Fujirockers: The official Fuji Rock Festival blog

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…

Leaning tower of Pisa?

Festival security is asking everyone to be on the lookout for someone who calls himself “the mad builder.” This individual has been stalking sleeping festivalgoers and building elaborate structure of stone on their prone persons. Apparently, it started early Friday morning out near the Orange Court when Taro Suzuki or Tokyo dozed off in his camp chair and awoke to find a mini-replica of Stonehenge on his solar plexus. “I was quite surprised,” he told us. “And I didn’t want to move because obviously whoever had done it had gone to a lot of trouble.” Continue Reading…

Be friendly to our visitors

We are not alone, friends. If last night at the Oasis area is any indication, this year’s Fujirock revelers will be paid a visit by creatures of an unusual size and stature. Striding past food stalls and raincoat-clad earlybird campers, this mud-spattered  pack of stilt people seemingly mean us no harm. We encourage contact and dialog, in order to bring our species to a more peaceful state.

Keep an eye on this one

Just use caution: a few of them look like they may bite.

A number FRF ’10 acts will be signing autographs for fans at the Ganban shop outside of the main gate and at the Ganban Square in the Oasis food area all weekend long.  The Entrance Band, Mustang, La Ruda, and Mallacan will play late night, intimate gigs too in addition to scrawling their names on merch.  The full schedule is posted at Ganban’s stands.

According to the official FRF site, Benga from Magnetic Man was unable to join us at Fuji Rock this weekend.  Fans need not worry, though, as his band mates Skream and Artwork are here and will still perform as part of “Planet Groove” at the Red Marquee at 2:30 a.m.

Palace Of Wonder being made wonderful

Fujirockexpress 2010 Japanese site 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…

Don't be lost when the time comes!

Wouldn’t it be great if you could bring everything that you could possibly need or want to FRF? Well, maybe not. The first time I went to a three day music festival, I took a single courier bag. What didn’t fit, I didn’t need, I reasoned. At that same non-FRF festival last year, I filled a car with three others. A big car. What happened along the way? And I still forgot some of the things I needed. With only a few shopping days left til FRF, here is my list of essentials.

There has been much debate on footwear this year. More even than usual. Kern likes his Sauconies. Sean recommends Nikes, on the advisement of Dave, then in the next sentence says he won’t be wearing them hisself. I say Gore-tex is for pussies. The Don will try his luck with open sandals for the first time. Jeff says wellies. I wholeheartedly agree. After slipping a pair on my third year into the fest, I’ll never go back. Shawn, who has wisely stayed out of the argument (this is a topic close to our hearts here, and tempers can flare) sent me an email this week asking if I had saved his pair from last year. As if I hadn’t! I count him amongst the wellie’d. I know Jinki is a wellie man. Clint and Spykee? Well they’re new, and haven’t announced their swinging vote yet. Continue Reading…

Taiwan Fuji Rock Facebook Group

We’ve  heard a lot about the artists  and now it’s time to hear from some of the fans!

Yesterday, the Taiwan Fuji Rock Facebook group help a meeting a the Le Beau Lieu, a trendy, French-themed coffee shop which offers little aside from US$5  lattes  and tiny platters of ginger snaps.

A dozen people were seated at tables that had been pulled together in one long line. Some clutched swatches of weather-resistant material (silver on one side, black on the other) which one member bought in bulk and was freely sharing with others.

While similar in age, the group was divergent in terms of profession and work experience. There was the owner of a popular downtown music store that specialized in Korean pop, a Warner Music executive, a bank employee, and a pony-tailed dude whose previous festival experience included going to  Japan’s Loud Park on two occasions.

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JB IN SOUL POWER

The festival folks just announced the lineup of movies that will be screening during the wee hours of the festival at the Outdoor Theater Fuji Eigeki near the White Stage for those punters who are too pooped to take in the Red Marquee or the Palace but still up for some entertainment. As usual, the films are mostly musical in form, though they are showing Torajiro Hibiscus no Hana, the 25th entry in the long-running Otoko wa Tsurai yo comedy series and which takes place in Okinawa, originally released in 1980. That’ll be screened Friday night at 11:30. It will be followed by a documentary about the late mayor of Fuji Rock, Kiyoshiro Imawano. Continue Reading…

Time is an illusion. Don't let the band schedule suck you in

For all of you who like planning out your trek through Fujirock way, way ahead of time, this one’s for you. The schedule is up, and so let the band prioritization begin.

Upon first look, I can see several potential conflicts for myself and others:

-On Friday, The XX, Dirty Projectors and Special Others share similar time slots, and Muse, !!! and Beardyman all overlap. As do Ken Yokoyama and Toe. The Entrance Band and Zappa Plays Zappa do too, but I’m guessing that these two might actually be fun (and given their proximity, highly possible) to float between.

Saturday and Sunday potential conflicts and advice on how to cope, from the Generalissimo of Fujirock himself, after the jump. Continue Reading…

ZACH DE LA ROCHA FROM ONE DAY AS A LION

For those unable to join us in Naeba or for fest-goers wanting to spend more time with their fave acts, a number of Fuji Rock ’10 artists will be doing additional gigs in Japan around the time of FRF.

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The Crystal Palace

The schedule for the Palace of Wonder is up, and bend me over and poke a stick up my exit if it isn’t the greatest line-up that they’ve ever assembled there.

First, foremost and bloody hell: Ozomatli are going to play the Palace. It’s becoming a tradition to have a high-energy party band on the Sunday night, and who else but Ozomatli could have done it this year? It’s already right at the top of my to-see list.

Then there’s Beardyman, already punching well above his weight on the Fujirocker to-see lists, and now slated to play with Tucker, the acrobatic electone superstar from Fuji Rock ‘06, which looks even more compelling than Beardyman’s main set.

