Contemporary
Japanese jazz sextet Soil & “Pimp” Sessions will play their version of energetic “death jazz” tomorrow at Legacy Taipei, a venue that hosts top Taiwanese pop performers and international acts. Taiwan’s Skaraoke, who play a delightful mix of reggae, swing and jazz, will also be on the bill. Skyline Jazz Band performs fusion jazz on Thursday.
■ 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 Random
■ Show starts at 6:30pm tomorrow and 8pm on Thursday
■ Admission is NT$1,800 tomorrow and NT$700 on Thursday. Tickets available through www.indievox.com and at 7-Eleven ibon kiosks
Painted Sun, the brainchild of A Moving Sound’s Scott Prairie, will play “rock pop opera” on Sunday at Legacy Mini, a spin-off of Legacy Taipei. From Tuesday to Thursday, the club will host its annual Cabaret, featuring a wide range of performers including indie-pop singer-songwriter Peggy Hsu (許哲珮), Aboriginal performer Biung, R&B singer Jiajia (家家) and actors Yang Chian-pei (楊千霈) and Lawrence Ko (柯宇綸).
Photo courtesy of Skaraoke
■ Legacy Mini at Amba Taipei Ximending (台北西門町意舍), 5F, 77, Wuchang St Sec 2, Taipei City (台北市武昌街二段77號5樓)
■ Shows start at 8pm
■ Admission is NT$400 on Sunday and NT$600 each for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Tickets for the venue’s concerts can be purchased online through www.indievox.com and at 7-Eleven ibon kiosks
Photo courtesy of Peggy Hsu
Punk outfit Random (隨性樂團), post-hardcore/metalcore act Fish Stick (魚條樂團) and Head Composer (頭部組成者) are among the groups playing tonight at The Wall (這牆), Taipei’s most prominent venue for indie rock artists. Young rockers The Unspoken Rules (潛規則) and CBC will take the stage 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: thewall.tw
■ Show starts at 10pm tonight and tomorrow, 9:30pm on Thursday
■ Tickets cost NT$600 tonight and NT$350 on Thursday, available online through thewall.tw
Tonight is an evening of house, industrial and techno with DJs Turbid Kuei Kuei, Databass, Amoeiba and Acid Billy at indie rock club Revolver. Hateful Respect, Defeat the Giant and Feardrive will play a few sets of new/old school hardcore tomorrow in the early evening. At midnight, the club will host a hip-hop/rap party with MC: Cotc and Kidder. Pop rock, funk and indie rock will shine on Sunday with Bacon Slap and Whateverplay.
■ 1-2, Roosevelt Rd Sec 1, Taipei City (台北市羅斯福路一段1-2號), tel: (02) 3393-1678. On the Net: www.facebook.com/revolver.taipei
■ Show starts at 8:30pm tonight, 6:05pm and midnight tomorrow and 8:30pm on Sunday
■ Admission for all shows is NT$300
Kuo Ming-lung (郭明龍) will play songs from his album Longer Story tonight at Witch House (女巫店), an intimate coffeehouse-style venue in the National Taiwan University area. Tomorrow, Aboriginal singer-songwriter and guitarist Panai will take the stage. Female crooner Zoomie (陳柔米) plays 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
Riverside Live House (河岸留言西門紅樓展演館) will tonight host Rock ‘n’ Cheers musical concert with Music Time and Live Band. Tomorrow it’s musical duo ASA, and on Sunday songstress Sabrina Lo (羅莎莎) will celebrate her birthday with a concert.
■ 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 8pm
■ Admission is NT$300 tonight, NT$500 tomorrow and Sunday, available online through www.indievox.com and tickets.books.com.tw
The Taipei Youth Jazz Orchestra performs tonight at Riverside Cafe (河岸留言). They will share the stage with the Uno Quartet (烏野薰爵士四重奏). Tomorrow, Aboriginal musicians Leo Chen (陳永龍) and Chen Chun-hui take the stage for an acoustic set.
■ 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
■ Admission is NT$400, available online through www.indievox.com and tickets.books.com.tw
Project X will play a night of jazz tonight at Sappho Live, a late-night lounge bar that hosts mostly jazz shows. Tomorrow it is the Single Jazz Band.
