JAM Project Japan Flight 2008 Live Report - Saitama and Nagoya

JAM Project JAPAN FLIGHT 2008 No Border Toda Performance

I went to the first day of the JAM Project's tour. It was at the Toda Cultural Center in Saitama. It started at 5:00 and ended at 8:00. In all, the live was exactly three hours long, but the time passed extremely quickly. I was like, "It's already been three hours?" Time really does fly when you're having fun. It was amazing. Below are the setlist and my thoughts. It's full of spoilers, so if you're planning on attending, be careful!

I went to the long-awaited first day of the tour. It started with "No Border," and kept going until the end. It seems like there was no place on the setlist for them to rest. It was so much fun. The performance was at the Toda Cultural Center. It was the first time I'd been there, but it was easy to see in that place. There was only seating on the first floor and there weren't many seats near the front, but there were a good number of bumps in the floor, and there was nothing obstructing the view. It wasn't even that big. Even the people in the back could see the members' expressions clearly. The space between the seats in the front was pretty big so it was easy to jump around, so that was good too. It was a great place. Above the stage there was a big monitor that played videos along with the music. The videos fit the music well, and I was kind of worried about whether I should look at the members or at the monitor. Before the first song, "No Border," a video that expressed the meaning of that song played, and made me think about things right at the beginning of the live.

"No Border" was performed with a dance. Hikarudo was there right from the start, and the seven of them danced. I tried to copy along, but of course I couldn't remember it all. If I practice at every live, maybe I'll be able to dance it by the Tokyo performance. Anyway, I'll practice. Hikarudo came in at the beginning, and I think he was there until about "Dead or Alive." I forget when he came back out, but he was at least there for "Hero." From there until the end he was on. His talk was more interesting than it was last year, I was surprised. I laughed when he said that it took him three months by boat to get here.

That day was the first time that I heard the full version of "Shuraki." I saw the short version in a PV but I'd never heard the full version before, so can I really say that this was the first time I'd heard it? Whatever, I was just happy to hear a new song. I have to find out when the CD will be released, but they said all of that on stage. When was it again? "Divine Love" was Hiroshi Kitadani's solo song. I never thought that they would perform it. The girl in the seat next to me was apparently a Dany fan, and she got really excited. She had the requisite headband on and was a really upbeat person. If it were me, I wouldn't have made such a big deal. Saying that, when I heard that song on the CD, I didn't think it was that great, but hearing it live, it was incredible. He wasn't half as energetic on the CD. Dany's solos are great.

Considering the whole show, it didn't seem like there was that much MCing, but once they started talking, it was full of energy. Rica Matsumoto joked around as usual, making fun of Lantis because "Motteke!" was on the Oricon charts. Also, at the last part of the show, when the members were addressing the audience, Yoshiki Fukuyama was wandering around and playing while other people were talking. It was too funny. Fukuyama-san usually doesn't dance, but he seemed like he was having fun while he was dancing to "No Border," and he kept dancing around. On the other hand, while he was talking seriously, he wound up laughing. Masami Okui backed him up. Nice Makkun.

About Yoshiki Fukuyama. This year's acoustic corner was very grown-up. It's kind of a shame. Last year's meandering call-and-response with the audience drew us in, but there was none of that chaos this year, so I felt a little lonely. I couldn't really hear the "Kurenai no Kiba" acoustic performance, but I was happy with the singing as a whole. Before the encore, the last song was "Hero." I really love that song. I like it so much that I don't know how many times I've listened to it on repeat. Before beginning the song, Hironobu Kageyama talked a little about his thoughts on that song, and between that and the song, I got extra teary-eyed.

After a 2-song encore that pushed the limits of their physical strength, these guys did a double encore. Naturally, it was "Skill"! This year, too, Dany's leading of "Skill" was strong. However, the energy last year was no match for this. It was incredible. He still walked around and fired us up...but this year he did things like hit the floor with his towel. It was a force that can't be put into words. He was talking, but I couldn't hear what he said. Still, I could tell that he was fired up...it was like he was half angry.

Then, while Dany was firing us up, behind him, Yoshiki Fukuyama was playing around. He was running around in the back and playing. Besides that, he attacked Hikarudo and Hironobu Kageyama...he was very free. I couldn't take my eyes off of the entire stage. But I couldn't see much because I was jumping around...

...in conclusion, from the beginning to the end, it was a completely enjoyable live. It was just what I'd been waiting for. Thank you so much for performing. The audience's energy was good too, so it was a wonderful live. Everybody who came, thank you!

Setlist

1. No Border
2. Rocks
~MC
3. Stormbringer
4. Genkai Battle
5. Dead or Alive
~MC
6. Shuraki
7. Garo ~Savior in the Dark
8. Asu e no Houkou
9. Divine Love
10. Salvage
11. Rising Force
~MC
12. Kurenai no Kiba (acoustic)
13. Garimpeiro (acoustic)
~MC
14. Dragon Storm 2007
15. Battle Communication!!
~MC
16. Portal
17. Break Out
18. Victory
19. Soultaker
20. Hero
~Encore
21. EN1. Hagane no Messiah
22. EN2. Gong
~Double Encore
23. EN3. Skill

JAM Project JAPAN FLIGHT 2008 No Border Nagoya Performance

I went to the second performance of the JAM Project's tour. The place was Zepp Nagoya. It started a little after the scheduled 6:00, and it end a little before 9:00. This show was standing room only, so everyone was really excited. It was fun! Below are my thoughts and the setlist. Spoiler alert.

It was a lot of fun. Since the place was Zepp Nagoya, naturally it was packed and standing room only. The order numbers were pretty good, so you could see from about the 4th or 5th center row. The members were so close! Makkun etc. were right in front of my eyes, and it was incredible.

The Toda performance last week was hot, but today was pretty hot too. I love standing room only. I jumped and yelled almost the whole time, so much that not only my feet and arms and throat, but even the muscles in my jaw hurt. Content-wise it wasn't that different from Toda, and the songs in the setlist didn't change at all. Only the order of the songs in the encores changed a little bit. But, it was an all-standing show. The feeling was completely different.

I don't know whether that was the reason, but Hironobu Kageyama being moved to tears while he was introducing "Hero" made an unforgettable impression on me. Makkun cried a little in the middle. I love "Hero," so I was kind of happy. During the chorus, maybe Rika-san cried a little too. But maybe it was just my imagination.

However, the leading during "Skill" was long. I think it was longer than Toda's. Hiroshi Kitadani's rage heated up, and he threw the towel around. Masami Okui laughed loudly when she saw that. Yoshiki Fukuyama ran around. Masaaki Endoh worked with Kitadani...it was as free as usual. The people I was jumping with looked like they were going to die. But, without this it doesn't feel like the live's over. It was great jumping around with everyone.

In conclusion, it was a really fun day. Everyone who came, thank you!

Setlist

1. No Border
2. Rocks
~MC
3. Stormbringer
4. Genkai Battle
5. Dead or Alive
~MC
6. Shuraki
7. Garo ~Savior in the Dark
8. Asu e no Houkou
9. Divine Love
10. Salvage
11. Rising Force
~MC
12. Kurenai no Kiba (acoustic)
13. Garimpeiro (acoustic)
~MC
14. Dragon Storm 2007
15. Battle Communication!!
~MC
16. Portal
17. Break Out
18. Victory
19. Soultaker
20. Hero
~Encore
21. EN1. Gong
22. EN2. Hagane no Messiah
~Double Encore
23. EN3. Skill

Thanks to Flavio!