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asrisgratitudejournal · 3 years ago

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Bath

Hola! Apakabar semua semoga baik-baik saja

Mau ngelist things to be grateful lagi karena ADA BANYAK BGT YAAMPUN betul-betul heran Allah baik banget padahal jujur sekarang solat Subuh tu beratnya minta ampun padahal ya udah 03.51 sih nggak early-early amat hmmm. Anyway, so.... mau bersyukur atas:

1. Masih agak relax pace kerja belakangan ini karena (masih berhubungan sama pos sebelumnya) orang-orang lagi pada away. Palingan lagi rada rempong aja ni ngurusin berkas-berkas persyaratan dari cpui ke pui, mana salah satunya harus pake surat sehat dari RS tipe B yakaliii di sini di maneeeee??? huf. sama kepentok di first writer jurnal nasional juga haduu, baru masih ngedraft manuscriptnya blom disubmit... ada2 aje

2. Kemarin habis trip dari Bath dan Bristol! Kali ini perginya sama Mas Indra, Dini, Carina, dan Leon terus so fun senang. Pagi-pagi ke Castle Combe dulu (ini semacam desa kecil gitu ada 1 small river flowing with a bridge) merupakan tempat shooting filmnya Steven Spielberg "Warhorse", dan Stardust. The village is very pretty! And then we continue out trip to Bath (which is also a very beautiful -and surprisingly big- city). They have HMV there! Tapi ga jajan banyak karena udah abis uang w buat trip Scotland dan trip Bath ini kemarin. Untungnya tapi tadi pagi ngecek email udah ada invoice dari HSBC duit Jardine bakal masuk sih yang September HEHE Alhamdulillah rejeki anak solehah. Kemarin tapi di Manchester udah beli poster, mug, sama gantungan RJ juga di HMV jadi sepertinya belanjanya di-pause dulu. Terus di Bath kita masuk ke Roman Bath (which is quite expensive tapi b aj, tapi ya senang lah ya, at least kalau ditanya udah pernah ke sana apa belum jadi bisa jawab udah). Terus makan di Chinese restaurant! Yang sangat enak mapo tahunya HUHU I think mapo tahu ini adalah highlight of the trip deh. Abis dari Roman Bath, we hang out a bit di park gitu sambil makan eskrim, dan scone + tea. Lanjut foto-foto di Crescent Bath, nyari owls kata Kalina ada owls tapi sepertinya sudah di-take down in 2018 :( sad. Terus dari situ tadinya kita mau ke Dorset, ke Durdle Door, tapi ternyata waktunya ga cukup karena cukup jauh dan berakhir ke Bristol. Lihat suspension bridgenya (WHICH IS VERY COOL!) -- I am really interested in human-made construction & engineering + rocks. Lalu ke citynya kita makan di Korean Restaurant - which tastes okay. Lalu jalan-jalan nyari Banksy and foto-foto depan Uni of Bristol's cathedral(?) or museum itulah. Lalu pulang deeeh. Sampai Oxf jam 22pm lalu langsung tidur.

3. Kemarin Sabtu acara Indonesia in Oxfordnya lancar! Di-pos sama akun embassy di IG, you can find it here. Hujan sih for half of the event :( so sad tapi sangat amat bersyukur dan berterima kasih pokoknya sama Archu (she's an Indian who plays badminton with us, and I asked her to be the MC of the day and she said yes!), Bu Yani (the mastermind of all, sampe menelantarkan anak-anaknya -Nadia yang cerita lol, anyway Nadia ini army juga ternyata dan dia kemarin nonton Wembley 2019!! NANGIS BGT GAKSI T_T), Leon, Kevin, semua panitia pokoknya, Pak Peter Smith! yang ngajarin aku main kenong + passionately keep performing the Gamekan in the middle of the heavy rain (kayanya akan gabung ke tim beliau, I think I should go back to be near musical instruments...). Terus randomly, beres acara, ketemu sama Bu Rosi Meilani di Turl st, dia WNI tinggal di Luton, terus punya channel youtube gitu. Katanya sih dulu doi kerjanya sama Net TV. Jadi si Bu Rosi ini pengen ke toilet tapi acaranya dah beres jadi si tourist information center (tempat beskemnya panitia acara) udah dikunci, akhirnya w ajak aja masuk Exeter college kan buat pipis. E terus jadinya malah diajak interview wkwkwk di Fellow Garden di atas ngobrol-ngobrol lumayan lama dan w ajak masuk chapel juga. Abis itu doi sama suaminya kayanya masih mau explore Oxford dan ku sendiri sudah capek banget (BARU 2 HARI SETELAH 2ND JAB JUGA!) jadi ku pamit undur diri. Sialnya malamnya susah tidur, baru tidur jam 1 apa ya, padahal besok paginya harus sudah siap-siap jam 7.15 am dijemput Mas Indra buat trip ke Bath itu. Sedih banget tapi, sebetulnya malamnya ada acara perpisahan Sergine. Sergine ini teman 1 flatnya Arthur di Wolfson terus suka main ke rumah buat dinner. She's finished her master programme and will leave Oxford for good. She'll be back in November though for the graduation so I hope I can see her then. Aslinya pas ku sampai rumah dari acara Broad st ini Kalina masih siap-siap buat acara Sergine but I can't come karena betul-betul sudah tepar gakuat. 4. Beberapa hari yang lalu juga (apa minggu lalu ya) telponan random banget sama Noumi sampe 2 jam LOLs. Ngebahas tips n trick belajar. Berat ya pasti hidupnya ambil kedokteran di Jerman. Kemarin juga sempat chat apa gitu sama Abi tapi hilang ga kulanjutin. Suka gitu dah belakangan ini chat sama orang terus berhenti aja tiba-tiba lols. Mungkin memang seperti itulah hidup.

