Yamapi Short But Sweet concert highlight report

Ok, just walked in the door a few minutes ago and I figure I'll be making three posts about the concert. This first one will be just highlighting the things that really stood out to me about the concert, the next will be for the goods (I picked up goods for otherwise so I have pictures of everything sold though I only got a photo set so it's the only thing I could open to take a photo of.) and the final will be a full report, as I want to check and verify the set list as he sung a few songs I'm not familiar with.

First off, the staging for the concert had the arena full all 360 degrees in the arena and 2nd floor levels and then the center area around the actual stage had seats in four sections with stage tracks dividing them. So the stage was more or less cross shaped, with a big circle area in the middle and one of the sides had an actual stage were the band (FiVe) and back singers were. On the ceiling there were four large disco balls with some kind of cone-ish looking decoration piece above them and around the rope/chord the balls were hanging from. Each was above a section of the center seating area. There was a huge piece that sat on the middle stage section that could be moved up and down. It had a large screen on each side, though at one point you could see into it, as the center was hollow. Lots of other moving set pieces on the stage, usually a panel that went up or down. And then there were two carts, one for each side, that were used to go around and through the crowd in the center area.

The lighting and effects were amazing. They put a lot of money into these concerts but I would say it was money well spent as it looked amazing throughout the whole thing. Lots of lighting effects throughout the whole thing, even FiVe got some for the one song they performed during the concert. But that middle stage piece I was talking about was used a lot and had a special graphic pretty much for every song.

For back dancers they used a mix of Juniors and non-Johnny's dancers. The Juniors used were M.A.D. and Mis Snow Man and I recognized a few of the non-Johnny's as the dancers that Yamapi used for his Music Station performance last night.

The song that probably had the most effects for it probably was SNOW EXPRESS (which was the only NEWS song Yamapi sung). It started after a FiVe did their song so Yamapi wasn't seen on stage as it had a long intro, with the theme of winter and snow being shown on the screens. Those disco balls I was talking about were moving up and down during this intro and what looked like one huge disco ball (the lights weren't on the stage yet) descended. Then as the song started up the spotlight lit up that ball and Yamapi was seen standing in it. It kinda looked like a cage, but there was a camera inside that gave us shots of Yamapi in it. During the song the outside of the ball began spinning and then the middle part Yamapi was descended on its own. Really, I can't think of any other words to describe it than amazing and wonderful. Oh, and there was even fake snow for this song too.

Another performance that really stood out was for Moonlight. Mainly because Yamapi gave a fan an experience of a lifetime. Midway through the song Yamapi stops singing and a fan from the center section is brought on stage. The girl looked completely shocked and bewildered, and I don't blame her as I don't think anyone in the audience knew what exactly was going on. But she was led up onto the stage by one of the back dancers and got to sit on a chair at the end of one of the stage tracks and then Yamapi continued with the song, singing it to her. He made his way over to where she was while singing and at the end handed her a handkerchief from his pocket while thanking her. By then she just looked completely ecstatic, and I can't blame her. I mean she had Yamapi personally serenading her.

After a dance interlude where Yamapi changes off stage into an extremely shiny suit with red jacket and black pants, he appears on stage again but inside the movable screen thing. You can see him through the side panels and he has a gun that he just starts shooting off and the screens show 'bullet holes'. The device lifts up (at sometime he discards the gun) and he and his back dancers do a short routine and then Yamapi picks up a semi-automatic rifle that's been placed on the stage. He then mows down the back dancers with it and they all 'fall' off the stage areas that they were on. He then begins to walk to the stage were the band is and familiar music begins to play. The screens show the title of the song, which you could tell what it was by then anyway, as Thriller. The 'killed' back dancers climb back on stage as zombies and the performance starts in full. The entire stage is given a Halloween look for the song. There are ghosts that are pulled up from somewhere in the center section at various parts of the song and of course everyone is dancing the infamous zombie dance on the stage. It was it bit surreal to see Yamapi having a tribute like that to Micheal Jackson, but it was a fun performance and worth seeing.

For the main MC Yamapi did rather well on his own, IMHO. He mainly just rambled from story to story but not with a lot of pauses and while there wasn't any combined theme or true order in what he was saying it was actually interesting to just hear him talk. He spoke about his time as a Junior, mostly about performing at his first concert as a Junior (Kinki Kids) and of course Tackey. He complained about Jin and Tegoshi, but mainly Jin as he went into to talking about the new NEWS DVD when he brought Tegoshi up.

He then sung a song from what I'm assuming is from his Junior days as I didn't recognize it at all. I'm guessing it's called Koi wa Mystery as the phrase was rather prominent in the chorus. Then as that ended a figure came up from the moving stage section were FiVe was. I couldn't tell who it was from were I was, but didn't have to wonder long as Yamapi introduced his guest, Ikuta Toma. Lots of cheering at his introduction. He joined Yamapi and they sung a song together, which I've found is called Yokubou no rain. They both used the ramps down in the center area, and both have the crowd there a lot of love with reaching down to touch their hands. After they both met on the stage to switch ramps they hugged each other for a long hug. Toma left after three songs, though he only really sang the one.

For the encore the center screen device began playing clips from all the dramas Yamapi had a major role in. It began with Buzzer Beat and moved its way backwards from there. Then it began showed a clip of Yamapi with Tackey from their Junior days before continuing to play clips from his Junior days as Yamapi returned but not anywhere near the stage. He instead showed up on the 2nd floor on a moving ramp. He went all around the arena on that floor as he sung two songs. Half way through the second and final song of the concert (Seishun Amigo) he made his way to the main stage by going through sections of the audience.

Then after the song was done and it was time to end it he went to the end of each point of the stage to say arigatou (thank you) to the audience. He left the stage by using the moving piece that Toma came up on.

Honestly I'm not a big Yamapi fan. NEWS is my favorite group and I like all of the members but he's one of the members that I don't follow very much and didn't really interest me too much. But I am so glad I decided in the end to go to this concert even though I seriously thought about not going. I have so much respect for Yamapi now as without a doubt you could tell he really loves his fans. From the way the stage was set up so the most people could get a chance to have him come by, to having the stages that rise so the audience in the higher seats can see him a bit closer, to having the carts go through the audience so he can reach out and touch the audience reaching to him and to making sure when he sang he looked up at the audience members in the seats on the other levels rather than just the ones in the center. Really, I just have so much respect for a performer that does their best to make sure everybody is enjoying their performance no matter where they are seated, and Yamapi did that in spades at the concert.

Seriously, reflecting on the concert I can't help but feel like this is Yamapi celebrating his career with Johnny's and doing so by giving his fans who support him these amazing concerts as his gift to them. It was truly very moving for me to see him shower everyone with so much love. I wish there was a way every Yamapi fan could come and see one of these concerts, as if a more casual fan like me could be so moved by it then I can only imagine how wonderful it would be for a big fan to experience it. But since I don't think it's going to happen I'm seriously praying for a DVD. I mean if Tegomass will be getting one they might as well let Yamapi have one too, as this is a concert truly worth seeing, IMHO.