{"id":1769,"date":"2011-08-17T18:54:54","date_gmt":"2011-08-17T09:54:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/triplefstudio.com\/yokoso\/2011\/08\/17\/"},"modified":"2011-08-18T22:12:47","modified_gmt":"2011-08-18T13:12:47","slug":"fuji-rock-2011","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.triplefstudio.com\/yokoso\/2011\/08\/17\/fuji-rock-2011\/","title":{"rendered":"Fuji Rock 2011"},"content":{"rendered":"

Fuji Rock 2011<\/a> has come and gone. As was expected, it was a very good time. Last year I wrote an extensive blog entry<\/a> so I will try to minimize the repeat content. But I will not over-edit what I write.<\/p>\n

Last year I only knew two people at Fuji Rock \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Tomo and Kanamori-san. Our schedules meant I could spend Friday with Tomo, Sunday with Kanamori-san, and was completely on my own on Saturday. But as a result of meeting people through people from last year\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Fuji Rock I had an entire network of people I knew and that it made it cool. In the end I probably spent as much time alone this year as I did last year. Oh well.<\/p>\n

Haru-san was kind enough to arrange rooms for people and also organize the various ride shares to and from Nagoya. On Wednesday night, Tomo called and said, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Haru-san is too devastated to try to explain in English, but we lost our hotel room.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d One call by Tomo and we were in the same place as last year, with one additional person sharing a 7 person room. No problem.<\/p>\n

I arranged to ride up with Kanamori-san, and we left together with Hi-chan at 11:00 pm from Nagoya. Wow, that was late after a full day of work. I drank a coffee on the road (very rare for me to have caffeine) so I was wired and probably could have driven to Hokkaido.<\/p>\n

 
\nFriday<\/strong><\/p>\n

Since we drove all night, we arrived in to Naeba as the sun was starting to rise. Here\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a nice picture from probably about 4:30 am on Friday morning as the sky brightened briefly on the day.<\/p>\n

\"Sunrise\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

We arrived very early at our final desitnation. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s no better way to celebrate the arrival than going to the local convenience store and buying some celebratory beers. Since Kanamori-san and I did not sleep these are still associated with the night before.<\/p>\n

\"What<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Fortunately the convenince store was open \u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

\"Hungry<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Goofy\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

So we could get the party started!<\/p>\n

\"Pop\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Cheers\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Drink\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

We took a power nap and woke up with it … raining. Since we had the experience of last year, we knew it would be better to get our wristbands early and our merchandise early. By this time it was really starting to rain.<\/p>\n

\"Really<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Really<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Waiting in line for merchandise before it opens (and before it sells out).<\/p>\n

\"Really<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Tomo met us at the merchandise area and then we all headed back to the hotel for a bit of an unwind before the day began. We confused the Obaa-chan who runs the show there with more people than were checking in, but no harm \/ no foul.<\/p>\n

\"Planning<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

We met up with other friends and headed to the site. In the rain.<\/p>\n

\"Welcome!\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

We stopped to have breakfast though (except Tomo was eager to see the Vaccines so he ate quickly).<\/p>\n

\"Breakfast<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Breakfast was a beer and a pickle for one of the crew. True it was closer to lunch time and he already had eaten breakfast.<\/p>\n

\"Beer<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

This year I tried to take notes as the the performances happened so I would not forget, knowing that it would take WAY to long to get the blog entry written. True to form, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m almost 3 weeks late and my memory is fading.<\/p>\n

The Vaccines<\/a> \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Good rocky \/ punky band but nothing about them made me think, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Wow, I want to buy their album.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

The Pains of Being Pure At Heart<\/a> \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Do they remind me too much of Imperial Teen<\/a>? I am familiar with them, and have two of their albums. The live show was a little louder and more driving than I expected. Enjoyed their show.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Gruff Rhys<\/a> \u00e2\u20ac\u201c The first song drew me in. I had no idea who he was, only got a bit of a recommendation from Tomo as he went off to watch Noah and the Whale<\/a>. For me, it was one of the finds of this year\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Fuji Rock. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve never heard any pop music in Welsh. But there you go. Now I have his album. I also learned he was the lead singer in Super Furry Animals<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Mano Chao<\/a> \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Exactly as I expected. Not as ethnic as Mano Negra \u00e2\u20ac\u201c just a tight, small band. But it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s still jump, jump, jump, marijuana.<\/p>\n

The Birthday<\/a> \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Japanese meets Nirvana meets Oasis. Very tight group and had the predominately Japanese crowd moving, moving, moving. On recommendation of Kanamori-san, and somehow I found him in the crowd.<\/p>\n

