Fujirockers: The official Fuji Rock Festival blog

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

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

Heck, I've got all day up here.

There are some evil little beasties at this festival that suck blood from you and leave you with a grapefruit-sized swelling. The medics translated the name as “gnat”, but these things are no gnats. They’re some kind of super-strength vampire flies. And when they coordinate an attack by biting you all around the ankle, it also cripples you. I had to hobble to see Ozomatli, limping like I was wounded in some war. I wondered if I’d be able to stand through the whole set.

It took 3 or 4 seconds of the show before I was jumping around. They opened with “Ya Viene”, and played it even more furiously than usual. The crowd was bouncing and so was I. Anything less would have been letting the vampire flies win.

The first sign of the new album was “Malagassay Shock”, another big party tune to get the crowd romping.

On a tangent, I’ve heard Muse described as the best live band in the world. I saw them two days ago and it was just some blokes on a stage with lasers. Ozomatli are the best live band in the world. They take up the whole stage, they throw instruments at each other whether or not they need to. They don’t let the set go for two songs before pulling out something to get you jumping to. And they have crowd interaction that nobody comes close to.

The only foot Ozomatli ever put wrong was to get Jack Johnson singing a song about how being rich doesn’t necessarily make you an arsehole. J-Lo already wrote a song about that, and we didn’t believe her either. Jack’s not here today, but we still get the tune, with Raul and Asdrubal on vocals. At least it’s more uptempo here.

Raul, the shaven-headed guitarist-singer, then decides to rock out, going all metal on us as the rest of the band make devil-horn fingers. There’s a time and a place for rock guitar solos, and this seems like both. It fits the moment and the crowd loves it.

Next up, “Nada For Free”, from the new album. It’s a great party tune, and likely to be repeated tonight at the Crystal Palace. It also sounds like it was written for Biz Markie, with bouncy rap about a girl kicking you in the nuts. We get a stripped-down, heavier take on “Saturday Night”. Rapper Justin starts surfing the crowd as a taster for what’s to come. Ozomatli, as always, end the set by taking their instruments into the crowd and jamming. How are they going to top that tonight?

The Real Jam

How many Sunday morning jam sessions (official ones) can there be at Fuji Rock? The answer is: your guess is as good as mine. I mean, Sunday morning is clearly for the keeners and the freshers and those of us that have to do this. Everyone else is ripening in their tents, sleeping off Saturday’s boozy festivities. So Sunday morning jam sessions are, like, soooo not on their radar. But there must be a few, since I ended up at one on the Avalon stage when I should have been at another at Field of Heaven. Continue Reading…

Kitty, Daisy and Lewis are, of course, named after the members of the band, but if we’re being pedantic it should be Kitty, Daisy, Lewis and Mum & Dad, because it’s the mum on double bass and the dad on guitar.
All the while I’m watching them, I can’t help thinking of how people stress about Facebook invites from their parents, but K, D and L were asked to form a band with their olds. And they said “yes”.
I watched Kitty, Daisy, Lewis and Mum & Dad last night at the Crystal Palace. Or to give them their full name, “Kitty, Daisy, Lewis and Mum & Dad and Mum & Dad’s friend Eddie on Trumpet”. It was a great show, and Lewis later told me that he loved playing speigeltents, but I enjoyed their Field set today more. It’s not easy to explain why, but though the music is old-time perfect for the spiegeltent, it was more fun in the open air. If you looked around, the staff at most of the food stands was jiving and grinning.
In the course of the show, the kids played guitars, a ukelele, drums and an accordian, which suggests that although these parents seem like the best parents on Earth, they’re probably hard-tasking, whip-cracking, autocratic bastards. Be thankful that your old folks just watch TV all day and can’t remember what you do for a living.
PS. Since this is supposed to be a music review rather than a family appraisal: they played rockabilly, rock ‘n’ roll and a bit of Hawaiian music. All good. Read Jinki’s review of last night. It was like that but with more air.

Carlos and Temjin of MMK

It’s all about the brass. Bursting onto the stage and quickly picking up a pace that didn’t let up, Mountain Mocha Kilimanjaro made pulling myself out of bed after a few scant hours and making an hours trek all worth it.

This booty shakin’ sextet are tearing up the stage with a crowd of ravelers singing along to every word of “Baggy Pants” led by Bobsan on guitar. That’s right, everyone here knows both words. By heart. Even the guys from Ozomatli are approving, off stage right. Temjin on trumpet and Carlos on sax are the frontmen and face of the stageshow, but it’s Ginger on bass that gets the biggest cheers of the set as he leads us briefly into Run DMC’s Walk This Way. Brilliant stuff. Continue Reading…

Susan Tedeschi And Derek Trucks

I’ve already done a pretty extensive overview of Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi here. I was curious to see what kind of crowd they would draw here, as I don’t believe they travel abroad much, so whatever fans they have in Japan would be hell-bent on catching this show.

