ARENA TOUR 2016 A ～MADE IN JAPAN～ [III]

[Earth_maiden]

I loooooove her longer hair, I hope she keeps it.

[Aga-chan]

That picture may not be the most flattering, but I like that she looks like a woman who is almost 40 years old.
I hope she will never go crazy and try to look like a teen. I like that she looks her age.

[truehappiness]

I actually forgot she was almost 40 for the longest time, lol.

[terra]

Yeah, I like that she looks like a 40 year old woman, I mean I think it's time to retire all of the teen look she had done in the past. If she's gonna do cute, that pink tank and trainers looks cute or do a sexy cute instead lol

[AyuGAME]

WOW..I love the mini kimono dress

she hardly looks like 40 years old woman...I mean she looks young

[jiarongisme]

Originally Posted by Xianghua

Thank you! Ok so the differences are that this year, I think there was only 1 big drum? And the rest of the dancers had smaller ones that they played while dancing. Also, there was no drum solo at the beginning. Ayu sang the first verse as a much slower version before everything else kicked in

Not trying to stir things up but omg. AT07?

[SunshineSlayer]

Was there any change in the setlist at the second show?

[luna7996]

Originally Posted by ~angel*ayumi~

This picture is gorgeous!!! She looks so happy! And damn! Fitness goals right there!

[Chibi-Chan]

Originally Posted by Aga-chan

That picture may not be the most flattering, but I like that she looks like a woman who is almost 40 years old.
I hope she will never go crazy and try to look like a teen. I like that she looks her age.

If you ask me, she looked like someone who has a serious midlife crisis and is desperately trying to look like a teen a couple of times now.
It's perfectly fine that she isn't 20 anymore and I would love to see her in a more mature way more often. This obsession with youth is driving me crazy.

[Aga-chan]

I was more talking about plastic surgery. Without make up she looks her age. Sometimes even with, depending on the angle, lighting etc.
I don't mind if she wears some cute accessories as long as it isn't overkill. There's no reason to stop liking cute things just because you're an adult.

What gets to me more are some of her lyrics, like You & Me and now Summer Love. Those don't seem like lyrics a woman in her 30s would write. Although she may be writing about things that happened in her 20s or even in her teens.

[truehappiness]

I think she might be dipping into a friend's experiences for things like Summer Love. IIRC, didn't some of her lyrics sometimes go into that? I don't recall exactly where but I remember her saying that sometimes that is where her inspiration came from for lyrics.

[attractive nausea]

^ Yeah she said that not all of her lyrics are about herself and her own experience but that she gets inspiration from her friends too.
I don't mind her "mindless" lyrics, i think listening to music just to have fun is fine too, and her being 37 isn't a big deal, i think in her head she's both a young girl wanting to have fun and an old lady tired with the world at the same time haha

[Aga-chan]

As far as I know Over, among others, is about the experience of a friend.

It's not really that they are mindless. They have some deep, or at least deeper, thoughts woven into them. It's just weird. Songs like July 1st or Greatful days aren't as juvenile, despite the fact that she was much younger back then. Perhaps I would think differently if I would actually listen to those songs, but as of now I don't feel them.

[mizuki-7]

Lyrics like Summer love may sound a bit "silly" for a women of her age but if you think about it although we age we always keep our youthful soul and Ayumi never hidden this part of her ! And honestly I prefer she write lighter lyrics with meaning like these instead of non sens/vulgar lyrics about sex/drugs/alcools or egocentric/look how I'm the queen etc...

[mi|kshake]

^Yeah, I think lyrics like Summer Love seem more nostalgic/wistful rather than immature. This conversation makes me think back to her CNN interview, which granted was 10 years ago so her views could have changed, where she says something like she'll feel like a child forever.

[truehappiness]

From the Numero Tokyo before last:

Originally Posted by tenshi no hane

What are you like in your private life?

For example, I seem the youngest even when I’m around people younger than me. How to put it? When I’m not working, people poke at me to do things properly, I guess. It’s always been like that. Being able to be like that in my private life is a comfortable happiness.

I know (laughs). We casually joked “You look like an adult!” during the photoshoot.

Uhuh. Like, “I really am an adult, though?” (laughs). Maybe those around me naturally become like that because I’m completely relaxed and scatterbrained when I’m not working.

[Evolution7/4]

^ It's true I remember when she met fans in New York she was very AYU for autographs and for the group photo fans got rowdy and I noticed she ran to her bodyguard and she really was like a small child!

[JEWELian]

I loved the show! So happy she sang some of my all time favourites (BRILLANTE, INSPIRE, Endless sorrow) and love all the new album tracks and new arrangements.

ayu tried miming the "uh la lai~" bits in until that Day... but missed her first queue and got her mic to her mouth too late and just decided to not bother after that, it was pretty hilarious.

Aside from that vocally she was good and seemed to have a lot of fun.

Here are my pics from the first three songs:

Opening (screen): https://www.instagram.com/p/BFbO4TXF-5r/
Opening (video) https://www.instagram.com/p/BFbJh79l-93/

FLOWER https://www.instagram.com/p/BFbJ7K7F--1/
FLOWER https://www.instagram.com/p/BFbJyurl--d/
FLOWER boomerang: https://www.instagram.com/p/BFbLNJLl-xt/

WARNING boomerang: https://www.instagram.com/p/BFbLzt1l-y7/
WARNING boomerang: https://www.instagram.com/p/BFbLhDVl-ye/

I took a few more snapchat videos but I won't post those, but I may post the audio recording I made eventually (once I sort through all the ones I've recorded in the last few weeks).

Originally Posted by ~angel*ayumi~

Thanks for your reports^^
btw stupid question, were there no thank you cards? You know the card you get when you leave after concert. i saw none on yahoo or instagram.

Nope they weren't giving anything out :/ End of an era really, it's sad!

[kotora]

Now I wonder who is the art director for this tour. After that guy "pissed off ayu (?)", does ayu still use him ?

[truehappiness]

Alvin Goh? Perhaps. She is still using some of his outfits. He was mostly a "guest stylist" however.