| Highlight | |
 The “peace circle” at the annual Peacefest concert in Longtan, Taoyuan County.
PHOTO: COURTESY OF PEACEFEST | Tomorrow, the Living Room is hosting a fundraising pre-party for Peacefest 2008, a three-day music and arts festival that takes place from June 13 to June 15 at Kunlun Gardens (崑崙藥用植物園) in Longtan, Taoyuan County (桃園縣龍潭鄉). All proceeds from the pre-parties and festival will go to the following organizations: the Taiwan International Workers Association (台灣國際勞工協會), Compassion International Taiwan (財團法至善社會福利基金會), and the TransAsia Sisters Association. Tomorrow’s lineup includes rock bands The Admissionaries and Alison’s Army, country band 2 Acres Plowed, and Brian Funshine. ▲ Taipei Peacefest 2008 Pre-Party at the Living Room, 3F, 8, Nanjing E Rd Sec 5, Taipei City (台北市南京東路5段8號3樓)
▲ Tomorrow at the Living Room at 9pm. Call (02) 8787-4154 or visit www.livingroomtaipei.com
▲ Admission is NT$200 at the door; all proceeds go to charity
▲ www.hopingforhoping.com |
 A scene from Lemon Tree, a film by Israeli director Eran Riklis about a Palestinian woman who runs into trouble when Israel’s defense minister becomes her next-door neighbor.
PHOTO: COURTESY OF TFF | Taipei Film Festival (台北電影節) celebrates its 10th birthday this year with a series of festivities and a lineup of roughly 200 films from across the globe. There will be lectures and seminars by film luminaries such as French director Olivier Assayas, Taiwanese director Hou Hsiao-hsien (侯孝賢) and Israeli movie star Gila Almagor, as well as a film market, party, and photo exhibition on Jerusalem by legendary photographer and filmmaker Ron Havilio. The festival’s programs include City Vision, which features films made in and about Jerusalem and Dublin; Global Chinese Cinerama, a showcase of the latest works from Chinese-speaking countries; In Memory Of, which this year pays tribute to the late Edward Yang (楊德昌), Heath Ledger, Kon Ichikawa and Pai Ching-jui (白景瑞); the Golden Lion Taiwan and International Student Film Competitions, both platforms for aspiring filmmakers; the New Talent Competition for up-and-coming directors from around the world; and the Taiwan Film Awards, the main event for local filmmakers. ▲ The festival runs from June 20 to July 6 at several venues in Taipei City and Taipei County
▲ Advance tickets are NT$100 for weekday matinee screenings and NT$180 for night and weekend screenings. Ten screenings for NT$1,500. Tickets can be purchased through NTCH ticket outlets or at www.artsticket.com.tw
▲ For a list of venues, screening times and other information, go to www.taipeiff.org.tw
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Contemporary
The Chinese jazz fusion band Sizhukong (絲竹空) plays at Franz and Friends Restaurant on Sunday afternoon. The six-piece ensemble uses instruments such as the ruan (阮) and the erhu (二胡) as solo voices on top of the standard jazz rhythm section of piano, drums and bass.
▲ 25, Bade Road Sec 3, Taipei City (台北市八德路三段25號B1). For reservations, call (02) 2579-0558
▲ Doors open at 2:30pm; show begins at 3pm
▲ NT$500; NT$400 for students
Jazz Quintessence appears on Friday night at Sappho de Base, the current favorite late-night hangout for Taipei’s jazz musicians. On Saturday, it’s the Kenyatta Quartet, drummer Abe Nbugu Kenyatta of New Orleans. On Tuesday night, it’s a set by the Grace Jazz Trio, with an open jam afterwards.
▲ B1, 1, Ln 102, Anhe Rd Sec 1, Taipei City (台北市安和路一段102巷1號B1). Call (02) 2700-5411 (after 9pm) or visit www.sappho102.biz
▲ Performances begin at 10:30pm
▲ No entrance fee
Tonight at Italian restaurant Capone’s, it’s Taipei’s most authentic funk and blues band, the Kenyatta Quintet, led by drummer Abe Nbugu Kenyatta, a New Orleans native. The group plays every Friday until June 27.
▲ 312, Zhongxiao E Rd Sec 4, Taipei City (台北市忠孝東路四段312號). Call (02) 2773-3782 for more information
▲ 9pm to 11pm
▲ No entrance fee, dinner seating
Tonight, Underworld (地下社會) showcases a group of indie-electronica bands: Digihai, Go Chic, Bitter, and The Shine and Shine and Shine and Shine, followed by DJ Diust and DJ Lilybeer. The electronica continues tomorrow night with solo act Sonic Deadhorse and emotronic and breakcore sounds from dynatac.
