Sadly, I could not attend this year, but it sounds like the Jisan Valley Rock Festival was pretty good this year. Yonhap is reporting the festival had 84,000 people there over its three days, which I think is its best turnout yet. And you can read reports on the festival here, and here.

Next weekend is going to be a really big one for music fans, with Pentaport, Naksan Beach Summer Party, and the Busan International Rock Festival all going on.

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Btw, here are a few blog reviews of this year’s Jisan:
- Korean Beacon, with a focus on Priscilla Ahn and Aziatix.
- Priscilla talks a bit about her Korea trip here (although not much about Jisan).
- A fun review with lots of pics at Strange Lands.
- Timeless, Bottomless links to some videos of Chang Kiha and the Faces playing at Jisan.
- Video of Aziatix playing.

Plus Fuji Rock has a great review blog, as always. All worth checking out.

So I guess our friends who are playing North America at the moment are all about halfway done their tours. And we are starting to get a little press on them.

At Canadian Music Week in Toronto, where Seoulsonic took Galaxy Express, Vidulgi Ooyoo, and Idiotape to play last week, Idiotape got praised by the Toronto Star as one of “Nine acts that stood out from the Pack.” Said the Star:

This Korean electronic trio were achieving the near impossible — getting a strange audience in Toronto to dance — with their infectious sound, somewhere between Cut Copy and Chromeo. The two guys twiddling knobs at the front, Dguru and Zeze, could have kept it going, but the stunning live drummer known as DR kept breaking parts of his kit with his power. Even so, the audience was won over. If the band`s attempt to break into North America is serious — and they are playing at South by Southwest after this — then catch them the next time.

So it sounds like they were a big hit. Kind of funny, considering they might be the band with the smallest following of the three in Korea. But different places respond to bands differently, so you never know.

Funny, too, to see that they played Clinton’s, a dodgy old dive bar on Bloor Street that has been around since 1937 and helped launch the careers of Holly Cole and Cowboy Junkies. But it is also right in Toronto’s Koreatown, and these days has a noraebang and PC bang in the back (or at least it did the last time I was there).

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By the way, you might want to check out the calendar and see the latest lineups for the Beautiful Mint Life, World DJ Fest, and Green Plugged festivals. All three have updated their lineups, with the World DJ Fest now looking especially large and impressive.

By Shawn Despres

We at Korea Gig Guide are obviously big fans of live music and do our best to get out to as many shows as we possibly can.  Although we all saw many great performances over the last year, we’ve each compiled lists of the ones that stood out the most.  Here are our favourite concerts from 2010.  If anyone is interested, our 2009 picks are here.

Happy gigging in 2011!

Mark Russell
1. Japandroids @ Primavera Sound (Barcelona, Spain) on May 28
By far the most fun show I saw all year.
2. Caribou @ V-Hall on July 9
3. Mineri @ Cafe Bbang on July 16
4. LCD Soundsystem @ Incheon Pentaport Rock Festival on July 24
5. Martina Topley-Bird @ Jisan Valley Rock Festival on July 31
6. 3rd Line Butterfly @ V-Hall on July 9
7. Belle & Sebastian @ Jisan Valley Rock Festival on July 31
8. OK Go @ Merce Festival (Barcelona, Spain) on Sept. 24
9. Vamps @ Sala Apolo (Barcelona, Spian) on Oct. 12
10. Pixies @ Primavera Sound (Barcelona, Spain) on May 28
Actually, not so good, but for someone in my age group, I was happy I finally saw them live.

Dishonorable Mention:
The King Khan & BBQ Show @ Rolling Hall on June 19
Sure it was canceled, but how often do you get to be around for a band breaking up? Quality drama, and it did not cost a thing (except for Super Color Super, the poor promoter).

Shawn Despres
1. Acid Mothers Temple & The Melting Paraiso UFO @ Rusty Spurs (SXSW, Texas, USA) on March 17
2. Matt & Kim @ White Stage (Fuji Rock Festival, Japan) on August 1
3. Caribou @ V-Hall on July 9
4. →Pia-no-jaC←, 8otto @ Sangsang Madang on December 4
5. Apollo 18 & friends (members of National Pigeon Unity, Donawhale, and Slow Fuzz) @ Live Club Ssam (Ssamzie Space) on December 31
6. Vampilla @ The Toff in Town (Melbourne, Australia) on January 3
7. The Flaming Lips @ AX-Korea on November 20
8. Ego-Wrappin’ and The Gossip of Jaxx @ Incheon Pentaport Rock Festival on July 25
9. Galaxy Express @ Green Plugged Festival on May 21
10. (Tie between two concerts) Toe @ Live Club Ssam (Ssamzie Space) on May 22
Vidulgi Ooyoo, Jambinai @ Live Club Ssam (Ssamzie Space) on November 27

