Official thread of your thoughts on (ARENA TOUR 2009) #1

[Andrenekoi]

FAR BETTER than her last 2 tours... It's energetic, she interacts A LOT with her public and it's really is focused on the performers more than on special effects and props!

[Rainbow141]

Originally Posted by kotora

Apparently, the whole performance of rollin' and Sparkle do not feel "cheap", but ayu needs to move more when she dances. She dances like.. a wood-doll that cannot move her joints.

Someone may say that that is the purpose of the performance, but I think she can act like robot in a more active and creative way. There is a room for improvement.

btw, when ayu performs rollin', the way she dances (0:58 - 1:15) reminds me this

I mean cheap in the sense that I feel like... she didn't utilize her stage as well as she could. And I wasn't too fond of the images behind her. They felt cheap. I meant in the sense that it felt like it could've - AT09 - and these performances could've started out better. With other performances, her entrance is more showy (as someone mentioned), and you just feel...pumped to see her, even when not there. I didn't get that feeling. Sorry if I offended you or something...

I did notice that weird dance though. Looks oddly similar to those bananas.

[Kashoku]

I was EMBARRASSED watching rollin' and Sparkle. Sparkle has the most plays out of any song in my ENTIRE library and I get a horrible PV and performance. To be honest, I could not stand this tour. Not only was I totally embarrassed watching her make a fool out of herself in rollin'/Sparkle, but she acted a little bit like a ***** in identity. I mean, I like it when kuu does it because her only good music is when she does act like that, but I am still in a state of shock of seeing her stick her ass in Shu-ya's stuff. Oh my god.

The EnergizE segment was cute. I thoroughly enjoyed it, but this concert was crap in my opinion.

[Rainbow141]

^ THANK you. Someone else thoroughly admits they didn't like those two. But I haven't watched the whole thing yet. My internet connection tanks at the moment, so I'm still downloading the parts. I might have to watch it tomorrow, by then everyone will have already seen it. I'm always behind.

Well... I'll be looking out for that Shuya Ayu moment. O_o Scary thing to see, it seems, but interesting. o__o

[StarSUCKER]

Originally Posted by noidea

Sparkle hardly could have been a more obvious playback aside the nononos at the end, but im not complaining, its the first playback i see so far andn it fits....

I thought so too at first, but you can hear subtle differences that reveal she's not lip-synching. Not her most powerful vocal performance of course.

[Andrenekoi]

imo the only playback was at energize... and maybe sunrise
every other vocal performaces were too flawed

[milky_way]

I really enjoyed this tour even without really liking the album. Ayu looked and sounded great and the costumes weren't as hideous as I thought when the pictures were first released. I guess they just look better in motion haha

I have to admit though that everytime they zoomed in on Ayu during the Rule performance all I could think was 'Boobs!' >_>

[dreamland2.0]

WOW just WOW it was completely AWESOME!!!! I'm soooooo looking forward to the DVD of this!!!
Just spectacular!!!! Ayu never lets me down!!!!
My favs were identity, GREEN and rollin'/Sparkle!!
A wonderful concert!

[zoomzoom]

While the tour had its share of rehashes (oh no shuya, don't go, aerial dancers, ballad reaching out for nothing) it really felt refreshing compared to her 2 previous tours. Not only the stage, but also how she conducted herself on stage. I felt entertained throughout.

