Christmas Premium LIVE 2015 "Kalafina with Strings"

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Fashionably (?) late with a report. Yes, I went although I didn't initially think I could. I had to give up some other things for this live but it was worth it. This live ended off a crazy year in terms of lives for me. I basically went from one to two lives a year to a whopping 17 in 2015. I know that there is no practical way to maintain that count though, and it saddens me. I don't really see how 2016 can top 2015 either, especially now that YK13 seems like it will probably be a step down from YK12 unless they add some other series themed lives to the mix. The "three days" theme with Japanese only, Japanese sealed and soundtrack day are hard to beat. Add an encore performance at the Orchard Hall with a strings quartet for a YK first, a fantastic Kalafina live at the amazing Youth Square in HK (too late for a report for this one I think... I might go back and write a short one?) and 2 days at Budokan... It's a very hard year to beat. And that's before we even talk about the Christmas live.

I can't write a report for each day, only a condensed one of both days. I attended the two lives in Tokyo, and was unfortunately unable to attend the one in Osaka. From what my friends have told me, the three of them were in top condition there. The symphony hall, too, was superb. It was a unique experience, what with there being audience all 360 degrees around the stage. Due to the way the audience was seated, the applause sounded a lot louder than usual. Apparently the audience knew that and well.. they clapped even harder. And reportedly Keiko had to hold back tears. When performing, the girls would sometimes turn to face the other direction for the audience there. Need I mention that this gave the audience a rare extended look at their backs? *coughmuchjealouscough* Wakana's dress, in particular, showed off half her back so I imagine it was quite a view. *ahem* more on that later

You've probably seen in the photos by now, what the stage is like. In Osaka, they only had one tree, presumably because the tree might block the views of those viewing from other angles. In Tokyo, there were three, with two smaller ones surrounding the bigger one. The white trees were all covered with white lights, and as the stage lights dimmed to indicate the start of the concert, provided a romantic backdrop with its lights. The trees were really beautiful, and looked as though they were covered with snow due to the whiteness of the lights and paint.

The strings quartet entered first, taking a bow before heading for their seats. This was followed by Sakurada, who also bowed at the center of the stage before taking a seat before the grand piano. Interestingly, the strings quartet were dressed in suitably formal attire, but Sakurada had sneakers on lol. His attire was more formal on the 24th but a lot more like his usual live attire on Christmas day. Then came the girls in their usual order, wearing their beautiful red dresses. As this was a Classical music hall, they had to enter from a normal sized door. Keiko was seemingly stuck on the first day, and had to force her dress through the door. They enter with one hand holding a mic, and the other pulling their dress along in a graceful manner.

They started off the live with two Christmas songs. Damn I love the strings. These two songs were actually the Japanese version so while the tune was somewhat familiar, it sounded (arrangements aside) very different. I do recall there being a rather cute part that involved the quartet plucking their strings.

The first MC was, as usual, just the regular greeting and introduction. The girls were, however, noticeably speaking a lot more softly/gently.

Dolce. Beautiful singing from the girls. The stage felt almost magical as they sang. I think they once mentioned that they do use Dolce as a warmup song for their vocals.

Kagayaku. Since the first half of the song was also just strings + piano in the original studio version, I was kind of expecting the drums to come in when they started singing the Kajiurago. It didn't, of course, and I was quickly brought back to the reality of it being an acoustic live. This was probably the only time where I missed the drums, if only because I thought I was listening to the studio version for a brief moment. The drums and guitar were replaced by a soothing strings arrangement. On the first day, I recall Hikaru just straining for one part like she did at the Budokan. She was fine for the other songs after that. On the second day though, she did a little worse overall. While I didn't think it was that bad (on the contrary, I thought it was acceptable. Not perfect but not performance ruining either), a friend likened it to being back at the Budokan. Quite an exaggeration imo. While we are on the topic, Keiko did better on the second day (she was quite emotional at one point on the first day, to the point where it affected her singing). Wakana did better on the second day. Normal on the first, AMAZING for the second half of Christmas day.

Seventh Heaven. Ah... one of the songs I really wanted to hear in acoustic live. It reminded me of why I loved the Keiko/Wakana combi so much. Keiko started off the song slow, with only the piano. As her part ended though, the strings came in, heralding Hikaru's part. This part, however, was faster (I think?) than the original studio version. I can't be sure. Maybe it was Keiko's part that was too slow, but Hikaru sounded pretty fast. It also set the pace for the rest of the song. I can only assume that this was intentional since this happened on both days. They only went back to the original pace in the last segment where they sang about the sky, sea, etc.

