Highlight
| The Taipei International Jazz Festival continues with a free show tomorrow night at the Taipei Water Park (台北自來水園區) in Gongguan (公館). Performers include Random Taxi (台灣大學愛樂爵士樂團), a group of National Taiwan University students playing Bebop, cool, Latin and modern jazz, and the Gin Guitar Trio, led by guitarist Gin Lin (林華勁), which plays jazz standards. (For the festival preview, see Taipei Times Page 13 on June 20, 2008.) The festival coincides with the Taipei International Summer Jazz Academy (TISJA), a one-week summer camp for aspiring jazz musicians. Many of the performers in the festival are both former and current students of the camp, and will also be performing in pub concerts throughout the month. According to organizer Hsieh Chi-pin (謝啟彬), venues near MRT stations were chosen to encourage more people to come and learn about Taiwan’s growing jazz scene. (See the Events & Entertainment section on Page 14 and Page 15 in the Taipei Times on Fridays until the end of the month for details.) The festival concludes with two concerts on July 25 and 26 at the 2-28 Peace Park (二二八和平紀念公園), with jazz performers from the US, the Netherlands, Belgium and Taiwan. ▲ Taipei International Jazz Festival concert at Taipei Water Park (台北自來水園區), 1 Siyuan St, Taipei City (台北市思源街1號); near Gongguan (公館) MRT Station. For directions visit waterpark.twd.gov.tw/english/traffic.htm. For more information on the festival, go to www.taipeijazz.com ▲ Tomorrow night at 6:30pm ▲ Admission is free |  |
| Members of the Tunafish Jazz Quartet perform at the Taipei International Jazz Festival, which started two weeks ago at the Beitou Hot Springs Museum. The festival features up-and-coming local talent and accomplished international performers. Photo: David Chen, Taipei Times | |
| With the opening of the 2008 International Ceramics Festival (國際陶瓷藝術節), children (and adults) finally have a good excuse to play with mud. Organized by Yingge Ceramics Museum, the month-long fest offers a full roster of activities and diversions for the young and young-at-heart, including pottery workshops, sculpting demonstrations — and a water park. Hungry festivalgoers can slurp noodles served from traditional hand-glazed stoneware bowls. Art connoisseurs will enjoy the 2008 Taiwan Ceramics Biennale (台灣國際陶藝雙年展), which started at the same time as the festival and this year features the work of 684 ceramic artists from 58 different countries. Pieces range from traditional to avant-garde, a testament to the potential of a bit of dirt and water. ▲ International Ceramics Festival ends on July 27; Taiwan Ceramics Biennale runs until Dec. 7. Opening hours are 9:30am to 5pm Tuesdays through Fridays; 9:30am to 6pm Saturdays and Sundays. Closed Mondays ▲ Taipei County Yingge Ceramics Museum (台北縣立鶯歌陶瓷博物館), 200 Wunhua Road, Yingge Township, Taipei County (台北縣鶯歌鎮文化路200號). Call (02) 8677-2727 or visit www.redblackdesigns.com/festival2008/tw/index.html (Web site in Chinese only) or www.ceramics.tpc.gov.tw/en-us/Home.aspx for more information ▲ Admission is NT$100 |  |
| A water park is one of the attractions at this year’s International Ceramics Festival in Yingge. Photo courtesy of Yingge Ceramics Museum |
Theater
The Good Chinese (好漢) by Black Gate Mountaintop Theater
(黑門山上的劇團) combines elements of dance and theater to look at the different stages of life of contemporary men.
▲ National Experimental Theater, Taipei City
▲ Today and tomorrow at 7:30pm and tomorrow and Sunday at 2:30pm
▲ Tickets are NT$400, through ERA ticketing
An early Hakka and Hoklo (commonly known as Taiwanese) musical, April Rain (四月望雨) returns to the stage tomorrow. The multilingual performance — Hoklo, Hakka, Mandarin and Japanese — is based on the life of Teng Yu-sian (鄧雨賢), a Japanese-colonial era composer who has been hailed as the father of Taiwanese folk music. Teng is portrayed as an artist caught between different cultures and torn between idealism and reality.
▲ National Theater, Taipei City
▲ Today and tomorrow at 7:30pm and Sunday at 2:30pm
▲ Tickets are NT$500 to NT$3,000, through NTCH ticketing
On Fire (賣番仔火的小女孩) by Taiyuan Puppet Theater Company
(台原偶戲團), tells the story of a greedy grandmother who forces her granddaughter to work in a factory that makes matches. The girl befriends a little boy and together they discover that the matches are alive. One night, a disaster threatens the lives of both children and their match friends.
