Since aki already did an excellent write-up about
what happened, I'll just share my personal experiences of individual songs, as well as ACEN as a whole.
I attended the
opening ceremonies at 10, and was in the front row, so I got to see Kalafina and all the other guests up close. I met a guy who was decked out in full Kalafina-fan regalia: Consolation live t-shirt, wristband, drawstring bag, ect. I felt kinda lame in my street clothes.
He had a Consolation special live 2013 towel, so we held one end each and waved it when Kalafina came on stage.
The girls wore shortened versions of their Consolation dresses, and introduced themselves (Wakana first, then Keiko, then Hikaru, iirc), before saying "We are Kalafina!" together. They proceeded to announce they were having a live performance that night and invited everyone to come.
Warning: Long, long post. Lots of fangirling, especially of Wakana, whom I already adore and came out liking even more, if that's possible.
Now, some general comments about the
live event itself:
- It was, all around, an incredible, unforgettable experience. The girls sounded fantastic throughout, both in terms of technical vocal ability (especially considering the length of the show; several attendees I spoke to said they were surprised by how long the live lasted) as well as stage presence, emotion, engaging the audience, ect. I was a bit worried since I've heard some of the unedited lives (the old Aria, Oblivious and Magia, studio lives for Manten/TTB/ect.) which were inferior to their official releases. My worries were groundless: they sounded like how the Red Moon/After Eden/Type-Moon Fest releases represented them, except better because I was actually there in the room as they performed. I know it's impossible, but I'd love it if they could put this concert out on DVD/bluray. It was as close to perfection as humanly possible in the circumstances.
- I had only two issues. First, as nataku00 mentioned, the audio was a bit off during the beginning. Drums were too loud, mix sounded a bit chaotic. They fixed it after the first two songs, and I brought ear plugs to cancel out the worst of the noise (took off the earplugs for some of the ballads), so it's not a big issue.
The lack of Konno Hitoshi and live violin bothered me a bit more. The band's presence factored into why I ran down to Chicago, and Konno-san is probably my favourite of all of Yuki's musicians. I consider his violin solo in the original Salva Nos to be my favourite ever. Anyone know why he's missing? He wasn't there for the Vol.9 bluray either, though his presence in the 5th anniversary lives and Consolation Special live reassures me a bit.
- I was a bit surprised by the relative loudness(es?) of the girls. It wasn't a problem or anything, since I could hear all three well, and harmonies were usually clear without completely drowning out the main vocal. I just heard a small but noticeable case of Wakana > Keiko > Hikaru in terms of loudest to softest. 'course, I was sitting on the right side AKA the Wakana side, but the sound balance didn't change no matter where the girls moved on the stage.
Dunno if Wakana's mic was turned pretty high (makes sense, since she does lead vocals for the most number of songs) or if she just sang really loudly this time. Of course, I'm not complaining--I could listen to Wakana's tragic goddess voice all day, and it was a real treat to hear her the higher harmonies.
I also heard Keiko's lower harmonies more prominently during this live than I did through videos, and though Hikaru was softer than I imagined, her vocals were still powerful and passionate.
My thoughts on specific songs are below. I stress that there were no "poor" performances during this live. Heck, there weren't any mediocre performances either. They all range from good to perfect, so even when I critique specific performances, they're still good by normal standards.
Oblivious: Best performance of this song since the Seventh Heaven DVD. Hikaru's opening lines floored me. I was worried about her being a bit harsh like she was at the Lisani live and After Eden, but there was none of that here. She even incorporated a bit of her "dark" voice! Wakana and Keiko's bridge was utter perfection. I remember Wakana sounding a bit shaky and Keiko's voice cracking on "yume wo" during one studio live; Again, none of that here. Only reason I wouldn't rate this above the Seventh Heaven live is because Wakana sang the "ahh" parts in falsetto rather than her normal voice--probably stylistic choice, to match Hikaru's falsetto "ahhs," but the Seventh Heaven version was so unique.
