Fujirockers: The official Fuji Rock Festival blog

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…

Horse Meat Disco tearing it up

Usually Sundays here at the Red comprise of two types: The hardcore, and the stragglers. The stragglers pop in from time to time to see what’s going on as they float between the bars of the Oasis area and the Palace complex. The hardcore are in the thick of it.

That was my plan tonight. Float between the two. I had it all planned. Ozomatli at the Palace. Horse Meat Disco at Red. Back to Willie Martinez at the Palace. Then back to red for Rasmus Faber. Plenty of space and totally doable if experience has taught me anything. But then it started to piss down during Ozomatli, and everything went pear shaped. Continue Reading…

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.

Despite the low turnout, there were many faithful fans of the band who turned up early to stake out a prime spot in front of the stage. One writer of this blog, Dave, commented that many of the hardcore fans were women, those around 5′6” to be exact which seemed to be clustered around him.  They no doubt were there to see the French trio on stage, and not part of our writing team, but that’s something of another post.

Many noticed the band appeared to be speaking through an electronic translator, with one person to my side, a person from Montreal, joking that the band does not speak English. The computerized language meshed easily with their music, and at one point, they even used it to speak a little Japanese. Another note is the band performs with Moog synthesizers that appear to require a technician to program between each song, and thankfully, all of these switch overs went off without a hitch.

The light show was stunning, a combination of projected images, strobes and spotlights from backstage, and other overhead lighting. It was great that the band took the time to get the lights right because so many bands on the Red Marquee paid too little attention to lighting. In fact, the band probably could have brought their performance to the White Stage to a larger audience.

Aside from the large amount of  women in the audience, many were also quite older, no doubt reminiscent about Air’s early releases such as Moon Safari and The Virgin Suicides. And you can bet they played their hit song “Sexy Boy”. This really got the crowd pumping and wriggling and dancing throughout the Red Marquee. A group in front of me engaged in a mass hug, dancing like a big jellyfish in front of the sound board. It was a great close-out act for Sunday at the Red Marquee, and though there would be other DJs playing here tonight, it seemed like a fitting end to a great weekend of band performances. Watching this show was a true delight, and I betcha some of the people who snuck out early to get a good position in front for Massive Attack may be having some regrets right about now.

Alberta Cross - Petter

I’ve stayed opening to closing note at only two shows at this year’s Fuji Rock festival–the absolutely phenomenal Them Crooked Vultures on Friday night, and the golden great John Fogerty on Saturday night. This afternoon I added Alberta Cross to to what will probably be my final full set viewing of the fest. Continue Reading…

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.

Photo report here.

*Photo by 熊沢泉

Chris Keating

Sunday would seem to be the setting for the battle of the hip, white, New York-based, world music-channeling indie bands; or, at least, two of them. With Vampire Weekend setting up camp on the Green Stage in the middle of the afternoon, their contempos over in Brooklyn, Yeasayer, laid siege to the Red Marquee right after lunch. Considering the turnout, their estimable reputation seems to have preceded them, and there was quite a sizable portion that knew the songs, if not the words themselves. Continue Reading…

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.

I usually avoid the Red because it’s the only stage that gets uncomfortably crowded. That’s fine if you want to mosh, but a right pain for taking notes and paying attention if you need to review. Not so this afternoon, we’re only about a quarter full for today’s CVC show. Continue Reading…

Angelo Moore And John Norwood Fisher

Ladies and gentlemen, Fishbone came tonight for a naz-tee naz-tee show. They brought your fightin’ hos. They brought your lyin’ ass bitches. And yes, they brought your date rapin’ mutherfuckers. Here to fulfill all your skaaanking needs.

They started with their excellent later-date reggae Suffering, and the air was already electric. The crowd came ready, and with that kind of enthusiasm on a mid-tempo groover (but damn, it was a deeeeep groove), we knew this was something special. Dave leaned over and said “This is going to get insane in a second.” Dave was right.

Their timing was impeccable, with an extended jam on Everyday Sunshine getting a sizable and energetic pit going right away, and Ma and Pa just absolutely pummeling it home. It wasn’t just the song selection though; the full force of their unique Fishboney character and energy gave us a good wallop from note one, and had everyone grinning ear-to-ear. I could try to describe it to you, but better to just go listen to their first three or four records. Continue Reading…

How Many BSSsters Can You Find In This Picture? (Answer On Page 32)

Broken Social Scene reaffirmed my faith in Fuji Rock crowds. They packed in pretty tightly for this Red Marquee set, and danced and shouted along to even the most obscure rhythms and melodies, whether 8 years old or 4 months young. They just love music. To the band’s credit, the new album Forgiveness Rock Record is easy to like.

