[Fanaccount] 28.05.2011 Fukuoka Day 2: 22.05.2011

Fan reports of AT2011 at Fukuoka, Days 1 and 2, from the TeamAyu forum at Spoilers BBS

Author: Ichigo-tan
Written 22/5/2011 22:03:55

Here’s some information about the video that was played on Day 1.

By the way, this information contains details that are only available on TA.

In the past, ayu-chan has posted photos of her hand reaching up to the blue sky on TA’s “ayu’s diary”. Overseas fans from many countries have followed suit, and reached out their hands to their skies, wishing to tell us that “even if we are separate, the sky connects us all”. As the video was playing, background music featuring Daybreak was played.

more under the cut!

Author: Ichigo-tan
Written 22/5/2011 22:26:23

Here’s some spoilers from Day 2.

During the mini MC session after the 1st song forgiveness, ayu suddenly called out “Eh!? My earplugs are gone!” Peco-san and Princess then searched all over ayu-chan’s body trying to find it. In the end, the earplug was stuck in ayu-chan’s ear the whole time. She was so cute

As for the setlist, similar to yesterday, 1 chorus of poker face was performed, followed by the full version of key.

During key, she mixed up lyrics again, so she resang the whole song

Yesterday, 17th song UNITE! was replaced by Boys & Girls. Today, she performed Boys & Girls also.

ayu-chan has been crying in every live during the last song A Song is born, but today, she only teared up.

—–

Author: Ichigo-tan
Written 22/5/2011 22:29:46

For today’s MC, ayu-chan started out by shouting “Today’s Day 2, but I’m baaaaaack!” and the audience replied with “Welcome baaack!”.

—–

Author: Ichigo-tan
Written 23/5/2011 00:08:04

This time, most of the songs have been rearranged, but some have retained most of their original sound.

monochrome
fairyland
vogue
Far away
SEASONS
A Song for…
M

These songs resemble the original versions.

As for monochrome and SEASONS, she has yet to sing the full versions.

Credit: truehappiness @ AHS
Translation: misachanjpop @ wordpress
Original source: Ichigo-tan @ Japanese BBS
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[Fanaccount] 26.05.2011 Fukuoka Day 1: 21.05.2011

Author: Ichigo-tan
Written 21/5/2011 08:15:30

Today and tomorrow will be the 2 days at Fukuoka. The hotel key will probably be the hot item again

At 2am last night, several people had already formed a queue, and after 4am, about 50 people were in line.

More under the cut!

Author: Ichigo-tan
Written 21/5/2011 11:47:18

ayu-chan has made it clear that there will be something different at today’s Fukuoka show.

—–

Author: Ichigo-tan
Written 21/5/2011 16:45:14

So, it’s about time for the 2 days at ayu-chan’s hometown Fukuoka!

Really?

It seems to have started raining in Fukuoka after 3pm, but this won’t dampen the excitement and heat at the venue, right?

—–

Author: Ichigo-tan
Written 22/5/2011 02:37:11

Did the fans’ voices reach ayu-chan?

She seems to have sung Boys&Girls.

In exchange, UNITE! wasn’t performed.

And similar to the Yokohama shows, poker face was performed.

—–

Author: Ichigo-tan
Written 22/5/2011 02:33:29

As I’ve written earlier, there was something different about today’s show.

This took place after the main show was over, after the song Born to be…

After the main show, the curtains fell, and a video started playing.

I don’t really know what the video was about, but it seemed that overseas fans had asked for ayu to use this video during today’s show via Twitter a few days ago.

And a couple of days ago (Friday), it seemed that ayu-chan realized this and decided to respond to these fans’ wishes.

By the way, according to some tweets posted yesterday evening, ayu-chan took up this sudden project, and spent the entire night editing the video for use in today’s live.

I’m not sure of the video’s contents, but it may have had something to do with this show’s theme.

Nah~ ayu-chan was probably just thinking of her fans

I’ll be taking part in the 2 days at Osaka next week, so if the video is shown again, I’ll post a report here

—–

Author: Ichigo-tan
Written 22/5/2011 08:28:04

For Day 2 at Fukuoka today, there was a queue for the goods booth since 7am, and the popular item is probably the hotel key again.

About 250 people seem to be in line.

—–

Author: Ichigo-tan
Written 22/5/2011 11:58:41

The queue for the goods booths has exceeded 300 people, and it has been raining all morning at Fukuoka, I hope the goods sale will begin soon

And similar to the situation at Yokohama, there are some people who deliberately cut into the queues. I wish they would consider the feelings of those who had been in the queue earlier, as well as the intentions of ayu-chan and goods in-charge Mayuzumi-san in issuing numbered tickets.

—–

Author: Ichigo-tan
Written 22/5/2011 15:40:36

And here are some spoilers from Day 1 at Fukuoka.

Firstly, about the setlist. As mentioned yesterday, song 17 UNITE! has been replaced by Boys&Girls. poker face was also in the list.

1. forgiveness
(Mini MC: poker face)
2. blossom
3. BLUE BIRD
4. monochrome
5. fairyland
6. A Song for XX
7. M
8. NEVER EVER
9. walking proud
10. part of Me
11. Moments
12. vogue
13. Far away
14. SEASONS
15. Bold & Delicious
16. Mirrorcle World
17. Boys & Girls
18. evolution
19. Born To Be…

-Encore-
20. A Song is born

When ayu-chan came out and opened with first song forgiveness, her voice made everyone feel that “an angel has descended here”.

Shortly after, she launched into the MC session, and sang debut song poker face passionately!

By the way, judging from the MC sessions at Hiroshima, it seemed as if the Fukuoka crowd won’t say things like “Welcome baaaaack!”, but after the first song, the dialogue went,

ayu: “Let me say this first. I’m baaaaaaack!”

audience: “Welcome baaaaaack!”

After that, she spoke in Hakata dialect, and was really cute

And during this show, her penchant(?) for forgetting lyrics seems to be back. While singing the first chorus of Moments, when she was supposed to sing

♪If I were as transcient as a flower, I’d bloom proudly beside you♪

she sang

♪I’d fly to where you are♪ instead

Looking from the stage, there is a runway extending towards the North side, but she seldom walked along it. However, yesterday, when she went onto the runway, she crouched down to face the fans and sang while gently smiling.

Credit: truehappiness @ AHS
Translation: misachanjpop @ wordpress
Original source: Ichigo-tan @ Japanese BBS
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[Fanaccount] 26.05.2011 Yokohama Day 2: 15 .05.2011

One final report of AT2011 at Yokohama, Day 2, from the TeamAyu forum at Spoilers BBS

Author: ken3
Written 20/5/2011 00:47:04

I’m going to write a little about my thoughts too.

I felt a little anxious about this live, so when ayu-chan came out during the opening, I didn’t know whether I should stand up and wave (laugh)

But ayu-chan being ayu, managed to sense everyone’s unease, and so after the opening song on Day 2 of Hiroshima, she added in a mini MC session.

More under the cut!

Because of this mini MC session and the choice of songs, everyone in the arena was able to pace themselves with ayu-chan and everyone soon thought that “Yes, today’s show is so enjoyable!”

To be able to respond to the crowd and make adjustments quickly, she managed to create a better show. I really felt ayu-chan’s awesomeness and gentleness.

> By the way, what did you think of the newly rearranged songs?
> Was there anything fresh and new?

