THEATER
Mortal Engine by Australian dance group Chunky Move combines lasers and interactive imagery with the human body to portray solitude, intimacy, conflict and unity.
■ National Theater, Taipei City
■ Tomorrow at 2:30pm and 7:30pm, Sunday at 2:30pm
■ Tickets are NT$500 to NT$2,500, available through NTCH ticketing or online at www.artsticket.com.tw.
Urban Ark Taipei (台北野人都市) by Clash Theatre Group (撞劇團) from Hong Kong examines capitalism’s absurdities through improvisation, storytelling, avant-garde photography and installation art.
■ Nanhai Gallery (南海藝廊), 3, Ln 19, Chongqing S Rd Sec 2, Taipei City (台北市重慶南路二段19巷3號)
■ Tonight, tomorrow and Sunday at 7:30pm
■ Tickets are NT$350, available through NTCH ticketing or online at www.artsticket.com.tw
The 2010 Tsai Jui-yueh Dance Festival (第五屆蔡瑞月舞蹈節) focuses on ecological and environmental issues. Participating choreographers, dancers and groups include Orita Katsuko from Japan, Eleo Pomare of the US, Elizabeth Dalman from Australia and Taiwan’s Grace Hsiao Dance Theatre (蕭靜文舞蹈團).
■ Tsai Jui-yueh Dance Research Institute (蔡瑞月舞蹈研究社), 10, Ln 48, Zhongshan N Rd Sec 2, Taipei City (台北市中山北路二段48巷10號)
■ Tonight at 7:30pm, tomorrow at 2:30pm and 7:30pm and Sunday at 2:30pm
■ Tickets are NT$500, available through ERA ticketing or online at www.ticket.com.tw
Dance Works’ (舞工廠舞團) Daydreamer (異響) augments tap dancing with theatrical lighting effects, techno beats and percussive music. The production crew includes percussion musician Wu Cheng-chun (吳政君) and multimedia artist Shih Wei-chieh (施惟捷).
■ Red House Theater (西門紅樓), 10 Chengdu Rd, Taipei City (台北市成都路10號)
■ Tonight at 7:30pm, tomorrow at 2:30pm and 7:30pm and Sunday at 2:30pm
■ Tickets are NT$600 to NT$1,200, available through Hi-Life (萊爾富)
Life-ET and 7-Eleven ibon kiosks and NTCH ticketing or online at www.artsticket.com.tw
Part of the Sixth Sense in Performance Arts Festival 2010 (第六種官能表演藝術祭), which is comprised of theatrical works that star disabled performers, Arari by South Korean choreographer Jung Seung-chun uses the language of traditional Korean dance to reveal the memories of an atomic bomb victim. A free performance of the show will be staged at the Losheng Sanatorium (樂生療養院) at 10:30am on Sunday.
■ Guling Street Avant-Garde Theatre (牯嶺街小劇場), 2, Ln 5, Guling St, Taipei City (台北市牯嶺街5巷2號)
■ Tonight, tomorrow and Sunday at 7:30pm
■ Tickets are NT$400, available through NTCH ticketing or online at www.artsticket.com.tw
Classical music
As part of the International Chopin Festival 2010 (20X10蕭邦CHOPIN國際音樂節), pianist Mikhail Rudy will perform two concerts. The program includes works by Scriabin and Mussorgsky, and of course, Chopin.
■ Sunday at 2:30pm (Taichung) and Wednesday at 7:30pm (Taipei)
■ Taichung Chungshan Hall (台中市中山堂), 98 Syueshih Rd, Taichung City (台中市學士路98號) and National Concert Hall, Taipei City
■ Tickets are NT$400 to NT$2,400, available through ERA ticketing or online at www.ticket.com.tw. Also available through ibon, FamiPort and Life-ET kiosks
The Toyota Classics Series presents tenor Leonardo Melani and the Orchestra Citta di Firenze performing under conductor Lorenzo Castriota. The program features pieces from Handel, Rossini, Mascagni, Puccini and Luigi Denzo, among others.
■ Monday at 7:30pm
■ National Concert Hall, Taipei City
■ Tickets are NT$300 to NT$1,500, available through ERA ticketing or online at www.ticket.com.tw
Joe Hisaishi & NSO (2010久石讓亞洲巡迴演奏會) brings the renowned Japanese composer to Taiwan for a series of concerts. Hisaishi is known for his versatility in combining a variety of genres from minimalist and electronica to European classical, and even dabbling in Japanese classical music. He is best known for his scores to the hugely successful animated films Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle and Ponyo, as well as his close collaboration with actor/director “Beat” Takeshi Kitano. Hisaishi will conduct the National Symphony Orchestra in a program of his music.
