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RUKA (LSN)×Cent Chihiro Chitti (BiSH)×Watanabe Junnosuke Discuss Insane Event "CHAOS PARTY" (Part 1)
The "IDOL VS VISUAL vol.3 'CHAOS PARTY,'" organized by RUKA (Dr), who has been vigorously continuing his activities as LSN after NIGHTMARE's hiatus, will take place on May 23 (Tue) and 24 (Wed) at Tokyo Takadanobaba AREA.
This is an event that always turns into a competition for tickets, as "CHAOS PARTY" is the only place you can enjoy the "madness" of this two-man live where a serious battle unfolds between LSN and BiSH every time. At the point of the third incarnation starting up, we met at SPICE to have an interview, split into two parts, before and after, as a three person discussion between RUKA and BiSH's producer Mr. Watanabe Junnosuke, as well as Cent Chihiro Chitti from BiSH. For the before interview we asked about their strategies for the coming third installment while looking back on "CHAOS PARTY" up until now.
They've been the most intense live shows I've ever personally done, but they have also been the most entertaining. However, I want to look even beyond that. (RUKA)
--First, could each of you please tell me what you have going on right now?
Cent Chihiro Chitti (onward, Chitti): On July 22, we're going to be having a one man show at Makuhari Messe Event Hall!!
RUKA: What, shouldn't you talk about "Promise (the Star)"?
Chitti: Is that okay? Our single "Promise the Star" is also on sale now!
Watanabe Junnosuke: We were aiming for a personal best of #3 on the charts, but it didn't happen this time (bitter smile). We just can't get it.
Chitti: We can still only reach #4.
Watanabe: Komuro (Tetsuya) also told us we wouldn't be able to get past #3.
--"Promise the Star" and "Orchestra" in succession are such strong songs.
Chitti: Yes. They're definitely songs that feel like a sprint forward, I think they're perfect songs for BiSH right now. The lyrics, especially, are fitting for our own lives, so it's easy for us to sing them with feeling. The members all believe that maybe Matsukuma (Kenta) and Watanabe fill the songs up with thoughts of, "We want BiSH to be like this." They're emotional songs. Also, the members have become better friends, more so than before (laughs). That's about it.
RUKA: I'm doing more release events by myself. (*This interview took place at the end of March)
Watanabe: As for me, I'm about to approach my second wedding anniversary.
RUKA: You're keeping it up for a while, then?
Watanabe: No, stop, I plan on keeping it up for eternity. I'm also, happily, increasing the artists I oversee. Right now I'm moving towards a goal that I set with Komuro-san last year, that I'd get 7 groups of artists working with me.
RUKA: How many groups do you have now?
Watanabe: I have some things going under the surface right now, so I think 5 groups.
It's because of "CHAOS PARTY" that BiSH is here as we are now, I think. It released something in us. (Chitti)
--Since you've all finally gotten together, between your busy schedules, I'd like to first talk about last year's "IDOL VS VISUAL Vol.2 'CHAOS PARTY.'" Last year, you expanded to venues in Sendai, Osaka, and Tokyo. Then, for the finale you changed the name and had an additional show at Chelsea Hotel in Shibuya. How was that?
Chitti: "CHAOS PARTY" is a huge deal for BiSH.
--Huh, is that so?
Chitti: Yes. BiSH had a lot of members at the outset who were bad at putting themselves out there during lives. But ever since we did "CHAOS PARTY," we became able to excite each member of the audience and able to expose our emotions more. At these events we do the same songs over and over, and the crowd gets super riled up. I think the current BiSH is here because of that experience.
--Could you not do that before?
Chitti: No. Before, I never knew what to say so I don't think I could get the crowd going or anything, but at "CHAOS PARTY," something was released inside me.
--Why do you think it was a release?
Chitti: Because we had no choice but to get out there and do it. I didn't want to lose to the passion of LSN and the band girls. The members all felt the same, so we said, "Let's go out and win this thing," and became unified in that. I think that's why last year our faces were all drenched by the end of the live.
--Your costumes, makeup, and hair were all ruined and soaked with sweat.
Chitti: Right? (laughs) I think it was pretty cool.
--What about you, RUKA?
