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!”
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