Jon Dunbar
1. “2007 Punk Rock Flashback (Jesse’s Welcome Back Show)”: SkaSucks, Suck Stuff, Attacking Forces, The Geeks, Shorty Cat, … Whatever That Means @ Club Spot on December 11
2. Return Bois, Brothers of the Hole, 100 Blossom Club, Paryumchiakdan, Captain Bootbois @ Hair Flower (formerly Skunk Hell) on December 18
3. I&I Djangdan, Kingston Rudieska, plus others @ Bibim Festival in Jeonju on May 21
4. Bane, Ceremony, Shellback, Banran, No Excuse, Things We Say, Geeks @ DGBD on May 22
5. “Stay Posi Festival”: Chadburger, …Whatever That Means, Banran, Vicious Nerds, 13 steps, Chokeslammer/Veteran, Things We Say, FC Five @ DGBD on April 25
6. SkaSucks, 99Anger, … Whatever That Means, No.1 Korean, Kickscotch, Attacking Forces, Black Leather Lagoon @ Club Spot on October 30
7. All the Purge Movemement shows @ Hongdae Playground
8. 51+ Party @ Dooriban on May 1
9. Bamseom Pirates, Vicious Nerds, Banran @ Dooriban on December 4
10. Chadburger, Shellback, Banran @ Queen Practice Studio on March 13

Dain Leathem

1. Green Day @ Olympic Gymnasium on January 18
Electric atmosphere, over two-and-a-half hour set, a tight band, a charismatic front man, and great songs – this is what all rock ‘n’ roll shows should be like.
2. Muse @ Jisan Valley Rock Festival on August 1
3. Galaxy Express @ Ssangsang Madang on October 10
4. Serengeti @ Rolling Hall on September 4
5. Crying Nut @ Green Plugged Festival on May 22
6. “Crazy for Crash”: Crash, Art of Parties, Apollo 18, Pia @ Jisan Valley Rock Festival on July 31
7. No Brain, YB, Kim Chang Wan Band @ Time to Rock Festival on June 4 – 5
8. Cocore @ Soundholic on April 25
9. Windy City @ Time to Rock on June 5
10. Kingston Rudieska, Re-Ska @ DGDB on December 24

Scatterbrain, one of Korea’s best indie music websites, is running an online survey to determine the top acts and festivals of the summer. All the questions are in Korean and English, and Scatterbrain’s programmer-in-chief tells me that he would love to have as many expats participate as possible. Personally, I am happy for anything that brings the local music scene and international music lovers a little closer together, so big thanks to Scatterbrain for this.

Anyhow, you can take the survey here.

To nobody’s surprise, it seems there will be no Peace in the DMZ concert next weekend. The only thing I find surprising is that it took the organizers so long to announce what everyone had long suspected.

Peace in the DMZ had faced a lot of troubles from the beginning. They lost a couple of big investors when Artie Kornfeld told them they could not use “Woodstock” in the name of the festival (which, given that the organizer called itself Woodstock Korea and used the Woodstock URL, they apparently really wanted to use). The lineup of bands was a strange jumble that did not really make sense together. But I do find it amazing that in 2010, we are still having this basic, ugly concert problems in Korea.

Now the big question is, will Kanye West really be performing at the Summer Week&T concert in Naksan Beach this weekend? He is still listed on the posters and website, but there is no signs of any mention on Kanye West’s websites, Myspace page, Facebook page, etc. Hopefully it is just an oversight. I find it hard to believe that SK Telecom (a cosponsor of Summer Week&T) would attach their name to an event that misleads about its lineup.

(UPDATE: I just saw Kanye West mention traveling to Korea on his Twitter feed, so I feel a lot more confident about his show now.)

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Oh, the Jisan Valley Rock Festival last weekend was a lot of fun. I was there on Friday and had quite a good time. The concert site is pretty far from Seoul (and organizers definitely need more signage at the bus station … and more shuttle buses), but it is a very picturesque location.

3rd Line Butterfly played soon after I got there, and were their usual solid selves (although 3:40pm and in sunshine is not really their ideal slot). Martina Topley-Bird was really good — a wonderful voice and delightful stage presence.

After enjoying the excellent Belle & Sebastian, I found a good seat at the back, by the food stalls but with a good view of the stage, and basically sat there for the rest of the evening. But I am old, so unapologetic about being lazy.

Best of all, all the advertised bands showed up and performed. What a crazy concept.

Anyhow, Jisan is clearly the top music festival in Korea now, in term of acts, professionalism, turnout and general ambiance. There is a decent write-up about how Jisan went over here.

