Summer Sonic!
After a typical, albeit crowded, shikansen ride I arrived in Himeji. Emily picked me up and we headed to a Ghibli themed restaurant to have dinner with her friends. I ate an excellent chicken katus dinner and met some of her friends and some of the new JETs. It was really nice to socialize. I liked everyone I met. Her friend Kameron accepted the offer to ride with us to Summer Sonic. We went back to her place and settled in for the night. Being in no hurry to rush to festival we rose at decent hour and waited for Kameron. We set off soon after his arrival. Let me say, Obon traffic is awful. We were happy not to be leaving the big city. This happiness faded as we got lost. Pretty damn lost. Unfamiliar roads and towns can do that to you. We drove the wrong way for a long time on the highway. We were trying to follow directions given to us. After around two hours of this we regrouped over doughnuts. We figured out we were going the wrong way on the road and formed a plan to correct our mistakes. Well, after driving around some more we arrived in Lauren's neck of the woods trying to find a parking lot she mentioned. We never found it. Frustration won out and parked at a pay lot. We marched to the train station and began the game of musical densha. I was really confused by all the train changing. We finally made it to the shuttle bus and to Summer Sonic.
Summer Sonic felt overwhelming. It was full of sweating, over heated humanity. Music was blasting from all the stages. People were cramming the sidewalks. The three of us made our way to the Ocean stage where most of the bands we wanted to see were playing. We laid down a tarp and got ready to wait. As a side note, we arrived at Summer Sonic at around 3:40 in the afternoon. Kameron brought a military backpack full of bottled water and sports drinks. It was a good thing he did. It was hotter than Kyoto even though the place was right on the sea. Emily went to explore a little and I waited through Maximum the Hormone and Yuki. I found Lauren during this time and we talked for a few minutes. She went to rejoin the crowd. Emily returned and we got ready for X Japan! It's really hard t describe how it was unless you were there. X Japan knows what they are doing. There music is beyond amazing and their showmanship is incredible. Our trio was pretty close to the stage. It was mostly because we kept getting pushed forward by the crowd. There was one dude that kept screaming "Yoshiki!" the entire time. It was annoying at the time and entertaining now. Despite Emily and Kameron not knowing about about them they enjoyed the concert. Emily really did. She declared that Yoshiki plays his drums like he is having sex. This is a very accurate description. Yoshiki got emotional during a speech about the earthquake and Taiji and hide's deaths. I was moved but Yoshiki's speaking voice tickled me. It's really feminine! Their set was really good. I appreciated the view of a half naked Heath playing bass. I am really happy that I saw them. It fulfilled a dream. The niceness shattered when the hordes began to move towards the exit and another horde was fighting their way to the front to see the Red Hot Chili Peppers. I was caught in the mass stream. I was unable to make it back to our tarp. I was pushed right out the exit. I was separated from Emily and Kameron. I sucked it up and walked to the where the merchandise booths were. I was a long freaking walk. They were out of everything except the X Japan folders. I bought a pack and moseyed my way back when I got a call from Lauren. She was leaving early! I walked all the way around the stage area to the other side. She said they had to catch a certain train or something. I told her I would find Emily and tell her. She left and I tried to go back into the stage area. It was impossible. So, I said outside the ocean stage and listened to the Chili Peppers. Emily and Kameron found me afterwards and we walked (effin far!) to the shuttle bus. We did the train tango again until we reached Umeda where Lauren was meeting Emily and I. We had parted with Kameron who was staying in Osaka. We found Lauren and made our way to her place. After showers and food we collapsed into sleep. We had considered leaving when Lauren left for band practice but we did not. We rolled back over and snoozed more. We met Lauren later at Nishinomiya gardens to have lunch. It was yummy! We headed back to Shiso afterwards...it was a late lunch but we had to meet her friends for Okonomiyaki! It was the first Okonomiyaki I enjoyed. I was just unable to eat it all. It was another fun dinner though. Emily had to head back and go to bed . She had work in the morning. I hung around online until I went to bed.
Summer Sonic felt overwhelming. It was full of sweating, over heated humanity. Music was blasting from all the stages. People were cramming the sidewalks. The three of us made our way to the Ocean stage where most of the bands we wanted to see were playing. We laid down a tarp and got ready to wait. As a side note, we arrived at Summer Sonic at around 3:40 in the afternoon. Kameron brought a military backpack full of bottled water and sports drinks. It was a good thing he did. It was hotter than Kyoto even though the place was right on the sea. Emily went to explore a little and I waited through Maximum the Hormone and Yuki. I found Lauren during this time and we talked for a few minutes. She went to rejoin the crowd. Emily returned and we got ready for X Japan! It's really hard t describe how it was unless you were there. X Japan knows what they are doing. There music is beyond amazing and their showmanship is incredible. Our trio was pretty close to the stage. It was mostly because we kept getting pushed forward by the crowd. There was one dude that kept screaming "Yoshiki!" the entire time. It was annoying at the time and entertaining now. Despite Emily and Kameron not knowing about about them they enjoyed the concert. Emily really did. She declared that Yoshiki plays his drums like he is having sex. This is a very accurate description. Yoshiki got emotional during a speech about the earthquake and Taiji and hide's deaths. I was moved but Yoshiki's speaking voice tickled me. It's really feminine! Their set was really good. I appreciated the view of a half naked Heath playing bass. I am really happy that I saw them. It fulfilled a dream. The niceness shattered when the hordes began to move towards the exit and another horde was fighting their way to the front to see the Red Hot Chili Peppers. I was caught in the mass stream. I was unable to make it back to our tarp. I was pushed right out the exit. I was separated from Emily and Kameron. I sucked it up and walked to the where the merchandise booths were. I was a long freaking walk. They were out of everything except the X Japan folders. I bought a pack and moseyed my way back when I got a call from Lauren. She was leaving early! I walked all the way around the stage area to the other side. She said they had to catch a certain train or something. I told her I would find Emily and tell her. She left and I tried to go back into the stage area. It was impossible. So, I said outside the ocean stage and listened to the Chili Peppers. Emily and Kameron found me afterwards and we walked (effin far!) to the shuttle bus. We did the train tango again until we reached Umeda where Lauren was meeting Emily and I. We had parted with Kameron who was staying in Osaka. We found Lauren and made our way to her place. After showers and food we collapsed into sleep. We had considered leaving when Lauren left for band practice but we did not. We rolled back over and snoozed more. We met Lauren later at Nishinomiya gardens to have lunch. It was yummy! We headed back to Shiso afterwards...it was a late lunch but we had to meet her friends for Okonomiyaki! It was the first Okonomiyaki I enjoyed. I was just unable to eat it all. It was another fun dinner though. Emily had to head back and go to bed . She had work in the morning. I hung around online until I went to bed.