I've heard good things about the Clippers from several different sources. I knew that they were a three-piece ( lead singer/ keyboards; DJ; dancer/ mime artist/ backing vocals) band that sang in Taiwanese and Mandarin, and had been assured that I would have a good time in spite of my poor Chinese, as they were very visual.
The first thing that struck me about them is that it's very hard not to enjoy yourself when the band is so clearly having a good time. As the show went on, I was more and more impressed. Sure, they sang in Chinese but they tried their damnedest to include the entire audience. The lead singer had obviously taken note of the mixed local and foreign crowd and introduced each song using Mandarin and English, explaining the general gist of the song and informing the foreigners about the meaning of certain key words.
In addition to this, the band was much more visual than I could have hoped for. The show was far more than your standard gig; they combined mime, dance and role playing to fantastic effect. One particular track had their lead singer jump between the roles of a girl and her boyfriend, complete with differing voices and mannerisms. You didn't need to follow the Chinese to get the humour and, for those that did understand fully, it was clearly rip-roaringly funny. Relaxed, upbeat funky music backs them up and my only regret was that I didn't understand more Chinese because those that did spent most of the show in stitches. Still, I was pleasantly surprised as to how effective the intros were, combined with a style which lends itself to clear, non-rapid pronunciation.
The Clippers have been together for nearly 10 years and it certainly shows in their performance. I can easily see how they have managed to remain one of Taiwan's top underground bands. Language barrier non-withstanding I was certainly impressed enough to buy their CD at the end of the night.