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Mari Iijima, June 22 at the Hotel Cafe in Hollywood


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I would, but I'm all the way in Vegas. :(

Dude, do you know which album this is from?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQllvQuonSI...feature=related

It's a great song with a wonderful melody. Minmay aside, she's actually a great artist. =)

I wouldnt go as far as to say that. Hotel Cafe, from my past experiences, is a rather dismal and slightly pathetic event. the majority of the fans that go are there for the next act. there are a couple DIEHARD fans liek the creepy thin man, this white guy, with somewhat long hair, that I have seen numerous times when I have seen Mari at various events in LA and San Francisco, and yet he is NOT a macross fan.

From my experiences of Mari's past performances (MWCON 5 and 7, Hotel Cafe, SF JAFcon, & Tekkoshocon) she likes to use her time to soap box her grievances and crappy life. Her songs also suffer. You posted a youtube video of a song from WAY back. yes her earlier work is pretty good. but her more current work is lacking. She utilizes the yamaha S800 keyboard like a security blanket. but it too hurts her performance. she needs a much richer and real accompaniment than just a beatbox out of a $800 keyboard.

Also, according to Mari, she is done with macross. This mentality fluctuates. she of course is typecasted and resents this greatly, again returning to the soap box grievances. So dont go expecting to hear your favorite macross songs. understandably she is an artist and is desperately trying to get her own pure sound out. while commendable, her own "sound" needs work.

The subject or topics she discusses in her songs are somewhat crude and word usage in her lyrics can be awkward to the point of being awful. songs about laptops on rainy days and "all you want, is to f*ck me" are just terrible and should not have been used. english word choice and grammar are of course her second language and yet even though she has lived in the USA for more than 20 years now, she still has not mastered the language to create lyrics that dont seem awkward and improperly constructed.

I dont want to paint a negative picture of Mari, she is a nice person and I have enjoyed hearing her intriguing tales of working on Macross, because I am a Macross Otaku; to a certain degree. But as I said above, take her performances with a grain of salt. It most likely will not be what you think it will be.

Edited by Solscud007
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Solscud007, you're not wrong. She DOES talk a lot during her shows, and she does complain...but she usually has a sense of humor about it, too. But everytime (save one) that I've seen her at the Hotel Café or Genghis Cohen, the audience has been a respectable size, and appreciative (when she plays in Japan, she usually gets six or seven hundred, I believe).

As for her songs, I like her new stuff. Not my type of music at all, but there's a sincerity to them that I find appealling. Bad language doesn't bother me, but it's shocking when she uses it, because it's so unexpected.

She doesn't put on the best shows I've seen, but I think it's a good evening out, and I like her, so I like supporting her.

Plus, she's hot. Which certainly doesn't hurt.

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Well, maybe I shouldn't have said "great"... I guess I was just talking about the song I posted.

Lately, I've been checking out her work (new and old).

I do agree that she should be playing a real piano with a richer sound than with a top of the line Radio Shack/Casio/Yamaha keyboard. That's for sure. And yeah, her early stuff has some kind of magic to it (obviously, fresh off the Minmay boat).

But I also must say, UNSPEAKABLE is a great fking song!!! (the album version could lose the extra production). I've only skimmed through her new music, and really haven't heard anything else that really catches my ear.

And yes, she is a cutie, too.

Edited by fifbeat
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I would, but I'm all the way in Vegas. :(

Dude, do you know which album this is from?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQllvQuonSI...feature=related

It's a great song with a wonderful melody. Minmay aside, she's actually a great artist. =)

This is one of her first non-tieup singles (probably THE first?), which you can find on the debut album entitled "Rose". Most of her older albums were re-released last year with mini vinyl LP-style reproduction jackets and remastered audio, so it should be pretty easy to find.

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This is one of her first non-tieup singles (probably THE first?), which you can find on the debut album entitled "Rose". Most of her older albums were re-released last year with mini vinyl LP-style reproduction jackets and remastered audio, so it should be pretty easy to find.

Thank you Renato! =) This is great.

You know, I know she hates this minmay crap, but buying her albums is like buying endless Minmay records. =)

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Did you get any pictures?

(or ask her out?)

Nope. She signed my copy of "Macross Love Story," though.

(And I've been seeing her every time she plays for about four years now, and my good friend has been joining me for about three...it would be weird if I asked Mari out now...although I did tell her that she needs she play out more often.)

And Renato's right...that was her very first single. So young!

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"Nope. She signed my copy of "Macross Love Story," though."

Sweet. Priceless. I see that book on ebay every once in awhile.

I just lost a book called Macross Collection (black cover). Not sure if you've seen it. But it's a rare one.

As for that early CD of hers, gonna see if I can find a copy! =)

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Why was I not invited to this event!?

Sure one of such great stature as ME should have been there!

But Stan Bush was in Germany recently; and I didn't move my duff to see him... :(

In fact - I've never EVER been to a concert before - not counting bands/DJs playing in clubs, which is so totally not the same thing...

I've read about the complaing that Marii does - and personally I find it charming! I love beautiful women with a modicum of success who nevertheless wine and complain - seriously - it makes them more feminine and appealing :)

Besides - it's what Minmey would do! :)

VFTF1

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Why was I not invited to this event!?

Sure one of such great stature as ME should have been there!

But Stan Bush was in Germany recently; and I didn't move my duff to see him... :(

In fact - I've never EVER been to a concert before - not counting bands/DJs playing in clubs, which is so totally not the same thing...

I've read about the complaing that Marii does - and personally I find it charming! I love beautiful women with a modicum of success who nevertheless wine and complain - seriously - it makes them more feminine and appealing :)

Besides - it's what Minmey would do! :)

VFTF1

My friend who always comes with me doesn't really like Mari's music, but loves HER. She (my friend) said that she would pay ten bucks JUST to see Mari talk about her life. In the baby voice.

A non-chatty Mari...just wouldn't be the same.

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