Miyavism

I wish I can see Miyavi perform live. There is something about the way he mixes emotion with improvisation that really resonate with me. His voice is not exceptionally melodious, but that is part of its charm, isn’t it? There's something raw about him: something, at once tender, and rough. He has an androgynous quality that reverberates with my own constitution. He is weird like Marilyn Manson, but somehow he escapes Manson’s freakishness. Unlike Manson he does not try to shock. Miyavi’s “weirdness” comes across as an honest reflection of his peculiar talent. In that sense, Miyavi is much more like Björk. His honesty as reflected in his blog updates is also something that appeals to me. Although he is an international superstar, he's also just a normal person and verbalizes it . . . he's not trying to keep up appearances. He says that the hair extensions that's part of the current tour is irritating; he tells of the bruises he got when he fell off the stage; he mentions when he's tired; he leaves a nice message for his mom on Mother's Day.

Although Miyavi is kicking off his world tour again, it doesn’t seem like he's going to perform in Korea any time soon. Maybe there isn’t a fan base in Korea. None of the Koreans I’ve asked about him knows who he is. After some gigs in Japan he’ll start a tour in America, performing in many of the big cities in the US and Canada: San Diego, Los Angelas, San Francisco, Vancouver, Seattle, Portland, Chicago, Toronoto, Boston, Washington, Atlanta, Dallas, Houston . . .

I truly hope that I get to see him at least once before my stint in the Far East is over.