Super Sonic Day (night) One - Custard Factory Friday 11th July 2008

Comfort zone...I hate that phrase...it's always used by empty headed fuckwits who think they're more important than they really are...so, tonight I was out of my comfort zone then...yes...it's Super Sonic 2008. I've a bit of a dodgy history with Super Sonic. We'll I've only been once, back in 2005, drawn by PTV3. Just as they were about to come on stage there was a bomb scare and the whole of Birmingham was evacuated. You couldn't make it up. The last couple of years I've just not made it for some reason. Perhaps because this isn't my usual musical territory. I've got fairly eclectic tastes but a fair degree of Super Sonic seems to veer towards the noisier side of experimentation. However, mindful of the old adage that travel broadens the mind (so musical 'travel' has got to be a good thing too, right?) I'm plunging myself into three days of sludgecore, gabbathrash and raggadub...or something like that. First up Cutting Pink With Knives, playing their last ever gig (in the UK at least). I have to say I've rarely laughed so much at a gig in my life. Lead Cutter, Edi I think his name is, has a great future career in stand up. Think a less angry, slightly camper, Jewish Bill Hicks. The songs lasted about 60 seconds each, but beneath the thrashy noise and 180mph screaming there's actually a threat of melody. Please don't expect any great musical insights over these three days. I'm sure there are plenty of reference points for who the band sound like, but I'm fucked if I know any of them. Anyway, Edi thrashed about like a whackjob, leaping off the stage into the crowd (a leap of about 8 feet), at one point he was carried off into the middle of the throng and nearly, in his words, 'ass raped'. Quote of the night belongs to him 'this was a single once...now it's just a pile of shit'. Actually it was rather glorious. A soundtrack to mass murder. Highlight of the festival so far.

I do like a bit of Japenese music. Whatever the genre, they take it very seriously. So tonight I was looking forward to the Osaka Takeover. Bit of a struggle getting into the Factory room, so I missed Drumiz, but I caught a bit of the incredibly loud and shouty (nothing to do with Osaka whatsoever) Rolo Tomassi instead outside. They were loud and shouty. I did manage to make Dokkebi Q though. I'll call them Jaggapop (that's Japanese Ragga Pop - see the beauty of Super Sonic is that you can invent all sorts of crazy genres and no one can really argue with you...go on, you try...let's see how many genres we can start by Monday morning eh?). Great phat dubby beats, a bit of Drum n'Bass and some random old skool computer game sound FX. Listen to HardcoreCherryBonbon and you'll see what I mean. In a word...Jahpan.

Back out into the courtyard area for a bit of PCM - pure, high class Drum n' Bass that sent a sizable portion of the crowd absolutely radio rental, then back into the Factory space for Bogulta. Japanese Death Metal? I think that kind of covers it. A singing drummer who should be locked up for drum kit abuse and a thrashy guitarist singing songs about the end of the world...probably. It certainly sounded like it.

Finally, for me anyway, Dalek (pictured) They actually have two dots over the 'a'...so it's 'die-a-leck'...nice touch. I've seen them classed as shoegaze rap, not a bad description. There's some heavy, dark shit going on here. Bits of Aphex Twin, Tricky, Portishead, J5, Spearhead...all sorts of cool stuff...you'd be there for weeks sample spotting. It's refreshing to see (and hear) a different slant on hip hop and, if the world is going to end in a huge financial meltdown, which now seems pretty inevitable, Dalek would make a pretty good soundtrack to the ensuing looting, murder and chaos. Hey, enjoy your weekend people!

We left around 1.40am, missing three more acts, but this is a bit of a marathon, not a sprint and I want to be in some kind of a fit state for today's merry making (unless I get at least 6 hours kip I'm like a zombie). I'll be the one at the front looking blissed out/confused/scared/angry/hungry/sexy/knackered/mental (delete as applicable).