RUKA: When we decided to do a second run, all I could think was that I would have some excuse to launch things off again with Watanabe. We did the first Sendai show, and a strange sense of competitiveness started to grow between us.
--For you, as well?
RUKA: Yeah. Above all else, Watanabe just thinks about things a lot, these strange, secret strategies for me. Like, why are they playing the same song over and over even though they have plenty of other songs? I had no idea what the reasoning was behind that setlist, and so it got to the point where all I was thinking about was how to fight against that. The last Chelsea Hotel show was the most intense I've ever done in my life. I've done 30 songs or so with NIGHTMARE before, but it's no comparison. It had been such a long time since I'd played a venue that tiny, too. BiSH and us on that cramped stage, like with just 10 people up there, you couldn't expect to have enough air to breathe normally. It was so much fun.
--I got dizzy from being so cramped watching you on the floor that day.
RUKA: It was the same on stage.
--Surely that show was just like how you had wanted it to be, like chaos incarnate?
RUKA: But I want to look even beyond that. No one is falling off the stage yet. I think it would be nice to move more in that direction this time.
Watanabe: This is terrifying (grins).
RUKA: Yeah, but what I want to see most is what this guy comes up with (laughs).
Watanabe: No, no, no. RUKA is more of the strange thinker (laughs).
--You produce such good synergy.
Watanabe: I think so. For every show, we each wonder what the other person is going to do. And in that sense, I think it's a good opportunity to figure out how the audience gets riled up if you do things a certain way, if you make a live show like this or like that. Chitti said this, too, but ever since doing this show, BiSH itself and the shows they normally do have changed, so it's a really meaningful live. It feels like BiSH was brought up by RUKA and then they used their own skill to grow up further, I guess?
--Aside from BiSH, another character was born at Vol.2, "Psychopath Watanabe," correct?
Watanabe: That was fun (grins).
RUKA: That was originally from something Watanabe had written and put up from a sketchbook, like, "Last 3 shows," and it was part of signaling the end of the songs, but then for some reason all sorts of shit talking and stuff got written on it.
Watanabe: That was another thing that grew and came alive from a much smaller idea.
--Right after everyone got pumped up at Vol.2, RUKA tweeted the very deep sentiment, "Things that happen twice happen thrice."
RUKA: That's right. But right after that, I had things to do with NIGHTMARE, so in reality, Watanabe and I didn't talk about this current show until around the end of last year.
--Speaking of which, the BiSH members and Watanabe went to go see NIGHTMARE's last live before their hiatus at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium, didn't you?
Chitti: I couldn't go.
Watanabe: 3 of the members had a radio show recording so they couldn't attend, so just the three who didn't do that made themselves at home for the concert.
--Did the members who saw the concert say anything?
Chitti: Band girls do tons of headbanging, don't they? They said, "Everyone in this huge venue was shaking their heads, it was pandemonium." But they were also impressed by it, like, "NIGHTMARE was so cool!"
Watanabe: I really liked the pyro production. We haven't used fire for a BiSH live before, so I definitely want to try it.
--And RUKA has been to see a BiSH show before, right?
RUKA: I saw a live at a turning point for them. When I went to see them at Yaon, they had a monitor and a properly constructed stage, so it was simply that Yaon felt smaller, which impressed me. That said, Watanabe always chooses venues that are smaller than the maximum capacity the group can do at that point, so their next shows at Makuhari Messe shouldn't be at the event hall, but rather the international exhibit hall, I think.
Watanabe: About that, it just happened to be open. I always want to do shows on a Saturday or Sunday and look for bookings then, but nothing is ever available. It's a really serious issue right now with not being able to book venues. With rock bands, too, you guys end up doing shows in the middle of the week, like, "Could we even do this big show on a weekday?"
RUKA: That's true.
Watanabe: I want BiSH to do a show at NHK Hall.
RUKA: Wow. Why that one?
Watanabe: To do a rehearsal for "Kouhaku Utagassen" (smiles).
--NIGHTMARE has played at NHK Hall, right?
RUKA: Yep.
--Before the show, YOMI (NIGHTMARE vocals) tricked everyone by saying, "They won't let us perform here if we don't pay the NHK licensing fee," didn't he?
RUKA: Right, yeah (laughs). He said, "We all paid it so you have to, too."
