PINK LADY: INNOVATION 2011
a review by Trooper Tru McCray
Ladies and Gentlemen… Pink Lady fans of all ages… Welcome back to the Trooper’s Review! It has been a while since my last review; I have been busy with my videos and all. But now this Trooper proudly brings you my personal review of “the ultimate comeback concert” starring the most electrifying duo in all of Japanese Entertainment: Mitsuyo Nemoto & Keiko Masuda… PINK LADY!
It started with spoken intros from MIE and KEI… while the stage was black. Then after almost three minutes, the lights dimmed and the audience went crazy. That could only mean one thing: THE SHOW WAS ABOUT TO BEGIN. First we were greeted by some eerie sounds and a rather freaky light show. The audience went even crazier. The suspense was building… then a sudden boom… and before anyone knew it, there was the musical intro to “Monday Mona Lisa Club”. And almost immediately, we see the stars of the show: MIE and KEI… Pink Lady! As always, MIE and KEI rock the house as only MIE and KEI know how with “Monday Mona Lisa Club”! After dominating the song, they let the guitarist get his shine on! Then we are treated to a Spanish guitar intro. You know, one must wonder if this would lead somewhere… perhaps to another PL Classic… Oh yes, silly me! It’s “Carmen ‘77”!
After that song (please don’t be mad at me; this is only what I think they are saying)…
MIE and KEI:
Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to our concert: “Innovation 2011!”
MIE:
I am MIE.
KEI:
I am KEI.
MIE and KEI: Together, we are PINK LADY.
That is all I am going to attempt to translate, due to my [very limited] knowledge of the Japanese language. Oh how I wish I knew how to speak and understand Japanese! Oh well…
MIE and KEI:
Let’s go to Pink Lady’s World!
Then we go into another electrifying intro… it’s “Your Toast Girl”! Again, they dominate this song as only Pink Lady can! After that, we are treated to “Strangers When We Kiss (English Version)”. Then it’s another PL favorite: “Kiss In The Dark”! And might I add, they really got funky with it, music and all. And DAMN, what a way for MIE to let loose! Then they talk again for a few more minutes. During this little “intermission”, they notice some of their [mostly male] fans who are dressed in classic PL gear! And in the midst of this intermission, they sing “Happy Birthday” to a fan. After at least 15 minutes conversing with the audience, they go back to the music. First is “By Myself”. Then they walk up the stairs and the stage goes black before the song finishes, and then…
Oh… my… goodness! My absolute favorite PL song of all time: “Sergeant Pepper (Pepper Keibu)”! Next, another eerie light show… followed by sirens and police radio… this can only be followed by another PL classic: “Wanted!”Then the band interacts with the audience for a bit… leading to “Monster”! Only this time around, PINK LADY is not singing this at all; the band is playing, with the lead guitarist doing most of the lead! How electric is that (no pun intended)!!! After that rather electric instrumental of “Monster” we are treated to a selection from the Silver Album: “Body And Soul”. And after “Body And Soul” comes the touching ballad: “The Milan Rose”. In my honest opinion, this live performance sounds a lot better than when they first recorded it in 1980.
And after “The Milan Rose” is another great ballad: “Show Me The Way To Love”. And I must add that they ended the song very beautifully… but then again, a thing of beauty is a joy forever – and the duo that is PINK LADY is indeed a thing of beauty. Then it is intermission time once more. In the midst of this intermission, they bust out into a few brief acapella songs (possibly from their early days) as well as old memories from their younger years. And then, when intermission ends… “Ai Giri Giri” begins! And just like “The Milan Rose”, this live performance was much more electric. After that song comes a mysterious-yet-electric intro to “Do Your Best”. And after that… wait a minute… weird Morse code coming in from here and there… I should have known! Send PINK LADY to the rescue; it’s an “SOS”! And after that…
Wait a minute… what the hell is Sindbad doing here? We asked for PINK LADY, not “Sindbad of the Beach (Nagisa No Sindbad)”! After that song, we are treated to another powerful ballad: “Melody To Desire” from the Silver Album. Then after about 10 minutes of conversing with the audience (and expressing their gratitude at the end), we witness another brief light show – followed by eerie outer-space music… which would lead us to “UFO”! And after such a performance that is “out of this world”, we are then treated to another eerie light show – which apparently changed MIE and KEI’s dresses completely so that we see floral designs on them… thus leading to another PL classic (and a little something for all the baseball fans): “Southpaw”! After that, we witness another electric performance of “Zipangu”.
After that performance, they [briefly] fake being totally worn out. Then they thank the audience once again… and shortly afterward, they need a drink! And so they so for a brief sip. Then they each make a brief speech… just before going into my absolute favorite PL ballad: “OH!” Of course, all us members of the Pink Faithful know how well Mitsuyo “MIE” Nemoto starts with the first verse… but the deep-yet-sultry voice of Keiko “KEI” Masuda brought a lump in my throat, as this song (when performed live) always brings happy tears to this Trooper’s eyes. And then we come to the final choruses that really cause me to emotionally break down. Well, that was definitely the case for when this song ended the UFO tour in 2005. But this song did not end in the usual way. Just before the final notes of an instrumental reprise of “OH!”, MIE and KEI took [what we thought would be] their final bows, embraced each other, and walked up the stairs toward the lit display… then just as the spotlight went off and the display went dark, PINK LADY disappeared! Would this mean another [rather] abrupt end to the show.
The stage is totally dark and the fans are still clapping and cheering for about two minutes… then the lights start flashing and we hear a familiar clapping pattern! What in the blue hell could this mean…? Now MIE and KEI are back out on stage – wearing short-sleeved white tops, sparkly black mini-skirts, and long black boots…Of course!! “Pink Typhoon”! Another PL classic/favorite (especially when performed live)! Then when the song is finished, the band waves to the audience and leaves the stage. After that, MIE and KEI thank the audience and each other before walking off stage. Then the entire stage fades to black… but then two words appear on the back display:
“Thank you.”
They are then followed by MIE and KEI each saying “Thank you”. What a way to end a show!!! Mitsuyo “MIE” Nemoto… Keiko “KEI” Masuda… I, Trooper Tru McCray, thank you from the bottom of my heart. Domo Arigato Gozaimasu! I love you! Watashi wa anata o aishiteimasu! And this now concludes my review of “Pink Lady: Innovation 2011”. See you next time, think Pink, and God Bless. Imanotokoro sayonara. Goodbye for now.