ayumi hamasaki ASIA TOUR ~24th Anniversary special @PIA ARENA MM~

[Katsuyuki012]

^She did not perform it.

[Norrel]

I was expecting rare-r songs than this, but overall pretty solid set. I feel like the CDL and regular tour setlist delivered more in regards to rare/lesser-performed songs lol.

[Katsuyuki012]

Still in disbelief that she performed Poker face in its entirety. I didn't think we'd ever see her perform the whole song during a concert.

[Ruan Borges]

So excited for the new album coming this year *-*

The setlist is pretty great for me, I love how it focus on the debut album.

[Aderianu]

Depend on you and HONEY made me realise how much I miss Shuya and Gomi

[CeReSu]

Just watched the show and I can't wait to see it again but in HD !
Overall, I very enjoyed it ! Ayu had very good vocals and energy !
The show feels like a big best of CDL and Arena Tour !
I particularly loved:

- Green
- Hope or PAIN
- Free & Easy
- the medley

I fell in love with trickstar, hope this interlude will be on the new album !!
The new song is a very good surprise too !

[Deep snow]

I finished watching the livestream recording and my favourite was definitely GREEN.

here are my complete highlights, especially in terms of vocal:

• A Song for ×× (her voice is very strong and stable here)
• Party queen
• Depend on you (because it's not as gratingly cutesy as last CDL's version)
• GREEN (I legit cried throughout; didn't expect her to sing this in the original key and her voice was relaxed and strong)
• poker face (I cried here all the way too; I love her voice and the complete version of the A BEST LIVE arrangement)

I was also looking forward to seeing Present, but turns out it was just instrumental (which was still a touching segment). I liked from your letter, but I don't think it works as the middle part of an otherwise upbeat medley (maybe it works thematically or lyrically?). And I was so excited for the ayu–Kishidan reunion, but I think the performance was messy if compared to their 2012 version.

all in all, this was a very enjoyable concert! with proper voice editing I think this will sound great. can't wait for Nonfiction because the live version didn't really sell it for me but I have a hunch I'll quickly fall in love with the single version; the snippet at the end sounds great to me.

[AyuCanada]

Oh boy! finished my first watch and i will share my thoughts too.

First, big thank you for people who generously shared the video!

Second, well, I will be the first one to drop that, I did not especially liked that concert. The stage was nice, the dancers were well integrated, the setlist seemed meh at first glance, but worked pretty well, but Ayu's nasal off-key screams were overwhelming. I enjoyed the CDL last year and Promised Land, but this show felt worst . I don't think she was on key at all during the "(Don't) Leave me" number. Fo some reason, GREEN sounded actually allright, so there is hope, It is weird that she was able to deliver on GREEN but screwed up stuff like (Don't) Leave Me. She was over screaming everything, a bit like the Future Classics CDL.

Visually the show looks great, the curesy act was never for me and will never be, but I am sure dome people enjoy it, and I don't know if it is self-awarness, but she felt like a Parody of herself in that segment, I did not disliked that, but maybe if wasn't intended.

I will too give my highlights :

1-GREEN : One of the only songs she was able to deliver vocally and actually sings on it instead of shouting everything.
2-The MegaMix interlude with the dancers : It was a relief to get a break from the screaming and it was nice to hear ayu's singing on the remixed tracks. The visual and choreography was also nice.
3- NonFiction : Didn't like the song much, but it fit so perfectly with the stage and the vibe of the concert.
4- Poker Face : Decent vocal, she kept it simple and I liked it.

I would have put One night Carnival there but... Kishidan showed up and it was a mess. Nothing against him but it felt weird to restart the song a second time around and their voices didn't blend together at all on the verses. it was weird.

This show felt like this year CDL's B-sides.

***** EDIT: In my Higlights I would also include footage of POM 2018 in the retrospective video, this concert is weirdly never mentionned or shown (but it was not a bad show at all, and the last tour with the band)

[Rajma]

I just watched
I was happy and sad at the same time
Ayu keeps dreaming
Ayu keeps pushing even if it doesn't turn out as good as before
Even though the deafness on both sides is now visibly perceptible
And how much this is affecting her perception of singing (not to mention the recent ankle problem and consequently surgery)
I'm glad the audience is full of people who support her dream
A dream that could end at any moment
And she will wake up from this dream one day. For us and for her, unfortunately, the ayumi hamasaki creation will disappear
Ayu will stop dreaming about her one day
But even she, she'll dream the way she can and does
Smiling and crying. Hitting and Failing
That's what I saw on the 24-year career show.
There's still a lot of dreams to be dreamed by her

THANK YOU SO MUCH, AYU! U R MY ANGEL of MUSIC! T.T

[holy_arrow]

Happy Ayu 24th anniversary.
I got the same feeling with @Rajma.
The show made me feel hurt and happy.
So great that she still blame on the stage although her vocal cant be good as it used to be.
But she is still my queen.

[SKYia]

I kinda want to let my thoughts out, sorry if I sound harsh.

Spoiler:

I am watching right now, maybe it's just the poor quality of the stream but her vocal is so much louder than the music, kinda like it's a separate track, it doesn't blend well with the music.

A song for xx / microphone / 1 love felt weak, they are usually very powerful, 1 love had some lagging so I had to skip it.

I was looking forward to 'don't leave me alone' but she butchered the song, it was hard to listen to. She also mistook the lyrics few times, I just wanted it to be over.

Trickstar had an awesome moment but wasn't that great from beginning to end, it felt like three different style interludes mixed together.

Party queen looked great, I'm always worried about the cute sections being too cheesy but this one was kinda mature cute. The vocal wasn't that bad, same with Depend on you and Honey, I was positively surprised but also my expectations were very low for the cute section. Although her standing in the same spot and not moving for three songs was kinda boring.

