Contemporary
Legacy Taipei hosts top Taiwanese pop performers and international acts. Chinese indie rocker Li Zhi (李志) takes the stage tonight. There is a Mando-pop party tomorrow, featuring Taiwanese singer Shih Wen-bin (施文彬) and blind crooner Li Bing-huei (李炳輝). Indie act Chocolate Tiger (猛虎巧克力) plays on Sunday.
■ 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)
Photo courtesy of Iron House
■ Show starts at 8pm tonight and on Sunday, 9pm tomorrow
■ Admission is NT$1,200 tonight, NT$800 tomorrow, NT$700 on Sunday. Tickets can be purchased online through www.indievox.com and at 7-Eleven ibon kiosks.
Tomorrow’s spotlight is on Japanese veteran rocker Yoshiki Fukuyama at The Wall (這牆), Taipei’s most prominent venue for indie rock artists. One Way Street swings from metalcore, post-rock to electronic beats on Sunday.
Photo courtesy of Original Brewing
■ 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
■ Show starts at 6pm tomorrow and 7:30pm on Sunday
■ Admission is NT$2,000 tomorrow and NT$250 on Sunday, available online through thewall.tw or www.ticket.com.tw.
Photo courtesy of Legacy Taipei
Brit-rock band Decadent (廢結合) and funk/rock group GGBrotherz (把妹哥) are among the performers tonight at indie music venue APA Mini (小地方展演空間), while electronic folk combo WWWW (落差草原) plays songs from their new album tomorrow. Solo act Hom Shenhao (洪申豪) plays a gig on Sunday.
■ 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
■ Show starts at 7:30pm tonight, 8pm tomorrow and on Sunday
■ Admission is NT$350 tonight, NT$400 tomorrow, NT$500 on Sunday, available through www.indievox.com
It is live music with punk rockers SADOG, punk act Horizon and pop group Crossroad (十字路口) tonight at Pipe Live Music, a venue for indie music and parties. Tomorrow, the venue hosts an electro-industrial party, featuring DJs Sonic Deadhorse, Billy Drummed and B.B.
■ 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 11pm tomorrow
■ Admission is NT$350 tonight and NT$600 tomorrow. Tickets available online through www.walkieticket.com, www.indievox.com and at 7-Eleven ibon and FamilyMart (全家) FamiPort kiosks
Tomorrow, Coromandel Express (科羅曼德融和樂團) fuses traditional sounds of North and South India with jazz, Western classical and other world music at Legacy Mini, a spin-off of Legacy Taipei. Pop act Ko Chih-tang (柯智棠) plays on Sunday.
■ 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)
■ Shows start at 8pm
■ Admission is NT$450 tomorrow and NT$500 on Sunday. Tickets for the venue’s concerts can be purchased online through www.indievox.com and at 7-Eleven ibon kiosks
Indie folk combo Winking Owl appears tonight at Witch House (女巫店), an intimate coffeehouse-style venue in the National Taiwan University area. Folk rock band Pink Haze play tomorrow. Experimental musician and sound artist Wang Yu-jun (王榆鈞) performs with Time (時間樂隊) 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
Fusion group Huh? (蛤樂團) plays two sets tonight at Riverside Cafe (河岸留言), and it is jazz ensemble Dizzy Evening Jam and pop rock group Ricing Star (米星星) on Sunday.
■ 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 the Taipower Building (台電大樓), tel: (02) 2368-7310. On the Net: www.riverside.com.tw
■ Show starts at 9:30pm tonight and 9pm on Sunday
■ Admission is NT$400 tonight and NT$350 on Sunday. Tickets can be purchased online through www.indievox.com and tickets.books.com.tw
Featuring heavyweight Sean Pentland on bass, the Andrew Page Trio performs tonight at Sappho Live, a late-night lounge bar that hosts mostly jazz shows. The Flat Fives tomorrow play swing and R&B tunes from the 1940s and 1950s, followed by Sam & the Swinging Factory on Wednesday. Thursday’s show is by Grease Train Organ Trio.
■ 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 on weekends and Sunday, NT$200 on weeknights
Tonight’s lineup at Sound Live House (迴響音樂藝文展演空間), an independent venue for music and art exhibitions in Taichung, features guitarist and crooner Wu Tung-ying (吳東穎) and A.Ju, while tomorrow’s roster includes local rockers Jiang Dong Cheng Ming (江東成名) and Lake Blue (湖水藍). Post-punk/blues act GentleSquid (烏賊紳士) is among the performers on Sunday. Infancy (隱分子) blend jazz, classical with rock ‘n’ roll on Wednesday, with Dirty Fiction (髒小說) also on the bill.
■ 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
■ Show starts at 6pm tonight, 6:30pm tomorrow, 7pm on Sunday, 8pm on Wednesday
■ Admission is NT$400 tonight, NT$350 tomorrow and on Sunday, NT$300 on Wednesday. Tickets for the venue’s concerts can be purchased online through www.indievox.com
On Sunday, folk musician PiA (吳蓓雅) teams up with MajaM Quintet (麻將爵士樂團) at Forro Cafe (呼嚕咖啡) in Taichung.
