Hello dear Andre’s friends

I just returned from Tokyo mid night last night and assume Andre & JSO would have home
to their loved one by now as their Japanese tour finished at 4pm yesterday afternoon.

I just tried to recap while my memory is still fresh and maybe I will add more details later when I have time. But before it’s too late, please bear with this brief report.

October 28:
 

As usual, we flown to Tokyo for a 4-day trip. We left home early on a fine morning (06:00) and arrived our hotel at 5:00pm. It’s another Prince Hotel (New Takanawa Prince) which is just adjacent to one we stayed in last two years. It’s a very very big business and leisure hotel (with big Japanese Garden & 2 huge convention halls) occupying an open space of 20,000m2. I read that the Morzanturm Orchestra from Salzburg was there too. Our room has a small balcony overlooking the city. I like it very much (party because Kelly smokes). After I phoned Junko for the meeting time the next day, we went out to familiarize the city again. We went to bed early as there wasn’t much to see in local TV, mostly were news about the earthquake in Niigata (it’s also Junko’s hometown and luckily her family is fine) and US presidential primary.

October 29

It’s a sunny nice morning, we got up early and took a walk in the Japanese garden at the hotel; there are typical Japanese model wooden huts, a Tea House, some classy Japanese restaurants in traditional wood structure. I wonder how it is like to dine in a garden like this but since we are budget travelers fly on package tour, maybe next time! We enjoyed the chilly fresh air and relaxed ourselves; we seldom do that in Hong Kong and life has always been hectic here.

After lunch, we met Junko in the hotel lobby and we took the train to Ginza. We have “High Tea” in an English style tea house where Junko is a member and we enjoyed the tea and sandwiches very much.

At 1700, we went to TIF and met up with Beate, a German lady who is a huge Andre fan. She works in an airliner and this was her second or third concert trip to Japan. She arrived Japan a week earlier and has been to another 2 concerts (Nagoya and another one I forgot the name). It’s not easy at all to travel by yourself in Japan especially there are not too many English speaking Japanese in town. Everywhere people greet you only in Japanese, even in commercial districts and international airport.
We’re pleased to have Junko’s help.

The TIF wasn’t opened till 5:30 so we sat down and have a chat. Beate told us her concert experience in the other two cities and she met a staff in the orchestra and was invited back stage where she met Andre and took a photo with him, for the first time out of her 90+ concerts. It’s a bit sad to know that fans in Europe have much fewer chance to meet Andre in person whereas fans in US can have opportunity to do that through G&M. Beate also told us when there was a strong after-shock one night, one of the JSO girls was in  shower and water splashed out from the tub. Well, another frightening experience besides Andre rushing down the hotel lobby (still in his underpants????)!  I asked her how she felt about the evolution of Andre over the years. She said European fans were worried  that Andre added too much a little of everything and some may not like the singers. I told her I would take whatever he arranges for us.

At 5:30 we went to queue up (Japanese is good at doing that) in the TIF and at 6:00pm we went inside and I checked for Andre’s items in the kiosk. Much to my disappointment, the new DVD was not there whereas last year the Sylvester Gala was released 1 month ahead of Andre’s boutique.

We went to our seats in row 14, middle of the hall. Well, the angle was much better but also farther than last year. I could not complain as the tickets were booked online and rationed by computer. Junko has done her best because she usually booked 2 sets of tickets, chose the better ones and sold the others online. This year, Andre originally planned 5 concerts in Tokyo. But after the broadcast of TBS interview in September, he became so widely known in town and one more concerted was added on Oct 30 afternoon. Never in any city has he had 6 concerts in one go!

The concert began shortly after 7:00 and the program was as follows:
 

1. Voices of spring

2. Romance anonym (Andre’s solo, very impressive)

3. IIn the blue Pagoda

4. Laguna Waltz
 

5. Bahnfrei

6. Morning Papers
 

7. The Rose

8.  He skipped Gypsy Fiddles playing and replaced by another number
(I have to check back my recorder for this)
 

9. Light Cavalry

(ENTRE ACTE)

1. Tea for two

2. Adieu, little Captain of my heart

3.Heia in the mountain

4. Salome

5. Meine Lippen sie kussen so heib was replaced by Carmen
 

6. Somewhere over the rainbow

7. The blue Danube, as usual, the translator would take the lead and asked a lady to dance.
In seconds, hundreds of Japanese rushed to the front and they danced in their own way, with hand in hand together. It was great to see this, last year there were about 6 to 8 pairs dancing to the music. Pierre came out from back stage to shot the people dancing. I tried to shot him but it was too dark, the picture did not come out.

