Highlights
(By Steven Vigar)
With gigs in Tainan, Taichung, Kaohsiung and Taipei, Geneva-based electro rock outfit Aloan, formed in 2001 and named top Swiss band of last year by radio station DRS 3, is leaving no rock unturned on its Made in Taiwan tour.
Photo courtesy of Aloan
The group’s new album, Pretty Freaks, which marries 1950’s rock ’n’ roll and electro, presents a “magic world filled with eerie creatures and beauties,” says Aloan’s MC Granite (real name David Granite). Fronted by Granite and singer Lyn M, Aloan plays an eclectic mix of samples and acoustic instruments.
■ On the Net: www.aloan.ch
■ 10pm tonight at TCRC (獨立音樂聯盟), B1, 314, Ximen Rd Sec 2, Tainan City (台南市西門路二段314號B1), tel: (06) 222-3238. Admission is NT$300, which includes one drink
Photo courtesy of Orbit Folks
■ 7:30pm tomorrow at Wombloc Arts (子宮藝文), 31 Hebei 1st Rd, Sanming Dist, Kaohsiung City (高雄市三民區河北一路31號), tel: 0912-712-602. Admission is NT$300 (NT$250 for students with ID), which includes one drink
■ 7pm Sunday at The Wall Pier 2 (高雄駁二藝術特區), 1 Dayong Rd, Yancheng Dist, Kaohsiung City (高雄市鹽埕區大勇路1號), tel: 07-5214899. Admission is NT$300
■ 7pm Wednesday at Emerge Live House (浮現藝文展演空間), 12, Ln 55, Sinsing Rd, Longjing Township, Taichung County (台中縣龍井鄉新興路55巷12號), tel: (04) 2631-3286. Admission is NT$450 (NT$400 in advance). Tickets can be purchased at Emerge Live House or www.indievox.com/emerge/event-post/6071
■ 8pm on Dec. 3 at The Wall (這牆), B1, 200, Roosevelt Rd Sec 4, Taipei City (台北市羅斯福路四段200號B1), tel: (02) 2930-0162. Admission is NT$500 (NT$400 in advance). Tickets can be purchased at The Wall or online at www.thewall.com.tw
■ 9:30pm on Dec. 4 at Underworld (地下社會), B1, 45 Shida Rd, Taipei City (台北市師大路45號B1), tel: (02) 2369-0103. Admission is NT$400
■ 8pm on Dec. 5 at Kafka on the Shore (海邊的卡夫卡), 2F, 2, Ln 244, Roosevelt Rd Sec 3, Taipei City (台北市羅斯福路三段244巷2號2樓), tel: (02) 2364-1996. Admission is NT$450 (NT$400 in advance), which includes one drink. Tickets can be purchased at Kafka on the Shore
(By David Chen)
Orbit Folks (世界軌跡), a jazz quartet that plays ethnic folk, is celebrating the release of their first CD with a show at the Kafka On the Shore (海邊的卡夫卡) cafe in Taipei on Sunday.
The group will perform songs from The Missing Link, which includes an original composition based on a Balkan rhythm and traditional Greek and Romanian folk songs. Indian tones and rhythms also have a role in the band’s sound, thanks to Japanese tabla player Toshihiro Wakaike, also known by jazz and world music fans in Taipei as “Waka.”
The group was formed by Belgian bassist Martijn Vanbuel, who composed seven of the eleven pieces on the album. He is an active part of Taipei’s jazz scene and serves as a member of the Chinese jazz fusion group Sizhukong (絲竹空).
On Sunday, Vanbuel will be joined by band members Wakaike, violinist Janelle Chang (張宜蓁), who has a classical background and specializes in Central Asian music, and jazz pianist Mike Zeng (曾增譯).
■ Kafka on the Shore (海邊的卡夫卡), 2F, 2, Ln 244, Roosevelt Rd Sec 3, Taipei City (台北市羅斯福路三段244巷2號2F ).
■ 8pm to 10pm on Sunday
■ Tickets are NT$400 at the door
■ On the Net: www.orbitfolks.com
Theater
Originally staged in San Francisco in 1994, Luis Bravo’s Forever Tango begins a three-day run at the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall tonight.
■ Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall (國父紀念館), 505, Renai Rd Sec 4, Taipei City (台北市仁愛路四段505號)
■ Tonight and tomorrow at 7:30pm, Sunday at 2:30pm
■ Tickets are NT$500 to NT$2,500, available through NTCH ticketing or online at www.artsticket.com.tw
Hamletmaxhine — hamlet b. (哈奈馬先之hamlet b.) is a collaboration between Mobius Strip Theatre (莫比斯圓環創作公社) and On&On Theatre Workshop (前進進戲劇工作坊) from Hong Kong that mixes Shakespeare’s text with German writer Heiner Muller’s language to stage an attack on our consumerist society. [See story on Page 13.]
