Anarchy in the USA

Coco Lee (李玟) they are not, but Anarchy (無政府) has managed to book some gigs in America, becoming one of only a handful of Taiwanese pop and rock acts to ever perform in the US. Since leaving Taiwan on June 26, the protest rock group has played three of its four scheduled stateside shows, one each at the University of Texas, Arlington, Delaware University and a New York City club. Tomorrow, they will perform in Atlanta, Georgia.

Since releasing its first album late last year, the group of four classmates at Taichung's Providence University has become one of Taiwan's top-selling indie bands, racking up sales of around 5,000 CDs.

Reached at a friend's house in Sheepshead Bay in Brooklyn, New York, the band's bass player and vocalist Allen Liu (劉培倫) said that their coolest stateside gig so far came last Saturday when they played for a bunch of "anarchists and socialists" as part of the Hardcore Punk Matinee at ABC No Rio, a club on Manhattan's Lower East Side.

"We only got to play for about 20 minutes," said Liu, "and most of the people just kind of stood and watched, because they didn't really know us. But it was still fun."

What impressed Liu and other band members most was seeing other bands, both at ABC No Rio and the next night as spectators at CBGB's, the 27-year-old venue known as the seedbed of New York's punk scene.

"Technically, the bands were all so good. It was like they were all professionals," said Liu. "And the slam dancing, it was ? you know, terrifying."

For Anarchy, this American rock odyssey began earlier this year with the group's participation in the "Say Yes to Taiwan" movement, a series of concerts involving DPP sponsorship and supporting Taiwanese identity. Upon writing the theme song, Anarchy became both the movement's poster children and its ambassadors. While playing at a March 18 demonstration in front of the Presidential Palace, the band was noticed by members of the Taiwan Association of America (全美台灣同鄉會), who subsequently invited them to the US to play for Taiwanese crowds in Texas, Delaware and Atlanta. The association also offered to pay for most of the trip.

Taiwan's last garage band to pull off such an American tour was Ladybug (瓢蟲), which played the US in both 1998 and 1999. Traveling on a shoestring budget with only a few set performance dates, the three-girl punk group would on occasion just show up at venues looking to play, much as Anarchy did at ABC No Rio. For Ladybug, persistence paid off, affording them chances to open for big names like Yo La Tengo and Shonen Knife.

Though Anarchy hasn't managed to swing their way into such high powered lineups ? their most famous stage partners so far have been local New York talent like What Happens Next? and Viper Fantastic ? they have managed to learn a few things from their stint in America's little big time.

Humility is chief among them. "After seeing all these awesome bands, we just think we suck," said Liu, with a touch of self-deprecating irony.

If only Coco Lee were as honest.