Expanded from two to three days for its 10th anniversary, the biggest international acts in the world just played the Summer Sonic music festival in Japan last weekend. Held simultaneously at sites in Tokyo and Osaka, the festival is seen as one of the highlights of the Japanese summer, and here’s why.
DAY ONE
Sliimy is the first artist signed under celebrity blogger Perez Hilton’s new record label, Perezcious Music. Dressed in skinnier than skinny black jeans, sandals that some of the women in the audience were eyeing up for their own summer wardrobes, and a black knit top with multi-coloured ribbons reminiscent of sparkly lights, the 20-year-old from Saint-Etienne began with his cover of the Britney Spears hit ‘Womaniser’.
Sliimy (real name Yanis Sahraoui) sashayed around the stage swinging his barely there hips, jumped up and down so much he literally knocked his own oversized glasses off, and just generally charmed the crowd with his adorable French accent and showmanship. ‘Wake Up’ had the crowd singing along with his quirky electro pop, and he ended the show by taking a Polaroid of the audience, something he does at all his shows.
Next, wearing his hair in two plaits, Aaron Behrens of Ghostland Observatory screamed into the microphone as Thomas Turner (wearing a cape) played the synthesizer. ‘Sad, Sad City’ had the crowd’s hands pumping in the air and their feet shuffling below.
Katy Perry cancelled at the last minute – an action that won’t endear her to the Japanese crowds anytime soon – so it was onto Phoenix. The French band was so boringly dressed – jeans, t-shirts, shirts – they looked like the perfect band to take home to meet your mother! But it was songs from their album ‘Wolfgang Amadeus’ that showed their sexy unruliness. ‘Lisztomania’, ‘Lasso’ and ‘1901’ incited the crowd in raptures. Lead singer Thomas Mars even lay on the stage floor to rest and catch his breath towards the end of the set.
Still ringing in the audience’s ears this week is “Rome, Rome, many tears have fallen here / I’ll be driving, you look the other way / Always and forevermore / I call to say I’m on the way / 2000 years remain in a trash can / Let burn the cigarette somewhere / Ashes till it fall, fall, falls.” The dovetailing of the drum symbols with the guitar hook and the overlay of Mars’ voice was ecstatically melodic.
The Enemy (marketed in the US as The Enemy UK) then brought the rock to what was a very dance and pop-orientated day. Norwegian electro rockers Datarock followed, coming on stage in red tracksuits looking like a marauding group of Santa’s minus the beard.
They finished their fast and furious set with the Dirty Dancing theme tune, ‘I Had The Time of My Life’. Disbelieving it when the first few notes started, friends turned and mouthed to each other, “What! Am I hearing this correctly?” But soon enough, the cooler than cool crowd were singing along like it was their favourite karaoke track of all time. Lead singer Fredrik Saroea rushed into the crowd to be mobbed by the adoring crowd.
After that were Soulwax, Aphex Twin and 2ManyDJ’s. When they went from Zombie Nation’s ‘Kernkraft 400’ to MGMT’s ‘Kids’ many felt the pinnacle of the night had come. If your feet weren’t already 20cm parallel to the floor, they most definitely were now. Then ‘Sweet Dreams’ by The Eurythmics and ‘Yeah Yeah’ by Bodyrox. Those that still had the energy to see the night turn to dawn continued partying to Tricky and the other artists at Midnight Sonic.
Located in Chiba, the festival is commuting distance to Tokyo (though a US$170 taxi fare may not be everybody’s definition of an affordable commute!). Some festival revelers hire ridiculously expensive hotel rooms nearby, others leave early to catch the last train back to town (the cheapest option), while others just fall asleep in a bush outside the stadium.
DAY TWO
However they ended their Friday night, the audience was back Saturday for the lovely Little Boots wearing a blue sequined dress and never too far from her Tenori-on. She hit the high notes with ‘New In Town’ and ‘Remedy’.
By 2pm, dancing was truly everybody’s remedy, which is why the accessory de rigueur of Summer Sonic is the towel tied around the neck to cope with the sweat and humidity. So going to Summer Sonic the packing list reads: wallet, keys, ticket, towel – check.
With three of the stages (Mountain, Sonic and Dance) inside the Makuhari Messe Convention Centre, it sometimes feels like you’re at a sales trade show as the crowds stumble from concrete room to concrete room. And the Marine, Beach and Island stages feel like such a long schlep away. Okay, in reality, the stages aren’t that far away, but the effort involved to get there crossing a six-lane highway after a few beers coupled with the awful humidity-slash-rain-slash-blazing sun means festival goers usually stick with the three main stages in the convention centre.
But once you’ve summoned the energy to make the trek out to the Beach stage, it’s a wonder why festival organisers don’t put more of the big names on this stage. It’s the perfect festival moment: lying on tatami mats in shaded areas and every so often propping yourself up to have a sip of your Moscow Mule.
Then with sand in your toes, it’s all too quickly time to get your drunken heat-stroked self back to the darkness of the concrete jungle and swap the seafood stalls, cocktail bars and fresh air for ramen, yakisoba and beer. Though there are sponsored Alfa Romeo cars and a bus running lines of people back and forth between the stages, the long queues to use them defeats the purpose. Dawdling back with a cool beverage in hand is the solution.
Next on the Mountain stage was Joan Jett and the Blackhearts. Boy! For 48 years old, did she look fantastic! Rather than chat rock & roll the women in the audience wanted to discuss skin care routines and how to get biceps like that. Many left after 30 minutes to catch the Ting Tings set feeling cheated she still hadn’t sung ‘I Love Rock & Roll’. There was nothing more those departing wanted than to belt out “put another dime in the juke box baby.” But that’s the thing about Summer Sonic – it’s impossible to see every song of every band’s set. It’s about prioritising, strategising and being happy with the schedule you’ve chosen.
