Tag Archives: SHOWCASE

News

B’z have this week announced their online concert event 「B’z SHOWCASE 2020 -5 ERAS 8820-」. This will be the first full online event to take place without an audience for the band. As indicated by the title, the online concert event will be a series of 5 concerts — each dedicated to one of 5 eras of B’z past career. To make that happen, B’z has teamed up with several Japanese streaming services such as “pia live stream”, “LINE live” and “GYAO!”. A “ticket” to view the concerts costs 3500 Japanese Yen.

A special package for the concerts is available to B’z PARTY fanclub members. Before each show, a special interview with the band will be streamed.

In a message to fans that has been posted on the website, B’z share some thoughts on the event. Originally, the SHOWCASE was planned to be an actual concert taking place at the newly opened Zepp Haneda in Tokyo. However, given the current situation, this was not possible. They also promised that the set list for each show will be entirely different. Tak indicated that he now has to practice 80 songs — quite a challenge. Each concert will feature songs specific to that era.

On the supporting staff, B’z have resorted to sticking with previous Japanese support members — making this the first time in a while that B’z has performed with all Japanese support members.

Schedule

Support Members

Day1, Day2, Day5: Takanobu Masuda (Keyboards), Yoshinobu Ohga (Guitar), Ikkoh Tanaka (Drums), Akihito Tokunaga (Bass)
Day3, Day4: Takanobu Masuda (Keyboards), Yoshinobu Ohga (Guitar), Kaichi Kurose (Drums), Showtaro Mitsuzono (Bass)

News

It has just been announced that B’z SHOWCASE 2018 -The Wall Of Rock- will serve as the warmup to the upcoming thirtieth anniversary tour! The show will take place on the island of Ishigaki at Ishigaki City Hall and, as is typically the case with SHOWCASE events, is an area not frequented by the band given its population of less than 50,000 people. As is the stated mission of a SHOWCASE, the show scheduled for July 2 will be both a warmup and a means of playing for fans that otherwise don’t have ready access to B’z shows.

B’z will embark on B’z LIVE-GYM Pleasure 2018 -HINOTORI- five days later on July 7 at the Okinawa Convention Center and run through September 21 and 22 at Ajinomoto Stadium. A home video release should reasonably follow in January or February of 2019.

News

As part of the band’s 30th anniversary exhibition, “SCENES“, fans were given the opportunity to attend screenings of two presentations: B’z SHOWCASE 2017 -B’z In Home Town- and Behind the Scene: The 29th Year. The former tracks Tak and Koshi as they perform in both of their hometowns as part of B’z SHOWCASE 2017 -B’z In Your Town-. The latter recounts the recording of DINOSAUR and acts as a backstage pass to their time during B’z LIVE-GYM 2017-2018 “LIVE DINOSAUR”.

Each feature was set to be available only as part of the exhibit but due to its pre-sale tickets for screenings selling out long before it opened, the band has decided to do a double feature in Japanese theaters, nationwide, from June 15 to September 22. Participating theaters and screening dates can be viewed on the official website.

Though no announcement has yet been made, we expect a home video release that likely will combine the two and possibly arrive in November or December. Upcoming 30th anniversary tour B’z LIVE-GYM Pleasure 2018 -HINOTORI- should likewise receive a home release in January or February of 2019. Naturally, it is possible all three could be collected into a single package around the same time instead.

News

The seventh showing for B’z SHOWCASE 2017 -B’z In Your Town- has come to an end, and this time with an expanded setlist! The total number of songs played is now twenty, with one additional—and familiar—song now being played as part of the encore.

The full setlist is posted below to avoid spoilers for those attending the shows. The tallies for each song have also been updated in full.

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News

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.

News

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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