Capitol F
When the Gossip approach the Red Marquee next month, it won’t be hard to locate vocalist Beth Ditto...
June 12, 2008
August 10, 2006
Killing Joke - Dark and deadly serious...
When Youth, bassist from Killing Joke, dj'ed at the All Night Fuji Rave at the festival last year, I wrote about how his band had stood me up one New Year's Eve 26-odd years ago. I never did get another chance to see them. So, understandably, Killing Joke instantly became my most-wanna-see band this year. And, true to form, they kept us waiting in the Red Marquee on Sunday night for a good 15 minutes after the official start time. But, hey, what's a few minutes compared to a quarter century?
August 07, 2006
Likkle Mai
Likkle Mai garnered a lot of attention for her wispy ethereal singing on several tracks by the Japanese dub/reggae band Dry & Heavy, an outfit heavily influenced by the Jaimaican Dub sound of the 1970's. This is her solo debut tour, promoting her album Roots Candy. She continues to play a similar brand of Dub and Reggae with her new band.
Jason Mraz
The entire time I was watching Jason Mraz, this was my thought: "does he really think he is as cool as the 'I-know-I-am-cool' pose and facial expression he strikes between every note, or is it something at more of a meta-level in which he is striking an 'I-know-I-am-cool' pose and facial expression because he knows that is what he is supposed to do in his situation, so he is doing it ironically, but then if he is that smart then that makes him cool and therefore the pose is no longer ironic and he is no longer cool." In truth, the thought hurt my head a little, being so philosophically complex and all, so instead of thinking it I spent as much of the show as I could talking to the girls next to me about how many angels could fit on the head of a pin.
August 06, 2006
Best Party Place at FRF ...
How could you possibly walk by something so cool and not even be tempted to stop in?
Watching hordes of people leave each night from the fest it pained me to see a lot of them pass right by the Palace Of Wonder without batting an eye, let alone strolling in. Decorated with elaborate sculptures, the awesome Crystal Palace tent, and entrance gates that spit out fire, this obviously isn't an easy thing to do. All I can say is that all those people missed one hell of a party each night.
With a continuous flow of young, exciting bands striving to be the "next big thing" on the Rookie-a-Go-Go stage, a wealth of insanely hip DJs and more experienced acts in the Crystal Palace tent, and a whole lot of flames erupting from the fire-based performances in the Arena area there was no shortage of things to see. Add in all the interesting people floating around (including performers such as Madness, String Cheese Incident, Super Furry Animals, and many others), a casino, a darts room, and plenty of spaces to drink and dance and you've got a party-loving individual's version of Disney Land just waiting to be explored and enjoyed.
Collect 'em all!
As I wandered around the festival throughout the weekend, I often found myself at different places down by the river. I would dip my hands into the clean, clear and cold mountain water. Splash a little on my face. Think about fishing. What's it like up here when the festival isn't?
During these small welcome meditations, I would turn to find silent company.
"Oh. You again."
I would just nod respectfully, same as I did the last time, and wonder how they always found me.
August 05, 2006
Joe Strummer, RIP
The Joe Strummer Memorial beside the Crystal Palace.
There are stories about this, but you have to go there to hear them.
Eddie Egals Fire Shower
Late--way late--at the Palace of Wonder on the closing night.
He wore leather.
He had a lovely assistant.
He climbed into a cage with a large shower.
She torched him.
Support your local Fuji Riders
I think he was a little worried. I had spent a good fifteen minutes casing the bikes parked near the entrance gates. When I saw him he had a large clipboard that he was handing to riders, and a small digital camera. Each rider took the board and wrote a message on it--their name and a greeting—then held it up as they sat atop their bike and had their picture taken. The young man would check their name off a list, and head back to the one of the tents set up near the bikes. I thought he was going to come back out with a crowbar. He didn’t. This isn't the Hell's Angels at Altamont. He just politely asked what I was looking at.
Meet Yuki Shirai: steel horse wrangler.
Digitalism mix, concluding Fuji Rock on the dance floor.
Chunky beat
Part of France’s label Kitsuné, Digitalism are Jens Moelle and Ismail Tuefekci, two cool guys from Hamburg, Germany. Following killer mixes of hipster bands such as The Presets and The Futurheads last year, we also eared their work on some compilations of Kitsuné, Ministry of Sound and Soulwax. With chunky beats build into sturdy synthesizers and funky acid riffs, the turbo-charged DJs took the Red Marquee for a last frenzy bash to close these 3 days of festival.
Chilling With The Gypsies
Ah... another year, another favourite place.
Last year I wrote that my favourite place at FRF was Field of Heaven at night. Heading up there to check out Rovo I quickly became enamoured with all of the elaborate candle displays, mirror balls, and giant glowing sculptures that were hidden in the trees.
This time around, my heart was captured by a neighbouring region − Gypsy Avalon. Located mere minutes from Heaven and the White Stage, Avalon is the perfect place to chill out and catch some unique, relaxed tunes. It's not as crowded as most other spots at the fest, has a food court beside it, and provides some of the best opportunities to catch an intimate performance - something that's not always easy to do at something as massive as FRF.
