[REPORT] Yellow Gold Tour 3011 Saitama 14 - 16/01[English 1/2]
Report 14-16/2011 赤西仁 全米ツアー 凱旋ライブ 3011
I apologize for the delay but I had a busy week and LJ is killing me >.translator did a great job! Thank you maobulma ♥♥♥
I'm going to mix both concerts (the 14th and the 16th) because there weren't many differences between the two. Except for the announcement of the single on Friday, and Ryo coming up on stage with his guitar on Sunday.
I was terraced one day, and in the arena the other so I was able to enjoy the concert from different angles.
Lot's of details are slipping out of my mind, so stuff like “At this moment, he changed his clothes ...” … Sorry but I don't remember XD
Moreover, videos came out, like the news one of 今日感テレビ which gives you a pretty good idea of what it was like. Especially for the stage and “MAGNITUDE”. Some fancams and a bunch a audios also came out.
I was wondering again how I was going to find words to describe the show. Because, seriously, it was more than a concert, Jin made a real show there.
The setlist didn't change since the concerts in LA or the tour, except for a few things. But it really seemed like it was something completely new ! He perfectly used the means he had at his disposal, which is a huge concert hall (I think he's the first JE solo artist to do a concert in such a big concert hall).
He did everything he could to make a real show out of his music, something communicative, which makes the adrenaline go high, which gives the audience the need to dance at the first notes of music. And it was a real success : the decor, the way he used the stage, the amazing lightening effects, the costumes, the great choreographies and the dancers who are definitely a part of the show...
Anyway, as I was saying, it's hard to find the right words to describes all this !
And it starts way before the first song, with the words he says as an opening after the VTR. It directly puts everyone in the mood and it shows his state of mind.
So, obviously, the atmosphere in that big concert hall wasn't the same at all than the one in smaller concert halls he did before where it was more intimist and above all... not to renew the controversy but where the audience was really there, danced, moved, etc.
That's the only bad things about those concerts. I ignored it and stopped caring about the others to live in the moment with my friends. Let's say... it's for him, that it's the most frustrating.
Anyway...
Maybe they should serve alcohol shots at the entrance to cheer people up ! :D
We always repeat the same thing : “A DVD” !!!! I really hope they'll make us this gift (Grandpa-sama if you're listening...).
It's more than obvious, with the talent he showed in such a concert, it's hard now to call Jin a J's (it already was before XD), the style is so different, and maybe that's what troubled people a little.
And as time goes, I'm relieved that another label produces him instead of one of the J's labels. He'll have way more freedom.
Anyway, done with the blabla... Here's what I can share with you ! With Audios (mine), gifs and photos (credits on pics).
Set list :
Yellow Gold remix,
Christmas Morning
Magnitude
Bass Go Boom
INP
Oowah
Body talk
Care
Murasaki
A page
Love Juice
Paparats
Hey girl
Pin Dom
Wonder
Fifth season
Yellow Gold
My MP3
Tipsy Love
Eternal
Jin has 6 dancers who've been with him for a while now and who are an integral part of the show (Joey, Dominic, Paul, Juice, Aubree and Lizzy). There are 4 other dancers (who always wear a bobbed, blond wig), Kazumi and Miss Sullivan (the one who does acrobatics, juggles...) who were there en February for YOU&JIN.
You know Ryo was the guest at Sunday's concert. Friday they were Pi, Ryo, Beni and Crystal Kay. It's a shame she didn't come up on stage to sing WONDER.
We're already in the mood as soon as we pass the doors, when the concert hasn't even started. Light effects are already on and the DJ behind its record deck mixes the last hit songs in fashion. Faithful to Jin's style, which gives a “clubbing” side to the concert hall. And it's true we want to dance or at least move to the rhythm of the music. But since everybody else is sitting, we follow the move, we sit down. But we can't help but squirming on our seats ^_^, and grin and bear with it.
Friday, before the BTR, Juice, Joey, Paul & Dom tried to work the room, as usual with their “I wanna rock ! Right now, right now !”... which completely failed, even when trying to make Joey speak in Japanese. It hurt for them.
Juice told me later that it was the first time he felt so alone on stage and that it was pretty disconcerting to see people wave “hi” rather than getting in the mood... That's not hard the believe. But he's not the kinda of guy to give up so now it's a real challenge for him XD.
They didn't insist and the days after, the concert directly started with the VTR.
Nothing new about that VTR, it pretty much corresponds to the last JFC video where we see the USA concerts, the MTV show and the studio sequence with the mystery song.
Oddly, I thought my eardrums would explode when Jin appears on the screen... but no !
Then, as he explained clearly in his last J-web, his show is conceived like a movie. So it begins on the screen with his now famous “satirical speech” “Cause I no longer want to be anyone's puppet.”He gets a really powerful message across. Just his voice, with the lyrics in English and Japanese on the screen, with a rather dark tune in the background.
The sound becomes electric... It's the beginning of the opening mix , a mix of the musics of Yellow Gold/Bass go Boon/wonder (♥♥♥) and flames are gushing from the stage.
Personally, I really really fell in love with that mix, so much that I taped it during the ending credits to make an audio ! The dancers are on stage, dressed in white and gold, still very futuristic but more classy. It looks like they're wearing sort of “armors” and some of them have long sticks. They move slowly, some of the women dancers are on stilts, there was also a lot of smoke.
