Contemporary
Legacy Taipei hosts top Taiwanese pop performers and international acts. Tonight’s spotlight is on Mando-pop singer Shunza (順子), while tomorrow features the album release party of neo-psychedelia/alternative rock group Echo’s (回聲樂團).
■ 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)
Photo courtesy of Riverside
■ Shows start at 8pm
■ Admission is NT$1,000 tonight, NT$800 tomorrow. Tickets for the venue’s concerts can be purchased online through www.indievox.com and at 7-Eleven ibon kiosks
Composed of an accordionist and a violin player, Nineteen Tael (十九兩) takes the stage at Legacy Mini, a spin-off of Legacy Taipei, on Sunday.
Photo courtesy of Riverside
■ Legacy Mini at 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)
■ Show starts at 8pm
■ Admission is NT$420. Tickets for the venue’s concerts can be purchased online through www.indievox.com and at 7-Eleven ibon kiosks
Dream pop outfit Frande (法蘭黛樂團) celebrates the release of its latest album tonight at The Wall (這牆), Taipei’s most prominent venue for indie rock artists. It is a punk night with pop punk and modern rock outfit Go Go Rise (美好前程) and hard-cord punks The Roadside Inn tomorrow. On Sunday, Japan’s rockers Kohak is joined by Taiwan’s heavy metal bands Silent Hell (獄無聲) and Bloody Tyrant (暴君). Wednesday’s roster includes post-rock act Triple Deer and blues/garage rock/punk band Wake Up Explosion (威愷爆炸). Hong Kong’s pop group Fantastic Day plays on Thursday, accompanied by Taiwan’s garage/shoegaze band Skip Skip Ben Ben and noisy experimental rock group The Sign of Human (記號士).
■ 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
■ Admission is NT$500 tonight, NT$400 tomorrow, on Sunday and Thursday, NT$200 on Wednesday. Tickets for all shows, with discounts on advance tickets, can be purchased online through www.thewall.com.tw and tickets.books.com.tw
American progressive rock guitarist Steve Williams plays with The Resident Aliens tonight at Pipe Live Music, a main venue for indie music and parties. Also on the bill is psychedelic blues/trip-hop band Robbie Y. Group.
■ 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 8pm
■ Admission is NT$300 in advance and NT$350 at the door. Tickets can be purchased online through www.walkieticket.com and at 7-Eleven ibon kiosks and FamilyMart (全家) FamiPort kiosks
Alt-rock band Silent Toads (啾吉惦惦), psychedelic rockers The Gigantic Roar (巨大的轟鳴) and Anteater (食蟻獸) congregate tonight at indie rock club Revolver. Tomorrow, instrumental rock act BHD shares the stage with experimental sound group Heavy Egg Hell Dog (巨蛋地獄狗). Later the same night, digital musicians including electronic duo Dronetonics, Ornine and Swivelized Sound experiment with electronic sounds. Sunday’s lineup include veteran rockers Tizzy Bac and Midnight Ping Pong (午夜乒乓). On Wednesday, post-punk/garage rock group Tight Tight Crotch (緊褲襠) plays with post-rock combo 2HRs and Dirty Fiction (髒小說), while Thursday’s show is by punk band Insane (失心瘋), trash/metal outfit Hydra and Changer.
■ 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 9:30pm tonight and on weekdays, 7:30pm tomorrow and on Sunday, 10pm for tomorrow’s late-night show
■ Entrance is NT$300 tonight and tomorrow’s late night show, NT$200 tomorrow and on weekdays, NT$250 on Sunday
Garage rock favorites 88 Balaz (88顆芭樂籽) and dream pop/post punk group Twisterella are scheduled tonight at Bobwundaye (無問題), a small pub on Heping East Road (和平東路) in Taipei. Japanese blues band Blues Boys perform tomorrow.
■ 77, Heping E Rd Sec 3, Taipei City (台北市和平東路三段77號), tel: (02) 2377-1772
■ Shows start at 10pm
■ Admission is NT$200 tonight and NT$300 tomorrow
Folk/pop act Hush! appears at Kafka on the Shore (海邊的卡夫卡), a coffee house-cum-music and arts venue in the National Taiwan University area, tomorrow.
