Legacy Taipei hosts top Taiwanese pop performers and international acts. Pop musician William Wei Li-an (韋禮安), aka WeiBird, holds a concert tomorrow and Sunday.
■ 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)
■ Shows start at 8pm
Photo courtesy of Generation 7
■ Admission is NT$1,200 tomorrow and on Sunday. Tickets for the venue’s concerts can be purchased online through www.indievox.com and at 7-Eleven ibon kiosks
Funk-rock/nu-metal band Coach (教練) celebrates its 11th birthday tonight at The Wall (這牆), Taipei’s most prominent venue for indie rock artists. The venue hosts a charity concert tomorrow, featuring Brit pop/grunge group Trash, electro rockers My Skin Against Your Skin (激膚樂團) and One Million Star alumnus Queen (魏如昀). On Sunday, it is the release party of Aboriginal hip-hop/rock band Generation 7’s (七字輩) new album, joined by pop punks Pa Pun (怕胖團) and hardcord rock outfit Black Green (怖雷閣林). Wednesday’s roster include alternative rock outfit Taipei Cases (台北公案) and Taiwanese blues rock band Swui (水樂隊), followed by electronic/post punk group Miss Banana (香蕉小姐) and indie rockers Papaver on Thursday.
■ 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
Photo courtesy of Spacerocker
■ Shows start at 8pm except for tomorrow which begins at 7pm
■ Admission is NT$500 tonight, free admission tomorrow, NT$400 on Sunday, NT$200 on Wednesday and Thursday. Tickets for all shows, with discounts on advance tickets, can be purchased online through www.thewall.com.tw and tickets.books.com.tw
It is live music from Pingtung rockers Lunchbox Magazine (便當雜誌) and Swirrl tomorrow at Pipe Live Music, a main venue for indie music and parties. Sunday’s show is presented by Taipei punks Spiritual Liberation Band (精神解放樂團), Away from Kitsch and Mini Trick.
■ 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 tomorrow and 7pm on Sunday
■ Admission is NT$350 for both shows. Tickets can be purchased online through www.walkieticket.com and at 7-Eleven ibon kiosks and FamilyMart (全家) FamiPort kiosks
Tonight, Japan’s two-piece girl band Zarigani Dollar hits the stage at indie rock club Revolver, accompanied by a troupe of local rockers including grunge outfit Slack Tide, Countervalve (逆瓣膜) and indie rockers Frusciante (佛香甜). Tomorrow’s lineup features Taiwan’s Midnight Ping Pong (午夜乒乓) and horror punk band Sledge City Slasher. On Sunday, it’s dance/rock band Acidy Peeping Tom (微酸的偷窺狂), garage/shoegaze act Skip Skip Ben Ben and B.B.Bomb (BB彈). Wednesday’s roster are instrumental rock combo BHD, How to Program C Plus Plus and DWL, followed by indie rockers Dress Shop, Fangzhang (方丈樂團) and punk act Mr. Nobody (無先生) on Thursday.
■ 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 7pm tonight, 8:30pm tomorrow, 7:30pm on Sunday, 9:30pm on Wednesday and Thursday
■ Entrance is NT$350 tonight, NT$300 tomorrow and on Sunday, NT$200 on Wednesday and Thursday
Taiwan-based reggae act Dread Rider brings the tropical rhythms and sweet melodies of the Caribbean tomorrow at Bobwundaye (無問題), a small pub on Heping East Road (和平東路) in Taipei.
■ 77, Heping E Rd Sec 3, Taipei City (台北市和平東路三段77號), tel: (02) 2377-1772
■ Show starts at 10pm
■ Admission is NT$200, including one drink
Folk combo Four Pens (四枝筆樂團) celebrates its third birthday tonight 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. Solo act Hush teams up with Josh from Mary See the Future (先知瑪莉) for a show 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
■ Shows start at 8pm. Cafe/bookstore opens noon to midnight Sundays through Thursdays, noon to 2am Fridays and Saturdays
■ Admission is NT$400 tonight and NT$600 tomorrow, including one drink
Indie rockers Come On! BayBay! (來吧!焙焙!) take the stage tomorrow at Witch House (女巫店), an intimate coffeehouse-style venue in the National Taiwan University area. Pop/folk combo Multiverse (平行宇宙) and acoustic musician Zhang Ya-chun (張雅淳) play on Thursday.
