Ayumi Hamasaki Sekai

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truehappiness 29th December 2011 08:05 AM

COUNTDOWN LIVE 2011-2012 A ~HOTEL Love songs~ information thread
 
It's that time of year again and doors are set to open at Yoyogi for CDL11-12 with the concert starting in about an hour or so. For the last few years, we've had little bits of leaked setlist and sometimes the ENTIRE setlist (like this year it seems and CDL09-10) but it's always fun to be around during the lives and seeing photos come in via blogs and Twitter!

Sources will be linked to as usual and normally consist of various Twitters and blogs of Japanese fans.

Setlist + etc.
Spoiler:
The stage appears to be the ARENA TOUR 2005 stage with the steps and not the A MUSEUM stage OR the center stage.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SunshineSlayer (Post 2795695)
Set list is right so far. After happening here is insomnia. Timmy is rap part in happening here

Quote:

Originally Posted by SunshineSlayer (Post 2795721)
Waiting for encore. Best part was November. Would have been perfect if not for shuya flailing around with one wing on.

The new song will likely be called Party Queen. Yes, Party Queen. She repeats I am your party queen in the song. It kinda sounds like a cheesier Sparkle. It's followed by a reprise of Happening Here and then Love songs. Weird pairing to say the least. Honestly this whole show feels a bit off to me. It will be interesting to see other opinions about it.

- Ayu has four backup singers now, two male (one is Timmy and one is Michi) and two female (no more PECO, Yumi replaces her)
- Shu-ya flails around during November with one wing
- Ayu has shortish blonde hair but it looks better than the hair she had for CDL10-11 ~do it again~
- GO-MI is not present at the show... it seems that he broke a joint somewhere?

01.do it again
02.Happening Here
xx.insomnia
03.MOON
04.fated
xx.feedback
05.NEVER EVER
06.sending mail
xx.machine
07.Sparkle
08.Humming7/4 (12/29, 12/31)
09.evolution (12/29, 12/31)
10.flower garden (12/29, 12/30)
11.RAINBOW(COUNTDOWN)
12.November
xx.music
13.Ladies Night
14.Party queen~Happening Here
15.Love song

ENCORE
16.how beautiful you are
17.Trauma~AUDIENCE (Trauma only 12/30, 12/31)
18.Boys&Girls
19.MY ALL


Outfits


Photos + stage setup
Spoiler:
http://i.imgur.com/CSQnO.jpg
- from http://twitter.com/SunshineSlayer

http://i.imgur.com/5shB7.jpg
From CDL... worn during the following, it seems:
08.Humming7/4
09.evolution
10.flower garden

http://i.imgur.com/Ea1ze.jpg
- from http://yfrog.com/h85rntqj

http://i.imgur.com/88JXe.jpg

- from http://lockerz.com/s/169448362

http://i.imgur.com/vpXYI.jpg
Photos of loot! The chopsticks are purple this year and the sporks are cuuute!

- from http://photozou.jp/photo/photo_only/1967159/115390006

http://i.imgur.com/pURak.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/ibjAx.jpg

-from http://ameblo.jp/0904kapandji

http://i.imgur.com/ALf6B.jpg
- from http://yfrog.com/o08yzcj

http://i.imgur.com/xJtMQ.jpg
- from http://photozou.jp/photo/show/1275962/115395509

http://p.twipple.jp/9cu7C - a view from outside just before the doors opened

http://i.imgur.com/jbMCD.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/BwqSR.jpg
In addition to the usual "A" noodle place, they have the soup vendors and an A takoyaki stand!

-from http://ameblo.jp/hidex-hidex-hidex

http://i.imgur.com/ubuCy.jpg
It seems they are selling a hot corn soup in HOTEL Love songs cups. You can get a free cup of soup if you buy 4,000 yen or more of goods. There's also a set of pink A sporks that come with one of the food items they're selling (takoyaki, the usual soup noodles, and tonjiru)~

http://i.imgur.com/1BoHY.jpg
The TA lottery booth.

http://i.imgur.com/Mu4ty.jpg
-from http://ameblo.jp/nikochan-aurora/.

http://i.imgur.com/8nEHB.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/YBuw0.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/5DMM2.jpg
-from http://ameblo.jp/masamune15670905


Notable links
Ayumi Hamasaki COUNTDOWN LIVE 2011-2012 A ~HOTEL Love songs~
COUNTDOWN LIVE 2011-2012 A ~HOTEL Love songs~ goods
SunshineSlayer's review of the 12/29 show
JustLovely's comments about the 12/29 show
HilaryDuffFanBoy's in depth review of the 12/29 show
Lee^ChaN's review of the 12/30 show

SunshineSlayer 29th December 2011 08:15 AM

Both the ticket shop AND our original predictions were wrong! No center or a-museum stage! It's the old My Story stage!

Don't know how to post pics here from my phone. But I can post to my twitter @SunshineSlayer. TrueHappiness feel free to post the photo here.

truehappiness 29th December 2011 08:20 AM

Interesting. Isn't that the stage that no one liked because she used it a billion times?

emi♡ 29th December 2011 08:25 AM

well, anything's better than the center stage~~


thanks sunshine :)

truehappiness 29th December 2011 08:32 AM

http://i.imgur.com/CSQnO.jpg
- from http://twitter.com/SunshineSlayer

Looks very intimate.

SKYia 29th December 2011 08:43 AM

I've always liked that stage a lot :)

SunshineSlayer 29th December 2011 08:49 AM

They are playing classical music. Usually it's rock or pop music before her shows.

truehappiness 29th December 2011 08:54 AM

Yeah, I think once it was Nickelback? And another time Fergie?

Perhaps it'll be a rather ~epic~ opening?

