Upcoming
Showcasing the latest works by new talents and heavyweight filmmakers that include Jean-Pierre Luc Dardenne's The Silence of Lorna, Wim Wenders' The Palermo Shooting and Changeling by Clint Eastwood, Taiwan's oldest and biggest international film festival, the 2008 Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival (台北金馬影展) will open on Nov.6
The festival program is divided into thematic sections under headings such as LGBT, Midnight Fever and Window to Southeast Asia. Made in USA is a new addition that aims to present the cream of American independent productions.
This year's edition shines the spotlight on Russia's most celebrated animation director, Aleksandr Petrov, and features retrospective programs on Jean-Pierre Melville and Kon Ichikawa of Japan.
In another blast from the past, there will be two special screenings of Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey to mark the film's 40th anniversary.
▲The festival takes place at Vieshow Cinemas Sun (日新威秀), Vieshow Cinemas Xinyi (信義威秀) and Shin Kong Cineplex (新光影城) from Nov. 6 to Nov. 21.
▲Tickets cost NT$230 per screening, or NT$200 for students; available through ERA ticket outlets or online at www.ticket.com.tw. For more information about the festival, visit www.goldenhorse.org.tw.
Theater
The Room (房間) by Flying Group Theater (飛人集社劇團) investigates the shifting nature of memory and how impressions of the past fill in the blank spaces of the present. Twenty years after the disappearance of his father, a young man returns to the house where the old man lived in an attempt to gain a greater understanding of his family’s past.
▲Crown Theater (皇冠藝文中心小劇場), B1, 50, Ln 120, Dunhua N Rd, Taipei (台北市敦化北路120巷50號B1)
▲Tonight and tomorrow at 7:30pm; tomorrow and Sunday at 2:30pm
▲Tickets are NT$450, available through NTCH ticketing
A debate about death and the exploration of reality underlies Creative Society’s (創作社劇團) play To Be and Not To Be: The Dark Fantasy of Formosan Dead II (不三不四到台灣). Wenfang (文芳) travels across the globe to visit her friend Sandy, who is on her deathbed. Upon arrival, Sandy reveals to Wenfang that she is a ghost. Wenfang, a reporter accustomed to the absurdities of life, scoffs at Sandy’s revelation, only to discover a more shocking truth. Through humorous dialogue, Wenfang has to decide whether life is worth living.
▲Chiayi Performing Arts Center (嘉義縣表演藝術中心), 265, Jianguo Rd Sec 2, Minsyong Township, Chiayi County (嘉義縣民雄鄉建國路二段265號)
▲Tomorrow at 7:30pm and Sunday at 2:30pm
▲Tickets are NT$300, available through NTCH ticketing
Taiwan’s expulsion from the UN in 1971 serves as the background for Ping-Fong Acting Troupe’s (屏風表演班) latest work Stand by Me (六義幫). Written and directed by Hugh Lee (李國修), the story follows six youths who use an air-raid shelter as a meeting place to discuss their roles in history.
▲Hsinchu County Cultural Affairs Bureau (新竹縣文化局), 146, Sianjheng 9th Rd, Jhubei City, Hsinchu County (新竹縣竹北市縣政九路146號)
▲Tomorrow at 7:30pm and Sunday at 2:30pm
▲Tickets are NT$500 to NT$2,500, available through NTCH ticketing
The Puppet and Its Double Theater (無獨有偶工作室劇團) revises its The Happy Prince (快樂王子), a puppet performance based on Oscar Wilde’s fairy tale by the same name.
▲Ilan Performing Arts Center (宜蘭縣文化局演藝廳), 482, Jhongshan Rd Sec 2, Ilan City (宜蘭市中山路二段482號)
▲Tomorrow at 1:30pm
▲Tickets are NT$350, available through NTCH ticketing
Classical music
2008 Tommy Emmanuel Taipei Concert (2008 Tommy Emmanuel 台北演奏會) brings the Australian guitarist to Taipei for a single concert. Emmanuel is known for his complex “fingerpicking” style and was named Best Acoustic Guitarist in a readers’ poll by Guitar Player Magazine in May this year. [See story on Page 16 of tomorrow’s Taipei Times.]
