Highlight
Tomorrow The Wall (這牆) will be the site of a dancehall and hip-hop party organized by the O-Brothaz Sound System. Sound systems are mobile party crews that caught on in Jamaica a half-century ago to play music that wasn't aired on the radio and provide a platform for up-and-coming musicians. The O-Brothaz are calling this event the International Flag Party (國際國旗錦飆派對) and are encouraging people to show up with a flag from their, or someone else's, country and to paint their faces accordingly. All entrants get a chance to win two free tickets to the Philippines.
* Entrance is NT$300 for those with a flag and NT$400 for those without one. There is also a buy-three-tickets, get-one-free deal available to those who send an e-mail in advance to obrothaz@gmail.com. Admission includes one free drink.
* The party starts tomorrow at 11pm
* B1, 200 Roosevelt Rd Sec 4, Taipei (台北市羅斯福路四段200號B1). Call (02) 2930-0162 or visit www.the-wall.com.tw
Theater
A local take on John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men (人鼠之間) by the Green Ray Theater (綠光世界劇場), which makes something of a specialty of adapting works by Western literary masters for the local stage.
* Today and tomorrow at 7:30pm; Sunday at 2:30pm
* At the Taipei Cultural Center (城市舞台) at 25 Bade Rd Sec 3, Taipei (台北市八德路三段25號)
* Tickets are NT$500 to NT$1,800 and are available through ERA ticketing
Beijing opera superstar Li Bao-chun (李寶春) takes a leading role in a series of excepts and repertoire standards in a ongoing series hosted by the Koo Foundation (辜公亮文教基金會), including a complete production of The Tale of the White Snake (白蛇傳) on Sunday. This is the Taiwan premiere of a version of this classic opera based on a recently discovered recording of Li Shao-chun (李少春), his father. The opera will feature Chinese opera star Li Guojing (李國靜) in the main role.
* Today and tomorrow at 7:30pm, Sunday at 2:30pm
* At Novel Hall, (新舞台) at 3 Songshou Rd, Taipei (台北市松壽路3號)
* Ticket are NT$500 to NT$1,500, and are available through ERA ticketing
A gay play for mature audiences by the Firefly Theater (螢火蟲劇團), Cool Night (涼夜) is about the torments of relationships.
* Tomorrow at 7:30pm and Sunday at 2:30pm
* At the Chi-Shan Hall, Kaohsiung Cultural Center (高雄市文化中心至善廳) at 67 Wufu 1st Rd, Kaohsiung (高雄市五福一路67號)
* Tickets are NT$300 and NT$500, and are available through NTCH ticketing or at the door
Having had enough of baby oil, the crew from Taipei Dance Circle (光環舞集) now starts to get down with over-sized mattresses in a contemporary work called Of Man and Object (人物語). Choreographed by Liou Shaw Lu (劉紹爐) with music by Keiko Harada, the dance incorporates "Kandinsky's dots and lines, experiences the aesthetics of Bauhaus art and architecture, the material disorder of the 1960s, the body distortion, and the chaos of direction."
* Today and tomorrow at 7:30pm; tomorrow and Sunday at 2:30pm
* At the National Experimental Theater (國家戲劇院實驗劇場)
* Tickets are NT$400 and and are available through NTCH ticketing or at the door
Pina Bausch, Germany's grand dame of modern dance, performs Tanztheater Wuppertal's Masurca Fogo. If you don't already have tickets, you probably won't be watching the show, as the show sold out months ago.
* Today and tomorrow at 7:30pm; Sunday at 2:30pm
* At the National Theater
The Slovak National Folklore Ballet continues its round-island tour with its highly regarded routines of folk dancing.
* Tomorrow at 7:30pm
* Changhua County Performance Hall (彰化縣員林演藝廳) at 99, Ln 2, Chungcheng Rd, Yuanlin (員林鎮中正路2巷99號)
* Tickets are NT$300 to NT$500 and are available through NTCH ticketing or at the door
Flowers and Beyond (花非花), a multimedia performance directed by experimental theater talent (吳文翠), in collaboration with visiting artists Antonella Diana from Denmark and Helmi Fita from Singapore.