▲ B1, 45 Shida Rd, Taipei City (台北市師大路45號B1). Call (02) 2369-0103 or visit www.upsaid.com/underworld for more information
▲ Live shows go from 9pm to 11pm. The bar is open from 8pm daily; closed Mondays
▲ Entrance tonight and tomorrow is NT$350 and includes one drink. Entrance on Wednesdays is NT$100. Before midnight on Tuesdays and Thursdays, drinks are buy-one-get-one-free
It’s a special night at Bliss tonight: Taipei’s Dutch community is throwing its annual party with music from Lanny and the Blues Vibrations, who will be performing on the first floor. Tomorrow night is the Sinister Sound Syndicate, playing electro-house, disco punk and minimalist techno.
▲ 148, Xinyi Rd Sec 4, Taipei City (台北市信義路四段148號), one block east of Dunhua South Road (敦化南路).
▲ Call Bliss at (02) 2702-1855 or log on at www.bliss-taipei.com. For more information on live performances at Bliss, go to www.myspace.com/blisslivehouse
▲ Tonight and tomorrow at 10pm. Bar/kitchen open from 7pm daily. Ladies night Fridays; women get one free cocktail of their choice
▲ Entrance to the bar is free. NT$200 cover on Saturday
Tonight at 89K in Taichung is a night of hardcore music from BB BOMB, Angry Young Man (生氣的年輕人), The Hand Knife Club (手刀樂隊), and 88 Balaz (88顆芭樂仔). Tomorrow the music is electric blues with BoPoMoFo and Three Day Bender.
▲ 25 Daguan Rd, Taichung City (台中市大觀路25號). Call (04) 2381-8240
▲ Shows start at 10:30pm
▲ NT$300; includes one drink
Tonight at The Wall (這牆) is a special show that features indie-rocker Miss Silk Stockings (絲襪小姐) and veteran post-rock group Sugar Plum Ferry (甜梅仙子) performing together. Tomorrow, the maestros of comedic jangle pop, Wong Fu (旺福), don new suits for their Spring-Summer Collection Concert (春夏新裝發表會).
▲ The audience is encouraged to dress up as well. Indie outfit La Petite Nurse (小護士樂團) rocks it on Tuesday.
▲ B1, 200 Roosevelt Rd Sec 4, Taipei City (台北市羅斯福路四段200號B1). Call (02) 2930-0162 or log on at www.the-wall.com.tw for more information
▲ 8pm tonight and tomorrow; 3pm Sunday
▲ NT$400 tonight and tomorrow; Sunday’s show with Deserts Chang is sold out; NT$300 Tuesday. Admission includes one drink
Tonight at Witch House (女巫店), it’s alt-rock band the Silent Toads (啾吉惦惦). Tomorrow features the
London 3 Flavor Club (倫敦三味線俱樂部), a group consisting of a Japanese expat, Tommo, and two local alt-rock musicians, Hsiaoma and Yicheng. The group plays Middle Eastern and Mediterranean music on mandolin, Arabic drum, violin, and erhu. On Wednesday, blues and roots musician [and Taipei Times reporter]
David Chen and guitarist Ken Othake of Japan perform together in a one-off show, along with special guests Hakka singer Lo Sirong (羅思容) and harmonica player Conor Prunty.
▲ 7, Ln 56, Xinsheng S Rd Sec 3, Taipei City (台北市新生南路三段56巷7號). Call (02) 2362-5494 or visit
www.witchhouse.org
▲ Performances start at 9:30pm. Restaurant/bar with queer/feminist bookstore and large collection of board games open 11am to midnight Sunday to Wednesday; 11am to 1am Thursday to Saturday
▲ NT$300 entrance includes one drink
The Riverside Cafe (河岸留言) presents the Unlimited Rock ‘n’ Roll Spirit of Jazz Concert (爵士的搖滾精神不設限音樂會) tonight, featuring jazz pianist Chang Kai-ya (張凱雅), guitarist Geddy Lin (林正如), drummer Toshi Fujii and Lin Hou-chin (林后進) on acoustic double-bass. Tomorrow it’s pop-rock acts Tong En (同恩) and Jacuzzi (賈庫西). Monday is open-jam night.
▲ 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). Call (02) 2368-7310 or visit
www.riverside.com.tw
▲ Shows start at 9:30pm
▲ NT$400 tonight and tomorrow. Admission includes one free drink. There is a one-drink minimum on Monday
Every Wednesday night at the Cosmopolitan Grill is a blues open mic, held by the Blues Society on Taiwan and hosted by Torch Pratt. All are welcome to bring their instruments and sit in on guitar, bass, or drums.
▲ 1F, 218 Changchun Rd, Taipei City (台北市長春路218號1樓). Call 2508-0304 or visit www.cosmo.com.tw
▲ 8pm to 11pm every Wednesday
▲ Free admission
Theater
This is the third and final week of performances for the Taiwan Women Theater Festival.
