#live show/staging/final version of song etc.

[eurovision-del]

6. Romania – D.G.T. (Off and On)

Ok, so a bit of preface for this one – I locked in my final ranking right before starting to post these write-ups in mid-April, and I’d already outlined my notes for why I loved D.G.T. so much and why I thought it worked so well – and then a revamped version was released. I decided to stick to my original ranking based on the version we’d heard in the national final, and wait until the rehearsals to see whether the revamp was really what we’d hear in Liverpool or not – and unfortunately it looks like it is. While I’m sticking to my rule to not let rehearsal footage influence this ranking, since the new version technically came out just before I finalised this list, this review has been hastily reworked to cover both versions.

I honestly love the original version of this song! The blues rock sound is right up my street, and it’s the perfect music to convey the messy emotions this song delves into. It’s gritty and raw, hard-hitting from the very first note, full of attitude. I love how it’s structured in a way that gives it variety while still creating a tension that never lets up throughout the entire song. When I first heard this song I wished it was all in Romanian, but actually I think the language shift to English at the start of the second verse works to highlight that moment without altering the intensity in the music. Then when the song does strip it back after the second chorus the staccato piano notes and snappy vocal line keep that tension building, and before you know it the descending baseline kicks in and you’re thrown back into the mess of it all! This entire song is a gut punch – painful and raw from start to finish, as messy and toxic as the relationship it sings about, and I cannot get enough of it.

This is also why, as far as I’m concerned, swapping out all that tension for a minute long acoustic opening is a huge mistake. It saps all that energy out and messes up the structure of the song. The language shift no longer serves any purpose as it’s now happening as the music is completely switching gear and the song finally gets started in earnest. From there, the song continues as in the original and I’m fully into it again, but there’s a lot less time with the intensity I love.

Regardless of what version he’s singing, Theodor is a great vocalist – he's got a powerful, rough voice, a little imperfect at points, but it’s perfect for this style and he puts so much grit and emotion into it. He’s also got such an impressive range, and this song shows it all off, switching between his mid and lower register throughout, before nailing those high notes at the end. I also love how committed he is as a performer, he throws everything into it! He’s pretty much carried his entire production with little to no support from the broadcaster, and while it hasn’t always worked (I agree with pretty much everyone that the national final staging was rough) I love how earnest and unbridled his approach has been. And in the end, even if I have big issues with the revamp, I honestly think D.G.T is a great song and easily one of my favourite entries of the year.

[116t98]

My Heartsteel Headcanons

(Except they’re real things real kpop idols really did)

The guys solve all their problems/make all their decisions by playing rock, paper, scissors. Ezreal always loses

Except for that one time when he didn’t, and he literally got down on his knees and thanked God for him finally not losing

(Yone was the one who lost that time, btw)

Kayn ripped his pants in the middle of a televised performance

While playing charades, the others try (and fail) to make Yone guess “luggage”. A few minutes later, he’s only able to guess the word after Sett (with Aphelios’s help) pretends to be a luggage bag

Kayn can play “Mary Had a little Lamb” on the recorder with his nose. Yone asked if he could play something else, which promoted him to immediately play “My Heart Will Go On”

Ezreal told their fans during a live concert performance that he used to have a really nice jacket that he wore for some performances… until one of his stylists accidentally left it on a lighting device

Long story short, his Gucci burned

Sett cries at the end of every concert

A fan once left a comment during an Instagram live that read “I’m crying in the club”, and Yone immediately responded with “you’re in the club?”

Aphelios can perfectly forge all of his bandmates’s signatures; he’s signed Heartsteel memorabilia with everyone’s signatures before, without anyone else knowing

Ezreal yelled at Sett on TV for wearing insoles in his shoes even though he’s already tall

They like to play games during their concerts, like limbo and “who can unravel a roll of toilet paper the fastest?” (it’s K’sante, but Sett’s a close second)

When he first debuted, Ezreal promoted himself by passing out mints to strangers and asking them to listen to his song

Yone wasn’t able to join the others for a live stream once, so they called him to chat for a bit. Aphelios thought it be funny to hang up on Yone as soon as he answered the phone

He was right

Kayn once showed up to the airport wearing a dog head mask

During an encore performance, the guys decided to have a push up contest while they sang

(Sett swears he won, but everyone else begs to differ)

K’sante once mentioned during a TV interview that Kayn didn’t want to watch a movie with him bc he “doesn’t like watching movies”, which got Kayn (who didn’t want to look bad in front of any movie producers who were potentially watching) so worked up, he threw a pen at the table they were seated at… which bounced right into Yone’s eye

While he was promoting his debut song, Ezreal’s brightly colored stage outfits became a meme after he compared them to different kinds of Listerine online. The meme gained so much traction, Listerine actually sent him boxfuls of mouthwash and a customized cake decorated with some fondant Listerine bottles and a sugar doll version of himself on top

The guys tease Alune a lot. Like, a lot. Sett even once jokingly asked their fans to help them set Alune up on a date bc “she’s always solo” and “it’s so sad 🥺” (pray for her u guys)

K’sante accidentally knocked the head off of a department store mannequin

After watching one of their performances, the CEO of their record label complimented the group members individually, telling them things like “your voice is good”, “you look great”, “keep it up”, etc. But, according to Kayn, the CEO only told him: “your forehead’s wide, so you’ll succeed” (wtf does that even mean??)

Kayn and Ezreal had a Twitter war where they enlisted the help of their fans to Photoshop dumb memes of the other using whatever unflattering images of themselves could be found online

Sett has a habit of napping wherever he can. The guys take advantage of the opportunity by taking pictures of themselves posing around him while he’s asleep; some favorites include K’sante standing above him to recreate “The Creation of Adam”, Aphelios putting q-tips on his mouth, and Ezreal stacking random things on his chest

For his birthday, K’sante was surprised with a birthday cake at the end of their concert. As soon as he blew out the candles, the guys shoved him face-first into the cake. He then proceeded to chase them all down, lobbing chunks of the remaining cake at them

An interviewer once said “Ezreal’s not big” (referring to his height). Ezreal responded by saying, “how do you know I’m not big? 😏” (not referring to his height)

Aphelios choked on his water when he heard Ezreal tell a different interviewer “I’m an innocent boy” (he absolutely isn’t). As he choked, Sett told him to “watch out, babe”

Ezreal told Ernest to leave the frame of a video they were filming, but he spoke the command in Korean (I hc that he’s trilingual). When Ernest actually obeys the command, Kayn asks, in the most incredulous way ever, “your dog speaks Korean??”

*Sett promoting their music to random strangers*: “You want to be happy? Buy the CD! From Riot, listen in your MP3! You are not you and I am not me, bc we are one big family! 😁”

The guys once left Sett and K’sante behind at a gas station at night

Aphelios wrote Ezreal a heartfelt letter, written in Hangul, that he requested to be read during a live performance. Ezreal read the letter out loud; it started out well, until he realized that he recognized the words

He’d know the lyrics to the Sailor Moon theme song anywhere

[putschki1969]

Into the World - Kaji Fes. 2023 Day 2

Some more in-depth Kalafina thoughts inspired by several discussions in the reply section of my latest live report about Kaji Fes. 2023 Day 2. "Into the World" was probably the Kalafina cover that left the most lasting impression on me. From what the girls have shared in various interviews, this song represents a beautiful end to an eventful stage of life and a slow transition into uncharted territory. At the time it was written, Kalafina's disbandment and the subsequent start of their solo careers were probably on no one's radar but ironically, it couldn't have been a more perfect match for the whole situation. The final few performances of the song (when everyone involved must have already been aware of what was about to happen) have a particularly strong impact on me and the same can be said about the covers they have done as solo artists/FJ. This is easily my favourite cover because the strong extra vocals add so much texture to the song. It's one of those Kalafina tracks where I mostly prefer the studio version because the girls tend to sound a bit shaky/shouty during live performances so this was overall a bit more polished I think. The harmonies are really good here. Also, I loved seeing Keiko get so emotional towards the end (even though it did result in her getting a teeny, tiny bit shouty again :P)

"Magia" was my second-favourite Kala-cover. It worked wonderfully to put the focus on Hikaru and highlight her prowess as a singer which is unfortunately something that none of the other Kalafina songs of the evening managed to do. I wish they had chosen songs with a stronger emphasis on Hikaru's voice like "ARIA", "One Light", "Mata Kaze ga...", "in every nothing", etc... Also, I did have some issues with Joelle sounding a bit too overpowering during certain parts. There are Kalafina songs where she manages to blend in better but here, her vocals just stand out too much, especially when trying to harmonise with Keiko.

