Arthur Chen (陳彥豪), Ho-Hai-Yan's international band coordinator, happened upon Xiu Xiu while he was in New York filming Taiwanese baseball star Wang Chien-ming (王建民). Chen, who often DJs at Taipei's Underworld pub, said he scoured New York for bands and wanted to spend the government's money on one that lacked media exposure.
It's hard to overestimate the historical significance of Cui Jian's first visit to Taiwan, not to mention the gravitas he lends to Sunday's otherwise pedestrian lineup. With apologies to groups like Tang Dynasty (唐朝樂隊), Cui is the only Chinese rocker with real international status. And he seems to be taking his Taiwan visit very seriously. Chen said the 45-year-old rock star started practicing his set a month ago and will be bringing an entourage of 17 people, including eight band members and his 76-year-old mother.
Cui's warm-up acts on Sunday are Singaporean pop star Tanya Chua (蔡健雅), a popular singer of romantic ballads in the 1990s, followed by the frequently paired combination of Chang Chen-yue (張震嶽), who has long skated a fine line between Mando-pop and hard rock, and rapper MC Hot Dog, who does the same thing with Mando-pop and rap.
Then history will be made.
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