Summer Sonic Osaka 2011

My ticket!!(≡ﾟ∀ﾟ≡)

Hello All!
A couple weekends back, I finally bit the bullet, and threw down some money for a Summer Sonic ticket (only Sunday though. tried to honor my savings a little..(　´ⅴ｀)). Summer Sonic is an annual music festival that occurs simultaneously in Tokyo and Osaka. Most of the bands play one night in Tokyo then fly/bus/hike down to Osaka. It's been going on since 2000 and this year's headliners were RHCP and The Strokes, who are two of my favorite bands..! I was totally ready to rock my socks off. In fact, I didn't even wear socks, just in case ( ´ ▽ ` ).

I got friends in loooow plac--.. wait a sec..

In Osaka, the festival is held in Maihama, which is close to the Cosmosquare subway station and the Sakurajima Station on the JR line. They have shuttle buses that run from both stations for a prepaid fee of 600 yen or 800 yen at the bus. Since I went with two other people, we just split the difference of a taxi, which saved us about 300 yen a person. Plus it was much, much cooler in the taxi. Great little "woo-saa" moment before getting down and dirty.

Yui at the Mountain Stage.

We got there a little before 12pm, so there weren't any lines for getting our wristbands. However, because there weren't any big lines, we actually walked right the wristband area and walked all the way into the festival. We then had to walk all the way back, get the wristbands, then go back inside. It was a big loop de loop, so by the time we were next to one of the stages, we were drenched in sweat (=´Д`=). 

 We hung out by the Mountain Stage a for bit, listening to YUI, and contemplating a cool drink, but the lines were so long back there, that we headed back out to the main food area.

Does it look hot to you?

 The food area was just a wide flat space lined with tiny food venders (the Mountain Stage was on top of a hill behind it). I think one of the nice things about Summer Sonic is that you can bring your own food and drink and just kind of camp out anywhere on the grounds (=ﾟωﾟ=), which is also probably why there were lots of families there too. Next year, I'll probably do the same too and save a few yen.

So we popped a squat off to the side, trying to steal a little shade and enjoy our drinks. It was really too hot to enjoy anything like yakisoda or takoyaki, which was there, or have a cup of Jack and coke, which was also there ～(´ー｀～), so I stuck with my tea and water.

The Ting Tings @Ocean Stage

 Afterwards, I made my way over to the Ocean Stage, which is the biggest stage, officially ready for some good music and good times. The crowd was still pretty sparse since the band on stage wasn't so popular, but the music was pretty good and there was space for grooving. I decided to inch closer to the front so I could get a better view of the stage, but my two comrades weren't too keen on sunburn, so they stayed toward the back in the shade.

After Viva Brother, The Ting Tings came on. I've only heard one of their songs, but there set was pretty lively. Great music for dancing, so I took advantage of the space I had shook my booty (=^ωﾟ)ﾉ. 

 Once they were done, it was time for a set change, so many people pulled the same move as this guy. It was still pretty close to high noon (well it wasn't noon, but the sun sure was high up), takin' a squat down in the shadows out of the sun was a nice way to escape the heat and keep your space near the front.

Unfortunately, the next act was Kimura Kaela, who is a pretty big name is Japanese music, so the front got really crowded. The Kaela fans were actually kind of pushy, so while I was pushed toward the front, I also got knocked into some big sweaty dudes (who knew big sweaty dudes were fans of such a tiny, cheerful lady （´･∀･`）). I was able to enjoy her performance behind towel and sweaty backs and as you can imagine, it was awesome (;´▽`)y-~~.

Sadly, my phone had kicked the bucket by now, so I wasn't able to take any more photos. And this was right before KoRn was about to take the stage. You can imagine my disappointment (;´Д`). But since KoRn and Kaela fans don't mesh so much, I was able to get a little breathing space before they got on. After they unveiled the H.R. Giger mic stand though, it was back on. People were rushing the stage again, but this time they were metal heads.

The metal heads were pretty nice, everyone left enough space for some good head banging to occur, though at the times people tried to mosh. I think Japanese shows have a pretty strict policy with moshing and crowd surfing, but people still tried even though you risked being pulled from the front.  

After KoRn's show of bada$$ery, it was time for another band I'd never heard of called Beady Eyes. More KoRn fans started clearing the area, so I was able to scoot right to the front against the bars, but Beady Eyes fans started moving in as well, so space was still precious.

Beady Eyes seemed like a pretty mellow band, they kind of reminded me of Rooney, so I don't remember much of their set （　´∀｀）. But after them, it was time for The Strokes!!

I'd only been to one other Strokes show, but their sets are pretty elaborate (lots of light work), so it took longer than the allotted time for them to get set up, and by the time they went on stage, it was already 8pm! That was the time I was supposed to be meeting with my friends so we could head back downtown together （ ノ*ﾟДﾟ*）. I stayed for a couple songs anyway, because I really wanted to see them, but then I abandoned my spot so I could meet my friends...

I kind of regret leaving because.. in the end, I couldn't find them. Without my phone, I couldn't call them either, and later on, I found out that they had changed the meeting place..(ﾟДﾟ;）! So I missed my friends and most of The Strokes..ヽ(；´Д｀)ノ! I was pretty dejected about that, so I just wandered back to the taxi stand and headed back to the train station. 

It was a pretty long day, surviving on fluids alone, but I would say it was worth it (=´ω｀=；. I've never had a spot so close to the stage, and the crowd wasn't that bad. I'm definitely planning on going again next year, to both days. And I'm also on the look out for any more music festivals in the kansai area. The next one I find, I'll definitely post on here..!

★Peaces★