Thoughts on CDL 09-10?

[Bad Wolf]

amorphose you're stealing all my thoughts and words XD I agree, heartily (and I quite like your Jaejoong set~ ). That's what I meant in my previous post. Casual listeners who would actually ditch an artist after a break aren't fans in my estimation. Of course there's nothing wrong with taking a break from an artist or not following them, but to abandon the artist ONLY because he/she decided to have some time off is absurd.

[tasking]

I'm watching the concert as we speak and I must say, I'm severely disappointed. I was really looking forward to this concert due to the set list, and seeing her perform some of the old songs now that her vocals have changed. In my opinion, either she was trying to make her voice sound like it is on the album for these songs, or she didn't practice at all.

I am... was HORRIBLE, both due to ayu's vocals and the new arrangement with the drums. You could barely hear her over the drums and it seems like she was yelling to compensate.

About You was definitely the worst so far. Peco, Princess and Ayu all contributed to the butchering of that song.

Meanwhile You were, one of the hardest songs on the set list, was the best song I've heard so far. I think it's the best she sang this song yet. She wasn't struggling to hit the high notes and they sounded gentle, like the music box version. That's how You were... SHOULD sound when she's performing it live.

Pride sounded like she was putting absolutely NO emotion into the song.

They also need to give the tissue dancing thing up and try something new.

I take that back... Because of You was the worst. She sounds like she did during the NTV special when she was struggling with her earpiece.

1 LOVE AND until that Day were GREAT. I think she's lipsyncing here when comparing it with the rest of the songs so far. She pulled them off too easy and wasn't out of breath at all.

COUNTDOWN = cry as always <3

Humming 7/4, evolution, + Startin' = THERE'S MY AYU.

teddy bear = TOTALLY unexpected way to start the encore! I was expecting Ayu's "minna genki desu ka?!?" and when the piano started, I started to cry. T_T

The MC was cool. Zin and Subaru taught the new dance for RED LINE ~TA~. They also had Ayu sign the pink balls on stage and BAT them out to the crowd. Fun stuff!

Sunrise sounded totally different - and LOUD. The mixing also sounded like there was a church organ in the background. Again, Ayu was overpowered by the music, but everyone seemed to be having a good time.

RED LINE ~TA~ was a great ending song and I really like the dance. It ALMOST makes up for the rest of the concert.

Overall, I think this concert ranks as one of the worst. It had potential to be an EPIC concert with the set list, but her vocals and some of the new arrangements just sucked - plus I think their was a problem with her mic throughout the whole thing. The costumes kinda sucked too. Hopefully the DVD will be better.

[amorphose]

Originally Posted by noidea

^ Because TeamAyu is an expensive fanclub which benifits mostly are extras you get for releases and earlier concert tickets, both would be impossible when shes on hiatus...they would have to make teamayu free at least

I don't know... isn't it a yearly payment? =\ I'm sure they could find other extras to give out while she was on hiatus and she could still continue her blog. Maybe she could even just do one TA concert in said hypothetical hiatus period. haha

But if they had to stop TA for a while-- I think it'd still be worth it. It really is a break that she deserves and needs.

Originally Posted by InoriNoUta

amorphose you're stealing all my thoughts and words XD I agree, heartily (and I quite like your Jaejoong set~ ). That's what I meant in my previous post. Casual listeners who would actually ditch an artist after a break aren't fans in my estimation. Of course there's nothing wrong with taking a break from an artist or not following them, but to abandon the artist ONLY because he/she decided to have some time off is absurd.

Yupp! And like I mentioned before-- Utada has done it once before. She's actually doing it again right now (for the Japanese anyway) and people always flock back to here when she reemerges so why not Ayu too?

And thanks~ Jae is amazing.

Anyway, I'm getting really offtopic here-- so I'm gonna stop. xD

[tourniquet]

Originally Posted by amorphose

Yupp! And like I mentioned before-- Utada has done it once before. She's actually doing it again right now (for the Japanese anyway) and people always flock back to here when she reemerges so why not Ayu too?

utada's reaching out much farther into casual audiences than ayu does these days. she also hasn't any idol thing going on that could die down in the meantime as someone new emerges. not saying that ayu couldn't come back after hiatus, she's big enough for that, but she would lose parts of her fanbase.

[AyUta]

I really like the concert, it was fun .

