Contemporary
Party Sense (派對紳士) swing between pop, electronic and rock tomorrow at The Wall (這牆), Taipei’s most prominent venue for indie rock artists. Japan’s mouse on the keys fuses elements of contemporary jazz and classical music with electronic beats on Sunday
■ 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
Photo courtesy of Excited Horse
■ Show starts at 7pm tomorrow and 8pm on Sunday
■ Admission is NT$600 tomorrow and NT$1,500 on Sunday, available online through thewall.tw and tickets.books.com.tw.
Disco/post-punk ensemble New Sunglasses (新墨鏡), dance/rock band Acidy Peeping Tom (微酸的偷窺狂) and post-punk/garage rock act Tight Tight Crotch (緊褲襠) congregate at indie music venue APA Mini (小地方展演空間), tomorrow, while punk rock group Take This! (出招合唱團) teams up with indie pop combo Freckles (雀斑) on Sunday.
Photo courtesy of Acid Peeping Tom and New Sunglasses
■ 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
■ Shows start at 8pm
■ Admission is NT$350 tomorrow and NT$500 on Sunday, available through www.indievox.com
Photo courtesy of Guntzepaula
It is a metal night tonight at Pipe Live Music, a main venue for indie music and parties, with metalcore act The Sound of Hatred (憎惡之聲), death metal group LIMBO and Psychopress. B.W.B.C (廢埕樂團) plays blues, grunge, funky and metal sounds on Sunday, with pop punks Excited Horse (興奮馬樂團) also on the bill.
■ 1 Siyuan Rd, Taipei City (台北市思源路1號), tel: (02) 2364-8198. On the Net: www.pipemusic.com.tw
■ Show starts at 7:30pm tonight and 7pm on Sunday
■ Admission is NT$350. Tickets available online through www.walkieticket.com, www.indievox.com and at 7-Eleven ibon and FamilyMart (全家) FamiPort kiosks.
Brian Chiu & the Soy Beats play funk, soul and jazz tonight at Bobwundaye (無問題), a small pub on Heping East Road (和平東路) in Taipei, followed by DC & the Funky Dud tomorrow.
■ 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
Pipa player and composer Chung Yu-feng (鍾玉鳳) and blues musician David Chen (陳思銘) bring their experimental sounds of Chinese pipa and blues guitar to Legacy Mini, a spin-off of Legacy Taipei, tonight.
■ Legacy Mini at Amba Taipei Ximending (台北西門町意舍), 5F, 77, Wuchang St Sec 2, Taipei City (台北市武昌街二段77號5樓)
■ Show starts at 8pm
■ Admission is NT$450. Tickets for the venue’s concerts can be purchased online through www.indievox.com and at 7-Eleven ibon kiosks
Pop group Big Pei Chou (周大派) is among the performers tonight at Witch House (女巫店), an intimate coffeehouse-style venue in the National Taiwan University area. Electro rockers Iron House and ATW Girl (逆風少女) play tomorrow, followed by guitarist and music producer Xhen How (陳浩) and DC Rapier 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
Experimental electronic outfit Sonic Deadhorse (音速死馬) plays with jazz musician Terry Hsieh (謝明諺) at Riverside Cafe (河岸留言) tonight, followed by pop singers Miss Water (開水小姐) and Cheer Mon (孟慶而) tomorrow. Amis-Paiwan group Mafana takes the stage on Sunday, with pop combo Hey! also on the bill.
■ 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
■ Show starts at 9:30pm tonight, 9pm tomorrow and on Sunday
■ Admission is NT$400 tonight, NT$500 tomorrow, NT$350 on Sunday. Tickets can be purchased online through www.indievox.com and tickets.books.com.tw
Tonight, Puzzlin’ in Taipei Quartet Project plays original jazz compositions and Gypsy, Balkan and Klezmer music tonight at Sappho Live, a late-night lounge bar that hosts mostly jazz shows. Italian jazz guitarist Eugenio Mirti performs with friends tomorrow, while Rio Soul brings bossa nova/samba tunes 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’s roster at Sound Live House (迴響音樂藝文展演空間), an independent venue for music and art exhibitions in Taichung, includes blues noise band Black Radio Party (黑色收音機派對) and Miaoli-based punks Lung Cancer (謝謝你得 肺癌). Tomorrow’s main act is punk rockers Shootup, while C chord (嘻扣樂團) is among the performers on Sunday. Thursday’s show is by blues/rock outfit War Park (戰爭公園) and alt-rock band Archipelago .
