GLAY - Live Report 01
GLAY isn't just a band - they're my life, something that defines me and that has shaped me into who I am. To see them live was a dream, a dream which came true over 2 months ago - and, despite everything working out well and apart from this feeling of being fulfilled, I'm pretty sure that this is only the beginning. I will see those four boys - again-. And, without further ado, the 1st (very much late) report!
So. The big day started awkwardly. x.x Around midnight, the man next door started yelling and dude, the walls seemed to be made out of paper, because we could hear everything. I thought I was dreaming about it until my mom asked me if I was hearing all that noise too. x_x
She thought that he was "only" drunk, but the dude was probably drunk and screaming to anyone who happened to be close enough to his bedroom that he wanted to have sex aaaaall night long and I swear that his bed was banging against the freaking wall. @_@ And the best part? The other person with noisy guy was also a DUDE and there was this strange talk going on about someone's ass and... 8D Yeah. My mom asked me about what they were talking about and if I was understanding it and I replied that I wished I wasn't getting a single word. XD
We didn't wake up at 7AM (which was the plan) because my mom was very tired due to all the loud gay sex next door. By the time we had showered, dressed and got ready to go, it was about half past 8AM and we headed to Starbucks for breakfast.
And do you know what I noticed, as this was our first day in L.A.? That it's hot, exactly like São Paulo can be sometimes. x.x We took a cab from Starbucks to Hollywood around 11AM and there we went after the House of Blues (therefore just "HOB", for the sake of my fingertips that will undoubtedly be tired from all the typing XD).
Our taxi driver was Ethiopian and he was known as "Tom" in the US. xD He was adorable and we talked all the time until we reached the HOB, from soccer to US/Brazil health problems, including Obama and how California was pretty much broke, especially after the wild fires in September. :x
I saw nobody at the HOB, so mom and I decided to go all the way down from Sunset Blvd. to the shopping mall in Beverly Hills. Dude, we walked. 8D More than half an hour going down and down, under that burning sun. x.x We did some window-shopping and rested for a while, but I was really surprised to find people there - I only saw cars and more cars on the streets, but NO ONE walking. I was wondering where all those people were. o_o
The HOB, when we arrived at 11AM or something, as you see it from the Sunset Boulevard.
The events scheduled for September, at the HOB - and look at days 11 and 12! GLAY! This is right at what I thought to be the entrance from Sunset Blvd.
We climbed our way back to the HOB and we grabbed something to eat from a 7/11 nearby. Then... I saw people! There was a line down the street for the HOB, but I did not see it when I arrived earlier. The line to the music hall wasn't at the main entrance to the HOB from Sunset Blvd. actually, which made me want to slash my wrists or something. x___x
I went inside and I didn't know if the right line was the one I found there or near the entrance (or at least where I thought the entrance was) because there were some people gathering up there, but I was told that yes, the line was there and I went to the end of it. I sat down and I was about to start reading my book for my français classes to pass the time (because I had, like, 6 hours until the concert? xD) when 2 girls from the small group of people I had asked about the line came to me and asked me if I was the Brazilian girl.
Explaining: before going to the US, I posted at glay introducing myself and asking about who was going to the LA concerts and at what time people were planning to arrive etc. I also said I'd be wearing green and yellow on both days~. People from the comm replied and one of the girls who came to talk to me was one of them!
Let's call her Bix (ebony_angel), since that's her nickname. XD She's 25 and she was also supposed to cosplay Hisashi (Expo 2001 outfit~), but her costume didn't fit into the bag. She was stylish anyway and her hair... Dude, she LOOKS LIKE Hisashi, really! Her cosplay would have been gorgeous. ♥
Together with Bix was Meredith (acchikocchi), a very nice 23 year-old red-haired girl and who came directly from Alaska! Yeah, ALASKA. She studied at Japan and majored in Japanese, and while there, she studied in Nagasaki and she loved the people from Kyuushu. I second her! :D They're adorable.
And Bix was also with Chibi (chibicandyholic), who's her niece and really doesn't look like 19, exactly what Bix had said back at my post at the comm. 8D Chibi was with her iPod and she had pretty much EVERY song GLAY has ever released and that was our soundtrack for the afternoon, apart from little moments of insane fun with Sendai Kamotsu! 8D Chiba! \o/
Ysa (mikaela_angel07) was also there. She's from the Philippines (but lives in the US) and she was supposed to have attended the San Francisco concert, but couldn’t make it. ç__ç We talked for a good while about havaianas, crocs, ballroom dancing and the Philippines as well. 8D At last but not least, Luka was there too, one of the only boys I saw on Friday. 8D He kinda knew EVERYONE who was in the line - I think it's one of the side effects of being in a band, much like Nouya (my friend from Brazil who now lives in Japan and has always been INSANELY popular and stalked by fangirls and... Yeah. He has his own fanbase. xD). xD Later Meg (hyde_away) arrived, who's this GORGEOUS girl and who studies... *checks her LJ userinfo 8D* Asian Studies and Linguistics! She was wearing really cool make up and was also the host for Bix and Chibi while they were in CA. n__n
The girls, part 1! From your left to the right, Yuki (a Japanese fan who Bix met at the line and would hang out with us), Ysa and Meredith.
And the rest of the (female) part of the gang: from your left to right, Bix, Meg and Chibi.
Luka and his sunglasses!
[random: Dude, how I wish I studied in the US! O_o College is very different in Brazil and I'd never be able to major in something like Meg does. That's beyond awesome, really.]
The afternoon went by REALLY slowly. x.x I wasn't right at the beginning of the line - a small group of girls who arrived at 4/5 AM beat us to it. 8D There were small groups of Japanese/Asian fans and then there was our group. :3 And the girls had arrived early! O.O
The line for the concert, as seen from where I was.
I was slightly annoyed at the Japanese fans, since they didn't have to be there. u__u For those who aren't aware, last year Teru actually asked the Japanese fans to give some room to the Western ones at the concerts (he wrote this at his blog), since overseas fans have much more trouble going to a GLAY live in Japan - and last year, people at the San Francisco concert's line were crazy and freaked out a lot before the live. Obviously some people did not understand what Teru was trying to say and got mad. 8D
...Have I ever said how much I LOVE Teru? So yeah, I do. ♥
Anyway! I took pictures of the fanarts Bix did of each GLAY member (click here to see Teru, Hisashi, Takuro and Jiro) and which she was planning to give them during the concert - they were beautiful! *__* She draws awfully well, dude! \o/ And as the afternoon went by, she also drew us a lot of SDs and small doodles about our internal jokes and the "ENERGIZE!" thing and the fan-girl tubes and everything. xD
[for detailed explanation on the jokes, refer to Bix's own report because I can tell I'm gonna fail if I try to explain them in English. xD]
At least the HOB is a nice place to wait. We were under the trees' shade and there was a nice breeze too, and the restrooms were nearby (and I say this because going to to the loo is something vital and went through HELL back at Miyavi's 1st concert in Brazil). The place is actually very well kept and thematic, absolutely cool on the inside, but it DOES look like a rundown building when you first look at it. 8D According to my mom (who was there), there was a sign explaining that the outside of the HOB was inspired in some real decrepit place along some road.
Around 4/5 PM, we could hear the band rehearsing. *__* Even though the sound seemed to be coming from behind the hills which were across us, it was so amazing to hear the first notes being played~. *__* I heard them practicing "Ikiteku Tsuyosa", "Sen no Naifu ga Mune wo Sasu" and "HOWEVER", at least. The girls kept going to the restroom because the sound was better there and they could see something of the stage, too. xD Bix was making jokes about the "most romantic pee" she'd ever taken, since there was "HOWEVER" as background music when she did that. XD
The line also got divided: the HOB allows people who have spent a minimum of US$ 25,00 or have bought dinner there to get inside before everybody else. In order not to lose my place (especially because it would be impossible to get a good place if I had to go to the "standard" line), mom and I bought a sleeveless shirt for my sister and a black bag for me, all shiny and pretty. *__* Funny that I wanted to get inside to be close to the stage and my mom wanted to get away from the cold. 8D
The HOB around 8PM, when it was already dark and was almost time to get inside!
Exactly at 8 PM we stood up and finally got inside the music hall! I left everything I had with me with my mom and rushed (people literally RAN towards the stage xD) to the front rows. I was on Takuro's side (Takuro needs more lovin'!) and the girls were just in front of me, in the 2nd row, and beside me in the 3rd row, holding Bix's drawings high so they could try to give them to the band when the concert began.
