Placebo live in Japan (Mar. 6, 2010 in Tokyo)

Mar. 6, 2010 Placebo @ Akasaka Blitz, Tokyo, Japan

Originally written on Sunday, March 7, 2010 at 4:08pm on facebook and PFWW
I went to Placebo's 2nd gig at Akasaka Blitz, Tokyo on Saturday with my Japanese friend. 
Without her, I couldn't have bought the tickets so thank you, Malu-san<3 Saturday gig was sold out.
We were in the first group of 100 people. Malu-san and I went inside 
around 5pm when the door was opened and stood in the second row on 
Brian's side. Before the show started, there was music playing inside 
the venue. Although I didn't remember the names of the songs, I knew I'd 
heard all the songs in molkover shows last year :)
Around 6pm, finally all the lights were off and that 'ah ah~~~' started. A little later Steve walked into the stage. 

When Brian finally showed up, I suddenly found myself in the first and a half row because 
people started pushing forward so hard, so fast!!! I think I was leaning
my upper body on the person before me who was at the barrier during the entire time of the gig o_o
I couldn't even pull my arms out to 'put my hands in the air and wave them like I give a f**k'.
Brian was wearing a white shirt, a waistcoat and skinny pants and the 

shoes that I don't think I've seen in any recent gig pics before. 

I don't know what to call them in Europe but we call them 'walker ankle 
boots' in Korea and he was wearing black leather walker boots and his pants were tucked into the boots.
Stefan was wearing a white suit with thin stripes and a black shirt. 

He took off his jacket a couple of songs later, I think.

Steve was shirtless and Fiona was wearing white pants and a white short sleeve blouse.
During the first or the second song(can't remember exactly), there was 
one photographer taking pictures of Brian right under his feet. Brian 
took a quick glance at him but just let him do his job. He disappeared 
after a few minutes, I think, so there was no 'water bottle incident' repeated :D 

-Set list-
For What It's Worth
Ashtray Heart
Battle For The Sun
Soulmates
Speak In Tongues
Cops
Every You
Special Needs
Breathe Underwater
Julien
Neverending Why
Come Undone
Devil In The Details
Meds
Song To Say Goodbye
Special K
Bitter End
--------
(Mendelssohn)
Bright Light
Trigger Happy
Infra-red
Taste In Men
source: http://asm.jugem.cc/

It was rather surprising that Brian spoke a little more than I expected.
I thought I would be hearing just 'thank you!'(because Japanese, like 
Koreans or Chinese, don't speak English) but he actually spoke a little 
more than that. And he said, 'arigato!' many times :)
Before Speak In Tongues, he said, 'when I was little, my mother used to 
take me to the church where people spoke in different languages... This 
song is called Speak In Tongues' or something like that. (sorry, I can't
remember the whole sentences ^^;)

And before Breath Underwater, I think he said, 'this is a public 
anouncement for people to Breathe Underwater' or something like that :D
And for Julien and The Neverending Why, the usual comments :)
Towards the end, as they were playing one famous song after another, 
people got really wild and crazy. I found a bruise on my left arm x_x
Brian stood at the edge of the stage right in front of me a few times and switched sides with Stefan a few times.
In Seoul last summer, I didn't get this close to the stage but this 
time, I was very close to the stage. The venue was rather smaller than I
thought! And the distance between the stage and the barrier at the 
front was not that far(I may be wrong but 1 meter or so...?).
I thought Brian looked exactly like his gorgeous pictures but when 
Stefan came over to my side, I thought, 'Oh, my (beautiful gay) god!!!' 
Now I understand why people say the pictures don't do Stefan's beauty 
justice. Stefan's stage presence was magnetic *_*
To be honest, when both Brian and Stefan were on my side, I kept looking at Stefan :D
I was happy to finally listen to 'Trigger Happy' live. I really LOVED Stefan's bass in the song<3
There were some slashy moments between Brian and Stefan where Brian was 
looking at Stefan during some songs, just like he did while he was 
singing 'Beacause I Want You'.

I can't remember exactly which song but during a song, Brian was facing 
Steve and Steve was looking at Brian for a few minutes. And also Nick 
and Brian had some 'guitar battle' type of moment :D
(Do we have a slash term for Brian/Nick??)

And later in the gig, Stefan went over to Fiona. I couldn't catch any 
intense eye contact between the two, though :D A few fans from my side screamed 'Fiona' a few times :D
General mood of the band was happy.
I am not a music expert so my ears could be wrong but there were some 
moments where I think I heard the guitar keys were lower or higher than 
they were supposed to be. I don't know how Brian could still sing 
beautifully under such circumstances. Placebo must be truly one of the 
few ultimate live bands in the world.
At the end, when they were taking the group bow, I could read Brian's lips: he said, "arigato, Tokyo!"

P.S
After the gig, I went to the bar where Brian and Co. accidently went 
during their tour in Tokyo in 2001. 
I read the old interview that Luzie 
posted on the forum.Thank you, Luzie!<3 
In that article: 'we shame-facedly settle on an English-style bar called 'The Hobgoblin'

I knew they wouldn't come back there after 10 years but was curious so we went there.
It was a very small, quiet pub :)
About the Japanese radio interview on interFM right after their first gig in Tokyo on Mar. 5:
I shamelessly asked on the Japanese Cebo forum whether anyone recorded it. 
A kind Japanese fan replied to my message:
>eunice
Nee I hadn't listened to their radio interview, as I had to go back to 
work... but from what I heard from ppl who catched it, they were 
praising the audience and happy of their performance. also they answered
some questions from fans, and told that they were in studio in Thailand
and wrote some new stuffs (not quite sure if that's correct, I didn't 
listen it myself.)
anyway enjoy tonight!
And I left a message to encourage them to join PFWW :D
I have two more gigs to go to but this one is probably the most detailed
review I can offer and I'm sorry that even this one is not that 
detailed enough!
Sorry for my lack of coherency, pictures and English grammar and 
vocabulary. 
I hope other people(hopefully Japanese fans ^-^) who've been
to the gigs in Japan can give you some more details :)