"I married a man he was the plague of my life, And I wish I was single again"
-Single Again, Firey Furnaces

I feel like breaking it down to you in list form.

- The lyrics of the song are true. Not the "I married the bain of my existence" part, but the "single again." I am. And I also like referring to people as plagues. It's the new black.

- I'm leaving for 5 days in Hong Kong Saturday by way of a day in Tokyo to check out the Museum of Western Art. But I'm only really going to the gallery for the food. And I'm only going to HK to pick up Mao memorabilia.

- I need someone to come to Leeds or Reading Festival with me in August of Aught 7. Why am I having such a hard time convincing people? I don't have a job, any money, nor any idea as to where or what I'll be doing in August 2007. I don't even know what I'll be doing in November 2006, but yet I'm all-in to commit to either festival. I know I'm a little off, but I don't think I'm that crazy for jumping into something like this. Besdies, tickets are on a pre-sale now. Who's game?

- I've started applying for random jobs in Toronto. While the legitimate career opourtunities aren't forthcoming in the film and TV industry, I've settled on applying at my 3 favourite stores: HMV, H&M, and Chapters. And Costco. And a random marketing company who already wants to hire me, but I feel it may be too much commitment. And an entry-level position for a travel company whose only requirements were, "experience travelling abroad." Check and mate.

- I've started to ponder how I am going to get my accumulated junk home from Japan. those who know me are well aware of my love of "things" and my pack rat-like nature. I've purchased another suitcase and have begin to squirrel away boxes in case I need to post something home.

- I feel the need, the need for...visiting the UK. Casually checking airline prices and visa requirements, I think I might head over there in the spring and either find a job or hang around travelling. If I'm going to work a dead-end retail job, I might as well be in Scotland. It goes with my whole, "If I'm out of work in Toronto, I might as well be out of work in Japan."

- I've decided I hate the movie Office Space.

- I randomly joined the Official Franz Ferdinand Fan Club. It came with rare vinyl and stickers. So why the hell not. All for the price of two of the world's most delicious sandwiches in London (19 GBP).

- "Reptilia" by The Strokes, "Dancing Shoes" by The Arctic Monkeys, and "Lemon" by U2, may not seem like good karaoke choices, but they are. They also only sound good to the people singing them. We'll test that theory tonight at a goodbye karaoke party for Jason and Leslee who are leaving Fukushima for good this weekend.

- I have exactly 57 hours of "24" to watch before I return home so I can start the 6th season when it begins this Fall.

And, without furthre adieu, I present to you the best titles of actual movies that are on the IMDB's Bottom 100 films list:

5. The Wild World of Batwoman (plot summary: Batwoman and her bevy of Batmaidens fight evil and dance.)
4. Hobgoblins
3. Track of the Moon Beast
2. Monster A Go-go

And, the best and most aptly named movie of all time:

1. Anus Magillicutty
- plot summary: What starts as a simple chore quickly escalades into a darker plot of deceit and revenge where it seems even Satan himself is after Anus.

If only it were available on DVD because you'd all be getting that for Chirstmas.
Surprisingly Bail Out is nowhere nesar the Bottom 100 films. it scored a 4.1/10. Anus Magillicutty could only dream of that rating.

"...and I laughed till I cried to think I was single again"

"See I'm stuck in a city, But I belong in a field "
-Heart in a Cage, The Strokes

I had another busy weekend in Tokyo and Yokohama where I managed to meet up with Dirk's lovely gf, Alanna, check out a random dance festival as well as ride a giant ferris wheel and sleep in a morgue...um, I mean capsule hotel.

Eve and I got up nice and early to catch a 6:30am bus to Tokyo so we could catch a local train to Yokohama, Japan's 2nd largest city. Yokohama is home to Japan's largest Chinatown and wanted to check it out for some Chinese food and so I could get a mild taste of what's in store for me Saturday when I arrive in Hong Kong. We saw this bizarre sculpture of a dog wearing a hat riding a dragon with deer antlers above a shop selling ice cream.

Dude on the left was selling handing out ads in a subway with his equally attired partner sans innertube which left nothing to the imagination in their one-piece prison striped pajammas. We then made our way over to a giant ferris wheel to get some views of the city, before I ditched Eve and headed to meet Alanna in Tokyo. Alanna, her friend Julio and I went over to Daiba island for some delicious sushi for dinner and called it a night so I could return to my capsule hotel.

"Look around there's no one else left "

The capsule hotel is the best invention in the world. It was awesome and I am in love with them now. You buy a ticket from a machine, lock your shoes in a cupboard, and get assigned a capsule. My capsule was on the ladies floor and had about 24 capsules. I had a bottom capsule instead of an upper one. Each capsule has a light, TV, radio, alarm clock, blanket and pillow, mirror and shelf which is all hidden behind a pull-down fabric screen for privacy. Being exhausted, I slept like a baby. There is a shared sink area, lockers to store valuables and backpacks, and a toilet area. The showers were on the 9th floor and also had a type of bath house that is shared with the men. I never ventured up there to check it out.

"Help me, I'm just not quite myself "

On Sunday after people watching at Starbucks, I met up with Eve, went over to Shibuya to introduce her to my favourite store in Japan- the music memorbilia store, or more accuratley, the music memorbilia building as there are 4 different shops catering to all kinds of music paraphenalia including overpriced band autographs and t-shirts. Surprisingly, I only made one small purchase of a button. I talked myself of needing another Franz Ferdinand t-shirt or buying The Cribs or Hard-fi shirts that were way too big for me anyway. And of course, I passed on the Boy George autograph.
We again met up with Alanna and checked out what we think was some sort of either dance festival or competition in Yoyogi Park as well as the freaky "Harajuku girls." Then it was time to wander around Ginza before Eve and I showed back up at Shinjuku station 35 minutes beore our bus departed for Fukushima. And here's where we ran into trouble....

"All our friends they're laughing at us"

I can't begin to describe the size of Shinjuku station. It's four stations in one with a random mall in between. We figured 35 minutes was plenty of time to figure out where the bus left from. We were wrong. We were on the toal opposite end of the station that we needed to be on. So after trying to follow signs and asking any number of metro employees, we started to panic as the clock ran out of time. We ran as fast as we could following sketchy directions, pushing past people as we went. Eve smashed into a guy wth her bag. I shoved someone on the escalator while yelling, "SUMIMASEN!!!" (Excuse me...or since it can change meaning depending on context, "GET THE HELL OUT OF MY WAY!). I also inadvertently body-checked a woman who got in my way. Those few times at rugby training paid off. We then came upon the turnstiles at the station exit. In Japan, you need a ticket to get out of the station. I shoved mine through and it wouldn't accept it while Eve had lost her ticket along the way. We burst through the barriers anyway and threw my ticket at the stunned guard at the gate by yelling, "We're late for a bus!!!!" and just took off again. I think we scared him by yelling in a language he didn't understand since he just sat there and stared, wide-eyed at the chaos we were causing.

