For Those of You About to Rock, Summer Sonic Salutes You

 

Thinking back to the summers when I was an angst-filled teenager, I remember always looking forward to the Vans Warped Tour. My friends and I would lather ourselves with sunscreen, wear our coolest band clothing (mine was a Thrice t-shirt), then pile into a parent’s van to be dropped off and picked up later in the evening. As I have grown older, I still look forward to summer concert events and I feel fortunate enough that Japan has two outstanding ones, Fuji Rock Festival and Summer Sonic. For those who missed Fuji Rock (or its preview) in July, don’t fret, Summer Sonic offers another chance to catch amazing international and local artists from 10:00a.m. to 11:00p.m. on August 16 and 17.

Unlike Fuji Rock, a three day camping extravaganza at Mount Naeba, Summer Sonic ditches the wilderness for the city, or more precisely two cities. The concert event is held on the same days in both Tokyo and Osaka with slight variations in the lineup. Most well-known bands that play in Tokyo on Saturday will play in Osaka on Sunday and vice versa. Unfortunately, we Kansai folk must do – to the dismay of this writer – with only four stages, while those in Tokyo have an additional three, therefore having more performances. Yet with such a great variety on those four stages, it is hard to be too upset.

            Looking at the lineup for both days, Osaka’s Summer Sonic central theme is rock. This is apparent with the decision to have classic rock gods, Queen with vocalist Adam Lambert, and fellow Englishmen, Artic Monkeys, as the much anticipated headliners. Most stages having a mix of classic, hard, indie, pop and punk rock. If you are in the mood for something heavy and neck-breaking, head over to the Mountain Stage on Sunday for an eardrum numbing experience brought to you by Avenged Sevenfold, Megadeth, Suicidal Tendencies, and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. When you are there make sure to catch BABYMETAL, a band that is rapidly growing in popularity due to the pairing of three genki Japanese teenagers and intense breakdowns typically found in the hardcore genre.

Of course if you want something lighter that provides the opportunity to sway and dance, you might be better sticking with indie and pop groups like Phoenix, Ellie Goulding, KEYTALK, the 1975, and dare I say, Avril Lavigne. Even hip hop sneaks into the weekend festivities with Azealia Banks, not to be confused with Banks or Iggy Azaela, and MTV favorite Twenty-one Pilots. In fact, these artists tend to blur the lines of hip hop and indie, weaving their music back and forth between both.

Obviously it would not be a proper Japanese music festival if there were not choreographed-filled pop bands interspersed between all this rock. You cannot go wrong with Tempura Kidz, five Japanese children dancing to music produced by Ram Rider, でんぱ組.inc, andきゃりーぱみゅぱみゅ. If this genre is where you are truly at home, claim a spot at the Flower Stage for a day filled with great dance moves and lovely vocalists strumming their acoustic guitars. Be warned that the Flower Stage is where you are very likely to spot one or more of your students, so keep the embarrassing behavior and drinking to a minimum.

If you are looking to go, I recommend buying your tickets sooner rather than later, especially given that the festival is only a few weeks away. One-day tickets are \13,000 while two-day tickets are \23,500. Directions for purchasing tickets are available in Japanese here, or you can buy them in Sannomiya or anywhere they have booths that sell discount movie tickets and the like. Worried that you might have to go alone? Don’t be! Join the Hyogo AJET Summer Sonic event on Facebook and meet up with fellow JETs to enjoy the experience together! Remember this is the perfect opportunity to see some great live music from bands you actually know. As the school year starts such an opportunity will be few and far between, don’t miss out!

 

After hours of sifting through the Osaka lineup so you don’t have to, I have made a list, albeit from my musical taste, of recommended bands to see at this year’s festival. Here are the Editor’s Picks

 

The 1975

A Great Big World

Artic Monkeys

あゆみくりかまき

Azelia Banks

Babymetal

Banks

Blue Encount

The Bots

Charli XCX

Circa Wave

Coldrain

Dinosaur Pile-up

Fear, and Loathing in Las Vegas

The Hiatus

Mayday

Metronomy

Mogwai

Phoenix

The Pixies

Sky Ferreira

Twenty-one Pilots

Vintage Trouble