Guitarist Kenichi leaving MERRY in late 2020

[saishuu 3220]

ken's been the quieter type since the beginning iirc. I used to always forget he was there in their early years lmao. it makes sense he wants out to pursue other things, I don't blame him. 19 years is a helluva long time and some things just run their course. still wish him all the best going forward!

[suji 8317]

"5 Sheep Last Tour", the last tour of Merry as a fiveman band, will commence in late March. Ticket sales start on 3/15.

 

[schedule]

3/21(土)赤羽ReNY alpha

3/22(日)仙台CLUB JUNK BOX

3/28(土)愛媛松山WStudioRED

3/29(日)福岡BEAT STATION

4/5(日)熊谷HEAVEN'S ROCK

4/10(金)大阪 味園ユニバース

4/11(土)京都 磔磔

4/17(金)札幌 cube garden

4/18(土)旭川 CASINO DRIVE

4/24(金)名古屋BOTTOM LINE

4/25(土)岡山CRAZYMAMA KINGDOM

5/2(土)千葉LOOK

5/4(月祝)vanvan V4 @ 200

5/6(水振)高崎clubFLEEZ

5/10(日)新横浜NEW SIDE BEACH!! (CORE limited)

【FINAL】

"そして、遠い夢のまた夢"

5/16(土)なかのZEROホール

^ Guess this is the finalized date of Kenichi's last performance.

 

 

[sads123 147]

Great, I already bought tickets to another gig in Osaka on 21st Mar and the bus to get there from Tokyo and the plane ticket from Osaka back to my country on 22nd Mar zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

[suji 8317]

On 2/8/2020 at 11:32 PM, suji said:

3/21(土)赤羽ReNY alpha

3/22(日)仙台CLUB JUNK BOX

3/28(土)愛媛松山WStudioRED

3/29(日)福岡BEAT STATION

4/5(日)熊谷HEAVEN'S ROCK

Because of COVID-19, the first few dates of the 5 Sheep tour have been postponed to new dates as follows:

3/21 Akabane ReNY Alpha →April 5

3/22 Sendai CLUB JUNK BOX →May 1

3/28 Matsuyama WStudioRED →April 26

3/29 Fukuoka BEAT STATION →April 13

4/5 Kumagaya HEAVEN'S ROCK VJ-1 →May 8

[suji 8317]

Update: now the whole tour has been postponed, although the May 16 date at Nakano Zero Hall still stands - however, this will only be the new kickoff date of the tour, and of course Kenichi will stay along for the ride.

 

The rest of the schedule is as follows:

May 16 Nakano ZERO Hall

May 24 Sendai CLUB JUNK BOX

May 31 Nagoya BOTTOM LINE　

June 5 Asahikawa CASINO DRIVE

June 6 Sapporo cube garden

June 19 HEAVEN’S ROCK Kumagaya VJ-1

July 3 Okayama Crazy Mama Kingdom

July 5 Studio Red

July 12 Akabane ReNY alpha

July 14 Takasaki clubFLEEZ

July 18 Kanazawa vanvanV4

August 9 Shin-Yokohama NEW SIDE BEACH!! (CORE only)

August 21 Kyoto takutaku　

August 23 Fukuoka BEAT STATION

August 28 Chiba LOOK

September 12 Osaka Misono Universe

 

Quote

We have decided to postpone all 15 concerts of the upcoming tour, except for the final on May 16 at Nakano ZERO hall. Due to the postponements the band and staff got together and decided that all the concerts of the 5 Sheep Last Tour (including the postponed ones) will be held with all five members of the band. We will also prepare the space for the tour final in a proper way. Details will be announced as soon as they are decided. We look forward to the day when we can meet all of you again."

http://merryweb.jp/news/6115/

https://twitter.com/merry_en_ST/status/1248238411766321152

[suji 8317]

flyer with the new schedule

 

[suji 8317]

Big update since life has been busy! (Un)shockingly, the tour was postponed once again, and now they'll perform in August! New dates below:

2020/8/1(土)新横浜NEW SIDE BEACH!!(CORE limited)
2020/8/8(土)なかのZEROホール
2020/8/9(日)仙台CLUB JUNK BOX
2020/8/10(月・祝)名古屋BOTTOM LINE
2020/8/14(金)千葉LOOK
2020/8/16(日)京都FANJ【会場変更】
2020/8/22(土)岡山CRAZYMAMA KINGDOM
2020/8/23(日)松山WstudioRED
2020/8/28(金)金沢vanvanV4
2020/8/29(土)大阪CLUB PARTITA 【会場変更】
2020/8/30(日)福岡BEAT STATION
2020/9/4(金)旭川CASINO DRIVE
2020/9/6(日)札幌cube garden
2020/9/12(土)高崎club FLEEZ
2020/9/13(日)HEAVEN’S ROCK 熊谷 VJ-1
2020/9/18(金)赤羽ReNY alpha

