Peter Cetera First Solo Live in Japan 2009
On August 28, 2009, Peter Cetera finally announced via his Twitter and Official website that he would perform at Cotton Club in Tokyo on December 13, 15 and 17. Well, I am a huge fan of Peter since 1986, in which "Glory Of Love" was a huge hit in the world. Since then, I have always been hoping that I would be able to see his live performance in Japan someday. But in 2003, Peter Cetera announced plans for a Summer and Fall tour in which he performed with symphony orchestras around the US. This was his first U.S. tour in 7 years. So I finally decided to go to the US to see his performance. I finally enjoyed his concert for the first time in my life at The Fraze Pavilion in Kettering, Ohio on August 8, 2003. After the show, furthermore, my lifetime's dream finally came true! Thanks to Mark, Peter's then manager, I got to meet the Peter Cetera in person!
During the Meet and Greet, I said to Peter that many Japanese fans really wanted to see his concert in Japan. "I really wanna go to Japan," said Peter honestly. That's why I decided to do the petition for bringing Peter Cetera to Japan in 2004. On September 5, 2004, the petition was received by Peter Cetera himself, with a help from Mr. Bruce Gaitsch. Since then, five years have passed. But in December 2009, Peter Cetera finally came to Japan for the first time in 25 years since he came to Japan for touring as a member of Chicago in 1984. This was indeed his first live perfomance in Japan since he debuted as a solo artist in 1985. This is a live review of Peter Cetera's eagerly awaited performance in Tokyo 2009.
On December 13, 2009, I went to the venue around 8 o'clock in the morning to queue up for a good seat. Surprisingly, a few fans were already waiting outside before the doors opened! Since all tickets have been completely sold out, we all came here just to wait for Peter Cetera's first performance. During the waiting, we really enjoyed talking with other fans about our favorite Peter Cetera stuff. At the venue, as unusual, there was a very long queue just before the door opened. (To tell the truth, I have never seen such a long queue there.) After the door opened, we went inside the venue. We waited for the show to start. Seconds seemed like hours, and time passed slowly.
At about 5:00 p.m., Peter Cetera finally came onto the stage with his backing band, the Bad Daddies Electric Band, which featured Bruce Gaitsch on guitar, Gene Miller on guitar and vocal, Kim Keyes on percussion and vocal, Boh Cooper on keyboards, Joe Chemay on bass, and Dan Needham on drums. Peter Cetera strapped on an acoustic guitar and strummed "Restless Heart." Of course, we fans were overjoyed at his appearance all at once. Next was "Glory Of Love," which led me to purchase his album "Solitude/Solitaire" nearly 23 years ago. I finally heard this song in its electric form like the original! Next was "One Good Woman." I just recalled watching him sing this song live on Japanese TV programme in 1988 when he came to Japan for promoting his "One More Story" album. On "After All," backing vocalist Kim Keyes joined Cetera center-stage. When the first few lines of the song were sung, Kim teased Peter with an imitation of Cher's husky voice, and made us laugh by flipping her hair over her shoulder like Cher. Next was the Chicago smash hit "You're The Inspiration." The opening bar of this song was met with loud applause and cheers. Then Kim joined Peter for "Feels Like Heaven." We were really astonished by her impressive vocal range. On "Even A Fool Can See," the band started out the song with a different intro, then went into the song as it is on the album "World Falling Down." On a cover of the Beatles' "Lady