For four solid days, this wee little lodge set a few meters away from the White Stage has been the home of Fuji Rock Express. We have enjoyed its easy access to hot shit bands that we never heard of such as Envy, Isis, and Broken Social Scene; as well as the friendships, the late nights, the rubber mattresses and
Mogwai was totally great, but what I couldn't figure out was why the stage left guitar tech was wearing an orc hat? I mean, he must have changed changed guitars at least a half dozen times, so what was with the horned Lancelot helmet? Did this have anything to do with the Super Furry Animals' Power Ranger? Are Scotland and Wales suddenly going cosplay?
The band itself came out decked in emerald green Adidas track jackets, and they closed out Sunday's White Stage with searing non-referential intensity, like the spiritual core the whole day's schedule was designed around. Stuart Braithewaite admitted as much, doling out props to the Super Furry Animals, who preceded them, and the stage's first two bands of the day, Isis and Envy (who, word is, they are helping to release in the UK). Super Furry's lead singer Gruff Rhys also came on to sing the first song of the encore, and if it was in Welsh, it was still the most intelligible lyrics of the set.
Not that the lyrics - when they occasionally sing them - are really there to be understood. And not that Mogwai are really on stage to make a visual impression. Like my yoga teacher said, "Close your eyes so you can feel it." (Note to myself: When does heavy swaying start and light headbanging begin?)
Few other bands are as consistent. At the end, a girl standing nearby called the show "beautiful." All that was missing was the fireworks - for anyone who remembers how they closed the White Stage in 2003!
We know it was a pain in the ass waiting in lines for the toilet, but you can't say there weren't alot of toilets at the festival. Some even had a nice view of nature, and a faucet to rinse your hands. Whether or not they all had toilet paper is another issue, but if you want to know if these toilets did, keep reading..
Yup. They did.
Doodling around on synthesizers and guitars with cool electronic-sounding loops is great and all, but Buffalo Daughter need to realize what the difference is between plateauing high and hitting the musical orgasm.
I love this band, and their set Saturday night on the White Stage was pleasing, but I left wanting a little more, like maybe a rendition of "Earth Punk Rockers," if they even play that song any more.
I also couldn't figure out why they frittered away the first 15 minutes on stage with bass-slapping rock funk. Where this band - i.e. suGar Yoshinaga and Yumiko Ohno - excells is at using keyboards and guitars to play better than increadible loops that could have been programmed but are all the more grooving for the real fingers on the keys and strings. And when they put vocal harmonies over the top, it's off the hook. But ever experimental cerebral types, they concepted their way through this set with only once ever giving the impression they had finished warming up. When they played the Red Marquee two years ago after the Chemical Brothers, it was non-stop live dance music. Tonight, the pauses were awkward. With all their talent and/or genius, I often wondered where they were going.
Notes:
1) The band is once again using its original drummer, Chika Ogawa.
2) DJ MoOog Yamamoto was with the band as usual.
Hey, we know that you can't just plant a tree and call yourself an environmentalist, it's the mundane, every day stuff that really counts. And at Fuji Rock, as well as other festivals such as Asijiri Jam, no one does it better than A Seed Japan who brought 300 volunteers to man recycling bins throughout the festival grounds. It wasn't always easy sorting garbage and picking up after megasets by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, but this group of volunteers are our "rockstars" and
they did a remarkable job keeping the festival clean, or, at least guilting everyone into putting their beer cups into recylcing bins. We thank them, nature thanks them for being at Fuji Rock for the past 8 years.
The Strokes headlined Sunday's Green Stage, though for a moment it looked like frontman Julian Casablancas was stunned by the size of the audience. He should have been expecting a big crowd cuz its a festival, and the only one left playing are the Super Furry Animals.
Casablancas and The Strokes struggled early on, ultimately gaining confidence and a little energy when Casablancas hopped a few metal fences and joined the crowd to sing the hit song "Is this it". Even then he seemed a little hesitant, but when he returned to stage he asked the soundman to "turn it up" because "you only live once" and the band later played a marathon set that surprised many festivla goers, with Nick Valensi and Albert Hammond Jr. doing a nice job on guitar, and bassist Nikolai Fraiture supporting on numbers such as "The Modern Age", "The End Has No End", "I Can’t Win", and "Last Night", a back catalogue of many hits which any band would covet.
Since it's fashioned after Glastonbury, Fuji Rock tends to lean more toward English rock than American, which probably explains why Amerindie and, particularly, alt country don't get much representation at the festival. Consequently, it seemed doubly odd that former Rilo Kiley vocalist Jenny Lewis was given the 11 pm slot at the Red Marquee on Sunday night, a place normally reserved for dance or techno acts. For sure, there were only about 50 people in front of the stage when Lewis came out with a full band, including the Watson Twins on backing vocals. Lewis came to dazzle, as demonstrated by her silver lame minidress, which was complemented by the Watsons gold lame shifts. And dazzle she did. Jenny Lewis performed the only encore I saw all weekend.
In a way, Lewis's music isn't completely alt-country. She did some gospel, some rock, a cover of the Traveling Wilburys "Handle With Care," a version of the doo-wop classic "I Met Him on a Sunday," and an indie folk song. She did some choreography with the twins, whose twin thing seemed to spook the audience. She even ended with a spritual. Granted, the audience didn't exactly swell, but those who deigned to hang around were rooted in place. Jenny Lewis has the voice of an angel and the constitution of a rock star. Let's hope her success drops a hint. Maybe next year...Lucinda Williams?
The Japanese Queen of Bossa Nova
It was just too sunny an afternoon for indie rock, so when Lisa Ono took the Orange Court stage at 3:20pm, even a particularly dour whisky-fiend rock photographer on our staff was drawn over, sort of like Golem was to the Ring. "I really like her,"he gurgled, still giving off fumes from the Palace of Wonder from earlier that morning. After all, this was the Japanese Queen of Bossa Nova.
In a pink and white sun dress, Ono sang sitting down, mostly in Portuguese and some English, and always with her gracious smile and a voice clear like a mountain stream and light like the wind in the trees, i.e. she sounds almost exactly like Astrud Gilberto. Hell, she grew up in Brazil, what would you expect? Van Halen?
Notes:
1) "Girl from Ipenema" was a bit of an interpretation. The notes were the same, but the tempo and spacing was her own. She played acoustic guitar on the tune, accompanied otherwise only by a very light touch on piano.
2) The four-piece backing band included drums, acoustic guitar, piano, electric bass, flute/alto sax and drums.
3) The sound was so light, you had to be towards the stage to hear well. At the back, she was barely audible. And even at the front, the helicopter tours that kept flying over would drown out the sound.
