On Canada Day people streamed out of Legacy literally steaming after seeing heavy metal rock group Anvil. Several Canucks walked straight up to a huge cooler filled with melted ice and beer and stuck their heads into the freezing water to cool off. By all accounts the band rocked, with numerous fans insisting that it was the best show they had ever seen in their lives.
The band members came out after the performance to hang with the crowd, happily signing autographs and posing for pictures with laughter and big smiles all around.
It did little to cheer up musicians, deejays, artists, live music fans and bar flies who were devastated to hear that Underworld (地下社會), a Shida Road (師大路) institution for over 15 years, will be closing July 14 of this year. It’s a shock to many in the indie music scene who got their first gigs at the venue, for writers who discovered underground bands there and for anyone that regularly spent time in the Shida area over the last decade.
Photo: Alita Rickards, Taipei Times
The despondent looks on the faces of several musicians at the Anvil show made me wonder if they had lost one of their friends—and in a very deep sense they have. Several referred to Underworld as more of a home than a bar.
“The people who frequent it are not deviants, troublemakers or scum. They are artists, musicians, explorers, dreamers and workers. They are family,” said DJ Floaty, a longtime regular at the club. “They are the people who ask questions, who dare to take risks, who push a society forward, who demand compassion and justice, who laugh and sing and dance.”
There is a lot of frustration and anger about the closing of bars in Shida, and fears that Taipei will end up following the same pattern as Taichung, with live music venues voluntarily shutting down to avoid huge fines.
Photo: Alita Rickards, Taipei Times
“Is it not ironic that the same government that proudly latches on to our indie bands and sends them to foreign countries to promote our ‘vibrant youth culture’ is also ripping it out by the roots?” said Floaty.
Ling Wei (凌威), owner of the Roxy chain, posted on Facebook on Tuesday night that Roxy 99 had been hit with a large fine and now can only serve alcohol with food.
As of the writing of this column many details are unclear and officials have not been reached for comment; watch this space next week for more on the situation.
On a more positive note, Underworld is still open until mid-month, with a CD release party for indie rockers Forests tonight. The band, led by charismatic, hot and wild guitarist and vocalist Jon Du (杜澤威), puts on a high energy performance matched only by the frenzied head thrashing, dancing and screaming of its fans. Indie alternative noise band She Bang-a, headed by writhing guitarist Stan Cash, rounds out the night. ■ 9pm tonight at Underworld (地下社會), B1, 45 Shida Rd, Taipei City (台北市師大路45號B1). Admission is NT$300 and includes one drink.
Revolver hosts Jindowin (筋斗雲) tonight with Kid Millionaire, Skaraoke and Pisco for what should be a night of funky dance moves and grinding hips as the audience gets down. Kid Millionaire in particular has been rocking the dance floor after emerging on the scene a few months ago with a polished, tight act that blends live rock and electronic dance music.
■ 10pm tonight at Revolver, 1-2, Roosevelt Rd Sec 1, Taipei City (台北市羅斯福路一段1-2號). Admission is NT$300 and includes one drink.
Coming up next weekend is the sweetly laid-back funfest that is LUVstock, held in an unused amusement park outside of Taichung called Dongshan Paradise (東山樂園). In true hippie fashion, it’s “about the eighth one” says organizer Paul Davis, otherwise known as Boston Paul. This year they will have bracelets for the first time ever. Though there is officially no mandatory ticket price, a donation of NT$300 gets you a LUVbracelet to remember the event. It also allows hippies and hedonists entrance to “LUVtivities our voLUVteers have set up,” said Davis.
Eric Ganassin of Full Lotus Yoga Studio in Taichung (台中展蓮瑜珈) will be moderating the LUVwell Area with yoga classes and other Special Wellness Work Shops.
Accommodation available ranges from camping spots at NT$500 to hotel rooms with private hot tubs nearby. Check the event page on Facebook (search “LUVstock 2012”) for more details.
Music includes Native Space; live hip hop and funk by Dr. Reniculous Lipz and the Skallyunz; one man band Mike Mudd; weird soundscape rock by Moss; the extremely danceable indie rock of Windy City 4; Kid Millionaire; and returning rockstars Aurora. Kevin MacCash will host Woody Guthrie’s 100th Birthday Celebration on the acoustic stage.
A highlight of the deejay line up is the last LUVstock set for Colour Wolf before he leaves Taiwan. He’ll be missed for his happy time-warp tunes, as well as stripping off his rainbow-colored clothing to reveal his tighty-whiteys for the audience’s viewing pleasure.
■ Next Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at Dongshan Paradise (東山樂園), 151-2, Dongshan Rd Sec 2, Beitun Dist, Greater Taichung (台中市北屯區東山路二段151之2號). Admission is NT$300.
In late October of 1873 the government of Japan decided against sending a military expedition to Korea to force that nation to open trade relations. Across the government supporters of the expedition resigned immediately. The spectacle of revolt by disaffected samurai began to loom over Japanese politics. In January of 1874 disaffected samurai attacked a senior minister in Tokyo. A month later, a group of pro-Korea expedition and anti-foreign elements from Saga prefecture in Kyushu revolted, driven in part by high food prices stemming from poor harvests. Their leader, according to Edward Drea’s classic Japan’s Imperial Army, was a samurai
Located down a sideroad in old Wanhua District (萬華區), Waley Art (水谷藝術) has an established reputation for curating some of the more provocative indie art exhibitions in Taipei. And this month is no exception. Beyond the innocuous facade of a shophouse, the full three stories of the gallery space (including the basement) have been taken over by photographs, installation videos and abstract images courtesy of two creatives who hail from the opposite ends of the earth, Taiwan’s Hsu Yi-ting (許懿婷) and Germany’s Benjamin Janzen. “In 2019, I had an art residency in Europe,” Hsu says. “I met Benjamin in the lobby
April 22 to April 28 The true identity of the mastermind behind the Demon Gang (魔鬼黨) was undoubtedly on the minds of countless schoolchildren in late 1958. In the days leading up to the big reveal, more than 10,000 guesses were sent to Ta Hwa Publishing Co (大華文化社) for a chance to win prizes. The smash success of the comic series Great Battle Against the Demon Gang (大戰魔鬼黨) came as a surprise to author Yeh Hung-chia (葉宏甲), who had long given up on his dream after being jailed for 10 months in 1947 over political cartoons. Protagonist
Peter Brighton was amazed when he found the giant jackfruit. He had been watching it grow on his farm in far north Queensland, and when it came time to pick it from the tree, it was so heavy it needed two people to do the job. “I was surprised when we cut it off and felt how heavy it was,” he says. “I grabbed it and my wife cut it — couldn’t do it by myself, it took two of us.” Weighing in at 45 kilograms, it is the heaviest jackfruit that Brighton has ever grown on his tropical fruit farm, located