1. The Cure

I’ve been a fan of The Cure for 26 years since coming across them on “Beavis and Butthead” one night, and this was the first time I’ve seen them live. I was having a bit of an emotional moment during their first few songs of the set, but settled down and sang along for the vast majority. I’m still intrigued to know exactly why that bass was so high in the mix, but I can forgive some idiosyncrasies.

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2. Janelle Monáe

A wonderfully slick and well-executed set from this protege of His Great Purpleness Prince and a Queen in her own right. The highlight of my Friday.

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3. King Gizzard and the Wizard Lizard

Bonkers. I spent much of the set squealing with delight. Loved it.

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4. Unknown Mortal Orchestra

Full disclosure: I picked covering this band based on their name and the mention of “prog”. I really had no idea what I was walking into and I’m so glad I got to come in without expectations in order to be wowed and converted. Lovely stuff.

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5. Fujirockers

Fujirockers are a bloody-minded lot. Unbowed by rain, mud, wet shoes, wet everything, I was really impressed by the crowds who turned up to see bands in spite of the inclement weather and who soldiered through the weekend. Let’s see if next year’s August slot brings any changes to the weather and the potential for trench foot.

Kicking off their set at the Field of Heaven with a fantastically dirty rendition of Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs”, toe started off well, but their choice to contrast this chuggy classic with some incongruously high-pitched vocals marred things a little. For this listener at least, the effect was jarring and detracted from the overall kick-ass rendition. But I didn’t hear anyone else complaining about these vocals, so maybe it’s just me.

Toe is at their best when showing off their instrumental complexity. The math-rock rhythms and drum flourishes are the kind of thing that send listeners into reveries, and there were plenty of folks in the Field of Heaven audience who were getting high off time changes and tremolo, warm guitars layered up over shimmering arcs of riffing. As the Field of Heaven mirror-ball threw circles of light about the arena, toe were running circles around their audience, taking quiet-loud-quiet-loud alternations to the extreme. A bit like John Cages “4’33”, it felt like the drawn out silences were not just a pause, but a consideration and part of the whole. Each pause built up the tension until it reached a bursting crescendo of distortion sending the crowd into whoops of delight.

Indulgent and sometimes trying by nature, but rewarding and nourishing in equal measure, toe’s brand of math rock may not be smooth listening all the way through, but one comes away feeling like some sort of musical spell has been cast on the evening mists.

Keropons is made up of two women dressed in oversized day-glo pantaloons singing catchy songs while furiously gesturing. Watching them perform reminded me of watching the Teletubbies on a Saturday morning as a university student recovering from the night before and staring in mute incomprehension and complete fascination at the TV.

Waving their elbows and flashing their armpits, the show kicked off with a song about touching body parts – heads, fingers, and hips. Drawing out suggestion from the kids in the crowd, this escalated to touching cheeks of both varieties, because this is what happens when you allow children to make artistic decisions for you.

A slightly dubious moment involved the arrival of Mr. Piri Piri, the Keropons’ friend from Africa (actually Pon “in disguise”) who is distinguished by tribal clothes, an odd voice and a penchant for spicy food. What followed was a zany funk tune topped by a choreographed lesson in Swahili.

At the point where they started singing about yaki soba and fried chicken, I was starting to get flashbacks (and I had another band to get to) so I left Gypsy Avalon to a field of people shouting about whether or not they want juice or beer all while learning little dance routines with their kids.

There are worse ways to spend the morning!

Mark your calenders for AUGUST 21st-23rd 2020!

We grabbed a quick interview with him on Sunday in between his 8 shows of the day.

Can you briefly tell the Fujirockers about yourself?

My name is Saku Yanagawa and I’m a stand up comedian based in Chicago. I’m a stand-up comedian for Fuji Rock Festival and I’m doing 22 shows over the weekend.

How did you get involved with Fuji Rock?

