L.A.’s MyVeronica (pictured left) told us about her Tokyo Shoegazer experience in Taiwan.
MyVeronica: In February 2023, I made a pilgrimage to Taiwan, the birthplace of my father. On my last night in Taipei, I hopped on the bus to The Wall Live House to see the legendary Tokyo Shoegazer. The venue was in a part of the city I had yet to explore, and I circled the block 3 times before finding the back alley entrance of the club.
After descending a steep staircase into the venue, I observed the growing crowd, mostly black-clad teens and 20-somethings, many of them wearing my bloody valentine t-shirts. I befriended a local named Eric and he introduced me to his group of friends, all of whom had matching MBV “Loveless” album cover iPhone wallpapers. We talked about bands that they loved (Slowdive, Parranoul, etc) until the first notes of the opening band drowned our voices out.
The opener was a local band called Whale Done. They played with a passion that was heartwarming, breaking from the usual seriousness of shoegaze and reinventing it in a joyous and celebratory way. I was struck by how smiley they were the whole time, something we don’t often see amidst the Los Angeles scene. Their drummer was super cool, playing the basement venue like it was a sold out arena and pouring her heart into the performance.
Finally, Tokyo Shoegazer took the stage. From the first notes, it was clear this show would be life-changing. The bass vibrated the floor as wailing guitars went from loud to louder. I could feel the music in every cell of my body and I couldn’t help but grin from ear to ear. Just as suddenly as the band got loud, they would cut back into moments of beautiful serenity, the twinkling guitars intertwining together in long hypnotic interludes.
They played for over an hour and I never wanted it to end. I kept thinking they were about to finish their set because every song would swell into an otherworldly crescendo that felt like a grand finale. They pushed sound to its limits, beating their instruments into oblivion and just when I thought they couldn’t go any further, they would humbly say “thank you” into the mic and casually begin another song.
Song after song, they filled the room with rolling waves of sound and everyone in the audience was captivated. When the show ended, the audience rushed towards the stage to try and snap a picture of the band’s pedalboards to replicate their tone. I was still in a daze as I ascended the stairs back up to the street. I bid my friends farewell, knowing that we’d go our separate ways but nothing could erase the experience we just shared. Alone again with ears ringing, I walked off into the Taiwan night.
MyVeronica’s split EP with Friend’s House, Farewell Skylines, is out now.
Photo Credit: Artist Friends
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