2020/9/19(土)日比谷野外大音楽堂

 

Cases are still rising in Japan however, so in order to actually be able to perform, artists have had to perform in venues with limited capacity, take temperatures, practice social distancing, have hand sanitizer, as part of government guidelines. In response to this, MERRY have decided to accept donations from fans to support the tour during the pandemic, mainly the first 6 dates of the tour in Tokyo. They specifically asked for donations from politicians, government workers, and the elderly, and will need enough for supplies (masks, thermometers, disinfectants, etc.), be able to have two concerts per day to reduce audience numbers, and to possibly install a plastic sheet between the audience and the stage through each date of the tour, even if the total donation amount is not sufficient (some safety measures will still be carried out). They also add if concerts do end up cancelled, the money will go to future band activities instead. And instead of opening a crowdfund page, they instead put out bassist Tetsu's personal bank info to donate to since he's apparently the manager of the band now. 

 

According to a fan I follow on twitter (who basically summed this all up), this is the band's response to the government putting out the mentioned guidelines to artists and venues but doesn't really provide them support after they've been forced to cancel concerts for months (see: Mikansei Alice, albeit that's a whole other issue). What is also apparent is how the band members themselves don't really ask for donations on their livestreams, nor do they think they'll receive that much anyway??? It appears as if they'll follow the guideline so far as to provide masks and sanitizers, but as for reducing audience capacity, holding two lives in one day, the fucking plastic sheet...is a bit much, even for them. From how I interpret it, they want to keep the show going as safe as possible, and still have a normal rock concert, and to give Kenichi a proper sendoff after 18 years with them.

 

Spoiler

【7/28追記】メリー 「5 Sheep Last Tour」におけるコロナ対策費の寄付募集のお知らせ
※寄付対象公演の募集期間を追記致しました。
 
 
平素よりメリーをご支援頂き誠にありがとうございます。
 
8/1(土)新横浜公演よりスタートする現メンバーラストのツアー「5 Sheep Last Tour」を開催致します。
開催につきまして、政府主導のガイドライン導入の為の寄付を募ります。
ご自身での寄付、またはSNS等で広く寄付の募集について公知のご協力をお願いできると幸いです。
 
安全対策に伴う予備マスク、体温計、消毒液、質問票に伴う備品、人件費につきましては、全公演寄付が集まらなくても行います。
 
政治家、並びに政府関係者、ご高齢者の方は是非とも寄付にご協力ください。
 

【対象公演】
8/1(土)新横浜NEW SIDE BEACH!!(CORE限定)
8/8(土)なかのZEROホール
8/14(金)千葉LOOK
9/12(土)高崎club FLEEZ
9/13(日)HEAVEN’S ROCK 熊谷 VJ-1
9/19(土)日比谷野外大音楽堂
 
【ガイドラインに沿った対策に必要な費用】
8/1(土)新横浜NEW SIDE BEACH!!(CORE限定)
①安全対策に伴う予備マスク、体温計、消毒液、質問票に伴う備品、人件費　20万円
②ライブハウスキャパシティに対して人数を半分にし、１日２回公演に変更するための費用
・内訳
チケット購入者に公演内容変更の告知及びその対処を行う人件費、返金希望者への返金費用　100万円
公演内容変更に伴う会場費、スタッフ人件費　30万円
合計130万円
③ステージと客席間にビニールシートを設置 10万円
 
◆以降の寄付対象公演
8/8(土)なかのZEROホール
①15万円
②300万円
③100万円（演出上必要な経費含）
寄付募集期間 7/28(火)〜8/4(火)
 
8/14(金)千葉LOOK
①6万円
②50万円
③10万円
寄付募集期間 8/5(水)〜8/10(月)
 
9/12(土)高崎club FLEEZ
①6万円
②130万円
③10万円
寄付募集期間 8/11(火)〜8/31(月)
 
9/13(日)HEAVEN’S ROCK 熊谷 VJ-1
①6万円
②130万円
③10万円
寄付募集期間　9/1(火)〜9/8(火)
 
9/19(土)日比谷野外大音楽堂
後日発表
 

【注意事項】
・全公演で①については寄付が集まらなくても行い、①に次いで公演日時順に②、③の順で対策を行います。
・③は②の対策が完了した場合のみ行います。順序が変わる事はありません。
・公演が開催中止となった場合寄付金の返金はいたしません。
・余剰金が出た場合は今後のメリーの活動に使わせて頂きます。
・寄付金は公演日の4日前までに集計します。
・寄付金は後半公演に対策が偏る事を避ける為に公演ごとに集計し、余剰金は次回公演に繰り越しません。
・政府ガイドラインが消滅した場合は対策を行なわず今後のメリーの活動に使わせて頂きます。
 

【寄付入金口座】
公職選挙法上寄付口座は下記個人口座となります。
尚、東京都豊島区が選挙区に関わる政治家の方の寄付はお受けできません。

The original statement *omitted the bank info here

 

---

Again, this is how I understood this whole thing, while seeing responses from fans on twitter (and some are pretty negative as well, *cough*JPfandom*cough*), but if I'm missing something here, pls comment :v

[LIDL 692]

They really need to put this on hold. This is very irresponsible when the cases are keep rising.

