Sloth, not politics, is the culprit

Just as the Formoz Festival 2001 looked set for a trouble-free three days of buzzsaw guitar-driven internationalism, organizers of the event, the Taipei Rock Alliance (TRA), were informed on Monday that problems had arisen surrounding performances by the three bands from China that had been invited to the festival.

In recent years Taiwan and China have increased levels of cultural exchange, opening the way for not only pop stars, but also opera troupes, museum collections and scholars. Cross-strait gigs by greasers with long hair and distortion boxes have, however, been non-existent.

This weekend's performances by Overload (超載), Thin Man (瘦人) and Tang Dynasty (唐朝) were set to be the first-ever cross-strait musical performances by non-mainstream pop acts or classical groups.

According to TRA head Freddy (佛來敵), the problems that led to the cancellation of the bands had nothing to do with politics, as one may be led to assume. Rather, it was simply a case of lethargy by individual band members.

"We had someone in Beijing helping to ensure that it all went through on time and to work as a liaison with the Government Information Office (新聞局) and the Bureau of Immigration (入出境管理局)," Freddy said.

"We knew it could be problematic, but after two months of dealing with officialdom on both sides of the Taiwan Strait we finally arranged it so that the bands could perform here."

Having obtained the correct paper work from the Ministry of Education (教育部), which approves visits by foreign performers, and the Council of Cultural Affairs (文化建設委員會), the bands looked set to touch down at CKS International Airport sometime earlier this week.

Unfortunately, the TRA could only do so much. All the bands set to rock the Whashang Arts District this weekend, be they from Japan, Hong Kong, China or the US, were asked to ensure that their own passports and performance visas were in order.

"One of the members of Overload lives in Mongolia and one in Tang Dynasty lives in Hubei Province. Neither managed to get to Beijing in time to get their passports and visas issued," Freddy said.

"I guess it's not totally their fault. After all, Beijing is quite far from their homes. But you'd have thought they would have made a bigger effort to get it done."

To pacify local fans of China's metal scene, Gaoqi (高旗), of the band Overload (超載), has posted an apology on the official Formoz Festival 2001 Web site.

While the passport and visa oversight sadly means that Overload (超載), Thin Man (瘦人) and Tang Dynasty (唐朝) will not be appearing at Formoz Festival 2001, it doesn't mean that the bands will not be making cross-strait history, however.

On Sept. 30 the three raucous heavy rock bands from China will be taking to the stage in Taipei and assaulting local audiences with power-chord-heavy mainland metal. A venue has yet to be finalized, but a TRA spokesperson hinted that the gig could take place at either Taipei's @Live or the city's heavy metal venue, Zeitgeist (聖界).