The Report of the Corrs' Acoustic Gig at CAY in Tokyo on August 7, 2000
On August 7, 2000, the Corrs had a special acoustic concert for the people concerned. In addition, FM radio programme listeners who won tickets to the concert in a competition also got invitations to the concert. Luckily, I could win a ticket to the gig via a competition when I had listened to the radio programme "VIVA! ACCESS" on the J-WAVE FM radio station on August 4, 2000; I've got a chance to see the concert.
The venue was "CAY", a kind of a nightclub which is located at the basement of the building "SPIRAL" at Omotesando in Tokyo. The door opened at about 6:10 p.m. and people were let into the venue. When we enter the venue, the floor was already crowded with the people concerned. Surprisingly, however, we prizewinners were given priority in admission to the front section. I could save the second row right in front of the stage successfully. As the venue was standing area only, my place was almost the same as the front row. (As a special guest, TARAKO who is known as the voice of "Momoko Sakura" in "Chibimaruko-chan (Little Miss Maruko)", The Animated Series on the Fuji TV network, also came to this concert; TARAKO said she is also a fan of the Corrs.)
It was not long before the Corrs came on stage! Like the previous day, they all appeared smiling all over; were in a good mood, actually. Of course, we fans were overjoyed at their appearance all at once. They all sat on stools in the following order: Sharon, Andrea, Caroline and Jim. Like "MTV Unplugged," Caroline played the Bodhran, tambourine and bongo. As usual, the rest of the band was Anthony Drennan on acoustic guitar and Keith Duffy on electric bass.
Well, the harmonies were indeed excellent like "MTV Unplugged". Especially, all of the songs from the new album "In Blue" sounded much better than recorded album version. Maybe because this was the acoustic concert, we could feel more emotion; hear a fresh sound. Anyway, Andrea said "Arigato", which means "Thank you" in Japanese, after songs ended.
After a few-minute break, "Breathless" was played as an encore. This time, they played "Breathless" faithful to the original version with backing tape sounds. So it was the electric version as a matter of course. But it was also brilliant! In fact, we could finally see Caroline playing the drums and Jim playing the electric guitar! Anyway, it is needless to say that they got the applause of the whole venue.
As this is the promotional concert, almost all songs were selected from the new album "In Blue." As most of the songs from the new album were the unplugged version, however, they had more emotion and fresh sound. We could appreciate the another beauty of their music.
The acoustic concert itself came to an end at about 7 p.m. We fans had to leave the venue at once. It seems that the party was then held to celebrate their promotional visit to Japan at the same venue with the people concerned.
Thus, the concert came to an end in about 40 minutes or so. But it was indeed fantastic!
Incidentally, the Corrs played six songs on this concert, though they originally planned to play four songs. The setlist is as follows:
1. Radio (Unplugged)
2. At Your Side (Unplugged)
3. What Can I Do (Unplugged)
4. Somebody For Someone (Unplugged)
5. No More Cry (Unplugged)
(encore)
6. Breathless (Electric)
By the way, there was a question-and-answer period before an encore. Those questions and answers are as follows:
Question - What would you want to eat tonight if the world were to be over tomorrow?
Sharon: Soba noodles (buckwheat noodles)
Andrea: Sashimi (flesh slices of raw fish) and Wasabi (Japanese horseradish)
Jim: Teriyaki salmon (a slice of salmon broiled after being soaked in soy sauce) that Jim ate at a Japanese restaurant in London
Caroline: Sushi (Caroline's favourite topping is raw tuna)
Before Caroline answered that question, Sharon said as a joke, " McDonald's burgers, right? Caroline!" Of course, Caroline replied, "No!"
The last question was: "What is music for the Corrs?"
On behalf of the Corrs, Andrea replied something like that music is the best way to express their emotions.
Thus, this special acoustic concert was held in a congenial atmosphere. It showed their great sense of playing acoustic; was indeed a brilliant showcase of their talents. Needless to say, we could enjoy this concert fully! I do believe it was indeed the best Corrs gig I have ever been to! So I was very lucky to see this gig; I would like to express my sincere thanks to J-WAVE and the Corrs for this brilliant concert. Thank you very much indeed!
(Incidentally, photography and recording were prohibited in this event as a matter of course. Hence, I'm afraid there is no picture of this event; the whole story I wrote here is based on my memory. Cheers!)
Luckily, I found the video of the Japanese TV programme featuring this acoustic gig with their interviews. Watch now!
