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kokiafans · 2 years ago

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KOKIA in flashback - 2009

After her 10th anniversary year, KOKIA does decidedly not take it easier in 2009. She releases two albums on the same day: KOKIA∞AKIKO ~Balance~ and AKIKO∞KOKIA ~Balance~, to celebrate the conclusion of her 10th anniversary year. The AKIKO album is only available via her webshop and at concert venues and is distributed via her own office, anco&co, whereas the KOKIA album is distributed via Victor Entertainment. She explains that the AKIKO album deals more with her ‘inner’ songs, as she feels she is both KOKIA the artist and Akiko the person.

She departs on a world tour this year, called infinity (as the ∞ symbol from her albums is the symbol for infinity), starting in Japan before traveling to France, Ireland, Poland, Belgium and Germany. This results in two concert DVDs: 2009 infinity tour at Tokyo, recording the performance in Tokyo, and Wherever I am, a 3 disc documentary covering her journey and performances abroad.

2009 also marks the start of her Life Trilogy digital singles, with the first two releasing this year. The final one will come out next year.

◆ Lives and events ◆

January 16 Essential Time (Ebisu LIQUIDROOM)

February 28-March 1 KOKIA Live in Naeba Prince white notes vol.3 (Naeba Prince Hotel Chatelaine)

March 31 YOU SING, YOU WANT (Shibuya DUO Music Exchange)

【KOKIA world tour 2009 「∞」 Infinity】 April 29 - Tokyo, Bunkamura Orchard Hall May 4 - Osaka, Sankei Hall Breeze June 12 - European tour 2009: Paris, La Cigale June 13 - performance on a cruise over the Seine river June 14 - Paris, Le Divian du Monde June 16 - Dublin, Button Factory June 17 - Poznań, Blue Note June 19 - Brussels, Botanique-Orangerie June 20 - Cologne, Blue Shell

July 11 4th Keyaki festival (Niigata, Nagaoka City School for Handicapped Children gymnasium)

July 20 8th Kobe Love Port - Port Festival (Kobe Meriken Park)

July 21 Eclipse festival KOKIA talk session & mini concert (Kagoshima Port, Honkô-ku, Waterfront Park)

July 26 Gion Kashiwazaki festival (Minatomachi beachside park, sunset dome)

August 7 D-51×KOKIA BEACH LIVE in OTODAMA SEA STUDIO (Kanagawa, Zushi Kaigan OTODAMA SEA STUDIO)

August 29 KOKIA sebone LIVE 2009 (Aichi, Arc Riche Toyohashi, The Grace)

September 12 (September 26/October 10) KOKIA tokai no kakurega concert ('hideout in the city’) (Tokyo, sonorium) ※ Event exclusively for members of the KOKIA fanclub, club ancoro, 4 performances total

October 17 Niigata Prefectural Niitsu-minami senior high school memorial ceremony on the 30th anniversary of its founding: KOKIA live (Niitsu-minami senior high school)

November 21 BREEZE BREEZE Music Live KOKIA (Osaka, Breeze Breeze Media Court)

November 26 Uiguru kara kita shounen ('Boy from the Uyghurs’) screening & KOKIA mini live (Tokyo, Uplink Factory) ※Movie for social awareness, Uiguru kara kita shounen ('Boy from the Uyghurs’) which uses KOKIA’s Lacrima ('Tear’) as end theme

November 28 Saturday Hot Request (Tokyo, NHK broadcasting center) ※ Public live broadcast by NHK-FM

December 5 SATURDAY GO AROUND from Jazz Dream Nagashima ※ Public live broadcast by ZIP-FM

【KOKIA Winter Live Tour 2009 12 gatsu no okurimono ('December present’)】 December 11 - Aichi, Nagoya City Chikusa small theater December 13 - Fukuoka, Hakata Gate's7 December 14 - Hiroshima, Club Quattro December 15 - Osaka, Sankei Hall Breeze December 21 - Miyagi, Sendai retro Back Page December 23-24 - Kanagawa, Yokohama Landmark Hall

December 25 KOKIA Kokoro no akari live ('light in the heart’) vol. 2 in KYOTO 2009 (The Museum of Kyoto, Annex Hall)

◆ Releases ◆

March 4 Release of the French edition of Fairy Dance ~KOKIA meets Ireland (Wasabi Records)

March 18 Release of original album KOKIA∞AKIKO ~balance~ (Victor Entertainment)

March 18 Release of original album AKIKO∞KOKIA ~balance~ (anco&co.) ※ Simultaneous release of a mainstream version and indie version, KOKIA and AKIKO, two albums that are each other’s counterparts (On April 29, a ∞ album 2 disc collection BOX including both albums gets released. It includes image clips for Ooki na senaka ('Broad back’).)

May 20 Release of the French edition of Balance (Wasabi Records) ※ 2-disc box with KOKIA∞AKIKO ~balance~ and AKIKO∞KOKIA ~balance~

July 22 Release of concert DVD KOKIA 2009 infinity tour at Tokyo (anco&co.)