"storia" has never done Hikaru any favours I'm afraid and this performance is no exception. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE "storia" but that's mostly because I am obsessed with the WaKei chorus. Joelle does a good enough job here but as I have mentioned in my report, I am way too hung up on Wakana to ever be able to appreciate another singer stepping in for her during parts that I love.

I honestly don't remember much about "KNGNN" so I guess I will have to wait for the BD release. It's yet another song that doesn't exactly flatter Hikaru though so that's a shame.

As I have never felt a strong connection to "TTB", the performance doesn't really do anything for me.

On a random and more or less unrelated side note, I LOVED this moment of Keiko showing a tiny bit of vulnerability here at the very end of the concert. It's rare to see her in tears on stage.

And let's not forget that precious HiKei moment right after this. Them holding hands. Keiko leaning on Hikaru's shoulder. Keiko smiling brightly but clearly relieved that it's over - "owatta".

[princesssarisa]

Reasons why the original "Little Shop of Horrors" ending flopped

I've been thinking of the various possible reasons why test audiences reacted badly to the original ending of the film version of Little Shop of Horrors. Off-Broadway audiences hadn't objected to the end of the stage version, where Audrey and Seymour are eaten and Audrey II wins in the end. So why exactly did the movie's test audiences find that ending so upsetting, forcing a new, happier ending to be shot?

Frank Oz has always cited two big differences between theatre and film as the main cause:

*Film has close-ups. They make the audience engage more closely with the characters' emotions than they do in live theatre, so we care more about Seymour and Audrey.

*At the end of a live theatre performance, the actors come out for a curtain call. That's an immediate reminder that they didn't really die. Whereas in a movie, while rationally we all know it's just a performance, it feels like they're really dead.

Here are some further arguments I've read in various places:

*Orin and Mr. Mushnik's deaths are rewritten in the film to tone down Seymour's guilt. Without the stage song "Now (It's Just the Gas)", Orin dies more quickly, without giving him much time to beg Seymour for help, and we don't hear Seymour cold-bloodedly debating whether to save him or not in his mind. Later, Mushnik holds Seymour at gunpoint and tries to blackmail him into giving him the plant in exchange for his keeping quiet about Orin's murder, while onstage he just threatens to have him arrested. In response, Seymour only backs Mushnik toward the plant (possibly even by accident – it's vague) instead of tricking him into looking inside its jaws, and then tries to warn him about it at the last moment, too late. These changes make a big difference in whether the audience thinks Seymour deserves comeuppance or not.

(There are alternate film takes, though, where Orin's begging for help is more drawn out, and where Seymour clearly backs Mushnik toward the plant on purpose and doesn't try to warn him about it. I read somewhere that those changes were made after the negative test screenings to make the new happy ending work better, but I don't know if that's been confirmed or not.)

*Rick Moranis has too much inherent likability as an actor. With or without the above rewrites, he gives off too much of a sweet, innocent vibe to let the audience stop rooting for Seymour.

*Showing Audrey's fantasy of married life with Seymour during "Somewhere That's Green" makes the audience sympathize more with her dreams. When she only sings about them, it's easier to laugh at how she romanticizes stereotypical '50s suburbia. But seeing her fantasy onscreen, even though it's still played for laughs, makes us root all the more for her to achieve it.

*The stage version of "Don't Feed the Plants" is less bleak because it ends at the very beginning of the plants' conquest, without leaving the shop or showing any massacres. It's just a warning: don't feed the plants, or else they'll destroy the world. Showing giant Audrey IIs already destroying the world leaves us feeling more hopeless.

*While the final "Don't Feed the Plants" sequence is visually spectacular, it drags on for too long.

*In 1986, people didn't expect a musical to end tragically. The rise in popularity of dark, tearjerking musicals in the mid-to-late '80s and '90s hadn't taken off yet in the US, so the ending was more of an unpleasant shock. (Personally, I'm not sure if I agree with this theory. The stage ending wasn't criticized in 1982, and plenty of musicals already existed with dark themes and with sad or bittersweet endings: The King and I, West Side Story, Fiddler on the Roof, Sweeney Todd, etc. Although I'm sure it was a shock for some people to see a campy musical comedy end tragically.)

I'd like to add some more suggestions of my own:

*Onstage, depending on the production, Audrey's death can be played more for dark laughs, more as a spoof of melodramatic movie death scenes. On film, the medium's comparative realism forces the sadness to be played straighter. This is enhanced by Seymour's attempted suicide afterwards, which doesn't happen onstage.

*The addition of "Mean Green Mother From Outer Space" makes Seymour's death much more brutal. Onstage, he's eaten fairly quickly, and he goes down fighting. But on film, we have to watch Audrey II playing a slow game of cat-and-mouse with him while singing a gloating song and destroying the shop, then wrapping him in its vines and slowly lifting him into its jaws, with closeups of his terrified face all the while.

*Onstage, during "Don't Feed the Plants," Seymour, Audrey, Mr. Mushnik, and Orin all reappear as flowers sprouting from Audrey II and sing to the audience. Thus, even before the curtain call, they're not portrayed as really "dead." And the fact that it makes no sense in-universe – maybe Mushnik and Seymour could have survived being swallowed, but Orin and Audrey were already dead when the plant ate their bodies – reminds us that this is only a show.

Basically, I think a perfect storm of factors combined to make audiences dislike the original, tragic film ending, even though there was no such objection to the stage ending.

@ariel-seagull-wings

[harrowscore]

It’s been some days, but can I ask your opinions about Phantom in Milan?

yes of course!! so, here are the things i enjoyed:

the performances were all very solid. ramin karimloo's voice has grown far better with time - he was never one of my super fav phantoms of all time but i always enjoyed him and it was really a treat to see him live. amelia milo is a lovely christine, and vinny coyle was also good as raoul. ah! and i got to see earl carpenter as andré (he's a superb actor and singer, and acting wise probably my fav erik ever)

the audience was on fire and very enthusiastic. the performers received multiple standing ovations at the curtain call - it was really a magical experience

in general the new staging, costumes, coreography were alright, and tbh far better (for the most part) than the restaged tour lmao. sure, the black angel wings of doom in the graveyard trio scene + the yellow coat/giant hat combo in ponr were a Choice but honestly? i didn't mind it so much, it kinda worked on stage.