Onton 29th December 2011 08:55 AM

so excited. what time will the show start?

truehappiness 29th December 2011 08:56 AM

The show time is in about five minutes BUT they rarely ever start on time.

Onton 29th December 2011 09:00 AM

the circular stage of POM looks fresh..
But I'm old fan and I love her old 3-sided stage more. LOL

truehappiness 29th December 2011 09:02 AM

It is a bit of a classic stage~

But I hope they make some neat changes to it.

http://i.imgur.com/vpXYI.jpg
Photos of loot! The chopsticks are purple this year and the spork is cuuute!

- from http://photozou.jp/photo/photo_only/1967159/115390006

http://i.imgur.com/88JXe.jpg

- from http://lockerz.com/s/169448362

SunshineSlayer 29th December 2011 09:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by truehappiness (Post 2795683)
The show time is in about five minutes BUT they rarely ever start on time.

Yep it's late. Japanese concerts are usually on time to the minute actually. It's just ayus that are late. Haha

truehappiness 29th December 2011 09:08 AM

Yeah, they usually tend to be very late... but there are a lot of things to finalize/double check I guess? lol.

http://i.imgur.com/Ea1ze.jpg
- from http://yfrog.com/h85rntqj

toniayu 29th December 2011 09:18 AM

wow!!!if this is the real setlist,it's amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

SummonerXI 29th December 2011 09:28 AM

https://twitter.com/#!/search/realtime/%23ayucdl

Here's the Official Twitter Hashtag. Some interesting pics

truehappiness 29th December 2011 09:29 AM

I'm seeing a tweet that's saying that the show has started!

SunshineSlayer 29th December 2011 09:30 AM

Set list is right so far. After happening here is insomnia. Timmy is rap part in happening here

nanomi 29th December 2011 09:31 AM

I can't wait to see the final setlist, this looks very promising!

CeReSu 29th December 2011 09:35 AM

So do it again is the first song?
Hope this "rumor" trackliste is true, I like it!

truehappiness 29th December 2011 09:39 AM

Looks like it is confirmed? I guess I'll take the disclaimer off when the show is closer to over.

SunshineSlayer 29th December 2011 10:53 AM

Waiting for encore. Best part was November. Would have been perfect if not for shuya flailing around with one wing on.

The new song will likely be called Party Queen. Yes, Party Queen. She repeats I am your party queen in the song. It kinda sounds like a cheesier Sparkle. It's followed by a reprise of Happening Here and then Love songs. Weird pairing to say the least. Honestly this whole show feels a bit off to me. It will be interesting to see other opinions about it.

AyUmIXx 29th December 2011 11:01 AM

wow ARENA TOUR 2005 stage will be awesome..
and i really like the setlist =))

^
woww party queen.. sounds pretty cool!

CeReSu 29th December 2011 11:02 AM

Sunshine Layer, is the trackliste right?

toniayu 29th December 2011 11:03 AM

party queen? wow...

njanjayrp 29th December 2011 11:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SunshineSlayer (Post 2795721)
Waiting for encore. Best part was November. Would have been perfect if not for shuya flailing around with one wing on.

The new song will likely be called Party Queen. Yes, Party Queen. She repeats I am your party queen in the song. It kinda sounds like a cheesier Sparkle. It's followed by a reprise of Happening Here and then Love songs. Weird pairing to say the least. Honestly this whole show feels a bit off to me. It will be interesting to see other opinions about it.


oh god no...How were her vocals?

majrakun 29th December 2011 11:08 AM

Could it also possibly be Shake It? Since they did say Shake It was a party song afterall.

truehappiness 29th December 2011 11:11 AM

Shake It is probably its own track? I don't think they would change a track title after recording/filming the PV... would they? I feel like Party Queen is going to be the nightclub PV.

I love how she is going to perform 3 totally new/unperformed tracks~

SunshineSlayer 29th December 2011 11:30 AM

Woah didn't notice till the encore but ayu has 4 backup singers! Two male including Tim. Two female and peco is gone!

SunshineSlayer 29th December 2011 11:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by njanjayrp (Post 2795725)
oh god no...How were her vocals?

Starting to head home now. The set list was correct except there was a second performance of happening here and boys and girls was at the end of the trauma audience medley.

Vocals were overall ok; not bad but not great.

truehappiness 29th December 2011 11:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SunshineSlayer (Post 2795730)
Woah didn't notice till the encore but ayu has 4 backup singers! Two male including Tim. Two female and peco is gone!

WOW, that's interesting.

So Princess has a new partner?!

SunshineSlayer 29th December 2011 11:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by truehappiness (Post 2795733)
WOW, that's interesting.

So Princess has a new partner?!

Yep. I couldn't clearly catch her name though when ayu introduced her.

AyUmIXx 29th December 2011 11:44 AM

wow 4 back up singers.. 2 males 2 females. interesting

ayumimylove 29th December 2011 11:45 AM

The setlist is ok, but why happening here was performed twice?... I hate it. I hope this setlist gets better in the actual arena tour.

Is there any information about her outfits or her hair style? :P

Benikari47 29th December 2011 11:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SunshineSlayer (Post 2795721)
Waiting for encore. Best part was November. Would have been perfect if not for shuya flailing around with one wing on.

The new song will likely be called Party Queen. Yes, Party Queen. She repeats I am your party queen in the song. It kinda sounds like a cheesier Sparkle. It's followed by a reprise of Happening Here and then Love songs. Weird pairing to say the least. Honestly this whole show feels a bit off to me. It will be interesting to see other opinions about it.

I welcome anything in the vein of Sparkle with opens arms, the show sounds great.

ExodusUK 29th December 2011 11:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SunshineSlayer (Post 2795721)
Waiting for encore. Best part was November. Would have been perfect if not for shuya flailing around with one wing on.