■ Monday at 7:30pm (Taichung); today’s concert in Kaohsiung and tomorrow and Sunday’s concerts in Taipei are already sold out
■ Taichung Chungshan Hall (台中市中山堂), 98 Syueshih Rd, Taichung City (台中市學士路98號)
■ A few tickets (NT$3,400 to NT$4,600) remain for the concert, available through NTCH ticketing or online at www.artsticket.com.tw
Contemporary
Legacy Taipei, located in a former warehouse at Huashan 1914 Creative Park (華山1914), hosts top Taiwanese pop performers and international acts. Tonight the venue presents iTrendy (愛傳遞), an evening of fusion jazz with vocalist Lynn (李昀陵), tomorrow it’s Hong Kong Canto-pop singer Denise Ho (何韻詩), aka HOCC, and Sunday’s entertainment is a tribute to the late rock god Simon Hsueh (薛岳), who died of cancer in 1990.
■ Tonight and tomorrow at 7pm, 6:30pm on Sunday
■ Tonight’s show is NT$900 at the door (NT$700 in advance), tomorrow’s is NT$1,000 (NT$800), and Sunday’s is NT$1,200 (NT$1,000). Tickets available through ERA ticketing or online at www.ticket.com.tw or www.legacy.com.tw or at 7-Eleven ibon kiosks
Tonight The Wall (這牆) hosts metal band OverDose, tomorrow Echo (回聲), a band that started as a group of classmates at National Tsing Hua University (清華大學) and enjoys a large following for its modern Brit-rock sound, while on Sunday indie groups Solidor (固定客), Lazy Lady, alt-rockers Wavelight (波光折返) and Hakka rock band Zenkwun (神棍樂團) take to the stage.
■ B1, 200, Roosevelt Rd Sec 4, Taipei City (台北市羅斯福路四段200號B1).
Tel: (02) 2930-0162. On the Net: www.thewall.com.tw
■ Music shows start at 8pm
■ Entrance fee is NT$500 at the door, NT$400 in advance. Tickets can be purchased online by visiting www.thewall.com.tw or tickets.books.com.tw
Metamorphosis (變形蟲爵士樂團), one of the first jazz groups in Taiwan to perform and record original music, takes to the stage tonight at Riverside Cafe (河岸留言). Tomorrow Olivia and Invisible Garden (閻韋伶與桃花源樂團) and Alex Lee (李崗霖) share the bill, and on Tuesday it’s post rock band Random (隨性) and Chine Rock Band (辛搖滾樂團). On Wednesday, the venue plays host to Drum ’n’ Keyboard (鼓打鍵盤) and pop rockers CastAway (漂流者), and on Thursday Aboriginal indie-rock musician Suming (舒米恩) performs.
■ 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). Tel: (02) 2368-7310. On the Net: www.riverside.com.tw
■ Shows start at 9:30pm tonight and 9pm all other nights. For a list of standard songs and ground rules
for the open jam, visit the venue’s Web site
■ Entrance fee is NT$400 tonight, tomorrow and Thursday, NT$350 on Tuesday and Wednesday
Riverside Live House (西門紅樓展演館) tonight hosts Okinawa Night 2 (沖繩之夜) with performances by Spoon de Chop, So Kenyu (曾健裕) and Sansanar, tomorrow Swedish pop/trip-hop group Group 8 presents The People’s Record Taipei Concert, on Wednesday
all-girl rock band Cherry Boom (櫻桃幫) takes to the stage and on Thursday Will Tan Vui Chuan (陳威全) performs.
■ 177 Xining S Rd, Taipei City (台北市西寧南路177號). Tel: (02) 2370-8805. On the Net: www.riverside.com.tw
■ Shows start at 7pm tonight, 8pm tomorrow, 8:30pm on Wednesday and Thursday
■ Entrance fee is NT$750 (NT$650 in advance) tonight, NT$1,300 (NT$1,000) tomorrow and NT$400 on Wednesday and Thursday. Tickets can purchased online through www.riverside.com.tw/livehouse/, tickets.books.com.tw and www.ticket.com.tw
Tonight up-and-coming band Youth Banana (台青蕉) and Japanese group Takebun take to the stage at Underworld (地下社會), tomorrow the venue hosts indie-electronica outfit Heartones (心電樂) and No Money No Honey, and on Wednesday SuckMan and The Cheaters perform.
■ B1, 45 Shida Rd, Taipei City (台北市師大路45號B1). Tel: (02) 2369-0103. On the Net: www.upsaid.com/underworld
■ Music shows run from 9:30pm to 11:30pm on Fridays and Saturdays and 9pm to 11pm on Wednesdays. Underworld is open daily from 9pm to 4am, closed on Mondays. Happy hour on Tuesdays and Thursdays before midnight
■ Entrance tonight is NT$300,
which includes one drink; NT$100
on Wednesday
Flaneur Daguerre, a jazz quartet that plays everything from Bach to Bjork to Ornette Coleman to the Ramones, performs at Sappho de Base tonight. Tomorrow is an evening of French chanson and other European folk music with expat group Fabu 116, on Tuesday drums and bass ensemble Yohei Jazz Trio takes to the stage, on Wednesday the Teddy Kumpel Band and Andrew Page perform, and on Thursday TNT Jazz hosts an open jam.