in general i obviously prefer the original production but this was still a worthwhile experience. even my dad (who can't understand one word of english but was already vaguely familiar with the plot) absolutely loved it - he even said it was the best thing he saw in milan lmao. now he's a poto fan too sdfghjfjf

so tl;dr: they did a lot of things right. what i disliked instead:

in the graveyard scene... well it really doesn't look like a graveyard, to the point that my brother (who like my dad is familiar with the musical and even read the book many years ago) didn't understand that it was supposed to be a graveyard at all lol. the scenography was very bare ngl (they possibly saved some money for the abovementioned black angel wings of doom lmao)

i thought the staging for aiaoy was a bit... heh. basically raoul and christine don't really touch/hug each other until the end of the song (with the big damn kiss etc.) and it was a weird choice since this is supposed to be a romantic scene; in fact it kinda reminded me of the restaged tour version. same with motn (erik & christine don't have any physical contact until the famous 'touch me, trust me' bit, while in the og there's this interesting thing where he barely touches her at all/she leans into him etc. until the climax) but it makes more sense here. i mean, this is just a pet peeve of mine, both scenes were fine. as you pointed out it's been some days since i saw the show so maybe i'm misremembering it all. if anyone out there has a better memory than i have and wants to correct me you're free to do so lol

in the final lair scene, after erik lets christine & raoul go, she does return to give him back the ring but whereas in the original they face each other here she just. leaves it there (tho she looks emotional) while erik is facing the audience and singing 'i love you'. again, this doesn't ruin the show or anything but i prefer the more intimate scene from the original.

obv there were a lot of changes/additions to the og production and i can't list them all (i suppose other phans already did) but imho it's one of the most 'loyal' non-replicas out there, and while the original brilliant is still. you know. the og brilliant and all in all superior/far more spectacular this did not disappoint 💜

[nobodysdaydreams]

Do you have any crackfic ideas?

Oh boy oh boy anon... indeed I do...

Picture this: It could either be called "The Ballad of Nathaniel Benedict" OR "The Final Curtain"

Read on if you want me to blow your mind.

The show is the same as always, but LIVE is a theater school and Nathaniel is obsessed with becoming a ✨star✨ and the season 2 hypnotizing people to applaud for him is just part of that.

He puts on a show about his own life that is filled with blatant lies. Like, comedically exaggerated lies, like he makes himself out to be a saint.

Meanwhile, Jackson and Jillson take this play so seriously. They are running around screaming at everyone for not getting the choreography down fast enough. SQ is just happy to paint sets and train the animals (yes Nathaniel has doves involved in this) and hopes his father won't make him perform much (he is cast as young Nathaniel as well as himself).

Nathaniel hypnotizes the people in the compound and the society adults to sing and dance and play various roles in the production (Miss. Perumal as the orphanage director, Milligan as a Nathaniel written evil version of his chemist self, Number Two and Rhonda as various people who are grateful for all the good Nathaniel has done and praise his every move etc.).

Nicholas is the villain in this fake show about Nathaniel's own life, but he's hypnotized so he's playing the villain role willingly and within Nathaniel's vision, which is super over the top. Nicholas' character has a lair, wears an evil dark cape, and repeatedly says stuff like "BAH! I hate humanity!" and "My brother will suffer! I shall kidnap his son and spread vicious lies about him!" and he has Darth Vader type entrance music. Meanwhile, Nathaniel has written himself as this over the top good guy victim persona and has around 50 solos.

Garrison is in the compound somehow and forced to be in the play against her will. She's forced to participate, but not hypnotized, so she reads her lines robotically with no emotion and her under acting and unenthusiastic dancing plus Jeffers' bad acting and horrific dancing (Jeffers plays Tommy Jacobs in addition to himself and forgets a lot of his lines or says the wrong thing) clash so strongly with everyone else's hypnotized performances, as well as Jackson and Jillson's oddly impressive dance moves, and Nathaniel's over the top antics.

The kids kidnap Nathaniel during the intermission, allowing Garrison to escape and leaving Jeffers to stall. Jeffers takes this opportunity to try out his standup routine. He's really bad.

Meanwhile, Nicholas is still hypnotized and insists on singing over the top villain songs (because that's the role Nathaniel gave him) the entire ride to Number Two's house, but since he was told to play a villain, he takes the "kidnap your brother" thing pretty well, because they convince him it's a part of the show and a last minute rewrite and there's no audience anymore because it's a movie now and the cameras are hidden. And whether Nicholas is still hypnotized to pretend to be an evil theater villain or pretending to be hypnotized, it's incredibly funny when Curtain wakes up to see his brother standing over him like "nah ha ha...at last...I've captured you. And now brother, I've won. Now, I shall take all your accomplishments, your son, and your well-earned love and glory for myself and leave you to rot!" and Curtain's like "Nicholas...this isn't until act 4. And we need to get back to the stage." Meanwhile, Nicholas stays committed to the bit and refuses to break his assigned "character". When he freezes, Curtain cries and says "Please you have to come back. You need to fix this. The people expect an encore! They're probably so exhausted waiting for us to come back and perform! Our audience needs you Nicholas!" and the fic cuts to people booing and throwing fruit at Jeffers as he nervously tries to play the recorder to calm them down.

The brothers put aside their differences and realize there's only one way to save the show. By working together.

The fic ends with them going back and putting on a great show, that ends with the cops showing up and hauling Nathaniel off to the slammer for some hard time. But Nathaniel does get to sing a heartbreaking farewell song that moves the audience to tears, and say goodbye to SQ and his brother one last time.

And there you have it anon. My masterpiece. This cheered me up immensely. Thank you so much anon! 🥰

[haro-hawayu]

Spirited Away: Live Stage

I watched the Spirited Away Live Stage in theaters on Sunday AND Thursday because there’s two sets of casts for some of the major characters~ just wanted to write my thoughts down. This is me trying to be organized but gets a bit rambly later.

Prior to watching: I already learned about some of the cast. TBH, the only names I knew right away were Hashimoto Kanna and Kamishiraishi Mone--both of them playing Chihiro on separate shows. I’ll just refer to them as Show A/Cast A (Hashimoto) and Show B/Cast B (Kamishiraishi) when talking about them~ Another name was Paku Romi who was part of Cast B. I was familiar with both actresses from different movies: Hashimoto as Kagura in Gintama and also Kamishiraishi as Kana in Chihayafuru (and voice of Mitsuha in Your Name) so I really wanted to watch both shows because I was really excited to see how both actresses would interpret the role of Chihiro.

Thoughts: I love the use of the projections and stage mechanisms that they used to depict movement, and changing of scenes. I think a lot of it was very very very cleverly used.

+Stage projections: I especially loved the part where they projected the Japanese title 「 千と千尋の神隠し 」(literal translation is something like “Sen and Chihiro’s Spiriting Away”) on screen, and they took the kanji 千 from both Sen and Chihiro to form the little torii ⛩ (gate commonly seen in shinto shrines that separate the mundane and sacred worlds) that they drive right through (in the movie they pass by one that’s just leaning there), kind of to represent the moment when the Ogino family entered a different realm. 

+Stage mechanisms: The very obvious ones was how they just rotate some big parts to show different scenes, like Kamaji’s boiler room, Chihiro’s room, the inside/outside of the bathhouse, Yubaba’s office, etc. I liked how they made use of ladders, walkways, and doors/entrances. The whole train scene was amazing too~

+Stage hands: So many things were definitely made possible thanks to all the stage hands!!! It’s interesting that instead of black, they went for a brownish color, but I think it fits very well. I know some people might feel a little distracted by them, but I learned to really ignore them lol. It’s thanks to them that we have Kamaji’s arms/hands, the really cool scene of Haku grabbing Chihiro and running through/past many doors (that one part where they purposely did a “slow-mo” moment during their run when running past the pigs was really cool), the elevator scene, as well as the movement for the soot sprites, mouse-Bo, fly-bird, dragon Haku, and many other things. Oh yeah, and major props to them for the part where they lifted Chihiro and Haku up in the final scene where they reveal Haku’s name.

