Tak Matsumoto News

Flyer for the presumably final showing for the duo’s Electric Island, Acoustic Sea promotions

It has just been announced that one final date will be played as part of Tak Matsumoto & Daniel Ho Live! 2017 -Electric Island, Acoustic Sea- and this time, it is in Los Angeles on October 14, 2017!

The show is presented by American Honda Motor Co., Inc. and JACCC, the Japanese American Cultural & Community Center. Tickets are on sale now at this link and are listed at $49 for orchestra seating and $39 for balcony options. Unlike with many past B’z shows overseas, there are no special tickets allocated for B’z Party members and all are first come, first serve.

More information on the show can be found here on the venue’s website, along with copy promoting the event:

The prospect of a stop in Los Angeles was first floated in an interview with Daniel Ho some months ago but given it was not included in the initial announcement and was also not paired with the Hawaii show that served as the tour’s finale, we were unsure if it was still happening. Electric Island, Acoustic Sea is available for purchase worldwide on iTunes. We may not have heard the last of the album, however, as November will bring the official list of the Grammy Award nominations and the album is surely being considered given Daniel Ho’s own fourteen nominations and Tak’s one which resulted in a win with Larry Carlton in 2010.

Tak has previously performed in Los Angeles as part of B’z numerous times, including twice for B’z LIVE-GYM 2002 “Rock n’ California Roll” and LIVE-GYM 2003 “BANZAI IN NORTH AMERICA”, with one showing for 2011’s -long time no see- tour and another for B’z LIVE-GYM 2012 -Into Free- at the since re-purposed Gibson Amphitheater at Universal Citywalk.

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The seventh countdown on the official site has ended and with it comes the announcement of the first ever B’z Loud-Gym. The event is a long-term one that is the first official announcement from the band’s upcoming 30th anniversary celebrations. Beginning September 21, 2017, a long list of music clubs in Japan will be holding B’z-themed nights featuring music and videos from the band playing throughout. Entrance is free at the over forty participating venues and a new event will be held once monthly through September 21, 2018.

A list of all venues participating in the September 21, 2017 event can be found on the official website.

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Yet another mysterious countdown has appeared on the splash page of the official B’z website! This is the seventh to date, with previous countdowns resulting in big announcements such as unveiling “Seimei/Still Alive” and B’z COMPLETE SINGLE BOX. The countdown does not have a definitive end-date yet and cycles through random dates for the time being. Once that changes, expect an update here!

Additionally, the band is currently working their way through B’z SHOWCASE 2017 -B’z In Your Town-. Following our post on the July 22 show in Koshi’s hometown of Tsuyama, the band then headed to Tak’s home place of Toyonaka. The setlist was the same as the previous show and it seems the band will be following through with the previously-reported combinations of hidden gems as far as changes in the selist goes. Should there be a drastic change, we will let you know, but in the meantime you may visit the corresponding B’z Wiki article for full information on the setlist. We will also provide a full tour report following the end of the band’s fall activities.

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B’z Banner in Tsuyama City Hall for SHOWCASE 2017

The fourth showing for B’z SHOWCASE 2017 -B’z In Your Town- has ended. Most notably, the show which took place in Okayama Prefecture’s city of Tsuyama also marks Koshi’s professional return to his hometown. The local government has even strewn a B’z-themed banner to commemorate the occasion inside the local city hall (pictured above). Other banners have been erected around the area, which has led to a great deal of fans using it as a backdrop for pictures.

Tsuyama is best known to B’z fans not only as the hometown of Koshi Inaba but also the location of Inaba Cosmetics, a family business operated by his mother and father for decades. The inside of the store has a large collection of rare and unique B’z memorabilia signed by Koshi. It is also not uncommon for Mother Inaba to take pictures with customers.

Though Tsuyama is in the far west of Japan, many fans use it as a point of pilgrimage when the opportunity arises. The city has likewise long embraced its hometown idol and utilized it to drive tourist activity in the region. In fact, many of the tourist maps and sightseeing locations make mention of Koshi directly. After a typhoon struck Tsuyama in 1998, Koshi donated a large sum of money for disaster relief, which netted him an award from the local municipality.

The full setlist is posted below to avoid spoilers for those attending the shows.

PLEASE NOTE: We initially reported “Samayoeru Aoi Dangan” as the third song in the setlist for this tour. In fact, this song has been the much-less-often-played “Sayonara Kizu Darake no Hibi yo” which had not been played live for six years prior to this tour!

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Initial reports for B’z SHOWCASE 2017 -B’z In Your Town- mentioned “Samayoeru Aoi Dangan” as the third song in the setlist—in fact, this song has been the much-less-often-played “Sayonara Kizu Darake no Hibi yo“! All posts have been updated to reflect this error and its correction. We apologize for any inconvenience caused in the meantime!

A special thanks goes out to Ultra for ensuring we got it right!

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The third show of B’z SHOWCASE 2017 -B’z In Your Town- has just wrapped up in Fukuyama. The next show coming on July 22 will see Koshi return to his hometown of Tsuyama—an occasion that’s been marked accordingly in the days prior. Full details to follow!

The full setlist is posted below to avoid spoilers for those attending the shows.

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