^True but each forum has its rules and one of those is to stay on topic, this thread is to discuss the tour and not our private life or incomes lol

So about the show, I wish we could get some pictures of all the outfits, I only have seen two (?) so far, the one with the gold top and blue/red skirt and the other one was a tight top, pants and a sweater tied around her waist (I think) but I'm not even sure if that one was a pic of the show or rehearsal :laugh

I believe some live photographers will take pictures of her outfits and sell the prints soon?

I wish those who want to talk about drama make their own thread because it's hard to find info about the tour, you can vent there as much as you want.

I really hope the caps won't be sold out every single time, I'm hoping for them to appear at yesasia but if they don't I guess I'll ask a friend from Kyoto area to try and get me some.

I do't mind the list but I don't feel it yet. I always look for some unique songs (like Ever free) or some never sung ones or remixed, rearrangements etc. Still glad to hear it is uplifting though.

I wonder if it's a lot harder to sneak a camera in during a hall tour? We usually have concert photos by now, right?

In Kobe there were only two bodyguards and there weren't particularily looking for cameras but I was so close to Ayu (row 7) that she would personally scold me if I tried to take a pic xD

Wasn't there a tour where it was fine to take photo, they even made a thing about it, encouraging audience members to do so..? If so, why not now? If audience gets to take pictures -> they share it -> other see it/share it -> best case, more tickets sold

The "no foto at concert" is a typical japanese thing. there were like 2 tours were it was allowed to take photos, think it was Made in Japan and first Chapter of JTB

Think it was also allowed during parts of other JTB chapters. At least I do remember seeing many hall photos and even some videos (although those probably still weren't allowed) too.

Well, not a tour but for CDL16-17 it was allowed during the whole show, iirc.

Yes, it was made in Japan for sure and I think parts of JTB 1, during Zin's MC bit for sure. It was actually kind of annoying to see everyone on their phone in the recording, tbh, at least for me. Yes, it seems like a typical Japanese request. They did not allow any photo or video when I saw Ken Hirai in New York either.

Perhaps for chapter two of JTB but definitely not for Chapter 3. When I saw her two days in Okinawa, on the first day I took a photo of the stage before anything was even happening, with the curtain down, and the guard told me I wasn't allowed to. The guard actually threatened to take away the person sitting in front of me phone because they refused to stop taking photos. And that was before Miccie came out, before everyone even finished entering the hall.

Probably hall tour size is smaller than arena tour and it is harder to take pictures.

And those photographers may not make money anymore because everyone has a decent phone with a decent camera (This is the general reason why printing photo is out..)

It's a bit of a shame, I usually take a camera in and take one or two photos for my own sake. I understand the rules though, I guess it depends on where you sit. If I was on the first floor I wouldn't want Ayu to see me do it and think I'm being naughty. :laugh

She should do things like FLOWER in MADE IN JAPAN TOUR. Allow people to take pictures and videos in one song and post on social media.

That is kind of like... free marketing?

Completely agree! And for me personally it gives a nice image saying "feel free to take photos, yaay" but I mean because of all the hate Ayu had to block comments or something on Instagram, right? And give her twitter to her staff? So in that way I get it... :(

Yes but someone could also post a clip where perhaps she isn't hitting a note quite well enough and then next thing you know it's all over social media that Ayu can't sing and her show is terrible.

Honestly, no phones at the shows is far more enjoyable. People should just enjoy the moment and let themselves get carried away without worrying about taking a hundred photos that they'll barely ever look at anyway.

Now that I remember, during first chapter of JTB people could take pictures and there were a lot of pictures with really bad angles that made her look bigger and the media started to post many articles about her "obesity" and people mocked her (remember some really bad shots with the golden outfit and she received a lot of shit because of it) so maybe it is smarter to have only profesional shots, they can decide which one to post :think

Double edged sword, it seems.

In my home country I'd always take pics or record, but it wasn't until Japan when I appreciated not having that distraction. I'd be so focused on the pictures that I didn't have my full attention on what was happening. In fact, I remember the concerts that I didn't take pictures at way better than the ones where I had taken them.

But remember that Ayu was a pioneer in Japan for allowing people to take pictures and record films. This even made highlights on how things could change and become more open to taking pictures in concerts. I really don't like when people next to me are on their phones. During the PoM this year, the girl near me (foreigner) was recording the whole opening act of the tour and it was annoying trying to focus on the real show when there's someone with the phone right by your side.

Or she could ask her fans to turn on the phone flashlights and wave their phone during the concerts. That creates another scenes.

That is called interaction with fans.