Madonna", Gene Miller offered a surprise by singing the lead vocal. And Peter strapped on an acoustic guitar for the gossamer ballad "If You Leave Me Now." Then Peter was joined by Kim and played a cover of Abba's "S.O.S." and "The Next Time I Fall." Peter concluded the proper set with one of the show's highlights, the song "Hard To Say I'm Sorry," finishing with a brassy instrumental titled "Get Away." After receiving thunderous applause and a standing ovation, Peter returned to the stage for an encore with a new rendition of the Chicago classic "25 Or 6 To 4." He received resounding applause and cheers from the crowd who definitely recognized the Chicago classic. Thus, the concert ended with thunderous applause and a standing ovation around 6:30 p.m. Incidentally, the set lists for all 6 shows in Japan were as follows:
12/13/2009 Cotton Club, Tokyo, Japan
[1st stage setlist]
1. Restless Heart
2. Glory Of Love
3. One Good Woman
4. After All (with Kim Keyes)
5. You're The Inspiration
6. Feels Like Heaven (with Kim Keyes)
7. Even A Fool Can See
8. Lady Madonna (Lead Vocal: Gene Miller)
9. If You Leave Me Now
10. S.O.S. (with Kim Keyes)
11. The Next Time I Fall (with Kim Keyes)
12. Hard To Say I'm Sorry / Get Away
(encore)
13. 25 Or 6 To 4
[2nd stage setlist]
1. Restless Heart
2. Glory Of Love
3. One Good Woman
4. After All (with Kim Keyes)
5. You're The Inspiration
6. Feels Like Heaven (with Kim Keyes)
7. Even A Fool Can See
8. Lady Madonna (Lead Vocal: Gene Miller)
9. If You Leave Me Now
10.The Next Time I Fall (with Kim Keyes)
11. S.O.S. (with Kim Keyes)
12. Hard To Say I'm Sorry / Get Away*
(encore)
13. 25 Or 6 To 4
As for this 2nd stage, Peter Cetera played the same songs as he did in 1st stage; he reversed the order of two songs - "The Next Time I Fall" and "S.O.S." - on the set list, though. The personal highlight of this 2nd stage was his pose imitated the cover of his LP "Solitude/Solitaire" with this LP on his hand.
12/15/2009 Cotton Club, Tokyo, Japan
[1st stage setlist]
1. Restless Heart
2. Glory Of Love
3. One Good Woman
4. After All (with Kim Keyes)
5. You're The Inspiration
6. Feels Like Heaven (with Kim Keyes)
7. Even A Fool Can See
8. Lady Madonna (Lead Vocal: Gene Miller)
9. Hard Habit To Break (with Gene Miller)
10. If You Leave Me Now
11. S.O.S. (with Kim Keyes)
12. Hard To Say I'm Sorry / Get Away
(encore)
13. 25 Or 6 To 4
As for this 1st stage, Peter Cetera experienced microphone and ear-monitor troubles during his performance. Before starting "Lady Madonna," Peter Cetera and band members celebrated Gene Miller's birthday by singing "Happy Birthday" with audience and blowing out candles on a birthday cake brought by the Cotton Club staff. However, the personal highlight was "Hard Habit To Break" Peter Cetera sang with Gene Miller for the first time since he debuted as a solo artist in 1985. (As a matter of fact, because I took a vote on what is the Peter Cetera song you'd most like to hear live in Japan. Peter Cetera and Bruce Gaitsch commented on 2nd stage of the last show on December 17th that Peter chose "Hard Habit To Break" after seeing the result.)
[2nd stage setlist]
1. Restless Heart
2. Glory Of Love
3. One Good Woman
4. After All (with Kim Keyes)
5. You're The Inspiration
6. Feels Like Heaven (with Kim Keyes)
7. Even A Fool Can See
8. Lady Madonna (Lead Vocal: Gene Miller)
9. Hard Habit To Break (with Gene Miller)
10. The Next Time I Fall (with Kim Keyes)
11. If You Leave Me Now
12. S.O.S. (with Kim Keyes)
13. Hard To Say I'm Sorry / Get Away
(encore)
14. 25 Or 6 To 4
As for this 2nd stage, Peter Cetera played basically the same songs as he did in 1st stage, but included "The Next Time I Fall" in the proper set. (The song was not included on 1st stage.)