We waited for 1 hour, standing by the stage and unable to move because people were coming inside and we could lose our places. I think there were about 300-400 people on the first floor, but I think it got too crowded and then the late comers moved upstairs. :) I was happy to see the place looking like it had sold out, but Teru later said otherwise at his blog... I wonder where they could possibly fit more people inside! O_O
The background music for the longest hour of the day (I was reminded of bitmoo's logic at the Miyavi line xD) was a good set of GLAY songs remixes. I remember it started with "HIGHCOMMUNICATIONS" and then we had "Manatsu no Tobira", "Yes, Summerdays", "Blue Jean", "Tomadoi", "Yuuwaku" and a few others we couldn't name because they were either too distorted or because the volume was really low. :x Just a little before the CD started again, the staff members came in to test the instruments and, around 9PM, GLAY walked in and it started!
Random picture of concert. Cameras weren't allowed, but my mom didn't know that and took a couple of pictures. xD Most of them are blurry, though (she learned to use the camera during the concert, in the dark! 8D).
And the house went crazy. 8D First it was Toshi, then Sei-chan, Jiro, Hisashi, Takuro and finally Teru, all of them coming from the right side of he stage (which, by the way, had no special decoration for the band, just the HOB logo behind them). The Oscar goes to Hisashi, who was wearing a hood and had a light saber which, like, was awfully SHINY in all that darkness. 8D Hisashi is such a nerd, I love him!
Lights went on and we could see how they were dressed! Starting with Hisashi, he was silver-haired. o_o I think it was a wig - since his hair was back to normal in this video they shoot for Sunday's concert - but it certainly looked real enough and... Gah, I give up. @_@ It was a light shade of silver with darker strands closer to his face and the way he was using his hair/wig covered, like, half of his face. He was wearing some black and white shirt under a very thin and long coat. He had black pants on and a kind of a kilt over them, in black and red, apart from his platform boots. :3
Jiro had a sleeveless black shirt on, silver trousers AND sneakers, slightly metallic and sooo shiny! His hair was short and blond, comme d'habitude.
Takuro also had a sleeveless shirt on and long trousers, both black. He was also wearing one of those sleeveless, light and incredibly long coats he normally uses, you know? Like Takuro's-trademark-coat? That's the one. Black shoes, nothing extraordinary there, and his hair was brown, styled as usual too (reaching his shoulders and with long bangs over his face, but not covering his eyes or anything like Hisashi).
At least, Teru! Mr. Kobashi was all in black, with a slightly unbuttoned shirt (just the first two or three buttons, like his outfit for "ASHES -1969-" PV) and trousers of the same colour, slightly baggy around his thighs but tighter around his knees and ankles. He was wearing black boots with FEATHERS (WTF, Teru! Seriously, I don't get this whole feather thing...) and his hair is kinda like how he used it at THE GREAT VACATION videos from the Nissan Stadium, slightly lighter than Takuro's and longish, with short bangs but tied up behind his head. Kinda hard to explain his hairstyle, actually (but I had a harder time trying to describe Hisashi's clothing, even in Portuguese!).
Once the lights were on, Teru was positively beaming as he greeted us and asking if we were ready ("Are you ready?" must have been his favourite sentence for the night 8D). And it began!
"GREAT VACATION" was the first song and the one that opened all the concerts of THE GREAT VACATION tour~. o.o I like it well enough, it's full of energy and happy - a good tune for 15 years of celebration. n.n Right at the beginning of the song Teru saw Bix's drawings, pointed at them, cracked a big smile but DIDN'T grab them. XD
Waaah, it was magical! *__* At that moment I was finally realising that I was seeing GLAY live and, like, inches away from my hands! Teru actually let himself be grabbed by the fans from the first 2 rows at the beginning of the concert while he sang. XD Yeah, we were that close - I can understand why people come all the way from Japan to the US!
And the next song was... "Yuuwaku"! OMFG, YUUWAKU! The most special song ever to me wasn't left out, it was BEAUTIFUL! The crowd shouted "becaaaause I loooove yooou" with such energy that Teru let us sing by ourselves and wah~! He hugged/enlaced Hisashi during this song and Hisa had that blasé look of his, making cool faces when it was the time for the solo. 8D Teru always "introduces" Hisashi before "Yuuwaku" solos at the concerts, I think it's a live tradition of some sorts by now. XD
We had the 1st MC then, with Teru talking to the crowd and saying how happy he was to be back at the HOB and that the whole band was also very glad to be there and that he loved us. 8D And of course the audience yelled back how much they loved him~. Sweet! ♥ Next Teru said that he was from Japan (duh!) and asked who was also from Japan, from Korea (there was actually a good number of South Korean fans! One of the girls from the front row was Korean and I think he tried to say something in Korean to her xD) and then the concert moved on with "Ikiteku Tsuyosa", when Teru let us sing the chorus by ourselves with Takuro doing the backing vocal. n__n He asked us to sing this song with him and it felt so good, so... Familiar. It's a very typical "GLAY" moment and fully established as one in their career, so I couldn't help but remember when I first started listening to them and loving them and their old concerts and much more.
According to the setlist available at their MySpace, the next song was "Survival", another moment when Teru asked for us to help him with the song and I thought "'Survival'? Really? That chorus is impossible!", but at least I tried. XD I was surprised at myself - I didn't know I remembered so much from the lyrics! And, of course, I had flashes from the Expo '99 all the time, since it was the first live I ever watched from them. I still remember that night and how entranced I was by seeing them moving and talking and everything. *___*
Then Teru said "From our album 'SPEED POP'!" and they broke into "Sen no Naifu ga Mune wo Sasu". o.o The 1st thing that crossed my mind was "...But this song is from Hai to Daiyamondo!" XD It was nice to see such an upbeat song like their oldest tunes being played (since GLAY tends to favour their more recent work and a few classics in concerts) and Teru always let us sing that "anata wo" bit near the chorus of the song. XP I think non-hardcore fans of the band might not have recognised the song or maybe not even enjoyed it, but the majority seemed to be familiarised with it. x3
The next song surprised me: "Cynical" began and I think Hisashi looked distinctly prouder and/or happier during the song, at least while he was playing the solo. I honestly don't remember seeing this song live - to be honest, I can only track back a very old live in which they performed the song differently, with a different arrangement, faster and all weird from one of their 1999 concerts, if I'm not mistaken! O_O Before the song started, actually, Teru had us scream "cynicaaaaal!" for a lot of times. XD
Teru said that the next song would be "STARLESS NIGHT" and asked us to repeat after him - he then began creating small melodies with no lyrics as the band kept playing a tune which ressembled the song itself. x3 He had us repeat a lot of "oh-ohs" which at first were easy, but then he did a couple of VERY GRAVE ONES and the audience... Did it too. 8D And he LAUGHED VERY HARD, obviously having a great deal of fun at our expense. XP
He actually dared to rest one of his hands against his hips as he changed the "exercises" ALL the time, just to see how far we were willing to go. 8D Takuro was helping us with his free hand, signalling when he were supposed to change the key and aiding us to keep the rhythm. 83 Jiro and Hisashi were mostly watching us and both seemed very impressed and/or gave us thumbs up when we managed to succeed after the more complex sequences. xD
But Teru was clearly enjoying himself too much and kept on complicating everything until more than 300 people couldn't agree on which was the correct tune and failed to the same thing, despite how hard -I- tried to make the right one. XD I swear I felt like the most perfect trained puppy, obeying ALL of my owner's commands without even hesitating! xP And Teru of course loved his "dog instructor" moment. To be honest, I could swear that Takuro made a very funny face at some point, as if saying "Ok, Teru, we get it, you've proved they'd jump off the bridge for you. Teru. TERU. TERU, IT'S ENOUGH, WE GET IT!". 8D
Teru wanted everyone to sing with him the next song, so he taught us the beginning of the chorus ("Oh Starless Starless Starless Tonight") and had us repeat that ad eternum until he thought he were good and they finally started the song for good. XD When the chorus came, he almost didn't sing to hear us repeating the line he had explained to us before. 83
The setlist says that there was another MC here, but I must confess that I don't remember what it was about. 8D I think we more of Teru's Engrish on how he loved to be back, which I believe to be the general topic of both day's MCs. The next song was "RUN", which, together with "STARLESS NIGHT", are the ones I knew absolutely nothing of the lyrics, except for the "hashiru, hashiru, hashiruuuu" of the former. XD However, "RUN" is a very cheerful song and it was so fun! *__* Hisashi was jumping/twirling around as usual and Teru was moving everywhere, despite the stage being small - which almost resulted in a few collisions. XD Jiro was the one who less came to the front of the stage, and I pitied his fans (who seemed to be either the majority or could be REALLY noisy); Takuro didn't move much from his spot and he also seemed... Apprehensive? Takuro was looking at the crowd as a whole, focusing on someone/something distant sometimes and I thought "Heeeere! Look down! Look at my Brazilian t-shirt I mentioned at the MySpace!". 8D My mom, who was watching everything from the back, seemed that Takuro's gaze was very penetrating and VERY powerful from where she was. xP
This is one of the official pictures from the concert by Shunji Kobayashi, which was used in a report available at the J-Rock Revolution. See what I mean by "Brazilian t-shirt"? XD It's ridiculously easy to find me in that sea of black-clad people (if you can't find me in the picture, look to the far right side, 3rd row from the stage. There's a girl in yellow and green with one of her arms raised - yeah, that's me).
