Incheon Pentaport Rock Festival (The Abridged Version)

As you may well know, we just returned from our summer holiday down to the sunny beaches, and rugged mountains of Busan. There is obviously much to tell regarding this little adventure, a veritable whirlwind of goat-eating, beer-drinking, and sun-lounging activity, so I need to catch up with some past events.

The 29th of July is a very special day in the Korean calender. Not only was it the day I was born unto this world to teach them the ways of English, but in 2006 it also marked the first ever Korean Rock Festival, held in nearby Incheon. Headliners of the 3 day event were The Strokes, Placebo, and Franz Ferdinand. Other acts included Snow Patrol, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and in the most unexpected comeback of the year, those quasi-spiritual posh twats Kula Shaker. Plus loads of Asian bands, hurrah!

Due to a lack of time, this is the abridged version of that entertaining weekend. And for all those who failed to send a birthday email, shame on you! Also, in case the title of the post is lost on you....

abridged

adj : (used of texts) shortened by condensing or rewriting; "an abridged version"

Possible patronising over with, here are the pictures of a festival so stripped down and unglamourous, it made T In The Park look like Royal Ascot.



A typical scene from Pentaport. At times the mud was past ankle deep, and many solitary sunken shoes punctuated the main field like little tombstones. Clever Lynne bought a pair of green wellies outside, so while she was not going to win any fashion contests, she would at least be going home with both feet dry.


I scanned the area for the "Services" as advertised in the fantastically free festival program hung fashionably around my neck. You'd be paying about a tenner for those at festivals back home! Bonus points for Pentaport. In a typical show of Koreaness, you also received 2 free tins of deodorant upon entering the site. Very strange, as Koreans don't wear deodorant normally and it's a nightmare trying to track some down! Anyway, you can see my delight at locating the "T Street Fun and Food Zone", doesn't it look enticing!




We couldn't go on the Friday due to having to teach the kiddies more Dundee dialect, so arrived as festivities kicked off on the Saturday for the remainder of the weekend. Our group included myself and Lynne, Ross and Amy, and their friends Cat, Kelly and Craig from Cheongju. First thing I did was apologize to those 3 for my drunken state the previous weekend when we went down to visit. I will forever be thought of as "Bondeggi Breath". We booked into a Yeogwan ("Love Motel"), and debated over who got the room with the sado-masochistic sex chair in it, complete with instructional video. In the end, Ross, Amy, me and Lynne stayed in that room.....and what happened in Incheon, of course, stays in Incheon.



Seeing as we all, mostly, had to work on Monday morning, the best plan was to get smashed all day Saturday, which we did. More bonus points for Pentaport, was the decent fizzy pints of beer for very reasonable amount of Won. Also, there was a fine variety of spirits available, from Jaegermeister to fine Single Malt whisky.



Can you imagine doing this at a UK festival? Those bottles of booze would be swiped within 10 minutes, and some cock would have leant over to shout his order and set his Keane t-shirt ablaze. Which would be fair punishment.


Can you spot 5 retards in this picture. I'll give you a clue, they are all caucasian.



Highlight of the weekend, a fat, red-spandexed, silver face painted, short-arsed Korean guy called "Si". Utter genius. I don't even need to describe the music to you. After that physical description you just know it was utter genius. I was almost inconsolable when he didn't fly around on wires as Ross had promised. Boo! Hiss!



Usually my eyes give away the fact I'm smashed, but for the first time ever I look fairly lucid in this picture. Unfortunately the spilt pint of beer down my front gives the game away.







At one point Lynne, Ross and I managed to get lost, and ended up watching a Korean version of Linkin Park. I can't comment on the rumours that this was the music they played into Saddam's hole to force him out. But it's definitely possible.


Look it's Scotland's own Franz Ferdinand! In Korea! Why Alex Kapranos seemed to talk in a Texan drawl throughout is anybodies guess, and when he fell on his arse during the third song it looked like there was going to be a diva-style tantrum, but overall, of course, it was quality, and the place unsurprisingly went ballistic for "Take Me Out".

I'm afraid I can't comment on Placebo, as we were drunk and rolling around in the mud for most of the set. All I remember, is that "Dundee's Forgotten Son", Brian Molko has finally came to terms with his bald spot and shaved the whole lot off. This makes him look even stranger and it was hard to take your eyes off him, a mixture of fascination and pity, much like you'd give someone with really bright ginger hair. The real deal mind, none of that "Ooooh it's auburn", half-assed gingerness. Almost a shame to be drunk, as I was looking forward to hearing their early stuff, but it turns out they barely played any anyway.

Biggest shock of the weekend were the Blackeyed Peas. I had berated them constantly in the run-up to Pentaport, and they turned out to be fairly entertaining. I won't be buying any of that shite, but they are a pretty enjoyable festival band I suppose.

Well, that's it....after taking our turn on the floor of the Love Motel, Lynne and I got up at 6am for a 2 hour subway journey home. Yup, that's one big subway system!

And one final thing, don't pet any cute dogs in Incheon, as it's liable to bite your shoe and rip it right down the side. Hope the little bastard was "Soup-bound"!