Fuji Rock Festival: 4 days of camping, concerts, mud, and fun


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August 1st 2006
Published: August 1st 2006
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Welcome to Fuji Rock '06Welcome to Fuji Rock '06Welcome to Fuji Rock '06

At the entrance to the festival.
Eve and I had a successful 4 days at the Fuji Rock Festival at the Naeba Ski Resort in Niigata prefecture. In four days we managed to see 32 bands, catch 3 up close and personal acoustic sessions, get 12 hours of sleep over the course of the festival, and get covered in mud.

We arrived Thursday night to set up camp on the ski resort’s golf course. We ended up on an incline so everything kept sliding down in the tent. The first official day of the festival was Friday so there were some special acts on Thursday night including band performances and a circus/freak-show act. We were able to catch 33 bands play in either their entirety or partial sets (with links to a few short videos I took of the festival):

-Shoen Knife- an all girl Japanese rock band
-Cooper Temple Clause- saw them twice because they played a special set on Thursday night
-The String Cheese Incident
-10 Feet
-The Spinto Band- they were a lot of fun
-Martha Wainwright
-Asian Kung-fu Generation
-The Cribs- I’ve seen them before and they were even better this time
-Gnarls Barkley
-Dirty Pretty Things
-JET
-Franz Ferdinand- one of my
Global Cool DayGlobal Cool DayGlobal Cool Day

Orlando Bloom on stage for Global Cool Day
favourite bands and my 3rd time seeing them in 10 months
-Wolfmother
-Fields
-The Rifles
-Mystery Jets
-The Hives
-Ken Yokoyama
-Jenny Lewis
-Yeah Yeah Yeahs
-Scissor Sisters- one of the highlights for me
-Kodo- traditional Japanese taiko drumming
-Milburn
-Refugee All-Stars of Sierra Leone
-Mumm-ra
-KT Tunstall
-The Automatic- one of my new favourite bands
-Snow Patrol
-Broken Social Scene- another of my favourite Canadian bands
-Jason Mraz
-The Raconteurs
-The Strokes
-The Happy Mondays

We also heard Sonic Youth, Killing Joke, and rinocerose from a distance.

The weather was good on Friday and we started the day early by catching a few performances and hanging out at the British Music Lounge where we arrived just in time to catch an acoustic set by Canadian Martha Wainwright. We weren’t allowed to take photos of performers at Fuji Rock but by hiding the camera and taking quick pictures, I managed to get quite a few good shots. I figured it was best to pretend I didn’t know pictures weren’t allowed and would take photos until security stopped me. We also managed to catch an acoustic set and Q&A with The Cribs before their show in the afternoon. I really like The
Eve and RachelEve and RachelEve and Rachel

We started the festival out clean and wide awake...
Cribs and their show was one of the highlights. Members of Franz Ferdinand showed up at The Cribs show and we could see them listening off-stage.
The cool thing about the festival is that artists were walking around, checking out other bands. We spent the Gnarls Barkely show next to a new band called Fields, who put on a good show themselves on Saturday. Friday was also Global Cool Day, and to support the event, actor Orlando Bloom and his girlfriend actress Kate Bosworth were on hand. We went to the opening event, not knowing that they would be there. We missed their introductions and happened by just as Orlando and Kate were coming on stage and though to ourselves, "Hmmm, that guy looks like Orlando Bloom" before taking a closer look and realizing it was him.

Because I am a big Franz Ferdinand fan, I jokingly told Eve that I was going to push my way to the front of the crowd for their show. Turns out, no pushing was needed and Eve and I secured a spot right up front along the metal barrier for JET’s show and stayed there for Franz Ferdinand. There was lots of pushing
Martha WainwrightMartha WainwrightMartha Wainwright

Martha Wainwright at the British Music Lounge
in the crowd for JET as people jumped up and down and danced. The Japanese audience is different to any audience I have ever been a part of- they go crazy for everyone, dancing and jumping up and down. I actually have bruises from being pushed against the guardrail, but it was all worth it. The easiest way to get the crowd going is for the musicians to speak a little Japanese, no matter how poor it is. Some of it is hilarious but the crowd appreciated them for trying. JET was disappointing and their show was a little boring. 3/4 of the way through the show, who should appear in front of us but Orlando Bloom and Kate Bosworth, checking out the concert, and dancing along ot the music a few feet from us.

