ROCK IN JAPAN FESTIVAL DAY 1
RIP SLYME is somewhere in this photo.
I was able to go to Rock in Japan for the second time this year. Despite the almost 5000 yen round-trip from Tokyo to the festival site, I chose to go for two days instead of just one. Taking the local train to save some money added time on to my journey as well, with one way taking well over three hours, factoring in the waiting time and all. I was pretty tired by the end of it, but I want to write down my impressions to share with...whoever wants to read this :)
Day One:
ROTTENGRAFFTY - I wanted to see Golden Bomber at 10:30 first, but I arrived at 10:25, and Golden Bomber's stage was a good 20 minutes from the entrance. There was no way that I could make it to see the entire set, so I sat down to watch ROTTENGRAFFTY, since their stage was right in front of the gate. They weren't bad, but it was a little screamo for my taste. I don't know if I'd sit down and listen to this on CD, but they put on a good show.
FLOWER COMPANYZ - I had no expectations going into this, but they totally rocked it. They've been together for 25 years, so I'd hope that they would know how to entertain a crowd ;)
PUFFY - I missed the first few songs, despite FC's stage and Puffy's being right beside each other. It's impossible to make it from one show to the next without missing anything due to the massive amount of foot traffic. Anyway, they seemed to be going through the motions, and not really into it.
Keiichi Sokabe - On the same stage as PUFFY, and with maybe 1/5th the crowd (and that's being quite generous). Really disappointing turn-out - his concert was really happy and relaxing, and I really enjoyed his soothing songs. He seems to go to this festival every year, so maybe the people who wanted to see him already have?
group_inou - Again, I missed the first few songs due to the slow foot traffic, but this group wasn't really for me. Too much 'bleeps and bloops' for me. When I say that I like Sakanaction, people in their 30s and 40s usually respond 'Sakanaction is for young people'. I couldn't really understand what they meant before I heard group_inou. Their music is really for young people. The song featuring the 'the chef cooks me' vocalist was pretty good for me though.
RIP SLYME - When I saw Dragon Ash at MetRock last year, I had a bad time. I only liked one song I knew from them (Crush the Window), but their bassist had just passed away so I wanted to show support and try to get into them a bit more. However, all the songs sounded the same (the same bad to me), but everyone around me was responding with joy and freaking out each time they switched to a new song. These songs were obviously 'natsukashii', but not for me, since I'm not from Japan. I was afraid that the same thing would happen with RIP SLYME, but it didn't. This is because RS's songs are actually good and sound different from one another. And that I actually like what I do know from RIP SLYME. And the group had fun dances for some songs so everyone could participate. Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that I don't like Dragon Ash very much.
**Czecho no Republic - I watched three songs from them before making my way to KANA-BOON (When I went to see them at MetRock last year, the stage was at full capacity so I couldn't get in). They struck me as a less interesting Gesu no Kiwami Otome, but their songs weren't bad.
KANA-BOON - The stage was at full capacity (again! but I got in this time) for good reason - they were amazing. Their songs are so catchy, and they know how to make a set list - building to their most famous song, pimping the new song juuust before the end. Very enjoyable. I think they can take the main stage next year :)
Every Little Thing - They were my gateway to j-pop, so I was too excited about seeing them. They sung their hits, but their set was quite short - only five songs with Kaori IIRC and an instrumental intro. Maybe they felt like they shouldn't be doing a festival? I mean, they are a bit different from the other acts...
SOIL&'PIMP'SESSIONS - I was able to see most of this due to ELT being a bit short. They songs blended into one another a bit (as an instrumental band I guess that can't be helped), but the leader has such charisma that the set was great fun. I'd love to see them with guest vocalists :)
Hello Sleepwalkers - Since KICK THE CAN CREW (the final act at the main stage) was going to be a 'natsukashii' act, due to my experience with Dragon Ash I decided to skip it. I am familiar with all the member's solo works, but I don't know a single KCC song - they're a little before my time. Also, I'll be seeing them at the 908 festival next month, so there wasn't a need to see them here. So, I finished off the night with Hello Sleepwalkers. They were a great rock act - the lead vocalist has great energy and stage movements, and it was a fun way to end the night. And, since their stage was close to the exit, I reached my home station at 23:30 as opposed to 1:00 (like I did the next day).
Day One personal ranking (although, 1-7 are 'like', and 8-10 are 'good, but not for me'):
1. KANA-BOON
2. Flower Companyz
3. Every Little Thing
4. RIP SLYME
5. Keichi Sokabe
6. Hello Sleepwalkers
7. SOIL&'PIMP' SESSIONS
8. ROTTEN GRAFFTY
9. PUFFY
10. group_inou
I will post about Day 2 another day. I feel that I was more critical of Day 2...maybe because I was tired, maybe because some old favorites let me down, probably a little of both. Thanks for reading. If you went too, please tell me. I saw a few other visibly foreign people wandering around this year (as opposed to last year where I saw maybe two, but I wasn't sure). Last year I heard a few negative comments regarding my attendance. There were two or three, but the one that sticks out is a guy who, after staring at me and waiting for me to pass, exclaimed 'This is Rock in JAPAN', implying that foreigners shouldn't be there (and like, just because I passed you doesn't mean that I can't hear you buddy). One of my reasons for posting this is to make some J-pop/rock/hip-hop loving friends who are also here in Japan!! If you went, let me know what you saw :)
Finale fireworks from the front gate on Day 1
