Official thread of your thoughts on (ARENA TOUR 2009) #1

[emi♡]

Originally Posted by Delirium-Zer0

The choreography made that performance really fun though, and she always has to lipsync if a song's choreography would make it too hard for her to sing while moving, so I forgave that one.... but I kinda understand your frustration, lol

yeah see I usually understand that and dont mind...i dont know why i did so much this time lol I didnt mind for energize at all...except that I dont think it had that much energy in the vocals lol

[majrakun]

First of all, eeewww, what is up with Princess' hair and outfit? Same goes to Peco, but I didn't notice her that much. XD

identity was hot. After AT07's Until That Day... and AT08's decision, I was wondering if she could get any hotter gettin' it on with Shuya. Well, she did. Especially during the bridge, did you SEE that?! D: Pissed off at each other, yet still find each other hot, ah love. XD

Him in Days was a little (a lot actually) random, especially since Maro was the one with her in the screen. At least it's a happy ending, maybe that really will be the end. Maro and Midoring were totally awesome, if anything, this would be the formula I would like Ayu to continue with. No more lonely dancer plz kthxbai.

I wished the LotShugyo and disco-munication screens were more focused on, rather than the whole stage. There were also some parts when I wished the angles were zoomed into Ayu, but instead they would show the whole stage and whatnot, sometimes for quite a long period of time. Boo. I hope the DVD will include better camera angles, and of course, the special screens in its own form. I wonder how they're gonna do the disco-munication screen though, since technically there were two of them.

rollin' and Sparkle, I like. They were so funny. Ayu was really weird, but that's okay. She just totally let go, you know, and it was fun to see her like that. The guy dancers' vocals in Sunrise, are they even live? I've been wondering since the first TV live came out. XD I find the mics really useless on them, it's all just for show.

CAMERAS, ZOOM IN MORE, WILL YOU.

[Corvina]

Reposting my thoughts from another thread:

Ok, I'm disappointed.
I was so looking forward to rollin' and Sparkle, cause those are my absolutely favourite songs from NEXT LEVEL and it seemed to be so promising from all these reviews about the concert...

All of you who said her vocals are awesome... what are you hearing? I really wonder, cause her voice isn't good at all. In every performance on youtube (rollin', Sparkle, evolution, Signal).
It's horrible in rollin' and in Sparkle after it seems heavily edited because of that.
And the dance, I expected more with it. rollin' is funny, but in Sparkle she's standing there, doing some handmoves here and there and that's all. Where's the actual dance in Sparkle? I love the end with Ayu going freaky though, but they don't show much of it.
And the audience doesn't seem to be more hyped up as usual with Ayu or any other singer.

rollin':
Nice idea, but it good have been so much better. The beginning is great, the lights are nice, the screens amazing. But why didn't they use the throbbing part at the second verse better? That could be epic with lights throbbing in the same way the music goes in this verse. Missed chance. But overall nice performance, cause I can take it funny as it seems to be meant.
Sparkle:
Well, yeah, it's boring with Ayu just standing there.
Her voice sounds better, the screens are nice and I love the end with Ayu spinning round.
evolution:
Why does she sing in her cute voice at the end? Oh dear, I don't like that. The rest is the usual routine.
Signal:
There is an acutal choreography at some points and it's nice to see. I also like her energy with it. Her voice doens't sound good though, that's sad. Can't somebody tell Ayu that singing loud isn't the same as singing strong?

Seriously her voice is buggin me with all those performances.
It's getting worse every year, I'm a little bit worried.

Ayu seems to be having a lot of fun, but to be honest that's just a plus for me.
If I'm paying that much money to see an artist live (or on DVD)I wanna hear great vocals, have a great visual experience and the artist having fun.
The vocals and the voice are still the most important thing for an artist and for an concert. Why isn't Ayu taking some vocal lessons again at this point?
I thought she would begin with them after her ear was going deaf.

I like the costumes so far, they're something different for her, more tacky, but that's entertaining somehow. The lights and the screens are also very nice.

I'm not impressed. rollin' is my favourite so far.
I'm waiting till I see the rest of the concert. I hope I'll be surpriesd in a positive way.

[Ayumi27]

Not that I've watched the whole thing, I truly dislike many of the performances, specially rollin' & Sparkle.

