Battle of the music festivals

Ever since the Jisan Valley Rock Festival started in 2009, the talk of every summer has been, “Which was better, Jisan or Pentaport?”

This summer is no different. Even in the midst of an outpouring of music festivals this summer, Jisan ― now dubbed the Ansan Valley Rock Festival with its new location ― and Pentaport were still two of the biggest festivals to catch. And the debate continued as the two went back-to-back in the last weekend of July and the first weekend of August.

There was plenty to judge between the two, though much of the comparison this year came down to the new location of the Ansan Valley Rock Festival and the lineups.

Ansan brought in big names such as The Cure, Skrillex and Nine Inch Nails to headline, while Pentaport had local band Deulgukhwa, British legends Suede and American group Fall Out Boy. 

A number of the festival goers at Ansan complained about the new location being located far from accommodations and having a bug problem. Those who stayed at hotels or pensions faced walks of at least 45 minutes or 10,000 won taxi rides between their lodging and the festival site. Not to mention, if attendees did not drive or catch one of the direct shuttles, they faced a three-hour journey via subway and bus to the site.

Kim Min-sun from Seoul said if the lineup was good at next year’s Ansan, she would come back, but she hoped the organizers fixed the accommodation issue.

“I think the lineup is better than last year, but I think … the distance between the accommodations and the festival site is too far. So I think they have to solve this problem,” she said.

Others complained of mosquito and midge bites.

“I thought there was some kind of epidemic ... I got bitten over 20 times. Not me only, but all of my friends are suffering from mosquito bites,” said Seoul resident Luna Shin. “The organizers have to take preventive measures against this kind of insect carefully for next year.”

Others who attended both festivals said that while the lineup was better at Ansan, they preferred Pentaport because of the atmosphere and felt that the smaller festival at Incheon was more rock ’n’ roll.

“The big headliner is bigger at Ansan than Pentaport, also the sound is better than Pentaport,” said office worker Kim Hae-sung. “Some of the bands (at Ansan) are from the 1980s or The Cure and Skrillex ― they just did it all. But Pentaport, only rock bands are here. I feel this is rock ’n’ roll.”

Festival goers saw vices and virtues in each festival. Seoul resident Yoon Kyung-joo said that while Ansan had a better lineup, Pentaport was better in terms of location and traffic.

“Actually, I like both. Many people love Pentaport … But next year, if Ansan rock festival stays, I’ll go there no problem. I hope many things will change, like traffic or the shuttle bus,” she said.

While the lineup was decidedly smaller at Pentaport, Suede had the crowd dancing on Saturday night, as did local favorites YB, which took a risky move by filling half their set with new songs from their most recent album.

It proved to be a risk worth taking as the crowd enjoyed the new songs almost as much as the old.

But the moment people were waiting for was most definitely Fall Out Boy on Sunday night. The band opened with “Thriller” from their “Infinity on High” album and put out a solid 90-minute set, jumping from album to album and playing hits “This Ain’t a Scene, it’s an Arms Race,” “Young Volcanoes” and “Dance, Dance.”

They endeared the crowd by taking time between songs to talk about their experiences in Korea, making quips about the dinner they enjoyed the night before. They promised not to wait another four years to come back to Korea ― they last performed here at Jisan in 2009 ― before ending the night with a band favorite, “Saturday.”

Sunday night continued with reggae favorites Skull and Haha taking to the Moonlight Stage in collaboration with reggae band Windy City. The set was lively, despite Haha battling a cold. The crowd danced along, with a large number staying behind to watch even though the set started a bit later than scheduled.

By Emma Kalka (ekalka@heraldcorp.com)