Just came back from seeing GLAY live tonight, and they were absolutely amazing! I’d even say they were better than last year, but maybe that was because I was closer to the stage this time, and they played more of their older songs that I’m familiar with rather than all the new ones they played off of their VERB album. The concert was held at The Fillmore, just like last year, and Miwa and I got there just an hour before the show. They had opened the doors earlier than they had last year, so although I’d been expecting to take my place at the back of a six-block-long line, we were able to get in right away. We even had time to go buy some merchandise (they were selling GLAY 2009 Tour t-shirts) before claiming our spot, standing pretty close to the stage (only about 15 feet away!).
GLAY rocked The Fillmore as hard as they rock Tokyo Dome, even though the venue was 100 times smaller. They went through several of their famous numbers, including Yuuwaku, GLOBAL COMMUNICATION, VERB, More Than Love, Survival, Starless Night, among others… and of course my favorite, HOWEVER. Miwa and I were jumping, screaming and fist-pumping the whole way through, along with our friend Jason, whom we ran into, and his friend and two random older Japanese ladies who came all the way from Japan to see GLAY perform up close. At one point, TERU saw us and smiled and pointed at us, which was the highlight of the entire concert for all of us… haha* We were exhausted and sore afterwards, but it was so much fun! Their encore song was I’m In Love, which set a great tone for the end of the concert. At the end of the concert, TERU promised again that they’d be back — he made the same promise last year and lo and behold, they kept their word so we’re hoping they’ll be back in San Francisco again soon! In the meantime, I wish them the best on the rest of their short but much-anticipated tour in the U.S., which will be two performances at the House of Blues down in Los Angeles this Friday and Saturday. I love that GLAY performs so well live and always puts forth their best for their adoring fans, whether the audience is as massive as in Japan or as humble as the crowd that still managed to pack the Fillmore tonight.
GLAY released a best album earlier this summer, entitled The Great Vacation ~ Super Best Of GLAY, and spread out over two volumes (3 discs each). It includes most of their big hits over the past 15 years that they made their major debut. You can get a preview of it here.
UPDATE:
Last night’s show got some press in the SF Weekly. (Read the article)
TERU wrote about the San Francisco concert at his blog, TERU ME NIGHT. (Read the blog post)
From GLAY’s MySpace:
The Fillmore Report (Set List)
Photo Album for U.S. Tour 2009
saya
September 10, 2009 @ 1:56 pm
so insanely jealous…..
i haven’t seen them yet and you’ve already seen them TWO times! the east coast gets no love =(
Kioko
September 10, 2009 @ 5:00 pm
wow, Teru-san noticed you! ã™ã£ã”ã„ã˜ã‚ƒãªã„ï¼ã¿ãã®ã¡ã‚ƒã‚“ãŸã¡å¯æ„›ã„ã‹ã‚‰ç›®ç«‹ã£ãŸã®ã‚ˆã€ãã£ã¨ï¼
I’ve always thought that Teru is a good looking guy, but ã‚„ã£ã±ã‚Šå®Ÿç‰©ã ã¨ã‚‚ã£ã¨ã‹ã£ã“ã„ã„ã®ã‹ãªï¼Ÿ
Misono
September 10, 2009 @ 7:37 pm
saya: ãˆã¸ã¸ãƒ»ãƒ»ãƒ»ç¾¨ã¾ã—ã„ã§ã—ょ?
But they are always talking about expanding to the worldwide stage so it may only be a matter of time before they go to New York! I think a lot of Japanese stars go to New York, though… in DC, it was even more rare to see any. There was just one time when I got to see Dreams Come True in concert in DC, but that was it. 🙁
Kiokoã•ã‚“:
We were pretty close to the stage this time so we were in better view! He noticed us because our group was really energetic… æ±—ã ãã ã£ãŸã‹ã‚‰å…¨ç„¶ã‹ã‚ã„ããªã‹ã£ãŸã¨æ€ã„ã¾ã™ã€‚(笑)隣ã«ã‚ã–ã‚ã–日本ã‹ã‚‰æ¥ã‚‰ã‚ŒãŸï¼–ï¼æ³ãらã„ã®ãŠã°ã‚ã¡ã‚ƒã‚“ãŒä¸€ç·’ã«è·³ãã¦ãŸã®ã§ãã£ã¡ã®æ–¹ã‚’見ã¦ã‹ã‚ã„ã„ã¨æ€ã£ãŸã‹ã‚‚ã—ã‚Œã¾ã›ã‚“。haha* 熱狂的ãªãƒ•ã‚¡ãƒ³ãŒã„ã¾ã™ã‚ˆã。:)
ç§ã‚‚å‰ã‹ã‚‰TERUã¯ã‹ã£ã“ã„ã„ã¨æ€ã£ã¦ãŸã®ã§ã™ãŒã€ã‚„ã£ã±ã‚Šãƒ©ã‚¤ãƒ–ã§æŒã£ã¦ã‚‹å§¿ã¯æ›´ã«ã‹ã£ã“よã‹ã£ãŸã§ã™ã€‚æŒå”±åŠ›ã‚‚ã™ã”ã‹ã£ãŸã—ã€ç››ã‚Šä¸Šã’ã‚‹ã®ã‚‚上手ã§ã‹ãªã‚Šã®ã‚¨ãƒãƒ«ã‚®ãƒ¼ã§ã—ãŸã€‚
miwa
September 13, 2009 @ 3:21 am
yayy for GLAY <3
right.. we were so sweaty.. and definitely not cute!
o well.. it was a once in a lifetime experience!
Misono
September 14, 2009 @ 9:55 pm
Definitely a lifelong memory!
GLAY saw us!!! Still can’t believe it 🙂
外æ‘义ä»
September 15, 2009 @ 7:13 am
thank you for telling us about thisï¼although i can’t to see their show by myself,i see this word just like i see themï¼ï¼ï¼thank you again~
Misono
September 15, 2009 @ 6:55 pm
I’m glad that you enjoyed the post!
Hopefully they will continue to expand their audience and go on to the worldwide stage! 😀