Fujirockers: The official fansite of the Fuji Rock Festival

…’til the fat lady sings, and there doesn’t seem to be one in the latest lineup. There is, however, a country western singer from Yokohama, a Nepalese neo-trad fusion band, and a group called Stumble Bum. ‘Nuff said. With just over a month until the big event, some of you may think you already know all the bands you want to see at this year’s fest. To those of you I can confidently say: you couldn’t be more wrong. With the longest list of newly announced bands so far, there’s plenty left to blow your mind away.

Big names Uhnellys, Asakusa Jinta and Kensington Hillbillys will send some hearts racing, but sometimes it’s the lesser known acts on the smaller stages that leave the strongest impressions.

The latest lineup is now live on the Japanese Fuji Rock site, and the English version will be updated later today, but I’ve saved you time and effort by listing all the new additions below (including some already announced acts playing at multiple stages). With that time saved, use it to look into some acts you’ve never heard of—you never know, you may just find your new favorite band.

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It’s a gimmick, but for FujiRock, it’s a suitable one – take a Fuji favourite (Joe Strummer, or more specifically, the Clash), mix it with an unexpected musical style (country) and let ‘er rip. Rip they did, to a surprisingly big crowd outside the Naeba Shokudo just before midnight, after Radiohead wrapped up their set. The Kensington Hillbillies (named for the Toronto neighbourhood in which they were formed) were a great way to wrap up the weekend – fun, flippant, irreverent (yet somehow reverent to the source material), familiar yet new.

They kicked off with the classic “London Calling,” transformed quite naturally into a train song with some nice pedal steel work. As the set progressed, you might think the gimmick would get tiresome. Truthfully, it was the other way around – there were moments when they didn’t quite take the gimmick far enough. Father and son team Steve Ketchen and Mikey McCallum did a great job on the jangle and twang, and drummer Peter Lambert held down the train song rhythms perfectly, but some songs could have been even more country than they were. Of course, it kind of didn’t matter. If there wasn’t enough twang in their versions of “Police On My Back” or “Train in Vain,” who cares? They performed the songs well, with gusto, and gleefully celebrated the life of Joe Strummer in the process (it was ten years ago he passed away). The audience was enthused and celebratory themselves; up on the side of the stage, a gaijin did his best to show his moves to a new Japanese acquaintance; the two of them danced for a good chunk of the set.

By the time the Hillbillies reached “Janie Jones,” you’d lost track of whether or not it was countrified Clash or not. The set was fun and upbeat, and digging on some of the best songs by one of history’s greatest bands was an enjoyable way to help wrap up FujiRock in its final hours.

Photo: Julen Esteban-Pretal. For more photos go here.

Noel and Liam Gallagher once proclaimed that their band Oasis was bigger than The Beatles but the promoters at the festival obviously thought that Radiohead is bigger than Noel and Liam’s two new projects. More so than for Noel Gallleger and and Beady Eye, the schedule of bands had been set up so that when Radiohead were closing the three days of performances on the Green Stage on Sunday night, there were a mere smattering of people and near silence in the Red Marquee and surrounding food court areas. It seemed like the whole place had gone to see Radiohead. Continue Reading…

As I was watching The Dekits, I was wondering what the band thought of their vocalist. Without question he’s brought attention to their act, but he also takes the spotlight off their musicianship. It’s a great band with a cartoon frontman. As he jumps around screaming, all hairy, belly out and builder’s bum inching from his shorts, the crowd’s going wild, but I wonder if it even matters what the music is. What if the same band had a more regular singer?

Wait…. no, sorry, I’m confusing The Dekits with Fucked Up.

The Dekits are four clean-cut boys with guitars. If you took any one of them home to meet your parents, they’d be delighted. Imagine Jack Johnson, times four, stripped of his angst. You think he doesn’t have any angst, but he does compared to The Dekits.

The first, brief, song has the lyrics “hello, hello, hello”.

The second song’s chorus includes the words “super duper”.

The third contains the refrain “La la la la la la la.”

I wonder how the Dekits play if they’re in a bad mood. Theirs is a world of eternal sunshine. In fact, they play “You are my sunshine.”

They also cover “Lean On Me”, “God Only Knows”, and W.A.S.P.’s “Fuck Like A Beast”. Just teasing… only two of those three.

