Promoters in Taiwan need organization skills, a big group of friends for support, and a dash of level-headedness when things go wrong. A small team of managers that work well together and a vision for longevity are necessary just to survive. Thriving for 10 years by holding outdoor events in the middle of Taiwan’s typhoon season is no mean feat.
On Tuesday, rumors started spreading that Summer Aquarian’s 10th Anniversary party tomorrow at Jhongjiao Beach (中角沙灘) — featuring headliners Max Graham, Steve Mac and Satoshi Fumi, as well as the creme de la creme of Taiwan’s local DJ scene — was going to be postponed a week because of Typhoon Muifa.
Instead of giving its 10,000 expected partygoers a rain check, the Cube production team that runs Summer Aquarian sought expert advice. They commissioned a weather risk team to give them a forecast. The report said that the Jhongjiao area may experience light showers in the afternoon, but as soon as darkness falls, the weather would clear up and be fine until dawn.
Photo Courtesy of Summer Aquarian
But to the dismay of many, yesterday evening Cube production postponed the party until Aug. 13.
The Vinyl Word caught up with Summer Aquarian founder Jason Lee (李傑森) a few weeks ago. The avid surfer and professional VJ says that Summer Aquarian isn’t about the money. “We try to put on good parties each summer,” Lee said. “For us, it’s all about advancing the dance music scene in Taiwan.”
Summer Aquarian has faced off against weather trouble many times before. “We study the past calendars and try to pick the dates according to which weekend is least likely to have typhoons,” Lee said. “But this is Taiwan and you never know what can happen.”
The party is not an easy event to plan, with three stages of music to coordinate, hundreds of staff to manage, and local authorities to deal with. So will the 10th anniversary party be Summer Aquarian’s swan song? “I think we have accomplished what we wanted to by promoting and elevating Taiwan’s dance music scene. After this one, I will take a long break and think about the stress of outdoor events. But I can usually be talked into anything again,” Lee said with a smile.
Admission to Summer Aquarian at Jhongjiao Beach, Jinshan Village, New Taipei City (新北市金山村中角沙灘) is NT$1,000 at the door. Presale tickets are NT$800, available at 7-Eleven ibon and FamilyMart FamiPort kiosks or online at www.ticket.com.tw/points/ticket_points.asp. For more information (in Chinese and English), including how to get to Jhongjiao Beach, go to www.summeraquarian.com.
In a world full of iPods, iPads, Seratos and Traktors, there are still DJs that take pride in lugging around crates of records to please crowds. Tomorrow at Revolver, three of these vinyl junkies — Twohands (real name Daniel Lambert), Vicar and Chicano — will be performing at Make Room II.
■ Make Room II, tomorrow from 11pm to 5am at Revolver, 1-2, Roosevelt Rd Sec 1, Taipei City (台北市羅斯福路一段1-2號), tel: (02) 3393-1678. Admission is NT$300 with a drink
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