Credits to Taki for the HQ scans.
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ayumi hamasaki ARENA TOUR 2009 A ~NEXT LEVEL~ YOYOGI TOUR FINAL LIVE REPORT
Members of TeamAyu were chosen to write the live report this time. You can just feel the impact the concert had on them in the contents.
That exciting day, which makes my heart beat so hard… The chance to attend the Tour Final just made me so ecstatic, I couldn’t wait. Lives are the most precious chance of hearing ayu live and seeing her many different faces, so I always look forward to them. When the lights dimmed, everyone’s penlights glowed beautifully, and finally the live started. That was the best moment for me. The opening laser show was super awesome, and the ultra-cool a cappella “Rule” started. I really like strong-voiced rock ayu. “EnergizE” had cheerleader ayu holding pompoms: cute. Twirling my towel with all my might during “Sunrise” was too fun. The strong feelings ayu conveyed in her voice with “Days”. “rollin'”, with the best ayu expressions, dance and performance. “NEXT LEVEL”, which began with ayu’s baby pictures shown on the bigscreen. This clip seemed to be specially prepared by ayu. The encore started with “curtain call”. I was so touched by the precious care she took while singing this.
I participated enthusiastically during “Humming 7/4″‘s jump and “Boys & Girls”.
Lastly, “MY ALL”, which united everyone in the venue. Watching ayu as she sang and cried, I cried too. And before “MY ALL”, these words, “Everyone’s smiling faces are always in my heart”, said by ayu just conveyed all her feelings and touched all of us. And with “MY ALL”, ayu managed to convey all her feelings to everyone who supported her: the staff, dancers, band members, and all the audience.
“NEXT LEVEL” tour was really such a wonderful live. It was amazing to hear the songs and all these things straight from ayu! And the ample usage of lasers and bigscreen movies just brought the neon-coloured world of “NEXT LEVEL” to life. With this level-up, the constantly-evolving lives produced by ayu’s team are indeed the best. I really want to thank ayu. Her songs always give me encouragement, and her lives are just so enjoyable, they cheer me up all the time. I really love this ayu, who is so honest, and always gives us her best. Thank you.
Looking forward to meeting you again during a live. (TeamAyu’s Usshi)
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I received a notice saying that I was chosen to write the Live Report from TA on 16 October. That was my birthday and it was an awesome present!
My love for ayu began when a friend brought me to watch “A MUSEUM ~30th single collection live~”. The extravagant performance, the colourful costumes, the cute ayu, the cool ayu, the strong ayu, and all the other different facets of her… The live touched me, and I became a fan. That was 6 years ago.
Since then, I’ve been attending ayu’s live tours without fail. There have been many surprising and touching moments, and they gave me energy and courage!
NEXT LEVEL tour started off at Saitama, and moved on to Yokohama, Yoyogi, and other places, with the last venue having 4 shows. After the Yoyogi show in June, I was looking forward to watching the show again on an upgraded stage, and waited for the last show with anticipation.
At 6.50pm, the lights dimmed, and everyone in the audience stood up and waved their lights. I really love the opening “Pieces of SEVEN”, which brought everyone’s spirits up. And with that, ayu gave her tour title call, and the show started! And there she was, singing “Rule” a cappella in a strong voice, right in front of me!! Seeing ayu and the dancers so clearly with the naked eye was indeed dizzying for me!
The costume which suited her best this concert was the cheerleader outfit she had on during EnergizE ayu holding pompoms and the dance was just too cute. “Sunrise~LOVE is ALL~” had everyone in the audience twirling their towels and lights
ayu’s cry of “Twirl it, Yoyogi~! Twirl it~!” heated up the pace further! In the latter half of the performace, during “rollin'”, ayu forgot her lyrics. Singing “I’ve messed up ” as a substitute with an impatient air, ayu was so cute
This tour was the first time we saw ZIN & SUBA-sama as emcees! On this final day’s gesture game, the Tokyo Tower ayu was so cute! I like seeing ayu have fun in the MC corners Even though the live passed like a dream, ayu’s smiling face and singing voice still remains in my heart, supporting me. Thank you, ayu. For singing the last song “MY ALL” with all your might, even though you were crying so hard, singing the line “because we were not alone”, it felt like the bond between ayu and fan got stronger.
