A gift. For you. BAND-MAID - Xmas Concert | REACTION

[@technopsychobedlam]

Loved this Mark. Thanks 🙂

[@markabusireactions]

Oh wow, thank you so much!! You have no idea how much I appreciate this!

[@lewissmith4123]

To take 14 songs, rearrange them, practice for weeks, and then release them as a Christmas present for the fans, what other band would do this ,we are the luckiest fans on the planet!

[@ASR1nc]

Going Grinch here but not exactly a present if they are charging for it.

[@technopsychobedlam]

@@ASR1ncYou missed the poster's point. They could have done 14 standard songs and charged for the stream just the same - instead they put all that work in to make it a special present for the fans.

[@ASR1nc]

@technopsychobedlam yes, and they probably wouldn't have sold as much as they did because at that point, it would have been like the sixth online stream. The Want More! free download was a present from the band. This album is awesome and you can call it a surprise or even a "Christmas miracle", but if you're paying, not a present.

[@technopsychobedlam]

@@ASR1ncThe only ones who tuned in and paid were fans. Fans would have watched the stream regardless of whether it was acoustic or otherwise. The effort they made was a gift.

[@ASR1nc]

@technopsychobedlam it's literally their job. You wouldn't say the effort the plumber made fixing your sink is a gift. You can call it a present, a donation or a helicopter, but it still wouldn' be any of those things.

[@Kevin6059]

Love how Mincho is often just staring up into the air with a smile on her face. She's in Mincho-land.

[@grahamreed8774]

Mark, you are the man. I'm sitting at home (with my good wife) on Christmas day not feeling too well- what could be a better medicine than Smile and this concert. Akane is using hot rods/cluster sticks. I guess keeping Misa on electric was to provide some kind of lead instrument. Kanami turns to jazzy chords etc when she turns rock songs into acoustic versions- for this show of 14 songs she totally produced new arrangements for all the band members- she just works so hard. Know wonder she keeps falling asleep at the drip of a hat. You may have noticed that Manners- from the album, is the only song that refers to the Unseen World as there is no title track as such. The CD for this live show was made available due to popular demand and sold out twice immediately, but is generally available now. There are still calls for the full video to be released.

[@bandmaidfanATL]

Never seen MISA play anything but electric. I know she can play some horns, but it would be untra-cool to see her break out a standup bass one day ala Sting.

[@GaryHolloway-810]

Thx Mark you're still awesome....regardless of what all the others say.🤣 Merry Christmas bro & to all the awesome Maidiacs around the world. Arigato.🤗

[@markabusireactions]

Nah mate, they’re all correct lol, but we carry on regardless!

[@GaryHolloway-810]

​@@markabusireactions Btw "No God" was the song you wanted to check out. B-M have an official live version on their channel :)

[@markabusireactions]

@@GaryHolloway-810 good. It’s an absolute banger lol

[@rockandrollrockandrollrock6930]

@@markabusireactions Agreed! They closed almost every show this year with it.

[@bandmaidfanATL]

1 2 3 4 Parking Lot! Gotta beat PolskaBob to it! And hope everything is cleared up, Gary. Happy XMas.

[@Jackgtd2]

Thanks Mark. I'm glad you were a ways into their catalogue before diving into this performance. It's hard to appreciate just how great they are at arranging until you have a decent understanding of usual Band Maid sound. This change up is just fabulous. I was a fan of the old MTV Unplugged back in the day and, though there were some gems, few bands surprised and impressed me so completely as these ladies did pulling things back to this type of format. Also, the decision to turn Misa loose for this performance was a masterstroke. Not that she could ever really be accused of holding back but her feel for the music in this set really stood out. I also think you are spot on about the poppy sound of a lot of their choruses. I once saw reactor play just the vocals from a song he had processed into separate tracks and my first thought was OMG, add some keyboards and electronic drums and this could be something playing on a pop radio station right now! Thanks again for doing this today. It was a great way to spend the afternoon after a hectic morning. Merry Christmas to you and yours!

[@LawrenceCox-bv9zt]

Like @daaaaaave said, "Thanks for all the time and effort you put into this." I've truly enjoyed your BAND-MAID reactions since the beginning. In fact, I get a laugh out of your intentional poke in the ribs of us BAND-MAID fanatics. Love it. You are the only reactor that I have made it a routine to watch all the bands you react to because of your humoured, honest approach to these videos you view. MERRY CHRISTMAS, Mark.

[@markabusireactions]

Honestly, you don’t know how much that means to me mate ☺️

[@pohojisan1287]

Merry Christmas, markabusi! I am a Japanese BM-CD member. Your favorite Sayonakidori is also my favorite B-M song! By the way, in this acoustic version, the two songs MIKU sang solo are arranged by herself. In Sayonakidori, she sings a semitone lower than in the studio version, and the last high note is sung in falsetto. In a normal performance, SAIKI would say "Don't escape!", but it seems that MIKU was allowed to do that here. LOL (That high note, always a big challenge for her to sing, but it would be even more difficult without a full voice.) But that doesn't mean that SAIKI is particularly hard on MIKU. The members of B-M have always encouraged each other in this way, and have developed their skills in technique and musicality to this day.

