Fujirockers: The official Fuji Rock Festival blog

Hey ma and pa, what the hell is wrong with ya’ll? Why isn’t the rest of the year as much fun as Fuji Rock?. Ahh, reality… Here are some memories to fuel us till next year:

Best Acts at FRF 2010:
Fishbone – 20 years and counting, and still one of the best live bands in the world, period. Angelo Moore may now look like a pot bellied pig, but this was FRF 2010’s best mosh pit, with no second place. Read Kern’s awesome review.
Air – 2 guys, so much sound. I can’t imagine what they’d be like with an entire orchestra, which I hear is what they’re trying to do on their next tour
Buffalo Daughter – Dressed in red, and their unique, amazing electro-jamming was at full force. Do yourself a favor and buy their new album.
John Fogerty – Way more than just a 70s rock icon. Read Phil’s terrific recap.

Best DJ set:
Fischerspooner – There was certainly Spooner, but where was Fischer? Who cares. They’ve got the tunes.

Best World Music:
Narasirato Pan Pipers – Wonderful envoys from the Solomon Islands. read more
Anyango – This Japanese girl’s a celebrity in Kenya, and with LOTS of fans! read more

Best Moment:
Fishbone lead singer Angelo Moore handing out flyers at the Crystal Palace at 3am. The flyers were cheap computer printouts and just said “Fishbone”.

Favorite Anthem:
Well, anyway, this was the song I couldn’t stop humming in my head on the bus ride home from Naeba. Riva Starr’s “I Was Drunk…” Yeah, fitting.

Anyango is the stage name of Eriko Mukoyama, a 29-year-old Japanese woman whose incandescent voice and skill at an eight-stringed African lyre called the nyatiti have brought musical renown and an official position as goodwill ambassador between Japan and Kenya. Her set very authentic east African music on Sunday afternoon filled the entire slope above Gypsey Avalon, almost to the very top. And afterwards, the CD-buying crowd turned into a veritable scrum.

The nyatiti has a very twangy, plucked instrument, and Mukoyama plays it sitting down, holding it in place with her feet. The singing is the high-toned chirping of east African song, and no matter the song, it almost can’t help but sound joyous and celebratory. It was far too peppy for sleeping in the grass – a traditional Sunday-at-Avalon ritual – and a considerable number of happy feet were up and dancing. Continue Reading…

Q: How many jam bands does it take to screw in a light bulb?

A: Only one, but it takes them three hours.

And for the crowd at Field of Heaven to see Moe on Sunday night, that may not have even been long enough. Moe, the third-generation (at least) jam band from upstate New York ruled the clearing from 8pm to just after 11pm, including a 20-minute encore. They were playing with the current five man lineup of Rob Derhak (bass, vocals), Al Schnier (guitar), Chuck Garvey (guitar), Vinnie Amico (drums), and Jim Loughlin (more drums). The vibe went from Grateful Dead-style space to Southern Rock guitar heroics and even to the weird slapping riffs of Les Claypool-style bass. Continue Reading…

Mallacan: if you’re from northeast Spain, the Aragón, you may not know this band. So think of them as the Aragonese version of Sublime, seven guys in black t-shirts cranking out hardcore guitar riffs, reggae backbeats and dancey horn parts, all while throwing an occasional devil horns hand symbol out to the crowd. As Aragón perceives itself as somewhat autonomous (not unlike neighboring Catalan), there was even someone in the crowd flying an Aragonese flag – red and yellow stripes with a red star in the center. Do they rock? Definitely. And apparently they’ve been proving this across Europe for 15 years. But this was a first landing in Japan, and they provided a Sunday afternoon with plenty of bounce. If you didn’t feel it, the MC was even screaming, “Jump! Jump! Jump! Jump!”

There may be some proof to how good the Boys Noize DJ set was last night at Fuji Rock’s Red Marquee in my not physically being able to write anything at all until now that the sun’s both come up and gone down again. All I have down in my notebook for the show is four words: THA STADIUM RAVE SHIT! There’s just something about Europeans; they know how to pull off that kind of massive sound. The Red Marquee probably holds around 3,000 to 5,000, but this kind of music could power a party that’s triple that big. Boys Noize – or Alexander Ridha, as it says on his drivers license – certainly knows how to pull it off. On the decks, he’s like a beanpole on springs in a florescent orange b-boy cap, and he commands the action like a kid who just realized, “If I twist this knob, I can make 5,000 people jump up and down like maniacs.” Ridha is only 28. Continue Reading…

Riva Starr had one of the sweetest sets a DJ could ask for at FRF 2010, 11:30pm Saturday night and just after the main stages shut down. So there were 40,000 people ready to party and one sure place to go. Riva Starr did not disappoint!

