Theater
Women Write History, Our Spoken Culture (女人寫歷史,自己說文化!) is part of The Voyeur Theater’s (窺視者劇團) “Herstories Project” and combines the stories and experiences of 10 women.
▲Crown Art Center Theater (皇冠小劇場), B1, 50, Ln 120, Dunhua N Rd, Taipei City (台北市敦化北路120巷50號B1)
▲Tonight and tomorrow night at 7:30pm and tomorrow and Sunday at 2:30pm
▲Tickets are NT$250, available through NTCH ticketing
A hubristic engineer attempts to create a purification system to eliminate pollution in RU-XU Pithead (如徐礦坑). But the problems he encounters threaten the health of the citizens in the city where he lives.
▲Eslite Bookstore, Tainan (台南誠品書店), B2, 181, Changrung Rd Sec 1, Tainan (台南市長榮路一段181號 B2)
▲Tonight and tomorrow night at 7:30pm and tomorrow and Sunday at 2:30pm
▲Tickets are NT$300, available through NTCH ticketing
The Little Matches Girl (賣番仔火的小女孩) by Taiyuan Puppet Theater Company (台原偶戲團) tells the story of a greedy grandmother who forces her granddaughter to work in a factory that makes matches. The girl befriends a little boy and together they discover that the matches are alive. One night, a disaster threatens the lives of both children and their match friends.
▲Nadou Theater (納豆劇場), 79 Xining N Rd, Taipei City (台北市西寧北路79號)
▲Tomorrow at 3pm
▲Tickets are NT$200, available through NTCH ticketing
Classical music
Between Black and White — Pascal Roge Solo Piano Recital (遊藝黑白 - 帕斯卡.羅傑鋼琴獨奏會) sees the celebrated interpreter of French composers perform a program featuring the works of Faure, Satie, Debussy, Ravel and Poulenc.
▲Sunday at 7:30pm (Taichung) and Tuesday at 7:30pm (Taipei)
▲Taichung Chungshan Hall (台中市中山堂), 98 Hsuehshi Rd, Taichung City (台中市學士路98號) and the National Concert Hall, Taipei City
▲Tickets are NT$400 to NT$2,000 for both venues, available through ERA ticketing
2008 Taiwan Taiko Association Concert — A World of Harmony (2008鼓動台灣 - 韻響世界) brings Taiwan’s taiko practitioners together with Japanese drummers to celebrate the perennial appeal of taiko drumming. Over the next two weeks, three joint concerts, in Kaohsiung, Taichung and Sinjhuang, will take place featuring drummers from the Taiwan association and their sister association in Japan.
▲Wednesday at 7:30pm (Kaohsiung)
▲Kaohsiung Municipal Social Education Center (高雄市立社會教育館), 115 Hsuehfu Rd, Kaohsiung City (高雄市學府路115號)
▲Tickets are NT$300 and NT$500, available through ERA ticketing
As part of the 2008 Taiwan International Piano Festival (2008台灣國際鋼琴藝術節), Oxana Yabloskaya and Andrei Yeh (葉孟儒) will perform with the National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra (國立台灣交響樂團) in a program that includes Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No.3 and Shostakovitch’s Piano Concerto No.1.
▲Tomorrow at 7:30pm
▲National Concert Hall, Taipei City
▲Tickets are NT$400 to NT$2,500, available through NTCH ticketing
Ju Percussion Group Winter Concert — Percussion Happens Daily (朱宗慶打擊樂團冬季公演 - 擊樂進行式) features works by a host of international composers including Emmanuel Sejourne, Eric Sammut, Gerard Lecointe, Aurel Hollo, Toshimitsu Tanaka and Chang Yi-hui (張玉慧), which have been written specifically for the Ju Percussion Group and which are a showcase for its unique sound and stage presence.
