THEATER
Ju Percussion Group, the nation’s most revered percussion troupe, will hold a one-off performance tonight at Taipei’s National Concert Hall. For this concert, the troupe has commissioned some of Taiwan’s top composers to write works tailored to the drum troupe. The concert also features two works by late Taiwanese music masters, Ma Shui-long’s (馬水龍) I am and Lee Tai-hsiang’s (李泰祥), The Birth of People.
■ National Concert Hall, Taipei City
Photo courtesy of Manic Sheep
■ Tonight at 7:30pm. Tickets are NT$500 to NT$1,200, available through NTCH ticketing or www.artsticket.com.tw
Ming Hwa Yuan Taiwanese Opera Company (明華園) has reproduced its popular Revenge of the Prince as part of the International Festival of Arts. The Dragon Rises, which will be performed this weekend at Taipei’s National Theater, tells the story of two princes who share the same noble blood, but experience different upbringings because they were separated at birth. Their reunion will cause the audience to ponder whether or not a person’s environment impacts how they turn out in later life. Is it nature or nurture?
■ National Theater, Taipei City
Photo courtesy of Baobu Badulu
■ Tonight and tomorrow at 7:30pm and Sunday at 2:30pm (Saturday’s 2:30pm performance is sold out). Tickets are selling quickly, but remain in all price categories, NT$800 to NT$3,000, available through NTCH ticketing or www.artsticket.com.tw
CLASSICAL
Blending in Landscape and Dyeing with Romance, a performance by the Little Giant Chinese Chamber Orchestra (小巨人絲竹樂團) at the National Recital Hall and is part of the International Festival of the Arts today and tomorrow, brings together two different styles of Chinese music, in a work that combines the guqin (ancient zither) and Chinese chamber music.
Photo courtesy of Burning Beak
■ National Recital Hall, Taipei City
■ Tonight and tomorrow at 7:30pm. Tickets are NT$500, available through NTCH ticketing or www.artsticket.com.tw
The Cincinnati Pops Orchestra will give a one-off performance of their easy-listening tunes tomorrow at the Tainan Cultural Center and Sunday at Taipei’s National Concert Hall. The program will feature soundtracks from movies such as Mission Impossible, Magnificent Seven, Lord of the Rings, Star Trek: Spaced Out and Lawrence of Arabia, among many others.
Photo courtesy of Playmess
■ Tomorrow’s performance is at the Tainan Cultural Center, (台南市立文化中心演藝廳), 332 Chunghua E Rd, Sec 3, Tainan City (台南市中華東路三段332號); Sunday’s performance is at the National Theater, Taipei City
■ Tomorrow and Sunday at 7:30pm. Tickets are NT$1,280 to NT$3,680 for tomorrow’s performance and NT$1,180 to NT$4,280 for Sunday’s performance, available through www.ticket.com.tw
CONTEMPORARY
DJ Wildcat Tex from the US will spin 45s from 7pm tonight at Commune A7, an outdoor space featuring roughly 20 food trucks across from Taipei’s ATT 4 Fun. The free performance will also see Belgium’s DJ Adam playing world music starting at 10pm. There will be plenty of food and beer on hand.
■ Commune A7, across from ATT 4 Fun, 12, Songshou Rd, Taipei City (台北市松壽路12號)
■ Tonight from 7pm until midnight
■ Admission is free
Chinese pop singer Yisa Yu (郁可唯) takes the stage tonight at Legacy Taipei, a venue that hosts top Taiwanese pop performers and international acts. Pop-rock band Won Fu (旺福樂團) performs on Wednesday.
■ 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
■ Admission is NT$1,200 tonight and NT$1,000 on Wednesday. Tickets available through www.indievox.com and at 7-Eleven ibon kiosks
Shogaze and noise-rock band Manic Sheep and Japan’s Ogre You Asshole perform tonight at The Wall (這牆), a prominent Taipei venue for indie rock artists. Wednesday’s performance by indie shoegaze noise pop group I Mean Us is sold out. Tonight at Korner, a venue located inside The Wall, Al Burro will lay down a six-hour set of techno, ambient and noise. Dino, Cevo Yang and Jorge Bachmann are also on the bill. US producer and synthesizer-player Angel Rubio-Hale, aka OnHell, will perform his unique version of down-tempo, R&B, modern hip hop and bass music tomorrow. James Ho, Kuleflux, Synaptic FX, and many others will also take the stage.
■ 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 show starts at 8pm; Korner shows begin at 11:50pm
■ Tickets for The Wall cost NT$800 tonight; Korner shows cost NT$200 tonight and NT$350 tomorrow, available through thewall.tw
Burning Beak and Liberation Zoo (解放動物園) perform tomorrow at APA Mini (小地方展演空間). Emo/post-hardcore outfit Twisted Donut Monsters (麻花捲怪獸), Theseus (忒修斯) and B1 perform on Sunday.
■ 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
■ Show starts tomorrow at 8pm and Sunday at 7:30pm
■ Admission is NT$350 tomorrow and Sunday, available through www.indievox.com
Visual, sythn and alt rock are on the menu tonight at indie rock club Revolver, with Playmess, and Japan’s Vera-Fi and Eureka set to take the stage. Tomorrow it is shoegaze and dream pop with Japan’s Collapse, Yuragi and Spool. The Sackgasse, Falling Black, Coastal Kanpai and Shoelace will lay down some punk rock and pop punk on Sunday. The Last Minute Latin Band, a new musical project formed early last year and composed of Latinos and Americans, will perform its energetic version of Latin tunes, which are influenced by salsa, bachata, merengue and reggae, on Wednesday. The week rounds out on Thursday with alternative rock and funk rock with Yesido, Arkmenband and Bacon Slap.
