Adam Anderson, Theo Hutchcraft, Hurts

Hailing from Manchester, Hurts came prepared on Saturday with some college-level Japanese phrases to pepper their set of dense, luscious electronic pop.

Was today's show your first in Japan?

Theo: First ever time. We arrived on Thursday, and it's just melting my mind. We've been looking forward to it all year, and already the experiences we've had have been insane. We met Jackie Chan in Roppongi and we talked to him about — you won't believe this — Joy Division. His favorite song is "Transmission." Adam: The people are amazingly respectful and have been very receptive to us.

You're only just breaking through in Britain. How does it feel to be in Japan already?

Theo: Well, it's bizarre. We wrote all our songs in the rain in winter, and then — literally a year later — we're sat here. It's so exciting. You learn so much about (your own) music; stuff you never thought about. I think often when people don't understand the lyrics, they hear different sides of the music.

Have you seen any other bands here so far?

Theo: We wanted to see The Maccabees and Eels, but we missed them today. But Manchester's here: The Courteeners are here, Delphic are here, we're here, so we might just make a little mini-Manchester and swagger about. Adam: Someone told me Peter Hook's here as well. We'll get a little Hacienda going.

Adam Kessler, Jonathan Pierce, Jacob Graham, Connor Hanwick, The Drums

Brooklyn band The Drums pulled a huge crowd Sunday, crashing through a set heavily influenced by 1980s British indie.

Are Japanese crowds different to play to?

Jonathan: Yeah, there's some differences, you know. I think they have a different way of showing enthusiasm. They're a bit more polite; not as rowdy.

Will you look around Japan at all?

Jonathan: We'll maybe run around Shibuya a little bit. That's where we stayed last time, so we're pretty familiar with it. We'll have sushi and go to karaoke, go to record shops. Connor: It's cool to talk with people too; anyone you can communicate with. Everybody has such a great appreciation for our stuff.

Do you like doing the festival circuit?

Jonathan: Yeah. It's where you get to see other bands and make friends in the biz. It's a little more interesting than just going from venue to venue by yourself.

You're doing a fan meet-and-greet after your set. Do you enjoy those?

Jacob: I don't think they necessarily need to be that organized. Usually there's not enough time and there's still people who want to talk to us, so we just go out and talk to them. It almost defeats the purpose of having it organized to begin with.

Jonathan: We're always glad to do it because we do actually get to talk to fans and make friends.