These are my impressions two days after the concert, slightly edited just now. The whole thing was a real adventure, and I'll never forget the experience of spending a total of about six hours in a sea of Mayday fans.
So what was the show like? The sound quality seemed very good, and they got a very thick sound on some songs with the orchestral parts. Ashin's voice seemed in good form, and he stretched it at times, which I admired him for. He seemed to be using it more intelligently than on the shows I’ve seen on video.
They surprised me by opening softly, with “Crazy World” (the first song on the first album) done as a ballad. It was a fitting start to a show apparently unlike any before, an epic show that went up and down for almost three hours before ending in an orgy of anthems.
My own response to seeing May Day live was different from seeing any other artist. They use so much spectacle and self-mythology that it's a bit much for me. (This show seemed less gimmicky and more serious than the earlier ones, though actually there was more of everything.) I'm not in the habit of seeing bands that do this kind of stuff. It was also different, of course, because I couldn't understand what they were saying or singing most of the time. The other difference between this and the other shows I've been to was that everyone sang along all the time, which at times I wished they hadn’t. It drowned out the band sometimes.
What I remember most, however, is being in the presence of Ashin -- his ego, his sensitivity, his way of making everything revolve around himself, or his own creation of himself. The tension between the two is palpable, or maybe it's just my imagination. There were moments of true emotion, songs he sang with more feeling than others. The band has real chemistry and had it with the two members of Glay, too.
Something my friend Scot said after the show may hold the key to what Mayday’s really about. He said they seemed to care about the audience. The best example of this was going out to the second stage for two songs. Another odd thing after the end of the show seemed to sum it up well, too: As everyone was going toward the exits and the instrumental part of "Innocence" played over the PA, more fireworks were launched, showering the crowd with little paper stars and moons. They gave us a heartfelt two-hour-forty-five-minute show, fireworks, and two stages, but they didn't stop there, they kept giving. One senses Ashin has an unquenchable thirst for people to love him, which the lyrics of Embrace, Ming Bai and even Wen Rou would seem to confirm. But if he gives so much to earn that love, we’re the real winners.
This is a band, but there's no doubt that Ashin is at the center of it. The image he projects is that of a superstar with a band of loyal old friends. (One would sense from their play on stage that they're never apart, and I genuinely think they're really friends. My accidental meeting with Stone and Monster at Spring Scream is doubly interesting, though, because they weren't with the rest of the band at the time. Clearly they just hang out together, which Ashin seemed to be referring to when they were playing around about how they're going to miss each other.) From the opening set in the white outfits, where he used all those very formal, stylized gestures, to the later ballad set where he was relaxed and informal in a T-shirt and baggy pants, he very much seemed not just the featured entertainer but also the creator. Those two settings perhaps sum up the two sides of Mayday, and specifically Ashin, that are constantly playing against each other. When they're on show, it's partly tongue in cheek, and when they're casual it's still part of a consciously created image. Ashin obviously likes to put on different personas. This is what I like about Mayday. It started out as a fun-loving band that used complex arrangements a la the Beach Boys, and evolved into a more serious band of anthems and Abbey Road-like pieces that, nevertheless, never took itself completely seriously.
Before they came out on stage there was a comedic video about them all getting up from hospital beds to come to the show. They came out on stage in white uniforms that looked like the custodian uniforms they used in last year's show. Ashin started singing the first song on the top of the stage against the screen, backed only by the orchestra. The first segment started out with at least two upbeat songs from the first album, and soon after, “Don’t Tell Me.” I noticed the difference in sound immediately. I never liked the upbeat songs from the first album much. There isn't that much depth to the sound or the compositions. And apart from the first song, there weren't any radical departures in arrangements. Also in the first set they did “Will You?” and Ashin seemed quite into it.
There was a break of about five minutes where they showed industrial imagery. I don't remember what the backing was for this, an instrumental arrangement. Then they came out in industrial garb, Ashin in shockproof glasses, Monster in a welding mask, someone in a gas mask, all of them wearing black vests. They took off the headgear after a song or so. They did some of the hard songs, including Ho See, which they did with war images on the main screen.
There was a break where they showed images of a playground, I believe backed with an instrumental arrangement of the ballad “Ni Hao Ma?” that they played on Michael Wang’s “Michael's First Album.” (Note: Can I really be remembering correctly?) I think after this break they came out in a red Mercedes SL and went from the main stage to a little stage behind the sound board. It was, of all things, a revolving stage. There's that silly sense of fun. Out there they only did “Love of These Days” and “Buddha Knows.”
Then they came back to a side stage of the main stage, over on our side, and did more relaxed songs including “Embrace,” “This Is Love,” and I think “The Apple.” Lots of banter at the beginning, and a couple of times Ashin just laughed spontaneously. This was probably the best part of the show, with various of them sitting on the edge of the stage and seeming relaxed. “This Is Love” they seemed really into.
Then they were out on the big stage again. Two guys from Glay came out and they did one of Glay's songs as a duet. The crowd loved Glay and asked for an encore. Ashin seemed very comfortable with Glay being the center of the attention, and the members hugged. They seemed like close friends.
Also out on the main stage, they did “Migratory Bird” and Ashin did this trippy flying thing with his arms, kind of tripping out. That was toward the end. I can't remember what the last song of the regular show was. Then the crowd tried to get encore calls going but everyone was so tired it kept dying out. Finally they came out, and opened the encores with a very slow Ming Bai. It was just Ashin again, at the top of the stage, and the other guys were various other places around and were shown on the video screens. They looked sad and reflective. I especially remember the way Stone looked, the way he's always so thoughtful and cool anyway. Then they came out on the stage and Ashin was in a drab-green shirt, Monster was in a camo T-shirt and Masa was in camo pants. I think they did three more songs, and I especially remember “Fool,” because they put an ROC flag on the center screen. There were fireworks. The very last song was Ren Sheng Hai Hai, and they let the crowd sing the end refrain over and over till finally they bowed, and then Ashin said, "Zai Er Ling Ling San Nian Jian! (Till 2003!)"
Other songs they played:
“OK La”
“Rainbow” -- very fat sound with the orchestra
“Chu Chu Chu”
“Innocence” -- very slow, very gentle
“Nobody Else In My Heart” -- that rocked
“Call Me No. 1”
“Tenderness” -- in the little arrangement on the main stage. Gentle version. The Note wasn't even there.
“With Love to the End”
“Loneliness Terminator” -- in the first set
“Peter and Mary” -- regular arrangement on the main stage, huge hit