Kizuato! A pleasant surprise for me. I think it might even be the first time I heard it live since they (very unfortunately) don't perform it very much. I really like the strings in this song so hearing it in an acoustic live was particularly lovely. The arrangement was very heavy on the strings (cello as the base iirc). I must mention that there is no backing music track for acoustic lives. So there is definitely no recorded Hanae or Yuriko track backing them. It's totally all them. So being a song from the era where it was just Keiko and Wakana, Hikaru had to back them with the high vocals. And despite her not doing so well for Kagayaku at some higher parts, she sounded heavenly here. I have no idea what is going on with her. She does okay with her falsetto. Obligatory mention that there was quite a bit of Wakana Keiko eye contact as they sang.

MC. Keiko mentioned that Kizuato was a really nostalgic song for them, being a song from their debut single.

Next up, a trio of songs from their 5th album. The arrangement on their 5th album songs surprised me the most for this live. I just didn't think it would work as well as it did. I dare say I actually like the acoustic version for some of them more than the original.

Musunde Hiraku. Strings heavy arrangement. It was lovely. It's a lot less like the "song that is similar to mirai/misterioso/etc. gang" I blame the bass, guitar and drums of the original. Those play in a way that is kinda similar in the original songs. One thing though... Surprisingly, Wakana didn't sing the highest notes for the Kajiurago in the middle. It was noticeably missing. Instead, she sang a lower range. I... don't recall if this was also the case in the usual FOTW lives. Those had a backing track so even if Wakana was singing the same lower range it didn't stand out as much. I am embarrassed by my failure to not have noticed until now if that was indeed the case. Evidently, I need to stop staring at Keiko all the time and listen a little more attentively. Orz. Or maybe I did but forgot.. Maybe I even mentioned it in my report... Did I even write a report for Oct???

Ring your bell. Probably the biggest surprise for me. I actually liked the song! I was indifferent to the original. The song started off with the three of them and minimal piano. No strings at all. The vocals were beautiful. I think the strings only came in for the second half. Pace should be a bit slower than the original too? RYB actually has very beautiful vocals, but it's somewhat masked by the music in the original. If you hated the base for RYB, give the acoustic version a chance. There was one part, right before the last verse where the song goes to a complete stop. Well, longtime listeners would know that the song hasn't ended yet but those not too familiar started clapping on the first day. Apparently this happened in Osaka too. Keiko was visibly signalling the others for timing, her actions perhaps a little exaggerated to try and hint at the audience that it wasn't time to clap yet. Alas, some clapped. On the second day though, everyone stayed silent. Good job, audience.

Gogatsu no Mahou. This one worked out very well too. It's a strings heavy song so it benefited a lot from the presence of a quartet.

Gloria. Finally, gloria live. Another one off my list. I thought Hikaru did well for this song on the first day, not so much the second day. There was a line or two where she sang with such emotion. But the real stars, for me, were of course the Wakana and Keiko combi. Holy. It's a song every WaKei fan needs to hear. I don't think the arrangement was any different from the one live version we already have though, not that it needed to be arranged.

Hokage. Wakana was amazing here. Keiko, good as usual. Live strings were sublime in this song. Needless to say, it is a lot better with live strings as compared to the FOTW tour.

Kimi no gin no niwa. This... I don't know how but the acoustic arrangement actually made the song even cuter sounding than the original. As such, it had a gentler feel and the sadness it exudes was amplified further. I could almost see devilHomura waltzing on the stage. It's Christmas yo! I loved this song to bits. The arrangement had the strings replace the accordion, etc. There was quite a bit of plucking involved if memory serves. Anyway, it worked really well and I would really love to have this version some day. While we are on the topic of Madoka, Urobuchi gave a new years greeting that possibly hinted at a Madoka related announcement in Feb. He didn't mention Madoka specifically, he just posted a picture of the Mami (new year) figure and said there was an announcement that couldn't make 2015, and will probably be made in Feb. Pleaseeeeeee be Madoka. I really want new Madoka music.

Hikarifuru. Wakana didn't do as well the first day, but totally nailed it on the second day. They tried to recreate the lights from the Hikarifuru PV with lights on the floor. That... didn't go so well imo. It was just in my eyes and was kind of annoying. To my dismay, there was no Magia to end off the Madoka songs. Would have loved to see how they tackled that lol.