The tour has just begun, so there’s not much to say.

「A Song for XX」 has always been an awesome song, but this time, with the horn section, it’s become a really cool song! Along with ayu-chan’s voice, this has become a more emotional version of the original. As the song played out, I felt myself getting hotter!

Next up was 「Ｍ」. I thought I couldn’t feel any hotter, but I did… The intro began really suddenly, and seemed to pull us right along. In the midst of a rock arrangement, there were strings as well, and matched with ayu-chan’s present voice, this song was done well.

My younger sis and her daughters (high school girls) came too, and though they didn’t change into the tour shirts, they were similarly very satisfied with the show.

With this show, ayu-chan has stepped up one more level.

I can just imagine her saying “Just keep quiet and come along, I’ll show you an even more awesome show next time!!”

Sorry for the long post.

Credit: truehappiness @ AHS
Translation: misachanjpop @ wordpress
Original source: Ichigo-tan @ Japanese BBS
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[Fanaccount] 18.05.2011 Yokohama Day 2: 15.05.2011

Fan reports of AT2011 at Yokohama, Days 1 and 2, from the TeamAyu forum at Spoilers BBS

Author: Ichigo-tan
Written 16/5/2011 02:22:13

Many people who went for the live talked about ayu-chan’s clear voice, and described her as an angel as she sang.

More under the cut!

Author: CHIROL
Written 16/5/2011 21:56:25

Day 2 at Yokohama Arena ☆☆

The show at Yokohama Arena started about 20 minutes late.
Sorry if I can’t remember much.
For the first song forgiveness, ayu-chan’s voice was really beautiful, and I was mesmerized by the power of her voice.
I understood the meaning of “power of music”.
During the mini MC, she talked about how each member has done all he/she could have done.
And as Ichigo-tan-san has mentioned, she sang Key during Day 2 ♪
However, she forgot the lyrics, and incorporated “I forgot the lyrics~ ♪” into the song.
And for some reason, she asked everyone “Would you like the hear Love?”, and hearing cheers going up for Love, she replied with “so you wanna hear Love that badly ♪” and sang it for us.
I wanted to hear Key, especially with her voice now, but too bad she forgot the lyrics
However, as she came down the runway, she touched with many of the audience members.
She didn’t throw a wristband that day.
ayu-chan was really cute, and with such a beautiful voice, she is a true artist.
As for the stage design, maybe it’s just for Yokohama Arena, but I totally couldn’t see the runway from my seat.
The main stage was in the centre, so it was generally easy to view and gave a feeling of togetherness.
I arrived at the venue a little after noon, and got my goods about 30 minutes later.
During dancer introductions, the cheers for Maro and Shu-Ya were really loud.

—–

Author: CHIROL
Written 16/5/2011 21:59:33

ayu-chan did an impersonation of Sabu-chan for us, though she claimed that she was embarrassed (laugh)
“It’s sad that I’m doing this Sabu-chan impersonation just for everyone’s memories”, she said.
She impersonated him many many times.
She was so cute （≧v≦）
With smiles all around, the atmosphere was really high ↑↑

—–

Author: Hinata
Written 18/5/2011 01:27:13

I went for the live on 15 May!

I queued up for the goods before the booths opened. The wall next to me had an opening before joining to another wall, and I could peek down at the stairs below.
Suddenly, as I was looking down, I saw Armageddon standing there without any expression, then when he turned to look in my direction, he got a shock! (laugh)
He probably came out to have a smoke and look at the queues.
Because he went back in shortly after, very few people saw him, and as it was my first time seeing him in person, I felt really impressed ☆

When the show first started, I felt a little lost and unsure of what to expect, but I soon got used to it, and felt that this was a really touching live.
The orchestra’s performance and ayu’s voice were all really powerful!
Because I brought some feelings with me when I went for this live, I cried from the start to the finish

There were complicated feelings and disappointment about how this live wasn’t a real show, but I feel that this is still a good live which resonates in my heart.

—–

Author: ken3
Written 18/5/2011 02:06:24

I took part in the Yokohama Arena show on the 15th.
Though this tour was changed to this particular show in a hurry, I personally have always watched to watch a fully unplugged and orchestral show.
ayu-chan really needed guts to want to create a show for us to listen to this way.

In fact, it was a really awesome show!
The arrangements of the songs were also different from usual, and that was really cool!
Why is it that a show that was changed in such a hurry could be this good?! I am now newly impressed by ayu-chan’s awesomeness.

I feel that this show is precious, because it shows us the new direction in which ayu-chan wishes to move in.

For those who will participate in future show, please look forward to it.
ayu-chan will bowl you over!!

—–

Author: CHIROL
Written 18/5/2011 09:02:26

ayu-chan seems to like impersonating Sabu-chan recently!
She was really having fun with it ♪
She did it 3-4 times during the show,
as well as on twitter too （＾皿＾）v
So cute– ♪♪

Setlist for 15 May:

1. forgiveness
(Mini MC: Key, Love, YOU)
2. blossom
3. BLUE BIRD
4. monochrome
5. fairyland
6. A Song for XX
7. M
8. NEVER EVER
9. walking proud
10. part of Me
11. Moments
12. vogue
13. Far away
14. SEASONS
15. Bold & Delicious
16. Mirrorcle World
17. UNITE!
18. evolution
19. Born To Be…

-Encore-
20. A Song is born

Credit: truehappiness @ AHS
Translation: misachanjpop @ wordpress
Original source: Ichigo-tan @ Japanese BBS
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[Fanaccount] 18.05.2011 Yokohama Day 1: 14.05.2011

Fan reports of AT2011 at Yokohama, Days 1 and 2, from the TeamAyu forum at Spoilers BBS

Author: Ichigo-tan
Written 14/5/2011 10:08:05

Today and tomorrow will be the shows at Yokohama, and there seems to already be 300 people in line for the goods booths.

More under the cut!

Author: Ichigo-tan
Written 14/5/2011 10:51:38



Uploaded with ImageShack.us

By the way, its sunny in Yokohama today

With

temperatures close to 25degC, this seems like a sign for a hot day for Day 1 at Yokohama Arena

—–

Author: Ichigo-tan
Written 14/5/2011 21:59:34

Something amazing is happening at Yokohama Arena. The line of people waiting for goods has reached halfway around the arena.

By the way, a queue of about 10 people had already been formed at 5:30am this morning.

—–

Author: Ichigo-tan
Written 14/5/2011 13:41:38

To those who plan to buy the hotel keyholder which has the venue date printed on it at the goods booths!

This particular item is very very popular because it is only limited to be sold on the day itself. Therefore, there have been people queueing up for it since 4am, and if you arrive any later than 8am, it will be sold out before it reaches your turn in the queue.

—–

Author: Ichigo-tan
Written 14/5/2011 22:00:24

Though the exact timings are unknown, Day 1 in Yokohama has ended successfully.

By the way, it seems that ayu changed into the tour shirt at the very end and threw out a wristband as well

—–

Author: Ichigo-tan
Written 14/5/2011 21:58:50

Today’s show began 30 minutes behind schedule. It started at 19:00 and ended at 21:30.

—–

Author: Ichigo-tan
Written 14/5/2011 22:11:41

As mentioned above ↑, ayu came out wearing the white tour T-shirt, along with white pants and white boots.

