Contemporary
Dedicated to post-rock music, Decibel Music Festival (不只是分貝音樂節) takes place at Treasure Hill Artist Village (寶藏巖國際藝術村) on Sunday, featuring a troop of bands including indie rockers Islanders (島嶼樂團), alternative rock outfit Morphineside (嗎啡隱私), post-rock act Triple Deer, shoegaze band Nuin 8 (扭音八) and instrumental rock band Shimmer Riot.
■ 2, Alley 14, Ln 230, Dingzhou Rd Sec 3, Taipei (台北市汀州路三段230巷14弄2號)
Photo courtesy of Legacy Taipei
■ Show runs from 11am to 5pm
■ Free admission
Legacy Taipei, located in a former warehouse at Huashan 1914 Creative Park (華山1914), hosts top Taiwanese pop performers and international acts. Tomorrow, Amis singer-songwriter Suming (舒米恩) celebrates the release of his latest album Amis Life (美式生活).
Photo courtesy of The Wall
■Huashan 1914 Creative Park (華山1914), Center Five Hall (中五館), 1, Bade Rd Sec 1, Taipei (台北市八德路一段1號)
■Show starts at 8pm
■Admission is NT$600 in advance and NT$800 at door. Tickets for the venue’s concerts can be purchased online through www.indievox.com and at 7-Eleven ibon kiosks
Tonight’s spotlight is on Mando-pop singer Hebe (田馥甄) at Legacy Mini, a spin-off of Legacy Taipei. Paiwan musician Bao Bu (保卜) performs fingerstyle guitar on Sunday. Wednesday’s show is by twin indie pop singers Yi-cheng, Yi-ching (依錚依靜).
■Amba Taipei Ximending (台北西門町意舍), 5F, 77, Wuchang St Sec 2, Taipei (台北市武昌街二段77號5樓)
■Shows start at 7:30pm
■Admission is NT$500 tonight, NT$420 on Sunday and Wednesday. Tickets for the venue’s concerts can be purchased online through www.indievox.com and at 7-Eleven ibon kiosks
The Wall (這牆), Taipei’s most prominent venue for indie rock artists, hosts Chinese folk musicians Chou Yunpeng (周雲蓬) and Xiaohe (小河) tonight, followed by Taiwan’s folk/pop act Hush! tomorrow. Electronic post-rock act Formosa Romance, psychedelic folk rockers No.7 Cyan (七號青) and garage rock outfit HiJack form the lineup on Sunday. Wednesday sees the arrival of alt-rock band Silent Toads (啾吉惦惦), accompanied by grunge rockers Slack Tide. Ambient/indie-electronica act Heartones (心電樂) and disco/post-punk outfit New Sunglasses (新墨鏡) are among the performers on Thursday.
■ B1, 200, Roosevelt Rd Sec 4, Taipei (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
■ Admission is NT$500 tonight, NT$450 tomorrow, NT$200 on Sunday and weekdays. Tickets for all shows, with discounts on advance tickets, can be purchased online through www.thewall.com.tw and tickets.books.com.tw
Indie rockers The Tic Tac, Don’t Talk ‘bout Life and Frusciante (佛香甜) get together tonight at indie rock club Revolver, while tomorrow’s performers include punk rockers Feed Pigs (餵飽豬), Keep Walking (一直走) and Mr. Nobody (無先生). Sunday’s lineup features metalcore/post-hardcore outfits Blind Alley (盲胞愛莉) and Moving Prison as well as doom metal band Silphidae.
■ 1-2, Roosevelt Rd Sec 1, Taipei (台北市羅斯福路一段1-2號), tel: (02) 3393-1678
■ Show starts at 10pm tonight and tomorrow, 7pm on Sunday
■ Entrance is NT$300 for all shows
Rap artist Witness (黃崇旭) takes the stage tonight at Pipe Live Music, a main venue for indie music and parties. Along with several other bands, dance/rock band Acidy Peeping Tom (微酸的偷窺狂), punk group Destroyers (擊沈女孩) and instrumental/post-rock outfit Mass Man hold a rock extravaganza tomorrow. On Sunday, it is live music from all-girl J-pop group Tangy Q (刺姬), Walking Voice and Bizcashi (比茲卡西).
