AT 09 Report: Sat. 6/6 Sapporo Show!

[TakaSama]

Hi everyone! Sorry that my review is late, I have a full time job and sometimes it's hard to find time to post! This is only part one, but it’s taken a while just to write this, so I’ll post part two soon.

In any case, I went to the Sapporo, Hokkaido showing of AT 09 last weekend. I had an amazing time, and I wanted to share it all with you!

The day was a cloudy and rainy one, but I still showed up early to look at merchandise and get in line. I got a hoodie in white, a black tshirt, a bag and one of those glow stick fans, which seems vital to any Ayu performance.

Unfortunately there were some technical problems with setting up, and we were let into the building 15 minutes late, meaning we were left out in the rain. Finally they let us inside, and I went to my seat. Because I couldn't get TeamAyu tickets, I was located in the stands, pretty high up, but in the very middle in front of the catwalk. Overall, it was a good seat for a regular seat!

The technical problems still hadn't been resolved it seemed, so we had to wait for an additional 35 minutes while some problem or another was worked out. Needless to say, the crowd got really antsy! The technicians were playing a random western music cd while we waited, and the crowd started to groan and complain everytime a new track started. Finally a woman's voice came on at 7:05 pm, and appologized for the wait, telling us that the concert would be starting.

Shortly after that, we went into Pieces of Seven. At first it was dark, but when the fast paced part of the song started, the screens on the stage began randomly flashing a colorful barcode pattern or TV snow. When it ended, Ayu's voice welcomed us to Arena Tour 2009.

Then Rule started. Ayu appeared in the same costume that has been reported; the black leather catsuit with rhinestone belt and her hair back in a bun. The screens in the background had flashes of red running up them in time with the guitar. Ayu's singing here was very off in the first chorus, but as the song progressed she became more controlled. And I was so excited to hear her live, that even her bad singing gave me goosebumps! At the end of the song, it finished with fire exploding from the front of the stage.

Ayu continued in the same costume for UNITE! It was sung pretty well and was very energenic and fun. I found myself doing the arm movements with many other memebers of the audience. The choreography was the same as any other performance. After the song finished, Ayu disappeared for her costume change, and the center screen started playing a video.

The video was for Disco-munication, and it was the mario themed video that other people have mentioned. Ayu acted like Mario in her cheerleader outfit, with objects that made her bigger and enemies she had to stomp on. Her outfit also changed color, from red to green to blue (I think those were the colors). There were even some pipes in the scenery, and a moment where she collects a bunch of stars, which were like the Mario coins and even had a similar sound effect.

The video lead right into EnergizE, and the screens/stage staircase began lighting up in rainbow colors with stars. Ayu appeared in the red cheerleader outfit from the beginning of the video and her female dancers were dressed the same but in other colors. She sang using her normal voice for the English parts, but used her “cute” voice during the Japanese verses. It didn’t sound like her chipmunk voice, but it was hard for her to maintain because she kept dropping syllables like “tte” in “dakara tte wake janakute.” The male dancers came out in baseball uniforms, and they played around on stage. It was pretty good, but not the best part.

AUDIENCE was sung in the cheerleader outfit as well. She tried to use her higher register (think her voice during the RAINBOW period ) and she did pretty well for the first half of the song, but slid into her more recent singing style towards the end. It was still exciting and the crowd loved it.

Next was another costume change, and therefore the video for Load of the SHUGYO. Ayu and the female dancers were prison guards, and the male dancers were prisoners. Ayu takes pity on Shu-ya who is thirsty, and tries to give him a glass of water. He refuses it, instead taking the opportunity to escape with the other prisoners.

Next begins LOVE ‘n’ HATE. It was pretty good, the screens were very dramatic and displayed numbers every time the song counted up. Ayu showed up in the grey costume with a jacket and short shorts. She also forgot to count “one” during 1, 2, 3… for the counting parts in the middle and end of the song. Her voice sounded really comfortable and nice here.

Next was identity. She shed the jacket and continued in the same costume. The song was also good, mostly involving Ayu pushing away her male dancers. She danced primarily with Shu-ya, who slid his hand up her leg, almost to her butt, before she pushed him away. (I have to admit, I was happy when she did). After the song finished, the stage went black.

It was black for only a few seconds, but when the lights came back up, there were chairs and canes on the stage, causing the crowd to gasp in amazement. The dancers came out followed by Ayu, to do in the corner, just like the PCDL version, but with a black tie. Although it was the same, it was nice to see it performed live, and the song was sung nicely.

Next there was some extended guitar work before Ayu reappeared for HOPE or PAIN in that awful white dress. I admit that it was prettier on the stage than in pictures though. Ayu sang this song the same way she sang it for PCDL, but it was only her on the stage.

Directly afterwards, GREEN started, with Midoring dancing in a feminine white dress that looked like pajamas. The screens had a golden dragon design on them. She disappeared, and Maro appeared, dancing as though he were looking for someone. Ayu sang on, watching the two of them, and eventually they found each other, and began dancing the same dance that Ayu/Midoring did in the PV.

Next was Days, in the pink mermaid dress. Ayu started bawling during this one, as Shu-ya did his usual flailing I’m-wearing-a-prince-jacket-with-no-shirt routine . There isn’t much to say about this one, except that at the end Ayu started to leave, sobbing, and then Shu-ya saw her. Finally, he came and embraced her as they disappeared from the stage.

Up next, evolution-My all!