The 2012 Fuji Rock Fest: ‘I wuz there!’

This is the first time I played Fuji Rock when it didn't rain," Noel Gallagher tells the crowd at this year's Fuji Rock Festival. The former Oasis guitarist and chief songwriter headlined on July 28, Day 2 of the fest, together with his new band Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds. Liam Gallagher at the 2012 Fuji Rock Fest (Photos by Nina Sandejas)
"It's because of me, because I am here. This is my gift to you. That's what I do on my time off…weather control," he adds, tongue firmly in cheek as he retuned his guitar.
Rain, it seems, is part of the Fuji Rock experience. But this year, the weather turned out pleasant, if balmy.
He playfully rebuffed requests for his guitar pick. ("Don't you know there's a recession an' 'at?") Earlier, he told the same fan, "This next song is for you, called 'Freaky Teeth.' Oh don't cry; I'm singing here because you paid me for it."
The 40,000-strong crowd laughs at his asides. The band ends their headlining set with a song dedicated ("Including lyrically") to guitarist Tim Smith's fiancée: 'Don't Look Back In Anger.'