Undoubtedly more well known as the singing voice for Sheryl Nome, the “Universal Nymph” from the hit love triangle anime Macross Frontier, one might forgot that May'n (Nakabayashi Mei) is an established J-Pop artist herself. And when we heard she was performing her first ever concert in Malaysia, we surely didn't let go of that chance to see her in person up close ourselves.
The venue of choosing surprised us really. KL Live was never known to be a place that held a full fledged concert, especially none that we ever heard of. Usually it's just for small gigs and such. A weird choice indeed, but might be due to lack of real concert location in KL. I doubt people want to go to Bukit Jalil instead.
With the concert starting at 8pm, and the door opening at 7pm, we decided to go there around 5pm to see the crowd. The first thing we saw was a bunch of dedicated Japanese fans of May'n at the very front. Upon asking, we found out that they were there since 12! Talk about dedication. Malaysians, being, well Malaysians, only start to come in droves around 6.30pm. The heavy rain does not help as well.
So how about the concert itself then? Well other than some minor hiccups, like the surround system which was quite loud, overall it was an awesome experience. May'n sang 16 songs that night from her various albums, which includes the soundtrack from Macross, Styles and Street. Kinda all of her career condensed into one night. And what a night it was. Not even the fucked up sound system can beat her powerful voice. And the small hall means that you really can be close to her. Something that is rare for a Japanese artist's concert.
Watching her on stage, it was amazing. She really put her heart and soul in it, and she really is a professional performer as well. That is the highest regard I can give to anyone. The fact that she tried to talk in English to us, and without even any prompt cards tells how much she practiced. The Engrish of the “I really like Nasi Lemak and Pisang Goreng” and “I feel exciting” are quite funny, but it's these small things that differentiate how good a performer really is, and she is without a doubt, a great one.
Her performance on stage as well was a sight to behold. You can feel the energy oozing out from her. Her dance is well calibrated, and when she sang Universal Bunny, I have to stop and star
e at awe to her sexy dance (her bunny tail wag really was a surprise), and also quick voice change. It's one thing to hear it on CD, but to see her effortlessly does it live in front of you, is something else altogether. You can also see when she want to strain her voice, she will stop moving, as when she sang Diamond Crevasse, thus ensuring her voice does not wane midsong. The dance lessons she gave before XYZ was really fun and extremely cute, especially when she goes “Nya~!”.
It was good to sing along to songs such as Diamond Crevasse, Lion, 射手座☆午後九時Don't be late, Northern Cross, XYZ and Blue. The choice of ending and opening song was also well thought of. The show ended with the ballad Heart and Soul from Styles. But it was the opening song that sums up the night perfectly. Welcome To My Fanclub's Night! is not just the title of the song, but it was really what happened. This was not a concert, this was a personal meeting of May'n and her fans. While her fans might lack in number here, it does not lack in compassion. And when she started to falter in her goodbye speech in English, her fans told her that it was alright to speak in Japanese instead, as no matter what language, they can understand her, prompting her to cry.
All in all, it was a great night not just for fans, but for everyone that went there. She really showcased her talent as a performer, and it's quite easy to forget that this professional singer is just a mere 20 year old girl. As she said in her speech, “I want to be known throughout the world one day”, and thus everyone here hoped that one day, that wish of hers will be granted.
Song List
01 Welcome To My Fanclub's Night! ～Styles ver～
02 ノーザンクロス
03 Get Ready
04 インフィニティ
05 pink monsoon
06 YOUR ROCK
07 Deep Breathing
08 ダイアモンドクレバス
– ダンサーコーナー
09 M-Revolution
10 What'bout my star?
11 パラノイア
12 XYZ (振り付け指導有)
13 キミシニタモウコトナカレ
14 オベリスク
15 ユニバーサル・バニー
16 射手座☆午後九時Don't be late
アンコール
17 ライオン～May'n ver～
18 May'n☆Space
– ダンサー紹介
19 Heart＆Soul