I went to NHK Hall to see the concert of Ogura Kei, “Final Tour: My Remaining Years, That’s Enough.”
My first visit to NHK Hall
I don’t usually come here that often
A few minutes walk from the public underground parking lot in front of the Shibuya Ward Office
It was a weekday, so the parking fee was 300 yen for 30 minutes, which is reasonable in Tokyo
The capacity is about 3,600 people, but it was sold out that day!
Ogura Kei is amazing
The seats are on the second floor, but not too far from the venue.
These are S seats (10,000 yen)
There are also A seats (8,000 yen)
I couldn’t see his expression with the naked eye
I should have brought binoculars
This may be the first “concert” where the audience was seated from the beginning to the end
The audience was quite old
Almost all of them were in their 70’s or older
By the way, Ogura Kei is 78 years old
There were many people who seemed to be unable to climb the stairs, and there was an elevator line
There is no escalator in this venue
I guess they thought it would be dangerous if it suddenly got dark, but they waited for everyone to sit down and the show started 10 minutes late
I went to the concert after buying the best album and listening to some of the songs
Most of the songs I’ve heard but don’t know the names
So I’ll spare you the setlist
When the curtain rose, there were more performers than I expected
Piano
Keyboard
Two guitars (one of them also played bass during the show)
13 strings
Flute
Total 18 players
The chorus (22 members) came out for a few songs
The performance started and Ogura Kei appeared on stage
He was seated and sang while looking at the score (lyrics)
He said he couldn’t remember the lyrics at all
MC after each song or two
This MC was surprisingly funny
Mostly about the elderly
“It’s not raining or windy, but you’re still a little unsteady on your feet.”
“It’s not my fault that the show started late, but rather yours.”
“It takes me two hours to get into the bathtub after I’ve decided to take a bath”
It was quite well laughed by the audience.
The first time he sang in front of an audience was with Inoue Yosui, with whom he worked at the same record company
It was at a live music club for about 200 people
The first part of the concert ended after 9 songs
20 minutes break
Then came the second part
It started with Ogura Kei playing the piano
He was dressed in a purple suit
Guest Nakamura Masatoshi appeared for the second song of the second part
He looked so cool and shapely that it was hard to believe he was 70 years old
When he called the guest on stage, he mistakenly said the name of the next guest, which was amusing
Ogura has provided songs to about 300 people
But not even half of them really wanted to offer
The song “Our Journey” for Nakamura Masatoshi
I thought they were going to sing together, but Ogura left the stage
He came back when the song was over
They talked for a while and Nakamura left the stage
Then on the fourth song, another guest, Horiuchi Takao appeared
The song was, of course, “Loving Days”
The final “Thank you!” was louder than his singing voice
After that, he sang “Radiant with Llove” for Misora Hibari, “Let Me Cry” for Ken Naoko, and “Mountains and Rivers” for Itsuki Hiroshi
“Cyclamen scent” by Fuse Akira, etc.
Umezawa Tomio’s “Pantomime” is also famous, but this MC was more funny
Lemon Sour CM with Umezawa Tomio in yellow face
This commercial uses “Pantomime”
The lyrics were written by Ogura Kei, so apparently they get millions of yen in royalties
However, the intro part of the song was written by an arranger and not by Ogura Kei
And yet that part of the song is used in commercials, and the money comes in
He said he was worried about it because of a recent case of unjust enrichment
The second part was about the same number of songs, and the show was over
But the applause didn’t stop
It was as if everyone knew there was going to be an encore
I guess so, since the venue didn’t turn on the lights
The curtain rose and the encore began
Three songs for encore
My 79 year old friend who went with me was so moved he was crying
Next year (2023) January at NHK Hall will be the last performance
Umezawa Tomio will be there too
As of now, there are still tickets available
I hope it doesn’t end there and he comes back again
November 30,2022 VERTICAL
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