Watanabe: What!? You can't play there if you don't pay them?
RUKA: No, he was lying.
Chitti: That scared me (laughs).
--So then, "CHAOS PARTY" this time is going to be 2 days at Takadababa AREA.
RUKA: AREA seems like it would be my choice, but it's actually Watanabe who likes it. When we were discussing where to do the show this time, he said, "AREA would be cool." Which was surprising. To me.
Watanabe: I wanted to try having it there. It was really easy to book, and there's a difference in floor levels so I think it would help the girls in the back see the stage better. And then, of course, the ambience of the dressing rooms. They're less like dressing rooms and more just oblong spaces.
RUKA: They really have a lot of character. They're quite different from normal dressing rooms.
Watanabe: When I think of AREA, I remember those corridor-like dressing rooms. I like them.
Chitti: We all remember those rooms. I also vividly remember walking on top of the audience there. It was my first time stepping over girls, so I was really worried.
--But the RUKA fans firmly supported you, like, "Come on!"
Chitti: They did! Their arms were shaking, and they supported me while they looked like they were about to cry.
--It was an impressive scene when you made it out to the back wall, and you saw the BiSH members on stage and screamed, "This is awesome!!"
Chitti: It was surreal to see everyone dancing from the front during the show, but it was so interesting. The members (on stage) were like, "What the hell are you doing?" so they were looking at me like they were the ones seeing something really weird (laughs). But it was still funny, I guess.
--And you said you want to push the insanity from Chelsea Hotel last time even further at AREA.
RUKA: Right. A little earlier I was meeting with Watanabe, and up until the end he kept saying, "I want to bring in a portable shrine."
Watanabe: Gahahahahaha (laughs).
RUKA: That's all he was saying, right until the end (laughs).
Watanabe: It's a traditional form of Japanese entertainment.
RUKA: It would get stuck somewhere in the audience, which would be dangerous, wouldn't it? (uncomfortable smile)
Chitti: A portable shrine? I want to do it!!
RUKA: If it had been up to me, we would have done the show in a bigger venue, so I think we could have been able to if we'd done that.
Watanabe: So if we were to do it at Messe like you want, we'd, like, bring it right down the middle walkway in the audience?
RUKA: Right, yeah!
Watanabe: That's just so expected, isn't it? (laughs)
RUKA: You know, if that happens at AREA, I'll just feel embarrassed, okay?
--Like you've just brought along some weirdos.
RUKA: That's definitely what people will say. But the thing is, that shrine is the only thing he wouldn't give up on.
Chitti: We could do like a human shrine, so it will be less dangerous?
RUKA: Isn't that just crowd surfing?
Watanabe: But, regarding the earlier opinion on this, if we give the audience these concrete ideas, then we can get them to go along with it.
RUKA: Huh. So if we're going that much further, will we fight on horseback at the end of the show?
Watanabe: That will 100% result in injuries.
RUKA: It is dangerous.
Watanabe: Should we play capture the flag?
RUKA: You know, I might just go along with capture the flag at AREA if you set it up.
Chitti: Well, if we're going all the way, what about doing a full athletic meet?
Watanabe: Even with all those people crammed in there? Well, maybe we could do, like, seeing who can run across the people to the back wall of the venue?
Chitti: Yeah, exactly (smiles). We can also do a swim meet. Swim on top of people.
--A lot of ideas beyond the shrine are coming out.
RUKA: Also, what about a reverse stage? We put the equipment on the floor, and all the fans get up on stage and do the show.
Watanabe: I think the audience will end up being like, "This is high up, pardon us."
Chitti: That would be nice (smiles).
RUKA: Whenever Watanabe gets to talking about these things and nothing else, I start to get pale. At first I can laugh but then it's like, "Okay, but this is AREA."
--Now, on to your weapons. What sort of plans do you have coming in for your setlists?
Watanabe: I told this to RUKA, but this time we're going to go with a proper setlist. Because we're doing a tour with it and so that's what we're going to do. Right?
Chitti: Right. Head to head warfare.
Watanabe: We're just going to what we can and mean it.
RUKA: Is it not insane for the person saying this to do concerts comprised of only "BiSH-Hoshi ga Matataku Yoru ni-" (Onward, "Hoshi~"), "Kai," and "Monster"?
