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The Crystal Palace

The schedule for the Palace of Wonder is up, and bend me over and poke a stick up my exit if it isn’t the greatest line-up that they’ve ever assembled there.

First, foremost and bloody hell: Ozomatli are going to play the Palace. It’s becoming a tradition to have a high-energy party band on the Sunday night, and who else but Ozomatli could have done it this year? It’s already right at the top of my to-see list.

Then there’s Beardyman, already punching well above his weight on the Fujirocker to-see lists, and now slated to play with Tucker, the acrobatic electone superstar from Fuji Rock ‘06, which looks even more compelling than Beardyman’s main set.

Willie Martinez Y Mambo Loco is the Willie of the always-on-the-bill Big Willie’s Burlesque, which presumably means he’ll be a bit less saucy and a lot more Cuban this year.

The Narasirato Pan Pipers are apparently this year’s multi-stage mob, appearing on three stages so far, including the Palace, and Kitty, Daisy & Lewis, Trombone Shorty and Mustang all look like wise choices for second sets at the Palace.

Ryuhei The Man, one of Tokyo’s top funk DJs, is a good bet for a strong set on Sunday morning, and DJ Otsuka, later the same night, will probably deliver the kind of cool-as-ice jazz-funk set that makes you want to take up DJing.

I’d say it’s worth the entrance fee for this stage alone, but you don’t have to pay for this stage, so, er…