Legacy Taipei hosts top Taiwanese pop performers and international acts. It is the release party of folk rock band Young David’s (青春大衛) latest album tonight, supported by psychedelic rock group The Gigantic Roar (巨大的轟鳴) and Chiu-Pi (邱比). Tomorrow, it is post-rock veteran We Save Strawberries’ (草莓救星) turn to celebrate the release of its new album, with political rapper Dog G (大支) as the special guest.
■ 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 at 8pm
Photo courtesy of Legacy Taipei
■ Admission is NT$700 tonight and NT$800 tomorrow. Tickets can be purchased through www.indievox.com and at 7-Eleven ibon kiosks
Tonight’s lineup at The Wall (這牆), Taipei’s most prominent venue for indie rock artists, is formed by grunge rockers Slack Tide, Murky Crows (昏鴉) and Pilots in the Sky and on the Sea (旅人). It is the birthday concert by zhainan (宅男) goddess and political advocate Cheng Chia-chun (鄭家純), aka Chicken Cutlet Girl (雞排妹), tomorrow, joined by metal act Anthelion (幻日). On Sunday, Norway’s math-noise rock band Staer and Black Packers team up with Taiwan’s post-rock group Goodbye Nao (再見!奈央). The Last Breath mixes metal, punk and hardcore sounds on Thursday, with emo rock band ChicKNUP (奇克拿) and Sorry About That also on the bill.
■ 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 929
■ Shows start at 8pm
■ Admission is NT$500 tonight, NT$600 tomorrow and on Sunday, NT$200 on Thursday. Tickets for all shows, with discounts on advance tickets, can be purchased online through www.walkieticket.com
Japan’s Begrabnis plays funeral doom death music at Revolver tomorrow, supported by Taiwan’s grind/death/crust act Brain Corrosion, crust punk band Bitch Finder and black metal group Lucius (天歿).
■ 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 8pm
■ Entrance is NT$600
Punk/grunge outfit Raven Flats (烏鴉公寓), Incool (螢窟樂團) and Scop (說書人) congregate at Pipe Live Music, a main venue for indie music and parties, tomorrow, followed by funk rock group Sixwoods (森林木樂團) and punk rock outfit Landman (殘橋仔) 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
■ Shows start at 7pm
■ Admission is NT$300 in advance and NT$350 at the door for both shows
It is a jazz and blues night with Fusion Walker and Blues Signal at Bobwundaye (無問題), a small pub on Heping East Road (和平東路) in Taipei, tomorrow.
■ 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$300
Indie folk musician Enno Cheng (鄭宜農) appears tonight at Witch House (女巫店), an intimate coffeehouse-style venue in the National Taiwan University area, followed by Jasmine & the Little Band (假死貓小便) tomorrow. Thursday’s show is by folk duo The Traveler (迷途者) and The Forest Party (森林樂園).
■ 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, including one drink
Pop rocker Misi Ke (柯泯薰) is scheduled tomorrow at Kafka on the Shore (海邊的卡夫卡), a coffee house-cum-music venue in the National Taiwan University area, while post-rock trio The Capelin (柳葉魚) plays an unplugged show on Sunday.
■ 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 tomorrow and free on Sunday. Minimum charge is one drink
Tonight’s show is by pop rockers Rick (瑞克) at Riverside Live House (河岸留言西門紅樓展演館), while hop-hop artist Husky (哈士奇) takes the stage on Sunday.
■ 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 tonight and 3pm on Sunday
■ Entrance is NT$200 tonight and NT$450 on Sunday. Tickets available at www.riverside.com.tw and www.tickets.books.com.tw
Tonight’s performer is gypsy jazz group Dark Eyes (夜幕之眼) at Riverside Cafe (河岸留言), and it is Aboriginal group Tai Nine Line (台玖線樂團) and indie rockers Samuel (三秒樂團) tomorrow. Pop rock group H/F and solo act Denis Hsu (許書豪) each plays a set on Sunday, followed by folk rock band Impressionism Pencil (印象派鉛筆) and Crap United (廢結合) on Wednesday. Thursday’s main act is pop singer Alice’s Voice (愛力獅).
