This weekend’s Vicious Circle Nite (held not at the venue of the same name but at Legacy Taipei) is an attempt “to combine all kinds of music but with a punk spirit,” said organizer Adam Chen (陳敘廷). He quotes lyrics from Operation Ivy’s song Unity: “Unity, as one stand together/Unity, evolution’s going to come.”
When it comes to underground subculture, “everyone is divided into really small groups and not combining, just separating,” he said. “It’s not that supported here because the mainstream in Taiwan is pop, if they are not going to help us we need to help ourselves.”
The music ranges from punk to psychedelic, passing through disco-rock, power pop and electro, even touching on rock and metal. The only thing the genres have in common, said Chen, is that “they have a punk ‘spirit’ — we want to support all kinds of music.”
The eclectic lineup includes indie bands, with synth pop-rock by The Looking Glass, Kenny From Casino’s (賭場肯尼) American-style power pop, garagey post-punk by My Skin Against Your Skin, the Broken Flowers (碎紙花) with punk and Queen Suitcase’s (皇后皮箱) 1960s-inspired psychedelia.
Guitarist DC (唐達智) from Yellowback, another the indie band on the roster, said of his group’s music: “We never want to restrict our imagination. You can say that Yellowback is an indie-rock band or disco-rock or post-punk or something else. All the above are correct. We tried to mix those things and create a style [that] belongs [to] us. The most important thing is how to express our emotions and faith through song.”
The signed artists on the bill are no less diverse, with acoustic rock and pop from Queen (魏如昀), rock band Mojo (張國璽), alternative-pop band 13 (拾參), post-rock band Orangegrass (橙草) and pure punk from Fire Ex (滅火器), as well as Allen Wes (艾瑋倫), a Remix model and former member of Dizzy Butterfly whose features are only enhanced by facial piercings, side burns and a scowl.
“I won’t limit myself in one genre or one certain type of music,” Wes said of his current hard-rock thrashing, most of which he composes while riding his bike. “I’m changing and learning all the time.” Learning experiences so far include jumping up and down so hard on stage that he’s cracked his head on the ceiling — something he hopes to avoid in the future.
DJs run the gamut from City Villains (electro), Xiang (house and alt-rocker), experimental Point (formerly in nu-metal band Monkey Insane (潑猴)) and the prolific Mykal, whose music ranges from rock to drum ’n’ bass, hip-hop and electro. Chen says the audience may be “shocked” when they hear the DJs, who will be playing alt-rock inspired sets.
The event includes graffiti artists, a craft market and extreme sports. There will be no MC. Instead, bands will introduce each other, said Chen, “so the audience has more confidence in the music scene.”
“We want to recall the feeling of the old generation of punk influence,” he said. “There is new blood, we want to show that we are still passionate.”
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