Theater
Over the past 20 years, Rom Shing Hakka Opera Troupe (榮興客家採茶劇團) has strived to preserve the tradition of Hakka operatic art. For its latest production, The Yang’s Daughter-in-Law (楊家心臼), the company mixes modern theatrical vocabulary with Hakka musical elements such as mountain songs to tell the famous story of the Yang Family Generals (楊家將).
■ National Theater, Taipei City
■ Tonight and tomorrow at 7:30pm, Sunday at 2:30pm
■ Tickets are NT$300 to NT$2,000, available through NTCH ticketing or online at www.artsticket.com.tw
Scarecrow Contemporary Dance Company (稻草人舞團) started its “dance versus literature” series with Hans Christian Andersen last year. This year, three young women choreographers enter the world of Emily Dickinson in I Died for Beauty — Emily Dickinson (我為美殉身—艾蜜莉狄金生).
■ Experimental Theater, Taipei City
■ Tonight at 7:30pm, tomorrow at 2:30pm and 7:30pm, Sunday at 2:30pm
■ Tickets are NT$450, available
through NTCH ticketing or online at www.artsticket.com.tw
What is Love? Concert (關於洛芙的15首), Representation Theatre’s (再現劇團) official debut, is a concert-cum-theatrical performance themed on love. The cast includes six performers/musicians and five guest artists.
■ VU Live House (地下絲絨), B1, 77, Wuchang St Sec 2, Taipei City (台北市武昌街二段77號B1)
■ Tonight, Monday and Tuesday at 7:30pm, tomorrow and Sunday at 2:30pm and 7:30pm
■ Tickets are NT$500, available online at tickets.books.com.tw
For its children-friendly Beauty and the Beast (美女與野獸), Tainaner Ensemble (台南人劇團) uses acrobatics, magic tricks, music and dance to tell the classical fairy tale reinterpreted by the troupe’s founder, Lu Po-shen (呂柏伸).
■ Tainan Municipal Cultural Center
(台南市立文化中心), 332, Jhonghua E Rd Sec 3, Tainan City (台南市中華東路三段332號)
■ Tonight and Thursday at 7:30pm, tomorrow at 2:30pm and 7:30pm and Sunday at 2:30pm
■ Tickets are NT$500 and NT$700, available through NTCH ticketing or online at www.artsticket.com.tw
Classical music
Legend of Rainbow Fairy Nanguan vs Kunqu (霓裳羽衣 — 南管崑曲新唱), is a performance of nanguan (南管) music by Wang Xinxin (王心心), one of Taiwan’s most respected exponents of the art form. She will be accompanied on stage by kun opera (崑曲) star Qian Yi (錢熠), creating a unique mixture of two ancient musical and performance styles.
■ Today and tomorrow at 7:30pm
■ Novel Hall (新舞臺), 3-1 Songshou Rd, Taipei City (台北市松壽路3-1號)
■ Tickets are NT$600 to NT$2,000, available through NTCH ticketing or online at www.artsticket.com.tw
2009 Ju Percussion Group Winter Concert (2009朱宗慶打擊樂團冬季音樂會) will showcase the art of steel drums. The country’s most famous percussion orchestra will perform pieces ranging from Dizzy Gillespie’s A Night in Tunisia to Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2.
■ Today and tomorrow at 7:30pm (Taipei), Sunday at 2:30pm (Taichung)
■ National Concert Hall, Taipei City and National Taichung Library Chunghsing Concert Hall (台中中興堂), 291-3 Jingwu Rd, Taichung City (台中市精武路219之3號)
■ Tickets are NT$400 to NT$1,500 (Taipei) and NT$400 to NT$1,200 (Taichung), available through
NTCH ticketing or online at
www.artsticket.com.tw
The Northern Inextinguishable Passion (不滅的冰火熱情 — 北市交與居爾辛．歐內) is a concert by the Taipei Symphony Orchestra (臺北市立交響樂團) featuring guest conductor Wu Shou-ling (吳琇玲) and pianist Gulsin Onay. The program includes Tubin’s The Goblin, Grieg’s Piano Concerto in A Minor, Op. 16, and Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 5 in B Flat Major, Op. 100.
■ Sunday at 2:30pm
■ Zhongshan Hall (台北市中山堂), 98 Yanping S Rd, Taipei City (台北市延平南路98號)
■ Tickets are NT$200 to NT$1,000, available through NTCH ticketing or online at www.artsticket.com.tw
A Night of Flute Concertos (長笛協奏曲之夜) presents the National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra (國立臺灣交響樂團) performing a program that includes concertos for flute and orchestra by Jolivet, Ibert, Nielsen and Mercadante.
■ Tuesday at 7pm
■ National Concert Hall, Taipei City
■ Tickets are NT$100, available
through NTCH ticketing or online at www.artsticket.com.tw
Contemporary
Earl Hines II Jazztet performs tonight at Sappho de Base. Appearing tomorrow is Aashti (汎絲路樂團), a group of Macedonian and Taiwanese musicians playing “world music from Macedonia, Bulgaria, the Middle East and Xinjiang.” On Tuesday the Brian, Grace and Kinya Jazz Trio takes to the stage. On Wednesday it’s Flaneur Daguerre, a jazz quartet that plays everything from Bach to Bjork and Ornette Coleman to the Ramones. The Ginger Men play Latin, funk and fusion jazz on Thursday.
