Hello Nico mixes pop, alt rock with electronic sounds tonight at Legacy Taipei, a venue that hosts top Taiwanese pop performers and international acts. Electronic/new wave band Jade Eyes (孔雀眼), indie rockers Coconuts (椰子), folk rock combo Vast & Hazy and Hungertist (飢餓藝術家) are also set to take the stage. Rock band Backquarter (四分衛) performs tomorrow.
■ 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 tonight at 7pm and tomorrow at 8pm
Photo courtesy of Amazing Show
■ Admission is NT$800 for tonight and tomorrow. Tickets available through www.indievox.com and at 7-Eleven ibon kiosks
Indie pop combo Mr Pineapple Band (鳳梨先生) and Amazing Show (美秀集團) take the stage tonight at The Wall (這牆), a prominent Taipei venue for indie rock artists. Japanese rock band Frederick will play on Sunday. It’s an evening of trap, future bass, glitch-hop and dubstep tomorrow at Korner, a venue located inside The Wall, with Legacy, Trent, James Ho, Dizparity and Hassan Raphael set to perform.
■ 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
■ The Wall shows start tonight at 8pm and Sunday at 6pm; Korner show begins at 11:59pm
■ The Wall tickets cost NT$450 tonight and NT$1,700 on Sunday; the Korner show is NT$200, available through thewall.tw
Japanese rock band Simagung will perform tomorrow at APA Mini (小地方展演空間) with garage rock/punk outfit Reversing into Garage (倒車入庫) and and Marionette’s Danced (舞人舞屍)# also on the bill.
Photo courtesy of Cats Hit Tree
■ B1,147, Hangzhou S Rd Sec 1, Taipei City (台北市杭州南路一段147號B1), tel: (02) 2327-8658. On the Net: www.facebook.com/apamini
■ Shows start at 7:30pm
■ Admission is NT$400, available through www.indievox.com
It’s an evening of alternative music tonight at indie rock club Revolver with jazz/surf rock band Angel Baby, garage /punk rockers The White Eyes (白目) and Solo Project. There venue will host two shows tomorrow. The first, beginning at 8:30pm, features punk, rock and new school hardcore with Noise Book and Between the Savage. The late show begins at 11:30pm in the Mini Room with Chen Yinn, Xuxu and Chung Li#, who will play house and dance. Rock and indie rock are on the menu Sunday, with Walking Light, Amuse and Sense of Feeling set to take the stage. Trip-hop/dream pop act Kingdom of Rain (雨國) will perform on Tuesday. Rockers Cui Ruo Shao Nu Zu (脆弱 少女組) and singer/producer Shen An (沈安) will provide support. Wednesday will find the venue hosting more rock and indie rock bands with ERT, EGU and Liberation Zoo set to perform. Take a trip back in time on Thursday to the sounds of the 80s and 90s with The Flying Dutchman (飛行荷蘭人), White Collar Hooligans and The Anemoscope (風向儀) playing tunes from the era.
■ 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
■ Shows start tonight and Wednesday at 9:30pm, tomorrow and Sunday at 8:30pm and tomorrow at 11:30pm and Tuesday and Thursday at 9pm
■ Admission is NT$350 tonight and Thursday, NT$300 tomorrow at 8:30pm and NT$150 at 11:30pm, NT$300 on Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday
Brian Chiu & the Soy Beats play funk, soul and jazz tomorrow at Bobwundaye (無問題), a small pub 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
■ Shows start at 10pm
■ Admission is NT$300
Bluesman DC Rapier will perform tonight at Witch House (女巫店), an intimate coffeehouse-style venue in the National Taiwan University area. Rock trio Grain Surfboard and folk rock band Pink Haze perform tomorrow. On Thursday, it is indie rockers Maffine (瑪啡因) and Lafaq (拉法).;
■ 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) tonight hosts Idea House Reunion, a night of jazz music.
■ 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$500, available through www.indievox.com and tickets.books.com.tw
It is a night of jazz fusion with keyboardist
Lu Sheng-fei (呂聖斐) and his friends at Riverside Cafe (河岸留言). Bacon Slap (培根巴掌) and The Stressful Sound take the stage tomorrow. Rockers Cats Hit Tree (貓打樹) and Mr Unknown (小人物樂團) perform on Sunday. Up and coming singer Sway (思衛) performs on Tuesday. The lineup on Wednesday includes grunge/Brit-pop band Arkmen (阿克曼樂團) and Shortwave.
