Fujirockers: The official fansite of the Fuji Rock Festival

Girl power

Every band that plays on the Rookie A Go-Go stage knows that the stakes are high and if they can impress the crowd there, it is not inconceivable that they will be asked to come back and play again at Fuji Rock in the future. This two piece band of a young girl on drums and a guy on guitar perhaps got the idea for this combination of instruments from the White Stripes. Their playing style however was completely different and when I heard that they had some material produced by Polysics (an incredibly powerful Devo-inspired Japanese band I highly recommend) it was no surprise. Continue Reading…

The Rookie-a-go-go stage has seen its share of bands move on to acclaim and to slots on the bigger stages here at Fuji. From the other funk bands I’ve seen here in the two years I’ve written on this blog, Omoideyaro A-Team have a chance to be one of those bands.

Ostensibly a funk band – but like many modern Japanese funk bands, not content to be boxed in that way – OAT brought a ragged energy to the music that isn’t always there in other artists’ performances. The singer/trumpet player was the most notable difference, with his hoarse, punk-rock delivery lending an edge to the music that could have failed to jive, but didn’t. Clad in a tight woolen toque, he had almost as much vigor as the mop-headed baritone saxophonist, who wielded the weighty instrument like it was made of light-weight aluminum (which, trust me, it’s not). Their set was over in a flash, it seemed, mostly because of the power they had to carry the audience along but also because of the stylistic switch-ups from tune to tune.

It was clear the band was thrilled to be invited to play FujiRock, and they put everything they had into their set, while making sure everyone at the gig understood just how grateful they were. Seems to me these kids earned the spot.

Photo: 深野輝美 For more photos go here.

Gezan Opening the Rookie A Go-Go Stage

The four male members of Gezan came out one at a time on Friday night for their opening set on the Rookie a Go-Go stage.  All dressed up for the occasion (the bassist and guitarist/vocalist both wore dresses, the other guitarist wore silver spaceman pants, and the shirtless drummer sported leopard print pants) each player walked to the front of the stage and struck a pose for the crowd before picking up their instrument.

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The rookies – they’re the bands you can hear when you’re lining up to get into the Crystal Palace. Their mates are dancing, unless it’s raining, but when’s the last time you stopped and checked out a full set?

But these aren’t beginner bands, and some look like they’ll put on a great show. Not all of them. But definitely some of them. Here’s a handful of clips from this year’s first-timers:

Yasei Collective

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DON'T BE FOOLED: THEY ARE NOT YOUR AVERAGE BAND

Monday morning around 2am I was met with this spectacle: A drummer wearing nothing but a pink thong. (Admittedly this isn’ weird, as I’m a Golden Bomber fan – their drummer is frequently almost naked – the only difference is that his thong is black, or he chooses to wear tighty whities.) A guitarist wearing sunglasses and a jacket that was too small for him, looking suspiciously like Matsumoto-san from B’z. A bassist who looks like SixH’s MINT, or perhaps a Frenchman who hasn’t gotten much sleep this past century.

And a vocalist who dressed like she needed a husband with a pitchfork by her side.

Had I not researched them before that, I wouldn’t have known what to think. Heck, I did research them and I still didn’t know what to think. The band name, XX, is actually chomechome, which is usually used to censor words of a less sophisticated nature.

Needless to say, the following 30 minutes was an eye-opener. Punk tunes and hardcore screams, skirt lifting and plenty of energy. Ah, to be young again.

The bassist climbed up the piled up amps at one point, sat down and started taking pictures of the audience with his iPhone. “Stop taking so many pictures and get down!” demanded the vocalist.

So he started taking pictures of her instead.

Between songs, Natsumi (vo.) mumbled intelligible bits and bobs, but took the time to say, “Thank you Japan.”

Pause.

“I’m from Japan.”

To be honest, I still haven’t figured out what was going on because there was so much happening at once, but I do remember getting some very early Beastie Boy vibes, mixed with The Sex Pistols. What that means, is anyone’s guess. You’ll just have to check them out for yourselves, and I recommend you do – if just to wake you up a bit.

It was certainly better than the coffee I couldn’t buy because it was sold out at Atomic Cafe. (Boo!)

Photo by: 深野輝美

For more　THE xx’ズ craziness, click here.

BASS: CUTE AS A BUTTON

I’ve seen a few acts at the Rookie A Go-Go stage this weekend, and tonight I’ll be seeing a few more. “Rookie” though, seems a bit of a misnomer. The quality of the acts has been really high and, in some cases, I think much better than the “proper” performers on the bigger stages.

I guess the moral of the story is that you can’t have it all. Or that writers can’t be choosers. Except we can, since Rookie A Go Go performances have a chance to “win” a performance on one of the big stages next year. If you see the bands and like them, put a vote for them in the box to the right of the Rookie A Go Go area. There’ll also be a second round of voting online next year when the Fuji Rock 2012 site opens.

But enough about that, and more about NOKIES! (The exclamation mark is theirs, not mine.) This Kansai-based band of young lads performed a solid set of rockin’ indies tunes that I suspect will appeal to the mainstream crowd. their music is good, they drew a big crowd, the boys are cute (especially the bassist <3) but…

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THE ONLY WAY IS UP

Although I’ve not really noticed many Amy Winehouse tributes at the fest, SiM played her “Fade to Black” as they took to the stage. Whether this was necessary or not, I can’t say. What came after though, rocked. And I mean rocked.

