I guess I don't have much to add to what Spacecadet has been saying so maybe I'll just add some opinions? :/
As aforementioned, I didn't really think I wanted to go to the live before I actually heard the album... and then I realised it would probably be my last chance to see them before heading home. So, naturally I bought tickets to the closest available concert that wasn't sold out, in Nara.
My seat was as far from the stage as it gets - that picture on RINA's blog from the stairs, looking down at the other seats? I was there. The energy is totally different at the back - you see the people who don't really know SCANDAL standing around, not sure of what to do because they don't know the songs, you see the guys head banging in the front row, and you see the band as a whole, and not each member. Including the fact I had a cold, I kind of felt a little underwhelmed for a lot of the show, which was a little sad considering the
previous livehouse show I had been to, and kind of reaffirmed my belief that livehouse shows are naturally better in terms of intimacy and connection. Just try not to hang out in the girls' section if you really want to rock out and scream, because you will get those
looks. ><
That said, I wasn't underwhelmed the whole time. XD The interval music being played while we waited in the theatre was, surprisingly, the soundtrack from Spirited Away - the music swelled in a dramatic crescendo as the lights fell, before the stage lights revealed the set and banners fell from the ceiling to announce the show had been sold out. And something else, I can't remember :/ As soon as SCANDAL appeared on stage, the group of middle school guys next to me started screaming 'okaeri~'/welcome home to RINA, and they weren't alone - the other members commented later that RINA had been rather intense throughout the performance. At a suitable interval, probably after Orange Juice, girls commented on the set being shrine-like, and a little like a 'time slip'.
The MC was about their standard breakfast food - and rice won over bread, this time.
With regards to Koe, an echo/delay effect changed the tone of the song slightly, making it a bit more rich, and it sounded just a tiny bit slower as opposed to the album version. MAMI stayed in her usual position and did the solo, so prettty much, there was nothing else I could ask for lol. As spacecadet said, everyone got really involved (all the way up to the back row) and it was freaking awesome.
As for HARU and the megaphone... for me, as a Shiina Ringo/Tokyo Jihen fan, it immediately drew a lot of unfair comparisons in my mind. HARU's not as experienced as Shiina Ringo as a performer and it feels like she's still finding herself as such, so seeing her twirl around on stage was a little awkward, especially since the megaphone was an 'image' thing and not so much for the purposes of voice modification. It's pretty bad, I shouldn't have thought about it but I guess I can only hope for a day when HARU will be able to perform more comfortably on stage without a guitar without feeling so forced.
Another flat moment was the final line of Hachigatsu, which is my favourite part of the song with the harmony ... and I won't go into that, because it was a little sad. But RINA did steal the song a bit for me, which she does whenever things get quiet - it happened with Bitter Chocolate during the SCA wa Mada Honki Dashitenai show.
The set changed with the intro into AwaTsumori, with the 'roof' of the shrine and the lanterns dotted around it retracting into the ceiling to reveal a back panel covered in LED lights (I assume). The rice paper-ish screens remained at the front to turn into city buildings, and we were brought into modern times and high energy songs for the last round. I might attach a hilarious, poorly drawn sketch for your viewing pleasure. Pretty much everything involved could change colour (except for the lanterns, and the lights in the middle) so it was a good design to mix things up and bring the energy back up.
STANDARD is definitely an amazing way to finish a live - they segued effortlessly into the last minute/ bridge of the song, TOMO scream included - seriously, everyone loses it every time she screams like that, it happened about three times during the show (twice for STANDARD and once for another song...).
During the encore, the girls were endorsing the same shirts as mentioned earlier (I think), MAMI in the green STANDARD shirt, RINA in the navy, HARU in the black geometric top, and TOMO wearing the blue Kagen no Tsuki tie in.
It seems to be standard now that TOMO tries to bother HARU a little during SCANDAL BABY (I think! My memory's all fogged up now) but I'd say the definite highlight for me this time was MAMI stepping up onto the side of RINA's drumming platform during the song, smiling and watching her for a bit, then hitting the high hat with her hand (at the appropriate moment, during the second verse). If I had been up close, there's a high chance I might have died. ^^;;
In all, the show was a good one; high tension at some points, and they deliberately pulled out a few nostalgic songs that matched the set list, setting a standard for their next couple of performances - I look forward to what's in store for them from now, what with everyone saying it's the start of a new chapter for them.