Posted in August 2006 …

Aug 22 2006
14 Comments
Links, Music

Akina’s いい日旅立ち

OK… this is no prank ^^b

Click here to watch the trailer of "旅の贈りもの★0:00発". A snip of Akina’s naiitabidachi.jpgいい日旅立ち is played in the background.

Aug 20 2006
9 Comments
Video

Ring A Bell?

Cantopop at one of its best … but doesn’t the costume look like …

Aug 19 2006
9 Comments
Others, Remixes

Shojo A (Rainbow Dance Mix)

it’s kind of a lull period now after the neverending excitement for a couple of months. so i thought of sharing this super “Ah Beng” dance mix of Shojo A. i picked up this non-stop dance CD in Ginza (when Kenji was busy doing his rounds at UNIQLO). it’s a double-disc album with alot of big hits from the retro era (including Judy Ong, Jamez!) and Shojo A resides on Disc 2. enjoy!

Click here to play.

Aug 19 2006
7 Comments
Others

Destination scan request

can someone give me a good scan of the DESTINATION cover image? i’m commissioning an artist to paint that work for me, but she needs me to print it out for her. thanks buds!

Aug 14 2006
1 Comment
Others

代官山で。。。

Aug 11 2006
45 Comments
Remixes

Suzy’s Mixes

kataomoi.jpgrosebud.jpgtattoo1.jpgfutari.jpg

aibu.jpgyasashii.jpggekka.jpgstayinlove.jpg

kinku.jpggenshi.jpgkirei.jpgsiesta.jpg

slowmotion.jpgkaza.jpgsweet.jpgnight.jpg

meuakaitori.jpgakaitori.jpgmegamix.jpgeverlasting.jpg

crazy.jpghanayo.jpgrakka.jpgmoonlight.jpg

tokyo.jpgdays.jpgtomadoi.jpgappetite.jpg

vamp.jpg001.jpg002.jpg003.jpg

Aug 10 2006
1 Comment
Concerts

MC@横浜 cond’t

i will add my part here…as much as I can recall for the MC @ 横浜…

 1. After performing 「LOVE GATE」, Akina began her talk by inviting the audience to be seated as she had a chair on stage as well(similar to the EMPRESS LIVE chair last year). She joked " Your legs must be tired after standing for such a long time, right!?" Akina goes on to joke that "She doesn’t take the subway or train at all…and since her age is also catching up with her(so is her physical health)…if anyone sees her on the train, please give the seat to her…hahahaha!!!"

2. Akina also mentioned about her good impression of 横浜  as a place to live in, as compared to 東京…..the tax rates, the urban development in 横浜…etc…

3. A fan shouted " I bought the Akina BOX!"…Akina appeared to be a bit lost and attempted to reply.."You meant the BEST FINGER album right..!!!"…to change the topic…

 During ENCORE @ 横浜, Akina performed 3 songs without music…

first was  「十戒」…Akina said " JUKKAI?!!! ah!!! I see….this layer of dress(referring to the black layer)..is similar to the dress I wore during 「十戒」, correct!?…okok…I will sing 「十戒」!" and she started to sing…"ぐ・・・ぐ・・・ぐ・・・ぐ・・・ぐ・・・ぐ・・・ずね・・・" she was trying to catch the correct pitch for the song since without music…a fan shouted jokingly " Please be serious in singing!!" Akina replied, also jokingly " I am trying my best to get the right pitch…can’t you see I’m trying my best?!!!" The atmosphere was funny and enjoyable! This is really the diva〜no nonsense!

second was 「ヨコハマA・KU・MA」…Akina managed to sing a few verses and hmm the song…and she said " This song is from my first or second album! It is difficult to remember to all the lyrics!hahahah..!!"

third was 「Slow Motion」.

for the double ENCORE 「GAME」、林田健司, the  composer for this song appeared on stage out of surprise to duet with Akina(for the rap part)…also, since the next day was the telecast of Heyx3 for this song.

tat’s all that I can recall =) 

 

