaningless, demoralizing fan votes.

This is Rad signing off – for now.

Wow. In the aftermath of Morning Musume’s visit to the U.S. and concert at Anime Expo 2009 in Los Angeles, it appears that Hello! Project media, bloggers and the mainstream press received a mixed reception – and, hence, an anguishing mixed access to Morning Musume during the July 2-5 convention stretch.

 

Well, I mobilized everything I had to just get into the July 3 concert and be seated in an area where I could see and hear this band live. Yes, I have seen them “live” on eight occasions in Japan, but never like this – never close enough to make a real impression. To miss that show or get relegated to the rear of that cavernous main performance hall would have been catastrophic. I would have collapsed and died on the spot.

 

And because of two car breakdowns, a horrific family emergency and a sudden loss of travel cash during June in the run-up to the convention, I almost missed the whole damn thing. Again, I would have slit my wrists had that happened. But, somehow, I made it, and witnessed history at the July 3 concert.

 

I also heard the show twice – listening to the girls rehearse through the wall between the men’s room and the main concert hall an hour before the 12:30 p.m. time when doors opened. The show started at around 2:30. Holy crap, the acoustics were almost as good in that restroom and I got to hear all the songs before the actual show itself!

 

As it happened, I was in the front row, angled right, where media were seated. Only 25 such tickets were available. Another factor: Glowsticks were rare in our section, as the clueless press had no idea what they were getting into until it exploded in the other sections which were bristling with waving glowsticks and chanting fans.

 

At least me, CK and a New York TV producer, Brian Camp, were so armed, as were a half-dozen folks behind us. The view: Spectacular. Aika and Sayu made it a point to come over to our direction and cheer us on. What an experience!

 

But I would like to salute Madara, who penetrated right into the inner sanctum of Morning Musume and landed a 15-minute interview – with photos, including one taken with him and the group, or at least that is the claim he’s making – during the June 1 “press junket” in which media could stake out 15-minute slots with Morning Musume.

 

Hmm. Why did I not hear about this? What I did read on July 1 was that a host of long-time Hello! Project online journalists were stiffed in that press session.

 

But not Madara. The start of his account is here:

 

http://madara-blog.livejournal.com/39362.html

 

You can bet I’ll be tuned in to every chapter Madara cares to offer in the days ahead.

 

Then, there’s CK, whose blogs on Hello! Project and AKB48 have become can’t-miss items in recent months. Not only does CK go to Japan often, reporting from there, he is also an editor and commentator for International Wota. Yes, the same IW that has exiled me for the last 18 months. So? I'm used to it by now.

 

CK’s claim to fame was getting to one of the autograph sessions and seeing Morning Musume up close and personal, almost as sensational as Madara. CK’s thrilling account is here:

 

http://ckhp.vox.com/library/post/meeting-morning-musume.html

 

I could not get to either the junket or any of the two autograph sessions. I was clueless on the ticket situation regarding the autographs (CK had an inside source). Now, with Madara … Somehow, this guy scored a magazine gig to write a story about Anime Expo and used that leverage to work his way into the junket.

 

Despite screwing up these chances of a lifetime, I must admit I am not really that disappointed at missing either opportunity. I probably would have either cried like a baby, or had a heart attack, if I attempted what Madara pulled off. Holy crap, he was sitting down right next to the band! I wouldn’t have survived that.

 

CK was able to get a brief face-to-face with each member (and described the whole thing in great detail) during the autograph session. Both CK’s and Madara’s blogs are going to be quite readable.

 

But following is the close encounter of all close encounters (unless this guy, one of Hello!Blog's Paul Thomas's pals, was making it all up):

 

http://www.pori.co.uk/?p=1779

 

I do have my own experience, as I did score an e-mail interview with Aichan and Tsunku♂ before AX 2009 but, because of various obstacles which I will explain later, I have those notes in hand but can’t use them – at least not yet. That is a strange tale that will have to come when I’ve sorted it all out – and when I get permission to run those interviews.

 

I will, even if it kills me. At least the concert didn’t. Neither did the splendid opening ceremonies (where photos were permitted!) and a grueling but intriguing Q&A with the band. Then, there was the lost notebook …

 

But that’s another story for another day.

 

This is Rad♂ signing off – for now.