—–

Author: Ichigo-tan
Written 14/5/2011 22:26:32

It seems like AAA’s Urata Naoya also turned up for Day 1 in Yokohama Arena.

By the way, he had just given a live at Yamaguchi Prefecture, so that probably means he rushed to Yokohama after that?

—–

Author: Ichigo-tan
Written 15/5/2011 16:32:24

Alright, today’s Day 2 in Yokohama Arena!

The doors seem to have opened 10 minutes behind schedule, at 15:10.

—–

Author: Ichigo-tan
Written 15/5/2011 16:37:24

With regards to the goods and the super-popular keyholder, it seems like all the people who entered the queue after 6am today were not able to buy them.

This is really a problem~ (sweatdrop)

—–

Author: Ichigo-tan
Written 15/5/2011 20:49:42

Today’s Day 2 in Yokohama Arena started 20 minutes behind schedule, at 16:20, and ended at 18:50.

For today’s MC, ayu-chan sang ♪Key♪, ♪LOVE♪ and ♪YOU♪.

During ♪Key♪, she seemed to have forgotten her lyrics


Credit: truehappiness @ AHS
Translation: misachanjpop @ wordpress
Original source: Ichigo-tan @ Japanese BBS
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[Fanaccount] 18.05.2011 Hiroshima Day 2: 08.05.2011

Fan reports of AT2011 at Hiroshima, Days 1 and 2, from the TeamAyu forum at Spoilers BBS

Author: Ichigo-tan
Written 8/5/2011 09:59:08

Good morning

I fell asleep last night without knowing it, so no more spoilers were updated. But today, I will continue to provide everyone with spoilers for Day 2, so please be nice to me

So, the first spoiler for today will be the silver tape ribbons and some photos of ayu-chan during yesterday’s show.




More under the cut!

Author: Ichigo-tan
Written 8/5/2011 14:42:25

http://music.geocities.jp/teamayu19781002/hiroshima.html

Some more images of ayu-chan from yesterday.

—–

Author: Ichigo-tan
Written 8/5/2011 16:08:15

Here’s a spoiler following the setlist for Day 1, with a brief description of each song and ayu-chan.

1. forgiveness

This song started out as a cappella, then the 23-man orchestra joined in to give an acoustic feel. Everyone was listening attentively.

2. blossom

↑ As noted previously, there was no MC. Instead, ayu shouted “It’s the first day. Hiroshima, let’s get high” After this greeting, blossom came on in a rearranged bossa nova style, and it was performed with the dancers.

3. BLUE BIRD
4. monochrome
5. fairyland

These 3 songs were not performed in full, just short versions.

6. A song for XX

This song was arranged in an acoustic orchestra style. Just the usual performance, but lots of cheers from the audience accompanied her singing.

7. M

This song was arranged in a jazz style. During the last chorus when she went up an octave, her high voice came out beautifully.

8. NEVER EVER

This song was originally in a very high key, but she performed it crystal clear, just like in the studio version.

9. walking proud

The live this time incorporated arrangements from ♪My Story Classical♪ too. By the way, this song filled everyone with so much emotion, and there were many who cried.

10. part of Me

This song is performed for the second time, after its debut during the 2007 Asia Tour. The audience cheered loudly upon hearing the intro. Many people felt that she performed it better than the orginal studio version.

—–

Author: Ichigo-tan
Written 8/5/2011 20:32:38

Sorry~~~ My updates are coming a little late

So, before continuing with spoilers from yesterday, let me give some updates about today first.

Day 2 in Hiroshima today lasted from 16:25 to 18:50.

There were also some changes to the setlist. According to ayu’s wishes, after the first song ♪forgiveness♪, TO BE and YOU were performed by Peco-san, Princess and ayu.

And then, ayu-chan performed poker face alone.

Today’s setlist:

1. forgiveness
TO BE (A cappella)
YOU (A cappella)
poker face (A cappella)
2. blossom
3. BLUE BIRD
4. monochrome
5. fairyland
6. A Song for XX
7. M
8. NEVER EVER
9. walking proud
10. part of Me
11. Moments
12. vogue
13. Far away
14. SEASONS
15. Bold & Delicious
16. Mirrorcle Ｗorld
17. UNITE!
18. evolution
19. Born To Be…

-Encore-

20. A Song is born

—–

Author: Ichigo-tan
Written 11/5/2011 20:40:40

http://music.geocities.jp/teamayu19781002/hiroshima.html

2 more photos from the live concert.

—–

Author: Ichigo-tan
Written 11/5/2011 21:38:08

I’m late in updating again, but here’s more spoilers from the setlist.

11. Moments

This song was also done in the ♪My Story Classical♪ arrangement. ayu-chan’s falsetto was beautiful in this song.

12. vogue
13. Far away
14. SEASONS

The long-awaited trilogy. Unless one was an ayu fan since long ago, one would never have thought to ever be able to hear these 3 performed live together like this.

15. Bold&Delicious

This song involved the participation of the fans. Those sitting in the North, South, East and West were each made to sing a line of

“ya ya ya ya
ga ga ga ga
da da da da
wo wo wo wo”

By the way, the section before this was mainly ballads, so when this song came on, everyone became energetic immediately.

16 Mirrorcle World

This song received lots of cheers during its intro as well. By the way, I loved how this rock song came together with ayu’s clear voice now, and her voice was just so cool.

17. UNITE
18. evolution
19. Born To Be

These 3 songs brought everyone together and spirits were all high. During ♪Born To Be♪, ayu-chan was crying as she came down the runway towards us. After this song, band members and dancers were introduced, and the curtains fell.

20. a song is born

When the curtains rose again and she began singing, she was still crying. At the end of the song, everyone came together to sing the ♪Lalala…Lalala…♪ part in one voice.

—–

Author: Ichigo-tan
Written 11/5/2011 21:27:00

To add on to Day 2, for the summer songs medley blossom, BLUE BIRD, monochrome and fairyland, they were all sang in a mellow ballad style, and only fairyland was sung in full.

Also, the dress she wore during the first song ♪forgiveness♪ became a short skirt during the summer medley, and stayed this way till the end of the show.

—–

Author: Ichigo-tan
Written 11/5/2011 21:37:09

In response to previous reports stating that there were no MCs and no costume changes, many people asked “So does that mean ayu-chan remained on stage the whole time?”

That’s not the case. After the summer medley, Yo-chan had a guitar solo, and after ♪NEVER EVER♪ the 3 performers did their usual clown showtime.

—–

Author: Ichigo-tan
Written 11/5/2011 23:14:02

This post was written based on reports by other fans who went for the shows, as well as my own feelings after the show.

This time, the Love Hotel Tour was suddenly switched to the「POWER of MUSIC」 theme.

Reading through reports, most people claimed to be shocked at this change.

Either way, many people loved ayu-chan’s really extravagant shows, and this live was thought to be unable to live up to that.

However, my thinking has changed.

Whatever its pros and cons, I feel that we will never get to see such a live like this anymore.

As the tour progresses, the setlist will change, and other things will change as well. The show will continue to evolve to become a really awesome live someday, right?

All this while, ayu-chan’s lives have been characterized by extravagance, but for those people, including myself, who love ayu-chan’s voice, I feel that this is a show where we can truly enjoy her singing.

—–

Author: Ichigo-tan
Written 12/5/2011 17:21:57

Up until now, there have been lots of criticisms about ayu’s lives.

