It was the roil before the boil in Kenting this past week as the annual Spring Scream outdoor music festival turned the heat up in anticipation of this weekend's crowds. Bands trucked into town and out to Liufu Ranch (六福山莊), as did the dozens of vendors flogging everything from pizza and beer to artwork and instruments.
But the crowds were elsewhere during the early week, despite a public holiday on Wednesday. The most people gathered in any one place that day were at the roadside cemetery north of town, where families busily weeded and cleaned their ancestor's graves.
"I don't think Tomb Sweeping Day is the kind of holiday that lends itself to attending a rock concert," said Michael Chen (
"There are twice as many people here tonight as there were last night and there'll be twice this tomorrow night. It's gonna be packed here this weekend."
Other stages had far fewer punters on Wednesday night and most vendors busied themselves preparing for a busier weekend or relaxed under red awnings.
"There haven't been many people. It's mostly an excuse to get out of Taipei," said Jane Chiang (
Liufu Ranch felt more like a festival ground yesterday, with bands plugging in at 1pm instead of 4pm as they had been. An afternoon crowd of some 300 to 400 enjoyed postcard-quality weather stretched out on the grass while bands Spring Sun (春日), I.R.I.S., Red Flowers (紅花), and others added to the atmosphere.
"You've got to be able to sit in a grass field, drink beer, listen to a rock band and get a tan for it to properly be called a festival," said festivalgoer Ron Tomalski. "If you don't have some sunshine, it's not a festival."
This year's Spring Scream has all the trappings of a big music festival, if not the punters to prove it. Organizers have instituted some changes that have given the festival a, well, more institutional feel.
Getting your 10-day pass bears a remarkable resemblance to getting booked into county jail. Punters are asked to write their ROC ID number on a white board that they then hold beneath their chin to have their photo taken. The mug shot is made into a plastic card and picked up upon their next entry.
"That way it saves the police time when they bust the place," Tomalski joked. "I wasn't thrilled about having my mug shot taken. I bought a day pass instead."
If some patrons are nonplussed about the 10-day pass procedure, members of the nearly 200 bands playing this year's festival are pleased with how well the event has gone thus far and laud co-founders Jimi Moe and Wade Davis for year-on-year improvements.
"The longer they're around the more they have to deal with," said reggae musician Patrick Chen, better known as Red-I of Red-I and the Riddim Outlaws. "There's gangsters, there's police ... and those guys gotta figure out which one's less expensive."
Upcoming bands most likely to get people screaming this weekend are, tonight, Tizzy Bac (7pm, Kiwi stage), Chairman (9pm, Dog stage), Neon (10pm, Kiwi stage), Wonfu (11pm, Dog stage) and tomorrow night, Boogie Chillin' (6pm, Kiwi stage), Red-I and the Riddim Outlaws (4pm, Bone Stage), Clippers (10pm, Bow Wow stage), and the Anglers, Mimie Chan and Milk going back to back on the Kiwi stage beginning at 8pm. Spring Scream veterans Backquarter will fill the field of the Kiwi stage at 10pm.
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