Flaming Lips and Earthquakes: Concert Going in Chiba, Japan

March 20, 2010

What’s it like attending a big summer music festival in Japan?

One Sunday evening in August, I got my answer, as I found myself in front of the Sonic Stage at Japan’s annual Summer Sonic in Chiba, in the Greater Tokyo area. However, just as earthquakes would rattle the area throughout the week, the evening of the music festival was no exception. A major 6.9 to 7.1 quake pounded Tokyo for one full minute that same night, just before eight o’clock. This earthquake might have occurred around the time psych-alt-rock act The Flaming Lips were preparing to take to the stage; or, it could have happened while they were actually playing. Either way, I saw and felt nothing during the infamous minute, which supports the theory that The Flaming Lips were actually performing when the quake happened. Perhaps it was due to the fact that Chiba is actually just east ofTokyo, somewhat near Narita airport, that I didn’t notice the earth move that night. Or maybe the massive warehouse-like venue, with its concrete floor, prevented me from detecting any movements of the tectonic-plate variety.But I think, more likely, it’s because of The Flaming Lips’ raucous spectacle including: oversized-balloon drops, confetti dumps, sight-reducing smoke screen, and on-stage Jumbotron, which alternated between projecting B-movie-esque video footage, of semi-nude women, and giant images of front man/party instigator Wayne Coyne, singing away into the indoor concert space. A dozen or so extras danced the night away onstage throughout the ‘Lips show, dressed in cartoon-like frog and cat costumes.Yes, I think this had something to do with why I may not have noticed an earthquake that night.Or maybe, could it have occurred, at the point Coyne rolled off the stage inside his gigantic, clear plastic bubble ball, as he performed his ritual crowd surf, atop the outstretched hands of his fans? As he aimed to reach the second half of the front section of crowd, his ball leapt across the catwalk; I was the first to catch it, as he, and said plastic device, crawled over me.From this; and from meanwhile, being pushed a fair distance back along the catwalk, away from the front row, and from continuously batting countless giant balloons back up into the air and across the catwalk at fellow fans, I realized I was only sort-of-watching the stage performance and tried to refocus on the music. With all the commotion, and non-stop stimuli, I found my personal experience teetering on a fine line between blissful, celebratory euphoria and a bizarre representation of a party in hell, concocted by a seemingly deranged, drugged-out Willie Wonka visionary. Here, the impassioned ringleader of the circus was the lead singer of experimental rock band The Flaming Lips.

It’s no wonder I might have been oblivious to a 7.1 quake.Being among the largely Japanese crowd at Summer Sonic 2009 was intense; I was continually being pushed into the metal barrier in the front row; I felt my knees buckle as they pushed into the pliable, thin layer of metal, actually denting and moving the barrier from time to time. For days afterwards, my bruised ribs ached from being methodically squashed against the gate. Previous acts, like Sonic Youth, Teenage Fanclub, and The Vaselines, had equally gotten the crowd worked up into a manic frenzy. (The excellent Grizzly Bear had also played. However, their exquisite performance and sublime sounds had more of a mesmerizing affect on the crowd.)When The Vaselines busted out their sing-song, bubblegum chorus to “Molly’s Lips,” the Japanese crowd instantly recognized the lyrics. I looked out behind me, from my extremely fortuitous position in the front row, and gawked in wonder at the sea of people, as they pushed and pogo’ed, singing along merrily and dancing together with possessed fanaticism.

“Kiss kiss Molly’s lips! Kiss kiss Molly’s lips! Kiss kiss Molly’s lips!…” the crowd sang in unison, along with the band. Seminal grunge act Nirvana covered this song in the 90s—Kurt Cobain having been a huge fan of The Vaselines.She said I think what struck me most about that Japanese crowd was the way they moved and danced together, as onecollective: a giant wave of pulsating life. People would often place their hands and arms affectionately on the backs of the strangers in front of them, and they packed in together tightly like sardines in a tin. Young girls would often dance, constantly brushing up behind me, gyrating in tune to the music.A highlight, from The Flaming Lips’ performance, was Coyne’s heartfelt and un-ironic, acoustic version of  “Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots Pt. 1,” in which the singer briefly appeared to get teary-eyed and choked up. It’s a song off their album by a similar name, which describes the character Yoshimi, a Japanese girl who trains to defend Earth from a band of evil robots.Coyne told the crowd how the ‘Lips had been playing regularly at Japan’s Summer Sonic since back in 2000, when the festival first started. He remarked at how nice the crowd was and apologized for being unable to speak in Japanese. “You all have such beautiful smiles. We are better people for having been to Japan,” he announced, to the crowd’s satisfaction. He closed the set with the poignantly beautiful “Do you Realize??” and the crowd sang together, unified, in sweet sincerity.If you’re ever in Japan, I highly recommend taking in a Japanese concert-going experience, if even just once, be it to see Japanese entertainers, or otherwise. As someone who’s attended dozens of concerts over the years, over 50 shows to be exact, this one ranks as among the very wildest, hands down.And fortunately enough, there were no reported injuries or fatalities in the earthquake that hit that particular evening. I will remember this show always, and fondly, even not taking into account any and all earthquake tremors. 

Jeffrey Rambo is a freelance travel writer from New York who lived in South Korea for three and a half years. He currently lives in Ibaraki, Japan and relishes in trips to nearby Tokyo.