■ Experimental Theater, Taipei City
■ Tonight at 7:30pm, tomorrow at 2:30pm and 7:30pm and Sunday at 2:30pm
■ Tickets are NT$500, available through NTCH ticketing or online at www.artsticket.com.tw
Schibboleth (詩剝裂), part of the 15th Crown Arts Festival (皇冠藝術節), is a multi-phase project by Taiwanese dancer-choreographer Chou Shu-yi (周書毅) and musician Hsieh Chieh-ting (謝杰廷). Inspired by the life and poems of Paul Celan, a Romania-born poet writing in German whose parents were killed in a concentration camp during World War II, the project, which began with a performance in Germany, ends with a run of sound-installation shows at the Crown Theater.
■ Crown Theater (皇冠小劇場), 50, Ln 120, Dunhua N Rd, Taipei City (台北市敦化北路120巷50號)
■ Tonight at 7:30pm, tomorrow and Sunday at 2:30pm and 7:30pm
■ Tickets are NT$650, available through NTCH ticketing or online at www.artsticket.com.tw
God of Carnage (文明的野蠻人) by Green Ray Theatre Troupe (綠光劇團) is a Taiwanese version of French playwright Yasmina Reza’s Tony Award-winning black comedy of the same title.
■ Metropolitan Hall (城市舞台), 25, Bade Rd Sec 3, Taipei City (台北市八德路三段25號)
■ Tonight at 7:30pm, tomorrow at 2:30pm and 7:30pm
■ Tickets are NT$600 and NT$2,000, available through ERA ticketing or online at www.ticket.com.tw
Sun-Shier Dance Theatre’s (三十舞蹈劇場) newest modern dance production, The Comedy Mission (卡麥迪任務) was created by choreographers with the aim of making audiences laugh out loud.
■ Wenshan Theater (文山劇場), 32 Jingwen St, Taipei City (台北市景文街32號)
■ Tonight at 7:30pm, tomorrow at 2:30pm and 7:30pm and Sunday at 2:30pm
■ Tickets are NT$500, available through NTCH ticketing or online at www.artsticket.com.tw
Classical music
As part of the International Chopin Festival 2010 (20X10蕭邦CHOPIN國際音樂節), Russian-born pianist Lilya Zilberstein will perform two concerts of Chopin works.
■ Tuesday at 7:30pm in Taichung and Wednesday at 7:30pm in Taipei
■ Taichung Chungshan Hall (台中市中山堂), 98 Syueshih Rd, Taichung City (台中市學士路98號) and National Concert Hall, Taipei City
■ Tickets are NT$400 to NT$2,400, available through ERA ticketing or online at www.ticket.com.tw. Also available through ibon, FamiPort and Life-ET kiosks
TSO Soloists Series — Chun-Yi Ho’s Trumpet Recital (TSO獨奏家系列 — 何君毅小號獨奏會) features Ho Chun-yi (何君毅) performing a program that includes Honegger’s Intrada for Trumpet and Piano, J.B.L. Arban’s Fantaisie and Variations on a Cavatina, Ponchielli’s Concerto for Trumpet in F, Op. 123, Bitsch’s Variation on a Theme by Domenico Scarlatti, and Goedicke’s Trumpet Concerto, Op. 41. He will be accompanied by Chen Jui-ying (陳瑞瑩) on piano.
■ Tomorrow at 7:30pm
■ 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, available through NTCH ticketing or online at www.artsticket.com.tw
Andre Thomas and Taipei Philharmonic Chamber Choir (黑色悸動 — Andre Thomas & 台北愛樂室內合唱團音樂會) presents the noted African American composer and arranger conducting the Taipei Philharmonic Chamber Choir (台北愛樂室內合唱團) in a program of music that draws heavily on gospel influences and includes contemporary sacred music such as Mocnik’s Christus Est Natus and Verbum Supernum Prodiens and arrangements of classic gospel music such as Moses Hogan’s Ride on King Jesus and This Little Light of Mine.
■ Monday at 7:30pm
■ National Concert Hall, Taipei City
■ Tickets are NT$400 to NT$1,500, available through NTCH ticketing or online at www.artsticket.com.tw
Elisso Virsaladze Piano Recital (鋼琴名家薇莎拉茲 — 舒曼之夜) brings the celebrated Georgian pianist and renowned interpreter of Schumann to Taiwan with a program that includes Schumann’s Scenes From Childhood, Kreisleriana, Op. 16 and Fantasie in C Major, Op. 17.
