I went to see Yuming SURF&SNOW in Naeba 2024

Last week, I took a day off work and headed to Naeba with my sister.
We took the Joetsu Shinkansen Tanigawa to Echigo-Yuzawa. Aside from us, almost everyone in the reserved seating car seemed to be from overseas. Was I on a foreign train?
After arriving at Echigo-Yuzawa, we had a lovely lunch at Murangozzo before catching the shuttle bus to the Naeba Prince Hotel. Since it was Friday, it wasn't crowded.

However, it was my first time seeing so little snow at Echigo-Yuzawa Station in early February, and I was just bewildered.

My sister has been a Yuming fan for 48 years, and I have also been attending various Yuming concerts since I was a high school student about 30 years ago.
I still remember being blown away at a concert I once saw at Zushi Marina, where she performed with synchronized swimmers and the band seemed to disappear into the pool.
Actually, I only learned at the Yuming Museum at Roppongi Hills last year that the band members at the time were apparently just holding their breath and sinking into the water.

Since the Naeba concert ends near midnight, it's basically an overnight trip.
My sister follows a policy of being a die-hard fan but never joining the fan club, yet she always manages to get multiple tickets at the regular price.
People who are honest and straightforward about what they love always have strong luck.

I'll skip the setlist since it's available on detailed fan sites, but it was composed of relatively recent songs that don't often appear in live shows, with keywords like space, planets, and space-time.
The venue inside the Naeba Prince is the Blizzadium, a banquet hall with a high ceiling, so the seating is all packed-in folding chairs, making the stage feel very close.
As mentioned, Yuming's live shows feature the latest and most experimental stage production and equipment, and this year's Naeba show featured AI visuals projected onto a set of planets that looked like our solar system.
There were photos of a fictional AI human family, a troll banquet, and so on. During the 'Space Library' tour, it felt like being in an explosive library.
During 'Blizzard,' the mirror ball seemed to be spinning more intensely than in previous years.

Yuming has such a history and so many songs, and a single story is woven through the combination of her tracks.
She is a master of space-time, instantly transporting the audience back to the time when those songs were first released.
Of course, that production is all thanks to Masataka Matsutoya.

Since the day was also a recording day, the usual request corner was longer than usual. The guest was Mitz Mangrove.
Rarely, Yuming also talked about her songwriting process, saying, 'When I write lyrics, I can't create something I'm satisfied with unless I bring out both the masculinity and femininity within me.' It was a somewhat stimulating discovery.
The beauty of Takebe-san's piano on 'Jakobini Suisei no Hi' was incredible.
And Odawara-san's drumming—the tribal, ritualistic beat was just amazing.
Kaori Kobayashi's saxophone, which I love, also resonated beautifully.
Still buzzing with excitement, we chatted endlessly, ate whenever we felt hungry, and finally made it to the large public bath at 2:00 AM.
To my surprise, the bath was as crowded as if it were peak time.
By the way, today, February 19th, is the final day in Naeba, but Yuming is apparently going straight into recording without a break. Non-stop!

The sights I felt left flickering afterimages and echoes that mingled together, a night where I disappeared along with the world that existed until just a moment ago.
The next day, I returned home with a large amount of Kaki-no-tane rice crackers for souvenirs and chocolate-covered Kaki-no-tane for Valentine's Day.

Now, praying that I can come back to enjoy it again next time, I will work hard at my new tasks today.