Summersonic [Day Two]
Sunday was a busy day. I saw ELEVEN bands in total, and I could have seen more if I hadn't taken an extended lunch. The morning had several clashes, with bands I wanted to see playing at almost the same time.
For this reason I wasn't able to see the complete set of Silversun Pickups. SP were the first band I put an mp3 of on Vox way back when ...so I was a fan but I've become really bored of them and the incessive 'next Smashing Pumpkins' hype ...live they were ok, but they still need to develop their own sound.
Like Perfume yesterday The Ting Tings had a massive audience awaiting them at the Mountain stage ...the largest crowd of the day that I saw there. I'm not sure what size venues TTT are playing in the UK, but for their 2nd Japanese show this was insane! They were more than up to the challenge of pulling off such a huge show with only the two of them. Plenty of hits, plenty of fun ... thumbs up all around.
I got to see part of MGMT's set next... and it was mostly noodling. Really indulgent stuff, and less than thrilling.
I've only discovered Nottingham's Late Of The Pier recently. About half of their songs hit the spot today. They're a bit weird influence wise ...Klaxons meets Gary Numan... but any band that plays a hand made instument consisting of three planks of wood is alright in my book.
Danceable French act The Teenagers were next over at the Dance stage. Their set was ok ...at this point I was getting bored at hearing songs I didn't know...but 'Make It Happen' & 'Feeling Better' really stood out and were great fun to dance to. Lead singer Quentin Delafon seemed to be dressed as unfashionably as possible...for some reason.
Immediately after was Biffy Clyro's set over at the Sonic stage. It's been a good few years since I've seen them live, so this was a bit nostalgic for me. Biffy burst into action from complete silence to teeth-gnashingly loud in an instant with a double speed 'Semi-Mental'. The crowd was disappointingly small, despite not clashing with any other famous bands. Their recent gig in Shibuya was also similarly empty I'm told...Maybe because BC are so serious they can't seem to make much impact here. Singer Neil Simon had a really deathly vibe about him, and didn't seem to enjoy the performance much this time. Most of the set was from 'Puzzle' ...with no songs I can recollect from any older albums. The highlight was new single 'Mountains' which sounded immense, and may well be their best song to date.
The Boom Boom Satellites were the only Japanese act I saw all day. I had been interested in them while I was living in B'ham ... although their set today was a bit same old same old. They've been around since the mid-nineties ... and haven't really progressed much in recent years. Electronic music has come a long way in the noughties... something you can see by watching someone like Justice. They've got a lot of different influences in the mix...and while it was only strictly a DJ set these guys are cutting /pasting and mixing things up beyond anyone else I've heard at the moment.
Kozue was really excited to see Devo's set... and they were plenty of fans in the audience with Devo's plant pot hat™ on. Mark Mothersbaugh and co. are properly old guys, but they can still put on a great show. Listening to their songs it was truly amazing how many bands have ripped off Devo's stuff. (We can excuse Polysics as they are openly DEVOtees)
We had to dash over to the Marine's Arena to get there to see Coldplay... we got there in time, but I would have liked to have been closer. Coldplay have really gone up in my estimations recently. 'Viva La Vida' is one of my favourite albums of the year. And despite being far too popular... they're the only band that have installed me a with a feeling of hope this year. They were in fine form in front of a packed arena crowd. 'Violet Hill' & 'Viva La Vida' have become really popular here, and suitably went down a storm. There were a few songs I weren't so keen on in the set ('Politik', '42')... but the songs I'd been waiting to hear all summer came: 'Fix You', 'Lovers In Japan', 'Yellow' to name a few. The Japanese crowd got a nice surprise in the form of a cover of cover version of SMAP's 'Sekai hitotsu dake no hana'. Chris Martin did a really good job of singing in Japanese too. Less thrilling was the appearance of Alicia Keys for 'Clocks' ...but at least they didn't let her warble all over it. The big surprise of the night for us came about 3/4 through the performance when Coldplay ran down the divide in the centre of the audience and played an acoustic set on a podium directly behind us! The crowd surged forward, Kozue lost a shoe, but we got to see 'The Scientist' and 'DWNC' really, really close. What a surprise! We totally didn't notice them setting up the podium at all. The show rounded off with 'Death and All His Friends / The Escapist' ...with a large explosion of glow in the dark butterflies, which looked like they were flying gently above the crowd. The band played for much longer then they were scheduled to play (which suited us all fine), I think everybody was more than satisfied ...I'd say it was my best festival experience so far.