■ 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
■ Entrance is NT$400
It is an evening of modern bop, post-bop and free jazz with Draft 4tet tonight 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 Taichung.
■ 362, Fuhsing Rd Sec 3, Taichung City (台中市復興路三段362號), tel: (04) 2229-0989. On the Net: www.tadaark.com.tw
■ Show starts at 6:30pm
■ Admission is NT$200.
Solo rocker Hung Sheng-hao (洪申豪) plays tonight at Taichung’s Forro Cafe (呼嚕咖啡). Tomorrow it is pop rocker Ardor Huang (流氓阿德).
■ 47, Jingcheng 3rd St, Taichung City (台中市精誠三街47號), tel: (04) 2310-1661. On the Net: forrocafe.blogspot.tw
■ Show starts at 8pm
■ Admission is NT$400. Tickets for the venue’s concerts can be purchased online through www.indievox.com
Electronic folk ensemble The Other (他者) and Fogbow (霧虹) take the stage tonight at The Mercury (水星酒館), an indie rock club in Kaohsiung.
■ 46 Liwen Rd, Kaohsiung City (高雄市立文路46號), tel: (07) 550-8617. On the Net: mercurybar.blogspot.tw
■ Show starts at 7:30pm
■ Entrance is NT$250, available at www.indievox.com
Pop artist Fang Wu (吳汶芳) continues her cross-country tour tomorrow to promote her latest album, If I Only had You (如果世界只剩你和我), at In Our Time, a restaurant-cum-gallery located inside Kaohsiung’s Pier-2 Arts Center (駁二藝術特區).The Denis and Friends concert scheduled for Sunday has been canceled.
■ 99, Penglai Rd, Kaohsiung City (高雄市蓬萊路99號), tel: (07) 521-0017
■ Show starts at 7pm
■ Admission is NT$300, available through www.indievox.com and tickets.books.com.tw
Songstress Hello Nico, who mixes pop, alt rock with electronic sounds, will play from her new album tomorrow at Live Warehouse, a venue for indie music located inside Kaohsiung’s Pier-2 Arts Center (駁二藝術特區). She will be joined by Mando-pop crooner Hsieh Chen-ting (謝震廷).
■ 2-5 Dayi Rd, Kaohsiung City (高雄市大義街2-5號), tel: (07) 521-8114. On the Net: livewarehouse.tw
■ Show starts at 7:30pm
■ Entrance is NT$800. Tickets available online through tickets.books.com.tw
Sound Live House (迴響音樂藝文展演空間), an independent venue for music performances and art exhibitions in Taichung, hosts its New Sounds Beginning Party tomorrow with C chord (嘻扣樂團), blues and noise combo Black Radio Party (黑色收音機派對) and the old time rock ‘n’ roll of Playmess. The party continues on Sunday with Brit-pop/post-punk act Parallel Output (平行輸出), Cat in the Case and post-rock band Beware the Sky Falling.
■ B1-1, 429, Henan Rd Sec 2, Greater Taichung (台中市河南路二段429號B1-1), tel: (04) 2451-1989. On the Net: soundlivehouse.msmusic.com.tw
■ Shows start at 7pm
■ Admission is NT$350. Tickets for the venue’s concerts can be purchased online through www.walkieticket.com and www.indievox.com
Psychedelic rockers Obviously (顯然樂隊) will play a set tomorrow at The Goat Restaurant & Bar (山羊飯館), a music venue and restaurant in Pingtung.
■ 23-2 Hengnan Rd, Hengchun Township, Pingtung County (屏東縣恆春鎮恆南路23-2號), tel: (08) 888-0183
■ Show starts at 8:30pm
■ Minimal charge is NT$200
Aboriginal rock band Lansing (嵐馨) appears tonight at Tiehua Music Village (鐵花村), an arts village 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
■ Shows start at 8pm. Music venue and crafts shops are open 2pm to 10pm Tuesdays through Sundays
■ Entrance is NT$600 tonight and NT$350 tomorrow, available online at 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