Their next song starts out so slowly and sluggishly – with the bass down-tuned so incredibly low, and the snare drum echoing so metallically – that this song would not seem out of place on the soundtrack for the classic FPS video game “DOOM”; which used to scare the hell out of me. This is not a song you would want to listen to late at night at home all alone, unless you are a fan of horror movies. Then, the singer’s voice comes through once again, singing lyrics that sounds like, “death was difficult”. Afterwards, the band picks up the tempo, but it’s still fairly nightmarish in tone. More high-pitched “oooh” vocals ride over top of the mix, as an insanely distorted guitar solos like the player is trying to break their instrument. As this latest track comes to an end, the vocalist once again voices a gentle, high-pitched “arigatou!”.

Song three starts out with chiming guitars strummed once on the downbeat of every second bar, while the vocalist sings gently overtop; managing to sound a bit like Björk. A swell of feedback then enters the fray once more, and we are back in a whirlwind of distortion. At one point, the composition gets quieter, reduced to gentle chiming guitar, snare rolls and the lead singer’s vocals, and it becomes pretty; like a childhood love story. After a two-minute passage of near silence (the players’ volumes being so low) the drummer clicks his sticks together twice, and the whole band is raging like an angry cyclone of distorted 16th notes, in 8/8 time. Two minutes into that section, the vocalist launches back into her high-pitched “ooh” vocals, then steps back from the mic in order to rock out more with the band, on her Telecaster. As the song cuts to a halt, the lead vocalist once again offers the crowd a gentle “arigatou,” and receives cheers in response.

She then thanks the crowd for staying until the end, as if she can’t believe that they did. The last song starts in a swell of feedback which dies down before a heavily distorted picking pattern emerges. A heavy hiphop beat then joins the fray, and it is in turn joined by a heavy, incredibly loud bass. And, once again, the vocalist’s trademark high-pitched “ooh-ahh”s are heard repeatedly. The song then shifts into a section where all instrumentalists collectively beat each beat of every measure as if to punish it for existing. And then, the song ends suddenly with feedback and static. The few hundred people in attendance applaud enthusiastically with their hands over their heads, and one person in particular continues to clap for a whole minute after the band has left the stage.

Lead singer Kazunobu Mineta starts off the show with a keyboardist playing gentle piano parts behind him, as he sings while strumming a Gibson Hummingbird acoustic guitar. He croons like someone who has fought his way up from the bottom, yet, also with the drama of one who has taken acting lessons. It is worth noting that he is intently focused on his acting career as of late, and that he is the only remaining original member of this band. He sings of having bought a woman at a hotel in Shinjuku, and a man in the crowd yells out “as you do”. There is something poetic in this street-level artist rising to the status of a national hero who is appreciated as an actor; rather than being crucified for selling out.

He screams about not being able to be beautiful no matter how long he walks these city streets; no doubt striking a chord with many men in the audience. He lets saliva dribble down his face theatrically; possibly to show that he hasn’t lost his “punk cred”. Then, on cue, a backing band appears, and starts accompanying him with overdriven guitars and all the frills. A one-centimeter wide strip of white saliva traces the space from his mouth to his chin (and he is clearly acting like a character who is endlessly tormented) but the rapt crowd eat it up as if it was a stage play in which a famous actor has been cast. In every sense, it is so.

The end of the song is drawn out in endless jamming on the part of his backing band, which its members seem to love. As they produce perhaps one of the most raucous song-ending vamps in rock music history, the crowd throw their hands above their heads and applaud madly. The artist has hit his desired target. Perhaps Mr.Mineta is Japan’s Iggy Pop. Slinging a Rickenbacker guitar over his shoulder, he leads the band in an all-out punk song, with the spit on the left-hand side of his face growing to cover a significant part of his cheek. The members of the audience love every second, bouncing up and down, and singing along while throwing up an arm to punctuate every backbeat.

Once again, an incredibly indulgent vamp ends this second song. As this track seems to end, the crowd goes wild and the band jumps into a very similar musical passage that may or may not be a different song. The chord progression is exactly the same as a well-known Jawbreaker composition. Who influenced who? As this song once again ends in a raucous vamp of sonic destruction, the crowd applauds enthusiastically. The lead singer breathlessly, and seeming on the verge of tears, thanks the audience for being here. He explains that he started playing in bands some twenty-three years ago, and encourages those who want to sing, to sing, and those who want to dance, to dance. He then confesses that he loves (boy band) SMAP’s song “Sekai ni Hitotsu Dake no Hana” because it speaks the truth that you don’t have to be number one; that you can be happy just being unique. He then speaks about how he was reflecting on what it means to be a student, and how students are often known for dressing differently than the average person, or cutting their hair in a different way than the average person. He concludes that he just wants to encourage people to enjoy what they enjoy. As his speech draws to a close, his guitarist’s amp starts feeding back, and the band dives into a hardcore punk number worthy of a mosh pit. Dozens of fists accentuate every beat, in 4/4 time. Some audience members try to crowd surf, but a smiling security guard pulls them gently down to safety. Mr.Mineta then starts singing from the edge of the stage, and proceeds to climb over the security barrier, in order to crowd surf himself, while singing. As security guards try to help him back on stage, he mounts the shoulders of one of them, and chaos ensues as some fans try and pull his genitals out of his shorts. They almost succeed, as most of the pubic hair above his tallywacker becomes clearly visible on the stage-side screens. He then crawls back on stage as the song ends, and the audience goes wild on the last beat of the song.

