LOVE PiECE TOUR 2008 - a review

A couple of days ago I watched my favourite Ai Otsuka’s concert: LOVE PiECE Tour 2008. I can’t tell how many times I’ve watched this show, seriously. I’ve seen all Ai’s DVDs and all of them are my favourite, but LOVE PiECE takes a special place on my list, not simply the first one – it’s much better than merely a number one :) It’s really hard to explain why it is so. While watching, I was wondering why I like this concert so much, so I decided to have a closer, even analytical, look at this, trying to figure it out. Now I realize that this review (or analysis) is going to be quite extensive, so I’m getting ready :)

Before I begin, I have to highlight one thing – forget about all those low quality DVD-rips which can be relatively easily found on the net. They don’t allow you to discover and truly appreciate the real quality of what you watch, no matter if it’s a movie or a music show. When you own a DVD or a Blu-Ray of the title you wish to see and you play it on your home cinema, the sensations and the experience is amazing. It’s impossible to have such an effect by playing an avi file on your computer. Yeah, it’s absolutely true that original DVDs usually are horribly expensive, but the quality of what you get is totally worth this price. I don’t mention that by buying a DVD you support your favourite artist, because it’s obvious :) OK, enough off-topic.

Before releasing her fifth studio album called “LOVE PiECE”, Ai Otsuka announced a new tour to promote the album. The tour commenced on February 2nd, 2008 in Hitomi Memorial Hall and it ended on May 6th, 2008 in Grand Cube Osaka. Meanwhile, there was one show recorded to be later released as a DVD. As the title of the DVD says, the recording took place on 1st of May 2008, at Pacifico National Convention Hall of Yokohama. The concert was released on July 30th, 2008. It charted #2 on the Oricon Weekly, which was a pretty decent result taking into account that this title turned out to be more expensive than any previous Ai-chan’s DVD.

The cover of the release

What about the tour itself? It was planned and prepared very carefully by Ai and her staff which was visible in any detail. This time, the concerts were meant to amaze the viewers by showing them something they had never seen before, so there were 3D visualizations included in the intro and the interludes, laser shows and Ai who dressed herself in unusual outfits and wigs... Generally, LOVE PiECE Tour brought something very fresh and modern to Otsuka’s tours. Before 2008, they looked quite simple – they were based on singing, playing piano and having fun. Since LOVE PiECE Tour, Ai has been creating her tours in such a way that they resemble more of the theatrical performances than ordinary concerts. This way, she has a broad field to showcase her creativity which is definitely an exciting thing for her fans, because one of the three gifts that Ai was profusely blessed with is her creativity (the other things are her talent and beauty, of course).

I’m going now to present you the content of the concert, including screenshots, some animations, my descriptions of what was going on and some random thoughts which appeared while watching it. You can treat it as an incentive to watch it too, and to get yourselves your own copy. Are you ready?

INTRODUCTION

In the introduction to the show, we can see a 3D animation whose general message is “the miracle of life” (at least this is how I interpreted it). There is a dynamic slideshow depicting different life forms found on Earth, then we are taken into space where we travel across the Solar System. Eventually we can see Ai singing samples from “Mirai Taxi”. The silhouette of the singer transforms from a beautiful green-eyed girl to a metallic humanoid which gives a sci-fi feeling to the show. At the end, the humanoid disappears, the lights go out and...

MIRAI TAXI

... the show finally begins! The opening song starts, the laser beams lighten up the scene and there Ai-chin appears, with a blonde wig on her head, pink lip-shaped sunglasses on her nose, a big colourful flounced dress and black heavy boots... I love the way she moves in this dress – the flounces flow like a sea waves :) Have a look:

Looking closely, her dress might appear ridiculous, but in fact, it’s perfect for such a show, because Ai needs to be well visible from the stage as she sings from its upper part and doesn’t come closer to the audience.

It looks amazing when she waves her hands like this and the viewers wave the colourful flashlights (or whatever it is) along with her :)

HANIKAMI JANE

The stage gets lighter and Ai descends from the upper stage to approach the audience. She sings this song with light heart and moves smoothly, letting her big dress flow and wave. The screens behind her show a slim lady passing a town and a park; possibly it’s this “shy Jane” the song is about. Ai sometimes marches just like the person on the screen which looks amusing :)

MACKEREL’S CANNED FOOD

It’s another song from the new album which was featured in “Tokyo Friends: The Movie” (a movie starring Ai-chin I will write about someday). The performance is edited to look like an old amateur recording or a documentary. I kind of like this stylization: the noisy picture and slow motion add to the song’s rock feeling. However, I find it somewhat funny: Ai’s happy jumping is shot in slow motion and simultaneously she’s screaming loudly “Genki, Yokohama?” ;) In this song, Ai took off her kissy glasses, so we can admire her pretty face. At the end of the song, when the lights go out, she unnoticeably gets rid of the big dress, appearing in a stylish flowery dress which accentuates her great S-line. Otsuka greets the audience and goes on to the next song...