▲ Nadou Theater (納豆劇場), 79 Xining N Rd, Taipei City (台北市西寧北路79號)
▲ Tomorrow at 3pm
▲ Tickets are NT$200, available through NTCH ticketing
Classical music
2008 Solo Piano Concert by Hans-Christian Willie (魏漢斯鋼琴獨奏會) will see the German pianist perform a program that includes Mozart’s Sonata C Major, KV 330, Beethoven’s Sonata in F Minor, No. 23, Op. 57 “Appassionata” and Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition.
▲ Today (Taipei) and Thursday (Hsinchu) at 7:30pm
▲ National Concert Hall, Taipei City; Hsinchu Municipal Auditorium (新竹市文化局演藝廳), 17, Tungta Rd Sec 2, Hsinchu City (新竹市東大路二段17號)
▲ Tickets are NT$300 to NT$800 for Taipei and NT$200 to NT$400 for Hsinchu, available through NTCH ticketing at www.ntch.edu.tw or at NTCH outlets
Tobby the Tuba (土爸的心情故事), a family concert featuring tuba player Micky Wrobleski performing together with the Taipei Wind Orchestra and Symphonic Band (台北青年管樂團) under the baton of Hou Yu-piao (侯宇彪). The program will include such favorites as Empire of Light, Tuba Tiger Rag, Carnival of Venice, Tubby the Tuba, and Deep Rive.
▲ Tomorrow at 7:30pm
▲ National Concert Hall, Taipei City
▲ Tickets are NT$400 to NT$1,000, available through NTCH ticketing
2008 Young Stars Series (2008兩廳院樂壇新秀) is a program of concerts to be held all through the coming week to showcase emerging local talent. There’s a recital by soprano Lee Pei-ying (李佩穎) tonight, a recital by Chen Chih-yu (陳芝羽) tomorrow, and a performance featuring award-winning young stars of Chinese music on Sunday.
▲ Today, tomorrow and Sunday at 7:30pm; Sunday at 2:30pm
▲ National Recital Hall, Taipei City
▲ Tickets are NT$400 to NT$600 for all performances, available through NTCH ticketing
George Winston Winter Show brings the renowned “new age” pianist to Taipei for a single show.
▲ Tomorrow at 7:30pm
▲ Metropolitan Hall (城市舞台), 25, Bade Rd Sec 3, Taipei City (台北市八德路三段25號)
▲ Tickets are NT$1,000 to NT$3,500, available through ERA ticketing online at www.ticket.com.tw and at ERA ticketing outlets
Trio Cantabile Piano Trio (Trio Cantabile 鋼琴三重奏) will perform a program including the Taiwan premiere of Babadjanian’s Piano Trio in F-Sharp Minor and Dvorak’s Piano Trio in F Minor, Op.65.
▲ Today at 7:30pm
▲ Forum Auditorium (十方樂集音樂劇場演奏廳), 4, Ln 187, Minzu W Rd, Taipei City (台北市民族西路187巷4號)
▲ Tickets are NT$250, available through NTCH ticketing
Contemporary
Jazz Your Mind appears tonight at Sappho de Base, the current favorite late-night hangout for Taipei’s jazz musicians. Tomorrow it’s reggae, ska and dub with High Tide. On Tuesday night the Grace Jazz Trio plays a set, with an open jam afterwards. The Accidentals take to the stage on Wednesday, and on Thursday it’s DJ Zulu, spinning what he calls “timeless and positive black sounds.”
▲ 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 for more information
▲ Performances begin at 10:30pm
▲ No entrance fee
Tonight at Bliss is Dirt Star (土星), an experimental rock/pop solo act based in Guangzhou, China, followed by the irreverent rock of Ilan County expat band Sons of Homer. [See story above.] Appearing on stage tomorrow are the Rattlebrains, who describe their songs as a mixture of 1970s psy-ambient rock, post rock and experimental music, and Auto de Fe.
▲ 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, visit
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 for music shows
Tonight Underworld (地下室) hosts two heavy metal bands, Sideffect and Power Overwhelming. Tomorrow night it’s all-girl industrial band Go Chic and electro indie-rockers Space Cake (太空蛋糕).
▲ 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 9:30pm to 11:30pm. There’s a DJ on Sunday from 10pm. The bar is open from 8pm daily, closed Mondays. Before midnight on Tuesdays and Thursdays drinks are buy-one-get-one-free
▲ Entrance on Fridays and Saturdays is NT$300 and includes one drink
Nylas (耐拉思) appears tonight at Witch House for an intimate set of acoustic music and vocal harmonies. Indie-rock band Freckles (雀斑) take to the stage tomorrow. Monday night features bebop, cool, Latin and modern jazz from Random Taxi (台灣大學愛樂爵士樂團), a group formed by members of National Taiwan University’s jazz music lovers club. (The group is one of the performers in the 2008 Taiwan International Jazz Festival, which runs until July 26. See Page 13 of the June 20, 2008, edition of the Taipei Times for more details on the festival.) On Thursday, it’s alt-rock band the Blue Velvets (藍絲絨).
