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Old 2012.08.12, 08:21 PM   #62
Nimh
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Okay I finally got around to watching the 2nd half of the concert (beginning with Onna no ko...), after sufficient recovery time from the blizzard of glitter that was the first half.

Maybe I need to watch the other concerts to give an accurate comparison, but I think this one has by far the most camera angles, flash cuts, and general visual disorientation than any of the others. Overhead cam...Kameda foot cam...Ringo shoulder-strap cam (which admittedly got a stunning shot during Tengoku e Yokoso)...The worst is when the female dancers started criss-crossing in front of Ringo who until this concert has never shared the stage like this-----your mind has to adjust constantly to WTF you're looking at to the point where you can't even hear the music.

I need to rip this to CD and judge.

The 2nd half calmed down a bit visually and for a while there I enjoyed it, until the dancers came back out, the streamers started flying, and the elephant somersaulted through the flaming hoop. At the last few bars of Toumei Ningen I half-expected Ringo to dive into the crowd. It would have been the ultimate pandering gesture. I also expected her to cry. She did neither, and for that (and her professionalism, her occasional smile and flash of intensity, and talent that will never die), I accepted this for what it was: afterburn. ("More like afterbirth," mutters half the forum.)

Can't believe I'm saying this, but the closing credits were the highlight. Handsome Sugite underscoring some cool candid shots of the band during production, and even a visual nod to Phase 1. Nowhere near the iconic mashup of Ringo no Uta PV or even the cryptic and maddening door-slam at the end of Electric Mole, but I'll take it.
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