NANA MIZUKI LIVE ZIPANGU 2017 11本目 at Niigata!

So half a year later I finally manage to squeeze out my first (FIRST! orz) LIVE ZIPANGU report. It has been hard juggling work, the desire to change some stuff in my life and a torn muscle in my right armpit. I'll probably keep the next reports a bit shorter and focus on the most interesting stuff, so hopefully that will streamline the process a bit. Well, onwards!


(For report on LIVE ZIPANGU 2017 13本目 at Saitama, go [here]!)
(For report on LIVE ZIPANGU 2017 千秋楽 at Saitama, go [here]!)



Goods
Took a while to find the queue since the staff had been nice enough to let it grow inside the venue rather than taking it outside right away (like it was the [last time] I came for a concert in Niigata). When it was almost my time to buy stuff I saw a lady with a camera filming stuff around the goods counter, so I hope my gaijin face won't make it into the LIVE ZIPANGU -making of material. (>-<)


Inside Niigata Prefectural Civic Centre
It was so nostalgic being back inside this venue, as this was the first place I ever saw Nana. I still remember how excited I was back then (and still am) to get to see her do her magic live. It kinda made me feel the weight of everything that had happened in my life since and made me hopeful that maybe me being here again might mark the beginning of a new chapter in my life. My seat was quite far back in the first floor, though since the venue is very small it felt like I was very close to the stage regardless of that. I really wish Nana still did more of these smaller concerts, but since her fanbase has grown so much it wouldn't really be fair for everyone anymore.


The concert
Opening movie time! We see Nana in traditional Japanese attire, putting on her make up and getting ready for something. Really, really pretty. After the movie, a few members of Team Yo-Da take the stage to do a bit of traditional Japanese dance, which was beautiful to watch and got me really pumped up for LIVE ZIPANGU and all its Japanese influence. After they finished their dance, then...



SET LIST:

01. WILD EYES

02. Hatsu Koi

03. Junketsu Paradox

MC1

04. BRACELET

05. Crystal Letter

06. ETERNAL BLAZE

Cherry Boys -Showcase

07. STAND UP!

08. Dear Dream

MC2

09. STORIES

10. ALONE ARROWS

11. Eden

Team Yo-Da -Showcase

12. Please Download

13. Dramatic Love

MC3

14. SUPER GENERATION

15. TWIST&TIGER

Onanadori -movie

16. Hime Murasaki

17. Etsuraku Camellia

MC4

18. Mysterion

19. Don't be long

20. UNLIMITED BEAT

MC5

21. Meguri au subete ni

Encore:

22. RODEO COWGIRL

MC6

23. Zettaiteki Koufukuron

24. STARTING NOW

Outfit #1 - Traditional Kimono

So... wow!

01. WILD EYES

I could feel the whole song vibrating through me when it started after the Team Yo-Da dance and I was instantly reminded why it is so special to get to experience Nana in such a small capacity venue. Her strong voice just fills every corner and you. At one point I noticed that Nana's dress had gotten stuck to floor trapdoor that she had entered from on the upper part of the stage. I was fretting really badly that all her performances in Niigata were cursed and she would once again fall, though this time on her face if she tried to move. Luckily, Nana had noticed it herself and managed to yank it out before moving down the stairs.

02. Hatsu Koi
Man, the combination of this song live and the Japanesey outfit Nana was wearing made this feel so graceful and grand. It really made you feel small compared to her grace, but then we all are quite small compared to her aren't we (well figuratively, because literally she is very tiny)?

03. Junketsu Paradox

It felt really natsukashii to hear this song, since it made me remember how back when I first came to Niigata for a Nana concert during LIVE JOURNEY, it hadn't come out yet and she would only sing it for the first time later in that tour. But uhm, reminiscing aside, this was such a powerful trio to open the live with and so fitting for the theme of the tour. I am so on fire.

MC1

Nana bids us welcome! It's been 6 years since her last time in Niigata for LIVE JOURNEY. She recounts how she fell off the stage back then, woops. Nana tells us that many things went through her head in that moment when she was falling and... then ta-dah. "Okyakusan ( =customer, but fan in this case) was there right in my face and I was like.... domo (g'day)" she laughs xD lol. Wonder what will happen tonight? Hopefully nothing like that.

Outfit #1 - Revamped

Basically, just gettin rid of the kimono part.

04. BRACELET
Time for the last song not yet sung live from SMASHING ANTHEMS! It was the first song departing from the very Japanesey feel set by the songs of the beginning, but that's okay.