5. Satu lagi, akan datang abon ke Oxford! Karena Alris bakal ke sini in 3 days(?) dan bawa titipanku. So happy. Kemarin tapi juga ini barang-barangnya Alris banyak bener sih yang dititipin di tempat w dari Indah (panci-panci, kipas angin, sepedah) jadi yaudah biarin aja Alris dititipin yang banyak. Si Papa sampai ke Jakarta lho di tengah-tengah PPKM untuk mengantar abon, imagine, sayang banget gaksi sama Papa....

Yaudah sepertinya itu dulu saja untuk hari ini karena ku harus bekerja. Ciao!

Woodlands Close 9, Headington, OX3 7 RY 23/08/2021 14:25 pm

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japanessie · 7 years ago

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MY FIRST STORY MMA Tour Final The Premium Symphony 2017 in retrospect

On 23rd December 2017, MY FIRST STORY made another milestone by performing at the same venue which was supposed to have been the place where their rival brother band ONE OK ROCK was originally scheduled to perform with Linkin Park in November. Looking at the visuals presented to us so far, it was a roaring success.

Photos by Masanori Fujikawa and Taka Tallman except *

Here are my thoughts .... for my reader who requested. Basically a continuation of what I had said in a previous post before.

1. The stage looks like something inspired by Jules Verne novels combined with the Parthenon.

That’s impressive!!

Then, similar to OOR, they also used a runway heading out to the audience. OOR normally use this for their acoustic set where the band members would gather together with their instruments. MFS used the end platform for Hiro where the digital piano was mechanically raised from below the stage. For a rectangular concert hall, you have to have this kind of setting for the audience's optimal viewing.

Look at the laser lighting! It was among the elements that worried the s**t out of their boss GEN back in the Shinkiba Studio Coast show because it was expensive. But looks like he’s not worried anymore based on this elaborate display.

Ready to go “Around The World In 80 Days” or “20,000 Leagues Under The Sea”! XD

2. The attendance at Makuhari was higher than the Budokan.

From the TV clips shared by Japanese fans, 18,000 people came compared to 12,000 for the Budokan. Reading through fans' reports, it looked like Blocks A & B were the most packed or the crowds consisted of the hardcore fans. One girl in Block B said she wished she could transfer to Block C where she could breathe.

Looking at the crowd placement, I started to feel doubtful whether choosing a seated ticket for this venue is worth it for someone like me (154cm tall) because unlike the multi-tiered Budokan or the Makuhari Event Hall, the Makuhari Hall 9-11 are flat. They're exhibition Halls after all. How high were the seats raised from the main floor if they were raised at all?

* Photo: Makuhari Messe Hall 9-11 when empty. Making me wish that it had a premium ceiling seat XD

3. It was MFS first attempt at using a full orchestra + a full choir

When they first announced the MMA Tour Final, they said this would be MFS as we had never seen them before. The ALL SECRET TRACKS album obviously had been arranged for this. The Live was not named The Premium Symphony for nothing. To me MFS music from the start has always been heavily layered. It was inevitable that they would arrive at this point.

