A final fling for Chi Funk in Taichung tomorrow night is set to bring down the house as the collective of DJs, artists and promoters put on their last show before decamping to a fresh scene on a different continent.
Chi Funk stepped up around eight years ago to give the local underground scene a a kick, holding its first party on Yangminshan, Taipei. Since then the loose alliance of individuals has been putting on events, mostly in Taichung, that are as "cutting edge" as a set of speakers and a couple of decks can be.
PHOTO COURTESY OF CHI FUNK
RainboWarrior, who requested we use only his DJ name, said it was time to move and Chi Funk would be taking its show on the road to Spain, Brazil or "somewhere else."
"The Chi Funk name leaves Taiwan. There's a lot of smaller groups that will keep the parties going," he said. "It will be me and friends, a couple of Taiwanese, one guy's in Brazil already. We'll just keep doing the same thing and expand the idea there."
Describing the current underground scene he said one of the biggest differences between now and then was fear -- of getting busted.
"We started really small with venues outside Taipei. We were just friends, a loosely organized collection of international artists and musicians who got together to put on these events. It's strange because there's more fear of parties now than in the early days here," he said.
"We've been lucky and had no fighting, arrests or trouble, probably because our focus has been on the music and that's why the authorities separated ourselves from the club and drug scene."
As for tomorrow night, its the "Purgatoria, Heaven and Hell party," which is being billed as the "biggest live performance in the history of Chifunk and probably Taiwan."
So, we can expect fire spinners, didgeridoos, MCs, the cream of the country's foreign DJ imports (K Fancy, RainboWarrior, Alix D, Taichung's Tom), a live performance from Lux Live, a silent auction of Buddhist paintings by Thai artists and mural painting, gourmet meals in the revolving restaurant -- and even fireworks.
Fancy dress artists can shave a discount off the price of admission -- NT$400 before midnight, NT$500 afterwards -- by appearing as an angel or devil. Take your pick.
Purgatoria: Heaven and Hell Party, at the Golden Plaza Rooftop Garden, the "space needle" across from the train station, 19-21F, 105, Jianguo Road, Taichung (
Entrance: NT$400 before midnight, NT$500 afterwards.
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