[love in music]

what i love about this tour:
-ayu's interaction with the audience
-the lights/stage
-the screens
-her vocals (they're not perfect, but a huge step up from AT08)
-rollin'! i still can't get over how awesome that performance is
-use of MARO instead of shuya, he is a MUCH better dancer
-just most of the perfomances! my favorite performances were Rule, Days (omg i loved the end finally shuya and ayu are together after so many deaths and falling down stairs in the sky etc) EnergizE (the mario screen was SO cute), Sunrise, LOVE 'n' HATE, identity, HOPE or PAIN (and i usually hate this song), Days, evolution (finally it's just evolution, not SURREAL~evolution~SURREAL, i loved the energy), rollin', and NEXT LEVEL (bridge to the sky was so cute!!)

my dislikes:
-the way it was filmed in some performances
-ayu's overacting in a few performances
-In the corner, we already saw this at PCDL, it wasn't exciting or anything, it also didn't really fit in
-the way she is lifted in Rule like a couple feet backwards, i think it was supposed to look cool but it didn't really lol

overall i really enjoyed it. in every ayu tour there are always performances that make me "", and this one was no exception. there are still more performances to see, i can't wait for the DVD!

[yoshino]

oh my.. I love the performance of rollin'! I didn't expect Ayu to be so cute singing this song. And she forgot the lyrics at the beginning I almost didn't notice!! haha. It was ok for me.. The dance are funny, but I enjoyed it. It wld really be nice if she did make a pv for rollin' =)
it's really great in Sparkle that everyone do the action for "No no no". pretty cool.

I really like Ayu's hair and outfit for evolution!! Anyway I'm beginning to like this song for her concerts cos it really brings the atmosphere. =D

[Ayumiko]

Finally finished watching! Looking forward to the dvd for the encore part and the special screens!

What I like:
-The stage, screens, and lighting! They're the highlights of this tour
-Audience interactions was really good! Sunrise felt like it was a encore performance
-The special screens!
-fav performances: rule, energize, sunrise (not the acting part), evolution, signal
-Maro solo >>>>>>>>>>Shuya
-beginning of love n' hate where they showed the pre-recorded screens on the middle screen and the live shot of the female dancers beside it. That was pretty cool.

What I don't like:
-The way certain part of the performances was filmed...like during the special screens...I wanna see them!! especially bridge to the sky!
-The rollin'/sparkle, hope or pain/green, days, in the corner outfits are still horrible...>_>
-some performances felt like they could of been better
-Don't like the acting/skits...like sunrise...I like the performance part but when she does the acting thing with Gomi like AT08 depend on you and CDL 08-09 Angel's song...I seriously don't like it.

What I want to see on the dvd:
-The special screens!
-better edit of performances

Overall this is not one of her best tours. Most of the outfits are cheap and ugly but the stage, lighting, and the screens are really cool. The beginning of energize was so cool! This tour is different and refreshing compared to her previous tours. If ayu can continue with the great stage/lighting/screens and also go back to her higher budget outfits and add more props, that would be really awesome.

[keikeiaznqueen]

I really liked it. My favourite part was definitely the performance of GREEN and Days. That was really beautiful. Especially since Maro and Midori were awesome (reminds me of Stadium Tour 2002) and and when they came out again during GREEN in the middle stage that was just pretty. Days had a happy ending. Yay!

Ayu looked gorgeous in the screens for the ballad section and the rock section. Her outfit was very hot in LOVE 'n' HATE. I thought the idea behind the performance was nice. Ayu's painful love for Shuya, lmao.

NEXT LEVEL was very very pretty. I loved the ending when she was lifted into the air. Rule was very powerful.

[Delirium-Zer0]

I really REALLY liked this performance alot. I think PCDL set the stage (so to speak) for ayu to tone down the stage gimmicks and focus more on the actual performance. The screen, the dancers, and the lighting all felt like enhancements rather than the main attraction, as ayu has a tendency to do - stuff stayed in the background that was supposed to, which is something Ayu seems to have forgotten how to do in recent years. She keeps making the show so huge, that she becomes tiny and barely noticeable within it. Sure, the big MW ship was cool, but Ayu herself was just sort of lost in the whole spectacle. ANYONE can stick a huge prop on stage and make a cool show out of it, really - I don't watch Ayu concerts to see stuff that anyone could do, I watch them to see AYU. To see her enjoying herself, communicating her pains and fears, laughing, crying, and being herself. I like to see the pride in her work, the love for her fans, and above all, her personality when she's on stage. I don't want to see Ayu herself take a backseat to all the embellishments. As props go, a tiny teddy bear is, to me, WAY more important than a giant pirate ship.