August 5 Release of the iTunes Store exclusive digital EP Kimi o sagashite/last love song ('searching for you’) (Victor Entertainment) ※ Chapter 1 in the <Life Trilogy ~inochi no 3-busaku> ('trilogy of life’). Mini album with 4 tracks

September 23 Release of the European Tour documentary DVD Wherever I am ~wordt tour 2009 in Europe~ (Victor Entertainment)

November 18 Release of the iTunes Store exclusive digital EP single mother/Christmas no hibiki ('Christmas echo’) (Victor Entertainment) ※ Chapter 2 in the <Life Trilogy ~inochi no 3-busaku> ('trilogy of life’). Mini album with 4 tracks

December 2 Release of best-of album Coquillage ~The Best Collection II~ (Victor Entertainment)

December 2 Release of the French edition KOKIA COLLECTION 2 (Wasabi Records) 3-disc collection box including the albums KOKIA∞AKIKO ~balance~, AKIKO∞KOKIA ~balance~ and Fairy Dance (French edition of each)

◆ Other releases ◆

January 21 Release of the omnibus album Okaeri ('Welcome home’) (Sony Music) ※ Concept album collecting only timeless classics sung about great love for humans. Arigatou… (the pearl edition) ('Thank you…’) is included on this.

February 5 Release of the PlayStation 3 game Demon’s Souls ※ Vocals and chorus for the opening theme song Demon’s Souls and the end theme Return to Slumber

February 18 Release of Dare mo shiranai nakeru uta official compilation album (‘songs no-one knows that make you cry’) (VAP) ※ Official CD for the Nippon TV show Dare mo shiranai nakeru uta (‘songs no-one knows that make you cry’). Includes Watashi ni dekiru koto ('the things I can do’)

February 18 Release of Dare mo shiranai nakeru uta gaiden ~ staff ga erabu kokoro no best one ~ (‘songs no-one knows that make you cry extra – best from the heart chosen by staff’) (Victor Entertainment) ※ Official program album for the Nippon TV series Dare mo shiranai nakeru uta (‘songs no-one knows that make you cry’), Victor Entertainment compilation. Includes Watashi ni dekiru koto ('the things I can do’)

April 22 Release of the single KARMA (Glory Heaven) ※ Opening theme for the animated TV series Phantom -Requiem for the Phantom

August 15 Release of the image sound album Bungaku shoujo to yumeutsutsu no senritsu (‘Book girl and the half-asleep melody’) (Lantis) ※ Performed the song Anata to deatte (‘Meeting you’)

August 26 Release of the single Transparent (Glory Heaven) ※ end theme for the animated TV series Phantom -Requiem for the Phantom

October 21 Release of Kidou senshi gundam 00 ('Mobile Suit Gundam’) Voice actor single Ayahi Takagaki come across Feldt Grace (Inori †/Justice) ('prayer’) (flying DOG) ※ First single produced by KOKIA. Also did the chorus for the B-side song Justice.

#KOKIA #25 years of kokia in flashback

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mahoneysuga · 4 years ago

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ALBUMS:

2 Cool 4 Skool

O!RUL8,2?

Skool Luv Affair

Skool Luv Affair Special Addition

Dark & Wild

花様年華 The Most Beautiful Moment in Life:

花様年華 The Most Beautiful Moment in Life Pt.1 Pink Ver.

花様年華 The Most Beautiful Moment in Life Pt.1 White Ver.

花様年華 The Most Beautiful Moment in Life Pt.2 Blue Ver.

花様年華 The Most Beautiful Moment in Life Pt.2 Peach Ver.

The Most Beautiful Moment in Life: Young Forever Day Ver.

The Most Beautiful Moment in Life: Young Forever Night Ver.

Wings:

Wings Ver. N

Wings Ver. G

You Never Walk Alone:

You Never Walk Alone Left Ver.

You Never Walk Alone Right Ver.

Love Yourself 承 ‘Her’:

Love Yourself 承 ‘Her’ Ver. L

Love Yourself 承 ‘Her’ Ver. O

Love Yourself 承 ‘Her’ Ver. V

Love Yourself 承 ‘Her’ Ver. E

Love Yourself 轉 ‘Tear’:

Love Yourself 轉 ‘Tear’ Ver. Y

Love Yourself 轉 ‘Tear’ Ver. O

Love Yourself 轉 ‘Tear’ Ver. U

Love Yourself 轉 ‘Tear’ Ver. R

Love Yourself 結 ‘Answer’:

Love Yourself 結 ‘Answer’ Ver. S

Love Yourself 結 ‘Answer’ Ver. E

Love Yourself 結 ‘Answer’ Ver. L

Love Yourself 結 ‘Answer’ Ver. F

Map of the Soul: Persona

Map of the Soul: Persona Ver. 1

Map of the Soul: Persona Ver. 2

Map of the Soul: Persona Ver. 3

Map of the Soul: Persona Ver. 4

Map of the Soul: 7

Map of the Soul: 7 Ver. 1

Map of the Soul: 7 Ver. 2

Map of the Soul: 7 Ver. 3

Map of the Soul: 7 Ver. 4

BE Essential Edition

Butter Cream Ver.

Butter Peaches Ver.

JAPANESE ALBUMS:

00:01 Wake Up

I NEED U

BTS The Best Of

Face Yourself

Lights/Boy With Luv Vers. C

Map of the Soul 7: The Journey Ver. B

Map of the Soul 7: The Journey Ver. C

Map of the Soul 7: The Journey Ver. D

BTS, The Best Ver. C

LIVE:

花様年華 On Stage: Epilogue Japan Edition

The Wings Tour Face Photo Book

The Wings Tour Program Book

The Wings Tour Essay Book for SUGA

The Wings Tour The Final Photo Cards

The Wings Tour 2017 Live Trilogy Episode III in Seoul

Love Yourself Program Book

Love Yourself Speak Yourself World Tour Japanese Edition

Map of the Soul On:e

DVD:

Now:

NOW2 BTS in Europe & America 2015

NOW3 Dreaming Days In Chicago 2016

Muster:

Happy Ever After - BTS 4th Muster

Summer Package:

