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| ボイさん近い！(｢ﾟДﾟ)｢ｶﾞｩｶﾞｩ |
Doors were at 8:30pm, with music at 9:00pm. I underestimated the time it took me to get on BART and make my way to the venue. I was still early upon arrival though, despite having to rendezvous around Mission District to meet up with my sister.
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| 妹会えたぜ！ |
In Line
In accordance with San Francisco's chill, temperatures were low and winds were strong as we waited outside. We were offered MWAM logo magnets! It seems like, as you'll see later, that the color theme for the tour was black and red. There were fans who came all the way from Japan to see the band perform in a small venue, as well as some fans who knew them from their work on varying anime theme songs. As it got closer to 8:30, we were guided to form a single-file line as they checked our IDs (all the tickets for this venue are at will call). Once it was our turn, we were given bright green MAN WITH A MISSION wristbands (more on this later) and let in.
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| 会場です。いつも通り、寒かった。 |
The Chuckleberries and Growwler
At around 9pm, the first band went on. Apparently The Chuckleberries are a cover band. During their MCs they would scream into the mic and speak very, very quickly. Perhaps it was the jitters, but then again I didn't feel that that was quite it. Overall, for me, it was a very confusing experience.
Between sets I got a chance to talk to (read: practice some Japanese on) one of the fans who came from Japan. It's really quite amazing that they would travel all the way here to see them. Granted, it's likely because they are so popular in Japan it's near impossible to get general tickets, let alone see them at this intimate a venue.
Growwler came on at just past 10pm, they were the shit. Because, let's be honest, it's hard to appreciate any band that stands between you and the band you came to see. But they came on and the audience completely changed. The audience was bobbing their heads to the music as if to say, "Yeah, man. This is my jam." Stylistically, Growwler's music was closer to MAN WITH A MISSION's groove, so everyone loved their sound. Their vocalist said they've played at Bottom times before, but haven't met as high as crowd as this Tuesday night (which is kind of ?? but I think I can understand why). My sister and I really enjoyed their set as well.
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| マンウィズの前はガウラーていうバンドだった！ |
MAN WITH A MISSION
After Growwler finished their set to loud cheers and rolling applause, the time had come. Staff came on and cleared off the stage and spent a couple minutes on sound check. I was able to meet some fans who had come all the way from Japan and knew who I was from Twitter! It was wild. They were so very sweet, so very kind. Because my sister and I aren't very tall (5'1" hollaaa), one of the girls let us into the front row. Experiencing this much kindness, there might've been tears of joy that day. I stood in between bassist Kamikaze Boy and vocalist Tokyo Tanaka for the night, a change from the last time I saw them in LA where I stood between Tokyo Tanaka and guitar-vocalist Jean-Ken Johnny. The moment they came on everyone went insane.
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| ジョニーさんかっこいい〜 |
"We are! The Man With A Mission!" On the stage, they close enough to touch and would often come to the edge of the stage and lean over the crowd as fans clambered to pet their wolf heads. Jean-Ken Johnny was on the other side of the stage so my view of him wasn't too good, but as one of the vocalists, he was particularly popular with the Japanese fans. I was in a cozier corner, near the wall where Kamikaze Boy stood. The stage was about three feet up, so I was probably face-to-face with Kamikaze Boy's thigh for a good portion of the night. He got really really really close. Despite the relatively small venue, the wolves gave the same quality of performance as one they would give to a crowd of thousands. Boy's eyes even lit up soon into the show, a real crowd-pleaser for both long-time and new fans alike. Support member E.D. Vedder also got his time in the spotlight when he came up front for his guitar solo.
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| リブちゃん、タナパイ、サンちゃんもかっこいい！ |
Enthusiasm from the audience was on max tonight, no holds barred. And for me, I felt that, if anything, I had to repay the fans who had granted this special spot to me and my sister by giving everything I had to be the best first rower ever. We went hard. Perhaps too hard. It's now been three days since the show and my muscles are still sore and I can't turn my head...But it was too much fun to have done anything less.
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| ボイさんやばい〜！ |
I'm thankful for every moment I had at Bottom of the Hill that night. Thankful to the fellow fans I met for their kindness, to the staff for their hospitality, to the band for their sincerity, to everything that led up to this moment. It was just over too soon.
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| リブちゃん今夜も可愛いでした。堪らなかったw |
Meet & Greet
I won the Complex "Show Your Wolf Face" contest and was able to meet the band after the show. A staff member found me and my sister with our green MWAM wristbands (given to those who won the M&G) and brought us out and up to the green room. While we were heading up the stairs with two other fans, a staff comes running out saying, "There's no alcohol up there right? No alcohol up there! Right?!" After a little befuddlement we come to realize that it's because my sister and I are underage. I'm sorry for having been a hassle. I promise to get older soon!