Suddenly the mic stand came forward and I knew a ballad was coming. XD And we had nothing less than "HOWEVER"! *__* It was nice to see that the audience respected the calmer atmosphere of the song and no one was sticking their hands into the air and there was no one squealing; everyone seemed to be sincerely overwhelmed by the song and by the lyrics. "HOWEVER" has a very powerful chorus, imho. ♥
Funny how some songs can bring memories back and "HOWEVER" was one of them. I was reminded of my 8th grade in 2002, when I was already a GLAY fan and more of J-Rock/J-Pop fan than anime. It was then Gabi gave me this cassette tape with a J-Music selection and I perfectly remember that the first 3 songs from the B side of that tape were GLAY songs - "HOWEVER", "Missing You" and "YOU MAY DREAM". I remember listening to those songs over and over.
After "HOWEVER" the lights fell on Sei-chan, who played a very beautiful and slow tune which, at first, I couldn't relate to any song I knew. o.o Teru then grabbed the mic and sang something along, but only voicing "ahs" and "ohs" which mixed well with the tune. ♥ His voice was so light and smooth that the whole sing seemed rather... Ethereal. It was a very moving moment, not to mention that he seemed to be very focused on what he was doing and it was deeply touching. o.ob
And suddenly... "BE WITH YOU" started! \o/ Wah, such a pleasant surprise. ^_^ I kept seeing scenes from the PV in my mind as Teru sang and I also remembered the story behind the Hisashi picture I carry inside my wallet ♥ It was a beautiful live performance and I was glad that this "calmer" moment of the concert was not disturbed by screams or anything like that. :)
When the song was over, we had another MC and I lived the happiest 10 seconds of my life. Have you ver talked to Teru?
I HAVE.
He started inquiring about where we had come from, at first risking the closest countries (like Canada) and he tried very hard to understand a girl who had came from New Jersey. ¬¬ Duh. He kept walking around the stage and waiting for answers as I was there, hand raised in the air and barely keeping my excitement inside, mentally dragging Teru over to Takuro's side, where -I- was standing. 8D
Eventually he came closer and Meredith managed to say she was from Alaska and Teru's face of surprise was adorable! 8D People cheered and clapped their hands for Meredith as a girl to my right answered that she was from Taiwan.
And then... He turned to me and waaaah, dude! One thing is to think that someone is looking at you during the concert; another thing is to be sure that someone is not only looking at you, but waiting for YOUR answer. It's impossible to put this feeling into words, srsly. I don't know if he could see my shirt, but he stretched his arm as he tried to get the microphone closer and I said "Brazil!", but he didn't understand and then I shouted louder, "BRAZIL!".
This time he got it and made this very surprised face, confirming my answer as he asked "Burajiru?" and I gave him both thumbs up with a gigantic grin on my face, since I didn't trust myself to say anything else. 8D Since I was looking at Teru, I couldn't see the other members' reactions, but my mom said that Jiro was pleasantly surprised and interested in the answers, while Takuro's eyebrows vanished behind his bangs as he heard the replies. XDDD My mom said that she didn't notice any changes on Hisashi's expression, but she doesn't like Hisa all that much.
Teru then said it was time for something harder and "VERB" came on, an old friend of the American audience and theme of the 2008 US tour. "VERB" was one of my five favourite songs at the time of the concert and I was very happy to see it live, with everyone singing "doooooushite" together with so much energy and everything else. xD
And then, still in the post-"VERB" darkness, I heard the introduction of the next song and I even confirmed my suspicions with one of the girls, since I couldn't believe I was about to see it live. Yes, ladies and gentlemen: the next song was "Synchronicity", Hisashi's 2nd song that night and also his best one, in my opinion. It also seems to have become a fan favourite among the new songs from "THE GREAT VACATION Vol. 1"! O.ob And it deserves such a title, since the song is fantastic and gained popularity after being chosen as the theme for the new Magna Carta game. o.o
Hisashi was incredibly full of himself and making orgasmic faces when it was the time for solos such as the one from "Synchronicity". XD His hair was covering his face and he was watching us with his only visible eye, in that really cool and teasing demeanour of his, always getting close enough to give us the impression that we'd be able to touch him, but never really allowing us to. -_-b Tease!
This song sounds better in a small venue. The lack of the backing vocal still bugs me (enough so I'd do it -myself- from the audience xD), but the sound doesn't dissipate like it happened at the Nissan Stadium concerts; the song was more dramatic and somber just like its album version, methinks.
"Synchronicity" gave way to "I am xxx", which made me DELIRIOUS because those are the two songs I'm loving the most at the moment and which I almost know by heart after listening so much to them. XD They rank 1st and 2nd on that top 5 which "VERB" is also a part of. The lights turned red during this song and I missed that additional female voice at the ending, but it simply kicked ass anyway! *___* That chorus is so powerful and sends shivers down my spine. And Teru puts so much emotion into this song and I feel so much from this tune that I was truly in ecstasy after seeing it live. *___* Such a remarkable and powerful song indeed. ♥
Then sirens went out of nowhere, but they were the prelude to "HIGHCOMMUNICATIONS" and everyone went mad! 8D I don't know if you guys have seen this song at that men-only live Teru produced, but the atmosphere was pretty much like that. o_ob Teru asked us to do some hand motions during the "wow wow" at the beginning, at first forming an "x" above our heads. At the chorus, between the English words, he had us yelling "hey!" and punching the air and that kind of thing. 83 Funny that I never thought this song would be performed after the X-Rated Tours, but it's extremely fun live, despite the nonsense lyrics. 8D And I love paraparas and such. *__*
Another MC came along and this time Teru asked us which albums we loved the most, beginning with "SPEED POP" and pretty much skipping from "REVIEW" to "THE FRUSTRATED" and thus being corrected by us. 8D It was the audience who reminded Teru that "pure soul" came first and then "HEAVY GAUGE", but our dear vocalist took ages to understand that the next album was "ONE LOVE", despite everyone doing very suggestive number "1" gestures with their hands. XD Finally he understood what we had been trying to say and made this "aaah!" face, but then asked us "ONE LOVE?" as if he meant "You guys are sure?" and then he'd turn to Hisashi and to Jiro and then at us again and he seemed to be convinced that we were right just to change his mind at the next second. xD He went back to "THE FRUSTRATED" again (which must be his favourite album, apparently!) and we didn't even bother to remind him of "Unity Roots & Family, Away", since he had already mentioned "THE GREAT VACATION Vol. 1" and told us that the next song was from the "BEAT out!" album: "More than Love"!
Aaah, kimochi! *__* Srsly, it was sooo nostalgic and totally unexpected, too! ♥ I don't know why, but I kept remembering scenes from the PV during this song too. 8D It was one of the moments in which I saw most people moving their arms as it's usually done in Japan. o.o I'm starting to think that the audience did the paraparas in a more "Japanese" way when the tunes were older, maybe because the old-school fans had incorporated the hand motions unconsciously (like I did with "Kanojo no "Modern...""? XD).