At one point I was running down the stairs trying to keep my flip flops on while Eve was on a parallel escalator as I'm yelling, "Fuckin' go! I'll catch up!!!!" until she took a wrong turn and I yelled, "LEFT, to the left!" and we caught up at the bus entrance. We tore into the place and security asked us where we were going. One of us managed to yell, "We're late!!!" and dude figured we were running to the 6:50pm bus to Fukushima. He kindly radioed them that we were running and we ran over to the bus. We were finally seated, out of breath at exactly 6:51pm. Thank God. We would have been stranded in Tokyo if we had missed it.

"I went to the concert and I fought through the crowd "

Although shopping in Tokyo is tempting, I managed not to buy any of these...

So now we're back home, safe and sound. And we were delighted to discover that kind people on YouTube have posted videos from this wekeend's airing of the Fuji Rock Festival on Japanese TV (we don't have cable so we were SOL for watching it ourselves). Not only are the videos awesome, but Eve and I managed to pick ourselves out of the front of the crowd at the Franz show. You'll never see us for yourselves, but we can pick ourselves out, hanging over the security barricade at the left, front of the stage. Thus making it our second appearance on Japanese TV in 2 months. Our first experience came with a face to face interview about how much we like karaoke on the local Fukushima news in July. So to check out sweet Fuji Rock videos, go here.

I'll have more pictures and details on the weekend on my travel blog.

"I don't want what you want, I don't feel what you feel "

"Everything I always wanted Is right there, but soon it won't be "
-Lights, Editors

I'm so homesick!!!!!!!!

Okay, I'm not at all really. Except for movies. Specifically, the Toronto Film Festival. Watch me as I weep tears of sorrow. I had been putting off reading anything about the Fest, save for the random bits of information Dan provided me with. Today I decided to take a look at the list of offerings. Maybe it was the insane heat that made me do it. But now, I present to you a list I am crying over composed of movies I want to see:

The Wind that Shakes the Barley- We all know how I feel about the Irish and Cillian Murphy. I knew this one would be at the festival since it won the Palme d'Or at Cannes. I've been waiting a long time to see this, as has Prof. George McKnight who is an expert on director Ken Loach. I'll just have to take consolation in the Irish fest that was last year's Breakfast on Pluto premiere which had 4 of my favourite Irishmen in the room: Bono, Cillian Murphy, Liam Neeson, and Neil Jordan. Sigh. At least it's not U2 week again...and you know if it was I just would have cancelled this whole trip.

Side note: I've seen this movie since I wrote this, so all is well. I've basically rendered TIFF useless!!! Too bad I still thrive off of celeb sightings...Hmmm Paris Hilton is in Tokyo this week and I do have rotten potatoes that beg to be thrown....

Babel- I hear the movie isn't great but with Gael Garcia Bernal, Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett and some of it is set in Japan, I would have gone to see it. Now I have to wait around with the rest of the masses until it comes out in wide release.

Volver- since I love Almodovar's films.

All the King's Men- my distaste fo rMark Ruffalo aside, I have a girl crush on Kate Winslet. And let's not forget about Jude Law who is also in...

Breaking and Entering- the movie looks boring, but I like Anthony Minghella movies.

I think this one takes the cake in upsetting me the most. The others, I could do without and I've had 6 months to realize that I'd miss the Irish film:

Velvet Goldmine as part of the dialogues with directors series where the director shows up to talk about thier film. This is one of my favourite movies what with the Ewan McGregor, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Christian Bale and 70's glamrock with Bowie undertones. I also applaud anyone who made both Far from Heaven and a biopic on Karen Carpenter starring Barbies (Superstar... of which you can find really poor bootleg versions online since the movie was banned by Matell). I'll just go back to consoling myself with the Ewan McGregor "Long Way Round" TV series...

Somebody, please go see these films for me....

So sad. Just think, if Peter Sarsgaard were to show up this year (he won't), he would have no one to wink at. How sad for him.
"I've got a million things to say "

"I've been saving myself for a high speed Saturday night "
-100 mph, El Presidente

It seems as though my weekend plans are going to involve some serious all-girl adventures in various locations.

Eve and I are heading to Yokohama this Saturday at the crack of dawn. Or by normal standards, what would be considered the crack of dawn because, as Japan is the literal land of the rising sun, the sun appears in the sky around 4:30am. Nothing like a 5 hour bus ride to Tokyo to catch a little shut eye anyway. From Tokyo we're making our way via train to Yokohama to hit up Japan's biggest Chinatown and ride a London Eye-style ferris wheel.

From there I ditch Eve so she can meet up with her boy toy and head back to Tokyo to meet Dirk's gf, Alanna who is in town for a week. The other lovely ladies of Fukushima, Corrie and Lauren, are in talks to meet up with us on Saturday night (which can only mean anothe og of Roppongi clubs) and possibly Sunday for some fun. Sunday we will reunite with Eve and take Alanna to Yoyogi Park to see the Harajuku weirdos, Shibuya crossing so I can show Eve the massive music memorabilia store and return a non-functioning watch, then its over to Ginza for an act of a kabuki play for the reasonable price of 700 yen ($5.50) before making it back to Fukushima around midnight.

The highlight of the weekend will be the capsule hotel which I am currently in the process of negotiating. Most capsule hotels are reserved for men only- some even say "no tattoos" allowed- but I managed to find one that has a ladies floor. I'm just waiting to see if any rooms are free. Being new to this whole capsule hotel idea, I'm not even sure if I can reserve in advance or if I just have to show up and hope for the best. I see pictures of capsule hotels and it reminds me of a morgue or mausoleum...so I should feel right at home after my years "working hard" in the cemetery and dusting the mausoleum.

"I could never understand never understand what went wrong"

And if you thought I couldn't add any more women to my life, I have my first official date on Canadian soil with Lauren at the Scissor Sisters concert, which will be a breath of fresh air after a week in Thorold with my family pretending I'm nice, a Thanksgiving feast, and 3 new roommates.
Yes, that's right. I am moving back to MY apartment where I will have not one, not two, but three new girls to live with. It should be interesting to say the least. And we all know how much I lack in people skills so its an oppourtunity to actually make new friends. That being said, only 2 of the 3 spots are filled so far, so anyone want to move in?

Wow. This is the first time in years- possibly ever- that I have had this many female friends. Its a scary thought. The 8 year old version of me who only played with boys would be shaking her fist.

