[Utada Hikaru] We're Intoxicated, Emancipated, Unapologetic in Hikki's 35th Thread~!

[Polyrhythm]

Utada
The Fillmore at Irving Plaza
Feb. 8, 2010

NEW YORK, NY—The name Utada doesn’t ring a bell in the United States, and the Japanese-American singer’s two English-language albums have sold just a few thousand copies each in North America. Yet both albums were big hits in Japan, where Utada is a multi-million selling singer-songwriter, stadium-size star and one of the most recognizable names in J-pop of the last decade.

Utada’s first-ever U.S. tour, “In The Flesh,” was promoting her second American album, This Is The One (Island Def Jam, 2009), an R&B disc geared vaguely toward a general audience. The venues were all modestly sized, and the Fillmore show sold out by word of mouth. Yet it’s doubtful many—if any—of the attendees got hooked on Utada through her English albums. Most were fans of her J-pop first and foremost. They were people like Kristine Sanchez, who first heard Utada‘s songs in the Kingdom Hearts video games and then researched her online. Although she was a fan of her Japanese music first, Sanchez went to the show to support Utada as an American artist.

Though she was born in New York, Utada split her childhood between Japan and America. Her parents were famous musicians, and she soon followed their lead by debuting as an R&B artist in Japan. She released her first single, “Automatic,” in 1998, when she was just 15. Her freshman album, First Love, is the country’s best-selling compact disc. Despite the risk of becoming a short-lived teen wonder, she remained wildly popular and respected because of her willingness to experiment with electronic textures and choice to keep a low-profile image.

“I love her,” says Mayumi Iwao, a New York-based reporter. She’s followed Utada since her debut and admires her sense of language. Although several Japanese fans did travel overseas for “In the Flesh,” Iwao’s friends from Japan couldn’t make it and were jealous that she was seeing Utada in a small venue.

Utada first tried to break the American market with Exodus in 2004, but her English material has been inferior thus far. Her Japanese music sounds lush and poetic by pop standards, but her U.S. albums are under-produced and riddled with embarrassing, posturing lyrics (“I was dancing with a dirty blond Texan/Charming accent but the music’s playing too loud for talking/So I showed him how people in the Far East get down”). Moreover, the little promotion it’s received has been for a mainstream audience, not the people actually buying the CDs.

“I feel insulted that they don’t cater to us—they cater to a general, nameless people,” says Chris Harris, a fan who had waited in line since 2 a.m.

The Fillmore audience’s love was so intense you could feel it in the air, but “In the Flesh” had too many problems to live up to expectations. The concert felt half-baked, lacking even a merchandise table selling CDs. The setlist—which included English songs, Japanese hits and a throwaway cover of Placebo’s “The Bitter End”—lacked cohesion and direction. It was unclear what Utada wanted to accomplish with “In The Flesh.” Build her name as an American singer with mainstream viability? Give stateside fans a jukebox J-pop performance? Ultimately, it didn’t triumph as either.

Utada also seemed unsure how to handle a smaller concert. She retained the animatronic stage presence of her stadium performances, which is passable when it’s buttressed by pop spectacle but came off disconnected in a venue that demanded intimacy. She responded to audience shout-outs nervously, half-jokingly telling a boisterous fan to “stop talking.” During her MCs, she rambled about having nothing to say, expressed surprised at seeing racially diverse audiences on previous tour stops and compared her New York City turnout to a Whole Foods supermarket, sending them into uncomfortable laughter.

Utada has dismissed Exodus as a misstep, so only four songs made it to “In The Flesh.” While most songs were played closely to the album versions, others were revamped. Club tune, “Devil Inside,” began quietly and swelled dramatically.

But the mixes were plain awful. The drums and prerecorded background vocals were too loud, giving the concert a karaoke feel. During “You Make Me Want To Be A Man,” they drowned out the singer herself.

Though Utada has pitch and breathing difficulties, she sounded fairly good on Feb. 8. (The prerecorded vocals probably helped.) She was at her best when she sat at a keyboard and played Japanese songs, taking a singer-songwriter pose that suited her.

Utada seemed liveliest and happiest singing “Automatic” toward the end of the night. Prancing onstage with warmth and a wide smile on her face, she achieved the enthusiasm and emotional connection the concert sorely needed. At that moment, “In The Flesh” became what it should have been all along: a treat for American fans who had been dying to see the J-pop singer live.

