Tomb Sweeping weekend is basically Taiwan’s version of spring break. Two weeks ago, throngs of teens, twenty-somethings, and party-people descended on Kenting for two days of fun and debauchery in the sun. At Spring Scream, the 20th year anniversary went off as it has over the past five years or so, with bands and the hippy-ish generation generally enjoying themselves on the lush grounds of the lighthouse, which overlooks the ocean, listening to indie rockers play their hearts.
On the opposite end of town, newcomers Free the Beach really made a name for themselves by getting 3,000-plus people to The Chateau on Friday night and a stunning 5,000-plus on Saturday.
All the places on Kenting’s strip were supposed to be shut down at midnight or face the threat of a fine. Through the grapevine, I had heard about an underground reggae party at a destitute campground that would be going on all night. What I stumbled on was magic. The only way to see that a party was going on was one poorly-made sign that said Reggae Party on it by the side of the road and some people milling about. An unknown DJ was playing tunes off his netbook with a controller through two speakers and a sound system that kept overheating and cutting out. What was at this reggae party, though, was the essence of what Spring Scream once was.
Photo courtesy of Worldshare Events
When Jimi Moe and Wade Davis set up a stage on a beach 20 years ago, they awakened Kenting as a tourist town as well as a spirit of do-it-yourselfness in everyone in Taiwan. The police didn’t matter. Fancy sponsors didn’t matter. It was just people playing music on the beach for a few friends and having the time of their lives in the middle of Southeast Asia. At the reggae party, I saw this same spirit, with 500 people smiling, grinding, bumping and, of course, patiently waiting for the stereo to cool down so the tunes could be played again. The party went till the sun came up and everybody left with a smile on their face, feeling that Kenting magic.
SILENCE IS GOLDEN
Last summer, The Color Run and The Zombie Run were hits, but then there seemed to be replicas of these races every weekend at Riverside Park. Larry Lok, events director at Worldshare Events has decided to go in a different direction this summer.
Photo courtesy of Worldshare Events
“We wanted to introduce another popular concept from overseas that would be another first in Taiwan. The Silent Party is unique and different to anything else in Taiwan, yet a proven popular event in many other countries from Europe to US.”
The Silent Party is a party where two DJs play different styles of music at the same time and the party-goers can switch back and forth.
“A Silent Party with headphones is one of the craziest and fun experiences to enjoy. What attracted us to The Silent Party is that it is another social experience that is amazing to share with friends and in Taiwan, this also provides a different photo or selfie opportunity,” Lok said.
■ The Silent Party happens every Friday and Saturday night in May at the Taipei Arena, June 13, 14, 21, 22 in Greater Taichung, and July 4 and 5 in Greater Kaohsiung (venues to be determined in Taichung and Kaohsiung). Entry is NT$680 and that includes a drink, headphone hire and a badge. Tickets can only be purchased ahead of time from City Talk at goo.gl/Irw2QU. A lot more information on things like VIP booths and giveaways can be found at silentdisco.com.tw.
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
Approaching her mid-30s, Xiong Yidan reckons that most of her friends are on to their second or even third babies. But Xiong has more than a dozen. There is Lucky, the street dog from Bangkok who jumped into a taxi with her and never left. There is Sophie and Ben, sibling geese, who honk from morning to night. Boop and Pan, both goats, are romantically involved. Dumpling the hedgehog enjoys a belly rub from time to time. The list goes on. Xiong nurtures her brood from her 8,000 square meter farm in Chiang Dao, a mountainous district in northern Thailand’s
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