The Raconteurs played a shortish set that lasted just long enough to get through this rack of beers, not that it wasn't excellent, which it was, but we just wanted a little more. Equipment troubles delayed the set, and have been haunting the band recently, potentially cutting short a coming out party for tuneful songwirter, Brendan Benson. But to tell you the truth, it was hard to compete with the dramatics of Jack White, even as he shared the same microphone with Benson on tunes such as "Together" and otheralbum tracks such as "Level", " Hands", "Steady as She Goes" and others. If you want to see more, like we do, we hear the Raconteurs are doing an in-store performance at Tower Records in Shinjuku on Monday.
When The Thrill took the stage to end the weekend at the Orange Court there were probably less than 70 people in front of the stage, but an hour later there were easily eight times that number, and everyone was having the time of their lives. Like Shang Shang Typhoon two nights earlier on the Field of Heaven, The Thrill enjoyed their heyday in the early to mid-90s, and this was their first time at Fuji Rock. But don't call them retro. This fourteen-piece big band's rock sound is as timeless as the sun.
The Thrill's strength is a kind of free-form rock'n roll. Everything they do it aimed at the big effect, from their cool clothing--feather boas, silver lame, tight with shirts and stovepipe pants--to their tighter than tight arrangements. At times, the tempo became so severe that the dancers in the audience nearly collapsed from the effort. In a sense, The Thrill is all about showing off, which they can do easily with their personnel, which includes MC/tenor sax player Hiroaki Ishikawa; "the sexiest tenor player in the world" Yukarie, whose saucy solos, low-cut shift, and billowing brown hair made her the visual centerpiece of the set; pony-tailed honker Smiley on baritone; and Gaku, a hard rock guitarist with the soul of a poet. The highlight of the evening was a sax battle that ran the gamut from alto to baritone, and by the time the group left the stage everyone was exhausted. There's only so much fun you can take.
With the Naeba Shokudo stage located mere steps away from the world food court, it made perfect sense to have Safi & Channel Sphynx open the line-up on Sunday night.
Safi is a belly dancer. Providing the eclectic, worldly instrumentation for her dancing was Channel Sphynx, a quintet comprised of a violinist/accordian player, a digireedoo player, and three percussionists (Shinshi, Rentaro, and Koara) from a fantastic Tokyo-based act called Tabla Kwaiesa.
The 40-minute set began with the digireedoo player and violinist playing on the small stage. Shinshi and Rentaro emerged from the crowd playing darbukas (Egyptian style goblet drums) followed by Koara playing a riq (Middle Eastern instrument similiar to a tambourine). The trio walked through the trees and spectators before climbing the ramp to the Shokudo area. Once everyone was assembled on stage Safi appeared from the back. Spinning around, the stunning belly dancer had a veil tucked in the back of her costume that she lifted behind her back to form faux-wings. Lowering her veil she began to shimmy as cheers erupted from the rapidly increasing audience.
The accordian player began playing her instrument and singing while Safi fell to her knees and began moving her arms like snakes. Walking offstage, the three amazing percussionists (do yourself a favour and check out Tabla Kwaiesa, you won't be disappointed) began banging away on their drums and riq as Safi re-emerged with a sword. She began dancing with the sword and soon performed such gravity-defying feats as balancing it on her hip, chest, and head while shimmying and spinning around.
Safi walked offstage and Shinshi, Rentaro, and Koara took over for a bit. All three are remarkable musicians and put on a drumming clinic as they wowed the crowd with their brilliant percussive skills. Safi appeared again as the band headed to the back of the Shokudo area to play for the people eating who were seated behind them. Walking offstage, they soon appeared in the middle of the audience playing at the base of the forest surrounding the world food court. A small crowd of dancing bodies greeted them. Not ones to pass up an opportunity to interact with fans, Rentaro began dancing with the group while Koara began rapidly hitting his riq to speed up the beats. Meanwhile, Safi made her way to the middle of the ground area to give the large crowd an upclose view of her entrancing bellydancing skills.
Welsh rock band Super Furry Animals were up against some stiff competition when they took to the White Stage here on the closing night of the festival. A schedule change meant that T-shirt faves and New York City hipsters The Strokes were to hit the Green Stage more than an hour early, and the two bands would be playing at the same time. Regardless, the White Stage area was packed out with fans when they started.
No stranger to costumes, front man Gruff Rhys started the show wearing a Power Rangers type helmet, haunting center stage with his guitar during the first song, until he wound up behind the keyboards, eerily repeating "Domo arigato" into an effects box so it came out low and distorted, much to the crowd's approval.
With a setlist comprising a sampling of songs from their most popular albums, SFA kept the crowd going without to much banter. Mid-way through the show, I was starting to wonder who in the crowd had come specifically for the Furries, and who hadn't known about the schedule change for The Strokes. One girl in front of me was decked out in Strokes gear, and I thought about sidling up to her to tell her they were playing already. Then the Furries launched into an energetic version of "Golden Retriever" from Phantom Power and she started jumping up and down with her hands in the air. I changed my mind.
They saved (as they usually do) the best for last. Amidst trippy atmospheric blue and purple lights, they segued into perennial fan favorite "The Man Don't Give A Fuck". By the time they got to the endlessly repeating refrain, "You know they don't give a fuck about anyone else...", the stage and the big screens to the side were showing black and white video clips of past dictators and the always hate-able George Dubbleyuh. In large letters they flashed "All governments are murderers and liars", over and over, interspersing it with the same in Japanese. The audience, still packed out and getting bigger, joined in the chant--happy at the political ideals, and well, happy just to shout the word "fuck".
Why not? Fuck. It was a fuckin' good show.
Jeff
Nostalgia thick in the momentum of Happy Mondays, a thinning crowd shook down to the historic beat. By "24hrpartypeople," the name too of the movie about the famous Manchester club The Factory, the disphoric Joy Division and Happppppy Mondays in their rave day, the crowd was thumping up and down, one arm raised. An encore did not, despite muchos effort, from the stage, occur. Sunday night Fuji, Green Stage.
Sa bouge a` Fuji Rock
Fuji Rock Festival est le plus gros festival de musique au Japon, plus de 35,000 personnes s'y pre´sentent a` chacune des 3 journe´es qui composent l'e´ve´nement annuel. Cette anne´e encore, les gros noms s'y ont pre´sente´ pour faire bouger nos amis Nippon. On y a vu The Strokes, Red Hot Chili Pepper, Sonic Youth, 2 Many DJs, Tiga, Scissor Sissters, The Yeah Yeah Yeah ainsi que les Sue´dois The Hives pour n'en nommer que quelques-uns parmi mes pre´fe´re´s. Cette anne´e, le festival de music de Naeba, une station de ski dans la pre´fecture de Niigata, ce´le´brait sont 10ieme anniversaires et c'est dans ce superbe paysage montagneux que le groupe francais Rino^ce´rose e´tait charge´ de repre´senter la France.
