Guess what.
The last time I went to a concert was in 2019. End of 2019 actually, just before the pandemic so no wonder, right? And it was a festival, not even an individual concert. I couldn’t really recall when was the last time I went to an actual one-musician-show concert, the last blog post I had for this was back in 2016 for God’s sakes!
The point is, it’s been TOO LONG since the last time I went to a real concert. The one that only showcases ONE artist be it a solo or a band. The one that doesn’t require stages changing and schedule planning. Yet I didn’t really notice that, until I saw this announcement.
At first...
This is freaking ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION.
Honestly I was not yet a big fan of them -was, because now, of course I fucking am now!- but they are a part of my childhood and early adulthood during my long-running Naruto era. And I know that they really are a big name in Japanese rock music industry so of course seeing that poster the first time I told myself,
“You’re going, Vick. You’re going, and you’re gonna be screaming Haruka Kanata out of your heart and throat.”
So I bought the ticket out of my sheer desire to pay homage to one of my childhood anime musicians. Nothing else, all pure for Naruto. I even thought straight in planning which outfit I’ll be wearing, disregarding the fact that I had a bigger homework to do: memorizing their hit songs.
Oh that “memorizing their hit songs” phase. 2-months full of cramming Ajikan’s songs into my ears and abusing my soul with sudden Japanese rock tunes. In Jakarta, in Bali, then back in Jakarta then back in Bali then straight to the concert venue.
At first there were only five biggest hit songs I crammed into my daily life, two of which I knew already. Then I warned myself that this wasn’t enough. Obviously. So I added five more after thorough research on the internet and Spotify listeners rank. After trying hard to get myself used to those 10 songs and its lyrics -of course I had to memorize the lyrics also, I wanted to sing along!- I began to realize that, no, this was still not enough.
Then...
I think I fell in love with AJIKAN.
How did I not? The songs played as the background to my WHOLE trip. Whether I realized which title was playing or not, it all played. So it subconsciously lingered to my brain. And it kept playing through my subconsciousness even when my Spotify is off, and it kept playing in my head even when I was asleep.
Rock music is not actually my main forte. But Ajikan already stole my heart with their Naruto appearances so somehow, I could tolerate their music. And eventually not just ‘tolerate’—I could actually find pleasure in their songs. Each title has a certain part that I love the most, which makes me excited to anticipate the coming of that part, which eventually, makes me love all the other parts as well. Is this how those Japanese rock music bands lure their fans??? I think so.
But really, it’s not just about the feeling. When I broke each songs down elements by elements, I somehow figured that I love every details of them. The overall moods are energizing. Not just regular energizing, but anime-opening-credit energizing. You can feel the difference if you watch anime.
It’s crazy.
Crazy to think that I can be easily falling into their music. Crazy to think of, why on earth didn’t I listen to their songs years and years earlier? At this point I could’ve been a freakier fan, purchasing their most expensive ticket, fighting for their meet-and-greet session, gulping their official merchandises, wearing them proudly on the floor while screaming the loudest among the crowds as if I’m their number one groupie and know them the best.
But that’s okay. I was not that late yet. I still got to see them and catch their concert, and be that freaky fan in my own spontaneous way now that I grew stronger love towards them.
And so I left Bali, still with those 20 songs playing non-stop through my AirPods, back to Jakarta where the first concert of Asian Kung-fu Generation would take place, exactly the next day.
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