■ 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 start at 10pm. Closed on Sundays and Mondays
■ Entrance is NT$450 tomorrow, free other nights
Indie-rock band Totem (圖騰) appears at The Wall (這牆) tonight. The group recently released their second album, The Boy Who Cried Wolf (放羊的孩子), which is full of eclectic sounds ranging from folk rock to electronica. Tomorrow night J-pop artists SOFFet, May J, May’s and N.O.B.U. take to the stage as part of Sun High, a special tour of Japanese pop “mini-concerts.” On Sunday the venue presents Cross the Sea/Island Paradise, featuring Okinawa artists Kiyotaka Ishikawa (石川清貴), Chihiro Kamiya (神谷千尋) and All Japan Goith. Also on the lineup are Taiwan-based reggae and ska bands High Tide, Skaraoke and Matzka and De Hot.
■ 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
■ Music shows start at 8pm tonight and tomorrow, 5pm Sunday
■ Entrance fee is NT$400 tonight, NT$1,600 tomorrow (NT$1,400 in advance), NT$500 on Sunday.
Tickets can be purchased online by visiting www.thewall.com.tw or
tickets.books.com.tw
Yanjue (嚴爵), who plays blues, funk and folk, opens for metal-core/emo band 831 (八三夭) tonight at Witch House (女巫店). Tomorrow night it’s pop-rock duo Nature Morte (靜物樂團). Neo-folk singer/guitarist Enno Cheng (鄭宜農) and Every Planet (美味星球樂團) appear 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
■ 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
■ Entry fee for music shows is NT$300
Tonight Fusion Night plays jazz at Riverside Cafe (河岸留言). Tomorrow indie-pop institution 1976 performs in support of its latest album Life or Live (不合時宜). On Sunday folk-rock singer Hanni (涵妮) and friends open for female acoustic performer Koumis (蓓麗). Monday is the venue’s weekly open jam.
■ 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 tonight, tomorrow and Sunday. Open jam starts at 10pm (this week only). For a list of standard songs and ground rules, visit the venue’s Web site
■ Entrance fee is NT$400 tonight, NT$500 tomorrow, NT$350 Sunday and NT$150 Monday
Tonight Riverside Live House (西門紅樓展演館) hosts Yang Chien-shih (楊蒨時), a singer featured on the TV reality show Super Idol (超級偶像), as part of an ongoing concert series that concludes next Friday. Tomorrow rapper Soft Lipa (蛋堡) performs jazzy hip-hop. No shows are scheduled for Sunday. On Wednesday Hakka rock band Zenkwun (神棍樂團) shares the bill with emo-punks Punkhoo (胖虎).
■ 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 tonight, 9pm tomorrow, 8:30pm Wednesday
■ Entrance fee is NT$500 tonight, NT$450 tomorrow and NT$400 Wednesday. Tickets can purchased online through www.riverside.com.tw/livehouse or tickets.books.com.tw
Tonight Underworld (地下社會) hosts Come on! Bay Bay! (來吧!焙焙!), which has an indie-pop sound along the lines of Belle and Sebastian, and Yoz Tiger (包子虎), a solo project of the former member of post-rock band Sugar Plum Ferry (甜梅號). Tomorrow it’s heavy metal bands Epitaph and La’ Dies (靈骸樂團) of Singapore. On Wednesday Doodle and The Pixels take to the stage.
■ 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. Underworld is open daily from
9pm, closed on Mondays. Happy
hour on Tuesdays and Thursdays before midnight
■ Entrance is NT$300 tonight and tomorrow, which includes one drink; NT$100 on Wednesday
EZ5 Live House hosts Mando-pop singers backed by a live band every night. Highlights for the week ahead include beloved female singer Tiger Huang (黃小琥), who performs two sets every Monday, Julia Peng (彭佳慧), a major draw who appears every Tuesday, and male crooner Huang Chung-yuan (黃中原), who performs every Friday.
■ 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
Three Day Bender plays blues, rock and soul tonight at Taichung’s 89k. Tomorrow folk rockers Wounded Night, a four-piece expat/Taiwanese band with mandolin and fiddle as the lead instrumental voices, shares the bill with country and bluegrass band Waysoon and one-man blues band Jack Conqueroo.
■ 21 Daguan Rd, Nantun Dist, Taichung City (台中市南屯區大觀路21號)
■ Shows start at 10pm
■ Entrance is NT$300
Roxy Roots, a bar and restaurant dedicated to reggae and blues fans, hosts nu-metal/funk band Coach (教練), which is celebrating the release of a new CD. Tomorrow it’s Pan Africana, a drum ensemble of African and Caribbean expats. On Wednesday, there’s a showcase jam hosted by jazz pianist Andrew Page and his group The Flock.
■ 90 Songren Rd, Taipei City (台北市松仁路90號), Tel: (02) 2725-3932. On the Net: www.roxy.com.tw
■ Show starts at 9:30pm tomorrow
■ Entrance is free
Franz and Friends (城市舞台藝
文沙龍), an upscale restaurant and performance space in Taipei’s East District (東區), 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
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