[koumori]

There is some speculation that a live band is too much strain on her ears, which might be why she has experimented with performing without them. Namie had some comments about this in the 2010s but I'm not going to go dig for that right now (about her own reasons - she didn't comment on Ayu ).

I'd love to see the return of the live band and I'm pretty sure Ayu would love to always have them there too if they can figure it out. The fact she has included them behind the scenes (such as during last year's Xmas Live rearrangement recordings) says a lot about her want to keep having the band involved. I hope there is a way to let them tour together again while safeguarding her health.