Well, what can one say about rock festivals, the only thing certain is the uncertainty of what happens and the lack of memory there after

I should say, I have never been much into contemporary music, let alone rock music and that to Japanese rock. I choose to live under the cool confines of established musicians doing their thing and follow up on the music I can appreciate… So when I look at the schedule and I cannot recognize more than 2 names, I am not disappointed. The positive is that with lack of preference, the choice becomes very easy, listen to whoever is near by, if they get too annoying, move on to the next concert…

I have mentioned earlier that the weather was more than inclement, kind of added to the atmosphere I must add, but it is difficult to figure out what to wear when one minute it is 30C and 100% humid and the next, it is raining cats and dogs. One minute, it is hot sun and the next is cool and windy. I guess I resorted to a ample choice of shorts and a buttoned shirt with a rain jacket and a bandana. It was a good choice in the end as I managed to be comfortable within reason with this combo.

Much of the music was really below par, at least in my book. They seem to go for over the top noise and extremely loud base drums to keep the energy in the crowd up, but after one hour, the music starts to look dated and in the next, it gets downright annoying. So in effect, the concert jumping turned out to be a concert escaping plan and I actually, had to spend an hour in a nice brook away from the concerts just to give my ears a break. May be the rock concerts are not really my cup of tea…

However, in between escaping concerts and walking around in pissing rain, I managed to find out a few acts that I really like.

Mutemath: this was a proper American rock group but with pretty talented members, seems to me that every one played all the instruments. The big letdown was the sound engineering, they seem to have preferred the recently married drummer and he whacked the he’ll out of his instrument and my ears are still ringing… I would try their studio albums to see if they recorded it any better. If they did, it is well worth band to follow. I did pick up their album and I should say they sound good, lote of Synth but one band I might look for new albums.

Jaga jazzist: I missed them completely, but in between walking around venues, I caught the last 10 minutes and they are a really cool band led by the drummer, the music reminds me of pat metheny group and that is a good thing.

Corinne Bailey Rae: she is a name I have heard but never followed as she got popular with the girl-singer-songwriter fad a few years ago. I got nothing against them but it was too much of a formula for me to stay interested and the corny lyrics always kept me at bay.  She had a couple of radio friendly tunes but 10 minutes into her act, I could not take it any longer… Too slow and overly soppy for me. Jaga jazzist is the kind of sophistication I look forward in music.

John butler trio: to me these guys were really the best act in the festival… An Aussie trio pretty much playing blue grass / country but with more sophistication and lot more harmony. This is band I will definitely be following up and buying albums… The guitarist / lead singer was brilliant and the drums and bass complemented well… It lacked the oomph of a jazz trio with the missing improv sections but they made it up with tons of energy and good vocals.

Jamie Cullum: what can I say, this guy is one of the fellers trying to revive big band jazz with his slick good looks and smooth vocals. He has been very radio friendly and without doubt a hit with girls all over. Anyway, he is a big name and I had nothing better to follow. So off I went. It was impressive he did a couple of covers of Beyonce and rihanna and hit them through the roof. Brilliant. And he brought a lot of energy to the staid piano playing and it was a good concert to watch. I know this guys songs and don’t buy his albums simply because it is not my kind of music but his live shows are a hoot and well worth watching.

So what next? I have had enough of rocking and rolling… As I type is, I have sold my last days ticket to a black market seller for a paltry sum and am on my way to Sendai for some peace and quiet. Rock festivals are a hoot but I don’t really think they are my cup of tea…

My buddies noted that the festival is boring because it is not rowdy enough, but I like it this way, fuji rock is great with its organization. People were generally reserved but I guess it is a Japanese thing… Most people seemed to hang around in cliques and that is common. I guess the place is too chaotic to meet someone to have a decent conversation with. Or may be I am not ‘in the scene’ and too much of an outsider to be accepted in the scene. I am alright either way, it was like a 2 day long party and I am hung over, looking for a quiet place to give my ears some respite…

I would take reserved over rowdy any day. The people I will remember are Ari, Taeko, Natsuke, Jenny and a couple of elderly gentlemen grooving in the sun and rain…

So another adventure begins. Not really an adventure but something that is being done for the first time can be counted as one.

Started as a very early day at 3 am and am now resting at 2 am the day after without much rest. It has been a marathon of checkins and outs from Sg to Narita, express ride to Tokyo, a train To echigoyuzawa followed by a bus to the naeba ski resort… The evening was very rainy and the place is muddy and wet with continuous drizzle. It was a stroke of luck we managed to get the tickets. As it turns out, we had to be here before 8pm to collect the tickets but as we should have it, we reached the venue at 11pm. The schedules were tight and that’s the best we could do. However, a kind soul keep the counter open unofficially and gave us the needed passes. Yay.

Now came the scramble to find a tent site, the place looks like a biosphere project with tents laid out every inch around and we had to climb high up to find a spot. We did manage to figure out some space but only on a slope and I am slipping and sliding as I write this, well better than nothing I’d say we had to take the long hike down for food and water in slush and mud. But it turns out alright as there is a pizza stand selling decent pizzas at pretty outrageous prices. Ah well, at least they made veggie for us. So seems like pizza diet for the next 4 days.