"Everyone escapes, everyone escapes from the past, But they never mention, how to get back on the track"

"Oh I, I just died in your arms tonight, It must have been something you said"
-I Just Died in Your Arms Tonight, Cutting Crew

It's good to be back in Japan. I have a vague understanding of what people are saying to me, delicious roatating sushi is at my fingertips, and Japanese karaoke is far superior to its Korean counterpart.

Eve and I escaped the "what do we do with ourselves now?" problem after a week constantly on the go with the old standbys of rotating (kaiten) sushi and 2 fun-filled hours at karaoke. This time, there were no karaoke-related injuries for me, a good sign since I had my fill of mishaps in Seoul. Our last karaoke evening ended with a huge bloody scrape on my ankle, as I hit a curb after swerving to avoid a telephone pole because I was too busy singing U2's "Lemon" in high Bono falsetto. Karaoke always inevitably ends with us singing on the walk/ride home. I'm usually guilty of instigating this, whether it be "Lemon" or "I Got My Mind Set On You" or simply the ringing the bells on our bikes (yes, we have bells) in tune to "Ina Gadda da Vida."
The song o'the night this evening was once again "White Lines" which earns a spot in the coveted karaoke top 10:

White Lines- Duran Duran (covering Grandmaster Flash!)
Ring of Fire- Johnny Cash
Helter Skelter- The Beatles
I Just Died in Your Arms Tonight- Cutting Crew
Lemon- U2
I Predict a Riot- Kaiser Chiefs
Hard to Beat- Hard-fi
Little Green Bag- George Baker Selection
The Fallen- Franz Ferdinand
Blitzkrieg Bop- Ramones

I'll get back to the posts about Seoul in due time. I have lots to share on how the only thing on TV was Space Cowboys and the underwear market. I think the fact that there is an entire shopping arcade dedicated to the sale of all things underwear is enough to keep you interested.

And just in case anyone questioned my love of sending/receiving random and bizarre postcards, it obviously runs in my family as I received a Spongebob Squarepants postcard cut out from the back of a box of Spongebob Kraft Dinner, written from Spongebob's perspective as he updates me the whereabouts of my cat, The Beast, and my parents. Its gone on my side of the fridge which is filling up with postcards (note how Eve's side remains empty...karma?).

Note to Eve: I kid because I love. Please don't smother me with a pillow as I sleep.

"And I don´t see an easy way to get out of this"

"When I'm feeling lazy, it's probably because,`I'm saving all my energy to pick up when you move into my airspace"
-Say Hello to the Angels, Interpol

I’m back from Seoul, and I didn’t even get a “South Korea’s Got Seoul” t-shirt. I did get what will surely be a nifty new scar on my leg from falling down some stairs. Seriously. It was the second time I fell in 5 days. Here’s a picture of my injury. It can also be noted that there are both Canadian stickers, some faux flowers, and my mint copy of Bail Out on the floor in the background since Eve and I are living in filth, thanks to overturning our apartment before leaving and merely adding new crap to the piles of junk already lying around here. Case in point: my room. And this picture is taken after I cleaned up a bit.

So back to me falling on the ground, in public. The scar is a result of my missing the last two steps in a subway while trying to keep my relatively girly heeled shoes on my feet. They weren’t incredibly high heels, I’m just too lazy to put effort into wearing nice shoes after 5 years in Catholic uniforms with fancy cress shoes. Eve, who was a few metres in front of me hears me say “SHIIIIT” in a mildy deep and loud voice and turns to see me sitting at the bottom of the steps. Too bad I didn’t get my impending scar somewhere more cool like the DMZ or one of North Korea’s infiltration tunnels into Southern borders. I managed to fall quite gracefully given the situation and my dress (ie. I didn’t land on my face or with my dress in the air) and merely ended up sitting at an odd angle. All was well, since I am used to falling down albeit, I am usually intoxicated and/or at the Dance Cave.

I had practice in falling earlier in the week when at Lotte World- the world’s largest indoor/outdoor amusement park, I again, gracefully slid to the ground, this time with a “Fuuuuuck.” Again, I say gracefully as I just kind of slid into a sitting position, careful not to spill my drink or my falafel. Eve again turned around, laughed and me, and drew more concern from the nearby staff member when he though she was choking than my laying sprawled at the top of an escalator (unrelated to my fall). Luckily, on Friday, I saved myself from falling for a third time. And just a taste of Seoul, here's a picture of a purse that I wish I had bought:

"This is a concept..."

I’ll give a more random and pertinent information about the man who growled at the palace, the numerous shovings (and I mean I got shoved, not the other way around), and the crazy guy who kept slapping me on the back in the street when I’ve digested the trip, unpacked, and had some decent sleep. So.Ko was fun, despite its lack of midgets, hobos, Communists, and shoes over a size 8, but not in spite of the plethora of Outback Steakhouses (we saw 6 Outbacks, but only 2 McDonalds), Dunkin’ Donuts, and fake bearded palace guards…(their beards are actually taped on their faces). We also arrived in Incheon slightly drunk thanks to free plane beer mixed with Tylenol Sinus meds, which is also the reason I am now the proud owner of a set of Asiana Airlines metal spoons.

"We should take a trip now to see new places"

Top 5 Songs Heard/videos Played at River Phoenix, my Favourite Bar in Seoul Which Serves Molson Canadian:

Help- U2 covering the Beatles (played on a giant video screen!)
An REO Speedwagon concert
Tonight- New Kids on the Block (the owner played more NKOTB when Eve and I began laughing hysterically and serenading our new Korean friends)
Last Christmas- Wham (for the holidays, obviously)
My Heart Will Go On- Celine Dion, played especially for us when the owner found out we were from Canada

I can only hope my solo trip to Hong Kong in 2 weeks proves as fruitful.

"I'm sick of this town"

"Still can't see the forestfire beyond the trees..."
-Forestfire, David Usher (seriously, when was the last time you heard this song?...still, he has the softest arms I have ever felt on a man)

There's a tyhoon coming. I'm quite thankful for it. My box of jellybeans had all melted together. The temperature has dropped 10 degrees. I'm not in a constant state of sweating, passed out on the fluffy sofa, eating watermelon slice-shaped popsicles and dreaming of winter. It also means I should get off my ass and go find out where I left my bike while in a state of exhaustion brought on by a fever and the soaring tempartures before it starts to rain and my beloved bike- Sally (as in Mustang...)- gets swept away in what will hopefully be torrential downpours.

