Thoughts on CDL 09-10?

[Yumsushi]

Just watched it. The sound was coming and going and half the time I couldn't even hear Peco and Princess. Then she was out of breath often and couldn't hit any high notes. And what was up with the sound up to the encore? I'm not sure the audience cared though, they seemed to be having a good time.
Excellent set list (minus Energize) and a little variety to the performances. I cant wait for this to come out on DVD.

[Polyrhythm]

I thought the recording this year was shoddy. They need better camera/mic work. Hopefully, the DVD will be better...oh yeah...I really hate to say this but...Ayu's vocals really hit rock bottome during evolution and especially during Humming 7/4....but she made it up with a really great performance of Teddy Bear....overall though, her vocals seem much weaker compared to last year...

[ever_free]

Originally Posted by emiko

Can I just ask people one thing?

I think it's really ridiculous to call everyone who is saying her vocals are bad "haters", or other things. Can we refrain from that?

Her vocals WERE bad, if you can't hear it, you're probably tone deaf, which is not meant to be an insult, since there are a lot of people who actually can't tell the difference, say, between a note that's flat and one that isn't. She made a lot of mistakes, more than I've ever seen from her and it was...honestly really bad. She wouldn't have passed those performances on American Idol.


Anyway, this is like my favorite concert ever, and I think I've made the shift to where I'm going to start loving the CDLs more than the Arena Tours. I certainly like this one more than AT09. But I agree with GRACE, we can still point out everything, that's what the discussion is for.

Anyway, I think this DVD is going to be fantastic <3

@Jin: I agree. I think she's been in her comfort zone for a long time, and I think it's time for a change. New composers, new producers, maybe some western ones. I don't think they'll change her sound too much...but maybe she just feels things go a lot faster with her Japanese team, which, of course it would, they've been working together for years lol

i totally agree with you

[Andrenekoi]

Originally Posted by SunshineSlayer

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.

Her voice being too low is a recording problem

Sometimes it just sounded like someone was changing the volume, cuz her voice was lower, but she was singing on the same way

[SunshineSlayer]

^ But that wouldn't be a recording problem, that would be a mixing problem meaning the person who was doing the live mix messed up or was intentionally lowering her vocals for some reason.

[AyUmIXx]

^ then it's not Ayu's vocal being so weak at the beginning, right?
i believe AYu sounded great at the opening of I am... and moments~

[Andrenekoi]

Originally Posted by SunshineSlayer

^ But that wouldn't be a recording problem, that would be a mixing problem meaning the person who was doing the live mix messed up or was intentionally lowering her vocals for some reason.

Sorry, but u got what I'm saying u.ú
If u play dumb with me I will kick ur ass!

[njanjayrp]

Originally Posted by Andrenekoi

Her voice being too low is a recording problem

Sometimes it just sounded like someone was changing the volume, cuz her voice was lower, but she was singing on the same way

Yeah, that's easily notable during momentum, when all of sudden things get louder after the first chorus.

[waterballoon]

I'm gonna be as honest and straightforward as possible, so forgive me if I come across as being too critical (beware: it's gonna appear many times)

Okay, first off. Great CDL once again, Ayu! I really love her effort for putting a flawless show all the time... the energy was great, and she looked good. ^^

I am...: I liked the drum show; very reminiscent of CDL 04/05 and CDL 05/06. But like why the hell do the DANCERS need to be there. Like just let the damn drummers do their thing... grr.

Okay Ayu appears. I love her outfit! I was shocked at the choice of her song... I am...? Haha I was apprehensive of her performance, but I felt she was really good, as according to her singing standard these days.

Again, I feel kind of irritated by the dancers, because I feel they are redundant and an eyesore.

Moments: Whoa... 4 years since she has performed...

Let's see same rehashed screens and set up as from AT 05... so I shan't comment much on that. I thought she sounded okay, not as good as I am... but still passable imo.

STEP you: I swore I did a facepalm when I first saw Gomi on stage. The whole theme here is so Kuu's TRICK, even Gomi's cloak is the same color scheme as TRICK!

