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Ripples...
+ Learn Some Japanese
Reviews,,,
Here you will find a few opinions/overviews of an anime/jpop concerts (or CDs) that either myself or a friend viewed. Hopefully, you'll get a better idea of these shows after reading these.
Countdown 2002-2003
Written by Meg-chan
Title: Ayumi Hamasaki Countdown 2002-2003
Artist: Ayumi Hamasaki
Distributor: Avex Trax
Genre: Pop/Rock
Grade: C (70%)
Length: 113 minutes
Format Viewed: Downloaded
As a fan of Ayumi Hamasaki, I always try to give all things related to the artist a fair (perhaps a bit TOO fair) chance and opinion. I�m quite aware that Hamasaki doesn�t sing as well as other Japanese artists during live performances, and I keep that in mind when forming opinions on certain concerts or television appearances. Her Stadium Tour concert in 2002, which I own, surprised me greatly, as Hamasaki sang better than she did on the actual CDs! A little squeak here and there is something that I come to expect nowadays, and hearing them doesn�t shake me much at all.
However, with this particular concert, I was extremely disappointed. And ask any one of my friends � I don�t usually admit when I�m disappointed with Ayumi Hamasaki unless what I watched was absolutely horrid. So far, her Countdown 2002-2003 is the only performance that I�ve ever complained about. I certainly hope that Hamasaki had an illness during the Countdown, because that is the only excuse that I would truthfully accept. Her voice was horribly scratchy and hoarse throughout almost each of the songs, and even her timing was off at certain points. For once, I must even target the choice of wardrobe.
The concert begins with the instrumental �taskinillusion�, a catchy dance beat with flashing lights and otherwise complete darkness. Once this ends, two dancers � a male and a female � enter the stage and dance. (Although this was a clever idea, it was obvious that the audience was just itching for Hamasaki to make an appearance.) More people enter, and the routine continues for a few minutes. Immediately following the conclusion, �Real me� begins to play. Identical �clones� from the video fill the stage, and for a few moments it seems as if you�re watching the actual promotional video. Then Hamasaki appears; dressed in a gaudy silver two-piece outfit consisting of a sleeveless high-cut shirt and pants with slits along the sides, it was quite a disappointing piece of clothing. Her hair, which seems to have been the same style for who knows how long, is her regular long blonde curls. As soon as Hamasaki starts to sing the first few notes, the audience is aware of what to expect from the Countdown � even with perhaps a three-note variation, she can�t seem to hit any of the notes without squeaking. Possibly the only good aspect of this particular song is a dance routine identical to the one in the video.
Following �Real me� is �evolution�, and surprisingly, Hamasaki sings it quite well. (However, I strongly suspect that she lip-synched to the entire song, because throughout the rest of the contest she returns to her hoarse voice.) �evolution� contains a dance routine as well, as well as an abundance of flashing lights, and is perhaps the highlight of the entire show.
�UNITE!� begins to blare instantly after the finish of �evolution� and once again there is a suspicion of mine that Hamasaki is indeed lip-synching. There is, of course, that possibility that she isn�t, as she has never in the past, but that theory is something that I find highly doubtful. �UNITE!� concludes with a drawn-out guitar piece, which I�m sure is trying to distract the audience while Hamasaki changes her clothes.
As the guitar solos finally come to a close, the opening notes to �Heartplace� stroke the audience�s ears. Hamasaki emerges shortly after, dressed in a different piece of clothing. (Looking very similar to her outfit during a performance in Beijing, might I add.) It consists almost entirely of denim, being another one of her popular two-pieces. The top is sleeveless with shorts and high boots. At this point, once-perfect hair is considerably untidy. �Heartplace�, perhaps because it is my favorite song, was the performance that I enjoyed most in the Countdown. With two backup singers, the piece took on a new style, which I enjoyed. Although Hamasaki seemed to have trouble reaching most of the high notes near the end, I must say that it was my favorite during the concert. �Free & Easy� then begins to play and those same backup singers linger on the stage as Hamasaki squeaks her way through this unusual song. It is amazing to me that she kept a smile on her face the entire Countdown. Perhaps she wasn�t aware of the quality of her singing.
Supplying Hamasaki hardly any resting time, �HANABI� commences and we see the singer sitting on a set of stairs, looking extremely lazy and tired. This song is performed horribly, I must say, and it seems that it is becoming more and more difficult for Hamasaki to reach most of the notes in any of her songs.
Following �HANABI� is yet another dance routine by those performers that the audience really doesn�t care to see, but a few moments later, Hamasaki appears again; this marks the start of �Boys & Girls.� The realization that her outfit has yet again been altered surfaces and disappointment once again ensues. Wearing a fuzzy hot pink hat and matching jacket, complete with shiny golden pants is quite painful on the eyes. I must admit, however, that she looks quite cute. Although this song never seems difficult, in my opinion, Hamasaki again struggles through the entire thing, becoming more tired by every second. At the end of the piece, the camera then focuses on the huge screen in the middle of the stage, where the audience witnesses several pictures and videos of various objects in nature. (A time-waster, if you ask me.) It proves necessary, however, as the clip concludes with the letters, TRF, which is the guest group that Hamasaki has invited to sing. They perform the next few songs with her. (I must mention that during an episode of Music Station, some of Hamasaki�s favorite songs were shown; one of them was TRF�s �Survival Dance.�) Hamasaki then changes her clothes. (In fact, all she has to do is take off the hot pink hat and jacket, and underneath is a satiny gold outfit identical to the silver one near the beginning of the Countdown.
