The Inspector Cluzo
This French rock duo features the guitarist-and-drummer format made famous by punk-blues bands like the Black Keys and the White Stripes. Several members of Fishbone produced Cluzo’s debut album, and the influence shows in the frantic, funky grooves and zany but soulful vocals. Add to that some post-Spinal Tap humor: the band has a song called Fuck the Bass Player.
www.myspace.com/theinspectorcluzo
Money Shot Horns
Currently Taiwan’s favorite party band, this “supergroup” of eight expat musicians will have audiences dancing this weekend with funk, soul and R ’n’ B. Lead vocalist Dooley Chandler slips Mandarin phrases into his singing without missing a beat.
www.myspace.com/themoneyshothorns
88 Balaz (八十八顆芭樂籽)
This four-piece indie-rock outfit has grown up with Spring Scream. Lead singer Ah-Chang (阿強) was 17 years old when the group made its festival debut; he was so excited (and drunk), he rode a bicycle from the stage into the crowd. The band will surely impress this weekend with on-stage madness, but its tight, energetic guitar rock will steal the show.
balaz88.pixnet.net
Deserts Chang (張懸)
She seemed to come out of nowhere, having gone from solo performer and part-time sound engineer at Taipei’s Witch House (女巫店) to revered indie-folk icon. The 27-year-old released her debut album in 2006 through Sony BMG, which has been smart enough to let her do her own thing. Expect a large crowd for her set.
www.myspace.com/desertsmusic
Kou Chou Ching (拷秋勤)
This is a trio of two MCs and a DJ that are into social causes and their Taiwanese roots. The group calls its music “Taiwan traditional hip-hop style”: they often rap in Hokkien and Hakka and sample everything from Taiwanese opera to Nanguan (南管) and oldies.
www.myspace.com/koucc
Space Cake (太空蛋糕)
This four-piece band has one foot in post-rock grooves and the other in pop. The result is fun and quirky music full of guitar distortion, playful electronica noises and chirpy vocals from singer Squidgirl.
band-spacecake.blogspot.com
Rising Hedons
This is a blues-rock band, but with djembe and tablas. The grooves are laid-back, but the energy is intense. Lead singer and guitarist Bradley Tindall clearly loves being on stage, making for an entertaining show. It would be surprising if the group didn’t play its ode to the Spring Scream locale, Kenting Sunset.
www.myspace.com/therisinghedons
Nevada 51
Get your rage on with this South Korean rock and hip-hop group, which describes its music as “rock with conscience.” They list bands like Limp Bizkit and Red Hot Chili Peppers as influences, which can be clearly heard in their music. The band plays several sets throughout the weekend.
www.myspace.com/bandnevada51
Neon
These guys were “indie” before indie became too artsy. Many of their songs are driving guitar rock with a melancholic tinge. Lead singer Jun Lee’s (李昀熹) soaring, husky voice has a magentic pull that few can resist.
www.neonband.com.tw
Europa Huang and Agonist (黃建為與興奮劑)
It’s easy to forget that there’s more to Spring Scream than loud bands with electric guitars. Huang is an up-and-coming folk singer with sharp pop sensibilities. His acoustic-based music leans toward safe melodies and heart-on-sleeve lyrics, but he delivers them well and with sincerity.
blog.roodo.com/europa
— DAVID CHEN
Collider
Although Collider has a vocalist (Leon LaPointe), the music is instrumental as he uses his voice as a sound machine. Post-rock with a haunting, soulful quality, the band’s profoundly moving and cyclical melodies take listeners on a dark and beautiful journey.
www.myspace.com/colliderrockband
Point 22 (.22)
This dynamic trio is composed of veterans of the Taiwan music scene Pete Holmes, Steve Taylor, and Wade Davis, one of the founders of Spring Scream. Their songs range from alt-country to psychedelic rock, with hip-hop influenced vocal rhythms and original, wickedly funny lyrics.
www.myspace.com/point22
The Juicy Bows (東京多汁的弓子)
Composed of members of two beloved Japanese bands that appeared at previous Spring Screams, Miracle Saru and Mimi Chan, The Juicy Bows are a tripped-out, pastel and metallic wrestler-costumed ensemble guaranteed to bring a psychedelic experience to even the truly square.