▲Today at 7:30pm
▲Sun Yat-sen Hall of the National Sun Yat-sen University Art Center (高雄中山大學逸仙館), 70 Lienhai Rd, Kaohsiung City (高雄市蓮海路70號)
▲Tickets are NT$400 to NT$1,000, available through NTCH ticketing
2008 Taiwan Connection Music Festival — Hu Nai-yuan and the TC String Orchestra (2008 Taiwan Connection 音樂節 - 胡乃元與TC弦樂團) will see renowned Taiwan violinist Hu Nai-yuan (胡乃元) performing a program of easy listening classics including Mozart’s Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, K.525, Kreisler’s Preludium and Allegro and Elgar’s Introduction and Allegro, Op.47.
▲Sunday at 2:30pm
▲Chiayi Performing Arts Center (嘉義縣表演藝術中心), 265, Jianguo Rd Sec 2, Minsyong Township, Chiayi County (嘉義縣民雄鄉建國路二段265號)
▲Tickets are NT$300 to NT$800, available through NTCH ticketing
Contemporary
Drum ’n’ bass takes center stage tonight at VU Live House with Tech Step, featuring DJs presented by Tranquility Bass productions. Tomorrow Spiked Taiwan presents Breakin’ Point 2 with DJs Junior, vDub and Scottyballer.
▲B1, 77, Wuchang St Sec 2, Taipei City (台北市武昌街二段77號B1). Call (02) 2314-1868 for more information
▲Shows begin at 11pm tonight and tomorrow
▲NT$350 tonight and tomorrow, includes one drink
Post-rock bands Sorry Youth and Orange Grass (橙草) appear tomorrow night at the The Wall (這牆). On Sunday the venue hosts One Blood, a party of indie bands including post-rock outfit Bugs of Phono, Echo’s lead singer Wu Po-chang (吳柏蒼) and Waa Wei (魏如萱), along with rockers The Darlings and solo artist Oliver from Hong Kong.
▲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 visit www.the-wall.com.tw for more information
▲8pm tomorrow and 7:30pm Sunday
▲NT$400 tomorrow and Sunday
Indie-folk and pop band 929 plays tonight at Witch House (女巫店). Tomorrow alt-rock band Neon takes to the stage, and on Thursday it’s folk singer Chang Jie (張頡).
▲7, Ln 56, Xinsheng S Rd Sec 3, Taipei City (台北市新生南路三段56巷7號). For more information, 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 Sundays through Wednesdays; 11am to 1am Thursdays through Saturdays
▲Entrance fee for music shows is NT$300, includes one drink
Jazz sounds swing Riverside Cafe (河岸留言) tonight with saxophonist Dong Shun-wen (董舜文) and his band: guitarist Eric Chuang (莊智淵), bassist Yohei Yamada (山田洋平), pianist Nathan Tu (杜迺迪) and Lin Wei-zhong (林偉中). Taking to the stage tomorrow is a new band, The Fen-Fens (紛紛樂團). The group is billing their show as a “Friends First!” party, which means two or more people that exhibit their friendship by wearing the same clothes or jewelry receive a free souvenir bookmark.
▲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 Taipower Building (台電大樓). Call (02) 2368-7310 or visit www.riverside.com.tw for more information
▲Shows start at 9:30pm tonight and 9pm tomorrow
▲NT$400 tonight and tomorrow
The owners of Riverside Cafe recently opened Riverside Live House (西門紅樓展演館), a new venue in Ximending’s historic Red House Theater (西門紅樓). Tonight there’s a presentation of classic Western rock covers of the 1990s sung by JS and Z-Chen (張智成).
177 Xining S Rd, Taipei City (台北市西寧南路177號). Call (02) 2370-8805 or visit www.riverside.com.tw for more information
▲Show starts at 8:30pm
▲NT$450 entrance includes one drink
Jazz Your Mind appears tonight at Sappho de Base, while New Orleans native Nbugu Kenyatta and his band The Kenyatta Trio funks up the house tomorrow. [See story on Page 14.] Next week is full of jazz: on Tuesday night the Sappho Jazz Band performs, with an open jam afterwards; the Chris Stiles Jazz Trio appears on Wednesday; and the Dafu Jazz Trio takes to the stage on Thursday night.
