After TMO, I was a little disappointed that the instrumental we got was "Rowla", having already seen it at 2 of the previous 3 concerts I was at. Still, they managed to put on a bangin' version of it, so it was cool.
During "King of Snake", I can tell you that everyone was definitely "jumpin' up and down". After the end of KoS, I was expecting it to go to break and then the encore. But instead, the lights went down. In the background, I could barely see a circular object being lowered onto stage. I sensed that something special might be happening, so I whipped out the camcorder, and boy am I glad I did, because what followed was hands-down the best version of "Pearl's Girl" I've seen. I didn't think anything could top the first time I saw "Pearl's Girl" in Central Park, but the Light Wheel and the rest of the light and sound spectacle was tremendous. Even the band was overwhelmed with Karl screaming, Rick posing for the crowd, and Rick and Darren hugging. Hats off to Hayden and the lighting crew; they really outdid themselves. Here's my favorite moment from the performance:
And here's the movie of "Pearl's Girl" in its entirety (this is what I promised you, Janie
):
After "Pearl's Girl" the Light Wheel stuck around for "Moaner"! I was excited because this was my first time hearing "Moaner" live. Hearing it in recordings so many times in no way prepared me for the pure sonic assault. On the video screens, however, they were showing the red/yellow nature footage that they show during "Jumbo". The juxtaposition of the sonic mayhem and serene flora was very amusing to me.
"Jumbo" was, as usual, a mellow crowd pleaser to close out the night.
As I was leaving, I noticed several people curled up sleeping on the floor in the concession/Art Jam hangar. I was too tired to stick around for The Orb, although I ended up waiting an hour at the train station for the first train of the morning, so I probably could have caught them anyway. The train back to Tokyo was packed to capacity. One girl standing next to me was so exhausted that she literally crumpled to the floor.
All in all, an excellent show, and quite an experience surrounded by rabid Japanese fans.
Media
Photo Album
I know phaseblue took some high-rez photos from up close, so I hope he posts those eventually. (Edit: According to
his Feb. 23 post, it looks like they might show up soon.) Hopefully, I'll get the Tomato videos processed someday, probably on RTSR.