Watanabe: Bahahaha (bursts out laughing).
RUKA: It's ridiculous! When we did the Chelsea show, at the beginning we and BiSH came out together, and they did nothing but "Kai," "Hoshi~," and "Monster." After that they still had time, so Watanabe asked them what they were going to do next, and they said, "No, today we're taking the title of 'In the night with stars shining bright with monsters' [*monsters in this case contains the kanji for 'kai'], so we're only going to do these three songs." But I remember saying, "If I just get my set across, it will be fine." Yet, they could do that kind of setlist, and I felt like an idiot for being more serious in thinking of my own. Like, "what are these people, it's an event, do it more seriously." And yeah, last year I anticipated that, so we threw down the gauntlet with this setlist we prepared of the same songs over and over, and on that day only, they went with a truly serious set (laughs). There were times where I felt like I bombed. But because I experienced that humiliation, at the Osaka performance, I kept putting Watanabe's face up on the lower prompter during the BiSH portion. I thought it would mess up their focus, but nobody even looked (laughs).
--A surprising missed shot.
Chitti: During shows I'm hyper-focused, so I didn't notice at all (laughs).
RUKA: This time for sure I'm going to make these tricks work.
Watanabe: My general stance on this won't change, but we only have two days this time, and so it will be easy to tell in reality which one is more fun, right? The difference here is going to be mostly up to the audience, I think. That's why I think about doing these things that get the audience involved.
When we get crazy popular and sell out Makuhari Messe, I want them to be the kind of girls who can still go back to AREA and do a flawless live. (Watanabe)
--Very well then. But it is the case that BiSH are having a big breakthrough this year, and it's inevitable that you're going to be watched from every angle. What's the significance of doing a CHAOS live at this point in time, or rather, what are you thinking about regarding the show?
Watanabe: I loved the "All Night Nippon" that Fukuyama Masaharu did.
Chitti: Fukuyama, all of a sudden?
Watanabe: On the surface, he's the person who sings, "Sakurazaka," but on the radio show, he was super scandalous, talking about things like, "Masturbation a-go go~!" Like, is this really the kind of person he is!? That difference in behavior was really interesting, so I want them to be like that. There might somehow be people out there who only know the nice and pretty aspects of BiSH, but there's also the BiSH that isn't like that at all. It's that history of the BiSH that's made it this far, and I don't want to forget that. We're doing a big tour after this, too, but we get to do things with LSN, and we're going on tour to places it seems like no one will go to. I decided to go to Makuhari Messe without forgetting my feelings starting up the group. I don't want to forget it as we move forward, either. That's why I don't want to raise them into a group that says things like, "I can't do a show without an in-ear monitor." Like, if we go on to be crazy popular after this, and we can sell out Makuhari Messe, we can still go back to AREA right away and do a flawless performance. I think that's the kind of girls I want them to be.
--Wow. You were very upfront just now, Watanabe...
Watanabe: I thought it was cool (laughs).
RUKA: But I agree that it's tedious for someone to say, "I can't do that without this."
Watanabe: I'm very strict about that, the members haven't said anything like it to me. Although it seems like they might be grumbling about it to other, more kind-hearted people.
RUKA: Is that true?
Chitti: No~ (a very strained laugh).
Watanabe: We've been bringing along more and more people to work around them, which isn't out of extravagance, but there are now a lot of things that we can't do, and I'm afraid that might start to seem normal to them. I want the girls to be popular and to be capable. Things have gotten easier now compared to when you started, right?
Chitti: They have. Traveling and such has changed, too. Last year we'd go by night bus to venues the day before, but now we can go back and forth the day of by bullet train. It has all completely changed.
Watanabe: So then, for this year's "CHAOS PARTY," should we go by night bus to Osaka once and then come straight back to Tokyo for the show?
Chitti: What (bitter smile).
--So go by night bus to Osaka and then immediately come back to the venue for BiSH's portion the same day, for no reason? Will the shrine come out? Will there be horseback riding?
RUKA: Okay, but it's still AREA (laughs).
--So your goal is to surpass the chaos of the Chelsea Hotel show.
RUKA: That's right.
Chitti: That's why I hope the garbagemen (nickname for BiSH fans) and the band girls all start building some muscle and come to "CHAOS PARTY!"