The first piece in the double bill is the Enemy Within (我的敵人), a modern dance performance featuring Wei Chin-ju (魏沁如) and respected stage actress Hsu Yen-ling (徐堰鈴),
which explores the internal psychological spaces of women through movement. The second performance, My Angel Friends (我的天使朋友), by playwright Zhang Chia-rong (張嘉容), uses the interior musings of four characters to examine the nature of depression.
▲ Guling Street Theater (牯嶺街小劇場), 2, Ln 5, Guling St, Taipei City (台北市牯嶺街5巷2號)
▲ Today and tomorrow at 7:30pm and tomorrow and Sunday at 2:30pm
▲ Tickets are NT$500, available through NTCH ticketing
The Adventures of Ban Ban (斑斑歷險記) is a children’s puppet performance by Eyuan Puppet Theater (一元布偶劇團) and tells the story of Ban Ban the sheep, who accidentally enters a wolf’s lair. Just as the wolf is about to make Ban Ban his dinner, his sheep comrades charge into the carnivore’s sanctuary and rescue him. The performance also gives children a chance to interact with the puppets and develop a sense of how to protect themselves and respect others.
▲ Taipei Cultural Center, Wenshan Branch (社教館文山分館), B2, 32 Jingwen St, Taipei City (台北市景文街32號B2)
▲ Tomorrow and Sunday at 2:30pm
▲ Tickets are NT$200, available through NTCH ticketing
Taiwan’s raucous legislature and zany television shows are some of the fodder for Mad in Taiwan (瘋狂年代), the latest work by Ping-Fong Acting Troupe (屏風表演班). The play within a play tells the story of a theater group that attempts to produce a musical that captures the spirit of Taiwan. The trope they eventually hit on is betel nut beauties.
▲ Jhongli Arts Center (中壢藝術館), 16 Jhungmei Rd, Jhongli City (中壢市中美路16號)
▲ Tomorrow at 7:30pm
▲ Tickets are NT$500 to NT$2,500, available through NTCH ticketing
Classical music
2008 Taipei International Percussion Convention (2008台北國際打擊樂節) continues its week of performances with Odaiko Percussion Group from Spain, PercaDu from Israel, Keiko Abe and Marimba Ensemble Japan and Amadinda Percussion Group from Hungary taking the stage this weekend.
▲ Today 7pm (Odaiko Percussion Group), today 9pm (PercaDu), tomorrow 2:30pm (Keiko Abe) and tomorrow 7:30pm (Amadinda Percussion Group)
▲ National Concert Hall, Taipei City
▲ Tickets are NT$400 to NT$1,500, available through NTCH ticketing
Mercedes-Benz Asia Tour: Anne-Sophie Mutter and Trondheim Soloists (亞洲巡迴演出—安•蘇菲．慕特與特隆赫姆獨奏家樂團). The program includes Bartok’s Divertimento, Sz. 113, Bach’s Violin Concerto in E Major, BWV 1042 and Vivaldi: Four Seasons, Op.8.
▲ Today (Taichung), tomorrow (Tainan) and Sunday (Taipei)
▲ Taichung Chungshan Hall (台中中山堂), 98 Hsuehshi Rd, Taichung City (台中市學士路98號); Tainan Municipal Cultural Center Performance Hall (台南市立文化中心演藝廳), 332, Chunghua E Rd Sec 3, Tainan City (台南市中華東路三段332), National Concert Hall, Taipei City
▲ Tickets are NT$1,800 to NT$4,800 in Taipei and NT$1,800 to NT$3,000 in Taichung and Tainan; available through ERA ticketing
Alison Balsom Trumpet Concert (艾莉森.鮑爾珊小號獨奏會). The celebrated English trumpet soloist is a BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist, and her most recent album was named Solo CD of the Year 2006 by Brass Band World magazine.
▲ Wednesday 7:30pm (Taipei) and Thursday (Taichung)
▲ Taichung Chungshan Hall (台中市中山堂), 98 Hsuehshi Rd, Taichung City (台中市學士路98號) and National Concert Hall, Taipei City
▲ Tickets are NT$350 to NT$2,000, available through NTCH ticketing for Taipei and ERA ticketing for Taichung
Exhibition
Beginning Form — Met Spiral 2008 Solo Exhibition by Satoru Hoshino (開始之形—與螺旋形相遇08星野曉個展). The artist’s image of clay changed completely after a landslide in 1986. Before the disaster, clay was just a creative medium to Satoru. After that, it came to represent an awe-inspiring force of nature that made the artist realize his own fragility. In this exhibition, he attempts to comprehend the nature the substance.
