No hours of standing around while everyone around you gets drunk on overpriced lager (UK style). I was astounded at how efficient everything was – doors opened at 6.30pm, warm-up videos at 6.45 and the girls were on by 7. The whole venue was so tiny, making for a really atmospheric gig populated by just a few hundred hardcore fans. I estimated we were less than 10 metres from the stage – an extraordinary proximity, which meant we saw everything and could easily make out their faces when they came on stage. We nabbed a great spot, front-centre of the general area with a fence to lean on. And he had further good news: not only would we not have to pay anything (previously we’d been told we’d merely secured purchasing rights to the tickets) but he would also allow us into the general standing area ahead of the queues so we could secure a decent spot. Our kind host, Amuse’s Paul Tsu, met me and my fellow winners promptly at 5 to give us our tickets. I even got a tour T-shirt that was 2 sizes too small for me because it was the last one and I wanted to frame it :P).Īnd so to the gig itself. But now I could talk A-chan, Nocchi and Kashiyuka and other jpop trivia with likeminded souls, while queuing to get our hands on the usual overpriced gig merchandise (of course I bought some. Up until then I’d met a total of 2 other Perfume fans in real life. It was crazy, but heartening to see so many peers. There were folks from Indonesia, Malaysia, Hong Kong, the Philippines, one girl came all the way from Perth, Australia, and I even met another guy from North London! We’d all thought the same thing: this might be our only chance, so grasp it with both hands. Luckily everything worked out and just 2 weeks later I was back at the SCAPE Mall, Singapore (also home to the Singapore AKB48 cafe!) with hundreds of other Perfume fans, and not just from Singapore. Fate had intervened to present possibly my only chance to see my favourite group live and in a venue far more intimate than the stadiums they’re used to playing now. Even if I had to do the crazy thing and go home to London then fly back to Singapore a few days later, I wouldn’t have missed this. But the other part had already floated to Cloud 9. One part of my head was already spinning, processing the logistics of begging the boss for extended holiday leave, flight changes, hotels and getting back to Singapore. I was second in line to draw from the box. Maybe I’ll get a towel or something as a mini prize. Hearing Spending All My Time blaring, I remembered my ticket and thought, what the hell. I even forgot about the draw, but I happened to pass the booth at the right time the next day following an autograph session. So I have to admit, I dismissed the whole idea. Now, I’m not a big believer in luck in lotteries, and by this point my flight back home was already fixed for before the date. Why? To hand me a prize draw ticket that came with each purchase. The prize: the last 5 tickets to the Perfume Singapore live. Of course, I took the opportunity to buy some merch and was walking happily away from the stand when the cashier ran after me. To my surprise, Perfume had a booth at AFA12 (part of their PR agency, Amuse’s promotional presence at the show). Little did I know the best was yet to come. I was thankful to already be going to Anime Festival Asia (AFA12), with its 3 nights of jpop live goodness attached to the weekend (blog post to follow). I was due to be on holiday in Malaysia at roughly the same time period, but my hopes were dashed when I failed to secure tickets to any of the 4 gigs through the online ballots, which quickly sold out anyhow. I was therefore excited to hear the news of Perfume’s first “world tour”, but somewhat disappointed to discover that it was actually more of an Asian tour. And even if some do, all-female pop groups aren’t generally at the head of the queue. It’s rare enough that any of them play outside of Japan, let alone make it all the way to UK shores. But living in London, I accepted long ago that I would probably never see any of my favourite jpop acts live. I’ve been a massive Perfume fan for 3 years. And it was a miracle that I got to be there. On Saturday night, something I never thought would happen happened: I saw my favourite jpop group live. Perfume LIVE: a dream come true NovemPosted by ayasawada in Music.
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