Ringo Expo 08
2009.03.11

1.    Hatsukoi Shoujo / First Love Prostitute T
2.    Sid to Hakuchuumu / Daydreaming with Sid [Vicious] T
3.    Koko de Kiss Shite. / Kiss Me Here. T
4.    Honnou / Instinct T
5.    Gamble T
6.    Shuukyou (inst) / Religion
7.    Gips / Gypsum T
8.    Yami ni Furu Ame / Rain Falling in the Darkness T
9.    Suberidai / Playground Slide T
10.   Yokushitsu / Bathroom T
11.   Sakuran / Confusion
12.   Tsumi to Batsu / Crime and Punishment T
13.   Kabuki-chou no Joou / Queen of Kabuki-cho T
14.   Blackout T
15.   Yattsuke Shigoto (inst) / A Damned Job
16.   Stem
17.   Kono Yo no Kagiri / The Limits of this World T
18.   Tamanegi no Happy Song / The Onion Happy Song
19.   Yume no Ato / A Scar From a Dream T
20.   Tsumiki Asobi / Playing With Blocks T
21.   Omatsurisawagi / The Festivities T
22.   Karisome Otome / Temporary Virgin T
23.   Tadashii Machi / The Right City T
24.   Koufukuron / Theory of Happiness T
25.   Mikan no Kawa / Satsuma Mandarin Peels T
26.   Yokyou / Side Show

Info: A live recording of Ringo's 10th anniversary commemorative "Ringo Expo 08" concert held on November 30, 2008 at the Saitama Super Arena. She performed both with a backing band (not Tokyo Jihen) and with a full orchestra.

Before and for the duration of "Yattsuke Shigoto (inst)," Ringo's young son narrated a slideshow about her early life. Below are the translations of what he said:

Hello. This is Kuroneko-ya's "young master." I am a 7-year-old who loves NHK historical dramas. Nice to meet you. Thank you very much for coming to my mother's Expo today. This year, my grandmother celebrated her 60th birthday [onscreen is shown a black-and-white photo of Ringo's mother; the speech bubble says "Grandmother"], I safely began elementary school, and my mother celebrated the 10th anniversary of her musical activity as a professional. Moreover, my mother's life too has also reached its 30th year. Somehow a lot is going well. It's thanks to all of you who have come to watch. It's time to start.

[Orchestra begins to play "Yattsuke Shigoto (inst)"]

On November 25, 1978, the day Mariya Takeuchi-san debuted as a musician, my mother gave her first cry in a hospital quite close to here. My mother was born with a disorder that made her body unable to absorb nutrients. It seems a certain excellent doctor happened, almost right after she was born, to discover her body's disorder. If left as is, she would die soon. Two days after being born, my mother was carried on an ambulance from the hospital close to here. It seems the Metropolitan Expressway No.5 line that runs horizontal to this hall had not yet come as far as here at that time. On the No.5 line which carries many lives even today, my mother was brought to a certain Shinjuku Ward K.O. (Keio) Hospital. Exactly 30 years ago in a season right around now. Her doctor, Dr. Yasuharu Morikawa, connected her life in a feat of a large operation that lasted two days. Without him, I wouldn't be here either.

Anyway, it appears that my mother's just-in-time life had already begun. My grandfather often says to my mother, "You've kept us on the edge of our seats from the time you were born." I'm not surprised by each thing about my mother. Being used to her, aren't I numb to it? After that, at the age of two my mother moved to a place called Shimizu in the city of Shizuoka. When she was four, at her request, my grandmother began to teach her piano. It seems in elementary school, she would pretend to be obedient on the outside. Even though she herself didn't intend that. With her red cheeks, proneness to disease, along with how she would continue to play quite silently a musical instrument if there was one, she had a tendency to be thought of as a docile, quiet kid. When she couldn't play the piano, she let her frustrations out on the closest piece of paper. Waiting for a chance to scrawl or scribble is exactly how I am. Other than piano, ballet and drawing pictures, what my elementary school-age mother devoted herself to was petting other people's dogs. She wrote in her 6th grade anthology that her dream for the future was to be a top breeder.

When she was eleven, my mother went through the experience of moving again. During the time when my grandfather had gone to Fukuoka in advance for his job and wasn't there, my mother had lots of opportunities to talk to my grandmother. It seems at that time, my grandmother told her, "Don't only be someone's wife just because you're a woman, you have to learn a trade." Going to Fukuoka, my mother who began middle school was surprised. Because all the kids her own age would often chat, and come bother her even when she was silent. My mother, realizing that "Keeping silent is all the more dangerous," outgrew being a "lion at home and a mouse abroad." It came to a happy end.

From now on please give your favor to my mother and to Kuroneko-ya.


back to Ringo Shiina