Summer Package in Coron Island 2017

Summer Package in Saipan 2018

Summer Package in Korea 2019

Winter Package:

Winter Package in Helsinki 2020

Winter Package in Gangwon 2021

Season’s Greetings

Season’s Greetings 2016

Season’s Greetings 2017

Season’s Greetings 2018

Season’s Greetings 2020

Season’s Greetings 2021

Season’s Greetings 2022

Memories:

Memories 2016

Memories 2019

Memories 2020

ARMY.ZIP

BTS Global Official Fanclub 2nd ARMY (2015)

BTS Global Official Fanclub 4th ARMY (2017)

BTS Global Official Fanclub 5th ARMY (2018)

BTS Global Official Fanclub 8th ARMY (2021)

BOOKS:

24/7= Serendipity BTS Exhibition Photobook

BTS The Fact Photobook Special Edition

BTS The Fact Photobook Special Edition 2021

Map of the Soul On:e Concept Photobook Route Ver.

Map of the Soul On:e Concept Photobook Clue Ver.

D’Festa Seoul The Exhibition BTS

MAGAZINES:

HIGH CUT Vol. 120 Feb-Mar 2014

Céci 20th Anniversary October 2014

AERA No.40 September 2016

Anan No 2057 June 2017

Anan No 2057 Special Edition July 2017

TEN Star Special - BTS 2000 Days Journey 2018

DICON Behind BTS 2018

CanCam August 2019

DICON BTS Vol. 10 BTS Goes On 2020

Rolling Stone Korea 2021 Issue 2.

Burdock Issue 2: SOUND (BTS Cover) 2021

Vogue x GQ January 2022

MISCELLANEOUS:

花様年華 On Stage - SUGA

VT x BTS

BTS In The Soop

SOWOOZOO Mini Photo Card Set

Dalmajung Merch

Dicon Photocard 101: Custom Book BTS

OTHERS:

Love Yourself Speak Yourself World Tour Outfits

#menuscans

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draineddreamer · 3 years ago

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BTS Video Masterlist pt. 3

Hey there!

Any new Army around? I'm sure if you're looking at this post, you are a baby Army, or just someone who would like to go back to the dark days of BTS and watch all of their videos from the very, very, very beginning.

Enjoy this trip down the tokki hole...

*This list is not complete, many videos are hard to find, but it's a start.

[Pt. 1] [Pt. 2] [Pt. 4]

POST OUTDATED. CLICK HERE FOR NEW COMPLETE ARCHIVE

DVDs by year

2020

BTS 2020 Winter Package

BTS 5th Muster [Magic Shop] (Busan) (Seoul) (Seoul pt. 2) (Seoul pt.3)

BTS World Tour 'Love Yourself: Speak Yourself' - Japan Edition (Behind the Scene)

BTS Memories of 2019

BTS Japan Official Fanmeeting Vol.5 [Magic Shop] (pt. 1) (pt. 2) (pt. 3) (pt. 4) (pt. 5)

BTS World Tour 'Love Yourself: Speak Yourself' London

2021 Season's Greetings

2021

BTS 2021 Winter Package

BTS Memories of 2020:

(BANG BANG CON The Live)

(BBCTL VCR MAKING FILM)

(BBCTL Practice MAKING FILM)

(BBCTL Rehearsal MAKING FILM)

(BBCTL D-day MAKING FILM)

(MOTS7 Dance Practice MAKING FILM)

(MOTS7 Jacket MAKING FILM)

('Interlude : Shadow' Comeback Trailer MAKING FILM)

('Outro : Ego' Comeback Trailer MAKING FILM)

('Black Swan' MV MAKING FILM)

('ON' Kinetic Manifesto Film : Come Prima MAKING FILM)

('ON' MV MAKING FILM)

(The Late Late Show with James Corden & The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon MAKING FILM)

(SBS Inkigayo MAKING FILM)

('Dynamite' MV MAKING FILM)

('Dynamite' Dance Practice MAKING FILM)

(TODAY Citi Music Series MAKING FILM)

(2020 iHeartRadio Music Festival MAKING FILM)

(GRAMMY Museum - The Drop & NPR Tiny Desk Concert MAKING FILM)

(America's Got Talent MAKING FILM)

(The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon BTS WEEK MAKING FILM)

(Radio .com LIVE MAKING FILM)

('BE' Jacket MAKING FILM)

('Life Goes On' MV MAKING FILM)

(American Music Awards MAKING FILM)

(Good Morning America & TIME Entertainer of the Year 2020 MAKING FILM)

(The Late Show with James Corden MAKING FILM)

(Agust D 'MIX TAPE' Record & Dance Practice MAKING FILM)

(Agust D '대취타' MV MAKING FILM)

(34th Golden Disc Awards MAKING FILM)

(62nd GRAMMY Awards MAKING FILM)

(TODAY & MTV Fresh Out MAKING FILM)

(Dear Class of 2020 MAKING FILM)

(Variety MAGAZINE MAKING FILM)

(2020 Billboard Music Awards MAKING FILM)

(Esquire MAGAZINE MAKING FILM)

(2020 Awards Dance Practice MAKING FILM)

(2020 MMA MAKING FILM)

(2020 MAMA MAKING FILM)

(NEW YEAR'S EVE LIVE POSTER & D-day MAKING FILM)

(BANG BANG CON The Live Stage CAM | BLACK SWAN)

(BANG BANG CON The Live Stage CAM | BOYZ WITH FUN)

(BANG BANG CON The Live Stage CAM | GOGO)