The band’s lead singer then walks over to the drum riser, squats down, and takes some swigs of water while the adoring crowd calls out his name. Returning to the mic, gasping for air, he thanks his longtime fans in addition to the people seeing Ging Nang Boyz for the first time. He explains that he understands that each person leads their individual life, and he feels grateful for anyone who goes out of their way to come to one of his concerts. He then says that he hopes we enjoy his concert all the way until the end of his show. Suddenly confessing that he himself is a big music fan, he tells a teary-eyed story of being in a taxi in Tokyo after he decided to break up one of his old bands. There was a song on the radio that he liked, he says, so he asked the aged taxi driver to turn up the volume. As the old man did, he said,”OH, this IS a good song! You weren’t lying!” [Crowd laughs] “So we bonded over that moment.”

Strapping his acoustic guitar back on, Kazunobu Mineta sings the classic “Koi Ha Eien” (“Love is Forever”) and stage-side screens show smiling fans swaying side to side, singing along. A young lady who looks too young to have heard this song in its heyday nods thoughtfully at the lyrics. The audience wave their hands side to side in unison during the chorus. Before the last chorus, one of the rhythm guitarists plays a riff similar to the intro to The Byrds’ cover of “Mr.Tambourine Man”. As the song ends, without missing a beat, the lead singer introduces a new song, while his backing guitarist’s feedback still hangs in the air. The band dives in full-on like a freight train being fed too much coal. It’s a glorious speeding vehicle with accents of faster Ramones’ songs; but of course with an aesthetic that belongs purely to Ging Nang Boyz.

Towards the end of the track, they shift into a more rhythmic rock’n’roll outro, before ending the song in a noisy-ass Sonic Youth-ish vamp. Barely taking a second to breathe, the band leaps into the next song, whose chorus is “Aishite kure” (“Love me!”). It sits in a Bad Religion groove, but could also owe a lot to the Blue Hearts; Japanese punk pioneers.

Before the before-last song, Mr.Mineta assumes the crouching praying stance with which he started the concert, and lets profuse white saliva pour out of his mouth and onto his chin, as the band break into what must be a well-loved classic; such is the overwhelming enthusiasm of the crowd. After the band finishes the song, Mr. Mineta stares bewilderedly at the sky. He then gives a speech about how he never thought he could play this gig – on the green stage at Fuji Rock – and says that he hopes he can meet us all again. For the very last song of their set, Ging Nang Boyz deliver a funky folk-rock number, as a torrential rain comes down hard enough to float an ark. Kazunobu Mineta delivers his vocals soaking wet and topless, kneeling on the edge of stage left, tearing at his chest with one hand, leaving visible red marks, and professing his love for the audience. He implores his listeners that they should never try too hard; because if they don’t make unreasonable efforts, that leaves them the strength to meet again someday. As the very last song grinds to a noisy close, Kazunobu thanks the audience with sincere warmth, and leaves them with a final wish, “mata aimashou!” (“Let’s meet again!”).

The third song’s intro completely brings to mind slower numbers off of Death Cab for Cutie’s second album, “We Have the Facts and We’re Voting Yes”, but with a vocal that is distinctly Japanese in its sensibilities. Mid set, Kotori break hard into a Californian hardcore punk feel. As they wrap that song up and the adoring crowd goes nuts, the lead singer does some crazy old-school punk leaps into the air – with each leg going a separate way – and the band dives back into another track built for speed. A pelting rain starts falling hard at a forty-five degree angle on both the band and spectators alike, but the Kotori just rocks out harder, and with more resolve.

The bass player starts the next song off with eighth notes dribbled at a breakneck pace and the rest of the band jumps in as if convincing the entire world that moshing is not only a good idea, it’s the thing to do. Kotori starts the next song with an intro which is both heavy and odd in feel, before launching into a chorus of breakneck proportions and speed. Perhaps only grindcore could get faster. But, through it all, Kotori manages to hold onto tasty pop hooks. For all their love of punk rock aesthetics, however, this is also a band with mad instrumental skill; which they display with increasingly progressive tendencies as their set charges on. As if on cue, the lead singer starts listing all the diverse genres of music he likes; during a breakdown in a song; stating that he believes that all of those genres contain power. As they draw towards the 30-minute mark of their set, they are rewinding hard to the Death Cab for Cutie vibe with which they started their performance tonight, and the choruses are loud and anthemic emo. They end their set by furiously jamming on their last song’s chord progression with fierce 16th note riffing on the part of all members in the band. Then, they thank the audience in a hail of sweat and feedback before leaving the stage.