YUMEKUI

... which is the second single promoting her new album. In almost complete darkness Ai begins singing about her journey toward her dream, and then when the light comes back, we can see the hippo-like creature from the PV flying behind Ai-chin. While the guitarist is playing solo, the camera shows Ai’s baby face smiling adorably. This smile always melts my heart... (even though I’m a girl! :D)

HEART

Right after “Yumekui” Ai goes on to singing “HEART” which had been released as a double A-side single five days before the show was recorded. I love the way she begins this number. While she’s singing “Ima sugu aitai, ima aitai...” the camera shows her tiny silhouette emerging from the dark, focusing on her gentle and smooth hand movements which perfectly fit the song’s flow. As the song continues, the mood becomes more and more emotional and romantic... Ai-chin knows best how to do that, doesn’t she?

HOSHI NO TANGO

Passionate feelings are still on, when Ai begins “Hoshi no Tango” – another new song from “LOVE PiECE”. The picture goes monochromatic and noisy, the instruments play quietly and everything is just peaceful and nostalgic (I mean: it’s supposed to be this way, but I can’t really feel it, because I hate the accordion :P) Ai involves herself fully in this performance, singing expressively with closed eyes. At the end of this song, Otsuka disappears in the dark letting her band play a longer instrumental part.

INTERLUDE 1

The viewers are shown another three-dimensional interlude. Once again the audience is flying in the space, but this time they find themselves in the abyss of time, a strange world, as if in a dream (or some drug-induced vision... :P). At some point the audience is eaten by a scary bug (I feel sorry for the poor things in 3D glasses, they must have been terribly frightened :D) and travels down its oesophagus to eventually land in an African forest. Then there are also other things, like exploding hearts and stuff. OK., the interlude is very psychedelic and I really hope that it was conceived by a person who didn’t have to resolve to some strange substances to see all that... Ahh, whatever :P The last image the screens present is a piano which is a sign that Ai is going to do this part of her concert where she showcases all her true talents: singing to self-accompaniment of piano...

MOMO NO HANABIRA / TEARS

There she appears: focused, emotional, beautiful... A single beam of purple light brightens the piano and the tiny girl feeling the instrument, playing some gentle notes as if she wanted to stroke it like a kitten... The song she’s performing is “Momo no Hanabira” in the acoustic version. Ai sings it slower than in the original version which makes it sadder and more nostalgic. The song is intertwined with another one: “Tears”. At some point, a violinist joins Ai and together they play a poignant piece of music which definitely touches everybody’s heart.

Once Ai-chin finishes the song, she thanks the audience for the applause and she talks for a moment. Unfortunately, my Japanese isn’t good enough for me to understand what she’s speaking, but I believe that it’s some kind of a message from the bottom of her heart or simply a few random thoughts before her next song :)

PLANETARIUM

One of the most popular and cherished Ai-chan’s songs – “Planetarium” in an acoustic version. The arena changes from a modern concert hall into a quiet temple of a peaceful night where the song seems to reach the starry sky. Ai sits on the stairs between two guitarists who provide a quiet accompaniment to her singing. This is one of the best performances of this song I’ve ever seen and I like this acoustic arrangement much better than the original one (but it isn’t bad at all :)).

KUMURIUTA

The emotional part of the concert isn’t over yet. The next song on the setlist is “Kumuriuta” which is a completely new ballad from “LOVE PiECE” (one of the absolute best in Ai’s career). This performance features original arrangement and additional strings which make it even more lyrical. The beginning has a great lighting – the colours seem to be so juicy and warm here. It looks like it’s just before the sunrise :) However, unlike the previous songs, this one has a more dramatic expression which is clearly visible after the second chorus. For me, the level of emotions at this point becomes almost unbearable (which results in a tear or two...). There are many reasons why I love Ai-chin – one of them are these moments.

KIMI NI KAERU

Ahh, it’s been a tender time! Now it’s time to calm yourselves down a bit. Another pretty ballad, “Kimi ni Kaeru” comes from the “CHU-LIP” single and it’s just a nice song (nothing more really). The performance was OK., but wasn’t anything special (except for the artificial snow made of lightbulbs :)).

REN’AI SHASHIN –HARU-

One of the best performances of this song I’ve ever heard. The piano-dominated, acoustic version of 13th single with Ai’s voice clear as crystal and simple yet meaningful words “Tada kimi wo aishiteru” make this part of the concert really memorable. I simply love it so much that being wordy about it would be just unnecessary.

INTERLUDE 2

...means that the romantic part is over. The beginning of one of the most WTF Ai’s songs, “Babashi no Theme”, destroys the mood in a split second... I can’t stand this creepy song, but whatever :P Let’s now skip to the upbeat part which starts with...

