Classical Music
Tien-Ku Percussion Group - Paigu (天鼓擊樂團 - 排鼓魅力), a performance that brings together the top drumming talent from Taiwan's Chinese music orchestras in a concert that is dedicated to the art of percussion.
▲Tomorrow 7:30pm
PHOTO: COURTESY OF JOEL HOLMES
▲Taipei Zhongshan Hall (台北市中山堂), 98 Yenping S Rd, Taipei City (台北市延平南路98號)
▲Tickets are NT$300 to NT$500 and are available through ERA ticketing
Hung Chiun-chih and Chen Jin-hui Zither Concert (新韻箏春 - 洪瓊枝 陳錦惠古箏演奏會) features zither virtuosos Hung Chiun-chih (洪瓊枝 ) and Chen Jin-hui (陳錦惠) performing a selection of classical works.
▲Today 7:30pm
▲National Recital Hall, Taipei City
▲Tickets are NT$200 and are available through NTCH ticketing
The Sound of Formosa (台灣音樂之美), a concert by the Chamber Music Society of Taiwan (台灣室內樂藝術推廣協會) performing a program of Western classical standards and music by local composers on Taiwanese themes.
▲National Concert Hall, Taipei City
▲Tickets are NT$300 and NT$500 and are available through NTCH ticketing
Chanson d'une nuit de Printemps (春夜聽歌 - 2008嘉義法國春天藝術節), part of the Printemps - Francais de Chiayi festival, will feature performances by the Han Tang Yuefu Ensemble (漢唐樂府).
▲Tomorrow 7:30pm
▲Chiayi Performing Arts Center (嘉義縣表演藝術中心) 265, Jianguo Rd Sec 2, Minhsiung Township, Chiayi County (嘉義縣民雄鄉建國路二段265號)
▲Tickets are NT$200 to NT$1,000 and are available through NTCH ticketing
Contemporary
Tonight at Underworld (地下社會), it's punk acts Angry Young Man (生氣的年輕人) and Handknife (手刀), which was founded by the former bassist of Taichung's all-girl punk band BB Bomb (BB彈). In-your-face, all-girl electro-clash band Go Chic and indie-rock band Freckles (雀斑) play tomorrow. Veteran DJ Fish - who has spun at all kinds of Taipei clubs during his career and was a member of experimental industrial/trance metal group Fish and the Bedroom Riot (Fish的床上暴動) - gets down on the ones and twos on Wednesday, with multimedia support from VJ Azz (阿紫).
▲B1, 45 Shida Rd, Taipei City (台北市師大路45號B1). Call (02) 2369-0103 or visit www.upsaid.com/underworld for more information
▲Bands start playing after 9pm. The bar is open from 8pm daily, except Mondays
▲Entrance for shows is NT$300 and includes one drink
Tonight, Riverside Cafe (河岸留言) presents the veteran session musicians of RAY Band (雷樂隊), who play power rock originals and cover rock, blues and country greats like Deep Purple, Bad Company, Jeff Beck, The Beatles and Stevie Wonder. Tomorrow, Brit-rock-oriented four-piece takes to the stage for a mini-concert in support of their recently released EP In Clubbing We Trust (撒野俱樂部). Making appearances on Sunday are Mando-pop singers Olivia Yan (閻韋伶), aka Little O (小ㄛ), who has a new album, Silly Child (傻孩子), and Hong Ren (閎仁), who sings in Taiwanese. Monday is Open Jam night. Pop-rock acts New Yorker (紐約客) and Joker perform on Tuesday. There's more Mando-pop on Wednesday with Deep White (深白色), a duo between songwriter Arys Chien (簡孟頤) and singer Duan Yu (端妤) whose new album Flower Fire (花火) came out in December, and singer Xiao Yu (小宇), whose R 'n' B/hip-hop-tinged debut album Classmate Xiao Yu (小宇同學就是我) was released last month. Another newly minted pop singer, Joanna (王若琳), performs on Thursday. Before the release of her debut CD Start From Here, Joanna was a regular fixture at Riverside, where she sang jazz covers and played acoustic guitar.
▲B1, 2, Ln 244, Roosevelt Rd Sec 3, Taipei City (台北市羅斯福路三段244巷2號B1), next to the Taipower Building (台電大樓). Call (02) 2368-7310, or visit www.riverside.com.tw
▲Shows start at 9:30pm
▲NT$400 tonight and tomorrow. NT$350 Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Admission includes one free drink. There is a one-drink minimum on Mondays
Taichung-based Canadian folk act Black Lung Inner City Choir performs tonight at Bliss (see story on Page 15). Crossroads and Black Summer Days (黑色夏日), whose music is based on hard rhythm rock 'n' roll mixed with blues and punk, play tomorrow.
▲148, Xinyi Rd Sec 4, Taipei City (台北市信義路四段148號), one block east of Dunhua South Road (敦化南路). Call Bliss at (02) 2702-1855 or log on at www.bliss-taipei.com. For more information on live performances at Bliss, go to www.myspace.com/blisslivehouse
▲Shows start at 10pm. Bar/kitchen open from 7pm daily. Ladies night Fridays; women get one free cocktail of their choice
▲Entrance to the bar is free. Cover for the live music upstairs is NT$200
Witch House (女巫店) hosts acoustic guitarist and singer Huang Jie (黃玠) tonight and jazzy/bluesy act Kukao (鼓號大樂隊) - vocals, bass, keys - tomorrow.
