Dance, fun and energy abound during THE NIGHT WITH DREAMS COME TRUE.
After nearly a decade, DREAMS COME TRUE returned to the United States to perform a special set pulled from the DREAMS COME TRUE WONDERLAND 2011 series. The first stop of their North American tour took place at the historic Wiltern Theater in Los Angeles. The sold-out show was performed on a small, stripped down stage that put everyone’s focus on the band. Without the spectacle and glamour generally involved in a larger event, the live felt like an intimate, yet still extremely rowdy party.
The show started simply enough: the backup band and dancers filed triumphantly onstage to the theme of WONDERLAND, with Miwa Yoshida bringing up the rear. Flanked by white suited dancers, Miwa greeted the audience and was nearly drowned out by their screams. Beaming at the high energy, DREAMS COME TRUE launched right into their first song, Nandodemo. Although the crowd was mostly made up of middle-aged ladies, everyone started rocking out and jumping around until the floor was vibrating. Masato Nakamura stood at stage left, wiggling his hips to the beat, while the five brass players at stage right waved their instruments with flair. Miwa, so excited to be performing, shouted “more!” until her voice cracked.
After two more songs, Miwa paused for a short MC. Breathless and vibrant, she talked about their WONDERLAND tour this year, then pulled Masato over to say hello. In a mix of English and Japanese, he began to “translate” for Miwa, then asked one of the dancers to translate instead. The dancer shook his head, which prompted Miwa to cutely accuse him of not listening to her, and the crowd laughed in delight at their antics.
The MC over, Miwa signaled the start of the fourth song. The next few songs involved sassy dance moves and the crowd getting into the groove. Small groups amongst the audience began dancing around, and the fans who had brought sunflowers whipped them out to wave proudly overhead.
The second MC started with the adorable vocalist ducking offstage, leaving Masato to take on the burden of communicating with the audience. In English, he asked everyone to just call him “Masa” because too many people had been mispronouncing his name lately! While everyone laughed, and a few select fans shouting out “Masa!” to fulfill his request, Miwa returned and the live continued.
The ninth song abounded with cuteness, but with the performance of the next song, the mood became a little calmer. Everyone settled in and listened intently to the melancholic ballad while blue light washed over the stage. Acoustic guitarist Nobuyoshi Nakazawa stepped to the forefront and wailed out a few longing notes before Masato Honma cut in with a sharp saxophone solo.
The energy picked up again with the next number which kicked off with a silly dance routine by Miwa and her dancers, SHIGE, KEITA and INO-D. Combining a salsa beat with a circus theme-like melody, the song led into JUON’s electric guitar solo. The edgier, more sultry numbers continued with the sixteenth song, which featured Miwa sporting sparkling black bunny ears. The dancers got a chance to show off as they were given center stage to perform, and Miwa displayed a few choice moves herself while her powerful, throaty vocals held the audience captive.
Then it was back to brighter, bouncier music. A sea of waving hands was illuminated under the lights, a sight that made Miwa smile even more widely. Through Kessen wa Kinyobi and Ureshii! Tanoshii! Daisuki!, Miwa introduced all her dancers and the band members on stage. Then, even though the audience was clearly hungry for more, the band waved, bowed and left the stage.
It was only a short wait before the encore began. Masato was the first to return, and upon hearing the screams from the fans, both he and Miwa bowed deeply and shouted repeated "thank you"s. Visibly moved, Miwa launched into LOVE LOVE LOVE and had the crowd singing along to Mirai Yosozu II. The entire venue seemed to be singing backup vocals and the air reverberated with joy. Miwa belted out the last note with all her strength, and the crowd cheered her on until the very end.
Just before leaving the stage for the final time that night, Miwa introduced every member of her crew once more. However, she asked the audience to introduce her, claiming it was embarrassing to have to shout one’s own name. The crowd obliged eagerly, screaming Miwa’s name at the top of its lungs. Cheerfully waving, Miwa, Masato and their crew finally ended the show, leaving everyone sad to see them go, but happy and satisfied to have seen them.