There are four of them, and they play incredibly tightly, but the one in the grey T-shirt clearly has the voice. He sings a lot in English too. I wonder why I heard so much English from Japanese bands this weekend. Is it like French and restaurant menus? Either way, The Dekits were the last band I saw at Fuji Rock 2012, and it was a happy way to wrap things up.

Photo Julen Esteban-Pretel
Mpre pics: http://fujirockexpress.net/12/15790.html

This was easily the barmiest thing I’ve ever seen on a stage. It made Shibusa Shirazu look like shoegazers.

Charan Po Lantan are two young Japanese sisters, one playing the accordion and the other singing with some over-the-top facial contortions. They’ve got a drummer too, but she’s clearly just there out of necessity (aren’t they all?).

They’re dressed like dolls you’d take home as souvenirs from Austria. Singer Momo is clutching a toy stuffed pig.

They play a song, and then talk about the music drifting through the trees. “It’s so noisy. What is that racket?” asks Haru the accordion player. The racket is Radiohead, and I’m one of about 150 people that has chosen to see Charan Po Lantan instead of the superstars 500 meters away.

For the second song, the girls play this track:

The crowd goes crazy. Speaking of the crowd, it’s 90% male. That could be because Charan Po Lantan’s brand of cartoon klezmer is ideally suited to men. Bwaa ha ha, no it’s not. It’s because the Lantans are ridiculously cute.

When Momo sings, she pulls the most dramatic overacting faces you’ve ever seen on a performer. And it’s very funny. Sometimes she hyperventilates into the mic, sometimes she breaks into hysterics.

And then she disappears. Haru then announces a special guest. “Wait, where are Radiohead from?” she asks. The crowd yells the answer.

“Announcing a special guest from England… Radiohead!”

And in walks Momo with a cardboard cutout radio stuck to her forehead. Haru interviews Momo, who answers in English as Radiohead.

And then the play Paranoid Android with Momo singing the lyrics in perfect English. Then Haru launches into a rant, at about 5 words per second, concerning the reservation situation at the Naeba Shokudo. “What’s the meaning of this empty seat? Someone reserved and didn’t come? I can’t understand that at all. What’s this reservation system for? Excuse me… you… sit there!”

Later in the set, Momo reads an email they received criticizing their act. They play a musical riposte. It sounds like classic klezmer, but the lyrics draw from the e-mail (“I hope you die! You’re so ugly!).

One of their songs apparently has the lyrics “Oh Radiohead, why do we have to play at the same time as you?” But it doesn’t make much sense in this context, because they’ve packed the Naeba Shokudo stage.

And when it’s all over, they start selling CDs for cash from the stage. And when that’s over and they’ve run out of CDs, fans start throwing cash at them. I’ve never seen anything remotely like it, but I sure hope I see it again.

Photo: Julen Esteban-Pretel
More pics: http://fujirockexpress.net/12/15774.html

Ah, the little Naeba Shokudo stage. The tiniest stage at the festival. The dance floor is about 3 square feet of dirt. And the artists often play as BGM for the tired folks sitting in the plastic chairs nearby.

And then sometimes you get Kimioreitaro and Little Swing, with what I roughly counted as about 500 people watching. I don’t think Ian Brown got that many people last time he played here on the White Stage (he got more interest this time, playing with his old mates). For the first time ever at this stage, I couldn’t get close to the musicians. I had to view them through some trees.

The audience wasn’t just passers-by with nothing better to do – it’s obvious that a lot of people had heard Kimioreitaro and Little Swing before. Or maybe just Kimioreitaro. Or just Little Swing. Whichever it is, they know the songs.

Call it pop carnival jazz. Lots of hands waving and happy feet. Brilliant for right here, right now.

At one point the crowd goes really silly. The band is playing a song about the Champs Elysee. The girl next to me says it’s a tune everyone in Japan knows. “Oh, Champs Elysee. Ohhhh Champs Elysee.” It’s a testament to the French that such a simple lyric sounds alright. “Oh, Oxford Street. Ohhhhh Oxford Street” wouldn’t have worked so well.

They’ve got audience hands waving in sync and a monster crowd. Job well done.

