Japan trip 4 - Day 3 - Kajiura Yuki Live Vol.8 - recap PART 1

Finally... I think I feel rested enough to write this post... I hope I will be able to finish this before it gets too late because I hope to also catch up on a few other posts I would like to write.  For now... let's get going.

The Kajiura Yuki Live Vol.8 concert took place on the 17th March, the second day after I arrived in Japan.  I met up with my good friend Manami :) for an incredibly awesome sushi dinner the night before and we stayed out till 4am chatting in a family restaurant.  Hence, I pretty much slept in and lazed about in my hotel room to make sure I was well rested for the Live that night.  Before I had arrived in Japan, I had already decided to take it a little easy on this trip. Work had been very taxing, I was quite tired and I had also been ill, hence I pretty much decided that I was not going to rush anything on this trip.


Before the Live

I was scheduled to meet Itsuko and Megumi at Shibuya Station for lunch before the three of us headed over to the Shibuya Public Hall (渋谷公会堂 -- formally known as the Lemon C.C. Hall) for Kajiura Yuki's Live.  I was glad that we were meeting early and that both Itsuko and Megumi wanted to get concert goods.  I usually get the pamphlet and the concert shirt and after the anxious wait in the queue during last year's Kalafina After Eden Special Live, I was hoping that they too would like to go early so that we did not have to suffer any anxious moments.  Of course we could still purchase the goods after the concert and they usually have stuff online as well but I usually like to get these things out of the way in the beginning.

When I got to the exit of my hotel, I realized that it was raining. :(  That was really kind of crappy. :(  I didn't have an umbrella and if I did not run out to the train station to catch the train, I would be late.  Luckily it was not a terribly heavy downpour so I braved the cold rain and ran all the way to the station and caught the train to Shibuya where I met Itsuko and Megumi without too much problem.

We then made our way to Denny's for lunch.  Hahahaha... yes, I know... DENNY'S?!?!?  I was in Japan and I dined at a Denny's?  I thought it was funny too but I didn't mind since the Denny's in Singapore closed a long time ago and it was kind of nostalgic for me to dine at a Denny's since I used to spend so much time in one when I was a student in the States.  That was my study hangout place at night and I drank a lot of coffee and ate a lot of buffalo wings in that particular Denny's. :)

In the end, I was quite happy with my meal at Denny's.  I ordered some steak thing and it was quite tasty.  Denny's was also relatively close to the Shibuya Public Hall which was nice because it meant that we didn't have to go out of our way to return to the area.  My Japanese is still pretty bad and I think Megumi was a little shy to use her English, so Itsuko had to do a lot of translating.  I felt a little bad about it since I really should try work harder at getting my Japanese to a better level.

Megumi had gone to the Kajiura Yuki Live on Friday as well.  And she told us that a lot of the that Live was sung in Kajiuran, which is a made-up language that Kajiura Yuki had made up for use in her music.  If I understood correctly, Megumi said that Kajiura Yuki herself pointed it out that practically half the concert was over and they still had not sung a song in Japanese.  Although, this vol.8 Live would be both Itsuko's and my first Kajiura Yuki Live, both of us are also huge admirers of Kajiura Yuki's music.  I think you can't not like Kajiura Yuki if you like Kalafina.  Knowing that this was our first Kajiura Yuki Live, Megumi tried to explain that a Kajiura Yuki Live is different from a Kalafina Live.  Both Itsuko and I couldn't quite picture what she meant by that since it would seem that since Kajiura is the music composer and music producer for both vocal units, just how different could the lives be?  It was only after the Live that I fully understood what Megumi meant.

At this point in time, Megumi also told us that we should buy the wooden spoons that Kajiura had designed and produced.  I talked about those spoons in another post, click here. :)  So, we made our way over to the concert venue to stand in line because Megumi was anxious about getting those spoons.  It was still raining which was really inconvenient and I had to share Itsuko's umbrella which wasn't quite ideal since it wasn't really big enough to keep both of us dry enough.  Luckily, we didn't have to wait that long and soon we managed to get all the goods we all wanted to get.  Itsuko was able to use her membership to get two copies of the FictionJunction Club song "sing a song" music score and the limited edition CD.  I was of course over the moon with happiness. :)  I am truly lucky to have Itsuko as my friend. :)

After we bought our concert goods, Megumi also introduced us to her friend who had attended Friday's live.  I didn't really talk to him so I don't know his name.  He was from out of town, I don't remember which part of Japan, and he wanted to hangout for a while to kill time till it was time for him to make his way home.  He was not attending Saturday's live.  Anyway, the four of us made a short trip to Animate in Shibuya to while away the time before we headed back to the Shibuya Public Hall.  I wished it wasn't raining, I would have taken a photo of Animate since it would have been my first time I have been to the Shibuya branch.  I have previously been to the ones in Ikebukuro, Akihabara and Shinjuku.

