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Sunday, 08.10.08
The Shoes
 The Shoes :: (c) SUMMER SONIC 08 All Rights Reserved |
One of my biggest surprises for the weekend, and possibly the largest draw for the Dance Stage on Day Two, were The Shoes, who couldn't put a foot wrong (pardon the pun). Security turned a number of people away despite some of the crowd pushing and spilling their way onto the already cramped dance floor. The predominantly Japanese crowd loved, or shall I say went nuts over this French duo, who, in their unique electro-pop style, seemed to have a bunch of fun onstage as they unleashed a barrage of remixes, which included a pounding "America" that sent the crowd into a mad frenzy. The guys could be seen roaming about the festival after the show, chatting to their fans, their clothes still dripping with sweat from the show.
Polysics
If you haven't yet heard of Tokyo's biggest new wave, hardcore punkers, then you're likely to get a massive electric shock! Buckle up for these crazy kids, who are guaranteed to send you into a spin with their manga/anime/punk influenced tunes. Band members Hayashi (guitar, lead vocals), Kayo (vocals, bass, synthesizer), Fumi (vocals, bass) and Yano (drums) all dress in identical jumpsuits, complete with custom made robotic shades. They will make you wish you had a triple espresso to keep up with the latest songs off their new album, We Ate the Machine. Hayashi, who screams and squeals incessantly, sets their frantic onstage pace. It's a huge contrast from Yano, who, other than playing the synthesizer, was motionless for most of the set except for several sporadic outbursts, which included the shaking of bright pom poms! Yes indeed, the Polysics are truly unique and you don't want to miss their show.
The Kooks
 Polysics :: (c) SUMMER SONIC 08 All Rights Reserved |
Featuring songs off their debut album, Inside In/Inside Out, and latest, Konk, their usual irrepressibly contagious energy spread throughout the stadium, sending fans into a constant, energized, jumping flurry. You couldn't help but move and think how good they sounded. Maybe it was the amazingly clear acoustics of Marine Stadium, maybe it was that the raw talent of frontman Luke Pritchard, who, along with the band, was simply too damn good. As the set came to a close, Pritchard, his curly hair flailing in the swirling wind, jumped down to the photographer's pit and up on the rails, where hands reached out to pull him into the sea of manic fans. He momentarily considered launching himself but was held back by a security guard. "Shine On," "Always Where I Need To Be," "Naive" and "Eddie's Gun" were all crowd pleasers in Tokyo.
Alicia Keys
Dressed in custom Armani attire, perfect makeup and looking fit, relaxed and generally gorgeous, Keys entered to deafening screams, heading straight into "Go Ahead" before infusing reggae beats into "You Don't Know My Name." Keys was supported by her two female back-up singers as they sang "Teenage Love Affair" and moved to a Diana Ross and the Supremes routine before "Heartburn" and a spectacular piano performance of "I Need You." The band then broke it down into a Spanish Harlem themed "Karma," which had everyone up dancing and clapping to the extended set that segued into "How Come You Don't Call Me" and "If I Don't Have You." Keys pumped up the crowd with the final song, "No One," as she bopped between her piano and around the stage before waving goodbye, leaving her back-up singers to take over as the crowd continued to jump, their hands in the air, eagerly awaiting Coldplay.
Fatboy Slim
 Alicia Keys
(c) SUMMER SONIC 08 All Rights Reserved |
Despite being slotted at the same time as Coldplay, Norm Cook, aka Fatboy Slim, pulled a substantial crowd to the Mountain Stage, where he donned a rabbit's head mask and satisfied the fans with remixes of his signature "Praise You," John Paul Young's "Love Is In The Air" and The Kinks' "You Really Got Me".
Coldplay
Lights out. Cue deafening screams, the inevitable glow of cell phone screens, flashing camera lights and incongruent clapping. The stadium came alive with impatient anticipation as a giant backdrop depicting Delacroix's "La Liberté guidant le peuple" ("Liberty Leading the People") brought the stage to life. Coldplay's current album, Viva La Vida, features the same painting on its cover and the revolutionary theme continued as the band, fronted by Chris Martin and dressed in mock-Napoleonic outfits, opened with "Life In Technicolor," amidst blazing lasers and a huge array of lighting, followed by "Violet Hill."
