During their first anniversary live on September 18th 2009, rock band Elegy announced a band name change. Now known as The emotion, the band played their last live as Elegy at Omotesandou FAB.
Elegy was formed in April 2008, and has since developed their original sound with their overwhelming vocals and expressive vibrancy. Having so far lived up to their 'new but good old Neo retro band’ reputation, today they finally welcomed the day of their final performance.
Fans gathered at the venue of the live in various state of fashionable dress. Some even dressed to emulate vocalist miyuki's image that she had portrayed in various scenes in PVs when she had dressed in a pseudo-Gothic Lolita style, wearing black costumes and looking very much like a doll. It was interesting to note how much influence miyuki had on the fans.
Suddenly a radio could be heard throughout the venue and the PV of Delete was projected on one of the walls of the hall. Afterwards the venue became dark as the lights were turned off, eliciting an excited cheer from the audience. Nature sounds -- running streams, gentle breeze, birds chirping -- filled the whole venue. Audience anticipation increased and they began to clap and call for the band. Soon enough, just as the chant became very loud, miyuki appeared, wearing a pink costume and surrounded by a pink and yellow light.
The live began with Common Baby and Delete, followed by Chitanai hana and Kitakira. From the range of bright songs to up-tempo hard songs, we could easily see and hear miyuki's passion through the music. It brings to mind what she had once said in an interview: 'Whenever and however I feel, once the song starts, I relive the time when I made the song.” goccho, shin and shade as well as guest keyboardist shinichi supported her and they looked at each other as they played. miyuki introduced the members this time, something which she had never done before.
“Do you know what a 100 yen coin looks like?” miyuki asked the audience soon after she finished singing several songs. As she looked over the venue there were many people who didn’t understand what she was saying, so she continued on, telling the audience how there was a time in her life where she had to live on 100 yen (roughly one US dollar) per day for about three months. “100 yen is great. If I don’t spend it one day, I can use twice it the next. After I came to Tokyo, I realized just how great 100 yen really is.”
Her words resonated in the air, and one could almost hear the thoughts of the audience; how hard it must have been when she first moved to Tokyo from Nagoya, being a performer without a consistent income and no relatives to lean on in times of hardship. She continued, "You know there were times I am sure that I spent 100 yen thinking how cheap 100 yen really is. But having just 100 yen per day to live off really makes you think about things differently. You know 100 yen can save many lives. My friend is living in India, and she is having difficulty buying food. I said to her not to be bitter about the position she's in, because bitterness about your own condition means that you are only thinking about yourself and not others." miyuki always talks about herself in her MC, and this MC was an intimate moment between her and the audience. She shared her vulnerable past and gave the audience a message to be positive in the face of difficulties. It was indeed a most heartfelt affair. She then continued to explain that Chikyuu no uragawa no anata e was written for this particular friend, and we could tell that it was a very important song for her.
The band's performance and miyuki's voice relaxed the audience whilst making them reflect at the same time. The album Shiro kuro (White Black) reflects this duality within everyone and how everyone should just feel comfortable with each other, regardless of sex, gender or anything else. This was one of the messages miyuki wanted everyone to consider and she expresses this through the lyrics and the music.
Soon after, miyuki confessed to the audience that today was her last performance as Elegy. She explained the new band name is The emotion and the band will explore and express different feelings, including anger, sadness and happiness. miyuki talked about the new name very excitedly and her enthusiasm was contagious.
“I’m very happy to be able to do a live in front of such warm people today. I want to say thanks to you all! I hope that we meet again. I really want to see you. Please come to our live concerts as The emotion. I’ll never forget today, I promise. Please stay with us forever. Thank you very, very much.” Holding back tears, she thanked everyone again and again. Members left the stage with bright happy smiles. The feeling from the audience was very supportive and it was obvious that everyone would definitely return to see them again as The emotion.
Elegy, who consist of vocalist miyuki, serious band leader and guitarist goccho, drummer shin and bassist shade is a very special band for many. Each of their songs expresses different feelings and moods to suit anyone. miyuki's words “I want to keep singing, no matter what name we perform under. I think this is more of an evolution for us, so please continue to support us,” showed us that these are the hearts of true musicians, and it is with high expectations that we look forward to seeing them perform as The emotion!
Setlist:
01. Common Baby
02. Delete
03. Chiranai Hana
04. Kirakira
05. Hitori no veranda
06. Oikaze
07. Chikyuu no uragawa no anata e
08. Boku no arigatou
09. Ai no jinkoukokyuu
10. Unmeiron
11. Too Tall!
（The emotion）
En1. Maipe
En2. Tomodachi
En3. Wasurenaiyo
