Theater & dance
Cloud Gate Dance Theatre (雲門舞集) opened its three-week run at the National Theater on Wednesday night with Cursive (行草), part one of artistic director Lin Hwai-min’s (林懷民) Cursive trilogy. Tickets of all price ranges are still available for tonight’s show but all that’s left for tomorrow night are the NT$1,600 seats, while Sunday’s matinee is sold out. Cursive II (行草貳) opens on Wednesday and Wild Cursive (狂草) begins on Sept. 16. Only the NT$1,600 seats are left for Sept.18, while Sept. 19 is sold out.
■ National Theater, Taipei City
■ Wednesdays to Saturdays through Sept. 19 at 7:45pm and Sundays, Sept. 6, Sept. 13 and Sept. 20, at 2:45pm
■ Tickets are NT$400 to NT$2,000, available through NTCH ticketing or online at www.artsticket.com.tw
There are still about 20 tickets left for Sunday night’s Morakot-disaster fund-raiser by former Martha Graham principal dancer Sheu Fang-yi (許芳宜) and her LaFa company. Since LaFa’s Ode to Joy show as part of the Taipei Arts Festival sold out weeks ago, Sheu and choreographer Bulareyaung Pagarlava (布拉瑞揚) added an extra performance to raise money for Bula’s hometown, Jialan Village (嘉蘭), one of the many places in Taitung County and elsewhere hurt by the typhoon. All proceeds from the show will go to relief efforts.
■ LAFA Ode to Joy, a Philanthropic Evening-Typhoon Relief Donation, Taipei Cultural Center, Wenshan Branch (台北市立社會教育館文山分館), 32 Jingwen St, Taipei City (台北市景文街32號)
■ Sunday at 7pm
■ Tickets are NT$3,000, available through NTCH ticketing or online at www.artsticket.com.tw
Inspired by William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Much Ado About Nothing, Love Scenes of Flowers and Farewell (花與告別的愛情場景) is a collaboration between celebrated composer and songwriter Chen Chien-chi (陳建騏) and singer Waa Wei (魏如萱), better know as Waa (娃娃), who will take audiences on a musical journey to Shakespeare’s world of love and romance. [See story above.]
■ Zhongshan Hall (台北市中山堂), 98 Yenping S Rd, Taipei City (台北市延平南路98號)
■ Tonight and tomorrow at 8pm and Sunday at 2:30pm
■ Tickets are sold out
The Lost Part (天堂的缺口) by Dance Body Company (體相舞蹈劇場) is a cross-over effort by choreographer Wu Pin-i (吳品儀), flute player Yu Ya-hui (游雅慧) and Taiwanese opera performer Chien Yu-lin (簡玉琳). Performed by the trio and members of the dance company, the work centers on three women and their life stories.
■ Experimental Theater, Taipei City
■ Tonight at 7:30pm, tomorrow at 2:30pm and 7:30pm and Sunday at 2:30pm
■ Tickets are NT$600, available
through NTCH ticketing or online at www.artsticket.com.tw
As part of the Taipei Fringe Festival, Housewives’ Rice (主婦的米) by Wu Eng Jeng Kow Moving Drama Band (無印堅果流動劇團) recounts how a husband and wife rediscover the most important thing in their lives after the estranged wife turns into a cockroach.
■ Somebody Cafe (貳拾陸巷), 2F, 131 Xining S Rd, Taipei City (台北市西寧南路131號2樓)
■ Tomorrow at 2:30pm and 7:30pm and Sunday at 2:30pm
■ Tickets are NT$350, available
through NTCH ticketing or online at www.artsticket.com.tw
Classical music
Super Time Space Symphony (超時空交響曲) features the Kaohsiung County Symphony Orchestra (高雄縣交響樂團), which will perform a program that includes easy-listening favorites such as Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture, Mozart’s Overture from “The Marriage of Figaro”, the Star Wars Suite arranged by John Williams and music by Andrew Lloyd Webber.
■ Tomorrow at 7:30pm
■ Kaohsiung County Labor Recreation Center (高雄縣勞工育樂中心), 117, Dapi Rd, Niaosong Township, Kaohsiung County (高雄縣鳥松鄉大埤路117號)
■ Tickets are NT$200 to NT$500, available through ERA ticketing or online at www.tickets.com.tw
Ju Percussion Group’s 2009 National Children’s Concert Tour (2009朱宗慶打擊樂團兒童音樂會全國巡演) gets started this weekend at Novel Hall presenting a mixture of music and performance for the whole family.