August 04, 2006
Nightmares On Wax Sound System: The sound of now
Nightmares On Wax Sound System seemed to be a rallying point for people headed long into the evening on the final night of Fuji Rock. I headed down to the Red Marquee with fellow FujiRockers Dom and Shawn, where I was also going to meet some friends from Tokyo. Once there, as the sound system got cranked up, I bumped into another friend of mine that I had been trying to hook up with since Friday (to no avail), and then yet another couple of friends from work who were there prior to heading off to the Palace of Wonder.
August 03, 2006
Finally some hot food.
Although there is a ton of great food to be had at FRF each year, it's often difficult to find something that's hot. Long line-ups and working out of a small stall often result in food that's prepped beforehand and is kept warm for the starving masses.
That wasn't the case at the Crazy Taco booth. Located beside the Oasis entrance to Red Marquee, their tacos were so hot that I burned my mouth as I took my first giant bite. After ordering there 500 yen chicken taco I was given a soft taco shell overflowing with loads of chicken, cheese, cabbage, taco sauce, and some kind of white dressing. The chicken was a tad dry (maybe more dressing would have helped), but it was fantastic to have a hot meal.
Okay, okay, it's over. Happy?
I guess this is a sign that the show's over: dozens of rain boots left in the parking lot, still standing next to where their owner has parked his/her car. At first we thought it was a fluke − in a rush to beat traffic back to the city, they forgot them. But keep walking and they were everywhere.
August 02, 2006
It Ain't Over!!
Well actually, FujiRock IS over, but when this photo was taken (6 am monday morn) we were still in denial. Here's Tusk of the Firetusk Pain Proof Circus yukking it up with buddy Cyka.
Onstage, Tusk, with his tattoos, loincloth, bed of nails and permanent drool, is more than a little intimidating. But after the show he was chatting us all up and keeping everyone laughing with anecdotes of his and Lucifire's misadventures. Not bad for a man who had darts thrown into his back a few hours earlier.
And Cyka was fascinating. A Russian native, when she's not touring with these nutters she lives in Nairobi working with Wangari Maathai and the Green Belt Movement . She even has an office in Osaka for the cause. The stories she told were fascinating - I'll relay some here if I remember them (this was the woozy hours of dawn, remember) or can scrounge my notes for a clue.
August 01, 2006
Chiling-out on Sunday night
Umphrey's McGee heal your ears
Like the name imply, Fuji Rock Festival provide a great dose of rock to the attendance. However, when you reach the 3rd and final day of the wild celebration, it's understandable that you find yourself looking for something more serene to spend the last few hours in the mountains of Naeba. Anyway, that is exactly what happen to me on Sunday night when I decided to leave the stimulating performance of The Strokes and head to the Field of Heaven where Umphrey's McGee where peacefully presenting their art rock compositions.
July 31, 2006
Farewell White Lodge, Farewell Fuji
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
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?
Potty Training
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..
Buffalo Daughter
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.
A Seed Japan
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
Is This It?
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.
Jenny's precedent
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.
Lisa Ono
The Japanese Queen of Bossa Nova
Rockonteurs!
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.
Show-offs
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.
July 30, 2006
Everybody Dance Now
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 Super Furry Animals: Strokin' it
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.
Searching for 24hrpartypeople
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.
Rino^ce´rose fait tremble´ le Japon
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.
Highs & Lows
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.
Sierra Leone Refugee All-Stars (Green Stage)
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.
This Just In: Mystery Stickers Continue to be Discovered
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?
Best Rock Star Reception
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.
Sun Paolo - Electro rock from the sun god...
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.
Kids Rock (cont'd)
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.
Have you seen me? - The Sticker Mystery
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?
Afro-Soundz: Orchestra Africa Share the Beat
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.
Rock You Like A Hurricane
Dark Ones: Yura Yura Teikoku Bring on the Night
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.
Sun: For Hippies It's Even Better Than Mud
Have You Seen My Passport?
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.
Dinner Music At Avalon
Comprised of two guitarists and a violinist, The Suzuki tantalized audience members at Gypsy Avalon with a solid set of folk music.
Baxter Dury
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.
Alternate settings for Green Stage guitarists
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?
Alternate settings for Green Stage guitarists
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?
Screaming Social Scene
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).
They all danced
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.
Giant Canuck Party
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.
The Dewaele brothers do it for real
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.
So what Does Scissor Sisters mean?
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.
Barrence Whitfield and the Rizlaz - All the cats were rockin' down the house....
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.
Snow Patrol: Light duty in the mountains of Naeba
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.
Nika in Avalon
Nikaido Kazumi, professionally known as Nikasoup sometimes of Nika Soup & Saya Source, provided Gypsy Avalon's typically sunny Sunday vibe.
Double Famous - a trip to the tropics
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.
Rock Question
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.
Festival Question
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.
Rhythmic Roots: Kodo Bang a Drum
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.