LIVE REPORT ~ An Cafe: April 12, 2009
House of Blues, Anaheim, CA
The air was filled with a tense sort of “waiting” feeling before the start of the concert. An Cafe had played at the Avalon the day before, and in San Jose during the Fanime event in May of 2008. However this atmosphere was mixed with first timers (those seeing An Cafe for the first time) and those who had attended the previous night's show hoping to experience the same feelings all over again.
The fabulous fivesome entered in their Aroma garments to the uproarious sounds of frazzled screams and barely split any time before launching into their first song of the evening, Cherry Saku Yuki.
The first two songs introduced An Cafe's signature Harajuku dance rock style, and the audience, in these early moments, ate up the atmosphere riff after riff. The audience was a mass of brightly colored hair, nyappy signs, spiked wrist bands and plush toys. In fact, so many audience members had plush toys that it almost seemed as if this was massively planned out beforehand.
"NYAPPY!" came an enthusiastic voice. The audience responded back with "Nyappy" and Miku shouted "NYAPPY!" again, receiving the same response. "We are An Cafe! Uh, how are you?" The audience screamed back gleefully in reply. "How are you?" The charismatic vocalist repeated. "We are so nyappy! Let's make tonight nyappy! Let's go there! AN CAFE!!"
Miku has a surprisingly violent growl for someone of his stature. Most of the time he benevolently knelt in front of the audience and peered at them with his sharp gaze and round eyes. It gave the live a much more personal touch, since the stage was separated from the audience by only a very thin barricade.
During Duck no Magical Adventure he gave the option of letting the audience choose between Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse plush toys. How ironic. Here in the House of Blues in Anaheim, literally a mile away from Disneyland... Miku's signature Donald Duck impersonation has never felt more appropriate.
The fans revealed their love of An Cafe in a number of ways. Wild things have been thrown on stage at concerts before, but it should be mentioned that the pink bra that was thrown was completely unexpected. It seemed the audience had expected Duck no Magical Adventure; many of them had Donald Duck plushes. In fact, so many audience members had plush toys that it almost seemed if this was massively planned out beforehand.
An Cafe revealed their love for the audience in a variety of ways. For the duration of the live the members tend to hold stationary positions but during songs My Heart Leaps for "C" and Aroma, Takuya and Kanon approached the edge of the stage and shared their respective talents back to back among a frenzy of intensified fans (K.O.!). In Nyappy in the World 4 Yuki and Miku engaged in an entertaining rap battle, and Miku exposed his newly honed skills in the art of striptease during Summer Dive. Only An Cafe's charming drummer Teruki was resolute in one spot, but his enthusiasm for playing the drums was undeniable and during the live he was never without a cheerful grin plastered on his face.
The encore ended epicly, as most encores do. Miku really gave it his all during BondS ~Kizuna~, gloriously spitting out water at an award-winning pace; even though his vocals had clearly taken a beating he kept the audience locked in the moment. One couldn't help but feel goosebumps at his last request: "I want to see your special smile! Show me your special smile!" Smile Ichiban Ii Onna ended the live on an exhilarating note, with An Cafe deeply treasuring those last moments with their Anaheim fans. An Cafe continues to engage the audience long after the music has faded away. It is a testament to how precious their fans are to them. No caffeko went home with a heavy-heart that night.
set list
Cherry Saku Yuki
Tekesuta Kusen
-MC-
Kawayu’s Rock
Summer Dive
Zetsubou
Orange Dream
-MC-
NYAPPY in the World 4
-MC-
Duck no Magical Adventure
Aroma
My Heart Leaps for "C"
Snow Scene
ENCORE
BondS~Kizuna~
Smile Ichiban Ii Onna
report by Sarah; edited by Kara
Thanks to Sony and Maru Music for making this possible.
links
An Cafe Official Website
An Cafe Official Myspace
Maru Music
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