▲ 7, Ln 56, Xinsheng S Rd Sec 3, Taipei City (台北市新生南路三段56巷7號). For more information, 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 Sundays through Wednesdays; 11am to 1am Thursdays through Saturdays
▲ NT$300 entrance includes one drink
Tonight at Riverside Cafe, it’s the RAY Band (雷樂隊), a trio of veteran session musicians who play power rock originals and covers. 1976 does its British mod-influenced rock thing tomorrow night. On Sunday pop pianist Chen Hsi (陳熙) appears with pop/fusion combo They’re Lisa (他們是力殺). Monday is open-jam night. On Tuesday it’s up-and-coming rock outfit New Yorker (紐約客) and jazz-fusion group Milestone (里程碑).
▲ 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 for more information
▲ Shows start at 9:30pm
▲ NT$400 tonight and tomorrow; NT$350 Sunday and Tuesday. Admission includes one free drink. There is a one-drink minimum on Monday
Tonight in Taichung it’s psychedelic rock from Moss at 89K, followed by alt rock and world music sounds from City of Earth. A new group, Wailin’ Soul, which plays roots R ’n’ B, takes to the stage tomorrow, along with garage-rock band the Deadly Vibes.
▲ 25 Daguan Rd, Taichung City (台中市大觀路25號). Call (04) 2381-8240 for more information
▲ Shows start at 10:30pm tonight; 11pm tomorrow
▲ Entrance fee NT$250 tonight, NT$300 tomorrow and includes one drink
Every Wednesday night at the Cosmopolitan Grill there’s 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
The Diner’s (樂子) new branch on Dunhua Road hosts The Diner Jam, an open mic every Thursday.
▲ 6, Ln 103, Dunhua S Rd Sec 2, Taipei City (台北市敦化南路二段103巷6號), just off Anhe Road (安和路), in the lane behind Carnegie’s. Call (02) 2700-1680 or visit www.thediner.com.tw
▲ 9:30pm to midnight every Thursday
▲ Free admission
Event
The Taipei Toy Festival is back in town for the fifth year, with 70 designers from around the world expected to attend. The toys at the festival run more towards miniature artwork than playthings: most fall into the category of “urban vinyl,” highly collectible figures sold in limited editions that are inspired by hip-hop, anime, graffiti and graphic design. Highlights include autograph sessions with designers, including US artist Tim Biskup and Devilrobots, the Japanese team behind the Tofu Oyako character. Exclusive giveaways from Red Magic, Devilrobots, Kennyswork and Lau Lau for the first 500 ticketholders each day.
▲ Thursday, 12pm to 9pm, July 11 to July 13, 11pm to 9pm
▲ Mira, 9F, Core Pacific Living Mall, 138, Bade Rd Sec 4, Taipei City (台北市八德路四段138號). Visit www.taipeitoyfestival.com for more information
▲ Admission is NT$150; tickets purchased in groups of four or more are NT$135 each
Tomorrow there’s two Stand-Up Comedy for Canada D’eh and American Independence Day shows at the Comedy Club in the Shida (師大) neighborhood. The lineup features Canadians Kurt Penney and Barry Hanley, Americans Matt “The Puppet Guy” Bronsil and Brian Funshine, and Australian Mark Goding. There will also be a 15-minute musical interlude with bluegrass band Pine Top Surgeons. The first show is at 8:30pm and the program will be repeated, more or less, at 11:30pm.
▲ Comedy Club, B1, 24 Taishun St, Taipei City (台北市泰順街24號B1)
▲ 8:30pm and 11pm tomorrow
▲ Tickets are NT$350 and include one drink. NT$80 beer specials all night. Call (02) 2369-3730, send an e-mail to social@comedy.com.tw or visit english.comedy.com.tw for more information
Exhibition
Masayuki Kawai/Theology of Spectacle (河合政之/神學現形). Tokyo- and New York-based video artist Masayuki Kawai investigates radical, philosophical and aesthetic expression of video as a integral way of perceiving, criticizing and transcending today’s media-saturated society. About a Theological Situation in the Society of Spectacle is Kawai’s critique of the myths underlying the media. Works are shown in Chi-Wen Gallery and Spot — Taipei Film House (光點). For more information visit www.chiwengallery.com.
▲ Chi-Wen Gallery, 3F, 19, Ln 252, Dunhua S Rd Sec 1, Taipei City (台北市敦化南路一段252巷19號3樓). Open Tuesdays through Saturdays from 11am to 7pm.
