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Taiwan hardcore continues building their community one DIY show at a time

By on April 20, 2017

Taiwan hardcore continues to building their community one DIY show at a time.

This weekend is the second in a series of DIY hardcore shows organized by Taiwanese hardcore bands called “Dir Ti“. The organizers hilariously explain the title:

“Dir-Ti, a Mandarin term, means “to behave properly”. Have you ever had an accidental boner in public? No worries. With these 4 local Taiwanese hardcore bands, we will show you how dirty we are and how we Dir-Ti.“

The Taiwan hardcore community is a small one with just a handful of bands spread across the island. But like with any place anywhere in the world trying their best to create a community, the bands have a strong bond with each as a small community of like minded individuals who share a passion for this culture. For this reason the organizers of Dir Ti purposely have chosen a small practice place to put on these shows instead of a large professional venue. They state: “Everything about this show is totally DIY! Check out our ticket booth where we will be selling tickets! The booth is made out of cardboard!“

When further prodded, the organizers added that another reason why they chose to use a small practice room is because for the time being the audience size for hardcore shows isn’t large enough to cover the expenses of a professional venue. “But doing it this way really lets people know the essence of hardcore – the idea of it being something that’s underground and pure“.

The reality of how small of a following there is in Taiwan unfortunately mirrors the situation here in Hong Kong as well. We asked why is it that Taiwan has a massive world-renown metal scene (bands like Chthonic, Flesh Juicer, Maggot Colony, etc) yet the hardcore scene receives zero support or attention? “It’s really because to people here hardcore is just not heavy enough. And the bands that have visited Taiwan aren’t big enough to attract the interest of more people.” (Biohazard visited the island over 10 years ago, granted that it was way past their heyday and so maybe the impact wasn’t as powerful as it could’ve been had they come out in the 90’s.)

But Taiwan has always had love for punk rock no? The band The Fire Ex. is enormous! “Yeah they’re one of the biggest bands now. But people in Taiwan are really into that more Japanese punk sound. You won’t find any oi punk or street punk bands here“.

So like in Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Shanghai and other places where shows are few and far in between, and attended only by a handful of people, the diehard live on. Much respect to those in these situations who somehow are able to muster up the strength and passion to continue doing what they’re doing for what they love.

If you’re in Taiwan this weekend – don’t miss this show!

Event details: https://www.facebook.com/events/1478449138861323/

The bands taking part are the following:

Hateful Rezpect
(FFO: Hatebreed)
Taipei
https://www.facebook.com/pg/Hatefulrezpect/

Defeat the Giant
(FFO: More Than Life, Defeater)
Taizhong
https://www.facebook.com/pg/DefeatTheGiantTW/

From Ashes
(FFO: Terror)
Taizhong
https://www.facebook.com/From-Ashes-1652443801728418

Deadpan
(FFO: Expire, Backtrack, Terror)
Kaoshiung

https://www.facebook.com/pg/DEADPANHC

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