I made the voyage to Sendai in the blistering heat to the Immigration office yesterday to get my ren-entry permit. Now there's nothing between me and Seoul, except for two days at work. A trip to Sendai is always fun- I usually make the hour long trian ride just to go to HMV and Mos Burger alone. Nothing beats CDs and burgers! Not only did I go to HMV and make use of their giant sale as well as my Fuji Rock discount coupons, coming home with two Japanese editions of The Automatic and The Cribs' albums, but I also saw "I heart Jesus" buttons. I didn't see the button suntil after I bought my CDs, and unfortunately, couldn't break $100 bill for these buttons.

Yesterday was also the tanabata (like I even know how to spell the way it sounds) festival which consists of the hanging of giant paper lanterns everywhere celebrating a purpose I'm not aware of. The train station and the shopping arcade were both decked out with lanterns. It was fun at first, walking through the lantern's streamers, until I realized that there were far too many people for my liking and fighting my way through the crowds of people who randomly stopped at inappropriate intervals to take pictures or, just to stand in my way got on my nerves after an hour. I was far too hot to deal with any of that. That and I am sure I am the only person to ever get a paper cut in my neck from some hanging lanterns at a festival. But it was pretty. Fukushima also had paper lanterns everywhere, although on a much smaller scale. "Wishing I could see myself, wishing I was someone else"

I'll be home in exactly 7 weeks. I'm both looking forward to it- as in I'll be able to get some Tim Hortons, Greek food, good music, pet the cat, and have a variety of movies to choose from in theatres. I've seen enough of Japan but I'm not really doing anything substantial here to either further my career or whatnot. Its just alowed me to put things off and zone out on an extended vacation. But at the same time I'm not looking forward to returning home to figure out what my next move will be, other than some vague plans and ambitions to travel in early Aught 7. I think I'll exploit the UK Ancestry visa and take off again...maybe I can recruit some people to come with me. I'm not even going to think about the job hunt. Or the state of my apartment. And I also hope that my parents didn't store all of my VHS tapes and DVDs in their garage, wedged between the motorcycle and lawnmower, while I was gone...

I also had an unusual dream about some of my friends who read this. There were fireworks, giant rabbits, and wine. The rest is garbled and mixed up. I've also been listening to Bright Eyes which is making me moody and depressed.

"Floating on the wind again, hoping it will drag me in"

Top 5 Songs in the Typhoon Countdown:

Perfect Situation- Weezer
Recover- The Automatic
Dani California- Red Hot Chili Peppers
Ain't No Easy Way- Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next- Manic Street Preachers

"Drink it down and watch the world dissolve"

"I got a gnome in the backyard, I put him right on the X mark, he's supposed to show me where the money is "
-Oh Mandy, The Spinto Band

Last night, an old man in a kimono- with nothing on underneath and his bare chest prominently on display- danced for Corrie and I on the street.

After an odd and rambling conversation where it was understood that a) this man didn't speak English and b) we didn't speak Japanese, he crossed the street, pulled out a small radio, took off his straw hat and began dancing with it. We stared in disbelief. More like we laughed and tried not to make eye contact.

There's a big festival this weekend in Fukushima that somehow revolves around a giant straw sandal. Guness Book of Records should be here to see this sandal. There are also giant sandal carrying races, but given the heat and lack of any information in English, I'm not going out of my way to find the race. Corrie and I did catch about two dozen men carrying the giant sandal to its resting place on a stand in a parking lot.

"Sure I had trouble from the onset, I tried to chase things I couldn't get "

There was also a parade which, at one point, featured men dressed as women and men in full spandex unitards. Usually, this wouldn't even make me bat an eye, but the fact that I'm in Japan and I rarely see men out o fbusiness suits made me do a double take.

After the parade, we somehow managed to order crepes from a stall run by a man who didn't understand any English by pointing while the man asked us random things in half-Japanese/half-English about if we liked Washington...not sure if he meant the man or the geographical location. I said yes. We then sat on some local artwork sculptures to eat our crepes and laugh at ridiculous people when we were invited to go to a bar with some Japanese dudes. We said no since neither of us are the "let's make conversation and meet new people" types. I pointed out I knew a bar where we could get beer nad no one would talk to us. So that's where we headed and ended our night.

I'm also currently in the midst of a really bad cold. Who gets sick in 40 degree summer heat? Me. Thanks to a day in the rain at Fuji Rock. I just need to shake this by next Monday when Eve and I leave for Seoul. I'm also toying with a short trip to Singapore before I make my way home in September. For no particular reason other than I can go if I want to.

"remind me once more where this is going, before I fling it out into the ocean "

"Power to the people, Power to the people, right on"
-Power to the People, John Lennon

Finally, the last in my long and winding run-down of Fuji Rock.

Sunday at Fuji Rock started off promising- it wasn’t raining! We checked out Kodo, the traditional Japanese taiko drumming group on the suggestion of Ana Matronic of Scissor Sisters who announced to the crowd that they were awesome. Kodo’s performance was when the “Wow…I’m in Japan” moment hit me. Up until that point, I could have been at a music festival anywhere. Seeing something uniquely Japanese that I won’t get a change to again, was worthwhile.

After we had our fill of drumming, it was back over to the Red Marquee to catch another new band I have a soft spot for: Milburn. I thought they were pretty good, although all the Britrock up and comers still paled when compared to The Rifles set. To break up the Britpop we went back to the Green Stage to see the Refugee All Stars of Sierra Leone while sun tanning on the grass. Our Fuji Rock itinerary may have been weighed down with Britrock, but catching the random sets in between provided a nice contrast.

After more time filling with KT Tunstall and lunch listening to Mumm-ra, we decided we needed a bathroom break before The Automatic came on, since we were really looking forward to their performance, which also marked the beginning of our run across the ski resort grounds to catch Snow Patrol on our way to Broken Social Scene. Staring off into space and thinking about things I’d like to eat, we started walking near the British Music Lounge, vaguely staring and thinking, “Hmmmm that dude on stage looks familiar.” At the same time, Eve and I realised that it was non other than BSS just beginning their acoustic set at the Lounge.

Breaking into a full on run and successfully pushing and weaving our way through the already assembled crowd, we made it to the front of the stage area to clap along to BSS. Getting plenty of looks from the band thanks to our enthusiastic cheering and my prominent red Canada tank top, we again marvelled at our good luck. It would later turn out that we were in a screaming/cheering match with our own friend Corrie (big US BSS fan!) who was on the other side of the stage. As usual, BSS were funny and somewhat confused their Japanese hosts through the great Canadian use of sarcasm, something that is completely lost on the Japanese.

