Theater
Let's Broadway (玩。全百老匯) is a production by Lancreators (嵐創作體) and presents various musical numbers from Broadway favorites such as Chicago, The Producers, Grease and Hairspray.
Metropolitan Hall (城市舞台), 25 Bade Rd Sec 3, Taipei (台北市八德路三段25號)
* Today and tomorrow at 7:30pm and tomorrow and Sunday at 2:30pm
* Tickets are NT$500 to NT$2,000 and are available through ERA ticketing outlets or online at www.ticket.com.tw
Italian Puppet Show: Sandrone (義大利木偶戲：桑得羅尼) by Taiyuan Puppet Theater Company (台原偶戲團) follows the hilarious exploits of Fagiolino and his friend Sandrone, the Laurel and Hardy of the Italian puppet stage.
* Nadou Theater (納豆劇場), 79 Xining N Rd, Taipei (台北市西寧北路79號)
* Tomorrow at 3pm
* Tickets are NT$200
A Touch of Zen (神武不二) is a unique theatrical experience by Taipei-based drumming performance group U-Theater. Using traditional Chinese martial arts and qigong as the basis of the performance, the performance is a reflection on the relationship between percussion and meditation.
* National Sun Yat-sen University (高雄中山大學逸仙館), 70 Lienhai Rd, Kaohsiung City (高雄市蓮海路70號)
* Tomorrow at 2:30pm and 7:30pm and Sunday at 2:30pm
* Tickets are NT$350 to NT$2,000 and are available through NTCH ticketing or online at www.artstickets.com.tw
Mom is So Annoying (媽媽好討厭) tells the amusing story of two daughters who, after being scolded by their mother, wish that she would disappear. To their astonishment, their mother does in fact disappear and their initial feelings of joy soon turn to sadness as they anxiously await her return.
* Tomorrow at 7:30pm at the Cultural Affairs Bureau of Hsinchu County (新竹縣文化局演藝廳), 146 Hsiancheng 9th Rd, Chupei City, Hsinchu County (新竹縣竹北市縣政九路146號); Thursday at 7:30pm at the Keelung Cultural Center (基隆文化局演藝廳), 181 Hsinyi 1st Rd, Keelung City (基隆市信一路181號)
* Tomorrow at 7:30pm
* Tickets are NT$200 to NT$400 and are available through NTCH ticketing or online at www.artstickets.com.tw
The Half-Mile Great Wall (半里長城) by Ping Fong Acting Troupe (屏風表演班) takes a humorous look at the building of the Great Wall.
* Chungli Arts Center (中壢藝術館音樂廳), 16 Chungmei Rd, Chungli City, Taoyuan County (桃園縣中壢市中美路16號)
* Tomorrow at 7:30pm and Sunday at 2:30pm
* Tickets are NT$500 to NT$2,500 and are available through NTCH ticketing or online at www.artstickets.com.tw
Classical Music
Chang Yu-fang Cello Recital (張玉芳大提琴獨奏會). Chang will present a program including Brahms' Sonata for Cello and Piano No.1 in e minor, Op.38, Crumb's Sonata for Solo Violoncello, and Britten's Sonata for Cello and Piano in C Major, Op.65.
* At the Forum Auditorium (十方樂集音樂劇場演奏廳), 4, Ln 187, Minzu W Rd, Taipei City (台北市民族西路187巷4號)
* All tickets cost NT$250 and are available through NTCH ticketing or call Music Forum at (02) 2593-5811
* Tonight at 7:30pm
National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra's Journey of Wide World Music V —Capriccio Espagnol (國立台灣交響樂團世界音樂之旅系列五—西班牙隨想). The concerts will feature guest conductor Heiko Mathias Forster, whose next important position will be the Generalmusikdirektor of the New Philharmonic Westphalia beginning this September, and pianist Ning An (安寧), whose recent Carnegie Hall debut, an all-Chopin program presented by the Chopin Foundation of the United States, was highly praised. Joined by the NTSO, the concert will include a program of Falla's Noches en Los Jardines de Espana and El Sombrero de Tres Picos, Rimski-Korsakov's Capriccio Espagnol, Chabrier's Espana, and Ravel's Alborada del Gracioso.
