San Francisco Sightseeing Articles

It doesn't seem like a year since Glay last played The Fillmore.

The Japanese pop/rock juggernaut returned last night for a second round of what looks like a regular yearly jaunt to California. The results - same as last year, part two.

Glay is the kind of band that doesn't really exist in America, at least not any more. A good third of the group's set consisted of sweet and arguably rather sappy ballads, with the remaining two thirds split evenly between upbeat pop songs and faster, more rock-influenced numbers. That's always been the question with Glay - is it a pop band or a rock band? Where does it fit?

The musical diversity was also reflected in the band's visual presentation. While singer Teru and guitarist Takuro looked like the music industry elder statesman that they are, with a rather understated personal style, bassist Jiro had a distinctly more punk look, and guitarist Hisashi looked like he belonged in a visual kei band. And then there was the fact that Jiro's outfit wasn't just shiny, it was actually reflective - the front row of the audience could have chosen between seeing their own images in his bass or in his shiny silver pants. It was interesting to note that the band's massive success doesn't seem to have forced the individual members to abandon their differences in favor of a more unified image.

Glay ran through a setlist that combined old favorites with some newer material. The songs seemed to have been arranged in sort of mini sets - first the pop block, then the ballads, then a quick run through several faster, heavier numbers. From a critical point of view they were really at their best when edging into the rock camp, but there was no denying that the audience loved those ballads.

Glay fans really do adore their band's disconcertingly baby-faced bassist (Seriously, does this man never age? Does he have a painting withering in his attic a la Dorian Grey?) and "Shutter Speed" was his moment to shine and to temporarily take over the microphone-- although vocalist Teru took it back after the first verse. Hey, bands have to have some order to them, right?

Regardless of whether Glay's music is your cup of tea, there's no denying that its members are pros, and they put on a good show. Frontman Teru did a great job of keeping the crowd happy and engaged, encouraging fans to sing along and frequently kneeling down to hand the microphone to people in the front row - he even got one fan to announce a song for him. Perhaps more bands should try that - in this case the interactivity yielded an excited fangirl squeal of the "I love you!" variety that seemed to greatly amuse the whole band--before Teru reassured the fan in question that yes, he loved her too.

Perhaps the most interesting thing about Glay's performance was that, unlike a lot of other Japanese bands who've played San Francisco Tour recently, the group managed once again to draw in a wide cross section of the local Japanese American community. There were plenty of American fans, too, but Glay's core audience here remains predominantly Japanese. It's a cool thing to see, an example of the way the world seems to be shrinking perhaps, that a little slice of mainstream Japanese pop culture can find a home in a part of America that's been home to a large Japanese community for a long time. The Fillmore is so close to Japantown, it seems fitting for the venue to be Glay's San Francisco home away from home.

Source: sfweekly