Dubbed "the king of live music" by both the Asian music press and a multitude of fans scattered across the region, homegrown guitar hero, Wu Bai (伍佰), and his band, China Blue will be bringing their 2002 Ninth Heaven Tour to fans across Taiwan over the coming month.
The tour, which is the combo's first such large-scale venture in Taiwan for nearly two years, comes hot on the heels of the band's recent sell-out Pub High sojourn around the nation.
While the mini-tour saw Wu Bai and his hard-playing band -- bassist Ju Jian-hui (
PHOTO: MAGIC STONE RECORDS
Beginning at Taipei Municipal Stadium (
Since hitting the local music scene in the early 1990s with its self-titled debut album, Wu Bai and China Blue have appeared on top music charts across Asia with a string of hit albums. The most recent of which, Dream River (夢的河流), although released late last year, is still riding high on pop charts in Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong and China.
While the Asian music scene is hardly short of heroes, the meteoric way in which the local rocker and his combo made the big time differs radically from many of their peers.
The phenomena that has become Wu Bai and China Blue was not created by record company executives with an eye on a quick profit. In fact, with the exception of popular indie rockers, Quarter Back (
"We all played for different bands up until about 1991, after which [Ju Jian-hui] and I began jamming together with the eventual idea of forming a newer, fresher, and original rock band," Zavolta said. "Then one day, he called me up and asked me if I would mind filling in for a one-off gig with himself and a guitarist named Wu Bai."
According to Zavolta, the trio hit it off almost immediately and China Blue fell into place shortly thereafter.
"Something just clicked between us. Both the music and the mo chi (
By the mid-1990s, the band had conquered the hearts and minds of a Taiwanese audience sorely lacking guitar heroes. With its eclectic brand of very Taiwanese rock `n' roll enjoying an all-time high the length and breadth of the nation, the combo branched out and began replicating this success across Asia. The band's high-octane gigs in China, Hong Kong and Singapore are now guaranteed sellouts.
A major factor of the popularity of the bands' live performances is the ability of the four-piece combo to continue to create original and exciting material. Material that not only has the capability to appease fans with a hunger for guitar-laden rock, but also charm fans with an ear for less raucous vibes.
"Although our styles may vary, our sound remains the same. Our most recent album is a good example of this. [The album] is extremely versatile. If you are a rocker, Broken (
Although the back-clad, helmet hair-styled Wu Bai has become one of Asia's most instantly recognizable rock icons and has would-be rockers emulating his low-slung guitar playing stance from Beijing to Bangkok, China Blue is far more than a backing band. Wu Bai is as much a part of China Blue as are China Blue a part of Wu Bai.
"Wubai is part of China Blue. He is the lead singer and guitarist of China Blue. Just as Hsiao Ju is the bassist, [Yu Dai-ho] the keyboard player and I'm the drummer," Zavolta said. "Although he writes the music and lyrics, we arrange each song as a band. Wu Bai makes a rough version of a song he has written and then we collectively arrange it together. Which is the crux of our contrasting styles."
What: Wu Bai and China Blue: 2002 Ninth Heaven Tour (伍佰 and China Blue: 2002巡迴演唱會 -- 九重天)
Where & When: Saturday, May 11 Taipei Municipal Stadium (台北市立體育場) Saturday, May 18 Changhwa Municipal Stadium (彰化縣立體育場) and Saturday, May 25 Kaoshiung (高雄澄清湖棒球場). All shows begin at 7pm
Tickets: Cost NT$1,000 or NT$800 and are available from ERA ticket outlets nationwide
Taiwan doesn’t have a lot of railways, but its network has plenty of history. The government-owned entity that last year became the Taiwan Railway Corp (TRC) has been operating trains since 1891. During the 1895-1945 period of Japanese rule, the colonial government made huge investments in rail infrastructure. The northern port city of Keelung was connected to Kaohsiung in the south. New lines appeared in Pingtung, Yilan and the Hualien-Taitung region. Railway enthusiasts exploring Taiwan will find plenty to amuse themselves. Taipei will soon gain its second rail-themed museum. Elsewhere there’s a number of endearing branch lines and rolling-stock collections, some
Could Taiwan’s democracy be at risk? There is a lot of apocalyptic commentary right now suggesting that this is the case, but it is always a conspiracy by the other guys — our side is firmly on the side of protecting democracy and always has been, unlike them! The situation is nowhere near that bleak — yet. The concern is that the power struggle between the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and their now effectively pan-blue allies the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) and the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) intensifies to the point where democratic functions start to break down. Both
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), and the country’s other political groups dare not offend religious groups, says Chen Lih-ming (陳立民), founder of the Taiwan Anti-Religion Alliance (台灣反宗教者聯盟). “It’s the same in other democracies, of course, but because political struggles in Taiwan are extraordinarily fierce, you’ll see candidates visiting several temples each day ahead of elections. That adds impetus to religion here,” says the retired college lecturer. In Japan’s most recent election, the Liberal Democratic Party lost many votes because of its ties to the Unification Church (“the Moonies”). Chen contrasts the progress made by anti-religion movements in
This was not supposed to be an election year. The local media is billing it as the “2025 great recall era” (2025大罷免時代) or the “2025 great recall wave” (2025大罷免潮), with many now just shortening it to “great recall.” As of this writing the number of campaigns that have submitted the requisite one percent of eligible voters signatures in legislative districts is 51 — 35 targeting Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus lawmakers and 16 targeting Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers. The pan-green side has more as they started earlier. Many recall campaigns are billing themselves as “Winter Bluebirds” after the “Bluebird Action”
RSS