Booming beats rock Jisan Fest

Neil Tennant of the Pet Shop Boys sings to thousands of fans.

/ Courtesy of organizers

By Ines Min
Staff reporter

ICHEON ― The second annual Jisan Valley Rock Festival ended Sunday with more than 40 bands under its belt and thousands of satisfied, sunburnt fans.

Though the skies were alternately overcast and unbearably bright, and the air thick with humidity, a rainless weekend and booming beats marked the festival’s three days to conclude this year’s endeavor to become the nation’s largest outdoor music event. And growing from 23,000 fans in attendance on the first day, to roughly 30,000 by day three, it may well have reached its goal.

Play me a song

Sharing some artists with the Fuji Rock Festival in Japan, this year’s lineup included a range of acts, from Korean indie bands to U.K. legends.

Day one saw a major crowd-stealer with Belle and Sebastian’s set. The Scottish indie-pop group engaged the audience with their tunes, but lead vocalist Stuart Murdoch won over hearts with his personable stage presence ― even inviting some fans onto the stage with him ― and a perfect mix of old songs and new. One fan was even caught on camera, tearing up from the sense of cathartic release.

Smaller acts 3rd Line Butterfly of Korea pumped up the masses with their electronic-rock, while Martina Topley-Bird (a British vocalist and collaborator with Massive Attack) wooed the crowds with her hauntingly beautiful voice, quirk and charm.

Vampire Weekend drew a large turnout with their dance-rock hits, although a microphone malfunction caused lead singer Ezra Koenig’s vocals to be cut off for a portion of a song.

Headliner Massive Attack brought together the crowds with their politically-charged messages to increase awareness. Backed by a panel of digital screens, statistics on the world’s socio-economic status flashed to the music, as well as quotes of social commentary. Though a bit bland as a headliner, with limited audience interaction and a taste catering to their new music, the group was nonetheless interesting to watch, if just for the lightshow.

Day two saw the strength of Korean artists shine through, with groups Vanilla Unity and Pia pulling in the hard rockers on two stages while ska band Kingston Rudieska got the crowds to groove with their dance set. The witty Jang Ki-ha and the Faces claimed new and old fans again, reiterating his dry humor, spoken songs and folk edge.

The Pet Shop Boys headlined the night, pulling out all the stops with a massive display of electronics, lights, color-coordinated dancers and the music that made them iconic. Though the duo has been making music for three decades, their staying power for even today’s youth was demonstrated by a group of teenage girls, dressed up in color-coordinated outfits in homage.

Day three’s lineup featured well-known Japanese and Western acts. Japan’s post-rock ``toe” hit the stage to be followed by singer-songwriter Corinne Bailey Rae with her moving music. American Third Eye Blind set the scene before headliner Muse from the U.K. came in to close out the festival Sunday night for a memorable finale.

Pitfalls

Though the festival was able to bring in major acts from here and abroad, the weekend was marred by technical glitches and poor organization.

The large, close-up screens at the Green Stage were delayed during the first day, creating a disjointing experience for those listening to the music, but unable to see the stage directly.

Problems with equipment also plagued the main Big Top Stage, including Vampire Weekend’s mic cut-out, and a guitar malfunction during Seoul Electric Band’s set was only well-recovered with the help of an improvised drum solo. Mate, a Korean emo band, played half an hour late due to technical difficulties and was only able to play a portion of their original set.

The stages themselves also proved to be problematic, with long distances between the two main platforms leading to even more wearied festivalgoers. Farther apart than last year, the 10-minute walk between stages compounded with the staggered lineups, forcing crowds to constantly shuffle in herds between the two and missing the beginning, end, or both, of most performances.

While many music festivals will divide bands between stages to represent a particular genre ― with major acts at each stage and simultaneous shows so that people could feasibly stay in one place all day ― Jisan instead separated the stages seemingly by popularity. This led to most of the crowds leaving the smaller Green Stage for the Big Top, suddenly halving an audience that was rocking with the band mere moments earlier.

Venue and spectators

The festival, held at the Jisan Forest Ski Resort in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, saw ages ranging from teenagers to proud parents attending with their infant children. But everyone was dressed and ready to face the searing weather. While long summer dresses seemed the outfit of choice for most women, rainboots paired with colorful long stockings and shorts were an oft sight. Straw hats from the cowboy variety to conical paddy hats adorned the heads of many, and sunglasses ― typically a rare sight in Korea ― were a dime a dozen.

This year, a large outdoor pool was also made available to festival attendees, providing cool relief from the muggy summer weather.

Food and entertainment was plentiful enough to satisfy all tastes, with tents from the top Seoul representatives. Plastic-bagged cocktails were made by Hongdae’s Vinyl bar while O’Taco from Itaewon provided perfect finger food. Kebabs were also available straight from a cart parked in the middle of a grassy field.

Promotional events by Cosmopolitan saw the free giveaways of gifts, and phone company KT provided special zones for iPhone users to recharge their batteries.

Food and entertainment was enough to satisfy all tastes, with tents from the top Seoul representatives. Plastic-bagged cocktails were made by Hongdae’s Vinyl bar while O’Taco from Itaewon provided perfect hand food. Unless you were in the mood for kebabs, which could also be had, straight from a street-side cart parked in the middle of a grassy field.

Promotional events by Cosmopolitan saw free giveaways of gifts, which phone company KT provided special zones for iPhone users to charge their batteries.

The venue’s location in the mountains of Gyeonggi Province proved to be one of the best characteristics of the festival. To be able to see the landscape of a lush mountain simultaneously while rocking out to a favorite band among a crowd of thousands is a rare opportunity ― and probably one of the reasons why Jisan Valley Rock Festival will continue to grow in scope and recognition, with just a little bit of tweaking.