[@ericifune5543]

I believe Saiki's directive was more a challenge than anything else in the studio version. If you know better, please let us know.

[@pohojisan1287]

@@ericifune5543 MIKU has not been able to sing well in Sayonakidori since the first Online OKYUJI, and I imagine she was probably depressed every time she sang. Even now, the whole audience is praying for her to sing that high note well. But maybe because of SAIKI's words and others, MIKU tried again and again, and even when she failed, she never gave up. I have heard this song live at least 10 times, and despite the twists and turns, I think it gets a little closer to perfection every time it is sung. The experience of being able to feel MIKU's efforts firsthand is priceless. I think there are so many fans who sympathize and are moved by her attitude and consider this song to be very special, just like me.

[@ericifune5543]

@@pohojisan1287 Merry Christmas!

[@richardn8866]

Never thought I'd be spending an hour and a half of my Christmas Day with you. Honestly, it wasn't all that bad. Thanks for doing this. It was really enjoyable. Merry Christmas & all the best in 2024. Cheers !

[@phaeron]

Hello Mark, thank you for this gift. Even though I've received it countless times by now, I'm just as happy about it as I was the first time the ladies gave us this amazing present themselves. :) The fact that your channel is where it is now is fully deserved and still nowhere near the end (imo). Greetings from Germany, Merry Christmas and in advance all the best for 2024. 🙋🏻‍♂ _____________________ 「 _"Our rock never dies ever. Forever!"_ 」 - from *BAND-MAID* - 'Manners' 🎶🕊

[@bandmaidfanATL]

Just goes to show how Kanami composes. It became pretty obvious to me once I heard this concert that the band are "composers" and not "songwriters," iow "artists." You can really tell how they laid the initial foundation to their songs here, which helped me to appreciate the more complex final products. To me, every one of their songs is like a cake, all with milk, eggs, flour and sugar, but then each member adds their own icing and sprinkles and piping to make each cake its own individual treat. Sometimes its chocalte, sometimes butter cream, sometimes its red velvet...always with bananas tho

[@reesereese2524]

Saw this when it was shown live. Bought the extended ticket . Well worth it . The ladies know what they are doing .Outstand show . The part 2 with commentary is hilarious Markabusi Merry Xmas ,

[@Chatwin78]

Thanks for powering through a marathon reaction. Great hearing your take on this brilliant set. They announced at the end of the Yokohama concert that they will be doing another acoustic concert in March with a live audience that I think is only open to fan club members. Perhaps it will be streamed (?). In any case, Merry Christmas and wish you the best for the new year.

[@ericifune5543]

Technically, the upcoming shows are not reserved for fan club members, but they get first buy. There's probably a lottery for non fan club, but it'll be limited and hugely competitive.

[@Davey-Boyd]

@@ericifune5543 The acoustic is fan club only, it's the only upcoming show that is. (their website states the concert exclusively fan club only). I tried to get a ticket in the lottery but was unsuccessful unfortunately!

[@Chatwin78]

@@ericifune5543 You made we wonder if I had imagined it, so I checked their website and the Special acoustic show on March 20th is listed as exclusive to Omeisyusama. Could be a mistake of course.

[@topographic1973ify]

NO GOD. The electric version is crazy good. Actually all these acoustic versions are quite a bit different than the originals although similar. MERRY CHRISTMAS from Montana, U.S.A. I'm an old guy who got dragged back into rock by Band Maid about six years ago and it's been a great journey. Buy their albums, you won't be disappointed.

[@greylocke100]

Play list for this performance: 1. Smile 2. At the drop of a hat 3. NO GOD 4. H-G-K 5.Different (Saiki and Kanami alone) 6. Manners (Saiki and Kanami alone) 7. Awkward (Saiki, Kanami and Misa alone) 8. Wonderland (Saiki, Kanami and Misa alone) 9. TIME (Miku, Misa and Akane alone) 10. Sayonakidori (Miku, Misa and Akane alone) 11. FORWARD (Saiki, Miku and Akane alone; Akane on cajon) 12. Catharsis 13. Mirage 14. PAGE I might be posting multiple comments instead of my usual 1 long comment.

[@ryan.duckling]

I think they chose H-G-K to challenge themselves. If you listen to the studio version you will wonder how on earth they could turn it into an acoustic version. It's one of their heavier, most frenetic, songs.

[@markabusireactions]

That explains a lot actually!

[@evilducks3710]

I don’t know, they took Manners, their grooviest, bassiest song and did it without MISA… which is insane to me.

[@gordonc9616]

Merry Christmas! The 3rd song is "No God". There's an official live version from their Tokyo Garden Theatre Okyu-Ji on their channel.