■ 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 tonight at 9:30pm, tomorrow, Sunday and Wednesday at 9pm and Tuesday at 8pm
■ Admission is NT$400 tonight and tomorrow, NT$350 Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday, available through www.indievox.com and tickets.books.com.tw
The Chris Wabich Hard Bop Quartet, led by American drummer Chris Wabich, who has played with Ludacris, Sting, Leonard Cohen, Stanley Jordan and AC/DC’s Brian Johnson, among others, will perform tonight at Sappho Live, a late-night lounge bar that hosts mostly jazz shows. Duke Fantasy (范特西公爵) plays an eclectic collection of jazz, rock, Latin and R&B tomorrow. On Wednesday it is the New York Project: The Imagination of the Big Apple with the jazz sounds of saxophonists Cheng Hao-wein (鄭皓文) and Chen Shin-lou (陳辛璐). On Thursday, it is the latin, funk, jazz, pop and soul D’Band, a group that consists of musicians from throughout the globe.
■ 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 tonight and tomorrow and NT$300 on Wednesday and Thursday
Taking cues from R&B, reggae and psychedelic rock, Air Dolphins (海豚樂隊) will play tomorrow at There Cafe & Live House (那兒咖啡), a venue for indie music in Taoyuan. They will be joined by Chinese exiled rocker Duan Xinjun (段信軍), a member of the Chinese rock band PunkGod (盤古).
■ B1, 454, Fuxing Rd, Taoyuan City (桃園市復興路454號B1), tel: (03) 339-8819.
■ Show starts at 7:30pm
■ Admission is NT$400, available through tickets.books.com.tw and www.indievox.com
Pop act Lin Chia-yin (林佳音) performs 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 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 7:30pm
■ Admission is NT$400
Pop rock band io (io樂團) will take the stage tomorrow at Legacy Taichung, a spin-off of Legacy Taipei. New metal/post-hardcore outfit Way of Puzzle (謎路人) and melodic hardcore group Between the Savage (人性先覺) hit the stage on Sunday.
■ 117, Anhe Rd, Taichung City (台中市安和路117號), tel: (04) 2359-8780. On the Net: www.legacy.com.tw/taichung.
■ Shows start at 7:30pm
■ Admission is NT$1,000 tomorrow and NT$650 on Sunday, available through www.indievox.com and at 7-Eleven ibon kiosks
Singer Emily Pu (卜星慧) performs tomorrow at Taichung’s Forro Cafe (呼嚕咖啡).
■ 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, available through www.indievox.com
Powerpop band the Sino Hearts, avant-garde jazz ensemble Ape Apocalypse (末日之猩) and Destroyers (擊沈女孩) share the stage tonight at TCRC (前科累累俱樂部), a small venue for independent musicians and local artists in Tainan. Post-punk/blues combo Gentle Squid (烏賊紳士) and psychedelic/stoner rock group Head Composer (頭部組成者) perform tomorrow. Singer Peatle performs on Sunday.
■ B1, 314, Simen Rd Sec 2, Tainan City (台南市西門路二段314號B1), tel: (06) 222 3238.
■ Show starts at 8pm tonight and tomorrow and 4pm on Sunday
■ Admission is NT$300 tonight, NT$250 tomorrow and NT$350 on Sunday, available at www.indievox.com
Pop act Lin Chia-yin (林佳音) performs tonight at In Our Time, a restaurant-cum-gallery located inside Kaohsiung’s Pier-2 Arts Center (駁二藝術特區). Pop act Boss Yang (羊老闆樂團) takes the stage tomorrow.
■ 99, Penglai Rd, Kaohsiung City (高雄市蓬萊路99號), tel: (07) 521-0017
■ Show starts tonight at 7:30pm and tomorrow at 7pm
■ Tickets are NT$400 tonight and NT$350 tomorrow, available through www.indievox.com and tickets.books.com.tw
Post-rock combo Constant & Change (康士坦的變化球) will play tonight at Live Warehouse, a venue for indie music located inside Kaohsiung’s Pier-2 Arts Center (駁二藝術特區).
■ 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$500, available 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, will host a night of punk tomorrow with The Sackgasse (死胡同). Nula is also on the roster. Time Jump (時空跳躍) fuses rock and electronic beats on Wednesday, with Chissoku (習慣性窒息)# also on the bill.
■ 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
■ Show starts tonight at 9pm and Wednesday at 7:30pm
■ Admission is NT$350 tonight and NT$300 on Wednesday, available through www.walkieticket.com and www.indievox.com
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