Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on August 2011
Makuhari Messe provided the backdrop for a reunion of old-school rave acts and the fans that love them. Headlined by Underworld and Primal Scream, Sonicmania served as the all-night warm up for Summer Sonic partygoers who would not be satisfied with two full days of festival action.
The primarily ojisan lineup didn’t disappoint as Underworld brought the crowd to a frenzy with their crowd-pleasing hits and experienced superstar showmanship. While classic top tunes like “Rez” and “Born Slippy” got the dancers moving, it was tracks from their 2010 album, Barking, that surprisingly got the younger crowd pumped.
One of the problems with these festival-type events is that it is nearly impossible to catch all the acts that you like. We ran into this problem when Primal Scream was playing at the same time as French trio, Jamaica. Luckily, we decided to divide and conquer. Friends reported that Primal Scream put on an energetic performance and we thought the same about Jamaica.
Other acts that piqued our interests were DJ sets by Depeche Mode’s Andy Fletcher and Joy Division/New Order’s Peter Hook. Both pleased punters by spinning remixes of their hits, though Hook at least should probably stick to playing live music.
Canadian turntablist Atrak also attracted a multitude and dazzled them by scratching and cutting his way through an eclectic selection. I couldn’t catch his full set, however, owing to a 30-45 minute wait at the bar. In fact, this was my only real complaint about the event. Ticket holders are forced to buy a drink ticket (in addition to a ¥9,500 fee) upon entrance and then expected to queue for around three quarters of an hour to redeem it while they miss anticipated acts. To make matters worse, two of the five bars closed at midnight only compounding the problem. It’s hard to understand how they hope to maximize drink sales with this poorly thought-out system.
Despite the difficulty in wetting the whistle, the event was judged to be a great success because of the music, great performances and, most importantly, the super vibe of the partiers.