And speaking of said song, "Kanojo no "Modern..."" was the next one! :DDD I was surprised because we did not do the traditional parapara for it, since Teru asked us to yell "hey! hey!" instead of moving our hands and it was way more exciting live than I had previously thought, with every band member coming to the front of the stage and playing those wonderful solos. *___* Teru let us sang the infamous "mistake" bit from the lyrics and eeeeeveryone yelled the "kimi no sex, drugs & rock'n'roll!" together! \o/ Wah, I LOVE LOVE LOVE this song and it was fantastic to sing it live! I think it might be the oldest song which is still constantly played at their lives, regardless of the tour. It would be sad to come back home without "Kanojo no "Modern...""! :x
Suddenly EVERY light fell on Jiro and he soloed for 2 minutes (more or less) and it was BRILLIANT (and sorry for the wordplay, but with such platinum trousers and sneakers Jiro literally blinded us). He came forward and said something really quickly into the microphone, leaving his fans desperate before breaking into "Shutter Speeds no Teema"! :DDD
As usual, Jiro sang the 1st part while Teru was looking all goofy and adorable in the background, looking at the crowd and eventually getting closer to Jiro to yell the "up and down" bit before the 2nd part and grab the mic away, claiming back his post as the vocalist with energy. :D Takuro kept encouraging us to help with the chorus, screaming the "who get?", "who get get" and "get get". ♥ I remember my old ICQ had GLAY sounds. 8DD When someone sent me an IM Teru would say "Message" and when someone came online it was Jiro saying "hey man!", from "Shutter Speeds no Teema"! I also have "get get!" for when someone sent me a file (also from Jiro's most famous song) and "baby baby baby talk" for chat invitations (and from "Shuumatsu no Baby Talk" 8D). Aaah, good old ICQ times. ♥
"Shutter Speeds no Teema" ended and I thought it was about to followed by "HIT THE WORLD CHART!" (and, as odd as it might sound, I thought I had heard this song among the remixed versions they played before the concert 8D), but I was wrong. It was the beginning of... "ACID HEAD".
OMG.
It's not like I thought that they wouldn't play "ACID HEAD", but I was IMMENSELY relieved when I heard Takuro playing its first notes. *___* I mean, a GLAY live isn't a GLAY live if they don't play "ACID HEAD", as every good fan knows. x3 I think that it's the most traditional live song along with "Kanojo no "Modern...""! They're essential in any concert!
We had the usual great time this tune can provide, with everyone jumping and yelling on stage and getting really close to the audience. XD Teru grabbed Hisashi so he could also sing the "no more hero" bits and that's what I love about "ACID HEAD": it's a very democratic song in which everyone gets to sing for a while, even if Jiro didn't bother to deliver his lines on the mic. XD The song went on foreeeever - or until Teru decided that it was good. XD But it was soooo nice to jump around and yell "Acid head! Acid head! Acid head! Scrap & build!" until we had almost lost our voices. XD
Unfortunately it came to an end and Teru finally grabbed Bix's fanarts! *__* They thanked us, reaffirmed how much they loved their fans and left, leaving us screaming for an encore. Of course they came back, with everyone wearing the tour shirts and, as soon as they came back, Jiro tried to give me his watter bottle (I'm saying this because I was from a very different country. 8D Hence the presumption!), but it went away. o_ob Dude, I think I'd have easily drank the WHOLE bottle, I was dying of thirst, I was tired and yet I wanted MORE! \o/
Teru spoke again, always struggling with his English, but we have to admit that his Engrish is a trademark of his already. XD He said that he wanted to listen to everyone's voiced and they started "Peak Hateshinaku Soul Kagirinaku" and this song is so... Frenetic. 8D Teru had us moving our arms from left to right all the time, keeping up with the song's crazy rhythm. *__*
I've always loved this song, despite the inevitable jokes about its PV when one is reminded of the "Tenshi no Wakemae" PV. 8D When we reached the "wow wow glory days wow wow" thing Teru had us repeating it for him for an eternity and eventually the whole band stopped playing and it was a beautiful a capella moment. :D I'm still intrigued by this, though: this English line is NOWHERE in the original lyrics! O__O
Unfortunately I knew we were nearing the ending when Teru was given a guitar and he said that it was indeed the last song, using one of his hands to simulate a tear running along his face before we could even protest and say "awwwwn". 8D He said that he wanted to hear our voices and that we were supposed to sing from the bottom of our hearts - and that's what we did! *__*
During this song Teru even plucked out the earphones he was wearing (you know, those earphones everyone in the band uses so they can hear how they're sounding together?) so he could hear us better, always encouraging us and yelling "motto!" without his microphone or any other aid; I think everyone was overwhelmed by the strong emotion this song conveys, clapping their hands in sync and feeling that mix of sadness and happiness after such a wonderful concert.
Jiro came TO ME to give me his pick, I swear. 8D I know it sounds presumptuous to say this, but I'm pretty sure this was the 1st time they've had a confirmation of having fans in Brazil and Jiro seemed very happy about that. :) Unfortunately someone rudely grabbed his hand and I was left with nothing. ç___ç Oh well, c'est la vie. There was a girl just near me who went running back to try to get Hisashi's pick (since he threw his further than Jiro) and then she wanted to come back to her old place. 8DDD Haha, as if. I didn't let her. >D
As soon as the concert was over he headed to the goods booth, but there wasn't much - just the official shirt of the tour and "THE GREAT VACATION Vol. 1". o_ob I wanted just the t-shirt, but they were over so quickly (I should have had bought mine before the concert, but then I'd have lost my place near the stage @_@). Fortunately a lady came back with more t-shirts and I got ooone! ♥ Small size. Their small size is HUGE, I wonder how big is their large one. XD At least now I have shirts from every band I've seen live: Miyavi, MONORAL, LM.C and GLAY. n_n I was afraid that the shirts would have sold out really quickly because that's what always happen with the goods. Whoever is in charge of the goods (no matter the artist) is bad at doing the Math and bringing enough stuff to sell.
The t-shirt! It has the tour logo on the front and the places they've played at on the back. LOOKIT, I WAS THERE! *points at LA dates*
Random facts about the concert: Teru introduced everyone from GLAY during one of the MCs, always following the same order (Toshi - Sei-chan - Jiro - Hisashi - Takuro - Teru) and only mentioning their roles in the band as he waited for the audience to scream the name of said band member. Dude, I have to admit that I did NOT remember the current keyboard player's name! XD After Shigeo Komori I think they lasted so little that I honestly didn't know who was playing for them after Yuta Saito (but I knew it wasn't Sakuma). 8D I think a lot of other people didn't know it either.
Towards "ACID HEAD" (I think), there was this moment in which Takuro walked up to Teru and the vocalist dropped to his knees on the floor, both men facing each other and with Teru singing with more and more emotion and leaning forward as Takuro moved in the opposite direction and... Let's say it was a little fanservice-ish? I dunno, I'm used to seeing things where there's nothing because reading in between the lines and finding innuendos is like my second nature, so this moment and whenever Teru "grabbed" Hisashi during Yuuwaku and everything else made me go "a-hem", if you know what I mean. XD
Someone tried to give underwear to Teru! 8D I actually didn't see this, but my mom did! 8D Apparently Teru took long enough to realise what he had been holding, and, when he did, he quickly returned it to the girl with a mildly scared/disgusted face, Srsly, GLAY and Wando (Brazilian singer who actually collects the underwear of his fans, so they're always throwing it to the stage. WEIRD, I KNOW. xX) ARE NOT THE SAME THING. Guh.
TERU IS A MAGNET, DUDE. I was at Takuro's side because he's my supreme idol and because I wanted to show him that Brazil loves GLAY as I had promised on MySpace and so on, but whenever I realised what I was doing I found myself insanely drooling at Teru. O_O It's impossible NOT to stare at him, his charisma and the way he interacts so easily with anyone and without any problem (despite the language barrier) is awesome and he's so genuine and happy and... *melts*
Teru also was spitting the water he drank on us. XD I was actually hit by him on the 1st time and it was torture, since I was already dying of thirsty around the 3rd song and whenever I saw them drinking water or anything during the small breaks I felt this mad envy. XD
And finally, Teru has a new tattoo! He rolled the sleeve of his shirt up so he could read what was written there (and prompted some wild squealing with that, of course), but the angle wasn't good for him and he took FOREVER to read everything. XD FAIL! Typical of Teru, really, but we love him anyway! ♥ If I'm not mistaken, he's tattooed "the sun is always shining behind the clouds" on his upper right arm. n.n
And after saying goodbye to the girls and scheduling our meeting for the following morning, mom and I took a cab to the hotel and we pretty much dropped dead after hitting the bed - the result of being THAT tired from one of the happiest days in my life!
