Just one look at the hand-colored posters for the third annual Tainan June
Jam and you know this is the genuine article - advertising doesn't get any
more grassroots than markers and crayons. This year's music festival will
feature some 20 bands playing tomorrow and Sunday on the beach at Anping,
just outside Tainan.
"Last year the posters were just written and photocopied," said festival
organizer Axel Schunn. This year he enlisted the help of kindergarteners,
who were given free rein to hand-color some 100 posters. The result is not
just a concert ad, but something of a collector's item.
"We want to keep it simple - not bother expanding to more stages and more
bands," Schunn said. According to him, bar owners in Tainan haven't yet
caught on to rock bands that play original material, and so June Jam has
become one of the only places to provide local acts with musical elbow room.
The roster of bands offers a diverse lineup ranging from Taichung punk bands
R.P.D.X. and the Salesmen to Nicole Darcy's foot-tapping feminist fare.
Schunn's own band, Charlie Skaggs, will play both Saturday and Sunday and a
production titled Little Red Hat will be staged both days as well.
As the venue sits outside town, restaurants and food stalls are scarce.
Schunn has invited a vegetarian restaurant to set up shop on the premises
and plenty of drinks will be on hand. The owner of the property has also
agreed to fire up his barbeque and provide facilities for anyone who'd care
to camp over Saturday night.
To get there, take bus 15 from the Tainan Train Station to Yukuan Rd.
(漁光路). Alternatively, a taxi ride from the train station to the venue
will cost about NT$200. One-day tickets cost NT$200, or NT$350 for two days
and are available only at the venue.
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