Like many of you, I loved the use of Maro, however, the Ayu/Shu-ya relantionshippers screaming in the audience? HILARIOUS!!! XD I have to admit, those moments, hearing the audience freak out, actually made me enjoy watching the show all the more. XD

I loved some of the slight arrangement changes in "GREEN" and "Sunrise," which were subtle but interesting. "GREEN" was gorgeous with the more raw instrumentation, especially.

The photos shown in Bridge to the Sky were FANTASTIC to see!!! I hope we get special screen videos on the DVD so we can get good screencaps of some of those baby photos. It was a really touching display too, and a great prelude to "NEXT LEVEL."

Peco still sounds awful.

Shuya still kinda randomly flails.

Ayu's fake-crying has gotten MUCH better, and I do get the feeling she was channeling some real sadness for some of it this time. Her fake crying is usually unbearably bad to watch because it's so phony, but I found myself actually kinda worried about her at times during this show! o_O!!

Overall, this felt like one of Ayu's more raw, natural, and real performances in a long time. It was great. This year, I REALLY feel like I'm getting the ayu I fell in love with back. I hope this keeps up.

[emi♡]

I'm not through the whole concert because I just havent had time today to watch it...but what I do like is that I'm having a sort of "Namie" moment.

See with namie, there were a lot of songs of hers I didnt like, but seeing her perform them at a tour, they become fun.

And thats what I have here. I don't like a lot of these songs, nor do I think they're particularly strong on their own, but seeing her perform them, and seeing their use on the stage and how energetic, dramatic, fun, etc. they can be, is really cool, and I start liking them more.

I wouldn't listen to them on their own, but for the tour, I think they all work really well.


Oh while Im here, one thing I didnt like at all...Now I dont mind lip syncing, honestly, I never did...but for some reason, I really really dislike that she did it for Sunrise...I dont know why it bothers me so much for that particular song...but it does lol

I think it would have been better live. That song has interesting dynamics.

[Delirium-Zer0]

The choreography made that performance really fun though, and she always has to lipsync if a song's choreography would make it too hard for her to sing while moving, so I forgave that one.... but I kinda understand your frustration, lol

[Ayumiko]

I forgot to say....SHOW TIME was awesome!!!

[jiarongisme]

Other than the vocals not being perfect and the costumes weren't that flashy, I think the concert was pretty awesome. I loveee the screens to death btw.

[dreamland2.0]

I thought the arrangements sounded really awesome live this year!! Everything sounded so powerful!

[maikaru]

For sure Sunrise wasnt lipsynced, because she did the 123 cutting off the bridge part in Sunrise, which sounds very real to me. I also realized Sunrise is just too low key for her, because verses sound horribly low.. I think Sparkle could have been edited in the vocal room, or really loud playback. In some parts, you can hear two Ayu's (not Peco and the other one), which is like the actual Sparkle track.. but for sure, EnergizE is lipsync. LOL.

I found she is actually singing now. She caught herself half way through UNITE, and starting just singing Unite instead of yelling it. I think the chorus sounds like asia tour 07 UNITE, so I think they might have edit the vocals in the edit room...

I really thought that the crying in Days was very real, actually. I was really impressed, and started to crying too!!! T_T

I didn't really enjoy LOVE'N'HATE, but identity was fun.

I really loved ballad sections~~ and Sparkle and rollin'. ahaha. It was so cute~ and of course, I really love acting part in Energize one!! But maybe I am the only one...ww

NEXT LEVEL was nothing big, but it was nice. I would perfer a grand closing though, like Mirrorcle World, or Bold & Delicious!

Overall, it is MUCH better than last year, and I can feel the emotion (sad and happy) one more time from Ayu!!! yay.