Jpop Meets Postwar Optimism

I know I've mentioned SPEED on this blog more than a couple of times, and if you're not familiar with them, well, that's your problem. A group that paved the way for young girl groups, a force to be reckoned with, and also, I've heard that they sold a few records. Well, they're back as adults after some years off, but what do ya think they did in the meantime? Sip lemonade and hang out at the old-folks'-home? Hardly...

After SPEED broke up in 1999, popular member Hiroko Shimabukuro said, "okay, let's just shorten my name to 'Hiro', and I'll take 'solo-careers' for $500, Alex." She did pretty well with that, showing a more mellow side, yet coming back with an ass-kicker or two just to show that she still had it in her.

*Then* someone came up with the bright idea that she should do an album of jazz standards, in English, no less. Called "Coco d'Or", the album was released in 2004. Rather than summarize the album I thought it'd be interesting to go track-by-track, because I don't think anyone else has done the world this favor.

First, though, to give you an idea of the sound of this record (very big band), do enjoy this video. Hiro looks damn good in this, so watch carefully:

[Video removed by user]

The album starts with Route 66, made famous by Nat King Cole in 1946. The song did much to popularize the nearly-transcontinental road, which only exists in fragments today. SPEED did a couple of videos in the Southwest, so it's very possible that Hiro has seen a piece of the actual Route 66; but the execution of the lyrics makes it sound like she's learned the song phonetically, rather than knowing the song inside and out. Still, with an open mind and a love of Japanese girls in general, it's hard not to fall in love with her awkward pronunciations of American places, like Missouri (she says 'mih-ZAH-ree') and San Bernardino ('SAAN-baa-na-DEE-no'). Believe me when I say that this is a good record for travelling.

Next is Avalon, a standard since Al Jolson recorded it in 1920. This version takes a more modern swing feel, as most jazz combos have done in history, and it ends with Hiro holding the last note for over 10 seconds.

And the Melody Still Lingers On (Night in Tunisia) follows, a much more recent song by Chaka Khan (I can't seem to place the exact year). It takes the melody of a 1942 Dizzy Gillespie composition and adds nostalgic lyrics about how the song changed the face of popular music. It name-drops a number of jazz celebrities: "Dizzy [Gillespie] and Bird" [Charlie Parker], "Max [Roach] and Miles" [Davis], "The Duke [Ellington] and The Prez" [Lester Young], "from [John] Coltrane to Stevie" [Wonder, I assume], although I've heard a version that substitutes "Louis" [Armstrong] for "Stevie". So if you've ever wanted to hear a Jpop star talk about the jazz greats of old, this is your song. The middle of the song features a scat section where Hiro does both the melody and the harmony, and just one Hiro is quite powerful -- layer that voice, and it's divine.

Free is a cover of a 1977 DeNiece Williams song, originally a soulful R&B tune, arranged here as a peppy big band number. There's not much to dislike as Hiro switches between time signatures and styles effortlessly.

Fly Me to the Moon was written in 1954 and has been recorded by a number of vocalists since. Arguably the most well-known recording was of Frank Sinatra in 1964. Although the song has been ubiquitous, I'm slightly embarrassed to say that the only reason I now know the words is because of the Coco d'Or version. But the same holds true with a lot of the songs on this record. I might have known a chorus or two, but it took Hiro to get me to pay attention. Go figure.

Summertime, the infamous 1935 George Gershwin composition from "Porgy and Bess", covered by hundreds over time, if not more, still sounds fresh after all these years when Hiro sings along. The backbone of this version is a very "Dave Matthews"-sounding electric-acoustic riff, with lots of arpeggios and some string-slaps for percussive effect. Another scat section is included which ends in a crashing-down-the-stairs resolution. Hiro thinks your ma is "good lookin'," so that's a plus.

The Face I Love, sorry, can't hit you with a lot of history on this one, but appears to have been written by Marcos Valle, in this case an upbeat samba which invites you to "think of things like daffodils and peaceful sheep on blue-green hills" and if you do, "every lovely view introduces you to the face I love". Which is a sweet sentiment not unlike many Jpop songs.