Aug 10 2006
6 Comments
Major News

Leslie Kee reviews “The Last Destination Live 2006″

All Akina fans and fellow VAMPires,

I am crying now if you can’t see … because my beloved friend has written me an email about him catching Akina’s final performance at the Tokyo Forum. He was meant to attend the concert with our fellow VAMPires on the 30th in Yokohama, but due to bad weather, he had to give it up because of a CM shoot with Koda Kumi. He told me that he was trying to watch the last concert on the 8th August with a TV producer but couldn’t commit to it. So, I begged him not to miss the concert after reading all the fabulous reviews that our fellow VAMPires had gushed about after they returned home. Here is his email:

 Dearest James

Wow, I have to say Akina is a killer on stage.
I have probably seen more than hundreds of concerts in the last 12 years
in Japan,  but nobody is like Akina,  what a perfectionist on stage, and the
most incredible experience for me,  was that all the audience stood up 
throughout the entire 150 mins concert !!!    
Not even Yuming nor Ayu nor Hikaru’s live ever have such response
from the audience,  inspite of the mega scale in big halls.
Guess that all your Akina’s fans must have already shared with you their
feelings for this The Last Destination Live.   Luckily enough was that I 
was sitting in the middle, 10 rows from the stage, very very good seat
and her charm and power that night, was just so irresistable !
In her 2nd encore, she sang Momoe’s 夢先案内人,  Takeuchi Mariya’s 
September  and Slow Motion,  which was requested by the audience.
She performed those 3 songs without any music, but so beautifully.
I managed to enter backstage, as I met actress Kanda Uno (who acted
in the drama with her,  and is also one of the 300 artists in my book)
and she was very nice to have brought me in.  However that night, 
according to Akina’s record management (Universal Record) , she was
not in the mood to meet anyone,  so even Uno has no choice but to
leave without meeting her.
Almost there, so close, but too bad.   However I have a great talk with
Universal Record,  and began to understand many reasons why Akina
refused so much major offers in the last 10 years of her career.
Akina thinks very deeply,  and will only accept projects and jobs if
she feels it.   Sometimes it’s also about timing.  
Please keep on loving Akina – she is such a lengendary Diva, and I <!–
D(["mb","
promise you that one day,  not very far from now,  I am going to photograph
her with the most amazing beauty which we have been missing from her,
for a long time.
By the way, my SUPER STARS Book will be out on 10 November 2006.
Opening party on that evening,  at the Omotesando Hills,  Tokyo.
Another 3 more months from now !
You take care, both me and Ryan send our love to John.
Love and Peace
Leslie Kee
go visit my agency\'s website,  as it has been changed and also you can
read my words written for SuperStars Project.
On Aug 4, 2006, at 4:42 PM, James Lew wrote:

Hi Leslie,

How are you? Hope the shoot for Koda Kumi is working out well so that it frees you up for Akina\'s concert on the 8th. The guys absolutely enjoyed the Yokohama concert because she was so wonderful in it. They are currently uploading a copy of the concert secretly recorded, so that those who didn\'t attend can listen to it.

I am sorry I couldn\'t make it but I did sacrifice last year for John so I have to be fair here. I am praying that you will be there to watch it and that you may even get to meet her.

Send my love to Ryan.

Love,

James

\n

",0] );
// –>

promise you that one day,  not very far from now,  I am going to photograph
her with the most amazing beauty which we have been missing from her,
for a long time.
By the way, my SUPER STARS Book will be out on 10 November 2006.
Opening party on that evening,  at the Omotesando Hills,  Tokyo.
Another 3 more months from now !
 
—————————————————————————————-
 
This is such a fabulous review from someone who is not a core Akina fan but who loves and admires her as well and I am so touched by the comments. I feel almost as if I was there watching and screaming with Leslie, which we had not done since 1994. This is a wonderful testament to Akina’s prowess and I can’t wait to watch the performance on TV now. Thank You Akina. You have made all of us fans very happy and extremely proud of you.
 