■ 2F, 2, Ln 244, Roosevelt Rd Sec 3, Taipei City (台北市羅斯福路三段244巷2號2樓). On the Net: www.kafkabythe.blogspot.tw
■ Show starts at 8pm. Cafe/bookstore opens noon to midnight Sundays through Thursdays, noon to 2am Fridays and Saturdays
■ Entrance is NT$600
Electronic/alternative rock outfit Sleeping Brain (眠腦) and Crap United (廢結合) each plays a set tonight at Witch House (女巫店), an intimate coffeehouse-style venue in the National Taiwan University area. Tomorrow, blues and ballad singer Jimmy Wang (王俊傑) croons with Danny Shao (邵大倫), and it is jazz musician Peng Yu-wen (彭郁雯) on Sunday. Thursday’s lineup is formed by pop singer Wang Sun-jet (王上頡) and No Feeling (無感覺樂團).
■ 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 except for Sunday which begins at 8:30pm. 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$350
Mando-pop singer Jing Chang (張芸京) holds a concert tonight at Riverside Live House (河岸留言西門紅樓展演館).
■ 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
■ Entrance is NT$600. Tickets can be purchased online through www.riverside.com.tw and tickets.books.com.tw
Brian Chiu & Soybeats (邱培榮& Soybeat) perform tonight at Riverside Cafe (河岸留言), while Puyuma Aboriginal singer Leo Chen (陳永龍) appears tomorrow. It is a folk night on Sunday with folk duo Tom & Huck (湯姆與哈克) and The Traveler (迷途者). On Tuesday, pop rockers T.B.T (硬式紅茶) shares the stage with Bling High (不厲害), followed by indie rockers 30 Years Of Pain (三十萬年老虎鉗) and electro pop/post-rock combo Nightcap (睡帽樂團) on Wednesday. Thursday’s roster are young crooner Christ (伍澤) and pop singer Iris Lin (林綾).
■ 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 except for tonight which begins at 9:30pm
■ NT$400 on weekends, NT$350 on Sunday and weekdays. Tickets can be purchased online through www.riverside.com.tw and tickets.books.com.tw
Featuring pianist Andrew Page, The Lifers performs original music tonight at Sappho de Base, a late-night lounge bar that hosts mostly jazz shows, while The Ash Hines Jazztet plays jazz grooves and compositions influenced by the cool-Jazz genre tomorrow. Featuring Adam James Sorensen on piano, Adam James Sorensen Trio performs on Wednesday. On Thursday, singer-songwriter Sarah Cheng-De Winne (鄭雪梅) teams up with the Soul Bros for a concert of originals, Chinese pop favorites and R&B/soul hits.
■ 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 9:30pm
■ Entrance is NT$350 tonight and tomorrow, NT$200 on Wednesday, NT$300 on Thursday
Tomorrow, acclaimed Aboriginal singer/songwriter Suming (舒米恩) performs with Van Fan (范逸臣) and Irene Luo (羅美玲) 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 City.
■ 26, Ln 135, Sinsheng Rd, Taitung City (台東市新生路135巷26號), tel: (089) 343-393. On the Net: www.tw.streetvoice.com/users/tiehua
■ Show starts at 8pm. Music venue and crafts shops are open 2pm to 10pm Tuesdays through Sundays. Weekend arts fair opens 6pm to 10pm every Friday, 3:30pm to 10pm every Saturday and Sunday
■ Admission is NT$500. Tickets can be purchased online through tickets.books.com.tw
Tomorrow, Indie rockers B.B.Bomb (BB彈) joins force with Taichung-based rockers One Step (一步) and post-hardcore/screamo band Noise Effect (噪音效應) at Paramount Bar (百樂門酒館), an indie rock club in Greater Kaohsiung.
■ 70 Minzu 1st Rd, Sanming Dist, Greater Kaohsiung (高雄市三民區民族一路70號), tel: (07) 389-0501
■ Show starts at 8pm
■ Entrance is NT$250
Electronic folk band WWWW (落差草原) and alternative outfit Tunnel of Light appear at The Mercury (水星酒館), an indie rock club in Greater Kaohsiung, tomorrow.
■ 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.tw
■ Show starts at 9pm
■ Entrance is NT$250
The Wall (這牆) programs regular live rock shows at Kaohsiung’s Pier 2 Arts Center (高雄駁二藝術特區). Veteran rocker Shih Band (信樂團) is back 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
■ Show starts at 7:30pm
■ Admission is NT$850 in advance and NT$1,000 at the door. Tickets can be purchased at 7-Eleven ibon kiosks, www.books.com.tw and www.indievox.com
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
Over the course of former President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) 11-day trip to China that included a meeting with Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader Xi Jinping (習近平) a surprising number of people commented that the former president was now “irrelevant.” Upon reflection, it became apparent that these comments were coming from pro-Taiwan, pan-green supporters and they were expressing what they hoped was the case, rather than the reality. Ma’s ideology is so pro-China (read: deep blue) and controversial that many in his own Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) hope he retires quickly, or at least refrains from speaking on some subjects. Regardless
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