Won Fu’s Bay Area debut

On Friday evening, October 16th Won Fu delivered a high energy and fun performance at the University of California at Berkeley. They were there to help raise funds for Typhoon Relief/Red Cross Charities. Over 200 students attended the Taiwanese American Student Association benefit. During Won Fu's two rousing encores, the crowd stood up so they could better dance or move to the beat.

The following week, Won Fu played at Café du Nord in San Francisco. The Wednesday evening performance would be their first true test performing in front of an American crowd. If Xiao Min, the lead male vocal and guitarist, was nervous, he hid it well. His exuberance and playfulness came through despite struggling with certain English words. He carried on a light banter with the crowd and won them over easily with his infectious good humor. If he’s this funny with his somewhat limited English, one wonders how truly delightful he would be in Mandarin or Taiwanese. His playfulness was infectious.

During their hour-long set at both locations, Xiao Min introduced the songs. From time to time, Mami, the lead female vocalist often injected comments as well. With their playfulness, they did a great job on audience participation and in keeping the spirits high. Twiggy, the bass guitarist and Dupy, the drummer, seemed more than happy to leave the talking to Xiao Min and Mami.

The band has often said that they feel music should be a happy experience and they certainly delivered one at both events. Won Fu’s musical style ranges from pop to head-banging heavy rock. Singing mainly in Mandarin and Taiwanese, they played their hit “Do Re Mi,” one of their most popular songs by far, with its melodies reminiscent of Taiwanese folk tunes. The Japanese version won them a solid Japanese following.

Due to the tight schedule at Café du Nord and because they had played a request from the audience, Xiao Min explained that there would be no encores. However, since they could play two more songs, he suggested they think of the next song as the last and pretend the last song was the encore, thus satisfying his vanity. The “encore” was dedicated to a superstar and it soon became clear when Mami began belting out Michael Jackson’s “I want you back.” It was a thing of wonder that such a petite Taiwanese girl could sound exactly like the legendary Michael Jackson.

Won Fu continued on their US tour by traveling to Los Angeles, Portland and Seattle. For more details about the band, please visit them at: www.myspace.com/wonfu.