[MissElin_]

I see this concert from two perspektives...

One: the live side, two: the looking in your computer side.

I have seen CDL07-08, a-nation09, AT09 and CDL09-10 live. The rest of them in my computer. Lets see here.

CDL07-08 was amazing live (probably mostly because it was my first live concert) and I got sooo disapointed to see everyone bashing Ayu. But when i looked in my computer i saw that her vocals was indeed bad.
a-nation09: Here I got a bit nervous after watching the show that ppl would bash it again cuz I thought she did really well in that one. Show and vocals. But here I think most of the computer watchers agreed with me.
AT09: Here I got the chanse to go at two concerts which gave me a chanse to really listen to her vocals. I think what I heard and what I read from the computer watchers kind of went wrong again... Everyone who went to the live heard and watched something diffrent. Something great.

Then we arrived to CDL 09-10. Here I went to both shows again and now I felt really surtain. This time, the computer watchers will really agree that she did an amazing show, I was thinking to myself. This time they will complain about BoY (she nailed the first night but not the seccond), maybe some other song and then be pleased. Fool me.

My conclusion of all this is probably that it is sooooo diffrent to watch the show live or on your computer. I have seen all the tours Ayu have done, and still I dont get tired of it live. How many times she will repeat a number, she always does something new too. She always pulls off a great show. Its always mindblowing to stand in the arena/stadium/whatever and see and hear and feel everything. I do understand how the computer watchers must feel, seeing the similarities again... Its just very very diffrent live. And she really amazes the audience every single time. She never lets them down.

With that said, now I hope Ayu will make a kick ass AT10 with only new and fresh ideas!

[AyUmIXx]

^

your post has made me think how about if she actually sounded good in the 1st night?
but on the 2nd, she was kind of exhausting? and couldn't do perfectly fine?

[Mai82Go]

Originally Posted by MissElin_

I see this concert from two perspektives...

One: the live side, two: the looking in your computer side.

I have seen CDL07-08, a-nation09, AT09 and CDL09-10 live. The rest of them in my computer. Lets see here.

CDL07-08 was amazing live (probably mostly because it was my first live concert) and I got sooo disapointed to see everyone bashing Ayu. But when i looked in my computer i saw that her vocals was indeed bad.
a-nation09: Here I got a bit nervous after watching the show that ppl would bash it again cuz I thought she did really well in that one. Show and vocals. But here I think most of the computer watchers agreed with me.
AT09: Here I got the chanse to go at two concerts which gave me a chanse to really listen to her vocals. I think what I heard and what I read from the computer watchers kind of went wrong again... Everyone who went to the live heard and watched something diffrent. Something great.

Then we arrived to CDL 09-10. Here I went to both shows again and now I felt really surtain. This time, the computer watchers will really agree that she did an amazing show, I was thinking to myself. This time they will complain about BoY (she nailed the first night but not the seccond), maybe some other song and then be pleased. Fool me.

My conclusion of all this is probably that it is sooooo diffrent to watch the show live or on your computer. I have seen all the tours Ayu have done, and still I dont get tired of it live. How many times she will repeat a number, she always does something new too. She always pulls off a great show. Its always mindblowing to stand in the arena/stadium/whatever and see and hear and feel everything. I do understand how the computer watchers must feel, seeing the similarities again... Its just very very diffrent live. And she really amazes the audience every single time. She never lets them down.

With that said, now I hope Ayu will make a kick ass AT10 with only new and fresh ideas!

Great post. I love how the people that actually go to the concert, always seem to have a good time. Atmosphere is really important. Just look at the difference between watching a movie on TV and a movie in the cinema. That said, I really like people watching in Ayu Concerts. There was 5 minutes and some time after the concert in the Live Broadcast, where you could see all these Ayu Fans. So many people from different generations and seemingly different social backgrounds. There were couples, older salarymen, mothers with their children, groups of friends, girls and boys....I love how everything looked like a big party with a diverse audience! I'm so happy that Ayu attracts all kinds of people.

[AyUmIXx]

i hope all the AHS ppl can go to watch Ayu's concerts and feel the difference!
it'll never be the same!
when you feel the stage is always the same, the costumes the same, once you're there, it'll be changed immediately!