[@markabusireactions]

It’s dynamite lol

[@skrrytch]

I laughed when mark said "oh god", not knowing that he was referring to "no god" (resp. struggling with its versions) 😂

[@markyg236]

🙋‍♂@@skrrytch

[@VegetaRabbit]

Excellent video; thank you! Their next acoustic concert is March 20th, 2024 at LINE CUBE SHIBUYA. The commentary for the Christmas concert is pretty interesting, they said the songs were so different, it was like learning a whole new album for one concert that they had to unlearn to go back to touring.

[@froopax1468]

Merry Christmas to all, especially to all Masters and Princesses around the globe! 🎄🎁 🎀

[@GaryHolloway-810]

Mr Froopax, i see you were on form on the "Master composers" channel. He's happy to crap all over other peoples music but gets sooo butt hurt if you criticise his.👍

[@markabusireactions]

Who? 😂

[@GaryHolloway-810]

@@markabusireactions It's a channel called DisHonest composer Reacts. He crapped on B-M on his old channel & when it didn't go well in the comments for him he did a follow up vid "Who's the better composer, me or Kanami". He's now said on his new channel B-M "Dice" is auto tuned even tho Justin Hawkins reacted to it & said "This isn't an auto tune pop vocal or anything, this is a proper, serious bit of singing". It's not going well in the comments....again.😂

[@johnmatthew102]

@@GaryHolloway-810 I had skipped over that reaction because it looked like click-bait to me, but your comment made me check it out. It turns out it was click-bait and it is getting ratioed into oblivion. 1000 views, 44 comments and 4 upvotes.

[@GaryHolloway-810]

@@johnmatthew102 Yep he said he only did it cos someone requested it which is true but i bet there's been loads of requests he didn't react to until he saw BAND-MAID & thought he'd have another pop at them.😒

[@Kevin6059]

Okay, finished watching. The last song, Page, is such a beautiful song. It's one of several that bring on the onion ninjas every time - and even the lyrics are great. Simple but great. Stay beautiful, and don't forget to love yourself. Have a great new year, Mark.

[@sugaanessena3143]

Thank you. This was a pleasant surprise. I can't watch Sayonakidori without the damn onion ninjas coming from everywhere, I guess Sayonakidori is their favorite song too. It's fun to watch Kanami during Catharsis, her mind seems to be elsewhere. Merry Christmas PO and a happy new Band-Maid year. PO

[@daaaaaave]

Merry Christmas, Mark. Thanks for all the time and effort you put into this. They’re a technically excellent band, but what makes them special is their writing, and their chemistry with each other, which you can see clearer sometimes when things are stripped down. Kanami gets a lot of the credit for the writing, but it’s also a large part her trust in her bandmates to make adjustments to make it perfect. Re: Kanami, she plays the rhythm guitar on the albums, and she was a singer songwriter before Band-Maid, so it’s not surprising that she’s a strong rhythm guitarist. Also, the way you say her name is a little weird, stressing the “na”. Japanese is generally more flat. But just getting the vowels right puts you ahead of basically everyone who never studied Japanese. It seems like you need to check out Cluppo, if you like Miku singing pop, or hippy poppo, as it were.

[@markyg236]

Dittos on the Cluppo

[@jkkansasband7056]

Merry Christmas Mark. Thanks for reacting to the acoustic concert. Well worth the time. Delivered in your unique style is always worth the abuse. 😎Peace. 2.45

[@technopsychobedlam]

Thanks Mark, that was awesome...it would be great if you could react to Sayonakidori again though 😛

[@Glenner7]

arr arr... good one! 🙂

[@russellpotter7294]

Remember they had a commentary on the original streaming. (English subs) Which was simply a delight and funny. But it was the highlight of that Christmas as was the Yokohama concert this year (well close enough). No God along with many of the songs just has a different feel to them that works so well. Both Akane and MISA did vocal backing during Miku's songs which meant that MISA refrained from drinking during this concert. Thanks for reminding me and us of this wonderful concert. Christmas Day watching a reaction video and thoroughly enjoying it. Blast.

[@ericifune5543]

Kanami reincarnated as a tree!😁

[@surfingasongwave]

@@ericifune5543 So _that's_ why she's good with a guitar. If you can follow _that_ logic ...

[@ericifune5543]

@@surfingasongwave In a metaphoric and philosophical moment, Kanami said she was a guitar in a former life. Akaned immediately quips "so you were a tree?" to general hilarity.

[@Bodneyblue]

Yeah..buying music of bands from Japan is not cheap..(if you buy from their own online merch shops)..especially when including the postage...And if you order is over a certain amount you also have to pay import duty. I have suffered that and it is not cheap..Over £80 import duty on my last order...So it does suck..But I love BAND-MAID..and the money goes towards keeping the band going ..so...even if I can't actually afford it....I'm a sucker for them...Then again..I could be wasting money on drugs, booze and cigarettes....so....And I have been twice to Japan to see them LIVE..so I am all in!..Long May They Reign!👑

[@markyg236]

Yeah, gotta watch that shipping. Couple things at CD Japan the shipping was more than the disc itself. Have to bundle those. At least the US doesn't charge the import tariff.

