Ministry of Sound was a riot last week, in a subdued kind of way. Most people enjoyed the Temple of Sound, an energetic bongos, guitars, decks and vocal band that has found a niche for itself in the highly competitive UK house market, putting together tribal elements in a hybrid pop/electronica format. Think Goa. But, it did leave the audience a bit bemused -- not knowing whether to dance, watch or both.
One fan of the band was clear about what she wanted to do and squeezed up to the front of the stage to shout at the top of her tiny voice, "I love you, I love you," at one of the black, women vocalists. We asked why and the reason given was: "I love her."
PHOTO: JULES QUARTLY, TAIPEI TIMES
Afterward, Buff Wise stepped up to the plate and put down a firm but fair trance set that got the crowd going again. Wise and Damian Saint will be doing it all over again this weekend.
PHOTO: JULES QUARTLY, TAIPEI TIMES
Luxy has been bubbling along and will have a residents' party tonight, followed by popular Japanese DJ Takkyu Ishino tomorrow: expect some techno curveballs.
The big news at Luxy is the club's first anniversary in two weeks. The party's going to go on so long and is going to be so big it will take place over two nights, with around 500 free bottles of champagne being lined up and other gifts, too. It will start on Friday, Sept. 24, with Johnny Fiasco and a Citrus theme, followed Saturday by artists from Fat Boy Slim's Southern Fried stable, including Touchay and Grandad Bob. "We're going to be giving something back for this one," Luxy's Alan Hsia said.
PHOTO: JULES QUARTLY, TAIPEI TIMES
Tomorrow, there's a "Last Summer Party" shindig going on at Club 70s. It's free admission for ladies in bikinis. The music is from Canada, with Domination and MC Warren, and Taipei with DJ Fresco. Go to 12F, 138 Bade Rd, Sec 4, Taipei (台北市八德路4段138號12F).
Coming up, there's short mini-skirt contest at Room 18 tomorrow, as usual, and an even more enticing fashion show called "Y3," next Friday. Adidas and Yohji Yamamoto will be showing off their wares and there will be a DJ from Hong Kong called Joe Lay.
In Taichung, Swank is back tonight with "Socialite," a night of local glam, champagne and stuff at Liquid Lounge (98 Chungming S Rd) with DJ Pierre, Djones, A100 and Osborne popping electro house beats.
Lest we forget 9/11, there is peace n' love n' happiness at another party in Taichung, with the Chifunk and Revevolution people letting it all hang out. Helping out on the decks will be Caddywampus and the Sundance Kid. This is a launch party for a litle club called Mash at 40 Huamei Xi St, Sec 1, Taichung. It's said to be so small you may not even find the address on the flyer and you may be wise to make a reservation, the organizers say.
The Vinyl Word wishes to unreservedly apologize for the error in last week's column which claimed the bar formerly known as Milk, Juicy and then Saloon, was now called BTW (By The Way). This information was provided by a previously impeccable source who, no doubt, is even now saying three hail Mary's. The real name of the blue and neon-lit hangout, which incidentally serves the best cocktails in town, is BWT and means "Bar Wet Thing," confirmed one of the bar's business associates.
BWT is at 107, Xinyi Road, Sec 4, Taipei (台北市信義路4段107-2號). The Vinyl Word did not intend to cause offense or deliberately mislead the lounge-going public and regrets the mistake.
Normal service can now be resumed.
Ricky Lee (李鴻), the owner of the Edge (1996 to 1999) in Taipei, died last month. Many local DJs got their start at his club and they'll be doing a tribute show to help out his family. Donations are NT$1,000. DJ's @llen and Victor will be delivering house, tribal and techno to start the night, then Monbaza will play live, followed by DJ Jackie, Dragon and Officehead. Club 151 is at 65, Jianguo N Rd, Sec 2, Taipei (台北市建國北路2段65號).
A few weeks ago I found myself at a Family Mart talking with the morning shift worker there, who has become my coffee guy. Both of us were in a funk over the “unseasonable” warm weather, a state of mind known as “solastalgia” — distress produced by environmental change. In fact, the weather was not that out of the ordinary in boiling Central Taiwan, and likely cooler than the temperatures we will experience in the near-future. According to the Taiwan Adaptation Platform, between 1957 and 2006, summer lengthened by 27.8 days, while winter shrunk by 29.7 days. Winter is not
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