05. Crystal Letter
This was then the winter song of the night I suppose? xD It kinda felt out of place after the epic loaded beginning of the concert, but I guess it serves the purpose of bringing the tension down a bit so people can have a rest.... which was good considering next was....

06. ETERNAL BLAZE
Somehow I got excited about EtaBure popping up at this point already, even though I complained about it coming so early in LIVE GALAXY. What's wrong with me?! Still, it got me nicely pumped up again after Crystal Letter.

Cherry Boys -Showcase

All the Cheribos had some Japanesey thing. Tom-kun had a ladder of sorts, think it was the same kind you see people performing acrobatics on during matsuri. Ryutan had a white mask. Kenny was a ninja. Yutapon had a circle of things on his back... no idea what that kind of thing is called. (>-<) Anyways, apart from these I can't really remember what the other Cheribos had...

Outfit #2 - Uniform Dress

Kind of made me think of a marching band outfit.

07. STAND UP!
I was really looking forward to hearing this again to give me a bit of a motivation boost. I always feel so guilty when I hear it though, since I haven't been doing what Nana tells me to do. I am sorry... soon, I promise I will "stand up"! (T^T)

08. Dear Dream

I was still lost in thought when this song began, so took a while to catch onto what song it actually was. Still it was nice to hear it again.

MC2

Mawatte! And nana twirled around for us. For mou ikkai she chose Kado-D to twirl with her. Soon he will get to MC apparently (turns out it was for the Yo-Da intro) and that was the reasoning for her choice. Then she teased Sho-chan about something and then proceeds to explain ZIPANGU's special thing - singing a song with just 1 Cheribo. Tonight will be Kenny's turn.

09. STORIES

Okay........ so it's nothing new that all of the Cherry Boys are amazingly fantastic musicians, but damn getting to hear something like this where they get to shine individually just blows you away. Kenny's finger work is incredible. And damn that solo before the song actually kicked in. The way Nana matched her singing with Kenny's epic riffs was so wow.

Then for a more adult song!

10. ALONE ARROWS

Okay, wow. I have to say that I have quite enjoyed listening to ALONE ARROWS on NEOGENE CREATION, but I never expected it to be this amazing live. Nana's voice is so much more powerful and having the Cheribos playing it amplified the song a hundred, if not thousandfold. It honestly sound like a completely different song, like holy crap!

11. Eden

So happy to be hearing Eden again, as it kinda just disappeared after the acoustic live. This section is turning out to be way too epic!

Team Yo-Da -Showcase

Similar to the Cheribos, Team Yo-Da all had something Japanesey with them during their intro dance routines. Mika had an obi. Anna was playing cat's cradle. Then there was also a sword. A fan. Can't recall who had what though.

Outfit #3 - Idol Dress

Blue dress with flowery patterns, does remind me of some idol group PVs lol.

12. Please Download
I was hoping that hearing this live would improve my opinion of it, as I never particularly enjoy it when they mess with Nana's godly voice with the synthesizer. Usually, they don't really do that when she sings songs live but no such luck this time. The amount of background vocals was more immense too than I realized when just listening to this on the album, making it feel like a bit of a mess. I think for the first time ever I like a song even less after hearing it live. orz

13. Dramatic Love

It's been so long since I last heard this (or it feels long anyway), that it took my brain a moment to catch up to what this was. After I realized, I was so into it though because I really love the dance choreograph for the instrumental bit.

MC3

Nana talks about ZIPANGU's theme - essentially different Japanesey things. Currently we are apparently in the "idol" corner in regards to clothes. She mentions her age (37) and how she just recently bought pink flower bed sheets. She also talked a lot about Sister Princess and the  15th Anniversary Blu-Ray Box. Nana does some lines from it I guess, all I remember is just her going like "pyon pyon" because it was so funny. xD

14. SUPER GENERATION
As per usual, SUPER GENERATION has appeared! Not much to say about this that I haven't already said during the countless times I have seen it live. :3

15. TWIST&TIGER
Man, this was so good! Listening to TWIST&TIGER and watching Nana and Team Yo-Da having a bunch of fun on the stage really makes me feel like this is a musical. Just makes me so happy and ready to have fun too. I wonder if it'll be like this too when Nana does Beautiful? Soon we will find out!

Onanadori -movie
I had forgotten how much I liked Toriumi Kousuke's calming voice as Gennosuke in Basilisk (can't believe he also voiced Junpei in Persona 3!! Just found that out while writing this :o) until I heard him narrating this insert movie. Man, so much nostalgia. Ehum. Anyways... the movie is about some lord who rescued the mythical Nana phoenix. One of her feathers is left with him and Nana keeps searching for it and the man who saved her. Later, the lord is ailing in health and asks Nana, who has taken human form during her search, to dance for him one last time. He has an attack during Nana's dance and drops the feather. Nana seeing this, rushes to him and saves his life with her phoenix powers. Thus the dept is repaid and she leaves.

