Fujirockers: The official fansite of the Fuji Rock Festival

Can’t put my finger on it, maybe it was his bucket hat, but this duo called Mitsu (kanji meaning nectar or honey, so sweet) lent something timeless. Ryo Hashizume, a tall drawn pauper (think taller, Japanese Johnny Depp from Edward Scissorhands) coupled with Uni Kimura, a spunky Punky Brewster of sorts, barely five-foot-and-some-change, a cheerleader on stage sometimes carrying a melodium pom-pom.

They open with typical singer-songwriter stuff. Layered harmonies keep it interesting. At times her (and his for that matter) wide-mouthed vocal range soars to squeaky heights dangerously near too cute J-Pop territory, yet conversely dipping into the serious, mature depths the likes of which ought to make even Kato Tokiko smile.

And smiles abound as they go into clever fast raps, like Bone Thugs and Harmony ridiculously fast. Uni initiates a slew of muzukashii (difficult) call-and-response games with the audience. They are into it. Her cute/sarcastic edge is contagious; she is the epitome of the adjectival “firecracker” on stage. Great presence.

Continue Reading…

The Atomic Cafe, a movement established to oppose nuclear weapons and power through music, returned to Fuji Rock in 2011 after being put out to pasture for a few years and benefited from increased public concerns about atomic energy following the catastrophic chain of events surrounding the meltdown in Fukushima.

Despite the persistent rain, sizeable crowds huddled in groups around the Gypsy Avalon stage as guest speakers such as nuclear expert Hideyuki Ban and film director Hitomi Kamanaka dished out a few home truths about hot spots, radiation testing and decontamination efforts in the prefecture. The sombre mood of the discussions on stage was punctuated by no-nonsense performances by local agitators such as folk singer Tokiko Kato and Soul Flower Union. (It’s actually worth noting that Tokiko Kato is also on the bill on Sunday at this year’s festival. Check her out if you can.)

With Tokyo Electric Power Co. now claiming to have brought the Fukushima power plant under some semblance of control, it will be interesting to see what angle The Atomic Cafe intends to focus on this year. Nuclear reactors across the nation are currently idle, but lawmakers with ties to influential power companies are stepping up efforts to get them back online. And Japan appears resigned to let them do it. After all, who wants to walk up a dozen steps in summer when you can simply stand on an escalator? (*shuffles feet*)

So what anti-nuke message can we expect to come out of Fuji Rock in 2012? Here’s where you can help… Continue Reading…

“Cho Genki!” translates roughly as “Super Vitality!” And that playful, poppy, what reminds me of a Peter Pan hipster ska version of Michael Jackson; Kaji Hideki’s necktie was a little too short, as were his (and Riddim Saunter members’ shorts), but he really did put on an entertaining show, possibly a little too entertaining for my personal taste, though.

After a few tracks, the Gypsy Avalon lawn was filled to the brim, and the muddy walkways became standing room only as well. There were girls standing in the river, too.  Up front the groupies showed their grins in hopes of catching the boys’ manicured yet tuffled-to-be-just-cute-enough faces for a fleeting moment of 20-year-old crush bliss. There was even a forty-something lady in the front row singing along and having a blast.

Continue Reading…

I’ve been having a look at the new lineup releases, and one name jumped out at me: Kensington Hillbillys. It struck me as fitting, for a few reasons: Kensington is a suburb in my hometown that you need a million dollars to buy a falling-to-pieces renovation prospect or a postage stamp sized soulless condo, harking to the original fishes out of water, the Beverly Hillbillies. This collective of cowboys and country bumpkins hail from Toronto, in Canada. A long way from the country sound they do so well. The other reason it struck me as fitting was half of Kensington is built on the site of an old abattoir, something that oft enough the lives of country folk are inescapably attached to. And certainly something I wouldn’t pay a million bucks for.

Having had a search I found that while Steve Ketchen and his rabble collective first plucked their strings together over ten years ago, their music is quite hard to track down on YouTube. No matter, a look at their MySpace page (does anyone use myspace for anything else these days?) found me four more of their tunes. Continue Reading…

A few days ago while eating a late night sandwich, I was assured by the guitarist in a Taiwanese post-rock band, Su, who was DJing at the time, that the “Taiwanese bands” at Fuji Rock would be announced on July 1. So I stayed up late, thinking “Taiwanese bands?” Is there really a plural there? There’s never been more than one Taiwanese group at Fuji Rock before, and now, on the freshly released web page of the Japanese site, there are three: Sheng Xiang & the Band, Sugar Plum Ferry and Silverbus. All are playing at Gypsy Avalon, where post-rock at noontime will definitely be an experiment.

The bigger news is that band lists for Fuji Rock’s seven smaller stages are now out and more or less finalized. These are the lineups for the little hippie field (Gypsy Avalon), the competition stage for young bands (Rookie-A-Go-Go), the little performance area in the middle of the woods on the boardwalk between the White Stage and Orange Court (Boardwalk Stage), the food court area stage (Naeba Shudoku), a daytime cabaret in a cleverly converted shed (Cabaret de Paris – last year it was called Cabaret Fiesta), and the Pyramid Garden (a rather mysterious stage that, like the evil fortress in Krull, disappears at sunset and appears in a new location each dawn). There are also a few additions to Daydreaming, which is a late morning/early afternoon DJ stage at the top of a mountain a 20-minute gondola ride from the rest of Fuji Rock (and there is definitely a pretty good reason for why it’s so far away).

Check the additions here: http://www.fujirockfestival.com/artist/

Though my tastes are unimpeachable, I would never presume to tell you what to do, think, or feel. This may sound strange coming from someone who makes a living selling his opinions, but I don’t necessarily think those opinions are going to be shared by all, regardless of what some of my editors believe. When I write a movie or music review, all I can do is try to reveal how the particular subject matter struck me, and then hope that anyone who’s reading it will be able to translate those feelings for his or her own sensibility. I never tell anyone “you should see this film” or “you should buy this album,” even if I think you would be a better person if you did. Continue Reading…

In

Sometimes,, when it’s tipping down with rain at Fuji Rock, when the Red Marquee is overflowing, the Orange Court is empty and there are huddles of people under the awnings of the stalls in the Field of Heaven, you can still find full crowds at the Gypsy Avalon stage.
It must be partly that the performers only need 20 mates and the stage looks packed, but I think it’s also because that stage books people that can play through rain. I think Ukulyric might be one of them. I know nothing about Ukyliric. The pic suggests a very chirpy solo girl, but the website lists 4 members. The Myspace page has tunes that sounds Hawaiian, as you might expect, and tunes that sound like a children’s TV singalong. If it’s tipping down with rain and you’re miles from the marquee, I think this might be a fun act to get drenched to.