■ Tuesday at 7:30pm
■ National Concert Hall, Taipei
■ Tickets are NT$1,200 to NT$2,000, available through NTCH ticketing or online at www.artsticket.com.tw
Contemporary
Legacy Taipei, located in a former warehouse at Huashan 1914 Creative Park (華山1914), hosts top Taiwanese pop performers and international acts. Tonight’s show featuring One Million Star (超級星光大道) champ Hsu Chia-ying (徐佳瑩) is already sold out. Tomorrow, Aboriginal indie rock band Totem (圖騰) takes to the stage. On Wednesday, the venue presents Malaysian Mando-pop crooner and bad boy Gary Tsao (曹格), who is promoting a new album.
■ 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
■ Tonight’s show is sold out, NT$600 tomorrow (NT$450 in advance) and NT$1,000 on Wednesday (NT$800 in advance). Tickets can be purchased at ERA ticketing outlets, online through www.ticket.com.tw or www.legacy.com.tw or at 7-Eleven ibon kiosks
Hard rocker Tank (坦克) appears tonight at The Wall (這牆). Tomorrow and Sunday, the venue hosts popular Japanese rock band D’espairsRay, whose style is influenced by visual kei, Japan’s answer to glam rock. On Wednesday, French DJs Curry and Coco share the bill with local dance rock DJ Spykee Fat and experimental electronica group KbN (凱比鳥) [see story on Page 14].
■ 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 8pm tonight, 7:30pm tomorrow, 8pm Wednesday.
■ Entrance is NT$500 tonight, NT$1,500 tomorrow and Sunday, NT$500 on Wednesday (NT$400 in advance). Tickets can be purchased online through www.thewall.com.tw or tickets.books.com.tw
Pop rocker Misi Ke (柯泯薰) performs tonight at Witch House (女巫店), which regularly hosts performances from both indie rock bands and folk artists in a coffeehouse setting. Tomorrow night, Japanese group Tokyo Saizensen (東京最前線) features a player of the samisen, a traditional three-string folk instrument, performing with a jazz quartet.
■ 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 opens 11am to midnight Sundays through Wednesdays, 11am to 1am Thursdays through Saturdays
■ Entrance for music shows is NT$300
Rock and fusion group E Zzy Band and Hands Up Band (分享器) take to the stage tonight at the Riverside Cafe (河岸留言). Tomorrow it’s male-female duo JS performing J-pop. On Sunday, the venue hosts Mando-pop singers Freda Li (利得彙) and Ai Ching (艾青). Monday night 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 9:30pm tonight and 9pm all other nights. For a list of standard songs and ground rules for the open jam, visit the venue’s Web site
■ Entrance is NT$350 tonight, NT$400 tomorrow night, NT$350 on Sunday and NT$150 on Monday. Tickets can be purchased online through www.riverside.com.tw or tickets.books.com.tw
Pop singer Victor Wong (品冠) appears tonight Riverside Live House. Power-pop rock group Mojo hits the stage tomorrow. On Thursday, new age/smooth jazz band Bearland (貝爾藍德) shares the bill with female pop duo Heiniu and Bainiu (黑妞與白妞).
■ 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
■ 8:30pm tonight and 8pm tomorrow
■ Entrance is NT$500 tonight and tomorrow, NT$400 on Thursday. Tickets can purchased online through www.riverside.com.tw/livehouse or tickets.books.com.tw
Tonight Underworld (地下社會) hosts reggae/rock group Hang in the Air (盪在空中) and swampy garage rockers Sleaze. Tomorrow it’s metal bands Pito Wilson and Lamb of Allah.
■ 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
■ 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 for music shows is NT$300 on Fridays and Saturdays, which includes one drink, and NT$100 on Wednesdays
Guitarist Hope Yeh (葉賀璞) leads Hope’s Modern Jazz Project tonight at Sappho de Base, a late-night lounge bar that hosts live jazz and blues performances. Tomorrow it’s cool jazz from the Earl Hines II Jazztet, and on Tuesday Hsu Yu-ying (許郁瑛) and friends take to the stage.
■ 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
■ Shows start at 10pm
■ Entrance is NT$150 tonight and tomorrow, NT$100 on Tuesday
EZ5 Live House hosts Mando-pop singers backed by a live band every night. Highlights for the week ahead include Mando-pop songstress Julia Peng (彭佳慧) and male crooner Shin Lung (辛隆), who performs every Saturday. Legendary pub songstress and pop singer Tiger Huang (黃小琥) performs on Mondays.
■ 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
■ Shows run from 9:45pm to 12:30am
■ Entrance fee (includes two drinks) ranges from NT$600 to NT$850, depending on the performer
Taipei Swing holds dance socials on Friday nights at Capone’s, with live music from blues band BoPoMoFo (ㄅㄆㄇㄈ). Dancers of all levels are welcome and beginner’s lessons are offered while the band takes a break. Tomorrow, drummer Abe Nbugu Kenyatta leads a band playing music from his hometown of New Orleans.
