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Highlight
Wu Bai (伍佰) and his band China Blue appear tomorrow night at the Core Pacific Mall’s Party Room. The nation’s “King of Rock,” revered by fans across generations and throughout the Chinese-speaking world, released a new album last month entitled Spacebomb (太空彈).
Having played countless tours across Asia, Wu Bai practically wrote the book on Mando-rock with his band, which has performed and recorded with him since the early 1990s. Also a talented songwriter, he has penned for Mando-pop stars such as Andy Lau (劉德華) and Karen Mok (莫文蔚). Tomorrow’s show is back-to-basics for the esteemed rocker, who chose Party Room for its small club vibe as opposed to a stadium show. Tonight’s show is the fourth in a five-weekend run that concludes on Saturday next week.
▲ Wu Bai (伍佰) and China Blue live at Party Room, Core Pacific Mall (京華城), 12F, 138, Bade Rd Sec 2, Taipei City (台北市八德路四段138號12樓)
▲ Tomorrow night and Saturday next week at 9pm
▲ Tickets are NT$900, available through ERA ticketing or online at www.tickets.com.tw; also available at the door. Ticket price includes one drink, no assigned seating
Upcoming
Contemporary Legend Theater’s (CLT, 當代傳奇劇場) 1993 classic Medea (樓蘭女) has been revived in a revamped production that looks as new and cutting-edge as it did 15 years ago. Starring Beijing opera diva Wei Hai-ming (魏海敏) and directed by CLT founder Wu Hsing-kuo (吳興國), this new production has recently returned from a hugely successful tour of Shanghai and Hong Kong. Wu has repeatedly emphasized that Medea is not an opera production, but a piece of contemporary theater built on the technical foundations of Beijing opera. The costumes by Tim Yip (葉錦天) have lost none of their freshness, and the production sports a new and “organic” set design by Lin Keh-hua (林克華), Taiwan’s foremost theater designer. Performances will be in Mandarin with both Chinese and English subtitles. Medea will be performed at the National Theater, Taipei City from Thursday to Dec. 20 at 7:30pm and on Dec. 21 at 2:30pm. Tickets costing NT$1,300 to NT$3,000 are still available and can be purchased through NTCH ticketing.
Theater
The Taipei National University of the Arts’ (國立台北藝術大學) theater department will stage two short plays: For All Time, a one-act play by Rita Wellman that tells the tragic tale of a group of women dealing with loss; and an adaptation of Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s Bremer Freiheit, which is based on the life of 19th-century serial killer Geesche Gottfried.
▲ Taipei National University of the Arts — Performing Arts Center (國立台北藝術大學展演藝術中心戲劇廳), 1, Xueyuan Rd, Beitou Dist, Taipei City (台北市北投區學園路1號)
▲ Today and tomorrow at 7:30pm and tomorrow and Sunday at 2:30pm
▲ Tickets are NT$350, available through NTCH ticketing
The Jester (弄臣) is a Beijing opera adapted from Giuseppe Verdi’s Rigoletto, which was based on a play Victor Hugo depicting the escapades of Francis I of France. [See story on Page 13.]
▲ Novel Hall (新舞臺), 3-1 Sungshou S Rd, Taipei City (台北市松壽路3-1號)
▲ Today and tomorrow at 7:30pm and Sunday at 2:30pm
▲ Tickets are NT$500 to NT$2,000, available through ERA ticketing
Oracle (神諭) by Shine-House Theater (曉劇場) draws from Chinese mythology to tell the tale of a mother who beseeches a priest to help her ailing son. The boy’s behavior, however, prompts the priest to refuse and leads the woman on a journey to find a cure.
▲ Huashan Culture Park (華山文化園區), 1, Bade Rd Sec 1, Taipei City (台北市八德路一段1號)
▲ Today, tomorrow and Sunday at 7:30pm and tomorrow and Sunday
at 2:30pm
▲ Tickets are NT$400, available through NTCH ticketing
Classical music
Anne Sofie von Otter and Her Merry Swedish Gentlemen (范歐塔與瑞典室內樂團) brings the highly regarded and versatile Swedish mezzo-soprano to Taipei for a concert with a Christmas theme. The program includes traditional hymns such as Bach’s Jesus, Joy of Men’s Desiring to songs such as Baby Plays Around by Elvis Costello, with whom Von Otter collaborated on the For the Stars album in 2001.
