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Clearly destined for at least White Stage glory at the annual massive Fuji Rock Festival, Pasadena, California's guitar rock quartet known as Arlo dispensed a flawless 15 cut set of sunny optimism that duly inspired the house inside as they played to each other and to us in front of them. Never forced, never strained nor dull, together Nate Greely (guitar,vocals), Sean Spillane (guitar, vocals), Shmedley (bass, backing vocals), and Tom Sanford (drums) delivered a dose of California love and inspiration within the dark and massive confines of Makuhari Meese for Magic Rock Out.

Following the hard-edged party hard heavy sounds of Crazytown, Arlo spun the night into a different, but still party direction to deliver their own tour de force performance which, while primarily focusing on their latest album titled 'Stab The Unstoppable Hero (Subpop), also pulled from their 'Up High In The Night' debut (also on Sub Pop). And even better, these banter-filled lads from SoCal couldn't help themselves in their giddiness in their Tokyo debut by also including some new gems for our insatiable consumption as they shone their collective easygoing smiles and warmth to melt the massive metal walls of Makuhari Meese.

　From the get go, Arlo's undying enthusiasm and love of their creative work and of their spontaneity was firmly evident in both their music and performance this night as they duly won over all presiding. Whether it was the harmonizing vocal choruses shared between Nate, Sean, and Shmedley or the undeniable freedom represented by their sound and vision, Arlo transformed this massively cold venue into a much warmer,better, and happier place, full of hope and dreams of a better tonight and tomorrow. From the strolling, anthemic lighter waving of "Linger On" to the sweet grunge of "Stab The Unstoppable Hero" to the CSNY reminiscent vocal power and speeding finish of "So Long" to the bouncing, skipping fun of "Too Sick To Tango," I cannot help, but foresee these fantastic four in their own right returning for Fuji Rock '03. Well, just remember this prediction.

　Never too serious about themselves, but serious enough to remain professional, Arlo made it look easy as they laid out their wares which had all fisting and bouncing for more. And what perhaps, differentiated them the most from the rest was their unrestrained banter and joy which all duly enjoyed as in the past when I've seen Zebrahead at both Summer Sonic and Fuji Rock.

With them clearly having fun, how could we not? Exactly. All were destined for a set list long length of fun in their piece of Magic Rock Out puzzle. As Nate perfectly stated before playing one of their new songs,"Yeah, you are our guinea pigs! (smiling)." Meanwhile bassist Shmedley jokingly countered, "Yeah, we're not going to fuck up this one."

And of course, they didn't as they launched straight into it and followed into "Silkworm." The nail in this sumptuously pleasing coffin was nailed with the final cut from their latest album called "Temperature." With it's tribal beat and speeding inspiration, crowd surfing erupted rampantly and the voices of Makuhari chanted loudly," Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!" Yes, with this response, the forecast can only be clear and sunny skies with comfortable temperatures for these four Californians.

Report by Mike Lara. Photos by ORG-nachi. The copyright of the photos belongs to nachi and They may not be reproduced in any form whatsoever. (Feb 8, 2003)