First two concerts of 2014 (February)

I was supposed to post this in February... sorry!!

So my concert run has finally started for this year!!

I honestly don't remember how many concerts and events I went to last year so I hope I can keep count this year!! Lol!!

So this month, I went to two concerts in one week.

The first was Eric Clapton at the Yokohama arena. 
This was an unexpected and last minute decision with some good friends.
I like his music and mostly know of his ballads and blues songs more than this rock songs so I was worried how many songs I'd recognize. But luckily out of the 18 songs he sang (including the encore), I knew and recognized 9 of them. Phew!! Here's the set list.

http://www.setlist.fm/setlist/eric-clapton/2014/yokohama-arena-yokohama-japan-6bc54af6.html

But the thing that most surprised me was how the Japanese audience is very proper and cordial, which for them is normal and a sign of respect for the artists, but honestly speaking, very boring from a Western point of view!!! They were all seated and listening intently (which is good), clapping here and there (okay...), and heaven forbid, not shouting and whistling!! Lol!! Only when Eric sang his last song, "Cocaine", did the fans stand up, sing along and shout "cocaine" with him!! But I guess Eric knows this so all he did was sing his 18 songs straight with a few "thank you" shouts in between and left the stage quickly with only a few waves here and there. A very "interesting" experience for me...

Oh and the guy sitting next to me was the drummer's fan and whenever a rock song came on, he would go crazy and start his own "air drum" performance. It was a little freaky sitting next to him... When the ballads and blues songs were performed, he became really quite and withdrawn... The couple sitting in front of us were like stone statues!! The husband never took off his winter coat and he only moved when we reached down to get a sip from his water bottle. His wife was the same but a least she took her coat off... Even when Eric left the stage they hardly clapped and when the encore finished, they got up and left right away. Mind you, they did look very satisfied after the concert but they were so stoic during the entire performance that you'd doubt they were Eric's fans!! But the the family sitting next to them, a father and his daughter and son-in-law were very enthusiastic about the performance and were whistling, hooting, enjoying their booze and singing along. It was quite fun watching them too!! Lol!! As for me, I clapped as loud as I could and hooted too when I knew the songs. I sang along too to some of the songs and had a fun time. Not only did Eric entertain me but so did the crowd!! Well, a few of them did... Lol!!

The second concert I went to was the Il Divo concert at the Budokan.

It was great to see them on stage again!! The last time my friends and I saw them was in 2011, in the Fall after the Northeastern Japan earthquake. This time the concert was based on their latest album called "A Musical Affair". All the songs are from famous musicals. They were also touring with Lea Solonga, a famous musical actress. Unfortunately, she isn't well known here in Japan so many of the Il Divo fans weren't very enthusiastic about seeing her. I felt so bad for her and very embarrassed by the reactions and comments by many of the female fans in the audience. They were complaining about her being on stage and singing solo and not clapping as loudly as they would for Il Divo. But I personally, enjoyed her performance and loved listening to her sing on stage. Her duet with Il Divo for the song "Music of the Night" from "Phantom of the Opera" sent shivers up my spine and I had goosebumps all over!!

Here's the set list from the concert.
http://www.setlist.fm/stats/average-setlist/il-divo-5bd6d3f8.html?tour=A+Musical+Affair+Japan+Tour+2014

They are still on tour around the world and they are busy as ever but I do hope they can come back to Japan again for another performance or event!! Now I feel like watching some classic musicals on stage!! But living in Japan, all the musicals are in Japanese so that takes away the feeling I really want to get... Hmm... This is one of the times I feel it sucks living here...  Lol!!