Next, The Girl from Ipanema may be a bit grating to some but I actually love the original recording, probably more than this version. For good measure, this version brings the only other vocalist on the entire record, a soft-spoken gentleman who gets the honor of singing the Portuguese lyrics, as any respectable cover of this song would warrant. Oddly, Hiro repeats a mistake over and over, instead of the word 'she', it's phrased as "when SHE'S passes each one SHE'S passes goes 'Ahh'." Strange, but you get used to it.

It's Only A Paper Moon, written in 1933, covered by that many artists, a song that refuses to die. Hiro lends her talents to this song nicely. The text of this song refers to the world as a collection of fake reality and cheap thrills, but, of course, "it wouldn't be make-believe if you believe in me." Fall in love with Hiro and your life suddenly has meaning.

Orange Colored Sky, presented in video-form above, is one of my more favorite tunes from this album. Like "Paper Moon", the lyric refers to living in a fantasy world, where the sky is inexplicably orange (later it also features purple stripes and pretty green polka-dots), until "wonderful *you* came by". This song was another popularized by Nat King Cole in 1950, co-written by Milton DeLugg, who wrote "Hooray for Santa Claus," the theme from the classic kid's movie (and MST3K episode) "Santa Claus Conquers the Martians". I really like the fantastical lyrics, along with the invocation of such words as "Flash! Bam! Alakazam!"

The Very Thought of You can be quite a tearjerker if you're in the mood for it. Sultry, lingering, and featuring a soprano sax solo (thankfully *not* Kenny G), it's a mile away from the Bing Crosby original of 1934. Were it not for the prolific history of this song it might be easy to mistake this as a song written expressly for Hiro. She very much owns this version of the song.

Spain (I Can Recall) is a Chick Corea/Al Jarreau composition which begins a very gloomy sung intro, "Yesterday; just a photograph of yesterday..." about a love gone south, which then has the singer dreaming about being "lovers once again". This intro features Hiro singing in a very low register, probably the lowest she's been on record. But suddenly the song changes gears and over an upbeat Spanish-style rhythm, Hiro sings about those golden days in Spain where she "did love and adore" the subject of the song. Wow, too bad I was battling a vicodin addiction at the time, because that sounds like a wonderful affair, and I would have remembered it otherwise.

In 1943, Tin Pan Alley composer/lyricist Cole Porter wrote You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To, and as its title implies, it's a gushy song about a hopeful love affair. While this review is quickly becoming little more than a "same to you, Hiro", let me just say that the sentiment is returned. Hiro *would* be a welcome sight upon returning to the homestead, "under stars chilled by the winter" or "an August moon burning above".

I Can't Give You Anything But Love (...baby), was written in 1928 by a possible several people, and has been covered a great number of times. Nearly every line in the song ends with a tag of "...baby" and Hiro sings the song in a very carefree and coy fashion. Just think of a typical platinum blonde postwar big band singer winking into a crowd of overexcited and underappreciated men, and this is Hiro here. The way she sings it's almost implied that she's wearing a feather boa in the studio. Hilariously, Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn sang an intentionally poor version of this song to a leopard on a rooftop (named "Baby") in the 1938 film Bringing Up Baby (which, if you're interested, the scene can be found here).

You're Everything is a song apparently originally recorded by the Chick Corea group Return to Forever. Like "Spain" it's an upbeat Latin feel that is easily accessible to the listener.

Calling You, a.k.a., theme from Bagdad Café, originally recorded for the 1987 film, has been covered by artists as varied as Barbara Streisand, Celine Dion, and Jeff Buckley. Hiro puts her own laid-back spin on the iconic song, where the chorus could be easily overdone (think of Whitney Houston's effective-fire-alarm "I Will Always Love You") but she sings the "I-I-I... am calling you" in a breathier tone than the original, and we all know that she *could* do it in a screamier tone.

