Day 2, 9:00 PM
"Hey. I'm really glad you could gome," I tell Himiko and Hikari, her mother. "I'm so surprised that there are this many people. They're very close to the stage!" Peeking through the curtain, I can see the crowd, composed of male and female of all ages. I'm surprised, too, how many of them aren't even Asian.
"I did read something," said Hikari, "about Japanese concerts. Even rock concerts are very different from in America. I didn't realize how much so." Himiko looks worriedly at me.
"Don't worry," I tell them. "I'm excited. I can't wait to be so close to my fans. It will be a rush."
Strings of drumbeats begin outside as the opening act starts. It's a duo from Japan, and the singer is a charismatic yound man named Koutaro. His voice is incredible; he can sound like a guitar, a trumpet, an oboe, a piccolo. His partner switches between bass guitar and drums, and that's all they need. Koutaro comes past in a pinstriped suit with a pink T-shirt underneath.
"You'd better go," I say to Hikari. "You won't want to miss this." So, they wave and leave to find a place in the crowd of fans.

Day 2, 9:02 PM
My performance outfit appears to have been through a shredder. The black denim pants have been effectively torn in at least five places, without letting the garment fall into pieces. The white T-shirt has had its sleeves torn off and has a large symbol of a capital A surrounded by a circle drawn onto it in red and black. Lastly, and unmarred, is a long, plaid suitjacket, decorated with safety-pinned patches and buttons. Yes, this is angsty. That is what I wanted.
Up front, close to the stage, the attendants are mostly teenaged girls. I am not surprised. They all start screaming with just as much excitement as I want to as I walk onstage.
"Wow," I say, laughing into the microphone. "There are so many more people here than I expected! Are you as excited as I am?" They scream even more loudly. "Good, good! Ano... Do you want to hear a Grasper song while you are here?" Still they scream happily. "Well, maybe you will! Grasper is not here tonight, though. Just Ryuichi!" They cheer anyway. "Yoshi! All right, let's fly!"