[relmy]

Wow, very impressed, I don't like the tracklist much for this tour but I was still very impressed.

I though the second half (post-Virgin Road) was a lot better than the first half with all the angry-rock, which eh... I just don't like the songs much and was a bit bored. Save for memorial address, that song can do no wrong. Gomi was FLAWLESS. He really carried the segments he did. I think Gomi Circus Tour might have been a better title, really carried by her ensemble was the second half.

I liked how this tour was less shu-ya centric, but I was still really let down by the ballad section - it was nice to see a different story but it was still full of flailing and reaching and Ayu pulling that awful "I'm sad D:" face. The Romeo and Juliet sort of thing at the end was different, I probably would have been more shocked if I wasn't expecting it. Visually I think she'll always act these segments terribly, but her fake crying in BALLAD was very good and believable. I really liked MOON though, and Virgin Road - it was just Ayu singing, and it was very emotional. I liked GREEN at PCDL (?) more though, where Maro and Midori (?) did a dance and Ayu wasn't part of the story, I think these section work best when Ayu is separate to her dancers.

I loved how she was smiling in Virgin Road and later~ really nice after the complaints I had with the first half of the concert. The use of the M visuals for VR was perfect, I loved the screen they used too. Really powerful song, and perfectly executed. This overall, really reminded me of a theatre show more than a concert, which has it's pros and cons. I still have the same complaints I've had since the glorious 2005 MY STORY tour - she's lost in a mess of dancers and the same structure still.

Is this a bad concert? No. I just don't think it's the best like everyone else is saying, it's definitely better than AT08 which was a mess, and the past few CDL's, and the stage is the best she's ever had - a nice combination of the AT07 style one and the changes she made for NL.

No complaints about her vocals, save for Last Angel where she could have sang a bit more. I was really surprised when her voice came out higher for memorial address!!! Would have liked to have heard that a bit more, she seems to be comfortable with her new singing voice now though, which is really nice. I think I was a bit let down as she's improved since (i.e. in the Love Songs tv lives), but that's not a complaint as there was amazing improvement in this tour from her previous ones. I also liked how she seems to have dropped the lipsync for the more Kuu style, "hey, I'm just playing playback and not even pretending to sing it", like she did in Last Angel and I think she did it in another song too. I think that's better than her trying to sing it or doing obvious lipsync, especially as Last Angel was the vocal lowpoint (sadly, as I love the Love Songs' tracks more than the RnRC ones).

I guess I'd like this a lot lot lot more if I was more emotionally attached to the songs she chose for this tour, as if I'm not fond of the music, I'm not going to love the concert as much. I enjoyed the songs - except countdown, there's a reason I can't remember how it goes - even if they're not my favourites. But I think the credit for that goes to Gomi, not Ayu.

I'd rank it as an 8/10~ So really great, really fun (in the second half), but it's not beaten AT05~