This Sunday during summer vacation I made the spontaneous decision to buy a 1 day ticket for Summer Sonic Osaka!! Summer Sonic is an annual music festival that is held during Summer Vacation, with alternating line-ups in Tokyo and Osaka.
I definitely don't regret this decision, I was going there with one mission, to see BABYMETAL. I was gutted to have missed their London show so this was a good way to make up for it!
It was a scorching hot day but despite this I spent most of my day walking around the outside stages checking out as many rock/metal artists as I could with the odd surprise in-between.
Artist impressions:
BABYMETAL
Lets start with my main highlight, BABYMETAL. Whether you love or hate them, you have to admit that the girls and their backing band have made huge progress in spreading their unique form of music worldwide, with upcoming shows in New York and London too! I'm personally a big fan and love the blend of cutesy pop vocals with hard metal backing music, the dancing and general image is great too.
The setlist begin with an amusing star wars-esque intro video highlighting their journey so far and showing the support they had gained from prominent figures in industry such as Metallica, Slayer and so on.They then jumped straight into their set..
1. BABYMETAL DEATH
2. Give Me Choco!!
3. Kami Band Performance
4. Catch me if you can
5. Megitsune
6. Headbanger!!
8. Ijime, Dame, Zettai.
One thing that impressed me was the sheer number of fans who turned up to see them perform, with roughly 3 times the number of any fans on that stage that day and was comparable to Avenged Sevenfold's turnout - and they were headliners!
Highlights for me were definitely Catch me if you can, Megitsune, Headbanger!! and Ijime, Dame, Zettai.
The entire crowd was jumping, singing and having a great time, there was almost a continuous small circle pit but everyone was respectful of each others space. During an interlude video before Ijime, Dame, Zettai three words flashed on screen. WALL. OF. DEATH. The crowd immediately spread out and you can see my POV in the video below.
As you can see it is tamer than your average metal moshpit but I consider that a good thing, everyone has giant grins on their faces!
I really recommend you check out BABYMETAL live, even if you are skeptical I feel that you would fall for their charm and get soaked up in the atmosphere! I bought a BABYMETAL towel and definitely intend to see them again!
Avenged Sevenfold
Avenged Sevenfold were the headline band for the Mountain stage this year, I must admit I haven't really listened to any of their newer material but I was a fan of their earlier releases. Was always curious to see them so I checked them out, plus I don't like the Arctic Monkeys who were on the main stage!
I was impressed, M. Shadows lead vocals were really strong, as if he was on the CD. The guitar solos flowed well and rhythmic riffs that Sevenfold are known for really packed a punch. Hearing 'Bat Country' made me incredibly nostalgic and I felt like a teenager again.
Midway through the set M. Shadows paid tribute to their late drummer and dedicated 'So Far Away' to him and all others that are not with us today. He yelled to the crowd to raise their hands, and they did so, for the entire song. It was a touching moment and he thanked everyone afterwards. Their set and backing videos had a very 'Nightmare Before Christmas' feel to it. Go check them out!
I was impressed, M. Shadows lead vocals were really strong, as if he was on the CD. The guitar solos flowed well and rhythmic riffs that Sevenfold are known for really packed a punch. Hearing 'Bat Country' made me incredibly nostalgic and I felt like a teenager again.
Midway through the set M. Shadows paid tribute to their late drummer and dedicated 'So Far Away' to him and all others that are not with us today. He yelled to the crowd to raise their hands, and they did so, for the entire song. It was a touching moment and he thanked everyone afterwards. Their set and backing videos had a very 'Nightmare Before Christmas' feel to it. Go check them out!
Coldrain
Coldrain are a metalcore band from the city where I studied abroad, Nagoya. Their singer is half American and I mistakenly thought he was non-Japanese who was really fluent haha. So easy to misjudge from appearances. I had never heard these guys but after hearing the muffled into to one of their songs from another field I immediately went to see who was producing such an awesome sound. Despite being one of the earlier performers these guys had a lot of energy. The crowd responded well to their half english vocals with a lot of people headbanging around me. Highlights included 'War is on' and 'Six Feet Under'. Will keep an eye on these guys!
TOKIO
This was a total surprise to me. Was not what I expected at all. I had always seen these guys separately on a variety of TV shows as all Johnny's groups are. However what I didn't know was that they are an actual band, not just boy group. Whenever I hear the word 'Johnny's' I get the image of young squeaky clean singing and dancing boy bands. However these are a group of guys in their late 40s and 50s and they play their own instruments. Instantly earnt my respect. They play a blend of pop rock music and interacted really well with the crowd. I'm sure endless TV appearances really gives them an edge with public speaking skills!
While it was not my usual kind of music I think I will listen to a few of their albums. Their live show may have created a new fan...!
I watched numerous other artists before but those 4 were the ones that stuck out for me.
Festival Impressions:
This was my first music festival experience in Japan although I have been to numerous festivals in the UK and there were some areas that really struck me as different when compared to festivals that I have been too...The cleanliness:I don't know about other countries but in the UK the festival sites become increasingly disgusting and smelly at a rapid rate. Overflowing trash cans, toxic toilets and general waste all across the festival site. Whereas at Summer Sonic, the venues were in relatively good shape! Sure there was some trash but for the most part, there were numerous recycling bins, well enforced and followed, they were also changed regularly. Toilets were for the most part clean and the general SMELL of the festival was better, only in the super muddy areas did I notice a stench. In the UK you can smell the toilets from the other side of the field....ugh.
The fans:There were none of the noticeable drunks/people high off their face that I am used to seeing in the UK, sure there were drunk people but they seemed perfectly capable of looking after themselves! In the moshpits and crowds everyone was respectful of each-others space and no forced shoving, the atmosphere was really happy and positive. There were A LOT of BABYMETAL fans walking around, saw t shirts and towels everywhere, or maybe that's because I'm biased...! Despite the FIERCE heat, everyone was in high spirits.
M. Shadows made a good point during Avenged Sevenfold's set when he said 'I always love coming to Japan, everyones so nice, very polite, thank you always.'
Safety:During the sets with bigger crowds there were consistent requests to space out and to notify staff if anyone felt sick because of the heat. The day was scorching hot, I received crazy sunburn and am currently typing with glowing red hands! Since the fans were not acting wrecklessly there were no warnings about setting fire to gas canisters etc that are common at festivals in the UK. Went through the entire day without seeing any incidents, which is great!
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