Best known as the guitarist in popular J-rock band Mo’some Tonebender, Momo Kazuhiro is quite familiar with the larger stages at Fuji Rock.  This year he’s trying a few of the fest’s more intimate spaces on for size.  On Friday night, he played Naeba Shokudo with Tape Echos and on Sunday afternoon he’ll be doing a solo set at Gypsy Avalon. Continue Reading…

With wallets thinning after three days at Fuji Rock, most of us will be keeping one eye open for alcohol deals that offer plenty of value for money as the party winds down this evening. Located near the entrance to the back of the Red Marquee near the Naeba Shokudo stage, the Summer Cocktail Bar charges the same rate as almost everyone else for a beverage at Fuji Rock: ¥500 for a Zanpa (Okinawa shochu). That in of itself is not surprising. What is surprising is the serving size: a full glass. Knock yourselves out…

One of the last things you expect to see at Fuji Rock are football fans. But that’s precisely who gathered around the Naeba Shokudo stage at one o’clock on Saturday afternoon. Mistaking me for a fellow Urawa Reds’ fan (hint: it’s the glasses), this midfield partnership cornered me and invited me to join them in out-shouting opposition fans. On the other side were fans from FC Tokyo, Kawasaki Frontale and even a fan from Leicester City, who obliged me by joining the guys for a photo to show that Fuji Rock can even overcome long-standing football rivalries.

Petitioning against the preposterously irrelevant prostitution law passed back in 1948 outlawing late-night clubs and other questionable activity that has recently resurfaced in order for the powers that be to crack down on all-night dance clubs.

There are the usual conservative arguments against a late-night dance (rave?) culture. For example, kids doing drugs or committing acts of violence. Although, if you have been to these clubs, you would realize first-hand that 1) because this is Japan, a country notorious for very strict narcotics legislation, there really is not any drug use to speak of and 2) dancers take their angst out on the dance floor! Let’s DANCE members pledge against these divisive and dangerous acts nonetheless.

In Osaka, and the entire Kansai region actually, cops have been enforcing the curfew and killing the party scene and music clubs as early as midnight. Businesses losing money, countless talented DJs out of work, young people with nowhere to let loose, and now rumors that the same conservative notion is headed for Tokyo has turned up this heated debate to the breaking point; party people are really worried and thus spurred into action.

Changing these outdated laws will require strength in numbers. Apparently 100,000 signatures is the threshold that Let’s DANCE is seeking. If two-thirds of the attendees here at FRF this weekend alone signed the petition they would succeed in reaching that goal. To protect the dance culture, head over to the FujiRockers tent in the Shokudo and sign up. Do it for the children.

Tohoku Livehouse Daisakusen has a table in the FujiRockers tent by the Shokudo. They are raising awareness and funds towards their project to build music venues along the devastated Tohoku-Sanriku coastal area.

By consciously building venues as part of the grand revival schematics, Miyako, Ofunato and Ishinomaki will become creative hubs, enticing musicians from around Japan and the world to visit the area and perform. Dual-purpose in this pursuit is of course the positive energy brought with performances, but also a reciprocal inspiration exchange, affecting the artist’s themselves with that spirit of human revival and perseverance.

Coming to FRF every year never ceases to fill me with great memories and lots of new ideas for the future. If you are listening to solar powered DJ booths on the Avalon lawn, eating curry cooked with bio-fuel, or buying hand-crafted hemp shirts direct from the artist, the community vibe and sustainable appeal is ever-present, and it renews my faith in the kindness of strangers and the resilience of humanity.

The Livehouse initiative can be found online here. Get connected, and if you have the time and energy, join in some way, any way, and help out the collective. Keep jamming amidst the rubble.

Pop quiz: Which of this year’s acts turned down the chance to work with Pink Floyd’s Dave Gilmour?

(a) Radiohead
(b) Ray Davies
(c ) Charan Po Lantan

Answer: For all I know, they all did. But the only one that makes that claim in their official bio is Charan Po Lantan. And their reason was great: they told him the song was too hard.

Charan Po Lantan is a sort of candy-coloured pop klezmer sister duo. If two J-pop idols were cloned and sent to live in Russia with Katy Perry for 20 years, they’d come out looking and sounding like Charan Po Lantan, but twice as old.
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Countless bands have mixed punk and country, from Tex and the Horseheads to the Meat Puppets to X. The rollicking rhythms of country seem to compliment the punk aesthetic, but it’s the attitude that sells it most.

“The anger in a song like Johnny Paycheck’s Take This Job And Shove It is not a million miles away from the frustration of The Clash’ Career Opportunities,” says Peter Lambert, drummer for the Kensington Hillbillies. “I think if it weren’t for Punk, I don’t think I ever would have understood Country. I think of the two genres as, if you will, White Blues.”

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Remember Rafven from Fuji Rock 2009?