■ Today and tomorrow 7:30pm, tomorrow and Sunday 2:30pm and Sunday 10:30am
■ Novel Hall (新舞台), 3-1 Songshou Rd, Taipei City (台北市松壽路3-1號)
■ Tickets are NT$400 to NT$1,000, available through NTCH ticketing or online at www.artsticket.com.tw
Night of Four Hands With Liu Chia-ling and Wu Chia-fang (劉家伶與吳佳芳的四手聯彈之夜) presents pianists Liu Chia-ling (劉家伶) and Wu Chia-fang (吳佳芳) playing works for four hands including Dvorak’s Slavonic Dances, Op. 46, Nos. 5-8, Bizet’s Jeux d’Enfants, Op. 22, Erik Satie’s Trois Morceaux en Forme de Poire and Brahms’ Liebeslieder Waltzers, Op. 52a.
■ Today at 7:30pm
■ 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)
■ Tickets are NT$250, available
through NTCH ticketing or online at www.artsticket.com.tw
Cho-Liang Lin & NTSO (與國臺交) features violinist Lin Cho-liang (林昭亮) performing with the National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra (國立臺灣交響樂團) under guest conductor David Alan Miller. The program includes Tchaikovsky’s Overture Fantasy From “Romeo and Juliet,” Sibelius’ Violin Concerto in D-Minor, Op.47, Copland’s Suite from “Our Town” and Bernstein’s Symphonic Dances from “West Side Story.”
■ Tuesday at 7:30pm
■ Chunghsing Concert Hall, Taichung (台中中興堂), 291-3 Chingwu Rd, Taichung City (台中市精武路291之3號)
■ Tickets are NT$300 to NT$1,200, available through NTCH ticketing or online at www.artsticket.com.tw
Contemporary
ICRT’s third annual Battle of the Bands final takes place tomorrow from 3pm to 5pm at Breeze Center’s (微風廣場) outdoor plaza on Civil Boulevard (市民大道). The previous winners were Point 22 (.22) and High Tide. This year’s combatants are four-year-old rock, metal and power ballad outfit Black Heart (黑心), GunPowder, which fuses American hard rock and Japanese speed metal in its songs, electro-pop group Go Chic, pop band io and disco, blues and hip-hop outfit Electric MessAge (電子混亂世代). The grand prize is NT$60,000 in cash and instruments and one-week airplay on ICRT.
■ Breeze Center (微風廣場), 39, Fuxing S Rd Sec 1, Taipei City. (台北市復興南路一段39號6樓)
■ Free
■ Tomorrow from 3pm to 5pm
Tomorrow night VU Live House hosts all-girl street punk band BB Bomb (BB彈) and another all-girl group, Go Chic, which opens for industrial rockers Roughhausen, led by Jeff Stoddard, a recording engineer protege of Skinny Puppy. The show celebrates the release of Roughhausen’s new EP and the evening ends with DJ Spykee Fat. [See story on Page 14.]
■ B1, 77, Wuchang St Sec 2, Taipei
City (台北市武昌街二段77號B1). Tel:
(02) 2314-1868
■ Show begins at 9pm
■ Entrance fee is NT$500 at the
door, includes a copy of the new Roughhausen EP
Tonight’s a heavy metal evening at The Wall (這牆) with Respect (尊敬), Hekate (席卡堤), Nemesis (天譴) and Flesh Juicer. Tomorrow veteran punks Fire Ex (滅火器) play a special show to preview new songs from their new album, due out next month. On Sunday it’s another round of Challenging the Fire (火焰大挑戰), a battle of young or otherwise unknown bands. On Wednesday it’s Slow Motion, an act that attempts a mix of hard rock and French disco thump a la Daft Punk, Homework (轟沃克) and H!Jack.
■ 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
■ Shows start at 7:30pm tonight, 8pm tomorrow, 7pm on Sunday and 8pm on Wednesday
■ Entrance fee is NT$400 tonight, NT$300 tomorrow (covers payment for Fire-Ex CD pre-order; registration required online at The Wall’s Web site), NT$250 on Sunday and NT$300 on Wednesday. Tickets can be purchased online at www.thewall.com.tw or tickets.books.com.tw
Le Cher Sextet puts a new spin on classic pop and rock tunes tonight at Witch House (女巫店). Tomorrow it’s Brother Fifth (搖滾點唱機五哥), which is composed of two fingerstyle guitarists and a drummer, followed by
a solo set by A-Chang (阿彰), the guitarist for Manchester rock-influenced band Bitter. Appearing on Thursday are indie rockers Gayyung (假勇)
and Soundboss.