Franz Ferdinand were great- the best I have ever seen them and I managed to get quite a few pictures until security told me to put my camera away. They’re one of a few bands that we saw that actually look like they’re having a lot of fun on stage, dancing and jumping up and down as much as the audience. I can’t wait
The CribsThe CribsThe Cribs

The Cribs at the British Music Lounge
until I get a chance to see them for the 4th time.

One of the best things about the Festival was the food- Not only was in cheap, but it was delicious! I vowed not to have any Japanese food all weekend and lined up for everything from fish and chips and tacos to waffles, crepes, and cheeseburgers.

Saturday started off well with an early morning performance by Australian band, Wolfmother- a Led Zeppelin-type band. After a few more shows, we turned up for The Rifles, a relatively new British band. I have their album and really like it, but they gave one of the most impressive sets of the Festival. They had so much energy and the crowd really seemed to be having fun. I was surprised at how good they really were, and I will jump at the next chance to see them.

We met up with 3 of Eve’s friends from Fukushima- Miho, Naomi and Yuki- who had day passes for Saturday. Together we caught Swedish band, The Hives as it started to rain. I was surprised by how good The Hives were. The front man of the band had great contact with the audience, something that makes or breaks a lot of bands. I’d never consider myself a fan of their music since it’s a little too much screaming rock for me, but now I wouldn’t hesitate to see them again. Luckily, I had stopped at the dollar store in Fukushima to buy a plastic raincoat- unfortunately, it was a Japanese size large which translates to ¾ length sleeves and slightly above the knee for me. After The Hives, it started to downpour and it became harder to get through the crowds. We decided to try our luck at the merchandise booths and headed back to the tent to drop our new purchases off and get a change of clothes since I was now soaking wet and cold in the mountain air.

Disaster had struck as the rain proved to be too much for our 2 person tent to handle. Water was soaking in from the ground and being on an angle on the hill didn’t help matters much as the rain leaked in t=from the exposed sides that weren’t covered by our tarp. After some frantic scooping things up in an attempt to hang clothing up out of the water, and
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The mountains surrounding the Green Stage
some strategic placement of plastic bags, we shrugged, and went back to the stage area, hoping it would stop raining soon and our things would dry out a bit before it was time to go to bed.

I can also not stress how clean the festival site was- you'd never get this back home or anywhere else. There is little or no garbage on the grounds and everything is monitored and recycled at numerous garbage and recycling stations around the festival.

We caught a show by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, a band from New York who were somewhat disappointing. There was no interaction with the crowd. The general consensus from other people we spoke with at the show agreed. After the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, it was time for Scissor Sisters, a band that I have been waiting to see for a long time and they didn’t disappoint- They were fantastic. They play dance-oriented music and the band had the audience dancing for the entire show. By this time it had stopped raining, leaving everything mud-soaked. Everyone was filthy and mud splattered. We headed over to the food court area where the DJs were playing and spent an hour
Orlando Bloom...Orlando Bloom...Orlando Bloom...

...drinking beer during the JET show
dancing in the mud with newfound Japanese and Irish friends. It was so easy to meet people- both foreigners and Japanese- at the festival, so we ended up making a lot of friends.