Lastly, for those of you who are in Tokyo on the 10th November, please go and support Leslie on his launch. I am sure you will see many famous artistes there if they are free. Yuming will be writing the foreword/preface for the book, so she might be there too. Thank you lastly to Leslie for keeping our dreams alive!!! 
Aug 09 2006
7 Comments
Concerts

MC as I recall

I can’t really recall very much for the Yokohama concert, coz (1) by then I was exhausted, (2) fans kept interrupting Akina, making the talks in-cohesive, and (3) I sat rather behind and couldn’t catch what the fans were talking most of the time…. Fellow VAMPires, if I missed out anything pls help to add on ^^/

At Kobe

1st MC

Akina’s usual greeting, ie 「こんばんは～」

2nd MC

First, Akina asked us, the fans, to sit down.

Someone touched on Akina’s soft spot – her age.

Akina said she hates those magnifying mirror in hotel. She would always turn it around.

When asked if there would be any concert next year, Akina answered, “no”. That upset all the fans. Ignoring our protests, Akina continued, “This concert is entitled the LAST Destination, isn’t it?”

Fans tried to convince her otherwise. One shouted “Pls sing forever!”

Akina: I want to get married and have kids of my own.

Fan (too upset): that’s impossible

Akina: impossible?! If I don’t get married soon, I couldn’t have kids of my own… Imagine my own little one

Fan: Mother!

Akina: Must be cute~ I mean my kids

Changing subject,

Fan: Any plan for calendar?

Akina: Uhm.. I had said “no” before and ended releasing calendar. Make me look like a liar. What should I do…. Uhm… I would release if the touch up on my photos are well done. But there is only that much CG can do, so… Well, don’t you think nowadays artistes look so great? Uhm uhm (shaking her finger)

Fan: Akina, do you depend on CG?

Akina: Me? All my pictures are CG’ed! Otherwise I wouldn’t release them! Well… it’s like nowadays people typed their message instead of writing.

Fan: Do you carry a mobile?

Akina (loud and clear): No!

3rd MC

Akina promoted her new album

Akina: Have you heard the album? Which is your favourite?

Fan: You receive a poster if you buy it here

Akina: Yar…. Though not very interesting (the poster), I’m sure (referring to the fan) you bought it.

Then a lady from HK shouted that this is her 10th year attending Akina’s concert and DS.

That set Akina thinking whether Taiwan or HK is further from Japan. A fan told her HK is further.

Then seizing the 5s silence, 乱火 shouted on our behalf that five Singaporeans were there.

Rather impressed, Akina asked (pointing to our direction) if that’s the overseas gang.

乱火 responded “No”.

Before he could elaborate, a Japanese fan sitting in front of us rose his hand playfully and said “Singapore”.

Akina, recognising him, smiled at him.

Then someone asked about DVD release. But Akina didn’t confirm, she just said “uhm… maybe”

The talk moved to “Premadam”

Akina: Those photos (Akina in toto) were so difficult to take. A professional was present at the studio to teach me how to pose. She kept saying my posture wasn’t correct. I have to imagine there is a rope on top of my head, pulling my entire body straight.

Fan: where are the pictures?

Akina: In the office (she didn’t say if it’s her office or NTV’s)

Fan: Wow~~ I want to go to the office!

Fan: Should I get the DVD boxset?

Akina: How would I know?! If you ask me, of course I will tell you to get it.

Someone asked if Akina will be invited onto NHK Kohaku this year.

Akina reacted rather strongly “Not a chance! I was so looking forward to it last year.”

At Yokohama

1st MC

Akina’s usual greeting, ie 「こんにちは～」 Akina said that the crowd at Yokahama is the most 元気 one so far.

2nd MC

First, Akina asked us, the fans, to sit down.

Then she introduced Olivia (the black singer that provided background vocal for several songs in "Destination").

She went on to say she wish she could stay in Yokohama (Yokohama is a upper class district where a lot of successful artistes live in). Then she counted the bad of Tokyo and priased Yokohama. Someone mentioned her hometown. She said her hometown really shouldn’t be considered as part of Tokyo. And she revealed that she hasn’t been back for a long time and won’t be going home….