(BANG BANG CON The Live Stage CAM | JUST ONE DAY)

(BANG BANG CON The Live Stage CAM | SPRING DAY)

(Solo Cams – RM - RESPECT)

(Solo Cams – JIN - JAMAIS VU)

(Solo Cams – SUGA - RESPECT)

(Solo Cams – JHOPE - JAMAIS V)

(Solo Cams – JIMIN - FRIENDS)

(Solo Cams – TAEHYUNG - FREINDS)

(Solo Cams – JUNGKOOK - JAMAIS VU)

(TODAY Citi Music Series Stage CAM)

(GRAMMY Museum - The Drop Stage CAM)

(NPR Tiny Desk Concert Stage CAM | SAVE ME)

(NPR Tiny Desk Concert Stage CAM | SPRING DAY)

(The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon Stage CAM | BLACK SWAN)

(The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon Stage CAM | DYNAMITE)

(The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon Stage CAM | IDOL)

(NEW YEAR'S EVE LIVE Stage CAM | BOY WITH LUV)

(NEW YEAR'S EVE LIVE Stage CAM | LIFE GOES ON)

(NEW YEAR'S EVE LIVE Stage CAM | DYNAMITE)

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chibalein · 4 years ago

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Kalafina Live Report: 9+ONE @Kitakyushu - REVISITED

So, this is something I wanted to do for a long time now (almost 3 years to be exact). Back in 2017, when Kalafina was still a thing and times were good, I was lucky enough to live in Japan and able to attend various of Kalafina activities. My first proper concert was their final live of the 9+ONE tour in the city of Kitakyushu/Fukuoka prefecture, in June 2017.

My first live report was certainly different than all the others that followed, less detailed, less emotional so to say. I always wanted to update the whole thing because looking back, there were so many moments during the concert that I - for whatever reason - did not write about enough or not at all. Well, since I have been working at home for quite a while now, I feel like now is the perfect time, as this gives me an amazing reason to be lazy and productive at the same time. Here is my original live report: PART 1 / PART 2

So, a lot of things will certainly stay the same because I just don’t remember enough of the concert, especially about the vocal performance or things the girls have said during the MCs. I will add some other details that I still remember (hopefully correctly), and describe everything a bit nicer too :)

Let’s do it! Long ass report ahead! again

Back then, I was living in Kanagawa prefecture, but I was too late for tickets of the Yokohama or Tokyo lives. I was planning to visit a friend who lived in Fukuoka city at the time and Kalafina’s Kitakyushu concert perfectly fit into my schedule. Luckily, I was able to buy a ticket via convenience store. As I was pretty late, I got a kinda bad seat in the almost very back of the upper floor.

The morning of the live I arrived in the city of Kitakyushu, which is a rather famous port city at the northern tip of Fukuoka prefecture. The historic town Kokura has a beautiful castle, which I visited as well as Moji port. (After reading Hikaru’s blog post where she said that she also went to see the castle, I was a bit disappointed that I didn’t meet her xD). There’s also TOTO Museum, a museum dedicated to the TOTO company, which is famous for inventing those high-tech toilets that Japan is so known for.

I was kind of warned beforehand that the Kalafina good’s sale would attract a ton of people, so I wanted to be there as early as possible. About two hours too early I arrived at Kitakyushu’s Harmony Cinq Soleil Hall and waited along with a handful of other people. Slowly but steadily more and more people would gather, forming an absurdly long line. Not as extreme as the 10th Anniversary good’s line, but still impressive. Luckily, I was standing in some shade, because it was so damn hot and sunny the entire weekend. When the doors finally opened, I am sure there were like 200-300 people waiting to receive those sweet sweet popcorn buckets that were sold as venue exclusive merchandise. In the end, I bought the T-shirt, the key holder, the popcorn and the clear files, but looking back I do regret not buying the notebook. I wanted the popcorn mainly because of the Kitakyushu exclusive sticker - the popcorn itself had the flavor chocolate + soda (I think?), which I remember thinking was the shittiest combo of all flavors they had. It didn’t taste as bad as I thought but I still think it was overpriced. Together with the ticket itself, I ended up spending about 100€, which I thought was a lot, especially as there were people buying the entire collection and even more... hahahaha, oh innocent, naive past me, I didn’t know what was coming to me yet.

(Photo: in front of the venue)

I do love my merch though. I still wear all my Kalafina T-shirts at home, and while in Japan I had the key holder... hold my keys, making it all dirty and bent now lol The popcorn cup is decorating my shelf to this day.

Anyway, after getting my stuff, I went on to walk around, grab something to eat and even made friends with a Japanese girl, sharing our Kalafina love. Later, when people were admitted, probably around 800-900 people were there, quite a view! I saw some foreigners as well, and even made friends with a Philippine girl as well :D

(Photo: merch table at the venue)

(Photo: the stuff I bought)

While entering, staff was handing out little goodie bags, mostly with flyers and ads for other events or the obligatory concert questionnaire. However, that bag included our very own 9+ONE Lights! I took my seat which wasn’t as far from the stage as I thought, but I still would not be able to see the girls’ expressions.

When the concert finally started, a black but transparent screen was lowered (you know it from the 9+ONE DVD) and they started to play an overture version of “Samidare ga sugita koro ni”. Meanwhile we got see a collection of Kalafina’s entire discography, where each title of their songs, even in their respective font if available, was shown and merged into a white cloud, revealing our ladies.

(Photo: stage before the concert started)

They started with “Samidare ga sugita koro ni”. I remember it being good and nice, but I was never really fond of that song, even though it has grown on me a bit. We all clapped along and had our fun.

