Violence mars Water opening
I’m going to apologize right away for not remembering the name of the opening band and the DJ right now. Any other info you have about anything that happened to this night would be appreciated, whether it be names or specific events. The night was going well. The opening band played, and Joe the owner of Water sang with them (is it his band?).
Wise Manoeuvers played as the place was getting packed, and everyone seemingly was enjoying a good state of mind. After Wise Manoeuvers came the DJ (name?). He was playing for a while, and the craziness began. Mind you, the place was packed at this point, and walking from one end of the small place to the other could take some time.
It all started right in front of me actually. I don’t know the reason (even after asking a lot of people later) for the aggression, but witnessed it in it’s infancy. Two Taiwanese males were giving each other the look of death, and talking smack as well.
I saw things were heating up and got out of the immediate area, knowing that a fight was brewing. One word led to another, then a push, then a shove. One man had what seemed to be a broken bottle, and hit the other. After that all hell broke loose and it was on. The main guys and their entourages engaged and immediately made their way to the back of the room, off the dancing area and into some tables, no small feet again, considering the amount of people inside.
It was all Taiwanese people fighting at this point. It was carrying on and on. Bottles were breaking, and the ground began getting doused in beer, glass, and then blood. Things were getting out of hand, and I started trying to talk one of the participants into going outside, then it became a bit of a wrestling match, with me saying my pregnant wife was inside (of course she wasn’t). I was trying to appeal to whatever human side of this guy that was left. It seemed to be working, outside of some good pushing between us. Luckily I could speak Chinese and tell him that I didn’t want to fight and why I was doing what I was doing. I actually got him outside, until he got so fed up he was screaming and then said if I don’t move he was going to start in with me. I stopped and the guy went back inside. I stayed outside for a while, checking on my friends, and then went back in to make sure other friends were ok.
I went back in, to see what was up and if it was over, but it wasn’t. Apparently a foreigner got involved trying to break it up and received a blow with something sharp to his head. The owner of the bar was even getting punched around a bit by these asshole Taiwanese guys. I had missed quite a bit by this point, and just saw the end where some guys got were getting smacked around. The grand finally was the owner getting abused with some curses, and some of the bar stools being thrown over the bar in an attempt to hit all of the bottles and glass behind it (he failed in his attempt to throw the stools all the way into the back of the bar area).
There was a lot of blood, and after some further investigation, I found out that at least 3 people had been bloodied in the event. One was a Taiwanese girl, in the wrong place at the wrong time. She had a cut on her head which required a head shaving and probably stitches. A taiwanese man had a bad cut on his (foot and possibly back?) and had left a serious trail of blood all the way passed the corner convenience store and into an alley, only to be later picked up by someone. He was in the worst shape by far, and rumored to be in critical condition. The foreigner that was hit in the head actually went back at the bar after and had received some stitches for his trouble.
I got some food and then went back after the police and ambulances had left. To my surprise, there were many people still partying and dancing. I couldn’t really stomach being there anymore so I left with a bunch of friends. If you have any more details, please leave a comment. Cheers. Pictures from that night are here
I am not sure how everything got so out of control, but I truly hope that it does not mean that people are not going to return to Water. They have some wonderful events lined up, including a Caribbean Evening with an open mike, and live music over the coming weeks - I had been chatting to the organisers earlier in the evening. It seems sad that what was set to be a wonderful evening was marred by what seems to be senseless fighting and people getting hurt… The hospitality industry is tough enough without having to deal with situations like that.
One big reason I left was because in all of the ruckus, I ended up with somebody’s blood on my pants. And please let us know about events that are happening over there. We’ll do our best to keep people informed about the positive things that the local artists are up to. You’re right. The place (Water) should be supported even through this. It was a great night until that point. The place has potential.
someone mentioned a cattle prod at the door.
those can be bought here in taiwan.
its too bad that shit like this is so common in taiwan.
wasnt there a similar event at ima?
make that kind of cash. It was packed in there. Some gangsters don’t like it when a new
guy comes into their town and starts making a lot of dough. Having it full of whiteys doesn’t help.
That’s just my guess.
http://www.soundmind.com
I was there through the entirety of the violence that broke out and was one of the people that stayed after.
I stayed in support of Joe and the Djs and also because through all the madness somepeople have to show those of ignorant manners that violence no matter the circumstances is just plain uneeded!.
It’s bad enough we don’t have too many options in Jhongli and when something new is on the scene I support it to the fullest.
Being a part of the TrenchTownThursdays night at Water I was there last week to witness some Jhongli staple people return to Water despite what happened on the opening night, to enjoy some good Caribbean food and tunes. The night itself was a big success and went on without any incidences.
I hope people will realize that there were many events planned for Water before the violent incident and abandoning them after the incident would just contribute to the “turn the other cheek” and “nonconfrontational” attitude that will bring about no changes in such unfortunate incidences.
Water is also a venue that has been very open to the foreigners having and organizing events rather than just making money off foreign drinkers. It has potential in many ways because the owners are very open to foreign ideas and events. Now that’s worth supporting don’t you think?!
Freighter.
If you do want to know what else is going on at the Water pub, drop by on a thursday. There’s caribbean food served from 8-10 pm. We also have an open mic available for any creative types who want to express something, be it poetry, a song, some writing, interesting thoughts, whatever. Then myself and That Guy will be playing some reggae, funk and soul for all the people who want to start their weekend early.
You can pick up a schedule for the club on thursday. They have a live band playing on Fridays and special guest DJ’s on Saturday, and Jam sessions on Sundays.
Once again a big thank you to all the people who came out to eat food and enjoy some good music last thursday, and a big thanks to Joe at Water for allowing us to try some new things in the city. Which is exactly what a small city like Jhongli needs, a vibrant active scene.
Thanks for the comment, and thanks for the good work. Your absolutely right that we need more options when we are looking for places to go to. We hope this site can be an extension of what your saying; a supplement to promote the events and artists involved.
We’ll do our best to keep people informed about the events and the artists that are playing in Jungli. Do you have anything recorded or have any pictures that you’d want to send us so we can better promote you and the other people that are playing there? email us @ therealtaiwan@gmail.com
We are working on making this site a community for the artists, musicians, filmakers, and writers that want their works to be available to a larger audience. If you know of anyone else that wants to come on board let us know. All are welcome.
Come check it out and eat some good food and hear some good Caribbean music.!
http://www.myspace.com/atasteofthecaribbean