It's been a while since I posted, let a long posted something about Japanese music... Sorry, everyone. But I'm here with a delightful new DVD to review that I enjoyed more than I expected. I've decided to only say things about the performances I have anything to say about, so here we go.
ALL FOR ONE & ONE FOR ALL!
What does the title of this song tell us? That H!P is using subliminal messages to push their rampant communist ideals.
Ha ha, just kidding. Anyway, I enjoyed this song as an opener because it really doesn't sound like an opener. If anything, it sounds like a cheesy END to an H!P concert. But I guess why I like it here: the sound of it makes me think, oh I guess this is almost done isn't it?, but then I remember it's not and ending song and I feel more excited as a result.
Mano managed to pull through her solo line okay, which is more than I can usually say for her and more than I can say for her during the rest of this DVD. The rest of this isn't anything special; it's clearly a song that they can choreograph easily with so many people on the stage at one time, it's not too crazy. But it has a fun "family-like" H!P love feeling, like all the groups are equal and share in the same concert. (It's hard to say if that's true or not, but at least that's the warm fuzzy feeling I got).
Also, gotta love that cornball opening music.
S/mileage - Gambaranakutemo Ee Nende!!
This is so far my favorite S/mileage song, and I love watching this performance of it. The smiles on the girl's faces at the beginning of the song are priceless; this group is really going to be known as the "genki" group, if they aren't already. As usual, Sakitty sounds very good, but I think Kanon might have sung better than her in this one-- her phrasing sounded really smooth and her pitch was there too. But what happened to Yuuka? I would have assumed that she would be the best live singer of all of them since she's had more experience, but she's the worst next to Dawa. (A place you don't want to be in, Yuuka. Not at all).
Mano Erina - Genkimono de Ikou!
I tried. I really did. The song starts and it's a really fun beat and the cheer leading dance is cute and energetic, and I think, hey maybe I might like this song this time around. And then Mano starts singing and I really can't get through any more. To this day I still cannot fathom how she became a solo artist. Like, hey, Dawa's no fun to listen to, but at least when I listen to songs with her in it, I get to hear other voices too!
Skip.
Dance de Bakoon!
As you may know from my earlier PV review of this song, it's my favorite C-ute single of all time, maybe my favorite C-ute song as well. Even though the singing wasn't stellar in this song, the energy of even just the backing track itself kept this performance exciting to watch the whole way through. Airi still sounded the best, but honestly after her I think Chisato was in 2nd place. Maimi's tone (read: lack of tone) is really starting to get to me, and I'm biased to Chisato's vibrato, but I really do think that Maimi was not doing so well this time.
Mai and Nakky fucked up a few times, but like I said, it didn't make the whole thing any less enjoyable.
Zoku v-d-en : Aisu Kuriimu to My Purin
This was awesome. This is a song that even Sayu and Jun's (and to some extent Risako's) poor live vocals can't ruin, and to give them credit, all of them definitely sounded better than they have other times. Sayu's personality and commitment to the message of the song (i.e. I'm sexy and cute) alone was enough to make you smile. She's totally into it. And, for some reason, a very nasally, thin-sounding voice actually works quite well with this song, so Jun and Sayu,that's the only time that will ever come in handy.
Daite yo! PLEASE GO ON
Bad ass. This song kicks up the intensity and doesn't let up for one second. The dancing just blows me away, but the worst thing about it is they barely focused on Saki! I think even within H!P itself there is a consensus that she's the best dancer of the whole agency, and perhaps only considered 2nd to Ai (I disagree, I think she's #1, but I don't make the decisions there...). So, why not show her a little camera love? Admittedly, the Saki-Maimi-Yuuka trio didn't sound so hot, while Ai and Reina sounded very good. Especially Reina, her voice came out really clear even after parts with heavy dancing.
S/milage - Chu! Natsu Party
This is a perfect song for S/mileage, in kind of an indescribable way. Kanon once again sounds a bit better than Sakitty, and Dawa once again struggles, but she kept it together much better then all the times she's appeared on TV, so I guess you can call it an improvement.
C-ute - FOREVER LOVE
I never really like this song so much, but I must admit it's got a lot of energy and the dance is pretty awesome too. This is one of those moments where I find myself thinking that perhaps Erika and Kanna leaving was in the long run a good thing. C-ute is cut down to the basics, and as a result I think they have a tighter dance structure and live singing ability as a group. Obviously, Airi and Maimi run the show for the most part, but I think increasingly the "back" 3 are getting chances to prove themselves. Although, I don't know why I'm saying this here, since this song doesn't really show that at all and is pretty much an Airi-Maimi fest.
Sorry for the derailment.
Berryz - Gag 100kaibun Aishite Kudasai
A lot of people have been gushing recently about Miyabi's great live singing, which is obviously the case, but this reminds us all not to count Momo out -- even though she hasn't had as much of the spotlight in the last few singles, her living singing is equal if not better than Miyabi's. She clearly gives it her all and her pitch in this performance is impressive, especially since it's so high up there. Saki sounded good as well, her voice is beginning to sound a little less strained than it usually does.
Well, that's about all I have to say about this DVD. This is one of my favorite H!P concerts ever, the song selection is really fun and I'm glad the fans got to pick some of them this time.
Please do this again sometime, Tsunku!
Some reviews (possibly) coming up...
-Perfume - Nee PV
-Berryz Shining Power PV (when I get an HD version...)
Thanks for reading! I proved that I still like Japanese music!
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"A lot of people have been gushing recently about Miyabi's great live singing, which is obviously the case, but this reminds us all not to count Momo out -- even though she hasn't had as much of the spotlight in the last few singles, her live singing is equal if not better than Miyabi's. She clearly gives it her all and her pitch in this performance is impressive, especially since it's so high up there."
ReplyDeleteTHIS.
LOL. It's true, a lot of fans HAVE been gushing over Miyabi's great live singing recently (I can't blame them.. I mean, Miya really does shine vocally when it comes to singing, especially in Berryz), I'm afraid though that the fans are gonna forget that Momoko also has great live singing.
lol, Momo needs some praise for her vocals too, she's a much better singer than what people give her credit for (Momo's always come off to me as, overlooked, when it comes to her vocals, not that many people acknowledge her great live singing... well at least, not as many people acknowledge her singing as much as they do Airi or Miyabi's... XD)
I think the Fankora concert performance of Gag 100kaibun btw, is much better than the Sono Subete no Ai ni performance of it (Momo was going a bit too high in that one, higher than the song required xD)