Consolation: Powerful, excellent, glad I got to hear it since the Niconico video quality was pretty poor.
Kagayaku: I've always loved Wakana's top notes on the bridge, and hearing it live only made it more powerful. Wakana and Hikaru mixed studio levels of vocal perfection with the passion of a live performance. Keiko's solo here was outshone by what she later did in Door and Signal, but she still gave a good performance.
Red moon: I'll be honest: from a technical singing perspective, I felt that this was the weakest song of the live. Wakana sounded incredible when she was belting (throughout the whole live, the long, full notes were what she sang best) but struggled a bit with her lower register and messed up one note during the last line (though she did redeem herself with the powerful final note). I don't blame her, since... was it just me, or did she take no water breaks during the whole live? I clearly remember Keiko and Hikaru grabbing water at least once, but Wakana seemed to just stand at the front of the stage through all the MCs. She does seem a bit "break adverse," considering that it took a nod from Yuki to get her to go for water in Vol.4, while Keiko and Kaori grabbed water right after Zodiacal Sign... And now I've digressed way too far.
Anyway, though it had some tiny technical issues, it was still a great overall performance, and many other groups would kill to be able to deliver something of this quality. The part before the last chorus, when Wakana and Hikaru sang together, was simply epic. (As a side note, it made the Wakana-Hikaru volume difference pretty noticeable, since Wakana nearly drowned out Hikaru while every other live had the opposite happening.) It speaks very well of the girls that this is actually their weakest technical performance.
Magia: Got everyone on their feet! Nothing to say here except yet another great performance.
Hikari no Senritsu: Again, excellent. Hikaru's high harmonies blended very well with the main melody. People waved to the happy chirpy song, and I had fun wondering how many of them knew the lyrics and noticed "The real pain / Was when I touched your chest / The tune I dreamed of/ Is like its quietness"
Door: I was a bit torn when it came on. On one hand, yay for more Consolation songs! On the other hand, if they were gonna perform just one new album track ballad, I'd prefer Hanataba or even Kichigo. All reservations flew away once they started singing. Wakana sounded oddly breathy at the beginning, but it fit the song, and I think she actually bettered it from the studio version. Because she was pretty loud during the live, I also heard her higher harmonies better. It was almost like an entirely different song, but in a good way. Hikaru's part was my favourite in the studio--she couldn't really better it live since the studio was already perfection, but she certainly lived up to the studio version. I'm glad they also gave Keiko a chance to shine with her vocalizations in the end. So smooth, so powerful, really shows off what an alto can do...
Mirai: Not one of my favourite songs (I prefer Credens Justitiam) but it once again showed off their vocal skills and excellent harmonies.
Aria: I nearly screamed in delight when it started. I consider the Seventh Heaven and Red Moon lives of this song my favourite Kalafina live performances (studio version and 5th anniversary live are underwhelming in comparison, though Type-Moon Fest version was good). Wakana and Keiko's harmonies were insane, and I think this was the most powerful version of Wakana's solo chorus. The combination of Hikaru's mic being low + Hikaru being the main vocal did drag it down a little, but it still hovers somewhere between the Type-Moon Fest version and the Red Moon live in excellency.
Signal: Again, freaked out when it started. It would've been my favourite song on Consolation had they taken off the effects on Hikaru's voice, and I get to hear that here! Hikaru did have some trouble with the first verse. She seemed to be chopping off the ends of her lines to catch a breath or something. Understandable, considering the pace of the song, and I'm confident that once they perform it a few more times she'll master it. And then Wakana's "ahhs" started.
Holy crap. Those were already my favourite parts of the studio version... and the studio version does not do justice to the power of Wakana's voice. Even now, I'm still hearing them in my head. She did take many obvious breaths during those lines, but I didn't care--whatever it takes to get those notes out! Even better: as if encouraged by those "ahhs," Hikaru also got better as the songs went on.