It continued with “misterioso”, also a song that has grown on me over time. While everyone was staying seated and enjoying themselves before, all the dudes in the arena seats jumped to their feet, being an upbeat song and stuff. I was grateful for the upper floor to have stayed seated almost the entire time, because being so far away was shitty enough and I didn’t want to spend 2 hours standing.

Anyhow, this song revealed some flaws in either the acoustics of the hall or the mixing of the sound technicians (I guess the latter?). Wakana was uncomfortably loud most of the time, drowning out the other two, but especially Hikaru - in some songs more than in others and more often than not when she wasn’t in the lead too. Some of her notes simply made me cringe. Hikaru on the other hand seemed to be feeling the exhaustion of the tour. On many occasions, she sounded tired, especially when it came to hit those high or long notes. The band didn’t help either, they also drowned out many parts of the singing... Maybe it was just this venue though and luckily, the 10th Anniversary wasn’t like this. Then again, I only attended acoustic lives or lives without band after that, so who knows how they sound when there is no DVD recording going on XD

Next was “Lacrimosa”, and this time Wakana wasn’t being as cringy as before. Poor Hikaru doing nothing for most of the time. One cool moment was that short pause after their “LA-CRI-MO-SA” part, right before the final chorus. The stage turned deep red with the girls reaching out to the audience. When you don’t know that this is coming, it’s an incredibly powerful move.

I don’t remember what they said during MC#1, other than greeting the audience and the usual “We hope you have fun” stuff. I do remember Hikaru welcoming us to the Harmony Cinq Kitakyushu Soleil Hall, by saying the entire name of the hall, and then saying something along the lines of “Thank god I didn’t trip over my tongue” (it’s a lot harder to say that name in Japanese, I give it to her lol).

They proceeded to introduce “Ashita no Keshiki”, a song that is not performed often, also because it’s a song that is mainly sung by Wakana. It was a beautiful performance, which was a little bit ruined by Hikaru. If you thought that she sounds strained and tired in the 9+ONE DVD version, well, imagine her like 5 concerts after that performance. Still great though, I came to love that song a lot.

“Hikaru no senritsu” was equally ok, but Hikaru again kind of screwed up her short “ashita wo kanadete” towards the end of the song. She probably just didn’t hit the note correctly, but to me it sounded as if she screwed up the timing, because I didn’t even her the first word or so.

With “Mirai”, Kalafina finally started to move around, so far they had stayed glued to their positions. They waved and interacted with the audience, cheering us on to cheer them on. I did enjoy the performance and the overall atmosphere, although “Mirai” belongs to my most disliked of all Kalafina songs.

In MC#2, they talked about “Ashita no Keshiki” a bit, together with their first album and how this is the first time performing in Kitakyushu (and not Fukuoka city). Since this is Wakana’s home prefecture, she proceeded to talk about her favorite Udon and Ramen restaurants (I think it was also about the restaurant chain West) and other specialties of Fukuoka.

The next song was “Oblivious”, also a song I was really looking forward to. As you know, this time Hikaru decided to sing her first lines in her high head voice (probably because she just can’t do it “regularly” anymore). I thought and still think it’s lovely, as it gives the song a much more mysterious opening and it’s also quite closer to the original to be honest. Wakana and the band drowned out Keiko for most of the time, with Hikaru and her high voice coming to the party later too. The acoustics were really weird that day...

“storia” was as usual, nothing special and not a song that really stands out to me anymore.

I was more looking forward to “Gogatsu no Mahou”, which is also a song I came to appreciate more over time. I adore the bridge section after the chorus, especially Wakana’s “habataku kotori no” and that one super high moment, so I really tried to focus on that particular part of the song. It was great!

With “consolation”, finally a darker and fiercer song made its debut and while I don’t really remember the performance itself anymore, I do remember the stage production. Basically, they packed out those lights and illuminations that they have been hiding so far and blasted us with them. Hikaru was pretty quiet though. Keiko on the hand appeared to have problems with her earpiece, and at some point she was frantically waving to the technicians backstage.

Wakana took it upon herself to dominate “To the beginning” as well, but we got some action on stage at least, since the girls stayed glued to their positions most of the timea again.

In MC#3, Keiko talked about how every live performance as well as their unique harmony is important to them (quite ironic after Wakana was actively trying to make Keiko NOT be heard lol). The following song was special in a sense that there would be NO harmony. Back then, when Kalafina received the song for the first time (or before recording, not sure), they even asked Kajiura Yuki whether this is correct or even intentional.

With “Haru wo matsu” we got our obligatory ballad. While I was never really fond of the song, I think it’s sweet and yes, their missing harmony gives it quite a refreshing vibe. Keiko sounded pretty much like in the 9+ONE DVD, but it was so strange to hear her cutesy voice live and so clearly... she sounded like an entirely different person XD Hikaru, for the first time actually, could finally shine, as we could HEAR her. She didn’t deliver as good as she probably could have, but still it was a very pretty performance.

Now, we were reaching the spot on their setlist that would differ at each venue. Before the concert, I checked out all setlists from the previous lives to see whether there were any patterns or which songs were most likely to be performed (again). It seemed like they took 4-5 songs and repeated them over the course of the tour, which is why I had my hopes high for “Hikaru furu” or “Kimi no gin no niwa”. But interestingly they chose a song they hadn’t performed yet (please correct if I’m wrong here), which was “Ring your bell”.