▲7, Ln 56, Xinsheng S Road Sec 3, Taipei City (台北市新生南路三段56巷7號). Call (02) 2362-5494 or visit www.witchhouse.org
▲Performances start at 9:30pm. Restaurant/bar with queer/feminist bookstore and large collection of board games open 11am to midnight Sunday to Wednesday; 11am to 1am Thursday to Saturday
▲NT$300 entrance includes one drink
The Originals, a band of expats who play mash-ups of popular rock songs, perform tonight at the Living Room (小客廳). Rice Magnet plays tomorrow.
▲3F, 8, Nanjing E Rd Sec 5, Taipei City (台北市南京東路五段8號3樓). Call (02) 8787-4154 or visit www.livingroomtaipei.com
▲Tonight's show is free and begins at 9:30pm. CDs of The Originals' first studio session will be available for free. NT$300 admission and NT$100 recommended donation tomorrow
Thursday is Ladies Night at the Brass Monkey. Free cocktails and free entry for women from 9pm to midnight, NT$150 minimum charge for men. DJ spins until 4am. ID required.
▲66 Fushing N Road, Taipei City (台北市復興南路166號). Call (02) 2547-5050 for more information or visit www.brassmonkeytaipei.com.
▲ Brass Monkey is open from 5pm to 1am Monday through Wednesday, 5pm to 4am on Thursday, and 5pm to 2am Fridays and Saturdays
Alternative-music dance party Idioteque, which normally takes place the third Saturday of every month at The Source (02-3393-1789), will be setting up shop tomorrow within the intimate confines of The Comedy Club. DJs spin an eclectic mix of bands, including Interpol, the Dresden Dolls, the Stone Roses, the Knife, the Talking Heads and the Rolling Stones, for people who are tired of listening to hip-hop and house everywhere they go.
▲Comedy Club, B1, 24 Taishun St, Taipei City (台北市泰順街24號B1). Visit english.comedy.com.tw for more information, call (02) 2369-3730 or send an e-mail to social@comedyclub.tw
▲10pm to 4am
▲NT$250 entrance includes one drink. NT$80 beer specials all night
Austin, Texas post-rock group Explosions in the Sky returns to Taiwan later this month for a concert at The Wall (這牆) in Taipei on Thursday.
▲B1, 200, Roosevelt Rd Sec 4, Taipei City (台北市羅斯福路四段200號B1). Call (02) 2930-0162 or log on at www.the-wall.com.tw for more information
▲Thursday at 8pm
▲NT$1,800 admission includes one drink. As of press time, tickets were still available through the venue's Web site
Event
The Lung Yingtai Cultural Foundation (龍應台文化基金會) will host respected sinologist Gungwu Wang (王賡武), one of the world's leading authorities on Chinese studies, who will share his thoughts on issues of identity. The lecture is titled "What kind of Chinese? Southeast Asian Variations." Since the 1950s, changing mani-festations of nationalism have resulted in periodic redefinitions of identity. At the same time, globalization, regionalism, and the rise of China each manage, in different ways, to tug at those of Chinese descent. Wang has received honors worldwide for his pioneering studies on Chinese migration. He served as Vice-Chancellor of the University of Hong Kong from 1986 to 1995 and is currently a professor at the National University of Singapore and also Chairman of the Managing Board of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy. He was formerly Director of the East Asian Institute.
▲Zhongshan Hall (台北市中山堂), 98 Yenping S Rd, Taipei (台北市延平南路98號)
▲Feb. 23 from 2pm to 5pm
▲Lectures are conducted in English with simultaneous interpretation in Mandarin; admission is free but those attending must pre-register by phoning (02) 3322-4907, or logging onto www.civictaipei.org
Exhibition
The Ancient Art of Writing: Selections from the History of Chinese Calligraphy (筆有千秋業 - 書法的發展). Including selections of the five major script types - seal, clerical, cursive, running and standard - from the museum's collection, the exhibit looks at the art of calligraphy in a chronological order starting from the Qin (221 BC to 207 BC) and Han (206 BC to 220 AD) dynasties, a critical era in the history of Chinese writing that saw the unification of different forms, to the Qing Dynasty (1644 to 1911).
▲National Palace Museum (國立故宮博物院), 221, Zhishan Rd Sec 2, Taipei City (台北市至善路二段221號). Open Monday to Sunday from 9am to 5pm; Saturday until 8:30pm. Call (02) 2881-2021
▲Until March 25
Hsueh Ching fang's Solo Exhibition (觀影-薛淨方個展). A photography exhibition by the 15-year-old artist who keeps a photo diary to capture a world light years away from that of grown-ups.
▲Cafe Noir (咖啡黑), 29 Siwei Rd, Taipei City (台北市四維路29號). Open Tuesday to Saturday from 11:30am to 10pm. Call (02) 2325-6886
▲Until Feb. 29
The Age of Elegance: A Centennial Exhibition of Kuo Hsueh-hu (時代的優雅 - 郭雪湖百歲回顧展). Born in the Dadaocheng area of Taipei in 1908, Kuo is revered as a leading pioneer of the modern art movement in Taiwan. The country's first-generation gouache painter, the artist's works involve bold experiments that combine the concepts of traditional Chinese ink painting and Western styles. The exhibition features 80 of Kuo's paintings complemented by photographs and articles, aiming to reintroduce visitors to the master's creative journey.
▲National Museum of History (國立歷史博物館), 49 Nanhai Rd, Taipei City (台北市南海路49號). Open Tuesday to Sunday from 10am to 6pm. Call (02) 2361-0270
▲Until March 16
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