The Matsuura Aya Experience

Back in February when I started this blog, one feature I wanted to do was a concert DVD "retro review".  I have done five so far, but haven't posted one in quite a while.  The first of those reviews was of Hello! Project's Winter 2002 concert.  After that post I had promised Andra that I would do a review of a Matsuura Aya concert.  Here we are in mid-June, and I still haven't done one!

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I've actually set out to do a review twice.  But I find analyzing an Ayaya concert much more challenging because it is "All-Ayaya all the time".  So most of the show is focused on one person.  The second challenge is that Aya is simply an incredible singer.  Part of the fun in reviewing a Hello! Project concert is poking fun at all of their shortcomings.  And as a performer, Ayaya simply doesn't have any!  Even when she occasionally screws up, she does it like a professional.  This brings me to my first point...

Matsuura Aya is the greatest talent in the history of Hello! Project!

By the way, that's not an opinion, it's a fact!  There was something obviously special about this girl that UFA would start her on a solo career immediately instead of placing her in a group.  I thoroughly enjoyed reading a recent post from Maize about a conversation she had with Second Blossoming.  Yes, Matsuura Aya has always been extremely mature for her age.  So it is understandable how SB could mistakingly think she is much older than she is.  Aya is an "old soul"

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She was headlining her own tour before her sixteenth birthday.  And I have not seen one performance where she wasn't singing live.  She also has an amazing way of interacting with the crowd.  She speaks way up in her higher register, almost like she is speaking to children (Wota=children?).  And it's almost as if she is whispering.  But once in a while she cracks herself up, which is so cute! 

Aya also has a certain "grace" that not too many pop idols have.  She has always possessed this trait, but has really begun to embrace it as of late.  She has abandoned the short-shorts and halter tops of her earlier tours, and now usually wears more formal attire when performing live.  She has also seemingly ceased doing photobooks.  Not that she isn't as "sekushii" and "kyuuto" as ever, it just isn't her style.

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Finally!  On To The DVD's.  Four "Quick Hit" Reviews!!!

I currently own four Aya Matsuura concert DVD's.  With a fifth one (Hello Pro Party! 2005) currently lost in the mail!  Two of those concerts had supporting acts (Melon Kinenbi), two of them didn't.  Two of them also had a live band, and two of them didn't.

First Date 2002

First Concert 2002 Haru "First Date" is a decent show.  The most amazing thing about it is the quality of Ayaya's performance at such a young age.  Like Momusu's "Memory Seishun no Hikari", the DVD is shot on film giving it a theatrical feel.  Watching her sing Machiawase while on a swing is one of the cutest moments in any H!P event!  Sou Ieba is another reminder of why her "First Kiss" CD is so great!  I would love to hear her perform these songs today.  Both are so good, and they fit in with her current style perfectly.  Another moment I really liked was Aya, Michiyo Heike and Melon Kinenbi doing "Chu! Natsu Party"!  The DVD might be worth the purchase just to witness that!!! 

It is easy to forget Aya is so young when she performs with such confidence.  Even at fifteen she had the vibe of someone much older.  That was until Heike, who was acting as MC acknowledged her at the end.  It is such a cute moment watching Aya wanting to get vulnerable, but holding back.  It reminded me of her friendship with Fujimoto Miki.  Ayaya comes across to me as similar to Mikitty when it comes to personality.  The both seem "guarded" and "strong willed", but Aya does a better job of hiding her true personality in public.  Anyhow, enjoy this concert for the costumes.  I doubt we'll see Ayaya wear anything as skimpy as these ever again!!!

Live in Shanghai

"Live in 上海 2006" is probably the most intimate concert you will see Ayaya do unless she performs in your living room!  The tiny venue is a blessing and a curse at the same time.  If I had to choose one of the four concert DVD's I own a copy of to actually see in person, it would be this one.  But even with the live band, the show lacks much of the energy that you get in the bigger arenas.  The music arrangements are quite different as well.  This show is sort of reminiscent of "Acoustic Nacchi".  Another cool aspect was that the male/female audience ratio was a lot more even.  And as a result there is a noticeable lack of moronic "wota-gei" going on!  What a relief!

