I'm not a Japanese fan, but I am a fan of the Japanese..haha.
Setsumi, this is fantastic!! It's been 3? 4? years since you saw them, right? I'm happy they're finally visiting you again!!
Now, here's how you keep them coming back: Give them Ramune soda and pocky. Let them get addicted to it and then point out that the only way they can get the authentic stuff(there are different recipes here that they market to the US that taste horrible) is to come back.
I always wondered why OK Go kept me waiting sooooo long. But finally they're coming back in August!!!
I live in London but I'm Japanese!! Are you going to the festival?? Oh I wish I could go just to see OK Go but I don't think I can cope with the Japanese summer any more!!!
I'm planning to go, but it all depends on whether or not I get tickets. My mom's friend said he would get us the tickets for us since we're not in Japan, but he never told us if he did.
So, this is many months late, but better late than never, right? I have some video (also some from Formoz) and I'll try to upload it soon. It's not on my computer otherwise I would do it now. My partners in crime in this are my mom and my sister, Julia.
Tokyo (08/11/07) Our hotel in Tokyo was really close to the Summer Sonic venues. The night we arrived in Tokyo was the day before Summer Sonic. After we had checked in, we decided to walk around and get an idea of what the place looked like. Basically, there were two main areas. One was the Chiba Marine Stadium, which had one stage inside, and the other was Makuhari Messe, which was like a big convention center with four stages inside. OK Go was playing the Marine Stage, the one inside the Stadium. That one was kind of like the main stage. We walked by Makuhari Messe, but we just kind of looked at it and headed over to where the Stadium was. We saw people outside setting up stuff. We heard music and tried to see if we could figure out who was soundchecking. We only knew that it wasn’t OK Go. Then we decided that we’ve looked around enough and there’s no chance that OK Go is going to pop up randomly, so we went to eat.
The next day, my mom and I went downstairs to eat breakfast. While we were eating, we saw two girls at the table next to us who had Summer Sonic wristbands. My mom starts asking them if they knew where we could buy tickets (in case Dan didn’t put us on the guest list). They told us that it was sold out. That worried me slightly. The gates opened at 9 and I was planning to get there a lot earlier, but my mom and I ended up going to the Stadium at 9. Julia was still getting ready, so we were meeting her at later at an arranged spot.
On our way to the Stadium, we see a guy wearing a staff shirt, so my mom went up to him to ask him if he knew where the guest list was. He didn’t speak English, so he couldn’t help us. Another staff guy came over and he spoke a tiny bit of English. He said that he would take us to the information tent. When we get to the tent, we find a girl that speaks really good English. She tells us that the guest list is at one of the gates at Makuhari Messe. She showed us on a map where we had to go, but the guy that had showed us to the info tent said he would take us, so we follow him. We’re walking, but he would occasionally stop when he saw other staff people and ask them something (I think it was directions). After awhile, it seems like he doesn’t know where he is going and we didn’t know either.
He takes us to a gate that’s guarded by two policemen. I notice a sign that shows all of the different colored wristbands (there were at least ten different kinds) and it shows which ones are allowed in that particular area. Our Japanese guy says something to them and points at us and says some more things. The policeman nods and then we walk inside. There’s a bunch of staff people at a table, so he goes up and starts talking to them. I take a look around and I see Jordan standing less than ten feet away from me! I said, “Oh my god! Jordan!!” and walk over to him. My mom comes over and I introduce her to him. I tell him about how our Japanese guy just brought us back here and how we don’t know if we’re on the guest list or not. Jordan said that Dan probably forgot to put us on the list and there’s nothing they could do to get us in. I told him about how we were going to be in Osaka tomorrow, so he said that he would make sure we were on the list if we give him our names. Then my mom starts talking about how no one speaks English and Jordan says something about how they have translator. He said he would be back and walks inside the building. A little later Jordan comes back out and said, “Believe it or not, but you’re on the list!” Mike comes out and I say hi to him and he waves. DAN! walked out next. He sees me and says, “I put you on the list!” He said it like I had accused him of not putting me on the list, which I hadn’t. He walks over and I probably gave him a hug. He says again that he put me on the list and I tell him that I have no idea where I would find the guest list and he said he didn’t know either. I think Andy came out next. He came over and the three of us talked for a bit. While I was talking to Dan and Andy, Tim walked out. I waved and he waved back, but he didn’t come over. Damian also walked out, but he never really looked in my direction so I couldn’t get his attention.