PS: Click here to read a report on the Sep. 12th concert.
So. The big day started awkwardly. x.x Around midnight, the man next door started yelling and dude, the walls seemed to be made out of paper, because we could hear everything. I thought I was dreaming about it until my mom asked me if I was hearing all that noise too. x_x
She thought that he was "only" drunk, but the dude was probably drunk and screaming to anyone who happened to be close enough to his bedroom that he wanted to have sex aaaaall night long and I swear that his bed was banging against the freaking wall. @_@ And the best part? The other person with noisy guy was also a DUDE and there was this strange talk going on about someone's ass and... 8D Yeah. My mom asked me about what they were talking about and if I was understanding it and I replied that I wished I wasn't getting a single word. XD
We didn't wake up at 7AM (which was the plan) because my mom was very tired due to all the loud gay sex next door. By the time we had showered, dressed and got ready to go, it was about half past 8AM and we headed to Starbucks for breakfast.
And do you know what I noticed, as this was our first day in L.A.? That it's hot, exactly like São Paulo can be sometimes. x.x We took a cab from Starbucks to Hollywood around 11AM and there we went after the House of Blues (therefore just "HOB", for the sake of my fingertips that will undoubtedly be tired from all the typing XD).
Our taxi driver was Ethiopian and he was known as "Tom" in the US. xD He was adorable and we talked all the time until we reached the HOB, from soccer to US/Brazil health problems, including Obama and how California was pretty much broke, especially after the wild fires in September. :x
I saw nobody at the HOB, so mom and I decided to go all the way down from Sunset Blvd. to the shopping mall in Beverly Hills. Dude, we walked. 8D More than half an hour going down and down, under that burning sun. x.x We did some window-shopping and rested for a while, but I was really surprised to find people there - I only saw cars and more cars on the streets, but NO ONE walking. I was wondering where all those people were. o_o
The HOB, when we arrived at 11AM or something, as you see it from the Sunset Boulevard.
The events scheduled for September, at the HOB - and look at days 11 and 12! GLAY! This is right at what I thought to be the entrance from Sunset Blvd.
We climbed our way back to the HOB and we grabbed something to eat from a 7/11 nearby. Then... I saw people! There was a line down the street for the HOB, but I did not see it when I arrived earlier. The line to the music hall wasn't at the main entrance to the HOB from Sunset Blvd. actually, which made me want to slash my wrists or something. x___x
I went inside and I didn't know if the right line was the one I found there or near the entrance (or at least where I thought the entrance was) because there were some people gathering up there, but I was told that yes, the line was there and I went to the end of it. I sat down and I was about to start reading my book for my français classes to pass the time (because I had, like, 6 hours until the concert? xD) when 2 girls from the small group of people I had asked about the line came to me and asked me if I was the Brazilian girl.
Explaining: before going to the US, I posted at glay introducing myself and asking about who was going to the LA concerts and at what time people were planning to arrive etc. I also said I'd be wearing green and yellow on both days~. People from the comm replied and one of the girls who came to talk to me was one of them!
Let's call her Bix (ebony_angel), since that's her nickname. XD She's 25 and she was also supposed to cosplay Hisashi (Expo 2001 outfit~), but her costume didn't fit into the bag. She was stylish anyway and her hair... Dude, she LOOKS LIKE Hisashi, really! Her cosplay would have been gorgeous. ♥
Together with Bix was Meredith (acchikocchi), a very nice 23 year-old red-haired girl and who came directly from Alaska! Yeah, ALASKA. She studied at Japan and majored in Japanese, and while there, she studied in Nagasaki and she loved the people from Kyuushu. I second her! :D They're adorable.
And Bix was also with Chibi (chibicandyholic), who's her niece and really doesn't look like 19, exactly what Bix had said back at my post at the comm. 8D Chibi was with her iPod and she had pretty much EVERY song GLAY has ever released and that was our soundtrack for the afternoon, apart from little moments of insane fun with Sendai Kamotsu! 8D Chiba! \o/
Ysa (mikaela_angel07) was also there. She's from the Philippines (but lives in the US) and she was supposed to have attended the San Francisco concert, but couldn’t make it. ç__ç We talked for a good while about havaianas, crocs, ballroom dancing and the Philippines as well. 8D At last but not least, Luka was there too, one of the only boys I saw on Friday. 8D He kinda knew EVERYONE who was in the line - I think it's one of the side effects of being in a band, much like Nouya (my friend from Brazil who now lives in Japan and has always been INSANELY popular and stalked by fangirls and... Yeah. He has his own fanbase. xD). xD Later Meg (hyde_away) arrived, who's this GORGEOUS girl and who studies... *checks her LJ userinfo 8D* Asian Studies and Linguistics! She was wearing really cool make up and was also the host for Bix and Chibi while they were in CA. n__n
The girls, part 1! From your left to the right, Yuki (a Japanese fan who Bix met at the line and would hang out with us), Ysa and Meredith.
And the rest of the (female) part of the gang: from your left to right, Bix, Meg and Chibi.
Luka and his sunglasses!
[random: Dude, how I wish I studied in the US! O_o College is very different in Brazil and I'd never be able to major in something like Meg does. That's beyond awesome, really.]
The afternoon went by REALLY slowly. x.x I wasn't right at the beginning of the line - a small group of girls who arrived at 4/5 AM beat us to it. 8D There were small groups of Japanese/Asian fans and then there was our group. :3 And the girls had arrived early! O.O
The line for the concert, as seen from where I was.
I was slightly annoyed at the Japanese fans, since they didn't have to be there. u__u For those who aren't aware, last year Teru actually asked the Japanese fans to give some room to the Western ones at the concerts (he wrote this at his blog), since overseas fans have much more trouble going to a GLAY live in Japan - and last year, people at the San Francisco concert's line were crazy and freaked out a lot before the live. Obviously some people did not understand what Teru was trying to say and got mad. 8D
...Have I ever said how much I LOVE Teru? So yeah, I do. ♥
Anyway! I took pictures of the fanarts Bix did of each GLAY member (click here to see Teru, Hisashi, Takuro and Jiro) and which she was planning to give them during the concert - they were beautiful! *__* She draws awfully well, dude! \o/ And as the afternoon went by, she also drew us a lot of SDs and small doodles about our internal jokes and the "ENERGIZE!" thing and the fan-girl tubes and everything. xD
[for detailed explanation on the jokes, refer to Bix's own report because I can tell I'm gonna fail if I try to explain them in English. xD]
At least the HOB is a nice place to wait. We were under the trees' shade and there was a nice breeze too, and the restrooms were nearby (and I say this because going to to the loo is something vital and went through HELL back at Miyavi's 1st concert in Brazil). The place is actually very well kept and thematic, absolutely cool on the inside, but it DOES look like a rundown building when you first look at it. 8D According to my mom (who was there), there was a sign explaining that the outside of the HOB was inspired in some real decrepit place along some road.
Around 4/5 PM, we could hear the band rehearsing. *__* Even though the sound seemed to be coming from behind the hills which were across us, it was so amazing to hear the first notes being played~. *__* I heard them practicing "Ikiteku Tsuyosa", "Sen no Naifu ga Mune wo Sasu" and "HOWEVER", at least. The girls kept going to the restroom because the sound was better there and they could see something of the stage, too. xD Bix was making jokes about the "most romantic pee" she'd ever taken, since there was "HOWEVER" as background music when she did that. XD
The line also got divided: the HOB allows people who have spent a minimum of US$ 25,00 or have bought dinner there to get inside before everybody else. In order not to lose my place (especially because it would be impossible to get a good place if I had to go to the "standard" line), mom and I bought a sleeveless shirt for my sister and a black bag for me, all shiny and pretty. *__* Funny that I wanted to get inside to be close to the stage and my mom wanted to get away from the cold. 8D
The HOB around 8PM, when it was already dark and was almost time to get inside!
Exactly at 8 PM we stood up and finally got inside the music hall! I left everything I had with me with my mom and rushed (people literally RAN towards the stage xD) to the front rows. I was on Takuro's side (Takuro needs more lovin'!) and the girls were just in front of me, in the 2nd row, and beside me in the 3rd row, holding Bix's drawings high so they could try to give them to the band when the concert began.