How extravagant they are, how they are too focused on choreography, how her voice condition varies, or how she lip-syncs some songs.

This show not only proves that ayu-chan by herself is able to “charm”, it also shows that she wants us to “listen”.

I expect that ayu-chan herself sees the pros and cons of doing such a simple live.

She would have expected fans to be shocked, and ask questions like “Why is there no MC?” or “Why are there no costume changes?”

Actually, I myself was shocked at first too.

However, ayu has enforced my belief that she wishes to “give encouragement through song”.

It was not just a decision to change some parts of the already-planned Love Hotel Tour, but to start from scratch again, using nothing but song.

So it wasn’t just about compromising on some parts, but to follow through with her own ideas. And here, we can see the power that is “Hamasaki Ayumi”.

From the very start, when the tour hasn’t yet begun, ayu-chan was already heartbroken knowing the plight of the affected regions and victims. So I think that it was really impossible for her to really have fun during the MC talk, the way she usually does.

By the way, for those who took part in these 2 lives in Hiroshima, especially those who went for Day 1, were truly shocked at this live which they could never have imagined, that they could do nothing but be beaten down by the surprise attack.

Thus, there will surely be many who are wondering “What should I do?” because they have already bought tickets to more shows.

There will surely be more people, those who have not yet taken part, who are also in shock, and are unsure as to what to think about the whole thing. But as I’ve written in a previous post ↑, I believe that there will never be a second live where you can get to really sit down and listen to her like this again.

This may be the only chance we’ll ever get.

With that, I feel that this live is really very awesome and real, and when I think back to it in the future, I may even feel that “That was a superb live!”

I myself will be taking part in the shows at Osaka Jou Hall on the 28, 29 May again, and as I’ve said above ↑, what I initially loved about ayu-chan is her voice, and I want to carefully “listen to Hamasaki Ayumi”.

Sorry for this long post.

Credit: truehappiness @ AHS
Translation: misachanjpop @ wordpress
Original source: Ichigo-tan @ Japanese BBS
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[Fanaccount] 14.05.2011 Hiroshima Day 1: 07.05.2011

Fan reports of AT2011, Hiroshima Day 1 from the Team Ayu forum at Spoilers BBS

For pictures see here

Author: Ichigo-tan
Written 7/5/2011 11:23:15

By the way, it’s sunny in Hiroshima now

About 30 people have been queuing for the goods booths since 10am

—–

Author: Ichigo-tan
Written 7/5/2011 14:11:57

After a 1-month delay, ayu-chan finally welcomes her tour’s opening day without incident.

ayu-chan has also reached Hiroshima safely, on JAL 1607 flight, departing Haneda at 11:28 and arriving in Hiroshima at 12:55.

Though I am not taking part in today’s show myself, I have been excited since morning, sort like like in a festive mood

More under the cut!

Author: Ichigo-tan
Written 7/5/2011 15:56:27



After 1pm, the room key was sold out

—–

Author: Ichigo-tan
Written 7/5/2011 14:24:21



Uploaded on Twitter, ayu-chan as she entered Hiroshima.

—–

Author: Ichigo-tan
Written 7/5/2011 15:27:10

ayu-chan’s wielding her “rain girl” powers

It’s raining in Hiroshima now.

—–

Author: Ichigo-tan
Written 7/5/2011 17:30:07

http://music.geocities.jp/teamayu19781002/setrist.html

This is not a complete list, but it seems like this will be this year’s setlist.

However, as the live has yet to begin, this setlist may not be totally reliable.

—–

Author: Ichigo-tan
Written 7/5/2011 18:50:44

http://cute.sh/ayulove1/setrist.html

The staging this year is said to resemble CDL’s last year.

And then, though the stage front faces South, it affords a good view as long as you are close.

There are also reports that the view from the stands is good too.

—–

Author: Ichigo-tan
Written 7/5/2011 18:55:35

The live hasn’t begun yet, but there seems to be a sudden call for ayu from the audience.

—–

Author: Ichigo-tan
Written 7/5/2011 19:15:43

The opening show for 「ayumi hamasaki ～ POWER of MUSIC　～ 2011A」 at Hiroshima officially started at 19:07!

—–

Author: Ichigo-tan
Written 7/5/2011 20:18:45

http://park1.aeonnet.ne.jp/~tamu/kaijo/hiroshimagreen/

Looking at this seating plan, it seems like the stage is placed right in the centre of the arena. The front of the stage faces Stand D, while the runway stretches back towards Stand I, resembling last year’s CDL stage.

And it seems like the stage is closer to the audience than ever this time.

—–

Author: Ichigo-tan
Written 7/5/2011 20:51:51



The arena before show start.

—–

Author: Ichigo-tan
Written 7/5/2011 21:01:54



The goods booths and venue in the afternoon.

—–

Author: Ichigo-tan
Written 7/5/2011 21:28:58

Day 1 at Hiroshima has ended successfully at 21:20.

Good job~, ayu-chan

—–

Author: Ichigo-tan
Written 7/5/2011 21:36:29

Looking at the incomplete setlist posted earlier, seems like this tour will be focused mostly on singles songs, and most of the songs have been rearranged.

Could this be due to the sudden change in plans?

There was also no costume change.

—–

Author: Ichigo-tan
Written 7/5/2011 21:52:41

Maybe this live was made with the affected regions in mind?

Thus, there were no costume changes, no encore, no MC and no Thank-you mail. She wanted to convey her message through music alone.

Her hairstyle was short, and make-up natural. Her voice also seemed to be in good condition.

—–

Author: Ichigo-tan
Written 7/5/2011 22:18:20

Sorry for the wait!

Here’s the setlist.

1. forgiveness
2. blossom
3. BLUE BIRD
4. monochrome
5. fairyland
6. A Song for XX
7. M
8. NEVER EVER
9. walking proud
10. part of Me
11. Moments
12. vogue
13. Far away
14. SEASONS
15. Bold & Delicious
16. Mirrorcle Ｗorld
17. UNITE!
18. evolution
19. Born To Be…

-Encore-

20. A Song is born

—–

Author: Ichigo-tan
Written 7/5/2011 22:11:59

The live this time seems to have garnered both positive and negative feedback.

Without MC, costume changes, and tossing of signed balls, the tour does seem a little bare, but many people have submitted positive feedback.

“The setlist rocks!”

“I’ve wanted to see such a simple show”

“The orchestra was really touching”

“Though this wasn’t an extravagant stand-out show, I was touched by ayu’s thoughts and wishes to give support to the victims through song”

and many more.

—–

Author: Ichigo-tan
Written 7/5/2011 22:23:20

Sorry~

I have been stating that there’s no encore, but the last song ♪A song is born♪ was meant to be an encore song.

By the way, it seems like the audience sang along to this song, and ayu-chan cried lots.

The dancers who are taking part in this tour are

Dancers Shu-Ya, ZIN, Maro, Go-Mi, Kazuma, Aki, Midoring, KO, EMI, EKKO

Performers SYU, KUNI, SUKE3

—–

Author: Ichigo-tan
Written 7/5/2011 22:36:37

The live this time is not as extravagant as usual.

But ayu-chan seemed to be able to convey her thoughts through songs. Her vocal training has shown results, with her voice coming out and stretching more.

Another highlight is the 23-man orchestra, with instruments like trombones and violins coming together to make wonderful sounds.