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Theatrebrook at the Field of Heaven

The Field of Heaven was rocking this afternoon as Japanese band, Theaterbrook, took the stage with their unique brand of rhythm and blues inflected rock and roll. The lead guitarist had a big afro-style hair and the audience was mostly standing up front and clapping. About halfway back they were on fold-up chairs and other camping stools. Me, I was carefully tucked away in a stall selling organic coffee (hot or iced) with a shot of Kahlua. It was reasonably priced at 600 Yen, and you could enjoy the comfort of a few benches and some overhead shelter if you purchased something here. It was just what I needed this morning, and even a film crew came buy and got me on camera. I wasn’t looking my best, but happy for a moment to be listening to good music and having my morning coffee.

Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks just stepped onstage at Field of Heaven. Blues licks, crunchy rhythm, backbeat and some tasty Hammond organ. And her voice is soaring. Rain? What rain.

Susan Tedeschi & Derek Trucks

Martin Johnson

Anglo-Irish trad music is pretty popular in Japan, as evidenced by how often the Chieftains used to tour here and how quickly their shows sold out. I assume that’s what the “underground” refers to in the name of this band: trad musicians hanging out together in hobby groups playing reels and jigs and sea chanteys. The “overground” in the name refers to the fact that these guys make a living from this; or, at least, part of a living. Several of the members are in the hardcore punk band Brahman, so this could be considered moonlighting. But based on the show they gave at the Field of Heaven Sat. afternoon, it’s not necessarily a softer break. They may play acoustic instruments, but they play them like a hardcore punk band. Continue Reading…

Okay, maybe there’s a trend going on here.  Super Junky Monkey’s members all wore their band tee during their Red Marquee concert this morning.  Following suit, iLL’s keyboardist and drummer both looked snazzy in “iLL” t-shirts too.  A definite plus of flaunting your own merch is that it saves fans the hassle of waiting in the often long lines to see what each group is selling at FRF ’10.

The sun was out and the temperature was high during iLL’s Friday afternoon showing at Field Of Heaven.  Led by former Supercar front man Koji Nakamura, the quartet had a very loose vibe on stage and had little difficulty getting the laidback FOH masses to sway along to their songs.  Handling guitar and vocal duties, when not singing Nakamura was a man of few words simply commenting “It’s hot, isn’t it?” at different points during iLL’s 50-minute set.

The first half of the gig had a strong rock and post-punk feel to it, while the back end was a tad experimental and more interesting.  The group went off on a bit of a spacey, psych-tinged tangent which would have been heightened and definitely way more ‘ill had they been tapped to play FOH after dark when the area is illuminated mainly by mesmerizing mirror balls and candles.

iLL photo report here.

*Photo by 佐俣美幸

The stage here at Field of Heaven has cleared out – probably due to !!! and Muse, but that just means the hangers on are savoring it that much more.

The Clapton-esque blues rock from the Japanese roots rock stalwarts offered a little more laid back vibe than what was going on at the White and Green stages. Lots of camp stools and beers in cup holders were tuning in and crashing out to the stages last performer – and lots of air guitar helping out the vibe, too.

Some blues-Ed out covers, like The Beatles’ Ticket To Ride helped get people singing along and jamming with their air instruments.

Hard not to enjoy as a music fan what with no rain, the Tokyo Ale tent nearby and trippy lights projected all around the dark green mountainous backdrop.

If you don’t want to be in the cattle call of the main stages, a little Char grilling fits the order just right.

There has been some hand wringing here at this website about the French band, Mustang. I’ve described them as rockabilly for lack of a better genre, while others believe they are more of a laid back rock group who don’t have the same energy or the get-up as most rockabilly acts. Well, I tell you this, there was no lack of energy on the Field of Heaven stage when this band ripped into Dick Dale riffs played even faster than the great master himself. I’ll give you the fact that it wasn’t the “stand up”drummer but he was still able to keep pace relatively well. Phil reviewed the band earlier saying  “Jean Felzine’s super twangy hollow bodied Gibson and his Francophone take on every American gulpy vocalist, from Elvis to Orbison to Holly, carries with it so many pre-associations that people knew what they liked even before they heard it.”  And I will basically keep it at that. The band wasn’t terribly original, but they rocked out whatever song or genre they decided to play, and there’s nothing wrong with that.

