Blogging with Fuji Rock: "Bring me a Palace..."

That's what Masa Hidaka, FujiRock's big boss-man demanded, and this year, more then ever, he's getting it. Cheers to Koichi for his help with (and link to) my Japan Times article on the Palace of Wonder. Dunno if it truly came across in print, but the Palace is my favorite place at FRF. Has been since 2002, actually. But due to space constraints on the page, I had to leave out a lot of interesting Palace info, which I'll post here...

If you read the JT piece (see link below), then you know that Joe Rush and the Mutoid's are bringing their massive, post-apocalyptic sculptures again. If you've never seen them, think Max Max-meets-Alice in Wonderland. Will post some more pics here soon. What I didn't have room for was to tell you the fire-breathing dragon may make an appearance, the car-eating ant won't, and the English Taxi cab that's been used as everything from a dinosaur body to a fur-lined lounge was seriously damaged this winter as it lay next to the mountain. The entire hood was crushed under the weight of the snow, so expect to see the cab in a new form (hopefully).

Here's a couple other items that didn't make the cut:

-The Grand Speigeltent they are using this year is truly awesome and has to be seen to be believed. There are only a few of these left in the world, and we're getting one. All-wood interior and a bar called "Black Velvet," named after one of its signature drinks: a cocktail of champagne and Guiness. Checkit here: http://www.thegrandspiegeltent.com/#

-The Rookie a Go Go stage located inside Palace has set many an unsigned band's career in motion. Rising Japanese bands like Sakerock, Sparta Locals and Doping Panda all played Rookie and went on to bigger tours (Sakerock opens Friday's White stage this year)

-This year's Palace of Wonder will look more like a proper palace: a wall fully enclosing the area and a gate made by Joe & the Mutoids. There may even be a Kremlin-like inflatable dome.

-and I wasn't kidding when I said that heaps of each years acts hang @ Palace. No room to list them all in the paper, but a condensed list includes members of Primal Scream, Cooper Temple Clause, the Music, !!!, Kaiser Chiefs, String Cheese Incident, Fatboy Slim and the Chemical Brothers (those last 2 actually spun a few records, I believe). And as long as people don't hound them for autographs or pictures with their phones, I'll bet they'll keep coming.

PALACE HISTORY AT A GLANCE:

2001: Space used as a venue for Circus of Horrors, a British blend of Bolshoi circus and blood-spattered Broadway

2002 : Joe Strummer and the Mutoid Waste Project set up camp at Palace. Bikers rev it up in the Globe of Death

2003 : Can Can Girls, Mechanical Horses and Homemade flamethrowers.

2004: Beatbox blues with Son of Dave, LA cumbia band, Very Be Careful spread Brazilian vibes from a moving flatbed truck, Kid Carpet rocks out, Toy R' Us-style.

2005: Ska Cubano's Caribbean grooves, Big Willie's Burlesque debuts, Jean Monti's nosebleed acrobatics (42 meters up with no safety net) send many shrieking.

"Bring me a Palace..."

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