The time for us to return to the concert venue arrived and we returned to the concert hall where Itsuko kindly brought me to my seat before leaving to go look for her own.  I was not seated with Itsuko and Megumi because by the time I had decided that I would like to and could afford to go for the Live, Itsuko and Megumi had already applied for the draw and Itsuko had to apply separately for mine.  The both of them got really good seats, they were seated something like 5 to 6 rows from the stage.  I didn't have that kind of luck and I was in balcony two and almost right at the back of the hall and since my eyesight isn't the best, I couldn't really see Kajiura Yuki, the vocalists and the musicians too well at all.  Still... I was just really happy that I was able to attend the Live so wasn't too upset about it.

As we waited patiently for the concert to begin, various instrumental tracks from Kajiura's vast repertoire played softly over the speakers.  I was quite glad that the person next to me never arrived because the person sitting directly in front of me was quite tall and it meant that I had to kind of skew my body sideways to get a full view of the stage.  Although, I was quite far away from the stage, I had a pretty central seat and in some ways it was better than my seat two years ago when I was in this very hall for the Kalafina Kagayaku Sora no Shijima niwa concert.  Was seated on the first level but to the far left of the stage and 20 or so rows from the front then and although I had a pretty good view of Keiko and Hikaru, Wakana was often obscured from my view.

I won't and can't give a blow by blow account of the concert.  They sang a lot of songs and I can't recall all the details.  What I really would like to do is give a general impression of the concert, the bits I liked and the bits I remember and then try and describe why I was so blown away by it.


The Live itself

Anyway... back to the Live... soon... the music changed and Itou Eri's soprano voice and the sounds of The Beginning of the End from the Fate/Zero Season 1 soundtrack filled the hall and the Live had truly begun.  Itou Eri was soon joined by the others on stage for The Battle is to the Strong, also from Fate/Zero.  I have to say, I'm horribly unfamiliar with the Fate/Zero soundtrack since I don't yet own it so have only heard it all mixed in with the anime.  It was a pretty cool way to begin this Live because it really did set the tone for the entire live.  The opening also clearly outlined quite clearly to me just how different a Kajiura Yuki Live was to a Kalafina Live.  And all I can say is that Kajiura Yuki is SUGOI!!!!!!  Both vocal units are produced by her and except on special occasions, both units sing only music composed by Kajiura.  Both Keiko and Wakana also sing for both vocal units but yet a Kajiura Yuki w/FictionJunction concert and a Kalafina concert are vastly different in tone and music.

The Beginning of the End opened the concert softly and lightly before the crescendo into the very dramatic  The Battle is to the Strong before leading into a very energetic Frenetic.  It was lovely, it felt like I was watching a musical.  Aside from the beautiful harmonizing which is signature of Kajiura's work, there was also a lot of chorus work and I began to understand what Megumi was trying to say.

While previous Kajiura Yuki Lives with FictionJunction may have been as much about the performers and as well as the music, this Kajiura Yuki Live seemed to be to be less about who was performing and way more about the music itself.  That's not to say that a Kalafina Live isn't about the music.  It is, but in a Kalfina Live, it is as much about the music as it is about three distinct personalities which are Wakana, Keiko and Hikaru.  Conversely, it's also wrong to say that a Kajiura Yuki Live isn't about Kajiura Yuki, the FJ vocalists or the guest stars etc.  But in this Kajiura Yuki Live, it almost feels like there are many moments where the music is the most important because there are several moments during this Live where there are no vocals, just instrumentals and other moments when the vocals seem to be used more like an instrument, to add to the layering of sounds, rather then be a singing voice.

Having watched the previous Kajiura Yuki lives on dvds, I initially couldn't understand what Megumi was trying to say when she said that a Kajiura Yuki Live was not the same as a Kalafina Live because the previous Lives that I have watched on dvd seemed to me to be pretty much like a regular concert.  They were not that much different in style and structure from a Kalafina Live.  Now, I didn't see the Friday live nor have I seen any of the lives since the ones released during the 2008/09 period but this live felt like a rock musical. 

