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Sono Subete no Ai ni August 26, 2009

I watched Berryz Koubou’s Sono Subete no Ai ni concert the day before yesterday. This is the first time I’ve actually watched a concert that was just Berryz, the only others I’ve seen them in have been Wonderful Hearts concerts and the battle concert with C-ute.

I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect. I looked at the tracklist before I watched it and a vast majority of it is songs that I’ve never even heard of let alone listened to before.

There were some great moments and then there were some  that I’d rather never see again. A little hit and miss, but I love Berryz too much to let that really get in the way.

The DVD kicks of with Dakishimete Dakishimete, which is undoubtedly my favourite recent Berryz release. It proves to be a great concert song, with plenty of room for the wota to jump and chant along with. The thing is… no-one really stands out in it. It feels like a very teamy song, especially the chorus and the choreography, but I suppose that’s a good thing to do at the start of a concert.

The VTR was borderline hideous. The graphics were not good at all, and the text looked like it came from MS word. It was the same for the member VTR in MoMusu’s Platinum 9 Disco concert. Have they really gotten that bored with these things?

But it gives way to good things when one of the best parts of the concerts appears. HAPPY!Stand Up, with the girls dressed as the young, female, Japanese version of the Ghostbusters, waving obnoxiously coloured plastic water guns around. While the song is nearly too long on CD it works great in a live context because of the energy it has.

And then, what is definitely the most random thing I have ever seen in a concert. An accapella version of Gag 100kaibun Aishite Kudasai. I must’ve completely bypassed it on the tracklist because I wasn’t expecting this at all. Risako, Chinami and Maasa shushing the crowd was really cute and the actual song, despite the fact that Momoko is singing it, is really well executed. Proof that these girls have talent!

Strangely enough, I’d never heard Nanchuu Koi wo Yateruu YOU KNOW? before this. I didn’t realise how good a song it actually is. I must’ve listened to it ten times since yesterday. The silver ghostbusting outfits are perfect for the song, but the staging is a little odd – having them all stand in pairs on various parts of the stage doesn’t really work. One thing that always makes me giggle is how serious and into the song Maasa is.

One thing that I would be very happy never to see again is the godawful song Chinami and Maasa do… and then it goes into a sort of okay song with Momoko and Yurina and then into a rather messy Otoko no Ko performance. It was a section that had many faults and even though I love Berryz, I can’t forgive that.

It really goes to show how one live performance can really change my opinion on a song. I had absolutely no feelings toward Seishun Bus Guide or Rival when they were released, to the point where I hadn’t listened to them all the way through even once. But now, for some reason they’ve caught on and I find myself humming the chorus to SBG every so often.

Okay, at first I liked the encore costumes. Then they decided to go and perform Anata Nashi de wa Ikite Yukenai  in them. What genius thought that one up eh? It looks rather terrible to see these girls in sort of romantic, regency-esque, powder blue dress dancing and singing a song that was originally performed in plaid.

But then it suddenly gets good for the final song, because it’s the concert’s namesake and a ballad. Therefore powder blue dresses make sense. I’ve always thought that Sono Subete no Ai ni was a surprisingly good song – it was the b-side to Dakishimete and could possibly surpass its’ a-side in my favour-rankings. And this is a really good performance to close the show with, especially with Risako’s big notes and the chorus. I love it.

I always get this bittersweet feeling when I watch the end of a H!P concert. Maybe it’s because I’ve never seen one live, might not get the chance to either, but there’s something slightly off kilter about watching them leave the stage and feeling like I’ve shared the experience with a thousand wota, even though I’m sitting in my living room in England.

If I could, I would very much want to see a Berryz Koubou concert live. Morning Musume are legendary and all and I love, but I think I prefer the sort of kiddy fun that Berryz have. I’m nearly 17 but I still haven’t grown up really and I’d love to indulge that and not be looked at in strange ways by people on the bus. Speaking from personal experience, of course.