[frecklegirl]

Just got back from the show... it was so amazing, and I REALLY wasn't expecting much.

During Ima, she sailed in mid-song from the back of the hall towards the stage on a giant boat (through the middle of the audience on a track that had been set up), and then the boat went under the stage and she disappeared. She was wearing some sort of dark red outfit with a big hat.

She reappeared on the stage during Souretsu (!!!) wearing a dark green cape-dress, a blue feathery/tendril-y fascinator on one side of her head, and sandals with some yellow in them. And short black hair - the only black hair we saw all night.

For Yattsuke Shigoto, she busted out the electric guitar and it felt like Zazen Ecstasy up in there.

I'm not sure when the next costume change happened, but she disappeared by falling through a trapdoor that opened up in the stage and pulled her down. It was crazy. When she came back out, she was wearing a wedding dress and veil and straight pink wig. During this part of the show there was a lot of crazy lighting - like seizure-inducing strobe lighting, and weird/creepy dancing with Ringo and her two backup girls.

Between today and tomorrow was the next costume change transition song. For Ketteiteki Sanpunkan, lit-up stairs appeared at the back of the stage and she walked down it with her backup girls. She was in a curly pink hair wig and a tight, belted orange pencil skirt dress designed to look like a policewoman or something, and a matching jaunty cap.

For Noudouteki Sanpunkan, the screens on the stage all started playing a ticker of 3:00:00 which counted down until the very end of the song, it was so cool.

望遠鏡の外の景色 was the next costume change transition song. She came out in the same wig as before minus the hat and a white coat with red trim and white boots (the backup girls had the same coat but red boots). Of course, you see the coat, you know it's coming off later but I was still not expecting what it finally became. During Jiyuu e Michidzure, she walked to the tip of the center of the stage and it BROKE OFF and turned into a floating platform which went along the same track down the middle of the main floor audience that she'd entered in on the boat. There was a stationery skateboard on the platform which she was standing on, and she had the megaphone to sing through. She went to the back of the hall and then back. For the next song, the coat came off to reveal a glittery dress - gold top and pink skirt (she had also changed - onstage! - the white boots for sandals). The dancers came back out in light blue and lavender leotards, wearing unicorn horns on their heads, with tails they could swish.

Basically at this point the show turned into Cabaret, in the sense that the screens onstage all had neon light displays on them, which looked AMAZING, like seriously cool. I wish I could describe it better.

Then... it happened. First they put pegasus wings on her. Then... then... THE SKIRT FELL AWAY TO REVEAL A GOLD LEOTARD. AND THAT'S ALL SHE WAS WEARING. Sparkly gold leotard with a few slim belts on it, sandals, WINGS, and at the back of the leotard was a long, skinny horse's tail. And she sang the last song like that, and it was insane. INSAAAAAANE. Towards the end of the song, the main guy musicians (Ukigumo, the accordion guy, HZM, even Saito Neko) came down the cabaret stairs carrying confetti guns, positioned themselves at the edge of the stage, then shot them into the audience. Then the show ended, with everyone buzzing!!!

Encore was only two songs (she came back out in the gold leotard with a green fur coat over her shoulders), and she spoke to the audience for the first time the whole show (whaaat?) after the first one, to say the next song would be the last (cue cries of disappointment and Ringo ignoring them).

Guests included HZM on piano/keyboard and Ukigumo on guitar (he sang the rap part during Ryuukou), and Saito Neko.

Merch: I got the toiletry bag (it's pimp), the poster that's just the pic of her (it's huuuuge), the pin, the stickers, the light blue pegasus flag, and the Switch book. I wish I'd gotten the eco bag because it's really nice and has stitching on it, but I might ask someone else to get it for me. Fortunately my coworkers (who I went with) were already getting in line for merch so they bought my stuff for me, so I was not out there all day waiting (I rolled up at 5pm).

Basically, it was a really good show, just overall. I didn't feel like she - or anyone else in the band - was phoning it in (instead it really looked like they were all having fun), and even if I didn't hear as many classic songs as I wanted to, I still enjoyed just about every song even if it wasn't my favorite. The technology was also really great - the lighting was amazing, and those screens on the stage were utilized VERY well (even if I wish there had been one just showing a close-up on her face all the time. I wasn't super far away - 13 rows up on the right side of the stage; unfortunately not in the floor area between which she glided but really not bad at all - but I wasn't close enough to see her face without a screen on it). The time passed by in a flash and we were all in awe when it was over. I don't think I had a transcendental experience, but it was a very satisfying one (especially after how disappointed I was in boring, sedate Toutaikai last year - my very first Ringo show). I've just renewed my Ringohan membership and I look forward to more live shows; hoping there are opportunities. One of my coworkers is just as huge a fan as I am (the other two I think are more moderate Ringo fans), so I have at least one person here I can count on to always be down to go see her.