Yuki Kajiura LIVE #19 Kajifes 2023 - 30th Anniversary Live (Blu-ray releases / Box set announced for May 29, 2024)

Review (will add more as i watch)

Did they cut "street corner" from the stream cause its start with Kibou no Hikari.
Regardless i really like the live pipes.
- Nice touch to add accordion to numquam vincar
- All the Kalafina songs performed prove that it was mistake for Kalafina to stay with just 3 vocalists and should have done audition to replace Maya. Much better harmonies with 5 vocalists and they collectively get less tired as they have less lines each to sing.
- What happened and suddenly Joelle sound like Wakana ? lol
- I prefer Junna's natural hair from 2 years ago, now she looks like anime cosplayer :(
- At 0:33:40 she first said that heeeyyo but she forgott the 2nd time. Was that Keiko or pre-recorded vocals that was in place of her voice the 2nd time ?
- Taiyo no Kouro is really nice :)
- "Time to sail" was also cut ? :(
- Really like how Joelle moves all the time during "L.O.R.D" theme.
- Eri Itou is LOVE <3 ( why 'i talk to the rain' was cut too? :faint: )
- ring your song is so good n touching <3
Really enjoy's ASCA's voice on Hibari. Love Kimi ga mita yume no monogatari too, so epic melody and performance ^_^
- Skipping the Asuka songs.
- Love "Yasashii Yoake" even if its a bit repeatitive.
- Kimi ga ita Monogatari : I prefer when the intro was done by Kaori in a previous live, but other than that, i like the e-guitar solo on this one.
- So happy to see "Rainbow main theme" finally performed (and by KOKIA <3)
- Kaze yo Fuke, is also flawlessly performed !
- Lotus and Inverse operation cut :faint:
- They have perfected "Mezame!" too, but i'd much prefer Materialise instead.
- Flawless Yuyami no Uta.
- Yuuka's Kouya Ruten is much better than Rito's (LMAO did she have a brain freeze at "Are wa?" and took a second to remember "tsuki no yume ka?"
- Junna is good on Silly go round but needs to scream a bit less.
- Lino Leia is so bad in Cazador del amor than even an amateur would do better i think. She lacks voice volume, but she did put all her power (in a bad way) in "watashi wo" and "inochi wa" ^^; (how on Earth did she win the audition?)
- "nowhere" turned into a party song, not a bad thing but they re a bit too happy to sing it in proper way.
- zodical sign : Party song #2.
- into the world was really nice and wholesome.
 
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How do they synch with the prerecorded stuff though? Also is it legal to do that ? I mean the people are paying to see the artists themselves perform the songs, not to hear the CD version playbacked on a live stage 😅

Also why there is a glass in front of the strings quartet ?
 
she is a fav of mine doesn't mean I'll go easy on her
Yeah, I noticed tension while she was singing. She's older definitely but she is a professional, and was singing within her range, so I don't know what was up.
Magia live is really the best ver here
I concur. Apart from the Kalafina Magia Quattro Arena Live 2016 version with the dramatic stage acting and the other version that had them walk through the audience, vocally this is the best there is all things considered.
they are so clean and audible so not just assisting but as if it's a second front stage for those brief moments
Yuriko brings an extra gear of harmonic expression to the group. The fact that she keeps going so high above (and often mirrors Keiko an octave above) is always amazing and added to the kajiurago sections especially for Kalafina.
 
Omg into the world was heavenly. Love the inclusion of the secret fourth member of Kalafina: Yuriko Kaida.

I loved Parade live too. Never realized Joelle does the lower harmony for the first chorus and Keiko is not.

https://m.bilibili.com/video/BV1UJ4m1774a?p=9
Yuriko is so fundamental to the way the harmonies flow in Fiction Junction/Kalafina. The upper harmonic gear.

I am always pleased to discover how the vocal lines are changing during songs, and this helps us to know that all the mezzos have access to a pretty solid low range (Joelle, Yuriko, Kaori, rito) and can move around as needed. It also gives flexibility and rest to different singers and ensures that when the times comes that they sing extended low sections as lead voice, it is a TREAT!
 
Haven’t watched the videos yet, but it’s one of Eri’s bad live IMO. It started going wrong at the beginning of The Song of Storm and Fire. Though her professionalism kept the live went on, it isn’t the same as her high standard as in Live 2 or Live 15. I’d be more surprised if there’re no complaints on her at all..lol.
 
Haven’t watched the videos yet, but it’s one of Eri’s bad live IMO. It started going wrong at the beginning of The Song of Storm and Fire. Though her professionalism kept the live went on, it isn’t the same as her high standard as in Live 2 or Live 15. I’d be more surprised if there’re no complaints on her at all..lol.
I am pretty sure she was also aware of whatever was wrong, since it's so out of character for her.
 
