TMR in Ibaraki 2015

Hey everyone!

I hope you're all doing well! I'm playing a bit of catch up as of lately, so today I'd like to share with you my experience in Ibaraki seeing T.M. Revolution live!

Let me preface this entry with a bit of information about T.M. Revolution and my past knowledge/experiences with T.M. Revolution. T.M. Revolution, or TMR for short, is a stage name for Takanori Nishikawa (西川貴教) that stands for "Takanori Makes Revolution". TMR has been active since 1989 and is well known overseas for singing opening and closing songs for a variety of Anime, including, but not limited to, Gundam (ガンダム), D. Gray Man (ディー.グレイマン), and Soul Eater (ソウルイーター). He has also performed with the group abingdon school boys and has teamed up with famous singer, Nana Mizuki (水樹奈々), for two singles. While he has done a variety of things over the years, it is also notable that he is a Cultural Ambassador for his home prefecture, Shiga (滋賀), where he now annually puts together the Inazuma Rock Fes (イナズマロックフェス).

I have seen T.M. Revolution live before in the States, but this was my first time seeing him live in Japan. Furthermore, I was actually lucky enough to attend a panel Q and A with him in Baltimore, Maryland at Otakon 2013, which was very interesting as he talked about his inspirations, interests, and things that he wanted to do for his fans. I had heard many of his songs in passing and had a couple favorites by him that would remain on my current playlists.

(Tickets to see TMR!)

Thus when I got the chance to see him up in Ibaraki 茨城県(which is just north of Tokyo), I was very happy to be able to see him live again. The location was out  at the Yuki Civic Cultural Center (結城市民文化センター), close to the Yuki Station (結城駅) on the Mito line (水戸線) on the 7th of June. It took me about an hour and several train switches to get up there, but when I got there, I was honestly a little surprised as the area didn't seem very crowded in comparison to most places that I had been. I had a friend that lived up in Ibaraki who told me that Ibaraki was much more rural than Saitama or Tokyo, but it didn't really hit me until I got there. It was a nice change though in comparison to the busy and crowded area in the cities that I was used to.

(A poster for this concert tour at the train station in the staircase going out)

I wondered if I was in the right place until I saw two girls dressed in TMR attire heading away from the platform and down the route I was following off of my GPS. After only about 10 minutes of walking, I came to the concert hall. Like most concert halls I had been to, this one did seem to have a goods line open early as most attendees had already gotten their goods and were now currently waiting for the upcoming concert's doors to open. I got there about 30 minutes prior to the show starting, so I missed the big rush.

(The entrance to the concert hall)

Seats were assigned at this location and there was no number system like 'pit' styled concerts that I had been to previously. While part of that was a bit of a bummer (I would have liked to be a bit closer), it was kind of nice too since everything was assigned and you didn't have to worry about your seat being taken or not being able to see. Everyone had a great view of the stage, which was much closer than I would have thought (and I was in one of the back rows). One of the nice things about my seat was that it was on an aisle though, which helped me with the view and made up for the seat being farther back.

Another nice thing about the seats being assigned was that I could easily go up to the goods desks and not worry about losing my seat or place in the theatre. New CD, Towel, and Pamphlet FTW y'all (along with a free poster too!). I choose to get 天 (read "ten"), which translates to "Heaven". I've listened to it many times since and it doesn't disappoint.

(My goods score!)

Speaking of living up to expectations, TMR did not let any of us down. I suppose this was my first 'full-fledged' experience at a TMR concert so to speak. The level of involvement from the audience was what made this experience different. People really let loose, head banging, jumping up and down, fist pumping, the once cool theatre quickly became hot with body heat and TMR just kept ramping it up as the concert went on.

(Inside of the concert hall before the concert began)

Even a full two hours in, lights were still pulsing and TMR had ripped his shirt off twice during the performance (not that I blamed him, it really was hot and it made for a dramatic effect). During those 2 hours some of the songs that he played were: "Flags", "Heaven Only Knows ~Get the Power~", "Summer Blizzard", "Salvage", "Resonance", and "Preserved Roses". All were awesome and the performance was pretty well paced. The only thing was at the end, there were kind of two encores, but I didn't know the second one was coming (I don't think any of us did). Otherwise though it was a smooth performance and very enjoyable.

TMR himself was great at pleasing the crowd, enduring through the physically draining two hours, and putting a lot of emotion and soul into each song. Whether it was fast or slow, softer or heavy rock, TMR, at the risk of sounding cliche, gave it his all and left us all feeling satisfied and pumped. He may be known for his shorter stature, but he lives up to tall expectations and makes others' pale in comparison.

Upon leaving the theatre, I was sweating thoroughly, despite maybe not being as involved as some of the others in attendance. I walked back in the crowds of people to the station and waited, probably 30 minutes for a train (I missed it by like 30 seconds the first time!), all the while texting friends. The cool air was a bit muggy and it didn't really help relieve my sweating, but it was enough and cooler outside than in (go figure, right?). I finally managed to catch a train though (also good because my phone battery was on its last bars) and made my way home.

(I saw this while standing in line to get inside; so cool!!)

Overall, I had a lot of fun at this concert. I wish I could have gone with friends as I think it would have been more fun, but I liked the music and since buying the CD, I often find myself coming across one of the songs from it on my playlists. TM Revolution is quite good. ;)

So bottom line, if you get the chance to see TMR live in Japan, do it. You will not be disappointed.

For more information on TM Revolution, you can check out his following sites:

English Official Homepage

Japanese Official Homepage

You can also find out more about the Inazuma Rock Fes here:

Inazuma Rock Fes

Till my next post,