Miku in San Diego

This is a good quality, closer-in video of Miku's opening set for the Lady Gaga artRave tour, this time from the San Diego event. Both the sound and the visuals are good, and I think this is perhaps the best such recording from the tour to appear online to date.

I recommend switching to full screen and a decent resolution (it does go to full HD but there is no apparent advantage over 720px)...

Going Completely Gaga

...Or similar wording!

This is the complete Miku set from the Lady Gaga concert in Cleveland, Ohio, roughly mid-way through the tour that is to include sixteen opening performances by Miku. This was taken from within the audience, so technically isless than perfect but generally very good. There is an issue with one of the audience-facing lights causing an apparent loss of the stage image by the camera, though I gather the lights didn't interfere with the audience's view.

So here it is, at last: the full 24-minute opening act for Lady Gaga, no less! Miku's six-number set comprised Glass Wall (in English) 2D Dream Fever, World Is Mine, Story Rider, Yellow, and Tell Your World as a fitting finale.

Despite most of those present really not knowing what this was all about until it happened in front of them, the response was very good once they had warmed to he – somewhere around the middle of the second song, I judge it.

History has been made by these concert openers, and a new chapter of the western world's chronicles starts right here...

Miku Goes Gaga

The big Vocaloid news yesterday was the announcement that Miku is to be the opening act at sixteen of Lady Gaga's upcoming tour events. Although that is only a quarter of the 67 programmed, it is still a significant turning point in the western world's live music scene.

Of course, it isn't as one-dimensional as it might at first appear. Here is what I wrote on Facebook a few hours ago...

While I have inevitable reservations about this, it was likely (I think almost certain) to happen sooner or later.

For the organisers, promoters and performers, it is probably being seen primarily as a gimmick, to 'up the ante' relative to others' concert tours – but there will be at least some percolation of Miku's performance and general 'aura' into the audience's consciousnesses.

This will have little immediate effect, as those attending will be there for Lady Gaga, first and foremost; but the idea of 'sowing seeds' is a useful one, and during the weeks that follow will, I think, start to pay dividends – especially if one or more complete concerts end up for sale and/or on-line.

I have been saying for a while now that it is my belief that 2014 is going to be the turning point in Vocaloid going global: this series of events looks like being perhaps the single biggest part of that (much broader) transformation.

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There are those (and I am aware of at least two, probably three) who will say that this 'going mainstream' will mean the end of life as we know it – or words to that effect. I know that this will not be the case. At this stage, I have no idea what Miku will do: some of her usual material, in Japanese, some new material in English, or one or more Gaga items.

Perhaps there will even be a duet at the end of her (presumably quite short) set, which would make an excellent handover from the support act to the main feature. It would be almost a world first – though SeeU has done this with GLAM several times, and there have been others. The novelty factor with thiese audiences, though, would be quite something, if this were attempted.

Whatever comes out of this, I remain convinced that it will help the Vocaloid concept and sheer quality to seep into the western collective consciousness. The real global future in the genre starts here...