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"NO CARE NO LOVE" - That was the slogan plastered on waving wet flags and recycled woodwork sculptures at the heart of the festival grounds. And, from the first muddy steps through the gates until soggy sunup, you got the feeling Pentaport festival-goers most certainly cared and loved the special extravaganza they were experiencing musically and otherwise. Friday's opening day lineup excited thousands of starved Korean music fans with top draw names on the Big Top Stage like The Music, The Go! Team, Japan's Ellegarden, and local talent Crying Nut and Copy Machine. Peterpan Complex, the 10-member strong Double Famous, Beautiful Days, and Star Bow graced the mid-sized Pentaport Stage. And DJ Rap, Kid B, Shai, and Fin made sure the beats went all night long in the Groove Session tent. Even though Seoul is a massive and bustling modern city, only a select few big acts seem to come through on tour. Luckily this year as usual, Pentaport coincided with nearby Fuji Rock Festival in Japan, and Incheon City was able to capitalize and nab some exciting bands already in the hemisphere for the third edition of the three-day event. 
Crowds that are soaked from head to toe can go one of two ways. They can be docile and sedated due to the newfound dampness, or they can light up and scream louder than dry cicadas in summer heat. Korean fans and the scattered foreigners in attendance (who were most likely military personnel or English teachers) showed the latter with a vengeance! Umbrellas only seemed to echo the cheers, rain ponchos granted a newfound anonymous freedom for jumping up and down, and hands adorned with red, orange and yellow wristbands raised joyful and rhythmic fists at the sky.If you needed a break from the downpour or just a comfy seat to chill with some friends, you could kick back in the 10 Min. Cocktail lounge. They sold cheezballs, beef jerky, juice, and cocktails and had plenty of plastic chairs for relaxing in along with banners that asked unashamedly, "Are you with me tonight? U need condom." All the foodstuffs were located conveniently in the center of the festival grounds making it easy access after any stage's show. The beer flowed freely too, at 3,500 Won ($3.50) per poorly poured paper cup of Miller Genuine Draft though. The high-tech nature of Korea pervaded the sales of everything inside the venue, rather than using wet cash you filled up a red wristband with money and simply scanned it for your booze and kimchi with meat sticks. K-Style was also awesomely apparent. As the DJ sets beat into the night, strange animals and DayGlo enhanced everyone's trance-like trip in the Groove Session tent. Seriously, I bumped into a bunny hopping to DJ Rap! Leopard velvet and dirty assed Levi's with a pair of Converse were other popular outfits. Two big screens flanking the stage flashed killer visuals like tar dripping pupil close-ups and schizophrenic neon blueprints of saving the earth, plus plenty of lasers bouncing in the center helped increase the late-night attendance at the last stage standing well into Saturday morning. 
If you weren't sufficiently muddy already, you could dive into the therapeutic brown sludge and donate your flip flops to the biggest mud pit since Boryeong on your way there. If you had to use the bathroom, just follow the croaky frog chorus (is this Hawaii??) through the muck and it was perfectly situated to not waft pissy scents into the crowd. Tack on the silhouettes of mountains beyond the airport, and Pentaport's design and layout of the area, for its size and functionality really was superb.The movie tent was a little too close, come 2 a.m., to the techno bass kicking Groove Session tent. Yet somehow the bumping morphed into a lullaby, and luckily the movie had subtitles on a big projection screen for those