Yet I agree it's better to focus in Ayu and not those complex props from AT05-08, and the entire NEXT LEVEL segment was nice

[amorphose]

Compared to past tours, this has definitely been her weakest in years.

First of all, the entrance was really disappointing. All of the fan cams made the entrance before Rule started look so cool, but on the professional ones it just kind of looked mediocre. There was nothing really special about it and she always enters in a very epic way. Not this year.

The performances of Rule and UNITE! were good, but I felt that her hair really didn't match the costume very well. She reminded me a lot of Madonna or something. It sort of felt like her age was coming to the surface a bit. That's really weird too because this was before a-nation took place, right? And I didn't feel that way about her a-nation performance of Rule (or any others) at all. She must've just been off game a little bit?

I also was disappointed with the addition of all the new screens. Again, they looked cool in the fan cams and sounded cool in the fan reports, but they didn't live up to what they were hyped to be like. They did work for some performances like Rule, evolution and SIGNAL, but for others (like UNITE!) they were just awkward.

The performances of EnergizE and Sunrise were really cute, but again her hair seemed really weird. I don't know why. The live performance of EnergizE did make me hate the song less. It was much better than the version on the album. The Sunrise performance could've been a little bit louder but it was still really on par and I adore the way the audience interacts with her in that song!

The section with LOVE 'n' HATE and identity really disappointed me. I thought for sure that was going to be the hottest part of the concert. Sure, they tried to make it like that but it didn't really seem so to me. LOVE 'n' HATE's choreography was so weird. I really disliked it. Also, at some parts of this song it really looked like she was lip-syncing to me... identity was a much bigger disaster though... Her vocals were good, but the choreography ruined it for me. First of all, identity doesn't even seem like it should be a song with a dance, let alone one that looks like something from Dancing With The Stars.

I was really happy to see that she decided to perform In The Corner again too! I really like that song and the choreography for it is so awesome! This is another example though of the extra screens making it look awkward though. What the heck were those strands of DNA there for? It was so random and weird... I did love this performance though. I'm also wondering if the glove she wore was supposed to be a little tribute to Michael Jackson?

For the ballads section I was so, so happy to see Maro in the video with Ayu and not Shuya. It seriously made my life. I hadn't read about that in any of the concert reports so I really wasn't expecting to see anyone but Shuya. Just like I was happy to see In The Corner performed, I was also happy to see HOPE or PAIN get another performance before being thrown back into the vault of songs that will never ever see the light of day again. haha And she didn't disappoint with vocals here. For GREEN, I really, really enjoyed the acoustic feel that it had, but I wished her vocals had been a little bit stronger. My only complaint was that the choreography didn't feature Ayu dancing with Maro. It was so weird that he was dancing with (was that) Midori(?) while Ayu was singing. And then finally, Days... It made me so mad that she brought Shuya back for this one. She continued to sound really nice though, so I'm not complaining. That pink mermaid dress was so pretty too!

And is it just me, or does Maro deserve to win best jeanist this year?

I didn't have any complaints with the performances of evolution or SIGNAL. In fact, I found this portion of the concert to be one of the stronger ones. And again, love the audience interaction in evolution. I was really sick of all the dancers by this point though. She used them way, way, way too much this year. Give them a break already. It made the concert feel like it was "ayumi hamasaki and friends" and not "ayumi hamasaki." Of course, everyone works hard to put this shows together but Ayu really is supposed to be the main focal point, right?

I know a lot of us complain to about how she chooses to sing the same staples over and over again in each concert, but I will admit... I really was missing SURREAL and A Song for xx in this concert. I hope she brings back all the staples for CDL this year or the tour next year.

rollin' + Sparkle was pretty cool. I really liked it pretty much everything about this section (costume, vocals, screens, ect...) but what the hell was up with that wig? Her hair was really strange for most of this concert. And I'll never forget the way she flailed around toward the end of Sparkle. haha I did love the way she got them to participate at the end of that song though. Can you tell that I'm really a sucker for audience interaction? I even thought it was cute when she forgot the lyrics to rollin' but I fail to understand why she used her 'cute voice' for a verse or two of that song...

