Sunday, 17 August 2014

158. countdown to hell, chiba

Yesterday was the first day of Summer Sonic, little sis and I got up really early because it takes almost 2 hours to get to Chiba. We both slept on the way there, she's actually a morning person but as you know, I really, really, really am not.

Once we arrived at Makuhari Messe, there was no time to waste because the first band we were going to see for the day was about to play at Mountain Stage. coldrain took the stage exactly at 12 noon and opened to Die tomorrow. They didn't disappoint and were as good as the last time I saw them. They also played No Escape, Six Feet Under, Stuck, Aware and Awake, The Revelation, The War Is On and Evolve. I actually wished they were playing later in the day because I couldn't really get into it, being that it was still so early.


The second band we saw was Fear, And Loathing in Las Vegas also at the Mountain Stage but after only 1 song, we walked away and went to meet up with my friend over at QVC Marine Filed. Compared to last year, the weather during Summer Sonic this time was really nice, it was cloudy and windy. I remember dying from the heat last year. It was a really nice walk to QVC, we met up with my friend at the smoking corner, he was with his friends as well. Yay for more Asian Australians!

We separated ways for a little bit because they were going to see different bands. Little sis and I went to the Beach Stage, it was getting even more cloudier when we got there and looked like there was going to be a thunderstorm. When we got to the stage, cinema staff was doing their soundcheck and they took the stage exactly at 2:25pm. I haven't listened to their music in such a long time so it was difficult to recognise the songs they were playing but I was happy they played 奇跡 and The Great Escape! I was actually getting かき氷  when they played The Great Escape.



They were pretty good live but I got a little bored halfway because I think I'm too used to going to see heavier sounding bands, lol. We met up with Gerald and his friends again and took the bus back to Makuhari Messe together. There was still more than 2 hours to kill before the next band we wanted to see take the stage, so he decided to meet up with some of the his other friends at the smoking corner.

He introduced me to the band he was talking to, and we were all smoking together and chilling. It was drizzling so there weren't many people at the smoking area, mostly guys. I was talking to the bassist of the band because I have been following him on Instagram for a while now and I always thought he was cute, actually for a couple of years now, so it was nice to finally talk to him. The band didn't stay around for too long because they needed to do their soundcheck as well and so we went back inside and we went to see a Swedish heavy metal band at the Mountain Stage since there was still some time to spare.

Ghost took the stage at 5pm and I immediately fell in love with their outfits. They were good live and the backdrop was really pretty. The guitars were really good, all of us don't listen to them but agreed they were good.

We didn't stay around for their entire set because Gerald wanted to get good spots for the next band at Rainbow Stage, he and his friends wanted to be in the circle pit, mosh and do the typical - Wall of Death. So we went over to Rainbow Stage while they disappeared into the crowd, little sis and I tried to find good spots to see the band as well. 

The band was still doing soundcheck when we arrived, little sis hates the DJ. She kept cursing him which I thought was super funny. It didn't take too long for them to get on stage, Crossfaith played at 5:50pm and the crowd went wild. They were good live, better than I saw them last year also at Summer Sonic. I don't listen to them but their energy on stage was really good. Yes, there were circle pits. At one point, the vocalist told the crowd to divide for the Wall of Death.  Chaos. Not really because Japanese crowds aren't that scary compared to western ones but both of us still didn't want to get pulled into the chaos. The Evolution was really good live, and so was Countdown to Hell. I didn't stay around for their whole set, even if I really wanted to but getting good seats for Arctic Monkeys was more important to me.


We left for the Marine Stage again after seeing them play about 5 songs, we took the bus this time instead of walking because it was still drizzling. When we got to QVC, we bought chicken rice (yes, Singaporean chicken rice!) at one of the food booths and went immediately into the stadium to get seats. Robert Plant was still on stage, we were lucky! We got to see him perform Led Zepplin's Whole Lotta Love while eating chicken rice. I can't begin to tell you how much I always miss chicken rice when I'm overseas for a long period of time. 

Arctic Monkeys opened to Do I Wanna Know at 7:20pm, followed by Arabella and Brianstorm. Alex Turner's voice is really smooth live, and he never missed a note. The slower songs were so much better live compared to the record. Little sis and I would do a little scream whenever they played our favorite songs. We were really enjoying ourselves.  We actually wanted to leave when they were playing Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High and decided to miss Avenged Sevenfold for a little bit since we just saw them earlier this year in Melbourne. Thankfully we didn't because right after they played our absolute favorites, Fluorescent Adolescent followed by 505! My favorites from them were Knee Socks, Old Yellow Bricks and 505. While little sis's was I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor, Fluorescent Adolescent and Dancing Shoes. 

They mostly played stuff from their latest album, like Snap Out of It and R U Mine?, and I Wanna Be Yours. I didn't expect to enjoy their set so much and I'm glad I did.


We skipped their encore to get back to Makuhari Messe to see Avenged Sevenfold. Once we arrived back at Mountain Stage, they were already playing Bat Country. I was kinda bummed because I missed Bat Country earlier this year too, after that they played Hail To The King and Almost Easy. It was fun singing the chorus of Almost Easy "I'm not insane x 6" lol, A7X always brings me back to my teenage days. They played slower songs after that, so little sis and I decided to walk to Sonic Stage to see Phoenix for a bit since A7X's song are always really long, most of them are more than 5 minutes.

Phoenix's set didn't look interesting, so we went back to join Gerald and his friends. A7X played Afterlife when we got back, they didn't look like they put in much effort to be honest. They lacked energy, they played really well in Melbourne though. :/  I was bored until the end of their set. They had an encore and they played A Little Piece of Heaven which was fun to sing to as well, Gerald's friends were being funny because the song is about sex and murder. That song is about 10 minutes long... Gerald was laughing at me when A7X played their last song because when I heard the opening, I shouted so loud " Unholy Confessions!" He was telling me how he always find me funny when I get excited over things. I was happy they played that song, I haven't heard it in years.

We hung around for a little while after Avenged Sevenfold finished off, we were just smoking and talking. I felt bad for little sis because she doesn't smoke but she said she didn't mind. It was fun meeting new people once again. I've been pretty happy since little sis got here. We got to do a lot of stuff I've been wanting to for the longest time. We also didn't expect to be at Summer Sonic this year, it was fun once again and our company made it even more so. 

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