'scuse me while I point to the sky

The Field of Heaven likes to pass itself off as the last bastion of all that’s hippie and organic, but there’s one thing central to whatever this image means that’s missing: drugs. Alcohol doesn’t count, and neither do the hemp products that they sell there. It’s not my business to say whether this is wrong or right, though obviously drugs are illegal. I’m just saying that there’s a very important component missing from the vibe that the FOH tries to sell. Continue Reading…

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.

But we don’t go for the music. Nope. If it were the music we went to see, then we’d shell out like the rest of you do. Then we could actually relax and enjoy said music. I remember a few years beck, our esteemed leader commented that he was having a near perfect weekend, catching up with old friends, and if only the bands would shut the fuck up and give them some peace it would have been truly perfect! Continue Reading…

Ozomatli

I loved Phil’s idea to watch the band rated lowest on Pitchfork. It reminded me of my very first editor and the first time he asked me to write a movie review. It went roughly like this:

Him: (Handing me a videotape in a plan white case): “Can you knock out a review of this tonight?”

Me: “Sorry, I’ve got no time to watch it tonight.”

Him: “I asked you to review it, not watch it.”

Me: “I don’t even know what it’s about.”

Him: “It says on the box, it’s called ‘Lionheart’. It’s either about Richard the Lionheart or some brave geezer. Just say the acting was wooden, the plot predictable and make a pun about bravery. And give it one star. People like reviews that slag something off.”

So I did. And that piece of advice stuck with me, along with his lessons about how to doctor pictures to match what you wrote or believe. And in the spirit of enjoying the bad reviews, here are the acts I’m excited about, complete with their best (worst) review on Amazon: Continue Reading…

Below you’ll find some of my music recommendations, but first off, a few nuggets of advice:

What to remember:

- Don’t forget sun protection (hat, extra sunglasses and sunblock). And if you use them like I do, bring your own genki drinks for an added late-night boost. Despite all the stalls at Fujirock, I’ve only rarely seen these on sale.

- Walk the entire length of the fest grounds at least once. That’s right: from the Red Marquee all the way to Cabaret Fiesta and back. At sunset or after dark is best, and make sure to take the boardwalk. Try not to look at your watch. You’ll be glad you did.

- Take the Dragondola up to the Day Dreaming stage at the top of the mountain, even if you just turn around and come back. The view, the fresh air and thrity minutes off your feet will do you good.

What to see:

Trying to point out a handful of shows at Fujirock is like recommending only one dish at your favorite restaurant: the entire menu is delicious, but you only have so much room in your stomach. It’s a foregone conclusion that bands like LCD Sound System, Broken Social Scene and One Day as a Lion will be mind-blowingly great live experiences, so I’ll try to point out some of lineup further down the marquee:

My list after the jump

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MUSTANG

Last year’s additional stage was the Moulin Rouge-accented Cafe de Paris tent way at the ass end of the festival. We haven’t heard yet whether or not it will be continued this year, but if it is there are plenty of French or Francophone artists on the menu to provide it with the proper je ne sais quois, though we doubt seriously that the two pop techno freaks of Air would ever deign to play such a puny venue. They are, after all, headlining the Red Marquee Sunday night. Moriarty, though they generally sing in English, is based in France, and they’re already playing at least two gigs during the weekend so it’s likely they could be talked into a third. Then there’s the French swing ska punk ensemble La Ruda, who’s slated for the Orange Court Saturday afternoon. With eight members it might get a little tight in the CdP, but I’m sure they’d be game. And while singer-songwriter Emeline Michel is Haitian, she sings in French and creole and would likely fit right in. Continue Reading…

The Entrance Band

Writers of this blog annually award the Field of Heaven “Best Stage” for its snug  mountain location, crystal clear acoustics, and firm gravel underfoot. For the weary, the stage is flanked by politically correct vendors offering covered seating along with hemp products and coffee w/Kahlua.

Unfortunately, the remoteness of the stage makes it overlooked by the masses leading to light attendance for otherwise big names such as My Morning Jacket and Ryan Adams, leading the artist line-up on this stage to be scaled back in subsequent years. This year, one of the best performers on this terrific stage will be The Entrance Band, a highly regarded LA trio that careen between jamrific tunes to delay-sotted guitars ala early 80’s acts such as U2, The Cult, and Echo & the Bunnymen.

The track “M.L.K.” is equal parts the Edge and Jerry Garcia, a wild traipse into the stratosphere that is so perfectly suited to the Field of Heaven that I can imagine some of the vendors selling rough hewn ponchos for a minute to look up, and jam along with an invisible guitar.

