July 5: Spaceland When I showed up at 7:30, there was already a line of about twenty people. An hour later, the line wrapped around the building. I talked to a guy who is a big Puffy fan. I asked him what music he's listening to these days, he said he just listens to Puffy. He never heard of the other J-Pop bands I mentioned, not even Pizzicato Five. But he had heard of Sho- nen Knife. Another Puffy fan in line was from Japan, he had seen Puffy there at a stadium for fifty dollars. He is a big Cibo Matto fan, and was telling me about Miho Hatori's side projects. One is Miho and Smokey, he said they'll be on tour soon, and the other is the Gorillas, a UK band. He also said Cornelius is coming to LA. I'm not a big fan of Cornelius's CDs, but he puts on an amazing live show. The Cibo Matto fan informed me that Pizzicato Five has split up. First I heard of it. Spaceland finally opened its doors a little after 9:00. I secured my spot at the edge of the stage, and didn't budge till it was all over at 1:15 or so. After suffering through the two mediocre opening acts, my vigilance was rewarded at midnight when Puffy hit the stage. They're even cuter in person than in their photos! I didn't think it was possible. They were backed by a rock band, which made the pop ten times cooler. The rhythm guitarist looks just like a younger version of George Tokoro. Of course, the singing is what made the show great, the way the duo's voices blend is magical. Ami said, "I am Ami," Yumi said, "I am Yumi," and then in unison, "We are Puffy AmiYumi." In Japan they're known simply as Puffy, the "AmiYumi" is for the American market, to avoid confusion with Puff Daddy, who goes by P. Diddy now, so I wonder if the appendage is necessary. Much of the between- song banter was in Japanese, but most of the audience under- stood it (myself not included). Ami and Yumi clearly like each other, they would often look at each other and laugh conspiratorially. Yumi got a big kick out of everything Ami did. Ami put her towel on her mike stand for easier access. Yumi was impressed and followed suit. Then she kissed Ami's towel and rubbed her cheek on it. Ami kissed her own towel. I was never so jealous of a towel. Later Ami tied the towel around her neck. Yumi laughed and jiggled the knot. As a courtesy to those of us who don't understand Japanese, they read statements in English. Ami told a story about the photo session that day, and how she discoverd afterward that her fly was open the whole time. "So if you see a photo and my fly is open, I am sorry!" One joker in the audience yelled out, "Hey, Ami! Hey, Yumi! Where's Puffy?" And also: "Puffy! I want to have your baby!" I recognized the voice. The same guy had yelled the "have your baby" line at Shonen Knife several years ago. That must be his evergreen material. I took about twenty pictures with my disposable camera before someone told me to stop. I got to keep my camera. THE PHOTOS During their last song, I took Yumi's set list and stuck it in my book. I saw Yumi staring at the book, a bit bemused. When she looked up at me I shrugged apologetically. She made a goofy, mock-angry face, then laughed. I felt very special, sharing a nonverbal exchange with the beautiful Yumi. Some- times thievery is rewarded. THE SETLIST July 6: The Roxy This show had sold out a couple weeks beforehand. I knew enough to buy a ticket early, because I've seen other J-Pop bands (namely Dreams Come True and Love Psychedelico) come to California and sell out small venues quickly. I guess they figure these Japanese mega-stars are unknown in the US, so they book the smaller places, but don't take into account the many Japanese immigrants in California for whom Puffy et al. are as big as Madonna and Britney Spears. I showed up at 7:15, and about forty people were in line. Roxy staff warned that if anyone snuck in a camera, he would be kicked out, and the camera would be taken away. The Roxy is pretty strict about cameras no matter who's playing, so I didn't bring one. The doors opened at about 8:30. I didn't get the stage's edge this time, I was three bodies back. I bought Puffy merch: A t-shirt and the new American CD, Illustrated History, which is a greatest hits collection. I would have just gotten the t-shirt, since most of the songs on the CD are from albums I already own, but if you bought both you got a white card- board square that Puffy had signed just before the show. I couldn't very well pass that up. THE SIGNED CARD The t-shirt has an American flag, a smiling skull and cross- bones, and "Puffy AmiYumi" spelled out in phonetic Chinese, I suppose to add to the international flavor. THE T-SHIRT'S CHINESE CHARACTERS Just one opening band, Bleu. The singer said he cowrote a song with a member of Jellyfish, who had produced a Puffy al- bum. And Puffy sang backup on one of Bleu's tracks. All one happy family. Bleu isn't bad, they do catchy power pop. The Roxy doesn't seem much bigger than Spaceland, but the stage is three times larger, so Puffy had more dancing room. At Spaceland the band played for a minute before Puffy made their entrance, this time everyone walked on together. I saw three people taking pictures. Only one of them got busted. He was standing right in front of me, and had both a still and a video camera. They looked expensive. A bouncer tapped him on the shoulder, jerked his thumb back to indicate it was time to leave, and said, "We're gonna have to take your camera." The man argued that he was only taking pictures for himself. They spoke a few minutes more in low voices I couldn't hear, then the man and his wife or girlfriend fol- lowed the bouncer out of the crowd. I felt bad for them, but I was also happy that I got to move closer. Now I was right behind the people pressed against the stage, and had a great view. It was the drummer's birthday that night, so a large cake was brought out. The cake had what looked like the San Onofre nu- clear plant on it, but Ami clarified what it really was. "Big boobs!" she exclaimed. One breast had candles stuck in it, which the drummer blew out. He was handed a gift bag, it con- tained a swimsuit. Ami and Yumi had more prepared statements in English. Yumi said that last night Ami told her story about having her fly open at the photo shoot, now Yumi had a story, but she was too embarrassed to tell it, so Ami told it. Yumi slipped in the shower and hit her head (the audience went "Awwww"). As Yumi lay there, she realized that if the ambulance came they would find her "naked naked naked!" And she would go all the way to the hospital "naked naked naked!" And when people came to visit her at the hospital, she would be in the bed "naked naked naked!" So she got herself up out of the shower and managed to get into bed, and when she woke up the next morn- ing, she realized she was still "naked naked naked!" Yumi stared at the floor grinning during the story, she seemed to enjoy everyone picturing her naked. When Ami finished reading, Yumi explained in Japanese how she slipped. Something about the way Western showers are different made her step back quickly, then her feet went out from under her. The show ended a bit after 11:00. The songs all sounded great. I got extra energized when I recognized the ones from Jet, my favorite Puffy album. The Japanese fans seemed to know all the songs, and were singing along. PUFFY AMIYUMI TOUR
LOS ANGELES 2002
Home