* Tonight at the National Taichung Library Chunghsing Concert Hall (台中市中興堂), 291-3 Jingwu Rd, Taichung City (台中市精武路291之3號), tomorrow at the Concert Hall of Cultural Affairs Bureau of Nantou County (南投縣文化局演藝廳), 135 Chienkuo Rd, Nantou City (南投市建國路135號), and Sunday at the National Concert Hall, Taipei
* For the Taichung and Taipei concerts, tickets range from NT$300 to NT$1,200; for the Nantou concert, tickets range from NT$200 to NT$400 and are available through NTCH ticketing
* Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at 7:30pm
Taipei Chamber Choir 2007 World Window Series — Natural Sound (台北室內合唱團2007世界之窗系列 — 自然之聲). Conducted by Chen Yun-hung (陳雲紅) and accompanied by Pianist Shao Yu-fan (邵瑀凡), the choir will sing a program including Stephen Leek's Ngana (鯊魚) and Wirindji (食人女妖), Matthew Orlovich's Tides of Ocean, Nancy Telfer's The Blue Eye of God and Iain Grandage's Three Australian Bush Songs.
* Tomorrow at the Yuanlin Performance Hall (員林演藝廳), 99, Ln 2, Chungcheng Rd, Yuanlin Township, Changhua County (彰化縣員林鎮中正路二巷99號), Sunday at the Taichung County Cultural Center (台中縣立文化中心), 782 Yuanhuan E Rd, Fungyuan City, Taichung County (台中縣豐原市圓環東路782號), and Aug. 7 at the
Novel Hall (新舞臺) at 3-1 Sungshou Rd, Taipei (台北市松壽路3-1號)
* Tickets cost from NT$100 to NT$200 for the Changhua concert, from NT$200 to NT$300 for the Taichung concert, and from NT$300 to NT$800 for the Taipei concert All tickets are available through NTCH ticketing
* Tomorrow and Aug. 7 at 7:30pm and Sunday at 2:30pm
Huang Han-ming Violin Recital (黃瀚民小提琴獨奏會). On the national Dragon Boat Festival holiday on Tuesday, Huang will play on two violins: one was made by J.B. Guadagnini of Milan and provided by the Clap and Tap Chamber Orchestra in Orange County in the US, and the other was made by P.G. Rogeri and provided by Chen Chen-wu (陳珍吾) of J.W. Chen Strings (伯楓提琴工作室) in Taipei. Accompanied by pianist Joanna Ting (丁心茹), Huang will present a program including Schumann's Sonata for Violin and Piano in a minor, Op.105, Tower's Platinum Spirals, Janacek's Sonata for Violin and Piano, the first movement of Bartok's Violin Concerto No.2 and Romanian Folk Dances, Milstein's Paganiniana, and Dvorak's Four Romantic Pieces, Op.75.
* At the National Recital Hall, Taipei
* All tickets cost NT$500 and are available through NTCH ticketing
* Tuesday at 3pm
Contemporary
Tonight, A Moving Sound, who NationalGeographic.com called "one of the most original outfits working in the world music arena today," bring their unique blend of musical styles and performance art to The Wall (這牆). The stage has been rigged with a large curtain for this performance that will serve as a projection screen for a Taitung visual artist's work. Tomorrow features new bands Selfkill and Cat's Ears (貓耳朵) in an afternoon performance, then all-girl rock quintet Cherry Boom (櫻桃幫) in an evening show. On Sunday it's Singing for Freedom in Burma, a special concert celebrating the 62nd birthday of noted Burmese democracy activist and prisoner of conscience Aung San Suu Kyi. On Tuesday The Wall presents Caroline and New York electronica/post-rock band Mice Parade, who have been compared with Stereolab. Then on Wednesday it's a whole night of laughs with comedic band Open Eyes (歐噴愛).
* Entrance tonight is NT$400. Tomorrow's afternoon show is NT$300; the evening performance is NT$400. Sunday's event is NT$150. The Mice Parade concert is NT$1,200, with a limited number of tickets selling downstairs in the Wall complex at White Wabbit Orange for NT$900. Wednesday is NT$300
* Tonight's show starts at 9pm (Correction: not at 8pm as reported in last Friday's Around Town). Tomorrow's show starts at 2pm and 8pm. Sunday's event is at 3pm. Tuesday's concert starts at 8:30pm. Wednesday's show starts at 8pm
* B1, 200 Roosevelt Rd Sec 4, Taipei (台北市羅斯福路四段200號B1). Call (02) 2930-0162 or visit www.the-wall.com.tw
Riverside Cafe (河岸留言) presents Terminal 2 (第二航廈), who play a combination of jazz and pop. Tomorrow looks interesting: indie-pop band La Petite Nurse (小護士) with "lots of friends," including but not limited to members of Braces (牙套) and Mary See the Future. On Sunday it's indie-folk singer Panai (巴奈) followed somewhat incongruously by metal-core/emo band 831 (八三夭). Monday is open-jam night, when anyone can get on stage and play. On Tuesday there's indie rock band Joker and garage band Mary See the Future. Wednesday features neo-prog band Formula and Neon. And on Thursday it's Passiwali (巴西瓦里) and the J-rock oriented band Crimson (緋紅).
