The indie scene
Although formulaic Mando-pop ballads still dominate on the airwaves and inside KTVs, indie-music acts are gaining on major-label artists. Thanks to rampant piracy, Internet downloading sites and competition from international record labels, idols like Jay Chou (周杰倫) and Jolin Tsai (蔡依林) can no longer expect to sell a million copies of each new release. Meanwhile, the talent and depth of the underground scene improves by the year. Popular college-rock groups like Sodagreen (蘇打綠) and Totem (圖騰) are mini-stars and sell out medium-sized venues like The Wall (這牆), no matter how often they perform. Still, with the exception of yearly festivals like Spring Scream and Formoz, the contemporary music listings in newspapers like the Taipei Times or Pots (破報) can look the same week in and week out. Take venue. Plug in two random local bands. Repeat.
Enter the first Antipop! tour, which visited Taipei for two shows last month before heading to Taichung. Organized by punk rock band Consider the Meek, Antipop! aims to raise the underground scene's game by establishing regular contact between local musicians and audiences and quality foreign (mostly Japanese) indie bands who otherwise would be unable to play here.
Of course, the first Antipop! needed to succeed in order for it to become a regular event - and it did. At one of the Taipei shows, more than 60 people were packed into a space designed to hold significantly fewer. Hardcore punks in Mohawks and leather jackets jumped around and moshed with English teachers to The Meek's politically charged set and Japanese girl punks Akiakane's impressively loud display. And a new band, Rabbit Is Rich (兔子很有錢), served notice that a group of inexperienced local college students can share the stage with much more seasoned artists.
The reaction was overwhelmingly positive. One satisfied man in the audience waxed ecstatic about the "super-friendly" crowd and "ridiculously cheap booze." According to Meek frontman Kevin Lee, Akiakane was completely caught off guard by the audience's intensity. "They always thought of Taiwanese crowds as being shy," he said.
Expect an equally aggressive vibe for Antipop! 2, which kicks off Thursday at Taichung's Groovecity before heading to Taipei for two shows at APA Lounge 808 in Ximending (西門町). The lineup includes The Vickers, billed as one of Tokyo's best live bands, Consider the Meek, Rabbit is Rich, To a God Unknown and the Deadly Vibes. Discounted presale tickets (NT$350) can be purchased online by writing to leekrecords@hotmail.com, or by calling Kevin Lee at 0917-500-128. - Ron Brownlow
Foreign bands
They came, nearly 40,000 people saw them, and they rocked.
Fans of Linkin Park began lining up early in the morning for the best spots on the field and in the stands at Zhongshan Football Stadium (中山足球場), for what organizers touted as Taiwan's highest-selling foreign concert since Michael Jackson.
Despite drizzle and a start that was delayed by 40 minutes, people arrived chanting "Linkin Park, Linkin Park," and when the California nu-metal band finally took to the stage, the 38,000 mostly young fans in attendance broke into a frenzy of cheers and shouts.
The chanting continued throughout the concert, with rhythm guitarist Mike Shinoda - who was clearly the crowd's favorite - in the front, and singer Chester Bennington bouncing around the stage shouting vocals in a heavy-metal rasp. Linkin Park played electronica, rapcore and heavy metal numbers during their 100-minute show and had fans begging for more. Their stellar performance, combined with the fact that tickets sold out, will hopefully make Taipei a more enticing destination for other international acts. -Noan Buchan
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