Photo: The moment the curtain came down. Aaaahhhh!!! That’s 終焉レクイエム (Shuuen Requiem) making its debut everyone \(^^)/

When MFS did the acoustic set for Itsuwari NEUROSE Final at Shinkiba Studio Coast, my mind actually wondered whether they would one day tackle the violin-cello string arrangements. Would have been slammed with the "OOR copy" moniker big time if they did it back then, wouldn't they? The difference is MFS actually created songs with orchestration right on their album rather than pick a few songs and re-arranged them with a string section for the Live show.

You know what’s beautiful about the above photo? The backup musicians were smiling as they looked at the band members giving it all. Despite the different genres they come from, all artists know passion when they see it.

4. The Surprising setlist :-o

More like shocking to me!

The most striking thing about the setlist is the fact that they had excluded their signature Live songs Second Limit, The Story Is My Life, 最終回STORY and Awake :-o. Seriously?? WTF! You know what this means??! This means they were signalling the beginning of a new era. Up to this point, an MFS show would not be complete without those songs. This is them presenting the fans the new-phase MFS!

The Setlist

1. 終焉レクイエム (Shuuen Requiem) 2. ALONE 3. Black Rail 4. 悪戯フィクション (Itazura Fiction) 5. Missing You 6. REVIVER 7. この世界で一番の幸せ者にはする事など出来ないかもしれないけど... (Kono sekai de ichiban no shiawasesha ni wa suru koto nado dekinai kamoshirenai kedo...) 8. 失踪FLAME (Shissou FLAME) 9. See you again 10. Love Letter 11. monologue 12. 虚言NEUROSE (Itsuwari NEUROSE) 13. LET IT DIE 14. "BOOM" 15. Zero Gravity 16. The Puzzle 17. CHiLD -error- 18. Tomorrowland 19. モノクロエフェクター (Monochrome Effector) 20. 不可逆リプレイス (Fukagyaku Replace)

(Encore)

-Nori Ohtani marriage proposal- EN1. 「花」 -0714- (Hanarenai yo) EN2. Merry Christmas EN3. REVIVER

While I understand their wish to move forward with their music, it's sad for me to see 最終回STORY go because that's the song through which I fell in love with MFS (T_T).

5. Hiro debuted his piano solo performance

My wish came true \(^^)/! Back in 2014 when MFS released their Taylor Swift remake We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together, I told another fan on my friend's MFS FB fanpage that I hoped to see Hiro perform with a piano.

I guess it wasn't the right timing for it then because it was the time when Hiro was still so heavily criticized and ridiculed as being Taka's copycat. Hiro with a piano onstage would be a bad move a few years ago. Nowadays, the comparison with his famous brother is much kinder as MFS music is speaking for itself more and more. So I think Hiro picked the right time to finally do it.

By the way, Hiro played See You Again solo. For Love Letter, he played solo halfway and then joined by the others. Can’t wait to see these (^^)

6. Hiro’s vocal performance

You see this one coming. My MFS concert commentary wouldn’t be complete without me talking about Hiro’s vocals, would it? True that I wasn’t there at the Hall BUT I have come to the point were I can slowly trust him to nail it around 90 to 95%. While I wasn’t expecting perfection, I know Hiro had worked really hard as he was confident enough to again include the song I directly and openly criticised him for through the band’s social media back in 2016, 失踪FLAME . Though they did not respond to me directly but Hiro did acknowledge on STORYTELLER that the song was hard.

When I saw this visual for 失踪FLAME , I felt good because I knew he still kept his determination to get that song right. I believe he handled it well. He wouldn’t have made this visual display if he couldn’t do the song right, could he (^_-)?

7. Former drummer Masaki came (^^)

Their friendship remains solid and Masaki once again showed that he wouldn't miss his former bandmates' big moment for the world. He tweeted saying it had been awhile since he went to see them, how awesome the show was, apologizing that he was giving an impression of an elementary schoolkid’s excitement and then attached his old photo wearing his underwear with producer Nori with a congratulatory message. Because that’s the only two-shot photo he ever had with Nori XD

8. "Men In Black" (^^)

Who wasn't taken by the fact that the band performed fully in suits?

I think rather than setting themselves apart from the backup orchestra + choir members, the look they chose tied the whole thing together. The formally attired orchestra + the choir that coloured the overall feel of ALL SECRET TRACKS and their visually impactful LET IT DIE MV from ALL LEAD TRACKS. It was "MFS The Premium Symphony" and not "MFS with some guest musicians for some songs".

Oh, yes. To me Teruki Nishizawa is the most dashing of them all in black suits. They’re all cute guys but Teru actually has that “prep school + white collar” aura which transcends well with that outfit. I don’t think I’m biased at all. Just look.

