I just got home from miku expo 2024 a bit ago, and for all people complained about the screen, the low official lightstick stocks, and the setlist, that concert was FUCKING ELECTRIC.
Even before we went in, it was really fun standing in line swapping stickers with folks and seeing all the cosplayers (including a fursuiter whose handler told me he's going to FWA too). The venue was on a wharf, and a cruise ship was pulling out at the same time and the whole line waved at them, which was really fun.
Then we all went in. Folks started swapping stories about previous Miku concerts they'd gone to. A lot of folks held up their miku plushes, often with the hair pulled back. We would then turn on our lightsticks and chant "bald!" at them. The concert hasn't even started yet and we're already building a great crowd energy.
Then the lights go off. Everyone cheers, then an excited hush falls over the crowd. The first notes of Miku by Anamanaguchi starts and we all cheer twice as loud. Between that and Vampire by Deco*27, the crowd is thoroughly hyped.
I won't go through every song individually, but a few more highlights:
- In M@GICAL☆CURE! LOVE ♥ SHOT!, the Mɪᴋᴜ Mɪᴋᴜ B ᴇ ᴇ ᴇ ᴀ ᴍ was everything I hoped it would be
- They played MikuFiesta, one of the few notable Spanish Miku songs, which was fun to hear
- Closing the show with the four-punch of World is Mine, Lucky ★ Orb, Tell Your World, and Intergalactic Bound left my heart pounding with how fun those songs are. I have some videos of when the choruses hit in World Is Mine and Tell Your World, but they don't properly convey the way the crowd fucking exploded when it happened.
One last general thought: the lightsticks really make the whole experience. You find yourself becoming part of this sea of color and light, your own energy flowing with the rest of the crowd. You're not individually experiencing this, you are here with hundreds of your new, closest friends, at least for the next couple hours. If you're going to a miku concert and you can't get an official lightstick, bring a generic. It's almost impossible to tell the difference most of the time, and it really makes everything that much better.