Hi from Japan....I know...I'm just about the worst Roving Reporter ever....but have been roving too much!
And every time I start to write, it seems there is just too much to say and I think I'll find a better time. So this isn't a recap...just random thoughts at 7am in Kyoto (no concert here but the most fascinating sights to see in this amazing country).
Perhaps the most important thing to say, is that with each show he is just getting better and better. Obviously so. His dancing is getting smoother and more natural - but you can probably see that from the videos....just as you can see how happy and beautiful he is.
Some things translate easily to video.
But his voice!!!! I have just spent an hour flicking through as many videos as I can on YouTube and, wondrously and generously created as they are, I haven't found one yet that actually captures the beauty of his voice live. I haven't always been able to say that - sometimes I've felt I've missed what others hear, above and beyond a lovely voice.
But, for whatever reason, there is a quality I haven't felt before - perhaps after all these years my ears finally get it - and it's not accidental to a moment or venue or song - it's there all the time. It is so rich and so clear and you can almost feel it settle on your skin.....and the ordering of the songs enhances moments when it's almost too beautiful.
The run of WWFM, MadWorld and There I Said It builds slowly to an irresistible sound - not the visuals or the beats or anyone else on the stage - everything else fades to nothing...it's mesmerising....
I had thought I would be happy to never hear him sing some of these songs again - WWFM. MW, NCOE for example - but they work perfectly here! They sound new....and the Japan audiences are mad for NCOE!
There is good rhyme and reason for every choice of song and the ordering.
I do hope Let's Dance stays.
Good grief! I even like IIHY as the encore, especially as it's getting less and less reggae! It's not the song so much as the chance for the audience to engage with funny, dorky, real Adam after the ultimate showman he has been....they leave on a such a fun note...
I think he heard me when I was thinking that the third costume, with the light trousers, was a little uninspired! When he arrived on stage in the new outfit, he looked breathtaking - that too, doesn't translate fully in the videos. It is absolutely stunning! Couldn't be better - and these young, incredibly stylish, clothes-conscious Japanese audiences draw a collective breath of awe and wonder when he suddenly appears in it. It makes me laugh out loud - that joy of others.
A point that interests me....when he appears so cockily in his new suit -
that's always
the moment when he gets the young-men-shouts....the moment when their emotions spill over...you can hear 'I love you' or 'gorgeous' or just his name called longingly from various points in the room.
That moment when he stands there, so confidently beautiful, defying opinion, defying judgement.
The response to him is unmistakable.
I need to shut up now. Two more shows in Tokyo, then home to reality....
But I want to say that I am sharing the excitement of all of you getting your tickets.
I know that perhaps it's not the tour that some of you hoped for - but I guarantee it's the performance all of you dream of.
Believe me because I know what you'll be getting....be happy! Be very happy....