Fuji Rock Festival 2001 By Mark Stahnke and Phil Lewis If you build it, they will come. Take a crazy idea and turn it into an even bigger reality.

This was the principle underlying Kevin Costner's vision of getting people to come to a cornfield in Iowa to see Shoeless Joe Jackson and, low and behold, it worked. Everything tends to work in Hollywood, however. You don't pay 10 bucks at the box office to see Kevin's schizophrenic delusions lead him into an ugly divorce and a nuthouse. Pigs can talk in Hollywood and people can fly - it is about as detached from reality as one can get without being given shock therapy. Sometimes however, the little moral lessons that are at the foundation of a lot of the fluff that fills the movie theatres can still carry over into the real world. A few years ago, for example, who would have even conceptualized that a ski resort in a remote mountain region of Japan could be a venue where 80,000 people could come and enjoy such international musical heavyweights as Neil Young and Crazy Horse, Oasis, Alanis Morissette, Eminem and Tool? But SMASH UK once again showed that the Fuji Rock Festival is one of the most unique and best-organized events in the rock music world. Not only did they build it, they then cranked up the music and the masses surely did come. 

80,000 People and a Million Dragonflies

...came out of the woodwork for Fuji Rock 2001, emerging from all walks of life and backgrounds to descend upon Naeba Ski Resort, turning this normally sleepy ski town into a whirling cloud of dust, dancing and energy. But it wasn't only the crowds and the bugs that were coming out of the woodwork. Fuji Rock 2001 was a time for many old things to be dusted off, dragged out and given a new lease on life for three short days. Old tents were pulled out of musty bags for the first time in the summer. Pale legs came out in shorts to be scalded by the deceptively strong alpine sun. Old T-shirts that were once thought destined to spend the weekend buffing cars, were suddenly being worn with pride in support of musicians who many people thought deceased. They looked suspiciously new though and a few puzzling questions immediately jumped to mind. How does one even go about ordering a New Order T-shirt these days? Is there some funky shop in the backstreets of Shibuya that still deals in Echo and the Bunnymen paraphernalia? The answer to these questions and more was soon to reveal itself on seeing the line at the official merchandise stall. It snaked and it crawled through the heat and the dust, up and over hills, back down through valleys, leaving all but the most dedicated shopper gasping for air. Maybe the motto should have been "If you sell it they will come", as they sure did come to get the merchandise - lining up for hours - like buying sausage in Soviet-era Warsaw.

Music wasn't the only thing to be found at Fuji Rock. The large amount of people descending on such an isolated spot made it an ideal opportunity for vendors and other entrepreneurs to make some quick yen. There were campaign booths to promote things ranging from environmental protection to animal rights to South American guerilla groups. There were all-natural hemp products to be bought and all natural Indian curries to be consumed. There were roast chickens rotating on skewers. There were burger barns and bars, and you could even get a massage. There was a casino where you could win fluffy toys, and a spooky cafe that was spooky only to people who had digested enough illicit substances to seriously alter their sense of fear. Fuji Rock was more than just a music concert - it was a moneymaking extravaganza.

Give the People What They Want

Beyond the commercial circus was the music, which was primarily what everybody at Fuji Rock was there to see. New bands came out with something to prove and the old musicians came out to do what had made them famous all those years. There were four main stages at Naeba. The Green Stage was the biggest, but apart from this main area there were also three other venues to explore, each featuring a panoply of musical talent. Some of the main acts that were to play at the festival over the course of the weekend included Alanis Morissette, Hothouse Flowers, Ani DiFranco, Tool, System of a Down, Stereophonics, Travis, Manic Street Preachers Eminem and of course, Oasis. The British powerhouse headlined the first night of festivities, and although all but the most ardent Oasis fan came away disappointed at a punchless show, just before Travis showered the audience with such large spoonfuls of love and adoration that everyone left the show happy. He even professed that he had used photographs of the beautiful faces of his Japanese audiences from previous tours, to adorn his shows back in the UK. The next evening featured Neil Young and Crazy horse while New Order playing on the White Stage. The rumors turned out to be true as Billy Corgan joined the British band. This produced the only logistical glitch of the weekend, and a tense moment for some, as the organizers were forced to close the venue due to the capacity of the crowd.

As with any big outdoor event that has multiple venues and attractions, it was impossible to see everything at Fuji Rock 2001. Reading the program beforehand was like looking at the menu of some fantastic restaurant. Your basic instinct was to try and gorge down as much as was physically possible, although deep down your brain knew that this was not a wise strategy. The reality of Fuji Rock was that the venues were spread out over such a large area that moving between them with the rest of the masses quickly exhausted your energy levels. You had to be a little bit selective as to what you would see or you'd end up spending the weekend walking around in circles of dust.