Omg I don't know how I feel...I might have to mosaic shu-ya like he's genitals in a japanese porn.

truehappiness 29th December 2011 11:46 AM

Probably because it's the ~THEME SONG~ to this tour. I wonder if the live arrangement helps the song at all. I like the studio one but that "retro" sound kinda grates after a while.

natapan 29th December 2011 11:47 AM

PECO is gone!? oh my god... best day EVER!! ahahahaha *___*

SunshineSlayer 29th December 2011 11:48 AM

Her hair is short blonde but better than last years cdl. The outfits weren't all that bad except maybe the first one IMO. Once again though last years were worse I think.

Onton 29th December 2011 11:50 AM

Thx SunshineSlayer for the info!!

Any special or wow-moment in the concert?

SunshineSlayer 29th December 2011 11:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by truehappiness (Post 2795740)
Probably because it's the ~THEME SONG~ to this tour. I wonder if the live arrangement helps the song at all. I like the studio one but that "retro" sound kinda grates after a while.

It is a bit more fun live but I could have done without it twice.

ayumimylove 29th December 2011 12:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by truehappiness (Post 2795740)
Probably because it's the ~THEME SONG~ to this tour. I wonder if the live arrangement helps the song at all. I like the studio one but that "retro" sound kinda grates after a while.

You´re right, I forgot the "theme song" thing. Now I understand why was performed twice.

Short hair again? nooooo I want ayu with long haaaaair!!:grumpy

reilachii 29th December 2011 12:14 PM

is it from cdl? just found it on weibo
http://ww2.sinaimg.cn/bmiddle/6ebbe6...ojoo59z4vj.jpg

natapan 29th December 2011 12:15 PM

^^ Me too, I want long hair... Short hair is ok, but form me she looks better & younger with long hair... and if it's dark long hair... better lol

^ I think it is... I've never seen that outfit before O.o

RayJason 29th December 2011 12:17 PM

I didn't like PECO but I did feel like she was a part of it all :(. Think that I'm going to miss her for a little bit.

But, I'm disappointed with the 'party queen' lyrics, seems like another English song [I]again[/I. It might be good, but for now I have my doubts. The tracklist looks promising too! I just don't hope that she goes all PoM and throw in those powerful vocals in some of the songs.

And Timmy's now a dancer? ... :laugh

^^ Might be, I also never saw that outfit! I'm curious to know what's on her leg ~
^^^ I want long hair ayu too! I really don't like the short hair. It's getting really boring now.

Beffi 29th December 2011 12:22 PM

^ She looks like she's wearing tights and there are holes in them. Either that or it's the knee brace she wears, idk.

I like the look of the setlist! But no PECO? A part of me is happy, but a part of me is sad haha.

SunshineSlayer 29th December 2011 12:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by reilachii (Post 2795754)
is it from cdl? just found it on weibo
http://ww2.sinaimg.cn/bmiddle/6ebbe6...ojoo59z4vj.jpg

Yep it is. She wore that during the evolution/flower garden etc portion. and yes, she was wearing ripped tights.

AyUmIXx 29th December 2011 12:24 PM

wow love the outfit.
so colorful~
can't wait to see pics of her outfits.

YUKARI 29th December 2011 12:54 PM

oh my, the setlist is amazing!!!

SunshineSlayer 29th December 2011 12:54 PM

Ok, so I'm home now where I can properly type my review. Before I get into this, let me preface this by saying what I love about Ayu's concerts - I love the parts where it is just her on stage or her and her band, and if the dancers are a part of it, I like them to be in the background. Now, unfortunately, this was NOT that concert at all. For those that are more a fan of her performances with her dancers, you will probably love this show. But for me, this was about the 15th time I've seen her live and unfortunately I thought it was the worst time that I have seen one of her shows. I really loved loved loved the Love Songs album and I thought the Rock n' Roll Circus tour was one of her best ever, so I was really looking forward to this but I felt somewhat underwhelmed while watching this show tonight.

I look forward to seeing the opinions of others who went to the show because I have a feeling that this show will really divide people's opinions.

First, what I LIKED about the show:
- No, PECO! lol
- How Beautiful You Are is a really pretty song and it was also the only one of the night that Ayu sang totally solo. People were wondering if the song picks up or not. It's does somewhat, but it firmly remains a ballad, so it doesn't pick up to the point of say Progress or something. Something that might divide some fans I guess though is that Tim's vocal shows up towards the end of this song; I didn't mind it though.
- There was no lip synching
- Her hair and outfits were better overall than last year imo.
- The November performance was really nice and if not for the aforementioned Shuya, would have been amazing. The performance also incorporated the fountains from the My Story tour. That would probably be considered the "wow" moment I guess.
- I'll put this as a positive: If you are a Maro fan this just might be your favorite concert ever. He spends a lot of time on a bed with his shirt off. :)

ummmm, that's it. Like seriously. haha

What I didn't like:
- To pick up the last point; this concert didn't really feel like it had a wow moment. At least nothing newish. There are the fountains in November and she performs Ladies Night suspended from the ceiling in a chair, but that's all been done before, so I don't think anyone really sat back and was like amazed or anything. I'm not sure how much different the Arena tour will be because Ayu asked the audience in the encore "what did you think of the real love songs?" If this is for the most part going to be it, it really pales in comparison to Rock n' Roll Circus.

-Ayu herself I thought was lacking some energy in this show.

- The setlist doesn't read like it would flow well together and it didn't really.

- The set and props in general I thought looked pretty cheap. More so than usual for a CDL and if this is what is being used for the Arena tour, then even more so. I also couldn't really tell what theme they were going for. Often times the costumes and what not for the dancers were just all over the place. It really looked like kind of a mish-mash onstage a lot of times.

-The band members were not highlighted even once. Enrique and Yoshio were in the background off to the side and did not move from their positions the entire show.

