MIYAVIIn the last year, MIYAVI has accomplished quite a bit. One world tour under his belt, the start of his new company, J-Glam, Inc., his marriage and the birth of his daughter. For an artist who’s been making music professionally since a teenager, one can easily anticipate a large production. For this tour, MIYAVI chose simplicity at its finest and it proved to work well in showcasing his abilities as a guitarist, a musical artist and above all, a world renowned performer.

What’s his name? Fans screamed “MIYAVI” at the top of their lungs even before the guitarist stepped out into the spotlight of the Club Nokia stage. The long awaited show started and finished with so much energy. Each strum of his guitar called for more shrieks and cheers. Hands flew up and the floor trembled a bit as every song had its turn. MIYAVI knew exactly how to work the Los Angeles audience.

He walked out with a black blazer on that was asymmetrically decorated with a traditional oriental-like design. Under that he wore a black tank top to go with it. His legs were covered with snug, black Capri pants and his shoes matched in black as well. And of course, he wore his signature hat with his long ponytail swaying out of the back. It was a change from the long kimono and flowing fabrics from his “Neovisualism” era. Not to mention his trademark lip piercing was missing as well.

Along with his fashion change came the change of his crew. Instead of a large production, Bobo, a drummer from Brazil and a keyboardist, DJ Coba84 were on deck with the captain. He introduced them to the crowd and we shared our enthusiasm for MIYAVI with Bobo and Coba84. The three together meshed so well. The music they produced pounded out of the speakers with so much gusto it shook the venue.

MIYAVI pulled some of his older fans back in time and played tracks from his indie album GALYUU released back in 2003. It was a shocker hearing “Ossan Ossan Ore Nanbo” and the song from his movie Oresama, “Ekisentorikku Otona Yamai”. What was a real surprise to the audience was the soft melody of a ballad version of his single “Kimi ni Negai wo” released early July 2005. The venue was silent so as to hear every note he sung. Aside from his older music, MIYAVI gave the crowd a sneak peek of some of his newer works soon to be released this year. He announced a new single in September and another upcoming album. He sang 3 new tracks, which the audience went wild for. Titles such as “Gravitiy”,’Torture” and “Unbreakable” were sung. These particular songs were a bit more somber or darker, fueling curiosity as to what else the new album holds.

His performance on stage was hypnotic. MIYAVI held everyone’s attention with his rapid movements from stage right to stage left. Swaying his guitar as he swayed with the music. A few breaks in between the show gave him a chance to charm us with his growing proficiency in the English language. During one of his M.C. breaks, MIYAVI spoke of his proud accomplishments throughout the passed year. He mentioned starting his new company, J-Glam, Inc., becoming the CEO, his marriage and the birth of his “little monster” daughter. It was clear to us all that he was extremely proud of all he has done.

During the intermission, syllabic chants of “MI-YA-VI” broke out as he walked backstage for a minor wardrobe change and a breath. He came out with a beanie on and his Neo Tokyo Samurai Black Tour tank-top which was being sold out on the merch tables along with other MIYAVI merchandise. Items such as pens, towels, shirts and tank-tops, Neo Tokyo Samurai Black World Tour Vol.1 DVDs, a tote bag with MIYAVI’s kanji printed onto it and wristbands. After the show half the audience ran to the merch table and half waited hoping for MIYAVI to come out for an encore.

MIYAVI ended the night with a sweet goodbye to his LA audience and his final song, “Neovisualism”. The audience sang along with him as he jammed on his guitar. It was a successful second show indeed.

Watch for an interview with MIYAVI coming soon!

Article by: Satou
Edited/Contributed by: AliW