When someone does that next to me, I don't mind, but before me is just bleh. Can't see anything, because your hands and phone are in my sight!!!:eviltongu:eviltongu:eviltongu

Haven't attended an Ayu-concert, but with Lana and Britney Spears this year - I went with my best friend. To be honest, we are having cocktails beforehand - so we are a bit tipsy during the whole night (except when one of us is driving) but anyway - we don't give a shit when our hand just slaps a phone away. It has happened. Sometimes it's cool, like everyone using flashlight during 1+1 from Beyonce. But just filming? An entire act?! Come on now.

Why use your phone flashlight when you have spent 2,500Y on a lightstick which has the exact same purpose but is way prettier? :laugh

^ I agree :)

See.. I said that was not a lightstick only. It doesn't have wifi, and needs to have battery. It has other way to use it.

^kotora needs their own thread on comparing lightsticks to various other... household items :laugh

I find the lightstick is more to shake along with the music. I forgot mine once at a second concert and I felt so awkward not having anything to shake in the air. I tried to use my fists but it's really not the same thing. And pointing makes you look stupid too. So it's better to conform and shake your lightstick like everyone else.

I actually think everyone else looks stupid lethargically waving their lightstick with a blank stare on their face. Lol. I’m basically doing cartwheels in my seat and conducting an orchestra with my glow sticks. Haha.

She actually wasn't. You can take pictures at X JAPAN shows since quite some time now and no one minds. On the contrary, when it's X, people take pictures and videos all the time.

I hate people waving their phones and constantly taking pictures and videos, especially when, at least in ayu's case, they are gonna be getting a DVD/BD release.

If you hate people waving their phones, people waving their selfiesticks are antichrists for you.

I agree. It's annoying. I really enjoyed that people weren't allowed to take pictures at concerts in Japan and I was kinda annoyed at the X concert because of it. lol

Using a selfie stick would be very very disrespectful indeed. But I saw even worst last week when I went to see a concert last week, someone in front of me was doing facetime during the concert :rolleyes

That brings the selfie into the next level, worse than antichrist level.

The worst is people with super huge tablets taking pictures lol

My favorite kinds of tourists xD

Now the thread is all about taking pictures of the devices...

I am sorry.

ANYWAY, ANY PICTURES OF THE TOUR? WE saw two dresses. One is XOXO, and another one is on ayu IG.

Well with the small amount of info and material we have about the tour we need to be creative.

She has a show tonight in Wakayama, is anyone here attending?

The Wakayama video on TA is of XOXO again.

Is she doing the same selfie-thing..?


Still about the lightsticks, when I look at the live DVD and I see people in audience without them I wonder why since to me it is an important part of the experience :D Of course people can do how they wish, but using a selfie stick or recording whole show is just rude... :/

^ yeah so if you've seen the first video that was posted on Insta then you've seen them all lol not missing anything.

Some tour photos.:luv2

Her body is amazing <3

So, yes, you need a t-shirt to have a chance to be invited to the stage. Damn, I didn't wanted to buy this t-shirt lol

So she really wears GUCCI and BALANCIAGA on stage? :D

Did Wakayama and Shiga have the same setlist?
(not up to date, was in hospital the last week^^)

But if she does the same thing to same song then what's the point? :rolleyes

I'm not sure how I feel about fans on stage... the seem to be overwhelmed, crying, uncomfortable as would I be if I'd be put on stage with Ayu. I've only seen a few of these moments so I can't give a definite opinion but to me it feels unnecessary and stops the flow of the show.

If she is more focus on performance than crazy dresses, I am fine with that. Just curious what she wears in this tour.

I am happy with this tour over all, so far.

She's been saying a while now that she wants to put on a show so her dresses are a big part of that and she's very into fashion. I usually love or hate her outfits but seldom are they boring to me so that's nice :D

Not everyone who got invited to the stage on the 2nd day of the tour, which I attended, had this years tour shirt on. But I think they all did have some sort of tour merch on, from previous years, etc.

There's no info anywhere what you need to do to get on stage? I thought it was all about where you're sitting/your tickets..?

I don´t think western looking fans have a chance for stage invite anyways.
All the instructions will be sure only given in japanese, so they will choose japanese fans

Yeah, I guess fans that attend the show will see it and be excited like, "this was at the same show I was at!" I understand that these clips are actually part of the song performance, but having variety would be nice. So far 4 videos, all at the exact same part of the song.

Not only would it be nice if we got other songs, but some backstage footage as well. I hope so because imagine 39 clips of the same thing? x-x

I hope everything is ok!

