Contemporary
Legacy Taipei, located in a former warehouse at Huashan 1914 Creative Park (華山1914), hosts top Taiwanese pop performers and international acts. Hong Kong’s openly lesbian singer Denise Ho (何韻詩) plays two shows tonight and tomorrow.
■ 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)
Photo courtesy of Riverside
■ Shows start at 8pm
■ NT$1,500 in advance and NT$1,800 at the door. 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
Canadian dream pop/Indie electronic musician Grimes arrives tonight at The Wall (這牆), Taipei’s most prominent venue for indie rock artists. Japanese synthpunk star Polysics makes debut concert tomorrow, with post-punk/new wave band the telephones as the opening act. It is Taiwan’s dance rock group P!SCO, Lazy Lady and pop-rockers Lumei (露魅) on Sunday.
Photo courtesy of Riverside
■ 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
■ Show starts at 8pm tonight and on Sunday, 7pm tomorrow
■ NT$1,700 tonight and tomorrow, NT$200 on Sunday. Tickets for all shows, with discounts on advance tickets, can be purchased online through www.thewall.com.tw and tickets.books.com.tw
Photo courtesy of Riverside
Indie rockers The Motions and Pilots in the Sky and on the Sea (旅人) take the stage tonight at Underworld (地下社會), a small basement club in Taipei. Five-piece rock group M.O.W.A and Pingtung-based rockers Jump play tomorrow, followed by Corner and Doherfy (盜飛) on Wednesday.
■ 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. Underworld is open daily from 9pm, closed on Sundays and Mondays
■ Entrance for music shows is NT$300 on Fridays and Saturdays, which includes one drink, and NT$100 on Wednesdays
In celebration of Roxy’s 31st anniversary, Roxy Rocker, a basement hangout for indie rockers and fans in Taipei, organizes a five-day musical festival starting on Wednesday. The lineup features a troupe of Taiwan’s top indie acts including My Skin Against Your Skin (激膚樂團), alt-pop band 13 (拾參) and garage rock favorites 88 Balaz (88顆芭樂籽). The event also doubles as a Spring Scream pre-party.
■ B1, 177, Heping E Rd Sec 1, Taipei City (台北市和平東路一段177號B1), tel: (02) 2351-8177. On the Net: roxyrocker.com
■ Shows start at 8pm. Roxy Rocker is open daily from 8pm to 4am, closed on Mondays
■ Minimum charge NT$200
Noise band She Bang A (死蚊子), post-punk rockers Macbeth (馬克白) and Roxymoron hit the stage tonight at Indie rock club Revolver. Tomorrow promises to be a night of live Gypsy music with Marko and Damier. It’s Taipei Rocket 88 Blues Band (台北火箭88) on Wednesday. Thursday’s show features alternative rock band 3.D.B (參噸半樂團) and Who Are You (隱藏人物).
■ 1-2, Roosevelt Rd Sec 1, Taipei City (台北市羅斯福路一段1-2號), tel: (02) 3393-1678
■ Show starts at 10pm tonight, tomorrow and on Wednesday, 9:30pm on Thursday
■ Entrance is NT$300 tonight, NT$200 tomorrow and on Thursday, free on Wednesday. Admission includes one drink
Pop rockers Red Flower (紅花樂團) take the stage tonight at Pipe Live Music, a main venue for indie music and parties. Tomorrow’s roster is of eight indie acts from Japan and Taiwan including Inhuman Band (非人物種), Children Sucker (表兒) and Office Voids. It is Italian gothic metal band Graveworm on Sunday.
■ 1, Siyuan Rd, Taipei City (台北市思源路1號), tel: (02) 2364-8198. On the Net: www.pipemusic.com.tw
■ Show starts at 7:30pm tonight, 3pm tomorrow and 7pm on Sunday
■ NT$400 tonight, NT$600 tomorrow, NT$1,000 and NT$1,500 on Sunday, one drink included. Tickets can be purchased online through www.walkieticket.com
Pop/rock idol Bobby Chen (陳昇) and his New Treasure Island Band (新寶島康樂隊) perform tonight at Riverside Live House (河岸留言西門紅樓展演館). The venue hosts Mando-pop female crooner Ren, aka Hsia Yu-tung (夏宇童), tomorrow. Indie acts Eggplant Egg (茄子蛋) and Belabus (白蘿蔔) hit the stage on Thursday.
■ 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 8:30pm
■ NT$800 tonight, NT$400 tomorrow and on Thursday. Tickets can be purchased online through www.riverside.com.tw and tickets.books.com.tw
It’s fusion jazz tonight at Riverside Cafe (河岸留言), featuring Huh? (蛤樂團) and Fusion Planet (融合星球). Aboriginal folk icon Panai (巴奈) shares the stage with Indie folk singer and actress Enno Cheng (鄭宜農) tomorrow. Tuesday’s lineup is pop-rock outfit Elesha (伊蕾莎) and Nana (何佳娜) and Friends. Acoustic songstress Annie (洪安妮) appears on Wednesday, followed by Puyuma musician Sangpuy (桑布伊) and Nighteentael (十九兩樂團) on Thursday.
