Once upon a time, Shanghai’s glitz and glamour infiltrated Taiwan’s nightclubs and a red envelope club culture emerged. In the 1960s, cabaret-style singers would croon old Chinese songs to soldiers who would in return give them money in red envelopes. There are only a handful of such clubs left in Taiwan, and one of them is open for business tomorrow night in Taipei’s Ximending to help kick off this year’s Urban Nomad film festival.
Event organizer Dave Frazier says he scouted all the remaining red envelope clubs in Taiwan, one of which he was interested in but it went out of business, before settling on Feng Huang Night Club (鳳凰大歌廳), which still does steady business. He is excited to pay homage to the neighborhood and pay respect to local culture, but in keeping with his eccentric manner, commingling it with future modern performances.
“The boss of Feng Huang Night Club is pretty clear in that she knows it is a dying business, but is kind of excited that our party is incorporating a bit of the red envelope culture,” Frazier said.
Photo Courtesy of Group A
The club’s original old-Shanghai-style singers will be performing tomorrow night, and most of them are between 40 and 50 years old and have been singing in these clubs for decades. Then come the quirky and comedic rock bands, half-naked Japanese avant-garde electronic noise musicians and DJs who are promoting it as Taiwan’s very first jersey club music party. Essentially, it blends the future with the past while paying tribute to culture, film and just having a gay old Taiwan time.
The rest of the bill tomorrow night is also proudly EDM free, with bands including Group A from Japan, Clippers, Funky Brothers and Kid Millionaire. On the DJ front, besides Marcus Aurelius, Sonia from Go Chic and @llen are also playing.
■ Urban Nomad opening party is tomorrow night from 8pm until late at the Feng Huang Night Club (鳳凰大歌廳), 5F, 159 Xining S Rd, Taipei City (台北市西寧南路159號5樓). Tickets in advance are NT$700 and can be purchased online at www.indievox.com. Admission at the door is NT$900, both fares include a drink.
As for tonight, Korner is throwing an enigmatic, adult-themed party. It’s already dark and dirty, and I say dirty as in its racy and not grimy, but now they’ve installed a cage for a new monthly series called Adult Game Club. The concept turns the place into somewhat of a red light S&M special but with a techno soundtrack.
Every time I’ve been to Korner over the past few months, the place has been packed with a motley melange of locals and frumpy foreigners. You can’t recreate this feeling anywhere else in the city, maybe even in the world. It’s been a little over a year since The Wall attempted a new concept by turning their seemingly endless entrance and hallway into a club of its own. There have been a plethora of international parties there that have worked really well, but it also seems to have developed a regular clientele of its own that feel the extra distance is worth it.
The dress code is heavy and the flyer is suggestive, so expect a lot of raunchy projections and anticipate lots of leather. The plan is to lock up DJs Naja, Petstove and Marco in a cage and let nothing but techno escape.
■ Adult Game Club is tonight from 11:30pm to 5am at Korner inside the Wall (這牆), 200, Roosevelt Rd Sec 4, Taipei City (台北市羅斯福路四段200號B1). Admission is NT$100 at the door and includes one drink.
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