Yup it was planned. But I am so glad to be home again

Unless Timmy does the picking. Then it shouldn't be an issue.

I remember nice times when we got preview of stage outfits from yahoo auction lots with unofficial photos. People stoped to sell the online?

^I brought this up earlier, how I think maybe a much small venue makes it a lot harder to sneak in a good quality camera. Usually we have unofficial photos on day 2 or 3 at the latest.

I'm totally sneaking in my small camera, the bonus of being overweight and well endowed is I have a great place to stash it before I go in. :laugh

I didn't buy it and went through four shows without any simply because I don't like the Sailor Moon stick ones, if it was the plain stick I'd buy it. I'm actually angry there hasn't been any normal one for the past three tours as I miss them in my collection :(

I'm sorry, what exactly do you mean by Sailor Moon stick and plain stick? Can you show by pictures?

Yeah same in Wayakama as I attended.

Also first 2 rows can get this Ayu 100 mil cash when it is thrown in first song.
https://i.imgur.com/XYLBpygl.jpg

Streamers
https://i.imgur.com/iWKQWYoh.jpg

Timmy doesn’t do the picking, it’s her dancers. Zin is in charge of picking one of the males.

My friend also said foreigners probably would never get picked because it’s not a good strategy for them I guess.

The thing that just fkn drives me crazy is the guys always have a chance to dance with ayu and they are so stiff, embarrassed, they don’t give her anything.

This time ayu literally gets on top of them as they lay on the ground, she’s straddling one of the males, and whips her hair/head around. I would fkn melt lol. But can you imagine being the other male who just gets stuck with the dancers doing it?? What a fkn letdown lol.

But at one point when they were standing up to one of the males that were picked ayu is like running her hand down his body and when she gets down to his crotch she looked at the audience and said “oh baby” Lolol.

This all sounds way too aggressive for me, I'd have an anxiety attack, no joke!
I might be too sensitive here but this just doesn't seem okay to me, I mean do they know what they're getting into by going to the stage? And if Ayu or anyone suddenly jumps on you and goes down to your croch I can understand it being very difficult to say no or push her away. But if my idol would want me on stage and then pull that without my permission/knowing I'd be furious. I'd like to hear everybody else's opinions, what do you think?

They know what they will happen on stage. They went backstage for awhile after being chosen. The chosen girls come out first then the chosen guys.

Ayu touch anywhere of me is an honour and privilege. U are too sensitive.

If they knew then that's fine, no problem. I'm talking about a situation where one is unable to refuse but that's not the case here which is good :)

But not everybody wants to be touch by Ayu, Prince Henry, Brad Pitt or whoever. So if you are implying that me saying no to Ayu touching me would make me "too sensitive" you are absolutely wrong but hopefully I am misunderstanding you but let's just leave the subject here.

I see. Everyone has their personal comfort line. Suddenly touching will get a shock first. Then when u see the face of the toucher wahoo. maybe u can take it haha.

@Sandy
I don't think you're too sensitive.
People are different and not everybody likes being touched.

And I don't get why choosing a foreigner would be bad.
For Kuu they do choose foreigners as well, I know two who had that luck.

And Idk, but Ayu seems to turn slowly into Kuu performance-wise, haha.
Don't slap me, but all those things she's doing now (tissue dancing herself, choosing fans on stage, more upbeat and energy driven performances, and even the dollar notes), are done by her as well.
Kuu didn't invent any of those, but doing that in combination is part of her trademark, so I just noticed.

Lmao I love the bill number is A19980408

You wouldn't happen to be nice enough to send one of those to a little Polish person xD (I can echange for Just the beginning one or Power of Music 20th anniversary if you don't have those :) ) ?

PS. I'm also looking for AT 2010 Rock 'n' Roll Circus streamer as it's my first Ayu concert and the only one where I didn't catch it (second balcony, lol, I could hardly see the stage xD)

yeah does anyone sell these streamer in this forum?

Yeah, I'm not a fan of these sorts of routines at concerts. I find it a little cringey. It is fun to have some sort of fan interaction but I hope it doesn't become a mainstay of her concerts.

It also seems to be in co-relation with a shrinking fan base and smaller budgets sadly. I was actually hoping she would do something with the stage (along the lines of what Ku was doing jusy before her prime, I remember the first best things tour was also done in halls, but the stage was great), but this just seems to be a TA tour with an album title. I also wonder if the set list will change overtime as there’s a lot of dates.

