LIVE REPORT ~ Miyavi: May 16, 2008
The Avalon, Los Angeles, CA
The Avalon venue in Los Angeles packed up to capacity, and though this would mark Miyavi's second live appearance in southern California on this tour, for many of Miyavi's fans this live would be their first since many couldn't attend the oddly placed middle-of-the-week House of Blues show. After a good, long wait in the hot Californian sun (including a solid few who had stayed at the not-so-glamorous Hollywood Walk of Fame area the night before), the moment Miyavi appeared historically embedded the peak of his fans' anticipation. For the SoCal fans who had seen him play at House of Blues, they knew it would probably be their last since a great deal of distance lay between Los Angeles and San Francisco versus Los Angeles and Anaheim. This live event marked the last opportunity to soak up enough MYV to last until the next show.
Kabuki Boiz was the first song of the evening and it was a grand opening that let everyone inside the venue and beyond know that Miyavi was in the house! Despite possible jet lag from the long flight coming to California and exhaustion from his last show only two days prior, none of it was apparent as he immediately flexed his skills on the strings of his guitar and danced, whirled, strummed and locked in place to the sound of "MIYAVI!!" urging another chord and another jolted movement. The crowd's screams of "MIYAVI!!" releases another movement, and it just continues from there as he works his way to full motion. He does this a lot at his lives, I've noticed, and gradually it has become one of the elements of Miyavi I most look forward to, since it is a skill of working up the crowd that is entirely his own.
Besides working well with the crowd (the crowd was in the palm of his hand before he even went on but he sure knows how to tease!), it was apparent very early on how well he collaborates with the Kavki Boiz. Dull chemistry can bring down a performance even when the music is off-the-wall awesome, but there was no dull chemistry to be found. The type of collaboration I'm talking of is performance. Each member of the Kavki Boiz was given their own time to display their own talents, and this artistic, talented variety of Japanese culture came through to the audience loud and clear! This is Neo Vizualism, and the collaborative efforts of Miyavi plus the Kavki Boiz brought home Neo Vizualism to a very real and entertaining standpoint. Come on, Yorke? That guy's tap dancing antics are contagious and it's hard to tear your eyes off him once he's in his zone. In a strange way, I felt rather proud to be witnessing so many talented artists at once. Yes, there is a very obvious ring leader but the ones around him made their talents effectively known at the live.
DJ Teddy showed us his stellar remixing skills of such songs as Senor Senora Senorita and Dear My Friend. It was infinitely amazing to hear these familiar songs that have been engraved in our memories since they first came out, but the real treat was in getting a taste of how they sound remixed. Collectively they all ooze an essence of stealthy, liquid cool dance music, nothing I would label as techno or trance, just very groovy, catchy and danceable. DJ Teddy knows his shit and he knows how to get down. Based on the consensus of opinions I heard after the show, it seems DJ Teddy has his own pool of fans now.
A sound much like machinery unwinding matched Miyavi's movements perfectly as he "unwinded" and like a robot given a power burst, came alive. The song that followed was 21st Century Tokyo Blues, a badass killer of a song that Miyavi commanded the audience swing their arms up and down to. Obediently the audience responded with lustful enthusiasm, following his moves in sync.
According to Miyavi, he had something prepared to say in English, but since he forgot it he settled for "My English sucks! But I don't care!" Whatever he had prepared to say, it couldn't have possibly gotten a more thunderous applause than that. He reminded the audience that race and nationality, these barriers don't matter. I haven't much doubt in my mind that Miyavi's music can reach beyond the crest of the JRock fanbase, because I definitely saw a wide-eyed security guard lightly bobbing his head during Shouri no V-Rock! perhaps thinking, "Yeah, I can dig this."
...Shouri no V-Rock, just so happened, to be what our dear Miyavi had planned for the audience for the encore. Much invisible towel waving ensued.
"Unfortunately," Miyavi began. "Unfortunately, unfortunately... (pause with cheering and laughing) Unfortunately... All good things must come to an end." Ouch, that slap of reality might have hit some a bit too hard, but he assured "But I'm sure we're gonna meet up again soon!" and I'm pretty certain that softened the blow. Of course, the last song has to be a blow out song since it has the distinct priviledge of being the song which's notes linger long after the live is over. That song was Neo Vizualism. It was the last moment to go crazy, to let every limb go lifeless and be absorbed in the genuine melody Miyavi was playing for us. Miyavi's hard work and determination to end on a strong note was felt all over the venue as "La la la la la" was contagiously shouted from one pair of lips to the next. "I love you! I love you!" were Miyavi's last words to the audience before he and the Kavki Boiz left the stage.
As exhausted as we all felt, we all felt that our limbs had been meticulously worked to the core from all the shoving, pushing, dancing, arm waving that had ensued throughout almost the entire evening. It was quite a work out fest, but where our bodies felt drained, the satisfied sensation still ringing in our ears and the vibrant spectacle that had enchanted our eyes not too long ago still played out in our minds like a favorite track on repeat. Miyavi had managed in this second live to re-open the hearts of his aging fans to his new style, but to also bring the message loud and clear to newly-converted fans that visual kei needs no limits.
report by Sarah, photos by Elffys
Thank you to Maru Music and The Avalon for making this possible.
links
Miyavi Official Website
Miyavi Official MySpace
Maru Music
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