Fukuoka DRUM Be-1 (2010/04/05) & Okayama IMAGE (2010/04/06)
雅-MIYAVI- Japan Tour 2010
2010/04/05 Fukuoka DRUM Be-1
Live Report #3
The City: Fukuoka is always a great place for a Miyavi show - the weather is hot and the kids are even hotter. It was a comparatively cool day - in fact it was downright cold once the sun went down, and we all wished we’d brought better coats with us for demachi - but aside from that, I have to say that it really is one of my favorite cities in Japan, from the awesome crowds to the gorgeous sakura blooming all over the place about two blocks from my hotel.
Which was distinctly hard to find! I stayed at a place called Hotel Sunline - but there’s also a Hotel Sunlife in the same area, so needless to say this causes a whole bunch of confusion for the cab drivers trying to deal with my distinctly non-native accent in Japanese. Nevertheless, getting two and from the show was a far easier venture than it was in Kumamoto, and this time I made it there in plenty of time before the doors opened.
The Venue: I saw Miyavi at this DRUM Be-1 back in 2008, and it has to be one of my favorite venues at which to see him perform. There’s lots of room onstage but a good, close feeling out on the floor, and a pretty great view no matter where you’re standing (at least at my height). There’s great airflow, friendly house staff, and the club is located right across from a beautiful little city park that we can all enjoy while we wait for the doors to open, with plenty of room to bounce around and get excited.
The Crowd: The locals in Fukuoka definitely know how to rock, and this was the first show on this tour where I wasn’t the token gaijin in the crowd - there were a couple of kids from Taiwan, a couple from Germany, and a couple of other Americans as well. One poor guy from Oregon made the mistake of telling Miyavi that he came all the way to Fukuoka from America just to see the concert, and couldn’t seem to convince Miyavi that this was the truth! “Really? Just for this show? Okaaaaay…” He seemed thoroughly unconvinced - but also thoroughly impressed that the guy could speak some Japanese!
The Band: Bobo is from Kyuushuu, so Miyavi has been making a big deal out of this to the crowd each night. The poor guy likes to drum in a tee shirt and bike shorts, and Miyavi keeps making fun of his clothes every single night - but Bobo, the patient soul that he seems to be - just laughs, and continues to pound out the beats relentlessly. He’s a super-skilled musician, and he really looks like he’s having fun up there. Coba 84 still wanders off whenever the mood suits him, and remains cool as a cucumber behind his dark glasses at the keyboard.
The Set List: Miyavi played us some more new songs tonight, and the one that I mentioned in the last live report does, indeed, have a title - it’s called Revenge, and it’s quick, hard, and smacks of his older material in all the good ways. The lyrics summarize to the idea that even though the world may have beat him down once, he’s back stronger than ever to get his revenge and rock the hell out of us.
He also played another new song, inspired by Michael Jackson’s death, in ways, called Gravity - and it is by far the most raw, intense, poignant thing that I have ever seen him perform live. While the verses are soft, reflective and nearly ethereal, the chorus is nothing but a hard-driving guitar chords and an agonized but tonal scream of ‘Let me out’. I don’t think that a soul in the live house moved while he was playing it, and when it ended none of us could do so much as clap - we were simply blown away, and unable to do anything but bear witness to this heart-stopping, show-stopping masterpiece.
The MC: Miyavi seems to have decided that no one on Kyuushuu has the internet - not many people seem to have seen his UStream rehearsal, but he seems to be over his disappointment with this and now patiently explains what, exactly, UStream is to begin with, encouraging everyone to check out the videos of the rehearsal that he’s since posted on YouTube. He’s happy to be back here in Japan, but he still had a lot of fun pointing out all the foreigners in the audience and using his English on us - which gets embarrassing when it is your 31st Miyavi concert and he tells everyone for you instead of asking you. He also just assumed that the girls standing in front of me were also American, and we’d all come together; he was correct in his assumptions on the first part, but we’d only met at the beginning of the show! I don’t think we ever really caught each other’s names, but we chowed down on McDonalds after the show and shared some great stories! They’ve been to lots of shows in Fukuoka, and it was awesome to hear all about Alice Nine on their most recent tour, and some of the local bands from the area.
Otsukaresama, Fukuoka! And special thanks to the wonderful cabbie who nearly made me cry on the way back to the hotel; when I told him that I grew up in New York, he proceeded to tell me the heartfelt tale of how he and his family stayed up watching the news and praying for us on 9/11, and how after ten years he’s never forgotten the shock of that day, even though he isn’t an American. Talking to him is making my pending trip to Hiroshima tomorrow a lot easier to stomach; in all the time I’ve spent living in Japan, I’ve never quite been able to steel myself for the emotional experience that I know visiting the city is going to be.
Next up is Okayama - or really, last up was Okayama! I’ve already been to the show, but this is the first time I’ve had internet access, so we might as well move right along to…
雅-MIYAVI- Japan Tour 2010
2010/04/06 Okayama IMAGE
Live Report #4
The City: I’ve never been to Okayama before - and now that I’ve seen both the city itself and a show in it, I’ve realized what a shame that is. Okayama is friendly, pretty, and has had the nicest weather out of any city on tour so far. It was warm enough to ditch my coat as soon as I got off the Shinkansen. My hotel was right next to the station, but getting to the venue required a scenic cab ride. Since I got a late start out of Fukuoka, I didn’t have nearly as much time as I would have liked to enjoy the city, unfortunately.