▲ Call (02) 8771-3372 for more information
▲ Until Aug. 9
SLY the 5th Emerge New Artists Exhibition (新樂園第5屆新秀展). Four local artists have been selected to show their works at this annual exhibition. Chiou Chi-hua’s (邱智華) video art reflects on today’s fast-paced world. Lin Jin-hong (林晉弘) contemplates the sense of alienation felt towards one’s home through painting. Ji New-york (紀紐約) interprets his relationship with space through bodies. Digital works by Kuo Peng-chun (郭芃君) explore the cultural differences between Taipei and London.
▲ Shin Leh Yuan Art Space (新樂園藝術空間), 15-2, Ln 11, Zhongshan N Rd Sec 2, Taipei City (台北市中山北路二段11巷15-2號). Open Wednesdays through Sundays from 1pm to 8pm. Call (02) 256-1548 for more information
▲ From tomorrow until July 27
Intimated Trend — Painting From Sichuan and Taiwan (親潮—兩岸架上繪畫新流向). Featuring works by 12 artists from Sichuan and 15 artists from Taiwan, this exhibition initiates a comparative study between contemporary painting in Sichuan and Taiwan and their different historical, social and political contexts.
▲ Taipei National University of Arts — Kuandu Museum of Fine Arts (台北藝術大學關渡美術館), 1 Hsuenyuan Rd, Beitou Dist, Taipei City (台北市北投區學園路1號). Open Tuesdays through Sundays from 10am to 5pm. Call (02) 2896-1000 X2413 for more information
▲ From tomorrow until Sept. 7
Unite Taiwan — The Golden Century of Railway (縱貫南北一氣通—台灣鐵道百年特展). This exhibition examines part of the history of railways in Taiwan, which began in 1895 when Japanese colonists began the ambitious project of connecting Keelung to Kaohsiung by rail, a project that took 13 years to complete.
▲ National Taiwan Museum (國立台灣博物館), 2 Xiangyang Rd, Taipei City (台北市襄陽路2號). Open Tuesdays through Sundays from 10am to 5pm
Call (02) 2382-2699 for more information
▲ Until Dec. 7
Story About Paiwan Tribe and Its Totem (排灣圖紋故事特展) introduces visitors to the legends and myths of the Paiwan through the tribe’s totems and examines the tribe’s history, culture and society.
▲ Shihsanhang Museum (十三行博物館), 200 Museum Rd, Bali Township, Taipei County (台北縣八里鄉博物館路200號). Open Tuesdays through Fridays from 9:30am to 6pm; Saturdays and Sundays from 9:30am to 7pm. Call (02) 2619-1313 for more information
▲ Until Sept. 7
Anyone who has been to Alishan (阿里山) is familiar with the railroad there: one line comes up from Chiayi City past the sacred tree site, while another line goes up to the sunrise viewing platform at Zhushan (祝山). Of course, as a center of logging operations for over 60 years, Alishan did have more rail lines in the past. Are any of these still around? Are they easily accessible? Are they worth visiting? The answer to all three of these questions is emphatically: Yes! One of these lines ran from Alishan all the way up to the base of Jade Mountain. Its
The only geopolitical certainty is that massive change is coming. Three macro trends are only just starting to accelerate, forming a very disruptive background to an already unsettled future. One is that technological transformations exponentially more consequential and rapid than anything prior are in their infancy, and will play out like several simultaneous industrial revolutions. ROBOT REVOLUTION It is still early days, but impacts are starting to be felt. Just yesterday, this line appeared in an article: “To meet demands at Foxconn, factory planners are building physical AI-powered robotic factories with Omniverse and NVIDIA AI.” In other words, they used AI
Last month historian Stephen Wertheim of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace published an opinion piece in the New York Times with suggestions for an “America First” foreign policy for Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris. Of course China and Taiwan received a mention. “Under presidents Trump and Biden,” Wertheim contends, “the world’s top two powers have descended into open rivalry, with tensions over Taiwan coming to the fore.” After complaining that Washington is militarizing the Taiwan issue, he argues that “In truth, Beijing has long proved willing to tolerate the island’s self-rule so long as Taiwan does not declare independence
Nov. 25 to Dec. 1 The Dutch had a choice: join the indigenous Siraya of Sinkan Village (in today’s Tainan) on a headhunting mission or risk losing them as believers. Missionaries George Candidus and Robert Junius relayed their request to the Dutch governor, emphasizing that if they aided the Sinkan, the news would spread and more local inhabitants would be willing to embrace Christianity. Led by Nicolaes Couckebacker, chief factor of the trading post in Formosa, the party set out in December 1630 south toward the Makatao village of Tampsui (by today’s Gaoping River in Pingtung County), whose warriors had taken the
RSS