Interview, write-up: Hideki Sachie Photos: Nishimaki Taichi Translation: Lurkette
http://spice.eplus.jp/articles/122203
This is an event that always turns into a competition for tickets, as "CHAOS PARTY" is the only place you can enjoy the "madness" of this two-man live where a serious battle unfolds between LSN and BiSH every time. At the point of the third incarnation starting up, we met at SPICE to have an interview, split into two parts, before and after, as a three person discussion between RUKA and BiSH's producer Mr. Watanabe Junnosuke, as well as Cent Chihiro Chitti from BiSH. For the before interview we asked about their strategies for the coming third installment while looking back on "CHAOS PARTY" up until now.
They've been the most intense live shows I've ever personally done, but they have also been the most entertaining. However, I want to look even beyond that. (RUKA)
--First, could each of you please tell me what you have going on right now?
Cent Chihiro Chitti (onward, Chitti): On July 22, we're going to be having a one man show at Makuhari Messe Event Hall!!
RUKA: What, shouldn't you talk about "Promise (the Star)"?
Chitti: Is that okay? Our single "Promise the Star" is also on sale now!
Watanabe Junnosuke: We were aiming for a personal best of #3 on the charts, but it didn't happen this time (bitter smile). We just can't get it.
Chitti: We can still only reach #4.
Watanabe: Komuro (Tetsuya) also told us we wouldn't be able to get past #3.
--"Promise the Star" and "Orchestra" in succession are such strong songs.
Chitti: Yes. They're definitely songs that feel like a sprint forward, I think they're perfect songs for BiSH right now. The lyrics, especially, are fitting for our own lives, so it's easy for us to sing them with feeling. The members all believe that maybe Matsukuma (Kenta) and Watanabe fill the songs up with thoughts of, "We want BiSH to be like this." They're emotional songs. Also, the members have become better friends, more so than before (laughs). That's about it.
RUKA: I'm doing more release events by myself. (*This interview took place at the end of March)
Watanabe: As for me, I'm about to approach my second wedding anniversary.
RUKA: You're keeping it up for a while, then?
Watanabe: No, stop, I plan on keeping it up for eternity. I'm also, happily, increasing the artists I oversee. Right now I'm moving towards a goal that I set with Komuro-san last year, that I'd get 7 groups of artists working with me.
RUKA: How many groups do you have now?
Watanabe: I have some things going under the surface right now, so I think 5 groups.
It's because of "CHAOS PARTY" that BiSH is here as we are now, I think. It released something in us. (Chitti)
--Since you've all finally gotten together, between your busy schedules, I'd like to first talk about last year's "IDOL VS VISUAL Vol.2 'CHAOS PARTY.'" Last year, you expanded to venues in Sendai, Osaka, and Tokyo. Then, for the finale you changed the name and had an additional show at Chelsea Hotel in Shibuya. How was that?
Chitti: "CHAOS PARTY" is a huge deal for BiSH.
--Huh, is that so?
Chitti: Yes. BiSH had a lot of members at the outset who were bad at putting themselves out there during lives. But ever since we did "CHAOS PARTY," we became able to excite each member of the audience and able to expose our emotions more. At these events we do the same songs over and over, and the crowd gets super riled up. I think the current BiSH is here because of that experience.
--Could you not do that before?
Chitti: No. Before, I never knew what to say so I don't think I could get the crowd going or anything, but at "CHAOS PARTY," something was released inside me.
--Why do you think it was a release?
Chitti: Because we had no choice but to get out there and do it. I didn't want to lose to the passion of LSN and the band girls. The members all felt the same, so we said, "Let's go out and win this thing," and became unified in that. I think that's why last year our faces were all drenched by the end of the live.
--Your costumes, makeup, and hair were all ruined and soaked with sweat.
Chitti: Right? (laughs) I think it was pretty cool.
--What about you, RUKA?
RUKA: When we decided to do a second run, all I could think was that I would have some excuse to launch things off again with Watanabe. We did the first Sendai show, and a strange sense of competitiveness started to grow between us.
--For you, as well?