After their set…or more likely after we hung around the Lounge waiting to see where/when the band would emerge…we ran over to see The Automatic, another of my newfound favourite bands. I literally spent the entire 50 minute set jumping up and down and singing along. They even broke out a cover of "Golddigger", so I had to sing along to that too. I’m all for keytars and keymonicas, but a flute solo to a rock band’s cover of Kanye West ruled.
I was so bored by Snow Patrol that again I started thinking about things I’d like to eat. They surprised me by how boring they were. I have always been on the fence or mildly dis/interested in them and I thought seeing them live might pull it all together for me, but no. I started straining my hearing to listen to rinocerose in the distance. We limited ourselves to 30 minutes of Snow Patrol and ran over to the White Stage to catch BSS and again weave our way into the front of the crowd.

As usual, BSS gave a good show with a completely different line-up than what I saw in January with Nat and Dirk. But I cannot get over how crazy the Japanese went for them. It didn’t get that crazy back home. Hand waving, clapping, jumping, pushing and dancing for the entire show which was limited to only up beat songs. It surprised me how many older songs they played as well. The band left the stage to thunderous applause and the crew came on to begin dismantling the equipment. The fans kept clapping as the band watched from the wings, prompting Brandon to come back out and wave. Next thing you know, they’re all back on stage as the awestruck crew looks around at each other for some clue of what to do. Because everything at Fuji Rock runs on such a tight and precise schedule, there’s no room for encores or for anyone to stray from their allotted time. The Japanese never met a group of Canadians who swig wine straight out o’ the bottle at 4 in the afternoon. The band came back on stage to play “KC Accidental” and the crowd rushed to the front of the stage in frenzy. It was fantastic and if it’s any judge of the reaction of the audience, BSS will be back in Japan soon.

With nothing left to do until The Raconteurs, we headed back to the Green Stage so I could have a nap during Jason Mraz. I wish I had brought my earplugs with me. I was able to tune him out a bit and catch some sleep as well as strike up a conversation with a Toronto couple next to us while waiting for Corrie and her friends.

We met up with Corrie and her gang of Amity teachers- some Americans and Brits, as well as 2 British guys we ended up drinking with. The Raconteurs sounded great but gave a short and odd set with Jack White playing with his back to the audience for quite a while and ending abruptly after a really long jam session. Bizarre.
The Strokes were also good- not a huge fan of theirs but they gave a good show. It took the crowd a long time to warm up to them. Of course, dancing to “Reptilia” brought back many good memories of drunken nights at the Dance Cave.

After their set and with several Heineken’s under my belt, it was devised that we should all go get some food before the Happy Mondays. In reality, what transpired was myself, Eve, and Andy getting separated from the group and wandering over to the British Music Lounge which had a DJ spinning Britpop. Deciding that the speakers weren’t quite loud enough, Andy and I took it upon ourselves to sing “Live Forever” by Oasis as loudly as possible. I also found a traditional Japanese triangle hat on a post that had been a home to several large green bugs which I am sure, if I had not been in a drunken state, would have terrified me. No sooner had I picked it up and put it on my head, then Andy grabbed it wore it, and passed it along to some giggling Japanese girls.

Eventually after losing Eve, we met everyone up again at the World Restaurant area for meat pie and chips and…more beer before stumbling back to the stage for the Happy Mondays. Not really knowing anything at all about the Happy Mondays but having been encouraged by every Brit we met to catch their show, we all made our way to the front of the stage as a virtual gaijin army of no less than 10 people. The Happy Mondays were bizarre- they came off as arrogant jerks, and not in a good way. The show ended and as they teased us all with the possibility of an encore, Corrie and I began heckling them. In between fits of laughter, Corrie decided to randomly begin yelling “Fuckin’ Sonic Youth!!!!” in a hoarse man-voice. So, I jumped on that band wagon and we began yelling in unison. The Happy Mondays did not come back out and I’d like to think that it was due to our heckling and cheering for Sonic Youth. We began asking random Japanese people if they liked Sonic Youth and got a variety of reactions- everything from blank stares as they tried to ignore us to high fives and cheering.

At this point “get the hell out” music began to play as the crowd dispersed. We took it as a sign to begin dancing in front of the stage with the Japanese crowd that had begun to form a mosh pit in the centre. Corrie, new friend Dave, and I plunged right into the centre of the chaos as the rest of our group stood by to watch. It was like a crazy Italian wedding gone wrong with all of us holding hands or with our arms around each other jumping to Lennon’s “Power to the People.” It was insane! It was such a fantastic experience to be thrown into the crowd, singing with strangers. Corrie and I emerged as the song finished and the crowd broke up, covered in dust.
Not wanting to end a good thing, Dave began blowing his whistle which began a riot. Japanese rushed him in a mob and it was chaos again. They picked him up on their shoulders and tossed him in the air over his head as he crowd surfed. We all stared on in disbelief. Every time he blew the whistle, it was more cheers and chaos. It was hilarious.
After this, Corrie, Andy, and I drunkenly stumbled over to the bathrooms and lost the rest of our posse in the process. People never stay where you tell them to. Upon returning to the place where we told the others to wait and finding it empty, we shrugged and went for more beer. This is why it pays to have drunken friends- they buy you the beer. The beer tent staff loved us for our drunken Japanese phrases and the fact that we kept yelling “Fuckin’ Sonic Youth” at each other, and posed for a picture with Andy. As Corrie and I waited for him, we continued yelling about Sonic Youth and were asked to pose for pictures with Japanese passers-by. Come to Japan- you will be a God.

The rest of the night is a bit of a fog that includes quasi-passing out near a dumpster, then wandering around looking for food and Eve. Being unsuccessful in both attempts, I made it back to the tent on my own and crashed.

The list of causalities form the concert is as follows: one pair of shoes, two towels, two pillows, and one raincoat as they found a new home in the dumpster. I got to see 95% of the bands I wanted to see. The only ones we had time conflicts with were Orson and Mogwai. While I would have preferred Orson to Snow Patrol, geography and time became a factor.

My favourites:
Franz Ferdinand- like you didn’t see that one coming
The Hives
Scissor Sisters
The Rifles
The Automatic

Disappointing:
Snow Patrol
Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Best showmen/woman and/or stage show:
The Hives
Franz
Scissor Sisters
The Spinto Band
BSS

Best songs performed live:
Outsiders- Franz Ferdinand: 9 drummers drumming including members of The Cribs and The Spinto Band. (YouTube's site is down, will add the video later. I think it was taken by the Spinto Band backstage of all the drummers.).
Gold Lion- Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Monster- The Automatic
Peace & Quiet- The Rifles
Panzer Attack- Cooper Temple Clause
Factory- Martha Wainwright
Mirror Kissers- The Cribs
Crazy- Gnarls Barkley
Juicebox- The Strokes

My illegaly captured videoes of event (short clips only):

Gnarls Barkley- Crazy

Kodo

The Raconteurs- Steady as She Goes

Franz- Dark of the Matinee, Eleanor Put Your Boots On, & Lynsey Wells.

