Girugamesh at Akasaka BLITZ Live Report

Date: September 2nd, 2009
Location: Akasaka BLITZ
Concert: GIRUGAMESH TOUR 2009「SUMMER EVOLUTION」＠ Akasaka BLITZ

Can anyone tell me, could anything be better then ending your summer with a rock concert? On the second day of September, GIRUGAMESH stepped on to the stage of Akasaka BLITZ, and I went there to see these four bouncy rockers setting off the firework finale of summer. That night was the night that they will ended this special tour, in which they have been doing gigs for two days each in the cities of Osaka, Nagoya, and Tokyo.

The mood was cheerful and casual as people made their way into the live house and settled in the most comfortable position. However, as the stage finally lit up, people immediately raised their hands and cheered. The "INTRO" welcomed each member of GIRUGAMESH onto the stage as they greeted the fans with their usual hyper style. Without further ado, the band started the night out with "evolution," a recent must-have selection in the set list. It is not only a recent hit of the band, but also the perfect song to heat up the live space in no time. The audience called out in unison "listen to my evolution!!" as they swung their hands in the air. "Evolution" was soon followed by their latest single, "BORDER."

 The show continued on with a high spirit both on and off stage and, notably. the new coupling song "S.T.F.U." comes on in between as well. When the band finally gave everyone a brief break with "puzzle," it wasn't a surprise that another calmer song came afterward. "Suiren" ('water lily') is the coupling song of "BORDER," a new rock dance ballad that GIRUMESH has put on for the season. However, when the 'water lily' in the background faded out to the audience's applause, it was too early to let our guard down, because "ALIVE" was coming up next.

...

 People welcomed the return of the intense beat at once and vibrantly moved their bodies along to show how alive they were. Three of their earlier songs "Crime-tsumi-," "shadan," and the live hit "Smash!!," were soon performed afterwards. The main set came to an end, as people tried to recover from the excitement of "Break Down."

When GIRUGAMESH appeared for the first encore, they told a funny story of the band staying at a hotel in Tokyo just for the two days gigs, and how the vocalist Satoshi went into the bassist Shuu's room just to borrow toner without speaking a single word. Then "Owari to mirai," "volcano,"and "omae ni sasageru minikuigoe," came on, starting a small festival of nostalgic days, dazzling the late summer night even more.

 The second encore began with the song "Shining," followed by their new single which will released in mid-October: "crying rain." It was indeed a calming and rather sentimental encore, as the audience payed full attention to the emotion that the band has brought.

After the second encore, a screen rolled down in the midst of silence, and then GIRUGAMESH announced its upcoming release of a new album in December.

As for more good news, they will be performing a one-man live at the celebrated new location Shinkiba Studio Coast on January 31st of 2010. The audience cheered from time to times, as the message was being projected on to the screen; occasionally bursting into laughter because of several humorous photos of each band member in addition to the news. Not long afterwards, the screen darkened away to the sound of everyone's clapping hands. Then the screen lit up once again with beats of music, asking the audience:

"Do you want more SUMMER with GIRUGAMESH?!"

 While everyone gave their assured thundering cheer in response, each of the members jumped back on to the stage one by one for the third time, Satoshi being the last entering. He provoked the audience with a high spirit:

"What's the name of the tour? Give it to me! Summer!"

 "Evolution!" answerd the hyped-up crowd.

Thus, the intro of "evolution" vibrated once again in Akasaka BLITZ. The audience reacted quickly to the movement of the song, for they knew this might be the last chance to catch the last memento of summer. As both parties on- and off-stage are giving their best to make the world to listen to their revolution, the show finally came to a cloe for the night. With satisfaction on both the members' and crowds' faces, the audience applauded and waved good-bye to the members and to the summer of 2009. Thank you and otsukaresama deshita, GIRUGAMESH.

Set List:

-INTRO-(MUSIC)

01. evolution

02. BORDER

03. ULTIMATE 4

04. FREAKS

05. GAMBLE

06. CRAZY-FLAG

07. Dance Rock Night

08. S.T.F.U.

09. puzzle

10. suiren

11. ALIVE

12. crime-tsumi-

13. shadan

14. smash!!

15. Break Down

EN1

01. owari to mirai

02. volcano

03. omae ni sasageru minikuigoe

EN 2

01. shining

02. crying rain

EN3

01. evolution