Kevin Drew was gracious and appreciative throughout. Some quotes: “We’re Broken Social Scene and we believe in every single fucking one of you!” “Be careful. Be good to people. Drink enough water. And most important, forgive yourselves.” And apropos of his thankfulness at getting to do what he does, “As you get older you appreciate a lot of things, including saxophone.” I hear dat.

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From the mouth of Beardyman

There are about ninety-eight muscles in the face. Add a tongue, some lungs and the throat area and you’re well past 100 separate flexing pieces of flesh. Friday night at the Red Marquee, I saw all 100-plus collaborating in ways I’d never seen before, collectively creating some of the most staggering sounds.

Meet Beardyman.
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Although Tokyo trio Triceratops drew a large crowd to the Red Marquee for their Saturday morning concert because of the 11:30 a.m. starting time and the heat the audience was not feeling overly energetic.  Wanting to boost the intensity level in the tent, vocalist and guitarist Sho Wada decided to put spectators to work.  During an extended jam session in the middle of one of their songs, he picked up a tambourine, walked to the edge of the stage and started a mass clap along.  With many participating, he then engaged in some call and response that soon had all shouting along.  After that all if took was a drum solo from Yoshifumi Yoshida and a bass solo from Koji Hayashi to get the Red Marquee (literally) jumping.  Content with the vibe they created, Triceratops launched into their spirited closer there were lots of dancing bodies waving their arms in the air to the long-running band’s melodic rock ‘n’ roll.

The xx

I made it from Taylor Hawkins at the Field of Heaven to The xx at the Red Marquee on Friday afternoon in record time – in no small part due to the panel van driver with a case and a half of warm lemon chu-hi strewn across the dashboard and bench seat of his truck. Sometimes getting to the gig on time means taking your life in your hands. Thanks Dom – for flagging this dude down.

ANYWAY, The xx. I busted a move and risked my neck to see their set and honestly I have to look back and say, “Why?” Don’t get me wrong, I quite like The xx with their valiumy Cure bass lines and their telling-you-a-secret-in-the-middle-of-the-night singing, but at 6:30 on Friday night it’s a fucking downer. The sun is down, the moon is up, it’s time to get your cocktail on and reach for the stars (or at least the blinking lights) and this was more like falling asleep in your car and slowly succumbing to carbon monoxide poisoning. With a couple thousand other people. Who started ahead of you.

It’s not the band’s fault. This what they do. I could have chosen any other band playing at that moment at the festival, but I chose them. So really, I only have myself to blame. Oh, and the schedule organizers. Like, WTF?

Sorry Double X’ers. I don’t mean to be harsh. I like your music, but that set was just wrong venue, wrong time. You need a late, late set in a much more intimate venue.

The xx at Red Marquee

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.

But no. Sean wasn’t having that. Dubstep is dub, said he. Michael Jackson might disagree. What’s he got to do with it? Well, t’was he who was remixed into dub in the early stages of the set.

Cutting up the classics in a way that Jackson might just approve now that he’s chilling. That’s the professor’s specialty tonight. It’s all there. Of course the reggae classics make an appearance. Bob Marley gets a look in with Single Bed. Continue Reading…

Miike Snow frontman, Andrew Wyatt

Whether they’re working with Madonna, Kylie or Britney, it’s hard to disagree that Christian Karlsson and Pontus Winnberg make very successful pop. But as, Miike Snow, their most recent project, the Swedish duo’s production cred can only take them so far. This is live music after all. I was curious how they could incorporate Amercian singer Andrew Wyatt into their knob twiddling and turn it all into something crowds will jump up an down for. They certainly succeeded, but it took a few songs to connect.

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There were are few dozen people huddled around the stage when Ogre You Asshole came on. They completed what sounded like a short, sharp sound check and then immediately ran into their open track, a blazing guitar beat with falsetto lyrics like Modest Mouse or Clap Your Hands Say Yeah.

I can tell you that I was impressed and stuck around, even rising from my seated position about halfway back in the audience. More audience trickled in and many people started dancing. It was much better than I thought though I noticed the soundman was strangely still on stage and looking at the equipment.  Right then and there it dawned on me, this was only the soundcheck!

