I was finally able to watch the concert in its entirety last night, so here are my thoughts on all of the performances. Just a quick note as to how I'll do this: I won't go over the MCs, just songs and any time they sing during a skit. I'll quickly give my thoughts on the song, performance, and how the girls sang it and give my rating of that performance on a scale of 1 to 10 (1 being the worst, 10 being the best).
1. Maji Good Chance Summer
Not my favorite song ever, but it's decent. I didn't really like the way the concert started - with a skit MC and a medium tempo song like this; I prefer to start with a high energy song, but oh well. It's a pretty standard group song and pretty standard performance. Risako's monologues were probably the best part of the song. 7/10
2. VTR
A very nice change from the normal member introduction VTRs that have become standard at H!P concerts. Instead of cheap looking graphics announcing each member, we are treated to a short video of the girls at a beach with Koi wa Hipparidako playing in the background. Definitely one of the better VTRs in recent memory. 10/10
3. Rival
First off, nice dresses. So sparkly~ Anyway, another song that I'm really indifferent to. Definitely not a bad song, just not my thing. It was sang pretty well, though, except for Risako's final falsetto note. 7/10
4. Koi no Jubaku
Now we're getting to the good stuff. There's nothing more awesome than old school Berryz. Any song where the wota are able to chant "L-O-V-E LOVELY Yurina/Miyabi/whoever" is instantly awesome. They all sound good here, especially Yurina. She's really becoming a great singer as of late. 9/10
5. Tomodachi wa Tomodachi Nanda!
This concert started really slow for me with the skit at the beginning and no true high energy song anywhere to be seen. Tomodachi is another one of those inbetween medium tempo songs that is just okay to me. It has a kind of nice, laid back feel to it that I prefer to see near the middle or end of a setlist. 7/10
6. Yakimochi wo Kudasai (Captain, Chinami, Risako)
My favorite part of concerts is right here, when the girls break off into smaller groups and sing duets and solos. I was a little disappointed hearing this because we've already heard it at the Yomiuri Land outdoor event, so it doesn't have that fresh feel to it that new songs have being performed for the first time. I wasn't a fan of their 6th album, but this song is a lot better when its performed live, so good for those three. The colorful patchwork overall outfits are also awesome. 7.5/10
7. Grand Demo Rouka Demo Medatsu Kimi (Yurina and Maasa)
A H!P concert isn't complete without a long titled song, so here we go. In this case, it also happens to be one of my favorite performances. I didn't really like it listening to it for the first couple of times on CD, but Yurina really make this song come alive in concert. Their voices sound really great together. I'd love to see more Yurina/Maasa duets in the future. 8.5/10
8. Ai ni wa Ai Desho (Miyabi and Momoko)
Now this is what I'm talking about. A great song and two of Berryz's best singing it. They are also wearing my favorite outfits of the concert. This was hands down my favorite performance (so far). I could watch those two sing all day. 9.5/10
9. Natsu Wakame
In the middle of another skit, the girls break out into song. I always love Berryz's summer concerts because they have so many great summer themed songs and Natsu Wakame is no exception. Too bad they sung a short version. Afterwards, it was back to the skit. 9/10
10. Maji Natsu Sugiru
The Berikyuu concerts lately seem to each have some sort of special moment in the middle - usually for C-ute its some sort of dance (tap dancing) and Berryz has this beatboxing acapella thing going on. This time they did a Maji Natsu Sugiru acapella beatboxing performance and it was awesome. Risako's vocals sounded much better here than the Gag 100kai Bun beatboxing performance and all the girls singing backup and doing random beatboxing sounds sounded really in sync. 9/10
11. Natsu Remember You
The third summer song in a row, but I'm not complaining. This is the point in the concert where I don't mind the slower songs. Once again, they all sound great here. But I have to highlight one person in particular. Miyabi's final solo - her "deau no kamo shirenai" line was by far the best sang line of the whole concert and was sang to absolute perfection. A couple of Risako's high notes early were a bit painful, but Miyabi's was spot on. It was at this point that I really had to reconsider how I feel about the girl's singing talents. Miyabi put herself right back at the top of my list after this performance. 10/10
