Band
For the most part, Ayu's concert band has remained the same throughout the years. Although it sometimes varies for her television appearances, for each of her major tours, she is accompanied by two keyboardists, a guitarist, a bassist, a drummer, and, most recently, two chorus members.
The most famous member of the group and the one who has been with Ayu the longest -- as early as the her A Song For XX days -- is guitarist Yoshio Nomura. Already famous as both a soloist and band member before joining Ayu's band, Yoshio has a fan following of his own. When he is introduced, Ayu needs only to say "Guitar", and she lets the audience yell out the rest.
The other major showman of the band is Enrique, Ayu's bassist. He often joins Yoshio in long and energized guitar battles that keep the audience more than entertained while Ayu runs for a quick costume change.
Until about 2004, Ayu sang against a recording of her voice for the back-up vocals during all of her concerts. Now she travels with Yoko "Princess" Yamazaki and Miwako "Peco" Hamada, Princess taking care of the higher notes while Peco harmonizes with her deeper and fuller voice. Although not always on stage, Peco was in charge of the choreography and direction of Ayu's past concerts as early as her 2000 concert tour, so she is no stranger to life on the road with the Ayu team. The reaction to this change from the recorded vocals to an actual chorus has been mixed among fans. Some think the contrast between the three is too much and even accuse the back-up singers of overpowering Ayu. After going back and re-watching old concerts, I find that I prefer the live back-up singers to the recording. Even though their voices are much different than Ayu's, I think that the contrast helps to really bring the song to life, so to speak; it adds a lot more depth and power to the live vocals, and I never once thought that either back-up singer tried to steal the show. I think they balance out nicely.
Unfortunately, I don't know much -- or anything -- about her other band members. Those poor guys don't get a whole lot of recognition, apparently.
