Sunday was billed as "Taiwan Mass Battle Concert", and Chthonic delivered the goods. Neo Studio was sold-out, and the band was uncompromising, ripping through song after song (even pulling off a wicked version of this, believe it or not). Hair, fists, ghost money, slamming... and, uh, what do you call it when it's symphonic death metal: scream-a-longs? Well, that's what was happening and it was loud. Boasting special guests like Marty Friedman and 陳珊妮 Sandee Chan, it was a proud night for metalheads. My left ear is deaf & numb and girlfriend's limbs are bruised. We couldn't be happier. \m/ Our intrepid Ian Kuo has a bunch of great photos from the concert here.
On Saturday, the plan was to catch The Junk 帆人 and The Okay Cars at Underworld, and then hit Revolver for their 2nd Anniversary blowout. The Okay Cars were more than ably served by drummer/hired gun extraordinaire John Stephenson, and they seemed to be getting out some aggression. The Junk followed with their own inspired set of hard hitting stoner rock. For those who might want a comparison, The Junk have bluesier tendencies than their kindred spirits Sleaze, who sit on the metal side of the fence. It's all good to me, and now I have another band I like.
So with all of that action, I arrived at Revolver but never made it inside, not that I needed to. The party had poured well out onto Roosevelt Road. I was sad to miss Formosa Romance, Skaraoke, and the return of The Deadly Vibes, but by all accounts, the night was big fun and The Deadly Vibes haven't lost a step. Congrats again to Revolver. Here's to many more good times!
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At this time last year, we were sitting around GGHQ drooling over the the shows to come, getting psyched for Lamb of God, The Naked and Famous, Marky Ramone, The Vaccines...
And right now I'm doing the same thing, anticipating some great shows for 2013. Number 1 on my list is the legendary Polysics, perhaps best described as spastic Japanese electro-Devo-punk. I caught them at CBGB's in the late 90's and they completely blew me away. I expect just as much awesomeness this time around, too.
Japandroids and Grimes each have gigs booked at The Wall, who will also host 65 Days of Static at both of their clubs in Taipei and Kaohsiung in early January.
The 廢物樂隊 FeiWu reunion at Legacy is getting lots of old schoolers really excited, as well it should. Have you heard their Taiwan Beer song? Classic.
And what else? There's the Megaport Festival with headliners Grizzly Bear. Oh, and more Japan action with Luna Sea and Acid Mothers Temple & The Cosmic Inferno.
So basically, 2013 looks pretty frontloaded with fun. While I'm sure the rest of the year will offer more wonderful surprises from abroad, I fully expect our own Formosan musicians to keep up the excellent work. Bowz Tiger, Skip Skip Ben Ben, Manic Sheep, Sleaze, Elephant Gym, 88 Balaz, etc.... Mayan Doomsday, my ass. There's a lot to live for, and I plan to celebrate our new lease on life with this killer show on Friday. Cheers!