Overall, this record delivers. Presenting a total of 16 "standards" and nailing damn-near *every* one of them -- especially for someone whose first language isn't the one being sung -- is an incredible accomplishment. I'm so, so impressed with Hiro's vocal talent after hearing this record and its follow up 'Coco d'Or 2' (which takes on more modern compositions) that SPEED recordings are, to me, bullet-proof at this point.

Hiro began singing publicly by *at least* the age of 9 (I tried to find the youTube video, with no result), and has been consistently praised as a competent vocalist ever since. This album is far from being an egotistical display, without the stuffiness that most jazz albums present, and it impresses me with how much it *grooves*. From pretty to powerful, and all-points-in-between, the only conclusion is that Hiro can perform, and she cares about little else. There's no need to reinvent herself or try to become an icon -- those weren't the goals of this record. Sometimes you have to remind yourself, "this is the girl that used to be in SPEED" and after that, you think, "damn! Good job outta you!"

What really rings true is that the "old-fashioned" things, like songs and films, on the surface, tend to be tamer than anything created recently. But from an adult perspective, many of those have deeper implications than anything hot-off-the-press. Some of the old black-and-white films are more offensive, show more drunken behavior, and have cigarette-smoking as a birthright, untamed beyond any single-etendre work being filmed today. Such is the case for these classic songs. When Hiro sings, "you'd be so nice by the fire" she sure ain't talkin' about eating cheese cubes. Nudge, nudge, know-wut-I-mean?

(Extra-special thanks to the editors of Wikipedia (yeah, yeah, it's all *lies*) for help in researching this broad tapestry of recordings, youTube for providing proof for some of these legendary previous recordings, and as a footnote... Coco d'Or recordings *can* be found on the internet, if you just know where to look. Eventually, you'll feel guilty and buy them outright.)

LA Story VII: AX and the Deathly Hallows

With little exception, I'm sure that nearly every Morning Musume fan at AX went there for the purpose of seeing Morning Musume; be it their performance, or the Q&A session, or to see them up close and get an autograph. Obviously, those were my reasons as well -- not to finally get a chance to eat at the acclaimed California Pizza Kitchen, or to ride the elevator used in the movie "Forget Paris", though I did both.

So to say the least, I was excited about nothing more than seeing Morning Musume in Los Angeles this summer. But as I boarded that first airplane I couldn't have felt farther away from idol culture. All the formalities of security checks, all the power of jet fuel and airline corporations, all the mayhem which goes on at airports like LAX and DFW... there just didn't seem to be any connection to 9 very pretty girls who I've watched grow up from my living room.

And yet, all the research and planning that I'd done before the trip, to make sure that I got where I needed to be to witness the Expo, paid off. As we drove into downtown L.A. I saw more than a handful of sites which were unmistakeably linked with my adoptive neighborhood, and I knew I was getting close, but just how close?


There are very, very few people in my hometown who are of Japanese descent -- a sizeable amount of Asians, but very few Japanese -- so if and when I see them, they stick out like a sore thumb. In turn, even though the first glimpse I got of Morning Musume was at the Opening Ceremonies in poor lighting, they were unmistakeable. To me, they appeared *unapologetically* Japanese (with, of course, the exception of JunJun and LinLin, the Chinese members, but they know how to play ball). There was something intangibly noble and elegant (and, to be honest, from my perspective, downright freaky) about their appearance, the way they carried themselves, and how they interacted with each other. They were clearly visitors from a strange land, and although their faces had been burned into my memory for years, by showing up in person they lost that normalness and became exotic to me, again.


I try not to play favorites with any idols because when I listen to an album like Platinum9, just surfing the aural waves from start to finish, there's little room to complain. If I've got the time, I'm spinning the whole disc, skipping nothing, and every performer has her place.

But when they showed up in front of me without introduction I recognized some more than others. Koha, I picked her out right away. Sayu, with noticeable white pom-poms on each pigtail, was easy to keep an eye on. Takahashi, I could just tell, because that body haunts my dreams. And Eri; back in the day, she was the last one whose name I could keep straight, but now I could spot her from a mile away. ("Hatachi," good God...)