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CRAZY AS THE PROVERBIAL

Sometimes you encounter stage performances that completely blow your mind. Sometimes it’s positive, sometimes it’s not. In the case of Sukippara Ni Sake, it’s definitely the former.

They have all the elements of the perfect indies band: The smiling, shy drummer. The girl on bass with a bowler hat. The super enthusiastic guitarist. And then…. there’s the vocalist. I wouldn’t call him charismatic, but definitely ….interesting. Kind of like that strange kid in your school that everyone avoided during lunch breaks, but was (most likely) harmless. You may even have had a crush on him at some point, whether you’ll ever admit it to yourself or not.

The “awkward kid” thing works though. The vocalist dances like a contortionist on speed and does somersaults across the stage. It’s not just physical though. Between songs he was explaining how he felt about being at Fuji Rock. ” This is the first time I’ve come to the festival. We came by car, and as we got closer up in the mountains, I was like ‘Woaahhh. And now it’s like 3 times more fun than I expected!’”

Well, it made me laugh anyway.

Regardless, they put on quite a show. The songs are, for wont of a better word, a bit of a mindfuck. They lure you in with catchy melodies and then change rhythm/tempo/volume/melody from out of nowhere and leave you struggling to figure out what the heck just happened. And it’s beautiful. Just as “Life is Beautiful”, according to one of their tracks.

They’re fun, engaging, barefoot and crazy as heck. If you want action on stage, these guys are a band to look out for. And if that’s not exciting enough, it’s worth going just to see their hardcore fans grooving along to their tunes.

Rookie A Go Go performances have a chance to “win” a performance on one of the big stages next year. If you see the bands and like them, put a vote for them in the box to the right of the Rookie A Go Go area. There’ll also be a second round of voting online next year when the Fuji Rock 2012 site opens.

Photo: 中島たくみ/Nakajima Takumi

More Sukippara Ni Sake pictures can be found here.

Now there’s a title worthy of a Lolcat.

For the last few weeks, I’ve been doing a lot of digging. I’ve looked into bands I’m pretty familiar with as well as bands I didn’t know so well… and bands that were off my radar completely.

Often, admittedly, the latter category includes genres and styles that I’m not always super-interested in. I probably like it if I listen to it and that’s pleasant enough, but… it’s not what gets me excited.

These guys?

Oh yeah.

There’s some excitement there.

And surprise.

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Kaisokutokyo Flying High At 3 a.m.

Hanging out in the Palace Of Wonder late Saturday gave me a chance to check out much of the night’s Rookie A Go-Go roster and see what the newbies are up to. Continue Reading…

Go Chic

Or so they  claim. The three gals from Taiwan (and a drummer guy that smacks out their straight ahead rock beats) opened Saturday night’s Rookie A Go-Go stage with an energetic dance pop set that had more than a few people braving the rain to see them. People like me. Continue Reading…

Rookie A Go-Go openers Zioooubachi definitely get high style points for their late Friday night showing.

Dressed in drag, their front man was covered in body glitter and wore a black marching band jacket, a blue mini skirt, and a purple boa.  Not to be outdone the male guitarist’s face was painted completely white and he had on a white blouse and silver pants with one leg rolled up to reveal a pair of shiny tights underneath.  The female half of the group were equally dolled up.  Both wore sparkly face paint and the drummer was clothed in an oversized white nightgown and had a metallic blue and silver party hat perched high on her head.

Much of the act’s 30-minute set focused on a high energy mix of noisy rock and punk.  They were at their best near the end, though, when the singer started crooning away in a high pitched, girlish voice while his band mates bombarded the crowd with short blasts of chaotic metal.  Bounding around the small stage in high heels, the scorching singer was so hot that steam was literally rising from his body.

A really fun concert, whether you dug their sound or not, one thing is certain – they were definitely entertaining.

Photo report here.

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…

Go Zen

It goes without saying Fuji Rock presents some serious logistical challenges to those people that want to see all their favorite bands, but my first recommendation for folks is something like this: go zen. Continue Reading…

Go Chic, a band of three Taipei girls and one guy in their early 20s, this year becomes the first ever non-Japanese band to compete successfully against 1,500+ applicants and make the FRF Rookie a-Go-Go stage. Mostly former high school classmates, they blast out electro dance songs with riot grrrl energy, and the stage shows kick into full on party mode. It’s no wonder that at this moment, they can boast one of the biggest followings in Taiwan’s indie scene, but lately they’ve been pushing that envelop as well, earlier this year playing SXSW, getting ready for gigs in China, and now they are also no doubt busy shopping for neon rubber boots for FRF 2010. This all comes with the released of Go Chic’s debut album this spring, I Am Confused! (2010), which got a thumbs up from the Taipei Times for its “catchy beats, punk verve and a sassy, irreverent wit.” The members are Sonia Lai (Guitar/Synth), Sarah Wen (Bass), Winston Li (Drums) and Ariel Zheng (Vocals). Ariel recently answered some of our questions by email. Continue Reading…

Go Chic

And by this, I mean bands, not attendees or virgin Fujirockers like Clay.

One of the things myself and fellow Fujirockers really look forward to each year is getting a chance to see which new (or near new) bands get to give it a shot on the Rookie A Go-Go stage late in the evening at the Palace of Wonder. Continue Reading…

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

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We’re now live from the fest at: http://www.fujirockexpress.net/09e/

follow us on twitter, as well.

Flickr and Vids to come.

jinki

Here’s something to divide the masses:

Jeff wrote about the line-up for Rookie-a-Go-Go, and as usual I’d never heard of any of them. And as usual, I checked out only the ones with the goofy names.

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