The Italian beat jockey tossed out his usual mix of fun-energy house, and if you’re familiar with his recent stuff, there’s a healthy dose of camp, or at the very least tongue in cheek. The capper right at the end of the set was the track “I Got Drunk” (to a house-up polka beat, an Eastern European sings in English: Yesterday I was drunk/ with some chicks in the club/ I don’t remember who came back with me/ And tonight I will drink/ With some chicks in the club/ I’m not sure I want to la la la). It’s a great, funny anthem and a super party tune. And with a Red Marquee full of dance headz ready to rollick, it struck a perfect note.

It’s probably just a coincidence, this New Orleans resurgence in popular culture and this FRF 2010 gig by Try Andrews, a.k.a. Trombone Shorty, who as it happens comes from the New Orleans neighborhood Treme, which is also the name of the new HBO series by the producers of The Wire. At any rate, Shorty’s got the chops, and for a jazz band leader, he’s also got a fairly unusual and un-jazz-like swagger, an attitude that fits a lot better with hip hop. Coming out with the shades, I kept thinking Jay Z….with a trombone. Continue Reading…

The Cabaret Fiesta is a shed over beyond the Orange Court that has been modified into a temporary Cuban beach-style supper club, complete with a sand floor. Acts go on every afternoon at 1pm, 3pm and 5pm. The final set is always by Willie Martinez and Mambo Loco, a six-piece mambo band led by “Big Willie” Martinez. If you’ve been to Fuji Rock before, the name Big Willie should sound familiar. In recent years he’s been the band leader of Big Willie’s Burlesque, a staple in the late night lineups at the Crystal Palace. This year, however, he’s gone a step up the ladder and got his own place, which runs a matinee schedule of flamenco, salsa, mambo and related genres. Expect mojitos, Havana rum, and players in ruffled shirts – a very Desi Arnez kind of scene. It’s a little Latin juke joint from heaven, and it’s a hell of a lot of fun.

Most of the death defying stunt shows happen at the Palace of Wonder, but not all. The Martinez Brothers high wire act is on the back side of the festival, beyond the Orange Court. Saturday afternoon, a mere toddler got involved in the act. Good thing the kid wasn’t afraid of heights!

See them every day of the festival at 4:30pm.

Christian Vander has been doing this for a long time. The 62-year-old French drummer brought his legendary prog rock band Magma to the Orange Court Friday night for a set of compositional jams that were majestic, spacey and heavily atmospheric. This was music from an era when it was still cool to say you were channeling sounds from outer space, when the promised land lay somewhere beyond Pluto, and when aliens were supposed to be wise, magnanimous beings. Vander, who’s classically trained, has in fact gotten in to some of that, but he’s also gotten into a huge range of music from 20th century classical to all sorts of jazz and rock. This night he was as usual at his rock drum kit at center stage, and seven others surrounded him, including female backup singers, electric organs, one male singer and a very eerie xylophone. (I actually expecting them to pull out a theramin or a real space music instrument, but no one ever did.) The singers would occasionally come to the front of the stage when they had featured parts, and when they were done, they’d return to the wings. It was wonderfully democratic, and also very Age of Aquarius. Vander had a big smile on his face the whole time, and I have to say he seems like a man who knows how to enjoy life, and his music – notwithstanding the galactic overtones – surely reflects that.

…fucking, fucking, fucking in heaven

This set was so good and people were so primed to party, it didn’t matter that there was no Warren Fischer and it didn’t matter that we were all dancing in the mud. The rain had stopped and it was all good, and as you’ll read in Dom’s account of the rest of the evening, it didn’t slow down a step until God turned the lights on. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. For this set, it was just Casey Spooner and Detroit DJ Laura Flax rocking the tunes and pumping the fun. Spooner, in a spangly shirt, may not have even touched the musical equipment once – Flax was more than capable – but he sure did cheerlead up a storm. As “Infidels of the World Unite” was coming on, he was chirping like a gay canary: “I love this song!” Then, pointing to the crowd, “Hey! I can see you! I can see everyone of you! Work it out motherfuckers!” As “Emerge” was fading in, he ravished, “Do you know this song? I never know. It’s so old!” So if you a questions about whether or not they played their hits, that’s pretty much answered by now. And for those readers less versed in the art of subtlety: hell yeah they played their hits. It was awesome!

Here’s a photo of Casey Spooner.