www.myspace.com/thejuicybows
Monkey Pilot (猴子飛行員)
Monkey Pilot put on an engaging rock show with charismatic lead singer Tony (王湯尼) and kick-ass drummer Erin (王昱人). The band’s grunge-rock sound wanders into pure metal noodling and occasionally Tony gets so hot he literally steams (as seen at The Last Hoorah show in Tucheng in November last year).
www.myspace.com/monkeypilotgo
High Tide
Winner of ICRT’s 2008 Battle of the Bands, High Tide is a reggae outfit with original lyrics and a feel-good vibe that gets the crowd up and dancing. With ska and dub influences and heartfelt lyrics and harmonies, they bring sunshine to the dingiest Taipei watering holes.
www.myspace.com/hightidetw
Divebomb
Divebomb’s punchy rhythm section, catchy guitar riffs, and funny, creative and audible lyrics set them apart from other punk bands. They have a garage-rock sound in some songs and an irreverent, early-1980s-Descendants feeling in others.
www.myspace.com/divebomb86
Go Chic
While Go Chic are definitely a girl-power band, the “chic” part seems equally relevant — they combine fashion, youthful attractiveness and a thumb-up-the-bum disregard for convention to put on a refreshing and amusing show.
www.myspace.com/gochictheband
Fullhouse (富而好施)
Tainan-based rockabilly/psychobilly band Fullhouse have an energetic stage show with Elvis-inspired hip-shaking sound and gravity-defying hair in equal amounts. The term “stand-up” bass gets taken literally, with the band members jumping up and riding on the instrument’s curved side.
www.myspace.com/fullhouserockabilly
Skunkrice
Dark and heavy electronic Japanese band Skunkrice bring a hard rock and psychedelic-trance edge to Spring Scream before going on tour in the UK in May. With a synthesized, danceable and lean-on industrial sound, they’ll bring a taste of something different to live music fans.
www.myspace.com/skunkrice
New Hong Kong Hair City
Coming out of a brief hiatus after losing their bass player, NHKHC are back with two new members and material from their upcoming third CD. Funk-rock, female vocals and Black Sabbath coming out of a saxophone are what set them apart.
myspace.com/newhongkonghaircitytw
— ALITA RICKARDS
[Rickards will be appearing at Spring Scream in Rock In Hose Burlesque Troupe, a five-person outfit that aims to satirize “anything that takes sexuality too seriously. On the Net: www.myspace.com/rockinhose.]
Last week saw the appearance of another odious screed full of lies from the People’s Republic of China (PRC) Ambassador to Australia, Xiao Qian (肖千), in the Financial Review, a major Australian paper. Xiao’s piece was presented without challenge or caveat. His “Seven truths on why Taiwan always will be China’s” presented a “greatest hits” of the litany of PRC falsehoods. This includes: Taiwan’s indigenous peoples were descended from the people of China 30,000 years ago; a “Chinese” imperial government administrated Taiwan in the 14th century; Koxinga, also known as Cheng Cheng-kung (鄭成功), “recovered” Taiwan for China; the Qing owned
When 17-year-old Lin Shih (林石) crossed the Taiwan Strait in 1746 with a group of settlers, he could hardly have known the magnitude of wealth and influence his family would later amass on the island, or that one day tourists would be walking through the home of his descendants in central Taiwan. He might also have been surprised to see the family home located in Wufeng District (霧峰) of Taichung, as Lin initially settled further north in what is now Dali District (大里). However, after the Qing executed him for his alleged participation in the Lin Shuang-Wen Rebellion (林爽文事件), his grandsons were
I am kneeling quite awkwardly on a cushion in a yoga studio in London’s Shoreditch on an unseasonably chilly Wednesday and wondering when exactly will be the optimum time to rearrange my legs. I have an ice-cold mango and passion fruit kombucha beside me and an agonising case of pins and needles. The solution to pins and needles, I learned a few years ago, is to directly confront the agony: pull your legs out from underneath you, bend your toes up as high as they can reach, and yes, it will hurt far more initially, but then the pain subsides.
A jumbo operation is moving 20 elephants across the breadth of India to the mammoth private zoo set up by the son of Asia’s richest man, adjoining a sprawling oil refinery. The elephants have been “freed from the exploitative logging industry,” according to the Vantara Animal Rescue Centre, run by Anant Ambani, son of the billionaire head of Reliance Industries Mukesh Ambani, a close ally of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The sheer scale of the self-declared “world’s biggest wild animal rescue center” has raised eyebrows — including more than 50 bears, 160 tigers, 200 lions, 250 leopards and 900 crocodiles, according to
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