Okay! so here goes my review or experience or whatever.

So first off, tracklist was the same, except no boku wa kuma, and we had the little happy birthday songs.

I got my pass the line privledge thing, so I didn't have to wait in the General admission line, only the vip line, which was really nice because there was not that many people in it...maybe like 50 at most.

Doors opened at 7:30 and they let us in. We were fully checked. They scanned us with metal detectors and checked our bags. The security was a little flustered because EVERYONE had a camera. So, when the doors opened, they told us that anyone who had a camera had to check it in with Valet for $5. Which...was a pain because people had to get out of line and go...and obviously didn't get their spots back.

So we got in, and omg it was so small in there and personal. Me and my friends decided that we were gonna ask about the 2nd floor, and they told us that only one side was open to the public, which was AWESOME, because we were the first ones up there. There was only room for about 10-15 people. So like, I was up to the side of the stage and I could see everything it was so awesome. We were a little squished but I didnt care because, 1) the bar was right behind us and they gave us drinks, and 2) we were no where near as squished as people on the floor lol

BEST SEATS EVER. Seriously.

Worst part of the concert? Utada didn't get on stage until about 9:25. Which means we were waiting in there for like an hour and a half. It was hella boring. They brought out like a DJ guy, and he was cool for like the first i dont know half hour...and then it was like omg where is she. I was like, getting scared she wasnt going to come out lol

I'd wait any amount of time for her, but still...I was hella tired...and then it seemed like they werent really prepared. Like, after the DJ left, they were like taping down wires and testing everything...was interesting...a part of me thinks there was some technical difficulties...because there was this guy on stage and he was like, making a bunch of calls and looking around and checking his watch...but i dont know.

So crossover started...and honestly...like everyone just went crazy. And then she came out and she look sooo good! I her hair! And her shoes were all sparkly! And omg we were soo close! I'm still like so excited about the place that I got on the balcony!

Oh, one thing. Did you guys know about like the Meet and Greet? Because I sure as hell did not know those tickets were available? And also, they had reserved tables that were like $100+ dollars that I wish I could have been at, but whatever! My spot ****ing OWNED.

The best part was dude, I could like see everyone in the venue. EVERYONE. It's really awesome, to like, look down and see all the fans, and there was this guy in the front that was awesome...but anyway...

So the performances...

yeah, she owns. OWNS. They rocked out. And her vocals were STUNNING. She went off pitch, I would say like, maybe 5-6 times the whole concert, and her voice seemed to like give out only once, during Kremlin Dusk...but honestly...was not a problem. This chick can SING.

It was amazing. I cried when Passion played lol It was the half in english.

Like I said, they were ROCKIN OUT. Her band was so cool, they were alll into it groovin and just awesome. I her guitarist and the percussionist, and the bass guy. And all the like Exodus songs, man, I loved those performances. Screw what I said about them being there, they were fantastic. She was rockin out to them! lol She's so funny.

I Apple and Cinnamon live. It had like a heavier vibe, but the same song, it was great.

We sang her happy birthday twice...the more "official" time we did it, she like conducted us a little lol And then her band played happy birthday for her, and they brought her out a cake and she blew the candles. It was awesome.

It was so surreal for me. I couldnt believe it was happening and that I could see it in such clarity because of my spot lol.

Yeah. Seriously. Most EPIC concert ever. I am sooo glad, it was small venue. I really am. It was amazing. I think it'll be favorite concert ever, because it was small venue, and really, really personal.

I think I'm rambling now...so...I'ma go lol

My experience:

Ok, so pretty much, by all indication, I knew that this concert was doomed for me. When I got off at school, I literally felt like I was in the biggest storm I've ever seen x_x Got home, it's 2:30, waiting for my sister to come back from school. She gets home at 3:20, it's STILL storming. So I don't really know what to do....my dad doesn't want to stand in line in the rain. I couldn't do anything but check U.blog's twitter periodically....50 people in line....about 100 people in line....I just KNEW our spots were going to be crappy. I looked up the House of Blues website and clicked the virtual tour, which basically shows the whole venue...and it looked SMALL. At about 5:40, we left to go pick up my sister's friend...and headed out to Hollywood....and got lost....it's now like 7:28....and we finally see the line...which was INSANE. The longest line in the world....and we were all the way in the back. At least it stopped raining. We waited....and waited....I was hoping the whole time that it wouldn't start raining...and I kept looking back. There was a lot of people behind us but I pretty much accepted the fact that we were going to be in the back. Finally, the line starts to move and it's like 8:20ish now....line's moving slowly and we finally get through the...

SECURITY CHECK:
It's like the airport, these guys use those wand things to detect metal, you have to raise your arms up, turn around, they feel your torso, the whole thing. They also checked for cameras but cellphones were allowed.