Met a few kids who we shared the pizza and ice cream with and followed it with some Japanese lessons, heh. But Pleasant encounters don’t ease the tiredness. So am off to sleep now among more tent builders and yak yakers next door. I hope to get a little shut eye if possible… Let’s see, may be tomorrow will be a refreshing day.

This time is so alive
Everybody’s tranced, dancing tonight
Oh so beautiful, and so strange
Oh, it was empty until you came…

- Dave Matthews (So Right)

Strangely, this song as been my ear-worm for the last couple of days and more precisely, it is this bit that kept ringing. It then followed with a different song:

I don’t want to wake up
Lost in the Dreams of our Fathers
Oh, it’s such a waste child
To live and die for the Dreams of our Fathers
Though I must confess, yes
My view is a wonder about this
This love I possess, love
It must be the Dreams of our Fathers

- Dave Matthews (Dreams of our Fathers)

A strange combination if there was one. Anyway, that’s besides the point.

The lack of commuting miles on my bike has been getting to a critical point I guess, I was feeling particularly miffed when I chanced on a couple of bike trip logs. I had done a lot of couch surfing in the past few months, and something had to give. I simply couldn’t resist the urge to hop on my bike and ride off. I sent out an invite to my brother who felt he was not in particular shape this time of the year, so I promised we will take another trip soon and sketched out my simple route.

Sedili Loop is something I have been on a few times, the roads are pretty much familiar so I had to do very little planning. Just a couple of calls to make sure the ‘resorts’ near Sedili have empty rooms. Threw in a spare set of sleeping clothes, pumped up my tires and I was ready for the ride. The loop is about 180-200 Km and probably good for a stretched day, but I did not want to stretch and turned out to be a decent decision. I was in much poorer state than I imagined and had to huff and puff my way beyond 80Km the first day. A few months of sedentary existence off the bike had taken its toll and my legs felt like Jello. The only respite was that the day remained cloudy and hydration / sun burn was not a big problem.

Going out via the Causeway has its positives, one does not need to be at the mercy of ferry schedules but the flip side is that one has to contend with the Traffic at JB. Which is fine with me. Just that the narrow and congested roads lead all the way up to Kota Tinggi. One has to compete with container trucks until Pasir Gudang too. Thats all alright I think because the reward is completely empty roads after that.

I managed a quick breakfast and stocked up on fluids to last the distance and pedaled on. The weather as I mentioned remained great and I kept up a pretty comfortable pace, neither too fast nor too slow. Riding in Malaysia is always a pleasure as the traffic shows good respect to cyclists and there are hoards of strangers cheering you on. It is something about living in a bigger country that seems to make people friendlier. I guess just after noon, I felt darn drowsy and figured it a good idea to stretch and get some shut eye. Anyway by then I have had enough of the rolling hills and I conked out for a few minutes by a nice grassy patch. Funnily enough that was the last hill of the day and the rest of the way was completely flat as I had already reached the coast. Doh.

I planned to stay the night at Jason’s Bay but I had overshot the place by 9 Km and had no intention of turning back. Instead I moved on to Sedili Kechil and found a place to rest at the Sedili Country Resort. The friendly ladies there even offered dinner and Breakfast as part of the deal. Not one to reject, I pounced on it . The room was not anything to write home about but suited a tired traveler pretty well and did I mention the dinner and breakfast… I know what Jesus meant when he said “ask and you shall receive ”

My bones were weary and the muscles needed some stretching, so I read a while and off to sleep at 2200 Hrs I guess. I had planned an early day but the chef could get my b’fast at 0800 and so I slept in. Time for b’fast and pictures and I was on my way again. The coastal route, for those familiar, is pretty much deserted and most of the time, the only sound you hear is the wind and the rubber on asphalt. It is strangely mesmerizing punctuated only by the occasional car / motorbike buzzing past. And the calm returns followed by the two songs mentioned above.

The only trouble was that the temperature was the soaring (weather reads 34C. I am guessing 38C under the sun) heat. So All I could do was to count down the distance and feel good about every Km covered. Curses flew when the hills came and praises were due in the slopes. Occasional rest stops and another lie down under a grass patch was pretty much unavoidable. The heat drained all energy out and my bones were really Jello by this time. Off Bike, I felt strong, On bike it was the reverse. So when the option came to decide whether I head to Tg Pengelih or Tg Bekungkor, the decision was simple, Tg Belungkor it is as it shaves 20 Km off

I guess the end of the weekend I was pretty tired but at the same time rejuvenated that I squeezed in a good long ride. Couch surfing is fun but the real fun is being out there riding. Braving the heat, exhaustion and pain sounds strangely masochistic but joy is undeniable. Listening to birds on an empty road strewn with roadkill (of snakes, monitor lizards, rats, squirrels etc…), occasional dog encounter (4 but no attacks) is a strange sense of joy, “Oh so beautiful, oh so strange” as Dave Matthews sang. May be that’s why it was ringing in my ear.

And this is for those interested in the route…