▲ Today at 7:30pm
▲ National Concert Hall, Taipei City
▲ Tickets from NT$1,200 to NT$2,500, available through NTCH ticketing
NSO Young Maestro — Dancing Bohemia (NSO 發現未來大師系列 — 炫舞波西米亞) has the National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) performing under the baton of guest conductor Christoph Campestrini. The concert highlights the work of Dvorak, performing his Symphony No.8 in G-Major, Op.88. It will also feature the NSO’s principle trombonist, Sung Kuang-ching (宋光清), in a performance of Tomasi’s Concerto for Trombone and Orchestra. The concert will be rounded off with Brahm’s Akademische Frestouverture, Op.80.
▲ Sunday at 7:30pm
▲ National Concert Hall, Taipei City
▲ Tickets are NT$400 to NT$1,500, available through NTCH ticketing
Chang Chin-chuang Piano Recital (張欽全vs超技巧練習曲) brings the talented young pianist Chang. Chin-chuang (張欽全) to the stage to perform the technically demanding Etudes d’Execution Transcendante by Franz Liszt. The program also includes the composer’s Sonata in B Minor.
▲ Tuesday at 7:30pm
▲ National Concert Hall, Taipei City
▲ Tickets are NT$300 to NT$1,000, available through ERA ticketing
An Exploration of the FORMOSA III — Contemporary Taiwanese Composers (探索福爾摩沙 ─ 台灣當代作曲家系列III) is a showcase of works by Taiwanese composers spanning both traditional arts and Western classical music.
▲ Tomorrow at 7:30pm
▲ National Recital Hall, Taipei City
▲ Tickets are NT$200, available through NTCH ticketing
Contemporary
Both established and aspiring Taiwanese pop musicians perform regularly at EZ5 Live House. This homey pub and restaurant on Anhe Road is one of the few places where people actually turn off their cell phones and listen attentively to the performers, with the clientele ranging from taxi drivers to prominent politicians. The venue hosts three different singers every night. Recommended acts include beloved female crooner Tiger Huang (黃小琥), who does two sets every Monday, and Julia Peng (彭佳慧), who appears on Tuesdays.
▲ 211, Anhe Rd Sec 2, Taipei City (台北市安和路二段211號). Call (02) 2738-3995 or visit www.ez5.com.tw for more information
▲ Music shows run from 9:45pm to 12:30am
▲ Entrance fees vary, between NT$600 to NT$850, depending on the performer. Best to call venue for exact fees; includes two drinks
Tonight at VU Live House it’s the Hard Fast and Heavy Show with Into the Void, a Black Sabbath tribute band, followed by New Zealand DJ Ting. Tomorrow High Tide celebrates its victory at ICRT’s battle of the bands with a special show with post-punks Blood Orange and DJ Saucey [see story above]. The festivities continue late-night with drum ’n’ bass from DJs Coffeepot, Mixter-T, Soul Basic and Juni.
▲ 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
▲ 11pm tonight; 8pm tomorrow for the bands and 11pm for the DJs
▲ NT$250 tonight; NT$350 for tomorrow’s first show and NT$250 for the late show; all admission prices include one drink
Tonight The Wall hosts a high-energy evening fueled by funk, rock and punk sounds from Funky Brothers (放克兄弟), DidaCat, Clockworker (發條人) and headliners Si Zong Bu (肆總部). Tomorrow the venue hosts Amnesty International Taiwan’s Music for Human Rights show, with White Eyes (白目), Aphasia (阿飛西雅), Lin Sheng-xiang (林生祥) and Ken Ohtake (大竹研), LTK Commune (濁水溪公社), Kou Chou Ching (拷秋勤) and Chang Jui-chuan (張睿銓) [see story on Page 15]. The evening continues late into the night with the Kings and Queens Reggae Party, featuring Black Reign International Sound and Marcus Aurelius [see Vinyl Word].
