Junk! Osaka Farewell Concert at & Bar, Shinsaibashi

The temperature inside the intimate venue quickly rises as the crowd gathers and hustles, the clinking of bottles and wine glasses the only audible sound above the mish-mash of anticipant chitter chatter.  There is excitement in the air but it is ever-so slightly tinged with sadness as people talk about this being JUNK!'s last gig in Osaka for some time and how the South Koreans will be blown away when they get to hear him.  Every now and then somebody else will shoot a glance in the direction of the man of the hour and see him in deep concentration, fishing intently through a matrix of wires and equipment while setting up.  Suddenly the lights dim and there is a brief moment of calm.  The projector fires the first visual onto the stage's white screen and the JUNK! experience begins.  He sticks with his usual opener My Name Is Glen, and the crowd begins to bounce and sway.

It quickly becomes apparent to all that are watching that Lloyd is putting 110% into this final gig and in the river of sweat that is gushing down his face you can see reflected the wide grins on the faces of the audience as they begin to mosh a little harder with each successive song.  The venue, a French restaurant by day, is muggy and too crowded and the smell of beer and bodies starts to override the perfume.  This place is by no means perfect but he makes it work, provoking the crowd like a glam rock matador as he approaches and flaunts his sequinned cape and shades before retreating, teasing the crowd into utter obedience.

Lloyd performs for close to two hours and goes through much of the material from his first album Women and his second self titled release as well as a couple of new additions to keep the crowd guessing.  The room explodes into ecstasy with some of his more popular songs, especially Matzo Ball Soup and its final regaling of grandma's old recipe.  In between these eruptions of emotion, the energy is still maintained at a constant high level by the master of ceremonies and by the end everyone is dehydrated, exhausted and elated.  A great way to go out Glen JUNK! Lloyd, South Korea is in for a treat.