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