12. Medley (Miyabi, Momoko, Captain, Yurina)
They sang short versions of three songs - Anshinkan, Passion E-CHA E-CHA, and Fighting Pose. Nothing terribly special here; it's nothing Berryz fans haven't heard already. Neither song is anything I get excited over, so I can't say I really loved this medley. 6/10
13. Medley (Maasa, Risako, Chinami)
Before I even talk about the songs, I have to say something about the outfits. Berryz have been known to wear pretty weird things over the years, but I think this medley's outfits have taken things to a whole new level. As soon as Maasa, Risako, and Chinami strutted out wearing pineapple outfits, I couldn't take the songs seriously because I had trouble controlling my laughter. Anyway, they had the better songs of the two medleys I think. They sang Berry Fields, Yume de Do Up, and Toshoshitsu Taiki. One thing I really love about Berryz is that no matter how you split the members, the resulting duet, triplet, or whatever will end up giving you a great all around performance. I consider these three to be Berryz's weakest singers and yet they took on (and did a great job) on three of what I'd say are some of the harder to sing Berryz songs, so props to them. 8/10
14. Yuke Yuke Monkey Dance
Now it all makes sense.. sort of. The remaining four girls ran out wearing similar costumes, except they happened to have bananas and monkeys on their outfits (as opposed to the equally hilarious pineapple outfits). Girls like Momoko seem to be quite comfortable wearing something like that, but it was nice to see someone like Miyabi that has sort of a "cool character" wear something incredibly silly. Yuke Yuke is one of my most underrated Berryz songs of all time, so it goes without saying that I enjoyed this. 8/10
15. Seishun Bus Guide
This is where I feel this concert really hit its stride. Much better outfits and one of my favorite Berryz songs = win. The girl that really stood out to me here was Risako. After a somewhat rough concert so far, she really began to shine. I really think Risako has somewhat of a power voice and this song really shows this. She is at her best when she can show her fierce side. 8.5/10
16. Ryuusei Boy
Out of the double A sides, this was never really my favorite, but it's a solid song nonetheless. What I do like about this song is that everyone really gets a chance to step into the spotlight with a solo or at least dancing in the center. 7.5/10
17. Otakebi Boy Wao
Quite possibly my favorite Berryz song of all time right here. Once again Risako gets fierce and I love it. Miyabi, Momoko and the rest of the girls aren't too far behind. I don't like to use the word "perfect" often, but this performance was absolutely that. Definitely my favorite of the concert. 10/10
18. Yuujou Junjou oh Seishun
Typical end of concert song. A great high energy way to wind down. My only problem is that it's performed at basically every Berryz concert, so I've heard it a countless number of times by now. Still a pretty good song. 7.5/10
19. Maji Bomber
Nice to see this performed live at a concert (and in the original outfits)! Again, not one of my favorites, but still very solid. Everyone sounded really awesome here as well, especially Risako. 7.5/10
20. Bye Bye Mata ne
Some people did not approve of singing this song, but I say why not? I don't like songs that are only sung for special occasions (such as for graduations). It gives this sad stigma to it that I hate. If a song is good, then I am perfectly fine with them singing it anywhere. With that said, there is no doubt this song is special to Berryz. I almost choked up myself when Yurina could barely finish her solo. A great way to end the concert. 8.5/10
Overall, this was a solid concert. Not one of their best, but not forgettable either. There were a couple of really great standout performances (Otakebi and Natsu Remember You) that really made this concert. A couple of old favorites of mine were missing (Jiriri Kiteru, Munaswagi, Special Generation, etc) but still a decent setlist. The Maji Natsu Sugiru beatboxing thing was great to watch. I give this concert a 7.5/10.
Also, after every concert I always like to think about who I feel did the best and which performance was my favorite. As I said earlier, Natsu Remember You really surprised me (in a good way) and my best performer of this concert goes to Miyabi. She's always been a great singer, but for a while I considered her Berryz's 3rd or 4th best. However now she totally impressed me this concert and she has finally dethroned Momoko to take Berryz's best singer spot.
0 comments:
Post a Comment