Miku Expo Toronto - Pure Magic! :)
by ToronTotoro on 2016-05-23Sony Centre For The Performing Arts - TorontoRating: 5 out of 5Hatsune Miku, whose name means "The First Sound of the Future", along with the rest of the Crypton family of Vocaloids performed for an ecstatic Sold-Out crowd this past Friday, and to a person, every individual in Toronto's Sony Centre had an *amazing* time. :)
For those not familiar with Hatsune Miku and Vocaloid, at her most basic, she's a computer generated, three dimensional avatar who sings and dances to the songs created for her by quite literally *thousands* of amateur and professional musicians from around the globe.
But really, she's so much more than that. :)
She's been around since 2007 and since her arrival on the music scene, has performed thousands of songs which have been viewed by millions of people around the world.
She's also been performing "live" concerts since 2009, brought to brilliant and amazing life thanks to some pretty impressive projection technology, always supported by a kick-ass live band.
Miku's repertoire includes virtually every genre of music because anyone who can buy her software can create with her, but her live shows tend to fall mostly within the Rock and Pop genres, and Friday's show was no exception, including fan favourites, "World is Mine", "Last Night, Good Night" and "Tell Your World" among the more than twenty songs performed, and as a long time fan, I'd have to say she, along with the rest of the Crypton Six and the brilliant live-band knocked it out of the park from start to finish.
The energy level in the Sony Centre was off the chart the entire night, and by the time the show was over, my wife and I were pretty much spent, but *extremely* satisfied. :)
To anyone who's the slightest bit curious about what the future of music might hold, I'd highly recommend taking a Vocaloid concert.
The visual technology used to bring the electronic performers to life is incredible, and within the first few minutes it's easy, almost a given, to forget that you're not seeing a living and breathing person on stage.
The music itself is upbeat and infectious, and the crowd is almost uniformly likewise.
Vocaloid fans aren't an "in your face" or aggressive lot, but their passion and enthusiasm is undeniable, which makes these concerts as family friendly as they are engaging.
This was my third live Vocaloid show, but it certainly won't be my last. :)