Contemporary
Legacy Taipei hosts top Taiwanese pop performers and international acts. Multi-instrumentalist Olafur Arnalds from Iceland descends on Sunday. Another The Next Big Thing takes place Thursday, placing the spotlight on blues and noise combo Black Radio Party (黑色收音機派對), disco/grunge act No Party for Cao Dong (草東沒有派對) and experimental folk group Prairie WWWW (落差草原).
■ 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 Black Radio Party
■ Shows start at 8pm
■ Admission is NT$1,700 on Sunday and NT$200 on Thursday. Tickets can be purchased online through www.indievox.com and at 7-Eleven ibon kiosks
Tonight is the release party of Hakka musicians Zixuan & Slow Train’s (黃子軒與山平快) new album at The Wall (這牆), Taipei’s most prominent venue for indie rock artists. From Haifeng County in China’s Guangdong Province, indie folk group Wu Tiaoren (五條人) croons tomorrow. On Sunday, deathcore/death metal outfit Emerging from the Cocoon (破繭而出) blasts tunes from their latest album, accompanied by melodic metal outfit Urging Oblivion (泥洹之迫), blackened deathcore favorites Beyond Cure (病入膏肓) and Hong Kong’s post-hardcore act Acting We Acting.
Photo courtesy of Re:public Records
■ 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 8pm tonight, 7:30pm tomorrow, 7pm on Sunday
■ Admission is NT$500 tonight, NT$800 tomorrow, NT$600 on Sunday, available online through thewall.tw
Photo courtesy of Orientone
Indie musicians Riven Wen (文河樂團), Molito and Chou Chao-tang (周照棠) get together at APA Mini (小地方展演空間) tonight, while tomorrow’s performers include punk rockers BB Bomb (BB彈) and avant-garde jazz ensemble Ape Apocalypse (末日之猩).
■ 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, available through www.indievox.com
Tomorrow, the first Taiwan Death Metal Fest hits Jack’s Studio (杰克音樂), a music studio in Ximending (西門町), with eight groups from Taiwan, Japan, South Korea and Finland, such as Clandestined, Stench of Lust and Vapahtaja.
■ B1, 76 Kunming St, Taipei City (台北市萬華區昆明街76號B1), tel: (02) 2381-0999.
■ Show starts at 3pm
■ Admission is NT$800
Berlin-based DJ DeWalta spins techno and house music tonight at Pipe Live Music, a major venue for indie music and parties. Indie rockers Hard Boiled (水煮蛋) and Cindy is Falling are among Sunday’s performers.
■ 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 10pm tonight and 7pm on Sunday
■ Admission is NT$800 tonight and NT$350 on Sunday. Tickets for the venue’s concerts can be purchased online through www.indievox.com and at FamilyMart (全家) FamiPort kiosks
Tonight, singer-songwriters Easy Shen (沈簡單) and Wang Yu-jun (王榆鈞) take the stage at Kafka by the Sea (海邊的卡夫卡), a coffee house-cum-music and arts venue in the National Taiwan University area.
■ 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). On the Net: www.kafkabythe.blogspot.tw
■ Show starts at 8pm. Cafe/bookstore opens noon to midnight Sundays through Thursdays, noon to 2am Fridays and Saturdays
■ Admission is NT$800. Tickets can be purchased online through www.indievox.com
Indie pop/folk acts Keith Tan (陳子超) and Anna (莊啟馨) join forces tonight at Witch House (女巫店), an intimate coffeehouse-style venue in the National Taiwan University area, while noisemaker Dawang Huang (黑狼黃大旺) teams up with experimental electronica act Shishukong (屍術控) tomorrow.
■ 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
The Flat Fives play swing and R&B tunes from the 1940s and 50s at Bobwundaye (無問題), a small pub on Heping East Road (和平東路) in Taipei, tonight. The venue throws a Halloween party tomorrow, featuring Red Cliff and Peaks.
■ 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
Blues rock outfit Commuters (通勤少年) appears at Legacy Mini, a spin-off of Legacy Taipei, tonight, followed by Mando-pop act Quack Wu (吳忠明) on Sunday. The venue hosts cabaret shows on Tuesday and Wednesday, featuring female pop rocker Kris Kuan (管罄).