The audience is then surprised to hear the opening notes to a song that Hamasaki didn�t release. The song is called �Overnight Sensation�, and TRF sings along with Hamasaki. In my opinion, none of the TRF songs are at all catchy, but having Hamasaki sing along helped a bit, though her voice continued to squeak. �CRAZY GONNA CRAZY� plays next, followed by �Survivor Dance�.
Immediately afterwards, the stage darkens and �AUDIENCE� begins. (For the almost the entire remainder of the Countdown, TRF accompanies Hamasaki in each song. Although Hamasaki doesn�t seem to be singing any worse than before, she is still missing notes and sounding a little under the weather. Near the middle of the song, the music suddenly stops and everyone takes a break to count down to the new year. At this point, Ayupan is running around, acting crazy. �AUDIENCE� then continues as if nothing ever happened. Once again, all lights go out as the audience waits for the next piece to begin. However, this doesn�t happen as Hamasaki takes the stage and briefly wishes everyone a happy new year. She also thanks TRF for joining in the concert and each member is permitted to say a few words. After their little speeches, TRF leaves the stage and Hamasaki is left alone. She continues to chat with the crowd. (If I knew Japanese, then I could give you a summary of what she said; however, I lack that particular bit of knowledge and am therefore, like several of other fans, left to guess.)
�WE WISH� then begins, and it seems that even after a break, Hamasaki�s voice continues to lack that bit of magic that it usually possesses. I have to say that it was better-performed than some of the other songs, though. She entertains us with yet another little dance routine that she participates in. At the conclusion, the stage darkens and you can just barely view Hamasaki running off to the side.
Despite the quick ending to �WE WISH�, �everywhere nowhere� still plays as soon as the prior song ends. This particular piece is perhaps the worst part of the Countdown. For nearly half of the song, Hamasaki is off-key, singing each note lower than where it should actually be. The microphone, in addition, begins to act up as well. (Not that this was her fault.)
Perhaps it is just me, but near this part of the Countdown, I have become to tire of these dance routines that don�t even include Hamasaki. I understand that their purpose is to allow changing time for the artist, but I refuse to believe that this is the best that Avex can come up with.
The next song that commences is, I must say, entirely overplayed. Every Hamasaki concert I�ve seen has included this piece, perhaps because there is an entire hand-motion routine that everyone in the audience seems to know. �Trauma� introduces our artist in a new piece of clothing: a rainbow sleeveless shirt that reaches nearly her knees, and a pair of simple jeans. I enjoy this outfit a bit more than her other ones earlier in the performance. Almost throughout the entire song, a little screen in the corner displays the Ayupan dancing along to �Trauma�, which I found a bit unnecessary.
Another few minutes is supplied Hamasaki to talk with the audience. Once again, perhaps there is a certain importance to the words that she is speaking, but I don�t understand any of them. (Except for perhaps a �hai� here and there.)
She then sings �Voyage�, which was done quite well, in my opinion. Probably her biggest fault was that she seemed out of breath from the several yells and bows she had taken a minute earlier. Following �Voyage�, the stage darkens and the screen focuses on that horrid Ayupan yet again. With a voice that mercilessly grinds the nerves, it was completely obvious that this little demon served only one purpose: to distract the audience while Hamasaki changes into another outfit. Once given enough time, Ayupan claps out the first few notes to �independent�, which is the song that is sung next. Hamasaki is wearing the outfit that I favor most during the Countdown. It consists of a denim hat, overalls, and a black T-shirt. Casual, yes, but I consider it the most creative one out of the entire concert.
The music then carries on, introducing �More Than�. Hamasaki continues to tire more and more, but I don�t think that the audience seems to mind at all. During the performance, she encourages them to join in singing with her, which was quite effective. After the song ends, Hamasaki once again talks with the audience before singing �July 1st.�
Near the middle, she pauses to introduce each member of her band, her dancers, and then takes a bow herself. �July 1st� then resumes. After its conclusion, Hamasaki takes several more minutes thanking the audience, bowing, and screaming. Quite a touching ending; you almost forget how disappointing the actual concert was.
I really don�t mean to sound sarcastic or critical of Ayumi Hamasaki. As I said at the beginning of this review, I am an incredibly dedicated fan who finds it hard to say anything negative about her. However, I found this concert to be more than I could handle. Although I enjoyed watching it, and hearing her newest �RAINBOW� songs, I think that it could have been far better. Watch the Stadium Tour 2002, and tell me that she can�t make an improvement. I really don�t understand why Hamasaki sang so horribly. I certainly hope that it was only a cold, or that she didn�t practice enough prior to the concert. The fact that she was performing well-past midnight could have been an issue as well, although the most logical explanation was most likely the fact that she had headphones on the entire time, which most likely made it difficult to find her key.
As for the wardrobe, almost each one of the outfits were frustrating. Knowing that Hamasaki owns her own clothing company reassures me that there could have been a better selection. They just weren�t as creative as other clothing I�ve seen her wear.
In conclusion, the Countdown 2002-2003 wasn�t at all what I had hoped for it to be. If you�re a hard-core fan like I am, purchase it, and enjoy it. However, if you search only for the best from Ayumi Hamasaki, then stray from this product and instead buy her Stadium Tour 2002. (I understand that I�m being repetitive, but I can�t stress enough how wonderful it was.)
Ayumi Hamasaki forever!