It was like two bands for the price of one at Gateway Theatre in Richmond on Tuesday (May 27). The Metro Vancouver Overseas Taiwanese Society presented Ten Drum Art Percussion Group 十鼓擊樂團 to perform as part of its Taiwan Pulse tour. Halfway through the evening, the dramatic drumming troupe—which included talented suona, xylophone, and flute players—morphed into a six-member hard rock band.
For the next hour, Cross Metal 手合鐵鼓 still included pulsating traditional drumming from Taiwan. However, this played a supporting role to two singers and musicians playing a North American drumkit, electric guitar, keyboards, and flute. It was an astonishing about-face. So much so that one friend quipped afterward that the second half was like watching a Black Sabbath concert.
As Pancouver associate editor becky tu has previously reported, Ten Drum Art Percussion Group was founded in 2000 by Hsieh Shi. The son of a Taoist priest, Hsieh composed the first five percussion-rooted theatrical performances that evening. They reflected various aspects of Taiwanese culture and history through thundering drumbeats, slick martial arts moves, and madcap antics by performers.
On Tuesday, the first composition, “Sky Slash” opened with a hiss from a cymbal. Next came gentle sounds from a suona and flute. But the mood changed abruptly as another performer began banging sticks rhythmically on a large Taiwan barrel drum. Before long, three other drummers joined in, rhythmically ramping up the tension.
Hsieh was inspired to create “Sky Slash” from a classic novel, Romance of Three Kingdoms. The character, Guan Gong, overcomes difficulties through daring acts of bravery—depicted on-stage by two drummers performing synchronized martial-arts moves. Their large drumsticks served as fighting sticks between the mesmerizing beats.
Ten Drum performs “Boastful Rooster”
The next number, “Celebration with Drum and Dance”, incorporated Hokkien melodies with traditional Taiwanese drum and gong culture. Again, this piece opened gently, with the lovely sounds of castanets. Later, as drummers mercilessly thumped their drums, I kept expecting the sticks to shatter into kindling. But they survived this pounding.
As I watched this spectacle unfold, I was reminded of the power of Japanese taiko performers as well as the popularity of Indigenous drumming in North America. In fact, Taiwanese drumming has been influenced by its Indigenous history, as well as 50 years of Japanese colonization from 1895 to 1945. Drumming is also central to Taoist culture, serving as a bridge between humans and the gods.
One of the evening’s most memorable moments came when the troupe performed the charming and highly amusing “Boastful Rooster”. It featured a suona player perfectly replicating the characteristic crowing of this barnyard fowl. At times, this creative musicianship was augmented by the magical sound of a xylophone.
As the charismatic suona player continued making cock-a-doodle-doo sounds, others performed chicken walks in a procession across the stage.
The actual shattering of drumsticks came in Ten Drum Art Percussion Group’s amazing performance of “Thunderbolt”, which closed the first half of the show. It was a tour de force, with the star performer repeatedly grabbing new sticks as a growing collection of broken pieces of wood surrounded him. The strength of Taiwan was there for all to see. It was exhilarating.
These performers offered a visceral reminder that any adversary will have a fight on their hands if they encroach on Taiwan’s sovereignty.
Metal with a Taiwanese drum beat
After all of this warrior energy, it must have come as a surprise to some when six performers came back on-stage in a different guise. The first hint of a new direction was the presence of a North American drum kit. The drummer played a lengthy solo that wouldn’t have been out of place in any stadium rock concert.
In 2012, the group established this second entity, Cross Metal, with some of the same performers in Ten Drum. They repurposed themselves as a heavy-metal band—with the musical chops to pull it off.
The western electric guitar was another giveaway that Cross Metal wouldn’t replicate the first half of the show. The suona player was suddenly playing flute, and a drummer had transformed into a singer for the band’s new opening song, “Light”.
That was followed by several hard-charging numbers, including “We Are ‘Cross’ ” and “Cursed Loner”. In the latter song, band members donned masks in a nod to traditional folk beliefs.
The next composition, “Drifters”, offers a tribute to Taiwan’s early settlers. It ended triumphantly with musicians waving large Taiwanese and Canadian flags on-stage, much to the delight of the packed crowd. This, too, was backed up by more throbbing Taiwanese drum beats.
Drumming in the free world
That was followed by a deeply emotional ballad, “Side by Side Cry”. It spoke of unconditional support for loved ones. As the singers expressed this sentiment, I thought of the bond shared by Canadians and Taiwanese people. They each benefit from unconditional support in facing enormous challenges.
For Canadians, this unconditional support came when the Taiwanese government stepped up with generous donations of medical supplies during the pandemic. Meanwhile, many Canadians are eager to offer their unconditional support to Taiwan as it faces down aggression from the People’s Republic of China.
Given the large number of Taiwanese Canadians in the theatre, I probably wasn’t alone in responding this way to “Side by Side Cry”. Nowadays, Canada and Taiwan both share the unpleasant reality of living next door to a very large neighbour ruled by a bully. Each nation needs all the help it can get from its friends to remain a strong symbol of freedom in the world.
In 2020, three members of Ten Drum spoke at Toronto TAIWANfest via video.
Learn more about the communities that make up Canada on the Toronto Spark website. The Toronto Spark is on Bluesky @torontospark.bsky.social. Also follow Charlie Smith on Bluesky @charliesmithvcr.bsky.social.