■ 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$400 tonight, NT$450 on Sunday, NT$600 on Tuesday and Wednesday. Tickets for the venue’s concerts can be purchased online through www.indievox.com and at 7-Eleven ibon kiosks
Li Fang-hsu Quartet (李芳旭爵士四重奏) performs at Riverside Cafe (河岸留言) tonight. Tomorrow’s roster include indigenous crooner Vusanai, Hakka singer Alex Tang (湯運煥) and Hoklo musician Hsiao Fu-te (蕭福德). On Tuesday, B.W.B.C (廢埕) plays blues, grunge, funky and metal sounds, with psychedelic/post-rock act Palette (調澀盤) 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
■ Shows start at 9:30pm tonight, 9pm tomorrow and on Tuesday
■ Admission is NT$400 tonight and tomorrow, NT$350 on Tuesday. Tickets can be purchased online through www.indievox.com and tickets.books.com.tw
JJ & the Catz plays an eclectic collection of blues, jazz and Latin tonight at Sappho Live, a late-night lounge bar that hosts mostly jazz shows. The Halloween party tomorrow features DC & the Funky Duds.
■ 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
Taiwanese folk rockers Xing Li Band (行李樂團) are among the performers tonight at Forro Cafe (呼嚕咖啡) in Taichung, and it is pop musician Chiang Sung-lin (江松霖) 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
■ Shows start at 8pm
■ Admission is NT$400 tonight and NT$550 tomorrow. Tickets for the venue’s concerts can be purchased online through www.indievox.com
Tonight, Orientone (大聲東) mixes Eastern music traditions with electronic sounds at Sound Live House (迴響音樂藝文展演空間), an independent venue for music and art exhibitions in Taichung, with Flyingsnow (飛雪) 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 7pm
■ Admission is NT$400. Tickets for the venue’s concerts can be purchased online through www.indievox.com
Hip-hop/rock group Chiu and Love (丘與樂) shares the stage with College Kingdom (學院王國) at TCRC (前科累累俱樂部), a small venue for independent musicians and local artists in Tainan, tomorrow.
■ 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
■ Admission is NT$250, available through www.indievox.com
Event
Jerome Keating’s Breakfast Club will host Bill Stanton, former AIT head, Don Shapiro, Senior Director AmCham and Taiwan Solidarity Union legislator Anna Chou (周倪安) for an “unplugged” discussion about Taiwan, the US and China in light of recent developments, as well as the forthcoming Presidential and Legislative elections on Jan. 16 next year. Preregistering is mandatory.
■ The discussion will take place on Nov. 7 from 10am to noon at Room 101 in the Legislative Yuan, 1 Jinan Rd, Taipei City (台北市濟南路1號)
■ From 10am to noon. Expected breakfast cost about NT$100. Badge needed to get in. Mandatory preregister by contacting Jerome Keating. jkeating@ms67.hinet.net before 6pm on Nov. 5.
As mega K-pop group BTS returns to the stage after a hiatus of more than three years, one major market is conspicuously missing from its 12-month world tour: China. The omission of one of the group’s biggest fan bases comes as no surprise. In fact, just the opposite would have been huge news. China has blocked most South Korean entertainment since 2016 under an unofficial ban that also restricts movies and the country’s popular TV dramas. For some Chinese, that means flying to Seoul to see their favorite groups perform — as many were expected to do for three shows opening
A recent report from the Environmental Management Administration of the Ministry of Environment highlights a perennial problem: illegal dumping of construction waste. In Taoyuan’s Yangmei District (楊梅) and Hsinchu’s Longtan District (龍潭) criminals leased 10,000 square meters of farmland, saying they were going to engage in horticulture. They then accepted between 40,000 and 50,000 cubic meters of construction waste from sites in northern Taiwan, charging less than the going rate for disposal, and dumped the waste concrete, tile, metal and glass onto the leased land. Taoyuan District prosecutors charged 33 individuals from seven companies with numerous violations of the law. This
Taiwan’s semiconductor industry consumes electricity at rates that would strain most national grids. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) alone accounted for more than 9 percent, or 2,590 megawatts (MW), of the nation’s power demand last year. The factories that produce chips for the world’s phones and servers run around the clock. They cannot tolerate blackouts. Yet Taiwan imports 97 percent of its energy, with liquefied natural gas reserves measured in days. Underground, Taiwan has options. Studies from National Taiwan University estimate recoverable geothermal resources at more than 33,000 MW. Current installed capacity stands below 10 MW. OBSTACLES Despite Taiwan’s significant geothermal potential, the
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chair Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) returned from her trip to meet People’s Republic of China (PRC) dictator Xi Jinping (習近平) bearing “a gift” for the people of Taiwan: 10 measures the PRC proposed to “facilitate the peaceful development of cross-strait relations.” “China on Sunday unveiled 10 new incentive measures for Taiwan,” wrote Reuters, wrongly. The PRC’s longstanding habit with Taiwan relations is to repackage already extant or once-existing policies and declare that they are “new.” The list forwarded by Cheng reflects that practice. NEW MEASURES? Note the first item: establishing regular communication mechanisms between the Chinese Communist Party