Because I am wide awake thanks to the time difference between here and Chicago, and the fact that I just don't want to work on school work, I wrote my report
Kalafina Concert, May 17th, 8:00
Pre-show: they showed the PVs on the two screens on the sides of the stage. I think they just did them chronologically, because the ones I were there for went from fairytale to Hikari no Senritsu. They were running through the strobe light settings at this time too.
A staff member came onstage and introduced Kalafina. We cheered, and then the lights dimmed and
overture began to play. The screen above the stage showed a consolation picture of each of the girls and their name. The band walked on, then the girls appeared at the top of the stairs in the middle of the stage.
Oblivious: The first thing I noticed was that Konno was missing : ( So the intro violin was a recording. It was also REALLY LOUD. Later on in the concert I wrote "I think my ears are permanently damaged BUT ITS WORTH IT." The girls were wearing their 5th anniversary live dresses, but the skirts were black and sparkly. I preferred this version of Hikaru's and Wakana's to the originals, but I liked Keiko's original better. Her black one was shortened a lot.
Consolation: I kinda freaked out when they began the intro kajiurago....it was so amazing to hear this live.
MC1: Basic introductions. They all spoke in engrish, reading from a card. Hikaru is soo good at english now; she spoke the most.
Kagayaku Sora no Shijima ni wa: Beautiful.
red moon: Was not expecting this song, but I'm soo glad they did, because it was just a dream to hear this live.
MC2: Wakana told us the three previous songs they had sung. When she said Kagayaku was from Kuroshitsuji it sounded more like "Bruaku Butter" wwww. Then Hikaru said that yesterday they had arrived and gone downtown. She said she was amazed at how many trees there are (which I was surprised at...there really are hardly any trees here compared to where I live) and that they saw lots of "European taste buildings." She said they wanted to visit Lake Michigan. Wakana added that she loves dinosaurs and she wanted to go to some dinosaur museum in Chicago. Then there was something about Chicago pizza. Hikaru asked the audience suggestions on what to eat (of course!). Someone behind me was yelling ice cream lol. Keiko said something about popcorn, then said "daisuki mustardo to ketchupu." Keiko's engrish was so cute!
HIkari no Senritsu: Wasn't expecting this one either. When they began clapping, Keiko put her hands over her eyes to see if we were clapping or not (soo cute)
Door: At first I couldn't figure out what song this was! But then Wakana began to sing and I realised it was Door. Wakana ROCKED this song; she was amazing. Hikaru was nasally though. Keiko had a solo kajiurago that I LOVED. It wasn't in the recording, but it reminded me of the "ahh"s in I swear.
Mirai: Hikaru was nasally (don't know how else to describe it). The kajiurago parts were awesome. During the ending kajiurago, there were some KeikoxWakana moments.
MC3: Keiko was soo funny; she couldn't find where she was on her card, and then she said "ganbareoooouu" before attempting english. They said their favourite characters from recent anime: Keiko's was rider, Hikaru's was Saber, Wakana's was "Mami-chan". They looked around to see if Mami was in the audience, but there were some Madokas. Then Hikaru asked "Are you ready for songs?"
ARIA: I did not expect to hear this! I loved it though; Wakana and Keiko's kajiurago was BEAUTIFUL. There was a KnK AMV playing on the screen.
signal: Keiko rocked this song. And Wakana's ahhs were epic. There was a keyboard and guitar solo. Whenever there was a solo Keiko would turn around to face them (this goes for the entire concert).
obbligato: I immediately recognised the first notes and I just about died. My friend looked at me strangely. lol. And OH MY GOD KORE-CHAN GUITAR INTRO WAS EPIC GAH. Keiko at the beginning was not loud enough I thought (I take that back; instead everything else should have been turned down a bit) to stand out like it does in the recording. I wrote that Wakana had solo kajiurago. Then Kore-chan solo....just amazing. as always. During Hikaru's verse part it would start out with just Hikaru first, then Keiko would come in, then Wakana. Also, everyone looked really into the song (maybe that was just me lol).
Ongaku: I'm really glad they sang this since it really got us all pumped; everyone stood up and was clapping and stuff. There was a piano solo instead of the violin one.
MC4: Keiko asked "Don't you think our band is awesome?" YES. PLEASE BRING THEM BACK. Then they introduced the band members. Hikaru introduced Jr and Satou; Wakana, Sakura and Kore-chan. Everyone stood up clapping for them. Keiko covered her face awwh.
Manten: I really wanted the manten dance haha. There were some manten arm movements, but no Type-Moon Fes. dance. Instead they just stood there in a semi-circle.
to the beginning: Immediately everyone cheered. I guess this is their most popular song right now? Some were jumping around. It was awesome.
Hikari Furu: Oh my god Sakura's piano intro was BEAUTIFUL. It reminded me of the piano at the end of Kotonoha and the beginning of Kagayaku in AE Live. Wakana stood at the top of the stairs beneath the screen, which had falling light on it. This song was so beautiful live. On a side note, on the screen when it showed the name of the song, it also said "Puella Nagi Madoka Magica" lol fail.
MC5: Keiko said that the next song was the last. While we all were being sad, she said "oh noo" really adorably. She also said "many many many many many happy" and then promised that they'll be back: "zettai I'll be back!!"
