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[MUSIC] Rocking and rolling down the river

By Alita Rickards
CONTRIBUTING REPORTER
Friday, May 29, 2009, Page 13

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With the calendar rather skimpy on days off, there’s a lot to fit into this little holiday. It would be nice to get out of town for the weekend, catch up with friends, do some outdoor physical activity, see bands, party and listen to DJs, hit up some good restaurants for food, and given that it is Dragon Boat weekend, taking a boat ride down a river at some point would be sweet.

Is one up the creek without a paddle to have all these ambitions? Not if the plan is to attend River Bash in Pinglin.

According to Perpetual Motion organizer Chad Ordoyne, this is the “biggest little festival you have ever been to,” and has “something for everyone.”

“I think it’s cool to have choices,” he said in his New Orleans drawl. “There’s so much going on it’s out of control: bonfire, basketball tournaments, bands ’til 2am, DJs ’til 5:30am, Sunday music from noon to five — plus some music down by the river for people who are swimming. We’re gonna have river rafting, bungee — got this friend Ed Mayhew, extreme sports guy, making a 20m bungee swing, you get up on your skim board and your buddy lets go and shoots you out over the water!”

His exuberance about the festival is matched by that of Canadian partner Tristan Newman, who added, “When was the last time you went river rafting, beer in hand, on your way to a huge party?”

They are particularly excited about the venue, having visited it several times with their girlfriends to “try out” the river rafting. For NT$200, a truck will take passengers upstream from the party, to then float down in little boats, on a 30 to 40 minute trip meandering through mountains, tea fields and jungle. Halfway down is a little beach where beer will be on offer. It is “totally beautiful” said Ordoyne, whose criteria in choosing the venue was that it be “all natural” and that the river had places to jump off the boats and swim.

The venue is L-shaped, so boats will float through two seating areas, past the bar and main stage area, then curve around along the camping area, where the ride ends and a lifeguard (one of two) will help people ashore.

The music is the main attraction for many, with 14 bands including The Money Shot Horns, High Tide, Go Chic, Skaraoke, The DoLittles and David Foster, and 14 DJs, with Marcus Aurelius, Fratzuki, Edify and Hooker to name a few. The bands will play on the main stage, while DJs will be in a huge warehouse that has three sides enclosed, with the fourth side open, looking over the river. There is “a whole wall of unused aquariums” that they are going to “fill with water and glow sticks, it’ll look very cool,” said Ordoyne.

After having difficulty hiring a quality lighting company — “we keep throwing these parties and the choices for lighting are terrible,” said Ordoyne. “Either you go full out, huge show, really expensive, or you have to settle for these crappy little lights” — they decided Perpetual Motion should become a visuals company. Deciding to “just go out and buy them,” they ordered tons of stock from China as well: “smoke machines, lasers, this water light that flashes on the wall changing colors — it’s our little adventure,” said Ordoyne.

“We’ve acquired 20 LED lights,” he said, “[they’re] great for the environment, use very little energy, don’t need generators at all, and we got strobes, colored beams, and a DMX lighting board!”

A wide range of activities has also been scheduled. Tomorrow’s basketball tournament has 16 two-person teams, playing 10-minute games of two on two. The winning team gets NT$5,000 in cash, and it’s free to enter.

At around midnight, there will be a bonfire in a fire pit in the warehouse, with a drum circle and fire spinners. “The concrete floor is finished like a skating rink if anyone wants to roller blade or bring skateboards,” said Ordoyne.

There will be a free raffle for two bicycles, and also a 50-50 raffle, with half of the money split between three winners, and half given directly towards the medical bills of prematurely born baby Fionn, the son of Patrick Byrne from The Money Shot Horns.

Ordoyne also said that there is also a butterfly garden with “huge butterflies” in a landscaped netted area, where a path loops around a fountain.

Because of the variety of flora and fauna, Ordoyne said they have been “very conscious of the environment” and even have a 45m net to catch any stray cans or bottles that get accidentally dropped in the river.

“We want to keep it so clean that when we leave it’s going to look like we were never there,” he said.

Receptacles will be set up for trash and cigarette butts, and the bathrooms will be cleaned four times a day and restocked.

Pets are welcome, “if you clean up after them and take care of them — that is a must,” he said. Fires or barbeques are banned.

Getting there:

By bus:

From Taipei: Shuttle buses run every 30 to 45 minutes from the corner of Songren (松仁) and Xinyi (信義) roads in front of New York Bagels at 122, Xinyi Rd Sec 5, Taipei City (台北市信義路五段122號) from 2pm to 10pm today, 10am to 10pm tomorrow, and noon to 6pm Sunday. Tickets are NT$100. No reservations necessary.

From Jhongli (中壢) and Taoyuan: Buses depart from in front of Sogo (Chungli) and from in front of Minsheng Hospital (Taoyuan) at 2pm. Prices will depend on how many people take the bus, but will not exceed NT$350 one-way. The buses will return Sunday at 3pm and 4pm. Check the Web site for contact information to reserve a seat.

From Banciao: Buses run from in front of Le Rouge restaurant at 1F, 419-6, Wenhua Rd Sec 1, Banciao City (台北縣板橋市文化路一段419-6號1樓). Prices will depend on how many people take the bus, but will not exceed NT$350 one-way. Buses will run at 2pm and 8pm today and tomorrow and return at 3pm and 4pm Sunday. Check the Web site for contact information to reserve a seat.

From Taichung and Changhua: Check the Web site for contact information to reserve a seat.



By car or motorbike:

There is limited parking near the venue with room for about 80 cars. For directions in English and Chinese, go to the Perpetual Motion Web site or Facebook (River Bash @ Pinglin). The drive takes about half an hour from Taipei City by car and close to an hour by scooter. Please don’t drink and drive.



DJ schedule:

Tonight:

10pm Digit

11pm Charles

12pm CAP 10

1am Marcus Aurelius

2am Edify

3:30am Fratzuki

5am vDub



Tomorrow:

10pm Shorty

11pm Juni

12:30am Marcus Aurelius

1:30am Mixter T

2:30am Too Bad It’s Not Tronic

3:30am Dominik Hooker and Burn Electric

4:30am Anti Hero



Band Schedule:

Tonight:

7pm to 8pm The Blue Trucks

8.30pm to 9:30pm Alice’s Tears

10pm to 11pm Three Day Bender

11:15 to 11:30 Rock in Hose Burlesque

11:30pm to 12.30pm Doublewide

12:40 to 12:55 Rock in Hose Burlesque

1am to 2am The DoLittles



Tomorrow:

4pm to 5pm David Foster

5:30pm to 6:30pm Tyler Dakin and the Long Naked Bottles

7pm to 8pm Space Funk

8:30pm to 9:30pm New Hong Kong Hair City

10pm to 11pm The Money Shot Horns

11:30pm to 12:30am Taimaica

1am to 2am High Tide



Sunday:

12pm to 1pm Go Chic

1:30pm to 2:30pm Skaraoke

3pm to 5pm River Jam (open to all performers)

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