Le groupe, fonde´ par Jean-Philippe Freu et Patrice Carrie´ sonne de´finitivement tre`s francais avec plein de rythme, de saveur disco et de distorsions e´lectroniques, mais ces derniers se dissocient des autres bands qui ont fait la renomme´ de la 《 french-touch 》 tels que Daft-Punk, Air et Saint-Germain, en offrant un me´lange de musique danse e´lectronique avec un penchant beaucoup plus rock que leurs compatriotes. Sous le soleil ardant du 3ieme et dernier jour du festival, c'est avec enthousiasme et e´nergie qu'ils ont occupe´ le White Stage. La foule e´tait pluto^t compacte et nombreux e´taient les spectateurs qui se sont mis a` danser avec fre´ne´sie malgre´ la chaleur accablante. Le groupe a re´pondu en offrant un spectacle de qualite´ avec un souci certain d'offrir une performance digne de l'envergure de Fuji Rock. Nous avons eux le droit a` plusieurs changements de costumes de la part des chanteurs qui se sont relaye´s sur la sce`ne. La foule a particulie`rement appre´cie´ lorsqu'un chateur est apparue en tenue de yukata. Cependant c'est lorsque les premiers accords de leur dernier succe`s 《 Cubicle 》 qu'on a entendu re´cemment dans les pubs te´le´ d'Apple iTunes et iPod, s'est fait entendre que l'ambiance a atteint son paroxysme.
Bref, un des bon moments de cet incroyable festival du pays au soleil levant.
It's difficult to do. There's around 80 different performances of one sort or another every day here at FujiRock, and that's just what's on the flyer. In reality there are at least 20 or so more happenings that don't make the cut come printing time. Multiply that by three days, and you'll see what a punter is up against.
It's difficult to do. There's around 80 different performances of one sort or another every day here at FujiRock, and that's just what's on the flyer. In reality there are at least 20 or so more happenings that don't make the cut come printing time. Multiply that by three days, and you'll see what a punter is up against.
That's not to say they aren't worth stopping for. I've been here for four days now, and I can't tell you how many shows I've seen. But there's just no way you can possibly arrange your schedule top see every last thing you want. You're always faced with evil choices. How do you choose between Buffalo Daughter & Killing Joke? Which is the more astute choice, Snow Patrol or rinocerose? Dirty Pretty Things Vs Gnarles Barkley& It's not possible. Then you have the added conundrum: Some bands are great live, but not so good recorded, other acts vice versa. How do you make the choice? It takes an expert, and that I most definately am not.
So, what were the highs and lows? Well as far as I'm concerned, the only possible way you could have a low here at FujiRock is something you missed. As my fellow FujiRocker Shawn noted to me yesterday, "I'm going for quantity, not quality!" So what are your picks? What did you love? What are you shattered that you missed? For me, it goes a little like this:
Absolute pick of FujiRock 06 = Madness. These guys are long time idols of mine. I grew up listening to their terrific tunes after I bought a pirate copy opf one of their albums from a dodgy guy at my high school. This cassette hailed from Thailand, and the lyrics printed bore little to no resemblance to the actual thing. These guys showed Japan this weekend that they haven't lost a thing in their near 20 year hiatus.
Show I regret missing the most = Yeah Yeah Yeahs. A long time favorite, I've never managed to catch them live. Oh well, next time.
Shows I say I saw, but in actual fact I just walked through and am trying to convince myself I did actually see : The Strokes, Happy Mondays, The Hives,
Shows I really wanted to see, but never got to at all: Gnarles Barkley, Jet, Franz ferdinand, Blackalicious, Sonic Youth, denki Groove, Scissor Sisters, 2manydjs, Lucifer Fire Show, Isis, rinocerose, Broken Social Scene, Super Furry Animals, Killing Joke, Umphreys McGee, Don Coglionje, Double Famous, Kula Shaker, Johnny A (hello to Jerry) ayashige and so many more It's upsetting to think about.
Gems I found by accident: Flogging Molly, A Hundred Birds Orchestra, North Mississippi Allstars, Fire Tusk Pain Proof Circus, Fields, Buffalo Daughter, Transit Kings, Guitar Wolf, and so so many more.
So let us know, your FujiRock highlights, and the things you regret not seeing. Remember, there are no low points, because everything you saw was, no doubt, worth the trip. Please comment, let us know! We want to hear from you!
Report by Dom.
If you had been walking from the Green stage toward the White stage on Sunday just after noon, you would have been forgiven for concluding that the amount of joy contained in a set of music was inversely proportional to the prosperity of the country from which it came.
If you had been walking from the Green stage toward the White stage on Sunday just after noon, you would have been forgiven for concluding that the amount of joy contained in a set of music was inversely proportional to the prosperity of the country from which it came. On the Green stage: the Sierra Leone Refugee All Stars, a band of genuine refugees discovered in Sierra Leone and now managed out of San Francisco, and on the White stage: Isis, young white Americans with rage and angst on their minds. I suppose its no judgement on Isis, being that I'm a white American whose angst comes haunting back as soon as the distraction of the last Homer Simpson "Doh!" moment dies down in my brain and The Looming Existential Crisis recurs.
It must be something about living for the joy of one moment that makes African music so perpetually happy. While you can't fault individual white people for constantly pointing out in our entertainment that most stuff in the world is crap and the planet is a complete raging mess (true dat) and that it is the fault, as always in history, of the prevailing hegemonic power(s), there is a great point to be taken from the African perspective: we really do only have one moment at a time, and its good to find reasons to be happy.
It was a really good idea to give a group like this the Green Stage at 12:25 pm on Sunday. The sun was shining, we were having our bacon, eggs, and beer, and thats the moment when you want to be reminded its good to be alive, for most people at least (and I think that's still true.) The 8-piece band ran through a large number of international Afro-World music (the kind of African music with electric guitars and bass, not the kind with piles of animal-skin drums) styles that I don't know the name of. The word throughout the fest on Sunday was that they kicked ass, and I have to agree. The band was really tight, spot on, and those present were happy and dancing. You couldn't have asked for a better way to start the day.
-kern
Yes they're everywhere: on jeans, amps, dogs, boots, babies, guitars, the back of heads,the knees of passed-out drunks, and here on the posterior of Joanna Peacock. Where do they come from?
The Stroke's Julian Casablancas took to the promenade for "Hard to Explain" and got the proper Rock Star Reception. Flocks of Japanese girls swarmed around him in Beatlesque hysteria as he leaned into the crowd and banged out the first album hit. For a studiously restrained stage band, the enthusiastic response to ground floor engagement was immense. Rock Star.