A lot is riding on the shoulders of Austin bluesman, Gary Clark Jr. Early in his career he stuck close to the blues playbook, sitting back and sharing the spotlight with a team of crack musicians. But that was 2004, and the Field of Heaven, before the advent of a fierce racial politics in the US. Now, Gary has to carry this extra weight of new found success and expectations groomed from years of travel on the festival circuit. Today, he proved he’s more than up for the challenge with the opening number, “Bright Lights.”

And just like that Gary put his foot down and boogied all over packed audience at the White Stage. He was met with instantaneous applause and joy, with the audience rollicking to each guitar stomp and cymbal crash. Clark’s tempo may have been slower than his recordings, as he chose to draw out each guitar note for maximum resonance. A guitar in his hands even seems small and tiny, a mere toy in the curve of this slender body. He relishes the way it hangs low at his waist, inviting comparisons to Jimi Hendrix or Prince, or the next generation’s guitar god.

Like many artist visiting Japan, Clark is eager to plug his new album and he told the crowd, “today we will do some songs from the new album released this year,” “What About Us”. Then it was “Feed the Baby” and “Low Down Rolling Stone”. Clark was clearly having a good time as he played songs the audience remembered such as “I Got My Eyes on You (Locked & Loaded)” and “Gotta Get Into Something.”

Then he played the race card, throwing down “This Land” which is a response to politics of the day and the challenges that many minorities are facing. He later switched to a flying-V guitar to slow it down with a smooth R&B number “Pearl Cadillac” which was as soulful as anything I have seen in a while. And finally it was an unexpected cover song, “Come Together” by the Beatles which he introduced as a song that he long wanted to play at Fuji Rock. He asked the audience to “please sing along if you like it”. And boy did everyone sing. It was a touching moment that brought everyone of all races together to enjoy your our common love of music and each other.

As the band draws their first song to a close, in a noisy and tastefully disjointed fashion, the crowd breaks into a raucous but deeply respectful round of applause. The lead singer gently thanks them for putting his band on this stage. It is thanks to the audience’s support at last year’s Rookie Stage, he confesses, that Totsuzen Shonen were requested to play at this year’s festival. He also takes the opportunity to thank their friends that lent them the guitars they needed to play this show. As they dive into the next song, it is an even more glorious noise than the first track, starting off like an anthem to blow up the world, and evolving into layers of Sonic Youth, early Nirvana and – once again – Weezer; all wrapped around a candy-coated world-class talent for writing cohesive pop songs.

As the band kicks into the third song’s intro, Totsuzen Shonen’s lead singer gently slips off his Telecaster, rips off his sweat-soaked t-shirt, tosses it onto the drum riser, and then slings his Tele back on; just in time to land his first vocal cue. This third track rests on a beat reminiscent of California’s pioneers of hardcore punk. However, the comforter on the bed of this music remains a tapestry of furiously weaving overdriven guitars, mined from who knows how many inner torments. The fourth song would come across as an answer to Nirvana’s “Endless Nameless”, if Kurt Cobain had partaken in speed rather than heroin.

As the noise once again dies down, the lead singer gently thanks the crowd in the manner of a junior high school boy thanking his first date for going to the prom with him. Then suddenly, in complete contrast, Totsuzen Shonen tears into the fifth track with a ferocity that would put Motörhead to shame, had the former band existed thirty years ago. Once again, the verses drive home urgent emotional appeals that one might need a lyric sheet to decipher, but one is nonetheless tempted to agree with; sight unseen. These are the grandkids of Sonic Youth. They have learned the lessons of their parents’ parents, and can rise like prized flowers in the garden; rather than hide subterraneanly like their predecessors.

The bassist starts the sixth song off with a riff akin to a 21st century version of U2’s “With or Without You”, while the lead singer once again thanks the audience, using his boyish charm. He tells the show’s attendees that we all struggle, and we all have our fights, but we can also realize that most of us draw happiness from similar sources, and we can focus on that here at Fuji Rock. The chorus seems to voice the idea that “when kisses start, things can look brighter”. Totsuzen Shonen is a dream, and perhaps a dream come true for the Japanese recording industry; noisy enough to appeal to the “true music fans”, and possessing enough poppy hooks to fit into both movie soundtracks and commercials alike.

The song ends to melodic feedback, and their logo lights up in pinks and blues reminiscent of those that used to divide stereotypical gender roles, but now end up conveying the feel of the transgender community’s flag. The lead singer thanks the audience again, in a voice that has seemingly become even higher and more gender-free than before. He confesses to the crowd that it’s a bit scary to play in front of so many people but, since he knows so many people in the audience, that helps. And, he feels, that with their help, Totsuzen Shounen can “do this”.

He then introduces the last song before the band tear into it. It’s a mid-tempo number that pilfers the classic feel of “one fist in the air, and a beer in the other”. The bass meanders melodically in the higher registers, as the whole band now rocks out topless and sweaty. As they wrap up the last song of their set with a vamp worthy of the Smashing Pumpkins in their heyday, almost every audience member has both hands in the air. Many faces glow as if witnessing the triumph of one’s little brother. This is definitely a band on which to bet money.