I'm pretty sure this is her only concert performance of Norah Jones' Don't Know Why.  It's always fun to watch Japanese idols sing in English.  Especially after Aya was attempting to communicate in Chinese during the MC segment (xie xie!).  She does a really good job with this song!

Oshare! is just a great "jazzy" song that always sounds good live!  And my favorite part of the concert is during Kiseki no Kaori Dance, where she accidentally begins singing the lyrics to Momoiro Kataomoi...so cute!  She actually stops the band and has them start the song over...she does this again during Ki ga Tsukeba Anata which just added to the informality and intimacy.  She even screws up with dignity and grace!  Overall this is a cute concert, but there are better...

HAND IN HAND

Concert Tour 2005 Haru 101 Kaime no Kiss ~HAND IN HAND~ is Matsuura Aya at her finest!  It is possibly the best tour she has ever done.  The energy is electric throughout the show, and the lighting is crazy!  This is the only time I have seen Aya sweaty during a performance!  It starts off with an amazing techno variation on Yeah! Meccha Holiday, and some of the better live performances of Good Bye Natsuo and Ne~e I've seen her do!

This was also a pretty good showcase for Melon Kinenbi.  They do a cool cover of Kiseki no Kaori Dance while Aya does an amazing cover of MKB's Akai Freesia.  Later they team up again for a rousing rendition Renai Sentai Shitsu Ranger.  I like this version much better than Wonderful Hearts 2008.  Melon Kinenbi are so good in this show!  It makes me sad that they haven't been successful.  Like Aya, the four of them are all very good singers.  They are a huge reason why this DVD is worth the buy.  A special moment was this rendition of Dokki Doki! Love Mail...

I love unexpected stuff like that!  Song selection is another reason why this is such a great DVD.  Aya hasn't performed "Ne~e" for a couple of years, and it's one of my favorites.  And Melon's doing This is Unmei is always great!  This concert was around the beginning of the turning point in Ayaya's career from pop idol to mature artist.  It is a terrific show, but one other Matsuura Aya concert DVD gives it a run for it's money...

By the way, did you ever hear the one about Ayaya's outfit falling off?

 Actually I'm talking about Matsuura Aya's most recent DVD...

2007 Aki ~Double Rainbow~

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I originally wasn't going to purchase this DVD.  Like many, I haven't enjoyed Aya's latest work nearly as much as her early stuff.  But Morning Berryz has never steered me wrong.  And on MB's recommendation I had the chance to be pleasantly surprised!

The concert first caught my interest during Love Namida Iro when Aya's flowing dress comes flying off, revealing a cute cocktail outfit underneath...

Quite a few of the songs were brand new to me.  Uchuu de La Ta Ta is a lot of fun.  This is the c/w to "Kiseki no Kaori Dance".  That's funny, I have the CD but have never listened to the song!  Ayaya's backup dancers are both pretty hot too!  Especially the blond.  The one thing that bothered me on this DVD is that the Wota don't really react too much until she sings her old songs.  Then they act like idiots!  Like the concert in Shanghai, this concert featured a live band.  And they sound great!  But I can understand why Hello! Project doesn't use live music for most of their shows.  It's because the experience is mostly about the idols themselves.  And I am sure the Wota would hate it if there was a musical variation to some Berryz Koubou song that would cause their dance to be offbeat!  But with Ayaya, live music just adds to her credibility as a performer.

Since I still haven't purchased her latest album, the newer songs were totally unfamiliar to me.  My favorite songs from "Double Rainbow" are Hikkosenai Kimochi, which is intensely beautiful.  Happy To Go! which is upbeat and "H!P friendly".  And Bluebird is just a great song.  I also like the fun Onna Day by Day.  Maybe I should break down and finally buy the CD...

Ayaya rounds out the show with a series of "old favorites"  And they sound amazing with the live band behind her.  I was especially happy to hear her perform Zettai Tokeru Mondai X=<3, it is such a cool song!  For those of you who have "written off" Ayaya as boring and passe'.  Don't count her out just yet.  You owe it to yourself to buy this DVD!!!

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Ayaya is as great as ever!

So there ya go Andra, FOUR "abridged" Ayaya concert reviews, not to mention 10 hours straight of watching and listening to the concerts.  I need a Tylenol!

CK in California