Theater
Deep Fall (秋夜), a new production from Taiwan’s avant-garde Firefly Theater (螢火蟲劇團), written and directed by the troupe’s artistic director Han Jiang (韓江). The production features actor Ronnie Oscar Tung (董浚凱) and actress Huang Hsiao-ching (黃曉菁) in the leading roles.
■ Tomorrow and Saturday at 7:30pm
■ Da-Dong Cultural Center (大東文化藝術中心), 161 Guangyuan Rd, Greater Kaohsiung (高雄市光遠路161號)
■ Tickets are NT$300 to NT$1,000, available through NTCH ticketing and online at www.artsticket.com.tw
Legend Opera II — B.Box of Brother and Sister II (B.Box兄妹串戲II — 那一年,我們都挨打) is another production in Contemporary Legend Theater’s (當代傳奇劇場) Legendary Classic Drama Series. This daring mix of Beijing opera and contemporary slapstick aims to show that operatic skills are as pertinent to making good contemporary theater entertainment as they ever were.
■ Today, tomorrow, Wednesday and Thursday at 7:30pm
■ Auditorium of the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, 21 Zhongshan S Rd, Taipei City (台北市中山南路21號)
■ Tickets are NT$500 to NT$1,500; available through NTCH ticketing and online at www.artsticket.com.tw
Human Condition V (人間條件五), an ongoing series of dramatic projects that has proved one of Green Ray Theater’s (綠光劇團) most enduring successes. The fifth instalment in the series, which deals with various aspects of Taiwanese society, focuses on the role of men in society: Their innocence, delightfulness and absurdity.
■ Today and tomorrow at 7:30pm; tomorrow and Sunday 2:30pm
■ Tainan Municipal Cultural Center Performance Hall (臺南市立臺南文化中心演藝廳), 332 Chunghua E Rd Sec 3, Tainan City (中華東路三段332號)
■ Tickets are NT$500 to NT$3,000; available through NTCH ticketing and online at www.artsticket.com.tw
Classical music
Performed by the National Chinese Orchestra (台灣國家國樂團), Story Island (故事島) is a musical program with an accompanying video presentation that pays tribute to “the beauty of Taiwan,” with pieces devoted to Taipei, Sun Moon Lake, Kenting and Taitung.
■ Friday at 7:30pm
■ National Concert Hall, Taipei City
■ Tickets are NT$600 to NT$1,000, available through NTCH ticketing and online at www.artsticket.com.tw
The National Concert Hall hosts master concert pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard of Lyon, France, who will perform a program that includes Heinz Holliger’s Elis, Schumann’s Symphonic Etudes and Debussy’s Preludes, Book II.
■ Monday at 7:30pm
■ National Concert Hall, Taipei City
■ Tickets are NT$800 to NT$2,500, available through NTCH ticketing and 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. Japanese rockers One Ok Rock take the stage tonight. Hipster pop rocker Sadon (山東) and The Fader perform tomorrow, while Japanese shoegazer band Asian Kung-Fu Generation appear on Sunday.
■ 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 8pm
■ NT$2,000 tonight, NT$500 tomorrow and NT$2,200 on Sunday. Tickets for the venue’s concerts can be purchased at ERA ticketing outlets, online through www.ticket.com.tw, www.legacy.com.tw and at 7-Eleven ibon kiosks
Japanese group Art-School and local indie heroes Touming Magazine (透明雜誌) are scheduled tonight at The Wall (這牆), Taipei’s most prominent venue for indie rock artists. Tomorrow, the venue hosts Loh Tsui Kweh Commune (濁水溪公社), Taiwan’s favorite nakashi punks and pioneers of cheesy karoke-inspired rock ‘n’ roll. On Sunday, it’s local post-rock veterans Sugar Plum Ferry.
■ 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$1,200 tonight, NT$600 tomorrow and Wednesday. Tickets for all shows, with discounts on advance tickets, can be purchased online through www.thewall.com.tw and tickets.books.com.tw
Tonight Witch House (女巫店), an intimate coffeehouse-style venue in the National Taiwan University area, hosts acoustic rock act Crispy, Pierre Hujoel (胡月) and Yeah!. Jazz fusion group Gina’s Can (吉那罐子樂團) performs tomorrow, and on Thursday it’s solo acoustic acts Summerbred and Barbarian (野人).
■ 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
Indie rockers Sorry Youth (拍謝少年) and Easy play tonight at Underworld (地下社會), a small basement club and a favorite indie rock hangout in Taipei. Punk bands Random (隨性) and Countervalve (逆瓣膜) play on Saturday, and on Wednesday, it’s Wild Deer (野鹿) and MOWA
■ 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
Tonight indie rock club Revolver hosts an evening of live dub and reggae, with sets from Taimaica Soundsystem (台買加環繞音效) and Otaku3. Later on in the evening, it’s hip-hop from DJs Abstract and Leo37, among others. Saturday is “Night Zoo,” with DJs James Ho, GMB, Kolette and Zo. On Thursday, it’s live music from Jelly Lee (傑利), Simmo Simpson, Mark Darvill and Ellery.
■ 1-2, Roosevelt Rd Sec 1, Taipei City (台北市羅斯福路一段1-2號), tel: (02) 3393-1678
■ Shows start at 9pm tonight, 10pm tomorrow, 9:30pm Thursday
■ Entrance is NT$300 tonigh, NT$250 tomorrow, NT$200 on Thursday. Admission includes one free drink
Bobwundaye, a small pub on Heping East Road (和平東路) in Taipei, hosts an open mic every Wednesday.
