Finished watching now, and while I really liked some parts, some aren't as good. I think the collabs really highlighted how LiSA is used to being a solo performer, both in a good and a bad way. The Kalafina girls are instead used to sharing stage and vocals with others, so for them it felt much more spontaneous. But as usual - I hated those blue outfits. The black ones at least were sparkly ;)
I'm not a particular fan of LiSA's voice (either studio or live), because it's often closer to shouting instead of singing, but I do like some of her songs and she does have presence on stage. The collab on
Oath Sign was seriously something epic, all sounded amazing and Keiko especially, when she began to sing, was
so badass. They were all really into the song and, since LiSA sang the whole first part on her own, the division among the singers in the second part was perfect. On other live performances of Oath Sign LiSA was usually breathless when it came to the last refrain, therefore since this time she didn't sing it all on her own, it was especially great.
On the other LiSA songs, nothing to comment, aside from the fact that I wish Keiko got to sing one with LiSA too (maybe Catch the Moment?). Perhaps it's just my impression, but it looked a bit as if Keiko was neglected...
This Illusion, in the original, is a bit too shouted for my tastes, but having Wakana start it was really amazing. She gave this mysterious feel that immediately caught everyone's attention, and overall she really did an impressive job. She and LiSA started all their parts together very well, even though they always got a bit lost after a while and I didn't really like their higher notes together (except the very last one) because they contrasted, but in the lower parts they were very good, because by being less audible Wakana kind of smoothed LiSA's sharper tone. I have to say that the refrain they sang separately was very unflattering for LiSA, because Wakana did it much better and sounded beautiful, while LiSA was shouting it. Aside from all my nit-picking, it was enchanting - and that embrace at the end :D
Träumerei had such a wow-factor because of how Hikaru sounded (all: low, middle and high parts)! She and LiSA were obviously having so much fun, running around then sitting down, clearly enjoying themselves, and LiSA did much less shrill screaming too :P their voices actually sound rather similar when they sing together, and it made the performance even more powerful.
About the songs by Kalafina, I enjoyed the ease with which they performed Magia (although there's kind of a scary moment as Hikaru is holding the 'negai' before the bridge, when you can see the veins on her forehead about to pop) and it seems as if they are finally getting the hang of Blaze, because it's much smoother, especially in the harmonies where they occasionally used to overpower one another during other lives. Nothing remarkable but also nothing wrong with the performance of Believe, and Identify sounded very strong (even though I do question why they added it to the setlist, same as I question why they added it to the Arena live). Ongaku was fine, the FBM were great, I'm not sure why Wakana chose not to go up the stairs for her solo as usual; Keiko came in slightly yelling too much instead of singing, but she corrected herself immediately. Ring Your Bell would have been perfect if Wakana hadn't had a little trouble with the high notes at the end, where they also didn't harmonize that well.
As for
Kagayaku Sora no Shijima ni wa, LiSA did better than I feared, but she still has the shouting tendency that truly isn’t fitting for this song, and it was rather painful to watch. The harmonies with Keiko were rather bad, and it constantly sounded as if LiSA was forcing herself
not to shout, and that did sound awkward. Both times when she sang 'sora no' was awful. Agree with
@HimeWakana, if they wanted to make it a LiSA&Keiko, they should have done the bridge too, not have Hikaru and Wakana do it as usual (even if it was sung really well by them).
I wasn't really impressed by the collab on One Light either; LiSA sounded at ease in the chorus, but the contrast between her shrill parts and the ones where Wakana takes over was stark. I was a bit disappointed that Keiko seemed to imitate LiSA and in her (few) solo parts shouted instead of singing. LiSA and Hikaru singing together instead sounded as good as they did in Träumerei.
I do think the collabs really proved that LiSA doesn't do well when she has to harmonize with others (she didn't do the Kajiurago bridge in One Light, thank goodness); she's a solo artist, so it's to be expected, but Kalafina's songs are not meant for one single vocalist to overpower the others, and LiSA's voice (and her style) unfortunately tends to do that. The Kalafina girls instead did great in LiSA's songs; Oath Sign in particular was absolutely terrific :)
THIS is what her natural singing voice sounds like, which is way better than the one she uses for Kalafina songs. I wish she could use this voice for more songs. T.T
. I want Wakana and Keiko to do a cover of This Illusion and Hikaru a solo cover of Träumerei because of this live, I'm sure both would sound really good.