* Tonight at 8pm, tomorrow at 2:30pm, 5pm and 8pm, Monday at 8pm
* At the Guling St. Avant-Garde Theater (牯嶺街小劇場) at 2, Ln 5, Guling St, Taipei (北市牯嶺街5巷2號)
* Tickets are NT$288 and are available at the door
Classical Music
National Symphony Orchestra Tchaikovsky Cycle 2 - My Beautiful Memoirs (國家交響樂團發現柴科夫斯基系列二 - 美麗的回憶). This concert will feature world-renowned pianist Ivo Pogorelich and Dutch composer-conductor Hans Rotmann. The New York Times wrote: "Pogorelich played each note exactly, with such feeling, such expression. He was an entire orchestra." The charismatic pianist Pogorelich will perform Rachmaninoff's melancholically lavishing Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor, Op.18. Guest conductor Rotmann serves regularly as a guest conductor with the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, Brussels Philharmonic Orchestra, and others. He is the recipient of the Daphne Proud Fellow Award and has released more than 20 CD recordings. Other than Rachmaninoff's piano piece, the program will include Tchaikovsky's "Pique Dame" Overture, Sleeping Beauty Suite, Op.66a, and Capriccio Italien, Op.45, inspired by the composer's trip to Rome. There will be a pre-concert talk by Peng Guang-lin (彭廣林) in the lobby of the National Concert Hall for the Taipei concert 30 minutes prior to the concert on Sunday afternoon.
* Tonight at the Hsinchu Municipal Performance Hall (新竹市立演藝廳), 17 Tungta Rd Sec 2, Hsinchu City (新竹市東大路二段17號) and Sunday at the National Concert Hall, Taipei
* As of press time, NT$300, NT$500 and NT$1,500 tickets for the Hsinchu concert are sold out, but seats are available from NT$800 to NT$1,200 through NTCH ticketing. The Taipei concert is sold out
* Tonight at 7:30pm and Sunday at 2:30pm
Ou Yang Ling-yi Cello Solo Recital (歐陽伶宜大提琴獨奏會). Ou Yang received her doctorate in musical arts in cello performance under Suren Bagratuni from Michigan State University in 2002. She is a full-time assistant professor at the Music Department of Soochow University and part-time assistant professor at the National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei. She will play Bach's Six Suites for Violoncello Solo, which are the cornerstone of the cello's repertoire. She will play numbers one, three and five tonight and numbers two, four and six on Wednesday.
* At the National Recital Hall, Taipei
* Tickets range from NT$300 to NT$1,000 and are available through ERA ticketing
* Tonight and Wednesday at 7:30pm
2007 Chung Chia-wei Piano Recital - Dance Music (2007鍾家瑋鋼琴獨奏會 - 舞曲之夜). Chung is an assistant professor in the College of Music at National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei and received her doctoral degree in music from Indiana University. She will hold two concerts in Taipei County tomorrow and Taipei City on Oct. 7. She will present a program of works, including Bach's French Suite No.2 in C Minor BWV 813, Ravel's Pavane for a Dead Princess, Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody No.2, and Schumann's Carnival, Op.9.
* Tomorrow at the Sinjhuang City Cultural Center (新莊文化藝術中心), 133 Zhongpin Rd, Sinjhuang City, Taipei County (台北縣新莊市中平路133號), and Oct. 7 at the National Recital Hall, Taipei
* Tickets are NT$200 for the Sinjhuang concert, and tickets range from NT$300 to NT$500 for the Taipei concert. All tickets are available through NTCH ticketing
* Tomorrow and Oct. 7 at 7:30pm
Chee-Hsin Clarinet Choir k - Traveling with Clarinet (知心單簧管室內樂團 - 帶著豎琴去旅行). Accompanied by pianist Hsieh Yi-fang (謝宜芳), Golden Melody award-winning clarinetist Chin Yu-chun (金玉君) will lead talented young clarinetists Lin Yi-hsuan (林易萱), Kuo Yu-shao (郭于韶) and Li Tzu-ying (李姿穎) to present a free concert in Taoyuan. The program will include Arnold Cooke's Suite for Three Clarinets, James Waterson's Second Grand Trio Concertante, Michael Kibbe's Russian Suite, Lucio Agostini's Trio Quebecois for Clarinets, Yvonne Desportes' Suite Italienne: Roma, Firenze, Venezia, and Napoli, Gary Schocker's Sonata for Clarinets and Piano, and Amilcare Ponchielli's Il Convegno Divertimento per due Clarinetti.
* At the Performing Arts Hall of the Cultural Affairs Bureau of Taoyuan County Government (桃園縣政府文化局演藝廳), 21 Xianfu Rd, Taoyuan County (桃園縣縣府路21號)
* Free admission
* Sunday at 2:30pm
Cheng Chi-hua Soprano Recital (鄭琪樺2007獨唱會). Cheng is a world-renowned soprano known for her delicate and dramatic operatic voice. Her Hsinchu concert on Sept. 13 and Taipei County concert on Sept. 23 were well received by the audiences. She will hold one more concert in Taipei City on Sunday. Joined by pianist Fan Chen-ling (范珍綾), guitarist Su Meng-feng (蘇孟風), and flutist Huang Chen-ying (黃貞瑛), Cheng will sing a program of works including Scarlatti's Cantata "Solitudine avvenne", Respighi's Deita Silvane, Rossini's Aragonese, La Fioraia Fiorentina and La Danza, Chausson's Serenade Italienne, Le Colibri and La Cigale, Argento's Selections from "Letters From Composers", and Chinese ballads.
