Highlight
American jazz vocalist Dianne Reeves appears on Monday at the National Concert Hall to conclude the venue’s annual Summer Jazz Party. Reeves often draws comparisons with singers Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughn, and she recently gained wider attention as the featured vocalist on the soundtrack to the George Clooney film Good Night, and Good Luck. She has won four Grammy awards and is the only artist to have won a Grammy Award in any vocal category three years in a row.
Reeves, who last appeared in Taipei in 2005, keeps a full touring schedule and is known for her engaging live performances. Her touring band features Romero Lubambo on guitar, Peter Martin on piano, Reuben Rogers on bass and Gregory Hutchinson on drums.
Before the concert there will be an introductory talk on Reeves’ music given by Fu Ching-liang (傅慶良), head of Universal Records Taiwan’s foreign division, in the foyer of the concert hall. Wine, soft drinks and snacks will be available before the show.
▲ Jazz vocalist Dianne Reeves live at the National Concert Hall (國家音樂廳), 21-1 Zhongshan S Rd, Taipei City (台北市中山南路21-1號)
▲ Monday at 7:30pm; introductory talk starts at 7pm
▲ NT$600 to NT$3,000 tickets, available through NTCH ticketing or online at www.artsticket.com.tw
▲ On the Net: event.ntch.edu.tw/2008/JAZZ
Upcoming
Vibe is commonly host to all kinds of freaks, but what makes this weekend special is that they’ll be on stage. You couldn’t get a more divergent lineup of musicians if you tried.
Dr Reniculous Lipz will be word-smithing his unique style of hip-hop, which integrates solid lyrics and an almost surreal sense of humor. His London accent and billy-goat trip-trip-tripping-across-a-bridge rhythms make for an original show that is a far cry from commercial hip-pop.
Each of the bands playing is a true original, with alt-country Point 22 (.22) bordering on the ridiculous but keeping it together with very talented musicians who are all veterans of the local scene. Wade Davis, Steve Taylor and Pete Holmes were dressed in Royal Tenenbaums-style tennis outfits at their gig during Canada d’Eh, and like to rock the crowd with tunes like Dry Humping.
The cherry on this cake of weirdness is Rabbit is Rich (兔子很有錢), a band that has been likened to the Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs. Lead singer Andrea Huang (黃盈誼) belts huge sound out of her tiny body and has a hair-thrashing, high-energy performance.
▲ Point 22 vs Rabbit Is Rich vs Dr Reniculous Lipz
▲ Roxy Vibe Livehouse, B1, 155, Jinshan S Rd Sec 1, Taipei (台北市金山南路一段155號B1)
▲ Tomorrow from 10pm until late
▲ NT$300 cover includes one free drink and all-night entrance
Theater
Jimmy Liao’s (幾米) illustrations are among the most easily recognizable by a Taiwanese artist. His A Chance of Sunshine was turned into a movie called Turn Left, Turn Right (向左走˙向右走); now it’s getting treatment as a musical. It tells the story of a man and a woman who live parallel lives and seem perfect for each other — but fate keeps them apart.
▲ Taipei Arena (台北小巨蛋), 2, Nanjing E Rd Sec 4, Taipei City (台北市南京東路四段2號)
▲ Tonight and tomorrow at 7:30pm
▲ Tickets are NT$600 to NT$3,600, available through NTCH ticketing
A family falls apart after the death of its matriarch in Short One Player Theater Troupe’s (三缺一劇團) latest work, An Obituary Written by Everybody (大家一起寫訃文).
▲ Crown Art Center Theater (皇冠小劇場), B1, 50, Ln 120, Dunhua N Rd, Taipei City (台北市敦化北路120巷50號B1)
▲ Tonight and tomorrow at 7:30pm and tomorrow and Sunday at 2:30pm
▲ Tickets are NT$450, available through NTCH ticketing
Tickets for Godot Theater Company’s (果陀劇場) much-anticipated Chinese-language production of Shakespeare’s Othello (針鋒對決) are running out fast. The production features accomplished Taiwanese stage actors Li Li-qun (李立群) and Chin Shih-jie (金士傑).
▲ Tainan Municipal Cultural Center (台南市立文化中心), 332, Chunghua E Rd Sec 3, Tainan City (台南市中華東路三段332號)
▲ Tomorrow at 7:30pm
▲ Tickets are NT$500 to NT$4,000, available through NTCH ticketing
The relationship between individuals, cultures and humans and the physical forces of nature underlie the dance project Heavy Orbits, a choreographic collaboration between Wang Pei-chun (王珮君) and New York’s Abigail Levine, who are both part of the performance art group Strange Company. The work includes two dance movements fused together with music composed by double bassist Martijn Vanbuel, who will perform live.