Here's were everything turned around for me: The venue was HUGE. Like from the website, it looked so small, it was really big! I'd place us somewhere in the last 15% or so of people who got in but the spot was still AWESOME. I could see the whole stage very clearly. If your were in the last row, you were still VERY close to the stage. It doesn't look that way on the picture on the web but trust me, it was huge. House of Blues was a great venue in terms of the view. See, it's not like the Hawaii venue...which was long and people filled in front to back.....House of Blues was more...fat/wide....people filled in to the sides and stuff...it was a great stage. There were some people on the second floor to the right side, not sure about the middle though because I couldnt see the middle part of the 2nd floor from where I was standing. Even so, the place was still pretty packed. The music was REALLY loud though...kinda shocking....and painful....since I've never been to a real concert before....DJ's (I guess that'd be Mike Rizzo) doing some cool stuff I guess....

And he played....and played...for what seemed like an hour....or perhaps more, I didnt look at the time....the audience got excited a few times....but he started to get kinda boring....and he finally leaves...some guys come out and packs up all the DJ equipment...and doing soundchecks and things (what were they doing before???)...so anyway, the lights on stage turn orange I think (I can't clearly recall) and the rest of the venue becomes dark....Crossover Interlude from Exodus plays and crowd goes wild...but they quieted down a bit....and then...I think the stage went dark sometime during the Interlude...then i THINK this is where Utada walked out on stage but I couldnt see...it was dark(?). People were creaming insanely though so I think that's what happened.

On and On: Flash of light and there's Utada! Standing there in plain view...she looks great with her new hairstyle and her outfit...She's all smiley and very energetic though she hasn't done anything to really improve her dancing skills from UU06....she does these hand motion things in front of the mic stand....and after she walks around. Lots of energy in the whole place! Her voice was really strange to me at first (partly because I still couldn't believe who it was I was seeing and hearing) cause the music was really loud and I hadn't gotten used to it...there was some distortion of the sound but not that bad. I generally don't like On and On...or a lot of her English songs in general (I'll get to that later) but it was an AWESOME way to start the night.

So she's done with On and On...she says something like "You ready to have an awesome night?!"...crowd cheers...."...cause it's my BIRTHDAY!" and crowd goes wild. I think this is where the crowd tried to sing Happy Birthday to her....but I'm not sure. Maybe, maybe not. Anyway, it didnt come out.

Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence (FYI): It's a smooth performance...she's very on pitch, which kinda surprised me...after what happened with last year's TV performances or the same song. Not much to say...still hypnotized by the stage...

Poppin': I've always said I hate the song. She made it fun and very energetic. When she would do the part..."Girls, you know you have it better than the boys" all the girls were screaming. Great vocals...that song has a lot of high pitched parts...

This One (Crying Like A Child): Amazing...crowd is more mellow during this song and her voice shines...One thing to say about the TITO songs is that they all had the band which somewhat destroyed the melody of This One....but I loved it still. She says..."Are you ready to hear some...Japanese songs?" Crowd screams louder than before.

Passion/Sanctuary: Perfect........it's basically the UUO6 performance just minus the flashy stage and big costume....she switches to Sanctuary in the middle and sang the rock bridge from KHII...it's all Sanctuary until what seemed like the end of the song....cause the music stopped....but then she sang the last part from the single version....the "Zutto mae ni suki datta hito...." part....which I'm still in shock to even have heard her sing this....she was in perfect pitch. Probably one of the top performances of the night. Passion ends....she introduces "someone special"...which was the guy who moves all her stage stuff (I forget his name) and we cheered as he moved some table onto the stage (which later turned out to be a keyboard). She says something along the lines of "I'm going to play some songs on the Piano now" kinda quietly....and the crowd cheers as expected.

Sakura Drops: Perfect. Again. It's really hard to describe how great this was...she sings the first bit....just her and the keyboard...and then just like UU06, the band kicks in...she didn't sing the last lines high though...she did them low but she had perfect vocals the whole way through. Loved this song.

Stay Gold: She's still on the keyboard and plays the intro to Stay Gold...cheers...but then the band kinda ruined the song....oh well...Still amazing to hear Stay Gold live...so she's done...and

BIRTHDAY "SURPRISE": While she's talking and saying thank you after Stay Gold, we hear the band play Happy Birthday...and...some girl walks out on stage with a birthday cake with 3 candles on it and of course the crowd was cheering. Utada's like "Thank you! Thank you!" She blows out the candle and we start singing her Happy Birthday (I'm not sure if this is when we sing Happy Birthday actually...)...she looks really happy and sings a little bit too....she sings "Happy birthday to me..." and laughs...after she was like....thanks and everything and said "I knew they were going to something like that" and everyone laughed. She says..."Thanks everybody"...talks about spending her birthday for the first time with so many people...and then she says "Let's make it a memorable night for me and for all of you" or something similar. Music starts

Devil Inside/Kremlin Dusk/YMMWTBAM: Basically, I went in hating Exodus songs and came out loving the performance of all 3. Her vocals were right on spot...just like UU06 all over again. The scream during YMMWTBAM....that was a highlight.