I first met Taiji Sato, former member of Japanese band Theatre Brook, four or five years ago right here at the Fuji Rock Festival. He told me then that he had just started a new band called Sun Paolo. A couple of years later I acquired a copy of their sample CD which was hard to categorize musically. The best I can do is: jazz-meets-rock on the edge of minimalism. Now all i can say now is: they've come a long way.
I will admit to dragging my feet as I made my way over to Gypsie Avalon to catch their set. But if i hadn't I would have missed one of this year's best experiences - personally, that is. They rocked. And they grooved. Their sound has meshed. And now obviously belongs in the electro -rock genre.
The stage was lit minimally with only a half dozen large candles flickering here and there - and it remained this way throughout their set. Sun Paolo is a three-piece, with Sato leading on guitar, one of the other two manning drums and the other keyboards and effector.
Sato was dressed in a huge headdress which looked like a cross between an American Indian get-up and something from an Aztec religious ritual - the latter especially compounded by the fact that he had gold inserts of cloth sewn in under his arms so that when he raised them he appeared to be wearing a cape. To top this off he had also donned a pair of white goggles.
The keyboardist was wearing a strange striped balaclava with an equally strange dreadlock type extension hanging so that it fell down in front of his face (it might have actually been real hair but with the minimal lighting it was impossible for me to tell). The drummer was wearing old-style aviator's head gear and khakis. All in all: freaky styley.
And then they started playing. A tight driving rhythm section held the pace as Sato added guitar licks, replete with feedback and lots of effects. The sample for the second song sounded a bit reminiscent of "Tainted Love" by Soft Cell, but, hey, who knows. All of their songs were heavily layered with meaningful input from all three, but the basic elements were an electro base with live instrumentation over the top.
The audience loved it. I have never seen Avalon so packed, Not only that, but it became increasingly more packed the longer they played. AND everyone was dancing - right from the get go. Sato himself was impressed and thanked everyone - most sincerely - for doing so after the first song. I think he was a little bit blown away by it. But actually, Sun Paolo has hit on a great formula - the club beat at the base keeps people dancing and the live input gets them howling.
Reported by sisterchill
Every FujiRock attracts more and more families. You'll see a few shots here but expect a big photo essay on the Fujirock Express Site once it's up and running again.
We at Fujirockers have started to notice a trend of simple, metallic stickers on a wide cross section of people at the fest: concertgoers, staff and musicians alike. We’re curious, because they’re not a pass and give you access to nothing, and most people say they received the sticker by someone they didn’t know. So where are they coming from? There are several colors: red, blue, silver and maybe more. People wonder if (or why) they’ve been selected. And does the color mean something? Can anyone help with this? And am I a red or a silver kinda guy?
The next logical step for Fuji Rock is to have it's own world-music stage, but for the time being the Orange Court has done nicely.
Crowd was expecting to dance, and today's constant sunny skies dried up all the mud everyone was planning to splatter. So much the better. There's plenty of room at the Orange Court when it's dry, so people spread out for more rump-shaking space.
Before Foyeh made his appearance, the band banged out ever-complicated layers of…of…ah crap, I wish I knew the names of all those drums. There were bongos, a dun-dun (talking drum, or squeeze drum) a kit and then several other combinations of gourds, skin and shells.
Foyeh then stepped on stage decked out in a red, yellow and green outfit that made him look more like a shaman or high priest than a guitar-wielding band conductor. I went expecting (hoping) for Fela Kuti style afro-pop, but what we saw was much more diverse. While echos of west-African highlife chords trickled through some numbers, others were more funk-informed.
I expected a reaction when the backup vocalists began to sing "Rain, Rain Go Away," but people kept moving. Probably better that way.
And the award for most energetic performer goes to ...
Of all the shows I've caught this weekend, the remarkable energy level of one musician has stood out from the pacｋ. From the moment he took to the White Stage on Sunday afternoon Broken Social Scene's John Crossingham was a rock n' roll machine. Like a kid hopped up on waaaaaaay too much sugar, Crossingham was bouncing around with a giant smile as the Canadian collective launched into their first number. From that point on there was no stopping him. He jumped and danced, sang back-up vocals on several tracks, ran over to a second set of drums and briefly pounded away on the kit, and did his best to get the already extremely excited crowd even more fired up. Pumping his fist, waving his arms, and leading mass clap-alongs, he was almost like the band's unofficial cheerleader. This was all in addition to his excellent guitar playing. Spurred on by his music loving peers, the louder the crowd got the more wound up Crossingham became, striking big rock poses and faces.
An occasional member of the group, it looks like Crossingham enjoys getting to be a rock star every now and then. His full-time band, the criminally underrated Canadian act Raising The Fawn, make music that's more dramatic and subdued than BSS. Just as moving as BSS, the lack of a pop edge makes Raising The Fawn's songs hard to "rock out to."
Constantly on the move, I'm having a hard time trying to think of an instance where he stood still for any extended period of time. Drenched in sweat by the end, Crossingham was the last member of BSS to leave the stage, hyperactively waving and grinning from ear to ear as he made his exit. A talented musician and great showman, John Crossingham gets a big rock n' roll salute from yours truly. Playing a major part in BSS' amazing afternoon set, you be hard pressed to find a hard-working individual at this year's fest.
Along with BSS, do yourself a favour and check out Raising The Fawn. Crossingham plays guitar and sings in the excellent Toronto trio. If you like well-written powerful indie rock you'll definitely enjoy RTF.
The server for Fujirock Express, where photos and more concert reports will be uploaded, is still having problems. So for the time being, look here for details, gossip, mishaps, adventure and other fun fest stuff here on the blog. Try the blog's Japanese version for pix that the J-team photographer's have uploaded
Placing Japanese psych-rock unit, Yura Yura Teikoku at the Field of Heaven felt like a mismatch, especially since their last appearance two years ago at the more indie-informed White Stage seemed like better fit. But the Tokyo-based trio proved the space doesn’t matter as much as the crowd and volume.
They had plenty of both. The Field of Heaven, was the most crowded I’ve seen it this year, with a throbbing throng center stage who seemed to know every bridge and chorus. Girls squealed even when they stopped for a sip of water. Bassist, Kamekawa Chio laid down chest-shuddering sound at a frequency so loud and low it could beach a whale in the sea just north of us. Kamekawa’s feathery knee-length locks quivered to the thud.
At the center, vocalist, Sakamoto Shintaro, twisted and twitched as his feet stomped effects pedals. Shards of feedback shot through the crowd, resonating in the clouds that hovered precariously close above the stage. As dusk fell, there was no small talk of banter from the band − just one soaring chord progression after another. The crowd grew even larger all the way, so maybe a return to White Stage is in the works?
Around 4pm in the Orange Court, someone told me, "If it were raining, I would have gone to see Broken Social Scene, but with the weather like this, it's Yoko Ono." Without a doubt, sunshine changes the festival. All afternoon, the back (and relatively shelter-less) half of the valley was packed as it seldom is, especially when it rains. Didn't have that problem today though. Goodness! What a gorgeous day!