Starting with ayu, then the band, dancers, the many staff who created this live, the staff from TA, and everyone who was there that final day, thank you so much! I’m waiting for the next live (TeamAyu’s Tsucchi)
Chosen to write the Live Report for ayumi hamasaki ARENA TOUR 2009A ~NEXT LEVEL~ concert, I went to Yoyogi Gymnasium on 21 October!!! I was so totally pumped from the very beginning!!!
The lights dimmed and the show started. To the strains of Pieces of SEVEN, green lasers shot through the arena, and that moment gave me goosebumps. The lasers gathered at the centrestage… And singing the chorus of Rule a cappella, ayu emerged!!! ayu’s aura right before me was just awesome.
Seeing and hearing so many people cheering for her, I was really touched. And from then on, the atmosphere just got hotter and hotter, until I started to jump and dance around too!!! UNITE! and EnergizE followed… And could that be Sunrise~LOVE is ALL~!!! Being the beloved song that brought back so many memories of 2009 summer, I was really happy, and twirled my towel with all my might during the chorus. (laugh)
Then, the mood of the show shifted to the more serious LOVE ‘n’ HATE, identity, and In The Corner. ayu was really cool!! Especially the dance for In The Corner. No matter how many times I see it, it’s still so awesome. (laugh)
After the gentle ballads HOPE or PAIN, GREEN, and Days, evolution and SIGNAL brought the excitement level up again!! rollin’ and Sparkle had an 80’s ayu dancing!! During rollin”s chorus, the crowd twirled their hands together, and the green lights were very pretty. Bridge to the sky had many of ayu’s photos showing on the bigscreen and it slowly went to the past, till it came to her baby photo. Then, as expected, NEXT LEVEL came on!!! A song about ayu’s past 10 years as a singer, exuding confidence about the future. It’s almost as if it’s wishing for me to go on as well. (^w^)
After the main show came the encore!! Time really flew past… And it was time for the last song MY ALL… I felt that whatever I was seeing with my eyes was a dream, because up till now, the ayu I’ve seen existed only on TV and in magazines, but here she was, right in front of me.
Being just an individual, but caring for her fans as a singer, I felt full of spontaneous gratitude.
Thank you for giving me love, dreams, and hope!! (TeamAyu’s Yunyun!)
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Being an ultimate fan, I arrived at Yoyogi Gymnasium in the morning, in extremely high spirits (^^)!! The thought that everyone there are ayu’s fans made me so so happy Waiting since the starting date of 11 April at Saitama, this year’s tour ends with today and tomorrow… It was such a long wait, and when I received the T-shirt, I remember thinking “It’ll last all the way to October? That’s amazing!?” (>_<)
My heart was beating so fast as I waited for the show to start, and when the green laser lights from the instrumental “Pieces of SEVEN” gathered around ayu, who appeared singing “Rule” a cappella, I was so overwhelmed, I can’t describe it with words.
“Days” stood out especially on this album. Seeing and hearing it live moved me to tears. (>_<)
ayu in that dress was too pretty
The MC this time, “hamasaki ayumi challenges the NEXT LEVEL”, had a section called “Please, hamasaki ayumi!”. During this, the recent additions to ayu’s family in August, the Boston Terriers Pino and Papiko, made their appearance!!! Just 3 months old, they tottered around the stage with uncertain steps, it was so cute. The part where they made fun of Zin-san’s face was also really cute~
For the second section of the challenge, the male dancers and ayu challenged the jump rope! Even though it broke down halfway when someone kept losing at “Rock, Paper, Scissors”, they finally managed to end everything with an interesting pose. This corner really made the tour this time very enjoyable! This year’s tour was the longest ever in hamasaki ayumi history! ayu touched tens of thousands of people’s hearts, and everyone got to convey their feelings to ayu, and I’m sure everyone received her feelings as well. Seeing ayu’s smiling face helped too!