■ 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
Brit rock group 13 (拾參) shares the stage with No Party for Cao Dong (草東沒有派對) tonight at TCRC (前科累累俱樂部), a small venue for independent musicians and local artists in Tainan. Japanese electro rockers The Jokes play tomorrow, accompanied by post-punk/lo-fi band The Floating Boat (浮舟) and psychedelic folk/grunge combo WSSM (午休失眠). Country/disco/alternative rock outfit The Tic Tac takes the stage on Sunday.
■ B1, 314, Simen Rd Sec 2, Tainan City (台南市西門路二段314號B1), tel: (06) 222 3238.
■ Show starts at 9:30pm tonight, 9pm tomorrow, 4:30pm on Sunday
■ Admission is NT$300 tonight, NT$250 tomorrow and on Sunday, available at www.indievox.com
Hardcore punk group The Roadside Inn and One Step (一步) each play a set at Live Warehouse, a main venue for indie music located inside Kaohsiung’s Pier-2 Arts Center (駁二藝術特區), tomorrow. Punk rockers Inhuman Band (非人物種), Random (隨性樂團) and reggae rock group Hang in the Air (盪在空中) get together on Sunday.
■ 2-5 Dayi Rd, Kaohsiung City (高雄市大義街2-5號), tel: (07) 521-8114. On the Net: livewarehouse.tw.
■ Shows start at 7:30pm
■ Entrance is NT$350. Tickets for the venue’s concerts can be purchased online through tickets.books.com.tw.
Tonight, In Our Time, a restaurant-cum-gallery located inside Kaohsiung’s Pier-2 Arts Center (駁二藝術特區), hosts post-rock/electronic trio Iron House (鐵屋).
■ 99, Penglai Rd, Kaohsiung City (高雄市蓬萊路99號), tel: (07) 521-0017
■ Show starts at 7pm
■ Admission is NT$200
Tonight, Paramount Bar (百樂門酒館), an indie rock club in Kaohsiung, hosts alt-rock outfit Guntzepaula (槍擊潑辣) and Trash, which mix Brit pop, alternative rock and grunge beats.
■ 70 Minzu 1st Rd, Kaohsiung City (高雄市民族一路70號), tel: (07) 389-0501
■ Show starts at 8pm
■ Entrance is NT$550, available through www.indievox.com
Pinuyumayan-Paiwan folk/blues/funk ensemble Original Brewing (原味醞釀) plays at Tiehua Music Village (鐵花村), an arts village composed of a music venue, design and crafts shops and a weekend arts fair in Taitung City, tomorrow.
■ 26, Ln 135, Sinsheng Rd, Taitung City (台東市新生路135巷26號), tel: (089) 343-393. On the Net: www.tw.streetvoice.com/users/tiehua
■ Show starts at 8pm. Music venue and crafts shops are open 2pm to 10pm Tuesdays through Sundays. Weekend arts fair opens 6pm to 10pm every Friday, 3:30pm to 10pm every Saturday and Sunday
■ Admission is NT$250. Tickets can be purchased online at tickets.books.com.tw
The number of scandals and setbacks hitting the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) in such quick and daily succession in the last few weeks is unprecedented, at least in the countries whose politics I am familiar with. The local media is covering this train wreck on an almost hourly basis, which in the latest news saw party chair Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) detained by prosecutors on Friday and released without bail yesterday. The number of links collected to produce these detailed columns may reach 400 by the time this hits the streets. To get up to speed, two columns have been written: “Donovan’s
President William Lai’s (賴清德) vision for Taiwan to become an “AI island” has three conditions: constructing advanced data centers, ensuring a stable and green energy supply, and cultivating AI talent. However, the energy issue supply is the greatest challenge. To clarify, let’s reframe the problem in terms of the Olympics. Given Taiwan’s OEM (original equipment manufacturer) roles in the technology sector, Taiwan is not an athlete in the AI Olympics, or even a trainer, but rather a training ground for global AI athletes (AI companies). In other words, Taiwan’s semiconductor ecosystem provides world-class training facilities and equipment that have already attracted
Nothing like the spectacular, dramatic unraveling of a political party in Taiwan has unfolded before as has hit the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) over recent weeks. The meltdown of the New Power Party (NPP) and the self-implosion of the New Party (NP) were nothing compared to the drama playing out now involving the TPP. This ongoing saga is so interesting, this is the fifth straight column on the subject. To catch up on this train wreck of a story up to Aug. 20, search for “Donovan’s Deep Dives Ko Wen-je” in a search engine. ANN KAO SENTENCED TO PRISON YET AGAIN,
Despite her well-paying tech job, Li Daijing didn’t hesitate when her cousin asked for help running a restaurant in Mexico City. She packed up and left China for the Mexican capital last year, with dreams of a new adventure. The 30-year-old woman from Chengdu, the Sichuan provincial capital, hopes one day to start an online business importing furniture from her home country. “I want more,” Li said. “I want to be a strong woman. I want independence.” Li is among a new wave of Chinese migrants who are leaving their country in search of opportunities, more freedom or better financial prospects at a