Akina also said that she had a hard schedule for the past few months as she needed to record her album and shoot for the drama. She thanked those who have bought and listened to her albums and urged those who haven’t listened to her album to buy one. Even if they don’t intend to buy it, they can rent it. Then she added "Maybe that explain why the sales of my CDs are so bad." When fans clapped, she joked, "those who clapped are those who haven’t bought my album, right?"

Akina also revealed that intially she thought she couldn’t express the numbers in "Destination" and hence didn’t like the songs. Eventually after the recording, she fell in love with all.

Fan wanted confirmation that Akina wrote two of the songs. To that, Akina replied that she was one of the lyrists. And once again Akina said that this is the last year for concert. And fans protested.

3rd MC

Akina remind fans that she would be on Hey!x3 the next day.

A Japanese fan, who has moved to Australia, was there at the concert. She stressed that she made the trip to attend Akina’s concert. Then a Japanese friend of ours shouted on our behalf that there were many Singaporean at the concert. Then Taiwanese fan asked Akina to hold a concert at Taiwan. Akina declined flatly. She continued with " まとめてありがとう thanks to all overseas fans for coming".

 

Aug 09 2006
8 Comments
Appearances, Concerts, Music, Others, Rants

A Japan Report

27 July 2006, a date that I will never forget.

The first day of being in the land of the rising sun, Japan – A place that I would never have thought to be visiting. =) This very day I was breathing the very same air that Akina has been breathing.  It has been a dream come true after 26 years of yearning. Best of all, its 2 dreams coming true at the same time!  Being in Japan and seeing Akina performing Live in front of me!  I was also looking forward  to spending the trip with 4 other wonderful people – Ranbi, Dan, Hamu and Joy! 4 Japan veteran with one newbie in the block. =D

We arrived Kobe airport at 8am.  It was a very smooth and nice flight. With beautiful clouds reflecting the rays of the morning sun, I’m already having butterflies in my stomach! Just thinking that in less than 10 hours I will be in Kobe Koukusai Hall, watching Akina serenading us with her voice and performance! plus it’s a row 3 seat!

Ranbi-san has already arranged a mini bus to take us to Kobe Plaza Hotel, where we will stay for a night after the concert.  The hotel room was quite all right, except maybe the bathroom is a tad too small. We had difficulties in changing our clothes inside. The width inside is probably 2.5 arms length. But since it was just for a night, we cannot complain much for the amount we are paying for it. =) We left our luggage at the hotel and went out to shop. One word for the weather in Kobe – HOT! The scorching sun was quite unbearable after walking for a while.

Everything seems so cute and new to me. Even the smallest thing like the traffic lights, I find it interesting. Haha. We chanced upon a Pachinko shop that displayed Akina’s Pachinko set. Everyone was so excited and we went into the shop and started looking around. The legendary Akina’s Pachinko machine was there, right in front of us. There were about 6 Akina’s machines inside and nearly half were occupied. An Oji-san who seemed to be an expert in playing, had won like 5 buckets of metal balls just beside the Akina machine. Our dear Ranbi-san tried his luck in playing. Easy as it may seem, it’s hard to understand how to play (and win it!). Soon all our balls were “eaten” up by the machine! Ka-ching~~~ But we were lucky to see some of the animation clips when the expert oji-san was playing. Boy, it looks so KAWAIIII~~~

After that we went to some CD shops and then settled down at Daimaru for lunch. A Tonkatsu restaurant was what we decided to have for the first meal in Japan! When the food arrived,  it looked nice and the taste matches what it looked – GREAT! Crispy coating of bread crumbs perfectly fried to maintain the tenderness of the meat inside. It’s not fried dried, but juicy katsu! Certainly made my first meal in Japan INCHIBAN! Hee.. Soon, it was already 2pm. We went back to the hotel for a short rest before proceeding to the concert hall.