Yume no Daichi: I didn't write anything for this but it was amazing, as was the rest of the concert.
After Yume no Daichi finished, Kalafina and the band came forward. Jr threw out his pick (or picks?) into the audience (I wonder if Kore-chan did too...). They all joined hands and bowed. Then they took a bunch of photos on the stage with the audience in the background. After much cheering, then finally exited the stage.
There was a
signing session afterwards at a nearby hotel. We didn't know where it was exactly, so it took a while to get there, and by the time we did, the line was already LONG. We waited anyway and chatted with some others. There were some staff selling merchandise and CDs along the line, and if you bought two CDs you got a poster. I really wanted the poster, but I already have...all...their....CDs....However, I did get a Consolation Live T-shirt (which makes me really happy every time I look at it : ) When we were finally getting somewhat close to the door, it was announced that the line was being cut (because it was like 12 or later and Kalafina wanted to sleep). They marked our tickets so that we would get priority in the Saturday signing though.
Kalafina panel and signing session, May 18th
The next day it took a while to find where the
Kalafina panel was, but eventually found it (after walking all the way to the farthest hotel of course). The line to get in was really long, but the room was so large that we all could see them. As with the concert, there were two screens on the sides of the table, and first a staff member introduced Kalafina and we clapped while they entered. They were wearing their Consolation dresses (the live version ones) and Keiko and Hikaru shared a microphone while Wakana shared one with the translator. At one point while Wakana was talking, Keiko was trying to get the microphone off the stand and put the stand on the floor behind them, so we were all giggling.
I didn't write down any notes because I think there will probably be a transcript released, but here are some things I remember: Hikaru said that during the concert when they asked for recommendations of food, someone yelled out "McDonalds" (why...). Hikaru was puzzled, so she researched it, and found out that the first one was in Chicago (though someone in the audience said that it was because the HQ was in Chicago).
One of the questions was which was the hardest song for them to sing. For Wakana, it was signal. The "ahs" were hard to sing; she has to concentrate really hard. For Keiko, it was obbligato (they all seemed to go with Consolation songs). She said her intro is difficult. For Hikaru, it was Hanataba. She said that Kajiura-san told them it might be Kalafina's darkest song. I need to read the lyrics to see if I agree.
When audience questions were asked for, one girl said (in Japanese) that Natsu no Ringo is her favourite Kalafina song, and asked why they didn't sing it very often. Did they not like it? Wakana was like "nononono!! I love that song very much! The next time we're here we'll sing it just for you."
Another audience question was about Hikaru's different voices. The guy asked "what is closest to your real voice?" Hikaru laughed adorably and said "Zenbu! Everything!"
The last audience question was whether any of them liked metal (or was it hard rock?). Hikaru said she did like rock, though they are more of a classical group. So whenever they sing a rock-ish song she gets excited.
During the panel, they showed some "exclusive clips" which weren't exactly exclusive....I'm sure most of us there had already seen them lol. The first was a clip of Magia from AE Live. There were also clips of Hikari Furu, to the beginning, and Yume no Daichi PVs. Kalafina would watch us as we watched the clips like they were trying to figure out if we liked it or not, or like they were seeing our reactions. Awh.
After the audience questions, there were five signed T-shirts given out to those who answered a question correctly. The first was how many times had Kalafina been to the US? The first person they called on said two (poor thing). Another was what was what was the name of the last PV they showed? One person said Yume no ___ (I'm guessing the person said it in Chinese or something similar), but that wasn't enough. I was sort of thrown off because the staff member kept saying "new single on their latest album." I think another question was what was the new theme song for the Madoka movie.
When the panel finished and Kalafina left our clapping, we tried to find where the
autograph session was. With the guidance of Acen staff, it was found to be in the exhibit hall. There were two lines; one for the ticket holders, and another for those who hadn't waited the previous night (now that I think about it, I might have cut in the ticket line...gomene! I always get so confused trying to figure out what lines are for what...). Anyway, that day we were only allowed to get one item signed, so I decided on my Consolation LE. When I got up to the table, as Wakana signed it, she looked up and said "moshikashite....Sophie?" ahhhhh. I managed to say "hai" and smile a lot. I was expecting her to figure out who I was (the young Sophie Hatter from Howl's Moving Castle), being a Ghibli fan and all, but it still made me really happy. I also handed her the painting I did for their fifth anniversary. Sadly, they couldn't look at it then (it was scrolled up) because the line had to keep moving. I hope they looked at it later~ They all were beautiful and adorable close up! Those Consolation dresses are really shiny.
Once the shock of holding their signatures in my hands wore off a bit, I found the Kalafina booth to be almost empty of goods. All that was left were the live DVDs and Blu-rays, T-shirts, and 5th anniversary key-chains. I bought a key-chain.
And thus ends my Kalafina-related experiences at Acen. It was just amazing to hear them live and listen to their panel and be so close to them during the signing! My mind is constantly reminiscing of all of it, like now, when I should be working on the school work I need to make up from missing two days. I hope one day I'll be able to hear them live in Japan with a true full band and a longer set list. Thank you Kalafina for coming to the US, and please follow Keiko's promise and come back!!
I would have liked to see them!! 
