[cont...]
Not sure it was the greatest idea in the world to go without sleep but I am guessing adrenaline will keep me going for a while. Reminds me a bit of my friend who went to see Massive Attack and took some sleeping pills. And then promptly fell asleep at the gig. You know who you are!
Well, we got the train from the next station from me (Minami Koshigaya) all the way to Chiba Marine Stadium and waited outside the station for Craig (or Kuraigaru as we decided to call him that day).It was a fair walk from the station to the stadium so I needed a drink to cool myself down (sweltering to say the least - and this was no heat wave). I got a super-sweet coffee and an orange ice tea. Caffeine/sugar rush plus the most refreshing drink in the world[A]. Nice.
We got into the stadium to hear some mad Japanese guy shouting on stage. The crowd were lapping it up and loving it. I didn't understand but he wore a dress so I think he was "wacky" or something. The crowd loved it but, to be honest, I was more worried about passing out due to the heat. Moved from the pit to the seats in the shade for the next (first) actual band...."The Polyphonic Spree". They were good, really got the crowd into it and the stadium was nowhere near full (it was 1030). There was also some crazy dancing from some of the crowd - it looked like they had honed it on "Dance Dance Revolution" with their four way movement. It was funny but also quite nice to watch. I reckon I might have to make their CD a purchase[B]. I was also very close to the world of sleep which did not bode well for the rest of the day..... Standby beckoned.
We had to get moving after as the next band were not on for a while. And movement (usually) prevents sleep. Got some vending machine coffee - a wonderful mixture of caffeine and sugar. Just what I needed and always very close in Japan.
Made our way to the other stages and this is where the fact that this was a very Japanese festival hit home. The other stages were a fair distance away - crossing roads and such like, and they were in the Tokyo equivalent of the Birmingham NEC. And in no way was it dressed up in any other way. This was an exhibition centre and no mistaking. From the faux airport feel to the tacky posters and everything. Then we couldn't find the stages we wanted, just a load of doors and toilets - convenient but not required at the time (though caffeine is a diuretic). We found the stage, it was just beyond what I could generously describe as "stalls". But these stalls were like the ones you get at graduate fairs - orderly little compartments with little of the haphazard ambience of a festival. And it was indoors[C]. We eventually worked out where the stages were and watched a couple of (to be honest AND fair) pretty non-descript acts: The Rapture and Mando Diao. We got some food and then watched a band called Interpol who were a little better. Paul actually managed to fall asleep in the gig - most impressive.
Not sure it was the greatest idea in the world to go without sleep but I am guessing adrenaline will keep me going for a while. Reminds me a bit of my friend who went to see Massive Attack and took some sleeping pills. And then promptly fell asleep at the gig. You know who you are!
Well, we got the train from the next station from me (Minami Koshigaya) all the way to Chiba Marine Stadium and waited outside the station for Craig (or Kuraigaru as we decided to call him that day).It was a fair walk from the station to the stadium so I needed a drink to cool myself down (sweltering to say the least - and this was no heat wave). I got a super-sweet coffee and an orange ice tea. Caffeine/sugar rush plus the most refreshing drink in the world[A]. Nice.
We got into the stadium to hear some mad Japanese guy shouting on stage. The crowd were lapping it up and loving it. I didn't understand but he wore a dress so I think he was "wacky" or something. The crowd loved it but, to be honest, I was more worried about passing out due to the heat. Moved from the pit to the seats in the shade for the next (first) actual band...."The Polyphonic Spree". They were good, really got the crowd into it and the stadium was nowhere near full (it was 1030). There was also some crazy dancing from some of the crowd - it looked like they had honed it on "Dance Dance Revolution" with their four way movement. It was funny but also quite nice to watch. I reckon I might have to make their CD a purchase[B]. I was also very close to the world of sleep which did not bode well for the rest of the day..... Standby beckoned.
We had to get moving after as the next band were not on for a while. And movement (usually) prevents sleep. Got some vending machine coffee - a wonderful mixture of caffeine and sugar. Just what I needed and always very close in Japan.
Made our way to the other stages and this is where the fact that this was a very Japanese festival hit home. The other stages were a fair distance away - crossing roads and such like, and they were in the Tokyo equivalent of the Birmingham NEC. And in no way was it dressed up in any other way. This was an exhibition centre and no mistaking. From the faux airport feel to the tacky posters and everything. Then we couldn't find the stages we wanted, just a load of doors and toilets - convenient but not required at the time (though caffeine is a diuretic). We found the stage, it was just beyond what I could generously describe as "stalls". But these stalls were like the ones you get at graduate fairs - orderly little compartments with little of the haphazard ambience of a festival. And it was indoors[C]. We eventually worked out where the stages were and watched a couple of (to be honest AND fair) pretty non-descript acts: The Rapture and Mando Diao. We got some food and then watched a band called Interpol who were a little better. Paul actually managed to fall asleep in the gig - most impressive.
[tbc...]
---All lettered footnotes were written in 2015---
A. Chiba Marine Stadium is a baseball stadium, and I never had any interest in baseball or going to watch it as a novelty. I did return to the station a few times as the festival was spread over both the stadium and "Makuhari Messe" which is an exhibition centre. Tokyo Game Show was held here and I was fortunate enough to be able to attend in 03, 04 and 05 (also 2011 as part of a separate trip). I may also have gone to the Tokyo Motorshow but I am not sure. Each time, it was ludicrously hot and humid, and each time, I had an orange ice tea to cool down - which was a nice tradition.↩
B. I did, indeed make the purchase of "The beginning stages of..." which was a great album and a good album to prepare lessons by.↩
C. I returned to Makuhari Messe to see an actual gig a few years later - Radiohead again. The atmosphere was awful and the airport feel really did not suit music of that scale. The smaller acts I saw at Summersonic were OK in that environment but I was genuinely disappointed by seeing Radiohead there.↩
---All lettered footnotes were written in 2015---
A. Chiba Marine Stadium is a baseball stadium, and I never had any interest in baseball or going to watch it as a novelty. I did return to the station a few times as the festival was spread over both the stadium and "Makuhari Messe" which is an exhibition centre. Tokyo Game Show was held here and I was fortunate enough to be able to attend in 03, 04 and 05 (also 2011 as part of a separate trip). I may also have gone to the Tokyo Motorshow but I am not sure. Each time, it was ludicrously hot and humid, and each time, I had an orange ice tea to cool down - which was a nice tradition.↩
B. I did, indeed make the purchase of "The beginning stages of..." which was a great album and a good album to prepare lessons by.↩
C. I returned to Makuhari Messe to see an actual gig a few years later - Radiohead again. The atmosphere was awful and the airport feel really did not suit music of that scale. The smaller acts I saw at Summersonic were OK in that environment but I was genuinely disappointed by seeing Radiohead there.↩
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