▲B1, 1, Ln 102, Anhe Rd Sec 1, Taipei City (台北市安和路一段102巷1號B1). Call (02) 2700-5411 (after 9pm) or visit www.sappho102.biz for more information
▲Performances begin at 10:30pm on weekends, 10pm on weekdays
▲No admission fee
New Orleans funk band The Kenyatta Trio appears tonight at Tone 56 Live Bar. [See story on Page 14.] Tomorrow it’s house band Loaded, which plays everything from “rock classics to today’s hits.” Taking to the stage on Sunday is Stud, which plays dance music and 1960s pop.
▲1F, 56, Minquan E Rd Sec 3, Taipei City (台北市民權東路三段56號1樓), near the corner of Fuxing North (復興北) and Minquan East (民權東) roads
▲Call (02) 2517-3869 for more information
▲Music shows go from 9:30pm to 12:30am tonight and tomorrow, and 7:30pm to 9:30pm on Sundays
▲No admission fee
Taking to the stage tonight at Bliss is Gross Fugue, an expat duo that combines loud guitars, double bass, electronica and sensationalist video footage. Early tomorrow evening is the duo T-Bone and Yasu, who play funky rock music on acoustic guitar and cajon, a boxed shaped drum with African-Peruvian roots.
▲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, visit www.myspace.com/ blisslivehouse
▲Tonight at 10pm and tomorrow at 8pm. Bar/kitchen open from 7pm daily. Ladies night Fridays; women get one free cocktail of their choice
▲No cover for the bar; entrance fee for music shows tonight and tomorrow is NT$200
Tonight Underworld (地下社會) hosts punk groups Black Channel and Beright. There’s thrash tomorrow night with Bazooka (鐵拳火箭), which plays “old school killer metal.” Also appearing is Blair Witch, which might be just as scary as the movie. They describe themselves on their MySpace site as “4 girls who loves [sic] metal music so f-cking much.”
▲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
▲Music shows tonight and tomorrow are from 9:30pm to 11:30pm
▲Entrance fee for music shows is NT$300 tonight and tomorrow and includes one drink
Every Wednesday night at the Cosmopolitan Grill there’s a blues open mic, held by the Blues Society on Taiwan and hosted by Torch Pratt. All are welcome to bring their instruments and sit in on guitar, bass, or drums.
▲1F, 218 Changchun Rd, Taipei City (台北市長春路218號1樓). Call (02)
▲2508-0304 or visit www.cosmo.com.tw for more information
▲8pm to 11pm every Wednesday
▲No admission fee
Exhibitions
A Heartbeat of Time: Group Exhibition of Glenfiddich Artists From Taiwan (時間的 - 次心跳:格蘭菲迪駐村藝術家聯展) presents works by Yuan Goang-ming (袁廣鳴), Yao Jui-chung (姚瑞中), Wu Chi-tsung (吳季璁) and Chen Hui-chiao (陳慧嶠), all of whom have participated in the Glenfiddich Artists in Residence program. [See story on Page 15 of the Nov. 12 edition of the Taipei Times.] The works on display were produced during each of the artist’s residency periods in cottages on the site of the company’s distillery in Scotland.
▲VT Artsalon (非常廟藝文空間), B1, 45 and 47 Yitong St, Taipei City (台北市伊通街45, 47號B1). Open Sundays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 2pm to 11pm; Fridays and Saturdays from 2pm to 1am. Tel: (02) 2516-1060
▲Until Dec. 6
Su Wong-shen Solo Exhibition (蘇旺伸個展). Taking acrobatics as the theme of this exhibition, Su uses images of animals, balloons and zeppelins and a healthy dose of black humor to satirize Taiwan’s political scene.
