Love Psychedelico's US Tour: A Sweet Memory...

I should really tell you about this, because it was truly a once in a lifetime moment for me. Love Psychedelico had decided to do a 6 city tour in the USA and, for some reason, Pittsburgh was chosen as the second to last stop on the tour. Talk about serendipity; my favorite band from another country coming to my hometown to play a concert on my birthday. No joke.

Believe it or not, the venue was solidly packed. It was a mostly Asian audience, of course, but there were quite a bit of Non-Asians there. Most of them were either brought by others to see what all the fuss was about or were Nihonophiles that were all ready clued in.

The show actually started at 7:20 when the Beat Crusaders took the stage. I thought it was a strange combination, considering they were more punk than Classic Rock and the two bands didn't share the same label, but hey, the audience took to them in a big way.

They bounded onto the stage wearing their trademark signature masks and danced about to their song "Sasquatch", from their "P.O.A." album. With a grand gesture, they threw away their masks and began to play a breakneck 17 song set (mind you, they were only onstage for 30 minutes!) that consisted mostly of the, then just released, "EPopMaking" album (their uber cool T Shirts even read, "EPopmaking Sense", in a brilliant nod to Taking Heads' landmark concert film). They just destroyed. It was an exhilarating set and It just made me all the more jumpier and excited for Love Psychedelico.

There was a break and, at 8:15 PM, the lights lowered and the familiar Love Psychedelico Logo appeared like the Bat Symbol on the stark white curtain that had been raised about 10 minutes before. There was an ominous guitar tone and synthesizers rose up in pitch. The curtain dropped and the opening notes to "Freedom" filled the venue. I felt faint. I'd never thought I'd ever get to see them live, but there they were. Kumi, as cute as ever in a tight John Lennon "New York City" T Shirt and even tighter jeans belted out the lyrics with such great joy and emotion. Naoki ran the length of the stage and made sure everyone knew who the main guitarist was.

The next song, "Free World" got the audience moving with a great extended take. Kumi addressed the audience in Japanese and English and was quite sincere in her thrill to be there, playing for us. They then went into "Humanimation" from the new album, and that went directly into "Standing Bird" and "Everybody Needs Somebody".

At this point, Kumi settled things down with an acoustic set that included "These Days", "Hadaka No Ousama" and "Life Goes On" (with a "Circle of One, Circle Of Life" Singalong), before letting Naoki freestyle on the guitar and then into "neverland". Kumi applauded us for knowing their songs and asked if we were Beatle fans. The cheer from the audience was deafening. They began singing their version of "Help!" and then went into "Fantastic World".

The duo left the stage for a moment while the extended intro for "Mind Across The Universe" played. The audience sang along with the "Oh, Oh"s and Kumi and Naoki returned; Kumi wearing a new shirt and a vest and Naoki looking like the spawn of Keith Richards and Little Steven. Naoki then took the mike and said a few words to the Japanese fans that went untranslated and did a long version of the "N27" instrumental from the "Golden Grapefruit" disc.

"Seven Days" was next, followed by "Carnation" and "I Saw You In The Rainbow". Lastly, before the encore, they did "Lady Madonna" and introduced the band.

There was a 15 minute intermission and they encored with "Your Song", a surprising performance of "Low" and, finally, the heartfelt "Everyone, Everyone".

I was exhilarated and completely exhausted. The lights went up and I knew it was time. I had to meet the band!

Luckily, I knew some security. Unluckily, none of them were working that evening. I spent 20 minutes going from security guard to security guard until, finally, I called up one of my friends and let her speak to one of the on duty guys. After that, it was a cakewalk.

We went straight back to the dressing rooms, but we were told by their manager that it would be a while before they'd come out. It seemed like an eternity, but the reality was - it was only a 40 minute wait. The band had to relax, shower and unwind. I certainly didn't mind waiting for them.

The moment I waited for finally came when the door opened and the band came out (unfortunately, the Beat Crusaders left during the Delico's set, so I didn't get to see what was under the masks up close!). They seemed to be in great spirits, but they almost passed us by. I saw Naoki first and caught a glimpse of Kumi. I didn't know what to say, so I just blurted out, "Kumi!"

They all turned to look at us. I seriously didn't know what to do after that, so I just sheepishly walked over. The Manager remembered us and did the introductions. My Japanese is virtually non existent, but I did my best mix of Japanese and English. Kumi did most of the talking for the band, but I think she was even shyer than I was! We talked for about 5 minutes, shook hands and I got every one's autographs (even the Manager's!), but, due to venue rules, didn't have a camera to document the moment.

It doesn't matter. It's all in my head and I run that moment over and over, every time I listen to their live album. It was a great night. Wish you guys would've been there.