“Ring your bell” is very high on my list of all-time disliked Kalafina songs (I just can’t seem to escape that song...). But I was pleasantly surprised to hear that they started the song as an acoustic version, very much like the performance during their Arena Live. It stayed acoustic until after the first chorus, then the band joined too. I like this half-half version over the “normal” version, because it’s an amazing moment when you don’t expect the loud and cheerful opening of “Ring your bell” to suddenly fill the stage. The overall harmony of band and singers came together again and the acoustics were finally so much cleaner and nicer. The audience rose to their feet and even some dedicated dudes on my loser floor stood up to cheer them on. However, Wakana’s final high-pitched “ring your BELL” was incredibly cringy and breathy, one of the main reasons I hate the song so much.

Anyway, Kalafina got their break to change costumes and we got an AMAZING performance by the band that played some BGM of the anime “Kubikiri Cycle”. To this day, I don’t know what exact song they played and for the love of god, please SOMEONE TELL ME. I know it was fairly uptempo and rather dark... help pls XD

So far, the stage production was pretty much boring and simple. Other than some light effects, nothing really happened, we just had that huge curtain as background. Now, we finally got ACTION. Well, at least for the eye. They lifted the curtain and revealed those huge, impressing statues of Kalafina’s silhouettes, mostly made out of their past live outfits. I could have spent a long time checking out every part of this artwork, trying to recognize what dresses from which live they used and what not. Now that I watched the DVD, I know where Kalafina was standing, but at the time I didn’t see them AT ALL. The music played the overture and suddenly Keiko was on stage with the other two following her. To me it looked like they stepped THROUGH the middle silhouette, but turns out they were just standing in front of it - they were so far away, I couldn’t differ between them and the clothes behind them lol

(Photo: Hikaru’s “silhouette” with her outfits)

Well, I think I already gave you my opinion on those new dresses... At the time, both Keiko and Wakana looked kinda cool and pretty shiny, but even though I could see jack shit from so far away, I knew that Hikaru’s outfit was a disappointment. Her fucking pants and skirt or whatever that is... XD

I was incredibly looking forward to “Märchen”, as now it became one of my all-time favorite songs. But back then I was especially amazed by the song during their release event of the single in April. I wanted to hear this live again so badly and well... I did, but it wasn’t as good as the release event. Again, Hikaru sounded tired and Keiko and Wakana were fighting about who could be louder than the band. Keiko drowned out Hikaru most of the time... During the middle section we saw their Kala-dance, which I already got to witness during the release event. However, I was pleased to see that they decided to spice things up by showing background animations. It looked like they danced in sinc with themselves, it was truly impressive and such a refreshing use of video. This, as well as the later “Magia” performance made this concert/tour truly stand out and I am glad that they could take their creativity to a new level. I wish they would have continued to do so much more later on.

So, let’s talk about “Magia”. Holy shit, what a performance. The screen from the very beginning was lowered, intro was played, forest was shown, you know it guys. In sync with their live singing, they showed this fucking amazing pre-recorded bits of Kalafina and as I didn’t see this coming, it absolutely blew my mind. It was a psychedelic wtf show with cinema feeling all over the place and for once, the acoustics were actually good. Especially the instrumental part was... I don’t know what it was, but HOLY. SHIT. Truly guys, it was so cool. If there ever was an interview on that particurly performance I would love to read it to how Kalafina thought about this one and how the creation process went. When Keiko stepped in front of the screen it just added to her overall cool demeanor. When the screen was lifted again, we got a little sneak peak of the microphone stands in back.

(Photo: Keiko’s “silhouette” with her costumes)

Which were of course used for “Kyrie”. The DVD version is truly one of my favorite performances of that song and in Kitakyushu it was pretty cool too, especially with their small but effective arm movements. Keiko’s final long-ass “kyrie” was amazing and fairly unexpected from my side. Also some fat light show and big bass sounds, which I am always appreciating.

Next up was “heavenly blue” and here they tried to interact with the crowd once more. I like this song mostly for the kajiurago bridge and I always focus especially on Wakana’s super high “so na” (or whatever), while Keiko is going low at the same time. Wakana was too loud again though, but by now their overall performance and acoustics improved quite a lot.

“One Light” once again activated the crowd, especially Hikaru went crazy here. The atmosphere was amazing and you could just feel that everyone was fired up, singing along and having fun. Everyone just screamed when Hikaru sang “boku wa yukeru”, so cool.

MC#4 was about band introduction. Konno Hitoshi and Sakurada weren’t present if I remember correctly, which was a shame... but then again, I wouldn’t know the difference lol

The last song of the block was their new single at the time, “Into the world”. It was really beautiful, Hikaru finally sang more clearly. A good performance, very similar to the ones I would see from that point on.

We got a little break again, as Kalafina traditionally fake-ended the concert. While the audience was clapping, it took about 5 minutes or so for them to return. But first, the screen was lowered again, and some text, together with the intro for “Ongaku” finally told us to switch on our 9+ONE Lights. Everyone did so and boy, what a sight! Even from so far in the back, the lights in the dark hall looked so great! While of course hundreds and hundreds of people were present, you don’t really get a sense of that sheer number when you focus on the stage the entire time. I looked around and with so many lights illuminating the hall, you truly get a feeling of how many people actually are here with you.

Kalafina returned with their plain, but nevertheless cool black outfits, wearing the little lights themselves and standing on a mini-stage. The song played out as usual, but this time, as Konno Hitoshi wasn’t present and the other violin guy played his solo different than usual. Don’t ask me how it differed, I really don’t remember, but I liked that version a lot more. We got a new cool background too.

“blaze” pretty much business as usual.

