Any word on a club that either plays rock/alternative/metal all the time or runs a special night?
I’m dying for loud, thrashy music…
Be specific with addresses if you can…
Malibu West in the combat zone. Every time I have went (4-5 times) they have played Metallica, Nirvana, Guns N Roses, etc. Not sure if this is what you were looking for, but nice for a change.
Also, at Roxy 99, I have gotten the DJ to take requests for White Zombie, Nine Inch Nails and the like. First time many of the Taiwanese had ever heard “More Human than Human” or “Closer”.
hey that reminds me to drag out further down the spiral, have it FEI? coil mix
daltongang,
As a matter of fact I do have this CD in Taiwan… I don’t have a lot of CD’s, but I listen to internet radio alot otherwise I would go crazy for lack of hard music. Some days I feel angst and need music to match my mood.
ha, just got it on, was thinking of “eraser” though!
According to the BBC, they’re now using Heavy Metal to “break the will” of captives in Iraq. They didn’t say which heavy metal songs they were using, but mentioned Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” and Barney’s “I love you” song.
So I guess that’s where we’ll have to be heading to hear some of the good stuff…
Hey Kaaa,
I DJ at Bien on Friday nights and typically play a lot of the music you mentioned–more punk and alternative rock than metal, though. I throw in some older stuff like Iggy Pop, the Velvet Underground and Bowie, too. My set runs from about 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. I usually don’t start in on the loud stuff until about 9:30 or so (when the Boddintons begin to kick in). I took last week off from DJing to celebrate my girlfriend’s birthday, but I’ll be back in tonight. Things have been pretty slow lately due to SARS, so any extra bodies in the place would be welcome…you hear that fellow Forumosans?!
Bien
Jinshan S Rd., Sec. 2
No. 23
[quote=“pangolin”]Hey Kaaa,
more punk and alternative rock
[/quote]
i’m dying for punk and alternative rock music. are there any local radio stations that play this type of music? are there local bands that fall in this category?
i’m terrible with reading romanizations…can you provide tonations (or whatever they’re called) or write it in Chinese? And (sorry if this has been addressed before) is this a club or a bar? thanks!
- twinkie
Hello Pangolin,
How are you? I have never been to “Bien,” though I’ve seen it mentioned quite frequently here.
What kind of place is it? Is it a place for dinner? Pub food served? Or is it meant more for drinks and music?
Too bad that business is slow, but I think that’s the case at many places throughout the city.
Anyway, I’m thinking of checking this place out. Just wondering if I should grab something to eat before I get there or plan to get dinner (and some Duvels) there.
Thanks.
The radio situation is pretty dismal here. Occassionally you will hear some alternative music on the local stations, usually not on ICRT, the English language station. There are bands that fall into this category, but not a lot. Taiwans live independant music scene is pretty small from what I’ve seen, which is odd given the size of the population.
I don’t know if I’m going to be much help here, but “Jinshan” sounds pretty much how it looks (“Jin” like gin and tonic, and “shan” like, well, shan 
) . It’s the same street that Roxy 99, Brown Sugar and Vibe are on, just south of the intersection with Xin Yi (Shin Yi, Shin EE, Shin-ny) Rd.
[quote=“fee”]What kind of place is it? Is it a place for dinner? Pub food served? Or is it meant more for drinks and music?
[/quote]
I think the food is pretty good. It’s mostly pub food with a few dinner entr
Thanks, Pangolin.
I will try to make it there–soon, though probably not tonight.
Thanks for the helps. Looking forward to the music, the kebabs, and the beer.
At APA art school in Hsimen there’s a Lounge 808 where some heavy live music goes down. The guys at the CD shop right outside will dis you if you listen to backstreet boys. They only like metal there.
If you want to know who is playing, check out the bottom half of the webpage above.