- The biggest problem I felt was actually most of the whole first part of the concert. Of the first 7 songs, she is actually sitting for the majority of 4 of them. She sits through most of Moon, Fated, Never Ever, and Sparkle. Yes, Sparkle. She is only up and moving in the last chorus of that song. That imo, is way too many and they were all right around each other in the set list. She then also later sat through a good chunk of Ladies Night. That just seemed odd to me in an Ayu concert and kind of dampened the excitement. She also didn't even touch the catwalk or circular stage until the 10th song in the setlist. I hope I'm not the only one that thought the first half of the concert felt kind of dead.

And this then led to what is imo a problem with the dancers. I really felt like they were highlighted waaay to much. In the first half of the concert I often felt like Ayu was singing backup vocals at a dance performance instead of the other way around like it should be. In Never Ever and Sparkle Ayu is even seated upstage while the dancers are down stage, meaning the audience had a better view of the dancers than Ayu.

Sorry to say, but this was just not my type of show. :( Hopefully the others that went got more enjoyment from it than me.

!Lawi! 29th December 2011 12:59 PM

^Thanks to the review,it sounds a bit disappointing but I hope and think she will change many things for the Arena Tour !
Do you remember more or less precisely what "Party Queen" sounded like ?

YUKARI 29th December 2011 01:02 PM

^^ thanks for the review!!
I'm glad she looks better now than last year. I didn't like her last year's outfits and hairstyle. But sad to read that she was sitting while performing Sparkle :yrolleyes

SunshineSlayer 29th December 2011 01:08 PM

Oh I forgot to mention about Moon and Fated - she performs Moon on a bed in her pajamas and Maro is on another bed shirtless with another dancer. :) He then seemingly has an "affair" with Ayu on her bed but then goes back to the dancer on the other bed. Fated is performed still in the pajamas but now seated on a sofa in front of the bed with Maro still flailing shirtlessly in the background. Like I said, Maro fans will love this show.

Quote:

Originally Posted by !Lawi! (Post 2795773)
^Thanks to the review,it sounds a bit disappointing but I hope and think she will change many things for the Arena Tour !
Do you remember more or less precisely what "Party Queen" sounded like ?

It was a happy sounding dance track. It was kind of fun and might grow on me. But never in a million years would I have thought that Ayu would have a song possibly titled Party Queen that has as it's chorus, "Party queen, party queen I'm your party queen." That combined with the title "Shake It" for apparently another track is kinda making me have to do a double take.

Onton 29th December 2011 01:17 PM

Thanks SunshineSlayer for your review. seems that the show is just so-so..

one thing I wanna know is how ayu appear on stage in the opening? Any intro movie or special effect that she appears on stage?

ExodusUK 29th December 2011 01:20 PM

The show does sound really bad...argh Ayu needs PECO, she also did a lot of stuff regarding direction on stage too.

SunshineSlayer 29th December 2011 01:22 PM

^ Yeah, that could be it. I didn't like PECO as a singer with Ayu, but as a production designer maybe she wasn't half bad.

I honestly want to see other peoples reactions though. Maybe it was just me who felt like it wasn't that great. :shrug Like I said, I think it will come down to what type of Ayu concert you like.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Onton (Post 2795780)
Thanks SunshineSlayer for your review. seems that the show is just so-so..

one thing I wanna know is how ayu appear on stage in the opening? Any intro movie or special effect that she appears on stage?


The intro movie shows the do it again performance from CDL. But it seemed like there were major technical problems while playing the video. Actually I couldn't tell if there were technical problems or if they actually were aiming for it to look and sound messed up. She then(along with 4 or 5 other people) comes down on stage from the ceiling while on a platform. Could have been a spectacular opening, but fell a bit flat for me. Not quite sure why. It kind of felt like the last CDL went out with a powerful bang with Do it Again, but then kinda opened with a whimper here.

mizuki-7 29th December 2011 01:28 PM

maybe the 31st will be better ?

RayJason 29th December 2011 01:30 PM

Oh duh, ofcourse these are ripped thighs. facepalm

Thank you very much for the review!
It doesn't sounds as awesome as I thought it would have been.

Were you satisfied with ayu's vocals? :P

truehappiness 29th December 2011 01:31 PM

It definitely doesn't sound as ultra luxurious as the claims of what HOTEL Love songs could've been back when POWER of MUSIC was happening but ehhh... we'll probably see a rather different show once the tour starts up since they had already done costume work and filmed special screens.

I'm interested in this CDL of course, but I suppose I really just want to see the tour soon, lol. I wonder just how much of this concert was previously planned for the concerts back in March/April?

Now that I think about it, since there are going to be two "HOTEL Love songs" related shows, are they going to release a dual Blu-ray/DVD featuring the tour and CDL sides of the concept?

AyuGAME 29th December 2011 01:31 PM

thanks for the review...i think your opinion is fair enough...

i hope her arena tour will be totally grand, and from your description, i don't understand the corelation between the theme and the whole show...it's doesn't sound hotel to me..
i expecting something more related to each other...

toniayu 29th December 2011 01:31 PM

@SunshineSlayer thank u!!!!!!!!!!!!

SunshineSlayer 29th December 2011 01:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by truehappiness (Post 2795789)
It definitely doesn't sound as ultra luxurious as the claims of what HOTEL Love songs could've been back when POWER of MUSIC was happening but ehhh... we'll probably see a rather different show once the tour starts up since they had already done costume work and filmed special screens.

Yeah, I certainly hope so at least. When she asked the audience in the encore though, it made it seem like this is the show more or less. Though obviously at least flower garden etc will be removed and stuff like Like a Doll etc., substituted and hopefully one of those substitutions is containing the "big" thing of this tour.

