The Green Stage at Fuji Rock Festival had never felt as full as it did last Saturday night for Tatsuro Yamashita.
Attempting to squeeze through the packed crowd in front of the main stage was nearly impossible, as thousands of punters crammed together to see one of Japan’s most celebrated artists perform at the country’s premier summer music festival for the first time ever.
He didn’t disappoint. Yamashita delivered a show more than worthy of Fuji Rock. The audience hollered early on when he played the opening riff of his 1982 song “Sparkle.” They bopped around to his old-school funk during an extended take on the ’70s cut “Silent Screamer.” They became delirious when, midway through “Plastic Love,” Mariya Takeuchi — Yamashita’s wife and a beloved singer in her own right — stepped on stage to join a rendition of one of J-pop’s most defining songs in recent history.
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