[@yusau825]

Good reaction. If possible, I wanted you to have this reaction after hearing the original version of each songs.(Especially the up-tempo songs) Because you can understand how amazing Kanami's arranging ability is. I was blown away when I heard Different.

[@chrisbergsten1429]

So since you kinda asked for it - English has what's called stress. In a polysyllabic word, we'll pronounce one syllable louder, clearer, and probably in a higher pitch, and then all the other syllables get mushed in around it. In really long words, we might have a couple of stressed syllables. Japanese doesn't have stress. All the syllables of a Japanese word get the same amount of emphasis, which gives Japanese kind of a staccato or robotic sound. (Japanese does have something called pitch accent, with different syllables having high or low pitch - but it's not tone-based like the Chinese languages, so if you get the pitch wrong, you're not saying the wrong words, you just have a funny foreign accent.) It also makes Japanese speakers sound like they're talking twice as fast as they actually are - which is why most of the time people think Saiki is rapping, she's really not. (I'd say the only time she actually raps is in Influencer.) One of the hardest things for native English speakers to get when learning to speak Japanese is the prosody, or rhythm of the language, because we want to put stress in EVERYTHING, and you've got to unlearn that lifetime habit. Unless you're not worried about sounding native, and then, who cares? All of which is to say: is it KA-na-mi or ka-NA-mi? Neither - it's ka-na-mi. But for an English speaker who's not trying to master Japanese, either way is plenty good enough. On that note, the way you're pronouncing Akane is also fine. I've heard her say her name a number of times and she sometimes pitches up the second syllable, so a-KA-ne is probably the closest most English speakers can get. Some people say it A-ka-ne, which always sounds a little odd to me. At least you're not pronouncing it like "a cane".

[@rockandrollrockandrollrock6930]

One of the many reasons to love this band... Miku literally panics every time she's about to play sayanokidori because of the high note at the end but, she keeps it in the set list almost every night anyway. Hell yeah!

[@eaglez1901]

My favorite performance of Page.

[@EliseAutoXr]

This was awesome, great to "relive" the concert that made that Christmas so special. Thanks for doing this and Merry Christmas!

[@rRobR]

thank you for not pausing during MISA solo, so there ya go, someone said it, also Merry Christmas and happy New Year

[@mightydegu]

Thank you for editing the songs down a bit. Since this performance is normally behind a paywall, I'm glad you didn't disrespect the band by putting the whole thing up. Regarding MISA playing her electric bass and not an acoustic bass, actual acoustic bass guitars tend to not sound good in these settings and it would still be reliant on pickups to be heard. I have no idea if they even make five string acoustic bass guitars, and MISA has been playing a five string bass for years, although she did originally play four strings. The alternatives would be completely different instruments, such as the upright double bass. In short, there wasn't a good acoustic alternative for her. Don't be confused by the member lineup changes here. There are songs with two, three, and all five members here. Saiki and Miku have also performed as a duo, although they don't do it here. Have a great Christmas.

[@technopsychobedlam]

It's 2 years later, even if he didn't edit the songs this would provide BM with way more benefit than cost. It's not an issue of disrespect to celebrate and share an artist's works with others. Corporate IP vanguards would hide this work away from listeners even if though that's actually reducing earnings at this point. That is disrespectful of the art and the members.

[@nomennescio4604]

Merry Christmas, and thank you for this! I for one REALLY would be curious to hear your reaction to waaay back in their Salad Days, When They Were Green - the "Maid in Japan" album Akutsu Kentaro wrote and produced for the band as their first outing - back when they were a pop-punk band. "Forward" was from that album. The melody for "Smile" Akutsu. was invited back to write for them years later.

[@me262talon2]

Merry Christmas Markabusi. Thank you for a wonderful Christmas celebration!

[@omdtdz]

Thanks for reacting to this Mark. Merry Christmas and all the best to you and your family for the New Year.

[@crabuki1273]

Best "Merry Christmas" moment ever. Pause. "There's a solo happening." Legit lol'd at that.

[@markabusireactions]

😂😂😂 I had nothing else to add hahah

[@BillHallisey]

Mark, The song they are playing is "Smile". It is one of my favorite softer Band Maid songs and it definitely makes me smile. Thanks and Merry Christmas!

[@gao1258]

a favorite of mine too, there used to be a fan mad video on KZbin with this track that showed pics of them all smiling, sorry its gone now

[@cygnetseven]

MISA sang during Time but they did not put it on camera due to her anxiety. She really stressed about it.

[@gao1258]

as far as Misa using her electric in acoustic concerts I am 100 percent in favor of it, she has the touch to make it work beautifully

[@paulrowles5253]

Excellent! Merry Christmas Mark and keep up the good work 👍

[@Kevin6059]

And thank God there was finally a guitar solo for you to stop in the middle of Catharsis.