RUKA: Yeah. Above all else, Watanabe just thinks about things a lot, these strange, secret strategies for me. Like, why are they playing the same song over and over even though they have plenty of other songs? I had no idea what the reasoning was behind that setlist, and so it got to the point where all I was thinking about was how to fight against that. The last Chelsea Hotel show was the most intense I've ever done in my life. I've done 30 songs or so with NIGHTMARE before, but it's no comparison. It had been such a long time since I'd played a venue that tiny, too. BiSH and us on that cramped stage, like with just 10 people up there, you couldn't expect to have enough air to breathe normally. It was so much fun.
--I got dizzy from being so cramped watching you on the floor that day.
RUKA: It was the same on stage.
--Surely that show was just like how you had wanted it to be, like chaos incarnate?
RUKA: But I want to look even beyond that. No one is falling off the stage yet. I think it would be nice to move more in that direction this time.
Watanabe: This is terrifying (grins).
RUKA: Yeah, but what I want to see most is what this guy comes up with (laughs).
Watanabe: No, no, no. RUKA is more of the strange thinker (laughs).
--You produce such good synergy.
Watanabe: I think so. For every show, we each wonder what the other person is going to do. And in that sense, I think it's a good opportunity to figure out how the audience gets riled up if you do things a certain way, if you make a live show like this or like that. Chitti said this, too, but ever since doing this show, BiSH itself and the shows they normally do have changed, so it's a really meaningful live. It feels like BiSH was brought up by RUKA and then they used their own skill to grow up further, I guess?
--Aside from BiSH, another character was born at Vol.2, "Psychopath Watanabe," correct?
Watanabe: That was fun (grins).
RUKA: That was originally from something Watanabe had written and put up from a sketchbook, like, "Last 3 shows," and it was part of signaling the end of the songs, but then for some reason all sorts of shit talking and stuff got written on it.
Watanabe: That was another thing that grew and came alive from a much smaller idea.
--Right after everyone got pumped up at Vol.2, RUKA tweeted the very deep sentiment, "Things that happen twice happen thrice."
RUKA: That's right. But right after that, I had things to do with NIGHTMARE, so in reality, Watanabe and I didn't talk about this current show until around the end of last year.
--Speaking of which, the BiSH members and Watanabe went to go see NIGHTMARE's last live before their hiatus at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium, didn't you?
Chitti: I couldn't go.
Watanabe: 3 of the members had a radio show recording so they couldn't attend, so just the three who didn't do that made themselves at home for the concert.
--Did the members who saw the concert say anything?
Chitti: Band girls do tons of headbanging, don't they? They said, "Everyone in this huge venue was shaking their heads, it was pandemonium." But they were also impressed by it, like, "NIGHTMARE was so cool!"
Watanabe: I really liked the pyro production. We haven't used fire for a BiSH live before, so I definitely want to try it.
--And RUKA has been to see a BiSH show before, right?
RUKA: I saw a live at a turning point for them. When I went to see them at Yaon, they had a monitor and a properly constructed stage, so it was simply that Yaon felt smaller, which impressed me. That said, Watanabe always chooses venues that are smaller than the maximum capacity the group can do at that point, so their next shows at Makuhari Messe shouldn't be at the event hall, but rather the international exhibit hall, I think.
Watanabe: About that, it just happened to be open. I always want to do shows on a Saturday or Sunday and look for bookings then, but nothing is ever available. It's a really serious issue right now with not being able to book venues. With rock bands, too, you guys end up doing shows in the middle of the week, like, "Could we even do this big show on a weekday?"
RUKA: That's true.
Watanabe: I want BiSH to do a show at NHK Hall.
RUKA: Wow. Why that one?
Watanabe: To do a rehearsal for "Kouhaku Utagassen" (smiles).
--NIGHTMARE has played at NHK Hall, right?
RUKA: Yep.
--Before the show, YOMI (NIGHTMARE vocals) tricked everyone by saying, "They won't let us perform here if we don't pay the NHK licensing fee," didn't he?
RUKA: Right, yeah (laughs). He said, "We all paid it so you have to, too."
Watanabe: What!? You can't play there if you don't pay them?
RUKA: No, he was lying.
Chitti: That scared me (laughs).
--So then, "CHAOS PARTY" this time is going to be 2 days at Takadababa AREA.