The Manchester-based Ting Tings were calling those who wanted to dance. Their appeal resonates in not just the catchiness of their songs, but also in Katie White’s accessible beauty, style and attitude. The fast-paced, upbeat hits came thick and fast: ‘Great DJ’ – “And the strings / Eee, eee, eee, eee, eee, eee, eee, eee / And the drums, the drums, the drums, the drums” – ‘Shut Up And Let Me Go’ and ‘Be The One’ (unfortunately not the Japanese Popstars remix). They closed with ‘That’s Not My Name’. Both the boys and girls in the crowd were chanting the infectious title with the intensity of a positive thinking mantra.
But Summer Sonic is not just about seeing the big names like Linkin Park, My Chemical Romance, Nine Inch Nails, Teenage Fanclub, Sonic Youth and The Flaming Lips, but those that will soon become names like English trio Golden Silvers (who won Glastonbury’s New Talent competition in 2008). Vocalist and keyboardist Gwilym Gold’s pinky-mauve coloured jeans gave their set an extra hybrid funk-pop-electro-disco feel and ‘Arrows Of Eros’ was just the summery indie hit to get down to.
The Silent Disco doesn’t have a traditional speaker system, but rather uses wireless headphones and an FM transmitter to deliver the music. So before putting the headphones on it’s a rather surreal sight seeing people jump and down in a field when there’s no music to be heard.
With the headphones on, the audience can choose between the two DJ’s playing with the flick of a switch on the earpiece. There’s no rivalry between the DJ’s, and as DJ Nico Okkerse kept saying, “If you don’t’ like what I’m playing just switch over to my colleague. I won’t be offended.”
Back at the Mountain stage Elvis Costello came on with The Imposters in a dapper suit, shirt, tie combo but the noticeable double chin and dark sunglasses made him look more like a mobster, than a rock legend. From crooning ‘Veronica’ to provoking the crowd to ‘Pump It Up’ and then serenading the audience with ‘She’ it was a sublime performance.
Then it was CSS, and a toss up between The Specials and Klaxons before Lady GaGa took to the stage. While her lyrics can sometimes be absurd (‘disco stick’ and ‘bluffin’ with my muffin’ come to mind), she is always entertaining. All she had to keep saying to the crowd was, “Now scream” and they were off. It was pure contagious energy.
She played a cabaret style version of ‘Poker Face’ on the piano – while standing on the piano stool – before launching into the disco pop version we all know. Her performance was unapologetically for those craving pure, harmless fun.
The Japanese twin brothers Ryukyudisko followed a few acts later to help those dance what was left of the night away.
DAY THREE
By now the final day of the festival came around and people’s energy was diminishing. Everyone by the third day feels like they have cabin fever. But that didn’t stop the savvy VV Brown. She came on stage with her model figure squeezed into a black mini dress with a military hat (her trademark fringe rolled into a flattop missing), singing into a megaphone, beating a drum stick dictating that she had good reason to be named an artist to watch for 2009. ‘Leave!’ and ‘Shark In The Water’ had everyone trusting this young gun was a star of the future.
Solange (Beyonce’s younger sister) followed and it’s hard to peg her sound. It was though easy to define her hairstyle – an army regulation buzz cut. Looking lithe in black jumpsuit shorts and heels, she gushed how much she loves Japanese food and how it’s made her gain four pounds. Against the backdrop of her back up singers’ unflattering dresses that resembled tents, it really didn’t matter!
Her style ranged from 60’s and 70’s influences to pop, rock, hip-hop and soul. All the songs displayed her impressive vocal ability but it was ‘Sandcastle Disco’ that best captured her style and talent.
On the Sonic stage the Temper Trap’s ‘Sweet Disposition’ sweetened those with bruised and broken hearts, and the crowd just adored The Vaselines’ Frances McKee’s Glaswegian accent. Sitting and sleeping on the floor is seen as socially acceptable at Summer Sonic, and by this stage of the festival there were rows and rows of bodies lying about.
Rapper Kid Sister’s raw energy was wasted on a tired crowd. Rather than 4pm on the last day, she really should have been performing on Friday evening when people had the attention and energy to appreciate this rising superstar.
The repetitive lyrics of ‘Beeper’ didn’t even annoy and ‘Right Hand Hi’ had those with any stamina left waving both hands up. With perfectly timed, silky vocal delivery she raced around the stage in her pink jumpsuit shorts, saying how she (born Melisa Young) couldn’t believe her journey from south side Chicago to Tokyo.
Time for the closing show and no one struts the stage like Beyonce. She kick started the party in the Marine stage (an open air baseball stadium with 30,000 capacity) by opening up with ‘Crazy In Love’. Dressed in a gold leotard with a sophisticated bunny tail and wearing diamond earrings as large as her ears, she looked like the ultimate cover girl as she shimmied across the stage, doing her sexy hair flick.
Multiple costume changes were expected. Looking ethereal in a floaty chiffon cape over a white leotard she belted out ‘Smash Into You’. After that Beyonce came up in a black and white film on the screen that looked like a perfume ad where she said the words “humour, intimacy, selflessness, togetherness, sex, commitment” before launching into ‘If I Were A Boy’. Wearing sunglasses and a black leather Mad Max inspired bodice and mini skirt, she then switched into a cover of Alanis Morisette’s ‘You Oughta Know’ and then back to the last few lines of ‘If I Were A Boy’. Genius.
As summer music festival withdrawal symptoms kick in, it means powering up the iPod and searching YouTube to dance around the lounge room to your favourite acts. Reminiscing about the energy of the live event, maybe help is at hand by remembering Soulwax’s documentary title: Part Of The Weekend Never Dies.
