In the immortal words of Marvin Gaye, what’s going on? Aside from DJ parties, even a cursory observation of the music scene in Taipei reveals that attendance at underground gigs is down. The metal and hardcore substrata seems to have been hit by the unidentified affliction particularly hard. Symptoms include punter apathy, malaise and a general distaste for most things existing outside one’s own four walls.
So what’s the problem? Is it an economic issue? Salaries in Taiwan haven’t increased in any meaningful way since the day before forever, while general costs have perpetually gone up. It’s not easy to shell out NT$1,500 for a concert ticket to see an act from overseas when the boss thinks that master’s degree in economics from Boise State you paid through the nose for is only worth NT$24,000 a month.
The turnouts for Behemoth a couple of weeks back and Carcass just a few days before that were telling. Attendance was somewhere around 150 for each gig. Prices were high. Prices are always high. That’s island life, man. Import bands aren’t coming in by bus or van. They’re being flown in, and that ain’t cheap. And yes, friends, the cost is indeed passed on to you, the consumer.
Photo courtesy of The Last Breath
Ticket prices would be lower if promoters could expect more paying customers through the turnstiles. But if a legend such as Carcass can barely fill The Wall a quarter full, well, you can’t blame them for having a pessimistic mindset.
Or is it an issue of engagement? Are local bands, as well as those being shipped in from abroad, simply failing to strike whatever as of yet undiscovered chord that needs to be struck with the contemporary music fan?
Hardcore band The Last Breath (殘息樂團) is one of those Taiwanese bands that can help keep that ethereal and elusive faith alive. The four-piece combines everything from post-hardcore to metal, hard rock and punk into a volatile mix. Young, aggressive and politically conscious. No average dance rock masquerading behind merchandising savvy. No 19-year-olds with neck tattoos paying more attention to their Instagram accounts than their songwriting abilities. Just straight ahead drive, determination and emotion.
Photo courtesy of The Last Breath
From late September until late November the band has and will continue to make a big push by local band standards, gigging regularly in a way a lot of bands can’t due to work constraints, or won’t due to lack of venues and a fear of diluting turnouts by playing too often. Not since the likes of 88 Balaz Seeds (8十八顆芭樂籽) and Destroyers (擊沈女孩) has the country’s underground seen a band so willing to just get out there and gig, and to hell with the consequences.
This weekend, The Last Breath is hitting Keelung, an oft-ignored stop on the local touring circuit. The aptly-named Live House Bar in the great mildew-splotched harbor city has been playing host to a few bands of the hard and heavy ilk of late, providing an always welcome alternative for acts tiring of the same old-same old in Snoozeville, a.k.a. Taipei.
Speaking of which, The Last Breath is also hitting the capital again to cap off the weekend. Here’s hoping they fare better than Carcass. They might well. Ticket prices are low, so the economic excuses are out the window. As for engagement, this band has it. And if a band like this, one that sees what’s going wrong and does something to counter it, can’t raise itself up out of the muck of mediocrity, what hope is there then for the scene at large?
■ The Last Breath plays Sunday at The Wall, B1, 200, Roosevelt Rd, Sec 4, Taipei City (台北市羅斯福路四段200號B1). Support comes from Lyra and Sorry About That. Tickets are NT$250 in advance, NT$300 at the door. Doors open at 7:30pm and the bands get going at 8pm.
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