Rock-in-Taichung

Last weekend, we were walking out to a park near the apartment and came across a whole crew of guys setting up for "Rock-in-Taichung", which happened Oct 4-5. There were Taiwan bands playing on two stages from 4PM to 10PM each day. The concert schedule is located here and there are references to each of the bands.

On Saturday night, we came back from dinner and watched a couple of bands. This one was pretty good, with good musician-ship and some decent vocals and harmonies. 

From Rock-in-Taichung

From Rock-in-Taichung

The second band (on the other stage) was done up in full painted faces (a la Kiss) and had a very heavy metal style (not to our liking).

From Rock-in-Taichung

From Rock-in-Taichung

We came back on Sunday for a little while and found one band we liked and one we did not. All in all, it was pretty interesting, as the crowd was not your typical rock concert of teens and young adults, but included a lot of families, little kids, and grandparent types as well. 

Holidays in Taiwan

Another long weekend - I am off work on Friday Oct. 10 for Double 10 Day which is actually listed as "Independence Day". This is one I need to look up and better understand. We have two long weekends this month, the other being Oct. 31 (Chiang Kai-shek's Birthday). This follows two long weekends in September, Sept 13-15 (Mid-Autumn Festival) and Sept 27-29 (Confucius Day). There were no holidays in July and August, so I guess this makes things more even. 

OK - so Double 10 Day is a big deal. After looking it up, it celebrates the Wuchang Uprising of 1911 that led to the overthrow of the Qing Dynasty and the establishment of the Republic of China. Since the ROC left the mainland, however, it is celebrated as a Taiwan festival and one associated with Taiwanese overseas. The Wikipedia article is located here.