The finale... NEXT LEVEL. It was nice to see her end a concert with a song like this for a change but again, I felt her age was coming to the surface a lot in this performance. I did squeal a little bit though when they showed the pictures of baby Ayu during the Bridge to the sky screen.

Mmm... yeah. So I did enjoy this concert, but it really wasn't up to par with any of her concerts over the past five years or so. I really hope she comes back with a bang for CDL!

[noidea]

I just listened to the first 40 minutes and it's just so shocking...I can't remember her vocals ever sucking this much in the last years, she sounds like an amateur singing karaoke sometimes, it's compareable to AT02, but the band sounds amazing

[TITANIC]

she was forgot the lyric in rollin'

I hope NEXT LEVEL could be her staple song for next show. I really enjoy this LIVE and is the best Ayu's tour so far especially NEXT LEVEL although her voice bit rough so the feeling of the song faded, but the end of the show made me cry.. it was perfect show.
I cant describe by words how great the ending of NEXT LEVEL show.
and Ayu's baby llook tanned

[RPGames]

Woah, some of you guys sound like 11-year-old-kids with a fear of sex.

"OMG NOOOESSS ayu put put her backside against shuya's...shuya's.!!!.OMG EWWW AAAAAH : ( : ("





@majrakun: Yea, I agree @ Days. This is the first time ever I found a (part of) Shuya/Ayu dance touching: when they hugged eachother at the end of Days. ^^; I was like 'awwww *_* SO CUTE : '(". Usually it's the OH NOES I CANT REACH HER. D: thing lol. Actually, "usually"? Isn't this the first time ever they find eachother like this at the end of a song/ballad?

[agashi]

well... i thought rollin dance....little bit look a like chulip dance from ai otsuka...its so unique...XD
BUT!! i love the nex level stage!!! its awesome!

and i want hear again n again sunrise ~next level tour remix version~ ! ^&^

[Rainbow141]

Oh my god. I just got done watching Rule, and holy hell was that a HOT performance! Ayu looked amazing - even in that yucky tight black jumpsuit thing (spandex? I'm not sure.). And she was so pumped and... wow. It was a real turnaround. I've recently come to love Rule, and the way she performed it... It was love. The screens were so awesome! That dragon, I dunno if anyone noticed, but it was so amazing.

I figured out the one thing that's really bothering me. It's the cinematography. The show is zoomed in so close to the stage, I can't get a feel of how huge the stage and the concert is. When it's more zoomed out, and at times semi-aerial, for me it's a bit more exciting. You can see more that way, and the hugeness of the stage and how it's laid out. I really wish the camera wasn't so level with everything. It feels like a small venue the way it's being shot. I know it can't be, but whatever camera people did this suck. T_T The DVD cinematography will be different, right? D=

[se7entheaven]

I watched Rule, UNITE!, evolution, SIGNAL, rollin', Sparkle. Everything is nice! The stage is just wow. I like it better than the full screen stage in 2006

[love in music]

Originally Posted by RPGames

Woah, some of you guys sound like 11-year-old-kids with a fear of sex.

"OMG NOOOESSS ayu put put her backside against shuya's...shuya's.!!!.OMG EWWW AAAAAH : ( : ("

lol that was actually my favorite part of the performance. ayu never usually goes that far with being sexy, i was surprised and was looking at her in a totally different way during that performance.
i much prefer her to have performances like that then the cutesy ones.

[majrakun]

Originally Posted by RPGames

Woah, some of you guys sound like 11-year-old-kids with a fear of sex.

"OMG NOOOESSS ayu put put her backside against shuya's...shuya's.!!!.OMG EWWW AAAAAH : ( : ("

Hahaha, I was slightly shocked, but then I already saw a photo of it before, so I wasn't THAT shocked. XD It was hawt, dammit. Their faces were so close, so so close~ O: I think that was my most watched performance in this tour, for various reasons.

I wondered who choreographed it. For some reason, I saw hints of Shuya's ballad solo movements, but it felt more suitable since it was rock-ish. And with his solos choreographed by Maro, well hahaha.

Originally Posted by RPGames

@majrakun: Yea, I agree @ Days. This is the first time ever I found a (part of) Shuya/Ayu dance touching: when they hugged eachother at the end of Days. ^^; I was like 'awwww *_* SO CUTE : '(". Usually it's the OH NOES I CANT REACH HER. D: thing lol. Actually, "usually"? Isn't this the first time ever they find eachother like this at the end of a song/ballad?

