Archive for February, 2014
Right Stuf & Viz Media Partners Up!
Friday, February 21st, 2014VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), the largest publisher, distributor and licensor of manga, graphic novels and anime in North America, has announced a partnership with leading online anime retailer and video publisher Right Stuf, Inc. Right Stuf will offer annual subscriptions to the WEEKLY SHONEN JUMP digital manga magazine, bundled with their Got Anime membership, offering exclusive product discounts and other offers. (more…)
Blue Exorcist Manga Promotion
Friday, February 21st, 2014VIZ Media announces a special digital manga discount on the hit supernatural action adventure series.BLUE EXORCIST. For a limited time only from February 22nd until March 3rd, fans can check out the inspiration for the anime debuting this weekend on Adult Swim’s Toonami block with $1.00 off the digital MSRP (regularly $6.99) on Volumes 1-10 of the hit series, making all volumes available for only $5.99 (U.S. / CAN) each. The sale price will be available through the VIZManga.com and the VIZ Manga app for iOS and Android, and special pricing may be available through the digital partners storefronts for Nook, Kindle, GooglePlay, iBooks and Kobo. (more…)
Kyary Pamyu Pamyu - KPP NANDA COLLECTION WORLD TOUR 2014 - San Francisco
Sunday, February 16th, 2014
February 15th. A nice night for a concert. San Francisco’s Regency Ballroom played host to the second stop of Kyary Pamyu Pamyu’s “KPP NANDA COLLECTION 2014 WORLD TOUR.”
Kyary, at the ripe old age of 21, is a pop force to be reckoned with. Her trademark song is PONPONPON and it has made the rounds on Youtube and Nico Nico garnering tens of millions of views around the world. She wasn’t always a singer but she’s definitely made a place for herself. Kyary started as a fashion model and blogger and her eclectic style has entered both her music and the videos that spring from them.
Even her IEMs are deco’d out.
The show started right on the dot at 8pm. No sound check, no setup, just Kyary and her dancers ready to go. We saw this group at the J-Pop Summit last year and they’re as much a part of the show as Kyary is. They were dressed in a toy motif that matched the background props. The crowd erupted in cheers when they hit the stage and the night just went from there.
Kyary’s music is infectious to say the least. Electronic beats provided by CAPSULE’s Yasutaka Nakata filled the air and your head. Even if this isn’t your thing you unconsciously start bobbing your head and moving your feet. Staring the night was a few favorites like Invader Invader, Ninja Re Bang Bang, and Furisodeshon. About halfway through Kyary introduced her newest single, Yume no Hajima Ring Ring. It’s about graduation, the goodbyes to your friends and teachers, and the dreams and road ahead. It’s only been performed live a handful of times and this is the second time for both America and anywhere outside of Japan.
Little known fact: Kyary can shoot lasers
Rounding out the set list were PONPONPON and Fashion Monster. When Kyary says jump, you jump, and damn, the floor moved. I’m not sure what it’s rated for but all those bodies created enough kinetic energy to make it bounce. After Fashion Monster ended and Kyary exited with the stage going dark the chants began: “Kyary, Kyary, Kyary!” I was tempted to yell “on-ko-re!” in Japanese fashion but knew it wasn’t needed.   The final two songs were Candy Candy and Chan Chaka Chan Chan and they had the message of “goodbye, farewell, may we meet again.” A great way to end things.
Overall it was a fast set composed of 20 songs spanning roughly 90 minutes. The posted schedule had the show slated for 8-930pm and they did not veer from it. The meet and greet was to start at 10pm which gave fans 30 minutes to buy from the very slammed merch table. This seems like the perfect time to mention Sidestep, a relatively new app for both iphone and Android which allows fans to pre-pay for merch and pick it up at show. Fans can even have items shipped directly to your house which can come in handy if a certain size sells out at the show or you are unable to attend. I picked up one of the white tour shirts as my “proof of existence.”
Not too many of the shows I see at the Regency Ballroom sell out but Kyary managed to do it. It definitely felt that way too; way more packed than what I’ve seen in the past and that’s not even taking into consideration that a good number of them were upstairs. Fans were dancing and having a great time.
There was a light rain that continued throughout the night. Even the rain knows not to mess with Kyary til after her concert.
The next stop on the tour is in Los Angeles at Club Nokia on Sunday. This is followed a short break til the next trio of North American performances in Chicago, Toronto, and New York. After that is another break followed by a jaunt to Australia and Hong Kong, Europe, and then back to Asia to finish things off.
Kyary, please come back to San Francisco. I’m going to need another fix.
Costume #2
Costume #3 for the Encore
The full list of performances is as follows:
February 13 (Th), USA - Seattle - The Showbox
February 15 (Sa), USA - San Francisco - The Regency Ballroom
February 16 (Su), USA - Los Angeles - LA Live (Club Nokia)
March 5 (W), USA - Chicago - House of Blues
March 7 (F), CA - Toronto - Sound Academy
March 8 (Sa), USA - New York - Best Buy Theater
March 23 (Su), AU - Sydney - The Metro Theater
April 5 (Sa), CN - Hong Kong - ROTUNDA 3
April 25 (F), FR - Paris - Bataclan
April 27 (Su), DE - Cologne - Gloria Theater
April 29 (Tu), UK - London - Shepherd’s Bush Empire
May 17 (Sa), JP - Tokyo - Zepp Tokyo
May 18 (Su), JP - Tokyo - Zepp Tokyo
May 30 (F), TW - Taipei - Taipei International Convention Center
June 21 (Sa), SG - Singapore - Japan Music Festival
June 28 (Sa), TH - Bangkok - Bangkok Convention Center
Please check with each venue for time and ticketing information.