[@corniliusnicholas]

Merry Christmas Mark & a Happy holidays

[@markabusireactions]

To you too! ☺️

[@enol8603]

You're one of the few reactors who can truly appreciate Miku's singing talent. She is pitch perfect almost all the time and has a greater range than Saiki. Its soooo incredibly difficult to pop in and out with accurate harmonies on key! And in Sayonakidori, Miku is playing some pretty intricate rhythm guitar at the same time!

[@davidmejia7908]

Thanks Mark! Miku - the true genius when it comes to Band Maid

[@bbobjs]

Merry Christmas PO!

[@markabusireactions]

To you too mate!

[@Steve91L]

"acoustic? Oh, you mean a 4 string 😉" -MISA (probably) 14:25 "Oh God" no the song IS called No God

[@bluryeye1]

Thanks Mark, this was a really good Christmas concert!

[@chrisbergsten1429]

I'm leaving a bunch of comments since I know people have no attention span. LOL Yeah, you've barely scratched Band-Maid. You've probably heard by now that they have 130+ songs, that all their songs are good... well, you can disagree on that last point, but there are a lot of good ones. No surprise they leaned harder on the ballads for an acoustic show... though the full band version of No God is a banger, and the full versions of Different and your least favorite song H-G-K are blistering. Since you're a big fan of Miku, you might be curious to check out her solo project Cluppo. If I remember right, it's just one six-song EP "Hatoful" and an extra song "With You" made for an anime, so you could whip through the whole thing in about half an hour unless you decide to save it for reactions.

[@glenkelley6799]

Nice reaction and glad you had a chance to watch the acoustic show and BTW, MISA sang in about 5 of the songs and the most in the last song.

[@hakosukar]

Thank you!!! Was waiting for this🤗

[@denisle13]

Last tag... promise! love Miku? Gotta ck out "Cluppo"! my fav, Superstar!

[@Bodneyblue]

Akane did say she found it very hard to hold back on the drums..finding it a lot harder to be mellow than her usual playing style..She is using "Hot Rods"..rather than brushes...similar...but wooden rods banded together...She had hired that particular cajon and loved it!...She wanted to keep it..not sure if she did.

[@garylai363]

Sayonakidori was the highlight for me. I loved seeing Miku play as the solo guitar of the song and sing as well. I don't think she has played without Kanami before. But then she did a few more songs like Forward with just Saiki and Akane. This concert (although prerecorded) was actually pretty special in a lockdown year. It was a fun reaction from you and I look forward to you checking out the normal versions of these songs. The one I'm surprised with is that you haven't checked out NO GOD?

[@Sleawzor]

I was away last week so I couldn't comment then, but thank you for the great christmas gift!

[@Ariel0620]

Great reaction, merry christmas🎉

[@armynurseboy]

Catharsis IS a rock song. The studio version is a totally different feel. Faster and more aggressive.

[@chrisbergsten1429]

For being a hard rock band, Band-Maid does have a lot of pop in their sound, especially in choruses. Which is not necessarily a bad thing, right? Pop music is "popular" because there's something in it that sounds good to a lot of people, whether it's a straightforward rhythm, a strong melody, simple song structure, or whatever. It's like musical sugar. Of course the problem with that is it's very easy to just dump sugar on something to make it sweet, but unless there's something else there it's just going to be cloying and one dimensional, and hack producers have been churning out sweet, musically cliched, empty garbage for decades. Folks who come from hard rock and metal are avoiding that, so they often get the "ugh, pop" reaction. But there's so much else going on in Band-Maid songs, proggy stuff and technicality and heaviness, that the sugar rounds them out and keeps them accessible.

[@rodcarter3767]

Thank you Mark..! This was an awesome Christmas gift.. very much appreciated.. Happy Holidays to you and yours and wishing you the very best for the New Year..!!

[@80mtn]

Thanks for doing this, Mark! Merry Christmas. 🙂

[@danielmorgan2439]

Different is a knock your socks off my, totally the opposite of the acoustic

[@1RacerXer]

What a coincidence! I will be watching this concert in full at some point today. Also, all 5 of the maids can sing. Some of them just don't like to.

[@gao1258]

perhaps my favorite piece of Band-Maid history, they all shine so brightly! thanks for this today Mark!

[@chalfo]

Merry Christmas big yin - top present, cheers!

[@paulrowles5253]

Oh and you have heard Kanami sing backing before when you did the reaction to the acoustic version of Puzzle

[@markabusireactions]

I can’t be asked to remember all of this stuff

[@DAVID-io9nj]

I bought 3 of their CD on Ebay, brand new, from 2nd party sellers. The interesting thing is the sellers were in England, and the CD were labeled as made in EU, or England! No idea how or why. Saved me a lot on shipping cost versus from Japan.

[@ASR1nc]

JPU Records (UK based) released Brand New Maid, Just Bring It, World Domination and Conqueror.

