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The Toucans My friend, Steve, had the opportunity to play music in Kaohsiung -- Taiwan's second largest city on the south side of the island. He gladly accepted and I happily agreed to meet him for noodles. It has been nearly nine months since I last saw a pre-Taiwan friend (when Gary had a six hour stopover en route to India last March). No offense to my friends here, but I do miss the folks at home and jumped at an excuse to head down south.
Steve's band, The Toucans, plays steel drum music and was offered a chance to play at a festival/ art show for iron and steel works. There were wrought iron sculptures, functional steel machines, and Steve, Pete and Rob's smiling faces pounding the giant garbage barrels. (to see and hear more about The Toucans click here)
My tale: After my Chinese class on Friday night, I got on the 10:30 red eye train to Kaohsiung, Little did I know that this was not an express and stopped at every tiny po-dunk outpost in between Taipei in the North and Kaohsiung in the South. I saw the sunrise from the train. I was pissed off. After being accosted and harrassed by the standard grab-bag of train station wierdos (prostitutes, cab drivers, gay Chinese men admiring my firm buttocks) I took a cab to the band hotel. They were sleeping off jet lag, so I joined to sleep away the train lag.
Sunday moved too rapidly. The band gave a Steel drum demonstration to a gaggle of young, gorgeous drummer girls. They played for us several Chinese opera percussion peices as well. It was a stark contrast: the heavy range of instruments and sounds clashing in the very dramatic traditional Chinese music and the three guys from Seattle playing pleasant calypso melodies on giant cans. Steel drums, we found, were very similar to a varity of tuned gongs used in Chinese opera. The girls enjoyed learning a bit about steel drum music and we definitely felt lucky to hear them play their intense music and learn about opera. I was lucky that we had to run off to another performance, because I was beginning to fall madly in love with a couple of the drummer girls, and would inevitably say something stupid.
We set up for the final gig -- while a loud Australien clown entertained the kids with the standard clowning jokes and tricks. Steve and I thought we'd have a chance for some kung fu fighting, but I had to run to catch an Airplane back to Taipei. NEXT TIME, MORIARTY. . .
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This is the last week of my twenties so it had better be good, eh? Much debauchery, much reflection on my wasted youth, much time taken to stop and smell roses. Next weekend, Jason and Greg from Seattle will visit. We decided not to go to Thailand (thought I will make sure to visit the spicey little country at some point), but will go to Hualian and see Taiwan's most beautiful site, Taroko gorge. On Saturday, as the rest of my hair turns gray and my memory fades and my site goes and all of that stuff, I think about my wonderful friends scattered all over the world -- Seattle, DC, San Diego, LA, Philadelphia, Taiwan, and, soon, Paris. I hope to visit everyone at some point -- I think I will be hitting North America in February, so be forwarned. Before I type anymore sappy sentimental stuff about growing up, I will stop typing. I am sure to post a page about my birthday exploits and cross-island travels soon. Here's mud in your eye! - October 27, 2002 |
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Day one included an outdoor show on the River Love, getting lost repeatedly in downtown, introducing Steve to everyone's favorite Taiwanese breakfast -- Dum Ping -- and a night time show at the steel festival. The show's organizer invited us to a jazz club afterward and we were forced to dance (see picture of Rob shaking booty). We went to a night market, checked email and entered a seedy bar only to turn around and return to the hotel.
