 @ LAFORET Museum Harajuku, Tokyo --- Feb 6, 2002 |
 Review |
<VENUE>
Though named a "museum", the hall is a multi-use event space.
There about 500 chairs were set, and of course a stage, as low as 2 feet.
<OUTFIT>
Black no-sleeve lace-edged shirt & pinkish red cardigan; Black semi-long
skirt with an-inch-wide white edge; Black boots; Hair bound in two sides
of her back-head, later in the middle to be unbound.
<SOME DEPICTION>
It was indeed a great concert, but compared with the second night in Osaka,
she was rather tense, partly because it was the first evening, trying to
entertain the Japanese audience.
That seemed to be why she got so upset as to bang the microphone stand
strongly and angrily twice onto the stage floor, when her voice became
harsh in the middle of the second song and was not able to sing some lines
very well. Natalie walked side to side, obviously frustrated, with her
eyes almost closed, which made the quiet audience worried a bit and even
more silent.
Yet soon her voice was getting recovered, and she became as she is on the
stage. Exactly as she did in the 80s, Natalie still kept spinning around
and dancing with pulling up her skirt. Her posture was marvelous in expressing
artistically with her sensitive hand movements, especially on 'Put The
Law On You' and 'This House Is On Fire.'
<THE BAND>
Gabriel Gordon (G, Vo), Erik Della Penna (G), Elizabeth Steen (Keys), Graham
Maby ? (B), Ms ? (Ds)
The names of the drummer and the bassist is not certain, sorry.
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Setlist
(* Natalie on piano) |
| 1) Motherland |
| 2) Cowboy Romance |
| 3) I'm Not Gonna Beg * |
| 4) Beloved Wife * |
| 5) San Andreas Fault |
| 6) Build A Levee |
| 7) Put The Law On You |
| 8) Hey Jack Kerouac |
| 9) Break Your Heart |
| 10) Wonder |
| 11) Carnival |
| 12) This House Is On Fire |
| === ENCORE 1 === |
| 13) Just Can't Last |
| 14) These Are Days |
| 15) Life Is Sweet |
| 16) Kind & Generous |
| === ENCORE 2 === |
| 17) Thick As Thieves * |
| 18) Frozen Charlotte * |
|
 @ ON AIR OSAKA, Osaka --- Feb 7, 2002 |
| Review |
<VENUE>
The second venue was even smaller with about 200 chairs set, and when the
show started, almost half of them were not seated ... very sad.
<OUTFIT>
Black no-sleeve V-neck shirt & black cardigan; Black knee-length skirt;
Black boots; Hair unbound from the start.
<SOME DEPICTION>
The most laid-back, relaxed, intimate show I had ever experienced. I assumed
it was partly because it was the second evening, partly there was such
a small number of audience, though they were more reactive than those in
Tokyo, that Natalie might have felt no strain to be perfect and felt like
having fun herself too.
Started low-key and relaxed, playing slow songs including the four successive
songs on piano, the small club was filled with very different atmosphere
from Tokyo. Here are some funny moments, in chronological order, caused
by the special and magical air of the evening.
1) Speaking Japanese
In Tokyo Natalie had shown off her newly learnt word "usagi"
(rabbit), and now she had gained one another vocabulary "kasa"
(umbrella) --- probably because it rained. Furthermore she brought her
orange shoulder bag onto the stage, took out her handbook titled "Japanese",
and then recited some of the Japanese phrases she might have been interested
somehow, like "Tenki wa doudesuka?" (How's the weather?), "Tomodachi
ga byouki desu." (My friend is sick.), "Eigo no dekiru bengoshi
wo onegaishimasu." (I need a lawyer who speaks English.) When she
read "Douitashimashite" (You're welcome.) and was not able to
pronounce fluently, one of the audience showed a model pronunciation, which
she tried to repeat after and told the guy that she needed him. Everybody
laughed.
2) 3 restarts on Break Your Heart
When the light was spotted onto Gabriel, who starting to sing a chorus
line on Break Your Heart, Natalie told him that he looked like Virgin Mary
in the light, saying she had never seen him lighted that way. And then
she restarted the song, but as the chorus part approached, she could not
help laughing and was not able to continue. She restart from the beginning
again, but she burst into laughter again. Gabriel suggested they should
start after the first chorus part, and she could handle that barely.
3) The Change in the encore setlist & Carpenters medley !
After performing the first encore piece perfectly, she suddenly began to
sing 'Starman', another David Bowie cover, only the first verse a-capella.
Then she turned to Erik and asked if he could change the list. While Elizabeth
was getting ready for the piano, Natalie sang the first line of 'Over The
Rainbow,' and then they played 'Sweet Old World' by Lucinda Williams, telling
that she did not play the song often but she would because it seemed like
"a special night." Yes, indeed, it was.
AND THEN, sitting on the front edge of the stage, Natalie mentioned she
had been told Carpenters were popular in Japan, and she suggested someone
come up and sing 'Top Of The World.' Well, nobody volunteered, so she sang
... only the 1st verse just because Natalie did not know the 2nd. Then
she sang, with Elizabeth on piano, three more Carpenters songs, all partly;
she could not hit the high key on 'Rainy Days ...'
After singing 'Superstar', she noticed the bands had been gone and told
so. Then Erik climbed onto the stage from the audience floor, with a pair
of chopsticks in his hand. That made Natalie question him how much sushi
he had eaten. Very funny.
4) Shaking hands with the audience
When she came back again for the 2nd encore to play 'Kind & Generous,'
many audience, including me, went up to the stage. Starting to play, Natalie
shook hands with the audience who had rushed to her. She even reached her
hand to a girl who seemed to be hesitant to ask, which was very kind and
generous of her to do. YES, I succeeded in shaking hands with her, only
for a moment.
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Setlist
(* Natalie on piano) |
| 1) Motherland |
| 2) Cowboy Romance |
| 3) Frozen Charlotte * |
| 4) I'm Not Gonna Beg * |
| 5) Seven Years * |
| 6) Beloved Wife * |
| 7) San Andreas Fault |
| 8) Build A Levee |
| 9) Put The Law On You |
| 10) Hey Jack Kerouac |
| 11) Break Your Heart |
| 12) Wonder |
| 13) Carnival |
| 14) Golden Boy |
| 15) This House Is On Fire |
| === ENCORE 1 === |
| 16) Space Oddity |
| 17) Starman (1st verse only) |
| -- Over The Rainbow (1st line only) |
| 18) Sweet Old World |
| 19) Carpenters Medley |
| -- Top Of The World -- Rainy Days and Mondays -- Superstar -- Close To
You |
| 20) These Are Days |
| === ENCORE 2 === |
| 21) Kind & Generous |
|
Japan Tour 2002..... Two nights in Tokyo & Osaka, with a surprise change of the encore
setlist, singing Carpenters medley. 
to