Outfit #4 - Classy Visual Kei

Really loving the outfits this time, so elegant!

16. Hime Murasaki
Holy. Shit. Like, seriously. I have been waiting years and years to hear this live and you have no idea how much it hurts whenever I remind myself I couldn't make it to the Heian Jingu live.  Finally, this day has come and I could not have been less prepared for how gorgeous and powerful this song would feel. I have to say I really love getting the chance to listen to Nana in a small hall like this, because her voice just blasts through it and you on full force making you feel the songs with the entirety of your being. Oh the goosebumps......

17. Etsuraku Camellia

Whoa, such a strong continuation. 4 paper door panels were brought onto the stage and once the song started, you could make out the silhouettes of Team Yo-Da behind them.. then suddenly, Nana emerges with a Japanesey parasol. Damn. While quite a simple idea, I really really like it and feel it's one of the nicest things I have seen during her lives. So fitting for Etsuraku Camellia too. At one point, the four paper door panels were brought together, obscuring the view to Nana.... and once they separated she was wearing punky pants instead of the white dress she started the song in.

MC4

Now Nana kicks thing off by talking about the insert movie. Nana explains the story a bit and says the same part of town was used as in the Cheribo intro. The guy narrating ofc had to be Gennosuke. Mentions Basilisk and WILD EYES / Hime Murasaki. She mentions that she heard a rumor that there might be another season of Basilisk to which she retorts "But everyone died...." and "maybe we are not in it..." lol. xD Then she tells us that this is now the visual kei corner.

Outfit #4 - Revamp

Skirt off, pants on. 

18. Mysterion
Ahhh, too good. This was one of my top favorite songs back in the day and man, hearing it live was just as powerful and epic as I thought. Or actually, more epic than I imagined.

19. Don't be long
Somehow it felt very nostalgic hearing this, though I don't think it has been THAT long since I last did? Anyways, I let it wash over me.

20. UNLIMITED BEAT

After listening to this song so many times from NEOGENE CREATION, I had grown to like it but somehow felt it was missing the oomph of Symphogear songs. I was almost ready to lump it into the category of "well it's just like this because it is a game song" but then tonight changed my mind. Thanks to Nana's strong voice live and having the Cherry Boys playing it totally made it rocket to new heights. Like wow. Yutapon and Sho-chan were hammering those drums totally in sync. It was insane. And Nana was so into it too.

MC5

Time for the last song. Nana talks a bit about the upcoming Nanoha movie and how the recording for that is next month. She of course mentions the musical, Beautiful. Nana felt very awkward without her bangs in those promo pictures. She admires Carole King for always going straight forward no matter what. She says she saw the musical with her mom when she was in NY and really fell in love with it. So, the next song is for all of us who have come with her so far. This MC made me realize how easy it is to tell she is getting emotional because of how she ends up saying "ee...." in between her words a lot. Funny I never really paid attention to it before.

21. Meguri au subete ni

This also felt so different from listening to it from the album. I really feel like this time, more so than usual, hearing the songs live really makes a crazy difference. I wonder why? I really wish Nana would release some sort of live album or something, I wouldn't mind carrying these versions of songs in my iPod. Anyways, this live rendition really tore through my soul...

Encore call!
Naaa-naaaaaaa!! Please come back and continue this goodness. :3

Outfit #5 - Encore

This particular one is from a later concert,
can't actually remember the exact combo she was wearing tonight. orz

22. RODEO COWGIRL

Towel song of the live. I'm not the biggest fan of this song and hearing it live didn't really change it. (T^T) I guess there are just too many other good songs on the album that this doesn't stand a chance for me. Nothing special about the towel stuff either, it was all good fun of course.

23. Zettaiteki Koufukuron

Yesssssss! I was trying to prepare my heart for this all night and I think I didn't take too much damage from the emotional vibes Nana sent out. This song is definitely one who's impact gets amplified when you here Nana pouring herself into it live. I just let it wash all over and through me in that small hall.

MC6

Shassu! Nana mentions the 777th smile-gang. Not much else here this time. Next song for all of us again, and of course it had to be a genki one.

24. STARTING NOW
I never believed I'd be so excited for this as final song, but man has it proven itself to be a fun song live to enjoy and sing with Nana. It also felt good to shake off all the emotions the previous song had woken up inside me.