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Raul, Wil-Dog, Jiro and Ulises
The multi-culti, musical hybrid L.A. collective Ozomatli gets lots of props in this blog and from FRF in general. This was their fourth time at the festival, and the feeling is mutual.
“Top festivals in the world?” pondered percussionist Jiro Yamaguchi. “Fuji Rock, Glastonbury–Glastonbury because it’s an actual city.”
“This is better, though,” said bassist Wil-Dog Abers from behind a pair of enormous shades and underneath a white ball cap.
“Yeah, it’s cleaner,” said Jiro. “But it’s the people, too.”
Yamaguchi, Abers were sitting in the back of the Prince Hotel with sax player Ulises Bella and guitarist Raul Pacheco, talking about the band’s new album, Fire Away, which is the first they’ve released since becoming ambassadors for a cultural outreach program sponsored by the U.S. State Dept., and the experience of playing to people in far-flung areas of the world had a profound effect on it. Continue Reading…
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. 
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. 
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!”
It was a big night for downtempo music, and Air wasn’t the only act attracting fans of this slow tempo music as Atoms for Peace (earlier) and Massive Attack (later). Sandwiched between these acts the Red Marquee wasn’t as crowded as one would expect. There was room to swing about and dance, and even get some of the cool breeze coming in from outside.
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. 
Osaka’s Good 4 Nothing drew a small, but easily excitable audience to the Red Marquee on Sunday morn at 10:20 a.m. The quartet played a 40 minute set of punk standards while early risers gleefully pogoed along. I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that many in attendance went easy on the sauce last night. This is a good thing because had they not all of that bouncing could have made for a very messy situation. After removing his shirt, at one point the act’s guitarist started rubbing and tweaking his nipples while joking with the crowd. Guess he figured why go all the way to the massage area near Avalon when he could just give himself a rubdown at the Red Marquee.
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.
How anticipated was Narasirato Pan Pipers final FRF gig Saturday night at Gypsy Avalon? People were already dancing before the performance started, eagerly bouncing and clapping along while members of the band ran through their sound check.
Despite Fuji Rock almost always running on time, Predawn’s Mokudotei start was delayed a few minutes to ensure that she wouldn’t be drowned out by Theatre Brook’s performance at the nearby Field Of Heaven. By the time she got the green light to begin, the boardwalk and its surrounding foliage was crowded with bodies. Having played Day Dreaming at FRF ’09, the singer-songwriter was well prepared for her Saturday afternoon set. Armed with only an acoustic guitar and her pretty innocent voice, she shared her soft pop tales of innocence, love, and longing with an attentive crowd in the forest.
