[Note: the first three entries for Fuji Rock '01 were written on site, and are being transcribed with only slight modifications.]
Sunday 7/29/01, 11 AM
The shows i'm interested in seeing seem to have been well spread out over the three days of the festival, but last night was the mother of all conflicts. Torn between Neil Young/Crazy Horse and New Order, I attempted a compromise, watching the first 45 minutes of the former, then heading over to the catch the latter. (Billy Corgan was playing guitar with New Order...he's a rather lanky guy, and with his Gilligan hat and dark clothes, he reminded me a bit of Freddy Kreuger.) Although New Order wasn't awful, it still was a mistake to leave Neil Young's set. He was just on. The first song alone, "Don't Cry No Tears 'Round Me," broke my brain, leaving me to wander about the fest grounds slack-jawed and starry-eyed the rest of the night.
New Order, on the other hand, seemed quite rusty. A friend noted that, at the beginning of "Bizarre Love Triangle," the band actually lowered the key to fit Bernard Sumner's diminished vocal range. Even so, Mr. Sumner couldn't quite seem to hit the higher notes in the chorus. "Regret" was equally painful, especially since it's such a killer song normally. On the other older songs they played ("True Faith," "Blue Monday" (which they did as an encore despite a rather tepid response from the crowd), and covers of Joy Division's "Isolation," "Atmosphere," and, of course, "Love Will Tear us Apart"), the melodies carried Mr. Sumner along. That has always been New Order's strength: their standards are chock full of classic pop melodies. As for the newer stuff, well, it didn't sound bad, per se, and it did fit Mr. Sumner's voice, but it sounded generic when played alongside their older body of work.
Other sets for the day included Eastern Youth (who weren't all that bad...they played the kind of guitar rock that all the emo kids seem to dig), Patti Smith (can't imagine buying any of her albums, but she sure puts on a good show), and Mogwai, who were absolutely transcendent. They began by playing a song over Martin Luther King, Jr.'s famous "I Have a Dream" speech, and just kept getting better as the set went on. I recognized a song or two from _Young Team_, and the rest of their songs were in the same vein. Post Rock seems to have this rep as the newest iteration of Prog, but i find it to be some of the most accessible, enjoyable, and melodic music around. After Mogwai i went to the main stage and watched Alanis for a bit while waiting for Neil Young and Co. I kind of wanted to check out DJ Wagon Christ, but the letdown that was New Order soured me on electronic stuff for the night.
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