+Funny oopsies caught: Because it’s a stage play, not everything is full-proof and completely “perfect.” Although I tried to ignore the stage hands, there were some moments that made me giggle a bit. One of the earlier ones (Show A) was the scene where Chihiro is eating the onigiri from Haku and the camera just happened to show Chihiro handing off the onigiri to one of the tree stage-hands to hold onto. Another funny moment was (Show B) where a hurt Haku turns back into his human form, and again, the camera just so happened to show an angle where Haku’s actor sneaks onto the set and tries to quickly hide into the little doorway in Kamaji’s boiler where he waits to “roll out” when his dragon form disperses.

+Unique moments: There were def things that I noticed were unique and great specifically for the live stage play. I loved all the extra singing that was added. I absolutely love the sung version of 神々さま with the whole bathhouse cast. I know this song actually exists but every now and then I wonder if I dreamed that a sung version of this song exists because there’s no full version online. My Googling skills only helped me find the lyrics and clip of it. I also liked that they expanded the scene of everyone cheering/dancing when they freed the River Spirit, and for the play, they had everyone dance and Chihiro was dancing along with them. I loved that they added a (new?? pretty sure it is) theme song for No Face/Kaonashi, and there’s always that same musical motif that plays when he appears. NGL I felt like Kaonashi was extra creepy/scary in the live stage play >< There’s also a song that Kamaji sings and a sung version for The Sixth Station with the ladies which I found were quite nice additions too. Definitely appreciate all the music that was added.

I actually teared up both times during that scene when Chihiro goes back to her parents in the beginning and sees that they got turned into pigs and she was screaming in a panick as they were getting hit and those strange things started to appear around her. I think they were amazing at depicting how scary of a situation it is when a kid finds themselves in such a situation and seeing all these strange apparitions too. I personally felt that the parting scene for Haku and Chihiro more sad and bittersweet in the live stage version, especially when Haku is telling Chihiro to not look back, and in the live stage play, you can see that initial hesitation she had. My favorite added tidbit was the part at the very end where you see Haku standing at the entry of the tunnel. THERE IS HOPE IN THEIR PROMISE!!

+Additional thoughts: I really loved Hashimoto Kanna’s depiction of Chihiro. I really think she was the perfect Chihiro. There was that one scene where she was just about to cry when eating the onigiri and I think the camera angle was perfect because you see her eyes getting shiny just as she starts crying and I was just kinda wow’ed by that (angle wasn’t quite the same for Show B at that scene). I was kinda on the fence on how I would feel about seeing Show B with Kamishiraishi Mone, but she exceeded my expectations~! I still love Hashimoto’s Kanna more though. As for Haku, I’m a bit partial towards Cast B’s Haku, but I appreciated that Cast A’s Haku appeared to be the better dancer??? I liked that he had a little dance thing in the play. I was also really excited to see Paku Romi in Show B, but tbh I got a BIIIIIT distracted by her voice because I can’t help but go “kyaaa it’s Paku Romi!!” Oh yeah, small thing but I loved that they had Chihiro trying to read her new name and went “Chi” and Yubaba was like “CHIGAU (wrong!) it’s Sen!”--it made me giggle.

Overall, I think the stage play did such an amazing job at being true to the original movie, and even expanding a little more on some scenes. I was skimming through the original movie and soundtrack while writing this, so there were some things that made me go “wow, they actually were able to include this and this and this into the stage play”??!” They even copied some of the same guests/patrons of the bathhouse, but I was a bit disappointed that Ootori-sama was only mentioned but didn’t actually appear in the play (unless I was blind both times)?? Not sure what else I missed out on but will edit this post if I remember something important later~

tl;dr Spirited Away Live Stage is an excellent adaptation for the original movie. 100 out of 10 recommended! Also Blu-ray has been announced for July as well as return/rerun of the play in August with both Hashimoto and Kamishiraishi reprising their roles!! So exciting!!

[lanternburning19]

I talked a little bit about this on that Loverfest outfit poll, but Taylor always "previews" the outfits she will wear on tour in earlier performances. I thought this would be interesting to add to my #taylortouroutfits series. So starting with the Fearless tour, there's some interesting predictive programming:

Let's start with the first single of the Fearless era, Love Story. Taylor performed this song live for the first time at the 2008 CMA awards. The stage was decorated to look like a castle, and Taylor wore a purple ball gown. Before the end of the song, she changed into a white wedding dress, complete with a headband. Taylor did something VERY similar with her Fearless Tour performance of this song, just minus the fountain and guest appearance by Justin Gaston. She wore a red ball gown, and changed into a white dress and matching headband:

Fans noticed that the white Love Story wedding dress was the exact same one as the prom dress she wore in the You Belong With Me music video.

Speaking of You Belong With Me, Taylor has an evolution of performance outfits with this one, going all the way back to the Fearless album photoshoot. Taylor was depicted as a marching band nerd in the album booklet next to the printed lyrics of this song. She wore a blue and black marching band outfit and her signature blue nerd glasses (which I think were actually hers she wore irl). So observant fans were not surprised when she wore a similar blue and black marching band outfit in the You Belong With Me music video. For the Fearless Tour, Taylor also wore a marching band uniform. This one was yellow, white, and gold - colors that would become associated with the Fearless album.

One of Taylor's signature looks at this point in her career was sundresses and cowboy boots. So fans were not surprised when Taylor stepped out on stage in a sundress and cowboy boots during the Fearless Tour.

Notably, this outfit is worn during the b stage portion of the show, when Taylor sings Tim McGraw, a song off of her first album. And the sundress and cowboy boots look is mostly associated with her first album.

The other signature look for Taylor at the time was sparkly dresses. Specifically, Taylor frequently wore a sequined sleeveless shift dress. Taylor had multiples of this dress in every color - blue, silver, gold, etc. I freaked out a little when I noticed Taylor brought back this signature look - this time in red - for the Fearless Tour. Another fun little fact about this dress is that she wore a silver version of it when she performed with the Jonas Brothers. And on the Fearless Tour, she wore the red version of this dress during Forever and Always, a song about Joe Jonas.

Finally, the guitars. The guitars might as well be considered accessories to Taylor's tour outfits. Taylor first debuted this silver sparkly guitar in the Our Song music video. And Taylor brought out the same guitar to play Our Song on the Fearless Tour (and Our Song only! She played Fearless on the koa guitar).

And for the finale. Taylor wore a black strappy dress for her performance of Should've Said No at the ACM awards in 2008. Taylor wore a similar black strappy dress for her performance of Should've Said No on the Fearless Tour (for the first few shows).

[samjalexander]

Discussion Leader Presentation

A-Ha released Take On Me in 1985. The band is considered to be a one-hit wonder. Take On Me is considered to be about a girl that the lead singer, Morten Harket, wanted to be with. The song is Harket’s attempt to convince the girl to give him a chance on him, to “take him on.”

The music video shows a girl going in and out of a 2-D world, symbolizing her going in and out of consideration of taking a chance on Harket.

The video we viewed is actually the second music video made for the song. The first was a simple video of the band members singing the song against a blue background. In this video, the live-action footage was traced with a frame-by-frame process called rotoscoping. It took 4 months to rotoscope the 3,000 frames in the video. 

The video uses a romantic fantasy plotline. A young woman, who is played by Bunty Bailey, falls for the male lead of the video played by lead singer Morten Harket. The more time she spends with Harket, the more she wants to be with him. She becomes blinded by the enjoyment she has in the 2-D world that is obviously separate from reality. 

