Pentaport festival, and Incheon bars, ready for the fans

Features

Published: 25 Jul. 2006, 20:44

Pentaport festival, and Incheon bars, ready for the fans

Seven years and two “ports” later, the 2006 Incheon Pentaport Rock Festival is back, ready to flood the area of Songdo with concert-goers from July 28 to 30.
As of June 7, 32 bands had confirmed their participation in the three-day event. The lineup features many internationally recognized groups, including the U.S. groups Black-Eyed Peas and Yeah Yeah Yeahs, the Scotland-based groups Franz Ferdinand and Snow Patrol, and the Japanese group Dragon Ash. A slew of Korean bands will also be on stage, including N.EX.T, Nell, Psy, Pia and Vassline.
While the term “pentaport” might leave some people scratching their heads, its meaning is quite literal; Incheon city is promoting itself as a business hub with five “ports”: an airport, seaport, business port, telecommunications port and an “entertainment and leisure” port.
The festival was originally supposed to serve as one way for the city to be an “entertainment and leisure port,” though when it was first held in 1999, it was known as the “Triport Rock Festival.” That event was less than successful, as bad weather rolled in instead of music-lovers, leaving the concert holder, iYESCOM Entertainment, 1 billion won ($1 million) in debt.
This year, the festival is being produced by iYESCOM and Yellow9 Entertainment, and co-produced by Prime Group Young Com, CJ Entertainment and Shownote.
The Black-Eyed Peas is a socially conscious hip-hop group from Los Angeles that is best known for its hit songs “Where is the Love” and “Let’s Get It Started.” Franz Ferdinand, a four-piece from Glasgow, shot to fame on the back of their MTV Breakthrough Music Video Award-winning track titled “Take Me Out,” and sales of their eponymous debut album.
The Yeah Yeah Yeahs is a New York art-punk trio, comprising the Korean-American lead singer Karen O, guitarist Nicolas Zinner, and drummer Brian Chase. Snow Patrol, a five-member band, has members who hail from both Ireland and Scotland. The group, famed for its indie rock hits, has released five albums, with chart-toppers such as “You’re All I Have” and “Never Gonna Fall in Love Again.”
Incheon’s bars and clubs are more than happy to have the festival; most are setting up tents near the venue to provide convenient places for people to party after the shows.

by Brett Stewart

One-day pass, two-day and three-day passes are available, for 80,000 won, 120,000 won, and 150,000 won, respectively. Those with two- or three-day passes can camp at the site of the concert for 5,000 won. Tickets can be purchased online at www.interpark.com or by phone at or (02) 1544-1555. For more information, go to www.pentaportrock.com or call (02) 3444-9969.