Naeba, Niigata Pref. ¨C Fuji Rock has never lacked scale. What it has occasionally lacked is nerve. From July 24 to 26, however, the country¡¯s biggest music festival showed a welcome willingness to take chances, favoring artists with distinct identities over predictable legacy-rock bookings.
The lineup avoided overly familiar headliner choices such as Oasis and its offshoots (even if an alarming number of men in their late 40s still advertised their allegiance on T-shirts), opting instead for The xx, Khruangbin and Massive Attack. Meanwhile, Friday and Saturday at Naeba Ski Resort in Niigata Prefecture were largely sunny and mercifully cooler than Tokyo before Sunday¡¯s heavier rain churned the grounds into familiar Fuji Rock mud.
Friday made the case early. Kaisoku Tokyo¡¯s minute-long fastcore blasts turned Naeba Shokudo into a pressure cooker; Loyle Carner brought reflective British rap to the Green Stage; Toro y Moi made the White Stage shimmer with soft-focus funk.?
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.