[SunshineSlayer]

Originally Posted by MissElin_

My conclusion of all this is probably that it is sooooo diffrent to watch the show live or on your computer. I have seen all the tours Ayu have done, and still I dont get tired of it live. How many times she will repeat a number, she always does something new too. She always pulls off a great show. Its always mindblowing to stand in the arena/stadium/whatever and see and hear and feel everything. I do understand how the computer watchers must feel, seeing the similarities again... Its just very very diffrent live. And she really amazes the audience every single time. She never lets them down.

With that said, now I hope Ayu will make a kick ass AT10 with only new and fresh ideas!

Yes, as I know as well from personal experience, it is different being there. Especially the vocals can sometimes be quite difficult to judge because everything is just so loud. You are more likely to get wrapped up in the moment overall and forgive any flaws because you are just there to try and have a good time. But that also doesn't mean that it can't be better, even for the people that are actually at the show.

If this were a non-DVD release type of thing I could see only performing for the fans that are there at the show, but way more people see the show on DVD and not live (or on tv as well in this case) and that audience needs to be taken into account as well otherwise the DVD sales will go down.

[tourniquet]

after watching the whole thing I think it's ok for what it is. she sang completely out of tune in some songs, but in others she sounded pretty fine. the audio mix last year was much better and that made it worse. maybe they used the muffled sound on intention, hm. the setlist saves the whole thing from becoming a snoozefest. it's great that she's performing less stables since PCDL. not minding the recycled stage props and choreographies so much anymore.

but one thing... this costume designer has to be shot rather yesterday than tomorrow. it's so damn awful. her dancers clothes are at times acceptable (the INSPIRE roman gladiator stuff was hawt ), but them spliced up trousers need to die. I haven't seen anyone wearing that **** since like 1998. the whole cute section with clowns and pink something dress is unacceptable dressing-wise. everything else is sparkling **** with way too much shoulder straps? whatever it is called. also why do the costumes emphasize her lack of waist. it's just not nice to look at. don't get me started on the encore shirts. I'm still undecided if it's ayu or madonna on the front.

memorable moments:
I am...
guitar solo before About You
ending part of Pride with gospel choir and whatnot
INSPIRE <3
until that Day... + Startin' for her power

[majrakun]

Just some random comments.

Lol at the beginning. "SHUUUYAAA-SAAAAN" was the first one they saw.

The STEP You + EnergizE section was...*cringe* HORROR. Poor dancers, really. I mean, of all ridiculous kid things she wants to re-enact (school boys and girls, fairies and the flintstones =___=) effin' CLOWNS?! She could've at least made them the cool or goth clowns, but agh. I don't wanna watch it ever again

I have to say, Yo-chan looks adorable. Must be the haircut <3

I don't like her momentum dress. Makes her look pregnant, its looseness is ugleh. Midoring is gorgeouuuus *___* I thought the dance on her part was a bit too..."rough" I guess. I was hoping it to be softer and whatnot. Maro should just take off the scarf entirely OR put on a shirt, I really don't like the scarf. Haha XD It's a wonder that it didn't suffocate him. In general, they both look better together here, I thought they just didn't suit each other in AT09.

I love the Pride choreography <3 It's like, whatever Shuya touches, dies, Epic duuuude It doesn't focus that much on Ayu though, but that's okay, less of the dress for us too, and more Shu-chan for me. I am 99% sure that the budget that was supposed to be used for the dancers' costumes went to her humongous dress.

I skipped most of the mc, it's not Yo-chan, so boo >:C That one part was funny though, when Zin just started talking. XD

"Jiiiin~"
"Arigato gozaimasu!"
"Jiiiiiiiiiin~"
"Arigato gozaimasu!"
"JIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIN~~~!!!!"
"..."

Oh Subaru. I remember when you first held the mic in AT05 and you had a hard time introducing yourself because you were so shy. Now you can already wear a huge sparkly pink bow tie and not be embarrassed.

[Suteisi]

Lol, I like reading this thread. Some of you guys are really funny!

Anyway, I haven't had the chance to watch ALL the show yet, just some bits and parts of it.

But even though I haven't watched it all yet, I have to agree 100% with MissElin. When I saw AT09 live, I thought it was the BEST show ever. My favorite show on DVD is AT06, but AT09 is coming damn near close. I watched the TV version and it really wasn't as great.

It's a completely different feeling watching it live and watching it on DVD.