Pretty sure I have extra RnRC streamers I can send but I won't be home to check for a couple of days...shoot me a PM :)

Someone told me Timmy picked the same guy twice for two different dates, which makes me think there’s a possibility of favoritism happening... at least for the boys being chosen at certain dates. I know Timmy invites a lot of his male friends.

Similarly when they chose a famous boxer instead of a “normal” fan.

Well, Kuu always did those things, no matter if hall or arena or even dome (the dollar notes e.g. she used at Fantasia in a dome in 2010, or tissue dancing she does at all venues). Most of her stage set ups in recent years in halls were also pretty nice (all those moving screens this year are cool and probably really expensive). Her tranisiton is probably not so much of a problem tho, cause 1. her tours in bigger venues probably never had that big of a budget (in comparison to Ayu e.g) to begij with and 2. she never stopped doing smaller venues even at her peak cause she prefers those personally.
But with Ayu it seems to be. Though it also might just be in relation to her deafness getting worse and the amount of tours.
I somehow get the feeling she's more about enjoying being on stage and having fun with her fans than putting on a show. The show just comes second. Which may also be why she's touring so damn often nowadays.
Though she could vary the stuff a bit at least.
Anyway the most important thing is she and the fans going are enjoying the lives.
I'd just like to hear from her what she's thinking, but maybe that's too painful for her at the moment?
Argh, I hate that we don't know things for certain.
But it is as it is.

Yeah, she's doing these live-streaming-things, selfie video on stage, taking fans up during concerts so she does want to interact with her fans. But I'd like something deeper, a real discussion, not something that's part of a show. I do worry about her and I do believe that if her hearing wouldn't be where it is right now we would not be seeing all this touring. It'd be nice to hear from her, though, since all we can do is speculate and wonder. Oh, and I totally get those Kuu vibes from her current tour as well :cool

More photos.:)

How many outfit changes are there overall?

or someone Timmy already had benefit with.

There’s no need to get gross about it, ugh.

I just reaaaallllyyyy want to know what she is wearing, but I only see the Gucci jackets and that dress from XOXO.

That comment was light compared to everything Timmy does on stage.

^It really wasn't. People act like he's some corrupt deviant poisoning the whole ensemble. Ayu does sexual dances and dresses provocatively more than Timmy does, have people not watched the 1LOVE performance from CdM? Two words: heart farts. :laugh

Oh this one is adorable <3 I'm still a little unclear how they pick, like is Ayu backstadge saying "okay we need someone blond now, find me a blond"
:roflmao :roflmao

I just came back from the concert!
Overall I really enjoyed myself!

Just gonna throw some random notes out here:

Setlist is the same as what has been posted. If I remember correctly its FTL / MGR

Ayu sounded great - she was shouting during some parts but pretty on key for most parts. I would say there is also A LOT LESS wailing around and less exaggerated crying. I am thinking this probably came with the change in choreographer...?

Ayu also looked great. I am pretty sure she lost quite a bit of weight. The chubbiness around her face / jawline seems to be have subsided and she looked really happy. I would say the picture that she posted on instagram with the gucci jacket is not OVERLY edited. She actually looked pretty young in that set-up!

The opening song was W, she came out in a car (prop) and sang most parts in the car and halfway through she and the female dancers started "car-washing". towards the end of the song she poured what looked like water on herself (so she was pretty wet already at the first song!)

Other memorable things.. YOU was great, she got pretty emotional there.
It was cool to see the demographics of the fan base - there were some pretty young fans but at the same time you see ladies / men in their 30s/ 40s with their kids. They probably listened to her while they were growing up!

Costumes wise, nothing to shout about. 1 big white dress for TWIA, and the gown part was taken off for the next song.

Overall, loved the entire show!

Edit:
- Princess was not there, and the other female vocal singer must have been on stage only half the time! Timmy was on stage about 70% of the time
- The combination of dancers now is just nice - i noticed fewer dancers (I guess without the acrobats team) and also they were less in the way. also, only aeternal (final chorus) had a male dancer (the new one) flailing around~~ All other slower songs were just Ayu alone!

^Thanks for this report, looks like a really fun show and glad to read you had fun! :yes

And what would this be? The things that his BOSS tells him to do? Because friend of Ayu’s or not, he’s still an employee and she dictates what he can and can’t do.
I don’t even like Timmy but as Earth_maiden said, people tend to act like Timmy is eroding the morality from Ayu’s shows when it’s apparent that everything that has/does/will happen is due to Ayu’s choices.

Sex isn’t gross lol

I don't care who is the mastermind, even if it is ayu, I don't like it, and I think it is a very bad taste. And since his whole character is based on an oversexualized homosexual, I don't think it is misplaced when someone dares to say he might have sex with an audience member, since his image is all about it.

