日本青年館のフライト、9月9日2017

"If your beard is *this* long, you can't enter the airplane!"

This was a concert from 2 years ago that I found on the interwebs - probably from around when I first discovered PASSPO☆ (I got Cinema Trip in November 2017, but my first exposure was the すてんだっぷガールズ! music video. I think that came out around August/September 2017. It's a bit of a jump as far as my chronology goes, but it's nice to have something between the 2015 live and ラストフライト.

This concert opens with Puti Passpo.
They are NOT PASSPO☆.
Yeah, I'm not watching this nonsense...

So Yellow-Green has since gone, due to health or something. It's a shame, because she had grown on me a lot - she was a great dancer and solid singer. BUT this does mean we're down to the core 7 that make up the PASSPO☆ I know and love.

The show opens with a big spoken-word intro over the speakers. Orange keeps sleeping and there is other hilarity but my Japanese is not fast enough to catch it all. Then Popcorn Bought? kicks in and every　time the crowd join in with the big "HEY!" I get very jealous I'm not there. PASSPO☆ come out wearing the outfits from すてんだっぷガールズ! and I immediately know this will be a good live because those outfits are pure fire! Bah gawd this was peak PASSPO☆ for me.

Oh cool they're going to open with Honey Dish - just what I wanted after having to watch the music video 9 times in a row... Purple then teaches the crowd the dance for すてんだっぷガールズ! and I realise I should learn that on my next day off.

The fact that I never got one of these PASSPO☆ star-shaped lightsticks is an absolute crime and the world should be ashamed. Orange and White clearly enjoying performing 7's Up. But Purple using her solo moment to be silly with a security guard shows how she's become a dam star in this group. With the other 2 gone - and her getting older - she's certainly taking command on stage.

Band PASSPO☆ time already??
Blue is no longer pretending to be a DJ and has traded her Xylophone for guitar. And they even pull out BABY JUMP〜天国への搭乗便〜 to my surprise - I did not expect Band PASSPO☆ to be doing the heavy shit. They follow up with WANTED!!, which I did expect. Honestly, they're lucky Purple and Aqua are actually competent at drums and bass because the guitarists are not quite at Ground Crew level. They even do Love Diary, which is kinda cool. But I do miss the choreography. And then we wouldn't have to make Red attempt a guitar solo. BUT at least this means Orange plays a real whistle instead!

White gives a speech where I believe she was discussing how hard they've worked to be able to do Band PASSPO☆ - Purple points out that doesn't apply to her.

Back to just regular PASSPO☆ now and Purple is talking about their previous songs as Band PASSPO☆. I can't quite work out if she's saying she wanted to keep going as Band PASSPO☆ or she was bummed that she didn't do a song as well as she would have liked.

Time for your in-flight meals! Today's options are Beef or Chicken - get it?
So they wheel out two boards (Beef and Chicken) with 4 different songs and the audience gets to choose which they perform. Where's the Vegetarian option?? The audience can vote using the colours on their lightsticks, but Purple thinks using animal noises is more accurate and given her Cow and Chicken impression, I'm going to have to agree. The crowd are split, so the girls also vote and hilarious it is unanimously in favour of the Chicken menu. Aqua reminds the team that two of these songs require Band PASSPO☆ so they spend another 10 minutes organising the menu and labelling each song with Salad, Soup, Main and Dessert. Girls, you just said this was the "Chicken" menu - I ain't never heard of no chicken dessert!

This is a meal, so before we can partake you must wash your hands and say "いただきます”

Anyway, the result is this:

Mr. Wednesday = Salad
キャンディー・ルーム = Soup
Pretty Lie = Main
くちゃLove = Dessert

I'd actually agree.

In the funniest moment of the night, Purple starts talking about Disney but can't remember Mickey Mouse's name. Then tells the crowd they are full of it when they say they knew it.

Playground is still one of my favourite dance routines they've done. And this was possibly one of the best performances of the night! It's just the Aqua, Yellow and Purple show and they killed it. Then Yellow opens 無題 accapella and it is possibly her best vocal performance of the night. Purple nails her solo part and doesn't break into tears. Then oh shit - they're doing フィルム? And then following with バチェロレッテは終わらない? Well, that's one hell of a way to end the main concert!

Encore time! Buy their goods! I would if I could, believe me!!

Time for the madness that is always STEP&GO. This time Orange tries to lie down, so Purple sits on her. They've got luggage attached to scooters and Red goes across the stage. Then pushes Blue on it, who is not so confident and almost runs over Aqua. As soon as the song ends, they ALL fucking destroy Blue for it. Then Purple shows her how it's done by racing across the stage on the scooter and avoiding everyone.

Purple is queen.

Red announces a concert on 22nd September 2018. They're excited! That would become their final concert performance and last official act as PASSPO☆. Then they do one last performance as Band PASSPO☆- 少女飛行 - then rock the house with Music Navigation before calling it a night.

This was a really fun live. One of the reasons I love this 7 the most is that being less members, they all had a chance to show personality. And they have a lot of it! It might even be just that they've gotten older and more experienced, but whatever. I can sit here and badmouth the singing or the Band PASSPO☆ stuff, but really at least they were trying their best to do something different.

Highlights:
Playground, the luggage riding incident, Purple making cow and chicken noises

Lowlights:
No vegetarian meal option

5 / 7 Glowsticks

JEJEJEJET!! First-Class Bonus Disc

Does the black background mean this is "Evil" PASSPO☆?