In the outside stages there was some great music to be found though, and the smaller scale meant that atmosphere was often a lot better and more intimate than the main stage. Some bands worth a special mention include the Australian band Powderfinger, who put on great display in the Red Marquee on the Saturday afternoon, as did the band that played before them, South. These two stellar performances were then followed by Echo and the Bunnymen, who, contrary to the skepticism of many of the punters, put on a lively show as well. It was a shame that their set coincided with Neil Young, but this is the musical conundrum that you must face at Fuji Rock. Other bands that stood out from the rest were the Japanese jam band Big Frog and the techno outfit Juno Reactor. Big Frog's performance at the Field of Heaven on Sunday afternoon was the perfect ingredient for people trying to clear their heads from the previous two days, their vocalist's sweet voice and musical meanderings bringing a mellow, Phish -like vibe to the grateful audience. 

Tonight's the Night

Going to Fuji Rock and not seeing Neil Young would be like going to Las Vegas and not gambling. No matter what was going on at the other stages, many people were eventually drawn back to the Green Stage to see the granddaddy of grunge. Irrespective of your opinion of Neil Young's musical talent, one thing you could never be critical of is the value in terms of bang-for-the-buck that he gives his fans. Sauntering onto the stage in his typical low-key style at around 9:30, he was still cranking out his trademark guitar solos well after midnight, almost daring the organizers to pull the plug on him. Granted, watching Neil Young perform is not that exciting. He doesn't drive the crowd or even try and put much effort into any sort of showmanship, other than rocking back and forth and cranking on his guitar. He just does his thing - a thing that he has been doing for over thirty years. The feeling you receive when you watch a Neil Young show is like the sense of reverence that you get at a war-memorial or a museum of antiquities. As you watch a guy on stage who was playing at Woodstock; a guy who has been consistently touring and performing since the outset of rock music, yet is still producing credible, original music comparable to anything else that is currently being produced. He hasn't turned into a weird caricature of himself like some other old bands like the Stones - there is no sense that he should give it away and let someone younger take over the mantle. He is just a great rock musician - an original who gets more original as time goes on. 

Dusk to Dawn

For those souls who became tired of the summer sun, the dust and the stadium feeling of the larger stages, the Red Marquee was an oasis. A level concrete floor, solid roof, semi-open walls and an absolutely superb four-corner sound system made for a great venue for performers and punters alike, providing that intimate small-venue feeling without letting you forget that you were grooving away at 1500 meters, surrounded by alpine greenery. 

Each evening at around midnight, it became a place of worship and commune for that rapidly expanding cult of the Dance god. Friday night was Dance and Trance, with anchorman Tsuyoshi teasing the crowd into a frenzy with each sizzling peak. Saturday was more of a Drum and Base feast, kicking off with a pumping set from DJ Wagon Christ, who even managed to drag some people away from the legendary Mr. Young on the nearby Green stage. Quick to follow were the Dub Squad trio. They played a no-mercy, full-on live mix which grabbed the crowd by the ankles and wrists and refused to stop shaking for the entire time they were on stage - complete with a couple of toothpaste tube dancers adding an element of understated surrealism. Japanese D&B master Rei Harakami provided some welcome downtime with a more introverted but beautifully hypnotic set. Although not as danceable as the previous two acts, the haunting sounds and technical mastery were equally appreciated by the now out-the-back-door crowd. From then until well after the dawn chorus, Fumiya Tanaka and Richie Hawtin kept at it with relentless chest-pounding bass and stinging drum riffs, which could be heard, well - just about bloody everywhere. 

The Post-mortem and the Damage Done

By Sunday afternoon most people had reached their limits after rocking and partying for three straight days. There was still a lot of quality music to be seen - American rapper Eminem, Tool, Ani DiFranco and Hothouse Flowers were all to play in the evening. However, for most it was already time to start thinking about reality and making the trip back to wherever they had originally come. The Fuji Rock Festival is primarily about escape. Escaping from the heat and the bustle of big cities like Tokyo or Osaka, to a mountain retreat to camp alongside strangers who have one thing in common - an affinity for good music and good times. It's a place where some of the biggest names on the international music scene play alongside obscure, up and coming musicians, in the lush mountains of Niigata. It was a crazy wonderful idea that turned into an even crazier reality. A (ski) field of dreams for the people that made the trip.