Ribbon’s ZOKU HARLEM NIGHT JOINT 1992 concert is without a doubt the live event that all Ribbon Concerts before and after must compare- the performances are absolutely ROCKING- the girls are in top form: pretty and enthusiastically singing their hearts out, and having a terrific live band playing behind them just made the songs come alive!! And special mention MUST be made for the girls’ outfits in the last set, which started out as a neon patchwork oversized suit, but slowly peeled down to a micro-short dress!
The “suite” in which this costume dress-down occurred filled up most of Side Two of the Zoku disc, and ended up closing the concert, as well. This awesome run of songs included songs that would go on to become my all-time favorites from ribbon! And while most of this set consisted of then-current songs like Deep Breath and Sensational Wind, the set also introduced me in a BIG WAY to a couple of their older songs that would go on to become big faves, including a then-little-known song called “Circus Parade”, a happy and bubbly song with choreography composed of happily skipping and sashaying around the stage, and when combined with the costume reveal of the girls in these pretty gypsy printed skirts, I was all in!
Later, as I began to collect all of the ribbon albums I could get my hands on, I was concerned to realize that “Circus Parade” wasn’t on any of their CDs as I frantically checked and re-checked the listings on the backs of the albums. It was only with the advent of the Internet that I was to find that Circus Parade was only available as a B-side for ribbon’s second single Sobani Iru Ne!
Well, At least I knew what to look for! I’d been trying to get my hands on all of ribbon’s singles anyway, but somehow it wasn’t until I found out about OTOKICHI PREMIUM did I finally get those elusive singles I was missing, including Circus Parade!
Upon hearing the real track for the first time, I was surprised at how much the song actually sounded like a “circus” song, as they featured keyboards emulating carnival calliope merry-go-round music, an effect that had been absent from that initial live performance. It was soo cool to hear the song in its original state, but listening to it made me want to run back and watch the live performance again!