So, this happened last night: Cowboy Bebop Live!
It wasn’t Yuko Kanno or The Seatbelts (which has always been a bucket list item), but more of a tribute band. We got the tickets on a whim, and really had no-to-low expectations going in.
I cannot express how utterly blown away I was. These guys freakin’ killed it. There was quite a line to get in, and unfortunately we missed most of “Tank!” (which was crushing), but from the moment we walked in I couldn’t stop smiling.
They had an AMV style edit of episodes, that kinda told a story playing above, but really, this was all about the music. And, boy, as we got to the ending, and you’re seeing the finale of the series, and they played “Road to the West” it kind of hit me like a ton of bricks. And here’s this dude in his late 40’s crying at a fucking anime concert.
But it was also just hitting me more lately about the passing of time. 22 years ago I first saw Cowboy Bebop and it blew my mind. The nostalgia hit like a freight train, the moody saxophone, and then having the bonus of watching Julia die being projected overhead was a lot.
I may never get to see The Seatbelts and tick that item of my list, but honestly, this felt damned close enough to it for me.