Freedom Nagoya 2011

So, when I was talking to the singer dude, ちゃっせ (Chasse) of Scusi, he mentioned this free concert in this huge park right outside of Nagoya. Freedom Nagoya.

Last Sunday, Alexis, Joanna, and I decided to head over and check it out.

We headed over around 11, even though Scusi had played at 9. And of course the first person we see upon arriving, directing traffic, was ちゃっせ, who informed us that we had missed his band. We were aware. Oops. At least he smiled and waved, though, which implied that he remembered us.

And with that began an awesome day of MUSIC!!!!

The first band we saw was Banbi, and while I don't really remember them at all, I put a star by them, which means I must have liked them. Then we saw Misty and 太陽族　(taiyouzoku), both of whom were quite good without being overwhelmingly awesome. I didn't get to see more than a song or two of 太陽族, though, and I think I really could have loved them.　

Next up was Yum! Yum! Orange, a ska band from Osaka, I think. I'd heard them a couple times before, and I was psyched to get to see them.

Unfortunately, pretty much before the first song even began, the singer tripped over the speaker and fell in an extraordinary show of klutziness that impressed even me. Later, I read in her blog that she doesn't know how she'll ever be able to get excited about a show again without first falling. :-P In any case, they were wonderful. The perfect blend of pop and punk and ska with great female vocals.

Up next, ソライアオ (Soraiao), who according to my memory and their lack of star on the schedule, pretty much did nothing for me.

The the Gelugugu, who, well. . . I don't know how to describe them. They're ska, but also a little hip-hoppy, and while it's weird to say that music is Clockwork Orange-influenced, they totally were, not only in their style, but also in their sound (which isn't to say they sounded anything like Beethoven - they didn't).

I liked them, but I'm still not sure if I loved them. I think I would need to see them again doing a one man live (which is what they call it here when a band plays a show with no other bands). I gather they're fairly popular.

And then after the Gelugugu, SKULL CANDY!!!!

I have now officially seen them three times, and each time was pure awesomeness. Seriously. I said that Yum!Yum! Orange is the perfect blend of pop, punk, and ska, but their perfection pales in comparison to that of Skull Candy. And the female vocalist is just the cutest thing since. . . I wanted to compare her to sliced bread, for some reason, but that's not really all that cute. . .so, insert something super cute.

They're playing a one man this Saturday in Nagoya, and if it wasn't the Okazaki Fireworks festival, which I unfortunately had to miss last year, I would SO be there!

After Skull Candy, we saw Sim, who was mostly boring despite drawing the largest crowd I saw the whole day, and then Feelflip, who I apparently liked but not enough to have remembered them if I didn't have the schedule in front of me right now.

Then　Misspray, who was awesome.

And awesomely adorable - they're playing in Nagoya at the end of August, and I'm thinking I might have to go.

Then Fatprop, who were relatively boring, which was okay, because they were followed by the Skippers, who ended up being on of my two favorite bands of the day (that I had never previously heard of). They were seriously AMAZING!

Downright straight up punk, and absolutely perfect! And I can't find their albums anywhere, so I might have to get a Tsutaya card so that I can rent one.

Then Eddy, who were okay, Crossfaith, who were terrible, and Each of the Days, who were also terrible. Then Last Gasp, a band from Okazaki (I think). I like them on CD, and I liked them live, but I feel like there's something missing about their sound. They're rock, and there's nothing to make them special to make them anything more than just another rock band. Still, they were fun.

And then Egg Brain! Along with the Skippers, my other favorite previously unknown band of the day. They were like doofy, nerdy pop punk, which is totally my favorite kind of pop punk.



I liked them so much that I have to include a video, even though I promised myself no videos today. I've pretty much been listening to them nonstop since.

Then Astral Mess, okay. Then Backlift and at Anytime, who were AWESOME!!!!

But not awesome enough, apparently, because I forgot about them when Hey Smith came on.



The whole day, we'd pretty much been sitting back and enjoying the bands over people's heads, but for Hey Smith, Joanna and I decided to join the crowd, and we danced and skanked and pogoed, and seriously - Hey Smith knows how to rock!

Then music was over, and it was time to go home, and I was sad, because I was SO not ready for music to be over. It felt SO good to hit up an outdoor summer music festival again. I went to one in France, but there was only one band I liked, so mostly, that doesn't count. It's been FAR too long since my last Warped Tour, and this TOTALLlllllllllllllY made up for it!

So that was Freedom Nagoya, and it was fabulous, and it was two whole weeks ago now, and I already feel like I'm going through concert withdrawal. I'll have to find another one soon! :-)

The end.