Started up by Voices From The South director Don and Maho lead singer A-Chang, The Mercury is going to be Kaohsiung's best spot for eclectic live music shows. The premises features a pub on the first floor, where you can choose from a vast menu of beers, highballs and cocktails, including martinis. The menu also includes western pub snacks such as burgers, hot dogs, nachos, onion rings, fries and Mexican quesadillas. Weekly specials include $50 NT draft beer on Wednesdays, and on Friday/Saturday nights, buy 2 beers get one free!
In August, the second floor will be renovated to include a stage for live performances. There have already been negotiations with The Wall in Taipei and Womb Bloc in Kaohsiung to host shows here!
The Mercury is located at 46 Li Wen Road in San Min District, Kaohsiung. It is two blocks west of Bo Ai Road, and Li Wen road is between Yu Cheng and Ming Hua Roads. Hours of operation: 9:00 PM-2:00 AM every day 地址:高雄市立文路46/48號 (富國路與立文路交叉口-慶聯有線電視旁邊) 電話: (07) 550-8617 (Don):0953336410 (阿昌)0916949017
To celebrate U Loud's anniversary, a special show will be held in Kaohsiung featuring every band on the label's roster. But, we are getting ahead of ourselves. First, it should be noted that Kaohsiung's finest punk/ska band Shy Kick Apple have recently been signed to the label after lengthy negotiations. Things are beginning to look up for Kaohsiung's scene, as the folks at the Taipei-based company are starting to show keen interest in the southern bands.
Anyhoo, on July 4th at the Pier 2 Arts District, come check out a lineup that will blow your mind: Shy Kick Apple, Fire Ex, KoOk, Orange Grass, Sugar Plum Ferry, as well as clione-index from Japan and international stars Cthonic!!
Check our previous post for Kaohsiung's Design Festival for the location and how to get there!! The Fourth Of July takes on a whole new meaning for Kaohsiung denizens this year!!
On June 2nd, the Tainan premiere of Voices From The South will take place at Li De University in Tainan. 5 bands will be featured, including Fire Ex, The Hindsight, and three local bands. Admission is free, so bring as many people as you can!! See some kick-ass rock and roll, learn about the indie scene in southern Taiwan, and perhaps be inspired to start your own band! More information is available at Li De University's Hot Rocks Club site!
This year's Kaohsiung Design Festival is being held at the Pier 2 District, and each and every day of the event will feature live shows from Taiwan's best bands!!! Included in the performances will be a rare show for Kaohsiung native 小倩, the leader of The Peppermints (薄荷葉), as well as heavy hitters Sugar Plum Ferry, Aphasia and Orange Grass. The cream of Taiwan's indie crop will all be at this event!
Each day of the festival has two bands, and show times start at 6:00PM. The Kaohsiung bands' times are: May 1 (Friday) Shy Kick Apple May 3 (Sunday) Orange Doll May 8 (Friday) KoOk May 10 (Sunday) Fire Ex
Tickets are $199 each day, and that allows you access to all of the other displays/events at the festival. More information is available at the official festival site.
Well, the movie festival circuit has run its course, Maho is on hiatus, and there's trouble brewing within one of the other bands, but we are undaunted. At long last, we have created an official website which will allow everyone to see the film in its entirety, absolutely FREE!! We figured it's the best way to let the maximum amount of people see it, rather than showing it a festival once every two months. So, come check it out at www.voices-from-the-south.com! Enjoy!!
For this semester's bake sale/fundraising day on April 1st at Shi Hu Elementary School in Kaohsiung, the morning's entertainment was none other than everybody's fave punk/ska act Shy Kick Apple. No, they didn't sing nursery rhymes or Sesame Street tunes, but performed their usual songs to an audience of students ranging from Grade 1-6, as well as parents and teachers. They started their set at about 10:30 AM, which is roughly about 12 or 13 hours earlier in the day than they are usually booked to play a show. However, they did sell some CDs, and spent a good 15 or 20 minutes after their show signing autographs for the students and posing for photos. Way to get those kids started on music at a young age!!
A very slow time of the year for bands. Three KHH acts (Orange Doll, KoOk and Shy Kick Apple) are confirmed to perform at Spring Scream this year. Maho were accepted, but have decided not to partake this year, as band guitarist A-Fang has been far too busy with his job to devote any time to rehearse.
The Tainan screening of VFTS originally slated for March 28 has been postponed until after Spring Scream. The Taichung show will also occur sometime in April. We are currently working on a website that will have the entire film streamed for free.
