BORDER CROSSING at the Wall

This past February saw a lot of "border crossing" action at Taipei's premier live music venue The Wall. Unfortunately, I don't live in Taiwan anymore and can't give all the details, but at least I can acknowledge the bands that made the trip and give credit to The Wall's management for bringing more desperately needed foreign acts to the off-the-beaten-path island.

First up was the gender-bending ex-Pierrot Japanese duo LM.C who made their second trip to Taiwan since performing at last summer's Formoz Festival. Next, the Austin, Texas based instrumental post-rock band Explosions in the Sky performed no doubt to the delight of the vast Taiwanese indie rocker college crowd with their unique tri-guitar ensemble. In 2004, I saw Mogwai at the Autumn Tiger fest, so Explosions' presence fits the island's scene. Three nights later, The Wall was visited by a couple Hong Kong bands: Alt-metal rockers 戳麻 (Chock Ma) and experimental shoegaze group Elf Fatima who had previously contributed a song to Lobo III, a Taiwan indie compilation series. Actually, Elf Fatima's Jesus & Mary Chain/My Bloody Valentine influenced sound has recently begun to captivate me.


(Explosions in the Sky at The Wall)

Closing the month was a double date appearance by The Plastic People of the Universe, a Czech group originating in the late 60's representing the Prague underground and fighting against the country's normalization period when the communist government cracked down on the Arts. The Plastic People performed at the Spirit of Taiwan festival held last year on Taiwan's 228 Peace Memorial Day. This year they played on February 28th as well, leading me to believe there is some political agenda equating their struggle in the Czech Republic to Taiwan's own opposition to communist China's grasp on the island's independence. Being a fan of 60's world psyche and garage, I would have loved to see this band, especially after reading that they are influenced by NY avant rock like the Velvet Underground and The Fugs.



Let's give a round of applause to The Wall for organizing these diverse events. Seeing that the Canadian baroque pop indie collective Broken Social Scene is coming this month, The Wall has more coming in the way of foreign artist.