Category Concert Reports

The following concert report was sent in to us by Osaka-based Macross fan Howard Browning.

I was lucky enough to see JUNNA in Osaka on her first solo tour last year, so when it was announced she’d be back this April, I jumped at the chance. My luck held out in the ticket lottery and so on the 22nd I was lined up in front of Namba Hatch waiting to get in.

Namba Hatch is a much bigger venue than Osaka Big Cat where she played her first shows. She played two shows at Big Cat compared to one show at the Hatch, but it’s a step up. While Big Cat was hidden away in a mall, the Hatch is an Osaka landmark with it’s octagonal hall perched on top of a 3 story building.

The following is one of the few English language accounts of 1997’s ‘Macross: One Night Stand’ concert. Written Egan Loo, of Macross Compendium fame, it was originally published on the now defunct Ex.org. It is republished here, unedited, with Egan’s permission.

(c) Chie Kajiura

The fourth and final of Chie Kajiura’s birthday concerts for Macross 7’s Mylene Flare Jenius was many things. It was a recap of the previous concerts for those who might have missed them. It was the end of an event which had seen its numbers increase year by year. It was the beginning of a new type of semi-regular gig for Chie. Most importantly, it was a glimpse into the politics that go on behind the scenes of the Macross franchise. This did not make for a particularly good concert. What followed it, however, did.

The following review comes from long-time SpeakerPODcast contributor, Richard. His excellent blog can be found here.

NO LIVE, NO MACROSS!!

or, “I Didn’t Think They were Going to Sing ‘Lion,’ but Then BAM! Second Encore!”

I was feeling seriously crappy (nice little summer cold) and the concert hall was a 90-minute train ride away. Moreover, when I got there, my phone battery died. There were THIRTEEN THOUSAND people here… how the hell was I gonna find Tochiro, since he had my ticket?

February 2nd, 2013 was a date that will be remembered for many things. For one, it was the birthday of Mylene Jenius (-18!). Of course, this meant that Chie Kajiura held another one of her ‘Mylene Night’ concerts to commemorate Mylene’s birthday. Most importantly though, February 2nd 2013 was the day that Chie irrefutably claimed the title of Macross cover queen, something that most people had previously attributed to Megumi Nakajima.

How? Two words. Macross Plus.