First off, what the heck is with the dancers? They look gross, I've seen better-looking clowns...

And OMG AYU WHAT ON EARTH ARE YOU WEARING. That gross dress is disgusting to the max, and it should be burned right after this concert.

EnergizE: I hate this song... ugh. But the performance was kinda cute... love how she interacted with the fans.

But man, Ayu, do you need to uglify the female dancers so much too?

About You: I love Ayu's outfit. It reminds me of Avril Lavinge... very goth rock princess kind of look. <3

And oh Ayu, just shut up with the "ad-libbing" with Peco and Princess. It happens like 3 times in this CDL, and they are all unbearable. Just stop doing that already, okay?

I thought she sounded pretty okay in the verses, then the choruses were one hot big mess. No no...

I love the song though, and love that she finally performed it again, after 4 years.

momentum: Maro = Hot. kthxbai.

She didn't sound as good here... but overall it was an okay performance.

You were...: aka the only song in the main setlist where she performed by herself. For this, the performance deserves "best performance" already.

Her vocals here were pretty solid as well, and I really love the dress she's wearing...

Pride: You know what. I thought the dancers back then in AT 06 were already kind of "meh", but this dance here brings it to the "next level". Redundant, dramatic, eew.

And oh my God... I have to say this but Ayu was very off-tune in a lot of the ending notes... the last note was so flat, I think it might have been one semitone lower than the original note?

But I love her dress... so Victorian. And you know, the choir singing, that one woman who ad-libbed with the ribbon dance. NOW THAT'S A GOOD SINGER. Peco & Princess (and Ayu), go have lessons with her.

INSPIRE: this song

I love Ayu's smile at the beginning... so radiant and beautiful. The singing was okay, not too bad, and when she sang her little solo after the break... I felt there was really hope. With a vocal coach... she can really sing again.

Because of You: Again, I love this song, and am surprised she performed it again.

I felt it was actually all right throughout, except the end where she struggled quite a lot, but really, I think it's quite all right.

And oh Ayu... next time you wanna get a mic stand, please get one that actually is long enough to rest on the floor, otherwise it ends up looking like some phallic symbol (like look at how she worked it in the bridge!)...

1 LOVE: Yawn. It's a rehash of AT 07, but AT 07's rendition was so much better.

until that Day...: Yawn once again. For the same reasons as 1 LOVE.

Countdown: Touching. I have more to say about this in another thread.

Humming 7/4: At least the energy was high.

evolution: Better than the one she did in Music Station or whatever it's called, definitely. XD

Startin': This was pretty decent actually, but it felt exactly the same as AT 06 lol.

teddy bear: I love it. Best performance of this CDL. Seriously Ayu should do more of these... simple, down-to-earth performances where it's just so touching...

When she teared up, it left me speechless, and I almost cried too. She's so vulnerable and precious then...

Sunrise ~LOVE is ALL~: omg this new mix >>>> original mix

AND SHE'S SO CUTE WHEN SHE MESSED UP IN THE BRIDGE OMG <3

Boys & Girls: usual performance, I don't think there's much to say about this lol

But Ayu was WORKING IT at the end LOL

RED LINE ~for TA~: Beautiful song. Great performance.

Overall, I felt this CDL was all right, it had its good moments imo, and of course the horrible ones, but the energy was good, and the encore was great, so...

Extra notes: Maro you are so hot, I want you now. Can anyone confirm if he has gotten a tattoo on his right shoulder? I saw something there during momentum, but in the encore he wore a black band around his right shoulder.

ZIN you are so hot too. Shu-ya why is your hair back to blonde? I loved the BALLAD hair so much, but never mind you're still so hot. <3

Did Subaru ... had plastic surgery? lol his eyes look so different!

Peco & Princess, please stop ruining the performances, especially you Peco.

Okay that's all.

