B’z LIVE-GYM 2011…in North America!

The time is finally upon us…B’z is set to kick off the U.S. leg of their LIVE-GYM 2011 North American tour today!

They will be playing at The Fillmore in San Francisco; doors open at 7 p.m. PDT and the show will start at 8 p.m. PDT. On the 24th, they will play another show at the Club Nokia Theater in Los Angeles to wrap up their brief tour here. Furthermore, the last show in L.A. will be streamed live courtesy of Pepsi-Nex! The live stream can be found here. It will start at 7 p.m. Los Angeles local time.

For your convenience, here are the start times for various time zones:

July 24th – 7 p.m. (Los Angeles)
July 24th – 10 p.m. (New York)
July 24th – 11 p.m. (Buenos Aires)
July 25th – 3 a.m. (London)
July 25th – 4 a.m. (Paris)
July 25th – 6 a.m. (Moscow)
July 25th – 11 a.m. (Tokyo)

Courtesy of JaME U.S.A.

Appropriately titled “LIVE-GYM 2011 -long time no see-“, this short tour officially commenced on July 20th at Vogue Theater in Vancouver. It has been 8 years since B’z last played a show in the U.S., hence “long time no see”. This will be their third time touring here.

The massive Japanese leg of their tour, titled “LIVE-GYM 2011 C’mon” will start in September. As the title implies, the tour will be promoting their new album coming out in 5 days. They will play in all different venue types including halls, arenas, and even massive domes. Three dates of the tour dates are booked at the hallowed Tokyo Dome :).

Before this, B’z will also be collaborating with Linkin’ Park for a special charity concert to take place on August 31st. Tickets to this super exclusive event can be obtained by fundraising. Fans who are able to raise $500 dollars or more will win a pair of tickets to the show. All proceeds will go towards children affected by the Tohoku earthquake. More information can be found in the link provided at the bottom.

It looks to be another really busy year for B’z. I’m really loving the title they gave this North American tour! Not only is it very fitting, “long time no see” also happens to be a great song that appeared in their last album “MAGIC“. I’m a little disappointed they couldn’t come to New York, but the live stream does offer consolation. While it does not replace attending in person, at least I’ll be able to enjoy the show from the comforts of my own bedroom. I took off work this Sunday for it :D.

The collaboration with Linkin’ Park is interesting to say the least. I’m all for charity and doing good things for those poor victims. I hope B’z will be able to show all in attendance why they are #1 in Japan :).

This year’s tour logos are quite simply put, KICK ASS. “long time no see” has a psychedelic tropical theme perfect for this blazin’ hot summer while “C’mon” has a very stylish appeal that goes along nicely with B’z‘s image. It does remind me of the Pepsi logo. I think they must really love that drink a lot XD.

In any case, the second half of this year is sure to be an exciting one for my favorite Japanese rock duo.

Links:
B’z in Los Angeles on July 24th LIVE STREAM
Linkin’ Park & B’z special charity event
B’z LIVE-GYM 2011 tour schedule
B’z new album “C’mon”
C’mon PV
B’z fansite OFF THE LOCK
B’z official website