I've not posted on here before so I'm not sure of the procedure, but I really had to say how much I enjoyed the SCANDAL gig at the O2 last Sunday. I was at the 2015 gig as well & so was a bit disappointed for the girls that it wasn't a sell out like before.
I wasn't very happy about the arrangements at the venue for VIP ticket holders either. For a start we were kept waiting till after 6.30 to be let in which meant that inevitably the "meet & greet" would be very rushed. We were herded up to the mezzanine & put in a queue & then led down again like a bunch of school-kids to line up to greet the group who stood behind the crowd-rail, where we were supposed to "hi-touch", pick up our poster & return to the mezzanine - only to be told that it was, in fact, closed, which precipitated an unseemly stampede to be on the first row at the crowd-rail. 

I was, however, greatly gratified when my turn came for "hi-touch" that RINA & HARUNA (the first two in the line-up) recognised me immediately, obviously from my appearance in the "HELLO WORLD" Tour Documentary Film DVD, & greeted me very warmly. (I also had many peole, both in the queues outside & inside the venue, who greeted me with "Hey, you're the guy in the SCANDAL DVD".)

Anyway the gig itself got off to a great start, as we all know, with MAMI's sensational "Room No.7" (they should do more of this "free-flowing" instrumental stuff - they are all such competent musicians) & followed with a great repertoire of numbers, mainly from their "YELLOW" album, but they made sure that they catered for the fans of their crowd-response classics by dropping in "DOLL" (get your scarf out!) & "EVERYBODY SAY YEAH" before finishing off the opening session with the remarkable RINA / MAMI composition - "Chiisana Honoo".

The encore was just perfect for me, kicking off with the "Jam Session" (which was clearly developed from the new middle section of ""Shoujo S"), then "Shoujo S" without the new middle section & then the all time classic "must play" "SCANDAL BABY" to bring the show to a sensational end.

They all looked very relaxed & casual, & played in a really smooth & self-confident way, very much a team. I noted that MAMI had far fewer floor-mounted "effector" controls than she has used before - perhaps relying on her skill with her guitars to produce the effects she wants. RINA didn't get much of a look-in (no solo spot for her this time) but you could see that she was working really hard on her drums. Couldn't see much of TOMOMI (except during the "Jam Session") but could see that she was bouncing around as usual, HARUNA's singing was sublime (again as usual) & I just loved her guitar playing in the "Jam Session". I was as close to MAMI as I could get & her performance was, as to be expected, faultless. A classic & memorable performance.

I was a bit disappointed that they didn't play "Heaven na Kibun", especially as HARUNA had said in an interview that it was probably the most important track on the "YELLOW" album - & they seem to have played it at all the venues on the Asian part of their tour but not in any European venues - I wonder why? Maybe next time!

I said hi to you on the stairs to the mezzanine section, and remembered you jokingly telling me that with all the recognition you've been getting you'd wonder if some special treatment should be accorded to you and your missus.



Agree with you with the shambolic way they organised the VIP sesh this year. It was fine last year, wasn't it?

@Sherwood Shinobi: by "new" middle section are you referring to the Perfect World tour? That was just a solo spotlight for each member and it was all based around the melody of Shoujo S. The encore jam session is an entirely new composition of theirs.

Two more tl;dr thoughts from the SCEU2016 shows I attended.

Vienna: http://stomachofchaos.com/?p=10372

London: http://stomachofchaos.com/?p=10369

And my photos from said shows on flickr:

Vienna: https://www.flickr.com/photos/mahariz/albums/72157671045474814

London: https://www.flickr.com/photos/mahariz/albums/72157673207712312

Here's to more SCANDAL gigs in the future!

The Sherwood Shinobi wrote:For a start we were kept waiting till after 6.30 to be let in which meant that inevitably the "meet & greet" would be very rushed.

Even if they let everyone in at 18:00, I'm pretty sure it would have been exactly the same. They seemed to run things in a pretty rigid timeslot so more VIPs meant everyone had to be faster.

Interview done by NoLife TV in France @Moulin Rouge.

http://noco.tv/emission/35252/nolife/live-report/scandal-yellow-tour-concert-a-paris

Really interesting, and you'll find out why Rina is learning french language ... .waaa.

PS: only available until the 10/20 so check it out fast enough.

Shinsakuto wrote:Interview done by NoLife TV in France @Moulin Rouge.

http://noco.tv/emission/35252/nolife/live-report/scandal-yellow-tour-concert-a-paris

Really interesting, and you'll find out why Rina is learning french language ... .waaa.

PS: only available until the 10/20 so check it out fast enough.

Thank you! I was looking for this  Too bad Mami didn't talk, also I want to check out that movie haha!

The movie "L'idéal" is quite new (June 2016) so you'll have to wait ^^

Shinsakuto wrote:Interview done by NoLife TV in France @Moulin Rouge.

http://noco.tv/emission/35252/nolife/live-report/scandal-yellow-tour-concert-a-paris

Really interesting, and you'll find out why Rina is learning french language ... .waaa.

