In Parliament’s 1975 slow as molasses funk jam, P-Funk (Wants to Get Funked Up), there is a lyric that says, “Funk not only moves, it removes,” which is a very apt metaphor for last Saturday’s Soul, Sweat and Swank party at Roxy Rocker. Both the main room and vinyl rooms were packed with people that lacked any hint of ostentation.
Friends were laughing with each other and moving to the grooves of Curtis Mayfield. Strangers turned into new acquaintances while Donny Hathaway’s mellow voice hung in the air. Even though the bar staff at the normally chilled-out Roxy Rocker was unprepared for the 350-plus people, the overall mood was quite jovial with many partygoers asking head swanker, DJ Resident Soul, when the next party was happening.
LUXY’S GRAND FINALE
Photo courtesy of Morgan Feather
This weekend, Luxy will be turning off their turntables for the final time. When news broke that Luxy was shutting down, everyone had an opinion, but the reality is that Luxy was the catalyst for clubbing to become mainstream in Taiwan.
I remember being at a shifty bar in Changhua a few years after Luxy opened — the bartenders were trying to duplicate Luxy’s fire show. They failed miserably. I’m pretty sure the people watching in the front got burned a little and a fire extinguisher had to be pulled out so that the whole place did not catch on fire. At that moment, I realized how true the saying “imitation is the sincerest form of flattery” really was.
Thanks, Luxy, from all the the Vinyl Word writers over the past 12 years, for the great entertainment. Thanks Jazzy Jeff, Naughty by Nature, Jungle Brothers, Hifana, Snoop and Dre, A-Trak, Claptone, Diplo, Major Lazer and the countless DJs that were brought in who really pushed music forward in Taiwan. You will be missed by everyone.
■ Luxy’s Grand Finale is tonight and tomorrow from 10:30pm to 4:30am, 5F, 201, Zhongxiao E Rd Sec 4, Taipei City (台北市忠孝東路四段201號5樓). Admission is NT$700 and includes two drinks.
MR WORLDWIDE
A lot of people say they dislike Latin rapper Pitbull (real name Armando Christian Perez), but when they are in the club and Pitbull comes on, they are busting a move and singing all the words to his songs. Unashamedly making club records aimed at the top of the charts, Pitbull stops in Taiwan for the second time on Tuesday and his live show is on par with any top tier performer with numerous number ones on their resume.
■ Live Nation Taiwan presents I Believe Music Festival featuring Pitbull on Tuesday at Taipei Arena from 8pm to 11pm, 2, Nanjing E Rd Sec 4, Taipei City (臺北市南京東路4段2號). Tickets are between NT$800 and NT$3,800 and are available at the door or at ticket.7net.com.tw.
In the March 9 edition of the Taipei Times a piece by Ninon Godefroy ran with the headine “The quiet, gentle rhythm of Taiwan.” It started with the line “Taiwan is a small, humble place. There is no Eiffel Tower, no pyramids — no singular attraction that draws the world’s attention.” I laughed out loud at that. This was out of no disrespect for the author or the piece, which made some interesting analogies and good points about how both Din Tai Fung’s and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) meticulous attention to detail and quality are not quite up to
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