Note: By the time you read this you're still probably suffering a hangover with the force of two stars colliding in a distant galaxy (courtesy of Fuji Rock Festival): far out and painful, in other words. Well, this article concerns the Fuji Rock warmup weekend, an annual ritual where Fuji Rockers imbibe huge quantities of various strange substances to make sure the internal organs are in working order and to prepare them for the festival the following weekend.
It seemed a good idea to catch some of the maddest bands at the heart of the burgeoning underground ska and punk scenes. As gigs are rarely madder than the monthly Chain-Whipped Magazine event at Sangenjaya's Heaven's Door live house, and they happened to have a punk and ska night, well, it seemed perfect . . .
When you arrive at a live house and receive a juicy tongue-probing snog within 30 seconds you know you're in for a good night, even though I am the victim of big hairy Paul Betney, coeditor of Chain-Whipped Magazine. Paul then proceeds to jump into the moshpit, beating his chest like a gorilla. This might seem quite normal for a punk and ska event, but not if the first band hasn't even hit the stage yet.