Thank you for the best time (TeamAyu’s Wakana)
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You were… PV Filming Report
This time, we talked to the director of the music video.
「You were…」 Director Muto
– The PV’s concept
After listening to the track, the image which surfaced in my mind spoke of “winter” and “loneliness”. However, somewhere in that loneliness, I felt warmth. With a fantasy-like perspective, and an artistic mood, I wanted to portray a 3-D image on a 2-D set. On a set which feels completely unreal, with demons decorated with electric lighting, the sense of loneliness is emphasized.
– With these settings, what kind of images and ideas did you come up with?
The human-shaped objet d’art which appear in the PV are works by the scupltor Matsuoka-san, which are based on the theme “Veins and Arteries”. Though they were grotesque, they exuded warmth, and with this collaboration, the visual image of the PV was heightened.
– Any highlights in the PV?
In the midst of an extremely simple set, silhouettes of fantasy-like demons dancing. In the midst of loneliness, the form of ayu, singing with strength and hope. I think these have never been achieved in any previous PV before, and so it is refreshing.
– Please tell us about any happenings which occurred during PV filming, or any filming secrets.
I was the one who animated the puppet-glove white bear at the start of the PV. It was really tough. In the later half of the PV, the light which falls slowly on hamasaki-san from the back, are actually fireworks. It was filmed with a super slow-motion camera. There are only 2 of these cameras in the whole of Japan.
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BALLAD PV Filming Report
This time, we talked to the director of the music video.
「BALLAD」 Director Ishii
– The PV’s concept?
A “dream” seen while sleeping.
– With these settings, what kind of images and ideas did you come up with?
What we see in a “dream” is what we think about during the day, as well as the small hopes that our subconscious holds on to. And so, we see these strange stories every night, without knowing the meaning behind them.
When I read BALLAD’s lyrics, there was a moment when I honestly didn’t understand everything it was trying to say. It was as if the protagonist singing this song can’t explain herself clearly at all~. That’s why the only concept it resembles is a “dream”.
– Any highlights in the PV?
When planning this “dream PV”, I thought about making a PV in which ayu isn’t the protagonist.
This time, I wanted ayu-chan to be the “song’s spokesperson”, and for the story to be built around another person. That’s why, in the scenes where ayu sings, she plays the role of both “spokesperson” and “story narrator”, which I felt was interesting. And there’s the guy, who wishes to send his thoughts to ayu-chan on heaven island. In the later half of the PV, after revealing that the one who is dead is the guy, the situation and their expressions become really complex. The delicate change in their performance was really amazing. The main actor, SHU-YA-kun, also had amazing concentration.
– Please tell us about any happenings which occurred during PV filming, or any filming secrets.
The large volumes of grass used were shipped in from Amami island. That’s because there’s no grass in the Kanto-region that fits my image.
Lots of crickets were shipped into the studio together with the grass, and they were all chirping away. (laugh) The cat mask was later shipped in from Venice, and we spent much time fussing over the smallest details.
The scene with ayu-chan sitting on heaven island and singing, the costume was ~~. In the end, I was glad she persevered through it. It must be tiring to hold that position, but she looked so calm that I was amazed.
The filming took 2 days, and though ayu’s part was finished on the first day, she came down on the second day to help out too. It was really fun!
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Message from ayu
To everyone at TeamAyu,
Thank you for the many shiny memories of NEXT LEVEL TOUR!! Aside from the new TOUR in 2010, I wish to spend precious precious good times with everyone everyday, so let’s look forward to that!! Let’s make more good memories together
with love, Ayu 2010
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