For some reason, I just got confused at first when I saw JunJun, thinking, 'they've got *2* Reina's now?" "Is that Nacchi?" "I thought Kaori graduated..." But in my defense, your average American would have trouble distinguishing any 9 Asian girls, let alone the 25 infamous members throughout history, so I just kept staring until I figured out who she was. I ain't got nothing against her, she just got lost in a sea of pretty Asian girls within my memory bank.


I've never owned a photobook. I have a few Morning Musume singles but bought them all used. The *one* H!P concert DVD I own is "Matsuura Aya/W/Melon Kinenbi", and I've watched it maybe once, and even then watched only a few songs. Most of the Morning Musume songs I have on my iPod were bought from the Apple Store. These are all things I realized while I stared starstruck at the girls while they were a short distance from me and hundreds of other fans at AX.

I've written about them a number of times, starting with Koha oh-so-long-ago. And as I've said, it's hard to find anyone around here who might give damn-number-one about them or anything Japanese. So before I went to AX I rightly considered myself a pretty big fan. After all, I'd listened to practically every song they ever made (and it's a huge catalog, still growing), tried to take in as many Utaban apppearances as they'd ever done, and even watched Haromoni more than a couple of times. And, oh yeah, I've seen *every* Ayaka's "Totsugeki Eikaiwa!!!" segment, as well.


But without Kayo Aiko, I'd know nothing of Japan. For me, there'd be no Perfume, Capsule, SPEED, Pink Lady, The Peanuts, Yumin, Dream, Nanase Hoshii and Seventh Tarz Armstrong, Nagasawa Nao, Saito Michi, SMAP, W, Minimoni, Tanpopo, Biyuden, Berryz Kobo, C-ute, GAM, Matsuura Aya, Hangry & Angry, Kirarin, Buono!, Hiro, Coco d'Or, or Sharam Q... and without Ms. Kayo Aiko, I'd certainly know nothing of Morning Musume.

And if it was Ms. Kayo Aiko who drew me into the world of Jpop and taught me most of the Japanese words I know, it was those Morning Musume television appearances that really got me over the headache of listening to spoken Japanese, clueless, until I began to break it down into words and really understand what was being said.

Obviously, there's been no official tally, but around my hometown it seems that there is no bigger Morning Musume fan than me. But at AX it was all-too-obvious. At the Q&A, listening to all the on-mic fans gushing and asking for things like the 'Atto Pose' (still, no clue on that), it finally hit me... I really *am* more of a casual Morning Musume fan.


Still, seeing them in person was a whole different experience. My mind tried to form words to explain what was happening. "They are *right* there," I kept telling myself, "*Right* there." At the Opening Ceremonies, the Q&A, the concert, I stared in disbelief. And though they put in their time, and I had plenty of opportunities to relish their presence, I felt that even *if* the moment lasted another fifty years, it still wouldn't be enough. I would always want more.

In those moments my thoughts strayed to all facets of fandom, be it for Aiko or Mi-chan, Perfume, or Urbangarde.

What really struck me is that it's completely impossible to 'get inside' an idol. And I mean that in every sense of the word, not just the obvious (male) sense. There's just no getting inside there. As a 'normal' person, you'll never know the joy (or torture) that these idols face in their lives. You'll never be able to think like them, and in your lifetime you will never come close to knowing what being an idol truly means. You can try to stare a hole through Koha (and believe me, I fuckin' tried...) but in the end, it doesn't change her, it won't magically alter your lifestyle, and it doesn't bring you any closer to divinity. I mean, damn the fact that it doesn't, but it just doesn't. All you can hope to do is stare in admiration (as I and many others did) and hold on to that memory.


