The 2012 Jisan Valley Rock Festival: A Review
Words and photos by Matthew Jenkins
Of the handful of music festivals held in hot and humid Korean summers, Jisan stands out for precisely one reason: location. Tucked away in the inner folds of Incheon city, the Jisan Forest Resort presents an idyllic landscape; a winding strip of land surrounded on either side by lush green walls with a cool stream flowing around its circumference. Indeed, the valley itself was one of the little compensations for the overall disappointment in which the festival resulted. Sure, it had all the accoutrements that usually accompany a music festival: good tunes, booze, an eclectic variety of food booths and an array of companies using variegated displays and giveaways to lure festival goers. Yet the two main themes of age and evolution seemed to dominate the scene.
On Friday, Elvis Costello rescued the festival from a droning James Iha (former Smashing Pumpkins guitarist) to put on one of the most energetic and entertaining shows of the weekend. Taking the final stage was Radiohead, who were clearly the most anticipated act. They put on a good show, drawing mostly from their most recent album, King of Limbs. It was a funky set of quasi-psychedelic tunes that showed neither their sorrowful nor angst-ridden side which fans have come to adore. Concert goers saw a more grown-up and refined version of Radiohead, if not the one they might have hoped to see.
Saturday afternoon offered perhaps the brightest moments of the festival, opening with a smattering of Korean punk, hardcore, and shoegaze (The Strikers, Hallow Jan, Apollo 18, respectively), followed by Motion City Soundtrack, a rather pleasant pop-punk act from Minnesota. However, Saturday headliner James Blake’s monotonous beeps-and-clicks were both anti-climactic and painfully incongruent with the day’s lineup.
Sunday presented a quixotic – if sad – selection of aging British Rockers. Following a blasé Japanese rocktronica and a few Korean alternative bands were Beady Eye and the final big act of the weekend, The Stone Roses. While the latter two bands were entertaining, it was hard to ignore the fact that the music was overshadowed by the careerist striving of aging and/or disaffected rockers. Another factor that polluted the event’s atmosphere was the blasting of a sickeningly catchy tune singing the praises of a particular brand of soda being pushed by an advertising stand located directly behind the audience. Let’s hope for a more rockin’ time at next year’s festival.