I hope some of you saw and enjoyed the first several rankings in my Ayumi Top Lives countdown. I’ll continue, here, obviously mostly for my enjoyment. :D

In this installment,

The direct download link, in case your computadora does not compute WMV embeds at all.

AND SOME OPINIONS ON THE RANKINGS:

18. It’s the swing that does it. Bless my child-like heart, I really enjoy those crazy, flashy theatrics she pulls out. And the high-flying hoop swing really is sort of an iconic Ayu image for me. Her vocals sound very “on” in this performance, too, suggesting (especially considering the swing) that playback may be involved. But I’m not here to judge – this is a classic, understated performance with the awesome addition of a SWING.

17. I wanted to include this much, much higher, but I know people would be like “what. Why. Worst song EVER.” Well, you know what? Fuck that noise, I love this song, or “adaptation” as it might be better served, and her performance at the finale of AT06 was nothing if not full of energy and joy. As stated in the last batch of commentary, Ayu rarely gets the opportunity to belt for all she’s worth, and not only does she do it here, she does it with unrestrained joy. You can tell she’s loving the performance. Can’t blame her. It’s awesome.

16. Oh, AT05. Pretty much everyone’s favorite. Personally I’m jostled between AT05 and AT03~04 constantly, but performances like this one catapuly 05 to the top most of the time. She’s so fierce. She’s SO SO SO FIERCE. The way she stomps that catwalk at the chorus is inimitable.

15. This was one of those tear-jerking moments from PCDL08~09 for me, because I’ve wanted to see Ayu perform “Heartplace” live for so long. So when she did – and when it was stripped down like this, I was very happy. To find out that she chose to sing the harmony live was even more pleasing. Unfortunately all my clips from PCDL come out very soft, and the clip doesn’t begin to capture the power she has over this song, but trust me, it’s phenomenal.

14. It had to make it on here in some capacity, and after reviewing every performance of this song, I selected this one. AT03~04 seems, to me, her most “somber” of tours, and I believe, as a fan, that it was with this encore that “Who…” finally transcended being just a song about her deceased grandmother and became a song to connect her to her fans. Yet another example of Ayu’s idol projecting.

13. Even if you’re an Ayumi fan, you have to be pretty hardcore to know “Dolls” and love it. If you do, can I be your friend? This song is one of those unsung (no pun intended) gems of her back catalog, and this entire concert was the last time we’d really see an exclusively bare essentials Ayumi singing and feeling it and acting every part the singer/songwriter. The tragically themed girl-on-girl love story dance at the end of this performance is always a very emotional thing for me, too. The audio is horrid, but you get the gist.

12. I cannot stress how amazing AT03~04 is if you want to see a raw, expressive, sort of pissed-off Ayumi. This tour, and specifically songs like this one, must have saddled me with the still-standing belief that short haired Ayu = Badass Ayu. Watch for the excellent use of the spinning platform and the sexy-but-strong Syumi crooning out what is more of a hate-song than a love-song. It’s a love-hate song? I suppose. Whatever the case, this is one of those times I look at her and think: “she was the most beautiful woman in the entire world.”

STAY TUNED FOR PART THREE!