And to answer your question ''What would that be'', there are many examples we know, one of the worst I can recall is when I was at the concert last year, during boys and girls, he was putting the balls they throw in the audience in his brief. This is bad taste, especially when there are children in the audience.

I am sure he is a nice guy, he seems nice and normal on the candids ayu shares, but his character on stage, I don't like it, a lot of people don't and since he is given more and more spotlight each tour, it is hard not to talk about him on the tour topic.

He is really sweet! I've met him in a restaurant and he was super nice and sweet with me. He was really surprised I recognized his face without make up lol

The show seems to be very fun! And I hope I get picked up to go to stage even tho just by thinking about that my heart starts beating really fast lol

I met him in the train to the concert, yes he is a very sweet and nice person, sooooo different from his stage persona.

Please don't play the homophobia card.:rolleyes
Timmy has been getting a lot of spotlight lately so it's unavoidable. I think most people here enjoy him as a person. I know I do. From what I see he seems like a very nice guy and a good friend to Ayu. The criticism is directed at his stage persona and costume. Whether it is Ayu's doing or his, he clearly isn't going anywhere. It looks like Ayu has decided to make him a mainstay to her live shows.:shrug

I'm usually the last person to complain on him since I mostly don't mind him (or ignore it simply) but if ayu does it, it might be something different. People go to see ayu after all. So they might be fine with her doing it but not with Timmy. Even then, not everybody will like it, of course.

Imagine Beyoncé or Lady Gaga or Celine Dion sharing 70% of the stage, every concert, with another huge, in your face personality. Every performance. Tv, concert, Instagram. Every. Single. Time. Plus in song recordings and music videos.

This would be grating on a lot of fans. I’m positive.

CDL for 1 day in this year.

https://avex.jp/ayu/news/detail.php?id=1066806
CDL 2018-2019 - TROUBLE -

I don't think he's been that prominent though, maybe its more obvious at the moment/lately because the stage is smaller? He doesn't do flambouyant things on TV performances. He has his own instagram which no one is obligated to follow/view. He's writes songs and compositions so he's more active in her music and some of his songs are actually amazing, like BRILLANTE, hbya, Party Queen (one of my personal favourites), etc. I find most comments are about his wardrobe, which he has little control over, or his character, again which he wouldn't be able to do whatever he wanted without incurring Ayu's wrath. I can understand if he's not everyone's cup of tea but comments like "Timmy mighty chose certain audience members because he gets special priveleges" comes across as rather nasty.

Gaga had that one album with Tony Bennett - but that was just one album and that was that. And it's different when it's one album with one of the most established musicians ever vs constantly working with a guy who's nowhere near as famous and is up in your fans' faces all the time.

I don't hate Timmy - I actually think he's a pretty cool guy and I LOVE his compositions, even his rapping is great imo. But also enough is enough lol He doesn't bother me personally but he can be really distracting when watching an Ayu concert. So I don't blame people at all for disliking him

He's in one music video lol

He's still not reached the prominence somebody like Shu-ya used to have in videos or shows, and while people were annoyed by him it's nothing compared to what people say about Timmy. It's very obvious what the undertone is behind all the 'Disgusting' comments.

*three (at least)
Not that much but still.

And yes, he maybe hasn't reached that prominence yet, however the portrayed characters of these two people are not really similar.

I believe he was in three? Brilliante, Shake it and Nanana. Maybe Warning too? I forget.

The problem for Timmy is that he’s doing all of this as one person, himself. So hating his on stage image carries over to just hating him in general. There’s no distinction between the two.

I don’t enjoy him being so in your face but that’s just what it is now.

^ yes and she also had at least 15 mvs without Timmy since brillante, so it's not like he appeared in majority of her recent mvs, 3 is not much at all lol

New thread:
http://www.ahsforum.com/forum/showth...02#post3290002

I think people are more annoyed by his exposition and accuracy on stage (also, It's not like her recent mvs are being much watched either :rolleyes)

I don't recall people complaining a bunch about Peco, or a single negative comment about Princess. Those two girls were doing a perfect job as back vocalists. I think the major issue we have with that Timmy's exposition is that it adds nothing valuable to her shows. He is used like a forced accessory that was maybe original at it's beginning (in nanana and brilliante) but is now mainly cringeworthy.

Although... I would be curious to know what kind of reception he gets from asian people, maybe they like that caucasian gay stereotype.

I never said him being in videos is the sole issue. I’m just saying his presence is all over the place. He’s even in the booklet shots for Party Queen.