Ever since a-nation 07, this is definitely the first time. Trust me, I've been keeping track. XD It's usually either Shuya dies, falls off the stairs, pulled into an abyss, comes from a different time or just simply can't see each other blablabla. I think they wanted us to think this was just "one of those ballads" when both of them walked away from each other, until he turned around at the last second <3 So okay, happy ending already. Now stop it, but keep Maro and Midoring together

[ownsarai]

I really enjoyed the concert. identity is probably my favorite performance. I loved what I could see of all the special screens, especially LotS/disco-munication/Bridge to the sky (I love how they went through all of the pictures of Ayu through the years, all the way to when she was a baby! SO CUTE!)
The vocals were actually pretty good compared to recent years. I am happy with this concert overall. But I do agree about In The Corner being out of place. Maybe if the performance was changed up a bit, but it's pretty much the same as last years, so I don't see the reason for it. I wish I could own this DVD...being broke is really frustrating. =/

[Suteisi]

Originally Posted by majrakun

Ever since a-nation 07, this is definitely the first time. Trust me, I've been keeping track. XD It's usually either Shuya dies, falls off the stairs, pulled into an abyss, comes from a different time or just simply can't see each other blablabla. I think they wanted us to think this was just "one of those ballads" when both of them walked away from each other, until he turned around at the last second <3 So okay, happy ending already. Now stop it, but keep Maro and Midoring together

That's so like you to keep track of that XD Hahaha!

But I agree, it was so sweet when they hugged at the end TwT!

I've always loved Shuya, so I always liked it when he was around doing the scenes with Ayu. But ever since Maro arrived, my heart skips a beat everytime he's there!

I wish she'd start including Maro more now though. The scene in between with Ayu and Maro, where they're just walking (and he's got his white shirt opened!!!!) was so beautiful!

[nanakopy87]

after finish watching this whole show,i must say that this is much more better than AT08.
the lighting effect,the big screen animation,the band.everything is perfect.
maybe because she move the band to the side.this makes the whole stage look soooo big and this makes herself look smaller
i love identity,rollin' ,rule,days and unite alot..my favourite performance is definitely identity.thumbs up,ayu

[Piccolo]

It was entertaining, but not great. Very average I think. SIGNAL was the highlight for me. I did not like many of the costumes or choreography. I did like the stage though.

[SunshineSlayer]

Ok, here are my basic thoughts.

The positive was I liked all the screens and many of the costumes were not as horrific as they looked in the pictures. Some of the performances were really fun and I ended up liking a few of the Next Level songs more than I did before. The Discomunication video was also really cute. I liked Energize and Sunrise, even though it was lip synched.

However, overall, I would rate this as my least favorite tour from her.

She definitely lip synched in this concert more than any other tour it seems - maybe around the same level as PCDL. Either that or they edited it a lot for broadcast, but if that is the case wouldn't they have edited every song? But they didn't.

But what is most unfortunate was that at the parts that were live, she was not very good. Even easy things like the verses of Unite, she was clearly struggling with a lot. Also, I really wish she would cut back on using the dancers so much all the time.

Oh and one more thing: Her boobs! lol. All throughout Rule and Unite I kept thinking "boobs Hamasaki" haha. I paid more attention to her boobs than the stage, the song, the singing, the dancing, anything - haha. And really, shouldn't you want your audience to focus on those kinds of things instead?

[noidea]

^ Would you tell me which songs you think were playback?(maybe per PM, so theres no fight in this thread)
I actually didn't think it were that many, but I only listened to it so far and not even to the complete concert so...I can't really say so far

But I have to agree about her horrid vocals, her vocals, even when bad, never were a real turnoff from the concert for me, but now they are...

[jkm444]

Overall this concert was okay... it could have been better.
I really hated the Day and Green performance. I think she sounded horrible and was being way to dramatic in the performance. I am slowly starting to not like any of her performance where she those dose fake crying etc.. But the good part of the concert is where she performed signal. It was nice to hear the full version of it live. I actually liked her energize and Sunrise performance.