DuelJewel concert

So last night was my first concert in Japan! It required me to take a train to Kashiwa city, which is roughly 90 minutes away via train. This was my first time leaving Mito without supervision, so I was a little nervous. But I knew where the venue was, and what the train schedule was, so all was good.

I got dolled up, made sure I had cash for purchases, and headed to the train station. Spent the next twenty minutes fretting whether or not I was on the correct platform (not a whole lot of choices...), but finally the train arrived and I got on without a doubt.

I did wonder if the train would stop and I'd have to transfer, but in the end I didn't have to, and I arrived at Kashiwa station without incident.

I walked to the venue and checked the place out. They let you go upstairs to buy merch without a ticket, so I did just that, and then went to get something to eat at the grocery store across the way. Then it came time to line up and have the tickets ready. For some reason there were A and B tickets. The girls in front of me had A, and I had B, but they said I didn't need to switch lines. Then I saw them take out 500 yen. I asked what it was for, and they said it was the entrance fee.
Naturally I had stuffed my purse in a $3 single-use locker upstairs.

One of the girls was kind enough to spot me the 500, and after the event I made sure to wait for her to exit so that I could pay her back, which they did not expect.

Once in though, I was mostly confined to the back of the venue near the bar window. The entrance fee is good for one drink, possibly 2 but I didn't verify, and I got a Jack and coke. Probably one of the best ones I've ever had to date, too.

The show started and there was a lot of side-ways headbanging and para para with flashy glowy rings that would be right at home at a rave, but they quickly got put away after the first two songs. There was also a lot of log-winded MC moments, which are bad enough in English, but when you can't understand the language they're in, it's even worse. I picked up bits and pieces of it but for the love of music, dudes, I traveled 90 minutes and spent $40 on just the ticket to hear you guys play, not blather. If I had gone all the way to Tokyo, I would have been livid. My folks and I walked out of a concert once because there was too much MCing between songs.

Ultimately however it was a very enjoyable concert. I walked back to the train station and made my way home. The last bus was hours ago, however, so I had to walk home once I reached the home turf.