RUKA: AREA seems like it would be my choice, but it's actually Watanabe who likes it. When we were discussing where to do the show this time, he said, "AREA would be cool." Which was surprising. To me.
Watanabe: I wanted to try having it there. It was really easy to book, and there's a difference in floor levels so I think it would help the girls in the back see the stage better. And then, of course, the ambience of the dressing rooms. They're less like dressing rooms and more just oblong spaces.
RUKA: They really have a lot of character. They're quite different from normal dressing rooms.
Watanabe: When I think of AREA, I remember those corridor-like dressing rooms. I like them.
Chitti: We all remember those rooms. I also vividly remember walking on top of the audience there. It was my first time stepping over girls, so I was really worried.
--But the RUKA fans firmly supported you, like, "Come on!"
Chitti: They did! Their arms were shaking, and they supported me while they looked like they were about to cry.
--It was an impressive scene when you made it out to the back wall, and you saw the BiSH members on stage and screamed, "This is awesome!!"
Chitti: It was surreal to see everyone dancing from the front during the show, but it was so interesting. The members (on stage) were like, "What the hell are you doing?" so they were looking at me like they were the ones seeing something really weird (laughs). But it was still funny, I guess.
--And you said you want to push the insanity from Chelsea Hotel last time even further at AREA.
RUKA: Right. A little earlier I was meeting with Watanabe, and up until the end he kept saying, "I want to bring in a portable shrine."
Watanabe: Gahahahahaha (laughs).
RUKA: That's all he was saying, right until the end (laughs).
Watanabe: It's a traditional form of Japanese entertainment.
RUKA: It would get stuck somewhere in the audience, which would be dangerous, wouldn't it? (uncomfortable smile)
Chitti: A portable shrine? I want to do it!!
RUKA: If it had been up to me, we would have done the show in a bigger venue, so I think we could have been able to if we'd done that.
Watanabe: So if we were to do it at Messe like you want, we'd, like, bring it right down the middle walkway in the audience?
RUKA: Right, yeah!
Watanabe: That's just so expected, isn't it? (laughs)
RUKA: You know, if that happens at AREA, I'll just feel embarrassed, okay?
--Like you've just brought along some weirdos.
RUKA: That's definitely what people will say. But the thing is, that shrine is the only thing he wouldn't give up on.
Chitti: We could do like a human shrine, so it will be less dangerous?
RUKA: Isn't that just crowd surfing?
Watanabe: But, regarding the earlier opinion on this, if we give the audience these concrete ideas, then we can get them to go along with it.
RUKA: Huh. So if we're going that much further, will we fight on horseback at the end of the show?
Watanabe: That will 100% result in injuries.
RUKA: It is dangerous.
Watanabe: Should we play capture the flag?
RUKA: You know, I might just go along with capture the flag at AREA if you set it up.
Chitti: Well, if we're going all the way, what about doing a full athletic meet?
Watanabe: Even with all those people crammed in there? Well, maybe we could do, like, seeing who can run across the people to the back wall of the venue?
Chitti: Yeah, exactly (smiles). We can also do a swim meet. Swim on top of people.
--A lot of ideas beyond the shrine are coming out.
RUKA: Also, what about a reverse stage? We put the equipment on the floor, and all the fans get up on stage and do the show.
Watanabe: I think the audience will end up being like, "This is high up, pardon us."
Chitti: That would be nice (smiles).
RUKA: Whenever Watanabe gets to talking about these things and nothing else, I start to get pale. At first I can laugh but then it's like, "Okay, but this is AREA."
--Now, on to your weapons. What sort of plans do you have coming in for your setlists?
Watanabe: I told this to RUKA, but this time we're going to go with a proper setlist. Because we're doing a tour with it and so that's what we're going to do. Right?
Chitti: Right. Head to head warfare.
Watanabe: We're just going to what we can and mean it.
RUKA: Is it not insane for the person saying this to do concerts comprised of only "BiSH-Hoshi ga Matataku Yoru ni-" (Onward, "Hoshi~"), "Kai," and "Monster"?
Watanabe: Bahahaha (bursts out laughing).