This is not to say that idols do not have a profound impact on our lives as fans. But after travelling 2,000-some miles just to see them, I was surprised to find out that the true soul-maintenance was not idol-spotting, but bonding with fellow fans. It seemed that no matter what side of the world we grew up on, how many years we've been alive, and despite the fact that we all had never spoken (at least not in real-life) prior to meeting up at AX, there were so many striking similarities between us all.

Until I saw the Momusu concert, it was only in legend that everyone got together, waved glowsticks, and screamed their heads off (to the beat) at a concert. Further on in the weekend, watching the "Miru, Aina Kase, and Yozuca*" mini-concert, it was the fan-bonding that really impressed me. And even at that small performance, it was touching how much everyone got into it. The idols -- all they do is dance around, look cute, and sing for a while, and yet our collective passion endures. We just can't wait for the next time we can all go nuts and jump around to a funky J-Beat.


The whole system parallels a Big Rock Concert where everyone hangs out in the parking lot until admission and cranks up the "rock-band-du-jour" on the the car stereo, getting pumped for the show. Sayu and Koha can hang out in Los Angeles for the rest of their lives and they'll never match the excitement that a group of fans (in Momusu's case, some 8,000 of them) can bring to a show.

What is also fantastic to know is that the girls probably had just as good of a time travelling to L.A. as we did. See this video, for example.


So after AX, we have all returned to our respective corners and have made our memories our own. But apparently it's become fashionable to bash fans who aren't in the same community, or on the same board as "the rest of us". This is an attitude we *do not need*, because it does not advance our cause. To simultaneously want to recruit other domestic fans, yet shun those who don't share our view exactly, is a contradiction.

Fans, there was never a better time to be inclusive.

Anyone who likes Morning Musume is a friend; even if my mortal enemy was in the crowd at the AX concert, it wouldn't have stopped me from enjoying the show. As an admitted casual fan, would you show me disrespect for enjoying the group in general?

I get the feeling from some facets that, yes, I neither know what I'm talking about, and that I should just shut up.

It almost makes me want to quit the blogging game altogether so that only "true fans" can evangelize H!P to the blind. Because clearly, I am not a "true fan" like they are.

But the idea that I'm less of a fan than someone who's known them for ten-years-plus, this is clearly a bigoted assumption. If you want Morning Musume to come back to the USA, frequently, you'll just have to admit that fans come in all shapes and sizes.

So, the last thing I may ever write about H!P (with the exception of the "Koha Kontest", stay tuned...) is that, no matter how the haters try and show off the ugly side of Risako, she still just looks like a normal (pretty) girl, no matter how ugly you'd like to think she might be.

Smugness / You Haven't Heard the Last of Me

Just to let everyone know, L.A. Story Part 7 is in the works but it won't happen until at least next week. I've got some personal business to tend to and you'll just have to deal with it (as I will). Just wanted to let you know it's coming, I'm working on it, and it won't be too long.

In the meantime, I thought I'd assemble a quick guide to commenting (on any site) and I'll feel better about myself for trying. People of the internet, please try to avoid these common spelling mistakes in the future:

"Awful" is spelled with one 'L'.

"Definitely" contains the word 'definite' and you simply add "LY" to the end. Common misspellings include "definately", "defiantly" (unless you actually want to use the word "defiantly"), and "evar".

"Kudos" is spelled just like that. You'd think people would get *that* one right, after all, it's the name of a candy bar... which doesn't sell too well, so maybe that's why. But for all the "kutoes" and "cudoes" that I've read, damn, man... go to a convenience store once in a while! (The Brits might call it a 'Petrol Shop', but they might call it a 'Sir Chauncewell' for all I know.) By the way, the word "kudos" is singular, so you can say "much kudos" but not "many kudos".

If you're going to call someone a "loser", best not to spell it wrong -- mostly I see "looser", which is the opposite of "tighter", as in, "turn the screw to the left and it gets looser." -or- "Since I've been dieting, my pants have felt looser." Say, did anyone watch last week's episode of The Biggest Loser? Everyone's clothes seemed looser. If you didn't watch it, I think you're a loser. (Apparently I'm a loser.)