PS: only available until the 10/20 so check it out fast enough.

Could you guys translate what they are saying, pretty please?

Gonna do that, just let me some time

re: queuing / lining up.

Meh I tried to suggest to the organisers to use number ticketing for queuing up, BK7LAN on facebook replied saying "it was too difficult to implement"

Why I mentioned, total chaos in London, the bouncer told VIP ticket holders, "don't worry about lining up you will all get in", which lead to various people cutting in line etc... after which even more mess after the "hi touch"....... as what they told us and actually what happened did not happen. 

We were initially told we would line up for hi-touch, after which we would line up again back up the stairs and floor in "reverse order" or so we were told, which made no sense anyhow. What actually happened was right after the "hi touch" we lined up again straight away in front of the stage in a row of 6, after which when the "hi touch" ended everyone scrambled to the front....

*sigh* expect the same situation next time. >_<

@Wildthing

In Wrocław we took matters in our own hands - and numbered tickets in order of appearance, thus it was easier to queue - one person with a pen was able to put order and peace in place So easy to do if only people are willing to do something. Not mentioning that we were free to roam after some food, drink or just sit around and talk, not having to worry about somebody cutting in the line or losing place in it.

In Vienna we arrived at the venue at 2PM. Only one guy was there. So we looked around and decided to see the inner city in the mean time.

By the time we got back, there were a lot of people. I was surprised that everybody had VIP ticket. More people than I imagined. I did not aim for the first row anyway and I am happy that those who wanted could manage to get in the front row. Finally ended up in the 3rd or 4th row without worries and had a little bit more space. Numbering is a good idea to keep our places. We had 90 minutes before the show in the concert hall and people were coming and going including myself.

Btw, we missed our exit on the highway in Vienna and arrived half an hour later and that was around 2 PM. There was a good amount of rain on the highway. I was expecting song Rainy not at the beginning but at the end.

It was good to read about the same day from someone else's point of view. Thanks for sharing!

PPPeter wrote:@Wildthing

In Wrocław we took matters in our own hands - and numbered tickets in order of appearance, thus it was easier to queue - one person with a pen was able to put order and peace in place So easy to do if only people are willing to do something. Not mentioning that we were free to roam after some food, drink or just sit around and talk, not having to worry about somebody cutting in the line or losing place in it.

Ah great idea, will think about it for next time! Nice.
.clap.

When the first MV of Scandal were broadcasted on NoLife, we are in 2008 and the group is still indie and preparing to come in France for the first time.
A few months later they go on the scene of the Japan Expo Live House. Everything is not perfectly in place, but the energy and charism of the groupe is already there.
Then for many years, NoLife viewers have always supported the group. Their MV are often in top of the j-top. Scandal has even created hard discussions between the very first fans and the others. Some of them criticizing the pop idol direction since the 2010 years and the others defending their favorite group.
This kind of discussion happens between fans is classic. Every group that lasts creates this kind of reaction. It’s a sign that Scandal is healthy and go through years with a good vitality.

---

Tomomi : When we started the group, we didn’t know what would be the future. We didn’t realize about we were doing. And before really realizing, 10 years had past. If we look at the other female groups that started in the same time as we, many of them disbanded. Yes, we have been able to see many groups of this kind. It makes us understand how complicated it is to last. But we successfully overcome. And now it makes 10 years we play. During this 10th year we went to Paris. And while the concert was only at 8PM, some fans waited in the queue since 5:30AM in the morning. That was the most surprising to us.

Haruna : Yes, we have celebrated the 10th anniversary of the group. We understood that the most complicated was to go the distance. It’s a point we have learned these 10 years. We hope that with NoLife, we’ll keep to see the years passing together !

---

And recently we have been able to see Scandal in the French movie "L’idéal", satyr of the world of fashion, presented as the spiritual sequel of "99 Francs". The director Frédéric Beigbeder seems to appreciate a lot NoLife, especially in the end of night. Also he simply included the TV channel in a scene of his scenario. In a full existential crisis, Octave the main character interpreted by Gaspard Proust, zaps on NoLife and see a MV, and not any of them. Scandal in the House !

--

Interviever : You knew ?
Group : No we didn’t !
Rina : I don’t know ! (in French). Gosh !
Haruna : What’s the name of the movie ?
Interviewer : "L’idéal". Yes you appear in the movie "L’idéal".
Rina : We must absolutely see that !
Mami : In what kind of scene could we appear ?
Rina : What kind of movie is it ?
Tomomi : On top of that it’s Scandal in the House !
Rina : I’m wondering if it’s a funny scene then. We are going to check it out. It makes us very happy.

--

In 2015 they are back in France after 7 years. Meanwhile their carreer exploded in Japan. They chain concerts in big concert halls. The french people find back a group really different and more confortable on stage than the one they discovered at the JE. The concert hall in which they played was the Bataclan, a few months before the attacks.

