One of the most highly anticipated events during the Fourth of July weekend revolved around a visit from J-pop girl band, SCANDAL. The girls haven�t been back to the States since their days as an Indie band; now that they've gone major, fans have been buzzing even more excitedly over the girls' return.

SCANDAL kicked off their AM2 experience with a fun fan meeting at the Anaheim Convention Center, where they got to answer candid questions from their fans, sharing details about their work and fun trivia facts about themselves.

The fan meeting kicked up the anticipation for their concert, which hosted a lineup as long as the one for the talk session, extending all the way down the main hall. We learned that passport holders and normal attendees lined up for hours before the concert to try and get good seats because it was on a first-come, first-serve basis.

When fans entered the main hall, they found that the stage had been set up like a fashion show, with a catwalk in the middle. The stage was fairly big with about five to six foot risers, a set of par cans with gel filters on a 20 foot truss, two spotlights in front of the band (one on each side), and strobe lights in the back. Separating the band and the fans were tall black curtains, which in effect, created a wall.

The seats were divided into three sections; one section in the middle, which was then flanked by sections in a diagonal formation on the sides. With fans being let in one at a time, the hall slowly began to fill; by the time the concert was about to begin, approximately 95% of the seats were taken up, and the air crackled with eager anticipation.

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The lights shut off, and all eyes were on the bright screen on stage, which read �Cure� in pink. Then, the band members came out one by one, and the volume of screams raised higher and higher as fans took in that SCANDAL had finally arrived. As they came out, "SCANDAL's Theme" started to play, and then they directly dove into performing �HI HI HI� and �EVERYBODY SAY YEAH�. With �EVERYBODY SAY YEAH�, the crowd chimed in on �YEAH� as Haruna egged them on.

After the first six songs, the girls said that they were surprised to see so many of their fans at the airport the night before. Then Haruna announced that they were going to play a new song that was very fast and exciting. It was definitely a big treat for fans, because the new song was SCANDAL's upcoming single, �LOVE SURVIVE�.

SCANDAL played other favorites like �HARUKA� and �Shunkan Sentimental�. Their last song before exiting the stage was �SCANDAL BABY�, but it wasn't enough to satisfy the hunger the audience felt the group, and they howled for an encore. SCANDAL responded by coming back out and playing �PRIDE� as their final song of the night.

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Although the girls put on a splendid performance, a part of me wishes Haruna and Tomomi had moved around more and made better use of the stage. Mami was the only one who really played to the fans, while Tomomi only at times, and Haruna hardly at all. Perhaps it was because of the disappointing sound system quality and the way the stage was set up, but this performance, while a treat for all the U.S. fans, did not feel up to par with their usual concerts.

We hope to see these girls back in the States soon to deliver a performance that will truly allow their reputation as show-stoppers to shine.

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< Set List >
01.Theme of Scandal
02.Hi-Hi-Hi
03.EVERYBODY SAY YEAH!
04.Shojo S
05.Hoshinofuruyoruni
06.DOLL
07.LOVE SURVIVE
08.Hikare
09.Haruka
10.Shunkan Sentimental
11.Kagerou
12.Space Ranger
13.SCANDAL BABY

[ Encore ]
14.Pride