Sunday at 7:30pm
▲Armed Forces Cultural Center (國軍文藝活動中心), 69, Zhonghua Rd Sec 1, Taipei City (台北市中華路一段69號)
▲Tickets are NT$600 to NT$2,000, available through ERA ticketing
Chai Found Music Workshop and Ensemble 2e2m (台法樂響－采風樂坊與Ensemble 2e2m) is a collaboration between the Taiwanese experimental music group Chai Found Music Workshop (采風樂坊) and French group Ensemble 2e2m. The program includes five new compositions specially commissioned to display the innovative orchestration and talents of these two groups.
▲Today at 7:30pm
▲National Concert Hall, Taipei City
▲Tickets are NT$400 to NT$1,200, available through NTCH ticketing
Ethnomusicolgical Lecture Performance by Liang Ming-yue and Huang Hao-yin (民族音樂學堂名家經典—琴與箏的對話) is a concert by masters of two of Chinese culture’s most representative solo instruments, the qin (琴) and the zheng (箏).
▲Tomorrow at 7:30pm
▲National Recital Hall, Taipei City
▲Tickets are NT$400 and NT$600, available through NTCH ticketing
Frederica von Stade and UBS Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra (馮史達德與瑞銀韋爾比耶音樂節室內樂團) features renowned mezzo soprano Frederica von Stade, who has built an international reputation on her ability to straddle Broadway musicals, traditional opera and lieder. She will sing in Taipei with the UBS Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra under the baton of Gabor Takacs-Nagy.
▲Monday at 7:30pm
▲National Concert Hall, Taipei City
▲Tickets are NT$500 to NT$2,500, available through NTCH ticketing
Duo Concertos for Levin and Chuang (鶼鰈琴聲—羅伯烈文與莊雅斐雙協奏曲音樂會) is part of the Taiwan International Piano Festival (2008台灣國際鋼琴藝術節). The month-long event continues this week with a program featuring renowned pianists Robert Levin and Chuang Ya-fei (莊雅斐), who will perform with the Evergreen Symphony Orchestra (長榮交響樂團) in concerts in Taipei and Tainan. The program in Taipei includes Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No.4 in G Major, Op.58 and Chopin’s Piano Concerto No.2 in F Minor, Op.21. The program in Tainan includes Mozart’s Sonata for Two Pianos in D major, K.448, Debussy’s En Blanc et Noir, Lutoslawski’s Variations on a Theme by Paganini and Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances, Op.45.
▲Tomorrow (Taipei) and Monday (Tainan) at 7:30pm
▲National Concert Hall, Taipei City; Tainan Municipal Cultural Center Performance Hall (台南市立文化中心演藝廳), 332, Jhonghua E Rd Sec 3, Tainan City (台南市中華東路三段332號)
▲Tickets are NT$400 to NT$2,500 for Taipei and NT$400 to NT$2,000 in Tainan, available through NTCH ticketing
Contemporary
Tonight VU Live House hosts Dub Selecta, presented by Tranquility Bass Productions. The music will be spun by DJs Saucey from Canada and Ting from New Zealand. Live band Dub Supervisors plays afterwards. Tomorrow night it’s Old School Science with Coffeepot, Rich, Mixter T and Soulbasic. On Sunday the venue hosts the Mandinga Latin Jazz Quartet, followed by DJ Zulu, spinning what he calls “timeless and positive black sounds.”
▲B1, 77, Wuchang St, Sec 2, 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 cover includes two drinks
Tonight Underworld(地下社會) hosts metal rockers Hardcase and Sideffect. Tomorrow night it’s indie-band Red Flower (紅花) and loud rockers Shi Zhen (十震). Scream Silence and emo rockers One Way to Die (死路一條) perform on Wednesday.
▲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 on Mondays
▲Entrance tonight and tomorrow is NT$300 and includes one drink; entrance on Wednesday is NT$100. Drinks are buy-one-get-one-free on Tuesdays and Thursdays before midnight
UK alternative pop group Camera
Obscura takes to the stage tomorrow night at The Wall (這牆). See Page 13 of today’s Taipei Times for full story.