By the way, there are reports that songs have been rearranged, with a majority of them having a jazz flavour now.

Credit: truehappiness @ AHS
Translation: misachanjpop @ wordpress
Original source: Ichigo-tan @ Japanese BBS
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[Fanaccount] 30.12.2010 ayumi hamasaki COUNTDOWN LIVE 2010-2011 A ~ do it again ~ Part 1

Fanaccount from SunshineSlayer @ AHS for today's CDL!


Just got home, thought I would post my thoughts. Sorry if I sound a bit scatter brained cause I'm typing in a hurry.


Random notes:


- She forgot basically all the lyrics to Thank U except La la la. haha.


-The medley sections were pretty short, especially the last one - only about 1/4 of trauma, audience, and fly high were performed, if that. The ballad section was longer with close to half of each song being performed except for Carols. Carols seemed extremely short.


-I liked the Moon accoustic version much better than the studio version.


-The MC was unusually short. She introduced the new dancers and drummer and that was it. I like it that way though.


-Her voice was pretty good. It had its ups and downs though; Last Angel and Evolution for example still don't sound that great, but the rest of the songs were all pretty good and she handled Endless Sorrow pretty well.


More under the cut!


Ok, PROS!

-The stage was AWESOME! Really well done and so nice to see her finally using something completely new. I'm sure this will be used for the next arena tour. There is a cat walk as well although I'm not sure why because I think she only used it once.

-The set list. I loved everything except I could have done without Marionette and either Evolution or Boys and Girls; they are fun but even I am getting to the point where I don't think that both of them need to be done at every single concert. In retrospect though, the setlist was maybe a little short especially since the medley sections weren't really that long. But overall, I really enjoyed the set list.

Cons:

-Ok, I usually don't make a fuss about Ayu's hair...but OMG. Hairwise I thought this was her worst concert ever. It seemed like she kept going from one bad wig to the next. She starts the concert off in the ultra short wig from the Love Songs video only styled a bit differently. I just really don't like that wig on her. The ballad section wig was not bad. But then the wig in Humming 7/4 was.....seriously from a distance she looked like she had a huge wad of white cotton candy on her head. It looked like it was taken off the head of a groupie from the 1980s.......sorry Ayu. Then she actually came out with her natural hair! I thought, "Yay!" But for some reason they decided to dump a bucket of water on her before she came on stage! I guess they wanted her hair to look "street" or something for Dream On; It did not look very good. And then for the encore, she returned to the Love Songs wig again.....so yeah, from start to finish this concert was a complete miss for me hair wise.

That's the only major con I have!

Outfit wise, there really wasn't anything that stood out at super good or super bad. Although her first outfit had a cape attached; it was like Super Ayu. I could have done without that; but honestly I think its the wig that threw the whole off for me mainly.

One final note, the concert ended very strangely. She did Thank U and everyone is happy and lalalaing and the balloons and streamers fell; everyone thought the concert was over, but then Do it Again started and all of a sudden the atmosphere became somber. She didn't perform the whole song, she just repeated the chorus twice as the curtain lowered. It was very....strange. She didn't run around thanking the audience a billion times, or throw out her wristbands, or yell "domo arigatou" micless. The concert just....ended. Really really strange which is why people were like "eh? That's it?" at the end. I'm not quite sure what to make of it.

Credit: SunshineSlayer @ AHS
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[Fanaccount] 02.10.2010 Rock 'n' Roll Circus Tour FINAL ~ 7 Days Special ~ 1st Day Fanaccount

1st day of the Rock 'n' Roll Circus Tour FINAL ~ 7 Days Special ~ Fanaccount by our dearest friend, aura~ at AHS Forum. Thanks so much for sharing!


1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Credit: aura~ @ AHS
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[Fanaccount] 29.08.2010 Non-Ayu Fans' Fanaccounts About Ayu At a-nation 2010!

It's always nice to hear positive responses from non-Ayu fans who attended a-nation 2010 and enjoyed her live performances :)

[Fanaccount] 100830 a-nation Tokyo, Aug 29

(Parts not related to Ayu omitted)

ayu, the queen of avex, was the last to perform. I again heard “Blossom”, and thought that the lyrics perfectly fits the current situation. “Datte bokuraha aruki hajimeta. Sokoni riyuu nante hitsuyou janai. Tadatada daijoubu. Mou daijoubu. Soredakeha tashikani wakatta kara” (T/N: We just started to walk the road, we do not need a reason for it. We are all right, all right now. We just know that we are all right.”

More under the cut!


ayu always parades around the whole stadium on a float for her last song. Wearing a cute Yukata (T/N: Japanese traditional clothes for summer), she held in her hand the orange Uchiwa (T/N: fan) of JJY. She waved the orange Uchiwa throughout her ride, which took about 10 minutes to go around the vast stadium.
I recalled ayu’s performance last year, waving the green Tohoshinki a-nation towel in her hands during her ride on the float.
ayu, the queen of avex supports our boys… oh, I was in tears here.

[Fanaccount] 100829 A-nation'10 In Tokyo - Account From English-speaking Fan

ayu - as suspected, she got the longest set of all being one hour long and even though it was my first time seeing her live, it was like being at TD when i watched some of her dome performances back in the day ♥ she's adorable and we all know she's j-pop's diva but her charm overrides that factor when it comes to the fans. she sang a couple of oldies like boys & girls, greatful days, a song about xx AND evolution (WHERE SHE WAVES JYJ'S UCHIWA AGAIN ♥♥). other songs were great too (don't remember the title) but she did preview her new song, crossroads, which will be released next month and i'm thinking of purchasing it :')

Credits: smiley @ OneTVXQ.com { One World. One Red Ocean. One TVXQ! } + ssunsett @ tohosomnia.net
Original sources: itou-channo hamatterumono! + [lveaddkt.livejournal.com]
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[Fanaccount] 27.08.2010「A3D ayumi hamasaki ARENA TOUR 2009 A ～NEXT LEVEL～」Full Fanaccount

This is a fanaccount from an Ayu's fan who went to watch the 3D concert just today.

So if you don't want to get spoiled, better not read the whole thing.. ^^

The full fanaccount is under the cut!

"A 3D" Report

Included Setlist:

01. Pieces of SEVEN
02. Rule
03. Sunrise～LOVE is ALL～
04. identity
05. In The Corner
06. HOPE or PAIN
07. GREEN
08. evolution
09. SIGNAL
10. rollin'
11. Sparkle
12. NEXT LEVEL
13. Humming 7/4
14. Boys & Girls
15. MY ALL
~~"Arigatou Gozaimashita!"

*Also, this live is NOT the same as the DVD. The footage is (assumingly) taken from the last stops at Yoyogi stadium during June, not October. And whenever I say "normal" or something, keep in mind Ayu and the audience, as well as her dancers and band are pretty much always in 3D. I'm just referring to added in effects that appear on the screen.

The movie started out with a star that flew around the screen with "pixie dust" around it while it revealed the the "A 3D" title.

Pieces of SEVEN came on and at that point, the 3D effect really hits you. The live audience looks like they're right in front of you. Then the camera switches in between the audience, the band, the screen and the green laser lights. The camera angles from now on are completely different than the DVD. We get a much closer look at everything.