9. Hiro & Blouson Chiemi

I'm a bit blurry with this one, did he do something like her comedy skit onstage or what? I saw a few Japanese fans mentioning her name along with Hiro’s. Knowing that Hiro likes her, I was hardly surprised. But MFS always edited out extra things like this when the concerts went to DVDs. So, if he ever impersonated any celebrity at all, it probably wouldn't go on the official release (-_-)

But at least we had seen Hiro posing like her during VAMPS Halloween Party 2017 XD

*Photo: From BREAKERZ Daigo’s blog

10. Sho Tsuchiya did not perform with them this time

Though he did appear here and there on the MMA Tour, he did not perform at the Final as I previously had expected. Well, they already played up his surprise appearance to the MAX at the Budokan. Anyway, I'm glad I wasn't at the Budokan because I swear I would have pissed in my pants the moment I saw his face on the screen XD. But it wouldn't have the same impact doing it the 2nd time around, eh? The only way Sho’s re-appearance can top the Budokan is if they actually announce him coming back to them.

* Photo from iTony Entertainment (it’s JMS subsidiary too!)

11. The biggest surprise of the night ..... Nori's getting married!

Their producer Nori Ohtani proposed to his girlfriend and after which, the band launched into their wedding anthem 「花」 -0714- . The fans, including yours truly XD, flooded the band's social media with messages congratulating him and wishing him well.

My thought :

Dating a rock band's manager / producer has its perk, eh? If things go well, you may get an epic marriage proposal with an orchestra, a choir and 18,000 eye witnesses too XD

Overall

One fan commented on IG that after watching the Makuhari show, the Tokyo Dome now doesn't seem like a dream anymore. I agree with her. I mean, if a band or any artist can hold a packed show at a venue like Makuhari Messe, with glowing reports and feedback afterwards, then the Tokyo Dome is not a dream but already a given.

#my first story #mma tour final #hiroki moriuchi #teruki nishizawa

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terassaras · 8 years ago

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D-Ensemble

Prompted by @dollofdeath‘s art which is based on my Modern Musician AU, I just had to headcanon everybody playing in a music ensemble with their instruments!

Miyoshi: violin

Kaminaga: guitar (acoustic and electric)

Hatano: bongo, drums & percussion

Jitsui: violin & erhu

Tazaki: piano/keyboard & flute

Amari: trumpet (though saxophone was my close 2nd choice)

Odagiri: bass

Fukumoto: trombone

Gamou: viola

Sakuma: cello

Yuuki: he can play almost any instrument, ofc

Wordy descriptions under the cut

The D-Ensemble plays almost anything—pop, jazz, classical, showtunes, soundtracks, even experimental pieces! They play anywhere too—festivals, charities, military events, fancy dinners, even kids’ birthday parties (Miyoshi was appalled). They played once for an audience of farm animals (Tazaki’s idea)—once for dolphins at Seaworld—(Amari insisted)—and once or twice for a metalhead motorbike gang (Kaminaga and Hatano were to blame). They charge according to the client’s capacity and will go pro bono if the situation calls. Most of the money they make just barely covers their expenses plus the occasional dinner, beer, and snacks. Nobody gets paid much and most are amateurs who have other careers though a few are professional musicians. They’re also unconventional in that everybody has a voice and most decisions are made by a voting process. Members can suggest themes, songs, or even events to play in. Everybody plays because they love to play good music and spend time with each other—as disorderly as the ensemble may be.

Personal descriptions below:

Miyoshi: violin

Knows he’s amazing at it but secretly still practices a lot because Perfectionism. Classical music snob with all HQ music records (ofc). Paranoid about his fingers - brings gloves and chapstick everywhere. Cares too much about show dress codes and never fails to take selfies (with or without the ensemble).

Kaminaga: guitar, sometimes percussions

Plays both acoustic and electric. Always loses his guitar pick and puts stickers on his guitar. Obnoxiously recruits people to join his rock band. Pothead who loves to sing loudly and strike weird poses at every photo opportunity (a meme?). Alternate MC with Amari.

Jitsui: violin & erhu

The secretary. Knows a lot about alcoholic drinks (why) but keeps getting ID-ed. One time he disappeared for few months, giving everybody a scare, but came back an excellent erhu player & a wushu artist (how). His violin comes in a hard case so it’s super protected and he can hit people with it (watch out!)

Hatano: bongo, drums & percussions

A song always NEEDS MORE COWBELLS drums! High energy, always looks like he’s having so much fun and about to breakdance. Puts his whole body into drumming. Makes faces at people during rehearsals & pulls pranks. In Kaminaga’s rock band but they never got anywhere cause they won’t stop bickering.

