Theater and Dance
Daydreamer+ (異響+) by Dance Works (舞工廠舞團) injects energy into tap dance by wedding its tap pieces to percussion music. Instruments include bongo drums, India’s tabula, the cajon, a box-shaped instrument from Peru, and the berimbau, a single-string percussion instrument of African origin.
■ Experimental Theater, Taipei City
Photo Courtesy of Dance Works
■ Tomorrow at 2:30pm and 7:30pm, Sunday at 2:30pm
■ Tickets are NT$600, available through NTCH ticketing or online at www.artsticket.com.tw
O Theater’s (O劇團) Double-faced Barbie II: Voices of Players (雙面芭比II:玩者之聲) follows Yi-yi, a young woman who constantly hears two conflicting voices in her head. One day, she decides to resort to extreme methods to settle the disputes between the two.
■ Huashan 1914 Creative Park (華山1914), Fruit Wine Building (果酒禮堂), 1, Bade Rd Sec 1, Taipei City (台北市八德路一段1號)
■ Tonight at 7:30pm, tomorrow at 2:30pm and 7:30pm
■ Tickets are NT$500, available through NTCH ticketing or online at www.artsticket.com.tw
Magic Kingdom in the Backyard (後院的奇幻王國), a children’s puppet show by Puppet Beings Theatre Company (偶偶偶劇團), tells of an adventure in two quarreling neighbors’ backyards that involves everyday objects, household materials and toys.
■ Wenshan Theater (文山劇場), 32 Jingwen St, Taipei City (台北市景文街32號)
■ Tonight at 7:30pm, tomorrow at 3pm and 7:30pm and Sunday at 10:30am and 3pm
■ Tickets are NT$350, available through NTCH ticketing or online at www.artsticket.com.tw
Adapted from Taiwanese writer Chung Li-ho’s (鍾理和) novel of the same title, Mountain Fire (山火) by Kaohsiung-based Spring Wind Art Theatre (南風劇場) is set in the years immediately following World War II and centers on a farming village ravaged by drought in southern Taiwan. Critics say Chung’s novel reflects the writer’s grievous view of his hometown and personal life during the White Terror era.
■ Kaohsiung Cultural Center’s Chihshan Hall (高雄市文化中心至善堂), 67 Wufu 1st Rd, Greater Kaohsiung (高雄市五福一路67號)
■ Tonight and tomorrow at 7:30pm, Sunday at 2:30pm
■ Tickets are NT$300, available through NTCH ticketing or online at www.artsticket.com.tw
Short One Player’s (三缺一劇團) The Mark Behind the Ear (耳背上的印記) is a solo performance by He Hsiang-i (賀湘儀), who examines her family history beginning when her grandfather came to Taiwan with the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) army in 1949.
■ Iron-Roof Theatre (鐵屋頂劇場), 3F, 1, Ln 227, Gongyuan Rd, Hsinchu City (新竹市公園路227巷1號3樓)
■ Tonight at 7:30pm, tomorrow at 2:30pm and 7:30pm and Sunday at 2:30pm
■ Tickets are NT$300, available through NTCH ticketing or online at www.artsticket.com.tw
Classical music
Faust’s Deal (浮士德交易), a concert by the Taipei Symphony Orchestra (台北市立交響樂團) and chorus, will feature tenor Charles Kim and conductor Hubert Soudant. The program includes Liszt’s Faust Symphony and Les Preludes (Symphonic Poem No. 3).
■ Tonight at 7:30pm
■ National Concert Hall, Taipei City
■ Tickets are NT$300 to NT$1,500, available through NTCH ticketing or online at www.artsticket.com.tw
Beyond Black and White Concert (跳躍黑與白:白色琴挑) sees the Evergreen Symphony Orchestra (長榮交響樂團) performing a under guest conductor Vladimir Kulenovic and featuring Chen Wei-yin (陳偉茵) on piano. The program will include Shostakovich’s Festive Overture, for Orchestra in A Major, Op.96, Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in F-sharp Minor, Op. 1, Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet, Fantasy-Overture for Orchestra in B Minor, and Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite.