[@DAVID-io9nj]

@@ASR1ncThanks. Really makes one wonder how much more sales in the West they could get, and thus more fans, if all their media was similarly available.

[@ASR1nc]

​@DAVID-io9nj if they haven't released their newer albums (afaik), I doubt the others have sold well. But with Japanese companies involved you never know, they make weird and antiquated business decisions.

[@himbo754]

This is the kind of treatment I had hoped you would give to this fantastic concert. Oh, and Misa can sing -- they all have good singing voices, but Misa and Akane don't like singing normally. But with an acoustic concert more volume from the voices is needed, so Misa and Akane have to sing.

[@zelbinian]

We need to get this man some Cluppo, stat

thanks Mark for such a wonderful present. nicely edited to the beat too

[@tonygriffin_]

SA(small) YO(night-specifically 3-5am, the hour of the tiger) NAKI(singing) DORI(bird) - or Nightingale.

[@markabusireactions]

Oh!!! I didn’t know that, that’s quite cool ☺️ I have now learnt some Japanese!

[@motley22crue]

Merry Christmas!

[@johnaidley7038]

Merry Christmas Mark . Great reaction.thank you so much

[@philproffitt8363]

Merry Christmas man!!! Oh mate...I NEED you to hear 'No God' at full speed...got to be the earlier version, live without audience, for an utter showcase of what I can only describe as THE ACE OF MAIDS. It'll blow that satsuma of ya heeed 🤣🤘🤘🤘

[@ernestrimbeck7630]

This was the best Christmas present I got this year Thank You

[@mkoose]

Thanks, and merry christmas to you all ;-)

[@dazedandconfused318]

Composition and Lyrics of the first song Smile were by Kentarō Akutsu, one of their original writers who was responsible for most of their first EP, Maid In Japan and also wrote Thrill. His songs were generally more pop rock I feel. Smile was the B side of Bubble, Miku has explained that they asked Kentarō Akutsu for a song as they felt there were many fans that liked the early stuff and it would be a treat for them, well it was a treat for everyone because it is a great song. I believe Kanami had a close working relationship with Kentarō Akutsu in particular (she sometimes posted pictures with him on instagram) and she has mentioned that she learnt a lot in the first few years about song arrangement from those writers.

[@joki5346]

Sorry to correct you, but the lyrics were written by Miku Kobato. Usually Kanami delivers first and then Miku does the lyrics. Unfortunately, I don't know how it was handled here.

[@dazedandconfused318]

@@joki5346 yes you are right, I had it fixed in my head that Kentaro did both for his songs on Maid in Japan that I incorrectly applied that to Smile, my bad. The arrangement was I think a joint Kentaro / Band Maid effort.

[@MichaelRees1969]

Dice & Hate is what you reacted to first at Lollapalooza

[@markabusireactions]

You are correct!

[@daaaaaave]

You also did two versions of Domination before you got to Manners and Black Hole.

[@markabusireactions]

@@daaaaaave 😂😂😂 I’m really bad at keeping track of these things haha, I knew it was very early!

[@TomClark-Futoura]

As the Maids said at Yokohama, beginning 2024, it's "Chapter Two" for Band-Maid. What does that mean -- a new direction in music on their upcoming summer album... new battle gear... different stage show or venues... more collabs (The Warning, Lovebites, individual musician appearances?)... member and band projects like scoring movies, aniMaids, soloing projects like Cluppo... someone getting married or 👶🐣?? Pretty exciting stuff! Thx, Mark!

[@misterguanoman]

This was fab, Mark. Only just checked this concert out for the first time last week, and was blown away. Just absolutely gorgeous. A delight to hear your thoughts on it. Btw, Akane is 100% the Hulk. Kanami is Iron Man. Misa is Thor. Obviously.

[@markabusireactions]

I don’t mean this bad, I’m glad you enjoyed the video mate. But the Avengers lineup is set in stone, I said what I said! 😂

[@misterguanoman]

@@markabusireactions *unsubscribes*

[@markabusireactions]

@@misterguanoman oh 😞

[@misterguanoman]

@@markabusireactions Not really. I forgive you your wrongness.

[@robpow1219]

Right on brother that was great Merry Christmas

[@danjoseph7515]

WOW!! You just called Different, one of their most hard charging and aggressive songs, a BALLAD!! Cant blame him, their absolute mastery of converting their songs to accoustic is truly astounding. Thanks so much for doing this and to you and all a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!! 🎄🤘🤩🤘🌲

[@Sky2042]

We probably should have prepped him by telling him which songs were in this concert so he was appropriately adjusted to what was going on here. Different definitely needs to be on the near term review list!

[@Kevin6059]

Thanks for this - car chase? No, that's their song Blooming, which was in the Netflix Movie "Kate"'s car chase scene. (and the band also makes an appearance in a bar playing "Choose Me." That first song Smile and the next one At the Drop of a Hat are faves of mine that don't get enough love - and as others have said, No God is the one you want to watch the original version for now. (do it back to back with this one - ha!) - look forward to finishing this later.

