Punks Were Made Before Sounds

The outdoor stage in Ueno Park is usually the preserve of folk musicians and low-ranking J-pop idols. In a change of pace so abrupt that it risks giving some of the area's local pensioners a heart attack, the venue is being taken over for the day by a sizable punk contingent, led by thrashcore survivors Vivisick. The group presides over a dozen-strong lineup, and all money on the door will go to Clench the Fist, the fundraising drive launched by Sendai punk venue Birdland. While there promises to be a whole lot of moshing, it isn't all punk and hardcore: keep an eye out for dub/roots band Super Dumb and Aichi's Turtle Island, whose melding of punk and taiko sounds like a steroid-enhanced Japanese version of The Pogues.