Two weeks too late? Nevermind that.
Taking that quick trip to Osaka for Summer Sonic Day 1 was the best money I spent this summer (or next to this baby right here). I had never been to a music festival before and have only ever been to a handful of concerts so my heart was racing the entire time! It was 37C AND very humid that day. Everyone was sweaty with occasional points of drunkenness but pretty pumped the entire time! I could go on and on describing how amazing the experience was, but to me, having an entirely newfound appreciation and love for these artists was just beyond.
My favourite acts of the day were from The Capital Cities, John Legend and Earth Wind and Fire. I was so happy that the 10-minute cardio to the Sonic Stage paid off just in time to catch the last two songs of The Capital Cities! If you haven't already started listening to them, stop wasting your life and do it! The entire crowd lost it when they played the club mix of Safe and Sound! Please be guided that grinding at noon is perfectly acceptable under these conditions.
I've always loved John Legend and have flights of fancy whenever I hear Save Room. Despite that, I've never thought of buying a ticket to watch him live and that would've been sad. He performed so well and was such a crowd-pleaser (or maybe that was my estrogen level shooting up). How can someone be so sexy in a black tank top, tight jeans and dark shades? He's one beautiful chocolate man.
I really wish my mom and dad could've been there to watch Earth Wind and Fire live! My friends and I loved them so much, their voices were absolutely studio-quality! They were scheduled for a 7pm start and in Japan, you're supposed to be on the dot so the crowd started getting a bit anxious when it hit 10 minutes past with no sign of them yet. Then one of my friends started a slow chant of "Earth, Wind and Fire" and I swear, the entire Mountain Stage chanted along and the band came up! It was the best thing ever! Thank you, Earth Wind and Fire for opening with Boogie Wonderland and for being wildly entertaining. I've learned that Disco-fever never dies.
No contest, definitely my favourite from the night was Two Door Cinema Club. How lucky am I to have watched them twice in 8 months? Very.Having split our time between them and Earth Wind and Fire, we probably missed a few songs but that was easily forgotten because the next hour was just full-on! Japanese crowds are very tame (almost passive at some points) but they lost their sh*t for TDCC. Everyone had their hands up and was jumping (some quite aggressively lol) especially when I Can Talk went on. My favourite song from their set was Something Good Can Work because I really enjoyed the long intro to it. I can't believe they're not as big as other bands out there because they write so well and perform flawlessly without breaking a sweat in those suits.
We watched a total of 9 acts that day:
The Capital Cities
Imagine Dragons
The Royal Concept
John Legend
Carly Rae Jepsen
The Smashing Pumpkins
Earth Wind and Fire
Two Door Cinema Club
Muse
There's this bespoke high I feel whenever I come across a good song and even better when grouped altogether in a new playlist. It's like every thing's right in the world. Words will fail me again but I consider myself very lucky to have danced, screamed and sung along to some of my favourite songs! I returned to Nagoya with a hoarse voice, two shades darker skin and some leftover sugar from the RedBulls but I'd seriously pay to experience it all again.
Here's a videolog I made for the purpose of reliving the experience. (Obviously failed to work)
Enjoy!
*Summer Sonic is a 2-day annual music festival in Osaka and Tokyo during the 2nd weekend of August.