It was a nicer day on Sunday- the sun came out and dried up all the mud for our final day at the festival. We caught a diverse assortment of bands from Kodo, the traditional Japanese taiko drum band to the Refugee All-Stars of Sierra Leone. Again with some good timing we happened by the British Music Lounge just in time to see Broken Social Scene perform an acoustic set. Since Eve and I were right up front cheering and singing along and I was clad in my red Canada tank top, the band took notice of us and smiled. Broken Social Scene’s set was great- the band is a collective of around 20 or so musicians made up from several Canadian bands as a sort of Canadian super group. The great thing about seeing them live is that you never know who will show up to perform- you can see them multiple times and never get the same assortment of musicians. Their Fuji Rock set
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The crowd waiting for Franz Ferdinand
was fantastic- they played only upbeat songs and they had the crowd going nuts. The audience doesn’t get that wound up in Toronto, but the Japanese crowd loved it. It was also the place were the Canadians congregated as we saw several Canadian flags and t-shirts in the crowd.

Everything at Fuji Rock runs precisely on schedule and on time, down to the minute. Which is why to everyone’s surprise, Broken Social Scene came out for an encore. After their final song, the band left the stage and the crew emerged to begin dismantling the equipment. The crowd kept chanting and jumping for them to return to the stage. They came back and bowed and waved to the crowd some more, which only made the audience more frenzied. After looking at each other and looking at the dumbfounded crew, the band picked up their instruments and broke into a final song as the crowd rushed the stage. It was great to be there for that rare event.

Tired, and ready for a nap, we went back to the Green Stage area, a large lawn space to lay down in the sun during Jason Mraz’s set (not a fan
Front of the crowdFront of the crowdFront of the crowd

We were quite pleased with ourselves and our successful attempt in making it to the front of the crowd for Franz Ferdinand
at all, but we were tired). There we met up with our friend Corrie, a fellow Fukushima English teacher and her friends from around Japan. As a big group of foreigners, we hung out the rest of the night for The Strokes, The Raconteurs (who gave a good but odd performance), and The Happy Mondays. At the end of the Happy Mondays set, we were left standing in the centre of the Japanese crowd, and got pulled into dancing with the crowd as the Japanese audience members wanted us to pose for pictures with them. New British friend Dave started blowing a whistle at the end of the music which started a virtual riot among the Japanese. They rushed him and us, formed a conga line, started clapping, and then picked Dave up and tossed him in the air. It was a great way to end the festival and I would not hesitate to do it all over again…except this time I think I would wear a pair of rubber boots and find a waterproof tent.

On Monday, we took a look at the casualties: a few well-earned bruises, sore shoulders from carrying backpacks all weekend, blistered and bloody
Franz Ferdinand!Franz Ferdinand!Franz Ferdinand!

Nick and Alex of Franz Ferdinand
feet (mine), sunbruns (Eve), and tossed towels, pillows, and raincoats in the garbage, along with my shoes which were well destroyed after Saturday's rain and mud soaked events.

All in all, my favourite performances were by Franz Ferdinand, Scissor Sisters, The Hives, The Rifles, Broken Social Scene, The Cribs and The Automatic.



Additional photos below
Photos: 31, Displayed: 30


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Franz 2

Franz Ferdinand
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Franz Ferdinand 3

The end of a good show
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Tent land

I'm sure the golf course is ruined now. We were told to keep off of the holes.
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Metal chicken

The metal chicken in the Palace of Wonder
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Fuji Rock friends

Miho, Naomi, Eve and Yuki in the rain at The Hives show
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mud!

Standing in the mud after the Yeah Yeah yeahs
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The ground

This is the reason I threw my shoes in the garbage on Sunday
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Clothes

A closer view of what I'm wearing: 3 shirts, a sweatshirt tied around my waist, my 2 sizes too small raincoat, and a plastic bag tied around my waist to keep my shorts dry.
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Sleeping

People were asleep everywhere and anywhere


1st July 2010

fuji rock
Hi There, I'm going to Fuji Rock 2010 for the first time and do you know if you can camp there on the Sunday night too? thanks in advance! Mit xo

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