■ Tomorrow at 7:30pm
■ National Concert Hall, Taipei City
■ Tickets are NT$500 to NT$1,500, available through ERA 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 acclaimed pop chanteuse Sandee Chan (陳珊妮) takes to the stage in support of her new release I Love You, John. Tomorrow it’s the venue’s seasonal Back to Spin party, a tribute to the former Taipei dance club. DJs include Orange, Randy, Mykal, Alex 36 and Mitch. On Sunday, the venue hosts Japanese pop singer Kousuke Atari. On Wednesday, Hong Kong Canto-pop singer Denise Ho (何韻詩), aka HOCC, takes to the stage.
■ Huashan 1914 Creative Park (華山1914), Center Five Hall (中五館), 1, Bade Rd Sec 1, Taipei City (台北市八德路一段1號)
■ Shows start at 8pm, except tomorrow’s dance party, which starts at 9pm
■ NT$1,600 tonight, NT$900 tomorrow (NT$600 in advance), Sunday’s show is NT$1,200. Wednesday’s show is NT$1,000 (NT$800 in advance). Tickets for the venue’s concerts can be purchased at ERA ticketing outlets, online through www.ticket.com.tw or www.legacy.com.tw or at 7-Eleven ibon kiosks
The Wall (這牆), Taipei’s most prominent venue for indie rock artists, hosts post-rock/emo band Orangegrass (橙草) tonight. Popular grunge band KoOk (庫克) takes to the stage tomorrow to promote its new album. On Sunday, it’s indie rock performers Passionate Winkers (激情睫毛), Neurosiser and Moonteg. On Wednesday, another trio of up-and-coming indie bands takes to the stage: Silent Sign, Fetish People and Bouncy Mental.
■ 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
■ Shows start at 8pm
■ NT$500 (NT$400 in advance) tonight, tomorrow and Sunday, and NT$400 (NT$300 in advance) on Wednesday. Tickets for all shows can be purchased online through www.thewall.com.tw or tickets.books.com.tw
I Get It (那我懂你意思了) and Queen Suitcase (皇后皮箱), which plays retro rock and indie pop, perform tonight at Witch House (女巫店), an intimate coffeehouse-style venue in the National Taiwan University area. Sirius Sharp (天狼星口琴樂團), a trio of harmonica virtuosos, appear tomorrow. No shows are scheduled for Thursday as of press time.
■ 7, Ln 56, Xinsheng S Rd Sec 3, Taipei City (台北市新生南路三段56巷7號), tel: (02) 2362-5494. On the Net: www.witchhouse.org
■ Shows 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 for music shows is NT$300
Tonight Riverside Cafe (河岸留言) hosts a night of modern jazz with Electrik Force and Lee Fusion Project. Tomorrow it’s Mando-pop singers OJ Chang (張士堂) and Quack Wu (吳忠明). On Sunday, the venue hosts expat folk singer Brent Scheihagen and Baba Band (爸爸辦桌). On Monday, the venue holds its weekly open jam.
■ 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
■ Show starts tonight at 9:30pm, 9pm on all other nights. For a list of standard songs and ground rules for the open jam, visit the venue’s Web site
■ NT$400 tonight, tomorrow, NT$350 Sunday and NT$150 Monday. Tickets can purchased online through www.riverside.com.tw or tickets.books.com.tw
Emo-influenced indie rockers Silverbus (銀巴士) and nu-metal rock band The Hindsight (光景消逝) are among a half-dozen bands playing at Check, a charity concert for nursing home patients and refugees tonight at Riverside Live House (河岸留言西門紅樓展演館). Tomorrow’s show with Mando-pop singer A-fu (鄧福如) is already sold out. On Sunday, the venue hosts a pop music contest for a group of Taiwanese university students.
■ 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
■ Show starts at 8:30pm tonight, tomorrow and Thursday
■ NT$600 tonight, sold out tomorrow, NT$250 Sunday and NT$150 Monday. Tickets can be purchased online through www.riverside.com.tw/livehouse or tickets.books.com.tw
Blues/punk band Black Summer Days and Taipei rockabilly band Sugar Lady play tonight at Underworld (地下社會), a small basement club in Taipei. Tomorrow it’s expat metal/punk band Half Mile Radius and Gan Buxuyao Liyou (幹不需要理由). On Wednesday, it’s up and coming rockers Goodbye Nao (再見奈央) and Slack Tide.