▲ 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 at 8pm and tomorrow at 3pm
▲ Tickets are NT$300, available through NTCH ticketing
What does a Lost Dog Mean? (一隻狗失蹤的意義) is a mime performance by Vis-a-Vie Theater and tells the story of two people brought together by a stray dog.
▲ IP Dance School, 3F, 114-4, Wuchang St Sec 2, Taipei City (台北市武昌街二段114-4號3樓)
▲ Tomorrow at 2:30pm and 7:30pm and Sunday at 2:30pm
▲ Tickets are NT$250, available through NTCH ticketing
After the death of their parents, an older sister is forced to take care of her younger sister. Oddly, rather than focus on the psychological impact of losing one’s parents, Will Always Be My Doll (芭比娃娃加工廠) takes the tragedy in a different direction. The elder sister decides that its time for her younger sister to start dating and blows a wad of cash on a party, the dividend being to find her a partner. But the party changes both sisters in ways that they could never have imagined.
▲ Nanhai Gallery (南海藝廊), 3, Ln 19, Chongqing S Rd Sec 2, Taipei City (台北市重慶南路二段19巷3號)
▲ Sunday at 2:30pm and 6pm
▲ Tickets are NT$250, available through NTCH ticketing
Classical music
Falling In Love With Nodame Cantabile: 2008 Eric Chen Piano Recital (愛上交響情人夢—陳冠宇2008鋼琴獨奏) has popular pianist Eric Chen (陳冠宇) performing a program that includes Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 8 in C Minor, Op. 13 “Pathetique” and ▲ Tomorrow at 2:30pm ▲ 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$200 to NT$400, available through ERA ticketing
The Baroque and Now (巴洛克與現代), features the Hotshot Cello Choir (名加大提琴合奏團), who are returning to the performance circuit with a program that includes Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No.6 BWV1015, Vivaldi’s Concerto Grosso Op. 3, Michael Kibbe’s Dark Moon Op. 135, Isaac Albeniz’s 3 Stucke fur vier Violoncelli and Mariano Mores’ Drei Argentinische Tangos.
▲ Tomorrow (Taipei) and Sunday (Kaohsiung) at 7:30pm
▲ Zhongshan Hall (台北市中山堂), 98 Yenping S Rd, Taipei City (台北市延平南路98號); Kaohsiung City Concert Hall (高雄市音樂館演奏廳), 99 Hehsi Rd, Kaohsiung City (高雄市河西路99號)
▲ Tickets are NT$200 to NT$500 for Taipei and NT$200 for Kaohsiung; available through ERA ticketing
TCO Grand Masters Series 2 — Sharon Bezaly and TCO (TCO大師系列２—長笛繆斯—莎朗•貝札莉) brings Sharon Bezaly, who is emerging as one of the world’s outstanding female flautists, back to Taiwan to perform with the Taipei Chinese Orchestra (臺北市立國樂團) at the National Concert Hall. This performance will be followed by Queen of Flutes — Sharon Bezaly Flute Recital (長笛天后—莎朗•貝札莉長笛獨奏). Bezaly’s program includes Doppler’s Hungarian Fantasy, Bach’s Sarabande, BWV 1013, Bolling’s Jazz Suite and Messiaen’s Le Merle Noir.
▲ Tuesday at 7:30pm (National Concert Hall) and Wednesday at 7:30pm, Zhongshan Hall (台北市中山堂), 98 Yenping S Rd, Taipei City (台北市延平南路98號)
▲ Tickets for the concert at the National Concert Hall are NT$300 to NT$1,200, available through NTCH ticketing; tickets for Zhongshan Hall are NT$200 to NT$1,000, available through ERA ticketing
Autumnal Chant — Songs My Mother Taught Me (秋之頌~母親教我的歌) features guest performers Natalia Amosova (piano) and Alexander Dardykin (cello) appearing together with the Taiwan Soloists Chamber Orchestra (台灣獨奏家室內樂團). The program will include Beethoven’s Duet No.3 for Violin and Cello in B-flat Major, Handel’s Passacaglia for Violin and Cello, Dvorak’s Songs My Mother Taught Me, American Folk Song’s Home on the Range, Mozart’s “Non piu andrai” from “Le Nozze di Figaro” and Mendelssohn’s Piano Trio No.1 Op.49.