For Rule we actually go onto the center stage. We're right in the action with Ayu and her dancers. It's really, really cool how close we are to them! Towards the end of the performance, the dragon from the screen appears 3D and goes in between the screen at the concert and the 3D movie screen. (For example, when the head is out of shot on the concert screen, it appears on the 3D movie screen.) Also, it has "blasts" of dragon scales at points.

Next it cut to Sunrise 〜LOVE is ALL〜 to my surprise. There was nothing really added to this, aside from the fact that Ayu and her dancers were 3D and alternative angles.

The same goes for identity. As the live is different footage, it adds to the experience though. It's not like re-watching the DVD or anything like that. Ayu and Shuya were in 3D and we got to see it really close.

When In The Corner started it was really neat how the did it. Ayu kind of rose from the floor "in front of us" haha. So, it was an unexpected entrance, as she sort of appeared from below the screen. This was still when Ayu was only using the light sticks as opposed to the balls for the DVD version. The lights looked really cool in 3D! They had a sort of glowing, soft effects on them. But aside from that there weren't any other additions.

HOPE or PAIN was next. 3D snow started falling first. Ayu looked great in this, but I think it was still using the first costume (before it changed)--but I'm not positive about that...

For GREEN the part when the dancers appear surrounded by the green, silk like fabric on the center stage was really pretty. There were a lot of dimensions in this. We saw Maro really close, and Ayu was far away, so it was a cool way of seeing it.

Both evolution and SIGNAL were pretty average. Of course it sounded great and I still love the costume for these two performances, but again, no additions really.

From rollin' onward is where it got really interesting. The added effects were amazing. (And also, there were no mistakes in these performances like the DVD--I was looking forward to those, but alas, they weren't there haha.) There were various computer-like effects and sound waves appearing in 3D. Also, the earth/globe appeared in 3D as well.

Sparkle also had great effects. More computer-like images and sound waves, but just more intense. There were also like plasma/virus balls throughout the whole performance. During the "No No No" parts, the words appeared in 3D as well, kind of bouncing in and out.

For NEXT LEVEL it was pretty normal--but it was still really pretty. The confetti at the end was cool because it kind of flew by haha. The smoke was 3D at times too, if I remember correctly.

After this, the star from the beginning appeared on a black screen and it had the dancers and band members names appear--kind of like credits.

Then we could hear cheering again and a dim "Ayu a-a-a-ayu..." which quickly turned into Humming 7/4. For all the encore songs, which included Boys & Girls and MY ALL they were normal. Just different angles and the performance was of course different. But seeing Ayu cry so close was touching. (2-YAN was even crying!)

After this the screen went to full credits with the instrumental of Who... in the background. In the background it was various behind the scenes pictures of Ayu and the text was in 3D.

Then once again it returned to the concert for Ayu's last message to her fans. She yelled out "Arigatou Gozaimashita!" and the concert, as well as the movie, ended.



So all in all the 3D movie was really great and it was nice to re-watch the NXT LEVEL Tour in that manner.

Personally I thought there would be more added in effects. (I liked the added in effects, but maybe there are some people who don't...) The movie theater audience was really mellow as well. Even though tons of people brought their NEXT LEVEL lights with them, including myself, no one used them haha. The theater also wasn't very crowded. But I went during a time when a lot of people would still be working, so that could explain it.


But that ends my report. If there are any specific questions don't be afraid to ask. And if my report isn't in depth, sorry.

Thanks for reading! It was 1,900 Yen well spent!

Credit: tokyoxjapanxfan @ AHS
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[Fanaccount] Ayumi Hamasaki ARENA TOUR 2010 ~ Rock 'n' Roll Circus ~ Saitama Super Arena 11.04.2010 Part 5

Another fanaccount posted by SKYia @ AHS

Check it out!>It's very interesting reading people's reviews of this tour!

----------------

I was more than positive about the concert, wanted to write a review, too tired though, all I can say is that it was awesome, the Ballad was incredible, I cried so hard when Midori was stabbing herself, Shuya drank the poison and Ayu was crying in Maro's arms. EPIC WIN. Also there was this video before BALLAD, Maro, Shuya, Ayu and Midori, all in white standing on some white background, and one second later the same scene but with Midori having a blood stain on her chest.

I loved Because of You, it was so powerful, like the most powerful song in the evening. I had very bad sits if you consider seeing Ayu, I though as if watching the movie in a cinema, but watching all the people cheering and waving was incredible too.


For some strange reasons I loved Count Down, it doesn't seem like an interesting ballad but for some reason remembered it well.

I cried during Memorial Address, I remember the performance from AT2003-2004 where her voice broke down so I was crious if similar thing will happen this time. I did not happen in the same moment, but when it finally did I burst in tears, love the lyrics so much.

Definitely BALLAD is an epic win of this tour.

I also loved the lights and videos.

Epic fail for Peco and Princess and Gomi singing sth (actually Gomi was just dancing with them), everyone in my row seemed to be like wtf. If you aren't Peco fan you'll suffer during this song soo much

Ayu forgot lyrics in Evolution (afair), and Zin made a mistake while teaching us the dance for Red Line, haha.

My friend asked me if I liked this tour so much because I was part of it... NO. It was really one of the best and well-thought tours. With no crazy stuff like ratated wheel or too much flying dancers but still well thought. Buying DVD, definitely, I just hope Ayu will maintain her today's voice till the last day.

The only strange thing about this concert was that it had ballad section before cute section and then somehow it felt like it ended too early.

Credit: SKYia @ AHS
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[Fanaccount] Ayumi Hamasaki ARENA TOUR 2010 ~ Rock 'n' Roll Circus ~ Saitama Super Arena 11.04.2010 Part 4

More Fanaccount from MissElin_ @ AHS

Here we go!

---------------

Yo! I'm back from a great day two of this tour.

This day was actually better then yesterday. (How the hell..?) The first and best thing of all today was when she nailed BoY. Yesterday she struggles some with the song and kept adjusting her left ear but today there where nothing like that. You guys know the very last word that she screams out and it ends in a multiply eco? Yesterday it was just a very short vibrato thingy but today, maaaan it was a really good tone there. I got goosebumps all over me, she really really nailed BoY today.

Diffrences from yesterday was that Ayu changed hairstyle for the Dlb, INSPIRE and BoY. Yesterday (like the pictures) she had her hair up but today she had the bang and long straight hair in a ponytail just like in evolution in AT09. Also, yesterday when Midori stabbed herself with the night it started to bleed on her dress, today there where no blood. But Shuya did a great job throwing up the blue posion all over the stage to make up for it so I didnt mind. Lol. Also, her vocals was much better this time. All songs improved expect from BALLAD. She actually did a better job on that one yesterday. A thing I enjoyed tonight what that in her long tones where she often uses her vibrato like crazy she didnt do it this time. Not eveytime. She actually kept a straight clean tone all the way though those long times. Coolio and thumbs up for that!

More under the cut!!

What more? Well yes it was adoreble when Zin came in with the monkey around his arm, calling it his father. Ayu took it from Zin during the dance teaching and moved the monkey like he danced too. Then she spoke for the monkey like he was awesome while Zin wasn't...