UPDATE: There is a much fuller and more interesting overview of Jisan over at this blog. He mostly seemed to like it, although he thought the lineup was not as good as Fuji Rock. But to defend Jisan Valley — Fuji Rock has 13 stages, gets well over 100,000 people and costs 39,800 yen (or 550,000 won, or $450), so of course they get more. Korea is still building its festival scene and I think you are going to see more and better festivals in the future.

So last weekend was the Pentaport Rock Festival, held over in Incheon. I thought I would write up my impressions. But feel free to add you own, if you went and if you want.

Actually, the only day I attended was Saturday, so that is all I can report on. The highlight for me was seeing LCD Soundsystem, who were as bouncy and dancy as I had hoped (although I think their new album is not as fun as their previous ones, imho). And because most of the crowd was slow in getting over for the start, it was really easy to get a good spot up near the front. Wagdug Futuristic Unity (a side project of Hiroshi Kyono, of Mad Capsule Market) had their moments, but did not excite me so much.

As for Korean music, the band Ynot had a pretty good turnout; an enthusiastic, uptempo set. Vassline was WAY TOO LOUD, but from a distance they seemed pretty enthusiast. YB band was their usual solid self, if you like their sound, and for a lot of people there, I think YB was the highlight of the night (judging by how many people seemed to leave once YB was finished).

No way was there 27,000 people there, as reported, but it was a decent turnout. As usual the fans were enthusiastic but polite. A surprising good diversity of food in the food area, and lines were all reasonable. All in all, a good time.

Actually, my Pentaport started on Thursday, as I was a participant at the first Pentaport Music Conference, which was an industry event that featured some big music professionals from the United States and around Asia to network with the local music scene. Among the speakers was me, which was a little strange — as a writer, my only audience is usually cats. But it was fun (and a little scary) speaking before a big room of music industry professionals. And it was great to meet so many new people in the music biz.

Technically, Pentaport is not over yet, as there is still the Incheon Fringe Festival and the Incheon Arts Festival (which will have better Korean indie bands, imho). No information on them in English yet, but they are worth checking out. I will try to write up something about those events in the next few days.

PS: The esteemed Niels Footman has already posted his take on this year’s Pentaport over at his website.

Guns N’ Roses had their big concert in Korea last week. I thought I would post the comments sent to me about the show by a friend. They are short, but pretty fun, imho. Enjoy:

… went to see Guns N’ Roses (or, “Axl Rose and some other guys he found”) this past Sunday.  Actually a decent show, and with the second song being the opening from Appetite for Destruction (“Do you know where the F___ you are?  You’re in the F___ING JUNGLE, baby”) all were happy, if for no other reason than total ridiculousness.  You will appreciate that after the lights went down, they played Leonard Cohen’s “Everybody Knows” on the sound system for about 2 or 3 minutes before starting, I guess to properly set the mood.

Other idiocies included a solo for every band member, Tommy Stinson (ex-Replacements) playing “My Generation,” one guitarist playing the James Bond theme, another playing the Pink Panther theme, the KEYBOARDIST getting a solo and playing the chords to “Ziggy Stardust,” which was basically as good as me pounding on the piano (read: “not that impressive”) and Waxl even playing Elton John on the piano before getting into “November Rain.”  My goodness – throw in “Live and Let Die” and “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Doo-oo-oo-oo-or” and it was like more covers than originals.  Anyway, was fun to go and do something, especially given our poor concert setup usually.

On the Washup Tour’s™ second leg, I’ll be seeing Earth Wind and Fire Thursday…

If anyone else there went to the show and feels like commenting, please send in your reviews. Would love to post more opinions.

Or leave your comments in the KGG forum, if you prefer. The forum is on life support these days, but it is still there.

UPDATE: People have been uploading clips from the weekend festivals. Here are some of Weezer from Jisan, after the jump.

Oasis:

Jimmy Eat World:

And the great Patti Smith:

Starsailor:

It would have been nice to post some Pentaport videos, too, but so far, when I search, I can only see old videos from 2006-8 online.

Missed last weekend’s 5th anniversary concerts at FF? Went and aren’t all partied out yet? On Friday night (Febraury 20) Club Spot will celebrate their 3rd anniversary. Birthday anthems will be provided by long running pop-punkers Sugar Donut (who have performed at Pentaport and Fuji Rock in the past) and one of the best young bands in Hongdae right now, electro-rockers GoGo Star. Devo-inspired new wavers Telepathy should also turn in a fun set. Lunatic, and ska acts No. 1 Korean and Copy Machine round out the festivities. Things get under way at 6:30 p.m. and cover is 10,000 won. “Happy birthday dear Club Spot. Happy birthday to youuuuuuuuu …”