Course In General Linguistic Ferdinand de Saussure

Through his lyrics, Harket uses de Saussure’s speech/la parole to verbally demonstrate why this girl should take a chance on him. The lyrics represent the language itself, the speech/la parole that de Saussure describes. The lyrics serve the purpose of Harket directly communicating to the girl as to why she should go out with him. Through the music video, Harket is using de Saussure’s language/la langue to visually show why the girl should take him on. According to de Saussure, langue is “the internal structure of the language, not the language itself.” The video serves as the internal structure and representation of the language itself. The lyrics themselves are the 

The different realities in the video, both the 2-D world and the real world, represent two different signs. In the 2-D world, Harket is a sign for what the girl wants. In the real world, he is a sign for what she knows she can’t have. The opposite signs in each reality represent the tribulations of young love that Harket is struggling with, as proved by the lyrics of the song. 

Mythologies Roland Barthes

In his essay, Mythologies, Roland Barthes defines “myth,” and how it affects how we as humans perceive and consume media. He says that myths help to convey messages and communicate. Every form of media that we consume has some sort of myth that conveys some sort of message or meaning of the media, whether it be a headline, a film, a novel, etc. In Take On Me’s music video, Harket references back to Barthes’ description of myths, in that he is displaying a false version of himself that seems more appealing in order to convince the girl to go out with him. The girl, of course, believes what she sees because she is infatuated and developing feelings for Harket. The myth in this video is Harket’s ability to bring the girl into this imaginary world, and the girl consumes and believes that myth because of her feelings for Harket, and her desire to be with him. 

Harry Styles released Satellite in May 2022 as part of his third album Harry’s House. The highly anticipated album went on to win Album of the Year at The Grammys. The song seems to be about wanting someone that you cannot have. However, Harry Styles fans have also compared the song to what it feels like to be “the therapist friend,” and wanting to be there for someone important in your life. 

The video follows a robot trying to find a satellite that he saw on the news while backstage at a Harry Styles concert.

The video features footage of Harry and his band backstage and on stage before showing the robot, named Stomper, through California as it searches for the satellite. When it finally finds the robot after realizing it is in the sky, Stomper lays in a field next to Harry and slowly, his battery dies as they both look up at the sky. 

The song seems to be about wanting someone that you cannot have. However, Harry Styles fans have also compared the song to what it feels like to be “the therapist friend,” and wanting to be there for someone important in your life. The video plays into the first idea by showing Stomper going in circles (like a satellite) while trying to find the satellite. Styles writes “Spinning out, waitin for ya to pull me in // I can see you’re lonely down there // Don’t you know that I am right here.” Styles clearly wrote these lyrics for someone to hear, likely someone he wanted to be close to but could not, whatever the reason may have been.

Course In General Linguistic Ferdinand de Saussure

The langue, or the unspoken language in this music video, is Stomper’s dedication to finding the satellite that he saw. Both Stomper’s dedication represent the speech/la parole, and the lyrics that Styles wrote are the speech because they are Styles’ direct translation of his feelings of wanting to be there for someone that he cannot have. Music videos are generally an additional form of media that provide a langue for the artists’ original speech. In both Satellite and Take On Me, the visual aspect allows the artist(s) to add on to the original speech/la parole that they had written by providing a representation of “the internal structure of a language, not the language itself,” as de Saussure described. 

Mythologies Roland Barthes

In the video, Stomper ventures to find the satellite after seeing it on the TV backstage at one of Harry Styles’ concerts. There seems to be a hint of romantic interest behind Stomper and the satellite, which can be compared to Disney’s 2008 film, Wall-E.

The upbeat pace of the song, as well as the music video following Stomper on his search for his satellite, seem to serve as a “myth” that Stomper and his satellite will have a happy ending. Upon initial viewing, viewers might be awaiting Stomper finding his satellite because of the myths and signs providing false hope for a happy ending. Unfortunately, when Stomper realizes his satellite is in the sky and he cannot get to it, he sits in a field next to Harry Styles and looks up at the sky, before realizing that his battery is running low. He accepts it and looks back towards the sky, towards the satellite that he was dedicated to finding. He spends what he knows will be his last moments as close to his satellite as possible, knowing he will never be able to have what he so badly wanted. 

Discussion Questions

The upbeat tune of Satellite gives the myth that the plot of the music video will have a happy ending. In what ways do song lyrics or beats provide false signs about the true meaning of the song (i.e. a sad song that sounds happy)?

Satellite and Take On Me have similar themes of wanting something you cannot have. Harry Styles’ hit song, As It Was, has been compared to Take On Me for having a similar sound. Besides theme and sound, how can songs be related to one another?

Take On Me and Satellite also have similar auras of being written to someone that the respective artists want to be close to. However, the aura of Take On Me may be overlooked as it is such a popular and catchy tune that listeners may sing along without digesting the lyrics. Similarly, it is unclear if Satellite was written for a friendship or relationship, or even a familial relationship. However, fans have interpreted the lyrics through many different lenses. In what ways can the auras of a song change? 

[tutyayilmazz]

so, MÅNESKIN in torino

first off I'm so grateful that i got to see them again, 10 months after verona 🥺 they are beasts on the stage, everything they play goes a thousand times harder live and their energy reaches every corner of the room (apparently expect the people in my row who literally sat through most of the show?? they only really stood up for zitti e buoni and coraline etc. which are of course highlights but i don't understand how can you sit through such a high energy LOUD AF gig. my feet were aching from 2 days of sightseeing and still i jumped to my feet the moment they started)

don't wanna sleep is PERFECT to start the show, i was waiting so much to hear it live and it's amazing and the red curtain drop is so cool

when they play zitti e buoni it's like being transported back to may 2021 and first discovering them, that song will always be special

own my mind is one of my english favorites from rush and for good reason, the heavier instrumentation is excellent

coraline is a fucking journey no matter how many times you listen to it, what a song, so glad to hear it live again

baby said is definitely deserving its rising attention, so fun to dance along to

bla bla bla is obviously made for the stage and it does work i looove the ending and damiano was crowdsurfing during the last "ha ha haha haha ha"s, looked so fun

i'm so glad they kept in nome del padre on the setlist, the final instrumentals are some of my absolute favorite things the power trio plays!! ❤️

as much as for the complaints about beggin from both sides it's hard to imagine they'll ever not play it considering how enjoyable it is with a whole crowd dancing, i don't ever listen to it but live it does the job I'm afraid

even a song that i don't have much special liking of like timezone is absolutely ROARING live

for your love live my beloved <3 though i gotta say thomas's solo in verona was better, felt more psychedelic than the one here

then a new intro to gasoline and FIIIRE though at first it seemed like damiano's microphone was trying and failing to light up but it did during the middle

they did the acoustic torna a casa and vent'anni they also did in verona and as beautiful as they are like that, it also makes me wish they were the "full" versions instead 🙈

same for amandoti but i DEFINITELY wasn't expecting them to play it so i appreciate it very much

intros with ethan and vic <333

and IWBYS live is the fun thing in the world honestly, that jumping on damiano's count is an incredible energy 🤩

la fineee it felt like the first time i was listening to it in the middle of the night and having those feelings wash over me

feel is also way more harder live and interactive with damiano having us "practice" the daaa-da-da-da-da-duh at first

AND MARK CHAPMAN AAAAH i love this so fucking much I'm so happy they played it, it's a culmination of all their prowess imo 😍 i have no idea what thomas was doing with his mouth but it was amazing

i wanna be a kool kid on stage so bad too 😭 it looked so much fun though there weren't too many people. fortunately no one was shoving a phone into their faces and it's just amazing to see vic surrounded by all these girls everyone having the time of their life

the 5 min solo thomas does before the loneliest is INCREDIBLE i would kiss his hands for it. also the ending ofc though i still think that solo works better for le parole lontane, either way just wonderful music 🥰

and IWBYS to close off 😭 I'm already missing it ❤‍🩹

[nadircozy]

Recently, I was able to see one of the most highly touted artist of our time who is not only a rapper but a actor, singer,songwriter, and mogul. Aubrey Drake Graham, professionally known as “Drake” started his “It’s all a blur” tour in June 2023. It was announced after five years of being on hiatus, him and rapper 21 savage would be going on a North American tour. This came as no surprise due to of the joint album they released in October of 2022 titled “Her loss” The last tour that he held (Aubrey & the Three Migos) followed the “Scorpion” album released in June 2018. With the world finally being free of lockdown, and the momentum being built up. Mr.Graham’s tour was in high demand. The theme of this tour was him taking a look back at his career from when he first entered the music game until now. With him being the biggest name in music right now, sometimes you lose track of how you got there. Hence the title “it’s all a blur”Personally, I couldn’t wait to experience this show in person. It was my first live performance experience and it didn’t not disappoint. Out of the fifty nine arena performances, I went to the show in New York. Many went to the Barclays center. I chose to go to Madison Square Garden because of the staple that the arena serves in sports and music culture.

