PSYCHEDELIC VIOLENCE OF WORDS : EXPO '99 SURVIVAL GLAY - 200,000 fans Mega Concert
Translation by THe PiNK SpIdER
PART I : Pre-concert Exhibition by GLAY themselves
I am so blessed to be able to share in Glay's memories for the last two summers when I attended both the Pure Soul concert held from Sept 5th to 6th '98 and the EXPO '99 SURVIVAL concert from July 30th to 31st '99. I truly thank God for that.
Dawn just broke on 30th July and with an eager heart, I embarked on my mini journey. As the venue would only be open for access to the fans from 1 p.m. onwards, I thought that I would be right in front of the queue by reaching there early. However, when I reached there, I saw a daunting queue already formed. I wondered how early these fans must have started queuing in order to get a prime spot!
"SURVIVAL COOKIES"!!
After waiting for about 3 hours, there seemed to be some movement as the doors finally opened but I was still very far away from the entrance to the exhibition hall. I had to wait for a further 30 minutes before I stepped foot into the exhibition venue itself, but the scene ahead of me remained the same - a neverending snake of people queuing up, waiting for their turn to be able to see the works of Glay.
Everyone queued up first to buy the Glay goodies on sale, and the waiting time for my turn to be able to buy some of the goodies slowed to a crawl. In fact, time edged by so slowly that I lost track of how long I actually waited before it was my turn. However, when it was finally my turn to buy those coveted goodies, the torture of the seemingly endless wait and the numbness of both legs were well worth it.
Hence, after laying my hands on my beloved Glay goodies, I stepped out of the goodies area and proceeded to join another queue to view the display that Glay had painstakingly set up for the fans. Stepping into this next arena, I realised this was where the real battle began. There was simply no time to think at all. I had to rush to join the queue once I made up my mind on whose exhibition I wanted to see as the 4 members had each set up their own individual booths. As each member has his own legion of fans, the queue for each exhibition booth was very long and the estimated waiting time for entry into each of these booths was at least an hour!
I chose to go to Teru's exhibition (fans of Takuro, Hisashi and Jiro, please don't blame me!). Although I didn't visit the exhibitions set up by all 4 members, here is a brief summary of what each exhibition displayed :
1. TAKURO - He chose to display Glay's past promotion pamphlets/leaflets and concert tickets which Glay had designed themselves.
2. HISASHI - He displayed all his different kinds of guitars.
3. JIRO - He displayed the work of his photography skills.
4. TERU - He too, displayed his own works and just by looking at the entrance to his booth, you have to admit that Teru is an artist in his own right. His creative flair is reflected strongly in the postcards that he personally designed for the fans. These postcards were of a limited edition (10,000 only) and I was one of the lucky few to be able to lay my hands on them!
TERU's HANDMADE POSTER
I walked out of Teru's booth with a triumphant smile but that smile quickly died. This is because apart from the 4 booths that Glay has set up, there were many more booths featuring the radio programs of which they are the resident DJs, Fuji Television and even Fats Berry (Glay's official hairdressing salon) and they were all giving away free souvenirs. However, I had no chance to collect them as I was officially on duty and had an assignment to complete. Thus, I had to pull myself away from the area with a reluctant heart.
TERU & TAKURO'S GUITARS
(TERU - LEFT, TAKURO - RIGHT)
The next area of the exhibition hall displayed the past costumes which Glay wore in their past concerts. There were also models of the stage where the 4 performed and there were the different kinds of musical instruments that they had used. There was almost a sacred air to these exhibits as the fans walked round admiring them since they all brought back fond memories for each of them. Likewise, emotions surged to a high as Glay had given me so many precious memories to cherish!
Alas! I had to leave for Tokyo to hand in my report but how unwilling I was!
JIRO & HISASHI'S GUITARS
(JIRO - LEFT, HISASHI - RIGHT)
PART II : Unprecendented - 200,000 Fans Mega-Concert!
The concert venue was officially opened at 11 a.m. The crowd and the heat from the blazing sun increased proportionally. There was not a single tree from which to take shelter from the burning sun as the ground was totally exposed to the sun inside the concert venue. As I walked past the passageways leading to the various parts of the concert grounds, I saw all the fans looking impatiently at their watches, perspiration raining down their faces but they maintained order and composure just so as to wait for the moment when they could finally see Glay.
Time crawled as the fans waited for Glay's appearance. Fortunately, there were big-screen televisions installed, showing clips of the 4 members introducing their respective exhibition booths; thus, the torment was temporarily forgotten. This may sound strange, or even bizzare to a non-fan, but I feel that only Glay has the power to make 200,000 fans wait patiently under the blazing hot sun, at the risk of being vaporised by the fierce rays beating down!
As there would be a fireworks display at 7.00 p.m the same night (and also, it takes quite some time to disperse 200,000 fans after the concert), the concert had to start and end promptly at the designated time. There had to be no delays. The concert began promptly at 4.30 p.m. Teru mentioned before the concert in his radio program that EXPO '99's music selection would satisfy many of Glay's longstanding fans who had been to their earlier concerts and had enjoyed their older songs.
On this night, Glay not only performed "LADY CLOSE" and "TWO BELL SILENCE", the big screen televisions also displayed the video of "RAIN", filmed on 7th March 1993. After that, Teru took off his jacket and said shyly "Now, everyone is being treated to a great scene! Glay has experienced a lot during the 11 years of our musical career, new songs and old ones, even the videos that were a tad embarrassing to be shown are now shown to you fans as we hope for you to be witnesses of Glay's path. Recent rains in ? (see editor's note below) have resulted in a lot of damage and we are saddened by it too, but God must have heard the sincerity and love of our fans. The next song I will be singing is 'Misery' and this is dedicated to our most respected mentor."
TERU
After saying this, the screen divided into 4 and the other 3 members sang harmony with Teru leading. This was the best scene and the flood of tears soon blurred my vision.
The most surprising thing that happened during the concert was when "RAIN" was incorporated into "BURST". Before the tickets were sold, Teru was worried that the tickets could not be sold out and he made a promise that if all 200,000 tickets were sold out, he would sing "RAIN" for the fans. I had hoped fervently that Teru would sing this song (for they had made their mark with
JIRO (LEFT) & HISASHI (RIGHT)
this song when they had first started out) before the concert. It was already a surprise that "RAIN" flowed from "BURST" but what made the fans totally delirious with joy was the new version of "RAIN" which Glay had specially made for the concert. After singing a short paragraph, the rhythm suddenly slowed down and Teru sang a "normal" version (slow) version of "RAIN" but he teased the crowd by saying "Glay is more suitable as PUNK right?" and with that, Glay reverted back to the new version of "RAIN", with "BURST" following thereafter.
Since yesterday, when I was busy queuing up to buy the Glay goodies and in anticipation of this event, time slowed to a crawl, but the 3 hours that the concert lasted passed by in a flash. How could I go home willingly like that!
The next day, when I was at Narita Airport to catch my flight home, I saw Glay's producer, Masahide Sakuma and I went up to him immediately to thank him for the marvellous concert put up by Glay and I asked him if they were tired. He laughed and said that after the concert ended, the 4 of them complained that they have not had enough yet and that the time was far too short. I too expressed that I was very reluctant to return home after the concert, Maybe Glay could consider having an all-night concert the next time round!
* Editor's note : All photos on this page are the actual photos which accompanied the original article published in PLAY Magazine (Sept 1999)
All pictures on this page are the property of Cherie who has kindly allowed me use of them here.