Tazaki: piano/keyboard & flute

The Professor™ who’s nerdy about music history & theory. Has strong classical roots & will break into Beethoven randomly just to annoy shock people. Always attracts birds, kids, and chicks when he plays and almost banned from the park because of it. Secretly bitter he doesn’t get to play flute enough.

Amari: trumpet

Bandleader & star of the ensemble! A charismatic MC, he can charm the audience with both his speech and trumpet play. Loves jazz & improvisation. Knows how to encourage everyone in the ensemble and makes sure they get along. Also loves to include himself in photos with (female) audience members. Always forgetting/losing something (keys, cellphone, child etc.)

Odagiri: bass

Bass because it looks big and awkward yet the sound doesn’t stand out – like Odagiri himself—but it’s an important part of the ensemble! He prefers to play standing. Punctual & never misses rehearsals. He thinks he’s not that good but everybody respects him because he only started learning bass recently. He’s also the trusty treasurer. Secretly wants to go to karaoke with everybody cause he’s never been to one. Religiously follows social media accounts of artists and orchestras he likes.

Fukumoto: trombone

Doesn’t look like it but is good at improvs. Always trips over something (his foot, his case, his chair, his cat) even on stage. So chill he never looks nervous (which can be annoying lol). Buy snacks at cheap wholesale stores to share during rehearsals. Plans the ensemble’s food outings cause he knows all the good restaurants.

Gamou: viola

Everybody always forgets the viola but he’s there and he’s good at it, okay? He’s nice and friendly – but always texting on his phone and mysteriously disappears during break and right after practice. Everybody thinks it’s because he has a secret girlfriend and he’s so attached, it’s become a running joke.

Sakuma: cello

Rehearsal captain (keeps time, attendance, etc.) who tries to keep everybody in line (impossible—this is the D-Ensemble!). Gets scary-mad when people skip or come late to rehearsals, but is actually observant and always ready to help (Do you need help tuning? Do you need water? Need a ride home?)

Plays by the book and struggles to improvs. Generally clueless about pop culture so he gets teased a lot. His schedule is basically work/gym/play music/sleep. Everyone is secretly planning a surprise for his birthday (with raw egg involved).

Yuuki: he can play almost any instrument, of course!

Artistic Director of the Ensemble and sometimes conductor. Rumor has it he used to be a concertmaster for a famous orchestra abroad but nobody knows why he stopped. Though he gives a lot of artistic freedom to his musicians, everybody goes to him for music advice and respects his opinion.

Thanks to him, the ensemble somehow manages to survive, gets rare copyrighted music material, and lands really good gigs despite scarce funds. Nobody is sure why but he seems to have some shady but powerful connections—as shady as his recruitment procedures even (because seriously, how did he find these misfits and get them to join the ensemble?!)

He also enjoys the occasional drinks and cigar but he doesn’t usually join the ensemble’s social outings. Everybody forgets that he is in their Skype Conversation group so they openly speculate and gossip about him there. He thinks it’s hilarious!

Bonus

Emma: cheerleader

Official sunshine of the ensemble! Everybody loves her. Sometimes she’ll cheer for them during rehearsals but sometimes she’ll fall asleep too! They like to let her play something easy like the tambourine or triangle—which she’ll do with great enthusiasm! Everybody argued on what instrument she’ll learn when she’s big enough—until Yuuki shuts them down and tells them that Emma can choose for herself. Hint: it’s going to be an instrument that works well with the ensemble. Go Emma!

Sergeant Pepper (Sarge): Sakuma adopted a senior dog from the shelter that he sometimes brings to practice. Sarge is a big, old, gentle dog. Loves coming to practice because everybody gives him treats and back rubs and stomach rubs and behind the ear rubs and all the rubs in the world! Everybody says they’d rather see Sarge’s face in practice than Sakuma’s (rude). Frate looks up to Sarge and wants him to run around and play with him but good old Sarge just wants to listen to music and take naps :’)

And now I want to draw everybody and their instruments but that’ll take me weeks if I ever get to it T_T

Disclaimer: I don’t actually play any instrument so this is not based on musical knowledge and whatnot. All mistakes are mine but I’m happy to be corrected ^_^ I just happened to go to my brother’s youth orchestra rehearsals a lot when I was a teeny teen and I love love love Nodame Cantabile (mukyaaa~!!)

#joker game #this AU will be the death of me #i never imagined my imagines can get so long #it's so long #but i can't let it go #just imagine how wild the ensemble is #they're thankful hatano doesn't play wind/brass instr cause imagine the pranks he pulls with the spit #The Disorder Ensemble

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