Forget about the name, next week, FreakFest in Kending is going to be lovely. Hedonistic yes, but still a fabulous place for party people from different cities to congregate where good weather is most likely.
“We put this party in a beautiful spot with lots of great hikes and trails,” said Rock Starkey, brainchild of the operation. “It is near the ocean and out in the country, all at the same time so that everyone gets everything wrapped up in a single cheap package.”
From Monday afternoon to Wednesday afternoon, attendees get some of the cream of Taiwan’s DJs on the old Spring Scream site, Liufu farm (六福山莊). “The real point of the party being a FreakFest,” said Starkey, “is the idea that all these people who love electronica and often go to clubs in the cities and share similar interests and tastes with each other, never really get the chance to hang out.”
Camping is free with tonnes of places to throw down, and hot showers are also available. “More important than that is the fact that all the DJs rock,” said Starkey, who will also be providing food. The musical menu includes Mixer T, Marcus Aurelius, Duckie, vDub, Koala and Dragon serving up hip-hop, drum ’n’ bass, break beat, electro and the much misunderstood psy-trance. There will be a big slice of melted-in-a-pot THC (H中P在台北) live hip-hop and other cheeky toppings including burlesque troupe Rock in Hose with some new material.
FreakFest, at Liufu farm (六福山莊) in Kending from Monday at 2pm until Wednesday at 5am. Address: 5, Dasi Ln, Gongyuan Rd, Kending Village, Hengchun Township, Pingtung County (屏東縣恆春鎮墾丁里公園路大溪巷5號). Admission: NT$800 on the door for the full two days, NT$700 for Tuesday onwards.
Those staying in the north also
have something to shout about: In Taoyuan on Wednesday night at Hong Chen Film Studio there’s a big fat old-fashioned rave-up.
This is a possible treat of a party for those old enough to remember a time when a rave was an almost mystical event to be savored, and everyone brought something to the party apart from crappy promoter hyperbole straight from a thesaurus and a “look
at me on the stage I’m better than
you” attitude.
You can be sure the Taiwanese
tigers will be on this one. The roster: Shin Nishimura, Sodemaya, Elvis T, A-Tao and Ju.
Factory One at Hong Chen Film Studio, Taoyuan, on Wednesday from 9pm until 5am. Address: 868-1, Jhongyi Rd Sec 1, Gueishan Township, Taoyuan County (桃園縣龜山鄉忠義路一段868-1號). Admission: NT$1,200 at the door. On the Net: factoryone.tripper.com.tw (for more information and pre-sale outlets).
Valentine’s Day is for hip-hop
lovers, so follow your heart to the amphitheater at Taipei’s Da-an Park (大安森林公園), where from 7pm until 6am anyone with heart on the mic is invited for a freestyle.
And at the buzzer, a last-minute entry for what is billed as Taipei’s only Lunar New Year party. Earworm presents City Sounds Tiger Beats at Hook tomorrow night with BB and Kolette, plus vDub.
City Sounds Tiger Beats tomorrow at Hook from 11pm until 5am. Address: 1, Alley 7, Ln 205, Zhongxiao E Rd Sec 4, Taipei City (台北市大安區忠孝東路4段205巷7弄1號). Admission: $350 with a drink.
Last week Elbridge Colby, US President Donald Trump’s nominee for under secretary of defense for policy, a key advisory position, said in his Senate confirmation hearing that Taiwan defense spending should be 10 percent of GDP “at least something in that ballpark, really focused on their defense.” He added: “So we need to properly incentivize them.” Much commentary focused on the 10 percent figure, and rightly so. Colby is not wrong in one respect — Taiwan does need to spend more. But the steady escalation in the proportion of GDP from 3 percent to 5 percent to 10 percent that advocates
A series of dramatic news items dropped last month that shed light on Chinese Communist Party (CCP) attitudes towards three candidates for last year’s presidential election: Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) founder Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), Terry Gou (郭台銘), founder of Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), and New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT). It also revealed deep blue support for Ko and Gou from inside the KMT, how they interacted with the CCP and alleged election interference involving NT$100 million (US$3.05 million) or more raised by the
While riding a scooter along the northeast coast in Yilan County a few years ago, I was alarmed to see a building in the distance that appeared to have fallen over, as if toppled by an earthquake. As I got closer, I realized this was intentional. The architects had made this building appear to be jutting out of the Earth, much like a mountain that was forced upward by tectonic activity. This was the Lanyang Museum (蘭陽博物館), which tells the story of Yilan, both its natural environment and cultural heritage. The museum is worth a visit, if only just to get a
More than 100,000 people were killed in a single night 80 years ago yesterday in the US firebombing of Tokyo, the Japanese capital. The attack, made with conventional bombs, destroyed downtown Tokyo and filled the streets with heaps of charred bodies. The damage was comparable to the atomic bombings a few months later in August 1945, but unlike those attacks, the Japanese government has not provided aid to victims and the events of that day have largely been ignored or forgotten. Elderly survivors are making a last-ditch effort to tell their stories and push for financial assistance and recognition. Some are speaking
RSS