When it's live, the whole ambience and feeling of being actually there is overpowering. Everyone's SUPER excited to be there, we're singing and yelling all together, jumping and dancing with Ayu. Both times I went, all the fans around me sounded and looked just as excited as I was. And believe me, I was REALLY DAMN excited!

When I watched it on DVD or downloaded, it's not the same feeling. Sure, I get excited and I sing along, sometimes I dance along too. But it's not the same at all.

I feel like when I watch the DVD, I judge every little element of the concert. When I was at the show live, I simply enjoyed myself and cheered for Ayu, I wasn't judging or picking out at the show.

Well anyway, that's my thought. Lol

So far, I really liked I am... except the part where the music was louder than Ayu. I love I am... it's such a great song!

But I'm scared to watched EnergizE cause of the costume... oh gosh it looks horrible just from the pictures. I hope it's really not THAT bad.

[miskiq]

vocal wise not so good but i still enjoy watching her performance


credit: finalist1002@youtube

[Earth_maiden]

OMG I wanted to KILL whoever was holding the camera that was in the stands. You know the one riiiiight at the back corner? You could barely see anything on the screen, let alone the stage. The entire start up of Until that Day... was ruined, which is one of my favourite live dances.
Thankfully we'll get decent angles when the concert comes out on DVD, or else I wouldn't bother getting this when it comes out.

[Raleigh]

Let's see. This concert was quite interesting. There were certain parts which were a bit questionable, like certain outfits and recycled screens but CDL's always have a small budget so it's forgiven. Ayu seems like she struggling to sing as a whole... I hope she is getting the vocal lessons that she really needs to take.

I am... was pretty good. The outfit was perfect for the song choice, for once the dancers did not clutter the stage and were just in the background. Also I loved the rock/orchestra mix. Very dramatic opening and Ayu performed it well. It's got this old Ayu feel to it which I love
Moments was done in the same style of the Kohaku, I think? With the feathers and oriental feel to it. I love how heartfelt Ayu sounds in it.
STEP you's outfit almost gave me seizure. What... the hell was the designer smoking when they designed that freaky Alice outfit? The puffy skirt was so awkward and weird. I'm guessing they were re-enacting Alice in Wonderland's theme but it came as quite... weird. Also the whole dance with the dancers was chaotic. At least Ayu sung well.
energize: Same problem. It looks wacky. At least she takes some time to interact with her fans. Was quite a horror to watch.
About You Yo-chan's intro was amazing. Well the outfit looked a little more tolerable. Maybe not as badass as I would've wanted it. I would've removed the bow and fluffy skirt. She sang well though she didn't really try to have a stage presence compared to others.
momentum/ You Were The outfit was okay and the singing was too. I don't care much about the dancers singing but I guess it's a staple now in Ayu's ballads. You were was nicer because there was just Ayu The orchestral outro was pretty though the wailing of those two are painfully annoying.
Pride: Shuya again...ugh. The ring dancers were more impressive than Shuya's flailing. Anyway, the dress was like a weird chocolate cake... looks similar to AT06 but with lace this time. I liked the return of the chorus. Her vocals were not so good towards the end.
Inspire: The outfit here is so so. I liked the vocals and her stage presence.

[Andrenekoi]

Originally Posted by MissElin_

I see this concert from two perspektives...

One: the live side, two: the looking in your computer side.

I have seen CDL07-08, a-nation09, AT09 and CDL09-10 live. The rest of them in my computer. Lets see here.

CDL07-08 was amazing live (probably mostly because it was my first live concert) and I got sooo disapointed to see everyone bashing Ayu. But when i looked in my computer i saw that her vocals was indeed bad.
a-nation09: Here I got a bit nervous after watching the show that ppl would bash it again cuz I thought she did really well in that one. Show and vocals. But here I think most of the computer watchers agreed with me.
AT09: Here I got the chanse to go at two concerts which gave me a chanse to really listen to her vocals. I think what I heard and what I read from the computer watchers kind of went wrong again... Everyone who went to the live heard and watched something diffrent. Something great.

Then we arrived to CDL 09-10. Here I went to both shows again and now I felt really surtain. This time, the computer watchers will really agree that she did an amazing show, I was thinking to myself. This time they will complain about BoY (she nailed the first night but not the seccond), maybe some other song and then be pleased. Fool me.