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Derek Trucks

I didn’t pay much attention to Derek Trucks when his name first started getting tossed around about a decade ago. Being kin to the Allman Brother’s Band (nephew to drummer Butch Trucks) and being neputized into service for the band as the ghostly replacement of Duane, I assumed that he was another one of those electric blues-loving mama’s boys to the baby boomers like Jonny Lang or Kenny Wayne Shepherd, showing up every once in awhile to noodle a fretboard and grimace appropriately at one of those very special tributes to B.B. King that Eric Clapton and Bonnie Raitt seem to put on every two months.

But Trucks really is a bit of a new breed, covering Coltrane and Miles on his first album and sitting comfortably alongside modern jazz fusion players, and also branching out from Americana by playing with the likes of Nusrat Fateh Ali Kahn. Playing slide behind Kahn’s South Asian Qawwali, he echoes Continue Reading…

Mountain Mocha Kilimanjaro at FRF '08

After witnessing Mountain Mocha Kilimanjaro’s FRF debut in the spectacular Crystal Palace Tent in 2008, our own Don Coglione proclaimed, “This is a band on the rise and you’ll see them back on a bigger stage before too long.” Proving Mr. Coglione right, this year the Saitama sextet will be tearing things up in the Field Of Heaven with funky instrumental cuts from their 2008 eponymous effort and this January’s excellent “Uhuru Peak.”

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Taylor Hawkins & The Coattail Riders

Someday, Taylor Hawkins may decide to step out from behind the shadow of his 13 year day job as drummer for rock stalwarts the Foo Fighters.  When he does, his fairly extensive musical work experience with Grohl and others he’s played and wood shedded with – like some guys from some band called Led Zeppellin and some other dudes from another band called Queen – should come across in honed chops, creativity and confidence. With journeyman cred like that, he will most likely have found a way to offer something uniquely his own, and when he does it could be wildly entertaining. Until then, though, his current side project, Taylor Hawkins & the Coattail Riders, is pretty much just that, but that ain’t all bad. Continue Reading…

Kitty, Daisy, and Lewis?

Sometimes it’s easy to guess where an act’s going to appear. If Kitty, Daisy & Lewis aren’t booked for the Palace of Wonder, I’ll buy you all tickets to the festival. Quiffs, double bass, retro fashion, swing and rocking blues… even if they play elsewhere, they’re bound to play the Palace. Continue Reading…

Smashing Mag, the premier web site in Japan for live music coverage, has some great live shots from the Liquid Heaven ver.6 gig held on April 29 at Tokyo’s Liquidroom.  The popular event aims to recreate the fantastic atmosphere and positive vibes from Fuji Rock’s Field Of Heaven stage.  FRF veterans Dachambo and Theatre Brook were both on hand to perform at the recent edition.  The latter was especially fitting considering they’ll make their third FRF appearance this summer on July 31.

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Ozomatli first played Fuji Rock in 2000, before they were that band from the iPod ad. Back then we had this to say:

“… on Friday night over at the Field of Heaven, even in the rain everyone was dancing. The hundred or so of us gathered that night ended up abandoning our rain coats to the wind. It was as if the sky was dancing, too, and the rain was simply the heavens perspiring to cool down – and us too, in the process.”

Or in a nutshell, it was pissing down, but we didn’t care. Ozomatli’s cumbia-hip-hop-salsa-some-other-genre-names-jazz-rock is perfect festival fodder and will have the kids dancing with the grown ups.

Four years after that first Fuji show, the band sold its soul to Steve Jobs and shifted a bazillion downloads of their tune “Saturday Night.”

Other iPod ad alumni include Coldplay, the Black Eyed Peas, Paul McCartney and U2. Just saying.

Still, not only did it give Ozomatli the publicity they deserved, but it also lead to a show at the Apple Store in Ginza which ended with them parading down Chuo Dori, still playing. The show-that-ends-offstage is one of the band’s trademarks, but it works better than usual when they’re prancing down Ginza’s main drag, scaring the big brand dollies.

I first found Ozomatli in a rack in Shibuya. It was their first album and I bought a vinyl copy because I saw that (back then) Cut Chemist of Jurassic 5 was a member. It’s one of only two albums that I was hooked on from the first play and never, ever tired of. The other one is the Greatest Hits of Belinda Carlisle. No it’s not really. It’s Coldplay’s “Parachutes.” No, it’s not that either.

Anyway, this makes Ozomatli the only band I’ve ever been ahead of the curve on, and it’s why they’re top of my list of bands to see this year at Fuji Rock.