Kaya Live at Pacific Media Expo

November 8th marked Kaya's first performance in the USA, his first performance outside of Japan, and if his blog entries in the two weeks leading to the event were any indication, he was looking forward to it it as eagerly as his fans, who traveled from all over the United States to see him. In a way, the show started much earlier than the announced 9:30 PM, as boy-mode Kaya, in tight black-and-gray plaid pants and a huge pair of eyeglasses, mouth covered with one hand, made his stealthy way past the unsuspecting line to start sound checks. To everyone's excitement, his strong voice carried beautifully past the ballroom's closed doors and caused an impromptu dance party in the middle of the hotel hallway.

Doors opened at 8 PM, and Heday and Nylon Pink, Kaya's two support acts, each performed a half-hour set. The stage was then cleared of all but a couple of loudspeakers, and at 9:30, the opening tunes of Kaleidoscope were heard, prompting cheers from the audience. Kaya entered from the right side of the stage, his steps small and dignified. He wore the dark version of his Chocolat outfit—an elegant, floor-length black dress with a simple line meant to emphasize the single red rose and elaborate lace on his chest. Kaleidoscope's choreography included many twirls, showcasing the full skirt of Kaya's ensemble.

Walkűre, a danceable and energetic song, followed. Yui and OCHI, Kaya's dancers, joined him onstage in the white, ruffled shirts from the Chocolat PV and black jeans. The dance movements closely followed those that many of the fans had become familiar with from watching Kaya's Salon de Chocolat DVD, both Yui and OCHI collapsing on the floor at one point while Kaya walked daintily around them, skirt-in-hand.

Next, Kaya smiled brilliantly and greeted his American fans, apologizing for his poor English and asking if Japanese was OK. When the crowd cheered an enthusiastic agreement, he joked that surely, they must all be Japanese since they understand the language so well. In spite of this, he kept his MCs shorter and his speech much simpler than the elaborate, amusing mixture of formal, informal, masculine, and feminine ways of expression that are a trademark of his Japanese performances. To conclude the MC, he asked the audience to shout his name, encouraging the already loud cheering with English calls of "Mooo~re!"

The jazzy Masquerade was next, followed by the ballade Silvery Dark, which Kaya performed alone. His voice was strong and clear in spite of the cold he had. At one point, he hid behind his hands and wiped his eyes as if he had been tearing up, the emotion with which he infused his performance moving the entire audience. While some fans believe vocalists sound better in recordings than they do live, such is not the case with Kaya. Recordings don't do justice to the intensity, power, and expressiveness of his voice, which, combined with his radiant presence, creates an enthralling effect.

He did not leave his fans sad for long, though. The next song, Chocolat, the centerpiece of his major debut single, caused the most enthusiastic reaction. Fans sang and followed the PV choreography along with Kaya, who turned the microphone over to the audience, who sang with him in Japanese. He later admitted that the strong support he received for his major debut song moved him deeply, so much so that he was close to tearing up. The intensely joyful mood persisted into Epicurean, another upbeat song, during which Kaya, Yui and OCHI danced with the pink feather-boa fans Kaya brought from Japan as a part of his merchandise.

After that, Kaya exited the stage, leaving Yui and OCHI to dance to another energetic track that the audience didn't recognize, but speculated was the background music to Last Snow, the new single scheduled for release in December.

Shortly after, Kaya returned in an outfit unfamiliar to his Western fans—a kimono-style short dress of white silk with purple roses, combined with a white PVC waist cincher and a huge purple bow in his hair. At the start of the next song, Kagami oni, he sprinkled purple confetti from a paper umbrella-like container over the front rows of the audience, causing everyone to cheer in excitement.

After Kagami oni, Kaya stopped for another MC and asked if the fans thought his outfit was cute. The crowd shouted back, "Kawaii," to which Kaya smiled brightly and giggled, "I know" (in English). During the MC, Yui and OCHI went for a costume change of their own, and re-joined Kaya in their black and grey kimonos from the Kugutsu ~live digest~ PV.

For the second part of the live, during Psycho Butterly, Kugutsu, Kasha and Glitter Arch, Kaya was much more interactive with the audience. He shook hands with his fans on a number of different occasions, trying his best to reach as far back as he could. He even took a moment to hide behind a large loudspeaker on the left side of the stage to sit down and have a sip of water and exchanged quips with the less Japanese-challenged of his fans.

Kaya particularly impressed his fans with a high and strong opera-like moment during Kugutsu. The dance moves mirrored the lyrics of the song; Yui and OCHI were demons who were trying to drag Kaya down. Kasha is a song with a strong, techno beat, during which Kaya invited his fans, in English, to jump during the chorus, making spirits high and perfectly setting the mood for the dance finale of the evening, Glitter Arch. The lighting was brilliant and bright and, during the chorus, Kaya instructed the audience to wave their hands from left to right.

In his final MC for the evening, Kaya thanked his fans and introduced his dancers, who each got an excited round of applause. When Kaya's turn came, he simply patted his chest with an expectant expression on his face, only to have the audience erupt, loudly cheering his name.

Under the soft sounds of the instrumental of Chocolat ~sweet version~, the fans called Kaya out for an encore. As is his custom, he performed Rose Jail, a harder song with heavily distorted vocals during which, people pushed towards the stage in an attempt to touch him. Fans were able to "sing with Kaya" during this song, as well—complete the last line of the chorus-- responding with "hurts" and extending their hands towards the stage to Kaya's "with all my..."

Kaya exited the stage again, and even though the audience kept calling him for a second encore, a serious voice confirmed the end of the performance, telling fans, ready to flock to the merchandise booth, to have a good night.

The magic of the performance stayed with the fans for days. Kaya often says that with his performances, he wants to create "a brilliant dream we would never wake up from." At his debut in the US, he succeeded completely.


Set list:

Kaleidoscope
Walkűre
MC
Masquerade
Silvery dark
Chocolat
Epicurean
SE
Kagami oni
MC
Psycho Butterfly
Kugutsu
MC
Kasha
Glitter Arch

Encore: Rose Jail