How about "your" when it's supposed to be "you're" ("you are"). "You're an idiot if you can't keep your grammar straight. Your comment seems irrelevant when you're clearly not capable of using the right words."

"Allot" means to give or apportion, as a share or task. It does not mean "many" as in "there are a lot of people misusing the word "allot". I should get a team together and allot some time to educate people on how to use the word correctly."

"Should have" should have been used whenever you see "should of". No further comment.

Except for, okay, I *do* feel better. Hang on, the best is yet to come.

Forget AX for a while, let's talk about Mi-chan.

Ya know, it's just killing me to write all these AX posts without being able to gush about other celebrities who I *didn't* get to see but really wanna die trying to do so at some point.

You're all aware by now (please read the site if you aren't) that Ms. Kayo Aiko is my first and only true love when it comes to Japanese pop music. I could give my reasons here, but again, read my old posts, that'll learn ya. Aiko really seemed to be mad at me when I ventured into Kpop and Cpop (gee thanks, Tom) but I wonder how she'd feel if she knew I had the hots for one of her friends?

Well, I'm sure Aiko will be devastated to find out that I've formed a bit of a bond with her good friend Saito Michi, a.k.a., Mi-chan, whom I've mentioned in a few previous posts. Similar to Aiko, what was at first merely an infatuation with her good looks became a full-blown obsession (and I totally called *that* one) once I discovered her music, and her photobooks.

So, what the hell; eye candy, please:

(Beavis voice): "Hey, how's it goin'?" Let's get a little more risqué...

She's beeeautiful... one more, and:

Mi-chan, let's run away together, you and me.

All of this attractiveness gets more solidified after you've heard her music. You wouldn't think that a girl who gets *this* in-your-face -- here, try *this* one instead...

So, you wouldn't think that a girl who gets *this* in-your-face could sing these really wistful, sweet songs about finding dreams and true love, with a *little tiny* voice that's just addictive (although her speaking voice is rather full and husky, but I could again be confusing Koha with someone else).

So what, Aiko? I've a right to play the field on this one.

It's interesting, because Aiko and Michi are so similar; yet become polar opposites upon further examination. Aiko's a sweet, bubbly girl who goes for all-out cuteness, sings epic songs full of twists and turns, and seems to be very outgoing without a lot of self-confidence issues. And I rather like *that*, but...

On the other hand, Michi is a reserved and calm girl who goes for a quiet sort of beauty, sings simple and soft (but man, if they ain't awesome) songs, and seems almost shy to a fault. But, who's the one going 'round dressed in skimpy swimsuits, after all? Somehow, it's as if these two were twins of the opposite-sort, but which one is the evil twin?

So, if I may venture out slightly on a limb, here, it goes like this: Aiko is a sex kitten wrapped in a disguise of cuteness, while Mi-chan is cuteness-itself disguised as a total sex kitten. It's that simple. About them both, what's not to love?

So there you have it, and if anyone thinks I should go back to posting about AX, Ms. Kayo would like to point something out:

See? It says right there in "the rules" that I can write about whatever I want to on this site. Thanks, Ms. Kayo.

Lasto, let's see a bit more of Ms. Saito, shall we? After all my going on, it's nice to have a video to illustrate my point. By the way, two words: "bathtub sequence". Oh, and all the phrases that appear on the screen describe how I feel about Mi-chan at this point...


From here on.

L.A. Story, Part 6: "The Best Part of AX"

Well, I'm quite relieved to have finished Parts 1 - 5, but the unfortunate truth is that, 1.) I ain't done yet; and 2.) these last two posts are supposed to be the most important posts of the whole series. So no bullets have been dodged just yet.

Of course on Saturday, we all partied after the Tsunku session and the Momusu autograph session. So next came (logically) Sunday, and that meant the last day of Anime Expo. By this point, I had accomplished my goal of seeing a Morning Musume concert (from a great vantage point) and failed wonderfully in getting a shot at singing to Tsunku. So what else was there to do?

