On January 18 and January 19, Kyary Pamyu Pamyu began her first one-man arena live, ＜Kyary Pamyu Pamyu no Magical Wonder Castle＞. The live, which gathered a total of approximately 24,000 people over the span of two days, was an appropriate first step to her 2014 resolution to “evolve”. This report will cover the events of that live.
Kyary’s second full album, “Nanda Collection” took the #1 spot on the Oricon Weekly Charts as soon as it was released. With the great success of her world tour that started in February 2013, ＜100%KPP WORLD TOUR 2013＞, Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, who continues to gain more and more attention, proclaimed that in 2014 she would like to evolve into “Super Kyary Pamyu Pamyu”. With the promise of getting a glimpse in to that moment of transformation, approximately 12,000 people per day, a total of 24,000 audience members over the two days of the show, packed the venue in high anticipation.
On stage, there appeared street performers who were dressed as animals; as a narrative played in the venue, it became clear that this was “Mottainai Land”. The stage was lit with eerie lighting, featuring mimicked a large castle, the “Magical Wonder Castle” which had been cursed.
The lights went out, and suddenly there appeared Kyaru Pamyu Pamyu, dressed as a knight, gallantly descending from the ceiling. A great cheer erupted from the audience as she took the stage and started performing the opening number, “Fashion Monster”. Continuing on, she performed “Saigo no Ice Cream” which featured a para-para style dance, after which Kyary rode a unicycle down the runway that stemmed from the main stage. Upon seeing this feat, the audience yet again erupted in great applause.
“It’s my first time performing at the Yokohama Arena, and since the stage is so big I made it into a castle. I wanted it to feel as if you’re in an amusement park!” she addressed the audience.
On the sub-stage at the end of the runway, Kyary explained the concept behind this live performance. Then, in sync with the music to “Mi”, she again flew up into the ceiling space, brandishing her sword and fighting the enemy, and upon her victory she successfully was able to dispel the curse that had been put upon the castle.
In the following section, the “Knight Kyary” who saved the castle transformed into “Kyary as the Princess of the Castle”, wearing a mint green dress and large tiara. She performed the next sequence of songs including “Minna no Uta”, “CANDY CANDY”, and “Invader Invader”, singing and dancing along with over 30 other performers.
During the mid-show emcee segment, she geared her attention on several members in the audience who had dressed up in Kyary cosplay, putting a spotlight on them and giving them an introduction; she also went into an explanation of the concept and stage design for this live. She then performed “Sungoi Aura”, which was used as the theme song for the “Sunstar Ora2” commercial.
In “Tsuke Matsuge”, there was a scene where the evil Devil Planets henchman came to capture Princess Kyary, and Kyary got shot with a gun. During this time, you could hear a cry from all members of the audience, ranging from parents with their kids, to office ladies, to salary men, echo throughout the venue. However, Kyary was able to recover without harm, and another great cheer came from the audience at her energetic performance. Kyary had been especially particular about including this scene, as she wanted to reenact a scene that showed an invincible Kyary Pamyu Pamyu.
In the following segment, Kyary appeared wearing a dress inlaid with lights and carrying a folding screen. This was an even more evolved Kyary. In addition to showcasing a live version of “Ninja Re Bang Bang” with violinist dressed as a flower, the song also featured a ninja who came onto stage and excited the audience by performing impressive acrobatic feats.
After the main bulk of the performance came to a close in what seemed like a blink of an eye, Kyary performed her latest single, “Mottai Night Land”. Even the Devil Planets, who had transformed into a fake-Kyary, ultimately became friends with Kyary, ending the story of the fantasy land in peace.
“Thank you for the encore!” said Kyary, coming onto stage again wearing pink ears. “My second world tour has been confirmed! I felt really reassured last year when my fans from Japan also attended the tour! I hope you’ll all come this year as well!” she continued, announcing the dates for her second world tour, ＜KPP NANDA COLLECTION WORLD TOUR 2014＞. The world tour will start off on 2/13 in Seattle, Washington in the US, and will take place in five cities in the US, one city in Canada, after which it will continue on to Australia, Hong Kong, France, Germany, England, a climactic two-day performance in Japan, and then Taiwan, Singapore, and Thailand, for a grand total of 16 performances in 11 countries, estimating a total attendance of approximately 35,000 people.
For the encore, she performed the February 26 release, “Yume no Hajimarinrin”. This song, which gained attention for being used as the theme song for a CHINTAI commercial, is all about the anxiety and hope that is felt at the start of a new journey, and is especially fitting for the upcoming graduation season. The image of the audience listening in earnest to the evolved Kyary’s melodic performance was particularly moving.
To finish off the live show, Kyary performed the familiar tour number, “Chan Chaka Chan Chan”. With the lyrics “See you again、See you next time！” the fairytale world of the Magical Wonder Castle came to a close.
As Kyary mentioned during her emcee segment, this live featured things such as the Yosei Poipa Poipa dancers and the Animal Knights parade, utilizing a three-dimensional stage set and screen to create a large-scale fantasy world that would excite the audience and liken it to that of being in an amusement park. There can be no doubt that Kyary, who has only just began her evolution into “Super Kyary Pamyu Pamyu”, will only continue to gain attention with her upcoming world tour, which will include her first performances in Australia and Germany, as well as her first 2014 single, “Yume no Hajimarinrin” (on sale 2/26).
Further, footage from the live that took place at Yokohama Arena will be exclusively broadcasted on Space Shawer TV on 2/16 (Sun) from 7:00pm-8:00pm.
■＜Teaser Footage from World Tour DVD Released!＞
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABfBIGHxRwM
■＜NANDA COLLECTION WORLD TOUR 2014＞
KPP 2nd Word Tour! Schedule for All Performances Confirmed! (11 Countries/Regions, 16 Shows)
2/13(Thu) Seattle / Showbox at the Market
2/15(Sat) San Francisco / The Regency Ballroom
2/16(Sun) LA / Club Nokia LA Live
3/ 5(Wed) Chicago / House of Blues
3/ 7(Fri) Toronto/ Sound Academy
3/ 8(Sat) NY / Best Buy Theater
3/23(Sun) Sydney / Metro Theatre
4/ 5(Sat) Hong Kong/ ROTUNDA 3, KITEC
4/25(Fri) Paris/ Bataclan
4/27(Sun) Köln/ Gloria
4/29(Tue) London / Shepherd's Bush Empire
5/17(Sat), 18(Sun) Tokyo / ZEPP TOKYO
5/30(Fri) Taipei / Taipei International Convention Center
6/21(Sat) Singapore / (Venue undetermined)
6/28(Sat) Bangkok / Bangkok Convention Centre, Central Plaza Ladprao (BCC HALL)
No comments:
Post a Comment