Van Halen at the Tokyo Dome
[This is my "rerun" day for May. This
time, I unearthed an ancient nugget from my
newsletter "Strick-tly Speaking," which I sent to
family and friends while stationed overseas in the
Navy. This article was written February 15,
1989.]
When we heard Van Halen was coming to Tokyo to
play, I and a select few of my buddies jumped at
the chance to go get crazy. It had been a while
since my last concert, and I needed to let loose.
Come the day of the concert, we all managed to get
off work at noon and proceeded to Club Alliance for
a few beers before the train ride to Tokyo. On the
way to the station, we passed a liquor store, and I
made the suggestion that we buy some beer for the
train ride. The others agreed, and we boarded the
train with a five-liter mini-keg. We polished that
off in no time, and our excursion was beginning to
look like it would be a blast. We even made it to
the Dome on the first try, with plenty of time to
spare. We found our seats, and shortly the concert
commenced. That's when it all started to go
downhill.
Let me now interject that I will not go to
another concert in Japan. The band itself put on an
excellent performance, the crowd around us was
enthusiastic, but the staff sucked. Our seats
(which were wide enough for one of my butt cheeks)
were in the first row of the section we were in,
and there was a 15-foot aisle in between our
section and the one in front of us. When the
concert started, pretty much everyone stood up, and
as it was cramped, we kind of moved out a few feet
from our chairs. Almost immediately, a bouncer
(dressed in a three-piece suit, as all of them
were) came up and told us to move back. A little
later, I lit a cigarette and another bouncer came
up and told me I couldn't smoke. (You anti-cig
zealots are applauding right now, but that was the
first concert I've ever been to that I couldn't
smoke at.) In the section in front of us, a guy got
on another's shoulders, and the ever-present
bouncer ran over and chided them. At the end of the
concert, waiting for the band to come out for an
encore, I lit my lighter and held it up in the air
(as is customary). Immediately, a bouncer appeared
at my side and told me to put it out.
All in all, the atmosphere was entirely too
mellow for a rock concert, and I came "home" that
night quite dissatisfied. Everything I was used to
doing at a rock concert in the States was not
allowed in Tokyo Dome. Part of the reason I wanted
to see Van Halen was to get a feeling I was back
home by association with past experiences. I guess
I'll just have to wait till I can go home and
experience the real thing!
©2003 Michael
Strickland ALL RIGHTS
RESERVED
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