▲B1, 200, Roosevelt Rd Sec 4, Taipei City (台北市羅斯福路四段200號B1). For more information, call (02) 2930-0162 or go to www.thewall.com.tw
▲8pm tomorrow
Tickets are NT$1,100, available at White Wabbit Records and at the venue
Witch House (女巫店) hosts this week’s segment of the Taiwan Band Festival, which takes place at a different live music venue every week until Nov.1 (See Page 14 of the Oct. 10, 2008 edition of the Taipei Times for details). Tonight’s lineup: folk-pop band Natural Q (自然捲) and Aboriginal folk chanteuse Panai’s (巴奈) new band, Message. Tomorrow the venue hosts Ding Ding and Xi Xi (丁丁與西西), and Panai who returns for another show.
▲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
▲Tonight is free, with a one-drink minimum; NT$300 admission tomorrow includes one drink
Tonight at Riverside Cafe (河岸留言) it’s jazz standards by Real Collective (河岸留言精選爵士四重奏), the band composed of Riverside’s owner and guitar maestro Geddy Lin (林正如), with Eric Soong (宋輔仁) on drums, keyboardist Uno (烏野薰) and Kinya (池田欣彌). Tomorrow evening We Save Strawberries (草莓救星) fills the venue with post-rock and folk sounds. On Sunday it’s an evening of rising stars on the Mando-pop track when Raymond Hu (胡恩瑞), who goes by the stage name N-RAY, takes to the stage, followed by Hsiao Hung-ren (蕭閎仁).
▲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 9pm tonight and tomorrow; 8:30pm Sunday
▲NT$400 tonight, tomorrow, and Sunday
It’s Jazz Your Mind tonight at Sappho de Base, Taipei’s favorite late-night venue for impromptu jazz sessions. Appearing tomorrow is Kenyatta Trio, playing New Orleans funk and blues. On Tuesday night the Grace Jazz Trio plays a set, with an open jam afterwards, and on Wednesday it’s the Chris Stiles Trio. On Thursday night the Double J Band takes to the stage, playing funk, disco and hard rock.
▲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 admission fee
Tonight at Tone 56 Live Bar, Soma plays rock and pop covers. Tomorrow it’s house band Loaded, which plays everything from “rock classics to today’s hits.” Every Sunday features a regular rotation of groups: this week it’s the Dana Wylie Band.
▲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 (復興北) and Minquan East (民權東) roads.
▲Call (02) 2517-3869 for more details
▲Music shows go from 9:30pm to 12:30am tonight and tomorrow; 7:30pm to 9:30pm on Sundays
▲No admission 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
▲No admission fee
The Taichung Jazz Festival concludes this weekend with performances by trumpeter Tomonao Hara and his quartet and 77-year-old trombonist and composer Slide Hampton, who is known for his work with Dizzy Gillespie and Art Blakey. Hampton gives a master class tomorrow at the Windsor Hotel (裕元花園酒店) at 1pm and plays in the concert finale with Hara on Sunday. Also appearing is the Taichung R ‘n’ B and funk outfit The Money Shot Horns, which performs tomorrow at the festival’s J2 stage. For details, see Page 14 of last Friday’s Taipei Times (Oct. 17, 2008) or visit www.jazzfestival.com.tw for the full schedule.
▲Civil Plaza (市民廣場) and the J1 and J2 Stages on Jingguo Boulevard Parkway (經國綠園道) in Taichung City
▲Performances begin at 3pm tomorrow and Sunday
▲Admission is free
Exhibitions
I Have a Dream — 2008 Kuandu Biennale (夢—2008關渡雙年展). Featuring works by 10 artists from China, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, Thailand and India, the festival aims to show different ways of viewing Asian societies.
▲Taipei National University of Arts — Kuandu Museum of Arts (台北藝術大學關渡美術館), 1, Xuenyuan Rd, Beitou Dist, Taipei City (台北市北投區學園路1號). Open Tuesdays through Sundays from 10am to 5pm. Tel: (02) 2896-1000 X2432
▲Until Nov. 30
2008 Digital Art Exhi-perietion (2008 D聚頭—數位藝術體驗聚作展). To explore and reflect on digital art, 15 pieces of painting, video installation, sound art and multimedia art are on display at the former meat market in Shilin that has been converted into an art center. Participating artists include famed poet and writer Lei Hsiang (雷驤), documentary director Lin Yu-hsien (林育賢) and Pega Design (和碩設計) group.
