Freddy Lim (林昶佐), Formoz organizer and frontman of Taiwanese black metal sensation Chthonic (閃靈), got his first tattoo last week — a swirl of intricate vines and gothic symbols that wrap around his left arm from shoulder to wrist. It took 14 hours to finish.
Yet the pain from the tattoo doesn’t compare to that of planning the Formoz rock festival, says Lim, whose company TRA Music has overseen the event’s growth from a small party of metalheads to Taiwan’s answer to the Fuji Rock Festival. This year’s event features more than 70 bands on four stages, with two headline acts from North America and a handful from Japan. The music ranges from techno to punk to heavy metal to indie pop. Like last year, there will be a wrestling ring with live matches, food vendors and an outdoor movie theater showing documentaries on music and social issues.
But this year will be the end of Formoz as we know it. TRA announced earlier this week that it has decided not to hold the event next year because the usual venue, the Taipei Municipal Children’s Recreational Center (台北市兒童育樂中心), is shutting down at the end of the year.
There is not enough time to find a suitable replacement and then book bands for next year, Lim says. It takes 15 months to plan and book bands for Formoz, and at the moment there’s “too much pressure, too much strain.”
The organizers have been preoccupied with other setbacks — two highly anticipated music acts have backed out, and negative feedback has snowballed.
Among the complaints aired by Taiwanese music fans online: It’s too expensive. There are not enough big-name foreign bands. There are too many unknown foreign bands. Why isn’t Coldplay in the lineup? There are too many metal bands, punk bands, post-rock bands, techno bands (take your pick).
“All of these kinds of messages just annoy us … we cannot concentrate on our goal [of putting on the festival],” Lim says.
The criticism has taken a toll on morale at TRA and has led to minor rifts among its staff of 20 or so people. TRA’s staff, composed mainly of music fans, endures a lot of pressure to keep the festival running, Lim says. Many arrive excited to work behind the scenes but eventually quit saying that they “prefer to just be a fan.” “I’m always the one to convince them to do it again,” Lim says.
Enough is enough. It’s time for Formoz to take a step back and “replan the whole thing, to research, to study the scene,” Lim says. “It’s not going to work if [every year we have to] fight bullshit on the Web sites.”
Lim put Formoz on the map in 2001 when he booked Megadeth, Biohazard and Yo La Tengo for a memorable show that left him in debt for the next four years. Over the years the festival grew to multiple stages, each devoted to single genres such as punk or electronica, and it continued to bring in well-known acts including Lisa Loeb, Moby and folk-rocker Michelle Shocked. According to Lim, audiences increased from roughly 2,500 people in 2001 to at least 15,000 last year.
Lim acknowledges that Formoz might have grown too fast, to the point where fan expectations have become too high. Now audiences expect to see bands like Metallica, Aerosmith and Radiohead but don’t realize that even with current ticket prices it’s not possible, he says.
Taiwan hasn’t had enough exposure to “showbiz development,” Lim says. “People just started buying tickets [to rock shows] five years ago.” In the future, perhaps more people will understand that festivals “should be more expensive” than normal rock concerts, he says.
Lim suggests the future may lie in promoting smaller monthly concerts, a potential direction for TRA. Imagine promoting a show with just Moby, he says. It would be “much easier” in comparison to Formoz, and they could hold more shows.
Until then, it’s time to “think deeper about what we want,” Lim says. “We have to bring the passion back — so we have to rest a while.” But not until this weekend of rock is over.
Bands of Note
Today
► Inoran 8:10pm to 9pm, Wind Stage
(風舞台)
Solo performance from guitarist and founder of now-defunct Japanese rock band Luna Sea, who pioneered the “visual rock” movement in Japan with elaborate costumes and stage spectacles.
► Sugar Plum Ferry 9:30pm to 10:10pm, Mountain Stage (山大王)
A favorite in Taiwan’s post-rock scene; the three-piece released its popular second album, Thank You for Reminding Me, at the end of 2007.
► LTK (濁水溪公社) 10:40pm to 11:30pm, Wind Stage (風舞台)
Legends in Taiwan’s underground scene that combine punk, nakashi and Taiwanese folk music with crazy stage antics.
Tomorrow
► White Eyes (白目) 5:30pm to 6:10pm, Wind Stage (風舞台)
Garage-punk band that won the battle of the bands at this year’s Ho-Hai-Yan Rock Festival.
► Fire Ex (滅火器) 6:40pm to 7:20pm, Wind Stage (風舞台)
Taiwanese pop-punk band from Kaohsiung, one of the longest-running bands in southern Taiwan’s punk scene. Fire Ex is releasing a new EP at Formoz.
► Chthonic (閃靈) 8:40pm to 9:30pm, Rock Stage (石敢當)
Led by Formoz organizer Freddy Lim, Chthonic has started to make waves in the international metal scene. The band will be debuting two songs from its next album, due at the end of the year.
► Caribou 9:10pm to 10pm,
Mountain Stage (山大王)
This Canadian group’s wild, loud and elegant electronica compositions are written by drummer and mathematician Daniel Snaith. The group played Formoz in 2005.
Sunday
► 4 Bonjour’s Parties 8pm to 8:50pm, Mountain Stage (山大王)
Seven-piece Japanese indie-pop band that blends electronic sounds, horns and standard rock instruments.
► LM.C 6:40pm to 7:30pm,
Wind Stage (風舞台)
Japanese electro-rock duo renowned for their wild costumes and high energy shows.
► Sodagreen (蘇打綠) 10:30pm to 11:30pm,
Wind Stage (風舞台)
A current favorite in Taiwan’s alternative-pop scene and winner of the Golden Melody Awards’ Best Band award for two years in a row.
► Her Space Holiday 10:40pm to 11:30pm,
Mountain Stage (山大王)
The band of California-based indie rocker Marc Bianchi is one of the headliners for Formoz’s closing show.
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