■ 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
■ Performances 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 fee for music shows is NT$300
Tonight Riverside Cafe (河岸留言) hosts a tribute to Japanese fusion band T-Square, which appears in Taipei next week, featuring Skyline (融合爵士樂團) and the Timeless Fusion Project, a fusion group led by pianist Fred Lu
(呂聖斐) and saxophonist Tung Shuen-wen (董舜文). Taiwan’s “little prince of R ’n’ B,” Afalean Lu (盧學叡) takes to the stage tomorrow, opening for indie-rockers Love Manana (愛的大未來). Rockers Five in the Morning (清晨五點) and Indie Famous appear on Sunday. The venue’s weekly open jam is on Monday.
■ 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 9:30pm tonight and 9pm tomorrow and on Sunday. Monday’s open jam starts at 9pm. For a list of standard songs and ground rules, visit the venue’s Web site
■ Entrance fee is NT$400 tonight and tomorrow, NT$350 on Sunday and NT$150 on Monday
Singaporean Mandopop star Tanya Chua (蔡健雅) appears tonight at Riverside Live House (西門紅樓展演館). Xiao Yu (小宇), who stirs his Mando-pop with a little hip-hop, takes to the stage tomorrow. On Thursday, nu-rock and funk group Coach (教練樂隊) opens for pop-rock band Rock Oriental Express (搖滾東方).
■ 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 8:30pm
■ Entrance fee is NT$500 tonight, NT$450 tomorrow and NT$400 on Sunday. Tickets can purchased online through www.riverside.com.tw/livehouse or tickets.books.com.tw
Taitung reggae rockers Matzka and De Hot play tonight at Underworld (地下社會), opening for happy punks Children Sucker (表兒). Taking to the stage tomorrow are solo blues act Jack Conqueroo and Ilan expat garage rockers The Deadly Vibes. On Wednesday it’s emo-rock group BRTD and Sunset Rollercoaster (落日飛車).
■ B1, 45 Shida Rd, Taipei City (台北市師大路45號B1). Tel: (02) 2369-0103. On the Net: www.upsaid.com/underworld
■ Music shows run from 9:30pm to 11:30pm on Fridays and Saturdays and 9pm to 11pm on Wednesdays. Sunday’s show is from 7pm to 11pm. Underworld is open daily from 9pm, closed on Mondays. Happy Hour on Tuesdays and Thursdays before midnight
■ Entrance is NT$300 tonight and tomorrow and includes a drink, NT$100 on Wednesday
Claude Diallo, a New York-based jazz pianist and composer, performs at Sappho de Base tonight. Tomorrow 3 Little Giants (3小巨人) take the stage. The Jason Hayashi Jazz Trio appears on Tuesday, and on Wednesday the Bossarela Trio performs bossa nova. T and T Jazz Trio and Friends play on Thursday night.
■ 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.sappho102.biz
■ Music shows begin at 10:30pm on weekends, 10pm on weekdays. Sappho is closed on Sundays and Mondays
■ Entrance fee tonight is NT$150. Free all other nights
Every Wednesday night at the Cosmopolitan Grill there’s an
open mic hosted by keyboardist Andrew Page, with the music mainly covering blues and jazz. All are welcome to participate, and participants receive
20 percent off drinks.
■ 1F, 218 Changchun Rd, Taipei City (台北市長春路218號1樓). Tel: (02) 2508- 0304. On the Net: www.cosmo.com.tw
■ 8:30pm to 11pm on Wednesday
■ No entrance fee
EZ5 Live House hosts Mando-pop singers backed by a live band every night. Highlights this week include pub legend and songstress Tiger Huang (黃小琥), who performs every Monday. Julia Peng (彭佳慧) is another major draw who appears every Tuesday. Pop crooner Liu Wei-zen (劉偉仁) appears on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
■ 211, Anhe Rd Sec 2, Taipei City (台北 市安和路二段211號). Tel: (02) 2738-3995. On the Net: visit www.ez5.com.tw
■ Music shows run from 9:45pm to 12:30am
■ Entrance fee (includes two drinks) ranges from NT$600 to NT$850, depending on the performer
Franz and Friends (城市舞台藝文沙龍), an upscale restaurant and performance space in Taipei’s East District, hosts music shows every night. The music tends to play it safe, ranging from wistful love songs and opera to lounge jazz. Weekly highlights include Denise Juan (阮丹青), a former pop singer turned piano teacher and television presenter, and her band Sunshine Costa. They play tonight. Tomorrow it’s Buona Sera, featuring soprano Chang Hsiao-ni (張曉倪).