The Orange Court.
Gateway to Hippyland - the trail up the hill from the White Stage.
Gypsy Avalon
I lost it in the mud at the Yeah Yeah Yeahs last night, but, oh my God was that a great show!
What Fujirock misses from the Dead shows of my youth is the randoms in the parking lot with "Need a Miracle" signs. So at a festival where being over-prepped is the norm, it's good to see someone rocking at all costs. Enter Mingyi.
From Taipei, she is an occasional concert promoter and more full time runs a small rocker cafe in an arts. Last week she came to Japan, first staying with friends in Kyoto she met through Couchsurfer.com. It took her 15 hours to hitchhike to Naeba, including four big rig trucks and three cars. On the free shuttle bus from Echigo-Yuzawa, she met two Japanese girls with whom she's now sharing a tent.
I found her in the parking lot Friday afternoon bargaining for a ticket outside the official goods store, which she ended up buying from someone whose friend couldn't come. This left her with \4000 for the weekend and to get back to Tokyo (if anybody has space in the car...). Then she lost her passport.
"I think it fell out of my bag - I just had everything dumped in there and it fell out. It was in the mud during the Yeah Yeah Yeahs..." she shrugs. "But oh my God, that was a great show! Wow!"
So if anyone finds a Taiwanese passport for Mingyi Chin, please turn it in to the Lost and Found area, which is near the Message Board in the Oasis. Otherwise, she may have trouble making her plane. The ticket expires on Tuesday.
Comprised of two guitarists and a violinist, The Suzuki tantalized audience members at Gypsy Avalon with a solid set of folk music.
A percussionist playing a handheld drum skin joined them for their performance adding more diversity to their music. Starting just after 7 pm, many of those in attendance sat down on the grassy hill and ate their supper while watching the band perform. Content to be dinner music, the experienced players looked pleased by the large turnout and seemed appreciative of the audience's support.
Sitting down behind music stands, the soothing folk and acoustic tales perfectly suited the atmosphere of Avalon. Singing in Japanese, the two guitarists took turns leading and occasionally sang together. The band's talented violinist played a major role in the band's music, giving it a rootsier feel which many at Avalon seemed to enjoy.
Baxter Dury has a lot to live up to. The son of Ian Dury of Ian Dury and the blockheads, he started his musical career even later than his father, who went on to gather a strong cult following. Baxter played the Red Marquee this evening at around 5pm, and had a small but appreciative crowd. I must admit myself to only being drawn in by the melodic tones that started emanating as I enjoyed a short break in the Oasis area. I had to go and see what was happening in there, as it seemed tailor made to my mood at the time.
Baxter started off with a series of slowly moving tracks that built steadily, reminding me somewhat of the Snow Patrol set I had witnessed earlier in the day at Green stage. His tracks built in musical intensity over the course of five or more minutes for the most part. While the track built, Dury's voice raised only slightly in volume, retaining the slow pace and never bursting into a scream as seems to be the norm for british performers of the moment. A rise in urgency only, the steady rhythm remained constant from start to finish, usually with a cacophony of sound by the end.
Dury has quite the stage presence. Dressed in all black with a long overcoat sporting two dragons on the rear, he struts slowly across the stage, sometimes in a thoughtful walk, others in a forced kind of jog. During guitar solos he was oft seen to be engaged in some kind of deep thought, until taking a long swig for a can on beer. Sometimes the contemplation was related to the track he was performing, such as with the ode to violence "Cocaine man" a track that is for the most part spoken word in the first person, with a crushing chorus condemning the actions. "Fungus Hedge" preceded this, a similarly heavy track telling a story to the listener.
He became a little more upbeat in the latter half of his set, led by the lively Francesca's Party. He showed here that it isn't all too much for him to believe. The sat remained this way until the end, with the knowing audience having seen one great performance
The Raconteurs, what if we heard Jack White in a Allman Brothers setting instead of Zepplin bombast (three Zepplin covers would have been a great addition).
Or how about John Frusciante leading a heavy blues band? I don't know if that is quite it, but the guy came off way classy on Saturday, he's always had a damn unique sound, what if you took him out of the RHCP personality and he was put in charge of his own, straight-ahead four piece?
Who would you back him with?
The Raconteurs, what if we heard Jack White in a Almond Brothers setting instead of Zepplin bombast (three Zepplin covers would have been a great addition).
Or how about John Frusciante leading a heavy blues band? I don't know if that is quite it, but the guy came off way classy on Saturday, he's always had a damn unique sound, what if you took him out of the RHCP personality and he was put in charge of his own, straight-ahead four piece?
Who would you back him with?
Broken Social Scene's Brendan Canning and Kevin Drew, and maybe art porn photographer Terry Richardson -- or perhaps that was Charles Spearing -- broke into the British Music Tent to play a quick and excellent set (set list below).
Set List:
Stars and Sons
Then someone fell down (I think) and everyone screamed (there was a screaming contest).
It was quite a chore hiking out to the Orange Court to see the Refugee All Stars of Sierra Leone. The Fishmans show at the Field of Heaven was apparently packed, and if you took the usual route to the Orange Court via the boardwalk, you found yourself snarled in a traffic jam, since they weren't letting any more people into the area and folks were sitting on the boardwalk listening to the show. By means of some rude, un-Japanese antics (leaving the boardwalk and cutting through the underbrush), I was able to make it just in time for the opening reggae song.
Reuben Koroma, the leader of the group, was a gracious host, explaining each song and its origin, constantly saying "aishite imasu" (we love you) and "odorimasho" (let's dance) to the audience, which was nice but needless since the crowd was with him and his large fatigue-dressed ensemble all the way. He explained at one point the group's origins, how they were indeed all refugees from Sierra Leone who formed a band in a camp, as a way of introducing the song "Refugee Rolling," which, like the Bob Dylan song of a similar title, is about what it's like to not be able to stay in one place, though in the Refugees' case it has nothing to do with choice.
The band spread infectious good cheer, switching from hard-core roots reggae courtesy of guitarist Geassay 'Jah Sun' Dowy Bull to the highlife-style goombay music they specialize in and on to a cappella gospel. As the Fishmans show ended, more and more people filled the field. Koroma welcomed them not as stragglers from another show, but as fellow seekers of truth through rhythm and melody. No one didn't dance.
Paying homage to yesterday's rain, Broken Social Scene' Brendan Canning emerged for the Toronto act's set clad in a long green rain coat. He walked to the front of the stage and raised his hands as the large crowd assembled enthusiasticaly cheered him on. He removed the jacket as Charles Spearin and Andrew Whiteman met at centre stage and bowed to one another before the band kicked into their opening number.