During this time, my mom had been talking to their translator, who wrote something down in Japanese on a piece of paper (The only thing I could read was OK Go written in one corner) and had told her where to go to find the guest list. My mom came over and I introduced her to Dan and Andy. Both of them were holding things in their right hands, but they moved them to their left hands so they could shake my mom’s hand. It was pretty cute. Then Brendan said they had to go. I said bye (I forgot to say thank you). Andy said, “Drinks lots of water!” My reply to that was something like, “Yeah, I’m sweating a lot.” How embarrassing! My thinking behind this was that I’m sweating all of the water out, so yes, I know I need to drink lots of water and stay hydrated, but for some reason I just said I’m sweating. I blame the heat. It didn’t allow me to think properly.
My mom and I found the place where the guest list was and I got my wristband. It was sparkly, pink, and said, “GUEST – 11” on it. I also had to pay ¥2000, which is only around $20, but still. I thought guest list means free. Then we spent a lot of time trying to find my sister because she wasn’t at the arranged place. Eventually, we find her and after a short rest, we headed over to the stadium. There was only one band before OK Go and we missed them. When we walked into the stadium, we could see Jordan on the stage setting up. We tried to get as close as possible, but we were still pretty far away. We managed to get to the seventh row or so when they started playing. I can’t remember the set list anymore. I thought I wrote it down, but I guess I didn’t. I think it was something like this:
Don’t Ask Good Idea Get Over It OLISQ HIGA Invincible DWYW
I have this weird feeling that they might have play TV, but I really can’t remember. I do remember it was the first time I ever saw them not play YSDH. After they finished, we managed to get up to the second row. Which made me kind of angry, because I would much rather be seventh row for Editors and second for OK Go. We didn’t try looking for the guys because we thought it would be almost impossible to find them, even though I had seen them earlier. That was just luck and coincidence.
Osaka (08/12/07) We found the guest list pretty easily. This time the wristband was sparkly blue and we didn’t have to pay ¥2000. We were pretty late so we heard OK Go start playing as we were walking to the stage. We didn’t even try to get close to the stage. Instead, we stood near the sound booth, where we saw Mike. He didn’t see us and we didn’t want to bother him while he was working. We did see him sing along to HIGA when they were playing it though. It was the same set list as Tokyo. After it was over, we yelled at Mike. He came over and we talked for a little bit.
We stuck around for Editors and then we went in search of water because we had run out. We found the area that sold food and merch. I saw an OK Go shirt that I had never seen before (it was the treadmill one with the disco ball) and I was going to buy it, but it was sold out. As we were wandering around, we saw a sign and it said OK Go on it. It also had other bands and times next to each band. It was set up next to a tent, so we figured out that it was a signing tent. The time for OK Go was around 3 and it was around 2 when we found the sign. We decided to take a look at one of the other stages and then come back for the signing.
It was around 2:30 when we got back. We were kind of confused because there was a barricade around the tent, but a line of people inside next to the tent. There was also a line outside by the barricade. Since we couldn’t get inside, we lined up in the line by the barricade. We were pretty confused. Julia went to the front of the line and found a girl that explained what was going on. The line inside the barricade gets to meet OK Go. The line outside was for the next band. When OK Go is finished, then the line outside moves inside. Basically, we couldn’t meet the guys. We decided to wait around so we could see them. I was thirsty, so I went to buy something to drink.
When I came back, they were already there. Andy was the first person at the table, then Tim, Dan, and Damian was at the end. Their translator was standing near Damian and I think she recognized me because she looked right at me and kind of stared at me. We waited there, hoping that they would see us. Julia thought it was weird to take pictures of them, so she only took one, but in the picture, you can’t even see any of them because people are covering them. When the last person in the line passed Andy, he looked around and he saw us. He pointed at us and then he said something like, “It’s really hot.” I was fanning myself with my OK Go fan from Formoz, so I guess that’s why he said that. I said yeah. Then he whispered something into Tim’s ear. Tim looked up and we waved at him and he waved back. Then started to leave. Andy looked over at us and pointed behind him and said, “We’ve got to go.” We waved and he waved back. We were hoping Dan would see us before he left, but he didn’t. They got into a van parked behind the tent, but they didn’t leave right away, so a bunch of people were taking pictures of the van and stuff. I think Andy waved at the people watching him, but I can’t really remember. Then the van drove away.
