桃井はるこ to perform in Toronto, Canada [updated]

[update] Her presence is confirmed through this rather dubious bio. "Suicide Girls"? Seems like someone had tragic-scene-girl-pr0n on their mind. Hopefully they'll get around to fixing that typo/freudian slip, or they might end up drawing the wrong crowd.

[original story] Word around teh intarwebz is that the Queen of Akihabara will be gracing us lowly Canadians with her presence at this year's Animenorth. The event takes place May 23-25 2008, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. This is all rumors and murmurs at this point, but considering the recent release of her first major album, it makes a lot of sense that she would want to hit as many cons and festivals as possible this year. According to reader Mandi, the word is out among Japanese fans to start booking flights and hotel rooms. So take it with a grain of salt, but stay tuned and I will report back once this rumor materializes. If she does indeed plan a gig in Toronto, you can expect yours truly to cover the event. Question to her hardcore fans: is she known to perform her Famison tracks? That would be a major bonus for me.

I will be out of the country until the end of the month, but I have some articles in the pipeline for you to look forward to, namely an "Amusement Pack" review and the next installment of my Denpa editorial series. In the meantime, why not enjoy the following Haruko Momoi videos? Live performances of Japanese artists always stun me, their enthusiasm and stage mannerisms are exhilarating and unmatched, to say the least.

桃井はるこ・遠藤正明「Romantic summer -momo-i version-」

桃井はるこ「Sunday early morning」

See that guitar player on the left of the stage? That's me. Yeah... I wish ;) Both songs are killer and having played & performed for over 15 years now, I could easily fill in. By the way, that dude singing "Romantic Summer" in duet with her is none other than 遠藤正明 (Endou Masaaki) from the all-star JAM Project band. If performing side-by-side Haruko Momoi isn't proof enough to convince you of his utter badass status, the following video will. That's him performing "Pegasus Fantasy" (aka Saint Seiya OP, aka one of the best anime OP ever written) alongside the fucking man himself, 山田信夫 (Yamada Nobuo)