We waited for 1 hour, standing by the stage and unable to move because people were coming inside and we could lose our places. I think there were about 300-400 people on the first floor, but I think it got too crowded and then the late comers moved upstairs. :) I was happy to see the place looking like it had sold out, but Teru later said otherwise at his blog... I wonder where they could possibly fit more people inside! O_O
The background music for the longest hour of the day (I was reminded of bitmoo's logic at the Miyavi line xD) was a good set of GLAY songs remixes. I remember it started with "HIGHCOMMUNICATIONS" and then we had "Manatsu no Tobira", "Yes, Summerdays", "Blue Jean", "Tomadoi", "Yuuwaku" and a few others we couldn't name because they were either too distorted or because the volume was really low. :x Just a little before the CD started again, the staff members came in to test the instruments and, around 9PM, GLAY walked in and it started!
Random picture of concert. Cameras weren't allowed, but my mom didn't know that and took a couple of pictures. xD Most of them are blurry, though (she learned to use the camera during the concert, in the dark! 8D).
And the house went crazy. 8D First it was Toshi, then Sei-chan, Jiro, Hisashi, Takuro and finally Teru, all of them coming from the right side of he stage (which, by the way, had no special decoration for the band, just the HOB logo behind them). The Oscar goes to Hisashi, who was wearing a hood and had a light saber which, like, was awfully SHINY in all that darkness. 8D Hisashi is such a nerd, I love him!
Lights went on and we could see how they were dressed! Starting with Hisashi, he was silver-haired. o_o I think it was a wig - since his hair was back to normal in this video they shoot for Sunday's concert - but it certainly looked real enough and... Gah, I give up. @_@ It was a light shade of silver with darker strands closer to his face and the way he was using his hair/wig covered, like, half of his face. He was wearing some black and white shirt under a very thin and long coat. He had black pants on and a kind of a kilt over them, in black and red, apart from his platform boots. :3
Jiro had a sleeveless black shirt on, silver trousers AND sneakers, slightly metallic and sooo shiny! His hair was short and blond, comme d'habitude.
Takuro also had a sleeveless shirt on and long trousers, both black. He was also wearing one of those sleeveless, light and incredibly long coats he normally uses, you know? Like Takuro's-trademark-coat? That's the one. Black shoes, nothing extraordinary there, and his hair was brown, styled as usual too (reaching his shoulders and with long bangs over his face, but not covering his eyes or anything like Hisashi).
At least, Teru! Mr. Kobashi was all in black, with a slightly unbuttoned shirt (just the first two or three buttons, like his outfit for "ASHES -1969-" PV) and trousers of the same colour, slightly baggy around his thighs but tighter around his knees and ankles. He was wearing black boots with FEATHERS (WTF, Teru! Seriously, I don't get this whole feather thing...) and his hair is kinda like how he used it at THE GREAT VACATION videos from the Nissan Stadium, slightly lighter than Takuro's and longish, with short bangs but tied up behind his head. Kinda hard to explain his hairstyle, actually (but I had a harder time trying to describe Hisashi's clothing, even in Portuguese!).
Once the lights were on, Teru was positively beaming as he greeted us and asking if we were ready ("Are you ready?" must have been his favourite sentence for the night 8D). And it began!
"GREAT VACATION" was the first song and the one that opened all the concerts of THE GREAT VACATION tour~. o.o I like it well enough, it's full of energy and happy - a good tune for 15 years of celebration. n.n Right at the beginning of the song Teru saw Bix's drawings, pointed at them, cracked a big smile but DIDN'T grab them. XD
Waaah, it was magical! *__* At that moment I was finally realising that I was seeing GLAY live and, like, inches away from my hands! Teru actually let himself be grabbed by the fans from the first 2 rows at the beginning of the concert while he sang. XD Yeah, we were that close - I can understand why people come all the way from Japan to the US!
And the next song was... "Yuuwaku"! OMFG, YUUWAKU! The most special song ever to me wasn't left out, it was BEAUTIFUL! The crowd shouted "becaaaause I loooove yooou" with such energy that Teru let us sing by ourselves and wah~! He hugged/enlaced Hisashi during this song and Hisa had that blasé look of his, making cool faces when it was the time for the solo. 8D Teru always "introduces" Hisashi before "Yuuwaku" solos at the concerts, I think it's a live tradition of some sorts by now. XD
We had the 1st MC then, with Teru talking to the crowd and saying how happy he was to be back at the HOB and that the whole band was also very glad to be there and that he loved us. 8D And of course the audience yelled back how much they loved him~. Sweet! ♥ Next Teru said that he was from Japan (duh!) and asked who was also from Japan, from Korea (there was actually a good number of South Korean fans! One of the girls from the front row was Korean and I think he tried to say something in Korean to her xD) and then the concert moved on with "Ikiteku Tsuyosa", when Teru let us sing the chorus by ourselves with Takuro doing the backing vocal. n__n He asked us to sing this song with him and it felt so good, so... Familiar. It's a very typical "GLAY" moment and fully established as one in their career, so I couldn't help but remember when I first started listening to them and loving them and their old concerts and much more.
According to the setlist available at their MySpace, the next song was "Survival", another moment when Teru asked for us to help him with the song and I thought "'Survival'? Really? That chorus is impossible!", but at least I tried. XD I was surprised at myself - I didn't know I remembered so much from the lyrics! And, of course, I had flashes from the Expo '99 all the time, since it was the first live I ever watched from them. I still remember that night and how entranced I was by seeing them moving and talking and everything. *___*
Then Teru said "From our album 'SPEED POP'!" and they broke into "Sen no Naifu ga Mune wo Sasu". o.o The 1st thing that crossed my mind was "...But this song is from Hai to Daiyamondo!" XD It was nice to see such an upbeat song like their oldest tunes being played (since GLAY tends to favour their more recent work and a few classics in concerts) and Teru always let us sing that "anata wo" bit near the chorus of the song. XP I think non-hardcore fans of the band might not have recognised the song or maybe not even enjoyed it, but the majority seemed to be familiarised with it. x3
The next song surprised me: "Cynical" began and I think Hisashi looked distinctly prouder and/or happier during the song, at least while he was playing the solo. I honestly don't remember seeing this song live - to be honest, I can only track back a very old live in which they performed the song differently, with a different arrangement, faster and all weird from one of their 1999 concerts, if I'm not mistaken! O_O Before the song started, actually, Teru had us scream "cynicaaaaal!" for a lot of times. XD
Teru said that the next song would be "STARLESS NIGHT" and asked us to repeat after him - he then began creating small melodies with no lyrics as the band kept playing a tune which ressembled the song itself. x3 He had us repeat a lot of "oh-ohs" which at first were easy, but then he did a couple of VERY GRAVE ONES and the audience... Did it too. 8D And he LAUGHED VERY HARD, obviously having a great deal of fun at our expense. XP
He actually dared to rest one of his hands against his hips as he changed the "exercises" ALL the time, just to see how far we were willing to go. 8D Takuro was helping us with his free hand, signalling when he were supposed to change the key and aiding us to keep the rhythm. 83 Jiro and Hisashi were mostly watching us and both seemed very impressed and/or gave us thumbs up when we managed to succeed after the more complex sequences. xD
But Teru was clearly enjoying himself too much and kept on complicating everything until more than 300 people couldn't agree on which was the correct tune and failed to the same thing, despite how hard -I- tried to make the right one. XD I swear I felt like the most perfect trained puppy, obeying ALL of my owner's commands without even hesitating! xP And Teru of course loved his "dog instructor" moment. To be honest, I could swear that Takuro made a very funny face at some point, as if saying "Ok, Teru, we get it, you've proved they'd jump off the bridge for you. Teru. TERU. TERU, IT'S ENOUGH, WE GET IT!". 8D
Teru wanted everyone to sing with him the next song, so he taught us the beginning of the chorus ("Oh Starless Starless Starless Tonight") and had us repeat that ad eternum until he thought he were good and they finally started the song for good. XD When the chorus came, he almost didn't sing to hear us repeating the line he had explained to us before. 83
The setlist says that there was another MC here, but I must confess that I don't remember what it was about. 8D I think we more of Teru's Engrish on how he loved to be back, which I believe to be the general topic of both day's MCs. The next song was "RUN", which, together with "STARLESS NIGHT", are the ones I knew absolutely nothing of the lyrics, except for the "hashiru, hashiru, hashiruuuu" of the former. XD However, "RUN" is a very cheerful song and it was so fun! *__* Hisashi was jumping/twirling around as usual and Teru was moving everywhere, despite the stage being small - which almost resulted in a few collisions. XD Jiro was the one who less came to the front of the stage, and I pitied his fans (who seemed to be either the majority or could be REALLY noisy); Takuro didn't move much from his spot and he also seemed... Apprehensive? Takuro was looking at the crowd as a whole, focusing on someone/something distant sometimes and I thought "Heeeere! Look down! Look at my Brazilian t-shirt I mentioned at the MySpace!". 8D My mom, who was watching everything from the back, seemed that Takuro's gaze was very penetrating and VERY powerful from where she was. xP
This is one of the official pictures from the concert by Shunji Kobayashi, which was used in a report available at the J-Rock Revolution. See what I mean by "Brazilian t-shirt"? XD It's ridiculously easy to find me in that sea of black-clad people (if you can't find me in the picture, look to the far right side, 3rd row from the stage. There's a girl in yellow and green with one of her arms raised - yeah, that's me).