Kyary’s official English Facebook fan club is located here:
http://www.facebook.com/KPP.FC
Her twitter is at:
The full setlist:
OP - VTR
1. Nanda Collection
2. Invader Invader
3. Mi
4. Ninja Re Bang Bangbang
5. Kyary An-An
6. Furisodeshon
Inter Mission
7. Pamyu Pamyu Revolution
8. Mottai Night Land
9. Sungoi Aura
10. Kura Kura
11. Super Scooter Happy (Capsule cover)
12. Yume no Hajima Ring Ring
13. Saigo no Ice Cream
14. Tsukematsukeru
Inter Mission
15. Kyary no March
16. Cherry Bonbon
17. PONPONPON
18. Fashion Monster
Encore
19. Candy Candy
20. Chan Chaka Chan Chan
Album/single statistics:
Moshi Moshi Harajuku: 3 songs
Pamyu Pamyu Revolution:5
Nanda Collection: 9
Mottai Night Land: 2
Yume no Hajima Ring Ring: 1
Kyary Pamyu Pamyu World Tour 2014 - “KPP NANDA COLLECTION”
Thursday, February 6th, 2014
In about a week Kyary Pamyu Pamyu will begin her global concert tour titled the “KPP NANDA COLLECTION.” About six months ago Kyary stopped by San Francisco for the annual J-Pop Summit and participated in a four-act concert alongside LoVendoЯ (led by ex-Morning Musume’s Reina Tanaka), local Japanese-American singer Kylee, and beatbox master Daichi. Kyary made it a point to announce that there would be another tour and that San Francisco would be included. Her previous tour came as close as Los Angeles but for a lot of us that’s a bit too far.
For those of you unfamiliar with her, Kyary started out as a fashion blogger and model. In mid 2011 she added musician to her repertoire and released the single “Ponponpon” which exploded across the internet and currently has over 60 million views on YouTube. Her musical style can be described as electronica-pop and her three studio albums have become more and more popular throughout the world. During 2013 she began to spread globally with features in the French magazine Elle and the Wall Street Journal among other things. Her most recent album, 2013’s “Nanda Collection,” debuted at number two on the Billboard Top World Albums chart and at number one in Japan. A quick way of describing her is “Japanese Lady Gaga” and Kyary has even mentioned Lady Gaga and Katy Perry as a couple of her inspirations for both music and fashion. Her music is produced by Yasutaka Nakata, driving force behind CAPSULE and producer of the group Perfume.
The KPP NANDA COLLECTION begins in America at Seattle’s Showbox on February 13. A quick jaunt south to San Francisco’s Regency Ballroom on the 15th is followed by Los Angeles’ LA Live (Club Nokia) on the 16th. After a two week break it then heads east to Chicago, north to Toronto, and finally New York City. If you’re even remotely near any of those locations I suggest you come and see her. Future concert dates are in Australia, Hong Kong, Europe, and finally returning to Asia. The final tour date is on June 28th in Bangkok, Thailand.
We can expect mainstay songs like Ponponpon, Fashion Monster, and Invader Invader. There is a possibility that Kyary’s new single, “Yume no Hajimarinrin,” will be part of the show. It officially drops on February 26th but was performed last month at her KPP Magical Wonder Castle shows. Kyary’s trademark dancers should also be on deck and they’re always fun to watch.
As of now tickets are available for all the US dates minus the Seattle show which is sold out. From experience I can say that The Regency Ballroom in San Francisco has a good sized capacity and will probably have tickets available even on the night of the show. If you want to be sure go and buy your tickets ahead of time either through AXS or in person at The Warfield to avoid a service charge. Tickets are reasonably priced in the mid-$20s and for the truly dedicated there are VIP tickets for the San Francisco ($100) and Los Angeles ($150) shows. The VIP package includes both entry with a balcony seat as well as a post-show meet and greet. At the meet and greet staff will help take your photo. Sadly, no autographs. All other tickets should be assumed to be standing room only.
The full list of dates is as follows:
February 13, USA - Seattle - The Showbox
February 15, USA - San Francisco - The Regency Ballroom
February 16, USA - Los Angeles - LA Live (Club Nokia)
March 5, USA - Chicago - House of Blues
March 7, CA - Toronto - Sound Academy
March 8, USA - New York - Best Buy Theater
March 23, AU - Sydney - The Metro Theater
April 5, CN - Hong Kong - ROTUNDA 3
April 25, FR - Paris - Bataclan
April 27, DE - Cologne - Gloria Theater
April 29, UK - London - Shepherd’s Bush Empire
May 17, JP - Tokyo - Zepp Tokyo
May 18, JP - Tokyo - Zepp Tokyo
May 30, TW - Taipei - Taipei International Convention Center
June 21, SG - Singapore - Japan Music Festival
June 28, TH - Bangkok - Bangkok Convention Center