It still amazes me how good this tour is. I mean, this one is extreeeemly good! I'm so happy to go again in Yokohama! I really can't get enough of this. And I still think BALLAD is my favourite part of the whole thing. Oh but I like THE introduction too. Its just sooo powerful with the music (you know how it goes) and they slowly rises the heavy red curtain... ooooh, it's so epic... I got great chills from that both times! Btw, I'm so in love with Jump! It's one of her best interludes ever imo! In that part the dancers kind of do this dance where they fight against each other. Looks really intence.

Well I shall stop now, it's gonna be way to long othervice. Lol. I will probably write more after the Yokohama concert(s).

Credit: MissElin_ @ AHS
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[Fanaccount] Ayumi Hamasaki ARENA TOUR 2010 ~ Rock 'n' Roll Circus ~ Saitama Super Arena 10.04.2010 Part 3

Here with have another review from SunshineSlayer of AHS. It's short but yet it's still interesting to read :)

-------

Ok, here is my review. I won't go into huge details since others have already done so.

-She didn't have a bad outfit - I liked everything; nothing that made me go 'wtf'

-The Introduction was super looong. I looked at my watch and the show started at 6:45 but Ayu didn't come onstage until 7:00.

-I was so glad she performed alterna - from that moment on, the concert could do no wrong for me.

-Was really surprised to Rainy Day and Memorial Address. Especially Memorial Address I didn't think I would ever hear live - so at that point in the concert I teared up a bit but I didn't feel anything for Ballad (since its basically like watching a soap opera or something^_^) even though it seems all the other girls did, haha.

-Ballad is my least favorite song on the album, but the performance at least kept me interested. A lot of over the top acting and Shuya spits out blue blood.

-There is some recycling; the performances of About You, Because of You, and Inspire are basically the same as the CDL. But I didn't see the CDL so I didn't mind. The split leg pants also make another appearance, but this time it really kind of fit with the Arabian theme of that section.

- There was hardly any Shuya and Ayu in this concert! Yay! Her dancers were still extremely prominant of course, but there was no one dancer that Ayu spends a ton of time with.

-Vocal wise I thought About You sounded about the same as the CDL and Because of You and Inspire were slightly better than CDL. Overall I thought her vocals ranged from alright to good most of the night - there was nothing that was really bad, but nothing that was really great either. Best of all though, there was nearly no lipsynching - even Sexy Little Things and Step You sounded at the very least half live which was surprising especially for Sexy Little Things! This was probably one of my least favorite Step You performances though because she doesn't really move at all for like half the song - just sitting in a cup.

-There was no major like set piece of the concert, but the overall show was very well put together. If you don't like clowns though you will probably hate this concert - they are all over the place. The show was like a more classy/freaky version of the A-Museum stage. The screen videos are probably the best she has had I think at least in terms of setting a mood.

Overall, I really thought this concert was her best since Miss Understood and overall enjoyment wise might be up there with My Story for me; but it didn't really have anything innovative like My Story did so I'm not sure if I'd rank this over My Story just yet.

Sorry for the not so detailed review, but my brain is still kind of turned off right now.

Credit: SunshineSlayer @ AHS
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[Fanaccount] Ayumi Hamasaki ARENA TOUR 2010 ~ Rock 'n' Roll Circus ~ Saitama Super Arena 10.04.2010 Part 2

This fanccount coming from our dear friend, Misa-chan @ AHS who has given us her live update when the concert was still going on, A very big thanks to her!

Here we go~~

Ayumi Hamasaki ARENA TOUR 2010 ~ Rock 'n' Roll Circus ~ Saitama Super Arena 10.04.2010

Stage Design

Guess I'll start by describing the stage. It's mostly Circus/Las Vegas themed this time, with lots of bright colourful lights and stage doors and stuff.

Gives the same sort of feeling as this photo for me... The stage is nothing special this time, just the traditional front stage plus runway to the round centrestage, where there's a poker chip design.

The bigscreens are the amazing thing this time though. There's the 2 usual livefeeds ones off at the ends, the main one behind the stage is divided into 5 big portions, and there's this special 360deg circular screen right above the round centrestage. That one can be lowered all the way, so that when the centrestage is raised, ayu looks like she's standing on top of the circular screen. Not sure if I explained this well enough lol...

Yep, on to the show, I guess.

More under the cut!!


Introduction

Before the first song began, there was quite a long introductory skit played by 3 dancer clowns. If you guys look closely at the photos of the stage, you can see this little suitcase right in the middle in front of the red curtain. One clown ran out first, and carried the suitcase onto the runway and opened it. The other 2 clowns jumped out of the suitcase (there's a chute at that position probably), but I thought it was an awesome trick. To cut a long skit short, they performed quite a few acrobatic stunts, and the 2 clowns jumped back into the suitcase and the first one brought it backstage.

After that, THE introduction began. Nothing much, dancers in silver costumes and lots of lights/lasers effects. The 5 portions of the big screen showed different parts of ayu's face, which then joined together to form her full face.

Microphone

Was sort of similar to the MS performance. ayu was sitting on a chair on the round centrestage, and the dancers were dancing around her. Her costume had that big black skirt similar to Microphone PV, but the top was studded with jewels so it was really shiny.

But what really impressed me were the screens. The main screen was showing this really beautiful Rock'n'Roll Circus animation (I can't describe it any other way, it was really both rock and circus at the same time lol), and the circular screen was scrolling the album title in beautiful animation too. Her voice was great, almost DVD-like quality, for me at least.

alterna

Not much movement, just ayu standing and singing. The dancers were doing stunts in the background on bungee-jumprope things.

About You

Similar to alterna, just enjoying her vocals. She sounds so much better than she did during CDL (which wasn't very bad itself imo), I'm glad to say. The song ended with tissue dance (surprised?), but it was a rock, more passionate version, and it fitted surprisingly well here.

Screen Movie

There was a screen movie here, showing ayu in that white Victorian dress with long hair. For the following ballad section there were 4 main characters, ayu, Shu-ya, Maro and Midoring. The screen movie basically showed ayu holding a photo of the 4 of them, all wearing white. The photo then burned up etc etc, and it ended showing Midoring's dress stained red and Shu-ya's shirt stained blue.

rainy day

ayu came out in the white dress, dancers were in trench coats with umbrellas. Her vocals were still holding out well, though I felt they turned the mic a tad too loud, so when she hits the high notes it was a little painful on the ears. But maybe that's just me.

BALLAD

Definitely the highlight of the entire concert for me. At the beginning, the screens showed the 4 characters mentioned above again, and they faded into black silhouettes, and all 4 of them were crying.

Everyone left the stage save for the 4, and while the song went on they acted out this love story. Shu-ya and Midoring are lovers, but ayu likes Shu-ya, and Maro likes ayu. It was just the basic sad ballad "I love you but you don't love me back" thing until the bridge. Midoring's dress was suddenly stained red (blood it was I think) and she died in Shu-ya's arms. Shu-ya himself drank poison (the blue stain came from this) and died too. All this while, ayu was running to them and REALLY crying so hard. Maro kept trying to comfort her, but she kept ditching him off. She couldn't sing the last choruses well because she was just crying so hard, and I was crying too (so was everyone around me actually lol). Lol, ok this sounds super cheesy and cliche when I type it out like this, but trust me, it was anything but.

Interlude

The dancers doing a taiko performance, something like CDL's, but cooler somehow...

count down

I haven't heard this before, but it sounded awesome here live. It was really emotional and rockish. ayu had on a leather corset kinda top, and her skirt was the big fluffy kind, half of which was the red Mem Add dress, the other half was leather. Sort of like a fusion dress.

