Summersonic 2009 (Fri)

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the popular summer festival in Japan known as Summersonic. Unfortunately I won’t be able to attend this year, but I went through and chose the artists that I would personally go check out. This year, instead of doing two days like they have always done, they are making it into a three day festival. Friday lineup are targeted to more “emo” and “dark” crowds with Paramore, Nine Inch Nails and My Chemical Romance performing in the main stage. Here are the artists in order of their appearance according to the time table, and some of the songs I’d like to hear from them.

	Boys Like Girls - Thunder Album: Boys Like Girls Boston rock band, Boys Like Girls have recently released a new single, “Love Drunk” which is doing quite well on the chart thus making their upcoming sophomore album some promise. Their debut album, Boys Like Girls had several radio hits such as this track, “Thunder” as well as “The Great Escape” and “Hero/Heroine”. They will be the opening act on the main, Marine stage from noon.
	Saosin - You're Not Alone Album: Saosin I had never heard of these guys until I saw this year’s Summersonic lineup. But from the songs I’ve heard they sounded pretty good – a bit of The Red Jumpsuit Apparetus and My Chemical Romance mixed together. Most of their songs are fast, metal-ish songs, but this slower track of theirs, “You’re Not Alone” got a decent airplay.
	Girl Talk - In Step Album: Feed The Animals I may catch a first few songs of Dragon Ash at the Marine Stage before heading over to see Girl Talk perform (or more like spin) at the Dance Stage. Girl Talk’s latest album, Feed the Animal, which was sold for “pay what you want” was a crazy mashup record. I may not have to stay for the whole set, but I would definitely want to catch a glimpse of his live show as it is supposed to be crazy. I love the way Salt-n-Peppa and Nirvana is mashed together on this track.
	Katy Perry - Waking Up In Vegas Album: One Of The Boys I think it was Katy Perry that called herself the skinnier and American version of Lily Allen. She’s had a couple of big hits, “I Kissed A Girl” and “Hot N Cold.” My personal favorite is still “Ur So Gay.” I wasn’t a huge fan of this track, “Waking Up In Vegas” but recently I watched the movie The Hangover, and this track totally reminds me of that hilarious movie, and it has grown on me. I probably don’t need to stick around to see the whole show.
	Paramore - Decode Album: Twilight Soundtrack Paramore has grown into a huge band in the past couple of years, particularly after this song was featured on the vampire mega movie, Twilight soundtrack. Their songs may be a bit too young for me, but I want to see how the 18 year old lead singer Haley Williams can get the Japanese crowd going at the Marine Stage. My personal favorite track by Paramore is “Crushcrushcrush.”
	Jenny Lewis - Pretty Bird Album: Acid Tongue For those of you who don’t know, Jenny Lewis is a former child actor turned musician, but who cares about that when she can sing so soulfully like on this track, “Pretty Bird” from her latest solo album. Jenny Lewis is also the lead singer of Rilo Kiley, and in 2006, she released an album along with The Watson Twins (love the track, “Rise Up With Fists.” It would be such a treat to catch Ms. Lewis at the smaller Beach Stage.
	Phoenix - 1901 Album: Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix Phoenix is a pop-rock band from Versailles, France. Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix is their fourth album. They have been heavily promoted in the US recently by showing up on Saturday Night Live or performing on Letterman. They mix electro sound and rock quite well, thus creating a danceable tune with catchy beat. They will be performing at the Mountain Stage right after Katy Perry.
	Boom Boom Satellites - Shut Up And Explode Album: Exposed There’s nothing that I am interested around the 5pm slot, so I will probably move over to the Marine stage to check out the Japanese electro duo, Boom Boom Satellites. They have been around for a long time, but I first noticed them when their song, “What Goes Round Comes Around” was used on Dodge commercial. They sound good, but something about their songs get tiring after a while. Maybe because a lot of their songs have repetitious wording. But it would be cool to check them out.
	Nine Inch Nails - Only Album: With Teeth Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor recently announced that he will no longer be touring the US anymore. I don’t know if that statement means he’s retiring all together, but who knows, this performance at Summersonic may be one of his last performances ever. I’m not a huge fan of so called “industrial” music as Nine Inch Nails is often labeled as, but they do have some great songs like “Closer”, “Hand That Feeds” and “Head Like A Hole.”
	The Enemy - No Time For Tears Album: Music For The People I was a huge fan of their debut album, “We’ll Live And Die In These Towns” which was filled with catchy singalong UK pop rock songs (similar to The Fratellis). Their second album, Music For the People has bigger production and sound, showing their evolution. It’s a shame they are performing around the same time as Nine Inch Nails, but I would like to catch at least a few songs by them if I can.
	Tahiti 80 - Heartbeat Album: Puzzle Similar to Phoenix, Tahiti 80 hails from France. I’ve heard of their names numerous times, but I don’t think they are that big in the US. This particular song, “Heartbeat” sounds like it was used on some kind of commercial in Japan in the past. They will be the final act on the Beach Stage, but I don’t know if I will make it out there as they are not very high on my priority list.
	My Chemical Romance - Vampires Will Never Hurt You Album: I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love My Chemical Romance is the final act on the Marine Stage for the Friday. I saw them perform their last album, “The Black Parade” in its entirely two years ago. I’m not sure if they will do the same thing again, or play little bit from every album, including this track from their debut album, I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love. It’s funny listening to this track as there is so much difference in production and Gerard Way’s vocal strength compared to The Black Parade. Their live show was one of my favorites and memorable one, so I will probably try to catch their whole show.
	Kasabian - Fire Album: West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum I’m bummed that they are no longer performing at Bumbershoot this year, and that they have to perform at the same slot as My Chemical Romance. Kasabian recently released their third album, which was number one for two weeks in a row in the UK. Their lead off single, “Fire” is catchy and addictive. On the time table, they are scheduled to perform half an hour past My Chemical Romance, so if you’re lucky you may be able to catch the last few songs, but chances are, the crowd control will not let you in.