Posted by Polyrhythm on 2010/1/18 12:26:25

Posted by flipbeats on 2010/1/18 10:14:43

was there merch?

Posted by Ryu-Sakura on 2010/1/18 9:58:00

i know the experience seeing Utada had to be great! Management usually sucks anywhere you go so thats not unusual that theyd be tard muffins. Im not surprised about the photography thing, cause from what i know they usually dont allow ANY fan photography at japanese concerts, something about a rule in Japan. I was hoping that it would be allowed but oh well, at least I get to see her! I can't wait til Feb 8th~!

Posted by ramenbox on 2010/1/18 2:21:18

Damn, I'm so envious of those who were at the concert. Nice reading your experience seancena. The management sounds bad though since you said they overbooked the place. I feel bad for those who couldn't get it. That totally sucks.

Posted by lolstebbo on 2010/1/16 18:08:25

What the worry, that Hikki's people will hunt you down?

Posted by seancena on 2010/1/16 18:07:09

Aloha everyone,

The Utada concert last night was great. I do have a few gripes though. First off, I waited in-line since 4:30pm. There were easily 40-50 people in front of me. When the doors to pipeline cafe opened, the security started letting people in through the front AND side-doors of the building. Basically this meant that people who came later to wait-in-line got closer to the stage than those at the front of the line. That was simply ridiculous. What was the point in waiting so long before the show started only to have other people ahead of me ? By the time I got into pipeline, it was 30 minutes after 7pm and I was 20 feet away from the stage.

Second, the show was strictly no photography. I can understand if flash photography was going to distract Utada, but the security didn't even inform people of the no cameras until 6:30pm (30 minutes before they opened the doors). I had to rush back all the way to my car just to drop off cameras. In the front of the building, there were two letter sized pieces of paper saying NO CAMERAS. How can they expect people to see the signs when they are around the corner of the building ?

The pipeline cafe should be ashamed of themselves. They overbooked the show so not everybody with a ticket was able to get in. The DJ played club music for a few hours before Utada even came on stage. They let people near the side doors in before the people at the front of the line.

I did not see anyone getting kicked out for photography. There were some that got scolded but with the place so cramped, the security really did not have the room to move people out of the building.

I know that is a lot of complaining but I feel it is best to let people know how the future "In The Flesh" concerts may be handled. The concert itself was fantastic. Utada was stunning and her vocals were amazing. She sang for a good hour and 45 minutes, with only two times to take a water break. I was sore as heck at the end of the night, standing for over 6 hours, but Utada's performance took some of my pain away.

I wish she had rescheduled her autograph signing that was supposed to happen last May at Sam Goody Ala Moana. Instead, 102.7 Da Bomb only had a handful of backstage passes to give out and the contests were near impossible to win. I am amazed some people on these forums actually won. I couldn't even get through to the radio station once.

Bottom line:
Pipeline Cafe = Horrible
Utada = Wonderful
Sound & Lighting = Surprisingly Great
102.7 Da Bomb Contest = Near Impossible
No Photography = Lame
Standing Room Only = Painful
Dude standing in front of me letting his two friends cut in-front of me IN pipeline cafe = Doo Doo Head

Posted by Unregistered on 2010/1/16 18:03:51

*

Posted by Unregistered on 2010/1/16 18:00:18

There were signs all over the exterior of the building with NO CAMERAS signs, Purses were checked carefully and many, many were checked at the door...if caught.

...from the HAWAII EXPERIENCE ONLY. Your city could do it entirely differently...although I believe much of their guidelines came from Utada's promoters.

If your thought is to sneak one in, a female wearing the camera on there person is a virtual shoo in as I saw no females patted down. A metal detector was available but not used.

For a frame of reference, you can see (pics) the line to get in was ridiculously long and basically ONE man was doing all this checking.

When the event started, security had access to elevated areas and used flashlights to easily see people using cameras. That said, if you do not use a flash, you have a good chance of getting away with it.

I can absolutely, positively confirm that those caught only had to then check their camera (claim check procedure) they were NOT kicked out nor was there any follow up re anything taken to that point.

I do have a 2 minute video from the event (Passion)..but it would not really satisfy your curiosity, I don't know how to post it and as I wrote in the other thread, I'm a bit afraid to anyway.

It's bittersweet that this tour is playing in only a few cities and in very small venues. Again, I feel very lucky.

Posted by tommy96814 on 2010/1/16 16:16:24

Quote:

i'm actually geting conflicting answers. some are saying they will give the cameras back but some said they're not giving it back and its your lost lol


seriously someone need to post some footage. all we're seeing is pictures.

Posted by tommy96814 on 2010/1/16 16:13:23

Quote:

actually simple and clean matches the tour. that's when her fans wanted an encore so its like please baby dont go! lol