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Jul . 5 1999 |
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Previous Fuji RocksIt was 4:00am in the morning and ... [1997.7.26/5:00]
It was 4:00am in the morning and the ground was still burning under the feet of the strong young enthusiasts, as they danced it out all night long at the MILK tent. No! no one was drinking the stuff!! It seemed as if an instant disco club had been formed. They kept me from getting an early nights sleep!
Just down the hill from the MILK tent gathered the fans with red ribbons tied around their wrists to prove their membership to the Graffa club, or Smash's Graffiti Boarder's. Check out the home page Graffiti Board to see for yourselves. There must have been close to 200 members taking turns in uploading new short messages, as the wild dancers pogo danced in the background.
We had the Ishida brothers along with Dianna queueing up to add their comments to the Board, as well as to check out what other members had to say about this event. There was a 26yr old OL who had made friends with others through the Some of the stuff in there raised a few eyebrows I heard??? There are also others who are checking up on the event they missed during their journey here.
Take a peek at the 'Let's Get Together Board', there is a lot going on at that end of field, and it's the right place to make instant friendship, as you get the chance to share information or organise groups to meet up or whatever! A great place to mingle on the Net. You gotta check that out! As the evening spun on and things began to take shape I found myself totally absorbed in various discussions, and before I knew it the sky had begun to lighten and I hadn't yet slept a wink. I checked out the top of a table in the Press room and before I could count to ten the whole room was thundering with the roar of my snoring. Poor old follini didn'y get a minute's sleep! I was on the TABLE for about 2 hours, slept like rock.
I also heard from other staff that if once you left the area for the station, you would probably not make it back due to people cluttering up roadways in and out. It would have been in everyone's interest if kids camped out and stayed in their tents drinking and chatting out of the rain until the big bang!? I guess kids like waiting in the rain here!? it was only recently I heard from a friend that at last years performance in Phoenix, it rained so much that everyone just stayed in their tent and didn't bother to see the bands play. I guess at the price the Japanese kids payed for their tickets out here gave them the strength to withstand the cruelty of Mother Nature??
1997.7.26 Reported by hana / Translation by follini
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When I awoke, I almost lost my hair with shock. The undesired right before my eyes. Rain lashed down and the temperature had dropped to a
record summer low. Kids were soaked to the skin, finding shelter wherever they could, it was total chaos. Only hours before, it was a different story all together, but right in front of me through the window,
the misery on the faces of the shocked kids was weight even I couldn't bear. The only thing we could do was wait and pray, the weather was changing by the hour, and there was still time to go before the SCOTS(Southern Culture On The Skids) went on.
Kids dashed to take shelter under the Main Office covered front shivering and chatting, hoping for clearer skies. it reminded of the early morning rush for the Yamanote line in downtown Tokyo!
Things started to get a little out of hand due to the disorganization of
spectators crowding up every type of gangway, it would have made more
sense for everyone to set up tents and wait out of organiser's way.
News came in that coming to and from Kawaguchi Station was becoming
a growing problem too. It was getting difficult for two buses to pass each other due to congestion out there. This also made it difficult for musicians to get here, and with a little push in the wrong direction a lot
of them might not have made it!
The first stage was opened by the SCOTS, and from were I am sitting the sound came over like songs from Heaven. The sound from up on the hill in front of me gave me goose pimples. It was wicked, and the kids danced no matter what the weather.................by the way look, it's still P'sing it down, but nobody is going home yet.
Copyright (c) 1998 SMASH Corporation.
No reproduction or republication without written permission.