miyavi's
Neo Tokyo Samurai Black World Tour 2009 started on September 19, 2009...and it began in Moscow! Starting early in the morning at DK Gorbunova, where the concert was to take place, the fans gathered in order to happily greet their favorite musician with colorful graffiti in front of the club. The club doors were filled with inscriptions of "
MIYAVI, WE ARE READY TO ROCK" and "Welcome to Russia." Soon,
miyavi appeared at the club, waved his hand to everyone and left for sound-check. As the day went on, a line of people snaked around the venue.
Finally, the club doors opened at 6:30 p.m. The space in front of the stage and the balconies were quickly filled with people. Most of the audience had white, pink and red heart-shaped balloons in their hands in honor of
miyavi's 28th birthday. All of the equipment had already been set on the stage: there was a drum set on a rising platform on the left, a turntable on the right, and guitars and a microphone stand for
miyavi at the centre of the stage. At the back of the stage there was a huge logo reading "
miyavi from TOKYO," and to the right there was a poster with the words "
MIYAVI, Welcome to Russia. We love you" draped on the balcony. Before the concert began, the fans had time to warm themselves up to some electronic music and
Nirvana's
Breed.
At 8 p.m. the lights went out and the SE started. The support musicians appeared on stage and were welcomed by the crowd. The microphone stand was lit by a yellow light when
miyavi showed up. He was dressed all in black: boots, trousers with a massive chain, a vest, a jacket with a violet flower pinned to it and a black guitar in his hands. He appeared very effectively - the musician showed perfected, accurate choreography and stood still in different poses. Chords of the first song,
Ippiki Ookami Ron, started, and the crowd started jumping. During the whole song,
miyavi shouted and sang while dancing on the stage. He leaned down so that those in the first rows had an opportunity to touch him. In the middle of the song, he screamed "Russia!"
Towards the end,
miyavi bared his tattooed shoulder, then licked the neck of the guitar and stood still. A couple of moments passed and the musician said: "Hello, Russia! You are ready? Yeah, yeah, yeah! More!"
Rock'n'roll is 'NOT' Dead started. It continued the energetic mood of the concert.
miyavi, together with the support guitarist and bassist, unleashed wild head banging on the stage, and the audience did not lag behind. The musician came to the front of the stage, bent down to the crowd and shouted together with everyone, letting fans' hands touch him. Then he slowly and erotically touched himself, making the crowd scream in ecstasy. It was steaming in the venue by the time the song was over, and a storm of applause was heard.
Coin Lockers Baby began with
miyavi's choreography as well. During this song, he stood behind the microphone stand:
miyavi sang with his foot on a platform and from time to time screamed "Are you ready?" and "Russia!" and received joyful answers from the crowd. The stage was lit green and blue, and the musician started to play a beautiful guitar solo. He came to the edge of the stage and shook hands with the fans. Everybody was head banging to the final powerful riffs and wild drum rhythm.
miyavi turned his back to the audience, thanked all present and froze.
During the following
BOOM-HAH-BOOM-HAH-HAH, someone from the front rows threw a rose onto the stage, but
miyavi couldn't pick it up as there was some trouble with the equipment, and he had to spend some time behind the microphone stand. However, the problems didn't affect the performance, and by the time they were fixed
miyavi was already playing his next solo with the guitar perpendicular to the floor. He lifted the guitar over his head, and finally played it behind his back.
miyavi again walked along the stage, seducing the fans. After that, he returned to the mic stand and said, "Thanks, Russia!"
miyavi, with the grace of a cat, danced behind the mic stand. He attentively examined the venue and urged everybody to jump and support him. One more solo was played accompanied by heavy drums and sound effects. During the chorus,
miyavi seductively rocked his hips - the crowd roared. In this way,
21st Century Boy came to the end, and
miyavi disappeared from the stage.
The crowd did not stop screaming his name until he returned.
miyavi came out without his jacket; he wore only the vest, which allowed everyone to examine his tattoos. He began speaking about how he was glad to perform in Moscow, and he talked about the difficult journey to Russia and the big difference in time.
miyavi spoke mostly in English, but also for the pleasure of the Russian fans, a lot of phrases were in Russian. After this long МС, the quieter part of the set started.
miyavi, kissing his guitar, began to sing
Please, Please, Please. The crowd clapped to the rhythm of this slow jazz song. But unexpectedly, the song got faster, and the sharp chords turned into a guitar solo.