■ 1 Siyuan Rd, Taipei (台北市思源路1號), tel: (02) 2364-8198. On the Net: www.pipemusic.com.tw
■ Show starts at 8pm tonight, 5:30pm tomorrow, 7pm on Sunday
■ Admission is NT$500 tonight, NT$350 tomorrow and on Sunday. Tickets can be purchased online through www.walkieticket.com and at 7-Eleven ibon kiosks and FamilyMart (全家) FamiPort kiosks
Young songstress Layyiting (小賴) and friends perform tonight at Witch House (女巫店), an intimate coffeehouse-style venue in the National Taiwan University area. Acoustic folk group One Eye Open One Eye Closed (睜一隻眼閉一隻眼) plays with Tamsui Boyz (淡水男孩) tomorrow, and it is Bombastichen (陳誇張) and folk/jazz musician Tiest (小尾巴) on Thursday.
■ 7, Ln 56, Xinsheng S Rd Sec 3, Taipei (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 is NT$350
Genius violin player Kevin Liao (廖柏雅) teams up with a cappella group Huaren All Stars (華仁歌手組合) tonight at Riverside Live House (河岸留言西門紅樓展演館). Pop singer Rachel Liang (梁文音) appears tomorrow, followed by pop rockers 7tenthsSweet (七分甜) and post-grunge outfit Ground Zero (放射空間) on Thursday.
■ 177 Xining S Rd, Taipei (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 and tomorrow, 8pm on Thursday
■ Entrance is NT$550 tonight, NT$600 tomorrow, NT$400 on Thursday. Tickets can be purchased online through www.riverside.com.tw and tickets.books.com.tw
Atayal singer Rachel Lu (呂薔) teams up with brother-sister duo Y Two tomorrow at Riverside Cafe (河岸留言), while it is One Year (一年樂團) and J-pop group Anchor on Sunday. Wednesday’s line up is formed by pop rockers Passionate Winkers (激情睫毛) and H/F.
■ B1, 2, Ln 244, Roosevelt Rd Sec 3, Taipei (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 tomorrow, NT$350 on Sunday and Wednesday. Tickets can be purchased online through www.riverside.com.tw and tickets.books.com.tw
It is a night of indie/folk on Thursday at Sappho de Base, a late-night lounge bar that hosts mostly jazz shows. With four performances by Arman Torus and friends, Tricolor Tree Leaf, Winking Owl and Mister Green.
■ B1, 1, Ln 102, Anhe Rd Sec 1, Taipei (台北市安和路一段102巷1號B1), tel: (02) 2700-5411. On the Net: www.sappho102.biz
■ Show starts at 9pm
■ Entrance is NT$200
Solo act Funcal (方治權) is scheduled tonight at A House, a venue dedicated to a cappella with a focus on classical, jazz and world music, while pop singer Rayray (劉軒蓁) croons tomorrow.
■ 18, Alley 5, Ln 107, Fuxing S Rd Sec 1, Taipei (台北市復興南路一段107巷5弄18號), tel: (02) 2778-8612. On the Net: ahouse.vocalasia.com
■ Shows start at 8pm
■ NT$350 for both shows, available online through www.walkieticket.com and at 7-Eleven ibon and FamilyMart (全家) FamiPort kiosks. Admission 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). Biung (王宏恩), a Golden Melody Award-winning singer from the Bunun tribe, tours to the harbor city with his latest album tonight. Chinese folk musicians Chou Yunpeng (周雲蓬) and Xiaohe (小河) perform tomorrow.
■ 1 Dayong Rd, Greater Kaohsiung (高雄市大勇路1號), tel: (07) 521-5148. On the Net: www.thewall.com.tw
■ Shows start at 7:30pm
■ Admission is NT$400 tomorrow, NT$350 on Sunday and weekdays. Tickets can be purchased at 7-Eleven ibon kiosks, www.books.com.tw and www.indievox.com
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