4.30pm. We changed into our exclusive VAMP Pachinko Akina Tee (it elicited some very favourable response) and walked to the concert hall. The concert hall was already quite packed with Akina’s fans waiting eagerly outside the entrance.

The concert goods this year were quite alright. The concert tee is a MUST GET! The original limited camouflage tee was already out-of-stock, so they changed to the black staff tee which looked just as GOOD as the green one! Personally I think the concert pamphlet is alright, but not something to rave about, cos Akina has certainly released much better concert pamphlets in the past. We also managed to meet some of the Japanese fans who dressed up in Akina’s Game outfit.

6pm. We are in the queue to go into the concert hall. I was just as nervous as going for an exam, but of course much better! Hee… The inner hall was selling Destination album and also the past concert DVDs and albums. As we approached the concert hall, we can hear the songs from Destination!

The stage was quite simple and neat, with a big LED screen behind, displaying big RED words: “LIVE. AKINA NAKAMORI 2006.”

The hall was slowly filling up with fans as time goes by and soon at 6.30pm the alarm went off indicating the concert was about to start! The usual reminder messages of switching handphones to silent mode, no filming and recording were broadcasted over the PA.

The air of anticipation filled the air within the concert hall. We were seated: Joy, Hamu, Myself, Dan and Ranbi with the back of our tees collectively spelling out A.K.I.N.A.

The lights dimmed. Everyone started to sit closer to the edge of their seats. The band members took their positions. The beats start to thump, with the background vocal, hyping up the crowd. “Come on. Wooo..” “Come on.. Akina.. Yeah…” At this time everyone was excitedly clapping their hands. “Get on your feet”… “Are you ready???”… “AKINA~~~”…..

SEGMENT 1

1. 花よ踊れ
“Hanayo” starts playing at the back and Akina walked out from the side stage. Clad in the colourful costume and her red head-dress, she began to dance to the beat of Hanayo. But the headdress started to slip and she had to hold onto it while singing. So imagine one hand taking the mic and the other holding onto the headdress, but she still managed to look gorgeous and beautiful! She walked over to where we were seated and we were so excited! SO CLOSE! VERY CLOSE! Her complexion was so good! And she still looks GREAT! I was totally mesmerized by her!

2. The Heat~
She decided to take the headdress down and let down her hair. I would say that the headdress was redundant cos it did not complement the dress. The whole dress stood out when she let her hair down. And I swear that I will pay a million yen to buy her locks! (ok. I’m kidding here but her hair is so nice!) Her makeup is simple and it “eats” in just fine. Everything just looks good! Everyone was dancing and clapping to the BASS BEAT!

3. Talk (Talk will be elaborated more by the rest of the VAMP)

4. 月華
I love this song and here Akina performed it quite well. Though on certain notes she sounded strained but it was still good nevertheless. Everyone was so serenaded by her strong and powerful vocals here.  The background screen displayed some nice patterns that blended well with the song enlivening the stage. How can we forget her 月華 moves!

5. 落花流水
Straight after 月華 , the high energy 落花流水 takes centerstage. Again Akina performed this song to her best! A totally different experience from listening to the CD recording! It’s really a VERY GOOD song! And I like it when she raised her hands, the background screen will have graphics of leaves gushing upwards! Kireiii!~~~ This time, Akina also managed to link up all the moves more smoothly (as opposed to her TV performance… the one where she was ill) and executed it with gusto!!

6. 赤い花
Recognised universally as one of Akina’s most challenging songs, we were filled with anxiety. Could she deliver? Here, she sang it slowly and with clarity, with good breathing and projection. The song seems so much easier to sing now compared to her previous performances on Empress and TV shows (practice makes perfect?)… the song tailed off with a wondrous vocal showcase when the background singer took centrestage as Akina exited for a costume change.

SEGMENT 2

7. Band members introduction.
Akina changed i
nto something quite similar to what she wore on the cover of the Empress concert. A shimmering long black gown. She looked skinny in it. Still pretty. Hee. The second set was abit more loungey. Think Empress at ClubEx aand you are not very far from it. Here Akina seems more relaxed and up closed.