Back before most of us knew what a mashup was, Z-Trip had already moved the art of playing two different songs at once on to the next level, and closing out the Red Marquee on Friday night from 3:30 to 5am, he pulled out all the turntable tricks in what felt like basement party. Just to give an example, he cut “we don’t need no water let the motherfucker burn” into the chorus of “Smells Like Teen Spirit”, then segued over to the hook of House of Pain’s “Jump Around”, then a snippet of Aerosmith’s “Walk This Way”, which of course led into the theme from Rocky…and that probably took all of 5 minutes. Continue Reading…

Talk about a blast from the pizzast! Sonhouse formed in 40 years ago, in Fukuoka, the “Liverpool of Japan,” where black music influences like blues, a-hem, fekkin ruled the day! It was a different scene from metro Tokyo, which was possibly more conscientious about being hip. But bands on the south island could be more raw and harness a more visceral energy, playing as they did in their saki-fueled juke joints. Sonhouse, named of course after the famous blues musician, channeled blues, rock and hard rock, or as it now puts it in the official band tagline, they are an: Electric Rockin Boogie Band. So why does lead singer Toshiyuki Shibayama look like Ozzy Osbourne (and not the young version)? Continue Reading…

Every year we of the Fujirockers.org e-team try have our own internal poll for *the most fun band* of the festival, and in the early running, it already looks like the Narasirato Pan Pipers are about two lengths ahead. Performances by this group of Solomon islanders – there have been two already and there are several more to come – are almost like an episode of Gilligan’s Island with Earth Wind and Fire playing the neighboring tribe at the big luau celebration. They play bamboo pan pipes the likes of which we’ve never seen, they dance like 70s funk bands or maybe the New Zealand All-Blacks before a match, and the songs they play are mix island drumming with happy feet rhythms that sometimes quote Western rock ‘n roll. Infectious? Hell yeah, they’re infectious! After their gig this afternoon on the Boardwalk stage, I managed to chat with a couple of extremely friendly band members. Here’s their story… Continue Reading…

Maybe the only thing Broken Bells doesn’t have going for it is band history. Just formed in the autumn of 2009 by two fantastic musicians from very different backgrounds in James Mercer (The Shins) and Dangermouse (Gnarls Barkley), and then suddenly blossoming by way of Mercer’s superb songwriting skills and Dangermouse’s magical studio finesse to produce the hit eponymous album released this spring, all that remained was to develop a live show. This afternoon at the Red Marquee, this odd couple of Portland indie meets trans-Atlantic hip hop was joined by five other musicians. Mercer was of course on vocals and guitar, and Dangermouse’s efforts at learning instruments just for this band produced credible results on drums and keyboards, if he looked like he was trying too hard at times. Extra percussion, bass, keyboards and more guitars rounded out the band, which started with a spaced-out Pink Floyd style intro before kicking things off with the song October. Continue Reading…

Few stores carry pharmacy/drug store type products in Naeba, so if you need some basic over-the-counter headache or cold medicine, bug spray or sun block, check the Plateau, a steel and glass building just next to the Ticket Exchange Place near the Fuji Rock entrance (it’s the next building over if you’re walking back towards the Prince Hotel). Once you walk in the door, turn left, and there is a small pharmacy in the corner. [dave]

Given that the Parisian three-piece Jamaica are proteges of Xavier de Rosnay of Justice and Peter Franco, a close associate of Daft Punk, their noontime slot at the Red Marquee on Friday might have seemed a touch out of place. Post-midnight Planet Groove seemed an obvious suggestion. But seeing them – guitar/vox, bass and drums – there was no mistake. They are a rock band, and a slightly poppy one with French retro tendencies at that. Continue Reading…

Wondering what Massive Attack`s stage show is going to look like at FRF on Saturday night? Check out this photo report from their gig in Taipei last night by Steven Vigar. Looks like a whole lotta light show, and a whole lotta vibe. Here`s how Mr. Vigar described the show: Continue Reading…

“Fuji Rock won’t really be like Glastonbury until the Emperor shows up in a pink wig.” – Jon Helmer, Fuji Rock documentarian

In case you’re looking for the perfect Christmas present for a fellow Fuji Rocker, the chance comes early this year. Jon Helmer is bringing his double-DVD documentary on ten years of the festival to Naeba. It’s called Tents & Bugs & Rock N Roll, and he’ll be screening the four-hour video at a mobile cinema that will move around the festival grounds. He’s also selling copies for ¥2,000. Instead of a history of rock stars, legendary performances and big name acts, Heller has turned his camera on the fans, the staff and occasionally the artists back stage. This is a people’s history of Fuji Rock, with no narration, no titles, and a roughly chronological structure that covers the years 1999 (Fuji Rock’s first year in Naeba) to 2008. The video was produced in 2009, and now it’s ready for it’s grand debut. A few of the gems you’ll witness amidst the sprawling 245 minutes of the DVD’s length include Joe Strummer planning out the lot that went on to become the Palace of Wonder, Henry Rollins getting psyched up to hit the Green Stage, Jam Master Jay backstage at the Red Marquee…. Continue Reading…