still bright-eyed and bushy-tailed enough to actually be watching the flicks. My favorite moments by far though had to be getting ridiculous in the rain by the huge shoebox at the Adidas Penta Grun. The shoe company-sponsored space included a swath of decoration and a lineup of DJs that pumped great dance music and drum ‘n' bass late into the night. Grass pallets and potted plants had been brought in to spruce things up, as was enough sand to make a good-sized dance floor, thus making barefoot the footwear of choice. DJ Demicat and DJ Conan got people out from under umbrellas causing them to get more soaked as they gleefully bounced under the water bottle waterfalls flowing from out the top of the shoebox where the DJs spun. Walking back to the camping zone forced fans to brave the mudway yet again, and I hope everyone had a towel to wipe their feet before getting in the rental tent, since they had to crash there for the next two days. Luckily the Pentaport crew threw up plenty of wash stations near the campsite and around the venue, which helped ensure all the mud wasn't caked under your toenails for too long. But, resignation to the muck at any festival is bound to be a liberating experience. NO CARE NO LOVE, sure, but when it comes to getting muddy, if you didn't care too much about the aesthetics and slimy sensation for 72 hours of your life, you were guaranteed to have a superbly memorable time at Pentaport, and those few precious days of dancing and cheering to good music with good people will last way past your next shower. |
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--> The day 3 report by J Muzacz and photos by Park Won Mi |
 mag files : Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival Here Comes The Sun : (08/04/25-27 @ Songo Daewoo Motors Field, Incheon City, Korea) : review by Danielle Netzer, photos by Deborah ParkNO CARE NO LOVE : (08/04/25-27 @ Songo Daewoo Motors Field, Incheon City, Korea) : review by J Muzacz, photos by Park Won Mi |
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The official site Incheon Pentaport Rock Festival http://www.pentaportrock.com/ |
check the albums? |
previous contributions
 2008Here Comes The Sun : Incheon Pentaport Rock Festival 2008 (25th to 27th Jul. '08 @ インチョン・ソンド・デウ・モーター・フィールド)NO CARE NO LOVE : Incheon Pentaport Rock Festival 2008 (25th to 27th Jul. '08 @ インチョン・ソンド・デウ・モーター・フィールド)Prince Reigns In The Desert : Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival (25th to 27th Apr. '08 in インディオ、カリフォルニア)フォト・レポート : mudy on the 昨晩 (11th Feb. '08 @ 名古屋アップセット)2007日本中を歌とギターでとろけさせたエイモス・ギャレット : エイモス・ギャレット (25th May. '07 @ 大阪フィフス・ストリート)ANA Party! patrol(パトロール)〜東・阪・福・札 警ら Vol.2〜 : ANA (17th Feb. '07 @ 札幌コロニー)2006何だ、ばかやろう : スパルタローカルズ (1st Nov. '06@ 札幌ベッシーホール)review with no title : ホーカス・ポーカス (7th to 8th Oct '06@ 朝霧アリーナ)review with no title : ミラー・システム (7th to 8th Oct '06@ 朝霧アリーナ)review with no title : ハンズ・オヴ・クリエイション (7th to 8th Oct '06@ 朝霧アリーナ)「体験する」コンサートはいかが？ : ハイドパーク・ミュージック・フェスティヴァル (9th & 10th Sept. '06 @ 稲荷山公園) : review by 川村恭子ジェニー・ルイス初来日！ : ジェニー・ルイス (1st Aug. '06 @ 渋谷クラブクアトロ) : review by kemjiFM 802 ミート・ザ・ワールド・ビートより : ザ・クロマニヨンズ (23rd Jul. '06 @ 万国博記念公園もみじ川芝生広場) : review by 坂本唯ロックンロール骨伝導 : 日本脳炎、怒髪天 & ギター・ウルフ (5th Jun '06 @ 新宿ロフト) : review by JET-GIRLand photos by saya3813年目の余裕 : ベン・ハーパー & ジ・イノセント・クリミナルズ (3rd Jun '06 @ ゼップ東京) : review by 竹井晶子 and photos by hanasan情熱のR&Rエンジンは紅く吠えた : ディーゼル・アン (28th May '06 @ 新宿レッドクロス) : review and photos by 棚橋憲治no title : ナイロン (6th May '06 @ 東高円寺UFOクラブ) : review and photos by 棚橋憲治365歩の先で「無」が燃え上がる : イースタン・ユース (22nd Feb '06 @ 渋谷クラブクアトロ) : review by JET−GIRL, photos by keco365歩の先で「無」が燃え上がる : イースタン・ユース (22nd Feb '06 @ 渋谷クラブクアトロ) : review by JET−GIRL, photos by kecophoto report : ビヨンズ (17th Feb '06 @ 代官山ユニット) : photos by wacchyフロアを燃やせ！ : フランツ・フェルディナンド (10th Feb '06 @ 日本武道館) : review by sumire |