girugamesh Live at Akasaka BLITZ

The first day of the TOUR 2009 SUMMER EVOLUTION final at Akasaka BLITZ was sold out, as was the whole tour; proof once again that girugamesh has achieved outstanding popularity. The curtains were open and the stage was already set with a big girugamesh banner hung on the back of the stage. The venue was packed with many fans wearing tour T-shirts, getting ready for the live with towels wrapped around their necks. At 7PM, the lights dimmed, and with the opening SE, the fans started to clap to the rhythm.

The members appeared on stage one by one, starting with guitarist Nii, bassist ShuU, and drummer Яyo, all wearing black suits, their old costumes. Vocalist Satoshi then appeared, also in a black suit and a white tie. Already the fans' excited calls of members names and shouts could be heard across the venue, warming up the live.

The show kicked off with Omae ni sasageru minikui koe, a heavy song featuring Satoshi’s screaming. It had the fans heated up and moshing from the start. Nii and ShuU came to the front and played aggressively as the fans responded loudly. Mouja no koushin, another heavy number, followed. The fans held their fists up as Satoshi screamed, "C’mon, let us hear your voices!!” It fueled the fans for the next song, Volcano, one of their popular old songs. Satoshi ran across the stage while singing. In the midst of the song, Satoshi - already very excited - shouted, "Akasaka BLITZ!! Let’s make this an awesome night!” The crowd headbanged in unison. During Deceived Mad Pain, the fans had their hands up and waved them back and forth, sometimes clapping to the music and headbanging.

After Deceived Mad Pain, the lights dimmed again, and as the members got ready for the next song, Satoshi gave a brief MC. “Hi, we are girugamesh! As you can see, we are wearing our old costumes today. SO, we are going to do old songs today! Let's go!!” As if this was their cue to start the song, Vermillion began and the fans got fired up right away. Nii and ShuU ran around on stage, sometimes exchanging places and entertaining their fans with funny gestures.

Soon after, Satoshi was screaming, "CRAZY-FLAG-!!!” and CRAZY-FLAG started instantly. When he shouted, the fans followed suit. Throughout the song, Satoshi and Nii played around, and Nii had fun chasing ShuU around the stage. For Dance Rock Night, the mirror ball on the ceiling started rotating, and colorful lighting reflected off it and lit the venue. ShuU’s bass intro began and right away, the fans responded to the song by raising their hands and jumping to the music. Яyo stood up and urged the crowd to jump even more. Then GAMBLE brought back the hard rock mood again with ShuU’s profound bass playing.

The first ballad of the day was Freesia, which started with Nii’s guitar. In a silent venue, Nii’s playing echoed, and the spotlight on him was the only light. As Satoshi started to sing emotionally, white lighting slowly illuminated the stage. Surprisingly, for a rock band, the song was a very touching and delicate one. The next song was also a ballad; Fukai no yami rolled out like thunder with Satoshi singing powerfully.

After 13, the instrumental from 13’s reborn, the large banner of girugamesh that was hung in the back had rolled up and Jarring fly started. The electronic sound and the fans' voices mixed with this heavy song. Satoshi came to the front and fired up the fans while Nii made a screeching noise with his guitar, and the members energetically moved around the stage. With the rarely played Shadan, Nii and ShuU horsed around in front of the audience, urging the crowd to go wild.

The band shouted, “Let’s become one! Go crazy!!” With smash!!, the large banner came down again, and fans started clapping. The members all encouraged the audience to clap more as they all went to the center of the stage. The audience answered them by clapping and moving their bodies. In shining, a fast tempo song, Satoshi held the microphone towards the audience and had them sing with him. The next song, domino, was a relatively deep but quiet song, and everyone in the venue calmed down as it was played. girugamesh ended their main set with Kowareteyuku sekai. The song started with Яyo’s drum and Nii’s acoustic guitar, which created a different sound from their usual style. However, Satoshi’s vocals were powerful as usual, making this song worthy of ending the main set. With the guitar still playing, the rest of the members left the stage quietly, and Nii was the last to depart.

Answering to the encore calls from the audience, the members came back on stage wearing their tour T-shirts. Nii, ShuU, and Яyo wore white and Satoshi wore black. Satoshi took the microphone in his hands and gave an MC. “Thanks! Please listen to our new song, BORDER!” The song started with the rather weighty sound of the guitar and bass, but it was overall an upbeat song. Excited fans pumped their fists throughout song, which was greatly satisfying to see.

During the encore, the members also announced the renewal of their mobile fan club site. The fans applauded, and each member commented on their respective blogs. Satoshi talked about his favorite movies and introduced some of the cooking he does, saying he would post about his latest dish, the volcano-don (volcano-rice bowl). With Nii’s column "Aorzora to Nii," he had a ringtone of his voice available for download. For ShuU’s column, he had decided to continue the mobile novel he has been writing.

When it was Яyo’s turn to talk about his column, he asked the audience, “Is there anything you guys want to ask? I’ll answer anything!" He was smiling and in a good mood. Some shouts could be heard from the audience, but then Satoshi interfered and said, “Яyo! You REALLY gonna answer all of them?!” Яyo, pretending to be irritated, responded, "Yes! I’m gonna answer them all!!” The venue was filled with laughter, making the atmosphere a very touching one. They also talked about the memories they made in Tokyo. Recalling the past, they talked about when they first went to Harajuku to buy their costumes.

After some more talking, they proceeded with the second encore song, Break Down. Along with the flashing strobe lights, the hard rock and rhythmical rap of the song raised the tension high. Fans pumped their fists, and without a break, evolution started. Яyo, looking delighted, stood up and did a swaying dance, as the electronic sound and voice came on. It was a catchy rock song, and the fans were clapping above their heads. As the song ended, the members left the stage again.

The members came out after a moment to thank the audience for the encore. They continued with Goku, one of the band's early signature live songs, which was well suited as one of the last songs. With red lights flashing, the fans held their hands up and moshed to the pulsing sound. The live concluded with Kaisen Sengen, another song from their early days. Satoshi climbed up on the center riser and led the audience. They capped off their live with Satoshi screaming the final words, "We are girugamesh!” After the members took a moment to gaze fondly at the fans applauding and screaming, they exited the stage, ending the first day of the Tour 2009 Summer Evolution final.

With new releases and another big one-man live already underway, there is no doubt that girugamesh has gained new fans - as well as skills that will take them to the next level.



Set list:

Intro (girugamesh)
Omae ni sasageru minikui koe
Mouja no koushin
Volcano
Deceived Mad Pain
Vermillion
CRAZY-FLAG
Dance Rock Night
GAMBLE
Freesia
Fukai no Yami
13 (13’s reborn)
Jarring fly
Shadan
smash!!
shining
domino
Kowareteyuku sekai

En.1 BORDER
En.2 Break Down
En.3 evolution

En.4 Goku
En.5 Kaisen Sengen