12/17/2009 Cotton Club, Tokyo, Japan
[1st stage setlist]
1. Restless Heart
2. Glory Of Love
3. One Good Woman
4. After All (with Kim Keyes)
5. You're The Inspiration
6. Feels Like Heaven (with Kim Keyes)
7. Even A Fool Can See
8. Lady Madonna (Lead Vocal: Gene Miller)
9. Hard Habit To Break (with Gene Miller)
10. S.O.S. (with Kim Keyes)
11. If You Leave Me Now
12. Hard To Say I'm Sorry / Get Away
(encore)
13. 25 Or 6 To 4
As for this 1st stage, U.S. Ambassador John V. Roos and his wife, Susan H. Roos, attended as VIP guests. Before starting "Restless Heart," Peter Cetera hummed Kyu Sakamoto's song "Sukiyaki." During the show, Peter Cetera and band members hummed Christmas songs. After the show, one of his hardcore fans who showed his drawing of Peter Cetera was invited to backstage and met the Peter Cetera in person!
[2nd stage setlist]
1. Restless Heart
2. Glory Of Love
3. One Good Woman
4. After All (with Kim Keyes)
5. You're The Inspiration
6. Feels Like Heaven (with Kim Keyes)
7. Even A Fool Can See
8. Lady Madonna (Lead Vocal: Gene Miller)
9. Hard Habit To Break (with Gene Miller)
10. The Next Time I Fall (with Kim Keyes)
11. S.O.S. (with Kim Keyes)
12. If You Leave Me Now
13. Hard To Say I'm Sorry / Get Away
(encore)
14. 25 Or 6 To 4
As for this 2nd stage, Peter Cetera played basically the same songs as he did on December 15th; the song order was slightly rearranged. After finishing an encore song of "25 Or 6 To 4," I planned a little surprise for Peter Cetera and band members with a little help from other fans sitting in the first row; we together made a "THANK YOU" sign from eight (word printed) papers in total that I handed out beforehand.
Anyway, I would like to inform you that Peter Cetera's first tour in Japan was tremendous success! Cos all tickets for 6 shows in Tokyo were completely sold out! More than hundreds fans were on a waiting list for cancellation! Yup! All shows were filled with more than a sold-out crowd. According to Cotton Club's staff, the results of Peter Cetera's shows were the club's record breaking success. Amazing, isn't it?
Lastly, I would like to share Peter Cetera's overall impressions on these Japan shows. They were all posted on the official Twitter and PC SPEAKS section on www.petercetera.com.
Just in case, I've cut and paste his comments below：
12/14/09
Great first 2 shows last night in front of a great audience here in Tokyo.Wonder if there's any good sushi around here?..pC
12/16/09
Just had sushi at a little place in the Tokyo fish market..Died and went to heaven...Spoiled 4ever..Japan has been wonderful beyond words.pC
12/16/09
Special thanks to all the wonderful people here I've finally had a chance to meet and play for..I love Japan..pC
12/16/09
See you at the Cotton Club on Thursday night.What a dream world this is.I want to come back and I haven't even left.Arigato Gozai Masu.pC
12/17/09
WOW is all I can say about this past week in Japan..Just finished our shows at the COTTON CLUB in TOKYO and it was fabulous to say the least..The people were nothing short of tremendous...We all had a blast at every show..We even had lunch today at the American Embassy with the Ambassador and his very gracious wife...Big timin' ya huh?..I will write more when I get back to the USA tomorrow but for now, all I can say is...WE WANNA COME BACK HERE..Wakari masuka?...I thought so...Oyasumi nasai yall...pC
12/22/09
Once again, thanks to everyone in Japan for making this an unforgettable trip...I love you back and hope to come back again soon...pC
12/23/09
As I've said before, Japan was super..Thanks to everyone for making it the most memorable trip I've ever had in your country...Special thanks to MISAKI IGARASHI-AKIKO NASHIMORA-NORIKO CHINO-YOKO OYAGI-SAORI FAJITA-REIKO TAKEUCHI-SKIKO to name a few and of course the staff at the COTTON CLUB who made it a piece of cake....Let's do it again...pC