RUKA: It's ridiculous! When we did the Chelsea show, at the beginning we and BiSH came out together, and they did nothing but "Kai," "Hoshi~," and "Monster." After that they still had time, so Watanabe asked them what they were going to do next, and they said, "No, today we're taking the title of 'In the night with stars shining bright with monsters' [*monsters in this case contains the kanji for 'kai'], so we're only going to do these three songs." But I remember saying, "If I just get my set across, it will be fine." Yet, they could do that kind of setlist, and I felt like an idiot for being more serious in thinking of my own. Like, "what are these people, it's an event, do it more seriously." And yeah, last year I anticipated that, so we threw down the gauntlet with this setlist we prepared of the same songs over and over, and on that day only, they went with a truly serious set (laughs). There were times where I felt like I bombed. But because I experienced that humiliation, at the Osaka performance, I kept putting Watanabe's face up on the lower prompter during the BiSH portion. I thought it would mess up their focus, but nobody even looked (laughs).
--A surprising missed shot.
Chitti: During shows I'm hyper-focused, so I didn't notice at all (laughs).
RUKA: This time for sure I'm going to make these tricks work.
Watanabe: My general stance on this won't change, but we only have two days this time, and so it will be easy to tell in reality which one is more fun, right? The difference here is going to be mostly up to the audience, I think. That's why I think about doing these things that get the audience involved.
When we get crazy popular and sell out Makuhari Messe, I want them to be the kind of girls who can still go back to AREA and do a flawless live. (Watanabe)
--Very well then. But it is the case that BiSH are having a big breakthrough this year, and it's inevitable that you're going to be watched from every angle. What's the significance of doing a CHAOS live at this point in time, or rather, what are you thinking about regarding the show?
Watanabe: I loved the "All Night Nippon" that Fukuyama Masaharu did.
Chitti: Fukuyama, all of a sudden?
Watanabe: On the surface, he's the person who sings, "Sakurazaka," but on the radio show, he was super scandalous, talking about things like, "Masturbation a-go go~!" Like, is this really the kind of person he is!? That difference in behavior was really interesting, so I want them to be like that. There might somehow be people out there who only know the nice and pretty aspects of BiSH, but there's also the BiSH that isn't like that at all. It's that history of the BiSH that's made it this far, and I don't want to forget that. We're doing a big tour after this, too, but we get to do things with LSN, and we're going on tour to places it seems like no one will go to. I decided to go to Makuhari Messe without forgetting my feelings starting up the group. I don't want to forget it as we move forward, either. That's why I don't want to raise them into a group that says things like, "I can't do a show without an in-ear monitor." Like, if we go on to be crazy popular after this, and we can sell out Makuhari Messe, we can still go back to AREA right away and do a flawless performance. I think that's the kind of girls I want them to be.
--Wow. You were very upfront just now, Watanabe...
Watanabe: I thought it was cool (laughs).
RUKA: But I agree that it's tedious for someone to say, "I can't do that without this."
Watanabe: I'm very strict about that, the members haven't said anything like it to me. Although it seems like they might be grumbling about it to other, more kind-hearted people.
RUKA: Is that true?
Chitti: No~ (a very strained laugh).
Watanabe: We've been bringing along more and more people to work around them, which isn't out of extravagance, but there are now a lot of things that we can't do, and I'm afraid that might start to seem normal to them. I want the girls to be popular and to be capable. Things have gotten easier now compared to when you started, right?
Chitti: They have. Traveling and such has changed, too. Last year we'd go by night bus to venues the day before, but now we can go back and forth the day of by bullet train. It has all completely changed.
Watanabe: So then, for this year's "CHAOS PARTY," should we go by night bus to Osaka once and then come straight back to Tokyo for the show?
Chitti: What (bitter smile).
--So go by night bus to Osaka and then immediately come back to the venue for BiSH's portion the same day, for no reason? Will the shrine come out? Will there be horseback riding?
RUKA: Okay, but it's still AREA (laughs).
--So your goal is to surpass the chaos of the Chelsea Hotel show.
RUKA: That's right.
Chitti: That's why I hope the garbagemen (nickname for BiSH fans) and the band girls all start building some muscle and come to "CHAOS PARTY!"
Interview, write-up: Hideki Sachie Photos: Nishimaki Taichi Translation: Lurkette
http://spice.eplus.jp/articles/122203
Thank you, very interesting read.