Suddenly the mic stand came forward and I knew a ballad was coming. XD And we had nothing less than "HOWEVER"! *__* It was nice to see that the audience respected the calmer atmosphere of the song and no one was sticking their hands into the air and there was no one squealing; everyone seemed to be sincerely overwhelmed by the song and by the lyrics. "HOWEVER" has a very powerful chorus, imho. ♥
Funny how some songs can bring memories back and "HOWEVER" was one of them. I was reminded of my 8th grade in 2002, when I was already a GLAY fan and more of J-Rock/J-Pop fan than anime. It was then Gabi gave me this cassette tape with a J-Music selection and I perfectly remember that the first 3 songs from the B side of that tape were GLAY songs - "HOWEVER", "Missing You" and "YOU MAY DREAM". I remember listening to those songs over and over.
After "HOWEVER" the lights fell on Sei-chan, who played a very beautiful and slow tune which, at first, I couldn't relate to any song I knew. o.o Teru then grabbed the mic and sang something along, but only voicing "ahs" and "ohs" which mixed well with the tune. ♥ His voice was so light and smooth that the whole sing seemed rather... Ethereal. It was a very moving moment, not to mention that he seemed to be very focused on what he was doing and it was deeply touching. o.ob
And suddenly... "BE WITH YOU" started! \o/ Wah, such a pleasant surprise. ^_^ I kept seeing scenes from the PV in my mind as Teru sang and I also remembered the story behind the Hisashi picture I carry inside my wallet ♥ It was a beautiful live performance and I was glad that this "calmer" moment of the concert was not disturbed by screams or anything like that. :)
When the song was over, we had another MC and I lived the happiest 10 seconds of my life. Have you ver talked to Teru?
I HAVE.
He started inquiring about where we had come from, at first risking the closest countries (like Canada) and he tried very hard to understand a girl who had came from New Jersey. ¬¬ Duh. He kept walking around the stage and waiting for answers as I was there, hand raised in the air and barely keeping my excitement inside, mentally dragging Teru over to Takuro's side, where -I- was standing. 8D
Eventually he came closer and Meredith managed to say she was from Alaska and Teru's face of surprise was adorable! 8D People cheered and clapped their hands for Meredith as a girl to my right answered that she was from Taiwan.
And then... He turned to me and waaaah, dude! One thing is to think that someone is looking at you during the concert; another thing is to be sure that someone is not only looking at you, but waiting for YOUR answer. It's impossible to put this feeling into words, srsly. I don't know if he could see my shirt, but he stretched his arm as he tried to get the microphone closer and I said "Brazil!", but he didn't understand and then I shouted louder, "BRAZIL!".
This time he got it and made this very surprised face, confirming my answer as he asked "Burajiru?" and I gave him both thumbs up with a gigantic grin on my face, since I didn't trust myself to say anything else. 8D Since I was looking at Teru, I couldn't see the other members' reactions, but my mom said that Jiro was pleasantly surprised and interested in the answers, while Takuro's eyebrows vanished behind his bangs as he heard the replies. XDDD My mom said that she didn't notice any changes on Hisashi's expression, but she doesn't like Hisa all that much.
Teru then said it was time for something harder and "VERB" came on, an old friend of the American audience and theme of the 2008 US tour. "VERB" was one of my five favourite songs at the time of the concert and I was very happy to see it live, with everyone singing "doooooushite" together with so much energy and everything else. xD
And then, still in the post-"VERB" darkness, I heard the introduction of the next song and I even confirmed my suspicions with one of the girls, since I couldn't believe I was about to see it live. Yes, ladies and gentlemen: the next song was "Synchronicity", Hisashi's 2nd song that night and also his best one, in my opinion. It also seems to have become a fan favourite among the new songs from "THE GREAT VACATION Vol. 1"! O.ob And it deserves such a title, since the song is fantastic and gained popularity after being chosen as the theme for the new Magna Carta game. o.o
Hisashi was incredibly full of himself and making orgasmic faces when it was the time for solos such as the one from "Synchronicity". XD His hair was covering his face and he was watching us with his only visible eye, in that really cool and teasing demeanour of his, always getting close enough to give us the impression that we'd be able to touch him, but never really allowing us to. -_-b Tease!
This song sounds better in a small venue. The lack of the backing vocal still bugs me (enough so I'd do it -myself- from the audience xD), but the sound doesn't dissipate like it happened at the Nissan Stadium concerts; the song was more dramatic and somber just like its album version, methinks.
"Synchronicity" gave way to "I am xxx", which made me DELIRIOUS because those are the two songs I'm loving the most at the moment and which I almost know by heart after listening so much to them. XD They rank 1st and 2nd on that top 5 which "VERB" is also a part of. The lights turned red during this song and I missed that additional female voice at the ending, but it simply kicked ass anyway! *___* That chorus is so powerful and sends shivers down my spine. And Teru puts so much emotion into this song and I feel so much from this tune that I was truly in ecstasy after seeing it live. *___* Such a remarkable and powerful song indeed. ♥
Then sirens went out of nowhere, but they were the prelude to "HIGHCOMMUNICATIONS" and everyone went mad! 8D I don't know if you guys have seen this song at that men-only live Teru produced, but the atmosphere was pretty much like that. o_ob Teru asked us to do some hand motions during the "wow wow" at the beginning, at first forming an "x" above our heads. At the chorus, between the English words, he had us yelling "hey!" and punching the air and that kind of thing. 83 Funny that I never thought this song would be performed after the X-Rated Tours, but it's extremely fun live, despite the nonsense lyrics. 8D And I love paraparas and such. *__*
Another MC came along and this time Teru asked us which albums we loved the most, beginning with "SPEED POP" and pretty much skipping from "REVIEW" to "THE FRUSTRATED" and thus being corrected by us. 8D It was the audience who reminded Teru that "pure soul" came first and then "HEAVY GAUGE", but our dear vocalist took ages to understand that the next album was "ONE LOVE", despite everyone doing very suggestive number "1" gestures with their hands. XD Finally he understood what we had been trying to say and made this "aaah!" face, but then asked us "ONE LOVE?" as if he meant "You guys are sure?" and then he'd turn to Hisashi and to Jiro and then at us again and he seemed to be convinced that we were right just to change his mind at the next second. xD He went back to "THE FRUSTRATED" again (which must be his favourite album, apparently!) and we didn't even bother to remind him of "Unity Roots & Family, Away", since he had already mentioned "THE GREAT VACATION Vol. 1" and told us that the next song was from the "BEAT out!" album: "More than Love"!
Aaah, kimochi! *__* Srsly, it was sooo nostalgic and totally unexpected, too! ♥ I don't know why, but I kept remembering scenes from the PV during this song too. 8D It was one of the moments in which I saw most people moving their arms as it's usually done in Japan. o.o I'm starting to think that the audience did the paraparas in a more "Japanese" way when the tunes were older, maybe because the old-school fans had incorporated the hand motions unconsciously (like I did with "Kanojo no "Modern...""? XD).