Miyavi once claimed that he was going to compile a book all about the cab drivers and masseuses that he meets all over Japan, and I am definitely starting to be able to relate to him on that note; though I don’t have the time (or the money) to treat myself to any massages, I am certainly getting to meet some of the coolest, funniest, craziest, and most compassionate people just by hopping into cabs and actually taking the time to chat with the guy behind the wheel. I have to say that the rides to and from the venues have been some of the best moments of what Miyavi is aptly calling ‘this crazy fucking tour’ - from hysterical laughter over the misunderstandings that similar hotel names can create to heartfelt exchanges of love, peace and friendship across national and linguistic borders, I’ve been so lucky to have had the chance to talk to these wonderful guys who not only know all the back roads, but really know how to make you feel at home in their cities. Otsukaresama, cabbies!
The Venue: I don’t ask for much from a venue. Have a bar or a vending machine. Have an air conditioner. Do not be on some absurd back road the size of a driveway where nobody, not even the locals, can find you. Do not have a twenty foot security pit. I like small, crazy shows where nobody overheats and everyone has a good view.
So Okayama IMAGE was just my style; this place has the feel of a DRUM Be-1, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re operated by the same company. This place was tucked out of the way, but I had a clever cabbie who, once he called in the address, seemed to know exactly where he was going and got me there with no trouble and plenty of time to spare.
The Crowd: The further from Kyuushuu I get, the more older tour towels - and familiar faces - I am starting to see in the crowd. A couple of the same kids from Fukuoka were here in Okayama, and met a few more who plan to be at the Hiroshima show as well. I also met a few very cool girls who had come in from nearby cities via shinkansen just to catch the show, including one of the most passionate and crazy little CoMiyavi who I just had to hug after the show; this girl was a perfect paradigm of exactly what makes going on tour so truly special for me. From the minute that the house lights went down until long after they came up again, she was on cloud nine - jumping, screaming, singing along and giving Miyavi exactly the kind of heartfelt passion and energy that he thrives on up there onstage. I had almost as much fun watching her as I did watching him, and it’s people like her that make these shows so special that I keep coming back again and again.
The Band: As usual, Miyavi has a blast teasing Bobo up there onstage; these two must have a great vibe between them, because they both seem to have fun with it, and can crack each other up just by staring at one another too long. Bobo never really takes his eyes off of him, because Miyavi pulls every trick in the book to try to catch him off guard with a false start to a song. Last night he stopped right in the middle of Shouri no V-Rock to get himself a drink of water. Then, in what seemed to be a kind gesture, he offered the water bottle to Bobo - who took it rather warily, and kept one eye on Miyavi as he drank.
Good thinking, Bobo; no sooner had he taken his first sip than Miyavi snapped him to attention mid-drink with a “HA!” and a slap to his guitar - and Bobo, god bless him, still managed to hit his drums in time. “HAHA, he did it even with both drumsticks in one hand!” Miyavi pointed out gleefully, as though we hadn’t all been right there watching.
The Set List:
So after four nights, I’ve got a better idea of which songs he’s going to play every night and which ones he seems to be rotating. The show always kicks off with Survive, which is followed by Coin Locker Baby, and Ossan Ossan Ore Nambou. Then it’s usually BOOM-HAH-HAH, Ame Ni Utaeba, and Please Please Please. What’s My Name and Where Are You are also staples of the set list, though he’s played the latter at different points in different shows.
He’s also been playing some brand new material, rotating through songs from night to night. So far, here’s the title list some of us have managed to collaboratively put together.
Revenge
Gravity
Unbreakable
Future
Home Sweet Sweet Home
He played Home Sweet Sweet Home again last night, and I think that it’s quickly becoming one of my favorite Miyavi songs of all time. He’s also played Ku Ku Ru a few times now, and Subarashiki Kana, Kono Sekai, Shouri no V-Rock, and Are You Ready To Rock always pick the set back up after some of the softer or more reflective new tunes. The encore always includes Ashita Tenki ni Naare and Girls, Be Ambitious.
The MC: Miyavi has talked a lot about how raising his daughter has given him a new perspective on things, and brought him back to experiencing and remembering his own childhood in a brand new way as well. Being a father has definitely brought out a beautiful new maturity in him, but it hasn’t changed his personality or how he relates to his fans. He’s still one to crack jokes and tease both his band and his audience - something that he doesn’t seem to have learned how to do quite yet in English, aside from telling some crazy guy to ‘Shut the fuck up!’ in English at his final live of 2008. He really is a wordsmith in his own language, and though he hasn’t been telling any funny stories like the one he was always telling back in 2008, he’s been really interactive with his audience, joking with some of the girls in the same teasingly affectionate fashion that he teases Bobo and really going out of his way to get everyone laughing together.
Next stop is Hiroshima, so I can’t promise that I’ll have the next review up right away - the whole visit is bound to be a pretty emotional experience, but as soon as I have time to synthesize everything I’ll be writing about it.