I know it's kinda late since the tour has been going on awhile now, but I just got finished with two Berryz concerts in three days in two different cities (Osaka and Nagoya), no one's really reviewed it yet, AND this may have been my last concert in Japan, so I bloody well wanted to post a review of my own for my beloved Berryz!
I'd post C-ute and Momusu reviews too, but too bad there aren't threads for those tours... I guess you all are seeing the Momusu fanvids anyway.
Anyway, on to what I have to say!
Two concerts in two very different cities ended up quite different as well even though the setlist was (basically) the same! Where there are differences I'll mention it, but for now I'll just start in since most of the songs at least were similar.
At the Osaka concert Mano performed (I think for the first time live?) her new single with the Egg backups as an opening act. She actually didn't use her piano and just danced in front of the Eggs like in the PV! ...but the Eggs all looked bored or grouchy.
Even when Mano introduced the four that have been selected to make up the new unit (Kanyon, Yuukarin, Wada and Sakitty), they just bowed formally without smiling that I could see.
I suppose getting shipped off to different cities during your school break for a performance where you really don't do much of anything (which they didn't really lol) makes some young girls grouchy.
She didn't perform at Nagoya today though, and so they went right into the first number of Dakishimete! It was pretty fun and many of the fans already knew the dance (the Nagoya fans seem to be
really into the dancing! They may not be from the big city, but they're hardcore...). I tried my best to keep up.
Then they had introductions, where the interesting thing was the new meme from Miya,
Miya- BI~IIIIIMU!!!!! Not terribly original I know, but it's not been used in awhile, and it was still pretty cool
if only cause it's Miya lol. They even did the whole echo and flashy lights thing with it... Here is also the first MiyaSaki. In the Nagoya concert, Captain just before the intro gave her "short Berryz info" which this time was of how Miyabi sat next to her on the bus to Nagoya, and would lean her arm on Captain's when she had it propped up.
They demonstrated it well to the adoration of the fans (and me!).
The next two songs were fun ones from the fourth album, but I had trouble dancing to them.
They really did do quite a combination of songs from all through Berryz history in this concert... HAPPY! Stand Up was when things really got rolling for me... that's such a bouncy and fun song, and the Berryz come out in space-girl like outfits with waterguns and packs on their backs (if you've seen some of the pics - if not say so and I'll post some of the ones i got!). Unfortunately... they didn't actually spray the audience haha. I imagine the wota at least would have loved it.
After that they ran off stage, and the members came back almost one by one rather randomly and quietly, until Captain, Miya, Yurina and Momo got together to do a little tuning (thanks to Captain and her tuning pipe! she was so cute using it... and Captain-like... lol). This was of course in preparation for the beat box and acapella Gag 100kai! It was something quite different for Berryz and H!P in general, with Momo and Miya doing most of the acapella singing with the other girls beatboxing and making other sounds to imitate the instruments.
Quite cool. I also thought it amusing that it was that group of four who were tuning at first... as if they were the ones who could sing well enough for it.
MADAYADE came next, and it was neat as always with a fun dance to get into, but Nanchuu was possibly the highlight of the concert for me. Now, the performance of this song gives me some of my fondest memories watching Berryz concert DVDs (most notably the SSA concert *shiver*), so being able to see it live myself and dance along with it... was awesome. It gave me a feeling similar to what I get when Momusu performs Resonant Blue, just completely losing myself in the music and the dance and the girls... Anyway, this is when I start to get tired lol. The next act of MiyaSaki doing Sakura wa Raku sa certainly didn't help matters.
I couldn't dance along with it worth crap (partly cause those two girls were just so awesome in dancing to it themselves), but it was still like heaven for me.
Those two can be so sexy... and they pull it off in this song... *cough* Ok, I got lost off in MiyaSaki land, and you might be beginning to see why, but I'll get back to that shortly.
First off I need to mention Risako's Sabori.
At the Osaka concert she seemed to forget the opening lines when she came on stage and just sang "Nanananananananana, nanananananana, nanananana"
The fans, after laughing in amusement, began to sing the lyrics themselves to help her out, and she picked it up toward the chorus.
During that concert I thought she might have done it on purpose since it was so sudden and she seemed to have so much fun with it lol, but she did it right in Nagoya so, yeah, she must have just forgotten.