[@ASR1nc]

Their Warning! MV is literally a car chase.

[@Kevin6059]

Fact. @@ASR1nc

[@daaaaaave]

Choose Me was also in a car scene in Peacemaker.

[@markyg236]

@@ASR1ncSymbolism, Brit and US lux-mobiles battle it out and go up in flames behind five ladies from Japan.

[@kevinallen4743]

I love my acoustic bass' they are mic-able but most have a piezo electric bridges so they have lines out anyhow and sound pretty substantial. I wondered if it were because of endorsements Miku was playing an acoustic Zemaitis. Probably not as Kanami is PRS and they don't do acoustic do they? Likewise Misa uses Black Cloud bass who likewise don't make acoustics.

[@denisle13]

Wonderland... Twice as nice! My favorite... Stellar!

[@Bodneyblue]

Thank You Mark for giving me something to watch on Xmas Day..the tv has sucked...and being alone sucks more..so this was needed..Thank You.....If you ever decide to re-watch this..try for the full version with the ladies commentary...and the interluding chat between the ladies....was fun.

[@BRO-HI808]

Your wife didn't knit you a Santa hat, but I think it worked out fine. You fit in well with the Maid's color scheme for the show. 😀 PO!🕊

[@mikeholmes5308]

Can't wait for you to react to the live rockin' version of No God... do the one in front of the audience, not the pandemic live version sans audience. You think this version was busy? Heh :) Thanks for not pausing during her bass solo (see what I did there, thwarting your prediction that you'd get no thanks for that)! Also can't wait for your reaction to Different, because, well, it's different (and I think you sensed that). This is true of many of the pieces here, you'll be astonished at how much they change between the acoustic and studio/live versions. Note that you HAVE heard Kanami sing before, she does backup vocals on their duet version of Puzzle live. You are right that Kanami is generally not fond of having to sing... takes her right out of Mincho mode. She just wants to rock out. And yet, she manages when needed to make that intimate duo work on several presentations (as you've now seen). Emo? Yes, nobody is saying they aren't Emo and post-punk, and pop punk. But they're also hard rock, undeniably. And you yourself noted jazz elements, and straight pop, and others (if you listen closely to this version of No God, you'll hear a clear old school punk influence, much more obvious in the electric version). This is why we say that the genre is Band-Maid. They can apparently synthesize anything into what just become great songs. And if you're a music listener who has a preference for a particular genre, but who is also open-minded enough to accept other genres (you), you're going to smile whenever you hear that part that you like best. Most reactors at some point say something like, "I could swear I've heard this before, but it's too good for me not to have remembered it." Agreed, the genius of Band-Maid, made clear by these versions is that, stripped down they are as good on a musical level as the best pop music, which has to be great melodically and so forth (for it to be the good sort of pop, as you note), given that pop is not about the instrumentation, generally. But for Band-Maid this is just the foundation, on top of which you also get the instrumentation and tricks and experimental stuff, various genre elements, etc. Brilliant. We're very aware of how catchy the songs are. If we were ONLY interested in instrumentation, we'd be listening only to Lovebites or Asterism or, dare I say it, Polyphia (whose chord progressions are actually catchy to the point of banality to allow it to be ALL about the instrumentation over it), or Animals as Leaders, whose pieces take 20 listens before you have any idea what they're doing, etc, etc, etc. I like those bands, but I like Band-Maid better, because the songwriting is terrific. Um, clearly Akane "the Gorilla" is the Hulk, Misa is Thor (bringing the thunder), and Kanami is Iron Man. You just failed that one straight up. ;) Loved that you got a couple of recognizable songs that you didn't expect (and one you did in Sayonakidori). What does it say that you only knew three songs out of the set? What it means is that they have an amazingly deep catalogue. You only have 110 or so more songs to go, over maybe 200 or so different presentations (studio vs. live, versus different live arrangements) Mark! Merry Christmas! I'm glad it's fun for you, it's fun for us too! Mike

[@markabusireactions]

Thank you!! I hope you have a good Xmas mate, and keep having a think for that Patreon pick!

[@markyg236]

Nice comment, totally spot on about their music being good songs that they then put on steroids. But gotta disagree about Kanami. She is Bruce Banner, and her alter-ego Kanamincho is the Hulk. They other members have said in interviews that she transforms when she gets on stage with a guitar in her hands. And our little genius lyricist with the nuclear powered heart is Tony Stark.

[@Kevin6059]

On how to say "Kanami", as a general rule the Japanese don't really emphasize one syllable over another. Context can tend to change that but I don't pretend to know more than that.

[@TlanImass]

Zac Farro is a good drummer; a great drummer, even, that defined Paramore's sound. But for me, Akane is my favorite. She's just a better drummer overall in my opinion. I think you should listen to the whole Conqueror Album of Band-Maid. Plenty of Hard Rock and Metal fans are divided about it. It's a perfect album in my opinion (well... except for The Dragon Cries) lol. I think it fits with your taste in music. Merry Christmas!

