Summer Sonic 2015

This was my third year in a row going to Summer Sonic. My first year I went in Tokyo, my second year was in Osaka, and this year was in Osaka again. The past two years were fun but hot and exhausting. Last year I got sun burnt the worst I’ve ever been in my life. The blisters lasted for about a month. This year was a whole different experience and by far the best!

Summer Sonic starts at 10 or 11 in the morning and goes to about 9 or 10 at night. As the name suggests, its right smack dab in the middle of the hot, humid hell of Japanese summer. Waiting in lines to get in can be exhausting in itself.

This year I approached the concert a little differently. Like I said, Summer Sonic always ends at about 9 or 10, but there’s an all night portion that goes until morning as well. In Osaka, it’s free for anyone who bought a day ticket and is called Midnight Sonic. In Tokyo, you have to buy a separate ticket for the midnight portion (a lot more artists perform in Tokyo), and it’s called Sonic Mania.

The midnight shows are usually all DJ’s and EMD music. My first and second year, I didn’t really know how the midnight shows worked, and since I went to the day part all day, there was no way I could’ve survived until morning with my dehydration, exhaustion, and sunburn. This year, however, there weren’t too many people I was excited to see during the day, so I made it a point to go late and enjoy Midnight Sonic because a few of my favorite DJs who I had never seen before were performing.

Zedd was one DJ I was interested in seeing. He was actually a headliner for the day portion. I made sure to get there for his set. His was on a huge stage outdoors. The lights and effects were amazing. It was one of the best laser shows I’ve seen. Plus there was fire and even fireworks! Unlike the previous years, since my night was basically gona be like a dance party atmosphere, I started downing my Red Bull vodkas as soon as I got there. I was alone for Zedd’s performance, but I had a blast! His show got over around 10 pm, and the DJ’s I wanted to see for the midnight set didn’t start until around 1 or 2 am. So, I killed some time while I waited for my friend who was going to join me for the midnight sets by getting dinner at the food stands set up all over, having a few drinks, and chatting with this random girl I met from England. She actually ended up sticking with me the rest of the night.

Red Bull vodka time~

Zedd.

Awesome stage!

Lasers!!

Zedd.

Midnight Sonic was actually indoors which really made it feel like a club. One complaint I have, though, is that there were no alcohol stands set up like a normal EDM concert. So before the DJ’s I wanted to see went on, I met my friend at the nearby convenience store in order to shotgun a few drinks and stock up for the show. Since I had a backpack, I got stuck carrying everything…so much wine and whiskey in my backpack. D:

Awww yeah!

So as you might have guessed, this is when things started getting fun and interesting. A DJ I had never heard before, but my friend likes, called Destructo went on. I was just warming up. He was actually pretty cool because he mixed like electronic music and hip-hop together. Then, one of the DJ’s I was really looking forward to whose name is Porter Robinson went on. His music is so beautiful and melodic. He includes Japanese in his songs and is a Japanese culture enthusiast, so you could feel his excitement over playing in Japan. I was completely moved by his music. At all the right moments smoke and confetti exploded out over the crowd. The imagery was beautiful, and so was his music.

Destructo.

Porter Robinson.

Porter Robinson.

Porter Robinson.

By this point, my friend and I were on another level drunk. Then something quite funny happened while waiting for the last DJ to go on. I get a facetime call from my parents! Can’t say I remember what we talked about exactly, but I know my friend and I talked to them for about 10 minutes along with the almost naked, drunk Japanese dude next to us. I remember my friend just yelling to my parents saying how awesome I am haha! I was flattered. For whatever reason, my mom had these huge joke-like glasses that she put on…it made my friend and I really excited. We just kept yelling, “You are so cool!! Where did you get those?!” …Fun times.

The drunk guy that talked with my parents haha!

So the last DJ to go on is one of my favorites, Dillon Francis. I was looking forward to him the most. I follow him on all sorts of social media, and he has a great sense of humor and is really silly, so I expected him to be like that in person, but when he came out and started playing, he was in a serious zone, mixing his heart out like no DJ I’ve seen before. Although he is a funny guy, I could see how seriously he takes his music and shows. I was impressed. His set was killer and just so freaking awesome! This is when the hardcore dancing happened. To be honest, the place was actually pretty empty. Most people didn’t stick around for Midnight Sonic. We got to the front row with no trouble. My friend and I decided it would be funny to flirt and mess around with the bouncers. That was pretty funny because the bouncers actually enjoyed it.  I got some decent videos, but in Japan they are pretty strict about you filming and taking pictures, so I got scolded like twice. Whatever.

Dillon Francis.

Rockin' out!!

I left the concert feeling extremely satisfied and happy. I don’t think I got home until like 9 in the morning…needless to say, I was dead like a zombie, but man was it awesome! I think this is how I will enjoy Summer Sonic from now on.