Maybe it's because there are more vocalists in a Kajiura Yuki Live.  Perhaps it's because there were two guest sopranos, Itou Eri and Tomaru Hanae, and guest flutist Akagi Rie that changed the overall texture of this Live.  Perhaps it was because there was so many more performers that added to my feeling that this concert was really more about the music then the performers.  Or perhaps, aside from the theme songs, insert songs etc, there were often better instrumental transitions from song to song or perhaps it was that there was just more instrumental solos because of the presence of Akagi Rie.  Perhaps it was because the lighting seems to be used as a punctuation to emphasize whatever story this musical was trying to dramatize. Or perhaps it's because of there were several dramatic soundtrack type songs that, while not strictly instrumental, seem somewhat so, since the voices were used less as singers singing words but were instead, either used as a chorus of sound or seemed to be used more like instruments that blend in with the other instruments to add richness to the music. 

I really don't know how to describe it clearer than what I have tried to say except to say that in short, a Kajiura Yuki Live feels way more like a rock musical than a Kalafina Live and they are both wonderful and moving in different ways. I was deeply absorbed in this concert.  At the Kalafina lives, I felt like dancing along, punching the air or just swaying to the beat all the time.  But  in this Live, for a lot of it I sat there mesmerized and enthralled, too spellbound to move too much even if I wanted to.  It was incredible!!  After the Live when I saw Megumi and Itsuko, I knew they felt the same too.  SUGOI!!!!  AWESOME!!! We were so excited and talked about attending the vol.9 Lives together.  I crave for more Kajiura Yuki lives.  One is simply not enough. :)

Some of my favourite moments in this Live was the opening because I really liked how dramatic it was.

I also really like Hoshikuzu.  I really like this song from the previously released Live recording on dvd.  I rather like the way Keiko and Kaori's voice combine and Wakana sounds lovely in backup too.  Hoshikuzu is a personal favourite and I am happy that I was able to hear it live.

I also really, really liked Crash.  It was Akagi Rie's solo performance.  None of the utahimes were present on stage and Akagi Rie was really cool to watch as she played and danced to the beat.  Akagi Rie is really awesome on flute.  I loved her and I was really glad that I was able to watch her live.

I really, really liked the Pandora Hearts section as well.  Pandora Hearts has some very dramatic music and seemed very suitable for a live like this.  Interestingly, if I remember correctly, I am pretty sure it was Keiko and Itou Eri who started together in the song Alone which then flowed into Bloody Rabbit where the rest of FJ came in.  I can't quite remember here but I have the impression that Kajiura seemed to have used Keiko quite extensively not just in these two songs but also in this portion of the Live.  I checked to see who sang the studio versions of Alone and Bloody Rabbit and it seems that Itou Eri sang Alone and Wakana was the lead vocal in Bloody Rabbit with Yuriko Kaida in support.  Interesting.  I'm not sure why Kajiura did it but it was different and I liked it.  By throwing Keiko into the mix, the sound seems less techno and more rock and more dramatic which I prefer.  Keiko was also used quite well in Contractor.  Contractor is perhaps my favourite song from the Pandora Hearts soundtrack.  This song is sung pretty much solely by Itou Eri in the studio version.  In this version, Itou Eri was supported by the FJ utahimes, with Keiko getting some nice bits too.  Alone, Bloody Rabbit and Contractor are my favourite tracks from the Pandora Hearts soundtrack album which is why I was more sensitive to the differences in the live and studio versions.  By the time this section was over, everyone was really rocking along.  It was really good and it got lots of cheers and claps at the end.

The next portion that stood out for me was the Mai Hime portion. This portion was nicely and smartly separated from the Pandora Hearts portion by Everytime you Kissed Me.  To tell you the truth, I don't remember this song that much since it's actually not one of my favourite Kajiura songs and my memory is crowded by my love for the Pandora Hearts section and the upcoming Mai Hime section.  :)  Like every good story, musical, film etc, pacing is crucial and the Pandora Hearts section was racing along so fast towards the end, it was wise to bring the pacing down for a bit in preparation for the next climax.

Mai Hime is currently my favourite anime of all time. I love virtually everything about it and I of course love the music.  This section started with Himeboshi, then Duran Shoukan and finished off with Mezame.   First let me say that it has been a long cherished dream for me to watch Mezame live.  What made this live different and perhaps somewhat special from the other live versions of Himeboshi and Mezame on the previously released dvds is that Tomaru Hanae, the original soprano for the Hime songs, was one of the guest sopranos at this live and it was cool to hear her sing the Hime songs.  I don't know if Duran Shoukan has ever been performed Live before but this is the first time I've heard a live version and it's really awesome.  Once again, like in the Pandora Hearts section, Keiko is used very well to add a fuller, richer and more powerful sound to Himeboshi and Duran Shoukan.  I like to think that Keiko plays the role of Duran in Duran Shoukan. :) Mezame is hands down my favourite song from from the Mai Hime soundtrack and it didn't disappoint.  Mezame was fantastic and I was so happy that I experienced it live.  It was also a definite crowd favourite because people clapped to the beat at points and everyone was bobbing their heads and really into the song and this section got a very big cheer at the end.