My conclusion of all this is probably that it is sooooo diffrent to watch the show live or on your computer. I have seen all the tours Ayu have done, and still I dont get tired of it live. How many times she will repeat a number, she always does something new too. She always pulls off a great show. Its always mindblowing to stand in the arena/stadium/whatever and see and hear and feel everything. I do understand how the computer watchers must feel, seeing the similarities again... Its just very very diffrent live. And she really amazes the audience every single time. She never lets them down.

With that said, now I hope Ayu will make a kick ass AT10 with only new and fresh ideas!

Well... Just watched the whole thing... and besides BoY, Startin', and Humming, her voice was just her usual bad... I was really impressed with You were, 1love and until that day.... and I just can't see what's so wrong with her voice in Pride... and it's one of my favorite songs by her... I enjoyed it and IMO she did the song justice...

I showed some parts of the concert to a friend of mine that is a singer, wondering if I am dumb or deaf, cuz imo her vocals were at her usual... She agreed with me, and said that the only major problem she saw is that the sound quality was really bad (and it really is... as she said "the problem is the quality of the song, not really the quality of the singer")

After watching it, I will never consider people around here saying that she is lip-synching... the most impressive 1love was, it wasn't perfect at all... And after Pride, I'm pretty sure some people mistake "singing lower" with "singing worst" and "singing higher" with "singing better"

And yeah, didn't find Teddy Bear amazing at all, actually, she was singing pretty bad there

Best vocals: You were...
Worst vocals: Startin'

Best performance: 1Love, Inspire, the cute part
Worst performance: Because of You

[noidea]

Originally Posted by Andrenekoi

Well... Just watched the whole thing... and besides BoY, Startin', and Humming, her voice was just her usual bad... I was really impressed with You were, 1love and until that day.... and I just can't see what's so wrong with her voice in Pride... and it's one of my favorite songs by her... I enjoyed it and IMO she did the song justice...

I showed some parts of the concert to a friend of mine that is a singer, wondering if I am dumb or deaf, cuz imo her vocals were at her usual... She agreed with me, and said that the only major problem she saw is that the sound quality was really bad (and it really is... as she said "the problem is the quality of the song, not really the quality of the singer")

After watching it, I will never consider people around here saying that she is lip-synching... the most impressive 1love was, it wasn't perfect at all... And after Pride, I'm pretty sure some people mistake "singing lower" with "singing worst" and "singing higher" with "singing better"

And yeah, didn't find Teddy Bear amazing at all, actually, she was singing pretty bad there

Best vocals: You were...
Worst vocals: Startin'

Can't agree much more^^

[SunshineSlayer]

Originally Posted by Andrenekoi

I showed some parts of the concert to a friend of mine that is a singer, wondering if I am dumb or deaf, cuz imo her vocals were at her usual... She agreed with me, and said that the only major problem she saw is that the sound quality was really bad (and it really is... as she said "the problem is the quality of the song, not really the quality of the singer")

I still don't think there is any problem with the actual recording or something like that. If there is, I'm sure we'll see it fixed by the time the show rebroadcasts. The sound pretty much sounds like how a show that is actually live really sounds.

[Neko★munication]

Originally Posted by SunshineSlayer

Yes, as I know as well from personal experience, it is different being there. Especially the vocals can sometimes be quite difficult to judge because everything is just so loud. You are more likely to get wrapped up in the moment overall and forgive any flaws because you are just there to try and have a good time. But that also doesn't mean that it can't be better, even for the people that are actually at the show.

If this were a non-DVD release type of thing I could see only performing for the fans that are there at the show, but way more people see the show on DVD and not live (or on tv as well in this case) and that audience needs to be taken into account as well otherwise the DVD sales will go down.

QFT.

I'm sure any live concert is amazing when you're seeing it live, but once you have a recording and can put it next to past recordings/DVDs, it's easy to pick out the flaws. If you didn't notice them while seeing it live, it doesn't mean they're not there.

Anyway, that being said, I've come to terms with the concert, awful though it was, and I've even rewatched it a few times. I still have faith that Ayu can sing well live, it was just ... hard to watch because Ayu's always been a singer to me who can not only do her studio versions justice, but definitely exceed them while performing live. There's a reason I listen to Live rips more than her actual album tracks, and I feel like that reason was kinda flushed down the toilet with this concert, and I can't help but be apprehensive about this "longest tour" of hers that's planned for 2010...