■ 312, Zhongxiao E Rd Sec 4, Taipei City (台北市忠孝東路四段312號)
■ Live music from 9pm to 11:30pm on Fridays, 8pm to 11:30pm on Saturdays
■ On Fridays, minimum charge of one drink, dancers receive a free drink coupon. On Saturdays, minimum charge is NT$300.
The Wall (這牆) programs regular live rock shows at Kaohsiung’s Pier 2 Arts Center (高雄駁二藝術特區). Tomorrow Mando-pop and R ’n’ B group Magic Power (魔幻力量) takes to the stage and on Sunday, it’s Swiss band Aloan, which mashes 1950s rock ’n’ roll sounds with electro beats and hip-hop.
■ 1 Dayong Rd, Yancheng Dist, Kaohsiung City (高雄市鹽埕區大勇路1號). On the Net: pier-2.khcc.gov.tw, www.thewall.com.tw
■ Shows start at 7:30pm tonight and tomorrow
■ Entrance is NT$400 tonight and NT$300 tomorrow
The Mercury (水星酒館), an indie rock club in Kaohsiung, plays host to Kaohsiung indie rockers Orange Doll (橘娃娃) and post-rocker group Sorry Youth (拍謝少年) tomorrow night.
■ 46 Liwen Rd, Zuoying Dist, Kaohsiung City (高雄市左營區立文路46號). Tel: (07) 550-8617. On the Net: mercurybar.blogspot.com
■ Show starts at 9pm
■ Entrance is NT$250, includes one drink
Tonight 89k, Taichung’s long-established spot for local indie bands, hosts Killer 3000, a 14-piece supergroup of classical and rock musicians devoted to playing 1970s soul and funk. Tomorrow UK rockers Goober Gun take to the stage.
■ 21 Daguan Rd, Nantun Dist, Taichung City (台中市南屯區大觀路21號)
■ Shows start at 10pm
■ Entry is NT$300 tonight and tomorrow
The Checkered Record Club, an indie music club in Tainan, hosts local group Half Mile Radius tonight. The group opens for Swiss band Aloan, which mashes 1950s rock ’n’ roll sounds with electro beats and hip-hop. Tomorrow, rockabilly band Full House and punks Eyeball Killer (眼球殺手) and Inhuman Species (非人物種) take to the stage.
■ B1, 314, Simen Rd, Sec 2, Tainan City (台南市西門路二段314號B1).Tel: (06) 222-3238
■ Shows starts at 10pm
■ Entrance is NT$200 tonight and tomorrow
In 2020, a labor attache from the Philippines in Taipei sent a letter to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs demanding that a Filipina worker accused of “cyber-libel” against then-president Rodrigo Duterte be deported. A press release from the Philippines office from the attache accused the woman of “using several social media accounts” to “discredit and malign the President and destabilize the government.” The attache also claimed that the woman had broken Taiwan’s laws. The government responded that she had broken no laws, and that all foreign workers were treated the same as Taiwan citizens and that “their rights are protected,
The recent decline in average room rates is undoubtedly bad news for Taiwan’s hoteliers and homestay operators, but this downturn shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone. According to statistics published by the Tourism Administration (TA) on March 3, the average cost of a one-night stay in a hotel last year was NT$2,960, down 1.17 percent compared to 2023. (At more than three quarters of Taiwan’s hotels, the average room rate is even lower, because high-end properties charging NT$10,000-plus skew the data.) Homestay guests paid an average of NT$2,405, a 4.15-percent drop year on year. The countrywide hotel occupancy rate fell from
In late December 1959, Taiwan dispatched a technical mission to the Republic of Vietnam. Comprising agriculturalists and fisheries experts, the team represented Taiwan’s foray into official development assistance (ODA), marking its transition from recipient to donor nation. For more than a decade prior — and indeed, far longer during Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) rule on the “mainland” — the Republic of China (ROC) had received ODA from the US, through agencies such as the International Cooperation Administration, a predecessor to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). More than a third of domestic investment came via such sources between 1951
For the past century, Changhua has existed in Taichung’s shadow. These days, Changhua City has a population of 223,000, compared to well over two million for the urban core of Taichung. For most of the 1684-1895 period, when Taiwan belonged to the Qing Empire, the position was reversed. Changhua County covered much of what’s now Taichung and even part of modern-day Miaoli County. This prominence is why the county seat has one of Taiwan’s most impressive Confucius temples (founded in 1726) and appeals strongly to history enthusiasts. This article looks at a trio of shrines in Changhua City that few sightseers visit.
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