▲ 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
▲ 7:30pm tonight; 6pm tomorrow for the Amnesty International show and 11:30pm for the reggae show
▲ NT$400 tonight; the Amnesty International Show is NT$500 in advance (tickets are available at the venue) or NT$600 at the door; Kings and Queens Reggae Party is NT$350
Folk rocker Deserts Chang (張懸) appears tonight at Witch House (女巫店). Chang used to work as the sound engineer at the venue and now plays to sold-out crowds on the alt-rock circuit. Get there early for a seat. Tomorrow night it’s indie-electronica group Orange Doll (橘娃娃) and neo-folk singer/guitarist Enno Cheng (鄭宜農).
▲ 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
Tonight at Riverside Cafe (河岸留言) there’s funk, rock, and fusion jazz with Yellow Funky Stuff, featuring Japanese guitarist Eiji Kadota and drummer Toshi Fujii. Tomorrow The Clippers (夾子) return with a new lineup, but expect the same irreverent humor and bastardized Taiwanese rock and nakasi music conceived by singer, actor and band mastermind Xiao Ying (小應).
▲ 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
▲ 9:30pm tonight; 9pm tomorrow
▲ NT$400 cover charge includes one drink
Jazz Your Mind happens at Sappho de Base tonight. Blues Vibrations play blues, surf rock and jam band music tomorrow. The Sappho Jazz Band performs Tuesday, with an open jam afterwards. The Chris Stiles Jazz Trio appears on Wednesday, and the Dafu Jazz Trio plays on Thursday.
▲ 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
Tonight at Tone 56 Live Bar, it’s house band Loaded, which plays everything from “rock classics to today’s hits.” Tomorrow Soma plays rock and pop covers. Taking to the stage on Sunday are The Blues Vibrations, playing feel-good blues and surf-rock.
▲ 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; 7:30pm to 9:30pm on Sunday
▲ No admission fee
Tonight Underworld(地下社會) hosts an evening of metal music with Anti Cross, Catapult and One Way to Die. Post-rock band The Peppermints (薄荷葉) celebrate their 10th anniversary tomorrow night.
Punk group Inhuman Band (非人物種), newly formed noise band Shebang-a (死蚊子) and screamo band Yongbi Zai Changge (用筆在唱歌) play on Wednesday.
▲ 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 is NT$300 and includes one drink
Taipei’s foremost Chicago blues band, BoPoMoFo (ㄅㄆㄇㄈ), takes to the stage tonight at Bliss. Tomorrow it’s dance music with tunes spun by vDub and Sunrise Soup.
▲ 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 go to 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
▲ NT$200 for music shows tonight and tomorrow
Every Wednesday night at the Cosmopolitan Grill there’s a blues open mic, held by the Blues Society on Taiwan. 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
Comedy
Hartley’s Gone Nuts: Empty Sack Syndrome happens tonight at the Comedy Club. English comedian Hartley Pool is back, headlining a stand-up comedy show in Taipei for the first time in 12 months. He is assisted by his own creations, Sammi the Psychic Cat and Corky Clarkson, and by Tom Levene, who is not his own creation, but an actual independent person. Musical relief will be provided by singer-songwriter David Foster.
▲ Comedy Club, B1, 24 Taishun St, Taipei City (台北市泰順街24號B1). For reservations, call (02) 2369-3730
▲ Tonight at 10:15pm
▲ NT$350 admission includes a drink and a packet of nuts. NT$80 drink specials all night
Exhibitions
SuperGeneration@Taiwan (小.碎.花.不—亂變新世代). More than 20 artists born in 1970s and 1980s show off their new attitudes toward art: an embrace of the trivial, the banal and the lighthearted.
▲ Museum of Contemporary Art (台北當代藝術館), 39 Changan W Rd, Taipei City (台北市長安西路39號). Open Tuesdays through Sundays from 10am to 6pm. Tel: (02) 2552-3720
▲ Until Jan 18, 2009
Journey to Natural Path — Calligraphy and Shanshui by Chang Kuang-pin (任其自然—張光賓教授95歲草書唐詩暨焦墨水展) features recent Chinese landscape ink paintings as well as 300 Tang Dynasty poems in cursive script by the 95-year-old maestro.