In my opinion at the time, it wouldn't be much. So I decided not to charge my camera battery, and in doing so, missed out on some of the more memorable moments of the whole convention. I don't recall the main reason we headed down to the LACC on Sunday, other than that we were awake, and the convention was still going on. If I remember correctly we just headed down there to see if something interesting woud happen.

At the MangaGamer booth there was a 'mini concert' of three idols; Miru, Aina Kase, and Yozuca* (there is no footnote below, that's how she spells her name, apparently). And all the while a crowd assembled, waving battery-powered glowsticks and pumping their fists to the beat. Miru even taught us all a small call-and-response chant that was fun to yell at the appropriate moment. Seeing all those fans being so excited about this extremely small-time show was another very surreal moment for me, and I realized it would be just a short time before I was back amongst people who don't *do* that at concerts -- even large ones. So again, I'm not sure if I can attend another concert that doesn't involve audience participation.

The stars of the show played Jyan-ken (aka rock, paper, scissors) with the crowd and the winners were given special CD-R's with I-don't-know-what on them. But they were labeled by hand, apparently by the idols themselves. For a few pics of this event (including a picture of the 'special' CD), see Lampshade's post (lucky bastard!).

As that event was winding down I took a brisk walk to a place only a few booths away, where C-Zone was giving their 2nd (and last) concert. Yeah, finally, C-ZONE!!! Here they are, aren't they wunnerful?

We first heard about this new group from our new friend from New Orleans, Mage, right before the Momusu concert. As he was telling us about Sunday's C-Zone show, I'm thinking, yeah, sure, whatever. Of course, once the short Momusu show was over we had a taste for blood which could not be contained. So once we actually got to see C-Zone, I was all about it. They're all cute-as-buttons, and just by looking at them, you can tell that they're experts in Gregorian chant-style-music.

Well, you'd be surprised to find out that they actually sound a little more like a Jpop group, so of course I liked the music. But let's back up a bit. Before we saw the 3-idol concert, we gawked at C-Zone for awhile as they graciously took pictures with the normal folk... Moze was in line to get his picture taken, so I loaned him my camera, turned it on, and showed him how to shoot it. But before he could get to the front, my battery died. Worst. Camera moment. Ever. Totally my fault, btw.

But C-Zone had just started with their second concert as I returned to their booth, and I fittingly ran into Mage. He gave me a truncated history of the group between songs, and we watched as they did their (what was it, 3?) songs. They did some choreography, nothing *too* strenuous, as it was a very small stage, and a crowd gathered as the event went on. Because they weren't as popular as Morning Musume (a bit of an understatement), one could take pictures at will. Which I would have, if my camera was still working at that time.

But Mage and I clapped to the off-beat during every song, and everyone else stood and stared, or took pictures. It felt very awkward to be one of *two* people clapping along with the song, but it was called for, so dammit, I kept going.

Especially after the other idol show, just minutes before, where people were going nuts... why did none of the other people watching put any enthusiasm into it? They just stood there. I'm wondering if C-Zone was perturbed by this as well. (Hint to other audience members... at Jpop shows you're supposed to *participate*.)

The group gave a short introduction of themselves when the music was over, then invited a Q&A session, which didn't reveal very much about, well, anything really. "How do you like America so far?" Ummm, nobody claps during our songs? No, the *real* answer was more along the lines of, "It's great, I want to come back as soon as possible, I'm going to eat mountains of ice cream." (This is quite similar to what Koha said earlier in the week, so I might have gotten the two confused).

As they said their goodbyes, one by one, the girls choked up a bit, and the lovely Miu (the girl in the middle) decided that she wanted to cry about it, so their manager gave her a towel emblazoned with the C-Zone logo, and she dried her tears. I wondered aloud if I could somehow obtain that very towel, but it didn't happen. They said goodbye and snuck behind the curtain.

But... the exit was actually *behind* where the audience was standing, so they came out from the *side* of the curtain and ran behind us, waving and saying 'bai bai'. They were very cute. For more about them, including some video of their performance at AX, visit their MySpace page.