Like Perfume yesterday The Ting Tings had a massive audience awaiting them at the Mountain stage ...the largest crowd of the day that I saw there. I'm not sure what size venues TTT are playing in the UK, but for their 2nd Japanese show this was insane! They were more than up to the challenge of pulling off such a huge show with only the two of them. Plenty of hits, plenty of fun ... thumbs up all around.
I got to see part of MGMT's set next... and it was mostly noodling. Really indulgent stuff, and less than thrilling.
I've only discovered Nottingham's Late Of The Pier recently. About half of their songs hit the spot today. They're a bit weird influence wise ...Klaxons meets Gary Numan... but any band that plays a hand made instument consisting of three planks of wood is alright in my book.
Danceable French act The Teenagers were next over at the Dance stage. Their set was ok ...at this point I was getting bored at hearing songs I didn't know...but 'Make It Happen' & 'Feeling Better' really stood out and were great fun to dance to. Lead singer Quentin Delafon seemed to be dressed as unfashionably as possible...for some reason.
Immediately after was Biffy Clyro's set over at the Sonic stage. It's been a good few years since I've seen them live, so this was a bit nostalgic for me. Biffy burst into action from complete silence to teeth-gnashingly loud in an instant with a double speed 'Semi-Mental'. The crowd was disappointingly small, despite not clashing with any other famous bands. Their recent gig in Shibuya was also similarly empty I'm told...Maybe because BC are so serious they can't seem to make much impact here. Singer Neil Simon had a really deathly vibe about him, and didn't seem to enjoy the performance much this time. Most of the set was from 'Puzzle' ...with no songs I can recollect from any older albums. The highlight was new single 'Mountains' which sounded immense, and may well be their best song to date.
The Boom Boom Satellites were the only Japanese act I saw all day. I had been interested in them while I was living in B'ham ... although their set today was a bit same old same old. They've been around since the mid-nineties ... and haven't really progressed much in recent years. Electronic music has come a long way in the noughties... something you can see by watching someone like Justice. They've got a lot of different influences in the mix...and while it was only strictly a DJ set these guys are cutting /pasting and mixing things up beyond anyone else I've heard at the moment.
Kozue was really excited to see Devo's set... and they were plenty of fans in the audience with Devo's plant pot hat™ on. Mark Mothersbaugh and co. are properly old guys, but they can still put on a great show. Listening to their songs it was truly amazing how many bands have ripped off Devo's stuff. (We can excuse Polysics as they are openly DEVOtees)
We had to dash over to the Marine's Arena to get there to see Coldplay... we got there in time, but I would have liked to have been closer. Coldplay have really gone up in my estimations recently. 'Viva La Vida' is one of my favourite albums of the year. And despite being far too popular... they're the only band that have installed me a with a feeling of hope this year. They were in fine form in front of a packed arena crowd. 'Violet Hill' & 'Viva La Vida' have become really popular here, and suitably went down a storm. There were a few songs I weren't so keen on in the set ('Politik', '42')... but the songs I'd been waiting to hear all summer came: 'Fix You', 'Lovers In Japan', 'Yellow' to name a few. The Japanese crowd got a nice surprise in the form of a cover of cover version of SMAP's 'Sekai hitotsu dake no hana'. Chris Martin did a really good job of singing in Japanese too. Less thrilling was the appearance of Alicia Keys for 'Clocks' ...but at least they didn't let her warble all over it. The big surprise of the night for us came about 3/4 through the performance when Coldplay ran down the divide in the centre of the audience and played an acoustic set on a podium directly behind us! The crowd surged forward, Kozue lost a shoe, but we got to see 'The Scientist' and 'DWNC' really, really close. What a surprise! We totally didn't notice them setting up the podium at all. The show rounded off with 'Death and All His Friends / The Escapist' ...with a large explosion of glow in the dark butterflies, which looked like they were flying gently above the crowd. The band played for much longer then they were scheduled to play (which suited us all fine), I think everybody was more than satisfied ...I'd say it was my best festival experience so far.
Neighborhood
Explore friends, family, friends & family, or entire neighborhood.
Comments