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Craig October 2nd, 2007

The Daniel Pearl World Music Days was created in response to the 2002 kidnapping and murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl at the hands of extremists in Karachi, Pakistan. Danny’s family and friends came together to work towards a more humane world, forming the Daniel Pearl Foundation, whose mission is to promote cross-cultural understanding through journalism, music, and dialogue.

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Ω Taiwan’s event took place on Sunday September 30th at the Xinyi Public Assembly Hall, a newly opened outdoor venue in the shadows of Taipei 101. Early rain kept numbers low at the beginning, but by mid afternoon a sizable crowd had arrived, including fellow bloggers David Reid and Poagao who is in the Muddy Basin Ramblers.

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Young Taiwanese band Black Summer Days kicked off proceedings to a small crowd. Catchy alternative rock music is their style, a genre which is not too big in Taiwan, so it was refreshing to hear this up and coming band.

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English four piece, To A God Unknown were on next with their blend of haunting guitar arrangements that segued into crushing walls of sound.

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Following them, the tempo of the day changed styles with the modern country sounds of 2 Acres Plowed. I’m not normally a fan of country music but I did enjoy listening to these guys.

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Another change in genres saw Crossroads take the stage with their mix of classic rock tunes from the likes of the Rolling Stones and David Bowie. A highly energetic band and great fun.

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At 5pm, Coach took to the stage. Coach are a funky Taiwanese band, who are popular island wide. They won a US$30 000 MTV competition a few years ago and regularly perform at festivals throughout Taiwan.

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Next up, and the last band I saw, was David Chen and the Muddy Basin Ramblers. A favorite amongst the expats in Taiwan, the Ramblers are a jug band playing early 20th century American music with a wide variety of instruments. Lots of dancing and good crowd support for them as the put on a fun performance.

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Unfortunately, I was unable to stay to the end, so I missed out on seeing the final three bands - Public Radio, Al’s Hothouse Chicago jazz band and the Money Shot Horns. Throughout the week, I’ll be posting a few more photos from the day, so make sure you check the site for updates.

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• Documentary , Festival , Journalism , Photoessay , Photos , Taiwan
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