Emo afternoon
Saturday afternoon at the White Stage was mostly for emo, and Philadelphia's Valencia served up a characteristically energetic set of punky pop for the knot of people who'd lingered after the set by local emo heroes Eastern Youth. Introduced to the strains of "Born to Run" (regional thing?) and a five minute window of sunshine, the quintet bounded onto the stage and never stopped bounding the whole time they were there.
Sporting a variety of hairstyles, from skinhead to long Jimmy Page-like wave, the group covered the stage by shifting position second-to-second, occasionally running into each other as they passed in back of lead singer Shane Henderson, who seemed at pains to make sure everyone was having a good time. Suffice it to say they were, but foreign artists who've never played Japan before often have a tough time reading the audience. When it started raining in earnest, Henderson called out "Hey, don't let the rain spoil your fun." Easy for him to say. He doesn't have to stand in it.