8. Oh Fortuna

9. Radetzky March

10. The "Encores"

At 9:05pm. at last the concert ended after a number of encores. 
We quickly moved to lower lever of another hall where we expected to meet Andre &
JSO again on their way to the bus as we did the last 2 years.
After 20 minutes or so, some JSO came out but the hall was so dark, we missed some of them already.
I walked toward the exit and could manage to stop Jacque (the lady who takes care of the dress)
Carla, Pete, Frank, Monica, Rudd, etc for a photo and have a little conversation with them:

 
-  “Hi Carla, you sing great. I have a Brazilian friend Merica and I must let her know
    I have taken a photo with you.
 - “Oh yeah? Yes, please. Thank you” She’s smiling all the time, very sweet smile.

- “Hi Frank, nice to see you for the third time.”
-  “We too, we can havephoto together.”

- “Hi Rudd, nice to see you, I have seen the TBS interview. Lisa is a very beautiful baby”.
-“Oh yeah? You have seen it? ”
-"I came from Hong Kong but my friend sent me the video."
-"Oh! you're from Hong Kong!!" He was smiling as a proud father! 

(Shit) My camera shut down after this photo!!!!

-“Hi Jo, we did not recognize you at first but I could tell it’s you from your back when you’re on stage”.
- “Yes, after 30 years, I finally decided to shave my beard.”
- “You look much much younger and I must ask my husband to do so!!”.
- “Oh yes!”. 

In a few second, Kelly's camera also broke down!!!
This is the very last photo of the night. 
We actually tried to take picture with 5 more JSO but the photo came out really blurrrrrr.....

Oh noooo! Here came Andre & Pierre but and my camera was dead!!
(I thought it was broken down but later I realized it’s automatically shut down due to overheat!)
I called Kelly and he said his was not any better. Oh dear me, I specially bought the Energizer e2 Lithium batteries which are the longest life battery ever made for continuous standby mode and shooting of up to 700 photos. I did not aware the overheat problem with the camera.
“Damn it”
 

Andre signed the programs for us, one of the few great ones I ever seen.
 

- “Hi Andre, we came from Hong Kong to see you for the third time.”
- “I came from Maastricht for the 4th time”
-“I know, but do you have plans to Hong Kong?”

He hesitated a second and said: - “Who knows!”,

 Well, this was the answer that said he won’t have plan in a few years' time.

Andre and Pierre than walked up the escalator to ground floor and we said goodbye to them one last time. Junko and Beate were in a little distant and Junko asked how’s the photo taking.
I said:” everyone but Andre!!”

We went to the ground floor and stood at the pavement to wave goodbye for the last time to the JSO while their 3 buses drove by. Some JSO recognized us and opened the window to wave back!!

Beate has to leave Japan the next day and said goodbye to each other. We went back to our hotel.

October 30
 

It rained and chilly, weather just changed just overnight. Junko took us the Asakusa Temple where Andre & JSO have visited a few days earlier. (There is no internet bar in our hotel, I did not know about it.)  We did what the Japanese do; we also got blessed by the smoke like JSO did.

After that, Junko took us to the Edo-Tokyo Museum which is about the history
for the time for samurai a few centuries back

October 31
 

A cloudy day with some overcast. We invited Junko to join us for breakfast in our hotel and she stayed till 12:30 and gone for her second Andre’s concert with her friends.
Junko told us Maya was in one of Andre's concert. Maya is her family name, her name is Junko as well !!!. She has been a model and now an actress in the TBS.

We took the 6:30pm plane to Hong Kong and arrived home about mid night.

We have altogether taken some 200 photos but some of them are not as good as last time. I will try to sort them and post them up later. However, since the Internet Photo station I used last year has closed and I have to try some others. Please have patience.

Junko emailed me last night with a photo taken with Andre. It’s great !!
She did not know if André would leave the TIF as it was the last concert perhaps
they might stay longer to see the packing, etc.
Junko and her friend waited for 90 minutes and their patience and faith paid off.

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