ExodusUK 29th December 2011 01:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SunshineSlayer (Post 2795793)
Yeah, I certainly hope so at least. When she asked the audience in the encore though, it made it seem like this is the show more or less. Though obviously at least flower garden etc will be removed and stuff like Like a Doll etc., substituted and hopefully one of those substitutions is containing the "big" thing of this tour.

I hope so...I'm sure Ayu is saving the big stuff for the main tour and the original concert was planned for the circle stage so I guess a lot of the grand stuff couldn't really be carried to the old plain stage she's using for this CDL.

sanzo2011 29th December 2011 01:48 PM

The tracklist looks like a mess to me! hope the concert will turn out better than the review!^^!

Aditmi Krisnasaki ~II~ 29th December 2011 02:14 PM

OMG... what a catastrophe for the setlist... ayu needs to put up some good "forgotten" songs / songs rarely sung by her to fit the HOTEL theme.. :(

alternarist 29th December 2011 02:20 PM

the setlist gave me a "what?" feeling. but i am surprised that November and sending mail made the cut. also happy that its not CDL1011 stage anymore..

Peco gone?!?!?! I dont think she will be gone, she just probably went backstage or what.

krtman2002 29th December 2011 02:38 PM

AAAAh!!! Can't wait to watch it!!

Can somebody tell me if "do it again" is a complete version? I didn't like the performance on CDL 2011... I wanted MORE! haha

Mai82Go 29th December 2011 02:42 PM

Maybe Pecos success from the Mori Mori dance allowed her to move on to better things. Anyway, everything (setlist/stage ect.) sounds so totally boring to me. Does she need more bg singers? Don't think so. Too much dancer action? Please no. Most of the CDL's are not really so good to me anyway but if this is the like the coming AT I really fear for the worst. Seems like a good time to let my Ayu love rest a bit. The thing that saddens me the most is that she doesn't move much and has not that much of energy. People come to see Ayu perform. Not her dancers dance, or her bg singers sing. *sigh*

Yagami Raito 29th December 2011 02:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SunshineSlayer (Post 2795770)
Ok, so I'm home now where I can properly type my review. Before I get into this, let me preface this by saying what I love about Ayu's concerts - I love the parts where it is just her on stage or her and her band, and if the dancers are a part of it, I like them to be in the background. Now, unfortunately, this was NOT that concert at all. For those that are more a fan of her performances with her dancers, you will probably love this show. But for me, this was about the 15th time I've seen her live and unfortunately I thought it was the worst time that I have seen one of her shows. I really loved loved loved the Love Songs album and I thought the Rock n' Roll Circus tour was one of her best ever, so I was really looking forward to this but I felt somewhat underwhelmed while watching this show tonight.

I look forward to seeing the opinions of others who went to the show because I have a feeling that this show will really divide people's opinions.

First, what I LIKED about the show:
- No, PECO! lol
- How Beautiful You Are is a really pretty song and it was also the only one of the night that Ayu sang totally solo. People were wondering if the song picks up or not. It's does somewhat, but it firmly remains a ballad, so it doesn't pick up to the point of say Progress or something. Something that might divide some fans I guess though is that Tim's vocal shows up towards the end of this song; I didn't mind it though.
- There was no lip synching
- Her hair and outfits were better overall than last year imo.
- The November performance was really nice and if not for the aforementioned Shuya, would have been amazing. The performance also incorporated the fountains from the My Story tour. That would probably be considered the "wow" moment I guess.
- I'll put this as a positive: If you are a Maro fan this just might be your favorite concert ever. He spends a lot of time on a bed with his shirt off. :)

ummmm, that's it. Like seriously. haha

What I didn't like:
- To pick up the last point; this concert didn't really feel like it had a wow moment. At least nothing newish. There are the fountains in November and she performs Ladies Night suspended from the ceiling in a chair, but that's all been done before, so I don't think anyone really sat back and was like amazed or anything. I'm not sure how much different the Arena tour will be because Ayu asked the audience in the encore "what did you think of the real love songs?" If this is for the most part going to be it, it really pales in comparison to Rock n' Roll Circus.

-Ayu herself I thought was lacking some energy in this show.

- The setlist doesn't read like it would flow well together and it didn't really.

- The set and props in general I thought looked pretty cheap. More so than usual for a CDL and if this is what is being used for the Arena tour, then even more so. I also couldn't really tell what theme they were going for. Often times the costumes and what not for the dancers were just all over the place. It really looked like kind of a mish-mash onstage a lot of times.

-The band members were not highlighted even once. Enrique and Yoshio were in the background off to the side and did not move from their positions the entire show.

- The biggest problem I felt was actually most of the whole first part of the concert. Of the first 7 songs, she is actually sitting for the majority of 4 of them. She sits through most of Moon, Fated, Never Ever, and Sparkle. Yes, Sparkle. She is only up and moving in the last chorus of that song. That imo, is way too many and they were all right around each other in the set list. She then also later sat through a good chunk of Ladies Night. That just seemed odd to me in an Ayu concert and kind of dampened the excitement. She also didn't even touch the catwalk or circular stage until the 10th song in the setlist. I hope I'm not the only one that thought the first half of the concert felt kind of dead.

And this then led to what is imo a problem with the dancers. I really felt like they were highlighted waaay to much. In the first half of the concert I often felt like Ayu was singing backup vocals at a dance performance instead of the other way around like it should be. In Never Ever and Sparkle Ayu is even seated upstage while the dancers are down stage, meaning the audience had a better view of the dancers than Ayu.

Sorry to say, but this was just not my type of show. :( Hopefully the others that went got more enjoyment from it than me.


