INDEX
from Ban Obara #3
I am writing this while sitting on the window sill of the Shinkansen bullet train with a stick. I am on my way back to Tokyo from Osaka.
I was in Osaka for about a week and went to a live concert two days in a row, got drunk, ate yakiniku, invited Miram-chan to hang out with me in my neighborhood, went to blackbird books and bought books.
I don’t know if this is the right thing to say to Miram-chan, a singer-songwriter, but when I go to live shows, for some reason, the voices in my head get louder and louder, I start talking on my own, and I often find myself unable to concentrate on the songs and before I know it, the encore is already over. （I’m a jerk, right?)
But on the first of the two consecutive days I went to the show, I was watching the show while drinking alcohol, and after four 350ml cans of beer, the voices in my head stopped talking.
Then, wow! Wow! Wow! I was no longer embarrassed to raise my hands, no longer afraid to dance or jump, in fact, I wanted to do it! I was not afraid of dancing or jumping up and down. I let go of my feelings and danced, and in no time at all, my body was full of joy, as if it was natural, as if I had always been like that. I was so surprised. I realized once again how much pure joy there is in a live performance.
I was hoping that I would be able to do that at the second day’s performance without relying on alcohol, so I tried it sober, but my head was full of voices again and I thought it was a pain in the ass.
But still, I treasure the feeling of “Wow! I treasure that feeling.
Miram, how do you always look at other people’s live performances? Why do you suddenly find yourself thinking about something? I don’t know if I do or not. I’m going to ask you while thinking about it. I hope you don’t catch a cold.