PEACH

Ai jumps on the scene in short bright blond wig and a shiny dress, inviting the audience to have fun. She dances and claps her hands happily during the instrumental part, infecting everybody with her irresistible enthusiasm :) I must admit that I love her hairstyle and even though blond hair doesn’t always look good on her, here her appearance is gorgeous!

FRIENGER

Fun is still on! During this song, Ai runs across the stage, pulls faces and obviously likes that :) The audience enthusiastically screams “FIGHT!” along with her which is a clear evidence that Ai’s upbeat singles are what the Japanese fans love!

KATORISENKOU

Ai loves surprising her fans in every possible way. Every album she releases contains at least one “unusual” song (e.g. “Mousou Chop”, “Pon Pon” on “LOVE JAM”; “Ramen Sanpun Kukkingu” on “LOVE COOK”, “Babashi no Theme” on “AI am BEST”, “Shachihata” on LOVE LETTER”). On "LOVE PiECE” it is “Katorisenkou” – a weird song about chasing and probably killing a blood-starved mosquito... Of course, Ai being a very creative and thorough person, made sure that the performance fitted the imagery of the song, so she came out with... a giant fan or whatever it was (probably a tool for killing the damn insect). Yes, Ai is sometimes (positively) wild which is simply another reason why she’s so lovely!!!

There are performers who like smashing guitars, but there are also ones who like smashing mosquitoes better. Simple as that.

PON PON

“Mainichi anata to ponponponponponponpon!” – on hearing that and the guitar riff at the beginning, the audience goes crazy! So does Ai... But unlike other artists who let themselves run and jump insanely on the stage, she doesn’t miss a single note, so her singing still sounds crystal and correct. How is she able to do that?

CHU-LIP

So we have reached the climax of the concert! Since releasing this song as her 14th single, Ai likes putting it in the setlist at the end of the performances, so I guess it has become a kind of tradition. This is such a twisted song that anything can happen while Ai is singing it. However, there is always a constant element in CHU-LIP – insane dancers called CHU-LIPPAS with incredible MONDO as the leader. After a short warm-up, Ai joins them and dances a funny dance which, with the addition of bursting confetti, showcases Ai’s best abilities to entertain the audience. I can’t imagine how it’s like to be there and experience it live – I guess it’s simply impossible to describe.

I love the way Ai involves the audience in having fun together. This time, before the song started, she divided the people into two groups (left: Mommas, right: Pappas), made sure that the people know where they belong, practised singing in turns and then, when the time came, she invited them to sing along with her and it all worked just fine. This is where teaching skills which she’d acquired before starting musical career come in handy :)

As this is the last song, Ai thanks everybody who came to see her concert (by running around and screaming “Arigatou, arigatou!”) and rushes out behind the scenes. The audience doesn’t stop shouting, so Ai-chan has no other options, but only to come out again...

ENCORE

In this part, Ai looks like a girl next door – natural and sporty. Dressed in a casual T-shirt, loose jeans and trainers, she performs immortal “Sakuranbo”, then “Rocket Sneaker”, “LIFE-LOVE CiRCLE” (and this is when she mentions about all the people who created this show: her band, dancers, staff, also the audience and her herself), “Ticket” and “Pocket”.

Between the songs, Ai interacts with the audience, talks a lot and smiles which is a clear evidence that she loves giving concerts and these moments are very important in her life. At the end, with teary eyes and unbelievable modesty, she thanks the audience, bows for a longer moment and in a very graceful manner expresses her gratefulness for all those people who came to see her spectacle. Strange as it may sound, the very ending of each Ai’s concert is probably the most emotional part of the entire show, because we can sense her deep sincerity and modesty. I love it when she bows several times in different places on the stage, as if she wanted to thank everybody individually and then she shouts “LOVE & PEACE” without her mic, so that everybody can hear her voice... She’s gorgeous and that’s about it.

So, to conclude... Why is LOVE PiECE Tour my favourite? Honestly, I still don’t know. Every Ai’s concert is perfect in terms of quality of sound, vocal performance, visual effects, amounts of emotions and fun. But I guess this one is special, because of the setlist (all my favourite songs are here), modern 3D effects and interludes, Ai being at her prime... There is a charm, magic, nostalgia, amusement, surprise, happiness, sadness – everything which is needed to make a great concert. Perhaps the balance of all these elements is the key? I wasn’t bored in any moment of watching the show, because no part lasted too long, too short or was overdone. Moreover (a random thought) I think that it takes a lot of skill to prepare such a show which absorbs totally the viewer without resorting to vulgarity, scantily clad dancers / performers, nasty lyrics etc. I’m very happy that artist who can impress the audience only with their musical skills still exist and that Ai-chan is one of them. This fact makes me even a bigger fan. Ai-chan, you’re great.

You can buy this DVD at:

YesAsia | CDJapan

Thanks for reading. May LOVE be with you. Always.