Artic Monkeys<\/a> \u00e2\u20ac\u201c For some reason they did not connect much with the audience. I was rather bored. The lead singer sensed the disconnection of the crowd as well and didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t seem very happy. Playing to a Japanese audience is difficult. They are very respectful. I took a nice nap during their performance.<\/p>\n

After driving all night, I was really tired. There were times that I thought I was going to pass out while standing. Luckily, I had a little chair with me and I was able to nap between bands in the Red Marquee as well as during Artic Monkeys.<\/p>\n

Coldplay<\/a> \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Coldplay is Coldplay. Always a good show, and often bordering on over the top. The last show I saw in London<\/a> was over the top. This was just under. I think the new album is going to be huge. Chris Martin has buffed up a little bit. With Gwenyth working with all these hunky singers, he probably felt like he needed to beef up a little.<\/p>\n

\"Coldplay<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Big<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Unfortunately, I missed Big Audio Dynamite<\/a>. We were pretty tired and decided to head back to the ryokan.<\/p>\n

Thank goodness for the rubber boots and rain gear. Better equipped this year.<\/p>\n

\"Muddy\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Last year, I discovered that the ryokan and many of the portable toilets were squat style and not \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Western\u00e2\u20ac\u009d style. Not growing up with squat style toilets, it is very hard to adjust to them as an adult. Fortunately this year I discovered a special section of western style portable toilets. And they were AMAZINGLY clean, all things considered. I never thought I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d prefer a portable toilet over a hotel toilet. But I did.
\n <\/p>\n

Saturday<\/strong><\/p>\n

I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t need an alarm clock \u00e2\u20ac\u201c I woke up to the sounds of rain pounding down outside. Due to the hotel room problem, Kanamori-san ended up sleeping in his car (he was the only one that didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t end up in a room so it all worked out in the end \u00e2\u20ac\u201c he chose to sleep in his car) and I asked him if the rain woke him up pounding on the car. He said, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Yes, and I almost gave up.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Luckily for us, the rain relented and it wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t too bad most of the day. We saw images on the news in the morning that there was a lot of flooding in Niigata-ken. I think over 200,000 people were evacuated. So a little rain on our parade wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t that big of a deal.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Clouds<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Medi<\/a> \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Tomo had heard good things and so he wanted to start the day off in the Red Marquee. That was fine, I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t really have a Saturday plan. I was surprised \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Medi is a French singer (Medhi Parisot) and his songs are mostly if not entirely in English. He was rocking out at 11:30 am. A lot of respect. He could have mailed in a performance but they really gave it their all. Chapeau! It worked, I bought his album. He ended the show with Michael Jackson\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Working Day and Night.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Like many of the foreign artists, Medi expressed his joy to be in Japan and acknowledged the hardships Japan has endured since March. This year\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s lineup was a lot more Japanese than last year, and I think the promoters were having difficulty getting foreign acts to come to the country. Certainly that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the case for some promoters that I know.<\/p>\n

Tomo wanted to stay in the Red Marquee for multiple artists, but I wanted to check out the site. So I went for a walk. I passed the the Green Stage and saw Fountains of Wayne<\/a>. Who are they? Why is their name familiar? I stopped by The White Stage and Funeral Party<\/a> were playing (Prince meets John Leguizano). After looking them up just now, it turns out they are from East LA. That makes sense.<\/p>\n

\"Silhouettes<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The river through the site was especially swollen when compared to last year.<\/p>\n

\"Swollen<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

This year\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s disco ball installation, inspired by Paul Smith?<\/p>\n

\"Mirror<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

On my way back I passed by Patrick Stump<\/a>. Another who? where? reaction from me. Very 80\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s looking. Is that ironic, or are they out of the 80\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s. The bow tie, high tops, and half gloves didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t really work for me. OK, a little research and it seems he was \/ is the lead singer of Fall Out Boy. I am not a Fall Out Boy fan, so it makes perfect sense I had no idea who he was.<\/p>\n

Lonesome Strings<\/a> and Mari Nakamura <\/a> – American country and bluegrass. Seriously, and seriously twangy. They\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve done their homework. It made me a bit nostalgic (\u00e6\u2021\u0090\u00e3\u0081\u2039\u00e3\u0081\u2014\u00e3\u0081\u201e)<\/p>\n

\"Lonesome<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Naked and the Famous<\/a> \u00e2\u20ac\u201c At first my notes were a little negative. But Tomo and I kept bumping into them during the festival and they were really nice. They were genuinely have a good time at the festival. I now have their album and it will make the post FRF mix I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m putting together. So shame on me.<\/p>\n

