BIGBOB AMEMIYA

When I walked in on Bigbob Amemiya’s DJ set Saturday night in the Crystal Palace tent, the lyric that struck me was, “You can’t judge sugar / by lookin at the cane. You can’t judge a woman / by lookin at her man.” It was a Bo Diddley tune, “You Can’t Judge A Book By Its Cover,” and it was a hoofer.

Bigbob is a Tokyo-based DJ and a fixture in the vintage music scene. As a DJ, his specialty is a very authentic sampling of 50s and 60s dance hits, especially including electric blues and r’n’b, but also including some Latin and African beats. In Tokyo, he runs the “Boogie Shack” party once a month. Here he was keeping the dance floor warm between the live acts Bloodest Saxophone before him, and the blues duo Perrosky which came after. But he wasn’t just keepin it warm. He was keepin it hot!