[@surfingasongwave]

*"At the Drop of a Hat"* is a sleeper. It's another one that gets forgotten about but it's a gem. Miku is a very very good singer. They added Saiki because she has a more "rock and roll" voice. Please listen to *"Time."* It was the favorite "Miku song" until Sayonakidori hit town. *"Page"* opened the "Conqueror" album. It's excellent. I love the close harmony too. Wouldn't it be fun to sit around the campfire with these five? MISA has a great sense of style. She is both hot and cool, the 雷女神 It turns out Saiki is a powerhouse singer. I think we already knew that, but it's nice to have confirmation. IMO you could rearrange any of their songs any way you want and you'd still have a good song because the "bones" are good. Some of their fans think they can do no wrong. I suppose they _can_ do wrong. They just don't. Thanks so much for doing this! I'll be bingeing this for the next week!

[@Lillywhite]

Merry Christmas, Mark.

[@tmctmhs]

1:03:30 メンバーをアベンジャーズに例えるの面白いね😁ミクがホークアイ、なるほどー。超人達の中の普通人という意味で納得。戦闘力（演奏能力）は並としても人間力は並外れてるしね。創設者という意味ではニック・フューリーだけど。アカネはソー＋ハルクの重量級コンビだな💪

[@domperignon778]

Currently cooking Christmas dinner and in raptures. (Just got to H-G-K reaction.). Mark, your incredulity exactly matches mine, the first time I heard these songs. Such a great gig, and absolute love-song to the fans. (and yes, Miku steals the show - PO!!!)😂

[@domperignon778]

The other dynamic, in Manners, is that Kanami is obsessed with and in love with Saiki. The worshipful looks she is giving to Saiki are golden.

[@Bodneyblue]

MISA did sing a few words during Miku's songs if you watch closely....but it's pretty quiet. (If I recall)

[@greylocke100]

There is something with your sound setup, your mic sounds like it's underwater. The Ladies concert sound like it should, but your commentary sounds like you are down the hall from the mic.

[@markabusireactions]

Yeah I noticed that while I was editing but I couldn’t find a way to fix it 😕

[@jamessummerlin9516]

Maybe Misa isn’t playing an acoustic bass because, like myself, she thinks unlike acoustic guitars, acoustic basses for the most part sound like crap. There might be some out there somewhere that are okay, but all the ones I’ve played or seen others play are floppy, sloppy, ringy or buzzy. Let me clarify I’m not speaking of upright Concert Basses. Because bass produces such a low frequency and lack the projection due to body depth restrictions you have to mic the crap out of acoustic bass to get it up to level therefore amplifying the unwanted physical noise levels as well. I’m sure there’s plenty who disagree, but I’d rather play a fretless and adjust my tone than listen to all that noise. Mainly I’m just sick of the B.S. remarks about Misa’s choice, she sounds awesomely clean and smooth, and if you get down to the truth once you put microphones, pickups, filters, and effects on acoustics, what the hell are you whining about.

[@markabusireactions]

Wow. I just thought it would sound cool, very fucking sorry man. I assume you got coal this morning? 😳

[@markyg236]

@@markabusireactions He's agreeing with you, just a little hard to tell. And another vote for Cluppo. Sounds very different from B-M so fans are divided on it but you'd probably like it.

[@skc4188]

I'm not sure if I'll have time to watch the full reaction, because right now I'm too excited with the game I received in Christmas (Super Mario Bros. Wonder) plus other stuff, but I pressed the Like button to show my support. Happy Holidays! ñ_ñ

[@evilducks3710]

All of them can sing beautifully and hoarding all of this talent in one band just feels unfair. The primary musicians (Kanami, Akane and MISA) just don’t like singing all that much and prefer their instruments. Not singing was actually a sorta condition for Kanami joining, she wanted to focus on guitar.

[@alejandrooyarzo9170]

MIKU IS BAND MAID

[@ASR1nc]

Probably you're gonna get a fuck ton of info on this one. Forward, the one after Sayonakidori, is pop because it's from their first album when they were kinda an idol-pop band and it wasn't written by them. That's why Hawkeye has more lines also. About that comment on Kanami's face, there's lots of times they say they are really nervous or afraid before playing something new or different or in a new place. This acoustic has a commentary version attesting to it. I think they hate making mistakes. On one of their live streams during the pandemic, Saiki messed up the beginning of Different (can hardly tell) and they did the entire song again at the end of the show. Thanks for the video, Merry Christmas.

[@nomennescio4604]

Hopefully, judging from Mark's comments about pop-punk, he will also just love the earliest stuff - the album Akutsu Kentaro wrote and produced for them, including "Forward". Thet started out playing pop-punk.

[@Greish-esquire]

Nollaig Chridheil Mark 😁

[@GaryHolloway-810]

ooh very posh. I was half expecting Mark to say "What"? You know what he's like :)