Haven’t watched the videos yet, but it’s one of Eri’s bad live IMO. It started going wrong at the beginning of The Song of Storm and Fire. Though her professionalism kept the live went on, it isn’t the same as her high standard as in Live 2 or Live 15. I’d be more surprised if there’re no complaints on her at all..lol.
She's hitting 64 this year, so I deem her breath control less long-lasting and consistent than it used to be. Also, "I talk to the rain" might have partially drained significant energy from Eri. :'(. Vol 2 has a staccato at "sa... i ma shi aaaaaa...", but it was not as conspicuous as the recent rendition.
Edit: My bad, 61 to be exact.
 
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Magia: ignoring Hikaru’s fugged voice, it was fine. Though I feel like Yuriko wasn’t really needed here hue.
🤔

I loved what Joelle did on the Kalafina songs. All that switch between chest and head voice was wonderful, and is something I wish Kalafina did more.
Yeah, if Joelle attempted to continuously belt those high notes in a multi-hour live performance, like Wakana (and Hikaru) often did because of an undeveloped head voice that sounded didn't sound clean, she (Joelle) would eventually end up with the tension issues they developed. A well-developed head voice is VERY IMPORTANT for a mezzo to achieve mix (without going nasal, I haven't heard rito go to head voice much...).

I mean look at Yuriko, Joelle, KAORI (edit: let me not forget KEIKO), and even JUNNA and rito (not yet sure of LINO LEIA) and of course the legends REMI, Hanae, KOKIA, Yuri, Eri)! When your head voice is strong you can fully switch to it or do heady mix for days and not strain so much. You notice that some sections Yuriko took the higher notes in the same phrase after Hikaru took the lower part (Hikaru would have been forced to attempt those high notes with her very strained belts in Kalafina lives). 😞

Wasn’t she a member of some idol group?
She sure was!

She was such a KWEEN when she went up the upper stage.
Queen of Strother-Land. She always has a regal carriage.

That breathing in the middle of “mastia” is a big no no
Yeah... broke the vocal line.

Mebbe she was sick
She's a pro. I strongly suspect that. Or nerves?

Wakana just wasn’t exciting at all
Her warm, not-so-open tone...yeah. Some would still prefer it because of familiarity.

More KOKIA plis, Kajiura, in soundtracks, FJ albums, and Fiction 3 (soon).
She needs a mystical or creature introspective song like she usually writes for herself, with Kajiura's compositional touch. KOKIA excels at inhabiting those characters!

That pause in the bridge was a kewl touch. And dem moves right after hue
rito has got the correct amount of moves and facial expression to captivate in her own little way.

RITO, YOU CAN SIT WITH US
I'm beginning to feel this too. Her voice will mature with training and growing older (age is a big part of vocal development apart from natural talent).

Yeesh, Junna, don’t scare me like that hue
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Nice moves, Lino Leia, but like I said, she ain’t no singer (or at least, a Kajiura singer). Maybe she could be the cheerleader or something
Ouch! She has a potentially sweet voice, but her placement is just completely wrong. The lyrics were partly swallowed by her nasality! She was the worst for this live, vocally.

Dat dansu during the violin solo. Dat Konno laughing at the girls hue
Yeah! And Akagi Rie is always game for anything dancing. She got her chance to get out from behind the music stand.

Would be nice to have more Kalafina covers with all 5 singers. Red Moon would be a great fit. Or Sprinter, which unfortunately didn’t have all necessary singers last time.
I totally agree. Most Yuki Kajiura music requires 4 singers minimum (hence Maya and Hikaru being brought in) and sometimes even 5 (with Kajiura herself joining in at times in studio version).
All the Kalafina songs performed prove that it was mistake for Kalafina to stay with just 3 vocalists and should have done audition to replace Maya
It was totally obvious to Kajiura that Keiko and Wakana alone couldn't be Kalafina in studio, not to talk of on stage, because of basic 3-part harmony and more so the layered and switching vocal lines she likes to write. Maya leaving had an impact on what could be done fully live (and can be reliably assumed wasn't Kajiura's preference). I mean, Maya freed both Wakana and Keiko to rest if you watch the ARIA and Kizuato back in 2008.

What happened and suddenly Joelle sound like Wakana
Similar placement at that point I guess. It's the same way classical female singers can sound almost the same since they're using similar techniques in the same range.
 
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I doubt it but hopefully? I don't know how they would fix it, other than using some different angles, which might make it even less exciting?

Fingers crossed for everyone buying the BDs that they do a good job.

edit: I think misread what you were saying...
 
64 years!!! Oh wow!
She's hitting 64 this year, so I deem her breath control less long-lasting and consistent than it used to be. Also, "I talk to the rain" might have partially drained significant energy from Eri. :'(. Vol 2 has a staccato at "sa... i ma shi aaaaaa...", but it was not as conspicuous as the recent rendition.
 
Sorry for that, it should have been 61. But then, she's still amazing at that age.
That changes everything. She's at the age now where she has to modify how she sings older songs.

Artists like Chaka Khan have had to switch to a more nasalized sound to hit those higher 5th octave and lower 6th octave notes they hit often in their younger years.
 
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