Last Night: Miyavi at Slim's
Miyavi at Slim's
May 18, 2008
Review and photos by Kirsty Evans
Rock music. Taiko drums. A rapper/beatboxer. Traditional Japanese paper umbrellas. A sexy punk guy covered in tattoos and piercings wearing a long skirt and what looks like part of a kimono over his jeans.
The hardest thing about describing a Miyavi concert is trying to explain his style. I gave up and decided to just let the man explain it himself:
“I’m trying to make my own style. Of course I’m looking forward long term, but for now I’m just doing whatever I want. I’m just trying all sorts of music styles. Not only hip hop, but electronic, and I like blues too, punk, and also art – I just visualize something.
I was just trying to figure things out and mixing up my own style, which is influenced by Western culture and Japanese traditional style. That’s the way I can break new ground. At the same time this is what I want to say - I want to smash the stereotype of VK, to reach out to the mainstream."
Judging by last night’s performance, he may just pull it off. With a sound that ranged from funky and hip-hop influenced to alt rock to bluesy cool, it was a hell of a show, the unifying stylistic notes being rhythm and playfulness. Miyavi slipped onto the stage with his face covered by a fan and a minion holding a large old-fashioned parasol over his head, and from the very first moment he had the audience’s undivided attention. Talented, smart, funny, playful and disconcertingly androgynous at times, the man has oodles of charisma. His back-up band is pretty cool too. I particularly loved the tap dancer, who spent the whole night grinning at the audience and playing off against Miyavi in a sort of guitar/tap battle that nobody had ever seen before.
It’s that odd mix of elements that most people would never think of combining that makes Miyavi special. Well, that and his sheer enthusiasm. Seriously, the man has so much energy it’s kind of scary, and he connects with the audience in a way that very few musicians do. His English does not “suck," despite his frequent claims to the contrary, and his love for his fans was clearly apparent in the dialogue that he kept going with the audience throughout Sunday’s show.
The audience loves him right back. I can’t remember the last time I went to a show with such a positive vibe. Fans flew in from all over the country for just that feeling – I met people who had come from as far away as Ohio, Vancouver and Minnesota. The line formed outside Slims’s on Saturday afternoon, with several fans camping out overnight to secure a spot right in front of the stage. Their devotion is both remarkable and well deserved. When was the last time that you heard a rock musician talk about his fans like this?
“Of course they’re like my, not daughters but sisters, like family right? The relationship is so important.”
It’s an unusual sort of relationship he has with his fans. Miyavi walked onstage to an outpouring of adoration that didn’t fade the entire night, and he gave back as good as he got. Running around like a kid on a sugar high, coaxing the audience to sing along with him, flirting madly and shaking his ass to the funkier tracks – Miyavi was a big, crazy ball of pure positive energy. He really seems to care about his fans in a way that most musicians don’t, and that manifested in a million little ways – stopping and asking the crowd to move back to give the people in the front some room when he noticed them looking crushed, pausing to give fans time to get their hands out of the way before stepping on the railing and leaning out over the audience.
Positivity is the core of what Miyavi is all about, and it’s a big part of what his audience responds to. He insists that it’s not a calculated marketing strategy, it’s just the way he is, and it’s something that he wants to share with his audience.
“How can I say it? I’m doing music for my life, to live. Not only to make a living, for my life. So, I want them to live, through my music I want them to gain something. I’m singing what I’ve gained from my entire life, how I’ve been living so far. My songs are all positive, even though they have different styles. I just want to sing about life, no negatives.”
And the music…there’s no question, the man can play. He’s one of those rare guitarists who has both a naturally sweet tone and serious technical skill. Underneath all the crazy costume changes (3 at Sunday’s show - I particularly liked the sparkly jeans) and the multi-colored hair is real talent, and it’s with the acoustic numbers, when all the distractions are temporarily laid aside, that it’s most visible. For a few moments the mad whirl of energy stills, the man focuses, and the audience stares in awe. It’s like watching a great athlete in mid-stride, or an actor perfectly in character – there’s something awe-inspiring about seeing someone doing what they were born to do
He’s a hell of a rocker too. The first encore, a set of louder songs that included Aho Matsuri and Shouri No V Rock, was the best part of the show, along with 21st Century Tokyo blues, which sounded amazing live.
At the end of the show Miyavi turned to the crowd and said “So you’re all coming back tomorrow, right?” And you know what? I bet most of them will.
Critic's Notebook:
Personal bias: I have a soft spot for musicians who actually like their fans. And venues that hand out water to the crowd – thank you, Slim’s!
By the way: There’s a tour coming up in Europe too, and Miyavi will soon become the first Japanese rock artist to play Chile and Brazil.
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