高橋直純 Naozumi Takahashi – A\’LIVE 2003 \”Yes! SUMMERx2\” [2004.03.03] [2DVD ISO 8.22GB]

Footage of the final performance of seiyuu and singer Naozumi Takahashi\’s second tour, held at Shinjuku LIQUID ROOM on September 27, 2003.
The first disc features the bulk of the live show, while the second disc is primarily a documentary of the tour (though it also includes the performance of \”Natsu-iro no Tsubasa\” which was left off of the first disc). This release reached #16 on the Oricon Music DVD chart.

Naozumi puts in a much stronger performance vocally than his first tour here, overall. He\’s able to do his more upbeat songs with significantly more ease this time around and the ballads continue to be solid, so this concert is a measurable step up.
Out of his early, pre-tonsilitis/hiatus tours (\”A to Z\”, this one, and \”INDICATE\”), this one\’s easily the best representative.

On a miscellaneous note, \”Hajimari no Gogo\” and \”Yes! Lovin\’ you!\” hadn\’t been released yet at the time this show was held, so their arrangments hadn\’t been finalized yet, either. This is the only place you\’ll get to hear these early versions of them.

Recommendations marked below. italic underlines denote songs at least three out of the five people I watched this with agreed were a highlight of the show, bold italic underlines denotes unanimous agreement that a song was a major high point.

DISC 1: A\’LIVE 2003 \”Yes! SUMMERx2\” Final Party @ Shinjuku LIQUIDROOM
2003/09/27 (September 27, 2003)
——-
01.) Kimi ni Aete Yokatta (iromelo mix) [君に会えてよかった (iromelo mix)]
02.) COME ON!
03.) Skylight no Sora (スカイライトの空) [cut from DVD release]
04.) ~kiss you~
05.) Boku wa Hero (僕はヒーロー)
06.) Aoi Tamashii no Tatsumaki (蒼い魂の龍巻)
07.) Niji-iro . Kaina (虹色・腕) [cut from DVD release]
08.) Rainy day
09.) stay
10.) MY LIFE
11.) Hajimari no Gogo (はじまりの午後)
12.) Yes! Lovin\’ you!
13.) A to Z
14.) Arashi ni Nare, Hikari ni Nare (嵐になれ、光になれ) [cut from DVD release]
15.) Go! Go! Over Drive
16.) ALIVE
17.) Runabout na Yoru Dakara (Runaboutな夜だから) [cut from DVD release]
18.) Trouble Maker (トラブルメーカー)
19.) ACCESS!
20.) Natsu-iro no Tsubasa -Hikigatari rendition- (夏色の翼 -弾き語り-) 　[included on disc 2]
21.) Kimi ni Aete Yokatta (君に会えてよかった)

Performers:
Vo. Naozumi Takahashi
Gtr. U-Ken! (Kenji Ueki)
Bass. Maru-san (Shiro Maruyama)
Dru. Kaoru (Kaoru Suzuki)
Key. Ryo (Ryo Okamoto) [from Sabado Fiesta]
Sax. Tag (Satoshi \”Tag\” Taguchi)
Perc. K-ta

_________________________________________________________
DISC 2: A\’LIVE 2003 \”SUMMERx2\” ~Document of SUMMERx2~
-Tour documentary (Shibuya, Osaka, Nagoya)
-Natsu-iro no Tsubasa -Hikigatari rendition- (夏色の翼 -弾き語り-) @ Shinjuku LIQUIDROOM, 2003.09.27　[see above for concert info]
-Shinjuku off-shot
-Photo gallery

NOTE: Starting from this DVD release and continuing on until 2006\’s \”OKism\”, all of his live DVDs featured lossy (.ac3) audio and slightly jagged video. The discs are not bootleg and I\’ve been able to try several copies (including some directly from a Japanese friend who had bought them in-store back when they were new releases); this is simply just how the company that his label had outsourced the DVD production to made them.
His first live DVD (\”A to Z\”) is unaffected by this, because Koei handled it directly.