▲Digital Art Center, Taipei (台北數位藝術中心), 180 Fuhua Rd, Taipei City (台北市福華路180號). Open Fridays through Sundays from 10am to 5pm. Tel: (02) 2778-9268
Until Nov. 2
Yulan Magnolia Flowers — The Photo Exhibition of Shen Chao-liang (玉蘭—沈昭良攝影展). This exhibition of black-and-white photos is the result of veteran Liberty Times photojournalist Shen’s long study of Taiwan’s unique magnolia flower industry. Traveling across the country while on holiday, Shen uses his camera to tell the stories of the flower growers, wholesalers and the people who sell the flowers to drivers in the middle of traffic.
▲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 Tuesdays through Sundays from 12pm to 6pm. Tel: (02) 2773-3347.
▲From tomorrow through Nov. 19
Inner Light (曖曖內含光—創造，源自內在的光). The exhibition puts together selected early works by 10 noted artists including Lin Hsin-yueh (林惺嶽), Po Ying-ping (薄茵萍) and Hung Ke-shen (洪根深).
▲Jia Art Gallery (家畫廊), 1F-1, 30, Zhongshan N Rd Sec 3, Taipei City (台北市中山北路三段30號1樓之1). Open Tuesdays through Sundays from 10am to 6pm. Tel: (02) 2591-4302
▲Until Nov. 2
Cinema in the 1950s Taiwan (前塵影事—50年代老電影本事、集刊、歌本特展). The exhibition features the gallery owner’s private collection — 150 flyers, advertisements, handouts and music sheets for old movies from the 1950s.
▲Lan Tai Gallery (蘭臺藝廊), 265, Linung Rd Sec 2, Taipei City (台北市立農街二段265號). Open Tuesdays through Sundays from 12pm to 9pm. Tel: 0928-457-706
Until Oct. 31
Dec. 16 to Dec. 22 Growing up in the 1930s, Huang Lin Yu-feng (黃林玉鳳) often used the “fragrance machine” at Ximen Market (西門市場) so that she could go shopping while smelling nice. The contraption, about the size of a photo booth, sprayed perfume for a coin or two and was one of the trendy bazaar’s cutting-edge features. Known today as the Red House (西門紅樓), the market also boasted the coldest fridges, and offered delivery service late into the night during peak summer hours. The most fashionable goods from Japan, Europe and the US were found here, and it buzzed with activity
During the Japanese colonial era, remote mountain villages were almost exclusively populated by indigenous residents. Deep in the mountains of Chiayi County, however, was a settlement of Hakka families who braved the harsh living conditions and relative isolation to eke out a living processing camphor. As the industry declined, the village’s homes and offices were abandoned one by one, leaving us with a glimpse of a lifestyle that no longer exists. Even today, it takes between four and six hours to walk in to Baisyue Village (白雪村), and the village is so far up in the Chiayi mountains that it’s actually
These days, CJ Chen (陳崇仁) can be found driving a taxi in and around Hualien. As a way to earn a living, it’s not his first choice. He’d rather be taking tourists to the region’s attractions, but after a 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck the region on April 3, demand for driver-guides collapsed. In the eight months since the quake, the number of overseas tourists visiting Hualien has declined by “at least 90 percent, because most of them come for Taroko Gorge, not for the east coast or the East Longitudinal Valley,” he says. Chen estimates the drop in domestic sightseers after the
US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo, speaking at the Reagan Defense Forum last week, said the US is confident it can defeat the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in the Pacific, though its advantage is shrinking. Paparo warned that the PRC might launch a “war of necessity” even if it thinks it could not win, a wise observation. As I write, the PRC is carrying out naval and air exercises off its coast that are aimed at Taiwan and other nations threatened by PRC expansionism. A local defense official said that China’s military activity on Monday formed two “walls” east
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