In a pulsating non-stop 90-minute set Moby performed a wide range of tunes from his latest release Hotel, several older more dance-oriented tunes as well as two fantastic cover versions of AC/DC's You Shook Me All Night Long and Billy Idol's Rebel Yell.
Saturday got off to a slower and less frenzied start, with crowds gradually filtering into the venue from about
4:30pm. The first crowd puller of the second day was local rock combo, Back Quarter (四分衛).
The long-serving yet sadly often overlooked and underestimated four-piece might not have managed to get the crowd as enthused as several of the other acts that performed on the Wind stage over the weekend, but the group pulled off a tight set which included a good selection of material from its upcoming album as well as plenty of favorites from previous releases.
The highlight of Saturday night's performances was Japanese pop act Kishidan. Even before the comedic six-piece power-pop combo appeared the atmosphere in front of the Wind stage was charged with emotion. Young teenage girls sporting Kishidan patches and waving their arms wildly in the air rubbed shoulders with twenty-something beer-swilling males in eager anticipation of what was to come.
Always a crowd-pleaser when it performs in Taiwan, Kishidan's performance at Formoz 2005 was memorable. Littered with camp and comedic dance routines and blistering guitar hooks and riffs, the J-rock combo's performance had the audience hooked from the get-go. Even though the band's translator was temporarily missing in action and lost amid the crowds, the between-song, Japanese-language banter still had the audience transfixed, regardless of whether they understood a word of it or not.
As Sunday's performances began the crowds at Formoz hadn't dwindled, but the numerous Taiwan Beer sales girls were having more difficulty in persuading festival-goers to purchase beer than on Friday and Saturday nights. With the three-day festival drawing to a close, as of press time revelers were eagerly anticipating performances by mainstream rocker Lisa Loeb and local anarchists LTK (
Although police presence at the festival was greater then in previous years, according to organizers, no arrests were made for either violent or drug-related offenses. From an audience perspective the festival went forward without any problems. The flow of people between the six stages that were located around the park was surprisingly smooth. Ambulance crews were on standby over the weekend, but no injuries were reported at Formoz 2005.
With the events of this weekend still fresh in the minds of the thousands who attended Formoz 2005 and cleaners still removing litter from the venue, organizers have already begun making plans for next year. According to TRA, Formoz 2006 will be bigger and better than this year and boast more stages, more international acts and an even greater variety of music.
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