▲ Today at 7:30pm
▲ Kaohsiung City Concert Hall (高雄市音樂館演奏廳), 99 Hehsi Rd, Kaohsiung City (高雄市河西路99號)
▲ Tickets are NT$200 and are available through NTCH ticketing
Contemporary
Dafu Jazz Trio takes to the stage tonight at Sappho de Base. Tomorrow night is a “Sappho All-Stars” jam, featuring a host of session musicians that regularly appear at Sappho. On Tuesday night the Grace Jazz Trio plays a set, with an open jam afterward. Wednesday features the Cool Jazz Machine, an experimental group that goes for a “chill-out vibe.” On Thursday it’s the Phase in Jazz Quartet, playing the original compositions of saxophonist Michael Haack.
▲ 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 on weekends; 10pm on weekdays
▲ No entrance fee
Tonight at The Wall (這牆) post-rock band Aphasia (阿飛西雅) launches its new CD, The Crocodile Society of Aphasia. In addition to new material, the band will revisit songs from its former incarnation as the Sonic Youth-inspired Nipples. Tomorrow the evening starts with metal bands Infernal Chaos, Beyond Cure, and Triple Six (666). Later on, Jamaican sound system Black Reign International will have people dancing to Caribbean beats, joined by guest DJs Justdabe and Mixter T.
▲ 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
▲ Tonight 8pm, tomorrow’s shows start at 8pm and 11:30pm
▲ NT$450 tonight; ticket plus CD is NT$600 at White Wabbit Records, located at the Wall. NT$500 at the door tomorrow for the metal shows, NT$400 advance; NT$350 for Black Reign International
Two Japanese bands appear at Underworld(地下社會) tonight: acoustic rockers #Ichizu# and #Vibraslap#, who wear robes and call themselves a “spiritual Japanese punk-rock band.” Tomorrow night it’s indie-rockers Love Manana (愛的大未來). Wednesday night features sitar trio See You (西尤), and young bands Hang Glider (滑翔翼樂團) and Deepest (深層樂團).
▲ 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 on Fridays and Saturdays, and from 9pm to 11pm on Wednesdays. The bar is open from 8pm daily, closed Mondays
▲ Entrance tonight and tomorrow is NT$300 and includes one drink; tickets on Wednesday are NT$100 and do not include a drink
Harmonica trio Sirius Sharp (天狼星口琴) plays tonight at Witch House (女巫店). Tomorrow night Aboriginal folk singer Panai plays a solo acoustic show, and on Thursday, it’s Marine, a guitar and vibraphone duo, along with alt-rock band Mango (芒果樂團).
▲ 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
Skyline Jazz Band, whose repertoire includes bossa nova, soul, funk, fusion and R ‘n’ B, plays tonight at Riverside Cafe. Tomorrow night folk singer Huang Chien-wei (黃建為) makes an appearance. Mando-pop singer Lan You-shi (藍又時) performs 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 Taipower Building (台電大樓). Call (02) 2368-7310 or visit www.riverside.com.tw for more information
▲ Shows start at 9:00pm
▲ NT$400 tonight and tomorrow; NT$350 on Sunday. Admission includes one free drink
Performing tonight at VU Live House is pop punk band Abandoned Machines, along with hillbilly punks the Pinetop Surgeons and Nevermore (自我介紹). Tomorrow night the venue hosts the Way to Route 66, which features a handful of expat bands: rockabilly outfits Full House and 130 dollars, funk rockers New Hong Kong Hair City, and garage bands Auto da Fe and The Deadly Vibes.
▲ B1, 77 Wuchang St, Taipei City (台北市武昌街二段77號B1). Call (02) 2314-1868 for more information
▲ Shows begin at 10pm
▲ NT$400 tonight, includes two free drinks; NT$300 tomorrow night, includes two free drinks
Tonight at Tone 56 Live Bar, a new restaurant near the corner of Fuxing North and Minquan East roads, is the Rubber Band, which plays rock, pop and dance music at the venue every Friday. Tomorrow it’s house band Loaded, which plays everything from “rock classics to today’s hits.” Sundays feature a regular rotation of groups; this week it’s jazz and blues from the Dafu Trio.
▲ 1F, 56, Minquan E Rd Sec 3, Taipei City (台北市民權東路三段56號1樓), near the corner of Fuxing North Road (復興北路) and Minquan East Road (民權東路). Call (02) 2517-3869 for more information
▲ Music shows go from 9:30pm to 12:30pm tonight and tomorrow, and from 7:30pm to 9:30pm on Sundays
▲ No entrance fee
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 (02) 2508-0304 or visit www.cosmo.com.tw for more information
▲ 8pm to 11pm every Wednesday
▲ Free admission
Exhibitions
Universe in a Bottle: Treasures of Snuff Bottles (壺裏乾坤—鼻煙壺珍品展). The snuff bottle is a combination of several Chinese crafts including carving, calligraphy, porcelain firing and inlay work. The materials determine what type of snuff bottle the master craftsman would create, and the craftsman created these miniature art works through the techniques of glass overlaying, glazing, inner painting, engraving and lacquering. This exhibition puts together nearly 200 snuff bottles made from jadeite, glass, jade, porcelain, lacquerware, quartz, bamboo, wood, ivory, metal and other materials.