--

Rina : We were upset. News media have spread the informations. When we saw the images at news, while we have played on that stage … We didn’t want to believe, to tell herself that this kind of events so horrible could have happened. This pushed us to think we could do at our level. For my part, I immediately registered to a French school. I wanted, when we would have the opportunity to play again in Paris, to be able to communicate my feelings with my own words. Then I started to learn French. I hope today, I’d finally be able to tell what I feel. It’s my challenge and I want to do the best live ever.

--

Indeed, Rina started a surprising and touching little speech in the middle of the concert (NB : As I remember it was [in French then]: “I love the cinema, the fashion, and the people” Also she asked to the crowd : “How are you girls ?” & “How are you boys ?”) Her efforts to correctly pronounced in French were remarked and appreciated by the public. We weren’t authorized to record these images. About the concert itself, it’s probably the best performance of Scandal in France ever. Before a concert room full, they chained non stop a playlist that last 1h20 without the encore. They give now a real impression of maturity. It’s square, everything works fine and the sound was good, what’s not always a fact in La Machine. We feel a certain evolve in their register compared to the previous tour. It’s more rock and fans enjoy it. The jam opening the encore was really brilliant. The group continues on a good dynamic. Their new MV Take me out is soon on NoLife (NB : they do rotations of MV and it’s now in).

--

Rina : That MV mixes scenes where we are playing with instruments and scenes where a girl is practicing karate in Tokyo. The theme was to show of Japan and Tokyo are seen from abroad. Take me out is a music that mixes everything that is cool in the rock in the Japanese way, while including elements from abroad, in the music way or other things. That’s by mixing the whole thing what we do a J-rock that looks like us. We hope that the visual express that idea too.


Rina: [in French again] We love you. Thank you very much. (NB: Ok Haruna, we see you ! You’re going to explode in a laugh !). I’m going to study French to be able to speak with you. See you soon.

wildthing wrote:re: queuing / lining up.

Meh I tried to suggest to the organisers to use number ticketing for queuing up, BK7LAN on facebook replied saying "it was too difficult to implement"

Why I mentioned, total chaos in London, the bouncer told VIP ticket holders, "don't worry about lining up you will all get in", which lead to various people cutting in line etc... after which even more mess after the "hi touch"....... as what they told us and actually what happened did not happen. 

We were initially told we would line up for hi-touch, after which we would line up again back up the stairs and floor in "reverse order" or so we were told, which made no sense anyhow. What actually happened was right after the "hi touch" we lined up again straight away in front of the stage in a row of 6, after which when the "hi touch" ended everyone scrambled to the front....

*sigh* expect the same situation next time. >_<

I wonder why it was shambolic this year when it went perfectly fine last year.

In 2015, there was no 'pig pen' and the pre-high5 VIP queue snaked down from the merch area with people being let into the hall in groups of 15 (thereabouts). After high5ing the band, the queue was at the staircase where we were this year snaking up to the mezzanine floor. Once SCANDAL left the hall, the VIP tixholders were let into the hall from the staircase in an orderly manner.

This was great as people who were in line first (from the morning/day before or whatever) get first dibs in being front row. With the 2016 system, there were people whom I didn't even see in the queue all day that got to be front row.

"You will all get in"? Of course, everyone gets in - but that's not the point, innit. hahaha.

Was it a different promoter from the Hello World tour? The accounts  of this tour sound like whatever was done right on that tour was forgotten for the Yellow tour.

Qberto wrote:Was it a different promoter from the Hello World tour? The accounts  of this tour sound like whatever was done right on that tour was forgotten for the Yellow tour.

No, it was the same exact promoter as last time: B7Klan.

https://www.facebook.com/B7Kpage/

Qberto wrote:Was it a different promoter from the Hello World tour? The accounts  of this tour sound like whatever was done right on that tour was forgotten for the Yellow tour.

More likely that the venue's management had ideas of its own when it comes to sorting us out. Had a better experience in Amsterdam and Vienna.

Anyway, it's all in the past now.

My London Yellow Concert photos are on flickr, enjoy!

https://www.flickr.com/photos/wildthing_san/sets/72157671941976404

As expected from Rina, she thanked in french too .clap.

thoseguiltyeyes wrote:

SCANDAL says thanks for coming out to their European tour!



#front-page #SCEU2016

Nice!
Tomomi seems to be sleepy. hahaha
And Rina is clearly into french.

Seriously though, they need to learn english. It's never too late. Besides they are young and perfectly capable.

Katana Guitarist wrote:And Rina is clearly into french.

Seriously though, they need to learn english. It's never too late. Besides they are young and perfectly capable.

RINA is currently taking French lessons while HARU + MAMI are currently taking English lessons.

thoseguiltyeyes wrote:

Katana Guitarist wrote:And Rina is clearly into french.

Seriously though, they need to learn english. It's never too late. Besides they are young and perfectly capable.

RINA is currently taking French lessons while HARU + MAMI are currently taking English lessons.

Sweet, those are awesome news! Thank you for sharing them. Maybe then someday I can exchange some words with them.

.clap.