▲ Taipei National University of Arts — Kuandu Museum of Arts (台北藝術大學關渡美術館), 1 Xuenyuan Rd, Beitou Dist, Taipei City (台北市北投區學園路1號). Open Tuesdays through Sundays from 10am to 5pm. Tel: (02) 2896-1000 X2432
▲ Until Feb. 8, 2009
Color Circle (色相環) is an exhibition of photographic works by six artists who weave together a photographic narrative using their own distinct styles, techniques, color palettes and aesthetics.
▲ 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 and Fridays and Saturdays from 2pm to 1am. Tel: (02) 2516-1060
▲ Tomorrow through Jan. 3, 2009
Sudden Stillness — Chou Chu-wang Solo Exhibition(一瞬靜止—周珠旺個展). Chou captures fleeting moments with oil paintings that are simultaneously realistic and contemplative.
▲ AKI Gallery (也趣), 141 Minzu W Rd, Taipei City (台北市民族西路141號). Open Tuesdays through Sundays from 12pm to 6:30pm. Tel: (02) 2599-1171
▲ Until Dec. 28
Joint Exhibition by Li Yung-yu and Hsueh Yu-chun (李永裕.薛幼春雙人聯展). In this series of oil paintings, Li uses vivid colors and wild brushstrokes to capture the dazzling movements of flamenco dancers, while Hsueh’s expressionist works stir deep emotions.
▲ Cathay United Art Center (國泰世華藝術中心), 7F, 236 Dunhua N Rd, Taipei City (台北市敦化北路236號7樓). Open Mondays through Saturdays form 10am to 6pm. Tel: (02) 2717-0988
▲ Until Dec. 27
Sept.16 to Sept. 22 The “anti-communist train” with then-president Chiang Kai-shek’s (蔣介石) face plastered on the engine puffed along the “sugar railway” (糖業鐵路) in May 1955, drawing enthusiastic crowds at 103 stops covering nearly 1,200km. An estimated 1.58 million spectators were treated to propaganda films, plays and received free sugar products. By this time, the state-run Taiwan Sugar Corporation (台糖, Taisugar) had managed to connect the previously separate east-west lines established by Japanese-era sugar factories, allowing the anti-communist train to travel easily from Taichung to Pingtung’s Donggang Township (東港). Last Sunday’s feature (Taiwan in Time: The sugar express) covered the inauguration of the
The corruption cases surrounding former Taipei Mayor and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) head Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) are just one item in the endless cycle of noise and fuss obscuring Taiwan’s deep and urgent structural and social problems. Even the case itself, as James Baron observed in an excellent piece at the Diplomat last week, is only one manifestation of the greater problem of deep-rooted corruption in land development. Last week the government announced a program to permit 25,000 foreign university students, primarily from the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia, to work in Taiwan after graduation for 2-4 years. That number is a
In a stark demonstration of how award-winning breakthroughs can come from the most unlikely directions, researchers have won an Ig Nobel prize for discovering that mammals can breathe through their anuses. After a series of tests on mice, rats and pigs, Japanese scientists found the animals absorb oxygen delivered through the rectum, work that underpins a clinical trial to see whether the procedure can treat respiratory failure. The team is among 10 recognized in this year’s Ig Nobel awards (see below for more), the irreverent accolades given for achievements that “first make people laugh, and then make them think.” They are not
This Qing Dynasty trail takes hikers from renowned hot springs in the East Rift Valley, up to the top of the Coastal Mountain Range, and down to the Pacific Short vacations to eastern Taiwan often require choosing between the Rift Valley with its pineapple fields, rice paddies and broader range of amenities, or the less populated coastal route for its ocean scenery. For those who can’t decide, why not try both? The Antong Traversing Trail (安通越嶺道) provides just such an opportunity. Built 149 years ago, the trail linked up these two formerly isolated parts of the island by crossing over the Coastal Mountain Range. After decades of serving as a convenient path for local Amis, Han settlers, missionaries and smugglers, the trail fell into disuse once modern roadways were built