■ B1-1, 429, Henan Rd Sec 2, Taichung City (台中市河南路二段429號B1-1), tel: (04) 2451-1989. On the Net: soundlivehouse.msmusic.com.tw
■ Shows start at 7:30pm
■ Admission is NT$350 tonight, tomorrow and on Sunday, NT$300 on Thursday. Tickets for the venue’s concerts can be purchased online through www.indievox.com
Tomorrow, favorite indie act Chocolate Tiger (猛虎巧克力) showcases tunes from their latest album at Legacy Taichung, a spin-off of Legacy Taipei. On Sunday, Trash play Brit pop, alternative rock and grunge beats along with alt-rock outfit Guntzepaula (槍擊潑辣). On Wednesday, Tsou songstress Lea Kao (高蕾雅) performs with jazz/hip-hop group Swing Black and 45°C (45度樂團). Former pop diva Delphine Chin (金智娟), better known as Wa Wa (娃娃) returns with a show on Thursday.
■ 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 at 8pm tomorrow, 7:30pm on Sunday and weekdays
■ Admission is NT$700 tomorrow, NT$550 on Sunday, NT$500 on Wednesday, NT$1,100 on Thursday. Tickets available online through www.indievox.com and at 7-Eleven ibon kiosks
Pop musician Jeff Huang(黃奕儒) shares the stage with indie singer-songwriter Anie Fann (范安婷) at Forro Cafe (呼嚕咖啡) in Taichung, tomorrow.
■ 47, Jingcheng 3rd St, Taichung City (台中市精誠三街47號), tel: (04) 2310-1661. On the Net: forrocafe.blogspot.tw
■ Show starts at 8pm
■ Admission is NT$350. Tickets for the venue’s concerts can be purchased online through www.indievox.com
It is the release party of psychedelic rockers U.TA (屋塔) at TCRC (前科累累俱樂部), a small venue for independent musicians and local artists in Tainan, tomorrow, joined by post-punk outfit Pretty Freak (超級怪胎).
■ B1, 314, Simen Rd Sec 2, Tainan (台南市西門路二段314號B1), tel: (06) 222 3238.
■ Show starts at 9pm
■ Admission is NT$250, available at www.indievox.com
Post-rock act Triple Deer comes to Live Warehouse, a main venue for indie music located inside Kaohsiung’s Pier-2 Arts Center (駁二藝術特區), with their latest EP tomorrow, accompanied by Selfkill.
■ 2-5 Dayi Rd, Kaohsiung City (高雄市大義街2-5號), tel: (07) 521-8114. On the Net: livewarehouse.tw.
■ Show starts at 7pm
■ Entrance is NT$700 tomorrow. Tickets for the venue’s concerts can be purchased online through tickets.books.com.tw.
Paramount Bar (百樂門酒館), an indie rock club in Kaohsiung City, tonight hosts an electronic party with experimental electronic duo Fragrance Liang (梁香) and Pro. Found (方波). Tomorrow’s main act is indie rockers Angry Youth (厭世少年).
■ 70 Minzu 1st Rd, Kaohsiung City (高雄市民族一路70號), tel: (07) 389-0501
■ Shows start at 8pm
■ Entrance is NT$300 tonight and NT$250 tomorrow, available through www.indievox.com
Legacy Taipei hosts top Taiwanese pop performers and international acts. The Deerhunter concert, originally scheduled for Tuesday, has been canceled.
■ Huashan 1914 Creative Park (華山1914), Center Five Hall (中五館), 1, Bade Rd Sec 1, Taipei (台北市八德路一段1號)
■ Show starts at 8pm
■ Admission is NT$1,800. Tickets can be purchased online through www.indievox.com and at 7-Eleven ibon kiosks.
May 6 to May 12 Those who follow the Chinese-language news may have noticed the usage of the term zhuge (豬哥, literally ‘pig brother,’ a male pig raised for breeding purposes) in reports concerning the ongoing #Metoo scandal in the entertainment industry. The term’s modern connotations can range from womanizer or lecher to sexual predator, but it once referred to an important rural trade. Until the 1970s, it was a common sight to see a breeder herding a single “zhuge” down a rustic path with a bamboo whip, often traveling large distances over rugged terrain to service local families. Not only
Ahead of incoming president William Lai’s (賴清德) inauguration on May 20 there appear to be signs that he is signaling to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and that the Chinese side is also signaling to the Taiwan side. This raises a lot of questions, including what is the CCP up to, who are they signaling to, what are they signaling, how with the various actors in Taiwan respond and where this could ultimately go. In the last column, published on May 2, we examined the curious case of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) heavyweight Tseng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦) — currently vice premier
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Last week the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) released a set of very strange numbers on Taiwan’s wealth distribution. Duly quoted in the Taipei Times, the report said that “The Gini coefficient for Taiwanese households… was 0.606 at the end of 2021, lower than Australia’s 0.611, the UK’s 0.620, Japan’s 0.678, France’s 0.676 and Germany’s 0.727, the agency said in a report.” The Gini coefficient is a measure of relative inequality, usually of wealth or income, though it can be used to evaluate other forms of inequality. However, for most nations it is a number from .25 to .50