The Automatic- Golddigger & Raoul

The Hives- Idiot Walk

There's also some different photos on my travelblog. All in all, I would definitely do it all again. Except this time I would wear a pair of rubber boots. Leeds, T in the Park, or Glastonbury next year anyone?

"Well you get on your feet, And out on the street "

“I just stopped listening to your story, As if I paid attention once”
-Fever, The Hives

Saturday at Fuji Rock was full of ups and downs- literally as we slid around in our sloping tent.

Saturday was my “meh” day- not too many bands that I was anxious to see, save for Scissor Sisters and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs at the end of the day, but there were a few pleasant surprises leading up to the evening shows.

Nothing says “wake the hell up” like Wolfmother at 11am. And, all my distaste for Led Zeppelin-inspired classic rock (and I grew up with parents who are Led Zep fans), they were pretty good. They put on a good show since they’re not a band that I would have gone to see otherwise. I had a nap on the lawn with everyone else during their set which brings up another interesting Japan fact- the Japanese can sleep anywhere and at anytime. Everywhere we went, from the most populated areas of the food court to grassy hills there were sleeping Japanese concert-goers.

We decided to go and check out Fields playing in the Red Marquee since we had seen them hanging out at Gnarls Barkley Friday and they looked like fun. Actually, when we spotted them, I said something like this: “Eve, look at those people. Those guys are hot. What is with that random cluster of really attractive people?” And Eve replied that they must be in a band, and sure enough, we read their VIP passes and discovered that they were Fields. And being attracted to hot British men, made it our goal to go see their set.
I can only describe that as a BSS/Stars mix and pretty good to say the least.

After Fields, we waited for The Rifles, one of my new favourite bands and I heart their album. The Rifles gave one of my favourite performances of the entire festival- they blew me away. I wasn’t expecting them to be that good, but they totally stole the show and the audience ate it up. I walked out of there amazed at how good they were. I danced and sang along the entire time. As if to prove how good hey were, a subsequent trip to the official merchandise stand proved futile as all of their shirts had been sold out, save for the XXL size. But if you’ve never heard of them- and I have no gauge of who or what is popular anywhere anymore since I live in a J-pop bubble- pick up their CD.
And of course, no one could top that show, especially not the Mystery Jets who are inexplicably popular here in Japan. Eve and I left their set early and wandered over to The Hives after meeting up with fellow Fukushimians Miho, Naomi and Yuki. The Hives were my second pleasant surprise of the festival- they were awesome! I’d never consider myself a fan of them or their music, but they rocked. This was also the time of day that it started to pour with rain forcing me to put on my dollar store raincoat which was exactly 2 sizes too small leaving my knees exposed and ¾ sleeves. But the rain didn’t ruin the fun- I was still jumping and dancing for The Hives. The highlight of their show was “Hate to Say I Told You So” in which the entire band froze and stood perfectly still in the middle of the guitar intro, causing the audience to go nuts. Frontman Pelle Almqvist has to be one of the best performers at the festival and is what made the show so good. Plus, you can’t help but like someone who sounds vaguely like the Muppet’s Swedish Chef. I wouldn’t hesitate to see them in concert again.

The torrential downpour forced us to cram into the covered Red Marquee stage, but as soon as Jenny Lewis came on, we decided we were better off in the pouring rain than listening to her brand of “I want to kill myself” music. After some t-shirt purchases, we made our way back to the tent to drop off some things and change out of wet clothing to grab some warmer clothes. I was here that disaster had struck- our tent was leaking and wet. Because we were on an angle on our hill, the upper part of our tent was exposed from under the rain tarp and filling with water. Great. We strategically places a plastic tarp and plastic bags at the upper part of the tent to try and block more water from coming into the tent and I patted myself on my back for thinking to put all of my blankets and clothing in plastic bags before heading out the concert area that morning.
Newly changed and wearing a handy apron/skirt fashioned out of a plastic bag to protect my shorts from my too-small raincoat, it was back to the festival to hear Sonic Youth playing in the distance.

We made our way across the site to wait for the Yeah Yeah Yeahs where my concert attire should be noted: one raincoat 2 sizes too small, 3 shirts, 1 Carleton sweatshirt tied around my waist in an attractive fashion, mud-filled shoes, knee-length shorts which I cuffed to mid-thigh range, and la piece de resistance, my plastic bag skirt. I am so cool. Eve and I were right up front for the YYYs, jumping and pushing along with the crowd which only made me even more mud splattered. As a whole, the YYY’s were okay- their sound was good, save for the fit the guitarist threw when something happened to his amp during “Phenomena.” I was disappointed which seemed to be the general sentiment from others we talked to about the show. There was virtually no audience interaction. Karen O could have just as well been performing alone in her bedroom instead of in front of a large crowd. All stage theatrics aside, it just wasn’t enough and the show could have been much better, even with valiant efforts to destroy the microphones and mic stands as the horrified crew looked on from the wings.

No pushing was necessary to secure our places along the guard rail for Scissor Sisters. Having missed opportunities to see them live in the past, I was really geared up for this show and they didn’t disappoint. No bizarre puppets and stage props, just Jake Shears and Ana Matronic hamming it up for the crowd. Their sound was incredible. They were also hilarious. The audience was jumping up and down and dancing the entire time, even as we were treated to new songs off of their upcoming album. All simulated sex on stage aside (I’m sure the Japanese were shocked) they ended the night on a high with “Filthy/Gorgeous.” Because of the big burly Black bodyguards, I wasn’t able to take any pictures. Where were the puny Japanese guys from Franz Ferdinand’s show? After their show we met up with an American lad and discussed the show. And, to our surprise, he was a big fan of Broken Social Scene. The most amazing part came when he informed us that his favourite band was Stars, leaving us dumbstruck that this dude from Boston even knew who they were. Sweet. We had made a new friend. After saying goodbye to our new friend and telling him we’d meet up at BSS on Sunday, we made our way back to the Oasis area full of food and DJs. Happening by a DJ booth that was playing old school punk and the like, we arrived in time to jump up and down in the mud (literally) to The Ramones. As some of the only females present, we made friends quickly with a group of crazy Japanese guys and their Irish mate who begged us to show up at Snow Patrol’s set. The Irish guy was feeding his Japanese friends lines for us so they could speak to us in English.
I heard: “How do you like your Export Lights?” and Eve heard some equally garbled English and gave the guy the thumbs up. Our Irish acquaintance filled us in later on what they were asking., Turns out, with a Japanese accent, “How do you like your Export Lights?” is actually “Do you like your eggs scrambled or fertilized?” And thus proved my theory wrong that I will fall madly in love with any Irishman. We stayed as the DJ's switched and Junior Senior came on, spinning a variety of tunes.
At this point my feet were raw and bloody (yes attractive, I know) from wet, dirty shoes. We waited 45 minutes in line to wash our feet in freezing water from a hose after vetoing the communal girls shower. Then it was off for a peaceful night’s sleep atop plastic bags and raincoats to protect ourselves from the damp tent floor after 5 hours of rain. Sunday would prove to be another great day culminating in a riot and Heineken induced mayhem.

