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Anime Expo 2010: MELL Concert Report

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If the May’n/Megumi Nakajima concert held earlier that day at Anime Expo 2010 was phenomenal because of its combination of awesome music, wonderful surprises, and an excellent performance by the pair, MELL’s concert was a grand spectacle. Because I had gotten in early enough, being able to see the crew setting up the instruments on the stage gave me the hope that MELL would be able to deliver not just a solid concert, but a memorable experience on top of it all.

Up until now, the concerts that I’ve attended at Anime Expo consisted of singers who perform with the benefit of a background track, so knowing that MELL would be backed by the full sound and fury that a live band can offer meant a more engaging and enthralling performance. This concert isn’t without its caveats though, and I’ll reveal those as I go along. More after the jump!

I did call it a spectacle, and that’s exactly what this concert started with. Rather than bring MELL on stage immediately, the audience was treated to a performance by some entertainers who did magic tricks like pulling out a seemingly infinite supply of umbrellas accompanied by an elaborate dance that could have been part kabuki theater and part religious rite. Whatever it was, this unorthodox start sure got the audience’s attention, and it segued smoothly into the actual music as MELL was revealed in a dramatic fashion. Clad in a kimono and with the band members all set and ready, MELL was ready!

And here’s where the first caveat pops up. I’m not all too familiar with MELL’s works outside of anime, and over half of the concert touched upon her non-anime works. Because of that (and my lack of Japanese knowledge), I’m not going to try to recreate a set list and instead just comment on the pieces that I do know.

Well, the first song came in and though I didn’t know what it was called, the pulsing beat from the percussionist hammered me pretty hard, and left no doubt in my mind that we’d be in for a thrilling techno/rock performance. I could feel the energy pouring out from the instrumentals, and the audience was drinking it up. MELL, for her part, went about the song with confidence and rocked the house with her opener. Whatever faults her actual singing may have had were compensated for by the power and passion of her delivery and when combined with the spectacle, brings out the image of MELL as a diva (in the Latin sense) descending down to Earth, shaking up everything in sight. Needless to say, it was an excellent start in the way it shaped the songs that were to come.

It wasn’t until the third song that I entered familiar territory. After shedding her kimono in favor of an outfit that accentuated her figure in the second song, she moved into “Red fraction” from the Black Lagoon anime. Here, the band brought out the discordance and hard sounds that were used during the show’s OP sequence and MELL followed up with her barrage of Engrish that’s always made the song feel a tad silly if you’ve taken the time to hang on to every word she says and how she pronounces them. Obviously, the power of the song derives not from the lyrics, but from the harsh tones of the delivery. So in matching up with the original, I’d say it’s pretty darn close and the crowd definitely enjoyed it.

“Proof,” from Hayate the Combat Butler, was a bit more different than what I had expected. For those familiar with the original, that song has the feel of a love ballad, with mellow tones that bring forth wistful emotions, so when the percussion really pounded the rhythm hard throughout the song at the concert, it really felt at odds with the song’s sentiments. MELL didn’t let that keep her from doing a good job there as she proves herself capable of being able to shift tones on the fly, moving from the harshness of “Red fraction” and into the soft delivery that we’ve come to know and love from “Proof.”

That’s about the only real criticism that I have though because everything else went great! Rideback’s eponymous opening theme was harsh and gritty, bringing with it the shades of anger and revolution that was so fitting with the show’s focus. MELL’s forays into trance were also wonderful to behold as she once again shifts to a voice that feels transcendent somehow; as though your spirit can leave your body and enter a higher plane of existence altogether. Finally, watching the band made the experience feel complete. There were times where the band leader would run up on stage and slink around when it suited the song’s atmosphere or yelled to rouse and give the audience even more energy. The audience was more than happy to oblige and this resulted in a bit of call and response going on between the band leader and the audience.

So what’s the last caveat? MELL’s brand of techno isn’t my thing. While I loved her soothing voice from “Proof,” the rest of the music was really harsh and that doesn’t fit in with the kind of music I usually enjoy. So most of the mileage that I got from this performance came in absorbing the sights and sounds around me; I’d look at the faces of the people in the audience and saw how riveted they were by the performance. The magic sideshow they had around the middle was also fun to watch. Above all though, it was an experience. The music might not have moved me, but when you combine disparate elements like having a band on stage, moving and grooving along to the techno and rock phrases they blasted and seeing the audience reaction to all that results in a different sort of enjoyment. I was not the target audience, but for those fans of hardcore trance/techno/rock fusion, there’s a lot to love here, and if MELL happens to be around your area, I’d definitely recommend going to her concert!

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[…] of the May’n/Megumi Nakajima concert will be written and posted over there to accompany my report of the MELL Concert that has already been posted. The same will go for the information I gleaned out of May’n and […]