MC. On the first day, it took a while for Keiko to start her MC. She mentioned that it takes a while to recover emotionally from singing Hikarifuru. On the second day, Keiko tried to pass the MC over to Hikaru, only to be met with a blank stare. Hikaru had apparently forgotten what she was supposed to say! Keiko egged her along as she looked down on the notes she had written on the song list on the floor before it finally hit her "Ah! I wanted to take a look back at the year, 2015!" Haaa.. so cute, this one. They generally have the same flow in terms of topic for their MC so it was amusing to see Hikaru forget while the others waited for her to help restart the conversation flow. Hikaru did the obligatory pose imitation of Keiko and Wakana for the pamphlet. This time though, Keiko ended off the MC in giving Hikaru a taste of her own medicine by imitating Hikaru's pose. This made Hikaru kinda embarrassed xD

Mahiru. Probably the first time outside of the release event that they sang it live?? At this point, I think Samidare's the only song left that hasn't been sung live yet. This song is so lovely live. I noticed that Keiko would always mouth the words "anata ni koi wo shita" (fall in love with you) that Wakana sings for the last line in the song. Thankfully, Hikaru did okay here. Wakana was going from wow into AMAZING territory right around here for the second day I think, although she also did very well on the first day. I thought Keiko didn't do as well on the first day here... She did do okay for the next few songs.

Eden. Yup. Wakana was definitely in AMAZING mode at this point for the second day. It was a sentiment shared by others as well. Her voice in the Kajiurago section. Wow. This was also the one song where they actually moved around the stage. Since their dresses were huge, they didn't really move around much in them. In Eden though, they gathered in the middle during the Kajiurago and moved round in a circle as they sang. This gave us the rare opportunity to take a nice look at Wakana's very nice and round back. Don't get me wrong, Keiko and Hikaru both have very nice shoulders too, but theirs are a lot more defined. Not to say that Wakana is fat of course, she's totally not. It's just .. softer. Uhh.. *ahem* let's get back on topic.

Yume no Daichi. I thought the starting to the acoustic arrangement for this song was a little scary lol. The piano was playing a very low note as the cello came in. It all brightened up when the song started proper though. Wakana hitting that "isogu" beautifully here.

Storia. They still did their cute sway/step left and right in their huge dresses. Solid performance here.

We wish you a merry christmas. SO PRETTTTTTY. You can probably get a feel of what the intro is like from Kalafina club. I think this and some of the other ending xmas songs were sung on the show in December. Unlike the first two Christmas covers, the last few covers had English lyrics only. This song had Wakana going so high! It starts off with all three of them singing "we wish you a merry christmas" in perfect harmony. Wakana does tend to drop off the "ar" in "new year" sometimes though. Wakana was simply amazing in this song, especially for the "good tidings we bring, to you and your kin" part. I literally had to take an involuntary breath when she sang because it was so amazing. I had goosebumps! It's a cover song, and my first time hearing it so I didn't know a high note was coming. On the second day particularly, you could tell both visibly and audibly that she was hitting her notes very easily. I... focus visually on Keiko most of the time (followed by Wakana, sorry Hikaru) but Wakana was so amazing that I turned my gaze and stared all the while. She looked so comfortable, so happy. I think she herself knew that she was singing very well.

Jingle bells. It's a rather interesting song for Kalafina. I think a little jazzy? The crowd clapped along to the song.

Encore.
Believe. Another surprise fit for acoustic. Only Sakurada came back on to the stage with the girls for believe. A piano only arrangement. The acoustic arrangement for believe made it sound very different. It's comparable to the arrangement for sprinter. Slow at times, but otherwise as fast as the original. Keiko sounded weak for her one solo line "Shizuka na yoru ni" on the first day. I remembered because it bothered me so much.

MC. The strings make their entrance for the encore. Keiko introduced FOTW as a song that is very precious to them. A song that brought them to a lot of different places. A song that let them connect to many, that defined their year of 2015. Perhaps as she said those words, she got a little emotional that day.

Far on the water. I'll remark first for the 24th. Keiko's breathing was all messed up for her opening solo. Her notes were short. She sounded out of breath. She was also a lot softer than she usually was as she harmonised for the rest of the song. She did her best imo, to keep her emotions in check and she did recover by the end. She didn't break down fully like Wakana once did last year (although that was touching in its own way. She brought many in the audience to tears with her). As the song ended, Keiko turned around to face her back to the audience. The audience clapped as hard as ever for a while, but Keiko still did not turn back to the audience when the applause died down. A friend said that he saw her raise a finger to her eye, presumably to wipe a tear. There was silence for a while as the audience waited patiently for Keiko, who usually leads the MC. Wakana looked on, worried. Hikaru too, for a while, but she then covered for Keiko by thanking the crowd for their applause, just as Keiko usually would. The crowd clapped again to return her thanks. Hikaru then continued on for a bit, buying Keiko the time she needed. When Keiko was finally ready, she turned back to the audience and gave Hikaru a cute little "arigatou!" as thanks for covering for her.

