***Spoilers ahead!!!****




Arashi's Friday 5x10 Concert











Well, to sum it up the concert was amazing.



So I already went Thursday morning hella early to get the goods I wanted. Took me 4 hours, but I'm so glad I did it when I did, cuz today's line looked pretty crazy. I milled around the stadium in the hot sun for a few hours (had nothing better to do), watching fans practice lyrics, others beg for tickets (saw about a couple hundred of those "Please give up 1 or 2 ticket" signs, and listening to Arashi's rehearsal (there was a nice spot at the back of the stadium that you could hear really well, plus it was in the shade. Did I mention it was hot?). We started to go in a bit after 3 (opening time), because they'd been setting something up(?). My seat was nice for me (Gate 14, row R) cuz I got to see everything happen from a wide view. The boys made sure to run around a lot, so I got to see everybody with a vague kind of clarity (as expected without binoculars).

Anyway, the concert started a few minutes late (probably cuz a ton of people were filing into the stadium). A lot of girls were trying to start chants, but they were just to half-hazard to really get going.

Then the sound came up. For the life of me, I'm not gonna stress my brain to remember what songs were played when, so I couldn't tell you want the first song was, just that they came out of the very top of the stage, attached to wires that spanned to the top of the back of the stadium, in white sparkly outfits. They slid across the wire to the back and then came down the moving gizmo to the back stage. I was already on overload by then.

They had the moving stages that circled around to the sides of the stadium, and they usually split up in the same two groups (Jun, Ohno, and Aiba, Nino, Sho). I remember "Lucky Man" and "Step and Go" being fairly early on. For the longest time, I was wondering what they were gonna do for their solos, and I found out when Aiba came swinging out from the front stage on the same wires from before. I was having the hardest time remember which song it was, but I've come to the personal conclusion that it was Pikanchi (feel free to correct me). I was just surprise he was singing the song on his own, but most of the members did similar things for theirs too.

Next up was Nino's solo. He came out of the stage with an (electric?) guitar and sang "Kotoba yori". It was really quite impressive. But somewhere along the way he fumbled on some lyrics and smiled. Then he switched part of the lyrics to "I didn't mess up!". It was quite adorable.

After a few songs came Ohno's. I remember watching him when he ran off stage too. I was so freakin happy when he came out in his "Uta no Oniisan" outfit and sang "Kumori". It just made my day. He also did a great little pose at the end.

Later, Sho came out in a sparkly green and white hoodie, singing a kind of bouncy/rapish version of "Tomadoinagara". T.T I really liked it!

Immediately after Sho's was Jun's. He pretended he was directing the band as "Wish" began playing. His was a jazz version (T^T Very nice too!). He did some interesting jazz dancing (Not Ohno's level, but still great). There were also some fun water works.

Now, I'm pretty sure "Believe" played somewhere in there, but I don't remember exactly, just that they had some very awesome fireworks during the song as the boys were dancing in middle stage.

They sang the untitled/"We make storm" from their new album!! It was wonderful. Although, when I was watching the monitors with the lyrics, I found that a lot of the versions online are incorrect. I'll try to pay more attention tomorrow. It was really fun to jump during the song.

Also, they preformed "ARASHI", but the whole crowd screamed when they came out in those ridiculous see-through/clear plastic suits and white briefs from their early days. It was fantastic though! Plus they did "Allergy", dancing with those plastic vegetables. Dear lord, I was dying from laughter.

Bringing me to the MC, which they spent about half of it teasing Sho. They talked about him missing his vegetable for part of the dance (Not sure if they were talking about their early days, or if it just happened, cuz I didn't notice him dancing without it tonight), and that he couldn't even clearly remember what vegetable he had. (Ohno- carrot, Jun- pepper, Nino- onion). Then they started teasing him about their rehearsal (Sho didn't go up on the individual rising platform) During "Hadashi no Mirai" he wouldn't let go of the bars on his platform, so they said he was afraid, which he of course denied. So they made him prove it by going up on a platform by himself during the MC. Sho was quite funny. He had his eyes closed tightly at first. The other members asked him to do the dance again too, so he started singing "Hadashi", but it was a really low, slow version (^.^) cuz he was nervous, then when he did the dance, his hands barely left the bars. It was really funny to see him try not to raise his arms. But while he was finally lowered from his spot at middle stage, he looked behind him, and the other members had abandoned him for the main stage, just watching and laughing.

