How Far Will Perfume's World Tour Spread?

I refrained from writing about this news when it came out not only because I was bogged down with final projects/papers/exams for school but also because I knew if I did, the post would just consist of me bitching and moaning about how Perfume had yet to tour in the United States. What? My envy is very capable of overcoming my rationality, especially when it ties into the techno group that I devote time to praising and blogging about at any chance possible. As you have all heard, Perfume, the most amazing J-pop group ever (in my eyes at least), is embarking on a second world tour. Unlike their first which was based entirely in Asia, the second one is based entirely in Europe; or three parts of Europe at least. England, France and Germany are all the lucky countries that Perfume will be gracing their presence with and fans around the world have been dancing for joy and throwing hurly burly parties. Now when I, an American fan who lives in The South, heard about the news that Perfume was going on another world tour after their first in Asia only to find out that they were touring in Europe, I was angry. Well, I think, "angry" is a bit too strong of a word to describe how I was feeling at that time; I think I was more... anguished. I'm a huge fan of Perfume in case you couldn't tell by the banner I always have of them and the sidebar with a picture of them and the monthly post in which I review one of their old PVs. Although I long ago came to terms with the fact that I was very likely never going to see Perfume in concert, the chance that I just might be able to, especially since their talks of internationally touring, has been tantalizing. And I've always been secretly crossing my fingers and hoping that by some convoluted miracle, I would be able to see the group that changed my life so much in concert. So predictably, when the announcement that Perfume would be touring in Europe came out, I was both ticked and saddened. It felt like Perfume was so close but so far away.

But, being the rational person I am, I got over it. For the most part. I'm very happy for whoever is able to get tickets to see Perfume live and I hope all you Europeans have the best time of your life watching the glorious techno trio perform. As much as I wish I could be there cheering with you all, I'll just stare out the window and continue scheming up ways for me to see Perfume live. Anyways, I'm not writing to talk about my own personal feelings about Perfume's 2nd World Tour but I do want to add in my own speculations and theories about it. After all, I'd never entertained the idea that Perfume would embark on another world tour; in hindsight, it seems inevitable but hey, hindsight's always 20/20. I guess I was just too busy shaking my head and laughing over the fact the their 1st World Tour only took place in Asia. Never did it occur to me that there would also be a 2nd World Tour. But now that it's been announced, I've began to wonder... how many more are to come? Is this going to be a series of world tours? And how many will there be? One for each continent? I actually think it would be kind of awesome if Perfume had a separate tour for each continent like one for Australia, one for North America, one for Antarctica- well, maybe not Antarctica. I doubt there are many penguins that are die-hard fans of Perfume. But one each continent, the group could go to some of the major cities on each one and perform; kind of what they're doing right now. Do I think it'll happen? I'm not sure. I'm really trying to figure out just how far Perfume plans to go with this "world tour" idea; do they literally mean that they're going everywhere around the world? All power to them, but I don't know how they would going to pull off a tour of that size and span. Still, Perfume is known for their love of conquering challenges (i.e. getting to Tokyo Dome).

But I will say I think a concert in the United States is very likely.

And no, I'm not just saying that as an American fan who would backflip out a window to see Perfume perform live. I'm saying that because even though the country I live in has a boatload of problems, it is still a very well-known country especially in terms of the music industry. Hell, the United States has the largest and most profitable music industry. With Perfume's talks of international expansion, I think performing in the US would open themselves up to new fans part of such a large music industry. A concert in the US, especially in an urban area like New York City or Los Angeles, could bring old fans together to cheer Perfume on, letting them know that there is a niche that the group can appeal to internationally even if Perfume doesn't ever reach mainstream international success. I think it would be a smart move to perform in the United States, especially since I know there are a lot of US-based Perfume fans, along with fans from other countries too! Of course, I also think performing in Europe is another smart marketing move especially since from what I've heard, Perfume's techno style would be more easily accepted in a European market. Perfume has even expressed a bit of interest and enthusiasm for performing in the US along with other international areas.  Honestly, I'd be very surprised if Perfume didn't do at least one concert in the United States. I mean hell, Kyarypamyupamyu's done an international tour and she's only been on the market for two years! I actually really like the locations Kyary went to for her tour and I think if Perfume had done what Kyary did and had just one international tour in a variety of countries, that would have worked just as well as spreading out this series of world tours. There wouldn't be such ambiguity about where Perfume was going to tour and how far they're planning to take this whole "world tour" idea.

I think I'm very 50/50 on the possibilities for the idea of multiple world tours with each tour focusing on a separate region of the world. But then again, we don't even know if that's a possibility; for all I know, Perfume could stop at the 2nd World Tour and just go back to performing in Japan, never to return to any other country. I hope they keep going but part of me is scratching my head at just what Perfume is aiming for with all these world tours. Like how many are they going to do? Where are they going to be? When are they going to be done? Keep in mind, the more world tours the girls embark, the longer it's gonna take. Not only do these world tours have to be fit around Perfume's already hectic performing schedule in their home country but it also has to be worked around their promotions for singles/albums/DVDs/tie-ins/etc. If Perfume does even announce a third-world tour, I doubt it'll happen this year. Their 2nd World Tour finishes up in July and I don't think that brief time between then and November (when end-of-year stuff starts happening) is going to be enough for Perfume to begin another world tour. Especially if they decide to release an album, which I am crossing my fingers and hoping that will happen. So say by early to mid-2014, Perfume goes on a 3rd World Tour; would Tour #3 be the one in which they finally go to the US? Or is that saved for Tour #5? And for that matter, just what regions of the US would Perfume even go to? The United States is effing huge and traveling to some parts of it is the equivalent of traveling to another country without all that passport fuss. I think what would be best for Perfume if they did decide to tour in parts of the US would be to perform in Los Angeles and New York City; they're both two big cities on two separate coasts. That way the east-coasters and west-coasters can have a shot at seeing Perfume without having to drive miles and miles and burn a ton of gas.

Personally, my ideal Perfume World Tour would be on in which they hit the four points of the United States: the West, the Midwest, the North and the South. Like I said, the US is huge and believe me, sometimes I really hate how huge it is. I pretty much know that there's a 99.999% chance that Perfume isn't going to get anywhere near the South; no cool artist ever does! Besides, I think they'd find the most success in urban areas such as New York City. It would actually be somewhat convenient for me if Perfume performed in New York City since I have relatives that live in an area in New Jersey that's close enough to NYC that I could take a train from Jersey to get there. That way I wouldn't have to worry about lodging, just transportation and finding a plane ticket! See, when you live in The Sticks, you have to find ways to improvise seeing your favorite artists, which is one of the reasons why the only concert I've ever been to is Hillary Duff. What? I was seven years old! There's also the matter of when would be a good time for Perfume to tour in the US; personally, the best time for me would be in the summer of 2014. Why the summer? Because 2014 is the year I finally graduate from high school and by summer, I'll have nothing to worry about. No final projects, no tests, no college applications, summer will be blissful. And I think seeing Perfume live would be a great graduation present, if I could convince my parents to let me see them. But then again, that's even if Perfume decides to perform in an area that I can actually get to. This is all really just speculation right now. And honestly, I don't really want to get my hopes up too much in case Perfume never does reach the United States. I hate to be a downer, but the only thing worse not being able to ever see Perfume live is believing that I will see them live when that never comes to fruition.

For now, I'd like to think that Europe isn't the final stop on Perfume's series of world tours. Hopefully, they'll go to other countries and other continents, particularly the USA. I'll just have to keep my fingers crossed at the moment!