■ 25, Bade Rd Sec 3, Taipei City (台北 市八德路三段25號B1). Tel: (02) 2579- 0558. On the Net: www.franzandfriends.com.tw
■ Minimum charge of NT$300 on Fridays and Saturdays. On other nights there’s a one-drink minimum
The Other Side is a new nightclub opened by Ling Wei (凌威), the owner of Taipei’s Roxy venues. The new club is a “party-until-the-sun-comes-up” spot like one of Ling’s past ventures, the now-closed Roxy Vibe, but it promises a classier atmosphere, with sofa seating and a modern lounge interior befitting of its locale in Taipei’s East District. House DJs spin classic dance and rock from acts like Nirvana, The Ting Tings, Oasis, the Cure and Michael Jackson.
■ B1, 20, Songshou Rd, Taipei City (台北 市松壽路20號B1). Tel: (02) 2723-3257. On the Net: www.roxy.com.tw
■ Open on Wednesdays, Thursdays
and Sundays from 10pm until 4am and on Fridays and Saturdays from 10pm until 7am
■ Cover charge for women is NT$300, except Wednesdays, when women get in free. Cover charge for men is NT$400 on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays, and on Fridays and Saturdays before 1am. After 1am on weekends cover charge for men is NT$500
Lili Restaurant and Gallery in Tianmu has teamed up with the Community Services Center to hold The Morakot Relief Live Art Auction: Artists Beat the Flood.
Throughout the day, 20 local and foreign painters will work together to fill a blank canvas. There will also be performances by musicians including Australian jazz singer Ayesha Mehta, world music group A Moving Sound, ethnic jazz group Orbit Folks, singer-songwriter David Foster and Paiwan singer RS Legend. All proceeds go to help victims of Typhoon Morakot. For more information contact Prashantha Lachann at 0975-021-931. On the Net: www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=145174285239&ref=mf
■ Lili Restaurant and Gallery, 760, Zhongshan N Rd Sec 6, Taipei City (台北市中山北路六段760號)
■ Tomorrow from 10am to 10pm
■ Entrance fee is NT$500, includes
a drink
May 11 to May 18 The original Taichung Railway Station was long thought to have been completely razed. Opening on May 15, 1905, the one-story wooden structure soon outgrew its purpose and was replaced in 1917 by a grandiose, Western-style station. During construction on the third-generation station in 2017, workers discovered the service pit for the original station’s locomotive depot. A year later, a small wooden building on site was determined by historians to be the first stationmaster’s office, built around 1908. With these findings, the Taichung Railway Station Cultural Park now boasts that it has
The latest Formosa poll released at the end of last month shows confidence in President William Lai (賴清德) plunged 8.1 percent, while satisfaction with the Lai administration fared worse with a drop of 8.5 percent. Those lacking confidence in Lai jumped by 6 percent and dissatisfaction in his administration spiked up 6.7 percent. Confidence in Lai is still strong at 48.6 percent, compared to 43 percent lacking confidence — but this is his worst result overall since he took office. For the first time, dissatisfaction with his administration surpassed satisfaction, 47.3 to 47.1 percent. Though statistically a tie, for most
Wooden houses wedged between concrete, crumbling brick facades with roofs gaping to the sky, and tiled art deco buildings down narrow alleyways: Taichung Central District’s (中區) aging architecture reveals both the allure and reality of the old downtown. From Indigenous settlement to capital under Qing Dynasty rule through to Japanese colonization, Taichung’s Central District holds a long and layered history. The bygone beauty of its streets once earned it the nickname “Little Kyoto.” Since the late eighties, however, the shifting of economic and government centers westward signaled a gradual decline in the area’s evolving fortunes. With the regeneration of the once
In February of this year the Taipei Times reported on the visit of Lienchiang County Commissioner Wang Chung-ming (王忠銘) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and a delegation to a lantern festival in Fuzhou’s Mawei District in Fujian Province. “Today, Mawei and Matsu jointly marked the lantern festival,” Wang was quoted as saying, adding that both sides “being of one people,” is a cause for joy. Wang was passing around a common claim of officials of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the PRC’s allies and supporters in Taiwan — KMT and the Taiwan People’s Party — and elsewhere: Taiwan and
RSS