PINK LADY IN LAS VEGAS
by Trooper Tru McCray
Konnichiwa! Your friendly neighborhood Trooper Tru is back with another review! This month’s subject: the live concert they did in Las Vegas.
Before anything even happened, we were treated to one of the many commercials they did back in Japan. That commercial was for “UFO” Ramen noodle soup. It was literally out of this world. After the commercial, we were taken to a press conference – and excerpts of their many rehearsals before the show. And when they weren’t rehearsing, they were perfecting their English. One segment showed our Dynamic Duo at a special dinner, where they received an award. And finally…
IT'S SHOWTIME!
The show starts off with the dancers strutting their stuff to a disco version of the Star Wars theme. And before you know it… heeeeeeeeeeeere’s PINK LADY!
And so, Japan’s Dynamic Duo open the show with “That’s Me”. I never heard this song before, but I enjoyed the energy that MIE & KEI brought while singing it.
Then they bless the crowd with an all-time classic – and my all-time PL favorite: “Sergeant Pepper (Pepper Keibu)”! Of course, they started it off with their traditional Pink Lady energy. But the tempo went a little faster after the first chorus… which kind of worried me because I was afraid that one of them would slip and fall from the tempo being too fast! But then again I should know better; MIE & KEI have been trained to perform their songs to the very best of their ability regardless of the tempo being used. Overall, they did an excellent job with this song.
The next song was a rather upbeat “She’d Rather Be With Me”. This was another PL song that I had never heard before. Then they go right into “Morning Girl”. This song had a slow-rock feel and was very well done. Then they go into a Japanese version of a 1960s classic: “Da Do Ron Ron Ron.”After that highly-energetic set, they talk to the audience.
[MIE & KEI] Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. We are Pink Lady!
[KEI] We are very excited to be here tonight.
[MIE] And very happy too. We hope to share the excitement with you all.
Then they go into a Stevie Wonder classic: “Sir Duke”. I must say: they really rocked it out with this song! And during the horn interludes, MIE & KEI were really dancing and grooving to the beat. The camera was focused on KEI though… and I was overly excited to see her grooving like she was. Then they go into a Supremes classic: “Stop In The Name Of Love”. Another high-energy performance they gave while singing that song. Then they go into a medley of other classic songs such as:
Rhythm of the Rain
Breaking Up Is Hard To Do
Itsy-Bitsy Teeny-Weeny Yellow Polka-Dot Bikini
Let’s Twist Again
The Locomotion
Twist And Shout
Rock-N-Roll Music
For the next song… oh no. Has someone in the audience fainted as a result of Pink Lady overload? Someone send out an “SOS!” As always, I loved the energy that MIE & KEI bring to every song they perform. Seeing as that they did this show in 1978, this would be the one-year anniversary of the day that a certain flamenco dancer made quite a name for herself. (Song performed: “Carmen ‘77”) NOTE: The bass player seemed to screw up at the beginning, but he somehow recovered quickly. Overall, Pink Lady did this song quite well.
INTERMISSION
During this intermission, we are treated to some rather interesting segments:
A rather unique performance of “Southpaw” in a grassy field
Origins of MIE & KEI: from growing up in Shizuoka Prefecture to Birth of a Star
Their famous performance at Birth of a Star: “Heya Wo Dete Kudasai"
Highlights of their many performances
…back to the grassy field performance of “Southpaw”.
BACK TO THE SHOW!
They open up this segment with “Sindbad at the Beach (Nagisa No Sindbad)”. They started this song with their usual vibrant energy and then… WTF?!? The background dancers come out wearing turbans on their heads! Were they trying too hard to match their outfits with the title because of the name Sindbad… or were they just trying to be funny? Either way, this Trooper was not amused. I just basically ignored them and enjoyed MIE & KEI’s singing. Next up, MIE channels the legendary Harry Nilsson with her own energetic rendition of “Without You.”After that, KEI pays tribute to The Animals with her own energetic rendition of “House of the Rising Sun” which included a wildly energetic dance solo. After the dance solo, KEI really lets loose with her vocals.
Next up, we are treated to scenes from Close Encounters of the Third Kind… which eventually leads to “UFO”! However, the tempo seemed a bit fast (just like in “Sergeant Pepper”). I know that MIE & KEI were trained to adapt to any tempo… but WTF is the band trying to do – speed them up on purpose so everyone can go home at a decent hour? …or maybe speed them up on purpose in the hopes that they screw something up? If that’s the case, don’t send them to Las Vegas anymore; bring them here to Chicago so Joshua and I can see the greatness of Pink Lady! Next up… well there are plenty of men in Las Vegas who will play hard-to-get in a heartbeat… thus leading to this song: “Wanted!”And to close out the show, they bless the crowd with their own rendition of Bobby Vinton’s “I Love How You Love Me”. Then they talk to the audience some more…
[KEI] We love Las Vegas.
[MIE] We love the way you treat us.
[KEI] We’d love to come back.
[MIE] But most of all, we love you all.
Then they finish the song. When the song is finished; they introduce the band, the backup singers, and the dancers. Then they take their final bows and thank the audience in Las Vegas for the warm welcome they received during their brief stay. As always, I am always in awe after seeing Mitsuyo Nemoto & Keiko Masuda perform on stage together as Pink Lady. But of course… after that performance on the 21st of April 1978, the Pink Lady story does not end there. It just gets better.
To all my fellow Pink Lady fans, I hope you enjoyed reading this review as I enjoyed watching these legendary ladies perform together. Once again, I thank my fellow Chicagoan Joshua Parris for bringing Pink Lady back to my attention back in 2009, I thank Jeffrey Branch for creating the “Pink Lady America” website, and I thank Mitsuyo Nemoto & Keiko Masuda for bringing Pink Lady to this world. And most of all, I thank all of you for loving Pink Lady as much as I do. See ya next time, Think Pink, and God Bless.