Production

Before the music, what impressed me was what was in the arena. What had seemed like a 100 foot statue of the late designer, Virgil, Abloh was in the middle of the arena. It was something different and I appreciated it. All you get to see on Ticketmaster is an empty arena with seats in a stage and you win for what that’s going to look like. Next the sentimental value of him walking out to the song look what you’ve done was on display. Unlike many artists he came from one of the sections in the arena and walked through the crowd to the stage. Upon the stage was a couch that him, and his mother sat on. Drake then proceeded to essentially perform with his mother. They turned the stage into a living room, representing their home in Toronto, Canada. Throughout the show, it was amazing with the switching of set stages. The lighting creating Irie Vibes, pyrotechnic work, actors being used to create a reminiscent feeling, floating objects, etc. it was amazing.

Setlist/Guests

Additionally, the guests of the tour were not mentioned, unlike other tours, where you would see on the flyer, the names of artist that will be on the tour. American producer, DJ and record executive Zack BIA got the crowd warmed up by putting on a DJ side to prepare people to get up and get moving. equated his set to an elevator. The ride that entertains you with music until you get to your destination. He played many songs by different artists, different genres,and eras.

Next, which was also unexpected, having to be performance by rapper that goes by Lil Yachty. He had about a 20 minute said that featured some of his billboard topping songs features. Including “broccoli.” “I spy“ and his first big song, “one night” The crowd at this point was definitely warmed up and prepare for the main event. Drake Setlist was far from underwhelming, performing a slew of hits from the beginning, middle and current era of his career. On the Internet, he has gotten flack for some performances of the songs on his Setlist. Saying that he didn’t put as much effort into performing. For the majority of the show, he did try to get the crowd involved and give the crowd the mic. Also, he’s sang/rapped some of the songs differently that what the studio version sounded like. That’s the one critique that I’d agree with. But, he had thirty songs to perform so I understood that he may have been pacing himself. Finally, rapper 21 Savage performed good medium length set that followed Drake and kept the crowd invested. To close out the show, Drake and 21 Savage perform some of their joint songs together. Their performances together were filled with energy and you got to see their charisma in effect.

Conclusion

Now, I may be biased because of Drake being my favorite artist, but I couldn’t have asked for a better first live concert experience. As a fan who’s been listening since 2009. I appreciated the long walk down memory lane that not only had him leading the truth, but a few others helping him that kept us entertain. You give us an experience that we never forget. If you ever get a chance, I would definitely recommend that you check him out in concert because if you’re not a fan of his music, he might just turn you into a fan.

[enterenews]

'Entering the Dome' ENHYPEN "The happiest this year"… big bow ending

The 7-member male idol group ENHYPEN successfully completed their first dome performance. ENHYPEN, which toured 6 cities in the US and 3 cities in Japan with its first world tour 'MANIFESTO', which started in September last year, added a performance round thanks to the enthusiastic support of Japanese fans. Through additional performances, they set a record as the first 4th generation idol to enter the Japan Dome.

On the afternoon of the 22nd, at Kyocera Dome Osaka, Japan, ENHYPEN's first world tour 'Manifesto' held a performance on the last day of the additional round in Japan. If the previous day's performance was accompanied by live viewing in 26 movie theaters in Korea, on this day, it was streamed online for a fee all over the world through Weverse.

Enhyphen, dressed in a white and blue uniform, appeared against a full moon in the background. They took blue as the point color to give a solemn atmosphere and appeared on stage after walking through a white curtain. After finishing the intro "Walk the Line", the Japanese version of "Given-Taken" and the stage of "Flicker", they said goodbye.

Jay said, "The Kyocera Dome, which we thought was our dream, was filled with engines and engine rods for two days in a row, and my heart is so full. I want to remember this moment forever. I really want to show you how beautiful the seats look from our eyes." "he said.

Nikki, who said, "Actually, from the first song, I was so overwhelmed that I was moved to tears." "It is really thanks to our Engines that we were able to hold (the performance) in the same space with tens of thousands of Engines once again. I will repay you," he said.

Seonwoo said, "Not only the engines on site, but also some people watch the historic moment through online streaming," and Seonghun said, "Engines watching online streaming applause!" All of the support was well delivered to my heart."

Heeseung said, "I'm so happy and happy to be able to be together like this," and leader Jeongwon said, "I feel very good on the last day of Kyocera Dome, which will announce ENHYPEN to the world in 2023 and tell our story with one voice. It’s like a final performance,” he was satisfied.

ENHYPEN, formed through Mnet's idol survival program 'I-LAND', debuted with their first mini-album 'BORDER: DAY ONE' in November 2020, and released their Japanese debut single 'Border: DAY ONE' in July of the following year, about 7 months later. Hakanai' (BORDER: Hakanai).

In this performance, representative songs such as 'Given-Taken', 'Tamed-Dashed', 'Blessed-Cursed', as well as 'Always' and 'Forget Me Not' '(Forget Me Not), etc., in Japanese, from the first Japanese regular album 'SADAME'.

ENHYPEN, which has been active in both Korea and Japan with intense yet weighty music. ‘Drunk-Dazed’ with a full sound pouring out, ‘One in a billion’ with an electric guitar performance, and ‘FEVER’ that starts with an intense choreography performance. The successive sections were the highlights.

Nikki said, "From 'Drunk-Dazed' to 'Fever', the engines really like the stage, but I think this is a stage that really requires determination and stamina for us." Garden said, "But because of the support from the engines, I wasn't tired at all. Seriously," Sung Hoon said, "Even the engines, please don't get tired."

It was a performance in Japan, but there were as many Korean songs as there were Japanese songs. Enhyphen is 'TWF' (That Feeling When), 'Upper Side Dreamin', 'Mixed Up', 'One in a Billion', 'Attention, Please!', 'Mo They sang ‘Go Big or Go Home’ in Korean.

The last performance I saw of 'WALK THE LINE' and 'Future Perfect' (Pass the MIC) is over. Fans chanted the members and enhyphen names and requested an encore, and at 6:22 pm, the encore began with 'ParadoXXX Invasion'.

ENHYPEN performed 24 stages until the encore that day. Courtesy of belif lab Nikki said, "It's the last concert at Kyocera Dome, and it can't end like this," Heeseung said, "Honestly, it's so much fun that I don't want to finish it." Garden said, "I can stay up all night until morning."

ENHYPEN expressed the thrill of having their first dome concert in the ending comment. Jake said, "There were a lot of things that were added while practicing for the dome tour, and I've never performed (performed) in front of so many engines before. I was happy,” he said.

Jay said, "I really want to say thank you to the Engines who made such a pleasant memory, and to our members who have been practicing hard while looking forward to this dome tour so far. You did a really good job." I will grow up so that I can show you a better stage the next time I come back."

