back to reports
miyavi Report
June 22nd HUXLEYS NEUE WELT
After the exceptional artist miyavi had his sold out European debut at the Animagic in Bonn, he started his first world tour this year and performed 3 times in Germany.
Jrockradio was at his concert in Berlin on June 22nd and we are happy we can report it to you.
We arrived at the hall around 3 p.m. and were met by a crowd of fans. Contrary the weather report it was a nice day. Maybe it was a little bit too hot and many rushed to the nearby merchant to buy ice.
The cooler night saw the first fans arrive at the Huxley's and while the area was being barricaded people had the mind to start going in.
Everyone's mood was nice, but as the doors opened around 6 p.m. there was a huge rush and crush to get in which slowed down the entrance. Security began only admitting small groups to manage the rush. The hall was filled. Punctually at 7 p.m. the show started. The organizers began to welcome everyone and got the public all charged. People started chanting miyavi's name all over the hall.
The artist's group walked onto the stage and was welcomed fervently by the audience. Soon after miyavi finally appeared, hidden under a Japanese umbrella, he stepped up to the microphone. As soon as the umbrella lifted and he looked to the fans, enthusiastic shouts came from the crowd. The musicians did not keep the fans waiting. They started the concert and commanded the public's full attention.
Hoofer Saro satisfied not only with his fleet-footed, rhythmical tap dance, but also with his talent as a great joker and animated the already frenzied public with his dance and choreography. The just 18 years old DJ Teddy Loid presented himself beside Tyko also as a beatboxer. The fans were elated by the performance.
During the show miyavi built a rapport with his fans. They moved with him along the border of the stage. To say it was warm and cramped is really understated, but the mood between the fans was really great.
In the course of the concert the first lines thinned out and only a few pressed after. The heat and push made some people go to the backmost lines. Some fans had to be pulled out of the crowd by security. In my opinion, despite the high temperature, the offered water supply was not enough or started just too late. Especially during the concert brake, when Teddy Loid showed his ability as DJ and mixed miyavi's songs with great feedback, a more intensive water supply would have been preferable.
Miyavi came back on stage with a new outfit and played "Freedom Fighters", opening for the concert's second part. Last year miyavi was surprised by the shouts for this song and he had to tell his fans he had not prepared it. But he promised to make it part of his next show when he announced his return to Europe. The fans were glowing because he made good on his promise. Almost everybody in the hall sang along. After "Freedom Fighters", the other musicians came back to the stage and with a ceremonial drumbeat miyavi took of the sunglasses and put on a headband. All the band members wore these as well. After this the more rocking part of the concert started. The first lines became thicker and the public became more energetic.
Even though there were some little sound problems, which you can not avoid completely during a live show, neither the mood nor the show was affected by it.
Miyavi spoke a lot with his fans, mainly in English, but showed he knew a little German vocabulary. Even in the first minutes of the concert he told us in German about his show in Cologne and the great mood the day before. He asked us to be louder than previous show! I don't know, if the fans in Berlin were able to do it, but they did they tried their hardest. Later when he asked if we have fun, he got his answer as a huge shout instead of a clear yes. He said he got a kick out of it as well. Tyko and Saro were also responsive to the public and showed their ability as animated artists. The moods of the musicians and fans were equally fevered.
The last song of the second part was "We will rock you" and it highlighted a new mood. Long time after the group left, the refrain sounded as question-answer-game through the hall and brought the artists finally back to the stage. Mivayi entered with open hair and a Germany tricot. Despite the heat I had to smile because of his woolly hat, but the look was really stylish.
During the encore miyavi announced he will come back again. Everybody, who was not able to visit a concert during this tour, should make up for it the next time. The show was really lovely. It is noticed this is a group of great artists, who have a lot of different talent on their own, together on the stage!
After nearly two and a half hours the concert finished. We were able to leave the hall without problems or rush and made for home during the evening heat, before the thunderstorm started.
At this point a lot of thanks to Rock:ID, who enabled our visit of the concert and this report.
We also give our props to JaME, who made their photos of the concert in Cologne available to us.
author: noi