(Photo: Wakana’s “silhouette” with her outfits, sorry for the bad quality)

MC#5 was about Hikaru and her beloved sales corner, where she mainly introduced the Kalafina produced goods like Keiko’s pink dumbbell and her bath salt (I think). She talked about the 9+ONE Lights and that they do not produce new lights for each concert, but re-use them every time. That was supposed to increase to sense of unity and connection between them and the fans as well as among the fans themselves, “carrying the fire of every fan and concert to the next” or something like this. As Kalafina had upcoming concerts in Taiwan and Hong Kong, Hikaru said that they would bring the lights to international fans too, so “don’t take them home!”. Well... I guess my ten years of studying Japanese at this point must have failed me in that particular instance because I truly don’t know what she said or meant. I unfortunately ended up taking the ring home. #guiltybutnotguilty #sue me

I think this is also where they talked about the big silhouettes we have seen in the earlier block and that they used dresses from previous performances to decorate them. They then turned around, facing the wall and imitated the poses of the silhouettes - it was super funny and crowd laughed and cheered. I think they lifted the screen of this stained glass pattern to show the silhouettes for direct comparison. (Correct me if I am wrong, but I think they cut out this conversation from the DVD? Not sure, too lazy to check).

We sadly arrived the final song of the setlist, which again should differ at each venue. What song would it be? I hoped for songs like “sprinter” or “Yume no daichi”, as those were among the songs they had already performed during the tour.

Well, back then, they had announced their new single “Hyakka Ryouran”, but it wasn’t released yet (I think we only knew some bits of the chorus at the time). Funnily, I talked about that with the girls I had met prior to admittance, something like “Hey, wouldn’t it be cool if Kalafina performed Hyakka Ryouran as surprise encore?”. I mean, they were no strangers to performing songs that haven’t been officially released yet, see “Into the World” during the Arena Live. But, you know... I thought that would be unlikely, because why should they?

BUT NOT THEY ACTUALLY DID IT! Keiko was like: “Ah, which song will be the final song... Well, how about our new single?”, and the crowd LOST IT. I lost it too XD Seriously, no one could handle that. Anyway, now that I know the full version by heart, it’s hard to describe how I felt back then. Listening to a song for the first time is always an experience, but it makes it hard to remember when you can’t listen to it again and again. I tried to focus on every aspect of the song, and remember it as being “dark”, due to Keiko’s deep intro, “fast” and “rock-like”, fitting into the samurai setting of the anime with its flute elements. I still couldn’t believe my luck though and afterwards, the crowd cheered and cheered.

Now the concert should have been over, but instead they entered MC#6. They talked about the first sing of the night “Samidare ga sugita koro ni”. Apparently, they pretty much have never performed this one live, except once during a fanclub-only event. For this tour they wanted to sing this song “for everyone”, as it is such a bright and warm piece.

So, for whatever reason, Kalafina decided to perform “Samidare ga sugita koro ni” AGAIN. However, this time they emphazised that bright feeling of connected hearts and unity by making us turn on our One Lights and wave along with the rhythm. Everyone loudly sang with them, especially during the “lalala” part towards the end. It was so much fun to listen to Kalafina, to the audience around me and singing along too, all while watching this amazing light show that we were creating ourselves. It was even better and much more carefree than the first performance. Still can’t believe my luck that of all venues of the 9+ONE tour, I got to attend to most unique one.

After that, the band was introduced again, they all held hands and thanked the audience for coming. But just before they wanted to bow, Wakana suddenly sobbed (so loud that I actually heard it lol), trying to wipe away tears. Being in her home prefecture, I figured she was just so overwhelmed by her emotions. Each of the three said some final words and with that the concert and the domestic 9+ONE tour ended.

I proceeded to take photos of the stage, as we were still able to see the big silhouettes. However, staff members appeared and told everyone to stop taking pictures and get the fuck out, probably to stop people from “spoiling” the concert before the DVD release or copyright or whatever. Well, thankfully I already took like 3 photos and managed to sneakily take another one, in order to have a close shot of each silhouette (which is why the third photo of Wakana’s statue is not a close-up like the other too). I left the building, returned to Fukuoka city and 2 days later back to Kanagawa.

-------------------------------------------------

Despite the sound issues, it was truly a great live experience. 9+ONE would be, along with the 10th Anni, my only “real” Kalafina concert experience, as all the other concerts I attended would either be acoustic or without live band. I am so thankful that I managed to seize the opportunity and attend this live, especially in Wakana’s home. Writing this report again made me remember all those feelings I had back then, now they make me both happy and sad.

Anyway, I hoped you like my updated report!

#kalafina #9+ONE #live #live report #revisited #a bit more details #talk about overdue #fukuoka #never forget

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gdwessel · 3 years ago

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Summer Struggle 2021 Night 3 - 7/17/2021; Tokyo Experiencing Extreme Rise in COVID-19 Cases Including Among Olympic Athletes + Officials; Kota Ibushi Off 7/19/2021 Show; NJPW Strong Episode 49 - 7/16/2021: Tag Team Turbulence Night 1, Good Brothers Return To NJPW Ring

Let’s do the serious stuff first -- there are five days JST unitl the opening ceremonies of the Olympics. Tokyo reported a daily cases tally today of 1410 new positive COVID-19 cases, the highest one-day tally in 6 months, the 4th day in a row cases have topped 1000 in Tokyo. This even with a toothless, basically voluntary fourth state of emergency in place. In addition, the first positive case within the Olympic Village has been discovered, a staffer, not an athlete, but this adds to the tally of persons who have been testing positive since Olympic arrivals began earlier this month, and in the hotels as well.