\u00e5\u0160\u00a0\u00e8\u2014\u00a4\u00e7\u2122\u00bb\u00e7\u00b4\u20ac\u00e5\u00ad\u0090<\/a> \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Atomic Caf\u00c3\u00a9. Kato Tokiko is a Japanese Chanson singer (b. 1943). Wikipedia reports<\/a> that she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a Tokyo University graduate as well. Kanamori-san had recommended her, so I met him at this small stage to see her perform. It turned out that the main purpose of the activities on the stage that day was to promote a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153No Nukes\u00e2\u20ac\u009d policy. If any country can advocate a nuclear free society, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Japan. It was good to hear her perform a bit though, and gave me inspiration to see her the next day.<\/p>\n

\"Power<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Todd Rundgren<\/a> \u00e2\u20ac\u201c We went to the Field of Heaven to eat and Todd Rundgren was playing in the background. He couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t quite figure out the attitude of the Japanese audience. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not sure if he had fun.<\/p>\n

This restaurant had good wraps, but they need to buy a vowel. We helped some of The Naked and the Famous with the menu here.<\/p>\n

\"Time<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Battles<\/a> \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Most everyone was interested in seeing Battles at the Green Stage. We caught the end of \u00e3\u0192\u008f\u00e3\u0192\u0160\u00e3\u0192\u00ac\u00e3\u201a\u00b0\u00e3\u0192\u0178 before Battles. My notes say – crowd loved them and they were good. For Battles, Tomo had seen them at The Troubadour, so the Green Stage just before a major Japanese band was a big deal. Kanamori-san went to the pit, most of us stayed back. They did a really good set.<\/p>\n

Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra<\/a> \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Japanese and Ska. What can I say? The whole audience was moving. Very enjoyable set.<\/p>\n

The weather was basically clear, and we were not that interested in seeing the Faces, so we headed back to the room to change clothes, shoes, clean up, and then go out for more. Which we did. We went back to the Crystal Palace, had some food, ran into the Naked and the Famous again, and then danced a little before heading back to the ryokan. All the time the weather held out. We bumped into a lot of our Fuji Rock friends on their way to one place or another. Sadly, I rarely spot folks, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m more the spotted one. Maybe because I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m foreign.<\/p>\n

If you want to be green should you really deface a tree?<\/p>\n

\"Eco<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Hanging out around the green stage on Saturday.<\/p>\n

\"Time<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Mariko-san\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Sleep<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Enjoying<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Tomo<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Sleep is always around the corner.<\/p>\n

\"Cigarette<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

This is what happens when you finger blocks the flash. Oh well, what was I going to say?<\/p>\n

\"Me<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Sunday<\/strong><\/p>\n

The day started out looking wet, and I wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t in the mood for another full day of rain. However, the overcast skies were somewhat refreshing as the temperature stayed relatively manageable. Last year was hot, rainy, hot rainy, and got really pretty tiring.<\/p>\n

No trip would be complete without a hand help picture of me and Tomo. First take!<\/p>\n

\"Ready<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Ringo Deathstarr<\/a> \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Started out with this band at the White Stage. What do I remember most? The guitar \/ singer had a shirt that said, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153DRUGS SUCK\u00e2\u20ac\u009d in big Helvetia Bold font ala Wham! circa 1984 (which apparently was a Katharine Hammet [http:\/\/www.katharinehamnett.com\/] design) and on the back it said \u00e2\u20ac\u0153NKOTB DONNIE WAHLBERG.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Vintage? I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know, but definitely intended to be ironic.<\/p>\n

Glasvegas<\/a> \u00e2\u20ac\u201c This was one band I was looking forward to seeing. And like Vampire Weekend<\/a> last year, I am probably a bigger fan of their album than their live performance. Sounded great, but Tomo summed it up well saying, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Is he trying to be Liam Gallagher?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

British Sea Power<\/a> \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Working man\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s band with a cornet. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll support any band with a cornet.<\/p>\n

Mirror balls again on the way to Orange Court.<\/p>\n

\"Mirror<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Blue skies make a rare appearance \u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

\"Sunshine\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 and Tomo seems a bit stunned.<\/p>\n

\"What\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Food was good at all areas. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s all seafood.<\/p>\n

\"Seafood\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e3\u0081\u00aa\u00e3\u0081\u017d\u00e3\u201a\u2030\u00e5\u0081\u00a5\u00e5\u00a3\u00b1 & Own Risk<\/a> \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Japanese American style country and western. Really. Just caught the end of it, but it was very enjoyable. Orange Court has a very eclectic sound.<\/p>\n