■ B1, 1, Ln 102, Anhe Rd Sec 1,
Taipei City (台北市安和路一段102巷1號B1). Tel: (02) 2700-5411. On the Net: www.sappho102.biz
■ Music shows begin at 10:30pm tonight and tomorrow, and 10pm on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday
■ Entrance is NT$200 tonight, NT$150 tomorrow, free on other nights
Tonight at 89k, Taichung’s long-established spot for local indie bands, Islandjam presents Reggae Vibes 2, an evening of reggae with Black Reign International Sound System and DJs Mighty Lion, Assassin, Zion and Splendor
■ 21 Daguan Rd, Nantun Dist, Taichung City (台中市南屯區大觀路21號)
■ Party starts at 10:30pm
■ Entrance is NT$350
The Wall (這牆) programs regular live music shows at Kaohsiung’s Pier 2 Arts Center (高雄駁二藝術特區). Tonight the venue hosts guitarist Ken Ohtake (大竹研), and Mando-pop songwriter and producer Kay Huang (黃韻玲) performs tomorrow.
■ 1 Dayong Rd, Yancheng Dist, Kaohsiung City (高雄市鹽埕區大勇路1號). On the Net: pier-2.khcc.gov.tw, www.thewall.com.tw
■ Shows start at 7:30pm
■ Entrance is NT$300 tonight and NT$900 at the door (NT$800 in advance) for tomorrow’s gig
EZ5 Live House hosts Mando-pop singers backed by a live band every night. Highlights for the week ahead include Mando-pop songstress Julia Peng (彭佳慧) and male crooner Shin Lung (辛隆), who perform every Saturday. Legendary pub songstress and pop singer Tiger Huang (黃小琥) performs on Mondays.
■ 211, Anhe Rd Sec 2, Taipei City
(台北市安和路二段211號).
Tel: (02) 2738-3995. On the Net: visit www.ez5.com.tw
■ Shows run from 9:45pm to 12:30am
■ Entrance fee (includes two drinks) ranges from NT$600 to NT$850, depending on the performer
Taipei Swing holds dance socials on Friday nights at Capone’s, with live music from blues band BoPoMoFo (ㄅㄆㄇㄈ). Dancers of all levels are welcome, and beginner’s lessons are offered while the band takes a break. Tomorrow, drummer Abe Nbugu Kenyatta leads a band playing music from his hometown of New Orleans.
■ 312, Zhongxiao E Rd Sec 4, Taipei City (台北市忠孝東路四段312號)
■ Live music from 9pm to 11:30pm on Fridays, 8pm to 11:30pm on Saturdays
■ On Fridays, minimum charge of one drink, dancers receive a free drink coupon. On Saturdays, minimum charge is NT$300
Last week Joseph Nye, the well-known China scholar, wrote on the Australian Strategic Policy Institute’s website about how war over Taiwan might be averted. He noted that years ago he was on a team that met with then-president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), “whose previous ‘unofficial’ visit to the US had caused a crisis in which China fired missiles into the sea and the US deployed carriers off the coast of Taiwan.” Yes, that’s right, mighty Chen caused that crisis all by himself. Neither the US nor the People’s Republic of China (PRC) exercised any agency. Nye then nostalgically invoked the comical specter
April 15 to April 21 Yang Kui (楊逵) was horrified as he drove past trucks, oxcarts and trolleys loaded with coffins on his way to Tuntzechiao (屯子腳), which he heard had been completely destroyed. The friend he came to check on was safe, but most residents were suffering in the town hit the hardest by the 7.1-magnitude Hsinchu-Taichung Earthquake on April 21, 1935. It remains the deadliest in Taiwan’s recorded history, claiming around 3,300 lives and injuring nearly 12,000. The disaster completely flattened roughly 18,000 houses and damaged countless more. The social activist and
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Approaching her mid-30s, Xiong Yidan reckons that most of her friends are on to their second or even third babies. But Xiong has more than a dozen. There is Lucky, the street dog from Bangkok who jumped into a taxi with her and never left. There is Sophie and Ben, sibling geese, who honk from morning to night. Boop and Pan, both goats, are romantically involved. Dumpling the hedgehog enjoys a belly rub from time to time. The list goes on. Xiong nurtures her brood from her 8,000 square meter farm in Chiang Dao, a mountainous district in northern Thailand’s