I was performing at the Edinburgh Fringe last year and the Fuji Rock organizer, Masa saw my show. He really liked it, so he put me on at the Asagiri Jam festival in 2018 and that went down well, so he asked me to play Fuji Rock this year.

You’re doing 22 shows this weekend. How do you prepare for doing that many shows in such a short space of time?

It’s simple – I just don’t sleep!

Are you doing new material here?

Yeah. I was opening for the Red Hot Chili Pipers so I told a story from Scotland and I just opened for Interactivo – a Cuban band -, so I talked about baseball, as there’s a connection there.

You opened for Hanggai at the Green Stage this morning too…

Yeah, it’s a big space and it was just after that heavy rain so I talked about how great Fujirockers are.

What’s been your best experience so far this weekend?

Probably just talking to people who came up to me after the show and said they’d like to see more stand-up next year.

So, do you think there’s potential for more stand-up comedy in the future at Fuji Rock?

As people come to understand more about that kind of comedy, there’s definitely more potential.

How do you think tour stand-up translates between English-speaking and Japanese-speaking audiences? For example, British audiences can have a very dark sense of humour…

It’s very different, actually. Humour is very localized. In Japan, I have to build and develop a local stand-up scene in the Japanese language. Here people may not know how to react to that kind of humour, especially in public. Also, I talk about politics a lot, on purpose. Comedy is a good tool to discuss politics and help people think about it more.

What’s caught your eye while moving about the festival site this weekend?

No one cares about rain at all – they just wear a rain jacket and a towel. Interestingly, I’ve seen so many rock band towels, but I’ve also seen a lot of Hanshin Tigers towels too. I’m a huge fan of the Tigers, so I’m happy about that connection between music and baseball.

Which artists have you enjoyed so far this weekend?

The Lumineers and the Route 17 Rock ‘n Roll Orchestra. The drummer, Ikehata-san, is the person who introduced me to Masa, actually. I think he’s the best rock ‘n roll drummer in the world!

When’s your next gig so people can come check you out?

You can see me playing Billboard in Hibuya, Tokyo on August 16th.

Thanks to Saku for taking time out of his very busy schedule to talk to us! You can catch him later this evening at Tokoro Tengoku at 21:05, Café Don at 24:00 and 01:45 at Naeba Shokudo.

All dressed in orange polo shirts, the band took to the sweaty insides of the Café de Paris tent and brought an appropriate exotic vibe in their first song, which featured instruments such as a reed pipe from Laos called a khene and what may have been a kind of Thai lute called a sueng. With a troop of drummers, cymbal players and even one person on cowbell, there’s a lot going on, but it all coheres to create a fun and unusual performance. The band comes out on to the floor of Café de Paris twice and plays in front of the bar to the assembled crowd to much excitement, an act they pull at the end of the set as well to play out a good 10-minute number to finish.

The mix of traditional instruments and arrangements mixes up with slightly psychedelic vibe is an unusual and pleasing treat and hopefully has persuaded a few people to explore the mor lam music of Laos and Thailand, this writer included.

From songs was driven by chugging guitar riffs that made for an epic battle feel, to others combining throat singing, mouth clicking and a chorus of voices that was suggested a Mongolian spin on the movie Western theme, Hanggai kept it fresh and entertaining. The horsehead fiddle, a symbol of the Mongolian nation, plus mandolin was prominent in these driven folk epics, the sound equally familiar and unusual. It wasn’t all epic gallops across the open plains though. Midway through the set they kicked off with a “kampai” and cycled through ever-increasing tempo-changes that peaked for a jaunty folk dance party, the crowd jumping up and down shouting “Hey!”

Starting a fresh day at the Green Stage, Hanggai brought excitement and a good dose of energy to a sunny Sunday morning.