Martin used every opportunity to address the crowd in their native tongue and completely shocked everyone with a solo piano rendition of "Sekai ni Hitotsu Dake no Hana" ("A Flower Unlike Any Other in the World"), which sold over two million copies for SMAP, Japan's most celebrated pop group. Despite his honorable yet slightly confusing attempts at Japanese, he had the audience singing along, and judging by their reaction he pulled it off extremely well. Definite audience favorites included "In My Place" and "Yellow." Granted, there were several outbursts of "oohs" and "aahs," but it's rare to hear a Japanese crowd sing all the words to an English language song, and "Yellow" proved a true testament to Coldplay's global reach.
During "Politik," Martin smiled while altering the lyrics to "60,000 Japanese people watching us/ Let Alicia Keyes always play with us," foreshadowing her appearance later. Martin didn't stop bouncing about and running out to the crowd throughout "Fix You," where he sprinted between the extremes of the stage and momentarily dropped to the floor before pacing back to his piano, where he collapsed in a sweaty heap, much to the audience's delight.
 Coldplay :: (c) SUMMER SONIC 08 All Rights Reserved |
As "VIVA" flashed up on the bright scarlet red background, the entire band jumped off stage and sprinted through the crowd to the rear of Marine Stadium and then up onto a makeshift platform as the crowd went bonkers. Martin apologized for their "well traveled" odor since it was the end of the festival, and so started a seemingly impromptu acoustic interlude of "The Scientist." Martin thanked the crowd as he humbly stated, "Some bands are blessed with one singer, some bands are blessed with two, some with none. We're one of those but what we have is passion and a lot of enthusiasm. We don't have the talent of Alicia Keys. She's fucking on another planet! But, what we do have is teamwork." Martin introduced drummer Will Champion as a regular 30-year-old guy who likes football, tennis and going to the cinema, adding that "he sings like a fucking angel" and further hinted that they would give us "the biggest surprise you've ever seen." Champion then sang "Death Will Never Conquer" as the foursome huddled together, with Guy Berryman on guitar, Martin on harmonica and Buckland on tambourine.
The "Violet Hill" video, which features dancing politicians and scenes of war and poverty, then played before Alicia Keys was introduced by Martin as "the most beautiful woman in the world... except for my wife that is." She joined Martin on piano as they performed "Clocks." Waving a Japanese fan, Martin improvised by singing, "Sitting on the piano with Alicia keys singing." He ended the routine by singing the lyrics of Keys' hit "No One." The show closed with "Lovers In Japan," and as an enormous explosion of colorful paper butterflies fluttered over the crowd, the band played "Death and All His Friends" and "The Escapist" before saying goodbye and making way for Summer Sonic's fireworks finale. Coldplay's performance was raw, and they seemed to enjoy themselves, especially Martin. Of course you have the usual theatrics, but as shown in his attempt at an extremely famous Japanese pop song, they were genuinely thankful to their fans. They were living in the moment and the mutual admiration of all involved was apparent.
There's no disputing this year's acts were simply outstanding, yet what also stuck out was the vigilance event organizers took towards recycling. There were recycling stations everywhere, guarded by staff that kindly insisted on the removal of bottle labels to be placed in specific bins. Awesome. Definitely one of the cleanest music festivals I've attended. Another notable memory of the festival was Von Halen, a Japanese rock group known for performing Van Halen songs. Led by lead singer Debuccho Lee Roth, who sported the tightest red and white striped Lycra pants I've ever seen on a middle aged-man, they got the Marine Side-Show crowd into the spirit, and even drew a large group of onlookers from the Marine Stadium. These guys were class. They looked like they were genuinely having a blast and that's what it's all about really. Summer Sonic '08 impressed the capacity crowd fully. If you can make it out here for the festival in 2009 do it. Sure beats listening to cicadas in the cruel swelter of the Japanese summer.
JamBase | Rising Sun
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