Willie Martinez Y Mambo Loco is the Willie of the always-on-the-bill Big Willie’s Burlesque, which presumably means he’ll be a bit less saucy and a lot more Cuban this year.
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Melbourne's The Tote Re-opens

While this doesn’t affect bands plaing directly this year, it’s worth noting that Melbourne music institution the Tote is reopening tonight after a long battle.

For the last 30 years, the Tote hotel has provided a venue for the craziest of touring and local bands. It was, along with the Corner and the Espy, one of the cornerstones of the music industry in a city that became, through these and a slew of other great venues (as well as no small amount of help from the two excellent independent radio stations RRR and PBS), the centre of Australia’s live music scene, and the incubator for many of the best bands Australia has produced. It all threatened to come crashing down in the mid 90s when Victoria allowed hotels to hold gaming licences, and we lost many venues to the insidious pokies. Only the strongest willed of operators managed to resist the temptation to sell their souls to this cash cow and keep doing what they knew was right. Bruce Milne of the Tote was one who will be going up, rather than down, when his time comes. Continue Reading…

One Day As A Lion

Another bunch of new acts were added to the list last night, as well as stage information. You should be able to start forming your plan, as this will be the approximate order, from bottom (start) to top (headliners)… But “Special Guests” play after the headliners… Confused? I am…

Some interesting additions here, including a second Foo Fighter playing on the Friday, Taylor Hawkins & The CoatTail Riders. With Dave Grohl doing duties with Them Crooked Vultures later in the day, can we expect a cameo on stage? Perhaps, as he has given his time as a guest vocalist (along with a slew of all star guests) on their April release Red Light Fever.

More information and full list after the break. Continue Reading…

Lost? "Orange Court is over there."

Crashing onto an island, struggling to find find food and shelter there, trying to understand the mysterious inhabitants—no, I’m not talking about the survivors of Oceanic 815. It’s me at Fuji Rock. The island is Japan and to me the inhabitants are definitely mysterious. Continue Reading…

After the washout that turned Orange Court into a quagmire on the first day of Fuji Rock last year, All Night Fuji was unfortunately cancelled. Get in early this year to be sure you don’t miss out!

In the wake of that washout, which saw us miss out on Ken Ishii and Towa Tei amongst others, DJ Bryan Burton-Lewis (pictured) organised the smoking party “All Night Fuji Revenge” at ageHa the following September, seeing many of the original lineup and a bevvy more perform at the superclub. This year, they’re getting in early, you know, just in case, and have organised Road To Fuji Rock 10 All Night Fuji Pre Party for about a month before FRF10, June 26th to be exact. This pre party, again at ageHa, will feature a host of FRF performers past and present, both live performers and DJs, including the ever popular Dexpistols slated to play this year on the Saturday, De De Mouse (who was a popular choice on the White Stage for the staff here at Fujirock.com in 2009), Ryukyudisco, Germany’s Pitchtuner, organiser Bryan Burton-Lewis will play a set, and more. Continue Reading…

Yesterday Smash added five more acts to the FRF ‘10 lineup. The biggest name of the bunch is Broken Bells, the new band featuring Danger Mouse and The Shins’ James Mercer. Danger Mouse previously appeared at FRF ‘06 with Gnarls Barkley and Mercer visited the fest back in ‘07 with The Shins.

Also included in the latest artist announcement in Emeline Michel, The Entrance Band, Green Velvet, and Y.Sunahara.

*Photo of Danger Mouse by Ryota and used with the permission of Fuji Rock Express ‘06.

Broken Social Scene 2006

It’s been a few years since Broken Social Scene has played at Fuji Rock Festival (they were last here in 2006). It’s nice to have some solid representation from the The Great White North and so early in the lineup announcements. Continue Reading…

Yesterday, Massive Attack put a poster for this summer’s Fuji Rock Festival on their official site.

The poster lists what day each act will perform on and also has some new artist additions.  The most notable of these is Atoms For Peace, the side project from Radiohead’s Thom Yorke that also includes Flea (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Nigel Godrich (Radiohead producer), Joey Waronker (R.E.M., Smashing Pumpkins, Beck), and Mauro Refosco.

Although no announcement has been made by Fuji Rock promoter Smash yet, the poster looks official (and bears a strong resemblance to past FRF adverts) so I imagine all the info is legit and will be properly revealed soon.

The Fuji Rock Festival poster from Massive Attack is here.

A review of Atoms For Peace’s recent Coachella performance is here and their setlist from said concert is here.

*Photo of Thom Yorke by Roxanne and used with permission from Smashing Mag.

Smash has revealed the latest batch of artists who will perform at this summer’s Fuji Rock Festival.  17 acts including a blast from the past that we mentioned as a definite possibility last week are listed after the jump.

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In the first announcement we got a former member of Led Zepplin and now in the third list of bands we get a former member of Creedence Clearwater Revival.  Think any more legendary performers will be added before the start of the fest?

Check out what other recently revealed artists will be joining John Fogerty at FRF ‘10 after the jump.

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Auditions for Fuji Rock’s Rookie A Go-Go stage are now being accepted.  More after the jump.

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The initial set of acts for Fuji 2010 have been announced. Any bets on who gets top billing?

Smash has delivered their annual New Year’s present.  Each year on January 1, the concert promoter reveals the dates for the next edition of Fuji Rock.  Fuji Rock 2010 will take place on July 30, July 31, and August 1.  Details on pre-sale tickets will surface in the coming weeks and fans can expect the first wave of artists to be announced in early March.

Happy New Year.  Hope to see you in Naeba this summer!

*Photo by Takumi and used with the permission of Fuji Rock Express ‘09.