Two rock festivals battled it out in Korea over the weekend, but for most rock fans, it was no contest.

Jisan Valley Rock Festival, featuring performances by Oasis, Weezer, Starsailor, Fall Out Boy, Basement Jaxx, Patti Smith plus top Korean musicians like Crying Nut, Lee Han-chul and Run Run Runaways and Kim Chang-wan Band, attracted over 52,000 fans over the three-day festival at Icheon, Gyeonggi Province.

Billed as a ``green'' and eco-friendly rock festival, Jisan's grass lawns, cool weather and scenic view of the surrounding mountains were a nice change from the Pentaport Incheon Rock Festival.

``The idea of bringing nature into the music festival with the best line-up in Korea proved to be very successful. People were happy to tread on the lawn barefoot compared to the muddy, stony site at Pentaport. The weather was fantastic,'' Seo Shin, an Oasis fan, said.

The festival kicked off Friday, but things heated up when American rockers Jimmy Eat World hit the Big Top Stage.

Fall Out Boy soon followed, performing hits like ``I Don't Care,'' ``Thnks for Th Mmrs,'' and ``America's Suitehearts'' during their one-hour set. ``We should have come to Korea a long time ago,'' bassist Pete Wentz told the crowd.

Korean punk rockers Crying Nut kept the crowd's energy high, while British rock group Starsailor had everyone over at the Green Stage enthralled with their music.

But the most eagerly anticipated act on Friday was Weezer and they did not disappoint. Weezer started their set with ``Undone ― The Sweater Song,'' and frontman Rivers Cuomo surprised everyone when he played a bright red guitar with the ``Go Reds'' logo. He even asked the crowd to do the ``Daehan Minguk'' chant.

``We're so happy to finally be here. After so many years, we're finally in Korea. We hope to come here many more times,'' Cuomo said. He further endeared himself to the fans by speaking several Korean phrases and sentences.

Weezer played some brand new songs from their upcoming album, like ``I'm Your Daddy,'' ``Can't Stop Partying'' and ``The Girl Got Hot.'' For their encore, they played a medley of pop songs like Katy Perry's ``I Kissed a Girl,'' and Lady Gaga's ``Poker Face,'' before finishing off with ``Buddy Holly.''

Saturday started with Lee Han-chul and Run Run Runaways performing at the Big Top Stage. Lee, a veteran musician who recently came back from a trip to Cuba, showed off Latin influences in his music.

Korean punk band Johnny Royal entertained audiences with their instructions on how to have more fun. New Zealand band Human Instinct presented a bluesy brand rock'n'roll, followed by Korean modern rock bands Deli Spice and Kim Chang-wan band. The 55-year-old Kim, a founding member of the legendary rock band Sanulrim, performed his old hits that had everyone up and dancing.

Windy City, a Korean reggae rock band, gave audiences a feel of what true Rastafari is about through their exciting yet soulful music.

The Saturday's highlight was, however, undoubtedly the headliner Basement Jaxx. The 90 minutes of electric dance music drove the audiences wild, especially with Basement Jaxx' last song ``Bingo Bango.''

On Sunday, the crowd swelled in numbers, causing long lines at the restrooms and food stalls. Some fans complained they had to line up for an hour to buy food.

Jang Ki-ha and the Faces, a cult band from Hongdae that blends kitsch with clever lyrics, and Japanese band Asian Kung-fu Generation managed to entertain the audience with their hits.

Patti Smith & Her Band made their first appearance in Korea and showed why Smith is called the ``Godmother of Punk.'' Performing songs like ``Because the Night'' and ``People Have the Power,'' Smith raised her guitar and said: ``This is the only weapon we need.''

The final night's headliner Oasis burst on stage with frontman Liam Gallagher's typical rock'n'roll attitude by throwing away tambourines and shouting swearwords. While he did not care to remember the name of the rock festival he was in, Gallagher did remember to thank Korean fans who were at their gig in Seoul last April.

Oasis performed old and new songs, such as ``The Shock of the Lightning'' and ``I'm Outta Time.'' After their electrifying encore, the Jisan Valley Rock Festival ended with a lavish fireworks display.

While Oasis didn't say much during the concert, it was obvious the enthusiastic Korean fans left a big impression. On Monday, Liam Gallagher posted a message on Twitter: ``Korea, just wanna say you were absolutely (expletive) amazing, I love your country, my kinda people. Live forever.''

More pictures from the festival can be found by clicking here.

Via L4E source: koreatimes.co.kr

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