During the bridge, the support musicians left the stage. Face to face with the hall,
miyavi performed
Ame ni Utaeba. After it, he got rid of the guitar, took the microphone and sat on a speaker. With a few thankful words, he approached the edge of the stage and took a red rose from a fan's hand. The audience started singing "Happy Birthday."
miyavi, lit with a white light, looked like an angel. He was clearly touched by the song and thanked everyone in Russian. With the rose in his hand, he announced the following song,
Lovelie. He urged everyone to slowly wave their hands from side to side and started to sing. Gradually, the support musicians returned to join the melody.
miyavi approached the front of the stage and knelt, and the hands of fans standing in front of him were placed all over his body. He stood up but did not release the fans' hands. The hall was lit with a white light as
Lovelie came to the end, and the crowd applauded.
"I love you!" the musician said in Russian. He began another MC, talking about the recent birth of his daughter, how happy he found fatherhood and family life. After this touching speech and during
Coo Quack Cluck, tears in everyone's eyes. Every single moment was full of warm and sincere feelings.
The heavy part of the performance returned with
miyavi putting on a jacket and changing guitars. He stood with his back to the audience. The balconies and the dance floor were awash with light as
miyavi started to scream and sing again. Having regained strength, the crowd was jumping, waving fists, head banging and shouting to the heavy and wild guitar riffs and the fast drum pace. The drive and power of
Shouri no V-ROCK!! continued on to
Super Hero, during which the fans were lucky to touch not only
miyavi, but also the bassist and the guitarist. They stood on the stage, head banging madly. In the middle of
Eccentric Otona Yamai, the Russian tri-colour appeared in the hands of the audience members standing in the first rows.
miyavi did not fail to take the flag and start waving it over his head. Then he spread it out, kissed it and threw back to the crowd.
The opening refrains of
Are you ready to ROCK? were recognized at once.
miyavi approached the left side of the stage. There, a fan had been stretching her arm with a toy for the whole concert. The musician took it, talked with it in the microphone and threw it into the crowd, shouting "Are you ready to rock?" The support musicians approached the edge of the stage from time to time to head bang together with the fans. Not neglecting fans who weren't in the front rows,
miyavi climbed onto the huge speakers on both the right and left of the stage. Using those platforms, he stretched out and allowed the audience to touch him as he screamed out the lyrics with his fans.
After this madness, the stage became completely empty. The fans impatiently yelled "
miyavi!" and "Encore!" After a while, the musicians appeared; they were followed by
miyavi, who was in a vest and a black cap. Asking everybody to put their hands in the air, he started to play the first chords of
We love you ~Sekai wa Kimi wo Aishiteru ~. During its performance, a person with a video camera appeared on stage, and the camera was instantly in
miyavi's hand - he shot footage of the venue, his support musicians and himself showing his tongue.
After a short МС, the musician asked for his cell phone. Everybody had to shout the name of the tour as
miyavi recorded it, but
miyavi forgot to press the "video" button the first time around. The crowd was happy to repeat the attempt, and it came out perfectly the second time. The video can be found on the singer's official
MySpace. Then
Sakihokoru Hana no You ni-Neo Visualizm - began, the upbeat and bright song bringing energy to the crowd and musicians alike.
When the support musicians left the stage, it was time for the final song,
“Aishiteru” kara Hajimeyou. Taking an acoustic guitar,
miyavi thanked all present in the venue for the warm evening and promised to come back for a concert next year. The crowd started waving their hands from side to side, clapping and making hearts with their hands as
miyavi began to play. Happy shouts and cheers could be heard as well. The other musicians appeared on stage again, and the song took a merry turn. In the end, the musicians left the stage one by one - the DJ, the guitarist, the bassist and the drummer - bowing and waving for good-bye. They left
miyavi alone with a crowd that refused to see him go. Unfortunately, all concerts have to end, and
miyavi bowed, set down his guitar, waved and disappeared from the stage. The great rock show was over.
This energetic performance will remain in the hearts and memories of both of the Russian fans and the musician for a long time, and one very interesting fact proves it: during the concert, the whole venue was often lit up, and not just so the crowd could see the stage, but so
miyavi could see the faces of his fans as well.
Set list:
SE
Ippiki Ookami Ron
Rock'n'roll is «NOT» Dead
Coin Lockers Baby
BOOM-HAH-BOOM-HAH-HAH
21st Century Boy
МС
Please, Please, Please
Ame ni Utaeba
МС
Lovelie
МС
Coo Quack Cluck
Shouri no V-ROCK!!
Super Hero
Eccentric Otona Yamai
Are you ready to ROCK ?
Encore:
We love you ~Sekai wa Kimi wo Aishiteru~
МС
Sakihokoru Hana no You ni -Neo Visualizm-
“Aishiteru” kara Hajimeyou
