The hustle and bustle of the renowned Sunset Strip cherishing along its curvy sidewalks a series of clubs one being a series located throughout the U.S. known simply as the House of Blues. But tonight this club wasn't intending on throwing on its usual share of music no they paid tribute to the Japanese culture with hosting a special 2 night concert event featuring Hakodate, Hokkaidō, Japan's Glay.
Formed by guitarist Takuro and vocalist Teru during high school in 1988, Glay composes its songs around the pop/rock genres, not only focusing on that particular genre but also using various elements of different styles such as reggae and gospel. In anticipation of 15 years of rocking music, selling over 56,000,000 in singles, CDs, and DVDs alone the band came over seas to perform a 3-day set out in sunny California - one show being held up North out at The Fillmore while the other two were held right here in Los Angeles.
The show itself of course, went off without hesitation as the sea of Japanese screaming girls and guys among the newcomers of the pop/rock group stood and awaited the arrival as each of the 4 members walked onto the stage - breaking into a 2 hour and 30 minute set list that consisted of fast racing pop/rock down to the mellow dramatic balled “I Love You”. Glay ran through a setlist that had combined old favorites blended together with some newer material. The songs seems to have been arranged in a sort of mini sets, first the pop block then the ballads, and then a quick run through of the faster heavier numbers. From a critical point they were really at their best when edging into the rock camp, but there was no denying that the audience loved those ballads more than anything else.
When it was all said and done though, Glay's performance was unlike any other Japanese band, the group managed to draw in a wide range of locals from the Japanese American community. Being plenty of American fans too, but Glay's core aspect was predominantly Japanese. It's a cool thing to see, an example of the way the Japanese atmosphere partakes on an American twist. Creating its own pop culture zone that has found a home in a part of America that's been home to a large variety of the Japanese community for such a long period of time.