■ 77, Hoping E Rd, Sec 3, Taipei City (台北市和平東路三段77號)
■ Shows start at 9:30pm
■ Free on Wednesdays
Hipster pop rocker Sadon (山東) and The Fader appears tonight at Riverside Cafe (河岸留言). Tomorrow, it’s Amis Aboriginal folk singer Ado (阿洛). Fingerstyle guitarist Sujer (舒吉吉) appears on Sunday.
■ 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 9pm
■ NT$400 tonight and tomorrow and NT$350 Sunday. Tickets can purchased online through www.riverside.com.tw and tickets.books.com.tw
DJ Noodles and saxophonist Alec Haavik perform together tonight at Sappho de Base, a late-night lounge bar. Tomorrow it’s local ska mavens Skaraoke. On Tuesday, the Sappho House Band leads an open jam and on Wednesday, it’s NES Jazz.
■ 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$300 tonight and NT$200 tomorrow, free on other nights
Acclaimed Aboriginal singer Samingad (紀曉君) performs every Thursday at EZ5 Live House, which hosts Mando-pop singers backed by a live band every night. Other highlights include Mando-pop songstress Julia Peng (彭佳慧) on Tuesdays.
■ 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
On Fridays at Italian restaurant Capone’s, Taipei Swing holds dance socials with live music from electric blues band Bopomofo (ㄅㄆㄇㄈ). On Saturday, drummer Abe Nbugu Kenyatta leads a band playing music from his hometown of New Orleans. Iris sings “romantic chansons” Sunday nights and on Wednesdays, it’s Latin music from guitarist Roberto Zayas. Duo Blurrs Bros perform blues and American songbook tunes on Thursdays.
■ 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 Wall (這牆) programs regular live rock shows at Kaohsiung’s Pier 2 Arts Center (高雄駁二藝術特區). Tonight, it’s screamo/hardcore band Noise Effect (噪音效應), rock group Overtone and punk band Combine (抗敗樂團).
■ 1 Dayong Rd, Yancheng Dist, Greater Kaohsiung (高雄市鹽埕區大勇路1號). On the Net: pierer-2.khcc.gov.tw, www.thewall.com.tw
■ Shows start at 7:30pm
■ NT$500 tonight. Tickets for all shows, with discounts on advance tickets, can be purchased online through www.thewall.com.tw and tickets.books.com.tw
The Mercury (水星酒館), an indie rock club in Kaohsiung, hosts live music every Saturday. This weekend features two Taipei-based indie bands, The Okay Cars and Forests (森林合唱團).
■ 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
■ Starts at 9pm
■ Entrance is NT$200, includes one drink
Other
Taipei Discussion and Learning meets every Sunday at Wisteria Tea House (紫藤廬) to hear lectures and discuss topics such as philosophy, science, anthropology, globalization and alternative medicine. All discussions and lectures are conducted in English. This weekend’s lecture is titled The Magical Foundations of Society.
■ Wisteria Tea House (紫藤廬), 1, Ln 16, Xinsheng S Rd Sec 3, Taipei City (台北市新生南路三段16巷1號)
■ Every Sunday at 8pm
■ Entrance is free. For more information visit www.taipeidiscussionandlearning.blogspot.com
Taichung Improv celebrates its fifth anniversary with Improv Extravaganza at Frog 1 in Taichung City. These folks have been making stuff up and making audiences laugh since 2007. Come out and celebrate with them for a community improv “jam session” and a murder mystery.
■ Frog 1 (青蛙墨西哥餐廳), 105 Hua Mei West St Sec 1, Taichung City (台中市華美西街一段105)
■ Tomorrow from 6:30pm to 8:30pm; doors open at 6pm
■ Tickets are NT$200 (includes one drink)
In the mainstream view, the Philippines should be worried that a conflict over Taiwan between the superpowers will drag in Manila. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr observed in an interview in The Wall Street Journal last year, “I learned an African saying: When elephants fight, the only one that loses is the grass. We are the grass in this situation. We don’t want to get trampled.” Such sentiments are widespread. Few seem to have imagined the opposite: that a gray zone incursion of People’s Republic of China (PRC) ships into the Philippines’ waters could trigger a conflict that drags in Taiwan. Fewer
March 18 to March 24 Yasushi Noro knew that it was not the right time to scale Hehuan Mountain (合歡). It was March 1913 and the weather was still bitingly cold at high altitudes. But he knew he couldn’t afford to wait, either. Launched in 1910, the Japanese colonial government’s “five year plan to govern the savages” was going well. After numerous bloody battles, they had subdued almost all of the indigenous peoples in northeastern Taiwan, save for the Truku who held strong to their territory around the Liwu River (立霧溪) and Mugua River (木瓜溪) basins in today’s Hualien County (花蓮). The Japanese
Pei-Ru Ko (柯沛如) says her Taipei upbringing was a little different from her peers. “We lived near the National Palace Museum [north of Taipei] and our neighbors had rice paddies. They were growing food right next to us. There was a mountain and a river so people would say, ‘you live in the mountains,’ and my friends wouldn’t want to come and visit.” While her school friends remained a bus ride away, Ko’s semi-rural upbringing schooled her in other things, including where food comes from. “Most people living in Taipei wouldn’t have a neighbor that was growing food,” she says. “So
Whether you’re interested in the history of ceramics, the production process itself, creating your own pottery, shopping for ceramic vessels, or simply admiring beautiful handmade items, the Zhunan Snake Kiln (竹南蛇窯) in Jhunan Township (竹南), Miaoli County, is definitely worth a visit. For centuries, kiln products were an integral part of daily life in Taiwan: bricks for walls, tiles for roofs, pottery for the kitchen, jugs for fermenting alcoholic drinks, as well as decorative elements on temples, all came from kilns, and Miaoli was a major hub for the production of these items. The Zhunan Snake Kiln has a large area dedicated