PINK LADY: LIVE AT BUDOKAN
a review by Trooper Tru McCray
Ladies and Gentlemen…Pink Lady fans of all ages…welcome back to the Trooper’s Review! Today’s subject is another special concert that they did…Live at Budokan!
As the show began, the band played an instrumental of “I Love How You Love Me”. As our famous Japanese Dynamic Duo prepare themselves backstage, we are treated to teaser clips of all their performances. Finally, the concert begins – with “Two From The Star (Hoshikarakitafutari)”. Next is my all-time favorite: “Sergeant Pepper (Pepper Keibu)”. Things are going well, despite the band going “top-speed” with the tempo… Whoa, WTF – MIE slipped in the middle of the first verse! Now you see why I always complain about the band going too damn fast! Luckily MIE recovered quickly! Next is “SOS”. Again – despite the crazy speed of the band, they performed this song with precision and perfection. Next is another PL Classic: “Your Toast Girl”, followed by “Run Away Lady”. Then we are treated to another [naturally] fast-paced song: “Lady X”. After that, there’s “Super Monkey Son Goku”. Then comes “100 Departures”. After that comes a song with which I am not familiar at all (Sorry, folks). Nevertheless, they did an awesome job with this song.
Next, we are hit with another classic: “Sindbad at the Beach (Nagisa No Sindbad)”. This performance was interesting because the screen showed 4 different camera angles at the same time – two of which being individual shots of MIE and KEI. Then comes another classic: “Wanted”… another brief performance very well done. Next after that… oh no! Lock your doors; there is a “Monster” on the loose! Ut-oh… a rather unique character in a monster costume just joined them onstage! He better not hurt them… Next up, we are served with a “Love Countdown”! Excellent performance, Ladies! After that comes another classic: “Southpaw” – with a posse of “pink leaguers” behind them! Then we get teleported from the baseball diamond to the farthest reaches of space (next song: “UFO”)! Oh no… it seems that traveling into outer space had a rather adverse effect: they’re fading in and out of sight (next song: “Invisible Man (Tomei Ningen)”)! Attention on deck; Pink Lady wants you in the “Chameleon Army”! Then they talk to the audience for a little bit. Damn I wish I knew how to speak Japanese so I could understand what they were saying!
Hmmm… they must have given some parting comments; the next/last song they perform is “Last Dance”. Well done, Ladies… this Trooper loves you now and forever. Well, my fellow Pink Lady fans, that does it for another edition of the Trooper’s Review. 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.
FOR MORE PICS FROM THE BUDOKAN SHOW, CLICK HERE FOR PINK CHRISTMAS