By this point I must say camera work is horrible (sound as well), I think I'll rewatch it when it's released on dvd because right now it clouds my judgement.

Hope or Pain was a weird recreation of the 2009 version and made me want to play the "original" performance, Green was so weird in Hope or Pain dress, I'd honestly prefer her to make it original or at least plain simple than make it a cheap copy of those performances. The dress itself is ok, maybe of she at least let go of that hair/hat for Green, the costume just seemed out of place to me.

Scar had the best vocal so far I think.

Til now every concert made me feel sth, most were extremally emotional to me, in each I have found sth I loved, I think this is the first time I feel nothing (but I will rewatch it in good quality and see how it changes things).

I'm really surprised she wants to go abroad with this setlist.

Poker face, I liked it, it was fresh too see it performed in mature outfit and without the cute dance. Best performance so far.

too late didnt do anything for me, from your letter had bad vocals I wish she sang it in some earlier tours as its a pleasant song, Hana was the best out of the three

Free & easy had bad beginning but not so bad chorus but sth felt off, I really want to blame it on poor quality stream and bad camera work which I'll do for now

The flow of the concert just feels off

I liked the transition from Last Supper on screen to Ourselves table. I really like this version of Ourselves, I have seen it live during chapter 3 of Just the beginning so it's sentimental to me and generally good idea with arrangement and visuals so I'm glad she repeated it, vocal wise it was also good. Kinda wish Flower came with it, they just go well together.

I like Nonfiction, not crazy about it as a song but as part of this particular show it was a breath of fresh air (together with Poker Face) while the rest had the "seen it many times" feeling.

The talk Kishidan gave made me more excited than anything that happened so far.

ONC was fun and vocals were good, I don't think it was chaotic, I like that it was different from the 2012 performance.

I skipped B&G and a little bit of Who (beginning) but Who sounds good.

I have mixed feelings, definitely need to watch it when it gets released in good quality with better camera angles.

[Katsuyuki012]

Originally Posted by SKYia

...
I'm really surprised she wants to go abroad with this setlist.
...

She doesn't. While part of the Asia Tour, this was a completely different show, made specifically for the 24th anniversary (hence the title "24th anniversary special"). The actual Asia tour show has an entirely different setlist.

[Aderianu]

SKYia, I totally agree with most things you said

[gustavismo]

I just watched the whole thing and I must say "poker face" was the highlight for me! I really can't believe she sang this song in full and alone on stage. It was really, really lovely and emotional how she was almost crying at the end of the song. I also love the costume so simple and fitting for the song, she definitely should have more sections like that on her tours.

[SKYia]

Originally Posted by Katsuyuki012

She doesn't. While part of the Asia Tour, this was a completely different show, made specifically for the 24th anniversary (hence the title "24th anniversary special"). The actual Asia tour show has an entirely different setlist.

I must have misread it at some point because I thought the October-December dates were supposed to be different from the April dates which I thought were all outside Japan, I didn't really check where Pia Arena is (never heard the name before, it sounded non-Japanese to me).

So we got October-December with one setlist, CDL with different one, this show with different setlist and Asia Tour that may be be also completely different or is it back to what we had in October?

[AyuCanada]

I agree on the vocals seeming weirdly loud compared to the music.

[summerain]

Originally Posted by SKYia

I must have misread it at some point because I thought the October-December dates were supposed to be different from the April dates which I thought were all outside Japan, I didn't really check where Pia Arena is (never heard the name before, it sounded non-Japanese to me).

So we got October-December with one setlist, CDL with different one, this show with different setlist and Asia Tour that may be be also completely different or is it back to what we had in October?

The October-December 30th shows are the main setlist with rare songs (My way, Pray, petal, Last Links, etc.). She did a different setlist for CDL (with the same stage of the regular tour) and was ready to do the main Asia Tour shows again in January, but she had to cancel / postpone these concerts due to Covid. Now, she did a special 24th Anniversary show, with a brand new setlist, but it's already "attached" to the Asia Tour project (using the same stage design of regular show and CDL, but with all new performances). During the next months, she will do more shows of Asia Tour and maybe during the 2nd semester of the year she will finally perform in arenas outside Japan (justifying the Asia on the tour title), maybe before the album release this fall.

[kotora]

I watched the whole tour.

Am I the only one thinking and noticing:

(1) She sounds a bit off at the beginning, especially A song for xx, but then she sounds better and better at the end?

(2) She was a bit off and in Party Queen and Depend on you. She looks not really comfortable and just act like a barble doll... I feel strange.. I thought she got injuried but then when she sings Poker Face, she preforms so well and walk on the stage smoothly.

(3) did someone throw things on the stage when she sings Free & Easy? She throws something back off the stage.

[Chris85]

The more I watch the more I think that Ayu has everything going for her: great catalogue of songs, entertaining shows, good looks. Except vocal ability. Baby voice, screaming, unnatural way of singing, unnatural vibrato, going off-key. I don't understand how people can find listening to this enjoyble.
Nonfiction number looked cool, especially gestures they were making.

[//ABEST]

I watched the show from now and there and all I can think about is her voice. I'm gonna be crusified to say this but I wish she went Britney's way and started to perform playback. It was not a vocally strong show but she is a delight to watch, she really knows how to entertain and is not boring to watch even after 24 years. I kinda miss props tho, Barbie box was cute but that was kinda it

I loved Party queen, poker face and ourselves, even the medley was amazing performance - (don't) Leave me alone, A Song for ×× and Free & Easy wasn't that strong.

She is a great entertainer and she definitely has a strong voice but it's just out of her control nowadays. Her yeeeeeeeeeeEeEeEeEaaah after ourselves shows that she still has it but doesn't seem to keep it steady while singing