Meanwhile, we’ve already had two reports of racism amidst the Olympics, with the German men’s Olympic football (soccer) squad abandoning a warmup match v. Honduras after one of their players was racially abused, and a Tokyo hotel earlier this week posted signs for their elevators stating “Japanese Only” and “Foreigners Only.”

Even so, IOC President Thomas Bach swears they will have a “safe and successful” Olympiad despite all evidence to the contrary. Meanwhile, nearly 80% of the 47 prefectural capitals in Japan are having to change their vaccination strategies, amidst a shortage in a nation that has one of the lowest vaccination rates in the world. The LA Times asked two days ago “Was Japan’s strategy the right one?” The answer, right now, appears to be an emphatic NO. This is already an unpopular event, now it has all the makings of a total disaster. As it has for weeks and months now.

Anyway, on to the wrestling...

The tour resumed today, with a show that you can see now on NJPWWorld. The featured matches today were two special singles bouts between champions and challengers for the IWGP Juniorheavyweight Tag Team titles coming up.

- 7/17/2021, Tokyo Korakuen Hall (NJPWWorld)

KENTA, EVIL, Yujiro Takahashi & Dick Togo [Bullet Club] d. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tomohiro Ishii [CHAOS], Yota Tsuji & Yuya Uemura (Yujiro > Tsuji, Pimp Juice, 12:56)

Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr. & Minoru Suzuki [SZKG] d. Tetsuya Naito, SANADA & BUSHI [Los Ingobernables] (Taichi > BUSHI, Zack Mephisto, 13:29)

Robbie Eagles, SHO & YOH [CHAOS] d. El Desperado, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & DOUKI [SZKG] (Eagles > DOUKI, Ron Miller Special, 12:55)

Ryusuke Taguchi d. Taiji Ishimori [Bullet Club] (Rollup, 14:23)

Rocky Romero [CHAOS] TLD El Phantasmo [Bullet Club] (30:00)

I am not entirely sure we needed a 30 minute Broadway for Rocky Romero v. El Phantasmo, but I guess it adds some intrigue to the Wrestle Grand Slam match. And when it says rollup for Taguchi beating Ishimori, we mean Rollup With Taguchi’s Exposed Ass In Ishimori’s Face. Post-main, Taguchi swore that not only would the Mega Coaches win the titles on 7/25 but they would also expose ELP’s loaded boot once and for all.

Eagles gets a win before his title challenge, a challenge nobody thinks Eagles is winning, and with good reason. Naito, SANADA and Dangerous Tekkers got into it, as did EVIL & Dick Togo against Ishii.

Kota Ibushi has been pulled from Monday’s house show in Ibaraki due to illness. NJPW did point out Ibushi is negative for COVID-19 after a PCR test. Ibushi already missed several shows due to side effects of the COVID-19 vaccine as it is. Yuji Nagata will take Ibushi’s place in the match instead.

Last night’s NJPW Strong began the Tag Team Turbulence single-elimination tournament, with four first-round matches.

Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows [Impact] d. TJP [FREE] & Clark Connors (Anderson > TJP, Magic Killer, 10:01)

Yuji Nagata & Ren Narita d. Fred Yehi & Wheeler Yuta (Narita > Yuta, Narita Special #4, 10:59)

Jorel Nelson & Royce Isaacs d. Kevin Knight & The DKC (Isaacs > Knight, Movie On The Roof, 7:22)

Brody King & Chris Dickinson [VLNCE UNLTD] d. JR Kratos & Danny Limelight [Team Filthy] (Dickinson > Limelight, Running DVD, 8:22)

Dickinson gets a measure of revenge against his former Team Filthy stablemates, with VLNCE UNLTD advancing to the semi-finals to face the West Coast Wrecking Crew next week. The Good Brothers wrestle their first NJPW match as a tandem since 2/20/2016, the second night of the Honor Rising joint show with ROH in Tokyo Korakuen Hall. They get the win here, to the surprise of nobody. The real surprise was Nagata & Narita advancing. Both Fred Yehi & Wheeler Yuta are rising indie stars, title holders both (Yehi just won AAW’s Heavyweight belt off Mance Warner last weekend, whilst Yuta is the IWTV Independent Champion), featuring in ROH and AEW of late. That said, good for Narita, another high profile win for him on NJPW Strong. NJPW seems to have a lot of faith in him to keep putting him in this position, and you love to see it.

Next week’s episode features not only the Tag Team Turbulence semis, but also for the show’s 50th episode, an NJPW Strong Openweight title defense from “Filthy” Tom Lawlor v. Satoshi Kojima. Incidentally, Kojima does not appear to be on Impact’s Slammiversary card tonight, unless he is there to support Eddie Edwards as he is going up against William Morrissey. Ah well.

The tour continues Monday, with a non-streamed house show.

- 7/19/2021, Ibaraki Tatsunoko Arena

Robbie Eagles, SHO & YOH [CHAOS] v. El Desperado, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & DOUKI [SZKG]

Tomohiro Ishii [CHAOS] & Yuya Uemura v. EVIL & Yujiro Takahashi [Bullet Club]

Hiroshi Tanahashi, Ryusuke Taguchi, Rocky Romero [CHAOS] & Tiger Mask IV v. KENTA, Taiji Ishimori, El Phantasmo & Gedo [Bullet Club]

Kazuchika Okada [CHAOS] & Yota Tsuji v. Jeff Cobb & Great O-Khan [United Empire]

Yuji Nagata, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima & Master Wato v. Shingo Takagi, Tetsuya Naito, SANADA & BUSHI [Los Ingobernables]

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