10: Rhetorics and Logics (from the album "Hikashu")
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Koichi Makigami: Now, I want to introduce another wonderful guest...
Audience: (Screams of delight and big applause, thinking Susumu Hirasawa will come up on the stage.)
Koichi: (Giggles with an impish smile) Well, he is already on the stage... Here is Mita Freeman!
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11: Dame Kana? (Vocals: Mita Freeman)（from the album "Cahkra Biraki")
12: 20(Nijus)-Seiki no Owari ni/At the End of Twentieth Century (from the album "Hikashu")
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Koichi: Thank you! Eh, We, Hikashu, made our debut in 1978. During 1979 to 1980, I have a friend with whom we performed on a lot of same gigs.
Audience: (Screams of delight and applause)
Koichi: We were often on the same stages as well as in the same TV programs. But after that, for a long time, I haven't seen him. But this time... What's good about having a Christmas event is I can invite anybody I want. And Kera, who called himself by such a cute name "Cupidder", he said he wanted to mediate between him and us. At that time, we had already made an offer to Susumu.
Audience: (Laugh)
Koichi: Now, let me introduce Susumu Hirasawa!
Audience: (Screams of delight and big applause)
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(With Susumu Hirasawa) (In the last half of the show, Makigami[Hikashu] and Hirasawa[P-MODEL] sang each other's songs in turn.)
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13: Gardener King/Niwashi King (Susumu Hirasawa's song) (Vocals: Koichi Makigami/ backing vocals and guitar: Susumu Hirasawa)
(This song started with Hikashu's quiet long intro[de-bayashi] with drums and piano, which sounded like native American beat. Koichi Makigami sang the main vocals, and Susumu Hirasawa sang the backing chorus "Hey-ee-yah-ee" and sang the lower harmony as well. Makigami's voice was in pseudo-kabuki style as usual and so powerful. It was rare to hear Hirasawa singing this song's backing chorus live. It was also nice to hear this song in total band arrangement with no prerecorded sound. Everything was in such a rare combination! I was screaming and shedding tears from joy the whole time.)
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14: Global City no Yuuutsu/Melancholy in the Global City (Hikashu's song) (Vocals: Susumu Hirasawa, backing vocals: Koichi Makigami)
(This is originally a nice techno style song by Hikashu. But on this day, it was played in total band arrangement. It was very nice with Hirasawa's vocals. I heard later people saying "I liked that song! What album is it in?" and so on a lot. A lot of Hirasawa fans who hadn't heard this song before seemed to have fallen in love with it.)
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Audience: (Screams of delight and big applause. Screams of "Hirasawa!" here and there.)
Koichi: (Giggles with full smile) What do you think the next song is? You are having such fun! Nothing is funner than this, right? Don't worry, there are more songs. -
15: Missile (P-MODEL's song) (Vocals: Koichi Makigami/ Guitar and backing vocals: Susumu Hirasawa)
( Makigami's voice in powerful pseudo-kabuki style. Hirasawa did the "Ya!" backing chorus part and the guitar. In the guitar solo part, Hirasawa and Mita Freeman played it together, sort of in chase.)
16: Pike (Hikashu's song) (Vocals: Susumu Hirasawa/ Koichi Makigami: Thremin)
(The song was played pretty much the same as the original record. It was interesting to hear it with Hirasawa's vocal for a change.)
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Koichi: I had been trying to invite Hirasawa-kun to our Christmas live for a couple of years, and I emailed him. It's so nice to have emails nowadays. It's so convenient. After a while, Kera started to talk about the same plan. That was actually a great help. He was a "Cupidder". With his great help, I had the courage to invite Susumu-kun again, and here he is today.
Audience: (Screams of delight and applause)
Koichi: So Susumu Hirasawa and I are old friends because we started as new wave bands in the same period of time in the 80s. We have been also good rivals. Having a rival is so precious to me.
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17: Ruktun(Luuktung) or Die (Koichi Makigami: Vocals/ Susumu Hirasawa: guitar and backing vocals)
(The song started with twin guitars by Hirasawa and Mita Freeman playing the same riff in unison . Makigami's vocal was very powerful as usual, and it matched this rock'n roll song well. Hirasawa also sang the lower harmony in the sabi part: "Ruktun or Die, Ruktun or Die, Odore ya utae tsurunde".
The audience also sang the sabi together, with their fists raised. We were totally going wild with excitement.)
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Koichi: Thank you, thank you. We are working hard. It's kind of hard to play and sing someone else's song. We have played a lot of songs so far, but the next song will be the last song tonight.
Audience: Noooooo! (In Japanese, "Eeeeiiiii?")
Koichi: So that's what you usually say, right?
