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THE MIDDLE EAST COMES FAR EAST
My girlfriend doesn’t particularly like “rock,” but she has already remarked about the great sound quality seemingly ever-present at Fuji Rock. And for a 7-piece like the Middle East, that’s very important business.
To experience the subtlest vocal inflections or the twinkling twang of a banjo, the most gentle accordion squeeze, a trumpet’s triumphant yet distant crescendo, a barefoot beardy man’s wispy refrain, a flickering flute melody, etc. a with-it sound guy is key. And a muted day of overcast weather puts us all in a muddy soundproof sort of booth here in Naeba, a perfect setting for vocal harmonies to strum your soul strings; is that too emotional for the first day?
Anyway, The Middle East start with vocally strong, goose-bumpy tracks like “Blood,” that amazingly sound just as good live as recorded. Then tracks like “Jesus came to my birthday, I was only 17,” makes you wonder if this ensemble has just reworked some pesky worship music and gone international. But followed by a harmonica intro, like an old steam engine pulling out of the station and a tumbleweed whacking you upside the head, barefoot beardy man in flannel makes you wonder if in fact this band sold its soul to the devil at the crossroads like Robert Johnson, or the band Low, take your pick.
But seriously, this band bears uncanny resemblance to so many of my musician friends back in Austin, Texas, and this menagerie of instrumentation utilized, if even for a second, is refreshing to watch and nostalgic nonetheless. And they didn’t overdo the tambourine, thanks for that!
My favorite by far though was the percussionist, who really looks like the aforementioned saint, tucked back a bit farther than the bassist, just wearing tight pants instead of a white robe, that pulls out a Rafiki from Lion King-looking stick with bottle cap bells on it shaking ferociously in time with the Blues Brother drummer. It was an epic, Moses parting the seas moment that gave me grins.
Coming all the way from down under to Japan for the first time, with some heavy lyrics laden with multiple metaphoric meanings I’m sure, yet included the crowd, even those speaking no English, with easy to join in repetitive oh’s and ah’s, whistling and hums. Wouldn’t it be nice to see some indie post-rock stuff in Japanese karaoke bars all over the country?
Photo courtesy 佐俣美幸. See more photos here