)
Comments
Setsumi, this is fantastic!! It's been 3? 4? years since you saw them, right? I'm happy they're finally visiting you again!!
Now, here's how you keep them coming back: Give them Ramune soda and pocky. Let them get addicted to it and then point out that the only way they can get the authentic stuff(there are different recipes here that they market to the US that taste horrible) is to come back.
JAPAN AAAAAAAAAAAAND OKGO? My two favorite things?! TOGETHER? I'M GOING TOO!!!!!!!!!1
And, more importantly, WHY DO THEY HAVE HIGHER BILLING THAN OK GO????
I always wondered why OK Go kept me waiting sooooo long.
But finally they're coming back in August!!!
congrants for you my dear!
I always wondered why OK Go kept me waiting sooooo long.
But finally they're coming back in August!!!
I live in London but I'm Japanese!! Are you going to the festival??
Oh I wish I could go just to see OK Go but I don't think I can cope with the Japanese summer any more!!!
Tokyo (08/11/07)
Our hotel in Tokyo was really close to the Summer Sonic venues. The night we arrived in Tokyo was the day before Summer Sonic. After we had checked in, we decided to walk around and get an idea of what the place looked like. Basically, there were two main areas. One was the Chiba Marine Stadium, which had one stage inside, and the other was Makuhari Messe, which was like a big convention center with four stages inside. OK Go was playing the Marine Stage, the one inside the Stadium. That one was kind of like the main stage. We walked by Makuhari Messe, but we just kind of looked at it and headed over to where the Stadium was. We saw people outside setting up stuff. We heard music and tried to see if we could figure out who was soundchecking. We only knew that it wasn’t OK Go. Then we decided that we’ve looked around enough and there’s no chance that OK Go is going to pop up randomly, so we went to eat.
The next day, my mom and I went downstairs to eat breakfast. While we were eating, we saw two girls at the table next to us who had Summer Sonic wristbands. My mom starts asking them if they knew where we could buy tickets (in case Dan didn’t put us on the guest list). They told us that it was sold out. That worried me slightly. The gates opened at 9 and I was planning to get there a lot earlier, but my mom and I ended up going to the Stadium at 9. Julia was still getting ready, so we were meeting her at later at an arranged spot.
On our way to the Stadium, we see a guy wearing a staff shirt, so my mom went up to him to ask him if he knew where the guest list was. He didn’t speak English, so he couldn’t help us. Another staff guy came over and he spoke a tiny bit of English. He said that he would take us to the information tent. When we get to the tent, we find a girl that speaks really good English. She tells us that the guest list is at one of the gates at Makuhari Messe. She showed us on a map where we had to go, but the guy that had showed us to the info tent said he would take us, so we follow him. We’re walking, but he would occasionally stop when he saw other staff people and ask them something (I think it was directions). After awhile, it seems like he doesn’t know where he is going and we didn’t know either.
He takes us to a gate that’s guarded by two policemen. I notice a sign that shows all of the different colored wristbands (there were at least ten different kinds) and it shows which ones are allowed in that particular area. Our Japanese guy says something to them and points at us and says some more things. The policeman nods and then we walk inside. There’s a bunch of staff people at a table, so he goes up and starts talking to them. I take a look around and I see Jordan standing less than ten feet away from me! I said, “Oh my god! Jordan!!” and walk over to him. My mom comes over and I introduce her to him. I tell him about how our Japanese guy just brought us back here and how we don’t know if we’re on the guest list or not. Jordan said that Dan probably forgot to put us on the list and there’s nothing they could do to get us in. I told him about how we were going to be in Osaka tomorrow, so he said that he would make sure we were on the list if we give him our names. Then my mom starts talking about how no one speaks English and Jordan says something about how they have translator. He said he would be back and walks inside the building. A little later Jordan comes back out and said, “Believe it or not, but you’re on the list!” Mike comes out and I say hi to him and he waves. DAN! walked out next. He sees me and says, “I put you on the list!” He said it like I had accused him of not putting me on the list, which I hadn’t. He walks over and I probably gave him a hug. He says again that he put me on the list and I tell him that I have no idea where I would find the guest list and he said he didn’t know either. I think Andy came out next. He came over and the three of us talked for a bit. While I was talking to Dan and Andy, Tim walked out. I waved and he waved back, but he didn’t come over. Damian also walked out, but he never really looked in my direction so I couldn’t get his attention.
