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The natural disaster that took center stage at Japan's first-ever rock 'n' roll festival last year was nothing but a soggy memory Saturday and Sunday, when Fuji Rock Festival '98 was held under hazy skies at Tokyo Bayside Square. The music was hot, the weather hotter. Dozens of festivalgoers had to be treated for heat exposure. The other 70,000 fans to pass through the gates were treated to good tunes, good vibes and good grub.
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Best act: Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds.
Thankfully, for every action there's an equal and opposite reaction. An hour or so after Elvis Costello bombed and while Beck was boring people on the Green Stage, Cave and his Bad Seeds were stealing the show in front of a small but enthusiastic audience that grew increasingly responsive with every number.
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Worst act: Elvis Costello.
Ladies and gentlemen, Elvis has left the rock 'n' roll scene and is now playing in a small Vegas lounge. Backed by a lone piano. And where's the attraction in that? Ladies and gentlemen, Elvis was a huge bust on the Green Stage, showing up with some guy named Phil Nieve on piano, whereupon he croaked his way through about eight tunes, including "Red Shoes" "Alison" "Blue Chair" "Veronica" and "Pump It Up" as the encore.
It was a pretty sad, disinterested effort from a once vital, passionate songwriter and musician. Bluntly, this two-man performance was nothing short of a ripoff, a going-through-the-motions fiasco. If the price of tomatoes weren't so outrageous, Costello and his crony would have surely been pelted off the stage. Runners-up: Sorry, Elvis — nobody even came close.
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