Then they promoted Aiba's new drama, "My Girl". They asked him what kind of tension he arrives on the set with, giving him the choices of his usual, loud cheerful "Hey!" or a cool "Good Morning". They made him act it out, so he left the stage for a second and came back. His "Morning" was a mix between trying to be cool and uncertainty. Very cute. Aiba said he usually wakes up at 5AM (at his house) before filming. Around that time, Sho left the stage to get changed for his solo.

The remaining four members asked Ohno what he'd been up to recently, but for the life of me, I can't remember what they talked about (I know it wasn't fishing, but if I can jog my memory later, I'll edit this).

After the MC, I know they did a medley of a lot of the cover songs (mostly same order as the release dates). I was surprised they could continue singing for so long, without much of a break. I know they did "ARASHI, Sunrise Nippon, Horizon, Typhoon Generation, Kansha Kangeki Ame Arashi, Jidai (Very nice!), Tomadoinagara, Hadashi no Mirai, Hero, Sakura Sake, Happiness, Truth(?)) Since I'm not sure on the others, I won't add them.

When "Truth" came around, they had the wires reattached and lifted off stage, and then to everyone's amusement, Sho didn't really go anywhere. He rose up slower than the others, then he just sat there in one spot as the other members slid back and forth past him. I don't know if it was intentional or not, but it was awesome.

I also remember there was a nice photo slide show of the members pics leading up from their baby pics to more recent ones during "Ashita no Kioku". There was a silly one of a bald Ohno (around 6 or 7?) At the end of the song, the pictures zoomed out and became the character "Arashi". Very sweet!

Before "5x10", the members each personally thanked the audience for staying with them all these years. Sho spoke first, mentioning he didn't think they'd be standing in that place in 10 years. Ohno went next, saying something similar to Sho and thanking everyone, but he choked up in the middle (which made every girl (and me) start crying with him and cheering him on to finish). It was so sweet. When he went back to his place, Aiba gave him a quick hug before he talked about "still wanting to create a storm throughout the world". Nino was next. He started thanking everyone, but then behind the stadium, fireworks started going off (probably meant for when they finished talking?). He paused his speech after saying they were a "bother". The display was also very nice, but I think I preferred "Believe"s. The fireworks finally stopped and Nino said "I forgot what I was gonna say." He continued though, and then Jun also said his thanks before introducing 5x10. Everyone was still sniffing and some started crying again during the song. Then they let off a ton of ballons (blue, red, yellow, green, and purple). 

They changed into custom version of the Arashi 5x10 concert tour shirts (Sho's was a tank top, Aiba's had a lightning bolt on it, and Jun's had shredded sleeves) for their encores. I know they left once, maybe twice. They thanked the dancers and musicians, then the fans. At the end, Jun said "And we are!...what was it again (an adorable "Nandake?" with a tilted head)", and the audience finished with a loud "Arashi!"

So that sums up my first Arashi concert. It was definitely worth it and I can't wait to go back tomorrow! Sorry for the randomness as I was just typing in the order I remembered things. ^_^;


P.S. Getting out and home in the crowds and on the trains was crazy, but nothing I haven't been through before.


Edit: (Pics)

  ----> Line for Arashi Goods (average 5 hour wait)

----> Arashi's bus

----> My view from the stands

---> Olympic torch thingy from outside


Edit: OMG, I finally remembered what they were talking about with Ohno!!!! Thanks to nccgal89 's comment! Jun mentioned that he saw Ohno's Uta no Oniisan costume backstage, and when he saw the hat, he said he thought that "Leader's head is really small". So during the MC, Jun went up to Ohno and put his hand/fingers around his head, trying to measure, but he was pressing too hard, so Oh-chan's forehead got all scrunched up into this funny little annoyed look. Then Jun said "Yup, it's really small." Then Nino came over and did the same thing to see if it was true. Ohno's reaction was the same! ^.^ It was so adorable, I can't believe I spaced it!