A DAY WITH ULTRA-HEROINES! Keiko Nishi and Maria Theresa Gow Made My Day!

With actress/singer Maria Theresa Gow and her band mates after her birthday concert in Shibuya.

Today turned out to be a rather Ultra-day in some unexpected ways. For a couple of weeks, I had planned to attend the birthday concert of Maria Theresa Gow at the jazz club JZ Brat in the Hotel Cerulean Tower Tokyu in Shibuya. Although I've corresponded with Gow-san several times, I'd never met her in person before tonight.

American fans may recognize Maria Theresa Gow as Georgie Leland from Ultraman Gaia (1998-99). She also was an extra in Godzilla against Mechagodzilla (2002). I was looking forward to attending the concert and having the opportunity to meet her in person, and I came away from the experience quite happy!

The concert itself was very enjoyable, with many familiar American songs ("Proud Mary," "Material Girl," "Let It Go," among others) being among the set. Since it's also Gow-san's birthday, she was presented with a cake onstage (along with flowers), which drew rounds of applause and cheers from the audience. Gow-san was extremely friendly, and I could easily see why she was so beloved by everyone in attendance.

But that's not all! Earlier in the day I went to Keiko Nishi's cafe in Ginza and got the chance to catch up with her again. Readers of this blog know that Nishi-san was one of the stars of Ultraman Ace (1972-73), one of my favorite Ultra-series.

A big thanks to Gow-san and Nishi-san for their kindness and hospitality!