The Rock Song/Placebo Cover: Yeah...not liking this song much but she was very good and lots of head swaying, hair flying. At the end, she jumped up at the last note (like Ayu at the end of some of her songs).

Apple and Cinnamon: I dont remember what really happened after the mystery rock song...I think the screen just simply changed to TITO cover and she started singing Apple and Cinnamon...it was more rockish with the band and very good. Nice performance. Kinda hazy on details here but I think after A&C she asks what song we wanna hear or something...actually I don't really know what she was saying at all...I hear someone shouting...Keep Tryin'!...First Love!....she's like hmmm what's a pretty song...but I dunno what happened...but then the intro to Come Back to Me played

Come Back To Me: Good. In tune. People singing along. I don't know. Not the most memorable song having heard it so many times recently but still great.

The next 3 songs are for me personally, the best part of the whole concert.

The screen changes to First Love right after CBTM ends...cheers...

First Love: Favorite performance of the night. I can't really describe in words what its like to hear Utada sing First Love live on stage...and so close too...its like what you'd expect to feel if you were witnessing history...Obama's Inauguration...and the such. Just perfect...UU06 in person and personal. The screen then changes from displaying the First Love single cover to the Can You Keep A Secret single cover.

Can You Keep A Secret: Another favorite...perfect vocals...very nostalgic...people clapped along. Utada at her best...I can just imagine how the Japanese fans felt at this concert having waited so long to see her live...it was just as memorable for us though.

Automatic: I know I keep referencing this but it REALLY was just like U006. She stomped around the stage the same way and the vocals were awesome as always. Brings back memories...Afterwards...she says something like "Wow...can you believe I first wrote and recorded this song when I was 15? It's been 12 years"...touching moment.

Somewhere around the time of the above three performances...I think she addressed her Japanese fans...she started speaking in Japanese to them and everyone started screaming...she seemed pretty surprised at how many Japanese fans flew from Japan just to see her...she also made fun of her Japanese speaking voice too...how it sounds higher when she speaks in Japanese compared to when she speaks in English.

She then says...that the next song is actually the last song (which brought boooo's from the audience for the first time that night)...at which time I kinda freaked out wondering what happened to Simple and Clean (or the small possibility of Hikari)...she said its the new single going out to radio right now...

Dirty Desire: Energetic. Fun. Surprisingly, a great way to end the night (if it ended there). She strutted around the stage and stuff. Note, the lighting on stage was great. She says good night at the end and leaves the stage. Her band follows...people start chanting "Encore!" and "Utada"....I'm not the chanting type so I sort of clapped my hands to the beat...wondering if there actually was an encore. Then her band walks on stage....like 10 minutes later. Utada appears....and says "Thank you for calling us back". Screen changes to the Colors single cover.

Simple and Clean: Surreal in person. I wish it'd been Hikari but it was Simple and Clean...and it was just as Epic. She sang perfectly still (after 2 hours maybe of nonstop singing). Oh yeah....hate to do this again but....just like UU06, she did the whole "la la la la la" thing where she waves. It was truly a surreal experience. Afterwards, she introduces her band...she got to the guitarist and was like "and the guitarist....some Brazillian guy!" LOL. And then the keyboard afterwards...she was like "Keyboard...some regular white guy!" lmao. She says something like "let's go!" and Me Muero starts.

Me Muero: I liked it. I wasn't too fond of the song before but it was fun. She took out a bucket full of signed balls (wonder if that's what they were) and tossed them out à la Ayu during her independent performances. I wish I couldve caught one but she couldn't throw that far lol. At the end she took a bow and that was that. End of a perfect night.

If there was anything I didnt like:
-1 hourish wait before Utada came on
-Security: The whole time security was pretty tight, starting with the checks before entry...my sister had her camera phone out recording some early performances and a bunch of people had their cameras out in plain sight....she put it away though when some lady security screamed (and loudly too) "put it away!" They were really sneaky too. They dressed like concert goers but had flashlights...twice some random guy came up to me and others around and shined a flashlight on us. Some people in the very front had their cameras out the whole time. I guess the security couldnt get to them. I saw a lady walk past me dragging some girl by the arm who looked kinda pissed. She had her phone/camera confiscated.
-Waitresses: Yeah...um...only twice was I bothered by a waitress trying to get through...they would bring drinks to people....it was really annoying because these waitresses had to hold their trays up REALLY high to get through...and why cant people just get a drink at the bar if they wanted one x_x. It really annoyed me when one came through in the middle of First Love but I just sort of side stepped her and focused on Hikki.
-No signings? =[ No merchandise either. As I didnt catch a signed ball, I have nothing to remember the concert by other than a House of Blues cap, the tickets, and a wristband.