▲ National Museum of History (國立歷史博物館), 49 Nanhai Rd, Taipei City (台北市南海路49號). Open Tuesdays through Sundays from 10am to 6pm. Call (02) 2361-0270 for more information
▲ Until Oct. 26
Indian Art (九月印棒邦). As the Indian economy grows, the country’s art market has come under international scrutiny. A collaboration between the India Taipei Association and Capital Art Center, this exhibition features works by 12 renowned Indian artists and introduces local audiences to three generation of contemporary Indian artists.
▲ Capital Art Center (首都藝術中心), 2F, 343, Renai Rd Sec 4, Taipei City (台北市仁愛路四段343號2樓). Open Tuesdays through Sundays from 10am to 7pm. Call (02) 2775-5268 for more information
▲ Until Sept. 21
The Memory of the Elementary School (小學的回憶). Ceramic artist Ah Leon’s (阿亮) latest series invites audiences to revisit their childhoods through ceramic sculptures of elementary school tables, tofu hawkers and other items from olden times.
▲ Metaphysical Art Gallery (形而上畫廊), 7F, 219, Dunhua S Rd Sec 1, Taipei City (台北市敦化南路一段219號7樓). Open Tuesdays through Sundays from 11am to 6:30pm. Call (02) 2771-3236 for more information
▲ From tomorrow to Oct. 5
The 8th SLY Art Membership Exhibition — The Event of Libido (新樂園第八期成聯展—里比多事件), features works by 17 local artists making different interpretations of Carl Jung’s theory of libido.
▲ 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) 2561-1548 for more information
▲ Until Sept. 28
Environment, Fashion and Consumerism — Yuan Chin-ta’s Solo Exhibition (生態、時尚、消費—袁金塔作品展). Chinese painting heavyweight Yuan Chin-ta combines ink painting and ceramic art to address social, cultural and environmental issues in Taiwan.
▲ Taishin Tower (台新金控大樓), 2F, 118, Renai Rd Sec 4, Taipei City (台北市仁愛路四段118號2樓). Open Mondays through Sundays from 9am to 6pm. Call (02) 3707-6955 for more information
▲ Until Oct. 3
Jan. 6 to Jan. 12 Perhaps hoping to gain the blessing of the stone-age hunter-gatherers that dwelt along the east coast 30,000 years ago, visitors to the Baxian Caves (八仙洞) during the 1970s would grab a handful of soil to bring home. In January 1969, the nation was captivated by the excavation of pre-ceramic artifacts and other traces of human habitation in several caves atop a sea cliff in Taitung County. The majority of the unearthed objects were single-faced, unpolished flake tools fashioned from natural pebbles collected by the shore. While archaeologists had found plenty of neolithic (7,000 BC to 1,700
When the weather is too cold to enjoy the white beaches and blue waters of Pingtung County’s Kenting (墾丁), it’s the perfect time to head up into the hills and enjoy a different part of the national park. In the highlands above the bustling beach resorts, a simple set of trails treats visitors to lush forest, rocky peaks, billowing grassland and a spectacular bird’s-eye view of the coast. The rolling hills beyond Hengchun Township (恆春) in Pingtung County offer a two-hour through-hike of sweeping views from the mighty peak of Dajianshih Mountain (大尖石山) to Eluanbi Lighthouse (鵝鑾鼻燈塔) on the coast, or
Her greatest fear, dormant for decades, came rushing back in an instant: had she adopted and raised a kidnapped child? Peg Reif’s daughter, adopted from South Korea in the 1980s, had sent her a link to a documentary detailing how the system that made their family was rife with fraud: documents falsified, babies switched, children snatched off the street and sent abroad. Reif wept. She was among more than 120 who contacted The Associated Press this fall, after a series of stories and a documentary made with Frontline exposed how Korea created a baby pipeline, designed to ship children abroad as quickly as
Famed Chinese demographer Yi Fuxian (易富賢) recently wrote for The Diplomat on the effects of a cross-strait war on demography. He contended that one way to deter the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is by putting the demographic issue front and center — last year total births in the PRC, he said, receded to levels not seen since 1762. Yi observes that Taiwan’s current fertility rate is already lower than Ukraine’s — a nation at war that is refusing to send its young into battle — and that its “demographic crisis suggests that Taiwan’s technological importance will rapidly decline, and
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