Last weekend was the much anticipated Jisan Valley Rock Festival. The three day event was attended by swaths of Koreans and foreigners alike, including yours truly. Somehow I had managed to get my hands on a car, and Friday afternoon Alex, Rebecca, Kelsey and I piled in and made the trip up to a relatively secluded ski resort outside of Seoul. After getting lost a number of times and missing a few of the key bands (Fallout Boy and Jimmy Eat World) we finally managed to get there despite the horrible Korean-ized directions that were given to us. Despite the misfortune we were able to catch Weezer, who put on one of the best shows of the weekend. They played some stellar songs, opening with a cover of Seven Nation Army and were speaking Korean throughout their entire set even going so far as to start up the chants from the 2002 World Cup. Saturday was a little more tame and I only managed to catch a few bands most notably of which was Basement Jaxx. Despite the tame Saturday, Sunday was going to be the real killer. I woke up early and eventually found my way over to the pool where I caught up with Graeme and company. Had a good swim and got some lunch with those guys before returning to our Mimbak (chalet) to prepare for the day. After sorting everything out we all went back to the show and I prepared for the next 42 hours of my life.

As I had discovered on Friday night the stage was organized into sections, the front most section was caged off and only a few hundred people were allowed in at a time. This little complication had not been a problem for us earlier in the weekend and it also had allowed me to be within 50 feet of Weezer on the Friday. By Sunday the park was getting full and everyone wanted to be front and centre for Oasis. Foreseeing this inevitability the group and I decided it would be a good idea to get in line early. We arrived at about 3 pm and only had to wait about 30 minutes before being let in. Getting in this early was fantastic because it meant that I would be within a few dozen feet of every band that day beginning first with the Asian Kung-fu Generation. A pretty decent punk-ish band from Japan. Following them was the legendary Patti Smith who truly put on a good show despite being a bit crazy. She preached to us about nuclear non-proliferation, urged us to fight the system and to save mother earth. Somehow I think her complicated and profound message was lost amongst the majority of the people there. Following Patti Smith was none other than Jet, one of the bands I had waited all weekend to see. These guys were absolutely incredible. They were energetic and excited to be playing in Korea. They even made some bad M.A.S.H. jokes. Finally, after much anticipation and hours of waiting Oasis took the stage for what was in my mind supposed to be a legendary and prolific show. Unfortunately though it had turned into Liam Gallagher complaining on stage, insulting the fans and genuinely not giving a ****. Don't get me wrong, the music was good and he didn't up and leave the show but he did not spend any time on stage when he didn't have to, he complained about not knowing where he was or what the festival was called, and he uttered several derogatory things under his breath. Fortunately for him the rest of the band was there to support him and pick up his slack. Personally, I almost feel as though the festival should have ended with Jet. But I suppose that at the very least I can say that I have finally seen Oasis. So after being severely disappointed with the lack of professionalism presented by Liam the four of us plus Sarah and Russ headed back to our cars and prepared for the long trip home. Despite ending on somewhat of a negative note, the weekend still rocked and I had another incredible adventure in the ROK which I owe to largely to Alex and the rest of the team for making it all happen. Cheers!