The song that took me by surprise was Stone Cold.  Stone Cold isn't my favourite FJ song and it took me a while before I began to like it somewhat.  But this live version is awesome.  The girls were all dancing from end to end.  Kajiura Yuki was also standing and playing the keyboard and singing in parts.  The energy was electrifying and this song had all of us doing the "ay ay ay ay... " cheer thing at certain points of the song.
I was definitely surprised by how much I liked the live version and the audience really appreciated it too because it got a big cheer at the end.  Personally, I don't think that I can ever listen to Stone Cold the same again when it plays on my portable player.  I definitely like this song so much more than before this Live.

The section before the encore ended with Credens Justitiam which I really liked too because it's a song from Mahou Shoujo Madoka which is my second favourite mahou shoujo anime to date.  I don't remember the details too well but it was definitely nice... I remember really liking it.  I already like it from the soundtrack and the live version had Itou Eri and I think Akagi Rie played the flute too and it sounded good.


Encore and aftermath

Kajiura and gang then returned for the encore section with songs from Hack, Noir and Xenosaga II.  I liked it since these are Kajiura classics and it was Noir that first introduced me to Kajiura Yuki and her music. Salva Nos seem to be the crowd favourite here.  It was also my favourite song from this section and it was also the highlight of the encore section for me. Overall, the encore section was not the highlight of the concert for me though.  I definitely liked the body of the concert more than the encore and I really don't remember the details any more, it's been too long and the only thing I seemed to have written about it in my notebook was a little bit about how the crowd really seemed to like Salva Nos.

At the end of the Live, Kajiura announced the 3 Days Special Yuki Kajiura Vol.9 lives at the end of August and the beginning of September.  I'm so wanting to go.  I hope to go.  I'm trying to go.  Fingers crossed that everything will work out well and I would be able to attend this 3 Days Special live. :)

That's it... I am done with the first part of my recap of the Kajiura Yuki Vol.8 Live.  I'm surprised that I managed to write so much.  I guess writing down my thoughts and notes about the live that very night of the live really helped me retain way more information than I managed to with the Kalafina After Eden Special Live last Nov.  I'm glad I did that it since I really don't know if this will ever be released on DVD / Blu-ray.  I was rather high up and if there were cameras, I certainly wasn't able to spot them since my seat did not allow me a very good view of the ongoings down below on the ground level except for what was going on on stage.  And if there was one up in the 2nd balcony, it would probably be further down in front of what I think is the control room which was right next to me so I wouldn't be able to tell if there was a camera there even if there was indeed one.

It would be nice if they released a DVD / Blu-ray of this Live.  I really, really, really liked it.  It was amazing and Itou Eri, Tomaru Hanae and Akagi Rie were all at this live too.  It would be an epic release but at this point in time... I'm not really that hopeful... but one can always hope. :)

Alrighty... time to sleep... I can't believe I just spent hours writing this entry and I'm still not done!!!.

I'll write a bit more about one of the MCs that Itsuko translated for me and also talk a little about the concert goods and the club special releases and also about the Mahou Shoujo Key Animation Vol.2 and the Kalafina After Eden blu-ray in later posts... but no time now... need to sleep... it's ridiculously late.  Good night. :)

Will add more photos tomorrow and edit this post somewhat since I think there's bound to be errors. Night night. (photos added 10th April)

They always give out a handful of flyers at the Lives.  Sometimes there's nothing much but this time there are several that are of interest for the Kajiura Yuki / FJ / Kalafina fan.

p.s. Dinner Oh... I also want to note that I had McDonald's for dinner.  Yes, it was a decidedly un-Japanese day when it came to the food I consumed that day.  Megumi wanted to eat at McDonald's so Itsuko and I decided to go along.  I did pick, I think, a salt and pepper chicken burger which we don't have in Singapore. :)




credits: Thanks and a link to the canta-per-me website... got the setlist from them... I suck at song titles and the site is very good for information on Kajiura Yuki, Kalafina, FictionJunction and anything somewhat Kajiura related.