GLAY's Teru fulfills 10-year dream with 2-day Venice live shows; the story continues in Makuhari
GLAY held a one-man live performance titled "HAPPY SWING 30th Anniversary GLAY SPECIAL LIVE We♡Happy Swing Vol.4 extra 'DREAMY' in VENEZIA" in Venice, Italy, on June 13 and 14.
The origin of this performance dates back to 2016 during GLAY’s 20th-anniversary fan club celebration at Makuhari Messe International Exhibition Hall in Chiba. At the time, vocalist Teru surprised fans by declaring, "I want to do a live show in Venice for our 30th anniversary. Let me perform in Venice!" In the 10 years since, Teru has visited the city and performed at the Venice Carnival, finally realizing his long-held ambition. The venue was a theater with a capacity of approximately 600 people, also used for the Venice Film Festival, where two shows were held each day.
The opening movie showed Teru calling an Italian staff member he had met only minutes prior "My friend!", drawing laughter from the audience at his exceptional communication skills. The members then entered the stage from the aisles through the seating area. After exciting the fans with a production different from their domestic shows, they opened the set with "the other end of the globe," a song written with the dream of a Venice performance in mind.
Teru addressed the crowd, saying, "Venice, we finally made it! Were you able to see the view I wanted to show you?" to massive applause and cheering. He shared his joy, stating, "For 10 years, I wondered how it would feel to stand on a stage in Venice. I’m so happy to experience with all of you that dreams can come true even at age 55." The setlist featured their latest single "Dead Or Alive," representative hits like "Survival" and "Kuchibiru," and unreleased tracks previously performed during their recently concluded hall tour, "HIGHCOMMUNICATIONS TOUR 2026 'GLAY-complete BEST'." The fans gathered in Venice were whipped into a frenzy.
During the MC segment, guitarist Takuro shared an anecdote about receiving a letter 10 years ago from a fan in their late 50s who wrote, "I absolutely want to share the same dream as Teru, and I will live my life dreaming that it comes true." Takuro expressed his gratitude for how Teru’s "outlandish dream" provided a sense of the future for both the fans and the members themselves. Toward the end of the main set, they held a lottery drawing that had been a popular feature of their hall tour, presenting gifts to winners and taking commemorative photos.
Later, Teru introduced "I'm loving you," saying, "Takuro wrote a song that is perfect for performing in Venice." Teru then added, "Today isn't the end of the dream. This dream started at the 20th-anniversary fan club live in Makuhari, and I feel I must bring it back to Makuhari to settle it. I said it there, and I want to close it there. I want to complete this project, so I’ll be waiting for everyone in Makuhari!" He thus conveyed his feelings leading up to the 30th-anniversary fan club live events scheduled for July 31 and August 1 at Makuhari Messe.
Finally, Teru shouted, "Because you saw the moment a dream came true, I can say this with confidence. Let’s go dream together!" before performing "BEAUTIFUL DREAMER." He concluded the show with the words, "I'm sometimes asked what the next dream is, but I believe it will be born from this live show. So everyone, go wild and throw your power at the stage. I’m sure something will be born from that!"
Source: Music Natalie
*This content has been translated from Japanese into English using machine translation. We apologize for any mistakes in the current version, and will update accordingly.