And speaking of said song, "Kanojo no "Modern..."" was the next one! :DDD I was surprised because we did not do the traditional parapara for it, since Teru asked us to yell "hey! hey!" instead of moving our hands and it was way more exciting live than I had previously thought, with every band member coming to the front of the stage and playing those wonderful solos. *___* Teru let us sang the infamous "mistake" bit from the lyrics and eeeeeveryone yelled the "kimi no sex, drugs & rock'n'roll!" together! \o/ Wah, I LOVE LOVE LOVE this song and it was fantastic to sing it live! I think it might be the oldest song which is still constantly played at their lives, regardless of the tour. It would be sad to come back home without "Kanojo no "Modern...""! :x
Suddenly EVERY light fell on Jiro and he soloed for 2 minutes (more or less) and it was BRILLIANT (and sorry for the wordplay, but with such platinum trousers and sneakers Jiro literally blinded us). He came forward and said something really quickly into the microphone, leaving his fans desperate before breaking into "Shutter Speeds no Teema"! :DDD
As usual, Jiro sang the 1st part while Teru was looking all goofy and adorable in the background, looking at the crowd and eventually getting closer to Jiro to yell the "up and down" bit before the 2nd part and grab the mic away, claiming back his post as the vocalist with energy. :D Takuro kept encouraging us to help with the chorus, screaming the "who get?", "who get get" and "get get". ♥ I remember my old ICQ had GLAY sounds. 8DD When someone sent me an IM Teru would say "Message" and when someone came online it was Jiro saying "hey man!", from "Shutter Speeds no Teema"! I also have "get get!" for when someone sent me a file (also from Jiro's most famous song) and "baby baby baby talk" for chat invitations (and from "Shuumatsu no Baby Talk" 8D). Aaah, good old ICQ times. ♥
"Shutter Speeds no Teema" ended and I thought it was about to followed by "HIT THE WORLD CHART!" (and, as odd as it might sound, I thought I had heard this song among the remixed versions they played before the concert 8D), but I was wrong. It was the beginning of... "ACID HEAD".
OMG.
It's not like I thought that they wouldn't play "ACID HEAD", but I was IMMENSELY relieved when I heard Takuro playing its first notes. *___* I mean, a GLAY live isn't a GLAY live if they don't play "ACID HEAD", as every good fan knows. x3 I think that it's the most traditional live song along with "Kanojo no "Modern...""! They're essential in any concert!
We had the usual great time this tune can provide, with everyone jumping and yelling on stage and getting really close to the audience. XD Teru grabbed Hisashi so he could also sing the "no more hero" bits and that's what I love about "ACID HEAD": it's a very democratic song in which everyone gets to sing for a while, even if Jiro didn't bother to deliver his lines on the mic. XD The song went on foreeeever - or until Teru decided that it was good. XD But it was soooo nice to jump around and yell "Acid head! Acid head! Acid head! Scrap & build!" until we had almost lost our voices. XD
Unfortunately it came to an end and Teru finally grabbed Bix's fanarts! *__* They thanked us, reaffirmed how much they loved their fans and left, leaving us screaming for an encore. Of course they came back, with everyone wearing the tour shirts and, as soon as they came back, Jiro tried to give me his watter bottle (I'm saying this because I was from a very different country. 8D Hence the presumption!), but it went away. o_ob Dude, I think I'd have easily drank the WHOLE bottle, I was dying of thirst, I was tired and yet I wanted MORE! \o/
Teru spoke again, always struggling with his English, but we have to admit that his Engrish is a trademark of his already. XD He said that he wanted to listen to everyone's voiced and they started "Peak Hateshinaku Soul Kagirinaku" and this song is so... Frenetic. 8D Teru had us moving our arms from left to right all the time, keeping up with the song's crazy rhythm. *__*
I've always loved this song, despite the inevitable jokes about its PV when one is reminded of the "Tenshi no Wakemae" PV. 8D When we reached the "wow wow glory days wow wow" thing Teru had us repeating it for him for an eternity and eventually the whole band stopped playing and it was a beautiful a capella moment. :D I'm still intrigued by this, though: this English line is NOWHERE in the original lyrics! O__O
Unfortunately I knew we were nearing the ending when Teru was given a guitar and he said that it was indeed the last song, using one of his hands to simulate a tear running along his face before we could even protest and say "awwwwn". 8D He said that he wanted to hear our voices and that we were supposed to sing from the bottom of our hearts - and that's what we did! *__*
During this song Teru even plucked out the earphones he was wearing (you know, those earphones everyone in the band uses so they can hear how they're sounding together?) so he could hear us better, always encouraging us and yelling "motto!" without his microphone or any other aid; I think everyone was overwhelmed by the strong emotion this song conveys, clapping their hands in sync and feeling that mix of sadness and happiness after such a wonderful concert.
Jiro came TO ME to give me his pick, I swear. 8D I know it sounds presumptuous to say this, but I'm pretty sure this was the 1st time they've had a confirmation of having fans in Brazil and Jiro seemed very happy about that. :) Unfortunately someone rudely grabbed his hand and I was left with nothing. ç___ç Oh well, c'est la vie. There was a girl just near me who went running back to try to get Hisashi's pick (since he threw his further than Jiro) and then she wanted to come back to her old place. 8DDD Haha, as if. I didn't let her. >D
As soon as the concert was over he headed to the goods booth, but there wasn't much - just the official shirt of the tour and "THE GREAT VACATION Vol. 1". o_ob I wanted just the t-shirt, but they were over so quickly (I should have had bought mine before the concert, but then I'd have lost my place near the stage @_@). Fortunately a lady came back with more t-shirts and I got ooone! ♥ Small size. Their small size is HUGE, I wonder how big is their large one. XD At least now I have shirts from every band I've seen live: Miyavi, MONORAL, LM.C and GLAY. n_n I was afraid that the shirts would have sold out really quickly because that's what always happen with the goods. Whoever is in charge of the goods (no matter the artist) is bad at doing the Math and bringing enough stuff to sell.
The t-shirt! It has the tour logo on the front and the places they've played at on the back. LOOKIT, I WAS THERE! *points at LA dates*
Random facts about the concert: Teru introduced everyone from GLAY during one of the MCs, always following the same order (Toshi - Sei-chan - Jiro - Hisashi - Takuro - Teru) and only mentioning their roles in the band as he waited for the audience to scream the name of said band member. Dude, I have to admit that I did NOT remember the current keyboard player's name! XD After Shigeo Komori I think they lasted so little that I honestly didn't know who was playing for them after Yuta Saito (but I knew it wasn't Sakuma). 8D I think a lot of other people didn't know it either.
Towards "ACID HEAD" (I think), there was this moment in which Takuro walked up to Teru and the vocalist dropped to his knees on the floor, both men facing each other and with Teru singing with more and more emotion and leaning forward as Takuro moved in the opposite direction and... Let's say it was a little fanservice-ish? I dunno, I'm used to seeing things where there's nothing because reading in between the lines and finding innuendos is like my second nature, so this moment and whenever Teru "grabbed" Hisashi during Yuuwaku and everything else made me go "a-hem", if you know what I mean. XD
Someone tried to give underwear to Teru! 8D I actually didn't see this, but my mom did! 8D Apparently Teru took long enough to realise what he had been holding, and, when he did, he quickly returned it to the girl with a mildly scared/disgusted face, Srsly, GLAY and Wando (Brazilian singer who actually collects the underwear of his fans, so they're always throwing it to the stage. WEIRD, I KNOW. xX) ARE NOT THE SAME THING. Guh.
TERU IS A MAGNET, DUDE. I was at Takuro's side because he's my supreme idol and because I wanted to show him that Brazil loves GLAY as I had promised on MySpace and so on, but whenever I realised what I was doing I found myself insanely drooling at Teru. O_O It's impossible NOT to stare at him, his charisma and the way he interacts so easily with anyone and without any problem (despite the language barrier) is awesome and he's so genuine and happy and... *melts*
Teru also was spitting the water he drank on us. XD I was actually hit by him on the 1st time and it was torture, since I was already dying of thirsty around the 3rd song and whenever I saw them drinking water or anything during the small breaks I felt this mad envy. XD
And finally, Teru has a new tattoo! He rolled the sleeve of his shirt up so he could read what was written there (and prompted some wild squealing with that, of course), but the angle wasn't good for him and he took FOREVER to read everything. XD FAIL! Typical of Teru, really, but we love him anyway! ♥ If I'm not mistaken, he's tattooed "the sun is always shining behind the clouds" on his upper right arm. n.n
And after saying goodbye to the girls and scheduling our meeting for the following morning, mom and I took a cab to the hotel and we pretty much dropped dead after hitting the bed - the result of being THAT tired from one of the happiest days in my life!
PS: Click here to read a report on the Sep. 12th concert.