Lead singer Freddy Lim carefully drew black and red veins over his white-caked face while his mates in the heavy metal band adjusted their combat boots and studded leather gear minutes before they took the stage at the House of Blues on the Sunset Strip.
Chris Chou, a 53-year-old Taiwanese American real estate agent, eagerly awaited the start of the show. He was drawn less by the music than the message, which helped him lure friends to this and other shows by the band.
Beside him, dozens of middle-aged and elderly fans in dresses and shirts with stiff button-down collars applauded as the band appeared.
"I saw people in their 70s and 80s at the Santa Ana concert," Chou said. "They stayed all night. It was such an exciting experience for them."
The band is Chthonic (pronounced Thon-nick, a Greek word for spirits of the underworld). It plays a fast, driving metal sound, enough to pop hearing aids out of ear canals. But it also has a unique theme song that calls for the United Nations to recognize Taiwan as an independent nation. The lyrics for "UNlimited Taiwan" include:
We have the land,
the strength, the power.
Rise up, overcome,
take it over.
Ignored too long,
we became stronger.
Tear down the walls
and let us run over.
The words have created a rallying point for the small but spirited Taiwanese independence community in the U.S.
Chthonic, one of Taiwan's most popular bands, was paid by the Taiwan government to travel to America this summer and fall. The result has been one of the most unusual scenes in rock music.
Taiwanese American volunteers across the nation mobilized to welcome Chthonic to their cities, making sure they had home-cooked Taiwanese squid soup, comfortable beds and even free medical attention.
The mostly middle-aged supporters turned out in droves at concerts, diving into a sea of metalheads.
"There are a lot of old people who don't usually attend concerts like this. They feel the need to come to all Taiwanese events to be united," said Herlin Chien, 28, a doctoral candidate in political science who saw the band at the House of Blues. "We feel we are excluded from the international scene. That's why we have to work so hard to be visible. We want our little voice heard."
Since Chthonic arrived in America in July, Taiwanese Americans have treated them as if they were the Beatles.
