Friday morning

The weather forecast for this year’s Fuji Rock Festival hasn’t been encouraging. Rain pretty much every day, but right now the sun is out and the temperature is quite bearable. It was cloudy last night for the pre-festival party but I only felt a touch of mist around 11 pm.

The crowd wasn’t as big as it’s been for the past two years, which seems to mean the post-Covid “revenge” is over, though I’ve heard that Saturday is sold out. The free party last night, which is thrown mainly to thank the locals for their hospitality, seemed relatively low-key, and you could actually get food and drink without waiting. Even the fireworks, which officially kick off the festival, seemed subdued. There were no big break beats in the Japanese fashion. 

That said, the live entertainment was as rowdy as always. The Mexican band Son Rompe Pera, started things off with a loud raucous set that fortified the group’s cumbia skills with punky determination. I mean, the main instrument was a marimba, played by a shirtless guy who seems to have copped his stage moves from Angus Young. Since the energy level started high and never flagged, there were no heart-stopping moments, but the prefest crowd is always raring to go so the band might be surprised today when they do their regular set at the White Stage and not that many people show up (they come on around lunch). 

The second band I never heard of: FCO, who aren’t part of the official lineup. Apparently, they’re a side gig of one of the members of Tempalay, who are playing the festival. I was pleasantly surprised by the music, which had a solid pulse and some wild, caustic guitar work. I didn’t really care what the acronym stood for but once I found out I had questions.