[jbrat2219]

Originally Posted by SunshineSlayer

^ But that wouldn't be a recording problem, that would be a mixing problem meaning the person who was doing the live mix messed up or was intentionally lowering her vocals for some reason.

If they intentionally lowered her voice, how did they know exactly when she was going to sound bad? Or if she was going to sound bad all throughout. If it was intentional, she probably gave them a heads up.

I mean PCDL's vocals were impressive enough they put it on a CD. Her vocals at Kouhaku this year were okay. How would they know for sure she would suck? xD;

[SunshineSlayer]

^ Well they would have been hearing her all throughout rehearsals. I'm not even saying that's what happened though, just that it is possible.

Originally Posted by Andrenekoi

Sorry, but u got what I'm saying u.ú
If u play dumb with me I will kick ur ass!

I get what you are saying, but they are two different things. Its not even necessarily a problem persay, it happens all the time at live shows and sometimes it is because the mic is interfering with the overall sound or it can be intentionally done to muffle the singers vocals or the person who is doing it is just bad at what they do. Or her voice could've simply failed to come out properly as she did seem to really be squeezing to make the sound come. There are many different reasons why her voices volume would change in a live show and it is like that in most of the tv version cdls except for last year which was basically perfectly equalized - but the reason for that is for a different thread.

[Not~Yet]

So, did everyone notice the little changes to arrangements in some songs? (I don't remember seeing discussion about it here yet, but maybe I just missed it ) INSPIRE, Boys & Girls and Step You, EnergizE were the ones I noticed. Maybe Sunrise too. I really loved them all She should do the arrangement changing thingy more often. Or well, it wasn't really changing them, but adding violins etc. Which is great for me, I love little adds like that.

[noidea]

^ I Am... had added strings

I love that ayu started slightly changing the arrangements for most songs since AT09(she did it a few times before, but never nearly as much as now), but most people seem to ignore it

[SunshineSlayer]

^ I personally didn't like I Am's new arrangement. It sounded very messy to me; like there was too much going on. But maybe it'll sound a lot better when the DVD comes out.

[Picaflor 7/4]

I love i am's added strings. it was like acoustic orchestra meets original mix. sounded so cool. I didn't notice any of the other changes though.

[noidea]

For me the added strings to I Am... made the song even more fantastic than it already is.

In the normal studio version I always felt something is missing, the orchetsra version was TOO full, the AT02 version messy and CDL0910 perfect!

[love in music]

Originally Posted by kyuutii_hanii

So, did everyone notice the little changes to arrangements in some songs? (I don't remember seeing discussion about it here yet, but maybe I just missed it ) INSPIRE, Boys & Girls and Step You, EnergizE were the ones I noticed. Maybe Sunrise too. I really loved them all She should do the arrangement changing thingy more often. Or well, it wasn't really changing them, but adding violins etc. Which is great for me, I love little adds like that.

YES! I loved it. I think my favorite was Sunrise, but I loved all of the little changes. The end of You were... was so beautiful.

Also I have a question, when they rebroadcast this on the 16th will they have different camera angles etc? I sure hope so because some of them were just a huge fail.

[SunshineSlayer]

^ Yeah I agree about the camera angles. I thought Pride was especially distracting cause it really felt like you saw the dancers and Ayu was just somewhere in the background and then of course 1Love you can hardly see anything. In the past though I don't seem to remember the rebroadcasts changing from the original one.

I also liked Sunrise's arrangement too - it was very lively.

[nanakopy87]

i remember they did not change alot.they change some scenes only.i think they do so because they want you to watch it again after you've bought the DVD.if they edit it too perfect for TV broadcast,then this might affect the sales too.

[waterballoon]

Originally Posted by SunshineSlayer

^ Yeah I agree about the camera angles. I thought Pride was especially distracting cause it really felt like you saw the dancers and Ayu was just somewhere in the background and then of course 1Love you can hardly see anything. In the past though I don't seem to remember the rebroadcasts changing from the original one.

I also liked Sunrise's arrangement too - it was very lively.

I love Sunrise's new arrangement too!