Rusko’s music video for “Hold On” (featuring Amber Coffman) just came out on June 23 in support of his new album O.M.G… Strange for a music video, this is basically a documentary about Rusko’s life on tour, in which: he takes trains, taxis and passes in front of impressive European architecture; he goes to nightclubs, rocks the party, makes the crowd bounce, unplugs his equipment, then suddenly he’s in front of a whole new crowd and rocking the party some more; at the same time, he’s also sort of doing a marketing job for his Wake the Fuck Up t-shirts and making a fashion statement out of a bed-head mohawk hairdo; Rusko’s crowd meanwhile is behind barricades, insanely happy, and in some cases wearing panda bear costumes; and all of this sort of repeats for a while, and then Rusko walks out in the street and some smiling fans wave to him and the video ends. Continue Reading…

Go Chic, a band of three Taipei girls and one guy in their early 20s, this year becomes the first ever non-Japanese band to compete successfully against 1,500+ applicants and make the FRF Rookie a-Go-Go stage. Mostly former high school classmates, they blast out electro dance songs with riot grrrl energy, and the stage shows kick into full on party mode. It’s no wonder that at this moment, they can boast one of the biggest followings in Taiwan’s indie scene, but lately they’ve been pushing that envelop as well, earlier this year playing SXSW, getting ready for gigs in China, and now they are also no doubt busy shopping for neon rubber boots for FRF 2010. This all comes with the released of Go Chic’s debut album this spring, I Am Confused! (2010), which got a thumbs up from the Taipei Times for its “catchy beats, punk verve and a sassy, irreverent wit.” The members are Sonia Lai (Guitar/Synth), Sarah Wen (Bass), Winston Li (Drums) and Ariel Zheng (Vocals). Ariel recently answered some of our questions by email. Continue Reading…

OK, so the plot of this video, released about a month ago on June 3, goes something like this: a young Jamaican boy, who has a full beard and might actually be a midget or a drwarf, lives in a tin-roofed shack with a group of chickens, goats, a white rabbit and four supermodel dancehall queens, and oh, they also keep a three-legged bulldog in the yard. For fun, this modern family shoots their crossbow at a junked refrigerator, works out with cinder blocks, stands around looking very fashionable and blase, and before long they all say fuck it and start doing crazy dancehall moves in the living room. At this point, you are probably wondering why the lead image here is the cover of 2 Live Crew’s 1989 album As Nasty As They Wanna Be. Well, I’m getting to that, and it’s not just because I’m a huge fan of Luther Campbell, a.k.a. Luke Skyywalker, or at least we could still call him that before the lawsuit: Georgge Luucas may you burn in hell. Continue Reading…

Dangermouse and James Mercer from Broken Bells gave this interview to Los Angeles radio station KCRW just last Friday. Aside from about 30-minutes of live studio recordings, they talk about doing cover songs, what The Shins are up to, learning to play instruments, and a documentary soundtrack project. Here are a few highlights: Continue Reading…

AN INTERVIEW WITH BRYAN BURTON-LEWIS, WHO STILL WON’T ANSWER WHAT WE’RE SUPPOSED TO DO BETWEEN 5 AND 10AM

Who dreamed up with the idea that we needed an All-Night Fuji? And who envisioned that the dance party might possibly carry on past 5am – albeit after an inexplicable 5-hour break – in a distant, mountaintop field at an FRF extension known as Daydreaming? What originally put me on the track of Bryan Burton-Lewis was Tokyo’s red hot electro duo Dexpistols, the team of DJs Daruma and Maar, who, having blown up over the last few years in the Tokyo scene and on Fujirock stages are now getting major international props, the latest of which is headlining The Fader’s “Asia” mixtape (download it free!!!), just released last week. Within the last year, Burton-Lewis convinced Dex to go indie and help him found the Roc Trax Crew, which meant luring them away from major label BMG. But that’s just a little bit of what he’s been up to. Get the rest, including the inside story on Fujirock’s all-night party scene, in our following chat via that network of electronic chips, resistors and cables better known as the Internet: Continue Reading…

Fujirock is known for reunions of all sorts, ranging from the political-logistical to the rock-historical to the purely sentimental. Big festivals, and especially Fujirock, just have a way of making these things happen. One reunion that started out sentimental and now signals something of a reemergence is that of Super Junky Monkey, an all-girl J-core band that saw bi-continental success throughout the 1990s and was going strong right up through the shocking suicide of vocalist Mutsumi Fukuhara in 1999. Continue Reading…