Starting with a slim six members (the collective boasts close to 20 musicians), the line-up soon expanded to eight as the dramatic track progressed. The first of many beautiful, dense, pop songs, the audience swayed back and forth as lead singer Kevin Drew, Whiteman, and back-up vocalist Lisa Lobsinger sang togehter.
Guitarist John Crossingham got everyone to start clapping as "7/4 （Shoreline）" from last year's fantastic self-titled album began. From that point on, BSS's set became one giant party. Band members bounced around and a few tried their hand at different instruments. The crowd roared their appreciation at every possible opportunity and eagerly danced along to the band's brilliant indie rock.
With an extremely loose atmosphere on stage the band breezed through wonderful selections from their last two albums. "Fire Eye'd Boy," which Canning dedicated to all the trees and people, and "Cause=Time" both sounded fantastic. "Ibi Dreams of Pavement (A Better Day)" had everyone grooving and singing along. The vibe on the stage and in the audience was amazing. With both sides pushing each other to go even more all out, the amount of energy radiating from the area surrounding the White Stage could have powered most small cities for years to come!
BSS has always been about having fun, and that's exactly what the band had at FRF. Whiteman drank from a bottle of wine, snapped his fingers, and took pictures of the crowd and various camera operators when not playing. Crossingham tried to do a little of everything - banging away on a second set of drums, singing back-up, strumming on Drew's guitar while Drew was using it, and playing the role of cheerleader by trying to get all the clapping bodies even more fired up. Canning, who looks an awful lot like Canadian music icon Greg Keelor (Blue Rodeo) these days, swung his bass around and mugged for the crowd.
Completely enamoured with the act, the audience treated BSS like rock royalty. Ending with "KC Accidental" the crowd screamed and swayed back and forth as a wall of sound was built from the numerous cascading crescendos being turned out. The combination of the wonderful sounds and the amazing reaction by everyone gave me chills. As the song faded out the band members ran forward to take pictures of the field of people before heading off stage.
However, the crowd wasn't ready for things to be finished just yet. Clapping in unison the audience refused to give up until the band re-emerged for an unpredecented encore. Things run on a pretty tight schedule at FRF and when your time is up you're done. If any band deserved for the rules to be broken though it was Broken Social Scene. A huge round of applause erupted as the band kicked into their final track and the audience kept calling for them to do one more after they were finished. Easily one of the best acts at FRF this weekend, these talented Canucks have probably earned themselves a free pass to come back to the fest whenever they please. Let's hope they use it many, many times.
Radio Soulwax presents Niteversions Live
Probably better know as 2 Many DJs, David and Stephen Dewaele are amongst the most praised DJ/producer of today’s club music scene. With their own success as Radio Soulwas or 2 Many DJs but also with popular remixes of top figures such as LCD Soundsystem, Gorillaz and Daft Punk. Fans of the Belgium born DJs coming to Fuji Rock where blessed with the 2 performances of the Dewaele brothers in one night. The first one as Soulwax whith the support of a live band formed of Stefaan Van Leuven, Steve Slingeneyer and Dave Martin and the second one as 2 Many DJs.
The Soulwax performance was a live recreation of their latest album “Niteversions”. Originally the album “Nite Versions” released in 2005, is a compilation of remixes of tracks from the album Any Minute Now issued a year before. As much as I like vinyls and electronic music mixed by great DJs, the warmhearted energy induced by the drums and live instruments were definitively a plus. The act possessed the strength of a rock concert and the fun party atmosphere of a dance club blended together. Sophisticated mixes, innovative sound and passionate execution all contributed to transform the performance. It was a cool evening at the Red Marquee thanks to the Belgium brothers.
It was all glam and camp at the White Stage on Saturday night of Fuji Rock Festival. For the occasion, the craziest band of New-York City took Naeba’s mountains by storm and invited everybody to join the bash. Humoristic, decadent, crazy and shamelessly sexy, the Sisters’ sound his a nice mélange of different influences. Rock until your aren’t you aren’t afraid to disco his their motto and the play was accessible enough for everybody to have fun.
The Scissor Sisters are a quintet formed by lead vocalist Jake Shears, bassist/keyboardist Babydaddy, vocalist Ana Matronic, guitarist Del Marquis et srummer Paddy Boom. However the creative sparkles of the band are truly the output of Jake Shears and Babydaddy that are the initial core of the band. The two members meet in some New-York city clubs where Jake was working as go-go dancer. As he talked about his past career “I’m so grateful that I went through that phase of dancing on bars for dollars!… It made me totally unashamed to go crazy. Once you’ve taken your clothes off in front of hundreds of people, things get a lot easier.”
The full original name of the band was Dead Lesbian and the Fibrillating Scissor Sisters. But for some reasons, the decided to keep only the last bits of it and became the Scissor Sisters. Funny enough, the name of the band and their logo refer to a slang term to describe a sexual position where the sisters in this context are lesbians. If you make to scissors with your hands you might figure-out the rest of it by yourself.
As we can assume, sex is inevitably a strong part of the Sisters music. Three out of the 5 members are openly gay and not ashamed of the orientation. The lyrics and performance were loaded of sexual references and sleazy humor. But as Ana Matronic pointed-out during the play, no one seams to be offended perhaps thanks to the language barrier. With influences from people like the Bee Gees, Queen, Elton John and David Bowie, the show was highly colorful and it was a great moment of celebration.
This show was one of the most unexpected treats for me at FRF06. I had no expectations and even less insight into who these guys are, but, hey, when it all comes down to it, the only thing that matter with music is the experience. And this was a hot 'n' rockin' show.
The Rizlaz, all six members dressed in black from top to toe, warmed up the audience with one song, which gave them a chance to showcase their individual skills - especially the keyboard player who was fairly stonking. Then on came Barrence - short and stocky African American and looking radiant in a bright red polo shirt. After a little audience patter they launched into their first song together - "Make My Move," a straight up rock 'n' roll song, which played full tilt like every other song that followed.
Gaz Mayall was off to stage right, jumping up occasionally to pump up the crowd by pointing at Barrence and egging them on to get into the music. Not that anyone needed much encouragement. The boys more than had it under control. Everyone in the Crystal Palace was rockin' as the band made their way through a mad song list - literally, as the list featured songs like "Mad House" and "Really Mad," But also other totally manic tunes like "Juicy Fruit" and "Cave Man."
After what was supposed to be their last song the crowd was literally howling. Barrence turned to the audience and said, "It's contagious in this room tonight. You don't want us to go now, do you?" And if the crowd had been howling before now they were screaming.