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| M＆Gの緑リストバンド |
At the top of the stairs, when it was our turn to meet them, bassist Kamikaze Boy and vocalist Tokyo Tanaka were there. Cue screams because I was hoping I would be able to meet these two more than anyone else. Unfortunately there was no speaking on their side of things, but there was a [speaking] staff member who was there being ten levels of nice to us, so we managed somehow. I mentioned that I went to LA last year, but couldn't this time because of work. :( But I'll be catching them at Knotfest!
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| 大好きなボイさん＋タナパイと自撮り☆ |
Handshakes were had, photos were taken, and I even learned a little bit of Japanese.
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| 下半何処？（答：日本） |
I also inadvertently showed them my [half of] DJ Santa Monica felt disc and Boy pointed to it in recognition and held out his arms like "What have you done?!" but it was because a friend in Japan caught it and wanted to share the spoils with me. :) I was also able to get my Distance EP signed by both of them, and the staff member also asked if I wanted the other members to sign it as well (yes please!). He was extremely nice, and I felt like I was imposing the entire time I stood there. To have them set aside time for me AND give me more than what I could possibly ask for, I'm very grateful.
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| メンバー全員のサイン貰った！でもジョニーのサインがタナパイの顔を... スタッフさんに感謝感謝。 |
Post-Show
Then it was time to leave. :( I had given my EP to the staff who took it into the green room for Spare Rib, DJ Santa Monica, and Jean-Ken Johnny to sign it, and was waiting for him just below the stairs as Boy and Tanaka were going back out to the goods table to meet their fans. Mr. Staff Guy came back a few seconds later with everyone's signature on it. Tanaka already passed through the doorway to the venue, and Boy and I got to the door to leave at the same time. I held out my arm and gestured for him to go first, and I swear to God I heard a "heh" as he entered the hallway.
The fans quickly saw the two wolves reenter, and immediately surrounded them for their turn for a photo and an autograph. How popular. :)
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| タナパイ人気だな〜皆お疲れ様でした！ |
My sister and I hung around a bit afterward, mostly to have some water and cool down. I chatted with some of the staff for a bit while gathering my things to leave. Have I told you yet that the staff are extremely nice? Because they are. I forgot I had a small gift for the wolves so I passed it on to a staff member and hopefully it made it to them alright.
Goods
For the tour, they had two t-shirts: one was a black unisex tee with the MWAM logo in red on the front left breast and the wolf logo on back. The other shirt had the same design, in black, but was a fitted pink tee. They also had trucker hats, the same one they had during their Purefly Tour in Japan, but only in black. And of course, they had their two EPs, Distance and When My Devil Rises, for sale as well.
If you signed up for their mailing list, you could get a candy with their logo printed on the wrapper. And as I mentioned before, they also gave out logo magnets.
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| グッズの写真撮り忘れた。その代わりにほれ、サンちゃんの登場です。 |
Last Thoughts
This is probably one of the absolute best experiences I've had. I met some amazing, sweet people, and danced to some great music. Their set was a short one but understandable because they shared the night with two other bands. I definitely love the intimacy of a small venue, so I hope they'll be back for another small-venue tour soon. I regret not being able to go to their LA or Anaheim shows this tour, but I will be seeing them at Knotfest so I'll be looking forward to that!
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| ぶれでガゥ |
The intense energy, killer taste for good music, and attention-grabbing presence that these guys have is definitely something that is, I'm sure, unexpected to everyone seeing them for the first time. Don't be fooled by their gimmick (or whatever is preventing you from YouTubing these guys). I believe they have the potential as artists and as entertainment professionals to make it far, even in the States. There's no band I know that are both flexible with their genre and good at creating cohesiveness at the same time, and because of this, they can satisfy fans of every genre. I think it's this of genre-transcending sound that gives them the upper hand, and wide appeal. I hope you'll drop by one of their shows next time they come around stateside. In the meantime, please check them out on YouTube!
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| 皆と会えて良かった！ありガゥとうございました！ |
Setlist
distance
Welcome To The Newworld
~MC~
Don't Lose Yourself
Smells Like Teen Spirit
FLY AGAIN
~MC~
When My Devil Rises
Mash Up The DJ
~MC~
Get Off of My Way
Emotions
Encore
NEVER FXXKIN' MIND THE RULES
Take What U Want
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