- Sonic Mania Lineup;
Live Stage:
Gorillaz
Tsuyoshi
Der Dritte Raum
Orb
System 7
DJ Stage:
Alex Patterson
Afropolice
Youth
Electric Tease
Domino
Tristan
Tsuyoshi (played twice)
Well pack your bags and call me a "Goa-Goa otaki" (Psy Trance Goa Fanatic), here we go for another night of crazy eventful bliss. Sonic Mania being the mega rave event following the first day of the Summer Sonic Festival, it was bound to be a success. The Summer Sonic lineup that day had consisted of the likes of; Incubus, Beck, Primal Scream, Love Psychedelico and Air. What the next day had in store of Slipknot, Marilyn Manson, Mercury Rev and Shea Seger - there had to be a night of quality music to bridge the two days.
By the time I had arrived at the Makuhari Messe (which temporarily wasn’t being used as the main Toyota Showroom), it was already too late to catch Alex Paterson, however the crowd was already into the swing of things and the tempo was already up and going. A bizarre gigantic inflated model was waving its limbs to the beat between the Live Stage and the DJ stage, which was sort of ironic as most people were torn between the decision of choosing either the DJ stage and the Live Stage. I made my way to the Live Stage to get myself going, to find Gorillaz playing some down right groovy hiphop and funk. The most appealing part of their performance was the fantastic VJ setup - the band actually playing behind the screen, so the animation was being played as foreground and the band members’ shadows casting their way through with some good technical VJ work at precise times.
A bit of wandering around the market stalls which surrounded the perimeter of the venue led me to a crazy discussion with a market stall owner. Another Australian and his fiance were persuading me of the mystical powers of a green Borneo beetle, which I didn’t buy, though the energetic conversation set my mind perfectly for an assault on the dancefloor of Electric Tease. Dancing with my friends and general discussions with other interesting party goers from all corners of the globe was great to this music - but I didn’t know what I was install for next.
"Domino" was a name I had heard plenty of times through circles of Psy Trance/Goa lovers, but it wasn’t until now that I had heard this mistress of Psy trance perfection lay down 2 hours of unbelievable mental bliss. I cannot describe the crowd’s reaction as I was too far into my own mind with her music to take notice of anyone else. Pure perfection.
However, I didn’t want to miss the Orb playing on the live stage which of course was not as upbeat as Domino`s music, but created a slightly more mellow atmosphere for those who needed it. Not to be outdone, Tristan boarded the turntables and began his assault at the DJ stage. The circular podium setup for the DJ Stage was great as it meant that the usual dance-towards-the-DJ flow of the crowd was obliterated and there was plenty of room for party goers to "shake their thang" and work on their love life. Custom clad freaks joined the mortals on the dancefloor and the general havoc became absolute mayhem - nothing better I assure you. However I had a break and came back to find the one and only Tsuyoshi playing his second set of the night. I have enjoyed every single set I’ve heard of his before and since coming to Japan. His music was a prefect way to finish the event, flashbacks galore. Then, almost as if I had only just arrived... it had finished. A night of fun, freaks and musical fantasy had taken place, only one question remains.... where the f#ck did I put those keys?
Click here for the photos from Solstice Music Festival 2001.