Lasting two years in the highly competitive bar and club scene is a rare achievement in Taiwan. Ryan Fernandez and Graham Dart opened their live music venue, Brickyard, two years ago, and it has been going strong ever since. Tomorrow night, Brickyard celebrates its two-year anniversary.
One of the reasons for Brickyard’s longevity is growth. Towards the end of the summer, the venue expanded by opening up a beer garden, where live music permeates the air on Wednesday and Saturday nights, two blocks away from the bar.
“The expansion has been great. We have Bitburger and Taiwan beer on tap,” Fernandez said. “After spending so long in a basement, it’s really, really nice to sit in a park with a cold beer and listen to some good music.”
Photo courtesy of Danny Chu
Another way a bar stays popular is by evolving. “We had an impromptu dance circle break out during our regular Wednesday ladies’ night about six months ago,” said Fernandez. “It was so awesome we started contacting dancers and offering prize money.”
While both Dart and Fernandez have worked hard to be successful, Dart doesn’t believe that there is a strict formula.
“If there is a key to success in this city, Ryan and I would like one copy each,” Dart said. “We will then close Brickyard and sell copies of these keys all over the city.”
Two Year Anniversary at Brickyard, B1, 507 Jhongshan 2nd Rd, Cianjin Dist, Greater Kaohsiung (高雄市前金區中山二路507號B1). Admission is free before 1am. Entry is NT$150 for girls and NT$300 for guys after 1am, which includes a drink.
Last week, on the heels of the recall election that turned out so badly for Taiwan, came the news that US President Donald Trump had blocked the transit of President William Lai (賴清德) through the US on his way to Latin America. A few days later the international media reported that in June a scheduled visit by Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) for high level meetings was canceled by the US after China’s President Xi Jinping (習近平) asked Trump to curb US engagement with Taiwan during a June phone call. The cancellation of Lai’s transit was a gaudy
Following the shock complete failure of all the recall votes against Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers on July 26, pan-blue supporters and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) were giddy with victory. A notable exception was KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), who knew better. At a press conference on July 29, he bowed deeply in gratitude to the voters and said the recalls were “not about which party won or lost, but were a great victory for the Taiwanese voters.” The entire recall process was a disaster for both the KMT and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). The only bright spot for
As last month dawned, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) was in a good position. The recall campaigns had strong momentum, polling showed many Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers at risk of recall and even the KMT was bracing for losing seats while facing a tsunami of voter fraud investigations. Polling pointed to some of the recalls being a lock for victory. Though in most districts the majority was against recalling their lawmaker, among voters “definitely” planning to vote, there were double-digit margins in favor of recall in at least five districts, with three districts near or above 20 percent in
From Godzilla’s fiery atomic breath to post-apocalyptic anime and harrowing depictions of radiation sickness, the influence of the nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki runs deep in Japanese popular culture. In the 80 years since the World War II attacks, stories of destruction and mutation have been fused with fears around natural disasters and, more recently, the Fukushima crisis. Classic manga and anime series Astro Boy is called “Mighty Atom” in Japanese, while city-leveling explosions loom large in other titles such as Akira, Neon Genesis Evangelion and Attack on Titan. “Living through tremendous pain” and overcoming trauma is a recurrent theme in Japan’s
RSS