■ 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$350
Tonight, Taiwanese indie-pop group Goosander (川秋沙) plays with pop group Blue Shade from Thailand 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$400. Tickets can be purchased online through www.riverside.com.tw and tickets.books.com.tw
Featuring guitarist Shun Kikuta, 3 Tadpoles perform tonight at Riverside Cafe (河岸留言), while it is indie rockers No Key Band and Uncle Beauty (美麗大叔樂團) tomorrow. Sunday’s lineup is formed by pop musician Izumi (陳冠銓) and BaDeRi (八得力樂團). Tuesday’s performers are alternative punk/emo band ChicKNUP (奇克拿樂團) and Zarah, while Keelung rockers Rusty Rivet (鏽鉚釘樂團) and Rosy (玫瑰紅樂團) form Wednesday’s lineup. Generation 7 arrives on Thursday, along with Jelly Lee (傑利 ) from Coach (教練).
■ 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 available online through www.riverside.com.tw and tickets.books.com.tw
Formed by five Dominicans and one Panamanian, Latin 6 appears tonight at Sappho de Base, a late-night lounge bar that hosts mostly jazz shows. Tomorrow, New Zealand folk duo The Bollands perform with the support from Taipei-based Tricolor Treeleaf. La Cumbia Del Sol plays psycho-Cumbia-Reggae-Balkan grooves On Wednesday, and it is jazz ensemble Luka Group 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 9:30pm
■ Entrance is NT$350 tonight, tomorrow and on Thursday, NT$200 on Wednesday
Tomorrow, Generation 7 (七字輩) shares the stage with pop rockers Soundboss (騷包) 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$250. Tickets can be purchased online through tickets.books.com.tw
Tomorrow’s lineup at Paramount Bar (百樂門酒館), an indie rock club in Greater Kaohsiung, features post-rock/psychedelic group Obviously (顯然樂隊), punk/post-rock act Grey Youth (少年白) and punk outfit The Locals (草地人). Psychedelic rockers U.TA (屋塔樂團), one-man lo-fi act Car5On (卡五盎) and You-S (你們你們) congregate on Sunday.
■ 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 7pm tomorrow and 8pm on Sunday
■ Entrance is NT$250 tomorrow and NT$200 on Sunday
The Wall (這牆) programs regular live rock shows at Greater Kaohsiung’s Pier 2 Arts Center (高雄駁二藝術特區). Tomorrow’s main act is funk/power pop group Fun People, with indie rockers Mixer (麋先生) and noise punk combo Paradise (怕熱黛絲) also on the bill.
■ 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$400. Tickets can be purchased at 7-Eleven ibon kiosks, www.books.com.tw and www.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
The following three paragraphs are just some of what the local Chinese-language press is reporting on breathlessly and following every twist and turn with the eagerness of a soap opera fan. For many English-language readers, it probably comes across as incomprehensibly opaque, so bear with me briefly dear reader: To the surprise of many, former pop singer and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) ex-lawmaker Yu Tien (余天) of the Taiwan Normal Country Promotion Association (TNCPA) at the last minute dropped out of the running for committee chair of the DPP’s New Taipei City chapter, paving the way for DPP legislator Su
It’s hard to know where to begin with Mark Tovell’s Taiwan: Roads Above the Clouds. Having published a travelogue myself, as well as having contributed to several guidebooks, at first glance Tovell’s book appears to inhabit a middle ground — the kind of hard-to-sell nowheresville publishers detest. Leaf through the pages and you’ll find them suffuse with the purple prose best associated with travel literature: “When the sun is low on a warm, clear morning, and with the heat already rising, we stand at the riverside bike path leading south from Sanxia’s old cobble streets.” Hardly the stuff of your
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