“One Final Show in Tokyo”
- Event: 『Carole & Tuesday』 3rd LIVE ～Mother～」
- Date: Saturday, January 18th, 2020
- Location: Line Cube Shibuya, Tokyo
Intro: A Major Upgrade
『Carole & Tuesday』 3rd LIVE ～Mother～」 was on the first snowy day that Tokyo saw this year. But the freezing, wet weather outside didn’t stop Carole & Tuesday fans from showing up ready for another great show. Fans were lined up outside of Line Cube Shibuya in Shibuya, Tokyo well over an hour before the show’s 5 pm opening time, braving the weather all the same. This was the third Carole & Tuesday live show, and the venue only got bigger and better. Shibuya Line Cube holds almost 2000 people, and as the fans filtered in, it was clear that the show was nearly sold out. Whereas the second show had been a standing live, the 『Carole & Tuesday』 3rd LIVE ～Mother～」 was seated again, including two balcony tiers to hold even more people. Considering the characters in the show went from performing in tiny live houses to huge venues, it was fitting that these shows followed the same pattern!
One of the coolest things about the interior of Line Cube Shibuya was the shocking resemblance that it had to the Memorial Hall that Carole, Tuesday, and the rest performed in the final episode of the anime. The wood, style, stage, and everything looked very reminiscent of the anime! Whether the venue was chosen with that in mind or it was an unintentional coincidence, it definitely was something special. And considering the show was called “Mother” and featured the singing talents behind Carole, Tuesday, Crystal, Angela, and Pyotr who would soon all on the stage singing the final song - well, it was enough to stir the emotions of any fan in anticipation for the show. The more full the venue became, the more an exciting buzz filled the hall as everyone settled in and got ready for a great night and a respite from the cold.
Carole & Tuesday has a wide demographic appeal, and that was also apparent at the show. The audience was split about evenly between men and women across all age groups from children all the way up to older adults, mostly Japanese fans with a few foreign faces mixed in. In addition to the fans that were in attendance, the concert was also live-streamed by My Anime List to the rest of the world, allowing countless more people to join in as well even when they couldn’t be in Tokyo. A lot of fans came with their Carole & Tuesday merchandise like bags, shirts, and towels. But there was also a merchandise store just inside the venue selling a lot more for the show! A few things were not exclusive to the live itself, including Tuesday’s rabbit key chain from her guitar, a tote bag, and files. But there was also a t-shirt and some towels with the name of the live, the venue, and the date on them to get a really special memory. Thirty minutes before the show started, the queue for the goods had stretched up over three flights of stairs with fans eager to get their hands on things before they sold out.
Performance: An All-Star Show
The moment that Nai Br.XX and Celeina Ann stepped onto the stage they were met with tremendous applause from the nearly 2000 fans waiting for them in the audience. They opened with “Kiss Me”, the anime’s original opening, with Nai Br.XX singing and Celeina Ann singing and also playing acoustic guitar, just like Tuesday. They also had a back-up band on the stage consisting of an electric guitar, a bass guitar, a keyboard, and a drum set. The next song was “Beautiful Breakdown”, which had the audience clapping along with the newer song. “Army of Two” was a great piece for showcasing the harmony that Nai Br.XX and Celeina have when singing together, and they also used “Day by Day” to feature each member of the back-up band with a small chance to showcase their musical skill in an interlude in the song.
What happened next was something new to the Carole & Tuesday live shows, and unique to 『Carole & Tuesday』 3rd LIVE ～Mother～」! The Japanese voice actresses for Carole and Tuesday themselves came onto the stage and did a live reading of a scene from the anime! It was really awesome to hear them perform in person, and even without the animation to accompany their voices, it was easy to picture exactly what was happening between the two characters. Their chemistry performing together was undeniable! The live reading was followed by a few more Carole & Tuesday songs that were a bit slower and more emotional like “Someday I’ll Find My Way Home” and “Lost My Way”, which Celeina Ann did not use her guitar for just like Tuesday’s performance in the anime. They ended their set with an upbeat rendition of “Round & Laundry” that had a lot of bright stage lights to accompany it, preceded by another live reading that also had Gus’ Japanese voice actor and had the audience laughing.
After Nai Br.XX and Celeina Ann left the stage, the lights all went off. And when they came back on, it was Alisa’s turn to shine as Angela. She opened strong with Angela’s most famous song, “Move Mountains”, with the stage lit up like a club and giving a very different ambiance from the previous performance. She had a great stage presence as usual for her whole performance, her movements exactly like Angela’s! The stage lighting continued to be dramatic as well, using strobes, spotlights, coloured lights, and more to add to Alisa’s performance. Angela’s Japanese voice actress also made an appearance, doing a live reading of one of Angela’s scenes in the anime. Alisa finished her set with “Light A Fire”, which started with only her silhouette on the stage and added more lights as the song built up.