By the midway point it was the perfect, non-synthesizer version of the song I wanted. Keiko brought out the full power of her voice during the bridge, without ever getting shouty either.
Obbligato: My favourite Consolation song alongside Hanataba right now, so it was a triple treat after Aria and Signal. I was worried about the intensely difficult Hanae parts, but Wakana nailed them. I mean, I could tell they were difficult for her, but she didn't miss a note and strung them together without any breaks. I'm surprised she says Signal is the hardest for her, since I personally consider Obbligato much harder, between the Hanae parts
and the lead vocals she has to sing. Keiko and Hikaru totally rocked the verses too. I can't remember if it was this song or Signal where they had an awesome moment singing beside each other. I adored the KxH moment even if I felt kinda sorry for Wakana belting out high notes on the other side of the stage.
Ongaku: Everyone stood up. I finally understand why they perform this song every live. It might not be the emotional experience or technical prowess of the previous three songs, but it's just so freaking fun! It probably helps that this is the best performance of the song I've heard. Keiko was a great balance of power and control: no shouting or slurring of words like during their older lives, just energy and staccato mixed with long notes when needed. Between this, Magia, and Manten, all the girls got to show off their note-holding skills! Also, Wakana was great on the bridge: top falsetto note was perfect, long note was powerful as it should be. In fact, I'm starting to think I'm wrong to be nervous about the bridge at all. She's only messed up once during After Eden; during every other live the bridge sounds fine.
Manten: Great performance, though I can't say much about it since it didn't stand out among the slew of great performances. With one exception: That note from Wakana, in the middle. My favourite note from her outside of the Signal "ahhs." It's so much more powerful live than it ever was in the studio. I'm beginning to resent the studio mix for downplaying "The Note."
To the beginning: Again, great, not much to say. The girls did seem to be tiring a bit by this point, though it was so minor I might've been imagining it. Which brings me to...
Hikari furu: I
must be imagining it. No way they can perform this well if they were tiring by TTB! In terms of sheer technical perfection, this might've been the concert's best (among the ballads, at least). Wakana has really mastered those opening lines: she slipped effortlessly into falsetto, leaps and bounds better than the studio live and better than the studio too. Keiko got to show off a bit of her higher register during the bridge, and she added more of her own flavour here (I thought she sounded oddly like Wakana in the studio
)
Yume no Daichi: Soothing and lovely. In terms of "concert-concluding ballads," I wouldn't put it quite at "I have a dream" levels, but it's superior to Symphonia.
I was originally planning to leave early to get to the autograph line, but there's no way I could've left in that atmosphere. Kalafina had that crowd entranced, and I was no exception. Thankfully, I scouted out the autograph area beforehand so I was able to make a fairly direct path towards it while many people stumbled around lost. But even then, I had trouble finding the exact room.
Ah well, the confusing place worked to my advantage 'cause I got near the front of the line. Dunno how other people managed to get so many things signed though, 'cause the guy at the door yelled out "No pictures, no handshakes, one item only!" I think it's fair though, for the people behind me.
The Kalafina girls seemed to understand English fairly well (I know a smattering of Japanese vocabulary, but I feared my grammar was so poor I'd come across as offensive). Wakana seemed super excited. I heard her introducing herself to one of the people in front of me, and she went "Honto ni? Really? I'm... very happy" when I told her she was my favourite singer in the world. I'm surprised she can be so energetic after two hours of concert. Keiko seemed... surprisingly shy? when I told her how powerful her voice was. Or maybe she just wasn't confident in her English.
Hikaru was so cute--she seemed almost surprised when I raved about how much I enjoyed hearing her live. Or maybe I seemed like a crazed fangirl and scared her--I hope not!
Anyhow, I've got my Seventh Heaven LE booklet signed, which is more than enough. Hope they return to North America soon--or, more charitably, maybe they should do more overseas lives in places they haven't gone before.