8. Talk.

9. Love Gate
One of my favourite songs from Destination. It was how i expected as I had envisioned something more WOW, but a good song is a good song, and the crowed worked up to a jive! Clearly a crowd pleasing number.

10. 紅夜-beniyo-
11. 嘘つき
12. 眠れる森の蝶
13. Talk
14. Grace Rain

For this segment, we were all seated as requested by our Utahime. It was really amazing to listen to how she sings the song exactly to how you hear from the CD, BUT she is singing it LIVE! You can only listen in AWE and glad that we are so in love with some one so beautiful, talented and gifted with a voice, capable of healing the hearts of her fans… A dream like state is the feeling i can say for the segment. The lights, the sound and her voice made everything felt like a very wonderful and beautiful dream. That instance i really wished it would just stop there! Ending with  Grace Rain, just made everything tasted sweet and yearning for more!

SEGMENT 3

Akina changed to her famous “飾りじゃ” outfit. We prepped ourselves for her hardcore flinging action.

Medley:
15. Heartbreak
16. Moonlight Shadow
17. Appetite
18. 愛撫
19. 原始、女は太陽だった
20. TATTOO
21. 飾りじゃないのよ涙は
22. １／２の神話
23. ミ・アモレ
24. TANGO NOIR
25. 少女A
26. DESIRE〜情熱〜

From the moment, HEARTBREAK music started, everyone was sent into a crazy fit! The lights and beats were inviting us to shake our bonbons! The medley was like a kaleidoscope of happiness and frenzy with one song topping another. The arrangements for the medley were fabulous! I can say that every fans had their dancing mode switched on and everyone was so HYPED UP!!! Imagine you have a big concert hall and a whole group of Akina fans around you dancing with Akina to her famous steps for each song! Aibu moves, everyone in the concert hall making the handsign for  1/2の神話 (similar to the lighter for Bon Jovi), my favourite “Tattoo” moves!

You just have to be there to experience that kind of exhilaration and excitement! Simply breathtaking and unimaginable… Writing this now, made me so happy and glad that I was there when all these happened!

When Desire ended, Akina rushed in to change into another costume.

Encore call.
AKINA. AKINA. AKINA!!!!!!!!!!!!!

SEGMENT 4

encore one. 花よ踊れ
From the hint of a first note, everyone’s adreline rushed right back to where it left and SCREAMED! Dressed in the black dress much like a cute and shortened version of her Kouhaku Nanpasen outfit, she bounced out cheerfully. The dress was very appropriate for the encore Hanayo as it bounced whenever she did the groovy moves during the chorus, something which we think only Akina can carry it off beautifully…  soon after the song ends, she dashed in again -  clearly a sign that there was more to come!! A second encore perhaps!?

encore call 2.
AKINA. AKINA. AKINA!!!!!!!!!!!!!

encore two.
Akina came out with black jeans and the concert staff tee. She plonked to the floor, and amused the crowd with some dramatic acting (ala heart attack scenes in Primadam)… it was hilarious. Akina has great comic sense… She looked so pretty and genki in this outfit! She chatted with the fans for a bit and started to take in song requests. Lots of songs titles were flying in the air. She then sang Southern Wing and Second Love. With no music accompaniment but just to the clapping of her fans, she was able to sing snippets of the songs, though forgetting some lines of the songs (quite funny actually), but she managed to sing most parts of it! I really love this segment.

encore three. GAME
GAME was the next encore song that she sang. Everyone knowing that it’s going to be the last song, was screaming and dancing like mad. You can see that Akina really enjoyed singing both Hanayo and GAME as she was so smiley throughout both songs!

Finally, the concert ended with Akina bidding everyone Sayonara and asking everyone to take care. As for me, it was really a euphoric mixture of feelings. Feeling sad as such a wonderful concert came to an end and happy that I will be watching another round of concert at Yokohama!~ ;)

I LOVE YOU, AKINA-san!

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