Time to hit the bonus DVD that came with JEJEJEJET!!.
First up is a "Growing Up" documentary; this involves each of the girls going to a place that means something to the beginnings of PASSPO☆ and discussing what they were doing 3 years ago. White walks around Akihabara, Orange and Aqua go to the live houses they used to frequent, Purple went to their rehearsal room, Blue harasses some white cats, Red went to the park and found the tree they would sing under, and Yellow goes to the record company office because she's a fucking rockstar. Then they each call someone important to them and that has supported the group and say thanks. It's pretty touching.

Then we get a live performance. And one that isn't a totally ridiculous waste of time!
They open with WING and it rocks. Then we get ViVi夏 and it's a barrel of fun. This reminded me that Aqua is a little goddam firecracker and always seems to be having the funnest of times on stage. She brings the most infectious energy with the way she leaps about and gives it her everything. This continues in STEP&GO where she leads everyone from one side of the stage and back to the other, while waving her arms in the air. Aqua in the centre is always a win.

Now we get two of my least favourite PASSPO☆ songs - LA LA LOVE TRAIN〜恋の片道切符〜 and 夏空HANABI. But luckily these are followed with the live fun spectacular that is マテリアルGirl. Aqua is so great at working the crowd. And finally, we end the party with WANTED!! which features Yellow and White singing really tough vocals. Obviously, this live was a longer than is presented on the DVD, because by this point their voices are pretty much shot. BUT it totally works for their solo parts because it gives their vocals a rougher edge. I dig.

I just don't dig that it's over.

Highlights:
Aqua reminding me that she is as awesome as she is small

Lowlights:
I could do with the whole concert, thanks

5 / 7 Glowsticks

One World

It's Team Blue vs Team White in this year's World Cup Final!

PASSPO☆ are back, and this time they're they've ditched Green and are channelling some heavy 80's rock to bring you their third album, One World. Or according to iTunes, One World Economyclassban. Fuck you, Tim Apple!

Our opening instrumental today is Departure. It's a little step up from Boarding, but still pretty unmemorable.

What is memorable is our proper opening song, Next Flight. Holy shit, this song is both the heaviest and baddest song PASSPO☆ ever did - I can not listen to this song quietly. It sounds like a big stadium rock monster of a song and when I look at the personnel on this album, it becomes clear; we've got former members of Cinderella, Guns'n'Roses, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Foo Fighters all over this album. I'm not complaining. It's also clear someone in the back realised that Yellow, White and Yellow-Green (seriously, that was her colour?) are the strongest singers and gave them the lead as much as possible. Again, I'm not complaining.

Don't get me wrong, I love all members of PASSPO☆ equally (kinda). But there's no denying the vocal strength of Yellow.

Final Vision is kinda something. Nothing would ever sound awesome coming after a huge heavy opener like that. Then we get Love Diary, which is still really rockin' and fun. This reminds me I need to learn more PASSPO☆ on guitar. Particularly this song. Then we're back to dark heavy rock with WING. The harmonies in this are spectacular. And it's crazy to have such sweet harmonies in such a heavy song with double-kick and tonelessly distorted guitars. I saw a clip of some Japanese rock band covering this - complete with a big fat singer dude doing some of the PASSPO☆ dance moves. I'd make fun, but fuck yeah go dudes! Because WING is badass and I wish I was in that band.

WANTED!! has grown on me over the past year; I didn't think much of it at first - likely because my first exposure was Band PASSPO☆ performing it. Again, I love everyone involved in PASSPO☆ very much, but they aren't exactly the most amazing musicians.

Ugh I want to punch myself for insulting them! Who do I think I am?!?
FUCK YOU, LOGMAN!

My favourite part of WANTED!! is the 2nd half of the 2nd verse, where Blue gets a solo part and gives it some attitude. I even think every member had a solo moment in this song! Then we get 夏空HANABI, which has some good moments. That's kind of what I find is consistent with this album; even the songs that I think are kinda average have those little moments that I think are really badass and make me want to score it higher. But I won't, because that's just one awesome moment in otherwise just "good" song. Same goes for 君は僕を好きになる - though this is a lot more catchy.

Sick of my insults, PASSPO☆ just go FUCK YOU, TIM APPLE AND LOGMAN and hit us with the best song on the album, 2DAYS. It's probably the most PASSPO☆ sounding song on the album. Like, the rest of the album isn't bad - some of it is totally awesome (dude) - but it's a lot heavier than the usual PASSPO☆ stuff I'm used to. This is back to a simpler pop-rock sound with a super catchy hook. Tap My Toe is kind of a nice slice of in-between. Then we're back to hitting some fast-paced rock with Pock☆Star - another song that is kinda 'Yeah this is good' and then has an awesome moment that makes you think 'Oh wow this song is awesome' before returning to the simply good stuff.

I'm totally saying stuff.

ピンクのパラシュート is a perfect example of funny happy pop-punk blended with Idol cheese. 君色のサンバ is something I don't really understand; you've got a samba rhythm, soft Japanese idol vocals and shredding metal guitar solos. Then we get a kind of ballad in With XXXX and I find it hard to score because I've probably been dishing out way too many 5 stars. But it's a gorgeous song. Then we close things off with Dear My Friends so you don't forget that PASSPO☆ means pop-punk good times!

This is a surprisingly consistent album; so far, it scores the lowest number of 5 star songs, but everything else sits around the 3 or 4 mark. And some are certainly high-standing 4's. And the girls are slowly starting to let some personality shine through. Like CHECK-IN, it's not the same pop-punk awesomeness I originally loved PASSPO☆ for, but this album has an attitude and 80's rock groove that appeals to me. Things are starting to come together nicely.

Highlights:
Next Flight, WING, 2DAYS

Lowlights:
PASSPO☆ aren't in my neighbourhood

5 / 7 Glowsticks