Just like that, Keiko returned to form for the last song, O Christmas tree. It's a cute song. Lots of string plucking.

25th. Fotw. Based on what Kajiura said of Keiko, she's the type that learns from her mistakes and makes sure she doesn't repeat them. She was perfect the second day. The same old Keiko :)

Have yourself a merry little christmas. A wonderful song to end the night, and the Christmas lives as a whole. English ver. Hikaru had the best enunciation but the other two were not bad too.

After the final bow, the girls stayed back as usual. They then wished the audience "Merry Christmas!". It was the cutest "Merry Christmas" ever. That is all. T_T

Trivia aka random thoughts:
As the drummer is usually the one to start off a song with his drum sticks, the absence of drums meant that Sakurada had to start them off by shouting "one.. two..!" In the case of the girls starting the song off vocally, Keiko was the one who gave the timing.

Kajiura was present for both days. I think I spotted someone mention that two of the Mezamashi hosts were present too, not sure about this one. Yoppi also tweeted his attendance.

Since the dresses were huge, it took them a lot longer to walk off the stage. And because we wanted to clap all the way until they disappeared off the stage... ...it was tiring lol.

Wakana did not give her usual flying kiss to the crowd as she left the stage. She did, however, do a curtsy on the last day.

Any respectable WaKei fan will notice that Wakana and Keiko have more moments together where they look each other in the eye and sing than with Hikaru. I know that Hikaru is perfectly okay with it too, shipper that she is. I will also have you know that the two of them had very lovely smiles on as they did so. The lyrics where they do so also tend to be *is slapped*

I actually had more trivia here but my first draft got swallowed by the internet. >.<

For the FJC live in march where FC members vote for the top 20 songs they wanna hear again, Samidare is noticeably missing from the list of eligible song list. I suppose there's no "hearing it again" if nobody has ever heard it live before.

Overall:
I must say, it was quite a magical live. My very first acoustic Kalafina live. I can see why some of my friends make doubly sure to attend these. I would definitely recommend that everyone attend these at least once too if they like clear beautiful vocals. I can hear very clearly, the progress that they have made vocally over the years (Hikaru's occasional slump aside. She was perfect in HK!). All three of them are so hardworking and it shows. It makes you wanna love them sooooo much. Wakana and Keiko were okay on both days, better on the second. Conversely, Hikaur was better on the first. They were all very good at Osaka. Wakana's performance for the second half of the second day was quite possibly better than Osaka. All the string arrangements were very good imo. It didn't feel empty or lacking at all. They asked us in the feedback form for any other song that we might wanna hear an acoustic version for. Little did we know (before the announcement) that it was for the spring acoustic tour! I wrote lirica and magia just for the heck of it.
 
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Sounds like it was amazing. I need to get myself to one of these Christmas Lives (or other ones, if the Spring thing becomes more common) as it's something I've wanted to do for rather a long time. On the other hand, I'm not sure how much more I can love Kalafina, seeing them like this might actually kill me. All three of them sounded fine in Osaka when I saw them, but I suspect they're probably rather tired by now. I'm a little worried if they're planning to release the Special Final as a live release again, we saw what happened with the Consolation Final. This is probably the biggest tour they've had I think? Not to mention it's interspliced with trips to Taiwan and Hong Kong and eventually Mexico as well, that's going to drain them quite a lot. I hope they don't have to do too much between Mexico and the Spring lives and can rest a little. If Wakana's still performing as well as she sounds like she is after this many lives, that's a very good sign though, she usually seems to be the one who suffers most.
 
@Kirito that is the whole point of me writing - to get people to want to go >;)

Keiko just felt rather emotional that day, taking quite a few more breaths than usual as she spoke for the mc. A few pauses here and there during hikarifuru and all. The mc then felt a little different, 2nd day started the same way but became a lot more like the usual mc thanks to wakana being wakana :) she always does know how to make keiko laugh.

Wakana has been pretty consistent this year imo. Keiko never had problems. Hikaru is the only one I am worried about. That said, I think wakana is usually the one that makes or breaks the concert. When she's amazing, the whole live is amazing. They are still pretty busy between Mexico and the spring acoustic. There's an fjc live and yk13 in March. Though I am not sure if Yk will settle on just Remi + yuriko for yk13 and give wakana/keiko a rest. The other problem is, with fotw all but guaranteed to get a BD release, it's likely that the spring acoustic won't get one, being so close to the fotw tour.
 
^ most songs in sao are instrumental so there isnt much to sing for, the mught appear for tracks that had tokyo konsei though.
 
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