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I'm a three year "veteran" of the Fuji Rock Festival in Naeba, but this was my first Asagiri Jam. I've always thought that, for such a large festival, Fuji Rock has about as relaxed an atmosphere as you could hope for, but Asagiri really takes it to the next level down. Asagiri is so relaxed they have seen fit to disperse open pit fires at select locations around the site. Just be cool, man, be cool. Walking through the camping areas away from the stage, there are many large groups with cases upon cases of beer and barbecue grills. It really is an ideal sort of environment to get the gang together. There are enough people around to make it feel vibrant, but not so many as to be crushing. And with just the two stages, you are bound to see everyone you know frequently throughout the day. It is really conducive to building a nice little buzz of fellow-feeling. 
Being just the two of us, me and a fellow writer, we were lucky enough to set our tent up on the hillside in front of the Rainbow stage, the larger of the two, and we had a view of the stage between the two tents in front of us. There are no barbecue fires allowed here, but there are other advantages. We took in the first couple of acts, Santa Barbara's Mad Caddies and French/Congolese rapper Abd al Malik. The Caddies gave us an earful of hyped up ska punk at 2:00 in the afternoon, while Malik followed with francophone afro rhythms. Those down in front had no trouble getting their spirits in gear for these two, while those of us seeking a mellower vibe after the journey found the sounds of these two to be a nice complement to our semi-slumbering day dreams. Note to self: next time, invite my girlfriend along and let Sebastien fend for himself. The brisk fall temperatures at Asagiri beg for cuddling.Footnote to self: have a girlfriend by next year. It is a short walk from any camping area, but especially from the hillside in front of the Rainbow stage, to some truly spectacular food. There are massive burgers on the left, all manner of curries, sweets, fresh fruit, hot milk…I never felt the dread of having to fill my gut with the same fried or greasy food stall over and over again as can sometimes happen at festivals. And, as with Fuji Rock, they do not fleece you. Most dishes were 500 yen, as was all the beer. 
Good food, easy to come by; short queues for the toilets, short walks to get anywhere, brisk fall weather, friends or loved ones always within reach, and great music on two easy access stages with never an intractable crowd: these are the things that let you tuck in comfortably and keep your mellow on for the festivities at Asagiri.By the time Montreal's Malajube was to come on, it was time for dinner and time to get up and see the show from up close. This is a truly wonderful band, a sort of French speaking Broken Social Scene, modern rock with depth of composition and overarching thematic continuity over the length of an album. I am told that the French lyrics are rather dark, but I do not understand French. Musically, it is melancholy interspersed with spikes of volume and force. Their stage presence is anything but dark, however, with singer Julian Mineau sporting what surely must have been an oversized straw-straight platinum blond wig. Perhaps to keep from being recognized later? It probably did not work, though, as there are so few gaijin at this festival, even me and Seb thought we would be mistaken for artists. (We had a plan: if any cute young things accosted us, we were the bassist and drummer for Malajube). Mineau spoke mostly English to the crowd, though their lyrics are entirely in French. The highlight was around the middle of the set, when Fuji-san became visible with the faintest glimpse of orange sunset reflecting off the top. It was a perfect view for Malajube's joyous melancholy, and I began dreaming of my phantom girlfriend again as they launched into their Coldplay-channeling (in the best sense of the word) “Étienne d'aoÛt”. Beautiful. Pity Julian couldn't see the mountain through his hair. --> part2 |
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--> part2 report by kern and photos by kern, naoaki & hoya |
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over all photo documentary - hoya's version, naoaki's version & saya38's version |
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6th (sat) Oct Rainbow Stage Mad Caddies (review) Abd Al Malik Malajube (review) Hanaregumi (review) The Bays (review) The Cornelius Group Moonshine Stage Bagdad Cafe The Trench Town The Mattson2 The Pnuma Trio Tom Middleton Boys Noize (review) Takkyu Ishino Hexstatic (review) |
7th (sun) Oct Rainbow Stage A Hundred Birds Orchestra (review) Bettye La Vette(review) Yoshie Nakano Ozomatli (review) Soulive UA (review) Overground Acoustic Underground Moonshine Stage Kicell (review) Para Abe Duque Recloose Fridge Kodama Kazufumi with 1945 a.k.a. Kuranaka Very Be Careful (review) |
 mag files : Asagiri Jam Jam Special '06 : JAP / ENG (06/10/07 - 08) : photos by hiroqui, hoya, naoaki, & saya38Jam Special '05 : JAP / ENG (05/10/01 - 02) : photos by hanasan, hiroqui, saya38, keco, ikesan, sam & yusukeJam Special '04 : JAP / ENG (04/10/02 - 03) : photos by hanasan, ryota, sama & yusukereview (02/09/28 - 29) : review by akira noguchi, photos by hanasan & maki今年は雨 (02/09/28 - 29) : review by nob, photos by ikesanphoto report (02/09/28 - 29) : , photos by ikesan |
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The official site Asagiri Jam http://smash-jpn.com/asagiri/ The official supporters' site Asagiri Jams http://www.asagirijams.org/ |
check the albums? |
 2007over all view on Asagiri Jam (06 to 07/10/07 @ Asagiri Arena) |