Sure, Japan cases are not one of the worst, but postponing this until situation is conducive still the wisest step to take. 

[suji 8317]

2 hours ago, LIDL said:

They really need to put this on hold. This is very irresponsible when the cases are keep rising.

Sure, Japan cases are not one of the worst, but postponing this until situation is conducive still the wisest step to take. 

they've already postponed this twice. there is no telling when it's actually gonna be 100% safe. i don't think they'll wait a whole 'nother year to get back on stage, and btw Kenichi still wants to leave and move on with his life after 18 years, so he deserves a proper farewell than having to stay in the band longer than he desires to.

[meat 135]

This whole donation thing is so wrong in so many ways. Firstly, why "donation" straight into Tetsu's personal bank account instead of setting up some kind of crowdfunding like Suji said? This just sounds like dodging legal and tax compliance and smacks of fraud. Secondly, the Japanese gov is offering reasonable grants for all artists whose livelihood are affected by the pandemic. At the very least, this includes millions for venues, so I don't see any reason why the band has to cover the cost of putting up a plastic screen at EACH venue. Thirdly, they say part of the donation is for admin and refunding ticket holders. I'm guessing this means they have not put them into a band collective account and bought business protection insurance but have probably spent most of their sales proceeds instead... This whole thing shows to me that they are clearly incapable of handling any large sums of money. 

 

If this is not the case then the band is just really desperate for money, even at the risk of fraud.

[nekkichi 6043]

5 hours ago, meat said:

why "donation" straight into Tetsu's personal bank account

dynamite tommy taughT ha ofc

[Desqui 48]

What are the JPfandom negative comments against?

 

Maybe they think they're small enough that it doesn't matter.

[suji 8317]

40 minutes ago, Desqui said:

What are the JPfandom negative comments against?

 

Maybe they think they're small enough that it doesn't matter.

basically the whole donation thing

[LIDL 692]

On 7/29/2020 at 2:50 PM, suji said:

they've already postponed this twice. there is no telling when it's actually gonna be 100% safe. i don't think they'll wait a whole 'nother year to get back on stage, and btw Kenichi still wants to leave and move on with his life after 18 years, so he deserves a proper farewell than having to stay in the band longer than he desires to.

 

I understand the sentiment, however people are dying here. It is very irresponsible to keep this going regardless. It is not worth the trouble. Proper sendoff would be nice, but to force your fans to attend for the sake of it, and most likely caused them to catch the virus in the process, since you can't expect social distancing and in a live house already with limited space, even with plastic barrier on, is very  mendokusai, irresponsible and selfish. I really hope they'd rethink this. The safety of everyone, including their fans need to be priority.

[nekkichi 6043]

1 hour ago, LIDL said:

 

I understand the sentiment, however people are dying here. It is very irresponsible to keep this going regardless. It is not worth the trouble. Proper sendoff would be nice, but to force your fans to attend for the sake of it, and most likely caused them to catch the virus in the process, since you can't expect social distancing and in a live house already with limited space, even with plastic barrier on, is very  mendokusai, irresponsible and selfish. I really hope they'd rethink this. The safety of everyone, including their fans need to be priority.

gurrrrl srsly stop with the preaching, their gya are not ojisan grandmamas who'll be put on a ventilator following the gig

 

Japanese hostess clubs and push for local tourism are a bigger deal with COVID and no one literally gives a shit

 

I'm not approving what they do with the coin though, from a respectable major VK band to freewill rat status pocketing fangirl tips whew

[meat 135]

So I just watched a bit of their first gig of this tour on 1 Aug: 

The lack of people (or energy) is just surreal

[Kirito 69]

If i understood well, this video only show the reharshal before the live

[suji 8317]

~*~*~New Visual~*~*~

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[suji 8317]

apologies for not updating for a while x

 

For their 19th anniversary on 11/7, MERRY will livestream the tour final from their 5 Sheep tour, ie, Kenichi's final live. The stream will be on Zaiko, which does accept foreign credit/debit cards/Paypal and is in English! General ticket is 3000 yen, and if you want digital photos with it, it'll be 4500 yen. After purchase, you're only able to view the stream from your account only, even if you try to share it anywhere else, and you can watch the stream even after it's over.

 

https://merry-1107.zaiko.io/_item/331555