▲Eslite Gallery (誠品畫廊), B2, 245, Dunhua S Rd Sec 1, Taipei City (台北市敦化南路一段245號B2). Open Tuesdays through Sundays from 11am to 7pm. Tel: (02) 2775-5977 X588
▲Until Dec. 7
Immobile — Chuang Kung-ju Solo Exhibition (不動 - 莊坤儒攝影展). The photo exhibition attempts to capture the life and death of plants and challenges the human notions of mobility and immobility.
▲Hung Chong Gallery (恆昶藝廊), 396-1, Renai Rd Sec 4, Taipei City (台北市仁愛路四段396-1號). Open Tuesdays through Sundays from 9am to 6pm. Tel: (02) 2706-6466
▲Until Dec. 4
Cocoon — Lai Tang-ya’s Solo Exhibition (蛹 - 賴唐鴉2008陶藝創作展). Using mud from the Shihmen Reservoir (石門水庫) to create this series of cocoon-shaped ceramic works, Lai shows us the affinity between soil, habitats and artistic inspirations.
▲Taipei County Yingge Ceramics Museum (台北縣鶯歌陶瓷搏物館), 200, Wenhua Rd, Yingge Township, Taipei County (台北縣鶯歌鎮文化路200號). Open Tuesdays through Fridays from 9:30am to 5pm; Saturdays and Sundays from 9:30 to 6pm. Tel: (02) 8677-2727
▲Until Dec. 21
Sino-French War and Tamsui 1884 — 1885 (滬尾砲響 清法印記 - 西仔反特展) aims to take visitors back in time to the Sino-French War, known as “Hsitzefan” (西仔反) to Taiwanese of the period, during which France fought to wrest control of northern Vietnam from Qing Dynasty suzerainty.
▲Tamsui Historic Sites (台北縣立淡水古蹟博物館), 1, Ln 28, Zhongzheng Rd, Tamsui Township, Taipei County (台北縣淡水鎮中正路28巷1號). Open Tuesdays through Sundays from 9:30am to 6pm. Tel: (02) 2623-1001 X229
▲Until Oct. 25, 2009
A few weeks ago I found myself at a Family Mart talking with the morning shift worker there, who has become my coffee guy. Both of us were in a funk over the “unseasonable” warm weather, a state of mind known as “solastalgia” — distress produced by environmental change. In fact, the weather was not that out of the ordinary in boiling Central Taiwan, and likely cooler than the temperatures we will experience in the near-future. According to the Taiwan Adaptation Platform, between 1957 and 2006, summer lengthened by 27.8 days, while winter shrunk by 29.7 days. Winter is not
Taiwan’s post-World War II architecture, “practical, cheap and temporary,” not to mention “rather forgettable.” This was a characterization recently given by Taiwan-based historian John Ross on his Formosa Files podcast. Yet the 1960s and 1970s were, in fact, the period of Taiwan’s foundational building boom, which, to a great extent, defined the look of Taiwan’s cities, determining the way denizens live today. During this period, functionalist concrete blocks and Chinese nostalgia gave way to new interpretations of modernism, large planned communities and high-rise skyscrapers. It is currently the subject of a new exhibition at the Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Modern
March 25 to March 31 A 56-year-old Wu Li Yu-ke (吳李玉哥) was straightening out her artist son’s piles of drawings when she inadvertently flipped one over, revealing the blank backside of the paper. Absent-mindedly, she picked up a pencil and recalled how she used to sketch embroidery designs for her clothing business. Without clients and budget or labor constraints to worry about, Wu Li drew freely whatever image came to her mind. With much more free time now that her son had found a job, she found herself missing her home village in China, where she
In recent years, Slovakia has been seen as a highly democratic and Western-oriented Central European country. This image was reinforced by the election of the country’s first female president in 2019, efforts to provide extensive assistance to Ukraine and the strengthening of relations with Taiwan, all of which strengthened Slovakia’s position within the European Union. However, the latest developments in the country suggest that the situation is changing rapidly. As such, the presidential elections to be held on March 23 will be an indicator of whether Slovakia remains in the Western sphere of influence or moves eastward, notably towards Russia and