[2019.06.08] Scout Bar in Houston, TX
featuring: Miyavi
It's been 8 years since Miyavi has graced his presence in Houston and I made a last minute decision to check it out. I could ramble on and on about my relationship with Miyavi's musical track record, but that's a post for another day...and trust me, you'll definitely get one.
Before purchasing my friend and my ticket, I did preview 30 second samples of each track through his YouTube channel from his latest album, No Sleep Till Tokyo. I haven't been keeping up with Tokyo's "Samurai Guitarist" like I used to years ago, but I'm not completely oblivious to his activities. Miyavi continues to be an activist of the world and its children as well as experimenting with his own sound, which is something he's done for practically his whole career. Before listening to the previews, I had a good gist of what his current sound may be, which doesn't really make me jump out of my seat. Although, one thing that has been consistent about Miyavi, no matter what style or era he's playing, he always puts on a great show.Instead of being stuck in the crowd, my friend and I decided to keep our little habit of standing or sitting on the sidelines. The perks of doing this is feeling the cool, fresh air; access to ice cold water (sometimes), you can clearly hear the artist over the crowd, you don't have to fight the 6 foot tall guy to see Miyavi and his crew, and plenty of room to dance or headbang.
As a blogger (and just overall introvert), it's pretty cool to witness the interactions between the audience and the artist. I always believed the chemistry between the artist and the fans during a show is very important. That key exchange can really set the tone for the whole show.
Without any opening act, Miyavi jumped right into it with positive energy and smiles all around. I was pretty excited to hear a familiar tune by the name of "Flashback" from the anime Kokkoku, a very high energy song. I've always enjoyed this song and made me want to watch the opening every time. It's a real bop as the kids say. Since I'm not familiar with a good portion of Miyavi's new material, I can easily describe it as energetic, electronic rock music for the people. Like I can see his music being easily digestible for the Western audience without sacrificing his Japanese aesthetics.
The last Miyavi show I attended, his style at the time heavily depended on instrumental moments that incorporated a catchy looping melody, drums, and slap guitar. While his current style still has instrumental breaks to show off his mad guitar skills, the songs don't heavily depend on them. Instead, these moments emphasis the message and tone of the lyrics, which was something I missed about Miyavi. I admit that he never had the most amazing singing voice, but his tone is uniquely him and always full of passion and energy. That factor is what brings life to his shows and feeds his audience.The setlist mainly consisted of his newer tracks from No Sleep Till Tokyo with a sprinkle of anime contributions and slightly older tracks [that I actually recognize]. From what I can tell his MCs were in English, which is getting better and better with time. Of course, his fans were very encouraging and responsive to his words. He even jokingly played his "new song" for us and his Dallas fans the previous night, which ended up being "Deep in the Heart of Texas" [*clap**clap**clap**clap*]. It was amusing and everyone had a good chuckle.
The third act or encore, depending how you look at it, continued the intensity and liveliness throughout the whole night. I believe he replayed the title track of his new album, which invoked the perfect theme for the evening. In the end, I'm glad I made such a good last minute decision to attend. Once again I can say that Miyavi never disappoints live. Even when things aren't perfect, his vibrate energy always manages to shine through!
Stars
Flashback
In Crowd
Rain Dance
No Sleep Till Tokyo
Samurai 45
Tears on Fire
Other Side
Guard You
We Can't Stop It
Under the Same Sky
Ha!
Strong
Fire Bird
Raise Me Up
DAY 1
Dancing With My Fingers
Fragile
The Others
WHAT'S MY NAME?
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