After a ten-minute break with some lovely interlude music, the band came on stage again and the place was half filled. There were equal numbers of foreigners and local Japanese in the audience and everyone was dancing about. This band has quite a following in the US, and it seems that every band from the Pacific Northwest who comes to Japan requests Ogre You Asshole as their opening act. In fact, they probably even got their name from one of the bands they admire, read it here in our earlier post. Anyways, they sounded great today, and the Red Marquee was mostly full by the time they made it halfway through their set. Its power pop at its best.

A reunited Super Junky Monkey kicked off the FRF ’10 festivities in the Red Marquee at 11 a.m. today.  Formed in 1991, the all-gal alt-rock quartet toured throughout Japan and the U.S. gigging alongside the likes of L7 and performing at renowned events such as CMJ and SXSW.  The death of vocalist Mutsumi “623” Takahashi in February 1999 put an end to the band.

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Given that the Parisian three-piece Jamaica are proteges of Xavier de Rosnay of Justice and Peter Franco, a close associate of Daft Punk, their noontime slot at the Red Marquee on Friday might have seemed a touch out of place. Post-midnight Planet Groove seemed an obvious suggestion. But seeing them – guitar/vox, bass and drums – there was no mistake. They are a rock band, and a slightly poppy one with French retro tendencies at that. Continue Reading…

Narasirato Pan Pipers, Thursday Night At Red Marquee

I don’t know how a band can be called Mustang–check that, be a ROCKABILLY band called Mustang–and be so lacking in energy. I was hoping for a no-holds-barred bopping and slamming Flogging Molly-type opening night experience when I heard the Fest was opening with a rockabilly band, but Mustang wasn’t up to it. Too bad.

Beatboxer Beardyman brought it though. Even though he likes techno, I was still inspired to push down front and get into the groove for his set. It’s amazing what we’ve managed to accomplish as a species with beatboxing technique and technology. If there exist savants all over the world with these talents, imagine the heights we will scale in the future as this meme spreads. This beats eating 70 hot dogs in 10 minutes by a mile.

As Jinki noted a few months ago, the Narasirato Pan Pipers are the real deal, genuine tribalistas from the Solomon Islands. Continue Reading…

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.

Don't spit on me

The award-winning British beatboxer Beardyman made his Japan debut (?) at the prefest shindig in the Red Marquee. His set was pretty short–less than 20 minutes–but in that brief time he proved that he is a very talented young man and should go very far in show business. Yessiree.

Obviously, if you’re looking for a way to impress girls, beatboxing is the way to go. There was no panty-tossing, but the squeals were almost deafening when Beardyman–real name Darren Foreman–mimicked what sounded like Buddy Miles drumming “Them Changes” in a thunderstorm. He opened his set by reading text messages off his iPhone in Japanese while making all sorts of cool percussion sounds with his tongue and lips and epiglottis (ew). Since beatboxing is mainly a kind of formalized showing-off, he sampled some hip-hop, complete with gangsta-rapper groan, ran through snippets of hits by everyone from Michael Jackson to New Order (or so someone I know said), and even managed to sing in a fashion; all while that rhythm machine in the back of his throat kept pumping.

For that second half of his performance he looped his voice and ran it through all sorts of cool equipment to produce a DJ show, which wasn’t necessarily more original or innovative than the next DJ show, but, you know, he’s doing it with his voice. Anyway, as they say, you have to see (not necessarily hear, if you know what I mean) it to believe it. You have at least two more chances during the festival.

photo by Ueda

ooh la la!

The French rockabilly trio Mustang opened the festivities at the Red Marquee for the pre-fest party. Rain was pouring down outside, thus guaranteeing that the shed would be packed. Normally, the first act of the pre-fest blowout is in essence the first act of the weekend, and the punters who’ve shown up early are itching to get this party started. Safe to say, even Kate Smith would probably prompt an ovation, but Mustang was a canny choice. 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. The response was more intense than it probably deserved to be. Though Felzine had obviously practiced his sneer and refused to reveal what he felt about the circumstances, the crowd’s huge reaction to every bent note and hiccupy aside showed on his face, even if his perfect hair never betrayed a thing. Continue Reading…

The surprise artists playing the Red Marquee tonight have been announced:

Hanafusa (Welcome)
Mustang
Beardyman
Narashirato
Last Orders
Cubismo Grafico 5

They start at 8 pm with Koichi Hanafusa welcoming all to the party – and then we rock!

Fuji pre-fest artists