The legendary live venues and the changing music scenesliving standards and subsequently formed the “Shida Self-Help Assembly” (師大自救會) to
push the government to clamp down on illegal stores (Lou 2011). Underworld was designated
as one of these stores.
Furthermore, the high youth unemployment and the working poor caused by the global
financial crisis in 2008, along with the rise of neoliberalism, was reflected in Underworld’s con-
sumer behavior. Some of Underground’s customers started to feel that spending NT$150 for
a bottle of beer was too expensive, and bought beer at convenience stores for NT$30 instead.
They often drank their beer in a small park located across from Underworld, and thus became
another subcultural scene in this area. These people were called the “Shida Park gang” (師大公
園幫), and they were different from the Underworld gang because they were mostly frustrated
young men who resented the current society in which they lived. Meanwhile, Taiwan’s govern-
ment also tried to assist young people to find a job or start their own business. In 2007, the
government began to subsidize band recording, with the aim to help boost the popular music
industry in Taiwan. The government also encouraged the development of a local “cultural and
creative industry” ( Jian and Zheng 2012). Under the concept of urban regeneration, the city’s
discarded spaces became known as public cultural parks. After 2008, many more legal mid-sized
live houses were established in the cultural parks with a capacity of 800–1500 people. As a
result, when bands reached a certain level of fame, they often skipped Underworld and chose
to perform in bigger venues with more professional equipment, such as The Wall or Legacy,^6
founded in 2010.
Epilogue
The above-mentioned national environmental and urban gentrifying changes concerning
middle-class residents in Taipei set an insurmountable barrier that Underworld failed to over-
come. In June 2005, Underworld was inspected by the Taipei City Government. Consequently,
band performances were prohibited since its business category was deemed a violation of the
law. As The Wall faced the same difficult situation, Underworld then gathered musicians and
live house operators and held a “live house legitimation movement.” Initially the government
responded positively, and live gigs were back on stage in July 2006. However, the legitimation
process was proceeding at a slow pace; regulations from different government departments failed
to come to a resolution.
In June 2012, Underworld again received warning notices from the government con-
cerning irregular fire prevention capabilities and a repudiated business category. In July,
Underworld made their closing announcement. This time, over 400 musicians and support-
ers protested in front of the Legislative Yuan, pleading for justice (Chang 2012). Furthermore,
Underworld held a two-week goodbye concert and sold souvenirs. Renowned musicians
and celebrities, such as Mayday, called for public support and garnered an immense media
response. The Minister of Taiwan’s Ministry of Culture, Yingtai Lung (龍應台), promised to
assist in solving the problem and Underworld reopened on August 15. However, the problem
was never resolved. Underworld was reported and constantly inspected, receiving violation
tickets concerning fire prevention, business category, and noise regulation, with fines total-
ing NT$120 thousand (Chung 2015). Meanwhile, conflicts evolved within the Shida night
market area and did not cease, which resulted in stores continuously closing one by one.
On June 15, 2013, the landlord of Underworld could not bear the pressure from the Shida
Self-Help Assembly and the public, and decided to discontinue the lease. By then, Under-
world had formally passed into history, along with the legendary subcultural music scene it
represented.