“And I'll turn the tables all at once”

“Everybody's happy now, Nobody ain't laughing now”
-Hey Scenesters, The Cribs

Oh. My. God.

Where do I even begin to recount the Fuji Rock Festival? It was bloody brilliant and I have the bruises to prove it. 4 days of camping, mud, 33 bands, 3 acoustic sets, 12 hours sleep, 1 major freak-out, Orlando Bloom, 1 stripper, and lots of crazy foreigners. Since I have lots to go over, we’ll do this in separate posts. First up, I know everyone wants to breakdown of who we saw and how good they were, so I’ll give you the specs in a handy list form before getting into details and hijinks.

The 32 bands Eve and I managed to see either in their entirety or partial sets, somewhat chronologically:

Cooper Temple Clause- saw them twice; they performed the special opening night set on Thursday before the festival officially started. A bit too hard-core for me but they had some good dancy rock songs. Just had to fight to stay on my feet in the mosh pit.

Shoen Knife-Japanese all-girl rock band who were really good

10 Feet- awful screaming

The String Cheese incident- how are these people popular?

The Spinto Band- likes them before, love them now; put on a fantastic show and they really spaz out

Martha Wainwright- she was a nice, folky change to the rock bands we were seeing; besides supporting fellow Canucks, you have to love someone who wrote a song called “Bloody Motherfucking Asshole”

Asian Kung-fu Generation- they’re Britrock but in Japanese so its lots of fun

The Cribs- One of my favourite sets; I’ve seen them before but they just blew me away this time. Their set was also the site of my major freak-out…

Gnarls Barkley- quite the production with lots of back-up singers and musicians and it sounded great

Dirty Pretty Things- pretty good but I’m not sure if I would go out of my way to see them

JET- disappointing; it did get insane for “Are You Gonna Be my Girl”… they were actually kind of boring, but then again, I was counting the minutes until…

Franz Ferdinand- I heart them so! All major biases and estrogen coursing through my veins aside, they are bloody fantastic. It’s the 3rd time I’ve seen them in 10 months and this was by far their best show. They just look like they are having fun and Alex Kapranos looks damn good doing it. It also helped that I was right up front, crushed against the barrier. Definitely one of the best performances and a real crowd pleaser. Sigh. I’m already counting down until the next time I get to see them.

Wolfmother- total Led Zeppelin flashback. I enjoyed them, even though I don’t go for the classic rock vibe. Plus they were on at 11am so nothing wakes you up like some hard rock.

Fields- a nice surprise; kind of in the Stars/BSS vibe and really seemed impressed with the crowd’s reaction.

The Rifles- another of the highlights; I like their album, so seeing them live just cemented that. They were really impressive and they surprised me at how good they were. I actually walked away awe-struck.

Mystery Jets- terrible; we left after 3 songs, but the Japanese love them.

The Hives- another favourite, surprisingly. They surprised me at how good they were. I’m not a fan by any means but I would jump at the chance to see them again. A really good performance with lots of crowd interaction.

Ken Yokoyama- just heard him in passing; a quasi-screaming Japanese rock guy which wasn’t what I was expecting.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs- they were good, but I expected more. The general consensus from people I talked to was that they were disappointing. There was no crowd interaction at all. It was like watching a choreographed stage show- I’d expect it from Madonna but not the YYY’s.

Scissor Sisters- I’ve wanted to see them for a while and they didn’t disappoint. So much fun! They sounded fantastic live and the interaction between Jake and Ana and the crowd was great to be a part of. Another festival highlight.

Jenny Lewis- depressing as Hell so we got out of there before the first song was finished.

Milburn- I liked them. I’m biased towards Britrock in general, but they had a good set. They’re better live than they are on their album, although I still like it. Not as good as The Rifles, but decent.

The Refugee All-Stars of Sierra Leone- another nice change from the multiple rock bands; Good summer music.

Kodo- a Japanese taiko drum group. I forgot I was even in Japan until they came on. A little bit of Japanese culture amidst the British invasion.

Mumm-ra- another British band; they sound okay, but they just didn’t hold a candle to The Cribs or The Rifles.

KT Tunstall- she sounded good but it felt a little out of place at the festival; I think she would be better suited for a smaller venue.

The Automatic- another highlight for me; I really liked their album and seeing them live made it all sound better. They’re one of my new favourite bands; they also covered “Golddigger” complete with a flute solo…

Snow Patrol- Very bland and boring. I was indifferent to them before (I know, shocking since they’re Irish) and I just wasn’t feeling them at all.

Broken Social Scene- we all love BSS and know they give a great show; but their Japanese set is completely different to what they would play at home- only fast, upbeat songs, and a lot of older material. First of all, it was a different collective than when I saw them back in January. Secondly, the Japanese went INSANE for them- it was non-stop jumping, dancing and screaming. And in something that never happens because Fuji Rock runs on a precise schedule, BSS came back for an encore. The crew were already dismantling the equipment when BSS came back out. The crew stood around dumbfounded as BSS picked up guitars and played “KC Accidental”. It also happened to be the Canadian congregating place.

Jason Mraz- didn’t intentionally see him, but I needed a nap on the lawn. In my dream I kept asking, “Who is playing that awful music?” I woke to discover it wasn’t a dream, and it was in fact Jason Mraz.

The Raconteurs- sounded really good but gave a very short and odd set, with Jack White playing the last song with his back to the crowd. I’m not sure if I need to see them again anytime soon. And I must admit that Jack is much more attractive in person.

The Strokes- an okay performance; it took a while for them to warm up the crowd; props to Julian Casablancas for running into the crowd; they were good, but they weren’t great. I think they’d be better suited to a smaller venue.

The Happy Mondays- WTF? I speak English and I had no idea what they were saying half of the time. They were really random and somewhat obnoxious as they came off full of themselves. They teased the audience with an encore and even had a girl come onstage and ask the crowd if they wanted to hear more, whipping them into a frenzy. Bu then, they didn’t come back. Of course, it could be because Corrie and I were yelling “NO!!!”…. and randomly screaming about Sonic Youth…

So take a breather, because now we’re onto the run-down of events:

We arrived Thursday night to set up camp on a gold course at the Naeba Ski Resort in Niigata prefecture, somewhere near Nagano. Setting up our tent on a hill in the dark was kind of fun, but we managed it and made our way to the Red Marquee stage in the Oasis food court area. There was a special program on Thursday night before the festival officially began. We got to the Red Marquee to catch a performance by Japanese girl-rock band Shoen Knife who were cool. After their set, an awesome DJ came on, spinning decent music like Iggy Pop and other rock n’ roll as opposed to the usual techno/house stuff.