* Shows start at 9:30pm
* Entrance tonight, tomorrow, Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday is NT$350. On Monday there is a one-drink minimum. Thursday is NT$300
* B1, 2, Ln 244, Roosevelt Rd Sec 3, Taipei (台北市羅斯福路三段244巷2號B1). Call (02) 2368-7310, or visit www.riverside.com.tw
Underworld (地下社會) will pump up the volume tonight with hardcore/grunge-inspired quartet The Newsonghead (新歌頭) and downbeat electronica group Nylas (耐拉思). Tomorrow it's Dink and Electro Cute. Emo-punks Hindsight (光景消逝) take the stage on Wednesday, along with 13 High.
* The bar opens at 8pm and bands start playing at 9pm
* Entrance is NT$300
* B1, 45 Shida Rd, Taipei (台北市師大路45號B1). Call (02) 2369-0103 or visit www.underworld-taipei.blogspot.com for more information
At Velvet Underground (地下絲絨), across from Taipei Main Station, tonight's crowded lineup is hip-hop group City of Lights (城市之光), taike hip-hop outfit Kao Chiu Chin (烤秋勤), Undersoul, Mixman and Wave Light. Tomorrow it's Metal Warriors, Godfather (教父), Survival Influence (存活勢力), and Oriental Express (東方快車). On Sunday it's Firefly (螢火蟲), on Tuesday it's Smash and Puppy's Family, on Wednesday it's World Peace and , and on Thursday it's Iron Banana and Parallel Lines (平行線).
* Bands take the stage tonight at 7:30pm, tomorrow at 6pm, and at 9pm Sunday through Thursday
* Admission tonight is NT$350, tomorrow is NT$500, Tuesday is NT$250, Wednesday is NT$300, and Thursday is NT$200. Sunday's entrance has not been posted as of press time
* B1, 50 Zhongxiao W Rd Sec 1, Taipei (台北市忠孝西路一段50號B1). Call (02) 2314-1868 or visit www.velvet-underground.com.tw
The Living Room (小客廳) presents Mary See the Future tonight. Suichihua (碎紙花), who try to mix guitar snarl of the Clash with ska sound a la the Mighty Bosstones, and Nomads Ensemble take the stage tomorrow. Tuesday is tarot night. Wednesday there's a magic show, followed by a performance by Drunk (酒客二人組). Ai Ching (艾青) performs Thursday.
* Performances start at 9pm tonight and 8pm tomorrow. Tuesday's tarot runs from 8pm to 11pm. Wednesday's magic starts at 6:30pm, followed by the music at 10pm. Thursday's music starts at 9pm
* There is a minimum charge of NT$300, with suggested donations for each act
* 3F, 8 Nanjing E Rd Sec 5, Taipei (台北市南京東路5段8號3樓). Call (02) 8787-4154 or visit www.livingroomtaipei.com
At Grooveyard in Taichung, it's jazz, blues and groove combo Les Chats Noirs tonight and Voice Magazine's anniversary party tomorrow, with The Money Shot Horns and Public Radio. Meanwhile, Groovecity presents Aboriginal musicians Eagle Lin and Gu La Pau tonight and again tomorrow, when they perform after house jazz combo 'Round Midnight. Thursday at Grooveyard, as usual, is Taiwan Exposed open-mic night.
* At Grooveyard the music runs from 9:30pm to 11:30pm tonight. Tomorrow's party is from 8pm to 3am. At Groovecity, the music runs from 8pm to 10pm tonight. Tomorrow, 'Round Midnight plays from 6pm to 8pm. Eagle Lin and Gu La Pau play from 8pm to 10pm
* Grooveyard cover is NT$200. Groovecity entrance is NT$300. There's no cover for open-mic night
* Groovecity is inside Tiger City (台中老虎城旁停車場) at 120 Henan Rd Sec 3, Taichung (台中市河南路三段120號老虎城). Grooveyard is located at 2F, 105 Huamei W Rd, Taichung (台中市華美西街105號二樓). Visit www.grooveyardtaiwan.com or call 0939-574-737 for more information
Exhibitions
Beyond the Frontier of Color and Form — Subversion and Reconstruction (形色版圖 — 顛覆與重建). Featuring geometric abstract paintings by six celebrated local artists closely connected to the development of Taiwan's contemporary art, the exhibition can be seen as a exploration of color and form and through juxtaposition and comparison of works.