At the concert, the audience held an event with hand signs written in Korean and Japanese, saying, "We will be together forever in this world we built together." Since the concert was held during the Lunar New Year holiday, ENHYPEN ended the performance with a big bow to the audience on site and online viewers around the world.

ENHYPEN, which gathered 80,000 viewers offline in two days, will continue its world tour in Bangkok, Thailand on the 28th and 29th, and in Manila, the Philippines on the 3rd and 5th of next month.

[mrhopthescissor]

All of the paintings in the current show are titled after songs because that seemed like an inexhaustible source and a simple solution to my general aversion to titles. This song is called Man o' War written and sung by Eric Bachman, formerly of Archers of Loaf (good band), Crooked Fingers (even better band), and now more often touring solo (apex band). I don't know if you've ever had the opportunity to hear one of your favorite musicians play their music on guitar, no amp, in a living room surrounded by no more than 20 other people. If not, you should, the power of the stage, the arena, thousands singing in unison can't hold a candle to one person singing those same songs unaccompanied. Man o' War is a haunting exploration of nature's unflinching brutality. At least, that’s what it looks like from a human perspective, nature isn’t brutal, it just is. "And like the moon doesn't mind if the sun doesn't shine The sea doesn't care if you're lonesome tonight" The motif of undulating shapes, like sticky tentacles, was there at the start, the title occurred to me when I finished the first version. I don't know why that version bothered me so much but it didn't seem finished. It sat like that for months. The last few images are of me playing with orientation, but it's obvious there is only one way to hang this. The light parts were painted with UV reactive paint followed by layers of iridescent interference paint, it's meant to look different depending on your physical relationship to it, and also depending on the lighting situation in the room. It glows, and it's faintly purple, blue, yellow, green all at the same time. Some of that is still present in the final version but it's covered again with a chalky craquelure and the tentacles are finished in graphite. Again a substance that looks different depending on lighting and spatial conditions. It's a second reference to pencils in the show, pencils being a reference to place, where I live now is historically connected to the stylus trade in the same way it is to tobacco, cotton, etc. "Many messengers and rebels have come and gone without a trace And many more will come tomorrow and many more will be erased" (at Bonaventure Cemetery) https://www.instagram.com/p/CmeTdojr0d5/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[inklyqueen]

"Out of This World" Headcanons because I wish it was a real musical now

Fair warning this is kinda me rambling about Raela's role in this. Also long post. Sorry. Also not sorry.

So I dragged my bestie to see Sing 2 and the nostalgia of high school theatre shows hit hard cause literally did a high school version of Chicago and that was a H A Y D A Y

So yeah I have borderline experience in this stuff

One of the biggest things the theatre director wanted the cast to understand was the motivation behind the character's actions, including background roles. So watching them work on Out of This World was so satisfying to see it develop into something amazing.

That was, until I got to the final product of the musical.

Now yes I know there was an overall plot happening at the same time but I just

I felt like a lot to it was missing as far as the musical

I think I got a little too invested in the musical itself but h e r e we go

Rosita's role was perfect as it was. Her motivation was clear. Her character plot and development was clear. Same for Gunther. So I won't touch those two or their roles.

And Porsha, I really don't see an issue there, I was ravving for her development and change in character in her performance, so I'm not gonna touch her either.

I wanna talk about Act 2 first. Meena and uh... "Darrius."

My thing with their duet really isn't the act itself.

It's the moments immediately after it.

You do not, I repeat, DO NOT START TALKING TO THE AUDIENCE OUT OF CHARACTER IN THE MIDDLE OF A FUCKING TRANSITION I MEAN HOLY C R A P—

I was SCREAMING INTERNALLY for her to GET. OFF. STAGE.

If it's not written in the stage directions, and there's no issue or mishap you're trying to cover up, and it has happened to me before too, you DONT. BREAK. CHARACTER.

I did a show in high school called Be My Ghost. I was one of the ghosts haunting the hotel. The audience saw me whenever I walked on stage. The "living characters" had to act as if I wasn't there at all.

Before the lights went up to intermission, all four of us ghosts had a little part to run across the stage, dance around, be a ghost, etc.

I was supposed to be the one that was a bit "insane," as the director said, and when I was going across the stage, I tripped, and my prop fell and broke on the floor.

The audience thought it was meant to be comedic, and started laughing.

Of course, me being friggin embarrassed at first, had to act fast, because I was just standing there with a broken porcelain doll on the floor.

So I started laughing. Maniacally. So much so I could see the audience was freaked out by my laughter as the curtains were falling in front of me.

That is an example of breaking the fourth wall JUSTIFIABLY. I stayed IN CHARACTER, and the tech crew backed me up to roll with the cover up. The audience won't know it was a mistake if you don't treat it like a mistake

Meena went and started talking to Alfonso out of character and setting up a date after the show.

The amount of R A G I N G I was doing in that theatre was like

But ANYWAY—

The other thing I wanna bring up is Act 1 with Johnny and Klaus Ryan.

For some reason I felt like a lot was missing there. Like, example:

Why are they at war tho

Who started it

Wtf was the point of a war in the first place

Why was "Sky Full of Stars" the choice when it's a love song and there's no evidence of even the slightest romantic stuff happening like wh—

S O I'm here to fill in the gaps with headcanons and OCs because I fucking can 😀👍🏻

The Planet of War is another name for it; it's actually called Calion

Ryan's character is named Karn

Johnny's is named Komenar

They're also in a civil war (which duh bc of the costume colors and such)

Johnny and Ryan's characters command their respective sides

Karn's faction is referred to as the Uprisal, or Uprisers, because they're attempting to overthrow the current ruler of Calion and put Karn in power

Komenar's faction is referred to as the Resistance, and are loyal to the standing ruler, which is also Komenar

Well Karn took someone captive when he last attempted an invasion of the fortress that is barely a fortress at this point

That person is the future First Lady (I lack a better name ok), Ailee. (Aye-Lee)

I say Future because Komenar was preparing to propose to her when the war was finally over

Ailee was constantly trying to get them to negotiate, sign a peace treaty, etc, but Karn wouldn't have it

Shit happened obviously

So the scene shown in the movie is that final showdown, Karn is coming for Komenar, Komenar is preparing to fight to the death for his planet and his lady

So hence the song with "I'm gonna give you my heart" and "I don't care, go on and tear me apart; I don't care if you do; Because in a sky full of stars; ... I think I saw you;"

Obviously, Klaus crashes the party as Karn, and changes the scene

Komenar was supposed to defeat Karn by the end of the song (right before Nooshy started banging on the bucket), so that kinda just makes it a bit more epic ngl

At least to me idk

It's after this that Rosita comes forward asking about the lost space traveler, and comes up empty, so she leaves for the next planet

I've shown y'all Raela's performance dress once before here:

Granted, Rae wasn't intended to have a casted role. She only designed costumes, sets and props, and even made some of the costumes used herself. Including the dress above that was made for that role as the "First Lady." Or princess. Er- Someone help me with this—

It was intended for a different actress, who I don't have a name for yet, that was set for the role. When Jimmy Crystal cancelled the show, and the cast was secretly called in for the performance, she refused to perform out of fear of getting her contract with Crystal Entertainment voided.

So, Moon had to improvise, and Rae agreed to fill the spot.

When she designed the dress, it was meant to represent both sides as symbolism to show that the character just wanted peace, the orange cracks from Johnny's costume, and the red from Ryan's, as well as accents of gold and silver individually from both.