It is also at this moment, that the character (who is in fact Jin, but personally I didn't recognize him. I had to look a it again to be sure it was him -_-”) with an odd make-up on, quite... tribal (?), or a puppet (like his lyrics) appears on the screen. Anyway, pretty creepy XD The image was jerky and cut.
The effects are very electro ! Then with a robotic voice, Jin introduces us to his futuristic universe. I don't have the whole text but I remember he says “Welcome to my empire... We are are your creations... We are made from your imagination... we have come to dominate your world... your world.” And it finishes with “Yellow Gold Tour 3011” coming out of Jin's mouth to appear on the screen, at the end of the remix
This message is a logical sequel to the previous one and... pfff, what a concert start !!!! Awesome ! It made me shiver !
Meanwhile on stage, Jin appears in his bubble, sitting on his futuristic throne
The bubble goes up a little, and it's the moment where he does a piece of Yellow Gold, remixed on a background of a military march at the beginning ! Awesome !
Around, the direction is excellent, and in addition to the dancers and lights, there are large white nets moving. In his bubble, Jin moves like a contorted robot, then he gets out of his capsule, on a military march background (the dancers are doing it, with their steps or by hitting their sticks to the floor), then still in a contorted way, he moves forward to the drums, in the front of the stage on a small platform.
Christmas Morning directly begins with the drums.
No intro with the music of Eternal or “Ladies & Gentleman” and the linking is great this way.
It's at this moment that I notice the presence of a band at each side of the stage, on platforms (they pretty much looked like they were in cage XD). I know FiVe weren't participating, so I don't know who they were (I just know they're Japanese).
No change on this song, but the return of Kazumi in the role of the robot who makes the splits in front of the drums, after Jin discovered her android face and made her move with invisible threads, like a marionette (as he was doing in February).
At the moment of the instrumental part, when he takes the light sticks, I was thinking that this was the only moment were the few girls in the audience who had one could rightfully use them (because yes, there was an itinerant salesman selling penlight outside -_-). If everyone used those just at the right moment, I thought it'd be cool. But just at this moment ! Anyway...
Around the end of the song, just after the guitar part, the platform goes up. But not only, it also makes a great semi-circular move above the arena.
Jin moves on with Magnitude which I immediately liked : rousing, vibrating and which haven't got out of my head since.
Still in the air, Jin claps his hands to make the audience move, or leans over the mixing console/ synth to do his effects... or to drink his frappuccino XD
After the first “Dented in the world... Magnitude Jin”, there are big explosions on stage. On the instrumental part at the end of the song, Jin gets down from his platform to get to the others for Bass Go Boom
I fell in love with that song the very first time I heard it in LA in June and since it's still one of my favourites, because it really makes you want to dance ! And I particularly like the music and choreography
Just after that, we are invited to an “international party” ! (I.N.P.)
Then, they go to both sides of the arena, on the stage around it. The boys to one side, Lizzy and Aubree to the other. While they try to cheer on the audience, a mic comes down between Jin and Dominic for their “vocal battle”. As usual... once again they try to make the audience dance and do the gestures we now start to know ^_^. Then both groups meet up, a new mic comes down. It's time for the “Boy/girl Vocal Battle”... and Aubree's playback will always make me laugh !
They go to the central stage, and move on with Oo Wah.
It took me a little time to really like this song but it's quite lively. I think it's with the MTV show that I truly liked it.
The sequence Magnitude/Bass Go Boom/I.N.P./Oo Wah is excellent !
We go to something completely different with Body Talk
and I must say, I don't know why, it really made a deep impression on me at the last concert. I already like it a lot (and I loved the reaction of my seat neighbor when she understood the lyrics) but this time I was moved. And Jin was particularly captivating... I don't know how to explain it, but he literally fascinated me during this performance. We don't even think about looking at Lizzie & Dom's sensual dance behind. It made me shiver.
Then, my mind goes blank on what's happening... The spotlights are on the platforms at each sides of the stage : Paul and Juice are at the top, wearing a blue prisoner suit and are hitting the guardrail with iron pipes. The decor changes, in the back some kind of faces made in stained-glass rise, as we see a little on the picture. It's very “kaleidoscope”-like..
On the stage... I admit I forgot, I think there's something going on with the dancers... but I don't remember. Anyway, Jin has changed and is sitting on a box, with a guitar next to him. Friday, he talked a little before, but I completely forgot what he said. But to see a guitar next to him... it's one of the things I love the most, when he plays guitar. And it's been so long since he played on stage !!! So we think “He's gonna play ! He's gonna play !!!” Except that for the following song he didn't take it, but when the first notes of Care were heard, we immediately forgot the presence of said guitar ! Even if we had to suspect he'd sing a song or two in Japanese..
Friday, he succeeds in messing up the lyrics (this moment was on the news lol) when he has two teleprompter just in front of him. Well, he doesn't change right ! But it was cute. The lyrics scroll on the big disco-ball above the stage, the effect was beautiful.
But the big surprise comes from the song right after. He takes his guitar and there, a wave of feelings shakes the entire concert hall when we recognized Murasaki ! It really moved me to hear it again, in a whole other context. And a good bunch of girls started crying. It was really a moment with a strong signification.
Singing it after so many years, it's also a way to connect and make a transition between his “two” careers. And also to please his fans. It's a really sweet attention, not forgetting what he did before.
It was way clearer at the end of the concert when we knew that the song is going to be on the album. Hence the live performance.
( Part 2)