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.
That US assistance was a model for Taiwan’s spectacular development success was early recognized by policymakers and analysts. In a report to the US Congress for the fiscal year 1962, former President John F. Kennedy noted Taiwan’s “rapid economic growth,” was “producing a substantial net gain in living.” Kennedy had a stake in Taiwan’s achievements and the US’ official development assistance (ODA) in general: In September 1961, his entreaty to make the 1960s a “decade of development,” and an accompanying proposal for dedicated legislation to this end, had been formalized by congressional passage of the Foreign Assistance Act. Two
Despite the intense sunshine, we were hardly breaking a sweat as we cruised along the flat, dedicated bike lane, well protected from the heat by a canopy of trees. The electric assist on the bikes likely made a difference, too. Far removed from the bustle and noise of the Taichung traffic, we admired the serene rural scenery, making our way over rivers, alongside rice paddies and through pear orchards. Our route for the day covered two bike paths that connect in Fengyuan District (豐原) and are best done together. The Hou-Feng Bike Path (后豐鐵馬道) runs southward from Houli District (后里) while the
President William Lai’s (賴清德) March 13 national security speech marked a turning point. He signaled that the government was finally getting serious about a whole-of-society approach to defending the nation. The presidential office summarized his speech succinctly: “President Lai introduced 17 major strategies to respond to five major national security and united front threats Taiwan now faces: China’s threat to national sovereignty, its threats from infiltration and espionage activities targeting Taiwan’s military, its threats aimed at obscuring the national identity of the people of Taiwan, its threats from united front infiltration into Taiwanese society through cross-strait exchanges, and its threats from
March 31 to April 6 On May 13, 1950, National Taiwan University Hospital otolaryngologist Su You-peng (蘇友鵬) was summoned to the director’s office. He thought someone had complained about him practicing the violin at night, but when he entered the room, he knew something was terribly wrong. He saw several burly men who appeared to be government secret agents, and three other resident doctors: internist Hsu Chiang (許強), dermatologist Hu Pao-chen (胡寶珍) and ophthalmologist Hu Hsin-lin (胡鑫麟). They were handcuffed, herded onto two jeeps and taken to the Secrecy Bureau (保密局) for questioning. Su was still in his doctor’s robes at
RSS