Barrence Whitfield and the Rizlaz didn't just indulge us in one encore, either. Actually they did so many I lost count. But for what ended up being the very last song - "Start Twisting My Arm" - the energy in the room was overwhelming. It was electric. Yet warm and intimate. Gaz had insinuated himself on stage and down on the floor do some kind bee-bop move on his back while the sax player stood over him puffing out deep moody notes. All the kids at front of stage were leaning over towards them and flicking their hands in time to the music. Barrence stood a little further back, still belting out the lyrics, and overseeing the proceedings. On stage left Joe Rush, dressed in a gold suit was dancing like no man but he can. Cat has got the moves. In a word, wow....
Reported by sisterchill
When semi-Scottish group Snow Patrol took to the Green Stage here on Sunday afternoon, people were doing something they don't do very often at the Fuji Rock Festival--squinting into brilliant sunshine.
With the sun radiating down from behind the stage, it could be a little difficult to see the band, even with sunnies shading the eyes. Not that anybody was complaining, mind you. The crowd eagerly soaked up the sun's rays, as well as the smiles emanating from singer Gary Lightbody's face. Snow Patrol's straight ahead, not-too-soft, not-too-hard, guitar crunch sound was easy to get into, even if you could go blind looking directly at the stage.
As if the sun wasn't the best surprise of the day, we were treated to another one: Lightbody's delightful stab at Japanese. While most bands playing are content with an "Arigato", "Konnichi-wa Nippon!" or "Ohaiyo gozaimasu" (often with amusing results depending on the time of its utterance), Lightbody offered us "Boku-tachi wa Sunno Patororu desu" during a brief stop after their opening number--and earning him a 2006 Best Stab At Japanese Award from this reporter. This ramped up the already eager crowd a bit more before the band plunged headlong into another song from their newest album, Eyes Open.
After dedicating "Chasing Cars" to Yoshi, a young woman at the foot of the stage, the band moved on to some older material from Final Straw to much appreciation. Lightbody constantly smiled--a genuine and hearfelt beam coming from his face that was infectious and uplifting after so many grey gigs the day before. Everytime you looked at the big screens to the side of the stage, there was the singer/guitarist's face in a close-up. If he wasn't lost in singing, as if in a dream, or jumping around with his Telecaster; he was smiling that big smile.
It was hard to tell if people were stoned, or just hypnotized by all this great sunshine and music, but whatever it was--it sure felt good.
Jeff
My niece Emma flew up from Australia last year for her first taste of the Fuji Rock experience. Now she's hooked. She flew back again this year for more. And both times she has managed to convince three of her friends to join her in the adventure - last year her flat mates and this year three girlfriends from high-school.
But why fly thousands of miles for a festival when Australia offers a range of events to choose from? Because, only at the Fuji Festival will you find no garbage and no pushing. And the vibe is right.
We don't get to see each other much during the course of three days, mostly because Emma is very much into her music and our choices don't often coincide. But hey, that's the whole point of a festival - something for everyone.
But the Palace of Wonder had solved that problem. Not only is it one of the only late night spots at the Fest, it is also the most rockin' one. While clubs sounds abound at the Red Marquee, the Palace is where you'll want to be if a simple tune turns you on. I found Emma and all her friends rockin to Noburo Yamana's set of classic rock 'n' reggae. Finally our tastes coincided...
Reported by sisterchill
Nikaido Kazumi, professionally known as Nikasoup sometimes of Nika Soup & Saya Source, provided Gypsy Avalon's typically sunny Sunday vibe.
A quirky folk singer, her voice is clean and clear -- so much so she must take pleasure in it herself. She played a full sounding steel string guitar thrum, singing horn-like romps over the top. She says "Arigato" with that Japanese girlish voice and it's easily apparent she's having as much fun as the chilled out audience. Barefoot, she swoons away the end of her songs, laughing at what she's just done. Perfect set for an easy crowd.
The only thing missing from this show was sunshine. Not that it was raining, it's just that it night had already fallen. And the Afro-Cuban music that this band plays emotes breezy beaches and palm trees. Oh well. At least the stage at Gypsie Avalon is hugged by trees.
Double Famous number 11 members - sax, trumpet and trombone, accordian, guitar, electric double bass, drums, congas and bongos (acoustic and electric). Even just the line up of instruments should give you a good idea of the range of songs they play. But, more specifically, they cover all the sub-genres that form the roots of African and Latin music - from cumbia to calypso and on up through the pecking order of ages to encompass samba and rumba and a little cha-cha-cha.
Only the conga player is female - and she wore a slinky emerald green dress with one strap and a fake tat on the other arm. She and the bongo player also wore shades, evoking the presence of sunshine. And the rest of the lads wore variations on the theme of Panama hats and leisure shirts and pencil-thin mustaches and side burns (though I suspect the use of magic marker on some of the more flamboyant Dali-esque ones).
The audience area was not crowded, but was rather a gathering of several dozen hardcore fans. Even while the accordian player was still in the process of doing his sound check, two girls at the front were dancing - doing slow twirls and pirouettes as the lethargic strains and sometimes eerie strains of music that filled the air. And these girls in particular went full tilt once the band started their set for real. They were stomping and jumping in muddy area in front of stage - so much so that bass player asked them gently to please be careful. And they were. But everyone was at least jogging on the spot when hit their up-tempo numbers.
Mud puddles aside, it was almost like a trip to the tropics...
Reported by sisterchill
Here's another one. Lot's of rock going on around here, right? Has anyone ever seen anyone at Fuji Rock smash their guitar on stage? It must be done, who done it? Drop a line.
Walked by it many times doing the length of the concert grounds, does anbody know the name of the river that runs through Fuji Rock? Drop a line here.
On first listen, Orson seems like the penultimate British rock'n soul band: witty, droll, very loud, and dedicated more to the song than to the singer. And while they're currently ripping up the British charts, it turns out that the entire band is from Los Angeles. After toiling unsuccessfully for a bit they went to Manchester to play a gig and earned the ovation of their lives. Considering the reaction they got at the Red Marquee on Sunday afternoon, it seems they have a second market to plunder.
Sartorially spiffy though a bit impractical given the heat in the venue, the band delivered a strong set of soulful pop-rock built around Jason Pebworth's slick maturity. Referring to the folks out there as "boys and girls" he kept the repartee sharp and short and worked a kind of telepathic connection to drummer Chris Cano, who anticipated his every move and cry with crisp fills and intros. He had no trouble getting the audience to sing along with faves like "The OK Song," "No Tomorrow, and "Happiness." But the biggest reaction was to the power ballad "Look Around," which had the girls swaying suggestively and their boyfriends sweating a little extra. That's what you call working the crowd.