It was also intended for the skirt to touch the ground, since the actress is significantly shorter than Rae, and a bit smaller in the chest. She had to makeshift an extension in the top to be able to wear it since there wasn't enough time to make a whole new dress. She does get to remake it for herself though for the performance at the Majestic, and makes some small changes just for fun. I gotta draw her in it tho give me a hot minute

As for singing for that role, I'm not 100% on that. I have a Choral VC for Raela now, but it wouldn't be a lot as to not pull from Johnny standing up to Klaus.

And now, other headcanons for the musical itself:

THEY. KEEP. RY. AN. HO. LY. CRAP.

Darrius sticks around but somehow he's not very popular with Meet n Greets, etc

Darrius's character is named Darrio because he won't go by anything else and Buster was losing his patience

The Goddess is named Mellodi

Because duh

Porsha's "Nasty Alien Monster" is named Purra

"Planet of Joy" is Jubila

"Planet of Love" is Ardor

The "Lost Planet" is really the Guiding Star's (Ash) hiding place

The Guiding Star is named Luminaria

Luminaria had been healing the Space Explorer, literally keeping the name Clay Calloway, after he crashed landed there

She didn't feel she could send him out on his own to return home

So when Rosita and Robo-Piggy arrive, she tests them to see if they are pure in their intentions to take him home

Then he comes walking out cause yes

Also, Clay's costume was made on the spot by up-cycling clothes Raela bought from the thrift stores and flea markets

And honestly by stealing borrowing a few leather jackets Porsha yanked from the closet in her dad's office

Getting those with Jerry sleeping in his own office was not easy in the slightest

Nooshy was hired on by Buster as his choreographer

The night cleaners didn't stay with the group, but the Majestic was VERY quick about getting their places filled for Porsha's solo

This has been my 2am rambles. Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.

[kyotakumrau]

2022.01.26 DIR EN GREY at Shinkiba STUDIO COAST

00 GDS

01 THE IIID EMPIRE

02 朔-saku-

03 Merciless Cult

04 人間を被る・Ningen wo kaburu

05 落ちことのある空・Ochita koto

06 腐海・Fukai

07 CONCEIVED SORROW

08 audience KILLER LOOP

09 赫・Aka

10 朧・Oboro

11 T.D.F.F.

12 CLEVER SLEAZOID

13 詩踏み・Utafumi

14 THE FINAL

ENCORE

en15 THE DEEPER VILENESS

en16 C

en17 冷血なりせば ・reiketsu nariseba

en18 Sustain The Untruth

en19 激闇 ・Hageshisa

Just some very brief notes

It was standing but both shows are held under 50% of venue's capacity - there were marks on the floor where fans had to stand so we were all spaced apart (especially for Shinkiba😂).

As the BGM they were playing all remix versions of their songs, basically the whole Kai.

It started with the video made of the footage of various shows in Shinkiba. And then we heard GDS as the opening! It was weird without joining in screaming Kyo KILL KILL KILL but we waved our fists instead.

The good news is there were so many cameras there's no way the footage won't end up released😆

I was so far back (I had 850+ ticket) I can't really describe the band members outfits well😂 Toshiya was a prince, Kaoru a king. Shinya had his white outfit with pearls and lace. Kyo wore black amd had green spiky hair. Die had this t-shirt.

The setlist was 🔥🔥🔥

Just wow. I kinda expected a lot of Withering and VULGAR etc because of THE FINAL and the timing when they played in Shinkiba first, and I was not disappointed! My neck already hurts and there's still tomorrow to destroy it more😆

Kyo had great energy and kept encouraging us to 'lose our necks' and asking if we're still alive.

For Conceived Sorrow I saw something coming down on a wire from above Kyo, it was a single lightbulb that arrived above him and stayed there for the duration of the song.

TDFF following Kyo's broken cries of '返して 返して・give it back' ending Oboro, even after a brief break, felt so... but we could channel those emotions into pure energy. Because TDFF live won't let you stand still.

Kyo asked us to 'let them hear our heart voice' again and encouraged us to clap/jump/fist pump with 'コースト・COAST!!!'.

Of course they finished the main set with The Final :)

They all changed for encore. Die had a tour t-shirt with cut off sleeves. Kyo had a white t-shirt with a black tv(?) print and suspenders, Toshiya changed from a formal prince dress to another prince outfit 😂 Kaoru had a flowy collared shirt with a dotted(?) print. I couldn't see Shinya well.

Kyo started with shouts of 'are you alive there?!' as they started to play deeper vileness. The whole encore was just so intense😆

He also did the pointing at the different areas in the venue to get a response from fans there, the back, the left, the right, aaaaaah (the area in front of him). And 'bring us your necks'!!😆

After Hageshisa he screemed few times 'Coast!!', later without a mic, then waved and with a 'byebye' left the stage.

Toshiya and Shinya left next, Kaoru went to both sides of the stage 'throwing air pick'(?) and then Die left while waving to us.

After band members left we kept clapping, but then the screen behind the scene lit up and they played the end credits with the members names and then all dates they played in Shinkiba, tour by tour. At the very end in English:

"We will never forget the memories of the days we shared with everyone here

Thanks for the best place"

(or something like this in the same meaning, will confirm on day2)

[rebelsandtherest]

How do you think the Hamilton musical was received by the FACE family??

Hmmm interesting question. I'm going to do this pretty quickfire:

France: Gushed about the show to Alfred, despite its coverage of some tense times between them, but secretly was not fond of the portrayal of Lafayette. However, the stage version of his well-loved marquis grew on him exceptionally quickly (though he wouldn't admit it) and for months after seeing it he found himself bobbing his head along to the song stuck in his head, only to curse and stop when he realized it was from Hamilton. He has the album saved on Spotify but never tells a soul about it.

America: I mean, obviously he is a huge fan. He has the entire thing memorized within weeks. He was there when the first songs/bars were debuted at the White House at a state dinner. Everyone else thought it was a joke, portraying Hamilton as a hip hop enthusiast. Alfred thought it was the most genius thing he'd heard in decades. He sat up straight and listened, transfixed, and was a bit shocked when no one else at his table seemed to take it seriously. I say he has the whole thing memorized, but he actually doesn't. He has only seen and heard Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story once, ever in his life, which was on the day he saw it for the first time on Broadway. It drudged up centuries of loss for him and he spent the entire song trying to hide his ugly crying/stifled sobbing in the box seats. He's seen the show many, many times since, but has always walked out before the finale, to save his emotional sanity.

Canada: Overall loves it, adored the portrayal of George III, and agrees with Alfred that the application of hip hop was both innovative and a TON of fun. In the year or so after it hits it big, he occasionally finds himself drawn into a sing-along with Alfred as they cook, work on cars, build a new shed, etc. Alfred claims he can sing all the parts in one go, and Matt's heard him try, but it sounds less breathless and more intelligible if Matt jumps in as a second voice occasionally. Critiques Alfred's "hillbilly" French accent when he attempts to sing Lafayette's parts. When Matt saw it for the first time, in the middle of the theater, in the middle of the show, he texted Alfred: 'caught a bullet in the neck in Quebec' lol pretty sure that was me bro' . Smiled for like half an hour as he felt his phone buzzing with Alfred's enraged responses.

England: Everyone expects Arthur to detest the musical, not only because it is so unashamedly, patriotically American, but because he doesn't understand hip hop particularly well. However, Arthur is astonishingly, if understatedly complimentary upon seeing it on Broadway. Alfred eventually asked him point blank if it offended him in any way, and to Alfred's eternal surprise he said: "Your patriotism is tiring, of course, but put in such quick, witty verse, it's quite irresistible—don't look at me like that—he's a once-in-a-century lyricist—if not once-in-several-centuries." Later, when the show premiered on the West End, he would comment to friends that "the portrayal of King George is perhaps one of the funniest fucking things I've seen on stage in the last half century. I'd pay for tickets again just for that. I couldn't stand that man."