■ 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, Wednesday and Thursday at 9:30pm, tomorrow at 8pm and Sunday at 7:30pm
■ Admission is NT$350 tonight, NT$650 tomorrow, NT$400 Sunday and Wednesday and NT$300 on Thursday
Several DJs will take the stage tonight and tomorrow at Pipe Live Music, a major venue for indie music and parties, including Soolee, Vice City, Anthany, Psychiatrist and Soma.
■ 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 8pm
■ Admission is NT$600 for each night, available through www.indievox.com, pipemusic.kktix.cc and at FamilyMart (全家) FamiPort kiosks
Balkazar will have you shaking your bones to their version of Balkan music with a twist of funk, 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
Singer songwriter Wu Ai-lun (吳艾倫) performs tomorrow at Witch House (女巫店), an intimate coffeehouse-style venue in the National Taiwan University area. Guitarist Xiao Zhu (小朱) is also on the bill. Sound artist and VJ Ruby Fatale (鹿比— 吠陀), who combines stoner, glitch and doom, will perform tomorrow. Paiwan Fingerstyle guitarist Baobu Badulu (保卜) takes the stage 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, except tomrrow’s performance, which is NT$200
Mando-pop singer-songwriter Shino (林曉培) performs tomorrow 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 8pm
■ Admission is NT$450, available through www.indievox.com and tickets.books.com.tw
Veteran jazz combo JEG (這個爵士樂團) plays standards, Latin, funk and rock tomorrow at Riverside Cafe (河岸留言). R&B and jazz singer Audrey An (安雨晨) performs on Sunday. She’ll be joined by Yang Ching-han (楊景涵) and Chen Sheng-you (陳盛宇). Acoustic guitarist Alan Gogoll performs on Tuesday. Ukulele virtuoso Kyas Ryo, who hails from Japan, performs on Wednesday.
■ 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 tomorrow and Sunday at 9pm, and Tuesday and Wednesday at 8:30pm
■ Admission is NT$200 tomorrow, NT$350 on Sunday and NT$500 for Tuesday and Wednesday, available through www.indievox.com and tickets.books.com.tw
Ash and Friends, led by bandleader Ash Hines, perform modern jazz standards tonight at Sappho Live, a late-night lounge bar that hosts mostly jazz shows. Tomorrow it is the motherland/Caribbean-inspired dance rhythms of Afroholique. Japan Impressions performs jazz on Wednesday.
■ 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
Tickets for tonight and tomorrow’s Wu Bai (伍佰) and China Blue concert are sold out. Sunday’s spotlight is on Mando-pop crooner Chuang Chuan-ying (莊鵑瑛) Legacy Taichung, a spin-off of Legacy Taipei
■ 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.
■ Show starts Sunday at 7pm
■ Admission is NT$1,200, available through www.indievox.com and at 7-Eleven ibon kiosks
Nu-metal/modern rock act Rough Project perform tonight at Sound Live House (迴響音樂藝文展演空間), an independent venue for music performances and art exhibitions in Taichung. ShowHand (梭哈樂團) and Fear are 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 at 8pm
■ Admission is NT$350, available through www.walkieticket.com and www.indievox.com
Cemelesai Pasasauv will be promoting his Paiwan-language album of folk-pop tonight at Tiehua Music Village (鐵花村), an arts village in Taitung City. Instrumental folk duo Truly Duet (出力二重唱) are also on the bill. Tomorrow’s roster includes Aboriginal trio Black, White and Copper (黑白銅).
■ 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.tiehua.com.tw
■ Shows start at 8pm. Music venue and crafts shops are open 2pm to 10pm Tuesdays through Sundays
■ Entrance is NT$120 for each performance, available at tickets.books.com.tw
June 23 to June 29 After capturing the walled city of Hsinchu on June 22, 1895, the Japanese hoped to quickly push south and seize control of Taiwan’s entire west coast — but their advance was stalled for more than a month. Not only did local Hakka fighters continue to cause them headaches, resistance forces even attempted to retake the city three times. “We had planned to occupy Anping (Tainan) and Takao (Kaohsiung) as soon as possible, but ever since we took Hsinchu, nearby bandits proclaiming to be ‘righteous people’ (義民) have been destroying train tracks and electrical cables, and gathering in villages
Dr. Y. Tony Yang, Associate Dean of Health Policy and Population Science at George Washington University, argued last week in a piece for the Taipei Times about former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) leading a student delegation to the People’s Republic of China (PRC) that, “The real question is not whether Ma’s visit helps or hurts Taiwan — it is why Taiwan lacks a sophisticated, multi-track approach to one of the most complex geopolitical relationships in the world” (“Ma’s Visit, DPP’s Blind Spot,” June 18, page 8). Yang contends that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has a blind spot: “By treating any
This year will go down in the history books. Taiwan faces enormous turmoil and uncertainty in the coming months. Which political parties are in a good position to handle big changes? All of the main parties are beset with challenges. Taking stock, this column examined the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) (“Huang Kuo-chang’s choking the life out of the TPP,” May 28, page 12), the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) (“Challenges amid choppy waters for the DPP,” June 14, page 12) and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) (“KMT struggles to seize opportunities as ‘interesting times’ loom,” June 20, page 11). Times like these can
Swooping low over the banks of a Nile River tributary, an aid flight run by retired American military officers released a stream of food-stuffed sacks over a town emptied by fighting in South Sudan, a country wracked by conflict. Last week’s air drop was the latest in a controversial development — private contracting firms led by former US intelligence officers and military veterans delivering aid to some of the world’s deadliest conflict zones, in operations organized with governments that are combatants in the conflicts. The moves are roiling the global aid community, which warns of a more militarized, politicized and profit-seeking trend
RSS