Anthony Barton is in Japan covering Summersonic for Undercover. He reports from the festival.
Summersonic, one of Japan’s signature events, is a 2 day music festival held simultaneously in Osaka (Maishima) and Tokyo (Chiba). Spread over 6 stages hosting close to 100 artists, ranging from big name acts, to popular up-and-comers to “old school” favourites, there is something to satisfy all musical tastes. The organisation, lay-out and staff were all first class and made for a fantastic (and safe) festival. I had the pleasure of attending the Osaka event and had the time of my life!!Artist highlights were The Ting Tings, MGMT (pronounced: management), Does It Offend You Yeah', New Young Pony Club, Crystal Castles, Devo, Justice, Coldplay, Yelle, Santogold, Zebrahead, The Kills, The Verve, Hot Chip and The Prodigy. And that’s just who I saw!! With a line-up that read like a who’s who of popular culture, it was near impossible to pick between bands. In the end, as with most festivals, you’ll need to sacrifice certain acts, a testament to the amazing calibre of artists that Summersonic had put together.
The stage lay-out was impeccable. No “bleeding” of music between stages, and no long haul walks too get from band to band. If you did find yourself walking for extended periods, their were always places to sit and rest in the shade, grab a bite to eat or even to soak yourself in front of the many misting fans. This all made for a very comfortable festival experience in the quite often oppressive Osaka summer.
Food and drink vendors were incredible. All the food was appetizing, delicious and modestly priced. Even the most unadventurous of eaters could find something to tingle their taste buds. Drinks too, were extremely inexpensive and the staff were great fun. Keen to practice their English on us, we ended up making some friends from one of the drink vendors. We got to chatting in a mix of Japanese and English, cracking jokes and dancing like idiots which all culminated in a good old fashion water fight. It really was a great way to relax and cool down between bands.
One thing that became apparent early on the festival was the incredibly humble and outgoing crowd. The amount of new friends and “dancing buddies” we made, really helped give Summersonic a real “party vibe.” We met an extremely friendly Japanese couple who ended up spending the entire weekend with us and became part of our “entourage,” dancing all day and well into the night with us . I have countless random photos with, doubly, random people. Dancing during bands like Justice and The Prodigy was especially great. Jumping around with 10-15 Japanese people, arms around shoulders screaming “AYE AYE AYE AYE” was one of he highlights of the festival. Everywhere I turned it seemed their was someone just waiting to get down with this gaijin (foreigner).
It’s not hard to see why Japan’s Summersonic is one of the world’s premier festivals. The line-ups are always first class, the organisation is 2nd to none and they cater to everyone’s musical and culinary tastes. I will leave Japan with many a fond memory of Summersonic. The whole experience has left me exhilarated and I would drop everything to do it again next year and for many years to come.