* At the National Recital Hall, Taipei
* Tickets range from NT$300 to NT$500 and are available through ERA ticketing
* Sunday at 2:30pm
Contemporary
The musical caravan of wandering Japanese musicians Waka (tabla) and Yo (sitar), along with guitarist Saddik and violinist Janelle, stops at The Living Room (小客廳) tonight. Their group, Chartal, plays North Indian and Uighur classics, a fusion of improvisational styles that unites Indian, Central Asian and Flamenco music, and ancient global classics mixed with modern jazz, contemporary folk and various popular styles. Tomorrow is the album launch party for Asian Variations, by DJ Jean Marais, aka MoShang. Performing with the South African producer will be Viba, rappers Kou Chou Ching (拷秋勤) and Chang Jui-chuan (張睿銓), called the voice of "Taiwanese hip-hop that has soul and consciousness" by local music impresario Freddy Lim (林昶佐).
* The music starts at 9pm tonight and 10pm tomorrow
* There is a NT$300 minimum charge
* 3F, 8 Nanjing E Rd Sec 5, Taipei (台北市南京東路五段8號3樓). Call (02) 8787-4154 or visit www.livingroomtaipei.com
This year's Ho-Hai-Yan Rock Festival battle of the bands winners, happy punks Children Sucker, (表兒) plays tonight at Underworld (地下社會), along with comedic indie-pop band Open Eyes (歐噴愛). Metal-core/emo band 831 (八三夭) and indie-electronica group Digihai (低級嗨) play tomorrow. Alt-rock band Johnny and Eeyore and post-rock group Random (隨性) play Wednesday.
* Bands start playing around 9pm. The bar is open from 8pm to 4am on weekdays and 5am on weekends. It is closed on Mondays
* Entrance for shows is NT$300 and includes one free drink
* B1, 45 Shida Rd, Taipei (台北市師大路45號B1). Call (02) 2369-0103 or visit www.upsaid.com/underworld for more information
Spastic, mood-swinging punk band 88 Guava Seeds (88顆芭樂籽) perform tonight at Bliss. Tomorrow Pan Africana Cultural Troupe, which plays lively, drum-based African and Caribbean rhythms, shakes the stage at the bar's second-floor performance venue.
* Performances start at 10pm
* Entrance to the bar is free. On Fridays women wearing skirts get a free drink of their choice. Cover for the shows upstairs is NT$200
* 148 Xinyi Rd Sec 4, Taipei (台北市信義路四段148號). Call Bliss at (02) 2702-1855 or log on at www.bliss-taipei.com
The Wall (這牆) hosts speed, power and thrash metal acts Revilement, Beyond Cure, Metal Safari and Infernal Chaos tonight. Veteran indie-rock four-piece Back Quarter (四分衛), a band that was founded during Taiwan's alternative music revolution of the early 1990s and has experimented with styles ranging from garage to pop to guitar-heavy hard rock, plays two sets tomorrow night. On Wednesday, it's nu-metal/hip-hop band Respect, nu-metal/emo-core band Lazy Lady and pop-rock band Lumei (露魅), and on Thursday it's heavy metal act Band Monk (歹和尚) and indie-pop band Electric Q.
* Entrance at the door is NT$666 tonight, NT$400 tomorrow and NT$300 Wednesday and Thursday. Admission includes one free drink
* The music starts at 7pm tonight and 8pm all other nights
* B1, 200 Roosevelt Rd Sec 4, Taipei (台北市羅斯福路四段200號B1). Call (02) 2930-0162 or visit www.the-wall.com.tw
Jazz combo Delta on the Main Street takes the stage tonight at Riverside Cafe (河岸留言). Alt-rock band Neon and post-rock/folk-rock band We Save Strawberries (草莓救星) play tomorrow. Rachel Kar (賈立怡), a new singer from Hong Kong, performs tomorrow with Taiwanese songstress Ting(庭竹) on Sunday. Monday is open-mic night, when any musician or group can play a few songs on stage. On Tuesday it's Lucky Pie. Ocean (海洋樂團) and funk four-piece Da Bones (骨頭) play Wednesday. Huang Jie (黃玠) and Passiwali (巴西瓦里) perform on Thursday.