■ 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
■ Shows run from 9pm to 11pm on Fridays and Saturdays. Underworld is open daily from 9pm, closed on Mondays. Happy hour on Tuesdays and Thursdays before midnight
■ Entrance for music shows is NT$300 on Fridays and Saturdays, which includes one drink. Entrance for Wednesday shows is NT$100
The Earl Hines II Jazztet plays cool jazz tonight at Sappho de Base, a late-night lounge bar that hosts live jazz and blues performances. Tomorrow it’s experimental quartet The Yellow Lighter Dogma. The Sappho House Band presides over an open jam on Tuesday. The Dark Eyes Gypsy Jazz Band takes to the stage on Wednesday and DD Fusion appears 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), tel: (02) 2700-5411. On the Net: www.sappho102.biz
■ Shows start at 10pm. The venue is closed on Sundays and Mondays
■ Entrance is NT$150 tonight, NT$200 tomorrow, free on other nights
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) on Tuesday, and male crooner Shin Lung (辛龍), who performs every Saturday. Acclaimed Aboriginal singer Samingad (紀曉君) performs on Thursdays.
■ 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 Italian restaurant Capone’s, with live music from electric blues band Bopomofo (ㄅㄆㄇㄈ). Dancers of all levels welcome. Tomorrow, drummer Abe Nbugu Kenyatta leads a band playing music from his hometown of New Orleans. On Thursday, Japanese blues guitarist Shun Kikuta, a former guitarist for blues legend Koko Taylor, performs with his trio.
■ 312, Zhongxiao E Rd Sec 4, Taipei City (台北市忠孝東路四段312號), tel: (02) 2773-3782
■ Live music from 9pm to 11:30pm on Fridays, 8pm to 11:30pm on Saturdays
■ On Fridays, minimum charge of one drink. On Saturdays, minimum charge is NT$300
The Village Cafe (村落餐廳), a bar and cafe located at the Taipei Artist Village (台北國際藝術村), hosts live music every Saturday. This week soul group OTA Soul and 300,000 Old Pliers (三十萬年老虎鉗) take to the stage.
■ 7 Beiping E Rd, Taipei City (台北市北平東路7號), tel: (02) 3393-7377 X207
■ Tomorrow at 9:30pm
■ Entrance is NT$400, includes one drink
The Wall (這牆) programs regular live rock shows at Kaohsiung’s Pier 2 Arts Center (高雄駁二藝術特區). Tonight Suming (舒米恩), who just won this year’s Golden Melody Best Aboriginal-language Album Award, takes to the stage. Tomorrow it’s indie-pop band Goosander (川秋沙).
■ 1 Dayong Rd, Yancheng Dist, Greater Kaohsiung (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
■ NT$400 tonight and tomorrow
The Mercury (水星酒館), an indie rock club in Kaohsiung, hosts shows every Saturday. This week the venue celebrates its third anniversary with solo performances from Sam Yang (楊大正) of Fire Ex (滅火器), neo-folk singer Enno Cheng (鄭宜農) and 929 lead singer Wu Zulin (吳志寧).
■ 46 Liwen Rd, Zuoying Dist, Greater Kaohsiung (高雄市左營區立文路46號), tel: (07) 550-8617. On the Net: mercurybar.blogspot.com
■ Show starts at 9pm
■ Entrance is NT$250, which includes one drink
Alice and Her Musicians, which plays rock, country and pop hits, takes to the stage tomorrow at The 3 Baboons Sports Bar & Grill, an expat hangout at the Taimall Shopping Center (台茂購物中心) in Taoyuan.
■ Taimall Shopping Center (台茂購物中心), 112, Nankan Rd Sec 1, Lujhu Township, Taoyuan County (桃園縣蘆竹鄉南崁路一段112號), tel: (03) 212-2150. On the Net: www.3baboons.com
■ Starts at 8:30pm
■ Entrance is free
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