They came unknown, played every stage they could get their feet on, and left as arguably the festival’s highlight. This year, labelmates Onda Vaga will attempt the same feat. They’re scheduled for 6 shows, from the Orange Court to the tiny Naeba Shokudo. Chances are you’ll see them whether you want to or not.

They hail from Argentina, but they formed on a beach in Uruguay in 2007. The official story is that they grabbed whatever instruments were lying around, started jamming, and never really stopped. When a venue boss asked the boys their name, they made one up on the spot and kept it. It translates literally as vague wave, but I believe it means something more like free-and-easy style. Or it might not.

I emailed the band’s trumpeter, Marcelo Blanco, last week to pick his mind. Here’s what he said:

Most people string together half a dozen genres when they try to define your sound. How would you describe it?

Pop acoustic coral psycho party rumba reggae.
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Earlier today I gave myself a hernia. That may seem an unusual introduction to a music review, but it’s pertinent. I skipped a couple of shows today because I couldn’t walk that far to see them. It’s only music, right?
But EKD was one band I really couldn’t miss. They’re the most underrated band I know. I’m sure that you could stick them on the White Stage, not tell anyone what you were doing, and the band would look right at home.
Instead, they’re playing the Naeba Shokudo. The smallest stage at the festival, but also one of the liveliest. It’s a good fit.
As I wrote before, one Fujirocker once described them as Manu Chao meets Dick Dale. That’s bang on. EKD worked the crowd up just as much as Mr Chao did. And here’s where we get to my hernia. Even in my crippled state, I was bouncing in the mud pit, arms around other fans, grinning like an idiot, and I though it was painful as hell, it was fun as hell too. It’s the biggest FRF party I’ve been to since Gogol Bordello played the Crystal Palace. There was a man wrapped in toilet paper climbing a tree to see the show. They outdid the wild Asakusa Jinta party at the same stage on Friday. It’s a shame that tens of thousands of people paid for a ticket but didn’t catch this show.
If FRF 2011 is remembered for anything, it should be that the Naeba Shokudo produced some of the most memorable moments, and EKD’s show was one of them.

Photo by Julen Esteban-Pretel. More here.

I’ll make this brief. Imagine it’s the apocalypse, but not in that four-horsemen, fire-and-devastation way, but the way you’d actually like the world to end. Something a bit euphoric and exciting. The soundtrack would be Wildbirds and Peace drums. Or, in a nutshell:

Drums: ✔
Steel pans: ✔
Guitars: ✘
Performers: ✔ ✔
Melodic: ✔
Soaring: ✔
Danceable: ✘
Same as everything else: ✘
Crowd: ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔
Good: ✔

Naeba = where we are right now at Fuji Rock. Ongaku = Music. And Totsugekitai, refers to some sort of kamikaze soldiers on the front lines charging forth without weaponry, fierce cries of intimidation, think warpaint. So this troupe just got together a few days before the fest, aside from their regular band lineups, to put together this romp at the Naeba Shokudo stage. A makeshift setlist for an unassuming side stage under a grove of trees.

The backdrop is like an open air tatami mat bar room, bamboo shades, and guys knocking back sake and smoking cigarettes, red cheeked greasy fellows, with elegant ladies sipping wine at their side. Fitting audience and impromptu actors on the stage, considering tonight’s band is a motley assortment of what look to be ex-cons, as the “Ojisan” (old dudes) have a rough-hewn refinement to their individual styles.

Drummer sports a sharp goatee and black bowler, the bassist in a polyester shirt with the top two buttons undone and boots (I haven’t seen hardly any other artists at the fest, on stage, in boots – that is solidarity, my friend), singer is a coarse-voiced wailer whose mole under his right eye somewhat resembles a tattooed tear drop, and black Latin greaser curls, while the guitarist, confident in his skills, including slide guitar, American folk and speedy surfer solos sports a pair of khaki shorts and could conceivably be gone fishin’ after the gig!

A handful of the crowd sang along with some anthems. I caught a few sweet lines (lyrics entirely Japanese), something about there being “happiness behind unhappiness,” along with bits and pieces of “nothin’ and nobody.”  For the last few songs and encore, a younger guitar wiz and accordionist crowded the tiny stage, and lent sounds coming straight out of Louisiana and the dirty south, and on another song, something like a Scottish jig.

I enjoyed the show along with people munching on World Restaurant fare, who may have very well just happened by to witness the soldiers rushing forth, for all our Sunday evening dinnertime listening pleasure.

