Halcali Acoustic Show

Haruka posted an entry in the blog about the Halcali Valentine Acoustic Live　show they played last Friday night (2/9).

金曜の夜だっていうのに、映画館が満席になる程...
沢山の方が来てくれました♪”
ありがとうございました!!!

Even though it was a Friday night, so many people came to see us that the place looked sold out. Thank you so much!

Although it's hard to gauge actual figures from that until we know the size of the cinema they played in, it's hard not to smile at the thought of being able to use "so many people" and "Halcali" in the same sentence again.

Although Haruka doesn't post the setlist, she mentions a new song they performed, written with Yosuke@Home, called 義理チョコ　(Giri (obligation) Chocolate; a phrase used to describe the act of giving chocolate on Valentine's Day to a boss or other superior, not out of affection, but out of a sense of obligation or duty), which should hopefully end up on the new album. It's interesting that Haruka says it was a song written "with" (not "by") Yosuke, perhaps indicating that, as with LOOK, Peace Dream and (half of) Wakakusa Dance, they wrote the lyrics.

Haruka goes on to apologise at not being able to do an encore, and thanks everyone for clapping and cheering for one. Clapping, cheering, nearly selling places out- this is all great news for a band that, based on recent record sales, I was concerned was commercially dead in the water.

For an acoustic gig, it's odd to see Halcali's live DJ, DJ Non up there with his decks, but he had a bit more information to share on his blog (including another picture). Yosuke apparently played a guitar, ukulele, and even a harp throughout the show. Apart from the new song mentioned above, the only other information I could find concerning the setlist was in the comments box on the blog entry, where poster NO NAME says they also played the gorgeous この世界に、この両手に（In This World, In Both My Hands) from the Strawberry Chips single.

It sounds like it was an amazing gig, we can only hope there's a recording of it somewhere.

UPDATE (S):

amj points us in the direction of Excite.com, which carries an article about the gig:

東京お台場のアミューズメント施設「メディアージュ」内のシネマメディアージュシアター5でバレンタインデーに先駆けて2/9、ガールズヒップポップ・ユニットHALCALI(ハルカリ)がバレンタイン「映画館」ライヴを決行した。

Halcali held a Valentine's concert in cinema mediage theatre 5, in Odaiba, Tokyo's 'amusement facility' Mediage.

「ストロベリーチップス」「LOOK」などシングル曲を織り交ぜ、しっとりと全7曲を披露。
映画館ライヴならではの、スクリーンに映し出される映像に、約5000通の応募の中から当選した幸運な150名は、一足早いバレンタイン・ライブに酔いしれた。

Including the singles Strawberry Chips and LOOK, Halcali performed a gentle 7 song set. As the gig took place in a cinema, images were transmitted onto the screen during the gig for the lucky 150 guests who, selected from 5,000 hopefuls, were left intoxicated by this early Valentine's Day performance.

As the article also reminds us, Mediage is the same place that Halcali designed the Christmas '06 tree for (I know 'amusement facility' is too direct a translation of アミューズメント施設, but I couldn't resist).

I really like the idea of 5,000 people wanting to get in to see the show. Surely that alone is enough evidence to give Halcali another shot at a couple of headlining gigs to promote the new album?

Yukari also updated the blog with her impressions of the gig. My earlier guess was right, and both Haruka and Yukari (along with Yosuke) had a hand in the lyrics for new song Giri Chocolate* (as they keep writing- that title is only temporary). Apparently they're going to play it on Buzz Room tonight.

All in all, doesn't that sound like the best gig you never went to?

* We should think of a decent English translation for this song title. Obligation Chocolate obviously sounds a bit odd.