Summersonic 2009 (Sat)

If I had to choose one day out of all three days of Summersonic 2009 at Tokyo (Makuhari, Chiba), I would choose Saturday. This day seems to have most amount of artists that I would not normally go see just for them, but at a festival like this, I would like to check out; such as Lenka, Mando Diao, The Ting Tings and Marie Digby. And of course, I would like to see one of my favorites bands, Linkin Park perform once again. Here is my guide and reviews of some of the artists I would personally check out for Saturday, August 8th.

	Hollywood Undead - Undead Album: Swan Songs These six hockey mask wearing guys from California got noticed after posting songs on Myspace. They are rock rap (used to be known as nu-metal if that word is still being used) group similar to Limp Bizkit or Linkin Park. They are the opening band for Saturday at the Marine Stage in Tokyo (Chiba to be exact). Their music might be better suited for night time or indoors, so it would be interesting to see them in middle of the day.
	Lenka - Trouble Is A Friend Album: Lenka Lenka got some attention last year with her song, “The Show” being used on Old Navy commercial and TV show, Ugly Betty. This Aussie singer got her start in Australian television, and moved onto music. Her bubbly fun pop songs are great way to start your day. She’s performing from noon at the Mountain stage.
	Paolo Nutini - Candy Album: Sunny Side Up Right after Lenka’s performance, stick around at the Mountain Stage for Scottish singer/songwriter, Paolo Nutini. His biggest hit thus far is “New Shoes.” Many of his songs has been featured on numerous hit TV shows and commercial. “Candy” is the first single from his new album, Sunny Side Up, which debuted at the peak position in UK in end of May.
	The All-American Rejects - The Wind Blows Album: When the World Comes Down Last time I saw The All-American Rejects was at Summersonic 04, when they were the opening band at the Marine Stage. Five years later, they are no longer opening, but offered the 2pm slot at the Marine Stage once again. They have released three albums already, and this second single, “The Wind Blows” is getting radio play on the adult contemporary, but didn’t do as well as their previous slow song, “It Ends Tonight”.
	Mando Diao - Ochrasy Album: Ode To Ochrasy Swedish rock band, Mando Diao isn’t that well known in the States, which is unfortunate, because they have a lot of great songs from upbeat rocker like “Long Before Rock’N’Roll” as well as this slow number, “Ochrasy”. Considering that I’ve already seen All-American Rejects, after a quick glimpse, I’d probably head right over to the Mountain Stage to check these guys out.
	Placebo - Running Up That Hill Album: Meds After Mando Diao’s performance, I’d head back to the Marine stage to catch the last half of Placebo, hoping that they would play this track, “Running Up That Hill” from the album Meds. I’m not a huge fan of most of their songs, but something about this track grabbed my attention. I’ve also heard that they put on an excellent live show.
	Hoobastank - Inside Of You Album: Every Man For Himself Stay at the Marine stage to check out Hoobastank. It seems like they appear at Summersonic quite often. The lead singer, Doug Robb is half Japanese, and he’s always loved going to Japan. They haven’t had a major hit since “The Reason” from 2004. Their latest album, For(n)ever had a couple of singles released but most of them were quite forgettable (though I did enjoy “My Turn”).
	The Ting Tings - That's Not My Name Album: We Started Nothing I’ve been wanting to see The Ting Tings for a very long time, well, since I heard “Shut Up And Let Me Go” last year. I’m surprised that they are not performing on the Marine stage but that’s a good thing as you will get to see them closer at the Sonic stage. “That’s Not My Name” is another addicting single from them that has been burning up the chart in the States.
	Marie Digby - Symphony Album: Breathing Under Water After the Ting Tings, I will sneak over to the Beach stage to get a glimpse of Marie Digby. Like Doug Robb, Digby is also half Japanese, except unlike Robb, she is fluent in Japanese. She has even released Japanese cover song album earlier this year. I liked her debut album which showcased her singer/songwriter ability. Her latest album, Breathing Under Water, which has been released in Japan already (US release will be in September) takes a drastic turn. Now, she sounds like a pop star, which I have to admit was kind of disappointing. She now sounds like American Idol graduate. Japanese audience may still support her new direction, but I wonder whether the people that fell in love with her acoustic cover of “Umbrella” will still feel connected to her.
	Elvis Costello - Pump It Up Album: This Year's Model ”She”, from the soundtrack of Notting Hill was a huge hit in Japan. It is supposedly one of more popular English karaoke songs in Japan. But for those of you who don’t know Elvis Costello, he has other hits such as “Veronica” and this song, “Pump It Up.” I wouldn’t stay for his whole show, but will most likely check him at the Mountain stage.
	CSS - Move Album: Donkey CSS is a Brazilian rock band. It stands for Cansei de Ser Sexy which means “I got tired of being sexy” in Portuguese. Three years ago, they had a minor hit with “Music Is My Hot Hot Sex”, which was used for iPod commercial. They are known to put on crazy attires and perform lively shows, so I’d definitely like to get a glimpse of them on the Sonic stage.
	Matisyahu - One Day Album: Light Not sure if I will have time to stroll out to the Beach stage to check out Matisyahu before Linkin Park, but I’d like to hear this Jewish reggae singer perform live at least once. I loved his vocal performance on Crystal Method’s latest single, “Drown in the Now.” I am also digging his latest single, “One Day” which sounds a lot like K’naan’s “Wavin’ Flag”.
	Linkin Park - Shadow Of The Day Album: Minutes To Midnight I admit. I wasn’t a huge fan of Linkin Park’s latest “mature” album produced by Rick Rubin. I loved their first two albums which mashed up screaming rock with fastbeat rapping. “Shadow of the Day” is a good song, but I wished that U2 did this song instead of Linkin Park. Nevertheless, I would still dedicate my busy summer festival schedule to catch their show at the Marine stage.
	Lady GaGa - Poker Face [Live at The Cherrytree House] Album: The Cherrytree House Sessions This year, there is a special performances throughout the night at Midnight Sonic stage. Under age kids aren’t stay out this late, so I’m assuming that these performances will be more like a club atmosphere. Lady GaGa has been generating so many top 5 hits in the US she has turned herself into a major diva from her debut album. I found this acoustic version of “Poker Face” to be quite interesting. She has been known to do both acoustic and regular version at her concert.