I wanted to write a tiny review but..... I already wrote everything I wanted to say. I agree which each point.
For me it was the worst ”Ayu show” I’ve seen.... Not bad but it was as if I wasn't an "Ayu show"...

tokyoxjapanxfan 29th December 2011 02:58 PM

I liked Peco.
Much more than Timmy. At least she was only at the concerts, Timmy is now on the actual tracks...

But I can't make any judgments right now. I'm looking forward to the morning of the 31st though :)

What I can say is that I much prefer background singers and dancers staying in the background. Ayu has elevated them all much higher than needed. I mean, Japanese (male) fans even do the Shu-ya haircut and color and dress up as him at the concerts. Really strange.

ExodusUK 29th December 2011 03:01 PM

Ayu shouldn't have stayed overseas for sooo long, from the reviews it's obvious the dancers had to come up with their own show without Ayu and they've had two/three weeks to add Ayu to it as she was in London the whole time.

ayumi_ed 29th December 2011 03:02 PM

I guess there will be more songs on 31st...and I hope similar to
0304 tour, the arena tour contains a lot more wow stuff!!

JustLovely 29th December 2011 03:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SunshineSlayer (Post 2795770)
Ok, so I'm home now where I can properly type my review. Before I get into this, let me preface this by saying what I love about Ayu's concerts - I love the parts where it is just her on stage or her and her band, and if the dancers are a part of it, I like them to be in the background. Now, unfortunately, this was NOT that concert at all. For those that are more a fan of her performances with her dancers, you will probably love this show. But for me, this was about the 15th time I've seen her live and unfortunately I thought it was the worst time that I have seen one of her shows. I really loved loved loved the Love Songs album and I thought the Rock n' Roll Circus tour was one of her best ever, so I was really looking forward to this but I felt somewhat underwhelmed while watching this show tonight.

I look forward to seeing the opinions of others who went to the show because I have a feeling that this show will really divide people's opinions.

First, what I LIKED about the show:
- No, PECO! lol
- How Beautiful You Are is a really pretty song and it was also the only one of the night that Ayu sang totally solo. People were wondering if the song picks up or not. It's does somewhat, but it firmly remains a ballad, so it doesn't pick up to the point of say Progress or something. Something that might divide some fans I guess though is that Tim's vocal shows up towards the end of this song; I didn't mind it though.
- There was no lip synching
- Her hair and outfits were better overall than last year imo.
- The November performance was really nice and if not for the aforementioned Shuya, would have been amazing. The performance also incorporated the fountains from the My Story tour. That would probably be considered the "wow" moment I guess.
- I'll put this as a positive: If you are a Maro fan this just might be your favorite concert ever. He spends a lot of time on a bed with his shirt off. :)

ummmm, that's it. Like seriously. haha

What I didn't like:
- To pick up the last point; this concert didn't really feel like it had a wow moment. At least nothing newish. There are the fountains in November and she performs Ladies Night suspended from the ceiling in a chair, but that's all been done before, so I don't think anyone really sat back and was like amazed or anything. I'm not sure how much different the Arena tour will be because Ayu asked the audience in the encore "what did you think of the real love songs?" If this is for the most part going to be it, it really pales in comparison to Rock n' Roll Circus.

-Ayu herself I thought was lacking some energy in this show.

- The setlist doesn't read like it would flow well together and it didn't really.

- The set and props in general I thought looked pretty cheap. More so than usual for a CDL and if this is what is being used for the Arena tour, then even more so. I also couldn't really tell what theme they were going for. Often times the costumes and what not for the dancers were just all over the place. It really looked like kind of a mish-mash onstage a lot of times.

-The band members were not highlighted even once. Enrique and Yoshio were in the background off to the side and did not move from their positions the entire show.

- The biggest problem I felt was actually most of the whole first part of the concert. Of the first 7 songs, she is actually sitting for the majority of 4 of them. She sits through most of Moon, Fated, Never Ever, and Sparkle. Yes, Sparkle. She is only up and moving in the last chorus of that song. That imo, is way too many and they were all right around each other in the set list. She then also later sat through a good chunk of Ladies Night. That just seemed odd to me in an Ayu concert and kind of dampened the excitement. She also didn't even touch the catwalk or circular stage until the 10th song in the setlist. I hope I'm not the only one that thought the first half of the concert felt kind of dead.

And this then led to what is imo a problem with the dancers. I really felt like they were highlighted waaay to much. In the first half of the concert I often felt like Ayu was singing backup vocals at a dance performance instead of the other way around like it should be. In Never Ever and Sparkle Ayu is even seated upstage while the dancers are down stage, meaning the audience had a better view of the dancers than Ayu.

Sorry to say, but this was just not my type of show. :( Hopefully the others that went got more enjoyment from it than me.


This being my first Ayu concert ever, I had to love it and I did. I really did not want to admit the faults of it though and you really pointed out all of it. Most of all, the sitting down part of the majority of the first part of the show...I wasn't sure if it was just me or what it was...but I was wondering why she was not even moving during songs like Sparkle and just moving to the beat...in her CHAIR. @_@. That was quite a let-down but I tried to not let that get to me and enjoy what I could anyways regardless.

I wasn't impressed with the outfits either. I guess I expected more than what we saw tonight. Hmmm. Going to try to go again tomorrow anyway though. Haha.

SunshineSlayer 29th December 2011 03:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JustLovely (Post 2795850)
This being my first Ayu concert ever, I had to love it and I did. I really did not want to admit the faults of it though and you really pointed out all of it. Most of all, the sitting down part of the majority of the first part of the show...I wasn't sure if it was just me or what it was...but I was wondering why she was not even moving during songs like Sparkle and just moving to the beat...in her CHAIR. @_@. That was quite a let-down but I tried to not let that get to me and enjoy what I could anyways regardless.

I wasn't impressed with the outfits either. I guess I expected more than what we saw tonight. Hmmm. Going to try to go again tomorrow anyway though. Haha.