A woman in a wedding dress came on stage to sing happy birthday to celebrate the 10th year of Fuji Rock- then out came a tattooed dude who began sticking needles through the skin on her arms. That’s right, it was actually a freak-show circus performance, but it doesn’t end there. The needles were actually candles, which were then lit as the crowd sand Happy Birthday. Next thing you know, she starts taking her dress off as the Japanese men rush to the front to the stage, nearly trampling us in the process. Sure enough, the show ends with her gyrating in a skin coloured-thong and nipple pasties with tassels. Hello Fuji Rock Festival!

When the freaks left the stage, it was Cooper Temple Clause doing a 50 minute set. Eve and I barely managed to stay on our feet in the mosh pit before we were able to escape to a safer distance. We found out then that the Japanese audience goes completely insane for live music. CTC aren’t my cup of tea, but they do have some catchy songs and sometimes all you want to do is jump up and down.

Cruising the 24 hour food stalls was fun- I managed not to eat any Japanese food all weekend. Best part is, everything is relatively cheap, even for a festival setting. I’m used to paying $8 for a small glass of beer at concerts, but here, full bottles were all $5, making things much more enjoyable.

After a night in a sloping tent, fighting to keep from sliding to the bottom of the tent and down the hill, we were raring to go Friday morning. Friday was my day since Franz were the headliners on the massive Green Stage that night. We started the day off with catching various bands and hanging out at my favourite place: The British Music Lounge. It was at the lounge that we discovered artists were giving acoustic sets and Q&A sessions. We just happened to be at the right place at the right time to get up from for Martha Wainwright who performed my favourite song, “Factory.” We found out that “British” also includes Canada, what with our devotion to the Queen and all. You’re not allowed to take photos of artists at Fuji Rock, but since I am wily and somewhat dishonest, I was able to sneak pictures of several artists by playing the ignorant gaijin/foreigner card.

After a few more bands, we wandered back to the Lounge in time to get up front for The Cribs acoustic set.

After their set, it was over to the Red Marquee to catch their show. I had been looking forward to them since I am a fan and was interested in seeing them a second time, since I am now more familiar with their songs compared to when I saw them in April. We were relatively close to the stage, jumping up and down and having fun. I often end up staring at various things when bands are on and for whatever reason, I like watching the people standing off-stage in the wings. 1/3 into their show, I see a figure arrive at the side of the stage to watch the show. My brain stops working for a minute as I fumble to process what my eyes are seeing. Turning to Eve, I prepare to say, “Look over there! It’s my boyfriend Alex Kapranos watching from the side of the stage. He’s so hot, I love him and can’t wait for Franz Ferdinand’s set tonight since they are so talented and fun. He’s come to see The Cribs because they toured together.” In reality and according to Eve, what came out of my mouth was more like, “AHHHH!!! There….him!...fuck…look…boyfriend….ugh…OH MY GOD….I LOVE HIM…Alex!” and so on and so forth as I freaked out, followed by jumping up and down and more girlish screams. I’m not embarrassed at all by my reaction. After all, its better then when I saw Bono at the Toronto Film Festival, freaked-out and took a picture of the ceiling. At least I held it together long enough to take some illegal pictures. And obviously, I spent the rest of the show watching him off-stage as Nick from Franz also showed up near the end of the set.

After The Cribs, Eve did not want to hang around the Red Marquee and wait for the Cribs and Alex & Nick to leave, so it was over to Gnarls Barkely who put on a good show and had Eve and I dancing at the back of the crowd next to the band Fields to “Crazy.” I was so pumped from seeing the guys at The Cribs that I was more than determined to get a good spot in the crowd for JET and Franz. I had jokingly informed Eve that I was going to use my mad crowd skillz to push my way to the front for Franz. In reality, it was so much easier than expected and didn’t even require any shoving to my dismay. We just wandered over to the front of the stage of JET and planted ourselves there for the next 5 hours.

As I said, JET was boring and disappointing. Near the end of the set, who should appear in front of the barrier but Orlando Bloom and Kate Bosworth who were on hand in the morning to promote Global Cool Day. My reaction on seeing Orlando Bloom in the morning, unexpectedly promoting Global Cool Day on stage was, “Weird, Orlando Bloom is here.” Seeing him in front of us for quite a long time and being bored by JET, decided to watch Orlando instead as he smoked and drank beer. I’ve never found him even the slightest bit attractive, and up close and personal, I confirmed that thought. He’s quite greasy looking. I didn’t see him at the God-awful premiere for Elizabethtown at the Toronto Film Festival last year, so I don’t know if he always looks like he needs a bath. Kate Bosworth is skeletal and plain in real life in case you’re curious. here's Orlando drinking beer (but no pictures of Skeletor):

Soon it was time for Franz, and with my place up against the metal guardrail secure, I planned out devious ways to take photos because there was no way in Hell I had made it that close to the stage to waste an opportunity for photos. I never imagined I would be closer to them there than I had been at a much, much smaller venue in Toronto. Luckily, we had rather puny Japanese security guards in front of us who were not about to get in my way. The weird thing was that at other shows, the security were big burly Black men- and those guys were intimidating. But luckily, I can take on a Japanese man any day when it comes to getting in my way. As always, Franz were awesome, with lots of crowd interaction. And as usual, Alex Kapranos was damn good-looking. I managed lots of pictures and some video through my stealthy technique. After about 9 pictures and several video later, a security guard came over and told me to shut my camera off. I played the, "What? I'm not allowed to take photos? I didn't know. I'm sooo sorry" in my sweetest little girl voice (I know, its hilarious I played the sweet and innocent role since those who know me, know I'm more likely to shove my way out of a situation or throw beer bottles as a distraction, but I digress...)

I managed a few more pictures and video after my security warning until Eve panicked and told me to put the camera away. Oh well- I got some great shots that I'm pleased with. The highlight of their show was “Outsiders” in which all of The Cribs and drummers from other bands made their way on stage for the 10 man drumming section of the song. (Check out this video to get the idea).

The first official day ends on a high note with good music and good weather. Since this entry has reached epic proportions, I’ll continue tomorrow with the next entry. I've got more pictures up on my travel blog in addition to these ones, so if you want to see more now, head over there. I'll post all my videos on my last Fuji Rock post, or you can head over to my Youtube.com page now to see them if you're that impatient.

“Hey scenesters, hey hey scenesters”