There’s a foreigner band that plays regularly… You can check out the website: www.thedeported.com/
[quote=“pangolin”]The radio situation is pretty dismal here. Occassionally you will hear some alternative music on the local stations, usually not on ICRT, the English language station. There are bands that fall into this category, but not a lot. Taiwans live independant music scene is pretty small from what I’ve seen, which is odd given the size of the population.
[/quote]
You are getting at something here … the reason why the independent music scene is so small is that a) there is no dedicated radio station to rock in Taiwan, and b) there is a dearth of places for original bands to play around the island.
I think the creative musical souls are out there … Spring Scream is proof … but if there is no radio outlets to attract and build potential fans of this genre in the cities and towns, or places for individual bands to play to build up followings, the indie music scene will remain underground.
[quote=“klaxon”]
You are getting at something here … the reason why the independent music scene is so small is that a) there is no dedicated radio station to rock in Taiwan, and b) there is a dearth of places for original bands to play around the island.
I think the creative musical souls are out there … Spring Scream is proof … but if there is no radio outlets to attract and build potential fans of this genre in the cities and towns, or places for individual bands to play to build up followings, the indie music scene will remain underground.[/quote]
The two-year military service has also broken up many a band and this could also be another clue as to why the indie scene is spotty.
[quote=“klaxon”]
You are getting at something here … the reason why the independent music scene is so small is that a) there is no dedicated radio station to rock in Taiwan, and b) there is a dearth of places for original bands to play around the island. [/quote]
I couldn’t agree more. But I wonder why the local independent rock audience here doesn’t do more to support the independent music scene. In the U.S., the euphemism we used a lot in the '80s for the independent music scene was “college rock”, simply because it was campus radio stations that really spearheaded promoting a lot of these acts and helped them reach a larger audience prior to the big labels taking notice of what was to be dubbed “alternative rock” by the 90s. The scene was driven by the fans and most university towns, notably Athens, GA., Austin, TX., Chapel Hill, SC., and Amherst, MA., had and still have a dynamic and thriving musical communities.
Maybe the indie rock audience in Taiwan isn’t as big as one would like to hope it is and most local listeners actually like to be spoon-fed the corporate pop drivel promoted by stations like IRCT. I hope that isn
Check out Underground on Shida Road, a couple doors down from the Watson’s. They have a mixed schedule, but they sometimes have bands like Cthonic and other local metal groups. I haven’t actually checked out the metal groups there, as I’m not really into metal myself, but I’ve heard good things about some of the groups that play there.
Taiwan actually does have some non-commercial radio stations, but I wouldn’t put too much hope in them. For instance, the World College of Journalism in Muzha in the mid-90s had its own radio station with interesting programming, but you couldn’t hear it outside the immediate vicinity of the school. There are also some radio stations dedicated to programming for aboriginal listeners in eastern Taiwan.
I think a better model for Taiwan might be England of the 70s and 80s. It’s a long shot, but consider this: at that time, England did not have a college radio infrastructure like in the states, or for that matter, many radio stations at all, but they still had a few dedicated “indie” radio programs that could be heard nationwide (i.e., John Peel), a fair number of local clubs in the larger cities featuring live music, an active festival scene, and a very powerful music press. These factors allowed some interesting musical scenes to take root and spread to other areas of the country (and the world).
Taiwan may not have a national radio voice for alternative music, or an active live music scene, but there are a fair number of well-attended festivals and outdoor events, and a pretty lively domestic press that takes an interest in cultural issues and entertainment. I think if the indie music scene had a more consistent radio presence, and there were a few more clubs, that would give a much-needed boost to the genre.
Some nice folks from Forumosa.com showed up at Bien last Friday and caught the tail end of my set. Thanks for the support! Unfortunately, I didn
pangolin - this post is a little old but your set list sounds like it’s right up my alley. Are you still DJ’ing on Friday nights?
I read on taiwanho.com that this place closed down a while back.
As far as I know there is nowhere like this in Taipei that plays that kind of music.