■ 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
■ Admission is 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
It is live music with Taipei blues band BoPoMoFo (ㄅㄆㄇㄈ) at Sappho de Base, a late-night lounge bar that hosts mostly jazz shows, tonight. Hosted by Leo 37, Trio is an event celebrating the art of improvisation featuring musicians from all backgrounds, including Airy (小女伶) from Funky Brother, Jenni Tsai (蔡子琪) of Soy La Ley and Thomas Hu from Skaraoke tomorrow. Sounding Quartet (有聲四重奏) plays jazz tunes on Sunday.
■ 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.sappholive.com
■ Shows start at 9:30pm except for tomorrow which begins at 9pm
■ Entrance is NT$400 for all shows
Tokyo-based rockers Sister Jet and Okan from Osaka, Japan, arrive tomorrow at TADA Ark (TADA方舟), a music venue located inside the Taichung Cultural & Creative Industries Park (台中文化創意產業園區) in Greater Taichung, with rock band Bike also on the bill.
■ 362, Fuhsing Rd Sec 3, South District, Greater Taichung (台中市南區復興路三段362號), tel: (04) 2229-0989. On the Net: www.tadaark.com.tw
■ Show starts at 7pm
■ Admission is NT$400 in advance and NT$500 at the door. Tickets can be purchased online through www.walkieticket.com and at 7-Eleven ibon and FamilyMart (全家) FamiPort kiosks
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). Rockers in southern Taiwan, including Seven Wind (七級風), Who Knows? and Have Sense (有感覺樂團), gang up for a show tomorrow. Cheng Chia-chun (鄭家純), aka Chicken Cutlet Girl (雞排妹), and Anthelion (幻日) arrive on Sunday.
■ 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 6:30pm tomorrow and 7:30pm on Sunday
■ Admission is NT$400 tomorrow and NT$600 on Sunday. Tickets can be purchased online through www.walkieticket.com
Folk combo 929 takes the stage tonight 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. Folk/rock artist Ai-ching (艾青) and Mando-pop female crooner Ren, aka Hsia Yu-tung (夏宇童), each plays a set 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: www.tw.streetvoice.com/users/tiehua
■ Shows start 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 tonight and NT$250 tomorrow. Tickets can be purchased online through tickets.books.com.tw
May 6 to May 12 Those who follow the Chinese-language news may have noticed the usage of the term zhuge (豬哥, literally ‘pig brother,’ a male pig raised for breeding purposes) in reports concerning the ongoing #Metoo scandal in the entertainment industry. The term’s modern connotations can range from womanizer or lecher to sexual predator, but it once referred to an important rural trade. Until the 1970s, it was a common sight to see a breeder herding a single “zhuge” down a rustic path with a bamboo whip, often traveling large distances over rugged terrain to service local families. Not only
Ahead of incoming president William Lai’s (賴清德) inauguration on May 20 there appear to be signs that he is signaling to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and that the Chinese side is also signaling to the Taiwan side. This raises a lot of questions, including what is the CCP up to, who are they signaling to, what are they signaling, how with the various actors in Taiwan respond and where this could ultimately go. In the last column, published on May 2, we examined the curious case of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) heavyweight Tseng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦) — currently vice premier
The last time Mrs Hsieh came to Cihu Park in Taoyuan was almost 50 years ago, on a school trip to the grave of Taiwan’s recently deceased dictator. Busloads of children were brought in to pay their respects to Chiang Kai-shek (蔣中正), known as Generalissimo, who had died at 87, after decades ruling Taiwan under brutal martial law. “There were a lot of buses, and there was a long queue,” Hsieh recalled. “It was a school rule. We had to bow, and then we went home.” Chiang’s body is still there, under guard in a mausoleum at the end of a path
Last week the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) released a set of very strange numbers on Taiwan’s wealth distribution. Duly quoted in the Taipei Times, the report said that “The Gini coefficient for Taiwanese households… was 0.606 at the end of 2021, lower than Australia’s 0.611, the UK’s 0.620, Japan’s 0.678, France’s 0.676 and Germany’s 0.727, the agency said in a report.” The Gini coefficient is a measure of relative inequality, usually of wealth or income, though it can be used to evaluate other forms of inequality. However, for most nations it is a number from .25 to .50