Last event of the day was the charity auction, where *everything* was up for sale, including the bowler hat that the auctioneer was wearing. It wasn't originally on the block, but after some coercing, the auctioneer decided that the charity was more important than his hat, so he let it go to the tune of $70.

Some of our group were there to be serious bidders, but found that there wasn't much *really good* stuff to be had. Most of the anime items were signed by the English voice actors, and like myself, they probably don't appreciate 'dubs' all that much, especially when the voices sync much better in Japanese, plus a little reading never hurt anyone. I won't get too far into why the English actors are thought of as lesser celebrities, but any true anime enthusiast can tell you why dubs are stupid.

Really, about the only things worth bidding on from a wota standpoint were two cardboard posters: one of Hangry and Angry, which I believe was signed by both members; and one of the full lineup of Morning Musume as they were July 3, 2009, for their first show on mainland USA. I'm told that the MM poster netted a good $2,700. All in all, an obscene amount of money was thrown around for a handful of rare items, and the California Children's Hospital-That-Treats-Cancer-In-Some-Capacity (the one whose video I *so* enjoyed at the opening ceremonies) gained some beaucoup bucks to help more kids. And that's noble.

So what *was* the best part of AX? Was it the camaraderie that was felt instantly by a group of wota from all around the world as we dined that first night at the Suehiro Cafe? Was it when we found the achilles heel of the Big Guy from Vegas who might ordinarily beat us into a pile of mush, were it not for such cute girls as the Morning Musume to sate his desire to kill? Was it when that kindly Japanese family invited us -- nay, inconvenienced themselves to treat us -- to a viewing of an H!P DVD? Or was it many of the other moments that I've mentioned on this blog up to this point?

Well, you really can't have one without the other. *All* of these moments are inexplicably tied together, and not one of us would have flown all the way to L.A. for the promise of just *one* of these events. It was everything we dreamed it might be, and somehow, life-as-usual.

So, instead of a cop-out... what really *was* the best moment of the whole trip? Well, you weren't there; I spent Sunday night by myself after leaving the auction early. I had a few overpriced Fat Tire in the lobby bar of the Westin, until I decided to go back to the rotating restaurant on the top floor to snap some photos that very last night.

The entire trip, whenever I'd ordered a bottle of beer, it came with a glass. But without fail, even if I ordered a 22 oz. bottle of Sapporo, they gave me a juice glass or a little brandy goblet, enough for a few sips, then a refill, and repeat the process a number of times. So when I ordered a small bottle of Chimay in the revolving restaurant (a beer normally served with a small glass like I'd already been given too-many-times), you can imagine my surprise when it came with a fishbowl:

So Monday morning came, I presented Tom with my "aircraft-destroying" geode, and hopped the shuttle to LAX. Really, my worst chance of getting killed was on the L.A. freeway, but I had a couple of flights ahead of me to be worried about. My last memory of L.A. is one of triumph and fear, all rolled into one.

I've seen the Atlantic Ocean from the Florida shore, in 2001. I was disappointed in the fact that I had flown all the way to California but did not get a chance to see the Pacific Ocean in person. And then the plane took off. My window-seat allowed me to watch the ground as it became smaller and smaller, then it turned blue. Even though I was in an airplane, it still counts... there below me was the Pacific Ocean, reknowned for containing a large volume of water, and we flew over it for some time. I actually saw Santa Catalina Island, which was the setting for Catalina Caper, not my favorite but-a-somehow-compelling early episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000.

Now, I'm no expert at navigation but Iowa is *not* across the Pacific Ocean from California, so I just had to trust the Captain to eventually point the plane towards Dallas, Texas -- which is also not across the Pacific Ocean. Good thing I wasn't piloting the plane, because we may have ended up *in* the ocean instead of gaining altitude above it. So, as luck would have it, I made it home in one piece.

And now (unlike many of the people around here, who thought I was crazy to go in the first place), I have friends-for-life who live as far away as the other side of the world.