Ah Risako... Anyway, apart from that, I think she sounded great in a song that I love. She really has improved so much... Maybe not quite to the level of a Momo or Miyabi, but in comparison I think she may sing at least as well as the others, and maybe up toward those two in her own style.
Ok, did I mention MiyaSaki? Well, it's time for more of them!
There was so much MiyaSaki in the Nagoya concert I was lovin' it.
Maasa asked them questions in both concerts, and in the Nagoya concert Maasa asked them about their healing (or relaxing) times, and Captain answered "My time of healing is.. whenever I'm with Miyabi-chan"
*gets lost off in MiyaSaki land again and stays there*
...So yeah.
Next were the duet songs for the other members who hadn't appeared yet, and Maasa and Chinami did a cool Joshi Baskebu (with Momo and Yurina coming to tease them and back them up about halfway through - if you don't know what I mean by teasing, check out the performance of it in the Nyoki Nyoki Champion concert
. Afterward, Momo and Yurina picked up mics and stepped forward for their own rendition of Aitai Kedo. Yurina's perfect for this, but Momo's voice is a little too high for it for my taste... lol... to me, it's a mellower song. Otokonoko was up next, and this was the only song I didn't really know in the concert (I never copied it to my mp3 player from the Best album... gonna have to do that now!). However, it was quite surprising, and was pretty rockin' and mature/sexy for Berryz again. It was good to just dance around crazily with... and it was quite loud, lol. This whole concert seemed really loud for some reason.
Then Chinami and Yurina come out for an MC where they're part of a soccer club and talk about one of their senpai... quiz each other about her(him?)... apparently they think the senpai is quite kakkoii lol. However, they don't agree on a lot of things.
Eventually Risako comes out as the club manager, and they tease her for it and try to steal her private notebook, eventually teasing her that she wrote poems to the senpai in it... which after it got late and they have to leave (in the skit time-frame), we find out there really is a poem there... and Momo comes out to recite it as the beginning of Merry-go-Round.
As she recites it, the words scroll by slowly as written on a notebook on the big screen. All cute and very well-done. I do have to say they utilized the big screen well in all three of these tours (Momusu, C-ute and Berryz). Merry-go-Round itself was solid and angsty as before, and Momo and Captain really get to show their maturity in it...
After that begins the sprint to the finish with a performance I was looking forward to - Furare Pattern - followed by Dschingis Khan which is so easy and fun to get into, and Happiness and Yuujou to bring back the younger Berryz of old... Ah, natsukashii... Have I said I'm getting very very tired by this point? Lol, well, before the next song they do the regular "Everyone on the second floor genki?! First floor getting excited?!?!", but instead of the normal "YEAH!" response they ask the fans to respond with "Monkey!" and do the little monkey mane thing.
...Of course this is a prelude to Yuke Yuke Monkey Dance
which was another high point of the concert - That song is SO much fun to dance along with and participate in. "YANKII MONKEY!!!" XDXDXD Finish up the main act with a fun CLAP! and I'm sweating like crazy on both occasions.
I totally soaked my towel in the Osaka concert and my Miya muffler in today's.
After the main act the fans called for the encore with some phrase I couldn't make out, but sounded like "Berryz gray!" with three quick claps afterward.
They must all be pretty coordinated though, cause they did the same thing at both concerts... Anyway, they came back out with another throwback in Anata Nashide, finishing with their de-introductions (and a reminder from Miya about her Miya-BI~IIIMU!) and the title song of the concert, a beautiful new ballad Sono Subete no Ai ni. It also showcased each member singing a line one right after another, which was nice seeing them all participating (and I think Captain cried during this in both shows... I thought it might have just been sweat cause that girl sweats like Aichan, but I really think she cried
I know she does a lot). It also enabled a bit of voice comparison, and somewhat surprisingly Maasa might have sounded the best of them all. Miya was just quietly cool as always for her line.
And that was it... and what might perhaps be a great end to my concert-going experience here in Japan since I return to the US at the end of the month. Berryz
~~~ And thank you all who read through this long review... haha
Perhaps I'll edit if I remember anything else to say...
Topic: [Tour] Berryz Koubou Concert Tour 2009 Spring ~Sono Subete no Ai ni~ (Read 20745 times)