* Shows start at 9:30pm
* Entrance tonight, tomorrow, Sunday and Thursday is NT$350. Tuesday and Wednesday is NT$300. On Monday there is a one-drink minimum
* B1, 2, Ln 244, Roosevelt Rd Sec 3, Taipei (台北市羅斯福路三段244巷2號B1). Call (02) 2368-7310, or visit www.riverside.com.tw
The O-Brothaz sound system hosts Thursday Reggae Oasis every Thursday night at club Plan B. The weekly event features Caribbean food and drinks and DJ Taili from France and Japanese DJ Katzu spinning roots reggae.
* There is no cover and all drinks are NT$150
* 9pm to 1am
* 29-1 Anhe Rd Sec 1, Taipei (台北市安和路一段29號之1). Call (02) 2775-5855 for reservations or visit www.obrothaz.com for more information
At Grooveyard in Taichung, Friday night is Salsa Night, when professional instructors teach salsa and merengue to the tune of Cuban music. Taking the stage afterwards is Jazzahholix, which plays jazz standards, fusion and acid jazz. Funk-rock band Independent Race plays tomorrow. Guitarist Russel Rogers plays blues, jazz, Middle Eastern- and African-influenced music on Wednesday, which is ladies night with drink specials for women. Thursday is Taiwan Exposed open-mic night.
* Salsa night runs from 8pm to 10pm. The jazz combo begins its set at 10pm. Tomorrow's live music starts at 9:30pm. Rogers takes the stage at 10pm on Wednesday. Open-mic night starts at 9pm
* Grooveyard cover for the bands is NT$200 tonight and tomorrow. There's no cover Wednesday and Thursday
* Grooveyard is located at 2F, 105 Huamei W Rd, Taichung (台中市華美西街105號二樓). Visit www.grooveyardtaiwan.com or call 0939-574-737 for more information
Exhibition
Treasures of the Forbidden City - Palace Imprints of the Qing Dynasty (皇城聚珍-清代殿本圖書特展). Established in the 19th year of the Kangxi emperor's reign (1662–1722) during the Qing Dynasty, the Imperial Printing Office specialized in the printing of books that were imperially commissioned and reflected the political ideologies and cultural inclinations of the Qing emperors. The exhibition is divided into two sections. One introduces the artifacts under categories such as Pursuit of Cultural Traditions, Civic Administration and Military Success and Venerating Buddhist Beliefs. The other looks into the technical aspects of the production processes.
* National Palace Museum (國立故宮博物院), 221 Zhishan Rd Sec 2, Taipei (台北市至善路二段221號). Open Monday to Sunday from 9am to 3pm. Call (02) 2881-2021
* Until Nov. 30
Main Trend Gallery Act As Agent Artists for the Unit Exhibition (經紀藝術家聯展). The exhibition showcases eight invited artists whose styles range from abstractionism to the bold use of colors and brushes.
* Main Trend Gallery (大趨勢畫廊), 209-1 Chengde Rd Sec 3, Taipei (台北市承德路三段209-1號). Open Tuesday to Saturday from 11am to 7pm. Call (02) 2587-3412
* Until Oct. 13
Hanoi's Maddist Artist Dung Exhibition (越南一家Dung個展). The exhibition features a series of oil paintings by the Vietnamese artist Bui Minh Dung, who creates an exquisite world in which Vietnam's rural art meets Western impressionism.
* Emily Art (愛蜜莉藝術畫廊), 15, Ln 48, Renai Rd Sec 4, Taipei (台北市仁愛路四段48巷15號). Open daily from 10am to 10pm. Call (02) 2702-6602
* Until Oct. 31
Riding the Currents of History - Four Millenniums of Civilization and Technology (穿越歷史長河-文明科技四千年). Developed by the Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica, the exhibition invites visitors to browse through selected items from the institute's collection and on-line databases to examine the beautiful works of mankind accumulated over the centuries. Visitors can view 300-year-old to 400-year-old Qing Dynasty testaments and learn about the political situations during that period and 3,000-year-old Shang Dynasty chariots, brought back to life with computer animation technology.
* Humanities and Social Sciences Library, Academia Sinica (中研院人文社會科學聯合圖書館), 128 Academia Rd Sec 2, Nankang District, Taipei (台北市南港區研究院路二段128號). Open Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm. Call (02) 2652-5277
* Until Feb. 29, 2008
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The following three paragraphs are just some of what the local Chinese-language press is reporting on breathlessly and following every twist and turn with the eagerness of a soap opera fan. For many English-language readers, it probably comes across as incomprehensibly opaque, so bear with me briefly dear reader: To the surprise of many, former pop singer and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) ex-lawmaker Yu Tien (余天) of the Taiwan Normal Country Promotion Association (TNCPA) at the last minute dropped out of the running for committee chair of the DPP’s New Taipei City chapter, paving the way for DPP legislator Su
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