GLAY rocks the crowd at San Francisco’s Fillmore Auditorium on Aug. 12.

by YOKO MORIHIRO
Hokubei Mainichi

In celebration of the 20th anniversary of its formation, the mega-popular Japanese band GLAY put on their first live show on the continental U.S. on Aug. 12 at San Francisco’s live house The Fillmore.

The audience, made up primarily of Japanese and Asian teenagers, filled most of the 1,250-person floor and waited eagerly for the show to start. And start it did when at 8 p.m., the four members of GLAY appeared in the purple lighting clad all in black, triggering an explosive two-hour show with a total of 19 songs.

It all started with the intro from their tour song “Verb,” the sounds of guitars piercing air tense with anticipation. Lead singer Teru was powerful from the start, his energy fusing with the power of the audience.

For the first 15 songs of the show, GLAY ran the gamut, playing favorites like “Glorious” and “However” interspersed with exciting songs like the “Shutter Speed no Tema.” They jammed non-stop through other songs all the way to the encore, where they played “Rock ‘n’ Roll Swindle” and a cover of the David Bowie hit “Suffragette City.” They kept the power blasting until the very last song, topping it all off with “Acid Head.”

Teru belted out his songs for two hours without a break, his voice loud and strong without giving out, and Takuro and Hisashi matched his power with their guitars, as did Jiro on bass.
The crowd was into it, punching the air in rhythm with the beats, just like a concert in Japan.

The excitement of the fans also came through loud and clear to the stars, and Teru whirled through the stage shouting back in English and Japanese with, “I love you, San Francisco!” and “Let’s have fun tonight!”

At the encore, GLAY took a commemorative photo with the whole crowd in the background, showing their joy at having played in the U.S. The feeling was mutual, as was also seen after the show, when droves of satisfied fans lined up to buy GLAY merchandise.

GLAY has the glam rock-esque narcissism, as seen in many Japanese “visual-kei” bands, but they also showed their rock ‘n roll soul with their heavier songs, and their spirit as true performers.

With all the recent Japanese pop culture seeping into the U.S., it’s good to see GLAY showing their star power and clearly able to hold their own.

Translated by Lefteris Kafatos