Summer Sonic has come and gone. The music festival was on in Makuhari over the weekend and featured about 40-45 bands over the 2 days and was absolutely amazing. On Staurday, Sheryl and I went to the festival, taking in several bands during the day including Locklsey, Interpol, Blue Man Group, Editors, B’z, LCD SoundSystem, Klaxons and Maximo Park.

LCD Soundsystem rocked the place, an amazing mix of dance/indie. The Klaxons were amazingly well received too, the Japanese crowd going wild for their songs which were perfect for moshing to. Maximo Park, for Sheryl and I were the highlight of the day, giving it their all to a diminished crowd (Travis, Sum 41, Sugar Ray and B.E.P were on at the same time). They performed really well and had a great stage presence which made for a great gig.

Sunday was less hot and so more enjoyable and the line-up didn’t disappoint. The day started with The Enemy and The Twang, two up and coming British bands who drew a small but excited crowd to the main stage. Following these was a Japanese band (Remio Romen??) and Rooney. Both were okay but nothing special. The main draw for us was the afternoon lineup: The Fratellis, Bloc Party, Manic Street Preachers, Kasabian and Arctic Monkeys. All of them were great, the heat of the afternoon (about 34C) meant that for The Fratellis and Bloc Party, we were forced into the stands to avoid it. By the time the Manics came on we could stand the heat. They were made to feel very welcome by an appreciative crowd and played a great set of some classics and some new songs.

Following them was Kasabian, and for me they were the main act. They didn’t disappoint. The set was about an hour and they worked the crowd well, got everyone singing and moshing and generally created an excellent atmosphere. Matt, Sheryl and I were right at the front and although the crowd was going mad, it was well worth it. I highly recommend going to see Kasabian live, at Summer Sonic at least the were simply amazing.

Following them were the Arctics. They played a flawless set and the crowd went mad. For their set, it was just Sheryl and me who braved the front, Matt retreated to a safe distance. In the end we had too as well. The moshing started off well, no maliciousness, just pure enjoyment but when it got to the stage where people were charging us and clearly aiming to cause pain, it got too much.  We retreated to the edge of the standing area and enjoyed the performance safely. The Arctic Monkeys were good, but totally lacked any stage presence and banter with the crowd. The lead singer seemed a little bored/daunted at having to face 10,000 Japanese. Musically they were impeccable, and I definitely would see them again, preferably at home where they might actually talk!

So all in all it was a wicked weekend. And now I have to recover. I’m not up to much tomorrow (my regular weekend) but hopefully on Weds will be at a beach…

mata ne!