* Main Trend Gallery (大趨勢畫廊), 209-1 Chengde Rd Sec 3, Taipei (台北市承德路三段209-1號). Open Tuesday to Saturday from 11am to 7pm. Call (02) 2587-3412
* Until June 23
Microscopic Space — Solo Exhibition by Chen Chun-hung (微形空間 — 陳俊宏個展). A creative fusion of medicine and art, the artist turns a microscopic vision of human cells and tissues into a series of painting-like digital photographs where the object of scientific knowledge becomes the subject of art.
* Taiwan International Visual Arts Center (台灣國際視覺藝術中心), 29 Ln 45, Liaoning St, Taipei (台北市遼寧街45巷29號). Open Tuesday to Friday from 11am to 7pm; Saturday and Sunday from 11am to 5pm. Call (02) 2773-3347
* Until Wednesday
Heaven (天堂) comprises two individual works created by Chinese artists Qi Xing (齊星) and Lu Chengyuan (盧征遠). Taking mental patients as their prototypes, Qi's surrealistic oil painting depicts a patient's dream while Lu's seven human sculptures are based on the artist's two-week stay in a mental home.
* Eslite Gallery (誠品畫廊), B2, 245 Dunhua S Rd Sec 1, Taipei (台北市敦化南路一段245號B2). Open Tuesday to Sunday at 11am to 7pm. Call (02) 2775-5977
* Until June 24
Flesh Machine (肉兵器). The Paris-educated award-winning artist Chang Ling (常陵) has exhibited around the world using human flesh as the sole element of his creations that dissect human desires.
* Nanhai Gallery (南海藝廊), 3, Ln 19, Chungching S Rd Sec 2, Taipei (台北市重慶南路二段19巷3號). Open Wednesday to Sunday from 2pm to 9:30pm. Call (02) 2392-5080
* Until June 28
Self Portrait (自拍像). Making life's fragments into color slides that are later sewn and knitted into giant dresses, artist Hsu Chia-jung (許嘉容) conjures up memories of her late mother with light and shadows.
* Taishin Financial Tower (台新金控大樓), 118 Renai Rd Sec 4, Taipei (台北市仁愛路四段118號2樓). Open Monday to Saturday from 11am to 6pm. Call (02) 3703-6955
* Until June 29
Next week, candidates will officially register to run for chair of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT). By the end of Friday, we will know who has registered for the Oct. 18 election. The number of declared candidates has been fluctuating daily. Some candidates registering may be disqualified, so the final list may be in flux for weeks. The list of likely candidates ranges from deep blue to deeper blue to deepest blue, bordering on red (pro-Chinese Communist Party, CCP). Unless current Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) can be convinced to run for re-election, the party looks likely to shift towards more hardline
Last week the story of the giant illegal crater dug in Kaohsiung’s Meinong District (美濃) emerged into the public consciousness. The site was used for sand and gravel extraction, and then filled with construction waste. Locals referred to it sardonically as the “Meinong Grand Canyon,” according to media reports, because it was 2 hectares in length and 10 meters deep. The land involved included both state-owned and local farm land. Local media said that the site had generated NT$300 million in profits, against fines of a few million and the loss of some excavators. OFFICIAL CORRUPTION? The site had been seized
Sept. 15 to Sept. 21 A Bhutanese princess caught at Taoyuan Airport with 22 rhino horns — worth about NT$31 million today — might have been just another curious front-page story. But the Sept. 17, 1993 incident came at a sensitive moment. Taiwan, dubbed “Die-wan” by the British conservationist group Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), was under international fire for being a major hub for rhino horn. Just 10 days earlier, US secretary of the interior Bruce Babbitt had recommended sanctions against Taiwan for its “failure to end its participation in rhinoceros horn trade.” Even though Taiwan had restricted imports since 1985 and enacted
Enter the Dragon 13 will bring Taiwan’s first taste of Dirty Boxing Sunday at Taipei Gymnasium, one highlight of a mixed-rules card blending new formats with traditional MMA. The undercard starts at 10:30am, with the main card beginning at 4pm. Tickets are NT$1,200. Dirty Boxing is a US-born ruleset popularized by fighters Mike Perry and Jon Jones as an alternative to boxing. The format has gained traction overseas, with its inaugural championship streamed free to millions on YouTube, Facebook and Instagram. Taiwan’s version allows punches and elbows with clinch striking, but bans kicks, knees and takedowns. The rules are stricter than the
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