I'm sorry that this had to be your first Ayu concert. :( I am happy to know though that I am not crazy and that other people actually noticed this stuff too!

HilaryDuffFanboy 29th December 2011 03:17 PM

Just got back, pretty sure me and my bf were sitting in front of Sunshine Slayer.
What a show, don't know what to think at times, some bits were good, some were just bad.

The stage was BRAND NEW and pretty great, defo arena tour 2012 stage coz it wasn't too cheap.

01. do it again
They played last years perf of DIA, and then rewinded it, and it was made to look choppy or the film had been scratched for effect, but it was an epic opening video.

Ayu came down from the roof on a balcony with a gold outfit with a mask on and 4 dancers behind her singing do it again
The performance was OK, there was TOO much happening, 4 dancers behind her and 12 others on the stage, tried to be epic but failed, no where near as epic as Last Angel opening from last year.
Her vocals were OK, not bad, but not the greatest.

02. Happening Here
Big surprise, but it would always be for me. It was good, Timmy did the rap part, he wasn't featured tooooo much in the show. The song itself is quite the same as the mp3 we've heard. I enjoyed it.

03. insomnia
04. Interlude
05. MOON
Ayu is the 3rd person in a relationship I think, and a topless Maro has sex on 2 beds (props) with Ayu and then goes back to the other chick but Ayu tries to plead but Maro turns Ayu down.
Good performance again, nothing amazing. I was a bit upset to hear MOON after she sang it last year so much and she would do more of Love songs.
The two beds come out on a conveyor belt and are side by side.

06. fated
Interesting song choice, pretty OK vocals here, more pining for Maro.

07. Interlude
08. NEVER EVER
Thought it was ASFXX when the music started playing, it was a bit more rockified, maybe, or my memory is poor. She sat down for most of it, it was a pretty good performance, not bad vocally. But not her best.

09. sending mail
Thank the lord she did this song. For me one of the best perfs of the night because its such an epic song. She sang it well, but others might not think so. She sang the verses well, bridges superbly (I anticipated she would have trouble with the brudge but she probably rehearsed it a lot) and she sang more than she should have with the chorus IMO, but the guitars were REALLY loud in the chorus and you could barely hear her sometimes.

10. Interlude
11. Sparkle
Disgusting outfit omg wanted to puke. It was a fun performance, got the crowd involved. Didn't sing it that well in my opinion, lots of shouting.

12. Humming 7/4
13. evolution
14. flower garden
I dont mind Humming, but HATE IT when its in the main set, what a waste of a song for the main set.
These 3 songs were just all like what we've seen, nothing different.

15. Interlude
16. RAINBOW
Was clutching my pearls when this started playing. I heard her sing it at CDL0708 live, and was JUST as happy when I heard it this year. Wow, it was amazing, except it was a bit tacky as her dancers just had white sheets over them with their Sparkle outfits (which were glow in the dark/neon) underneath them which was annoying...
Pretty sure this will be the countdown song!

17. November
Amazing. Sang it well. Could do better. Was very good perf with the water effects on the catwalk. Shuya was featured in this perf. Just so glad she did this song.

18. Interlude
19. LADIES NIGHT
Ladies Night pretty good, she descended from the roof again, didnt dance, her vocals werent that bad but she still sucked at the rap (she rapped in happening here fine). Really random choice. Ayu put on her cute voice to the max here.

19. Party queen
OMG WTF WAS GOING ON HERE. It sounds like a party song for sure, a bit of dubstep maybe, or just some big bass in some parts, tacky lyrics in English, it sounded like a grower, but definitely NOTHING like she has ever done before.....

20. Happening Here -Reprise-
21. Love song
OMG WTF. I have listened to this song over 1000 times, love it to death. But she performed it as if it was a Vegas show. I was stunned. In all honesty. She had all her dancers on stage running around. I was unpleasantly shocked.

ENCORE
22. How beautiful you are
Really good song, a grower, all piano until 2nd chorus when band kicks in, but still maintains the light mood.
MC was kept to like, 2 minutes, and then thats it.

23. Trauma~AUDIENCE
24. Boys & Girls
25. MY ALL
Same stuff as usual. Got to do the MY ALL dance, yay!

So overall, it was very random and interesting. Just reallly random. I enjoyed last years more. Disappointed with this years due to some bad setlist choices and randomess of dancers and lack of flow.... When Humming came on during main set I could have cried of sadness, same when flower garden came during main set...
But the things that SAVED it from being a disaster: RAINBOW, sending mail, November, do it again continuance

Mai82Go 29th December 2011 03:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tokyoxjapanxfan (Post 2795841)
I liked Peco.
Much more than Timmy. At least she was only at the concerts, Timmy is now on the actual tracks...

But I can't make any judgments right now. I'm looking forward to the morning of the 31st though :)

What I can say is that I much prefer background singers and dancers staying in the background. Ayu has elevated them all much higher than needed. I mean, Japanese (male) fans even do the Shu-ya haircut and color and dress up as him at the concerts. Really strange.

:yes Why does Ayu feel the need to promote these people all the time, push them in the spotlight, feature them so heavely? It's been bugging me for years. And the thing with Timmy...I also agree on this. Sometimes it's hard to write what you really think at AHS because a lot of people seem to see Timmy as Ayu's saviour inspiration-wise and you know he is sooo nice and bla....:no He's the next Shu-ya it seems. (And involved in the music, too) That reminds me of the thread in which we discussed about Shu-ya doing a duet with Ayu. *cough*

SunshineSlayer 29th December 2011 03:30 PM

^ lol. Yes, I guess that was you sitting very close to me. :) How strange that we randomly ended up in the same section. I wasn't sure it was you though, so I didn't say anything. (hitting myself now) I saw some of your boyfriends expressions as the songs came up and when Humming came on he had the best OMG THIS AGAIN expression on his face, lol.