Excellent photo courtesy Julen Esteban-Pretel. More here

Man, I wish more people had the chance to see this up and coming punk outfit,  Watasi Zombie who turned the mud pit in front of the Naeba Shokudo into a mosh pit. It was messy, wild, fun.

Here is a zombie from the crowd, putting his pants on his head and falling on the ground. Earlier, he was stage diving with just a thong, and still later, nothing but a t-shirt, leaving his man hood exposed.

But enough about one fan in the crowd. The band was really where the action was, and while I can’t really understand Japanese, it sounded alot like “restaurant bukkake” and other chants like “onigiri! and  ”Rice! Rice! Rice! Rice!” “

It was a slick mix of New York Dolls, MC5, and a touch of Ramones, making for one helluva party. After seeing this band, count me in as one of the zombie crew.

“I was from the tent I lived out in the fall of rain yesterday!” Nothing to lose anymore, here I come at the best! Music music music without putting no time to just follow the 前Nomeri. What is the most raised again, riding the momentum tracks are hammering and not say much. Audiences dive in muddy ground not care! Bukkake end up in a beer dive Yamamoto, head of the drum! Watts will appeal Andrassy Geragera zombies enjoy laughing such sights. When play ended, an exhausted Tsu spear over! It is proof of the lot was full of smiles

If Tjiros didn’t actually exist, no one would ever think to invent them. A Japanese woman who sings in the absolutely hands-down dirtiest blues wail I’ve ever heard, and then tears up some heavy stringed baritone electric guitar solos to boot. The fellow plays a Paul McCartney bass. I was excited to see Odouro Matilda earlier, who I compared to a Japanese Tom Waits, but he was Steve Perry compared to Tjiros. If the two of them sang together though you could cut enough wood to build a tree house. I’m wondering if she had to actually drink 200 gallons of Jack Daniels and smoke 2000 cases of Marlboro Reds to get that voice, or if she was just born with it.

Naeba Shokudo, 11:50 pm. Faces had been over for 45 minutes, and the DJs were thumping at the Red Marquee. She drew a pretty good crowd to start, but that voice pulled in anyone within a 100 meter radius like a deathstar tracktor beam. Anyone who didn’t just break out laughing, that is. If they did, screw them; Tjiros (promounced T-Jiros) is the real deal. She moves and mugs with Brian Setzer attitude when she’s playing, but that didn’t stop the woman next to me from muttering “kawaii” (cute) when she started talking. She’s got a genuine sweetness (not the of the typical treacly Japanese variety) about her that is the perfect balance to her buzzsaw voice. I’d stop to listen to her any time, any place. I really wouldn’t have a choice in the matter.

-Kern

photo by 横山正人. more here

Though veteran blues guitarist Jun Nagami dropped her professional alias, Madam Guitar, for her performance at the tiny Naeba Shokudo stage with the power trio Punch Kiita Blues, some habits die hard. As Madam Guitar she assumes the persona of a forebearing, put-upon Japanese housewife; in other words, someone whose particular species of “the blues” is recognizable to the average Japanese person. With Punch, she didn’t wear the kimono or the elaborate hairstyle, but she was still wry and ironic. She even did a couple of Madam Guitar songs, like the priceless “Kato-san,” about the difficulty of being born with (or, in this case, married into) a name that’s ubiquitous, like “Jones.”

Thoughout the 45-minute set, Nagami kept the stragglers chuckling while ripping through a wide variety of blues-derived styles, from soul to funk to enka (which, real enka aficionados will tell you, is nothing but the blues), all with the help of her deft and sympathetic sidewomen: former Super Junky Monkey bassist Shinobu Kawai and drummer Grace.

photo: Yokoyama

Told you all so. I’ve been banging on for ages about how Asakusa Jinta at the Naeba Shokudo was one of the shows to see.

Sure enough, they brought the biggest crowd and the biggest sound that the tiny Shokudo stage has ever seen. They turned a little mud pit into a party, and hopefully a few more people found out how great this band is.

I knew they’d put on a show – I just didn’t know how they’d do it on this tiny stage. The answer – they left their sound system bike thing at home, and brought a regular bass instead of the giant steel thing. They forwent the flags and whatnot that makes their shows a spectacle, but they didn’t change a thing about their sound. The brass was blaring, the bass was pounding, everyone was dancing and I hope like hell someone at Smash saw it and books them for the Crystal Palace some year soon.

