SummerSonic 2010

Just finished the weekend at SummerSonic, which was phenomenal. The atmosphere was so amazing - from hip-hop, to indie, to new wave, to rock, to punk - it didn't matter. There were no boundaries - everyone was there purely for the love of music and their favourite bands.

We managed to see a lot of different acts. Nas was the first one we saw late Saturday afternoon, and he had the crowd nodding. Played all his old classics.

Although my friends were like "What the?..", I really wanted to see a-ha. Of course, the band members are all old now (as am I), but they played all their hits, and it was really great when they played Hunting High and Low, and everyone kept singing it even after the song ended, it was kind of touching (no homo). They finished their set with Take On Me, and everyone from the other nearby stages ran over for it. Great to see one of my favourite 80's new wave bands still getting so much love.

I was really into Guns 'n' Roses during my university days (yes, I know my musical tastes are kind of all over the place), so I was pretty stoked to see Slash. Sorry Myles Kennedy, you're good, but it's just not the same without Axl.

From the video, you can see just how many people they had for each stage, and there were 7 stages, so you do the math.

I had to see Orbital, the seminal electronic dance music duo of the early '90s. They played at the first rave I ever went to, and seeing them still wearing their little head lamps and playing Halcyon brought a smile to my face.

Jay-Z. What can I say. He was untouchable. His set ended with fireworks, FIREWORKS! Definitely my favourite performance of the weekend.

We also managed to see A Tribe Called Quest, who had the crowd jumping. Richard Ashcroft, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, and the Pixies all rocked it. And Stevie Wonder was incredible - pure class - the only act that managed to fill the entire stadium on the main stage.

Being in Japan, the whole event was so well organized and orderly. No people getting drunk off their faces, or high out of their minds. No fights. No garbage everywhere. No pushing and shoving. Just everyone really into enjoying the music and having a great time. I'd definitely like to come back again next year.