■ 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 at 9:30pm tonight, 9pm tomorrow and on Tuesday
■ NT$400 tonight and tomorrow, NT$350 on weekdays. Tickets can be purchased online through www.riverside.com.tw and tickets.books.com.tw
Yellow Funky Doggies brings an electrifying blend of folky jazz and post rock tonight at Sappho de Base, a late-night lounge bar that hosts mostly jazz shows. It is Canadian hip-hop artist LEO37 tomorrow.
■ 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$200 tonight and NT$300 tomorrow
On Fridays at Italian restaurant Capone’s, it is time for 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. Yvonne sings classic jazz tunes Sunday nights. Mondays feature Leavy crooning light standard jazz songs, followed by jazz duo Mary Jane and Nathan on Tuesdays. On Wednesdays, it’s Latin music from guitarist Roberto Zayas. Jazz singer Angel appears 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 11pm on Fridays and Saturdays, 8pm to 10pm on Sundays and 8:45pm to 10:45pm on weekdays
■ On Fridays, minimum charge of one drink. On Saturdays, minimum charge is NT$300
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 and male crooner Shin Lung (辛龍), who performs every Saturday.
■ 211, Anhe Rd Sec 2, Taipei City (台北市安和路二段211號), tel: (02) 2738-3995. On the Net: 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
Aboriginal group Hey! Linaw Band (嘿! 里鬧樂團) and Jelly Lee (傑利) form today’s bill at Tiehua Music Village (鐵花村), an arts village composed of a music venue, design and crafts shops and a weekend arts fair in Taitung. Amis singer-songwriter Suming (舒米恩) holds a mini concert tomorrow.
■ 26, Ln 135 Sinsheng Rd, Taitung City (台東市新生路135巷26號), tel: (089) 343-393. On the Net: http://tw.streetvoice.com/users/tiehua
■ Shows run from 8pm to 10pm. Music venue and crafts shops open 2pm to 10pm Tuesdays through Sundays. Weekend arts fair opens 6pm to 10pm every Friday, 3:30pm to 10pm every Saturday and Sunday
■ NT$250 tonight and NT$350 tomorrow. Tickets can be purchased online through tickets.books.com.tw
The Wall (這牆) programs regular live rock shows at Kaohsiung’s Pier 2 Arts Center (高雄駁二藝術特區). French composer, pianist and orchestra conductor Laurent Couson performs tonight. Tomorrow’s lineup is post-punk rockers Macbeth (馬克白) and top indie act 1976. On Sunday, award-winning soul/jazz singer Shih Ying-ying (史茵茵) croons to her The Yam Project, with Ray Lin & Band as the opening act.
■ 1 Dayong Rd, Yancheng Dist, Greater Kaohsiung (高雄市鹽埕區大勇路1號), tel: (07) 521-5148. On the Net: www.thewall.com.tw
■ Show starts at 7:30pm
■ Free admission tonight, NT$400 tomorrow and NT$350 on Sunday. Tickets can be purchased at 7-Eleven ibon kiosks, books.com.tw, and indievox.com
In late October of 1873 the government of Japan decided against sending a military expedition to Korea to force that nation to open trade relations. Across the government supporters of the expedition resigned immediately. The spectacle of revolt by disaffected samurai began to loom over Japanese politics. In January of 1874 disaffected samurai attacked a senior minister in Tokyo. A month later, a group of pro-Korea expedition and anti-foreign elements from Saga prefecture in Kyushu revolted, driven in part by high food prices stemming from poor harvests. Their leader, according to Edward Drea’s classic Japan’s Imperial Army, was a samurai
Located down a sideroad in old Wanhua District (萬華區), Waley Art (水谷藝術) has an established reputation for curating some of the more provocative indie art exhibitions in Taipei. And this month is no exception. Beyond the innocuous facade of a shophouse, the full three stories of the gallery space (including the basement) have been taken over by photographs, installation videos and abstract images courtesy of two creatives who hail from the opposite ends of the earth, Taiwan’s Hsu Yi-ting (許懿婷) and Germany’s Benjamin Janzen. “In 2019, I had an art residency in Europe,” Hsu says. “I met Benjamin in the lobby
April 22 to April 28 The true identity of the mastermind behind the Demon Gang (魔鬼黨) was undoubtedly on the minds of countless schoolchildren in late 1958. In the days leading up to the big reveal, more than 10,000 guesses were sent to Ta Hwa Publishing Co (大華文化社) for a chance to win prizes. The smash success of the comic series Great Battle Against the Demon Gang (大戰魔鬼黨) came as a surprise to author Yeh Hung-chia (葉宏甲), who had long given up on his dream after being jailed for 10 months in 1947 over political cartoons. Protagonist
Peter Brighton was amazed when he found the giant jackfruit. He had been watching it grow on his farm in far north Queensland, and when it came time to pick it from the tree, it was so heavy it needed two people to do the job. “I was surprised when we cut it off and felt how heavy it was,” he says. “I grabbed it and my wife cut it — couldn’t do it by myself, it took two of us.” Weighing in at 45 kilograms, it is the heaviest jackfruit that Brighton has ever grown on his tropical fruit farm, located