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 “Circus Parade” and ANO KO NI YOROSHIKU, Ribbon’s third single that would go on to become my favorite ribbon song of all time!
The girls performance of Ano Koni Yorishiku featured the girls in their final costume reveal- these short white dresses that was all the better of show off their lovely legs during their genki dance moves, and it was this combined with this wonderfully bubbly, catchy song that made for one of the best live performances ever!
It could have ended there, but a few months later I managed to get ribbon’s previous concert, the HARLEM NIGHT 1991 concert, and when the girls came strutting out and OPENED the concert with Ano Kono Yoroshiku, it was all over for me and the song was instantly propelled to the top of my charts!!
Going back and watching ribbon perform Ano Ko Ni Yoroshiku on their First Concert PARADE PARADE, it is amazing to see how much the singing and dance moves have evolved over time. In the first performance, the girls singing seems shaky and unsure of themselves and the dance moves seem regimented and stiff. Who woulda though just a few years later they'd be bursting with confidence, pulling the dance moves (which had changed to a more sexy approach) with all the swagger of the great idols they'd become!
And BTW, when I found that I even loved that extremely dorky PV of Ano Koni Yoroshiku (complete with sailor t-shirts and cartoon crabs), that's when I realized that this was my favorite tune from ribbon, and there wasn't NUTHIN' was gonna change it!