During this time, my mom had been talking to their translator, who wrote something down in Japanese on a piece of paper (The only thing I could read was OK Go written in one corner) and had told her where to go to find the guest list. My mom came over and I introduced her to Dan and Andy. Both of them were holding things in their right hands, but they moved them to their left hands so they could shake my mom’s hand. It was pretty cute. Then Brendan said they had to go. I said bye (I forgot to say thank you). Andy said, “Drinks lots of water!” My reply to that was something like, “Yeah, I’m sweating a lot.” How embarrassing! My thinking behind this was that I’m sweating all of the water out, so yes, I know I need to drink lots of water and stay hydrated, but for some reason I just said I’m sweating. I blame the heat. It didn’t allow me to think properly.
My mom and I found the place where the guest list was and I got my wristband. It was sparkly, pink, and said, “GUEST – 11” on it. I also had to pay ¥2000, which is only around $20, but still. I thought guest list means free. Then we spent a lot of time trying to find my sister because she wasn’t at the arranged place. Eventually, we find her and after a short rest, we headed over to the stadium. There was only one band before OK Go and we missed them. When we walked into the stadium, we could see Jordan on the stage setting up. We tried to get as close as possible, but we were still pretty far away. We managed to get to the seventh row or so when they started playing. I can’t remember the set list anymore. I thought I wrote it down, but I guess I didn’t. I think it was something like this:
Don’t Ask
Good Idea
Get Over It
OLISQ
HIGA
Invincible
DWYW
I have this weird feeling that they might have play TV, but I really can’t remember. I do remember it was the first time I ever saw them not play YSDH. After they finished, we managed to get up to the second row. Which made me kind of angry, because I would much rather be seventh row for Editors and second for OK Go. We didn’t try looking for the guys because we thought it would be almost impossible to find them, even though I had seen them earlier. That was just luck and coincidence.
Osaka (08/12/07)
We found the guest list pretty easily. This time the wristband was sparkly blue and we didn’t have to pay ¥2000. We were pretty late so we heard OK Go start playing as we were walking to the stage. We didn’t even try to get close to the stage. Instead, we stood near the sound booth, where we saw Mike. He didn’t see us and we didn’t want to bother him while he was working. We did see him sing along to HIGA when they were playing it though. It was the same set list as Tokyo. After it was over, we yelled at Mike. He came over and we talked for a little bit.
We stuck around for Editors and then we went in search of water because we had run out. We found the area that sold food and merch. I saw an OK Go shirt that I had never seen before (it was the treadmill one with the disco ball) and I was going to buy it, but it was sold out. As we were wandering around, we saw a sign and it said OK Go on it. It also had other bands and times next to each band. It was set up next to a tent, so we figured out that it was a signing tent. The time for OK Go was around 3 and it was around 2 when we found the sign. We decided to take a look at one of the other stages and then come back for the signing.
It was around 2:30 when we got back. We were kind of confused because there was a barricade around the tent, but a line of people inside next to the tent. There was also a line outside by the barricade. Since we couldn’t get inside, we lined up in the line by the barricade. We were pretty confused. Julia went to the front of the line and found a girl that explained what was going on. The line inside the barricade gets to meet OK Go. The line outside was for the next band. When OK Go is finished, then the line outside moves inside. Basically, we couldn’t meet the guys. We decided to wait around so we could see them. I was thirsty, so I went to buy something to drink.
When I came back, they were already there. Andy was the first person at the table, then Tim, Dan, and Damian was at the end. Their translator was standing near Damian and I think she recognized me because she looked right at me and kind of stared at me. We waited there, hoping that they would see us. Julia thought it was weird to take pictures of them, so she only took one, but in the picture, you can’t even see any of them because people are covering them. When the last person in the line passed Andy, he looked around and he saw us. He pointed at us and then he said something like, “It’s really hot.” I was fanning myself with my OK Go fan from Formoz, so I guess that’s why he said that. I said yeah. Then he whispered something into Tim’s ear. Tim looked up and we waved at him and he waved back. Then started to leave. Andy looked over at us and pointed behind him and said, “We’ve got to go.” We waved and he waved back. We were hoping Dan would see us before he left, but he didn’t. They got into a van parked behind the tent, but they didn’t leave right away, so a bunch of people were taking pictures of the van and stuff. I think Andy waved at the people watching him, but I can’t really remember. Then the van drove away.
That Dan put you on the guestlist- that was absolutely thrilling. He's so sweeet!