I live for live music. A perfect night for me consists of a few friends, an awesome outfit, a cold beer and front row standing room at a concert, preferably one with a performer who doles out dance-worthy beats. As soon as I started teaching English in Korea I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Seoul is a hub of fantastic music venues. I snatched up Lady Gaga tickets for the first show of her Born This Way Ball in late April, I aced 'KPOP 101' when my friend brought me to an exclusive taping of Inkigayo in Seoul, I ventured out to Nami Island to dance with Korean hippies and listen to Jason Mraz sing sweet nothings in June and I jumped for joy when I realized I could attend Seoul's Super!Sonic show in August. I originally thought I would have to miss the two day music festival because it was scheduled for mid-week (Tuesday and Wednesday) in Seoul, but I soon realized the Wednesday was not just any Wednesday, it was Korean Liberation Day, so I had the day off and attended my first mid-week music festival at Seoul Olympic Park.
Super!Sonic is the sister festival of Japan's famous Summer Sonic. I missed the festival's first day line-up (due to work) which included The Smashing Pumpkins, Gym Class Heroes, Idiotape, Soulwax and more. As much as I wanted to see The Smashing Pumpkins, Wednesday's line-up impressed me with New Order, Gotye, The Vaccines, Tears For Fears and Foster The People. What was supposed to be another rainy and humid summer day in Seoul turned out to be surprisingly sunny and comfortable. My friend and I spent the day shuffling in an orderly fashion (that's how it's done in Korea) between two stages where bands performed back-to-back sets.