This may be Franz Ferdinand's festival; not because they headlined on Friday night, but because all the young English groups who were either directly influenced by them or sound enough like them to attract industry attention are now coming into their own. There's a whole slew of UK bands on the roster who play melodic guitar rock married to literate lyrics and a clever attitude. Most of these bands seem to playing the Red Marquee. The Automatic is the youngest, which means they probably weren't paying exclusive attention to Franz. Given that they did a cover of Kanye West's "Goldigger" during their afternoon set, their attention was probably the same as all the other teens in the suburbs of Wales--or in any suburb in the world.
Rob, the lead singer and bass player, certainly doesn't act like someone who has yet to see the far side of 20. Cocky and confident yet gracious, he directed the four-piece through a 45-minute set with nary a pause or a stumble. Apropos their name, The Automatic is one tight unit, even if keyboardist and utility vocalist Pennie tended to get carried away, throwing himself on the floor, banging a tambourine hard enough to break the skin, and producing the kind of screech you usually hear coming out of death metal singers.
The music has that kind of sweet kick that UK punk bands are so good at, and if the group resembled anyone it was the Jam. It's also the kind of sound that Japanese kids dig the most, and Rob seemed genuinely surprised--and extremely pleased--to notice that a lot of people knew their songs and even the lyrics, despite the fact that their debut album was released in Japan less than a month ago. "Well done," he said approvingly after the band played their first UK single, "Recover." He then directed the rest of us to the concession stand "behind the Green Stage" where we could buy it for ourselves. These guys are gonna go far.
The majority of music at FujiRock may be derived from outside sources, but the guys who run the fest were proud to put on a little Japanese roots music to open the Green Stage Sunday morning. As one of Japan’s premier Taiko (Japanese Drum) collectives, Kodo are as well-oiled a machine as they come, able to organize eight pairs of hands into an almost eerie precision.
As the fantastic Earth Celebration Festival proves, the group is growing steadily closer to mastering the staging element of performance as well. No content is simply to blow our minds with polyrhythmic bombast, Kodo has added elements of theater, including audience interaction and elaborate costume changes. Today while performing a Shishi Odori (Lion Dance) from Iwate prefecture, their clothes resembled the referee in Sumo, but much more elaborate and with two long planks jutting off their back, shooting straight up nearly 5 or 6 meters. Made of paper and bamboo, these planks would have been hitting lights if they were at any other stage than where the headliners play.
As one troupe formulated a beat, the dancers lunged forward in something like a sped-up bow, slamming the planks on the stage floor. The sound was like a whip crack, each slap kicking up larger clouds of dust. The Green Stage’s Sunday opener is a special spot for a band to play. It’s frequently the first band people will see, since you have to pass Green to get to the other stages, so the organizers couldn’t have chosen better. It gives them a chance to show off some of the best local talent and display a little national pride at the same time. So by the time soloist Tsubasa Hori approached the drums for the final number, the area was almost entirely filled.
[UPDATE] I bumped into Kodo's manager at Orange Court. More later…..
Junior Senior proved to be a huge crowd puller on Saturday afternoon, as the crowd was about 50 deep outside of the Red Marquee! Yup, people were even rockin in the food court, dancing around to the hyphy sounds and simple electronic beats of this Danish duo. In case you were wondering, the group saved their kitschy, flourescent accessories for their videos, appearing here in both a smart, op-art sweater, and alternatively
in a rocker red shirt. The band's highly addictive hit "D.D.Don't Stop the Beat" was played earlier in the set, clearing the way for a number of tuneful, beach boys era melodies. By the way, Senior is the older, flambouyant member of the band who frequently plays the tambourine, and ....Junior holds it tight with steady guitar work. Whatever the combination, the band did well, later ending the set with the number "Say hello, we say goodbye."
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Milburn differ from your typical Britpop bands a little. I was trying to put my finger on it as they played, and it took me a while
Milburn differ from your typical Britpop bands a little. I was trying to put my finger on it as they played, and it took me a while. All of their tracks are driven by nice funky basslines. Maybe it has something to do with the guys themselves: on stage today in their polo shirts and slaks, they looked nice enough to take home to meet your mum for a cuppa, and showed that they were funky enough to cut it with the big guys recently. Taking to the stage in the Red Marquee at 11:30 on Sunday morning, they drew a good sized crowd of early FujiRockers.
Joe Carnall on bass and lead vocals drives the group, He was interacting with the crowd throughout, getting a good response. Guitarists Louis Carnall (rythm) and Tom Rowley (lead) flanked him, and the three stood evenly spaced like a lineup in front of drummer Joe Green. It didn't take long to get into their more popular tracks, with "December" and "Cheshire Cat Smile" appearing early in the set. Each track starts with a good groove Jaid down by Joe and builds on this from there. There are short guitar solos from Louis in most every song, who remained fairly steadily planted for most of the set. Bass solos appear too, Joe not to be outdone by his sibling. Loud, rocking choruses with guitars punctuating the lyrics are the order of the day here, good thrashing tunes by the end.
Carnall egged the audience on a little, with them responding well. He was strutting around the stage at times, while the other two guitarists stayed firmly on the one spot. It appears as if their energy was spent on the frenetic songs they were playing, and none left over for showmanship. No matter, their playing was more than enough. They rounded out their performance with "The book that you're reading's upside down" (that's "oopside" in my finest Yorkie accent) which had those gathered grooving with the band. These guys showed us today that you need not have an album to draw a good appreciative group to see you perform at FujiRock.
Milburn's debut album will be released on Sept 25.
Report by Dom.
Many foreign bands I've spoken to during my time in Japan have been blown away by the kindness and dedication of Japanese music fans.
This weekend's FRF easily illustrates their point. The audiences in every area are going absolutely bananas for every band that plays. Regardless of whether they are familiar with the band's music, EVERYONE gets up and dances and cheers on the group's every move. Chanting, clapping, and waving their hands in the air are done with out any requests from the performing artists. Any crowd participation that is asked for is quickly obliged. There's no attitude in the crowds and no one deems themselves to cool to participate. Out for the specific reason of enjoying the beautiful surroundings and having a fantastic time, attendees are doing whatever they can to ensure that they and the bands have loads of fun.
I've personally been taken aback by the energy in the crowd during Flogging Molly's pre-fest gig at Red Marquee and by Envy's show on the White Stage this morning. The amount of positive energy and vibes while Flogging Molly played is impossible to describe using words. It is something you had to experience to truly grasp. Envy was cool as well with fans old and new screaming along and pumping their fists to the band's mix of post-punk and screamo. One dedicated group of envy lovers carried four large pieces of bristol board in a garbage bag throughout the festival site. Each paper had a letter of the band's name on it, spelling out e-n-v-y when held together. They waved their signs at every given chance, dancing along and jumping up and down whenever they could see themselves in the crowd shots that occasionally flashed across the video screen beside the stage.
Not that I have a lick of musical talent, but if I was a band I think I'd tour Japan exclusively. No other place in the world has music lovers like Nippon!
Shawn