Long-winded
RE-CAP of Tokyo 1. Arrived in Tokyo morning of 7th Jan - to the bluest skies and blinding sunshine. Not what i expected at all, with my suitcase full of thermal underwear!
With a UK AdamFan friend and a lifelong friend currently living just outside Tokyo, I booked into a great hotel on the site of the first venue....40 floors up!
Tokyo Dome is the name of a popular recreation area with a roller-coaster etc. and the arena at its centre. Adam's show was in a smaller venue, a hundred yards from the arena, the Meets Port. This was a fully seated show (the only one in Japan) and we could take time to meet some Japanese fans that mutual friends introduced us too.
They were so completely lovely - so welcoming and warm (and so stylish and beautiful!)...and devoted to Adam. I saw so much of Adam's style in the younger Japanese fans....they must find it easy to relate to him that way,
I had row 7 - a great seat as it turned out. Close enough to see clearly with a good overview of the whole stage....and the whole stage was worth seeing. It was a total spectacle, every inch lit and used from the start.
The audience demographic was youngish....lots of 20s/30s women....overwhelmingly female but a good sprinkling of young men, including three who sat in the front row and with whom Adam interacted throughout - I think in Trespassing, they were desperately trying to reach Adam and Adam was toying with them by going closer and closer while remaining just out of reach!
(I haven't been able to rewatch - time and wifi issues).
i was surprised how calm the audience was while waiting.....the show started at 7.25pm....pretty sure they were just waiting for the merchandise buyers to finish as there was a huge queue there.
But this self-contained audience, suddenly erupted and leapt to its feet, as one body, at the very first note! It was an extraordinary reaction....too quick for me....like they were all operated by ejector buttons. 0 - 100 mph in 0.1 seconds accompanied by screaming and applause. -
and that was the last anyone in the room saw of their seats all night!
The whole place stood from start to finish, even those in the highest seats in the 4th tier from what I could see. The response then, and throughout the show, was electric.
Being tall, I could see clearly - head to toe - and Adam, as you have no doubt seen, looked stunning and very classy in all three outfits. They definitely worked on the stage....wasn't sure initially, in previous flashes of photos, but truly beautiful in the flesh.
When Adam came out in the new cherry suit, he was positively strutting. He actually did a little strutting warm-up in the wings....lol. He had no doubt how good it looked! And as time went on, his hair got looser and looser......he was as gorgeous as he's ever been and glowed with health and happiness.
Terrance and Holly were great - lots of little interactions between Adam and Terrance - but have to say that Holly is very eye-catching...a very strong stage presence and completely stunning in Lucy.
What can I say about the show that you haven't already seen from the videos? Just that it was perfectly constructed and paced (IMHO)... Never a dull moment. It just worked! The two costume changes were quick and just enough time to anticipate what was coming next. Song choices worked perfectly. NCOE is my pet hate - but it suddenly sounded so beautiful when before I didn't think it suited his voice.at all....and it's clearly very popular in Japan.
But the sound quality was FANTASTIC - this was the best presentation of Adam's voice EVER for me - QALs included. It was so front and centre in the mix, so deep and rich and easy. I loved every single, solitary note of it and every note was perfect If this is how his voice subtly develops with age, then bring it on.....
It coated the room in pure gorgeousness!
He was so happy and at ease on that stage - completely abandoned to giving the best show possible and so totally confident in being dorky and dramatic equally. He gave so much of himself and he got it back in spades. Have to say that there have been times in recent months when I have felt that personal part if him has been held back somehow....so happy to see it back.
Main show lasted about 70 mins. (About 8.35pm) and the IIHY encore took it to 8.50 ish - so about 90 mins in all. If I had any reservations, it would be that I would have preferred that time to have gone to more songs but in all fairness, the show would never be long enough for me and IIHY went down very well with the audience sing-backs etc....I think the fun element has a lot going for it and left an ecstatically happy audience.
just for a bit of informal perspective - I have seen no videos since the start of the tour so as not to spoil the live shows. But I have met a few people who saw Beijing and Shanghai and lots who saw Sendai. And Tokyo1.
General feel =
Beijing......clunkey, work in progress.
Shanghai.....fabulous....promising
Sendai....disappointing, bad sound issues, Adam clearly unhappy.
Tokyo....suddenly magic, better than Shanghai, everything together.
Feel so lucky to have popped in when I did...
I have seen lots of Adam things....but this felt special.
Hiroshima today (4pm!!!! Adam will be back partying in Tokyo this evening!)....small venue but sold out...looking forward to seeing Adam again and also the many friendly new faces I've met.
Now rushing off to 'do' the sights....6.30 am here.....no idea what time it is anywhere else....lost track of the rest of the world....
Miss you all