I agree with most of what you said in your review. Especially about the opening - like it was trying to be epic but failed somehow and then right after that a series of songs where she is mostly sitting imo that kinda messed up the mood of the concert right from the beginning and it kinda struggled to get back on track.

I also agree with you sooo much about Love Song. I wanted to hit someone when that came on in that section of the concert.

Her vocals I thought were acceptable for her. Not bad but not really great either. The only performance where her vocals bothered me, actually 2 performances (I wasn't too crazy about the babyish voice she used in Ladies Night) but the only one that really bothered me was Rainbow. That's one of my favorite songs of all time, but to me, I thought she used her "power" voice way too much when the song should have been sung softly. Also, as you said, the dancers all looked incredibly tacky during this.

There was virtually no MC. I kinda like that though. MC's usually bore me.

brener 29th December 2011 03:46 PM

sending mail *--*
but the whole setlist is kinda lol

LacusClyne 29th December 2011 03:57 PM

how many costumes change she had?

ExodusUK 29th December 2011 03:57 PM

Her dancers really are the worst >.<

alternarist 29th December 2011 04:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HilaryDuffFanboy (Post 2795854)
Ayu came down from the roof on a balcony

topless Maro has sex on 2 beds (props) with Ayu.

To me, the only 2 things that reminded of a HOTEL. -_________-

Quote:

Originally Posted by HilaryDuffFanboy (Post 2795854)
11. Sparkle
Disgusting outfit omg wanted to puke.

Love the way u say this hahhahahaha :roflmao

LEOyumi 29th December 2011 04:54 PM

So, no PECO? What the hell? I really hope she couldn't be in this one and will go back at least to the final one!

pheonixflame15 29th December 2011 04:56 PM

Wow, after listening to all these comments I can't help but feel really disappointed. Why is it called Hotel Love Songs if there isn't even that many songs from the album? What a waste.

love in music 29th December 2011 05:01 PM

the setlist is amazing omfg.
and no dancing in Sparkle? yessssss! the choreography for that song in the NL tour was lame. can't wait to hear Party Queen omgggg. so much excitement i'm going to die ;_;.

tokyoxjapanxfan 29th December 2011 05:01 PM

GO-MI wasn't there as well, apparently.

YUKARI 29th December 2011 05:12 PM

^ no GO-MI? aww he was my fav :weep

kamikaze-girl 29th December 2011 05:15 PM

Maro has (false) sex with Ayu on a bed? It sounds so Britney-esque lol

AyumiAi 29th December 2011 05:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kamikaze-girl (Post 2795896)
Maro has (false) sex with Ayu on a bed? It sounds so Britney-esque lol

naiceeeeeee like Usher concerts as well he brings a random girl from the audience and brings her on a bed and grinds with her :P

ExodusUK 29th December 2011 05:28 PM

Maybe PECO is dying because she's really old and Gomi is probably at retirement age.

ayumisrael 29th December 2011 05:34 PM

Party queen sounds fantastic from your previews! party song with dubstep? *_*

And omg she did Sparkle <3!!!!!!!

The setlist is awesome but I will wait to watch the concert to spazz. XD

tokyoxjapanxfan 29th December 2011 05:37 PM

So i'm having a difficult time buying a ticket for ustream...

it won't let me scroll all the way down when I try to enter my card info...

Did anyone else have this problem or know how to fix it???

aura~ 29th December 2011 06:16 PM

I really feel like this CDL is just a random show putting together half of what HOTEL Love songs was about and half of the random/repetitive part of every CDL.

HLS wasn't thought to be in a normal AT05 stage, as you can see HLS logo in PoM circle stage. That may be the reason there's so little part in the cat walk?

Anyway, this show is lacking lot of things to be considered the real HLS, for what I'm reading... So I'm already anticipating the Arena tour...

I'm feeling a bit dissapointed too, seeing everyone has simmilar thoughts after the show. Guess we all should think abotu it as a CDL and not the AT that was supposed to be... IMO

Still looking forward to some of the performances there (Do it again, never ever, Sending mail, november, How beautiful you are and the other new song)


Btw... I'm a bit scared, after hearing Happening here and what are you guys saying of "Party Queen", about how her new album will turn out... =S


Thanks for all reviews!

Zeke. 29th December 2011 06:26 PM

I think the TOUR will be better and more polished. I still don't understand why they just didn't stick with HOTEL Love songs for the CDL and create a new tour for 2012.

!Lawi! 29th December 2011 06:29 PM

^Maybe it has cost too much to be performed only 3 times...

Luther10 29th December 2011 06:50 PM

This has to be a stripped down HLS show... I think we'll see the circular stage back when the regular tour comes around, and she'll put songs like Blossom, Like a Doll, Crossroad... back into the setlist, plus lots of songs from the new album...

Andrenekoi 29th December 2011 06:52 PM

Well, CDL has been a test for the next year's tour for a while now (since Best of CDL maybe), so, IMO it's just natural that is seens unpolished and random... She is most likelly seeing what should be on the tour and what shouldn't, and also what needs to be adjusted... Too bad Like a Doll and Crossroad weren't performed anyway

njanjayrp 29th December 2011 07:00 PM

Tbh I am not really liking the idea of Party queen or whatever...but it's pointless to whine about it, before hearing the actual song.

OyTony 29th December 2011 08:36 PM

Costumes! =D

credits: pokusannigo@YAJ

kagami 29th December 2011 08:47 PM

I really like the outfits!

brener 29th December 2011 08:52 PM

i loved it!! The colourfull costume is a bit "Loudish" from Rihanna's last Tour. I hope the new album will have that feeling, NEXT LEVEL 2.0!!


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