When Alisa’s first set was done, it was time to feature some of the show’s side characters as well. First up was Maika Loubte, the voice behind Cybelle. She had also been at the second Carole & Tuesday live, and was back to do her amazing performance again. Loubte wore an outfit reminiscent of Cybelle, with black pants and a white top. She also performed with a chair, just like the character. Loubte also revealed that she not only did the singing voice of Cybelle, but she also produced the song “La ballade”! She is half-French and half-Japanese, so it was a great opportunity for her. She also revealed how much she liked Cybelle’s eccentric character.
Next up, for the first time on the stage, was the talents behind the fan favourite character Pyotr. His singing voice was done by J R Price, and his dancing by Taichi. Both of them performed together in a unique performance! Taichi even wore an outfit exactly like Pytor’s when he performed the first time on Mars Brightest in the anime. He wrote Pytor’s dances, and he did the exact ones for “Dance Tonight” and “Love Yourself” while J R Price sang the songs. At the end of their dual performance, the two hugged on the stage having brought the character to life together. 『Carole & Tuesday』 3rd LIVE ～Mother～」 was a special chance for the two to not only have met for the first time, but gotten to perform together. The audience was ecstatic the entire time they were on the stage!
The last new face on the stage was Lauren Dyson, the talent behind superstar Crystal. She wore a vibrant green evening dress with thigh-high black boots and had long, sleek blond hair that Crystal herself would have approved of. Dyson brought Crystal’s song “Unbreakable” to life with incredible presence and power, showing her voice’s amazing range and strength to the audience’s delight. She also sang “Give You The World”, which was sang by Flora in the anime. The story was that Flora’s character inspired Crystal to become a singer, and so this was Dyson’s way of thanking Flora for what she had done for Crystal! It was a very moving performance.
After Dyson was finished, Alisa returned to the stage for a much darker set of Angela’s songs. She slowed things down with “Breathe Again” and “The Tower”, both of which used darker stage lighting to add to their heavy feeling. Alisa, who is half-Australian, also took an opportunity to speak about the current wildfire situation in her home country and to ask the Japanese (and worldwide life-stream) audience to give whatever support they could. She finished her second set with a more upbeat song again, “LIGHTS GO OUT”, which used red spotlights and flashing lights. It was a great opportunity for Alisa to show her own strong singing voice to everyone’s amazement. The Angela set finished with another live performance from her Japanese voice actress, along with Carole and Tuesday’s actresses as well.
The final normal set saw a return of Nai Br.XX and Celeina Ann to the stage. As they entered, only their silhouettes were visible. They looked exactly like the characters they brought to life, especially with Celeina Ann’s guitar! This set of songs was a lot slower and more emotional, including “Message in the Wind”, “After the Fire”, and “Threads”. It was a very different side of Carole & Tuesday, and changed the atmosphere in the room entirely. Before they finished, Celeina Ann told the story of the first song that she and Nai Br.XX ever sang together - the same one that Carole and Tuesday did together. “The Loneliest Girl”! And that was the final song that they sang for the normal show, a fitting ending.
Outro: A Fitting Farewell
The last part of the 『Carole & Tuesday』 3rd LIVE ～Mother～」 was by far the most emotional and powerful. When the first few notes of “Mother” started to play, the audience could only imagine how good the final piece was going to be. Just like in the anime, and with the hall reminiscent of the one in the show, Nai Br.XX and Celeina Ann took the centre stage and began the song. Alisa and Lauren Dyson entered soon after, followed by J R Price and Maika Loubte. The six performers all sang a new arrangement of “Mother” written for just their characters, putting on a grand performance for the audience. Silver confetti even rained from the ceiling, just like in the anime, transporting all the fans right into the heartfelt final episode of the show. After “Mother”, the entire cast also sang “Hold Me Now”, which was really special since its usually just a Carole & Tuesday song. The audience was all for the new rendition, happily clapping and singing along.
The end of the concert gave a chance for everyone to give a speech, both the singers and the Japanese voice actors. A few of the singers gave their speeches in English with a translator, making what they said accessible to the audience as well as anyone following the live stream from abroad. Everyone on the stage expressed their gratitude towards the welcoming audience and producers of the show and were thankful for the experience that they were able to have. The music in Carole & Tuesday brought a lot of people together, as was obvious from the diversity on the stage and how many different countries were represented.
This was, at least for now, the final Carole & Tuesday live show. It was a fitting finale though with a lot of characters represented, the addition of the Japanese voice actors, and a grand venue to showcase everything. Here’s hoping that if another season of Carole & Tuesday is announced in the future, a new round of live shows will shortly follow! Its been a fun ride, and we are sure that no one in Line Cube Shibuya Saturday night is ready for this to be the end forever.
Kiss Me
Beautiful Breakdown
Army of Two
Day By Day
Someday I’ll Find My Way Home
Whispering My Love
Lost My Way
Round & Laundry
Move Mountains
All I Want
Not Afraid
Light a Fire
Maika Loubte “Cybelle”
La Ballade
Dance Tonight
Love Yourself
Unbreakable
Give You The World
Breathe Again
The Tower
Endless
LIGHTS GO OUT
All Line-Up
Mother
Hold Me Now
Message in the Wind
Threads
After the Fire
Lay It All On Me
The Loneliest Girl
Author: Jet Nebula
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