Dates have been confirmed for this month's screenings. Voices From The South will be screened in Taipei on Feb. 14, 7:00 PM, at 第十巷活影空間 , and Feb. 15, 2:00 PM in Kaohsiung at Womb Bloc. Both of these dates are part of the Puts Sound 8 Film Festival.
Puts Sound started out as a humble, one-day event deep in the basement of ATT in Kaohsiung many years ago. The idea was to showcase the best of Taiwan's underground/indie music, with a focus more on the post-rock/indie-guitar sound rather than the punk element. Now, Puts Sound 8 has morphed into a week-long, two-city event! Shows have been confirmed for Taipei at the Underworld (88 Balaz, others) and The Wall (Sugar Plum Ferry, Sorry Youth, others), and Kaohsiung at ATT (with Voices From The South-featured band Shy Kick Apple, as well as Sugar Plum Ferry and Taichung's Damn Kidz).
The organizers have also planned a week-long film festival featuring indie-rock-related documentaries from Taiwan, China and Malaysia! As well as Voices From The South, filmgoers will get to see the documentary about Taiwan's legendary band L.T.K. The best part is, all the films are FREE ADMISSION!!
Come get some culture, come learn about underground music in Asia!
The month of February will bring with it a few shows of note. There are four screenings of "Voices From The South" confirmed, we will post information and band lineups once we have the exact details. One show will be in Tainan, one in Taichung, one in Taipei, and one here in Kaohsiung. In the meantime, check out some footage from Saturday's "Gathering" show from Womb Bloc. Two vids this time, one from Orange Doll and one from Shy Kick Apple. Happy Lunar New Year!
January has been a rather quiet month for the Kaohsiung music scene. The only gig worth noting is the pre-Chinese New Year show, "Gathering", which will be held at Womb Bloc on Saturday, January the 24th. As is the custom at this venue, all the bands will be doing unplugged sets. The lineup includes 橘娃娃 (Orange Doll),害羞踢蘋果 (Shy Kick Apple), 波力港 (Polygon), 角落 (The Angles), 榆鈞 (Yu Jun) and BRC. As Womb Bloc's person-in-charge Chloe says, "We want to have a special gathering of all our Kaohsiung friends to put on a show, 'cuz this is a very special time, right before Chinese New Year." This is one of the biggest and most diverse lineups Womb Bloc has ever presented, so if you're not going anywhere for the holidays, do come and check it out! Tickets are $250 at the door, and showtime is 6:30 PM.
Well, everyone involved with last night's premiere at The Wall is very, very pleased with the turnout and the evening's events. A complete surprise, since there were only two advance tickets sold as of Dec. 27th! A crowd of over 70 people showed up to see the movie and these Kaohsiung bands. This may seem like a small number for a typical Taipei show at The Wall, but for a bunch of lesser-known bands from the south of Taiwan, this is a huge victory!! Perhaps this is the first step towards Kaohsiung bands breaking into the tough northern market.
The film was well-received by the Taipei crowd, who laughed at the right moments (unlike the Womb Bloc show, where all the jokes went right over the heads of the home-turf audience). Immediately after the last credit rolled, the curtains parted, allowing KoOk to play an absolutely deafening set. This was by far the loudest I've ever heard them. Shy Kick Apple were next and played a very inspired set, with singer OEJ joking with the crowd, making light fun of the differences between northern and southern audiences. He also made references to the film itself, volunteering to "Speak English" to the audience, and even copying lines he said in the film!! Super-funny shit! Orange Doll were third on the bill, and played very well despite sound problems that plagued their whole set (their afternoon soundcheck didn't really do them any good at all). The soundboard folks worked hard to keep the glitches to a minimum, but it was still very distracting, and very disappointing that a brilliant set was marred by technical problems.
The final band was Fire Ex, who rocked the place in usual fashion. Sam admitted to the crowd that he was actually nervous about this show, because of the documentary screening, and also because that this was a big, big show for Kaohsiung bands. Here was a golden chance to prove their mettle to the Taipei audience.
Post-show, kind words came from everywhere: The Wall's manager Orbis, White Wabbit Records' owner KK, Fire Ex's manager Mango, the actress/musician Enno, the president of Dreamosa Films Cheng Wen-Tan, and of course from the musicians themselves. Things are happening with the film, and are also happening because of the film. The Chinese paper Liberty Times wants to do a story about the film and the bands. Folks from other cities are inquiring about where and how to see the documentary. I would never be so audacious as to even attempt to predict what changes or opportunities this film might create, but after last night's show, it seems that my original (and only) motive to get these Kaohsiung bands more recognition is on the right course indeed!
Anyways, here's some video from the show, Orange Doll with a song from their self-titled EP, "逃到墾丁去".