▲ Taipei County Yingge Ceramics Museum (台北縣鶯歌陶瓷搏物館), 200, Wenhua Rd, Yingge Township, Taipei County (台北縣鶯歌鎮文化路200號). Open Tuesday to Friday from 9:30am to 5pm; Saturday and Sunday from 9:30 to 6pm. Call (02) 8677-2727 for more information
▲ Until June 15
They are the Witnesses of History (他們是歷史的目擊者—民國40年代台灣攝影記者作品展). The photo exhibition features works by Taiwanese photojournalists active in 1950s, including Chuang Ling (莊靈), Wang Chih-yi (王之一, 1920 to 2007), Wu Shao-tung (吳紹同) and Chang Kuang-chi (張廣基, 1915 to 2000).
▲ Taiwan International Visual Arts Center (台灣國際視覺藝術中心), 29, Ln 45 Liaoning St, Taipei City (台北市遼寧街45巷29號). Open Tuesday to Friday from 11am to 7pm; Saturday and Sunday from 11am to 5pm. Call (02) 2773-3347 for more information
▲ Until June 4
Collective Memory — Lin Chin-hsien Solo Exhibition, the Seventh Liao Chi-chun Oil Painting Award in 2007
(第七屆廖繼春油畫創作獎：集體記憶—林欽賢個展). Drawing inspiration from current events, Lin sees history and society as key components in constructing each individual’s life and aims to summon the spiritual truth hidden behind the two through surrealistic symbolism.
▲ Taipei Fine Arts Museum (台北市立美術館), 181 Zhongshan N Rd Sec 3, Taipei City (台北市中山北路三段181號). Open Tuesday to Sunday from 9:30am to 5:30pm; Saturday until 8:30pm. Call (02) 2595-7656 for more information
▲ Until June 22
Lee Kun-lin Solo Exhibition (獨角仙行旅圖—李昆霖個展). Assuming the perspective and persona of a rhinoceros beetle, Lee creates a fantasyland made up of elements such as breast mountains and body forests in his series of oil paintings, titled Journey of a Rhinoceros Beetle.
▲ Safulak Art Village (沙湖壢畫廊), 423 Hsinhu Rd, Shanhu Village, Paoshan Township, Hsinchu County (新竹縣寶山鄉山湖村新湖路423號). Open Wednesday to Sunday from 11am to 5pm. Call (03) 576 0108 for more information
▲ Until June 1
ID, Identification of New Generation (ID新世代的自我識別—華建強、周珠旺、羅展鵬、黃沛涵四人聯展). A joint exhibition of works by award-winning young artists Hua Chien-chiang (華建強), Chou Chu-wang (周珠旺), Lo Chan-peng (羅展鵬) and Huang Pei-hang (黃沛涵).
▲ AKI Gallery (也趣), 141 Mintsu W Rd, Taipei City (台北市民族西路141號). Open Tuesday to Sunday from 12pm to 6:30pm. Call (02) 2599-1171 for more information
▲ Until June 1
Last week Elbridge Colby, US President Donald Trump’s nominee for under secretary of defense for policy, a key advisory position, said in his Senate confirmation hearing that Taiwan defense spending should be 10 percent of GDP “at least something in that ballpark, really focused on their defense.” He added: “So we need to properly incentivize them.” Much commentary focused on the 10 percent figure, and rightly so. Colby is not wrong in one respect — Taiwan does need to spend more. But the steady escalation in the proportion of GDP from 3 percent to 5 percent to 10 percent that advocates
A series of dramatic news items dropped last month that shed light on Chinese Communist Party (CCP) attitudes towards three candidates for last year’s presidential election: Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) founder Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), Terry Gou (郭台銘), founder of Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), and New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT). It also revealed deep blue support for Ko and Gou from inside the KMT, how they interacted with the CCP and alleged election interference involving NT$100 million (US$3.05 million) or more raised by the
While riding a scooter along the northeast coast in Yilan County a few years ago, I was alarmed to see a building in the distance that appeared to have fallen over, as if toppled by an earthquake. As I got closer, I realized this was intentional. The architects had made this building appear to be jutting out of the Earth, much like a mountain that was forced upward by tectonic activity. This was the Lanyang Museum (蘭陽博物館), which tells the story of Yilan, both its natural environment and cultural heritage. The museum is worth a visit, if only just to get a
More than 100,000 people were killed in a single night 80 years ago yesterday in the US firebombing of Tokyo, the Japanese capital. The attack, made with conventional bombs, destroyed downtown Tokyo and filled the streets with heaps of charred bodies. The damage was comparable to the atomic bombings a few months later in August 1945, but unlike those attacks, the Japanese government has not provided aid to victims and the events of that day have largely been ignored or forgotten. Elderly survivors are making a last-ditch effort to tell their stories and push for financial assistance and recognition. Some are speaking
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