\u00e5\u0160\u00a0\u00e8\u2014\u00a4\u00e7\u2122\u00bb\u00e7\u00b4\u20ac\u00e5\u00ad\u0090<\/a> \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Kato Tokiko. The full version of what we previewed at Atomic Caf\u00c3\u00a9 the day before. We heard songs in Japanese, French, and English, including John Lennon\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Imagine.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d It was a very enjoyable performance. Just before it ended I headed out to catch the end of \u00e2\u20ac\u00a6.<\/p>\n

Some crazy fans looking for attention,<\/p>\n

\"Interesting<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

and some young fans having fun.<\/p>\n

\"Young<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Cornershop<\/a> \u00e2\u20ac\u201c With an sitar in the mix, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s going to be good. Of course, everyone knows \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Brimful of Asha.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d It is a catchy tune, and will remain so always. What surprised me is that it was released in 1997. And also it was a Fatboy Slim remix that broke the song. Hey, I bought the album afterwards so I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d say I liked the show.<\/p>\n

Passing by the White Stage it was packed with Saito Kazuyoshi<\/a> fans.<\/p>\n

\"Packed<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

YMO<\/a> \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Yellow Magic Orchestra \u00e2\u20ac\u201c A set of particularly accomplished Japanese musicians in the group core- Ryuichi Sakamoto, Yukihiro Takahashi, Haruomi Hosono. According to Wikipedia<\/a>, <\/p>\n

They are often considered influential innovators in the field of popular electronic music. They helped pioneer synthpop and ambient house, helped usher in electronica, anticipated the beats and sounds of electro music, laid the foundations for contemporary J-pop, and contributed to the development of house, techno, and hip hop. More broadly, their influence is evident across many genres of popular music, including electronic dance, ambient music, chiptune, game music, pop, rock, and melodic music.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Oh, is that all? Check out the Wikipedia link<\/a>, it is very informative. Pretty cool stuff, and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m really glad I had the chance to see them. In addition, one of the guest musicians was Cornelius<\/a> (Wikipedia link here<\/a>). I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t find that out until later.<\/p>\n

Chemical Brothers<\/a> \u00e2\u20ac\u201c We watched Chemical Brothers from a distance, because we were going on to see Wilco. It is always strange to me that an act like Chemical Brothers can headline a festival. But clearly they can as the site was packed. They didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t miss a single note. In a show like that, what is live and what is programmed, and what is spontaneous? I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know. Acts like Coldplay always have something unique in their performance, whether it is Chris screwing up and starting over (yes, it happens), goofy banter, lyrics or whatever. It is live and unpredictable. Perhaps I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not sophisticated enough to understand the spontaneity of bands like Chemical Brothers.<\/p>\n

Wilco<\/a> \u00e2\u20ac\u201c First time I have ever seen them live. Tomo has worked with the drummer on several occasions so he has a lot of respect for the drummer so I definitely wanted to see them. A friend commented on Facebook that the first time he saw them he expected this kind of countrified rock but they really kicked it. As they did. Very good.<\/p>\n

The Music<\/a> \u00e2\u20ac\u201c As the special guest closer, The Music<\/a> performed. Who? The previous two years were Basement Jaxx<\/a> and Scissor Sisters<\/a>. Anyway, The Music is big in Japan. I was tired and didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know their music, so everything just kind of sounded the same. Sorry guys. They are breaking up as well, so they probably don’t care what I think.
\n <\/p>\n

Monday<\/strong><\/p>\n

It was a late night, and I caught a ride back to Nagoya with Hirokata-san, Shogo-san, Go-san, and Erine-san. It was a fun, uneventful ride back, after we got everything jammed into the van. 5 people in a van was fine. Kanamori-san had 5 people in his little car the day before.<\/p>\n

\"Let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Souvenir<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Roadside<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Once again, another fantastic Fuji Rock experience and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m planning on next year already, even though I will be living in the US.<\/p>\n

\"I<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

Thanks everyone!!!!!<\/p>\n

\"Good<\/p>\n

(Photo by Shogo Taguchi)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Fuji Rock 2011 has come and gone. As was expected, it was a very good time. Last year I wrote an extensive blog entry so I will try to minimize the repeat content. But I will not over-edit what I write. Last year I only knew two people at Fuji Rock \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Tomo and Kanamori-san. … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Fuji Rock 2011”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,4,15,10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1769","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cultural-experiences","category-general-musings","category-photo-content","category-vacations"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.triplefstudio.com\/yokoso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1769","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.triplefstudio.com\/yokoso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.triplefstudio.com\/yokoso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.triplefstudio.com\/yokoso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.triplefstudio.com\/yokoso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1769"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.triplefstudio.com\/yokoso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1769\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.triplefstudio.com\/yokoso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1769"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.triplefstudio.com\/yokoso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1769"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.triplefstudio.com\/yokoso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1769"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}