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It’s been a long weekend. It’s rained a lot. I’m sunburnt. I’ve eaten more than my dietician recommends. Of course, to deal with all of this, I’ve had to drink a lot. For my health, you understand. Keep my fluids up, so to speak.
So, we’ve reached the last set if the night. I’ve exchanged my gumboots for dancing sandals. Mistake? Yet to be proven. But after four (yes, four) long days, my feet are singing a song of praise. And that means, Faber has the sole advantage of finding me with my feet unbound. Not even the superb Horse Meat Disco had that honour. Continue Reading…
I have been contributing to this team at FujiRock for six years now, and I’ve never covered a headline act. I usually leave this duty for guys with a lot more experience like Phil, guys who write for a living. But when I saw no one else had selected to review this seminal group, I had to take it on. 
I started listening to Ian Brown outside the White Lodge, your fujirock.com hq, just up from the White Stage. It sent a shiver down my spine. That’s some milk curdling voice he has going on here. I went inside, and things didn’t get any better… Eventually I bit the bullet and down I went, to get in amongst. 
I usually arrange my schedule to avoid two things at FRF. One, the Red Marquee. Two, British bands. These guys slipped past my radar because they’re more Scottish than British. And I quite liked the idea of their “retro sound” as Jeff made note in his preview.
Mustang is a hard act to follow. The started out a little iffy at the pre party. Then they proved their worth at Shokudo. And cemented it in the Palace. 
I blogged about JBT growing into something more interesting a month or so back. Due to a surprise lift from a kindly local from the minshuku we’re staying at (40 odd minutes walk from the Green Stage), I was able to slide in just as John Butler picked up his slide guitar. Actually, it was a banjo that he started the day’s activities with. But that doesn’t work with where I’m going… 
I met Rory just before his Naeba Shokudo performance started. He struck me as a genuine guy, just as indicated on the Don’s preview piece. Kinda genuinely happy that I’d be watching. 
There are two nationalities that are the winners in the drawcrowd stakes here at FRF. The first is the Brits. It was fellow FRFer Jeff who put it so succinctly when he said if you laid a turd on toast, put it on stage and called it British, people would come to see it. 
I arrived at All Night Fuji just as Green Velvet was taking over the decks. Some in the crowd expressed their disappointment that he was not to be playing live, but I found no such disdain. As I predicted in my preview piuece, his style was tonight much more tripped out than the house that made him famous. Sandwiched between Ken Ishii and Denki Groover Takkyu Ishino, it’s no surprise that he saw fit to adjust his style to fit the moment. The sign of a good DJ is in my opinion the ability to read the crowd and adapt to what they want, whether that be a track by track decision, or a stylistic one before a beat has been played. 
So it started with an argument. A simple statement from the Professor. A learned man. Check his credentials. He’s a frickin professor fer fooks sake. 
I arrived just in time to get a crap position for Moriarty on the boardwalk. It seems that despite the fact most of us here at FRF.com know sweet F.A. about them they are pretty popular act… I had to climb off the boardwalk into the bush (on the wrong side) just to get a look in. 
One of the best things at FujiRock are the things you were not expecting. This mime artist was spotted as I grabbed some liquid refresment in the Tokuro Tenguku food court area near White Stage. 
So you’re back in my good books, Ash. You did well today. A good mix of new material, and older classics that made me love you guys back in 93. 
Well the others have summed it up pretty succinctly, I think. Not much more to say, other than don’t listen to anyone on what you should like.