—by Victoria Goldenberg, March 3, 2010

-Article from The Aquarian

http://www.theaquarian.com/2010/03/0...-irving-plaza/

A few comments from myself...first off, it bothers me a bit that the article lacks any literary style in a dead, i-write-because-it's-my-job sort of a way....but I guess it's just my opinion. If I were writing about Utada I suppose I would be more emotional. Anyway...
It kinda offended me. I mean aren't you offended? This author, she presents her personal opinions in as if they were facts calling Hikki's Japanese works far superior to her English works (which although I agree with, should not be said with such certainty)...commenting on Hikki's embarrasing (which again, some are) and such....breathing problems....pre recorded vocals? I dunno which concert Ms. Goldenberg attended but I don't think it was Utada In The Flesh....Ok....the concert was half-baked? No merchandise....uh....ever been to an intimate show? The show lacked cohesion....where'd you get that from? English songs. Japanese songs. English Songs. Japanese songs. It's honestly not that hard to comprehend. I also didn't like how she skewed comments from fans to make her article seem valid. However, all that is really just opinion.
What makes me MOST angry is her retarded interpretation of the MC's. Paraphrasing, "lyke omgosh, utada stood on da stage and said she had nothing to say and forgot and crap. and then she made some weird jokes about Whole Foods"...yeah that's what she basically said in a nutshell. Hikki had nothing to say because she was "completely happy" to be in her home town and that was one of the touching moments of the whole MC. She joked about the Whole Foods situation because she was honestly surprised and happy at how many people of so many different racial backgrounds went to see her show and how she felt normal and accepted amongst such a crowd (having come from a similar HS b.g). So who has a social understanding issue here? Hikki because she couldn't say anything and made "weird jokes" or this Goldenberg person who's only goal in writing this article was clearly to earn a paycheck? You tell me.

[ALPHY]

Even though I never attended any of the shows, the review does sound believable though. That's my honest opinion. It's just the Sephora appearances all over again - arrive, greet, sing, greet, bye!

Hikki's behind-the-scenes personnel on the American side are the main people to blame. They seem too conservative and aren't trying hard enough at all.

[ohsixthirty]

I completely disagree with that review. I don't even know how they could have seen the same performances I saw and come away with those opinions.

[zyoeru]

I bet it's because the reporter isn't even a fan.

[aura~]

"Though Utada has pitch and breathing difficulties, she sounded fairly good on Feb. 8. (The prerecorded vocals probably helped.)"

that makes me LOL... seriously... who is she talking about?? Hikki pitch and breathing difficulties??? ha... ha.... ha.... really funny...

[Sundae]

Did she really tell a person to stop talking? That wouldn't make a good impression on a reporter. I enjoyed her talks but she had trouble saying what she wanted to say because of people just yelling things out. At the same time, I felt like the better things she said was in response to it. Some one yelled something out I couldn't hear clearly but Utada's response was something like: No she didn't want to die yet and when she was younger she thought she didn't want to live for long but now she thinks good things are coming in the future. I liked her MCing but maybe it should have been loosely scripted for each city depending on what she wanted to say. I don't think she knew exactly what she wanted to say but had a general idea.

I have no idea what a Whole Foods supermarket is exactly. What is so special about this supermarket that makes it a good comparison to the audience? So I would have laughed 'uncomfortably' at the joke just so she wouldn't have felt embarrassed for making a joke that didn't fly. Being a fan that never would have had a chance to see her in person colored my experience a lot. I loved the concert and her vocals so it didn't disappoint.

We've said this before. Concert merchandise was such a missed opportunity. I always thought they didn't have time to do it and that suggests 'half-baked'. Did it lack cohesion and direction? Cohesion probably. That cover of The Bitter End surprised me. It came out of NOWHERE. She should have introduced it or made a personal connection. Like she did for Passion/Sanctuary, Sakura Drops, and Dirty Desire. Why did she sing it? just moved from one song to another. That's fine. I think her purpose for the tour was just to be there and sing live.

[Mirai Noah]

I certainly didn't feel that the San Fransisco concert itself was "half-baked."

[Picaflor 7/4]

I think it would be cool if the dvd consisted of one video interlaced with all 10 nights. (9 stops, but i heard she did 2 nights in england). I don't think it would be fair of we just got one video from one night. besides it was only 9 stops, so its not entirely impossible. its not like this was a 3 year, 100 stop, world tour. or something.

[amorphose]

That review of the NYC show is totally infuriating, to be honest. The NYC show was absolutely amazing. Far from "half-baked" and I felt like Utada really connected with the audience so I don't know what the hell she's talking about. Sure, Utada was a little awkward at points during the MCs, but that's her personality and I thought it was adorable.

This was my comment on the review:

Absolutely atrocious review. I was at the concert and it was spectacular. Utada’s stage presence was amazing, her vocals were great, and the live mixes of every song were, in my opinion, superior to the album mixes.

By the way, maybe it’s just me but 55,000 copies (while nothing to be impressed about) is way more than a few thousand, no? And that’s just Exodus’s sales.

Check your facts twice and keep your opinions to a minimum next time you do something like this. Especially when you want to act like your opinion is fact.

[Keiichi_JPU]

That reporter is a total loser.