It’s a testament to SIA’s headliner draw that so many people braved the elements to see her. Ever the enigmatic stage presence, the singer took to the rear of the rear and allowed her troupe of dancers to front the performance for her, their storytelling adding further nuance and impact, particularly as many of their displays can make for discomforting viewing. The sight of a suited man wearing shoulder pads made of enormous hands slapping and punching himself is certainly not for everyone. The violent theme continued with the slower arrangement of “Titanium” in which two animal-headed characters inflicted injuries upon one another. Meanwhile, during “The Greatest”, dancer Maddie put her head through sheets of glass.

While Janelle Monae’s performance on Friday wowed with it’s slick production, this performance felt distant because of it. “Elastic Heart” and “Chandelier” powerfully recreated their video performances, but one was left with the feeling overall that one may as well have been at home watching on TV. With such a well-rehearsed stage show there’s not much that can be done about this, but it would have been nice to see some engagement from the stage to brighten the spirits of those down in the wet melee. Gaps between songs seemed interminably long to some, with unintelligible whispering and pre-recorded video – for every pause, there was a new exodus of people announcing that they’d seen enough and were off to seek higher and drier ground.

That all being said, it was an absolute pleasure to see SIA performing in the flesh. Her bombastic brand of pop was on point and nicely reworked to keep things fresh, the performances powerful and and emotive. Worth getting drenched for? Definitely.

After a jazzy saxophone opening, it took a moment to adjust to the current of fuzzy guitar that underpinned Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s sound, a choice that gave cohesion to the whole set. Front man Ruban Nielson brought a restrained falsetto that segued in and out of bluesy vocals. On tracks like “Necessary Evil” it initially felt like this restraint was excessive, perhaps because the song channels Stevie Wonder so much that one anticipated something bigger.

Nielsen himself courted both comments of “kawaii” from the audience as he waved bashfully out over the White Stage, and also whoops and cheers after hopping off stage and marching through the crowd, not once but twice: the first to head to the sound booth to do a shot with members of the audience during “From The Sun”, and the second time to leap around at the front for “So Good”.

Stage antics aside, Unknown Mortal Orchestra brought a completely different brand of prog to the White Stage in comparison to the previous day’s King Gizzard and the Wizard Lizard performance. The whole set featured what can only be described as dirty synth – not dirty in a grungy or distorted sense, more than it conjured a collective memory of something just a little out of reach, a little risqué. That sense of nostalgia came up again in “Ffunny Ffrends” with funky chord progressions that melted into the bass pop and smoulder of “Necessary Evil”. It was here where that growly undercurrent rounded out into golden resonance – all sonic hardwood paneling, tan leather and whiskey – before the song ended in an unexpected sax squeal that reminded me a little of moments on David Bowie’s “Outside” album.

There was much that was unexpected to love here: meandering synth (yes, it was in everything), muted jazz trumpet, drum flourishes – the later courtesy of Nielsen’s father and brother – and lyrics which pulled on heartstrings: “We’re not in love, we’re just high/ We’re not in love, we’re just halfway out of our minds” and mention of love trashing Nielsen’s heart like a hotel room – something we can all resonate with.

Closing on the upbeat disco of “Hunny-Bee” and “Phone”, Unknown Mortal Orchestra left the stage to uproarious applause. It was the kind of show that rewarded the attentive listener and wowed new ones. It played out well on platform like the White Stage, but can you imagine it somewhere more intimate? That would be one to see.

Kicking off with “Cap Per Avall” the band began with a nefarious echo-y dub groove under rapped lyrics, the wind section bringing in little upward flourishes that sounded like they just might be up to no good. Second song “Are Estem Sols” was more up-tempo, developing into a thumping party number that got the crowd jumping while the band raised their middle fingers and occasionally punctuated the song with cries of “fuck”.

Such is the formula Zoo brings, thumping party songs alternated with slower dub and reggae number. Given that the crowd and band are leaping around most of the time, they thoroughly deserve a good break when they’re not being urged to put their hands in the air (which is most of the time). With salsa breakdowns, dub-step bass rumbles and an incorrigible disco vibe, the whole crowd was boogey-ing by the end of the set. Zoo is all about the party, and they definitely brought it to the White Stage.