Fujirockers: The official fansite of the Fuji Rock Festival

The Day Dreaming and Silent Breeze area of Fuji Rock felt particularly easy-going Sunday morning. More families made the 20-some-minute gondola ride up, meaning many more little kids running around and having a good time. Many set up chairs, bought some ice cream and relaxed. Others snapped photos of the gorgeous landscape. In one corner, a game of soccer broke out.

The sight that stood out the much, though, was a giant jump rope being swung around. Adults and children lined up to take turns making a solitary leap through the rope, as the crowd surrounding the game counted how many people could get through without getting snagged in the rope. The highest I saw it get was nine people, although it looked like this would be going on for a while.

Here are an assortment of observations from the Day Dreaming and Silent Breeze stage, gathered mid-day on Friday:

- The 20-minute gondola ride might seem like a pain at first, but the views of the surrounding wilderness from the seat of your car and once you reach the stage itself are well worth it. Many festival-goers walked to the top of a nearby hill just to snap more photos of the majestic view.

- The Day Dreaming and Silent Breeze area features one official stage, but that didn’t stop other acts from busting out into impromptu performances. One outfit called Ayashii Sanin Gumi, consisting of four performers pulled out of the American Civil War, played ramshackle music powered by acoustic guitar, violin, banjo and drums. They gathered a decent-sized crowd around them, and played a brief but energetic set featuring moments that had the crowd laughing. At the end, they guided the audience over to a table where they tried to sell them CDs and shirts.

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Way up here, the vibe is nice, high above the clouds. The sun is peeking through 3 days of overcast overhead. Luigi makes an appearance and eats a huge plastic magic mushroom. There are rainbow ice cream cones, a rock ‘n’ roll panda, lions, tigers, and bears oh my! (Seriously, human-sized.)

Don’t wake me from this trippy daydream on a mountaintop. But what put the icing on the mud cake was the full freakin’ rainbow on the Dragondola ride down! It seriously spanned the sky, arching from one pot o’ gold to the other, over peaks and a winding river. More to come on that later…

Riding the dragon up to Daydream was the best possible way I could have spent the afternoon calm, albeit raving with umbrellas at three o’clock in the afternoon, hardly the definition of calm. Yoda DJing must have covertly transferred some of his grammatical wisdom through the womping bass, as I seriously feel enlightened. Because, we may have since descended from on high, but I am still on cloud 9 and plan to ride this feeling to finish this year’s fest strong, despite my damp wooly socks. Fuji Rockin’ Rainbows of Love!

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.

Quietly slipping in under the radar the other day (Don Coglione’s Crystal Palace update notwithstanding) have been some minor tweaks to the Fuji Rock 2010 line-up.

The complete Palace of Wonder, Gypsy Avalon, Day Dreaming and Silent Breeze details have been scheduled, as have announcements for the death spectacle that is the Palace Arena, Fischerspooner at All Night Fuji, and DJ Alexis from Hot Chip added to Sunday night’s Red Marquee lineup. Continue Reading…