Memorial address

Everyong cheered when this came on lol!! Great vocals, and she didn't cry this time.

Screen Movie

Another interlude, arabic-sounding, with screen movie. Remember those photos of her in TA diary in that little silver dress? The screens were showing a pixellated version of her in those different poses. Then a quick flash of her in that black lace arabic get-up, then it's dancers dancing for the rest of the screen movie. They're really really great at arabian dance, I must say.

Don't look back

A purple costume, sort of like Aladdin's Jasmine? With that kinda top and billowy pants, but without the tummy-baring (sadly lol!!) A light purple sari was attached to her back and hands like a cloak, sorta like the white things she had on during CDL's momentum?
Throughout the song, the screens were showing a panning of what looked like a palace room. At the end of the song, a black silouette came and pushed the room away (like it was a set), to reveal a desert scene. This songs sounds much much better live than the studio version.

INSPIRE

Same choreography as CDL, screens were showing scenes of a desert.

Because of You

Her vocals were alright here actually, but she seemed to be having lots of trouble. She was frowning and pressing on her left ear the entire time she was singing, it was painful to watch her. But it was also relieving, because she still managed to pull the performance off quite well. The sari was taken off before this song started.

Interlude

This one was actually a song sang by Peco and Princess, about a cabaret, and was actually really really good! Go-Mi was also there and dancing with them, he was dressed up like a circus ringmaster/casino owner/some bigshot lol. The screens were showing something like this:



Sexy little things

This was really interesting, because there was ayu and another dancer dressed in the exact same bunny costume. ayu was white, the dancer was pink, but in the beginning, it was really hard to tell which one was ayu lol!!

STEP you

There were 3 giant champagne glasses on stage and ayu was sitting in one of them:



It was quite entertaining with the casino theme, and there were props like giant poker chips and stuff.

Jump!

I don't remember much of this interlude, I guess we'll wait for another reviewer to touch on this. All I remember was this clown dressed up like a punk, with a bike handle around his neck. He was there on the big screen all the way till the concert ended, fitting his movements and actions to all the songs which came up. It was really brilliant, and so fitting of both Rock'n'Roll and Circus.

Lady Dynamite

All the dancers were dressed in UK-like outfits (red, blue, white) while ayu was like a biker punk (leather jacket, red miniskirt, boots etc).

For this they brought a special movable screen onstage, that kind when a person goes behind it, a silouhette appears on the screen showing the person's movements behind? There was a trick here, ayu went behind the screen (which was at the main stage), which showed her silohuette, and suddenly, they turned the screen around and ayu wasn't there, and she appeared at the round centrestage instead.

Same as Dlb, this song sounds much much better live.

until that Day...

was similar to what she did for her previous performances of the same song. There were lots of circus-y props on stage too (rings and animal stands and stuff)

SURREAL~evolution~SURREAL

Finally the audience had something else to do aside from waving our uchiwas and lightsticks lol!! There were 2 props, a moon and a sun, hanging down at each end of the stage, but nothing happens aside from them being there.

A pure ayu and band performance, while the dancers went backstage to change into all the costumes used in the concert so far. During the finale curtain call, they all came out in these costumes to say "thank you". The show ended with the initial red curtain coming down, just like at the end of a circus performance.

ENCORE

Last Links

I haven't actually heard the studio version before, and this live unfortunately didn't really leave an impression on me. I alreayd forgot what it sounds like lol. Her vocals were ok, but she did sound a little breathless.

She was wearing a torn version of the white tour tee, with denim shorts, white boots, torn net stockings and that big ribbon in her hair.

Talk

Main things, Zin and Subaru were emcees, they taught the RED LINE dance again, and talked about London and it being the first day today. Yo-chan came out to talk for awhile too, and he was really really funny, I miss him being emcee. No games/questions this time.

Sunrise/Boys&Girls/RED LINE

Sadly, just watch CDL, and you'll get what this part was like. It was sort of an exact replica. Even RED LINE was the original version, there was no a cappella or anything. Only comfort, slightly better vocals.

Overall

Her costumes were really innovative, fresh and new, and fitting to each part of the concert. Her voice was awesome, especially during the main concert, you could really tell that she did work on improving her voice. The dancers improved too, and did so many amazing stunts and acrobatics that gave the concert a circus feel. What really impressed me were the screen animations. I know I've said this before, but they were really really awesome and creative and so good. I can't really describe this lol, guess you have to see it for yourselves. It comes really close to toppling 10th anniversary and m(u) tours (my personal favs), and its definitely on par with (if not better than) those epic concerts. I won't mind watching this live another 2 or 3 times.

Photos of Saitama Super Arena + Goods + Ayu's Cosplayers



Tour Goods



Cosplayers



Credit: Misa-chan @ AHS
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[Fanaccount] Ayumi Hamasaki ARENA TOUR 2010 ~ Rock 'n' Roll Circus ~ Saitama Super Arena 10.04.2010 Part 1

Thought that I would like to share this review from a fan who went to the first day of the ARENA TOUR 2010~

and what's so awesome? the very last paragraph!
Namie Amuro, The Queen of Hip Pop was there tonight!

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Got just back. I, like Misa, have no energy or what so ever to write a long review but I can do a shorty. Don't mind my english, I have noooo energy at all to look up spellings or grammar. I'm waaay too tired! Maybe you can survive anyhow.

First, like Misa said, the screens are amazing! They move around in the background making these really cool effects. They often used the screens as a live theatre. Like when Ayu or her dancers went into the screen (really backstage and change cothes, but it looked like they went into the screens instead). I also loved the round circle screen they had over the middle stage cuz sometimes they lowerd it down and such.

rainy day and BALLAD where soooooo amazing!!! The effects with the screens and the plot for the songs that made them float into one piece. Simply lovely. I think most of us cried... Seriously, if you don't cry in at least BALLAD then I donät know what.

I were'nt mad at ANY costume. They where all brilliant! Simplt brilliant. Both the custesy dress and the ballad dress where soooo nice. The cutesy bunny dress was cute, yet sexy and kind of edgy in a way. The ballad outfit with hairstyle was simplt gorgeous!!

I'm sooo glad that she didnt use her usual song pattern this time and actually put in the ballads in the beginning. Brilliant I must say. Smartest move ever. Maybe this is all I got for now. THere is soooo much to say about this consert really. It's really new and it rocks from the beginning til the end.

I really understand why Ayu said that this is her best consert so far. It's sooo amazing really! I'm happy to go back tomorrow already. Lucky, lucky lucky me.

(Btw, I was seated right next to the VIP section. I SAT ONLY TWO METERS FROM NAMIE AMURO!!! Total awesomeness!)

Credit: MissElin_ @ AHS
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[Fanaccount+Photo] Meeting At Ayu At London

More fanaccount and pictures of AHS member, mcken200

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hey guys time for me to post my encounter with ayu on the 29th,
i got there about 8pm its was sooooo cold whilist we were waiting. i eventually went off to mcdonalds to warm up with guy called kwon. Ianieee you crazy boy i cant believe you werent cold !

I want to thank the people on the forum and those who were there on the night for their info and company. I would never have had this chance if it werent for u.
i can finally die a happy guy now... oh wait no not until i see ayu in concert!

anyways here some of my pics.

Credit: mcken200 @ AHS
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