Audience: (Laugh)
Koichi: I'm not used to having a "concert" with so many people. Usually we have only several dozens of people as audience. We sometimes have only 5 people. If you come to those small gigs of ours, you'll probably learn to enjoy something different. Well, our music is a kind of music which is difficult to understand...No. Actually, it's easy, right?
Susumu: (Breaks out into laughter and turns around, trying not to laugh)
Koichi: It's easy.
Audience: (Laugh)
Koichi: At first, when I had the idea to invite Hirasawa-kun and I emailed him, I was wondering how it would turn out. Do you want to talk, too, Hirasawa-kun?
Audience: (Aplause)
Susumu: When I received an email from Koichi Makigami, I thought it was a joke from someone at first.
Audience: (Laugh)
Susumu: But in case it was actually from him, I wrote politely, "That's a wonderful invitation. I would love to join such an opportunity, especially because you are Koichi Makigami. However, I will be busy this year-end, so I'm afraid I would have to decline it this time." And a year later, I received an email with the same offer by him again. But again, I was having a schedule filled up in that year-end. So I declined his offer again. I thought he would give up next time.
However the following year, he sent me an email for the third time, saying, "This is our final offer". So I thought, Gee, and I decided to join the show, putting other things aside for a moment. And also I wanted to see Makigami-kun and Mita Freeman. They and I survived through the same times when it was fun but also hard.
Koichi: We shared the same hardship in those days.
Susumu: When I saw them as last, Makigami-kun looked the same, and Mita Freeman looked younger than 30 years ago.
Audience: (Laugh)
Koichi: He is as silly as before.
Audience: (Laugh)
Susumu: I was so happy. I'm so happy that I could join this show. I thank Makigami-kun for this opportunity. I also thank Kera, the Cupidder.
Koichi: Thank you very much. Now, we're going to play a new song by Hikashu, Naruhodo!
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18: Naruhodo (Hikashu's song) (Vocals: Koichi Makigami/ backing vocals and guitar: Susumu Hirasawa)
(Makigami sang the main vocal and Hirasawa sang the repeating parts. So it was like they sang in chase. It was very interesting to compare their voices as they sang the same phrases in turn. The song also had a very long improvisation which was in Free Jazz style.)
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Koichi: Susumu Hirasawa! And we are Hikashu! Thank you!
(Hikashu and Susumu Hirasawa left the stage.)
Audience: (Screams of delight and big applause. Call for an encore)
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(Hikashu came back on the stage.)
Koichi: Thank you. We've been doing this Christmas show for 9 years. Next year will be our Tenth Anniversary. Please remember to come next year, too. Now, I want Cupidder to join us. He is such a cute guy. Cupidder!
Audience: (Big applause. The voices to call "Kera!" "Kera-san!" here and there)
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Encore:
(With Kera)
19: Mask (Vocals:Kera)
(The song "Mask" with Kera's vocals sounded almost like Uchoten's song. Kera's voice was so powerful and with a lot of energy and expression.)
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Audience: (Big applause)
Kera: Let's call Hirasawa-san here again.
Koichi: Yes, Let's. Susumu Hirasawa! (Susumu appeared on the stage. Then, Kera took Susumu and Koichi's hands and let them shake hands. Then, Susumu and Koichi hugged, and pressed their cheeks to each other.)
Audience: (Screams of delight and big applause )
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(With Susumu Hirasawa)
20: Art Mania/Bijutsukan de Atta Hito Daro (Vocals: Koichi Makigami/Guitar: Susumu Hirasawa)
(Hirasawa devoted himself to playing the rhythm guitar. It must have been more than a decade since we could hear Hirasawa play Art Mania's guitar live. It was so impressive. Makigami's vocal was powerful as always. I thought the song was even more powerful with Makigami's vocals than the P-MODEL's version.)
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21: Puyo Puyo (Vocals and guitar: Susumu Hirasawa/Koichi Makigami: backing voice: the laughing part)
(Hirasawa's voice sounded like Volquice Proladuke[Hirasawa's another character when he performs with the band PEVO] a lot with vibrato. He sang in falsetto a lot, especially with the chorus part, "Hikashu" [This song has a backing chorus with the lyrics "Hikashu"], which was "the Hirasawa voice". Also, toward the end, he shouted, "Ai-yai-yai-yai-yai-yah", which made us all excited and shout. Makigami added his voice when he did the spooky laughing part toward the end, which was "the Makigami voice". It reminded me of his background as a theater actor.)
Koichi: Thank you very much! Kikashu and Susumu Hirasawa! Happy New Year!
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Hikashu's songs on You Tube:
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P-MODEL and Susumu Hirasawa's songs on You Tube:
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