Well I don't know how the New York show was, but in London she couldn't have connected more with the audience, honestly everybody LOVED her and the energy was so high and it was never uncomfortable, we were enjoying everything she said. We had so much laughs with her! She was really sweet, entertaining and funny.

And like amarphose said, the live mixes were , and not bad like the reporter says.

Bad review, amazing concert!!!

[amorphose]

A friend helped me get these photos since the official site is taking way too long to post the pictures from NYC! Enjoy them! This is the only forum I'll be posting them on.

This is my favorite:


The rest are inside the spoiler tag!

Spoiler:

[primavera♥]

Originally Posted by DEEP RIVER

-Article from The Aquarian

http://www.theaquarian.com/2010/03/0...-irving-plaza/

A few comments from myself...first off, it bothers me a bit that the article lacks any literary style in a dead, i-write-because-it's-my-job sort of a way....but I guess it's just my opinion. If I were writing about Utada I suppose I would be more emotional. Anyway...
It kinda offended me. I mean aren't you offended? This author, she presents her personal opinions in as if they were facts calling Hikki's Japanese works far superior to her English works (which although I agree with, should not be said with such certainty)...commenting on Hikki's embarrasing (which again, some are) and such....breathing problems....pre recorded vocals? I dunno which concert Ms. Goldenberg attended but I don't think it was Utada In The Flesh....Ok....the concert was half-baked? No merchandise....uh....ever been to an intimate show? The show lacked cohesion....where'd you get that from? English songs. Japanese songs. English Songs. Japanese songs. It's honestly not that hard to comprehend. I also didn't like how she skewed comments from fans to make her article seem valid. However, all that is really just opinion.
What makes me MOST angry is her retarded interpretation of the MC's. Paraphrasing, "lyke omgosh, utada stood on da stage and said she had nothing to say and forgot and crap. and then she made some weird jokes about Whole Foods"...yeah that's what she basically said in a nutshell. Hikki had nothing to say because she was "completely happy" to be in her home town and that was one of the touching moments of the whole MC. She joked about the Whole Foods situation because she was honestly surprised and happy at how many people of so many different racial backgrounds went to see her show and how she felt normal and accepted amongst such a crowd (having come from a similar HS b.g). So who has a social understanding issue here? Hikki because she couldn't say anything and made "weird jokes" or this Goldenberg person who's only goal in writing this article was clearly to earn a paycheck? You tell me.

i didnt go. couldnt .too far away. . . as a major lover of hikki who got me into jmusic in the first place i see nothing offensive about this article. but i guess if one cant take something so negative about an artist they love then i guess anger sets in. . .heh. . .whatever. it really is just an opinion. also. . .when writing articles ur supposed to make ur "personal opinions" sound like "facts". otherwise u sound weak and lame. (for lack of better words)

[aura~]

About the DVD... maybe she will do 2 DVD's and release the NY one in USA, and the London one in Japan/Uk?? XD I don't see they mixing the shows, it would be a mess really...

[AyUta]

Um, did she really tell someone to stop talking?

[KremlinChaos]

"Utada first tried to break the American market with Exodus in 2004, but her English material has been inferior thus far. Her Japanese music sounds lush and poetic by pop standards, but her U.S. albums are under-produced and riddled with embarrassing, posturing lyrics"

This really makes me mad. How are her English albums under produced and inferior!? By the way those pictures are really nice amorphose! Thanks for sharing.

[Polyrhythm]

If there was any problem with Exodus....I would even say that it was overproduced and not under-produced. Under-produced is when you do half-assed work and end up with stuff like BoA's IDENTITY. TITO still had the quality of Exodus just toned down and less forced. There certainly are problems with her English albums....however....being under-produced is CERTAINLY, 150% not the problem here.

Yes and thanks for the pic's amorphose! Her outfit there is awesome (shiny black and leather) and she looks so happy and energetic! This is the one! THIS IS THE ONE! I pray that the DVD is of the NYC concert because it is awesome! I feel that it is!

[amorphose]

Originally Posted by AyUta

Um, did she really tell someone to stop talking?

She did. But it wasn't like... rude. xD It was one person who kept yelling over and over and over everytime she started a sentence and she kind of chuckled and said "Stop talking!"and then chuckled some more. It was funny.

[Picaflor 7/4]

Originally Posted by amorphose

She did. But it wasn't like... rude. xD It was one person who kept yelling over and over and over everytime she started a sentence and she kind of chuckled and said "Stop talking!"and then chuckled some more. It was funny.

i remember that, people were talking, I think she asked something? and when everyone died down, one guy just kept on talking and she was like "Stop Talking!" and we all applauded her. XD

[amorphose]

Utada.com finally posted NYC pictures!
http://utada.com/news/default.aspx?nid=6374

And they weren't the ones I already posted. So I guess I found us some extras. xD

[Picaflor 7/4]

^I totally forgot she played the drums. i forgot which song. XD *fail fan* it was either ymmwtbam or passion.