Photo: 直田亨 (Supported by NIKON)

There are people at Fuji Rock that weren’t even born when Little Creatures formed. I suppose that’s true of every band, because people bring their tiny kids to the festival to give them an early taste of tinnitus and mud. But still, LC formed in 1987, which is like a long time ago.

Little Creatures are playing the Naeba Shokudo, the smallest stage at the festival. About 200 feet away, Coldplay are playing the massive Green Stage, and for some reason they’ve attracted the bigger crowd. Both bands play dreamlike music, but only one of them puts you to sleep.

I should confess that I wasn’t exactly watching Little Creatures. I had my back to them, drinking ale in the World Food Court. But I could hear them, so I think it still counts. And part of the Fuji Rock experience is having a top band as background music.

When the first song ended, wafts of “Yellow” came across the trees, and everyone shared a moment – giving the giants a miss and choosing the minnows. Then the Creatures kick off again and drown out Coldplay.

I’d describe their music, but I was only half listening. I asked the people at the table to give me some comments for this piece, but all I got was: “quite tasty, aren’t they?” and “they know how to slap a bass.” Hopefully that’s enough.

Photo: 直田亨 (Supported by NIKON)

Each time we’ve had a brief respite from the rain, I’ve become hopefully optimistic that it signalled a more permanent end, but it seems to last only until the first note of the band I’ve come to see is played.

Such was the case with the Kensington Hilbillys, as tight an outfit of guitar twanging fells as you’ll find in the fair city of Toronto. Just as I arrived, the rains started, only difference this time being we’re at Naeba Shokodo under the trees, meaning a deluge of turgid drops from the trees above long father the rains stop.

No matter, as the four members on stage tonight played a great mix of lively originals such as The Cat Down In The Well, as well as covers from country greats such as Hank Williams. Recognising the significance of Joe Strummer, they dedicated “Go Straight To Hell, Boy” to his memory. That may sound a bit wrong in print, but it worked as a respectful homage in person.

It will be interesting to see these guys play a bigger stage. I think it would translate best into a boozy bar with saloon doors, and a big selection of whiskey & bourbon.

Photo by 直田亨
More photos HERE

Last year, a friend of mine came to Fuji Rock for a day. She checked out the Red Marquee, the Green Stage and… absolutely nothing else. That’s extreme, but I’d wager most people miss at least one stage. Here’s a little guide to the little stages.

Naeba Shokudo
I went to Fuji Rock Festival for three years before I figured out where the Naeba Shokudo stage was. I’d seen it, but never realised it was an official performance space. I thought it was just a noodle stand inviting their mates to busk. It’s fair to say that every act performing here is too big to perform here, and that’s what makes it so fun. This year’s lineup is the strongest ever: EKD, Asakusa Jinta and the Kensington Hillbillies should all be top shows.

The Pyramid Garden
This stage debuted last year in the campsite area, only for campers. Well, they deserve something for having to sleep in a tent on a mountain, in the shadow of a comfy hotel. It’s produced by the same people that set up those candle displays by the entrance to the Field of Heaven. This year, Sandii of Sandii and the Sunsets ought to be fun, and Takeshi Hosomi of Ellegarden and The Hiatus will play a solo set the day before his band plays the White Stage.

Cafe de Paris
It’s outside the festival proper, past the Orange Court, down by the river. The Cafe de Paris seems to be appearing every other year now, with a Frenchy cabaret theme. Big Willie is bringing his Burlesque show to the tent ever day, and JoJo Swing Quintet will also play three times. And then there’s this.

Day Dreaming & Silent Breeze
No idea. Never been to this stage in all the years I’ve been going to Fuji. But Fujirocker Dom says it’s worth a look. And you get to try the world’s longest cable car ride.

Mokudotei
A little wooden stage in the woods, and one of my favourite spots. You’ll find it halfway along the boardwalk that connects the White Stage to the Field of Heaven and the Orange Court. The Kensington Hillbillies and Olde Worlde ought to be worth checking out.

Nara rockers Watusi Zombie slayed on the Rookie A Go-Go stage at Fuji Rock in 2005.  The garage rock trio will return to FRF this summer, bringing their chaotic and insanely fun live show to the Naeba Shokudo stage at 10:40 pm on Saturday, July 30.  Their 2005 FRF gig saw the three sweaty members heading into the audience (drums and all!) to close out their set.  If they do the same thing this year, expect things to get wonderfully wild at the very intimate Naeba Shokudo.

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